Brett & Katie's 10yr Anniversary (Kid free) trip to Disney (Sept 11-19)

[ktjohn]

Hyperventilation sequence in 3, 2, 1...

EEEEEEEK... I'm going to Disney with just my husband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick back story:
Several of my high school girlfriends and I pinky swore that we would celebrate our honeymoons in Disney when we eventually got married. But, what can I say... I married for love, and we had no money! We never did get to honeymoon in Disney. No regrets, though... I wouldn't have changed anything for the world.

Fast forward 5 years... Brett starts talking about doing something big for our 10 year anniversary. He thinks we should do a cruise. I said ok, but I never got elated by the idea. I didn't mind the idea, but I knew we had 5 more years to figure it out.

Fast forward 4 more years... We started talking more seriously about what we wanted to do. Cruise? Bahamas? Sandals? I mentioned Disney... Mommy/Daddy only trip... A chance to do the honeymoon we had wanted. His ears perked up. He was even more sold on the idea when we brought the kids for the first time in 2009 and realized that there is so much to do for adults too, and that it could be an entirely different experience for just the two of us.

So we've been planning and negotiating this trip for a year. I've lurked, stalked, and researched these boards so much, I know almost as much as my Disney fanatic travel agent! Now the plans are in place, the trip is completely paid for, and we've saved up all our pennies religiously for a year (neither of us believes in credit cards. We pay cash for everything). All that's left to do is tap an impatient finger on my computer desk for the next 51 days, pack our bags, finalize our touring plans, and totally freak out with anticipation. Oh, and I need to find a pet sitter, because my babysitter doesn't like pets

That's our back story.

We haven't told the kids yet (DD's 6 and 4). We're going to approach that gently. Thankfully we brought them to Disney this past January, so it's not like they are totally deprived...

Just to introduce ourselves properly, this is the two of us at Coral Reef back in January.

And this is us on New Years' morning...

Hope you'll enjoy following along!!

 

[ktjohn]

Here are some of the details of our plans...

Spending 7 nights at POR with the free dining plan (snacks, 1 counter, 1 sit down)
Spending our last night at the new Waldorf Astoria in Orlando
Park Tickets with hopper and water parks (we usually get the base ticket, no hopper, no water parks in order to save money, so this is a big deal for us)

Our dining plans are...
Tony's
Mama Melrose
Boma
Tusker House
Big River Grille
LeCellier
Liberty Tree
ESPN Cafe (marriage is all about compromise. LOL)

Along with everything there is to do in the parks, we also plan on doing some non-park stuff...

Canoeing at Fort Wilderness and a carriage ride at POR

Mini-Golf at Winter Summerland (because I swear I will beat him at mini-golf someday. I never know when that day will be, so I can never pass up a potential opportunity!)

Atlantic Dance Hall (we've been taking dance lessons together, and are really excited to go out dancing... kid free!)

We'll probably sneak over to POLY to hang out in the hammocks

We can't afford an official vow renewal ceremony, but there's absolutely nothing stopping us from doing that on our own by ourselves... we just haven't decided whether to go to the GF or POLY beach to do it... or by the river at POR... or on the bridge at POR. The location is still up in the air... but no doubt it will be a sweet memory for us wherever we decide. Suggestions are welcome!

We'll probably have a wine and cheese style picnic under the bridge at Epcot. I read that somewhere, and we both like the idea.

If any of you can think of any other romantical Disney ideas that don't cost a fortune, I totally welcome your suggestions!!

OMG is it Sept 11th yet??! All this talk is causing me to freak out all over again!

 

[irishsharon]

CONGRATULATIONS Seven nights to sleep in One thing that came to my mind was getting the private photo sessionMaybe order a small cake or flowers(that where the same as your wedding day ) delivered to one of the restaurants you will be eatting at.no matter what you do it will be wonderful ,enjoy each others company

 

[ktjohn]

That's a GREAT idea!! I'm going to look into the cake and flowers idea! Thank you!!

And yes, we are soooo excited to sleep in! We're also looking forward to a stroller-free Disney experience! hahaha.

 

[wlake]

Get the pins from guest services that say "Happy Anniversary." We were in WDW last year in part to celebrate our 10th (but we brought the kids! ) and wore the pins one day. It was amazing how many people -- CMs and guests -- wished us a happy anniversary. It was really nice.

Plus, now we have these lovely pins! I meant to make DH wear his on our anniversary this year but I forgot them.

Congratulations on your anniversary a bit early!

 

[ktjohn]

Cool! We'll definitely get the pins! We also plan on getting the wedding ears too (haha... because we're really big kids at heart)!

Oh, and I forgot to mention... our anniversary was actually July 1st. But we decided to wait till September when the parks are more quiet and when we could get the free dining plan. The backlash to that was that when we got to July 1st, we were pretty much in agony that we had decided to wait till September. LOL! BUT... all good things come to those that wait (or so I'm told).

 

[ktjohn]

Today we braced ourselves and told the kids that we are going to Disney alone, and they'll be staying with Grammy and Grampy for the week. I've been scared to tell them, and I read all over the boards for ideas on how people broke the news to their kids.

First we told them they were going to have a blast for two weeks in August when some friends of ours come down here to visit (and explained all the fun things we were going to do). They got all pumped up about that. Then we reminded my older daughter that immediately after that, she would start.... (gasp)... FIRST GRADE!! She was thrilled about that too!

Then we told them they were going to have a fun filled week in September staying with Grammy and Grampy. They could LIVE there for 8 days and sleep on the giant guest bed (the kids love that bed). We told them we were going to Disney while they stayed with Grampy, and that we promised not to do all the little kid stuff without them (Dumbo, character breakfasts, etc...)... that this would be a trip to do just adult things. We said we were going to celebrate being married 10 years and make it very special. Then we'd be back after 8 days to pick them up and bring them presents.

Phew!! They weren't horrified or upset or mad or hurt or anything that I was afraid of. They declared that Grampy's house would be fun, and as long as he bought them ice cream and brought them to the pool, they would be fine. (Pressures on, Grampy!)

That's a major weight off my shoulders. I was certain they would not understand and be upset. I'm sure when we actually leave, they will probably not be as agreeable about the idea, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I'm SO thankful to have two amazing little girls who have grasped at a very young age that Mommy and Daddy love them tremendously but also need to take time to love each other. Whenever we go on dates, they always seem pleased instead of jealous or left behind.

Now my biggest fear is going to be desperately missing them the whole time! We've never left them for this long, and I don't know how I'll handle that. I'm sure Brett will distract me with Mickey mouse ear ice creams and such. He's good like that

 

[wlake]

I'm a teacher and go back to school several days before my boys do. Usually, we're running around trying to get friends and family to babysit for a day here or there, but this year my mother is retired and is taking them for us for those 4 days. The boys have decided to call it "Grammie Camp." This cracks me up for some reason, but my mother is now stressed out about it! Anyway, you can always try the "camp" line if your girls start to get upset.

How funny about your anniversary date -- ours is July 10 and we didn't go until mid-August! Of course, this year we spent the 10th flying home from a family reunion and got stranded in the Philly airport for a couple of extra hours. Not out best anniversary, but I suppose he probably thought it could be worse -- he was finally done with spending a week with roughly 20 of his in-laws!

I wish we had done a better job with leaving the boys and being on our own. My oldest one has some special needs and was a difficult baby, making it hard to leave him with other people, so that's the habit we're in now. We just told them the younger one's godparents are coming to visit in a couple weeks but that it's just the adults going out and they didn't comprehend it well. Good for you for doing that!

 

[ktjohn]

Well, now that I'm only 10 days away from our vacation, I need it now more than ever!!! We've been dealing with some family illnesses through the month of August, and I'm emotionally exhausted. My husband and I agreed we need this trip more than we've ever needed a vacation in our whole lives. I can hardly stand the next 10 days of waiting!! I need to totally break from life and enter the fantasy world of princesses, mice, and bliss!

For awhile we were having to deal with the possibility of needing to cancel the vacation (which produced more than a few tears from me). But it appears for the moment that our family members are stable for the time being. I'm hoping everything stays calm for the next 2 weeks!

Last night my husband decided I needed a distraction, so we sat together on the couch with my laptop poring over hundreds of pages on this board. It was glorious (I swear the planning is half the fun of vacation).

My biggest problem now is that there's so much I want to do, but I also want to relax and do nothing! I may have to give up a few itinerary items along the way in order to squeeze in time to chill out and do nothing. The problem with these boards is that they provide so many great ideas of things to do that I cram our schedule full of awesome stuff and forget that we need time to just relax alone together without the kids. I don't remember the last time I floated around a pool without my eyeballs on the kids and making sure they were safe or getting splashed in the face by said kids. It's time for Katie to float around a pool in complete peace!

Anyway, as I was saying... 10 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly stand it.

 

[ktjohn]

T-minus 36 hours! I need to go into a sound proof room and scream at the top of my lungs! I can't handle the anticipation any longer!!!!!!

Bags are packed, house is sparkly clean, got all our travel documents in order, and the kids are excited to go to Grammy and Grampys!

We've printed out a calendar for the kids, so they can cross off each day we're gone and count how many days left till we come back.

 

[Pixie Princess]

Congratulations on 10 years together!!! I saw the title of this thread and had to read it. Why? My daughter's name is Katie and her father's is Brett! (Oh, and I'm from SC.. spooky )

Your trip sounds wonderful and romantic, and you're just hours away now!

 

[ktjohn]

My daughter's name is Katie and her father's is Brett! (Oh, and I'm from SC.. spooky )

OH MY GOSH!!! That is crazy!!!!! Tell your daughter she has a wonderful name!! haha!

 

[Disneychix]

Have a wonderful trip! I know you'll miss the kids so much but that's part of both you and them growing up!

Happy Anniversary!

 

[ktjohn]

Here's what I've figured out for an itinerary. If you see any glaring flaws, please yell at me!

Saturday (11th)
Check in and explore the resort
Go to ESPN at Boardwalk to watch the football game with DH
Atlantic Dance Hall

Sunday (12th)
Magic Kingdom Rope Drop
We have a short list of "must do" rides, but otherwise, we'd be just as happy sitting on a bench people watching! We'll play everything else by ear
Dinner at Tony's
Jungle cruise at night (I hear it's fun in the dark)
Wishes

Monday (13th)
Hollywood Studios Rope Drop
Toy Story Mania
A short list of "must do" rides
Lunch at Mama Melrose
Hop to Magic Kingdom for the MSEP (we've seen Fantasmic twice, and I love MSEP, so we decided to skip Fantasmic)

Tuesday (14th)
Typhoon Lagoon
Boma at 7:30pm (I hope we can get back to the resort, shower, change and get out to Boma in time. Do you think we will we have to leave the water park before 5pm?)

Wednesday (15th)
Animal Kingdom
Short list of shows and rides we didn't get to do when we went with the kids
The safari
Dinner at Tuskerhouse
Carriage ride at POR in the evening

Thursday (16th)
This is our no park day
Canoe ride at Ft. Wilderness in the morning
Touring GF and Poly in the afternoon
Lunch at Grand Floridian Cafe
Hanging out in the Poly Hammocks
Dinner at Big River Grille (Boardwalk)
Swimming at the resort

Friday (17th)
SLEEP IN!!
A short list of "must do" rides
Lunch at LeCellier
Drinking around the world (well... drinking in 3 countries... does that count? I'm a lightweight)
picnic under the Epcot bridge
Illuminations at 9pm

Saturday (18th)
4 hours at Blizzard Beach
Hop to Magic Kingdom to shop and have dinner at Liberty Tree


Did I miss anything important?! Brett and I were saying the other day we didn't care if we never got to half the stuff on our itinerary... it would just be great to be together!! But being the freakish planner and control freak that I am, he was understanding enough to allow me to create an itinerary. And I'm understanding enough to promise him that we can deviate from it anytime we decide to do something different.