DemonLlama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2000
Sorry, I couldn't resist. All the popular threads seem to have really cute thread titles and punctuation excitement. I can't stand the pressure!
(This probably won't be a terribly popular thread, so there's that.)
We were at Disney World from January 1 -7, 2014, for our seventh family trip together there across 14 years. With all those 7s, it's got to be lucky.
Our first trip was in 2000, when Nicholas was 7 and Samantha was 5. We went the week before Christmas.We decided we would go every other year at Christmas time until the children were grown and out of the house.
Back then, that seemed like such a long time.
And somehow, even though the days dragged, the years flew by.
Suddenly, it was our 2010 trip and our son was a senior and left home the following fall.
My daughter, who proclaimed quite loudly that SHE was still in the house and NEEDED to go to Disney, talked us into another trip two years later. We felt like we couldn't quite go back at Christmas to WDW just the three of us and feel right. So we planned a trip in October to Disneyland, our first time there, as a compromise. It wasn't at all the same. And, while we still enjoyed ourselves, decided the next time, if at all possible, it would be the four of us again at Disney World.
My husband had a conference in April of 2013 at WDW and I was able to go with him. It was my first time back since our "last" family trip in 2010 and I spent a good bit of time on my own. As much as I love the place, I realized that I love it most and best when it's the four of us. And I don't know how much longer it will be before it'll never just be the four of us again.
So I started plotting last spring. Our next Christmas trip, if we re-instated it, would have been Dec. 2014. But my daughter graduates this May and is talking about going away to school in Oregon.
My son is away in Texas already, but was definitely coming home for THIS Christmas (2013). Who knows about the next?
So, at Thanksgiving, when we met at my in-laws place in northern Texas (son making the drive from Austin), we surprised them with a "Christmas" trip, of sorts, only for January 1-7, before anyone had to be back at school. It would be our way of seizing the day, still going in the right, even-numbered year, just 12 months early.
My little project for our trip was to try and recreate photos of when the kids were younger, on various trips, in various poses. They are pretty much grown now and it'll be an empty nest here in a few months. It was great fun to remember and compare and know they'll never outgrow "our" place.
So I thought I'd share in bits here, because I've been on the DIS since the summer before that very first trip, and because I've never tried a trip report before. Hopefully I can share some of our fun for anyone out there interested.
Post links, just because everyone's doing it! (Honestly, they're all in a row on the first three pages and I'm still compelled to do this. I need help.)
21 Posts for Nick's 21st Birthday!
Day 1 1/1/14 from Denver to POFQ and Raglan Road
Day 2 1/2/14 Magic Kingdom Morning
Day 2 Be Our Guest Lunch
Day 2 MK at Night
Day 3 1/3/14 MGM, er, STUDIOS morning & 50s Prime Time Cafe
Day 3 Studios by Night & the emptiest Fantasmic Evah
dAY 4 1/4/14 AK Afternoon
Day 4 1/4/14 AK Evening
Day 5 1/5/14 Epcot Morning and the WS Hat Tour Begins
Day 5 Epcot World Showcase Hat Tour Continued
Day 5, The Hats Never Stop! The End of Epcot
Day 6 1/6/14 Leaving the Big Easy for the Big Kahuna, plus Studios
Day 6 Because the 25 Photo Limit is Stupid, Studios & Sci-Fi Diner
Day 6 Our Polynesian Theme Park View Room
Day 6 Dinner at 'Ohana
Day 6 Closing down the MK
Day 6 The Empty Magic Kingdom & Kiss Goodnight
Day 7 1/7/14 Leaving Paradise
Day 7 So long, farewell, we love you MK
Day 7 Still going -- we like to drag out our death scenes
Thanks for the Memories (Comparisons galore)
(This probably won't be a terribly popular thread, so there's that.)
We were at Disney World from January 1 -7, 2014, for our seventh family trip together there across 14 years. With all those 7s, it's got to be lucky.
Our first trip was in 2000, when Nicholas was 7 and Samantha was 5. We went the week before Christmas.We decided we would go every other year at Christmas time until the children were grown and out of the house.
Back then, that seemed like such a long time.
And somehow, even though the days dragged, the years flew by.
Suddenly, it was our 2010 trip and our son was a senior and left home the following fall.
My daughter, who proclaimed quite loudly that SHE was still in the house and NEEDED to go to Disney, talked us into another trip two years later. We felt like we couldn't quite go back at Christmas to WDW just the three of us and feel right. So we planned a trip in October to Disneyland, our first time there, as a compromise. It wasn't at all the same. And, while we still enjoyed ourselves, decided the next time, if at all possible, it would be the four of us again at Disney World.
My husband had a conference in April of 2013 at WDW and I was able to go with him. It was my first time back since our "last" family trip in 2010 and I spent a good bit of time on my own. As much as I love the place, I realized that I love it most and best when it's the four of us. And I don't know how much longer it will be before it'll never just be the four of us again.
So I started plotting last spring. Our next Christmas trip, if we re-instated it, would have been Dec. 2014. But my daughter graduates this May and is talking about going away to school in Oregon.
My son is away in Texas already, but was definitely coming home for THIS Christmas (2013). Who knows about the next?
So, at Thanksgiving, when we met at my in-laws place in northern Texas (son making the drive from Austin), we surprised them with a "Christmas" trip, of sorts, only for January 1-7, before anyone had to be back at school. It would be our way of seizing the day, still going in the right, even-numbered year, just 12 months early.
My little project for our trip was to try and recreate photos of when the kids were younger, on various trips, in various poses. They are pretty much grown now and it'll be an empty nest here in a few months. It was great fun to remember and compare and know they'll never outgrow "our" place.
So I thought I'd share in bits here, because I've been on the DIS since the summer before that very first trip, and because I've never tried a trip report before. Hopefully I can share some of our fun for anyone out there interested.
Post links, just because everyone's doing it! (Honestly, they're all in a row on the first three pages and I'm still compelled to do this. I need help.)
21 Posts for Nick's 21st Birthday!
Day 1 1/1/14 from Denver to POFQ and Raglan Road
Day 2 1/2/14 Magic Kingdom Morning
Day 2 Be Our Guest Lunch
Day 2 MK at Night
Day 3 1/3/14 MGM, er, STUDIOS morning & 50s Prime Time Cafe
Day 3 Studios by Night & the emptiest Fantasmic Evah
dAY 4 1/4/14 AK Afternoon
Day 4 1/4/14 AK Evening
Day 5 1/5/14 Epcot Morning and the WS Hat Tour Begins
Day 5 Epcot World Showcase Hat Tour Continued
Day 5, The Hats Never Stop! The End of Epcot
Day 6 1/6/14 Leaving the Big Easy for the Big Kahuna, plus Studios
Day 6 Because the 25 Photo Limit is Stupid, Studios & Sci-Fi Diner
Day 6 Our Polynesian Theme Park View Room
Day 6 Dinner at 'Ohana
Day 6 Closing down the MK
Day 6 The Empty Magic Kingdom & Kiss Goodnight
Day 7 1/7/14 Leaving Paradise
Day 7 So long, farewell, we love you MK
Day 7 Still going -- we like to drag out our death scenes
Thanks for the Memories (Comparisons galore)