vamassey1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2005
Welcome one and all to our Fall 2020 trip report!
If you have followed one of our trip reports in the past I
you back and 
for sticking with us! If you're new I want to extend and warm and hope you enjoy the ride.
This trip happened in the fall of 2020 so I'm going to ask you to go back in time and remember those scary and uncertain times, but I promise lots of fun. This was back when we all wore masks everywhere and only went without while eating and when in our rooms. The was back when the parks closed early and finding food options was hard. It was also before the parks got really crowded but we also saw lines snaking all over the park due to the distance requirements.
Where to start?
I guess we should start with the Who, What, When, Where and Why.
I'm going to go a little out of order and restate the obvious. The What. It's a trip to Disney of course. This was our first Girl's Trip to Disney and something we were lucky enough to repeat in 2021 and hope to repeat again in the future. It was mine and Danielle's first trip since the parks reopened, but Michelle's 2nd trip since she snuck in a last minute trip over Labor Day weekend with Jimmy and the kids. It was a very short trip of just 3 nights, but we packed in as much as we could. I'm hoping this report doesn't take us as long as the last report did, but since it's much shorter it really shouldn't (I hope).
Who
First up is me, Vanessa aka Mary Sanderson. I'm the Mom and main trip planner. I'm very happy to say that I have raised my girls right, to love Disney. I didn't have as much luck with my oldest and only son, Brent. The girls have followed in my footsteps and have inherited the talent for turning any conversation to one about Disney. My favorite park is the Magic Kingdom. I don't have a favorite character but my favorite thrill ride is Tower of Terror.
Next up is my oldest daughter but actually my second child Michelle aka Winifred Sanderson. She was married and at the time of this trip had 2 children but now has 3 and is still married. She is my ultimate planning partner. I'm hoping she will help with writing this report like she has done in the past. Her writing style is so fun and she has no issues with laughing at herself. She identifies with Belle and inspires me to "dress-up" and relax more. She's going to have to chime in on her favorite park.
And last but not least is the baby of the family, Danielle aka Sarah Sanderson. She loves Disney and has been going since she was 3. She is the reason we took this trip in the first place. She also enjoys dressing up and between her and Michelle I have had to up my game. When we took this trip Magic Kingdom was her favorite park but she has since changed her mind. Her favorite character and rides is ever evolving too. She was in her Senior year at LSU when we took this trip. She has since graduated and has just accepted a permanent position in Disney World.
I think I may need to post some recent pictures of us since so many of our pictures are going to with our masks on. If you're just meeting us you may not know who we really are. This was picture was taken October 2021, the last time we were all together.
Which brings me to the ones we left behind. Dennis my DH and the girl's Dad did not make the trip. Jimmy, Michelle's DH was also left behind with Gia and John Paul. Jimmy was actually working out of state at the time so it made it easier to leave him behind. Michelle's wonderful mother in law kept John Paul while Gia was with her Mom. If you read our last 2 reports you will be very familiar with John Paul .
When
Our trip started early Thursday morning October 8th and ended on Sunday, October 11th.
Why
That's right I'm skipping the where for now. The Why is such an important part of the story. I think most people had a rough time with 2020. We all lived with uncertainty and we all needed something to look forward to. Danielle was living her dream when the world shut down in March of 2020. She had just started with the Disney College Program in January. She was having the time of her life making new friends, working at Cinderella's Royal Table and enjoying the parks. When the kids were sent home in March and told the program was closed indefinitely she was crushed. She had taken that semester off from school and would not be going back to school until the fall. She came home to isolation and at first no job and nothing to keep herself occupied with. She couldn't see her friends at first either. I decided she needed a pick me up and so did I. In May of 2020 Disney was still taking reservation and was even selling Halloween party tickets. She had a small Fall break at school so I booked a short 3 night trip for just the 2 of us at Movies and purchased party tickets. We were going to do the party and try to fit some park time around it. I also booked our flights in May. Fast forward a bit and the party was cancelled in June so we were refunded the tickets. No big deal we just added more park time. Michelle joined the party in July and CRT opened up, so of course we had to book that. Danielle was really looking forward to seeing her old work buddies. Our flights went through some changes too. We originally had direct flights with Southwest from New Orleans to Orlando. We ended up leaving later and having to change planes in Atlanta on the way down, which got us to Orlando later. Our departure flight was changed to a later time which made up for it by giving us more park time. Michelle ended up sticking with an early return flight than Danielle and I.
Now this will bring us to the Where.
Our original reservation was for Movies. When Disney started opening up the resorts and parks it was announced that not all resorts would be opening. When it was announced the Movies would not be open in October we were offered either Pop or The Little Mermaid section at AOA. This was done in July. We have never stayed at AOA so I picked it and we were all excited. A few weeks later it was announced that AOA would not open in time so we were offered another move. Since this was our second move we were upgraded to Kidani and given a $100 gift card!!! It was only standard view but it was Kidani. We were over the moon and tried to get Dennis to join us, but he declined. Our girls trip was looking better and better.
That should cover most of the trip starter info. Up next will be travel day.
If you have followed one of our trip reports in the past I
you back and for sticking with us! If you're new I want to extend and warm and hope you enjoy the ride. This trip happened in the fall of 2020 so I'm going to ask you to go back in time and remember those scary and uncertain times, but I promise lots of fun. This was back when we all wore masks everywhere and only went without while eating and when in our rooms. The was back when the parks closed early and finding food options was hard. It was also before the parks got really crowded but we also saw lines snaking all over the park due to the distance requirements.
Where to start?
I guess we should start with the Who, What, When, Where and Why.
I'm going to go a little out of order and restate the obvious. The What. It's a trip to Disney of course. This was our first Girl's Trip to Disney and something we were lucky enough to repeat in 2021 and hope to repeat again in the future. It was mine and Danielle's first trip since the parks reopened, but Michelle's 2nd trip since she snuck in a last minute trip over Labor Day weekend with Jimmy and the kids. It was a very short trip of just 3 nights, but we packed in as much as we could. I'm hoping this report doesn't take us as long as the last report did, but since it's much shorter it really shouldn't (I hope).
Who
First up is me, Vanessa aka Mary Sanderson. I'm the Mom and main trip planner. I'm very happy to say that I have raised my girls right, to love Disney. I didn't have as much luck with my oldest and only son, Brent. The girls have followed in my footsteps and have inherited the talent for turning any conversation to one about Disney. My favorite park is the Magic Kingdom. I don't have a favorite character but my favorite thrill ride is Tower of Terror.
Next up is my oldest daughter but actually my second child Michelle aka Winifred Sanderson. She was married and at the time of this trip had 2 children but now has 3 and is still married. She is my ultimate planning partner. I'm hoping she will help with writing this report like she has done in the past. Her writing style is so fun and she has no issues with laughing at herself. She identifies with Belle and inspires me to "dress-up" and relax more. She's going to have to chime in on her favorite park.
And last but not least is the baby of the family, Danielle aka Sarah Sanderson. She loves Disney and has been going since she was 3. She is the reason we took this trip in the first place. She also enjoys dressing up and between her and Michelle I have had to up my game. When we took this trip Magic Kingdom was her favorite park but she has since changed her mind. Her favorite character and rides is ever evolving too. She was in her Senior year at LSU when we took this trip. She has since graduated and has just accepted a permanent position in Disney World.
I think I may need to post some recent pictures of us since so many of our pictures are going to with our masks on. If you're just meeting us you may not know who we really are. This was picture was taken October 2021, the last time we were all together.
Which brings me to the ones we left behind. Dennis my DH and the girl's Dad did not make the trip. Jimmy, Michelle's DH was also left behind with Gia and John Paul. Jimmy was actually working out of state at the time so it made it easier to leave him behind. Michelle's wonderful mother in law kept John Paul while Gia was with her Mom. If you read our last 2 reports you will be very familiar with John Paul .
When
Our trip started early Thursday morning October 8th and ended on Sunday, October 11th.
Why
That's right I'm skipping the where for now. The Why is such an important part of the story. I think most people had a rough time with 2020. We all lived with uncertainty and we all needed something to look forward to. Danielle was living her dream when the world shut down in March of 2020. She had just started with the Disney College Program in January. She was having the time of her life making new friends, working at Cinderella's Royal Table and enjoying the parks. When the kids were sent home in March and told the program was closed indefinitely she was crushed. She had taken that semester off from school and would not be going back to school until the fall. She came home to isolation and at first no job and nothing to keep herself occupied with. She couldn't see her friends at first either. I decided she needed a pick me up and so did I. In May of 2020 Disney was still taking reservation and was even selling Halloween party tickets. She had a small Fall break at school so I booked a short 3 night trip for just the 2 of us at Movies and purchased party tickets. We were going to do the party and try to fit some park time around it. I also booked our flights in May. Fast forward a bit and the party was cancelled in June so we were refunded the tickets. No big deal we just added more park time. Michelle joined the party in July and CRT opened up, so of course we had to book that. Danielle was really looking forward to seeing her old work buddies. Our flights went through some changes too. We originally had direct flights with Southwest from New Orleans to Orlando. We ended up leaving later and having to change planes in Atlanta on the way down, which got us to Orlando later. Our departure flight was changed to a later time which made up for it by giving us more park time. Michelle ended up sticking with an early return flight than Danielle and I.
Now this will bring us to the Where.
Our original reservation was for Movies. When Disney started opening up the resorts and parks it was announced that not all resorts would be opening. When it was announced the Movies would not be open in October we were offered either Pop or The Little Mermaid section at AOA. This was done in July. We have never stayed at AOA so I picked it and we were all excited. A few weeks later it was announced that AOA would not open in time so we were offered another move. Since this was our second move we were upgraded to Kidani and given a $100 gift card!!! It was only standard view but it was Kidani. We were over the moon and tried to get Dennis to join us, but he declined. Our girls trip was looking better and better.
That should cover most of the trip starter info. Up next will be travel day.
Last edited:
). Heading back to read. So excited for this report as I love all your precious ones. Thanks for writing 
