
We had saved all year for this vacation. We opened a CD with USAA and socked money into Savings when we could. We had a garage sale for some spending cash and the boys did extra chores around Grandma's house for some souvenir money. Money was not going to be a stresser.

Shades of Green was beautiful. It is an MWR facility, however, it is also a Disney Parks Resort. So all those benefits of staying on the resort are afforded to the military family staying at the much less-expensive, but equally beautiful Shades of Green.
The advantages of Shades of Green were numerous. Each day one of the four parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom) opened an hour early for guests staying at the Disney Resorts. I found out that purchases made (hats, mugs, tshirts) can be delivered to the resort the next day so that you don't have to carry them all around the park. Of course I saved all of my shopping for the last day so couldn't take them up on the offer but would have gladly! There was free shuttle service from the parks to Shades of Green and vice versa all day. I ached just watching folks walking across the giganamous parking lot at the end of their day to get to their car. We climbed aboard our bus and relaxed for the 5 to 15 minute drive (depending on which park we were at).
We spent our first day and our last day at Magic Kingdom. Our teenager rode the Dumbo ride with his knees in his armpits and our four-year-old tackled Thunder Mountain with fear and trepidation (and a request to 'LET'S DO IT AGAIN!') Nothing was too little or too big for any one of us. We brought water bottles and took long gulps after each ride. It was HOT. We had our customized-maps from Disney and piggy-backed with the maps we picked up at the park we were in good hands and had our day planned out from the get-go. We mastered the fast-pass system and avoided the 60 to 90 minute waits at the most-popular rides.
I was amazed as a thirty-something-ish gal I felt like I was 10. It felt so good to feel so young. I was just as giddy as my six-year-old. I let my husband take the lead in the planning of our days. He asked for my input and I gave it. But I knew that too many cooks spoil the broth. I wanted us all to enjoy our time.
Our second and fifth day were at Epcot; day three we spent at Hollywood Studios. Our boys were the perfect size as most of the more adventurous rides required you to be 40 inches. Both younger boys are taller than that. *C* (4 years old) could not ride Mission to Mars at Epcot (although quite honestly, he wasn't missing much... I'm not a fan of needless g-forces, needless to say) because you had to be 44 inches for that one. Neither of them, *E* or *C*, could ride the Rockin' Roller coaster at Hollywood Studios as you had to be 48 inches. The teenager and I hit that one together (fast-passes in hand) while Hubs stayed back with the two shorter guys ;). *J* and I decided that Rockin' Roller coaster was definitely worth it! A whole lot of fun. [I LOVE roller coasters... Hubs, not so much. :) ]
Day four, Tuesday, we spent at our hotel. We were in Florida for six full-days with a five-day Disney pass. Right smack in the middle of our trip we took the day off. *E* showed us how much of a fish he was with some non-stop swimming at the pool. I finished a good book. We all took a nap at one point. It was just what our weary feet needed. Rested body's and happy souls (& soles).
A HUGE thank you to Disney World for allowing my family of five to enjoy your parks for 5 days (6 days if you include our one day of lounging around the hotel pool) for just under $400. It is a wonderful feeling to be a family again and a wonderful way to make memories. Disney World is top-notch!
Wow, what a fun trip and thanks for being willing to share.
ReplyDeleteDisney is such a great place to really bring your family. Every child should be able to experience some sort of Disney culture during the up bringging.
ReplyDeleteI loved your slideshow. We lived in Florida and have been to WDW more times than I can count, but I found myself caught up in your pictures and reliving some of our trips as I saw your pictures. I am so glad you had a wonderful time. My grandson had his R&R in April with his wife and baby son at Disneyworld..He is still in Iraq but is heading home soon.It was a little piece of heaven on earth for his family as I am sure it was for yours. Thanks for all of your sacrifices...you, your husband and sons...from all of us who appreciate what you are doing. God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteif you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for all the tickets w/hotel stay included?
ReplyDelete"if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for all the tickets w/hotel stay included?" We stayed at SoG for 6 days plus 5 of us at Disney (1 Active Duty Free ticket from WDW and 4 $99 tickets.)
ReplyDelete* WDW Tickets abt $400
* Shades of Green for us was $1,400 (with a meal plan... two meals per day at their buffet for 3 adults, 2 kids ... teenager considered an adult) for Friday night through Friday morning
* Plus lunches at the park and souvinears
* Plus (for us) airline tickets and transportation to SoG from the airport
We started saving a year in advance. It made it very doable and very worth it.
I hope that helps!
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