- I'm Gonna Push the Button!

Well I've have been lurking and I finally decided to post a trip report.

I returned august 23rd and was very sad to leave, despite the tremendous heat (a little like touring in a pizza oven). I guess I should give a little pre trip information/history. In 2002 we decided to take our 2 little boys ages 2 and 4 for one last big trip before we had a 3rd child. My mother and brother decided to come along.


had 2 connecting hotel rooms at the swan for a week in September, what a great location! We had great weather and a great time, we forgot how much fun it could be and how much there was to see, so we had to go back, so much for one last big trip!

We decide to go back again in September (2003) for a long weekend, just us (no nonnie(My mom) or uncle).
2003 trip
I book a suite at one of the downtown disney resorts but I was contemplating purchasing a dvc membership on the recomendation of my friend who just purchased one at the beach club. Well, to make a long story short, Interest rates drop so low that we were able to refinance our house buy into DVC Boardwalk (resale) and lower our monthly payment without adding on any loan years It was like we were getting the DVC membership for free!
Now we are staying on property at the boardwalk in a 1 bedroom villa with a full kitchen, washer/dryer, king size master bedroom (not that privacy is necessary because at this point I'm 3 months pregnant with child number 3 but the space is great) Jacuzzi tub and separate shower. I think that I've died and gone to heaven! O-kay, I originally tried to book a standard view because who cares about the view, I'm at Disney and it was less points. Well, there isn't any standard views available so I get a boardwalk view. Let me tell you, I am all about the view now

I would get up early every morning and the sun would start to come up over EPCOT and it was beautiful until the system shock Promptly at 7:00 AM everyday the circus music would start (doo doo doo) well you can probably come up with your own circus music in your head because I can't spell it out properly, who knew the circus started that early I would think after partying late night that they would at least sleep in until 9:00 AM but what are ya gonna do? Wake everyone up and get to the parks for opening We had an even better trip and we can't wait to go back again!

Well, baby number 3 turns out to be son number 3 On the last day of March 2004, If he waited 16 more hours to be born he would have been my 3rd child born in April which would have been an all diamond mother's ring but I couldn't stand being pregnant for another second and he was looking real big so they induced me. I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for a little princess which is why I chose not to find out what I was having beforehand. How could you be disappointed when they put a perfectly healthy, beautiful baby in your arms (a whopping 9lbs 8 oz born at 9:08) I guess God had a different plan so it is 3 sons for me and I wouldn't change it if I could. The Irony here is it took me forever to meet a guy and now my household is over run with men (men in training I should say)
This is turning out to be alot more background information than I anticipated. Fast forward to October 2006 for the trip that snow balled.



I decide we have so many points banked to get a studio for my mother and a 2 bedroom at Saratoga Springs and invite my college friend and her family to join us. They end up coming with their family of 5, sister and her family of 4 and 3 grand parents. they didn't stay with us they stayed at the Grand Floridian. My childhood friend who introduced to the DVC ended up changing her week to the same week as us because she said that I am always lucky with the weather. My mother ends up bringing her sister, my aunt (who loves tinkerbell but has a personality more like Dorey from finding Nemo). At the last minute, my cousin (the same aunt's daughter who came) decides to come with her husband and 2 year old son. Yep, lots of people on that trip! I'm going to pause here and see if I can figure out how to add pictures.

Well, we decide to meet my college friend and her family of 5 at the AK. We watch the parade, eat dinner, get a special cake for being family of the hour from the dream team. Catch up with the dream team again and get to play carnival games and win prizes for free (minus the thousands we spent on the trip) . We have a great night and it is important to note that for a group of 10 we travel very well together.

Things don't run as smoothly when you add Aunty Dory to the mix.
Aunty Dory arrives with my mother Sunday night. We go to breakfast at O'hana's with Lilo and Stich.




We have a great time with Aunty Dory heading up the parade (claims she is living the childhood she never had). We head over to Blizzard beach, front row parking and realize that I (yep, me ) forgot the tickets (well I can't keep track of every,thing ) We go back to get the tickets enter the park and meet my childhood friend Judy and her 3 girls. We get lockers, towels and my mother and Aunty Dory go to change into suits. They come out and my mother is giggling uncontrollably She says to me don't tell but Dorey brought 2 bathing suits tops, one black and one white. I look over at Dorey and she looks like she is wearing both pieces to a black tankini suit. My mother says look closer, she is wearing my black underwear To the untrained eye it would be a bathing suit but upon closere examination it really was my mother's bloomers but don't tell Well the first thing that I did was tell my husband and friend judy, how could you not?

We finally manage to get into the water on the lazy river and we lose aunty Dorey. Don't worry we found her at the end because we could hear her well down the river asking everyone in the River if they saw us a group with 3 little boys and 3 little girls. You know how rare it is to see groups of children at Blizzard beach.

We exit the lazy river and Aunty Dory rides every possible ride with the kids (her great nephews). We decide to go back to the area we staked out in the morning which is significantly smaller at this point. Aunty Dory decides to do some sun bathing In the meantime, we split up an I remain back at camp while my 2 year old naps for 2 hours at blizzard beach. Judy stays with me to chat We chatted until we were rudely interupted by the bullhorn The lifeguard is bellowing through his bull horn, "ma'am, please get out of the path!" Judy and I look over and we see this woman in a sun visor and movie star sun glasses with a black bathing suit in the middle of what is clearly a large walking path trying to angle her giant lounge chair to catch the maximum tanning rays. how this woman could not know that this was a path is beyond me Why would everone else be squished together and leave this area wide open? Apparently so this woman could have plenty of room to angle her chair and maximize her tan The lifeguard continues, "ma'am, please get out of the path!" at least 3 times. Now everyone is looking and the woman begins to look for who this man may be bellowing to. She can't figure it out so she continues to assess the sun's rays and angle her chair. The life guard begins to walk towards her and it dawns on me that the woman is Aunty Dory in my mothers Big Black Bloomers For a moment I consider running over there but I was too embarassed and I committed the cardinal sin of the Italian family and turned my back on a family member in need At this point the lifeguard bellows, "Lady in the bloomers, please get out of the path!" Okay, he didn't really say lady in the bloomers but thats how the story went in my head and at dinner that night She finally did get out of the path. Stay tuned to see how Aunty Dory thoroughly frustrated an mgm cast member and an introduction to the cast members in my real trip report!

I can hardly wait for more. Please hurry.

I am loving this report! BTW, if you get AP's, and you forget or lose them, Guest Services at the park will replace them for you. Once, I not only forgotten my pass, but my driver's license, back at the room, so I had no ID. They just asked me a couple of questions to confirm the information in the system, and issued the new pass.

I can hardly wait for more. Please hurry.

It's nice to know people read about my crazy family and even nicer when i read reports and learn that there are many families out there with family members almost as crazy as mine;)

I am loving this report! BTW, if you get AP's, and you forget or lose them, Guest Services at the park will replace them for you. Once, I not only forgotten my pass, but my driver's license, back at the room, so I had no ID. They just asked me a couple of questions to confirm the information in the system, and issued the new pass.

That is nice to know because we are purchasing AP's just as soon as we get our tax refund. We are planning a short trip in December and a very long trip next August and I am sure there will be at least one time when I forget them again, since I am in charge o everything;) Boy, you really don't appreciate all your mother took care of on vacation until you are the mother in charge of vacation.

One more of the many Aunty Dory stories before I introduce the cast of my August trip. We went to MGM and Aunty Dory loves to ride all the thrill rides. She also loves to take lots and lots and lots and lots (you get the idea) of pictures on her many high quality disposable cameras .
Well, as we all know they take your picture on these thrill rides and sell them in package form. Aunty Dory had to have a picture and she wanted a 5 by7. However, they do not sell a 5 by 7 individually. Now, I am a second hand reporter because my DH was lucky enough to actually experience the situation first hand. He didn’t know you could frustrate a CM to this extent. Aunty Dory says to the CM, I’ll take the 5 by 7. The CM goes through the speech, we don’t sell just a 5 by 7, we have package A for X amount of dollars, we have package B for X amount of dollars and we have package C for X amount of dollars. In return Aunty Dory says, okay, I’ll take the 5 by 7. The CM kindly explains again, we don’t sell just a 5 by 7, we have package A for X amount of dollars, we have package B for X amount of dollars and we have package C for X amount of dollars. I think that sometimes when people are speaking to her she doesn’t hear what they are saying but instead hears the same thing that Charlie Brown hears when his teacher or any adult speaks to him. Again Aunty Dory says I’ll just get the 5 by 7 and again the CM explains, we don’t sell just 5 by 7, we have package A for X amount of dollars, we have package B for X amount of dollars and we have package C for X amount of dollars. Well, can you guess what Aunty Dory says? Yep, she says, okay, um, um, um, I’ll take the 5 by 7. At this point steam begins to come out of the CM’s mouse ears and through gritted teeth says, we don’t sell just 5 by 7, we have package A for X amount of dollars, we have package B for X amount of dollars and we have package C for X amount of dollars. At this point my DH walked away so we can only speculate what may have happened but Aunty Dory returned 10 minutes later with package A and a 5x7 plastered to her forehead. (just kidding about the forehead thing)

Next the introduction of the cast of characters

Wonderful trip report so far. Your family sounds almost as nutty as mine:) Hope you write more soon.