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4 Oct 03 – 12 Oct 03
Cast of Characters:
Me – Marcos, 35, the (over)planner and man in charge, (well
my wife lets me think I’m in charge).
Alicia – my best friend and wonderful wife of 9 years. (No
I’m not stating her age, take me for a fool do you?)
Samantha – oldest daughter at 13.
Kaitlyn – second oldest at 12.
Aaron – oldest son at 12.
Alex – second oldest young man at 11.
Jessica – the youngest at 8.
All of us are Disney vets but Katie and Alex live with my ex and
they didn’t go as many times as Sam, Aaron, and Jessie. This
will be the first trip with everyone.
Before we get started:
Let me take a moment and set this up so you know what you are getting
yourself into. When we decided to go to Orlando we wanted to go
to Universal Studios and Seaworld as well. So we devised a plan
to go to both Universal Studios parks, the four main parks at Disney,
and Seaworld in seven days. That’s right seven parks in seven
days. I know what you are thinking: ‘This guy is nuts.’
‘With all those kids?’ ‘He needs therapy.’
Maybe, but I like to maximize my dollar value. You see, I’m
a sergeant in the army and we don’t get paid a lot. So if
I’m going to go to Disney then I’m going to get the
most out of it. So if you are like me you want to take a great trip
without taking out a mortgage on your house. Besides, I told the
kids what I had planned and they are all for it. I know that they
can go the distance. I took them on a hike up one of the harder
trails in the Smokey Mountains. Four hours one way up to the top
of the trail. They all made it even Jessie who was 5 years old at
the time. I know, I know…”What a so-and-so…”
Not to worry, I didn’t drive them up the mountain like a maniac.
We went at the pace of the slowest person and took numerous rest
breaks, hence the four hours.
I tend to over-plan things and this is no exception. The reason
is that I find whenever I do extensive planning things go well and
most of the planning was un-necessary. It’s just my luck I
guess but I don’t mind. I would rather have done the planning
and not use it than not plan and wish I had. Besides, the planning
process is mainly for me. I enjoy it because it allows me to get
my triple “D”. (Daily Dose of Disney) That’s right
I have a mouse on my back and I need my fix. Some of you reading
this may be thinking I’m crazy, but, others of you know…that’s
right…you know.
The Operation Order (Planning)
Six months before we left we decided on the dates for the trip.
Even though the kids go to different schools they all had a break
for at least a week in October. This was a great relief because
we didn’t want to pull them out of school.
So I set about finding us some suitable accommodations. I thought
about going to the Nikki Bird Holiday Inn at the main gate of Disney.
It’s a nice place and the price is reasonable. But it is still
more than I wanted to pay because we had seven people and we would
need an extra room to fit everyone. And the more we had for spending
inside the parks the better. Besides, I already stated that I want
to get the most for my dollar. Some of you out there may be saying
that you could never afford a trip to Disney, well, yes you can.
You may have to save for a year or more but you can do it. Anyhow,
while looking through numerous websites for tips I found out that
military and DOD civilians can get time shares for $249.00 for eight
days. These are two or three bedroom and a can sleep up to ten people.
And these aren’t run-down places. They are nice places and
even the Hilton offers rooms through this program. So go to www.afvclub.com
to see if you qualify. I found Orbit One Vacation Villas. From everything
I can find on the net it looks like a nice place. We will see in
October.
So the dates are set and the room is reserved. Now I set about
amassing the data for the trip. I set about making a tentative plan
of days and what to do each day. The park hours had not been posted
for October way back in April when I first started the planning
so I had to make a guess. Then I printed out park maps with a list
of attractions so we could all vote on what we wanted to do. Then
I gathered info on the area we would stay like restaurants and stores
off-site. Also, packing info and park info like height restrictions,
restaurant menus, and ride descriptions, maps of the area with directions
to the parks and a couple of stores. I also put together an activity
book for the trip down and back so they won’t get bored on
the drive. I plan the route we will take and about how long it will
take us to drive there. (Is this getting anal?) Like I said, I like
to over-plan.
On the weekends I get my kids we sit down and vote on the attractions
we are going to. One park for each visit that way we stretch it
out so they stay excited about it and I have them involved in the
planning process. They feel like this is as much as their vacation
and not something the parents are dragging them along on. When we
vote I call out the attraction and pull it up on the net so they
can see it as well as read about it. Then I call for a vote. And
it’s either “check it” or “skip it”.
Our youngest, Jessie, still likes some of the “kiddie”
rides. So when it came time to vote on the Triceratop Spin everyone
but her said skip it. They said it was for little kids and they
didn’t want to go on it. I looked at Jessie and she very reluctantly
agreed with the majority vote. I could see she was very disappointed.
So I looked at my wife and we smiled and yelled “Check It”.
Jessie’s face lit up and I winked at her. The others complained
that the majority rules. But I said we as parents overrule the majority.
I told Jessie that I would go with her on the ride since the other
kids didn’t want to be seen on a “baby ride”.
So this went on until all the parks were voted on. I then took this
info and made a schedule of how we will go through the parks and
hit everything within the time they are open. I know this sounds
like the “Disney Commando” syndrome but I assure you
that it isn’t. The schedule is only so I can help us get to
everything. I already told the family that if it becomes a hindrance
we will toss it out. I have read the horror stories about the commandos
making the vacation miserable for everyone. This is something I
will not do. I will sooner toss all my info in the trash before
I’ll let that happen.
As we get closer to the day we leave, I finally see the times for
the days in October posted on the web. I also find out that I’m
going to have to change my whole schedule of events around to be
able to stay at the parks for the maximum amount of time and also
be able to go on Mission: Space and Mickey’s Philharmagic,
both of which open the week we will be there. With that done I turn
my attention to finding updates on rehabs. It looks good for the
week we will be there. Only Thunder Mountain will be in rehab.
Now all I have to do is try and wait patiently for the day we leave.
I think I’ll go get back on the web and see if there is anything
I have missed.
Day 1...
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