We started to think about going to WDW in January 2006 - 10 months ahead of our trip date. We had recently moved to a new city and my daughter was starting to be a decent age to remember the trip (Son Age 8; Daughter Age 5). We also had just moved into a school district that observes a year round schedule. October would be the first cycle break of our first full school year at the school. (I would be remiss to not mention that part of the reason we bought our home in a year round schedule school district was because we would be able to vacation in the off season...I am not a huge fan on large crowds of people on our family vacations...if you are wondering the school schedule is pretty much 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off...with a 6 week break in the summer between beg June and mid July)
Money was probably the only decision we needed to make regarding the trip. We were having a hard time selling our old home at the time. We felt like we owed it to ourselves and family to have a really nice vacation, full of great memories and were confident that Disney would provide that for us. If I had doubts about whether we would enjoy, it would have made it a harded decision, but I really KNEW that we would enjoy ourselves.
I think that my biggest influence on deciding to go was a co-worker who talked about the trip that she had taken to WDW. One thing that I remember was how she explained the Dining Plan and how "They ate like Kings". I absolutely agree after experiencing the Dining Plan. AAA has a big promotion in January for Disney trips and this was probably a second push to the reserve now, not later.
I (Wife) was definitely the budget/planner/organizer of the trip. At this time, not one of us had ever been to WDW. I had been to DLR 3 times, husband 2 times and son 2 times...we knew we would have fun and had to stay "on property" to get the full effect of the trip. Children were definitely excited and asked a lot of questions about when we would go and how long it would be until we went.
Planning...I love to plan so this was mostly fun, but at times totally overwhelming. I remember that there were at least three times where I was just begging to go back to DLR because I was more familiar and the idea of the size and scope and buses and dining locations and rides and touring plans and ADRs and evening parties and dinner shows and everything else just seemed like TOO MUCH. My son and husband kept reminding me, "We are going to the WORLD, not the smaller DisneyLAND". I have a good friend at work (different than the friend who first told me of the dining plan) who is a DVC member and was SO helpful in the planning end. She definitely kept me grounded and focused on the things that were important. My primary planning tools were Allearsnet.com and the Unofficial Guide to WDW. Both indispensible if you want to try to plan your vacation out.
Okay...end result...spreadsheets printed (ink dry...can you tell I am a finance person), 3x5 cards with each day's touring plans and reservations, childrens' gift card spending $ purchased, matching souvenir t-shirts purchased, driving estimates and directions printed...of course we had a fabulous time. I tell anyone who asks me, "I loved my WDW vacation because I felt like I was 10 years old again". With the dining plan and MYW package, everything was purchased so I did not feel the stress of how much is this going to be at the end. It was just our souvenirs that we paid for at the end...I really felt stressfree. I felt like I overplanned (absolute commando, if you will), but it was because I was not sure we would ever make it back and I wanted to experience as much of the magic as possible. Now, I know I will be back so the planning has dropped off immensely, we can just take our time through the parks and visit the ride the next time if it is shut down or the line is too long.
I must share my memorable moments (just because writing this has brought it all back)....
My daughter was kind of playing the "know-it-all-five-year-old" bit up to the hilt in the weeks leading up to our trip. She had commented several times about the "costumes" and who was or was not real. For our first dinner, we went to Chef Mickey's. Chip and Dale came over to our table and were dancing and playing with her...she leaned over to me and whispered, "Mom...you're right. They ARE real."
My son loved the Great Movie Ride...all the way up until the gangster scene and I looked over and he was curled up in a ball with a look of terror on his face when the air bullets started flying...It is always fun to know that the magic still works on the 8 year olds.
Well, I should know...I am 32 and it still works on me.
