Our trip dates are as follows: Jan 16th-21st we will be staying at the Tree House Villas (the new Disney Vacation Club part of Saratoga Springs). Jan 21st -24th we will be doing the 3 night Disney Cruise. We haven’t decided on excursions yet but need to get moving since we can start booking them on November 2nd. Then Jan 24th-Jan 30th we will be staying at the Beach Club Villas. I think that I’m even more excited about the resorts that we are staying at as I am about being at Disney World!!!

Sat, Jan 16th – Arrival Day. My parents will most likely come in earlier that week and stay at their Florida house about 3-4 hours away. They will just come up to Disney World planning to arrive late afternoon. Kevin’s and my flight will arrive at MCO at 8:45 PM and LuJean’s and Joe’s flight from Utah comes in at 10:55 PM. It will be a late night but that is ok….we can sleep in the next morning!!

Sun, Jan 17th – Resort day. We will spend today just enjoying our resort and relaxing after the long travel day. With my in-law’s health concerns….this day is extremely important. I know it will just be so much fun to explore this fun, new resort area.

Mon, Jan 18th – Animal Kingdom Day. I already have a dining reservation made for us to eat at Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8 AM. I love the idea of entering the Animal Kingdom one hour before everyone else can!!! It is going to be an amazing experience. Joe and LuJean absolutely love this park and my parents have never been. I just think this will be a magical way to start off our trip!! We will stay that the park until the parade and then head over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma’s. I know both sets of parents are going to love the chance to check out this resort. Again…another fun experience. We will grab a cab to take us back to our resort right after dinner.

Tues, Jan 19th – Magic Kingdom Day. Of course we will practice our good touring skills and arrive at the gates no later then 8:30 for that 9 AM opening. Splash Mountain is going to be closed (which is so sad since it is a favorite of everyone in our party!!!) so really, we don’t have a lot of major attractions to do today. I figure that we will be done with everything by 2 PM and will head over to the Polynesian Resort to relax on the beach until time to check into our dining reservation at Disney’s Spirit of Aloha Luau. We are all excited about this show and meal. After the show, we will return to the beach were we will watch the Wishes Fireworks show. Depending on how tired everyone is….we might also stay long enough to watch the Electric Water Pageant. Then back to our Tree House for a good night’s sleep.

Weds. Jan 20th – Epcot Day. We all love Epcot and I know that we are looking forward to this day. We will again…arrive nice and early (8:30 AM for that 9 AM opening). The plan today will be to grab a few of the headliner attractions in Future world and then head over to the World Showcase to enjoy the Countries. Our goal this trip is to see all of the different shows that each country offers. I’m so excited about this and know that we will have a blast!!! We will leave the park about 1 PM and return about 4:30 so that we can have a break and not get overly tired. We have a dining reservation at Biergarten in Germany at 6:15 PM and stay through Illuminations. This is my in-law’s favorite so we will try and see it a couple of times this trip.

Thurs. Jan 21st – Cruise day!!! Today we leave for the cruise. We are all looking forward to this and I know that it will be a fun, relaxing break in our Disney World touring. We return to Disney World on the 24th.

Up next: the second half of our Disney World/cruise itinerary!!!

We will be arriving at Disneyland Dec 2nd and leaving on Dec 9th. We are staying at the Quality Inn & Suites Anaheim Resort. It is a value Good Neighbor Hotel and about a block away so easily within walking distance. We chose this hotel because it is saving us a lot of money and since we will be spending most of our days in the parks, having a nice place to sleep is all we need!!! Plus the other option we were looking at were 2 suites which would mean 2 bathrooms for 11 people…..now each family has their own room which gives us 3 bathrooms!!!

Arrival day we will just settle into the resort. Mary and her family will be arriving at Long Beach Airport at 12:35 PM so at the hotel about 1:30 PM. Kevin and I are arriving in Orange County Airport about 6:35 PM so at the hotel about 7:30 PM. Jerri and her family still have not gotten their airline tickets so I don’t know what is going to happen there. I know that Mary’s kids will be glad to have some time to play in the swimming pool so I’m sure that is what they will be doing after they check into the hotel.

Dec. 3rd: Our first day in the park. It is a Thursday so we will be taking advantage of our Magic Morning and going into the park an hour before opening. Now, I know from experience plus advice from experts that the key to enjoying a nice day at Disney is arriving before the gates open each day. That said…..we will be arriving at the gates by 8:15 AM for the 9 AM opening of the Magic Morning. Then at 10 AM, the kids will be going to the Bibiddi Bobiddi Boutique for the girls to be turned into princesses and Nick will become a knight!!! We are all excited for this. We will ride a few more attractions after that and at 11:00 AM head over to California Adventure for our 11:30 AM lunch at Ariel’s Grotto. This should be a lot of fun and we figure a great way to start off the vacation. After lunch, we will go on a few more rides and about 1:30 return to the hotel for a break and nap for the 2 year old and his dad. Then we will grab a quick meal at the hotel room and return to Disney about 5 PM where we will stay until the park closes at 8 PM. Then back to the hotel for baths and bed!!!

Dec. 4, Friday: Arrive at the gates by 7:30 for the 8 AM opening. Hit some of the rides that we missed on the first day. Lunch about 11 AM . A few more rides then back to the hotel about 1:30 for a break and naps for those who want one. Return to park 5PM. At 6 PM, a couple of people will stake out spots for the 9 PM showing of Fantasmic!. We will leave the park right after Fantasmic! ends to get back to the hotel and bed.

Dec 5, Saturday: Since Disneyland Park will have the Magic Morning again here and we will have already used ours….we will spend today over at California Adventure. Leave hotel at 9 AM for 10 AM opening. Lunch at 11:30 AM and leave for break at 1:30 PM. Return about 4 PM until park closes at 9 PM.

Dec 6, Sunday: Leave hotel at 7 AM for 8 AM opening of Disneyland Park. Avoid Fantasyland since it is another Magic Morning and will be busy by the time we can get in there. At 9:30 AM we will go into California Adventure for Park opening there so that we can do Toy Story Mania again. Leave park for break at 1 PM and return about 6 PM. We will go into which ever park people want to see things at and will stay until both parks are closed. (California Adventure 9 PM and Disneyland Park 12 AM).

Dec 7, Monday: Kevin, Nick and probably Brain and Kirk head to Knott’s Berry Farm. Girls (and 2 y/o Spencer)  enjoy a restful day of exploring the area, swimming, going into Downtown Disney, etc. We will not be going into any of the Disney Parks today.

Dec 8, Tuesday: Last full day. Disneyland Park will have the Magic Mornings so Fantasyland will again be a no go. Other then that…..we will do what everyone wants to do and see again.

Dec 9, Wednesday: Departure day. We will check out of the hotel and leave our luggage while we spend what time we have until we leave at the parks. Probably start off in Fantasyland and go from there.

I still need to work in when we will do our character meal at Goofy’s Kitchen but other then that….I think that this will about cover it.

Me: The Disney nut and planner (which is why I became a travel agent). Since I became an agent, I felt that it would be a good idea if I actually went on a Disney Cruise so that I would be better able to help others plan their cruises. And of course…..I can’t go to Florida without going to Disney World so we invited the parents to join us for our 2 week vacation where we will be celebrating my 38th birthday!!!

Kevin: My wonderful husband who loves Disney and loves that I do all of the planning!!!

Brian: My dad. We just found out that he has prostate cancer and he will be having surgery the first part of November. The Doctor says that he should be good to go for the trip so we are all happy about that. He is glad that he will be able to still go swimming in the ocean while we are on the cruise!!! Dad loves the ocean and food. We will be doing the dining plan while at Disney World so between that and cruise….he should be a happy camper! That is, as long as he is feeling well.

Lois: My mom. She really likes the idea of the cruise but isn’t so sure about all of the time at Disney World that we have planned. It is my goal to show her a side of Disney World that she has never seen before and that I know she will love once there. We have a lot of time planned to do things like just explore our resort as well as resort hopping to see all of the other wonderful and magical things around Disney. LuJean has been talking to her a lot lately and I think that she has helped my mom see the magic of Disney and get more excited. I really think that she will have a much better trip then she imagined it to be when I first coerced her into this trip by telling her that it was my birthday trip and I wanted my parents to be there for it. (Trick, eh??)

Joe: My wonderful father-in-law. Joe is the one who we thought would take the most work to get on this trip. LuJean tried for a while to convince him to take her on a cruise but he just wouldn’t. I figured that it would take a lot o coxing but much to my surprise, he said, “yes” the first time I asked. I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised since I seem to have some power over him where he does whatever I tell him to. He has had a lot of health issues and thanks to a trip out to see us in Washington, DC last May….he will be using a power scooter to get around. Only problem there: he turns into a little kid at Disney and that could be a scary combo with that scooter!!!

LuJean: My dear, wonderful mother-in-law. She is just so excited to be going to Disney again. Her first Disney trip ever was 3 years ago when Kevin and I took her with us on our first Disney  World vacation. She loved it there and is just so excited to go back again. She is also very excited to be going on her first cruise ever. In fact, that trip to Disney World 3 years ago was also the first time she ever went to a beach and saw the ocean. She too will be on a scooter because of back and leg issues. She will be more responsible on it then Joe will!!!!

So…….that is our Disney World Jan 2010 cast. We are really excited for the trip!!!!

So….here is our Disneyland Cast:

Me (37): As you already know, I am a Disney nut who is looking forward to seeing Disneyland at Christmas. We got to go to Walt Disney World last year and my wonderful friend from CA who was with us told me that Disney World has nothing on Disneyland when it comes to Christmas Decorations!!! Did I mention that I am really excited?!?!?

Kevin (39): My wonderful husband who loves Disney and loves that I plan out our trips so that we don’t stand in lines, etc. His opinion is that the more time I spend preparing for the trip….the more fun we will have so he lets me do whatever I want!!!!

Mary (33): One of my five sisters. She loves Disney herself and loves her kids to have opportunities to go to Disney. She has become a Mary Kay consultant in an effort to earn money to help pay for the trip. Mary is legal blind although most people wouldn’t know this to look at her. She is just amazing!! Because of this, we will be working hard at making sure that we arrive at shows, etc so that she will be sat up front where she can see. This is Mary’s and her family’s 2nd trip with us to Disneyland and we are excited to have her along!!!!

Brian (34?): Mary’s wonderful husband. Although he isn’t a Disney nut himself, he too likes his kids to have wonderful experiences and loves when those experience help them grow closer as a family. He is looking forward to this trip because he knows that Disney is a place they can all go and just have a fun time!!!

Nicholas (aka Nick) (10): Nick LOVES Disneyland. Three years ago, when they last came with us, he cried all of the way home because he just loved it that much. He is a thrill ride junkie so Kevin has this great idea to have a “boys” day and will be taking him to Knott’s Berry Farm so they can really get in a few thrill rides!!! I know both of them are looking forward to spending time together. One more thing, last time, Nick was terrified by the Tower of Terror (the spooky elements…not the up and down part). Well……he said that he is ready to try it again, hoping that 3 years maturity will help alleviate that fear!!!

Ruby (6): Ruby is so excited to be going to Disney again. She was 3 the last time we went and we had to watch her really closely. She was known to hear us mention where we were going next and then say, “OK” and take off!!! Kevin and I spent a lot of time chasing after her. She also would get so excited that she would reach “stimulation overload” and have a melt down so we learned to keep an eye on her to help her have some down time when need to avoid that!!! Ruby has had a lot of health issues but at Disneyland….she just gets to be one of the kids!!!! She is looking forward to going to the Bibiddi Bobiddi Boutique where she will be turned into Princess Jasmine!!

Jennifer (4): Jen was only 16 months old the last time we went so she has no memory of Disneyland at all. In fact, when I was asking her if she would go on different rides with me, I asked if she would go in the Tea Cups with me…..her response: “Sure, I like to cook!!” Yep….she has no clue what she is getting into. I asked her once why she would want to go to Disneyland and she said, “Because I want to be a Princess.” So cute…..I can’t wait to see her enjoy the magic of Disney.

Jerri (35): Another one of my sisters. Jerri kind of concerns me because she really has some emotional issues. One minute she is fine and the next, she is a time bomb. I love her but really hope that she can handle this. She has agreed to following the “rules” which basically means that she realizes that Kevin and I are in charge of our trip and so she has to do what we say. We’ll see how it goes!!!

Kirk (43?): Jerri’s husband and a bit of a concern too. He has some health issues and will require lots of rest. That works out ok because he can take a nap with his toddler!!!

Emily (4): She is so excited to be going with her cousins and has now decided that she wants to be Cinderella!! She is so full of life and one of the smartest little kids you will meet. I know that she will have a blast as long as her mom doesn’t have any meltdowns. She and Jen are best friends so it will be cute to see them all together!!!

Spencer (2): Spencer is a very reclusive child and I’m not sure at all how well he is going to do. Mary (who lives much closer to him so gets to see him more then I do) says that she thinks that he will respond really well to the atmosphere in Disney. I hope so….I really would like to see him have a good time….and it would be amazing if he would actually smile (something I have yet to see.)

Well…that is all of us. I do think that we will have a good time and I’m excited. After all…..we are going to Disney!!!

We have been married for 15 years. We have not been able to have children and adoption has not worked out for us either. We do have 32 nieces and nephews with one more on the way. We love these kids and love spending time with them.

Well…..I guess I should step back a little bit here. Growing up I got to go to Disneyland when I was 12 and then again when I was 20. I loved it so much so when Kevin and I married in Aug of 1994 and I found out that he had never been to Disney…..I convinced him that we would need to take a trip there. We saved up and went in 1996. Well….Kevin went to make me happy but by the end of the day…he loved Disney as much as I did. A few years down the road…our finances started to work out so that we could do more and one day Kevin tells me that he’d like to go to the Haunted Mansion for Halloween. So……we do. This trip started us thinking about how much more fun it would be if we had family go with us. So……we planned a trip to Walt Disney World and set up a plan to invite Kevin’s parents to come with us. Boy were we surprised when they said, “yes” with very little prodding!!! We had an amazing time on that trip (Jan 2006) even though we had a lot of stress because we were moving from Utah to Maryland the following month.

So……the next fall approached and we started thinking of another Halloween at Disney trip. Then the wheels started turning….although we have 11 sisters between the 2 of us….we didn’t have to take everyone in the same trip…we could take them a few at a time. So we call up one of Kevin’s sisters and invite to pay for them to join us at Disneyland…..and they promptly turn us down. Well….we moved on to the next 2 in our line up (we had put together a map of what order they should come based upon financial situations, age of children, number of vacations they take as a family, etc). Those 2 jumped on the wagon and we had an amazing trip!!!

Then came up a trip to Walt Disney World for Star Wars Weekend. We had an amazing time with Kevin’s second oldest sister Carol and her family (husband Kelly, twin son Kyle and Curtis (18) and daughter Kaylie (10) ) This trip will always be very special because it last October…Kelly passed away after complications from some minor back surgery. We are gratefully for those memories as we got to share in their family’s last vacation together.

We have been on 3 other Disney trips with family and have pretty well invited everyone of the 11 to go with us. 3 have not gone but have at least been invited.

So….now we are planning our next 2 vacations really close together (Dec 2-9 at Disneyland and Jan 16-21,24-30 at Disney World with a Disney Cruise in the middle on the 21st-24th). I have so much work to do and thought that it would be fun to take you along with me as I plan those trips……..

coming up next….the cast for our Disneyland trip!!!!