In 1999, our family made our first trip to Walt Disney World and the Disney cruise ship.  Our love of all things Disney quickly grew after that trip.  This web site lists the trips we have taken and includes many pictures from the trips.  We hope to continually add more information and pictures as well as links to Disney information.

Disney Trivia * MyMagic+ Video 1 * MyMagic+ Video 2

Planned Disney Vacations

June 2021 through October 2021 at Champions Gate and Disney World

We plan to drive to Florida in June 2020 for 128 nights.  Dates are June 12th through October 18th.  We plan to enjoy our pool and play some golf.  We stayed in a one bedroom Lake View room reserved for 4th of July  (July 2nd - 7th room 7834).  During this trip, we purchased a new Freedom pup.  We look forward to meeting her when we return to Iowa.

New Year's Eve Trip - 12/29/2021 - 1/2/2022.  BLT TPV 7620 BLT TPV 8030

Previous Disney Trips

Disney Trip Count (total # of Disney trips, DCL, WDW)

1973

KATHY'S 1973 TRIP

1999

AUGUST 1999 LAND AND SEA - (1/1/1) This trip was a 3 day land / 4 day cruise package.  For the land portion of the vacation, we stayed at Boardwalk.  The cruise (in rooms 6534 & 6532) was aboard the Disney Magic and sailed to Nassau and Castaway Cay.

2000

JULY and AUGUST 2000 LAND AND SEA - (2,1,2) and (3,2,2) Our second was much different.  It began on July 26, 2000 with 10 days in Kissimmee, FL with David's baseball team, the Iowa Sting, for the 16U AAU National Championship.  We stayed in a hotel 2.5 miles from Disney World.  Mom, Tony, Ryan and Steph spent most of this time at the parks.  After the tournament, we flew back to Des Moines on August 5, 2000 and spent 1 week preparing for a 7 day cruise.  We returned to Orlando on August 11, 2000 for the inaugural Disney Magic 7 day cruise (in room 6046) that began on the 12th.  We sailed to St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay.

2001

AUGUST 2001 CRUISE - (4,3,2) Our next Disney adventure was another cruise (in room 6046) in August 2001.  We were in the same 2 rooms that we were in during the 2000 cruise.

2002

MARCH 2002 CRUISE - (5,4,2) We next took a cruise (in room 6120) during Spring Break 2002.  This cruise added some excitement because the ship caught fire a few days before our cruise began.

2003

MARCH 2003 CRUISE - (6,5,2) We next took a cruise during Spring Break 2003.  This cruise sailed to Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel (8548).  We could not go ashore at Grand Cayman because the seas were too rough for the tenders..

2004

MARCH 2004 CRUISE - (7,6,2) Our Spring Break 2004 cruise again took us on the eastern route (8548).  We visited St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay.

NEW YEARS EVE 2004 CRUISE - (8,7,2) We surprised Stephanie on Christmas morning 2004.  She opened one of her gifts and found homework inside.  After she showed us a very bewildered look, we handed her our "gift certificate" that informed her that we were about to embark on another Disney cruise; however, she had until 7:30 the next morning to prepare.  What a surprise!  We spent a fun New Years Eve in room 8548 on the Disney Magic.

Dad & Mom traveled to Florida on October 11, 2013 and stayed through the 21st of October.  Ryan, Meghan and Isabelle traveled to Florida on Saturday, October 12th and stayed through Sunday, October 20th.  We stay at the house most of the stay, although a lot of visits to Disney are expected.  We stay in room 8402 at Bay Lake Towers from Sunday through Wednesday.  We took Isabelle to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on Monday, October 14th.  We had to replace the air handler unit for the upstairs just prior to traveling to Florida.  We also had troubles with the pool.  We found out the chlorine generator was not functioning.  We will be replacing some equipment.

NOVEMBER 2013 AT PROVIDENCE (59, 12, 51)

We traveled to Florida in November 2013 for 5 nights.  Dates were November 15-20, 2013.  During this trip, we did visit Hollywood Studios for one day to test Disney's new FastPass+ program.  It worked well this trip.  We rode 4 rides and ate lunch in a fairly short time period.  The next real test for us will be the New Year's Eve trip.  During this trip, we also tested out a new pool controller system (we can control the pool via the internet).  We also had 2 security cameras installed.  We also believe we solved our extremely high water bills that apparently was due to mis-programming of the irrigation control box. 

DECEMBER 2013 AT PROVIDENCE/DISNEY WORLD (60, 12, 52)

We traveled to Disneyworld in December 2013 for a scheduled 11 nights, which turned into 13 nights.  We traveled to Orlando on Thursday, December 26, 2013.  Our original plans flew us through Atlanta; however, flight issues changed our routing to Detroit.  We were scheduled to return on Monday, January 6, 2014; however, bad weather changed our return date to Wednesday, January 8, 2014..  We booked rooms at the Polynesian Resort for December 29th through January 4th.  We will celebrate New Year's Eve at Disneyworld.  Ryan, Meghan and Isabelle (and Disney fan in progress) traveled to Florida on 12/27 and stay through 1/1.  They stayed at the Polynesian from 12/29 - 1/1.

2014

FEBRUARY 2014 AT PROVIDENCE/DISNEY WORLD (61, 12, 53)

We traveled to Florida in February 2014 for 11 nights.  Dates were February 7th through the 18th.  Our plans originally had us returning on the 17th.  We stayed another day to avoid storms on the way home.  We stayed at Beach Club resort for 3 nights during this trip.

MARCH 2014 AT PROVIDENCE/DISNEY WORLD (62, 12, 54)

We traveled to Disneyworld in March 2014.  Dave and Kathy flew down on March 14th.  Stephanie flew down on the 15th.  We checked into Boardwalk on the 16th and stayed through the 20th.  We visited all 4 parks.  Steph flew home on the 22nd.  Then, Ryan, Meghan and Isabelle drove down from Atlanta on the 22nd.  The 5 of us spent March 23rd (someone's birthday) at Magic Kingdom.  Dave had to fly home on Monday, 3/24 to return to work.  Kathy stayed in Florida to spend with week at Disney World with the kids.  Ryan, Meghan and Isabelle drove home on Saturday, March 29th.  Kathy flew home on Sunday, March 30th.  Fun trip!

MAY 2014 AT PROVIDENCE/DISNEY WORLD (63, 12, 55)

We traveled to Florida in May 2014 for 10 nights.  We flew (bounced) to Orlando on Friday, May 9, 2014 and returned to Des Moines on Monday, May 19, 2014.  We stayed 3 nights at the Boardwalk Villas from May 15th through May 18th.  We had fun at Star Wars Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios.   We stayed in Room 4093 with a view of the quiet pool looking from the north.  Great view of the Star Wars fireworks at Hollywood Studios.

JUNE/JULY 2014 AT PROVIDENCE/DISNEY WORLD (64, 12, 56)

We traveled to Florida in June 2014 for 10 nights.  We will first travel to Atlanta on Wednesday, June 25th for 2 nights when we met Connor William Buss and spent time with Isabelle who was recuperating from her broken arm.  Well, of course we also spent time with Ryan and Meghan.  Through a strange series of events, we ended up staying in an 1800 sf room in the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead.  We then traveled to Orlando on Friday, June 27, 2014 and returned to Des Moines on Monday, July 7, 2014.  We booked a room at the Polynesian Resort from July 3rd through July 5th.  We stayed in Room 3512.  We watched 4th of July fireworks.  Oh yea, we also bought a new house in Keene's Pointe.  We also plan to join the Golden Bear Club in Keene's Pointe, which is much like Glen Oaks. 

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 AT PROVIDENCE/DISNEY WORLD/WINDERMERE (65, 12, 57)

We traveled to Florida on August 15th and returned to Des Moines on September 2nd.  We stayed at the Providence home for 2 nights, then at Disney Saratoga Springs for 3 nights and at the Windermere home for 13 nights.  Dave traveled to New Orleans on 8/27 for work and returned to Orlando on 8/28.  We did eat at Disney restaurants a few times, but did not go into the parks.  We did finish putting the new house together.  We also enjoyed the swimming pool and golf course.

OCTOBER 2014 AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (66, 12, 58)

We traveled to Florida on October 3rd and returned to Des Moines on October 14th.  We stayed at the vacation home the entire 11 nights.  Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle and Connor will stayed at our house from 10/4 - 10/12/2014.  We went to Disney World 6 days, including Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Sunday, 10/5/2014.  The rest of the time was spend enjoying the pool and the golf course.  Ryan even spent some time on the driving range.  We received a new cook top during this trip.

NOVEMBER 2014 AT WINDERMERE (67, 12, 59)

We traveled to Florida on November 7th and returned to Des Moines on November 17th. We stayed at the vacation home the entire 10 nights.  During the trip, we enjoyed the pool and golf course.  We only visited Epcot during this trip.  We also dealt with issues at the house we have for sale in the Providence development in Davenport.  Dave also had a Leadbetter golf lesson.

DECEMBER 2014 AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (68, 12, 60)

We (including Stephanie) traveled to Disneyworld in December 2014 for 11 nights.  We traveled to Orlando on Friday, December 26, 2014 and returned to Des Moines on Tuesday, January 6, 2015.  We stayed in a room (7426) at Bay Lake Towers for December 29th through January 3rd.  We celebrated New Year's Eve at Disneyworld.   Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle and Connor join us in an adjoining room at Bay Lake Towers (7428) from December 31st through January 3rd.  We all moved to the house for the remainder of the trip.  The weather was great the entire trip.  The coolest day still had a high of 72.  Several days hit the low 80's.  This allowed us to enjoy the pool at the house as well as the golf course.

2015

FEBRUARY 2015 AT WINDERMERE (69, 12, 61)

We travel to Windermere in February 2015 for 12 nights.  We flew down on February 5th and returned home on February 17th.  Kathy's Sister Georgia visited our home from the 7th through the 17th.  During this trip, we continued to update the new home.  We received new family room furniture and added a number of accent pieces to make the house feel more like a home.  Due to the temperatures this trip, we spent very little time in the pool.  We ate at Grand Floridian Cafe twice and Sanaa twice.  And of course, Dave spent quite a bit of time swinging the golf clubs.

MARCH 2015 AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (70, 12, 62)

We traveled to Windermere on March 12, 2015 for 12 nights.  We stayed at Boardwalk Villas (room 3126) for March 15th through the 19th.  We returned to Des Moines on March 24th.  Kathy and I struggled with bad colds most of the trip. 

APRIL/MAY 2015 AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (71, 12, 63)

We traveled to Disneyworld in April 2015 for 12 nights.  We stayed in a 2 BR room (room 8230) at Bay Lake Towers for April 27th through the 29th.  Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle and Connor joined us from 4/25 through 5/3.  We had a great time at the parks and the house.  We had a lot of pool problems (pump, spa valves & heater).  These issues will be resolved before our next trip.

JUNE 2015 AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (72, 12, 64)

We traveled to Disneyworld in June 2015 for 11 nights.  We flew down on 6/10/2015 (Steph's 23rd Birthday). We stayed in a 1 BR (room 1116) at Boardwalk Villas for June 11th through the 15th.  We enjoyed 3 days of Star Wars Weekend.  Steph joined us for this trip.  The outdoor temperature was so hot during this trip that Dave actually avoided the golf course.  Also, a new printer/copier was delivered to make office work more efficient.

JULY/AUGUST 2015 AT WINDERMERE (73, 12, 64)

We traveled to Florida in July 2015 for 12 nights.  Dates were July 30th through August 11th.  We ate dinner at the Golden Bear Club with Meghan, Isabelle, Connor, Lee, Kathy, Lindsay and Sean on Saturday, 8/1.  Bernie and Georgia joined us at the house from 8/2 - 8/8.  We ate with them at Grand Floridian Cafe, Sanaa and Maggiano's.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (74, 12, 65)

We traveled to Florida in September 2015 for 16 nights.  Dates were September 17th through October 3rd.  We stayed at Boardwalk Villas for 4 nights during this trip.  We originally were booked in room 4108, however the A/C was not working.  We were moved to room 1129.  Dave originally was scheduled to travel to New Orleans on 9/30 for work and return to Orlando on 10/1, but this trip was cancelled, so we enjoyed a long trip at the house.  New patio furniture was purchased and delivered during this trip.

NOVEMBER AT WINDERMERE (75, 12, 66)

We traveled to Florida in November 2015 for 12 nights.  Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle and Connor joined us for most of this trip (arrived on Saturday, November 7th).  Grandma Barthuly also joined us on November 8th.  We visited all of the parks.  Dave flew to New Orleans on Nov 3rd for a meeting on Nov 4th.  He met Kathy in Atlanta on Nov 5th.

DECEMBER 2015 / JANUARY 2016 AT WINDERMERE/DISNEY WORLD (DVC) (76, 12, 67)

We traveled to Disneyworld in December 2015 for 11 nights (December 26th through January 6th).  We stayed in a 2 bedroom suite at Bay Lake Towers (Theme Park View Room 7522) for December 29th through January 3rd.  Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle and Connor joined us on December 30th and returned to Atlanta on January 4th.  We enjoyed New Year's Eve fireworks.  For most of the trip, we enjoyed temperatures in the mid 80's!  The last few days were in the 60's.

2016

FEBRUARY 2016 AT WINDERMERE (77, 12, 68)

We traveled to Florida in February 2016 for 12 nights.  Dates were February 4th through the 16th.   Most of the time was spent at the house.  Temperatures were cooler (50s and 60s) most of the time so very little pool or golf time.  We did spend some time with Terry and Drea from Glen Oaks who were also vacationing in Florida at the same time.  Kathy bought a new embroidery machine to keep her occupied when the weather did not allow pool time.

MARCH 2016 AT WINDERMERE (78, 12, 69)

We traveled to Florida in March 2016 for 13 nights.  Dates were March 17th through the 30th.   Most of the time was spent at the house.  Kathy's sister Georgia spent 6 nights with us at the house.  The three of us spent one day at Epcot enjoying the Flower and Garden festival.  We did enjoy some pool time and golf time.  The original schedule had us traveling back to Des Moines on Tuesday, 3/29.  Due to weather concerns (the Orlando airport actual shut down for a short time that day), we decided to return to the house for one more night.  We did enjoy several Disney restaurants (Tutto Italia, Restaurant Marrakesh, Grand Floridian Cafe and Sanaa).  The A/C system serving the Master Bedroom, Kitchen and office, etc was replaced during this trip (3/25/2016).

MAY 2016 AT WINDERMERE AND DISNEY WORLD (79, 12, 70)

We traveled to Florida in May 2016 for 12 nights.  Dates were May 5th through the 17th.  We stayed 4 nights in room 1003 at Boardwalk Villas with a Boardwalk View.  During our time at Disney, we visited Hollywood Studios twice and Epcot once.  It was very warm the whole trip with very little rain.

JUNE/JULY 2016 AT WINDERMERE AND DISNEY WORLD (80, 12, 71)

We traveled to Florida in June 2016 for 12 nights.  Dates were June 30th through July 12th.  During this trip, we celebrated Kathy's birthday.  We also stayed on the 3rd floor at the Polynesian for 2 nights to watch the 4th of July fireworks.  The loft air conditioner was replaced on 7/1/2016.  The rear bedroom air conditioner was replaced on 7/8/2016.  A meeting with Trinity Consultants was held at the Golden Bear Club on 7/7/2016.

AUGUST 2016 AT WINDERMERE  (81, 12, 72)

We travel to Florida in August 2016 for 12 nights.  Dates were August 11th through the 23rd.  We did spend part of one day at Epcot (ate at Coral Reef).  We also went to Grand Floridian for lunch one day.  During this trip, we had a lot of trouble with our septic system, which cost us a lot of time and money.  We also ordered our first set of replacement windows in improve the energy efficiency of the house.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 AT WINDERMERE AND DISNEY WORLD  (82, 12, 73)

We traveled to Florida in September 2016 for 12 nights.  The dates were September 22nd through October 4th.  We spent 2 nights at the Contemporary (checked in on 9/29 and checked out on 10/1).  We attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on the 29th.  We made what we hope are the final repairs to our septic system.  This was our first trip to Florida since the sale of the Thompson Environmental Consulting, Inc.

NOVEMBER 2016 AT WINDERMERE  (83, 12, 74)

We traveled to Florida in November 2016 for 12 nights.  The dates were November 3rd through the 15th.  The first phase of our window replacement was completed during this trip.  We plan to replace all of our single pane windows with energy efficient double pane.  We visited EPCOT and Hollywood Studios this trip, although the heat got to us, so the EPCOT visit was cut short.  Kathy bonded with her sewing room this trip.

DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017 AT WINDERMERE  (84, 12, 75)

We traveled to Florida in December 2016 for what turned out to be 16 nights.  Dates were December 25th through January 10th.  We stayed in a two bedroom suite at Bay Lake Towers (7924) for 12/30/16 - 1/2/17 where we enjoyed 2 nights of New Year's Eve fireworks.  Jerry & Gina Pigsley joined us for a week, including the Bay Lake nights.  We visited all 4 Disney parks and enjoyed the Florida weather.

2017

FEBRUARY 2017 AT WINDERMERE AND DISNEY WORLD  (85, 12, 76)

We traveled to Florida in February 2017 for 13 nights.  Dates were February 8th through the 21st.  During this trip, we enjoyed the new house and Keene's Pointe.  We also booked a room for 4 nights (2/12 - 2/16) at the Grand Floridian Villas (a Disney Vacation Club hotel).  We stayed in room 1602 overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon and Disney's Polynesian resort.  We celebrated Valentine's Day at Disney.  We also visited Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.  The resort room was much nicer than we had expected.  We will likely return to Grand Floridian Villas soon.

MARCH / APRIL 2017 AT WINDERMERE  (86, 12, 77)

We traveled to Florida in March 2017 for 13 nights.  Dates were March 22nd through April 4th.  The remaining windows will be replaced during this visit.  We ate lunch at Grand Floridian Cafe on 3/26/17.  We replaced the battery on the Ford Focus, received quotes from a fence contractor and a closet designer and installed above garage door storage during this trip as well.  Oh ya, someone turned 60 in Florida.

MAY 2017 AT WINDERMERE  (87, 12, 78)

We traveled to Florida in May 2017 for 17 nights.  Dates were May 3rd through the 20th.  We did spend the entire time at our Windermere home.  There was a lot of pool time.  We also decided one day to visit the Chili's we used to go to in Champions Gate, FL.  This led us to visit one of the housing developments we looked at in 2013.  It is now a great development.  So nice in fact (please sit before reading further), we purchased a home in Champions Gate and now plan to sell our Windermere home.  We have considered changing our names to David & Kathy Crazy.  We should be in the new home during our August / September trip.

JUNE/JULY 2017 AT WINDERMERE AND DISNEY WORLD (88, 12, 79)

We traveled to Florida in June 2017 for 17 nights.  Dates were June 29th through July 16th.  Stephanie joined us for part of the trip.  We stayed 2 nights at the Polynesian (Room 2502) to watch fireworks on July 3rd and 4th.  We then moved to Boardwalk (Room 2003) for 3 nights to enjoy Epcot and Hollywood Studios before returning to the house.  Stephanie enjoyed being at Disney again.  It had been a while for her.  We also spent a lot of time preparing for our move from Windermere back to Champions Gate, FL.

JULY 2017 AT WINDERMERE  (89, 12, 79)

We traveled to Florida in July 2017 for 8 nights.  Dates were July 22nd through July 30th.  This was not a planned trip.  We had to return to Florida to be onsite for the installation of new doors at the Windermere house.  This was originally planned for the previous trip, but the contractor failed to meet the original schedule.  We did take advantage of the extra trip by moving a lot of items to the new house, installing a new dishwasher and oven, and making a number of electrical changes which will make living in the house much more comfortable.  No Disney this trip.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017 AT WINDERMERE, DISNEY AND CHAMPIONS GATE  (90, 12, 80)

We traveled to Florida in August 2017 for 18 22 nights.  Dates were August 23rd through September 10th 14th.  We first spent the first 3 nights at our house in Windermere.  We then moved to Disney's Saratoga Springs (room 6830) for 4 nights while the movers moved us.  Then to Champions Gate to organize the house and enjoy the new surroundings.  Hurricane Irma extended our stay 4 nights.

OCTOBER 2017 AT CHAMPIONS GATE (90, 12, 79)

We traveled to Florida in October 2017 for 14 nights.  Dates were October 4th through the 18th.  We spent the entire visit at our home in Champions Gate.    Additional shutter work was completed, a kitchen cabinet door was replaced, garage storage was installed (Iowa State shocked the Oklahoma Sooners!!), Dave had another golf lesson, and the last of the closet storage was installed.  No Disney this trip.

NOVEMBER 2017 AT CHAMPIONS GATE (91, 12, 79) 

We traveled to Florida in November 2017 for 14 nights.  Dates were November 15th through the 29th.  We spent the entire visit at our home in Champions Gate.  More work was completed on our pool.  The electrical was completed along with the stone work.  The outdoor furniture was moved to the new house.  The shutter work was completed.  Again, not Disney this trip.

DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (92, 12, 80)

We traveled to Florida in December 2017 for 20 nights.  Dates were December 26th through January 15th.  We stayed 5 nights in a 2 Bedroom Theme Park View room at Bay Lake Towers to watch fireworks on December 30th and 31st and visit all 4 theme parks at Disney World.  Weather was fairly cold during this trip.  We also enjoyed our new pool (as best we could with the temperatures) and played some golf.

2018

FEBRUARY 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD  (93, 12, 81)

We traveled to Florida in February 2018 for 18 nights.  Dates were February 8th through February 26th.  We stayed 4 nights in a 1 Bedroom villa at Grand Floridian to celebrate Valentine's Day.  We also visited 3 of the theme parks (did not go to Animal Kingdom).  The weather was great with highs in the 80's every day, so we had a lot of pool and driving range time.  Dave did play his first round of golf for 2018.  We also began repairing some of the landscaping that did not survive the January freezes.

MARCH/APRIL 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE  (94, 12, 81)

We traveled to Florida in March 2018 for 17 nights.  Dates were March 21st through April 7th.  We stayed the entire time at our house and enjoyed the pool and golf course. 

MAY 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE  (95, 12, 81)

We traveled to Florida in May 2018 for 17 nights.  Dates were May 9th through May 26th.  We stayed the entire time at our house and enjoyed the pool and golf course.  During this trip, we closed on the sale of our previous home in Windermere.  We also completed a few items that were not finished on the pool (overflow drain).

JUNE/JULY 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (96, 12, 82)

We traveled to Florida in June 2018 for 19 nights.  Dates were June 28th through July 17th.  We celebrated Kathy's birthday during this trip.  We stayed 2 nights in a 2 Bedroom Theme Park View room at Bay Lake Towers (Room 7924) to watch fireworks on July 3rd and 4th.  Bailey from Glen Oaks, her husband and 5 others joined us for the fireworks on the 3rd.  A 4 night stay was added during the trip at Beach Club Villas (Room 445).  We visited Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom during this impromptu visit.  We also enjoyed our new pool and played some golf when we returned to the house.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE (97, 12, 83)

We traveled to Florida in August 2018 for 17 nights.  Dates were August 22nd through September 8th.  We enjoyed our new pool and spent time at the driving range and at lunch one day at Grand Floridian Cafe.  We also visited Epcot, including Coral Reef restaurant, to enjoy the Food & Wine festival.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (98, 12, 84)

We traveled to Florida in September 2018 for 12 nights.  Dates were September 27th through October 9th.  We stayed 6 nights in a 2 Bedroom Preferred room at Saratoga Springs resort (Room 3435).  Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle, Connor and Zoey joined us at the house and at Saratoga.  Lee, Kathy, Lindsay, Glenn and Emersyn joined us towards the end of the Disney stay.  We also enjoyed our new pool.  We drove back to Iowa after this trip to prepare for the move into our new summer home in Iowa.  On the return trip, we stayed in Chattanooga, TN and Springfield, IL

DECEMBER 2018, JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2019 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (99, 12, 86)

We to drove to Florida in December 2018 for 82 nights.  We stayed in Paducah, KY and Macon, GA on the way down to Florida.  Dates were December 26th through March 18th.  We enjoyed our new pool and played a lot of golf.  We stayed in a 2 BR Theme Park View Bay Lake Towers room (7522) for New Year's Eve (29th through the 2nd).  We also stayed in a 1 BR Lake View Grand Floridian Villas room (1216) for Valentine's Day (11th through the 15th).  This will be our first time in Florida as Florida residents.  On the return trip to Iowa, we stayed in Chattanooga, TN and Springfield, IL.

2019

JUNE, JULY & AUGUST 2019 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (100, 12, 87)

We drove to Florida in June 2019 for 58 nights.  Dates were June 7th through August 4th.  During our drive to Florida, we stayed in Paducah, KY and Dothan, AL.  We plan to enjoy our pool and played a lot of golf.  We stayed in a 1 BR Theme Park View Bay Lake Towers room (7420) for 4th of July (3rd through the 7th).  During our drive to Iowa, we stayed in Hoover, AL and Springfield, IL.

SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER 2019 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (101, 12, 88)

We drove to Florida in September 2019 for 59 nights.  Dates were September 20th through November 18th.  During our drive to Florida, we stayed in Paducah, KY and Dothan, AL.  As is now normal, we enjoyed the Florida house and played a lot of golf.  We stayed in a 2 BR Savannah View room (7772) from September 30th through October 5th.  During our drive back to Iowa, we stayed in Hoover, AL and O'Fallon, MO.

DECEMBER 2019 THROUGH MAY 2020 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (102, 12, 91)

We drove to Florida in December 2019 for 142 nights.  Dates were December 14th through May 4th.  During our drive to Florida, we stayed in Blythville, AR and Dothan, AL.  Dave played a lot of golf and Kathy sewed.  Not much pool time during the early part of the trip because is was not quite hot enough.  We stayed at the Polynesian Village Resort (Room 3517) from December 29th through January 2nd to watch New Year's Eve fireworks.  We also stayed in a 2 BR room at Saratoga Springs (room 2635, Building 25 in Congress Park) from January 25th through February 1st.  Ryan, Meghan, Isabelle, Connor, Zoey and Stephanie joined us for this trip.  Stephanie and Connor were diagnosed with Influenza A.  Isabelle came down with Influenza B.  The rest of us had symptoms, but were not tested.  No one went to the parks on Thursday.  Dad, Mom, Stephanie and Connor missed the parks on Friday.  As a result, we extended Saratoga Springs for 2 days to let Ryan, Meghan and the kids stay longer.  Delta was very accommodating with the flight change.  Disney gave them an extra day on their park tickets and gave them 3 extra any time fast passes for Saturday and Sunday.  Dad, Mom & Stephanie returned to the house as scheduled on Saturday, Feb 1st because the dog kennels could not extend the stay.  We did eat dinner with the kids at Rain Forest Cafe on Saturday and Grand Floridian Cafe on Sunday.  Steph flew home Tuesday, 2/4.  This was two days later than scheduled.  She needed more time to recover.  Delta was also very accommodating with this change.  We also had one bedroom Theme Park View room at Bay Lake Towers from March 8th through March 13th.   We stayed in room 8120.  This is right in the middle of the building on the 11th floor.  Amazing view.  We left Florida on May 2nd and arrived in Iowa on May 4th.  During our drive home, we stayed the first night in Hoover (Birmingham), Alabama.  The second night, we stayed in O'Fallon (St. Louis), Missouri.  The return to Iowa was delayed by more than a month due to all of the COVID-19 shutdown issues.

2020

OCTOBER 2020 THROUGH APRIL 2021 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (103, 12, 93)

We traveled to Florida in October 2020 after an extended stay in Iowa.  The Iowa stay was extended due to the death of Dave's Mother.  We left for Florida on October 17, 2020 and returned to Iowa on April 27, 2021.  By far, our longest stay in Florida.   We enjoyed our pool and played a lot of golf.   This was our first trip since losing Sam on May 21st (sad).  We will miss Sam sitting around his favorite spot, our pool.  It will also be the first trip with Luke (our new French Bulldog).  We had a 1 BR Theme Park View room reserved at Bay Lake Towers over New Year's Eve.  We cancelled this stay because Disney did not have fireworks at the time due to COVID.  We stayed in a 1 BR Theme Park View room (7702) with the grandkids from January 18th through January 22nd, 2021.  Dave and Kathy also stayed at Grand Floridian Villas (1416) from February 10th through the 15th.

2021

JUNE 2021 THROUGH JUNE 2021 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (104, 12, 94)

We traveled to Florida in June 2021 after 46 days in Iowa.  We left for Florida on June 12, 2021 and returned to Iowa on September 20, 2021.  We enjoyed our pool and played a lot of golf.   We stayed in a 1 BR Lake View room (7834) from July 2nd through July 7th 2021.  We enjoyed this trip; however, was disappointed the 3rd and 4th of July fireworks were not the typical Independence day show.  We picked up Sammie when we returned to Iowa (9/23/2021.

NOVEMBER 2021 THROUGH APRIL 2022 AT CHAMPIONS GATE AND DISNEY WORLD (105, 12, 97)

In process - New Year's Eve Trip - 12/29/2021 - 1/2/2022, BLT TPV 8030, End of January 1/18 - 1/23/2022 BLT TPV 7620 with Ryan Meghan, Izzy, Connor, Zoey.  3/6/2022 - 3/11/2022 Boardwalk Garden or Pool View (main pool view 3090).  Lots of golf and quilting.  No pool time due to very few days with pool time temperatures.