Goldys4
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2015
It all started several years ago when we decided to enroll our kids in dance class. Little did we know it would lead to a family vacation at Disney World! There is a fabulous program at Disney that isn’t competition based called the Disney Performing Arts Onstage. The dancers will get to perform on the Waterside stage at Disney Springs. My 10-year-old daughter will be participating with her dance studio performance group in this program this fall!
So, since we will be there at fall break for this fabulous dance experience anyway, why not roll it into a family vacation!?! And the best part- my parents and sister will be coming too! My parents said there was no way they were going to miss it. They drive from the Midwest to their condo in North Fort Myers every fall and they decided to go a little earlier than usual so they could drive over to Orlando from the condo. Surprisingly (or not, knowing my parents), they haven’t been to WDW since I was a kid in the 80’s- I know they will be surprised at how different it operates now! We had gone at the opening of Epcot in very early 1983 (or maybe it was the end of 1982? I don’t quite remember, I was a kid, LOL!) and stayed at the Contemporary. This time I get to pan the trip! I kept them from the bulk of planning so they wouldn’t get stressed out. I actually enjoy the time perusing the DIS boards and other websites for Disney tips/ tricks. It’s kind of stress relieving. We’ll be staying at Caribbean Beach Resort, which we’ve never been to but are excited to explore.
Hubby, the kids and I just went to WDW for a day last year when we drove down to FL to stay at my parent’s condo for a week. We were only at Disney for two nights (Port Orleans Riverside)- which included an evening at Disney Springs (I think it was still called Downtown Disney at that point?) and one day at Magic Kingdom. That was a fabulous day at the park I must say. I researched till the cows came home and we ended up with a fun day with great (although hot) weather. I think taking what would be a stressful task to my hubby and taking care of FP+ schedule and touring plan for the day really helped. We also went off the plan when we needed since it was pretty flexible.
Because it was such a great day, hubby said why don’t I tackle this trip too. Let me tell you, it’s definitely a lot different when you are planning for 7 and for several days as opposed to 4 and one day! I accepted the challenge and have been planning since the studio announced the trip! The group consists of me, hubby, daughter (age 13), daughter (age 10 and the one dancing), my younger sister and my parents (in their 70’s). Other family members may come, but they won’t know if they will be able to go or not until just before the trip. I decided to plan like they won’t be there and if they are it will be fabulous addition!
I can’t believe how much time I’ve spent looking at parks, attractions, dining and things to do! It’s a major undertaking (as most of you know) planning a trip to Disney, but I really loved every minute of it. There are some challenges with our group- my parents are older (I think mom may get an ECV scooter, she has had both knees replaced) and others in the group are definitely not used to walking very far/ long. I’ve just started researching the ECV rental- not really wanting to deal with a scooter, but if it will keep my mom with us in the parks and happy we’ll definitely do it!
So, since we will be there at fall break for this fabulous dance experience anyway, why not roll it into a family vacation!?! And the best part- my parents and sister will be coming too! My parents said there was no way they were going to miss it. They drive from the Midwest to their condo in North Fort Myers every fall and they decided to go a little earlier than usual so they could drive over to Orlando from the condo. Surprisingly (or not, knowing my parents), they haven’t been to WDW since I was a kid in the 80’s- I know they will be surprised at how different it operates now! We had gone at the opening of Epcot in very early 1983 (or maybe it was the end of 1982? I don’t quite remember, I was a kid, LOL!) and stayed at the Contemporary. This time I get to pan the trip! I kept them from the bulk of planning so they wouldn’t get stressed out. I actually enjoy the time perusing the DIS boards and other websites for Disney tips/ tricks. It’s kind of stress relieving. We’ll be staying at Caribbean Beach Resort, which we’ve never been to but are excited to explore.
Hubby, the kids and I just went to WDW for a day last year when we drove down to FL to stay at my parent’s condo for a week. We were only at Disney for two nights (Port Orleans Riverside)- which included an evening at Disney Springs (I think it was still called Downtown Disney at that point?) and one day at Magic Kingdom. That was a fabulous day at the park I must say. I researched till the cows came home and we ended up with a fun day with great (although hot) weather. I think taking what would be a stressful task to my hubby and taking care of FP+ schedule and touring plan for the day really helped. We also went off the plan when we needed since it was pretty flexible.
Because it was such a great day, hubby said why don’t I tackle this trip too. Let me tell you, it’s definitely a lot different when you are planning for 7 and for several days as opposed to 4 and one day! I accepted the challenge and have been planning since the studio announced the trip! The group consists of me, hubby, daughter (age 13), daughter (age 10 and the one dancing), my younger sister and my parents (in their 70’s). Other family members may come, but they won’t know if they will be able to go or not until just before the trip. I decided to plan like they won’t be there and if they are it will be fabulous addition!
I can’t believe how much time I’ve spent looking at parks, attractions, dining and things to do! It’s a major undertaking (as most of you know) planning a trip to Disney, but I really loved every minute of it. There are some challenges with our group- my parents are older (I think mom may get an ECV scooter, she has had both knees replaced) and others in the group are definitely not used to walking very far/ long. I’ve just started researching the ECV rental- not really wanting to deal with a scooter, but if it will keep my mom with us in the parks and happy we’ll definitely do it!
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