View Full Version : Overdue and Overpacked II: The LaLas Take on the World: EPILOGUE ON PAGE 58
We are absolutely, positively not going back to Disneyworld again next year.
I have spoken.
What?
Don’t give me that look.
I know.
It hurts a little just to read those words, doesn’t it? To be honest, it hurt a little to type them. It hurt even worse to hear my husband say them.
Those crazy words came on the heels of our family vacation to the World last September. It was one of our best trips to date and it was the third year in a row that we had been to Disneyworld. Each and every time we go, we have an awesome time living it up in the Land of Yellow. We eat like kings and queens and we hold our hands high up in the air and we scream really loudly in strangers’ ears as we get our ride on. We also laugh so hard we throw up in our mouths a little and lose an earring or two along the way.
I’m not telling you who throws up or who loses the earrings. But let’s just say I’m not involved in any of it.
Leave it alone.
We always come back from the World with lots of souvenirs, lots of photos, and lots of happy memories. And although we usually return home feeling as if we need a vacation from our vacation, we are always invariably happy.
Chances are, if you’re taking the time out of your life to read this mess, it means that you understand that feeling of happiness.
Or else it means you're looking for a story about a monorail birth.
Good luck with that, by the way.
But back to the feeling.
We love vacationing in the World because it is our place of happiness. There’s just something about crossing over onto Disney property and passing underneath the arches as you begin combing those purple signs for the name of your resort. It makes us giddy every single time. We are instantly transported to a place where we feel like kids again as soon as we step onto those mauve colored walkways and hear the music playing as we anticipate the fun filled day that lies ahead of us.
In short, our trips to the World never cease to make us yellow.
But it’s a mighty big world out there.
And there are other vacation destinations to explore.
Or so we’ve been told.
So last year, the thought that is so vile it should never be thought began creeping into my husband’s head. It took a little while to completely take root but as our trip ended last September, the thought became speech. We had left Disneyworld with all its yellow far behind and were barreling head first back into the real world with all its grey at full speed. The Disneyfreude was especially palpable that day in our overdue and mindnumbingly overpacked minivan. We had yet to finish off the first bag of Happy Cola gummies from Germany when the words flowed out of him in slow motion like so much vile poison.
LaLa, (cause that’s what he calls me) we’re not going back next year. I’ve been thinking. We had a great time and all but let’s do something different next year. Let’s go to the mountains. We can have fun in the mountains. We don’t have to be in Disneyworld to have fun. When did we start thinking that? There are other places to go on vacation that could be just as much fun as Disney. Right? Like Dollywood. They have rides there too. And shows. And a grist mill. That could be cool. Anyway, I’m putting my foot down. I’ve made a decision. We’re not going back for several more years. We’re going somewhere else. And that’s final.
There were screams. There was gnashing of teeth. Someone (I’m not naming any names but it wasn’t me) peed in their pants.
Twice.
And then once again.
For good measure.
Oh, the horror!
It’s true that my husband talked a good talk but I know the man like I know the back of my hand. And I'm telling you there was something in his eyes that day that alerted me to a chink in the armor.
Oh, I’m quite sure he thought he meant it at the time. But like so many other empty phrases that people throw around at will these days, like “Epcot is lame”, or “I’m the undisputed waterslide Olympic gold medal winner”, my husband’s words didn’t really hold much weight with me.
Because deep down, I knew he was just blowin’ smoke.
Ask any of our friends and they will tell you that we, as a family, would live in Disneyworld if they'd let us. Then they would laugh and tell you to find the nearest set of straight jackets for us because most of them don’t understand the appeal of going more than once every ten years. They don’t understand that it’s more than just a vacation destination to us. It’s an experience.
Yeah, I’ll be taking that straight jacket now.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we couldn’t experience happiness and have a good time somewhere else. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Because as long as we have God, each other, and our health, we’re good no matter where we find ourselves. Even the Redneck Riviera. Or Fort Payne, Alabama.
But in our experience, there’s just something about vacationing in Disneyworld that is far different from anywhere else. Other destinations seem to pale in comparison for us.
My husband periodically takes great pains to try to explain this phenomena to friends of ours. He goes into great detail about the rides and the theming and the landscaping and the feeling of staying on property versus off property to anyone that will listen. That's right. He's actually worse off than I am. Wait. Scratch that. I'm the one writing the trip report so I guess that makes me the loser. But my point is that he understands that when you really have your heart set on Disneyworld, Dollywood just won't do. The man had just taken temporary leave of his senses.
And it was up to us, the three of us, to bring him back. We zeroed in on his weaknesses and went to work.
We vowed to show no mercy in our pursuit of the ultimate prize.
Fully knowing the extent of my husband’s love for Epicot, I began the campaign by dropping the word into our normal, everyday conversations.
Our exchanges would usually go something like this:
Me: So what do you want for supper tonight? Meatloaf or Epicot?
Him: Epicot?
Me: The next time we’re at Wal Mart, remind me to pick up some more Epicot. We’re out.
Him: Epicot?
Me: Rocky IV did not come out in ‘91, you big donkey head. It was ’85. Rocky V was ’90. Epicot.
Him: I should have known you were right, dear. You always are. When will I learn? Epicot, you say?
After a few weeks, my plan was working and the man was showing signs of weakness. I actually caught him thumbing through our ragged out copy of the 2004 Birnbaum’s with a crazed look in his eyes and muttering to himself, “Must...see…pictures…Epicot…must…go…see…Epicot”
And yes, that is the correct spelling. At least in the LaLa house. In case there are any doubts, click on the link all the way down there in my siggie. That might help you get up to speed.
The lure of the second best park on Disney property (the best park on Disney property in DH's mind) and all the treasures she holds was just the first step in getting the man primed.
We don’t play around. We were going for broke.
Unfortunately, that’d be literally. And figuratively.
The kids and I got together and after a very heated, mostly non intelligent discussion, partly limited to our son telling our daughter who she was allowed to be friends with at school and a little bit (okay, a lot) of bickering over whether McDonald’s or Wendy's was giving out better toys that week, we decided to get down and dirty and pulled The Phrase out of our arsenal.
That's right. We pulled out the big guns.
Just so you know, The Phrase has been known to make my husband weak at the knees and foam at the mouth on occasion. Okay, maybe not that last part cause that’s pretty gross. And although my husband has the strength of a grizzly, the reflexes of a puma, and the wisdom of a man, he is no match for The Phrase. It is his Kryptonite. At its mere utterance, something in him snaps and he must immediately run like a little girl to the computer to crunch numbers for our next trip to the House of Mouse.
And then he MUST book something, anything, to make the voice go away.
There is no escape from The Phrase.
It’s just four little words that may seem insignificant to you but as long as our five year old daughter says it while adding the appropriate head tilt and throwing in a lip pout for emphasis, it’s golden.
The Phrase is simply this …
Daddy, I miss Mickey.
That’s it.
I know it seems a little anticlimactic but the truth is that those words, when spoken by our daughter in her sweet Southern drawl, pack a punch like you wouldn’t believe. It’s almost unfair. Over the years, I’ve tried stealing The Phrase and making it my own. But for some unknown reason, the power of The Phrase does not apply to me. Something about a grown woman turning to her husband and whining “Daddy, I miss the mall” just doesn’t have the same effect.
Maybe I’m not holding my mouth right.
But let our sweet daughter bat her eyelashes over her baby blues and utter those words in the hopes of being able to go hang out with a five foot tall rodent that speaks in falsetto and dresses in some sort of weird mismatched tux with shoes as big as the state of Texas and we’re there.
Go figure.
Long story short: She unleashed the thunda, he caved and we booked.
We love going to Disneyworld in October because we love the weather in Orlando that time of year. It’s still warm enough for the water parks but not quite hot enough to reduce a Mickey Bar into a bowl of Mickey Soup in two seconds flat either. It usually takes five seconds for that in October. Tops. Plus the kids’ Fall Break usually falls somewhere at the beginning of the month so October is always an ideal time of the year for us to make a trek to the World.
I might also mention the fact that Disney announced their free dinning promotion right as we were finalizing our plans for the trip this year. Once my husband found out we would be able to take advantage of the Free Dinning Plan, any remaining reservations he may have had about the trip fell off the radar faster than Terence Trent D’arby.
Because after all, the only thing better than eating in Disneyworld is eating for free in Disneyworld. We were so excited, we did the Cabbage Patch and yelled a lot about it being somebody’s birthday.
Well, ¼ of us did.
I’m not naming any names but it might have been me.
We (I) were (was) excited because last year we actually had to pay (I know) for our Dinning plan. But this year, it was going to be free. We were psyched. We were pumped. We decided to check in on the last day of September so we would still qualify for the free grub and be able to enjoy the first week of October in the World.
Decision number one was made. Onto number two.
When we made the original reservation, we booked Coronado Springs Resort. We’re pretty much moderate resort kind of people and this was the place we had stayed on our first trip with the kids in tow, back in 2003. The girl was two at the time and the boy was five. It was our first trip to Disney since we’d had kids and it was a great trip. We were really impressed with the resort back then. And since it had been 2003 since we last laid our eyes on the Casitas, Ranchos and Cabanas, it was determined that a sufficient amount of time had passed and it was booked without much further thought.
Booked. Done. Finito.
But, even though we really liked the resort and were happy to be booked with free dinning, we still weren’t completely sold on it. The variety of meticulously themed Disney resorts boggles the mind. There are so many amazing places we’d like to stay that we just didn’t think we would be content to stay somewhere we’d already been. We were worried it might feel a little like we were repeating the 2003 vacation all over again. Only with a lot less people. And a few less headaches. There were ten of us that year. Now that’s a trip I should have written about. Anyway, although we know a vacation to Disneyworld could never be like a Bill Murray movie, we just felt like we would be happier trying out a different resort.
Segue.
We have always wanted to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
From the first time we set foot in the place to check out Boma, we have wanted to stay there. Just the smell of the place is amazing. And then there’s the Zebra Domes. It’s worth a stay there just for those alone.
Duh.
But we have had a deep seeded fear for some time now that if we ever crossed that threshold, if we ever went deluxe, we’d never want to go back to a moderate or even (gasp) a Value resort. We’re pretty practical people and we didn’t want to spoil ourselves for anything else. So as we were out to eat one Friday night, discussing the pros and cons of upgrading our resort over crab claws and sweet tea, we finally threw caution to the wind and took the plunge.
Yeah, it took a total of about five minutes to decide to do it.
So I whipped out my cell phone right then and there before DH could change his mind and we made the changes.
I hung up and neither one of us could stop smiling.
The LaLas were goin’ Deluxe, baby!
We smiled through the rest of the appetizer and we grinned through the entrée and dessert. We laughed out loud at nothing. Twice. For good measure.
Then we stopped laughing when the bill came. Cause that whole free dining thing hadn’t kicked in yet.
And because, oddly enough, they denied our Key to the World.
Up next: Meet the Crew
Click here for Chapter 2 (www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1263598&page=3&pp=15)
Woo Hoo! First to post. Loved the last TR and looking forward to this one
kpk89
10-30-2006, 08:35 AM
I'm first?
Really?
Good to see you back, LaLa. The AKL is a great great place. I'll never get to stay there again because my dh didn't care for it. Too dark and exotic or something like that.
Great start, good to know it was only smoke.
goofyfan-12
10-30-2006, 08:39 AM
So nice to see another trip report in the works from you... Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Keep those chapters coming.... popcorn::
1000thhappyhaunt
10-30-2006, 09:05 AM
She's BACK!
BAYBEE!!!
I'm so exited I peed in my pants, threw up in my mouth and lost three earings.
For good measure.
This is gonna be GREAT!!!!
Plus... it'll be my lil sumpin sumpin that I read to cleanse the ol palate.
After checking out ZZUB's TR.
I'm ALL IN!
My friend.
Let's see how you roll with it.
Cheers, Mel.
P.S. Roll tide.
:moped: :moped: :moped: :moped:
Grammyof2
10-30-2006, 09:18 AM
LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA :banana: :banana:
I'm in baabbbbbbbbyyyyyyyy :cheer2: :cheer2:
Can't wait :dance3: :dance3: :dance3: (cause these guys are my new fav)
mouseketeer_mom
10-30-2006, 09:19 AM
subscribing...
I have a daughter with huge brown eyes that pretty much has daddy wrapped around her finger for most things... I'm thinking the whole "daddy, will I be big before I get to go to Disney was ?" was key in my husbands decision that it was time to go.
teentoddlermom
10-30-2006, 09:20 AM
I don't remember if I posted on your last TR, but I really loved it and I'm so glad to see a new one! I loved our first visit to AKL, and I'm sure you did too!
I'll confess that all this Disney planning is making me a little jealous. We didn't get to visit the rodent this year because we went to Colorado instead, which was fun but... Now we are starting to look at colleges for my DD who is a Junior in HS, so we've had to bank our DVC points to make time for campus visits :sad2: Now my DD is walking around trying to figure out how we can go anyway. She's even started looking at FL schools so we can make a "road trip". Chapter yet to be written.
Chapter 11
10-30-2006, 09:36 AM
Oh great, she's back. :rolleyes: Deluxe you say? Now your journey to the Dark Side is complete. Heh.
lexmelinda
10-30-2006, 10:58 AM
YYYAAAAYYYYY!!!!! I was hoping you would start this sometime soon. Last April when I started DISing, I did a search of September and POR and found your trip report.....and loved it! Although during our September trip, I was a little wary of potential pukers on the bus. ;) I'm so happy to be on board for another awesome LaLa report!
There were screams. There was gnashing of teeth. Someone (I’m not naming any names but it wasn’t me) peed in their pants. Sorry, that was me. The very idea of not getting another LaLa trip report had me a little emotional. And evidently incontinent.
I’m the undisputed waterslide Olympic gold medal winnerAlright, let's set the record straight on this you loon. One: who invented Waterslide Olympics? That would be the ZZUBs not the LaLas. Secondly, and this is the most obvious point to prove you've lost your Vulcan mind, you are a woman! Men and women don't compete against each other in the Olympics. Not since the Soviet bloc fell. So your allegation that it was you and not me who took Olympic Gold is belied by the reality of our disparate gender. I took Men's Gold and my sister took Women's. So to the extent you think you took Gold, your battle is actually with my sister. And I'm here to tell you, she's got game.
And before you and your little imaginary friends start repeating the allegations of a doping scandal, illegal refill of a mug or (shudder!) improper wearing of a Speedo, I will pre-emptively address each of these smears:
1. I don't dope. I may be a dope (as evidenced by this lengthy defense to a farsical argument about a fictitious prize), but I don't dope. The strongest substance to enter my body is Mexican food. And Yoo Hoo. Although never together.
2. My mug is refillable until 2042. I just consulted my calendar and it is still 2006.
3. Speedo? I'm from the south. Where I come from men go swimming in either swimming britches or cut offs. In either case, everything is covered and much is left to the imagination. As it should be.
But with this, you've got me sown up for another installment:the strength of a grizzly, the reflexes of a puma, and the wisdom of a man
Glad you're back and regaling us with additional overpacked tales. However, on behalf of the Discommunity, please refrain from the excessive puke stories which dominated your last trip report, and as a result of which my name has become a verb to describe the act of vomitation.
:moped:
Yzma and Kronk
10-30-2006, 11:15 AM
LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!
Excellent!
Enjoying ever minute of it.
:banana: :banana: :banana:
horsegirl
10-30-2006, 11:15 AM
Because after all, the only thing better than eating in Disneyworld is eating for free in Disneyworld. We were so excited, we did the Cabbage Patch and yelled a lot about it being somebody’s birthday.
:rotfl2: I know this move! I remember a guy doing it for his wife! I would be doing the cabbage patch to, if we were returning anytime soon!
I am in like a banana peels my friend! :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:
Let's get it on! :yay:
Please. Not too much of the zzubage here in this report, k?
http://l2j.free.fr/IMG/jpg/
Then we stopped laughing when the bill came. Cause that whole free dining thing hadn’t kicked in yet.
And because, oddly enough, they denied our Key to the World.
Oh, I thought my Key to the World was the only denied :rotfl:
I am loving your trip report so far.
Frickles
10-30-2006, 12:20 PM
I'm sooooo IN my buddy!!!!
I'm glad you are telling your tale again my dear LaLa!!!
Bring on the funnel cakes!!!
pongoperdigirl
10-30-2006, 12:20 PM
YEAH BABY!!!
Lala is back!!!
Welcome Back Dahlin,can't wait to hear all about your fantabulous time!
Hope there is a lot of Yellow in this trip.....
--
Kat in GA
10-30-2006, 02:01 PM
It's the one that started it all for me!! LaLa -- your trip report was the first one that I read -- and the one that got me completely addicted to trip reports -- and the one that inspired me to try my own hand at it. I'm so glad you are back - and I am very much looking forward to more (and more, and more! :sunny: )
Bashful in TN
10-30-2006, 03:44 PM
Loved, loved, loved your report last year. Can't wait to read about this year's.
Thanks to everybody who's responded so far.
I love reading all of your comments. Truly. It's a weird thing to be in trip report mode again, carving out time to write it and checking the DIS to read the responses. It's very cool and I appreciate yall taking the time out of your lives to read our drivel. And to respond. That's one of the best parts of writing a trip report, I think. Reading yall's responses. So thanks. I know I won't be able to respond to everything, but I just want to take a minute to respond to a few here and there.
Melly: Thanks for jumpin' on board. You know you rock and I love ya Girlie!
DJR: Nice to "see" you back around here! I love the pic in your siggie. It's nice to put a face with the name.
Chappie: Yes, we went Deluxe. Can you believe it? I'm really scared for us now.
Lexmelinda: I'm still wary of potential pukers on the bus. Everytime we got on one, I'd scan the crowd for green faces and make sure DH had his fanny pack handy in case there was an emergency. Okay, not really, but I did think about it a lot. Thanks for posting.
mouseketeermom: So glad you're going to DW! Those little girls can really tug on their daddy's heartstrings, can't they?
And to my girls, you know who you are. Thanks! Thanks for the banana men and the dancing tres amigos. I love yall.
Alright, let's set the record straight on this you loon. One: who invented Waterslide Olympics? That would be the ZZUBs not the LaLas. Secondly, and this is the most obvious point to prove you are out your Vulcan mind, you are a woman! Men and women don't compete against each other in the Olympics. Not since the Soviet bloc fell. So your allegation that it was you and not me who took Olympic Gold is belied by the reality of our disparate gender. I took Men's Gold and my sister took Women's. So to the extent you think you took Gold, your battle is actually with my sister. And I'm here to tell you, she's got game.
And before you and your little imaginary friends start repeating the allegations of a doping scandal, illegal refill of a mug or (shudder!) improper wearing of a Speedo, I will pre-emptively address each of these smears:
1. I don't dope. I may be a dope (as evidenced by this lengthy defense to a farsical argument about a fictitious prize), but I don't dope. The strongest substance to enter my body is Mexican food. And Yoo Hoo. Although never together.
2. My mug is refillable until 2042. I just consulted my calendar and it is still 2006.
3. Speedo? I'm from the south. Where I come from men go swimming in either swimming britches or cut offs. In either case, everything is covered and much is left to the imagination. As it should be.
Where to begin?
First of all, I'm not a loon. Mel is. Secondly, although you make a good argument (what are you, like a legal assistant or something?), before you expend any more precious brain power on this farsical (yeah, I Googled it) defense, I want you to ask yourself one question....
At what point did reality become a factor in this little scenario?
If you can make up something called the Olympic Waterslide Event (go ahead, say it out loud, I dare ya), the way I figure it, all bets are off and I can declare gold in it. Cause once you start making up olympic events and dumb words like vomitation, I'm here to tell ya reality ain't your friend anymore, buddy. And the way I see it, dignity's pullin' away as well. Yeah, from both of us.
But thanks for posting and getting all emotional and incontinent. And catching the ND reference. I knew you would.
And thanks again to everyone who's posted. I really appreciate you reading along and taking the time to comment. I promise to not include as many ZZUBage stories as last time.
Or do I?
Guess you'll just have to wait and find out.
Heh Heh.
Buckle up. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.
:moped: :moped:
:surfweb: so glad I found this..........I loved your last TR and know this one will be just as much fun.....and yellow!!!! :goodvibes
nicolemarie
10-31-2006, 01:12 PM
Girl, I am so excited!!! You finally started your trip report. And I'm in. Can't wait for the rest.
But first...
Or Fort Payne, Alabama.
Now you know I have family from Ft. Payne, right? And I've been there. And I don't care how much fun the LaLa's can generate, I question your ability to do so in Ft. Payne. I'm just sayin'.
Long story short: She unleashed the thunda, he caved and we booked.
You gotta have some thunda. And you gotta know when to let it strike. Good goin, girl.
But we have had a deep seeded fear for some time now that if we ever crossed that threshold, if we ever went deluxe, we’d never want to go back to a moderate or even (gasp) a Value resort.
Now you've done it. You'll have to buy AP's so you can get the discounts to support your deluxe habit. And while they'll save you BIG TIME on the resort, you'll end up taking more trips to the World to "get your money's worth" on the tickets. So it's a vicious cycle. And a brilliant one, at that.
Love, love, love your first installment, my friend. Please don't keep us hangin' too long.
NM :sunny:
Scot-n-Michelle
11-01-2006, 07:18 AM
So I just came acroos your tr. Loved your first post but was so disappointed when I got to the end of page 2 and not another chapter yet. Hurry please post another one - I love your style of writing. :cheer2:
MainStMandy
11-01-2006, 10:20 AM
Lol thank god there is another trip report....I keep finishing others...
I am so bored at work today...WRITE ANOTHER INSTALLMENT!!! :cool1:
RunningthruDisney
11-01-2006, 07:18 PM
Hi LaLa
Lurked through your 1st report cant wait to read more.
mom2boystx
11-01-2006, 11:48 PM
LaLa!
We checked in on the same day..let's see what your week's schedule looked like and if we crossed paths somewhere. I did not notice anyone zzubbing around me at anytime so maybe I missed ya.
this trip was our first for the family.....I am going to have to work that magic for going back every year. I have boys though and don't know if their eyelashes, although long, will have the same effect. Ha! Maybe the free dining will magically appear again...not gonna pass that up!
Looking forward to main great stories...Olympic golds and all!
[I]We are absolutely, positively not going back to Disneyworld again next year.
Arrghhhhh - I just heard these same words on our trip home from DH....however, I also got to see the chink....now I'm being forced to go to Disneyland next year.
[I]Fully knowing the extent of my husband’s love for Epicot, I began the campaign by dropping the word into our normal, everyday conversations.
OK - I think our DH are long lost twins - that is also how it is pronounced and spelled in our house - and it's DH favorite park.
Can't wait for the rest...
Ty
Last edited by nicolemarie : 10-31-2006 at 02:15 PM. Reason: Does anyone actually THROW AWAY their keys to the World? Shudder.
See? Now that's what I like to hear. Stuff like that lets me know I'm not the only one with issues. LY/MI NM, my girl. Glad you found your way here. ;)
OK - I think our DH are long lost twins - that is also how it is pronounced and spelled in our house - and it's DH favorite park.
That's really cool that yall call it Epicot too. But about this long lost twins thing: does your husband also snore really loud, appreciate the musical stylings of the Backstreet Boys, and think The Outlaw Josie Whales is one of the greatest movies ever made? Cause if so, that's just way too freaky. Congrats on Disneyland, by the way!
Runningthrudisney: Glad to see you coming out of lurkdom!
mom2boystx, Mainstmandy and ScotnMichelle: Good to see yall and thanks for your comments.
Now, onto Part 2...
scrap4u
11-02-2006, 10:07 AM
I really enjoyed your first chapter LaLa. I can't wait to read more!
I guess I'll have to go back and read your other TRs until you post again.
Great job! :thumbsup2
Pretty soon you’ll find out that we were a bit overdue for a few things on our vacation to the World this year. And yes, our ride was definitely way overpacked again.
Was there ever any doubt?
It’s genetic.
On both counts.
I promise.
Stop judging me.
But the truth is that there were also times on this trip when we were completely overjoyed. We may have been a tad overeager and a couple of times, we were even (yes) over it. It happens. But you roll with it and try to take in each moment the best you can and just enjoy the heck out of it.
Because that’s what family vacation is all about.
And as we found out, sometimes the unscripted, unplanned moments are the ones that turn out to be some of the most memorable of the entire trip.
Before we hit the road, let me introduce the crew…
DH: aka DH.
He's the old ball and chain. We just celebrated our eleventh anniversary and there are still times that I literally cannot take my eyes off him. He’s my rock, my man. But don’t let him fool you. He loves Disney just as much as I do and is the one responsible for introducing us, The Mouse and I. More on that later. According to some weird unspoken rule, he’s the only one in the house who is allowed to place suitcases anywhere near the minivan on departure day. If I so much as breathe in the general direction of the the back of the van while he’s loading it, the rule states that he must, MUST take the last three suitcases out that he just packed and repack them in a more orderly (to him) manner. And then the rule states that he must ban me from loitering in the garage and that he must tell me to “Git back in the house and do some women’s work!” I’m just kidding. Or am I?
Me: aka LaLa.
I have more aliases that I could list, but really, who has the time? I’m the ultimate overplanner and a picture taking rebel without a clue. In the past, I have been known to throw caution to the wind and use flash photography on the rides. Okay, once. It was once. I was promptly busted and publicly humiliated and am still in therapy over the incident, by the way. Or am I? I won’t tell you how many pictures I took on this trip because I have a personal policy on revealing too much information. And after only five minutes, I’m just not ready to cross that bridge with you yet. But I will tell you that by the end of the trip, my children were running away from me screaming “For the love of all that is good in the world, somebody please make that lady stop taking our pictures! We don’t even know who she is!” Definitely not kidding about that one.
DS: aka The Boy.
Our firstborn. “We got a boy the first try”. That was my husband’s reaction shortly after he was born. And he’s definitely all boy. He has a huge heart, a sweet spirit and he’ll do anything for a laugh. He can recite almost every line from Napoleon Dynamite complete with spot on mannerisms. It’s hilarious to watch. He is our beloved comedian and our man in training. At eight years old, he still occasionally claims that he wants to marry his Mom when he grows up. I say occasionally because it all depends on how much trouble he is in at the time and whether or not I’ve just baked chocolate chip cookies, poured him a big ole glass of milk and kissed his forehead. Half of his parents are deeply concerned about his claims and the other half just thinks it’s really sweet. But don’t call him a Mama’s boy. He’s tough as nails on the football field and thinks nothing of mowing down any poor sapsucker that comes between him and the all important ‘after the game’ snack of Cheetos and Koolaid.
DD: aka The Girl.
Sugar and spice and everything nice personified, she’s a complete girly girl. She’s sensitive and just a little bit shy. But don’t underestimate her. She can throw down hard when there’s only one juice box left and her older brother is eyeballing it. She is our resident Informer and has been known to squeal on the boy in a blink of an eye. The girl has a really funny random sense of humor that is starting to shine through and she constantly cracks us up. She has blue eyes and a flash of light blond hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs. She is our sweet baby girl and she is growing up way too fast for our tastes. Our daughter is amazing to us in every way and it’s not surprising that she has her Daddy wrapped so tightly around her little finger. Which is the way it should be, after all. All little girls must have their daddies sufficiently wrapped. That should be in a rule book somewhere. And if there’s not enough room, we can take out the stupid one about the suitcases.
I’m sure if you asked most families, they would tell you that there are certain things that they do to get ready for a trip to the World.
Well, besides opening up their wallets and telling the Mouse to just go ahead and help himself.
Cause that’s just a given.
I’m talking about pre vacation traditions. You know, the little things you do to help get your family in the mood for a trip to Disney. Like pulling out the old photo albums or vacation DVDs and reliving happy memories made on previous trips.
Or making matching Disney Tshirts for the whole gang.
Listening to non stop Disney CDs for months on end.
Watching every video and DVD that Disney ever made in search of a commercial that may or may not exist outside your imagination.
You know, those kind of things.
Anywho, in our house, we have something called the Mickey Jar.
Basically, we take an 897 oz. jar, poke a hole in the lid with a Ginsu, dress it up in a pair of construction paper mouse ears and turn it into a rather awkward looking monstrosity of a bank.
Yeah, we’re Rednecks. You shouldn’t be surprised.
We then make the kids sell Tupperware with Uncle Rico to fill it up.
Just kidding.
It’s child labor. We make them do child labor to fill up the Mickey Jar.
Kidding again.
The truth is that they actually do little to no work at all and earn a disgustingly exorbitant amount of money for even the simplest of tasks. Like Vanna White. Once it’s time to leave, the Mickey Jar is cleaned out, the stash is split down the middle, converted into gift cards upon arrival, and the kids are in business.
They each have their own card and the only rule we have is that there really are no rules. They earned the money so they are free to buy whatever their little hearts desire.
Within reason, of course.
I mean, if the boy tried to buy fifteen pirate hats at one time, we’d step in. And put a stop to the stupidity. But that hasn’t happened yet. They put a lot of thought into their purchases and they think they’re big time because they each have earned their own sweet moolah without ever having to unload the first 32 piece set down in Adams Park.
Another little pre Disney tradition we have is the Countdown Chain.
We (I) get crafty with the construction paper (again) and it hangs on the refrigerator. Each night the kids take turns tearing off a chain. The only rule we have with that is that you have to giggle when you rip it off and then do the chicken dance afterwards. Not the polka chicken dance. The Joe Horn chicken dance. Yep, that’s the one. If you're not a Saints fan, feel free to Google. Anyway, you have to giggle and dance when you rip off a link or else you lose your turn the next night. Those are the rules.
It’s funny how long it looks when we first hang it up. At first glance, it always seems like we’ll never get there. Like it’s just so far away we can’t stand it.
It goes up without fail at the 180 day mark.
That’s right.
It goes up right about the time I start making our first round of preliminary ADRs which will one day eventually morph into our actual and final rock solid ADRs. It actually takes some effort to walk into the kitchen and not trip over the chain or get all those little red and black links caught up in your heels. Or so DH tells me.
Okay, I really am kidding about that. None of the other stuff, but that, yes. It’s more like eighteen days out. Fourteen. Or twelve. Whatever.
What I’m saying is this: It goes up whenever I can get around to making all those little loops out of construction paper. That’s when I hang it up. No sooner and no later.
And that is roughly when the madness begins.
The nitty gritty planning, the changing of the ADRs, the packing, the unpacking, the repacking, and the overestimating how many pair of socks the kids have. Then there’s the buying of the ponchos and the itinerary finalizing and there’s the dragging down of more suitcases from the attic.
And more packing.
And more ADR changing.
Anyway, between both of us working full time, the kids’ homework and after school activities, things hit a fever pitch around our house right about the time the Countdown Chain goes up. And they don’t slow down until the chains disappear.
And then finally one day it creeps up on us.
One Link Left Day. Vacation Eve.
Finally the very last link stares us in the face.
We rip that sucker off faster than the Whirlwinders can plan their next trip and then we break dance across the living room floor.
Well, the kids and I break dance.
DH just stares at us and shakes his head.
And then breaks out into a big, goofy smile.
It is time.
Up Next: The Redneck Version of GPS
Click here for Chapter 3 (disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1263598&page=4&pp=15)
lexmelinda
11-02-2006, 10:45 AM
Fabulous installment...hilarious as usual...now googling the chicken dance..... ;)
kimwim8
11-02-2006, 11:52 AM
Hilarious! After reading your first installment, I had to go read your last trip report. One of the best, I must say! Kept me wanting more, and peeing my pants at the same time! :thumbsup2
Hopefully I'll have some more to read from you before we leave for the World in 5 days.... :rolleyes1
pongoperdigirl
11-02-2006, 11:55 AM
LAAAAAALAAAAAAAAA
Great installment.
I did the Lala.
At my desk.
While eating lunch.
My co worker thinks I am nuts.
"Breakin tha law
Breakin tha law"
megandbrandon
11-02-2006, 11:58 AM
LALA,
I love your TR so far. I found your other trip report last week and finally finished reading it. It was amazing! I do have to tell you my absolute favorite part was this...
One little girl comes up to my Belle and proceeds to stare a hole through her face from six inches away. DD meets her gaze for a little bit, and then becomes uncomfortable when the girl won’t stop staring.
“I’m going to eat with Belle right now” the little girl mockingly informs DD with a head bob that just screams attitude. My daughter pipes up and cheerfully tells the girl that she is too. She then smiles at the girl sweetly, and I know that in DD's mind, she thinks she has just made a friend. Oh, to be forever innocent. The sweaty little girl then proceeds to look my child up and down with disgust. Literally up and down. She scrutinizes the glitter shoes. She memorizes every detail on the dress. And then again with the boring a hole through the face from six inches away. I've never seen a child that young act that way. Teens, yes. But a five year old?
DD then looks to me for help. Her eyes say to me “Hey, can ya help a sistah out?” Before I even have time to react, DS steps up to the plate.
You see, he has been watching from the sidelines. He and his sister may fight like cats and dogs but they love each other dearly. They share something together that is unbreakable. I know because that is how my brother and sister and I are. We fought constantly growing up but would fight Goliath in a heartbeat for each other. DS steps up and puts his arm around his little sister’s shoulders. He towers over the little girl with flaming green eyes and then proceeds to stare her down. “That’s my sister you know” he informs her. “And she is going to eat with Belle tonight too. And she ate with Mickey and Minnie the other night. And guess what else? She even ate with Cinderella too. Just so ya know.”
Then he adds “BOOYA” at the end to drive the point home. :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:
I literally lost it at that point. I can't wait to read all about your families trip, I know this is going to be great after loving the last one.
Thanks for sharing this with us! :)
monymony3471
11-02-2006, 12:23 PM
You mean there is another great, fantastic, wonderful trip report out there and I haven't read it?
ARRRGGGhhh.
I hate being behind.
Write s-l-o-w-l-y so I can go and catch up on your 1st TR.
This is soooooooo goood. Thanks for your time writing this and sharing it with us.
I am in LALA Land!
monymony3471
11-02-2006, 12:35 PM
No idea why it double posted. Sorry.
I was thinking to myself, "180 days?! How do they not trip over that mile long chain? And who has the time to cut 180 slips of paper? And don't their kids go insane looking at that never ending chain?"
So I'm glad you cleared that up.
Or did you?
What I appreciated most about this chapter was the kind of subtle humor you are renowned for:
DH: aka DH.
and:
Watching every video and DVD that Disney ever made in search of a commercial that may or may not exist outside your imagination.Although last time I checked the Disboard guidelines, personal attacks on other posters was not tolerated.
In other words: it Does Exist and YOU DID NOT WIN GOLD!
Sorry. I have a hard time letting things go.
Great installment as usual, La2.
:moped:
That's really cool that yall call it Epicot too. But about this long lost twins thing: does your husband also snore really loud, appreciate the musical stylings of the Backstreet Boys, and think The Outlaw Josie Whales is one of the greatest movies ever made? Cause if so, that's just way too freaky. Congrats on Disneyland, by the way!
I guess they're not exact twins - the snoring yes! Every try lifting his arm a little and letting it fall on his head so he wakes up while you pretend to be asleep -OH - me neither ;)
The music is different - on our drive down it was either Elvis or extremely heavy metal (not the hair metal of the 80's-that would be me-but the kind where you have no idea what they are saying...or maybe they are just grunting!)
Loving the TR so far.
Ty
nicolemarie
11-02-2006, 02:56 PM
LaLa -
I could have quoted the whole thing. Really. As usual it's great. And I can't wait for the next installment.
But here are some faves - in no particular order.
Once it’s time to leave, the Mickey Jar is cleaned out, the stash is split down the middle, converted into gift cards upon arrival, and the kids are in business.
Now that's just a flat out good idea. Too bad I only have 20 DAYS to execute it!! Oh yeah, baybee!!! :cool1: <--- I've never used him, but that's how I feel.
And then the rule states that he must ban me from loitering in the garage and that he must tell me to “Git back in the house and do some women’s work!” I’m just kidding. Or am I?
Are you sure you aren't me?
He’s tough as nails on the football field and thinks nothing of mowing down any poor sapsucker that comes between him and the all important ‘after the game’ snack of Cheetos and Koolaid.
Y'all do this too? Best part of the game is the juice box and treat. And seeing what color star you get.
Our daughter is amazing to us in every way.
That's just sweet. Very sweet.
Loved it. Looking forward to the rest!!! :sunny:
NM
AUDramaQueen
11-02-2006, 04:34 PM
Chapter 2
According to some weird unspoken rule, he’s the only one in the house who is allowed to place suitcases anywhere near the minivan on departure day. If I so much as breathe in the general direction of the the back of the van while he’s loading it, the rule states that he must, MUST take the last three suitcases out that he just packed and repack them in a more orderly (to him) manner. And then the rule states that he must ban me from loitering in the garage and that he must tell me to “Git back in the house and do some women’s work!” I’m just kidding. Or am I?
We have that same rule at our house. He even says the same thing. Well almost. Is your husband an engineer??? That's the excuse I use for him, oh, and he has family who live near Ft. Payne so that might explain it too. You do know it's the Sock Capital of the World? How can you not have fun in the Sock Capital of the World?? Jeesh.
Anyway, great trip report...again. Can't wait for more. You and ZZUB are my car pool reading. Oh and the Whirlwind trippers, too. And UtahMam. (Yeah, I'm lame and have nothing better to do.)So keep it coming!
mouseketeer_mom
11-02-2006, 04:48 PM
:lmao:
My husband is sitting about ten feet away and he thinks I've lost my mind at the way I'm laughing out loud at the computer.
Yzma and Kronk
11-02-2006, 05:45 PM
Lalalalalalala: Thanks for the laughs, especially this:
If I so much as breathe in the general direction of the the back of the van while he’s loading it, the rule states that he must, MUST take the last three suitcases out that he just packed and repack them in a more orderly (to him) manner. And then the rule states that he must ban me from loitering in the garage and that he must tell me to “Git back in the house and do some women’s work!” I’m just kidding. Or am I?
:lmao:
I can relate, or can I??
tink38
11-02-2006, 07:30 PM
We (I) get crafty with the construction paper (again) and it hangs on the refrigerator. Each night the kids take turns tearing off a chain. The only rule we have with that is that you have to giggle when you rip it off and then do the chicken dance afterwards. Not the polka chicken dance. The Joe Horn chicken dance. Yep, that’s the one. If you're not a Saints fan, feel free to Google. Anyway, you have to giggle and dance when you rip off a link or else you lose your turn the next night. Those are the rules.
Okay. I am DED. DH is a huge Saints fan but I'm not really into football. I've seen this dance before but could not recall it. I asked him to demonstrate it for me.
He did.
I am scared. But That was FOFF! (NOF)
We have that same rule at our house. He even says the same thing. Well almost. Is your husband an engineer??? That's the excuse I use for him, oh, and he has family who live near Ft. Payne so that might explain it too. You do know it's the Sock Capital of the World? How can you not have fun in the Sock Capital of the World?? Jeesh.
No, he's not an engineer and the Sock Capital of the World thing killed me.
Partly because it was so random and partly because it's so true. Because where there are socks, there are bound to be sock puppets. And what's more fun than a sock puppet? Thanks for reading, even in the car pool line.
Now that's just a flat out good idea. Too bad I only have 20 DAYS to execute it!! Oh yeah, baybee!!!
Congrats NM! I'm so psyched for yall. I'll be looking for another TR from you soon, my girl.
The music is different - on our drive down it was either Elvis or extremely heavy metal (not the hair metal of the 80's-that would be me-but the kind where you have no idea what they are saying...or maybe they are just grunting!)
Loving the TR so far.
He likes Elvis too, and truthfully only liked one BSB song several years back (he told me to clear that up by the way) Third Day is mostly what he listens to now. Not so much the boy bands. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But thanks for reading and commenting.
Okay. I am DED. DH is a huge Saints fan but I'm not really into football. I've seen this dance before but could not recall it. I asked him to demonstrate it for me.
He did.
I am scared. But That was FOFF! (NOF)
Tink, I knew you would get the Joe Horn chicken dance thing, you NO Lady. For those of you that don't know, (lexmelinda) it's a "touchdown celebration". Basically, there's no rhyme or reason to it. You just bend your knees, shake your entire upper body separately and all at the same time and slow step around in the end zone. Or the living room. It's hilarious to watch and we have been know to break it out on Family Game Night as well.
In other words: it Does Exist
Or does it?
and YOU DID NOT WIN GOLD!
Or did I?
Yakkity Yak and Pongo : Nice to see ya my girls. What's up with men and suitcases? JP, stop breakin tha law.
kimwin8, megandbrandon, and monymony: Thanks for reading the first one. I appreciate your comments. :goodvibes It really was a lot of fun to write. This one is shaping up to be that way as well.
Thanks everybody for all your comments. I'm working on the next one now...
Departure Day is always a flurry of activity.
There’s the packing of the suitcases, going over the checklists (yes, that’s plural), the last minute straightening of the house, and all the excitement and anticipation of everything that lies ahead.
Like the drive.
Which is not cool.
But still, it’s all good.
Our destination is Disneyworld so you won’t hear me complain one bit. Besides, we’re packin’ movies for the kids and lots of em so we’re covered.
I walk out the door and try to sneak one more tiny suitcase into the back without drawing any attention to myself. I thought I was slick, but apparently my husband is slicker. He’s got that whole cop thing going for him and I’m busted faster than James Brown on a Friday night.
DH: What was that?
Me: Uhm, another bag. Just some shoes that I forgot I needed. Until just now.
DH: Where did you put it?
Me: The only place I could fit anything else in. It’s back there on top of the cooler.
Apparently, according to Imaginary Suitcase Packing Rule 2798XYZ, nothing can ever be placed on top of the cooler in the cargo area. It hinders access. Because you never know when you might feel the need to hand your wife the wheel, climb over the kids in the backseat, shimmy across all those suitcases to the absolute back of the minivan, open up the cooler and grab a Yoo Hoo all while the van’s barreling down the interstate at 75 mph.
It’s all about the access. Or so he says.
Anyway, he hops out, reshuffles the stuff until he’s satisfied that everything is back up to code, hops back in and then we’re outta there.
Finally.
We take off down the driveway and squeal the tires really loud to tell the neighbors “Hey. Look at us. We’re goin’ to Disneyworld and yall ain’t. ”
They really do like us.
I mess around with the CD player until I find what I’m looking for. I crank up the song from Test Track and tell DH to close his eyes and use his imagination.
Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea because he was the one driving. And looking back on the incident, although the Cold Chamber can easily be explained, I have a sneaking suspicion that those “German blocks” may have been our neighbor’s now MIA cat.
Moving on.
We stop by the kids’ school to pick them up.
It feels funny to use that term. The kids’ school. It used to just be the boy’s school, but this was the year that our daughter started kindergarten. So now it’s the kids’ school. Just the thought of that has taken some getting used to for me.
Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I had a hard time with my daughter starting school this year. It was tough on me. She’s growing up so fast it makes my head spin. The boy is as well, but she's the baby. The last one. And it’s a bittersweet emotion when you realize your baby is no longer a baby, but a little young lady instead.
And as hard as it was for me to loosen the apron strings, I honestly believe it was even harder for my husband. So we were really looking forward to having the kids all to ourselves with no interruptions for a full week in the place where no matter how grown up you get, you’re always still a kid at heart.
DH parks in front of the school and I head inside to pick them up. They come running up to me and almost knock me to the ground in their excitement. As I hug them, I notice that both of my babies smell like school. They smell like old books and papers and learning. And growing up.
Not to mention mystery meat.
They squeal a couple of excited “Disneyworld! We’re goin’ to Disneyworld!”s and hop into our blessedly overloaded minivan.
No matter where the destination, every road trip with us always has two constants.
We always say a family prayer at the beginning once everyone is situated and barring any physical injury, my husband always drives.
That’s just the way it is in our house.
My husband is the navigator. As opposed to the Navigator. Because there’s a big difference there.
Anyway, because he drives, it means he can’t also read the road atlas at the same time. Which really bugs him.
Well, technically he could, but I’d like to live to see twenty nine on my next birthday.
Heh Heh.
My husband is a very charming, funny, handsome man with skillz like you wouldn't believe. But the man has been known to exhibit slightly obsessive behavior about certain things. Maybe not quite to the point of OCD, but still.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Anyway, it's especially noticable on long trips.
As he is driving down the road, it’s not enough for him to rely on the signs that were placed along the roadway to guide him towards his destination. No, the road signs are not good enough. He’s gotta kick it up a notch. He must constantly have a visual as to where he is in relation to the map. He also must know, at all times, approximately how many miles away he is from his next turn.
Just so he’s not caught off guard. Two hours later.
I'm convinced the only reason he needs to know all of this boils down to two little words. The Time. It’s The Time that drives his obsessive thirst for knowledge on road trips. The Time. As in, making good time, beating last year’s time. The man has been known to fly into a rage at the mere thought of a traffic jam. Yep, it’s all about making good time with him.
Making good time and not hindering access to the cooler.
So what’s a slightly obsessive navigator to do when he has his hands full at the wheel?
If he were more like my Dad, he'd drive with his knees and spread the road atlas out in front of him on the dashboard while he casually lifted his pinkie to drink coffee from his thermos. And then he’d run off the road into that mindshatteringly (it’s a word) loud series of bumps that make your whole head vibrate and wake you up from a REM sleep for weeks afterwards just at the memory of it.
But thankfully, he’s not.
So he tells me to read the atlas for him instead.
That’s right. I am the Redneck version of GPS.
And although it’s debatable as to whether I am the more cost efficient of the two, I’m guessing it will only be a matter of time before he breaks down and gets a real one. Because every road trip, we have exchanges like this:
Him: Hey, how far away is Ocala?
Me: What state’s that in?
Him: What?
Me: I’m kidding. Ocala.. Ocala…we got a long way to go. And a short time to get there.
Him: That was a good movie. Okay, how far away is the next time zone? When do we cross over the line?
Me: Why do you need to know? You set the clock up two hours ago.
Him: Don’t give me any lip Woman. Just tell me.
Me: This is strictly on a need to know basis. We’re good with the clock. Forget about the little time zone line.
Him: I feel an attitude adjustment comin' on. Tell me. Seriously.
Me: Whatever. The little green dotted line crosses over the orange line about…..two inches away.
Him: Two inches. I’m asking you how much longer it’ll be before we cross over into the next time zone and you’re telling me two inches.
Me: Yeah, I measured it with my finger. It’s two inches. I’m sure of it. So it probably won’t be that much longer.
Him: Son, get up here and show your Mama how to read a map.
Anyway, you get the idea.
Because we were traveling on a Friday, it meant that there was a college football game going on the next day in Gainesville.
That’s right. It was the eve of the Florida/Alabama game.
And the closer we got to Gainesville, the more football fans we encountered on the road around us. At first, it was just a few here and there. But as time wore on, we noticed almost every other car that we passed was carrying a load of people headed to watch a bunch of guys in tight pants fight over a pigskin. And while the Gators were definitely accounted for, we were surprised by how many Alabama fans we passed on the road that night. They were everywhere.
It was a Crimson Tide invasion.
And they weren't playing around.
Each car had at least two flags flying from the windows, multiple bumper stickers, personalized Bama license plates, even the windshields had messages written on them in white shoe polish. We passed RVs decked out in Bama garb that just screamed "I’m packin’ ribs, chicken, and charcoal and plenty of it. Show me the way to the tailgate party and show me now!”
Everywhere we looked, we were surrounded by ZZUBs.
We honked our horn to say “Roll Tide”. They honked back to say “Mean it.”
Then we honked our horn twice more to say "Go State!"
Just to cleanse the palate.
Since the trip is kind of long and we didn’t get started until a little later in the day, we got a hotel room about an hour away from Orlando for the night.
The plan was to get in and get situated at a decent hour so we would be refreshed and ready for a full day at Typhoon Lagoon the next morning after our short drive and check in. It’s a pretty good plan, we’ve done it before, and we like being able to check into our resort first thing in the morning and have the entire day in Disney.
That was the plan anyway.
So we get to our hotel. We pull up, case the joint, and we all notice the same thing at the same time.
Our jaws drop.
Okay, mine drops. Nobody else’s. Just mine.
Almost every car in the parking lot was hauling Bama fans. I’m not exaggerating. The entire hotel was nothing but Bama people. I laughed really hard. Partly because I was tired and delirious at that point and partly because just the sight of it totally cracked me up. Every single person we encountered was sporting Alabama garb.
It was so weird.
My husband even said that. “This is so weird.”
If I didn't know any better, I'd think we were pulling up in front of a dorm in Tuscaloosa instead of a hotel in Ocala.
DH goes to check us in and then we walk inside (with a group of Bama people) and catch an elevator (with a group of Bama people).
Actually, it was just two girls. Two very nice girls.
They were wearing their nice, crisp Alabama Tshirts and pulling their little neat and tidy overnight sized Pullmans behind them. While we wore our nice wrinkled Disney Tshirts and pulled a Pullman roughly the size of Texas behind us.
We struck up a conversation and I asked them if they were rooting for the Gators.
They asked us if we were headed to Six Flags.
We talked with them for a little while. They were really sweet with the kids. Our daughter showed them the three Minnie dolls she was dragging around with her and they oohed and ahhed appropriately over them. We liked those girls. I guess maybe Bama can turn out some pretty decent people after all.
Oddly, neither one of them knew ZZUB.
I still find that hard to believe.
The elevator beeps to let us know we have arrived at our floor. We bid farewell to the Bama girls by throwing our fists in the air and yelling “Ramma Jamma Yella Hamma” at the top of our lungs as we make our way out into the hall.
We’re not really sure what it means but it sounded cool.
Which is all that matters anyway.
I think we scared the nice girls.
We find our room, open the door and are pleasantly surprised. It was pretty nice. Not Grand Floridian nice, but the room was pretty big and it seemed to be pretty clean. Which is always a plus with me.
The kids absolutely lose their minds anytime we stay in a hotel.
There’s just something about being in a hotel room that drives them out of their minds with excitement. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Days Inn in Foley, Alabama or the Port Orleans at Disneyworld.
Hotel rooms are vacation to them, no matter where we are.
My son told me before we left that he couldn’t wait to check into our hotel room and kick his shoes off because he loved the carpeting they had in hotel rooms.
I said “Come again? It’s not even Berber, son.”
But I think that’s the whole idea behind it. It’s not Berber. It’s not plush. It’s not even hardwood. It’s something that we don’t have at home. It’s something different. It’s hard carpet. Industrial grade even. It’s patterned and often times dirty. But to him, that carpet just screams hotel room.
Hotel room just screams vacation. And vacation just screams fun.
So as soon as we settle into the room, the boy takes his shoes and socks off and walks around, sliding his feet on the hard, patterned carpet. He can’t contain his happiness. It’s written all over his face. He nods his head, smiles and says “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
Then he and the girl jump up and do the chest bump thing. You know the one.
Three times in a row.
They laugh like maniacs. I’ve never seen them do that before so I gotta admit it was pretty funny to watch. It was like a train wreck. My gut told me it was bad news but I just couldn’t look away.
But what I failed to take into account during their little Skittle induced celebration was the fact that the boy weighs slightly more than the girl.
And more than three jumping chest bumps in a row can wear out a tired five year old.
So on the fourth celebratory bump, the boy bumped the girl backwards, she lost her balance and smacked her head on the door.
And just like that, the fun’s over.
She screams bloody murder and immediately points the finger (and outstretched arm) of blame at him.
The boy screams “I didn’t do anything! You’re always trying to get me in trouble! Tattle Tell!”
I scream for ice cream.
Or, for everyone to keep it down.
One or the other.
I can’t remember which at this point.
Up next: Smack Me Three Times, We're in Disneyworld!
Click here for Chapter 4 (disboards.com/showpost.php?p=15444088&postcount=68)
horsegirl
11-05-2006, 04:42 PM
I am here and have more to say in a minute.
Hi my La. I miss you.
Okay, back. :rotfl2: Great installment sista! I especially liked this.
Him: Hey, how far away is Ocala?
Me: What state’s that in?
Him: What?
Me: I’m kidding. Ocala.. Ocala…we got a long way to go. And a short time to get there.
Him: That was a good movie. Okay, how far away is the next time zone? When do we cross over the line?
Me: Why do you need to know? You set the clock up two hours ago.
Him: Don’t give me any lip Woman. Just tell me.
Me: This is strictly on a need to know basis. We’re good with the clock. Forget about the little time zone line.
Him: I feel an attitude adjustment comin' on. Tell me. Seriously.
Me: Whatever. The little green dotted line crosses over the orange line about…..two inches away.
Him: Two inches. I’m asking you how much longer it’ll be before we cross over into the next time zone and you’re telling me two inches.
Me: Yeah, I measured it with my finger. It’s two inches. I’m sure of it. So it probably won’t be that much longer.
Him: Son, get up here and show your Mama how to read a map.
:rotfl2: Redneck version of a gps? :rotfl2:
Thanks for the laugh, La. I will be following your funny and charming tale as always. :thumbsup2
lexmelinda
11-05-2006, 05:06 PM
Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I had a really hard time with my daughter starting school this year. It was tough on me. She’s growing up so fast it makes my head spin. The boy is as well, but she is the baby. The last one. And it’s a bittersweet emotion when you realize your baby is no longer a baby, but a little young lady instead. I remember when my baby went to kindergarten just seven short years ago. I was sad but a little excited...both kids in school...free at last. Then that December I realized I was pregnant! So be careful how much you miss having a baby around...one might come your way! ;) RE: Redneck GPS....LOVE IT! That's me in our car....where I'm prohibited from driving due to gender impairment.
RunningthruDisney
11-05-2006, 05:12 PM
Great report! I do the same thing when reading a map - I measure with my fingers, maybe thats why I always get us lost, and - or miss an exit. And the reason I now fly to florida. Thank goodness for jetblue and southwest
Our kids say the same thing. Hotel rooms is a holiday....add a pool and they are really happy. And they have to check every drawer and closet.
Can't wait to hear more....
--
monymony3471
11-05-2006, 06:49 PM
Perfect timing. I just finished the first one this morning (which was the bomb!) and now you give me this to read this evening. Thank you!!!
nicolemarie
11-05-2006, 08:22 PM
LALA!!! You are scaring me, girlfriend!!
No matter where the destination, every road trip with us always has two constants.
We always say a family prayer at the beginning once everyone is situated and barring any physical injury, my husband always drives.
That’s just the way it is in our house.
We are the exact same way. We back out of the garage - my husband driving, of course - and turn around. We shift from reverse to drive, put on the brake, and hold hands and pray. After the "Amen's", there is much whooping and hollering - and the NMs are on vacation!
As I hug them, I notice that both of my babies smell like school. They smell like old books and papers and learning. And growing up.
I know that smell. And the look. Hair that's messed up from the playground, a stamp of music notes on their wrist from the music teacher, and pencil smudges on their hands. With big smiles that tell you they think - for now - that family vacation is as good as it gets.
So he tells me to read the atlas for him instead.
That’s right. I am the Redneck version of GPS.
But is it that pinnacle of Atlas's - DeLorme? Because if y'all don't have one, it would make a good Christmas gift. That's good map readin', there.
LaLa, my friend. Another installment that verifies the parallels between our families. That was a really good read. As always.
NM :sunny:
Frickles
11-05-2006, 08:24 PM
Anyway, because he drives, it means he can’t also read the road atlas at the same time. Which really bugs him.
Well, technically he could, but I’d like to live to see twenty nine on my next birthday.
Heh Heh.
[/B]
I hear 29 is pretty awesome. I wouldn't know.
LaLa! You are bringing it in a BIG way girlfriend! :banana: :banana:
That is sweet that you all do a family prayer before the start of the road trip!
I'm lovin it!
But is it that pinnacle of Atlas's - DeLorme?
Girl, whatchu talkin' bout? You know we got the Rand McNally. This is the LaLas you're dealin' with. Not the Happyfreakinhaunts.
We back out of the garage - my husband driving, of course - and turn around. We shift from reverse to drive, put on the brake, and hold hands and pray. After the "Amen's", there is much whooping and hollering - and the NMs are on vacation!
We pretty much do the exact same thing. We sit in the driveway and say a prayer before we squeal the tires. Every time. Our van ain't gettin' on the road without that.
I hear 29 is pretty awesome. I wouldn't know.
Yeah, me either.
Horseymygirl: I miss you too! Where ya been?
NAB: When I was a little girl, the hotel pool was the ultimate for me. Didn't matter where it was. The Days Inn or Motel 6. Whatever. Getting to stay in a hotel was better than eatin' five boxes of Lemonheads or being invited to a sleepover. So I think it's funny to see that same excitement reflected in my kids. They love it just as much as I did. And still do. Although now, it's a little different. Motel 6 ain't leavin' the light on for me if you know what I mean.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
:moped: :moped:
Sneezie
11-06-2006, 08:14 AM
LaLa I'm so happy you're back with another trip report. Your first one was the first trippie I ever read. I've just copied and pasted all of your entries into a Word document and I'm going to read them in a minute. I know I'll enjoy them.
My internet usage is very limited, but I just had to come by and tell you "I'm happy you're back with another trippie!"
mouseketeer_mom
11-06-2006, 09:04 AM
:wave: hello from one redneck GPS to another
AUDramaQueen
11-06-2006, 09:12 AM
Apparently, according to Imaginary Suitcase Packing Rule 2798XYZ, nothing can ever be placed on top of the cooler in the cargo area. It hinders access. It’s all about the access. Or so he says.
Oh, it's not imaginary. It's another one of those man-laws. Just like trying to add a suitcase full of shoes at the last minute is a chick-law.
It feels funny to use that term. The kids’ school. It used to just be the boy’s school, but this was the year that our daughter started kindergarten. So now it’s the kids’ school. Just the thought of that has taken some getting used to for me.
Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I had a hard time with my daughter starting school this year. It was tough on me. She’s growing up so fast it makes my head spin. The boy is as well, but she's the baby. The last one. And it’s a bittersweet emotion when you realize your baby is no longer a baby, but a little young lady instead. DH parks in front of the school and I head inside to pick them up. They come running up to me and almost knock me to the ground in their excitement. As I hug them, I notice that both of my babies smell like school. They smell like old books and papers and learning. And growing up.
Well said, or written, whatever. My oldest started K this year and my girl will start next year (don't ask). I'll still have one more at home, but still. Big school just changes everything.
As he is driving down the road, it’s not enough for him to rely on the signs that were placed along the roadway to guide him towards his destination. No, the road signs are not good enough. He’s gotta kick it up a notch. He must constantly have a visual as to where he is in relation to the map. He also must know, at all times, approximately how many miles away he is from his next turn.
Just so he’s not caught off guard. Two hours later.
I'm convinced the only reason he needs to know all of this boils down to two little words. The Time. It’s The Time that drives his obsessive thirst for knowledge on road trips. The Time. As in, making good time, beating last year’s time. The man has been known to fly into a rage at the mere thought of a traffic jam. Yep, it’s all about making good time with him.
OK, OK I confess, I'm with your husband on this one. I have to know exactly where we are and what time I will get somewhere. I HIGHLY recommend the GPS for Christmas. The real kind. Ours tells you what time you will reach your destination and will change occasionally according to your speed. Yes, I have OCD tendencies and if you're on the Dis, I bet you do too ;)
Almost every car in the parking lot was hauling Bama fans. I’m not exaggerating. The entire hotel was nothing but Bama people. I laughed really hard. Partly because I was tired and delirious at that point and partly because just the sight of it totally cracked me up. Every single person we encountered was sporting Alabama garb.
OK, OK there's so much I can say here, but I'll refrain as to not upset anyone. Last Saturday's game was enough, I'm sure.
They asked us if we were headed to Six Flags.
Good one.
The elevator beeps to let us know we have arrived at our floor. We bid farewell to the Bama girls by throwing our fists in the air and yelling “Ramma Jamma Yella Hamma” at the top of our lungs as we make our way out into the hall.
We’re not really sure what it means but it sounded cool.
Yeah, I thought it was really wierd when I first moved to the South that the big college cheers make no sense whatsoever. What's up with that? They all have made up words and slight cuss words. Do all colleges have these cheers? It's very silly. Anyone up for "BodyGetta"? No really. READY! Ready!
Hotel rooms are vacation to them, no matter where we are.
I feel the same way, myself. Great installment. Although I read it while I should have been getting DD ready for pre-school. We were late and now I have nothing to read during car pool. Guess I'll rearrange our ADR's for our May trip ;)
[QUOTE]we were surprised by how many Alabama fans we passed on the road that night. They were everywhere.
It was a Crimson Tide invasion.
Almost every car in the parking lot was hauling Bama fans. I’m not exaggerating. The entire hotel was nothing but Bama people.
you lucky ducks!!! I'll bet being surrounded by all that crimson made you feel yellow!!! :cheer2:
I guess maybe Bama can turn out some pretty decent people after all.
ummmmm, yeah I agree with that :thumbsup2
great installment........count me in as another BAMA fan stalking your TR.
The shock and awe of losing to that crappy cow college from Starkville is still fresh in my mind. So I was mostly glad to read this update this morning.
All I could think of was how fortunate you were to be surrounded by a sea of Alabama Fans! You were feeling the love, weren't you?
Bama fans are good people. Even when we lose to clearly inferior schools.
That's Bama for you. Even though we lost. At home. To a school that had previously been unable to beat an SEC opponent, we're still arrogant.
Tradition. It's a tradition at the Capstone.
Theres a reason those gals didn't know who ZZUB was. You were probably not pronouncing it correctly. When I was in school, I was know as ZZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUB. You probably pronounced it Z Zub as so many people do.
I have a sneaking suspicion that those “German blocks” may have been our neighbor’s now MIA cat. This is just full on funny. Funnier even than your claim to Olympic Gold. Loser. Liar. Junior senator from Massachusetts.
Ooops. I didn't mean to insult the troops. I just botched the joke.
Great update as always. That thing with your boy and the carpet cracks me up. I'd say he'll grow out of it, but I never did.
:moped:
pumba
11-06-2006, 04:12 PM
good report.......
get a Delorme......its not to far from my house either...good instructions....well almost good instructions.....HE gives the instructions and I find out where we are or have been.......
awesomepinktink
11-06-2006, 09:39 PM
I am so enjoying this trip report! More please!
jamal
11-06-2006, 09:49 PM
No matter where the destination, every road trip with us always has two constants.
We always say a family prayer at the beginning once everyone is situated and barring any physical injury, my husband always drives.
Girl, are we the same family??????? We do the same thing too, but we don't even let ourselves put it in gear before we hold hands and pray. It settles us and gives me a minute to rest my throat from screaming at everyone to get in the car.
Shrek ALWAYS drives. This is best as I am ALWAYS asleep 45 miles into the trip. He spends the rest of the drive laughing at me as he and the boys mess with me: kleenex over my nose, talking to me, tickling me, and singing over my snores.
I love the roadtrip stories. When you tell us how you picked up the kids, continue with GPS tales, and lead us into the pre-Disney hotel, our anticipation is building right along with yours.
Keep it comin, LaLaLaLaLa!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just finished the other report... AWESOME :cool1:
We were there in Oct 05 also then we Cruised the Wonder.. you can read my report under Wilma, forgotten suitcases in the trip report section.
I am so glad you have started another trip report!! :banana:
Grammyof2
11-07-2006, 08:08 PM
LaLa - NEVER, REPEAT AFTER ME, buy the GPS.
We traveled with someone this summer to visit our northern neighbors, you know, the ones in Canada. And they had the GPS. What a pain in the eardrum. REALLY. When you got off the "route" to pee the dang thing wouldn't shut up. Readjust, readjust. I wanted to throw that thing in the Niagara and be done with it. and cause they spent big bucks for it, they wanted to hear it. I called it a French maid, well something like that. :teeth: I am with you. Just use the redneck version. At least we KNOW when to shut up :rolleyes:
This is just full on funny. Funnier even than your claim to Olympic Gold. Loser. Liar. Junior senator from Massachusetts
Don't you have some pictures to download and then crop the heck out of or a trip report to write? Some new terms to invent? Another family pet to introduce? Why must you continue to call me names, give me grief, and front like you won gold?
BUT that entire post made me laugh hard. Especially the John Kerry thing.
The shock and awe of losing to that crappy cow college from Starkville is still fresh in my mind
That was just in case it was starting to become stale in your mind.
Sorry SamC. Sorry Mel. Yall seem like nice Bama people. Ignore the above. And Woll Tide!
LaLa I'm so happy you're back with another trip report. Your first one was the first trippie I ever read. I've just copied and pasted all of your entries into a Word document and I'm going to read them in a minute. I know I'll enjoy them. My internet usage is very limited, but I just had to come by and tell you "I'm happy you're back with another trippie!"
Nice to see ya around again, Sneezie. And thanks for reading.
OK, OK I confess, I'm with your husband on this one. I have to know exactly where we are and what time I will get somewhere. I HIGHLY recommend the GPS for Christmas. The real kind. Ours tells you what time you will reach your destination and will change occasionally according to your speed. Yes, I have OCD tendencies and if you're on the Dis, I bet you do too
Does it mean I have OCD tendencies if I changed my ADRs no less than 25 times and printed out color coded iteneraries with not only park plans but back up park plans for each day? You might be onto something there with that whole OCD thing. I'm scared.
Shrek ALWAYS drives. This is best as I am ALWAYS asleep 45 miles into the trip. He spends the rest of the drive laughing at me as he and the boys mess with me: kleenex over my nose, talking to me, tickling me, and singing over my snores.
Jami, yall must be high falutin' and have one of them there real GPS contraptions. Lucky! But I'm glad you made your way here. It's good to see ya Mama!
I am with you. Just use the redneck version. At least we KNOW when to shut up
My husband might disagree with you on that but I'll keep it in mind. The French maid thing killed me though, Grammy.
Pumba: Welcome and thanks for posting.
Mouseketeer Mom aka the other redneck GPS mom, awesomepinktink and Bee: Thanks for your comments and reading along. I'm working on the next one and am thinking it'll probably go up tomorrow.
Thanks everybody! Yall rock.
:moped: :moped:
luv2crash
11-08-2006, 08:43 AM
But it’s a mighty big world out there.
That's what my dh told us when we were planning our next vacation and our dd told him "but Daddy, the only world I care about is Disney World".
SUCKER!!! We are getting 14 days at Disney for that one!!!
I'm lovin' your report!
That's what my dh told us when we were planning our next vacation and our dd told him "but Daddy, the only world I care about is Disney World".
SUCKER!!! We are getting 14 days at Disney for that one!!!
I'm lovin' your report!
Fourteen days?!
I'm gonna have to write that down.
Congrats!
Once we determined the girl had suffered no long term damage as a result of the celebratory chest bumpage, we got everybody wound down, got baths, and got ready to hit the sack. It had been a long day and we were more tired than a one legged man in a butt kickin’ contest.
Did you know that La Quinta is Spanish for free high speed internet access?
No? Now you do.
Apparently it’s also Spanish for curved shower rods, big bathrooms, and paper thin walls with toilets that would wake the dead.
Trust me, the reason I know this is not because I paid attention in my Spanish class at the much maligned but still cool as all get out “cow college” in Starkville. The reason I know this is because I heard plenty of flushing that night. Plenty of flushing. As in all night long.
Apparently we were surrounded by Big Al fans with digestive issues.
Big surprise.
I was bone tired and ready to snooze but those infernal toilet flushes kept me awake. Not only were they keeping me awake, but even worse, they were frustrating and just all around scaring the mess out of our daughter.
All night, each time she'd hear the toilet flushing sound, the girl would involuntarily jump and whisper in the sweetest, tiniest little voice, "Whassat seeyound?"
God love her.
Each time she asked, I'd answer her with, "It's just a potty flushing in another room, baby. It's okay. Go back to sleep."
But my words went in one ear and out the other. They meant exactly jack squat to her because she kept asking the same question. Over and over. I'd explain, we'd hear the flush, and she'd immediately ask again.
It was a neverending cycle.
The flush and then the girl’s words pierced the quiet darkness over and over again.
SWOOSH………………………………….Whassat seeyound?
SWOOSH…………………..…………….Whassat seeyound?
SWOOSH………………………………….Whassat seeyound?
SWOOSH………………………………….Whassat seeyound?
It was enough to make me want to poke things in my ears.
My husband and I are not Lucy and Ricky. We’re LaLa and DH. We don’t normally sleep in separate beds but desperate times call for desperate measures. In other words, splitting up was the only hope we had of getting the girl to go to sleep that night. So as I lay there in the dark with my daughter desperately trying to burrow a hole in the bed underneath my back, I hear it and immediately realize there’s yet another sound that I must now try to block out if I expect to get any sleep.
DH was sawing some major logs in the bed next to us.
Figures.
My husband could sleep through a couple of bricks being dropped on his head (not that I’d ever do that) but I’m wide awake at the slightest shift in covers coming from our kid's rooms across the hall.
Men.
Who made the rule that they get to sleep through the night with no worries and are never the chosen target of the random middle of the night corn laden projectile vomitage?
If I had to guess, I’d say it was the Suitcase Man.
Anyway, if we were at home, it would be no problem because I could just (gently) tap him on the shoulder and tell him to roll over on his side. He would do it, and for a minute or two, it would stop. The Rollover Lull is usually enough time to allow me to fall back to sleep so we're good. We've been doing this for eleven years now and we've got it down to a science. But that night was a whole new ballgame. I couldn't reach him without getting up and disturbing Little Miss Magic who was finally falling asleep and he definitely couldn't hear me whisper his name over the Plumbing Concerto in P Major we had going on around us.
So I take the only option left on the table. I beam the extra pillow across the room at his head. Partly because misery loves company and partly because that snoring of his was about to wake up our neighbors.
Back home.
He didn't budge.
I gave up after only one shot because I figured I'd need the other pillow.
So I laid there and tried to entertain myself.
I closed my eyes and waited for an image to appear on the inside of my eyelids. I was equal parts relieved and disappointed that the only thing I could make out was... the inside of my eyelids. I wondered who the heck Che Guevera was. And why on earth his face would be appearing on Mel's eyelids. I wondered if Mel was certifiably insane or a comic genius. I determined she was just really funny and only slightly off her rocker. I wondered whether I would remember to get that Elusive Dole Whip this trip. And if I should try just the straight up Dole Whip or the Dole Whip float. I determined the float was the way to go because I really like pineapple juice.
Then my mind shifted to the Dateline special on bedbugs and I instinctively scooted down in the bed a little bit because I forgot to rip the headboard from the wall to check for signs of bedbugs earlier that night. I meant to do it, I just never got around to it. Then I started thinking about bedbugs, which made me itch all over.
Kinda like you are right now.
If you’re not, give it a second for the thought process to kick in. You’ll be scratching in no time flat. And you're welcome.
Long story short: I finally scratched myself to sleep and woke up totally and completely exhausted the next morning.
I got up, walked straight into the bathroom and flushed the toilet.
Twice. For good measure.
Any other day at home, I’d have to drag the kids out of bed in the morning kicking and screaming. But today was vastly different. They weren’t going to school today. They were going to see the Mouse. So everybody jumps up and gets dressed faster than Britney and KFed can go forth and multiply.
We’re all totally psyched. We get ready and cram our stuff back in the suitcase at the speed of sound.
We find out that La Quinta is also, amazingly, Spanish for free continental breakfast so we decide to head down and check it out. What does that mean anyway? Continental breakfast. I know it’s cereal and bagels and all but I’ve always wondered what exactly makes it "continental".
Cause you and I both know it can't be the danishes.
The meal was pretty crappy but it was free. So that was something.
As we made our way out of the hotel that morning, we noticed something we didn’t expect. Turns out, it was pretty chilly.
Lemme take that back. It was very chilly. As in, we were freezing our butts off in our shorts and short sleeves. But we’re from the South where 50 degrees is cold. So take that with a grain of salt. And that'd be Fahrenheit for our friends to the North. Not Celsius. Just so there's not any confusing culture clash going on. Anyway, we were pretty surprised. It wasn't supposed to be chilly on Typhoon Lagoon Day, dangit. We determined that unless it warmed up significantly, we wouldn't be riding any six foot waves that day and instead would have to fall back to Plan B.
And although I've been told I've got an impressive memory, I don't remember what Plan B was so don't ask.
Before we ever stepped foot out of the hotel that morning, our daughter informed us that she was ready to “go on a bus stop”. The Girl was primed for some Mouse.
And we ain’t about to let her down.
So we hop in the van, pull out the quilts and electric blankets that I had the foresight to pack, and take off like a shot.
There’s just something about driving into Disney.
We love the scenery the last half hour or so of the trip. We play nonstop Disney music and really crank it up starting somewhere around the time we see the Howie in the Hills sign. Don’t ask me what Howie in the Hills actually is. I'm pretty sure it's a community but I've never Googled it. But one thing I do know is that once I see that sign and the rolling hills full of houses that look like they belong in Edward Scissorhands, I know Disney’s not far away.
And then there's this sign...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce08b3127cce8e7979c4b0fd00000006100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
That’s right. It’s the first official Disneyworld road sign. Spottin’ that bad boy is always a cause for celebration and seat dancing in the LaLa van.
Because it’s worth 10,000 points.
Yep, that's right.
On the way down, we play a little game with the kids and give out varying amounts of points for spotting Disney signs. It's the Disney Road Trip Sign Game and it could very well be an Olympic event in its own right.
The rules are simple.
You spot it, you call it. And you have to point with your whole arm, wiggle your finger around and yell "Oooh Oooh Oooh!" when you claim a sign. That's how DH does it anyway. Or does he? Anyway, official Disney signs are always worth more. We like to keep it real that way. This includes road signs and any actual WDW signs. Those are like the jackpot of the Disney Road Trip Sign Game. Imposter Disney signs still count but they don’t normally bring in any more than about two to three figures. They're the washed up Vegas impersonators of the game. If you think you see a sign, call it, and it turns out to be Shamu upon closer inspection, you get points deducted. And made fun of.
It’s just a lil sumpm sumpm we do to pass the time on road trips and get the kids riled up.
So to recap: we have the family prayer, the husband always drives and we play silly games and talk some major smack with our kids. That’s your basic road trip for us.
Oh, and someone usually pukes in the back seat.
At least once.
But mostly it’s more like thrice.
Again, not sayin’ who.
But use your imagination.
Back on track.
My husband has got to be the most observant person I know. And because of that, he spanks our tails in the Disney Road Trip Sign Game every single time. Every time. Even while he’s driving. We have no chance of beating him. He’s like a freakin’ cyborg, constantly scanning the horizon. It kills me and he knows it. So he always really plays it up for me and the kids.
The boy keeps score and by then end of the round, I had 15,000 and DH had something like 860,000.
The boy and the girl had 1500 and -500 respectively and were seriously ticked off about it.
We let the boy keep score because he’s normally very generous with the point system. Plus he’s old enough to be able to add but still young enough to be able to trick. And that’s the way we like it.
Or is it?
Anyway, we barrel down the road laughing and cutting up and before you know it, we see this baby...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce08b3127cce8e7a82eb90e300000006100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
And this one...
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf29b3127cce8ec72d2c757000000006100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
DH spotted them both a mile back and racked up another 50,000 points.
We roll onto Disney property and instantly become giddy as we scan the purple signs for our resort name. We see the arches ahead of us.
Ahhh yeah. Mama like.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce08b3127cce8ec71b5771d800000006100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
But wait a minute.
We’re not going under them. We’re going off the other way.
What the heck's going on? I ask my husband where he thinks he’s taking us because I’m positive his freaky cyborg scanner is overworked from the drive in.
The arches are the other way, man. Where are we goin?
He casually adjusts his sunglasses. Without speaking, he raises his arm and points to our sign. Then he turns to me and asks “Are you Sarah Connor?”.
Kidding.
But he was right about the sign. I should've known not to doubt the navigator. AKL traffic gets routed off to the right before the arches. We don’t get to pass underneath them this time.
Dangit.
As we make our way to the resort, the kids realize where we are and the Disney Dementia immediately sets in.
Their voices instinctively raise three octaves and their speech patterns shift into hyperdrive. They are now talking at twice the speed of sound and doing their best impression of a couple of Mexican jumping beans. They constantly scan left to right, take in all the sights, and literally lose their ever loving minds.
And then all of a sudden, there it is.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cf29b3127cce8ec713e8f49b00000006100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
It’s the first Disney bus sighting of the trip.
If hard hotel room carpeting signifies vacation to our son, a Disney bus signifies arrival at Disneyworld to our daughter. It means she’s finally here. She’s here and there’s a World of fun just waiting to be had.
She spots it, points, and from the back of the van she yells at the top of her little lungs, “Smack me three times, we’re in Disneyworld!”
Smack me three times.
I have no idea where she came up with that, but it’s an instant classic.
I crank up the Circle of Life on the CD player as we ride around, grinning like a bunch of idiots, butchering the background part of the song that nobody knows the actual words to, and searching for our resort.
We make a few turns and know we’re getting close as the landscaping suddenly makes a drastic change.
As we make our way into the really amazingly dry looking tall grass (seriously, that stuff looks like it’s gonna catch on fire), the song crescendos into the chorus and then suddenly there it is.
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Our home for the next seven days.
Smack me three times.
We’re at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Up Next: What's that smell?!
Click here for Chapter 5 (www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=15587073#post15587073)
Frickles
11-09-2006, 09:42 AM
I could quote the whole thing, but I will not.
It was such a great installment LaLa!! LOVED IT!!!
So great that I am going to cook you a ham. :teeth:
nicolemarie
11-09-2006, 09:52 AM
But he was right about the sign. I should've known not to doubt the navigator. AKL traffic gets routed off to the right before the arches. We don’t get to pass underneath them this time.
NO!!!!!!
And I bought a new camera for the trip. This just stinks.
Girl, I have an appointment at 11:00 and here I am reading your TR. It's awesome. As always.
And I have several things I want to comment on, but I don't have time.
So I'll edit later...
NM :sunny:
ukwildcat
11-09-2006, 09:57 AM
Very nicely done thus far, Lala. I like your reference to Plan B. In our family (meaning DW, DS, and me) we have never once done a Plan A. We've had Plan A in place, but never actually accomplished it at WDW.
Now, on the other hand, we are master's at Plan B's. We've never actually planned a Plan B, but we do them anyway. Our Plan B's are whatever is different from Plan A.
Confused yet? Me too.
So, on to the next installment. Soon I hope. :thumbsup2
Chapter 11
11-09-2006, 10:00 AM
Who made the rule that they get to sleep through the night with no worries and are never the chosen target of the random middle of the night corn laden projectile vomitage?
Ah, and the first of what I am sure will be many vomit/puke/yak (NOYAK) references makes its appearance.
Oh, and someone usually pukes in the back seat.
At least once.
But mostly it’s more like thrice.
I was right -- that would be Number 2. I think I shall keep a running tally.
He casually adjusts his sunglasses. Without speaking, he raises his arm and points to our sign. Then he turns to me and asks “Are you Sarah Connor?”.
And what would a TR be without a Terminator reference? Disney and Arnold -- they go together like, well, heck, they don't really go together at all, do they?
Up Next: What's that smell?!
Shoot, I sense No. 3 coming up ....
AUDramaQueen
11-09-2006, 10:00 AM
Yay, I'll have something to read in car pool today.
I did notice The Terminator reference while pasting your report in Word. So in keeping with that...
I'll be back! Be sure to say it with your best (or worst) Austrian accent.
First timer
11-09-2006, 10:44 AM
I am loving your report! It is so funny - I will probably be fired because I am sitting at my desk at work looking oh so serious and turning red at the same time trying to hold back my laughter!! :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2: :rotfl:
But I can't view any of the pics! :sad1:
lexmelinda
11-09-2006, 10:50 AM
Who made the rule that they get to sleep through the night with no worries and are never the chosen target of the random middle of the night corn laden projectile vomitage? Heh....I knew there would be some ZZUBin here....corn laden, no less. I even read it while eating pancakes....although I don't recommend it. Fabulous installment, LaLa!!!
excellent installment.......I could quote the whole thing...it was that good!!.....can't wait for the next one :)
Plumbing Concerto in P MajorYour obsession with the bathroom is endearing. Also, this is a clever turn of phrase.
I'm glad you've introduced the puke and vomit referneces. Here we are on Chapter 4, already. I was beginning to question whether you really wrote this or whether it was being ghost written.
Still, I think a more correct title would be Bring on da Puke, Bring on da Poop.
Please clear this up for me: does LaQuinta really have curved shower bars? B/c if they do, I'm less impressed with the Lodge.
Not really.
Also: NM don't despair re: driving under the arches. You don't have to follow Disney's road signs. Irrational people may bicker about this, but you certainly are free to drive under the arch and then double back to the AKL.
:moped:
ahutton
11-09-2006, 03:59 PM
You don't actually have to double back though. I think if you get off the exit for Swan/Dolphin and turn left instead of right from the main entrance then you'll be heading down towards AKL. I think. But I lost my redneck GPS privledges on the summer trip. I should write the trip report but I don't have the talent to run with the big dogs like y'all.
I'm loving this report! You write as good as Janet Evanovich. I mean that as a compliment. I really like her books. I've read them all. Really.
Okay you get points for the signs but did you punch buggy too because there is a volkswagon bug under those arches....That's what my kids would have done. But we are not allowed to hit hard just a tap or touch.
Loving your report...
--
lexmelinda
11-09-2006, 05:57 PM
You don't actually have to double back though. I think if you get off the exit for Swan/Dolphin and turn left instead of right from the main entrance then you'll be heading down towards AKL. RE: directions....we came to Disney via 1-75 and the turnpike and took the brand spankin new SR 429 (to Tampa) off the turnpike and it was only 14 miles to Disney. Off on the deserted exit, it was only a few hundred yards to the Disney arches and the road came out right on Buena Vista Dr. next to the Coronado Springs on the western side of the property....near AKL.
Grammyof2
11-09-2006, 06:43 PM
La - this was a most excellent read. Love your style. It cracks me up.
I loved it as much as a pickled pigs foot. Good eats popcorn::
Our2Girls&Disney
11-09-2006, 07:49 PM
Okay you get points for the signs but did you punch buggy too because there is a volkswagon bug under those arches....That's what my kids would have done. But we are not allowed to hit hard just a tap or touch.
Loving your report...
--
My kids would have been all over the punch buggy. Only they don't punch, just fight over who got it first.
Just looking at the picture of the Disney arches makes me gasp. I thought about when we drove through them. I looked in the back seat. DD4 was sound asleep and DD8 was wide awake, sporting bug eyes with a grin from ear to ear. Ahhh memories.
IkeandMike
11-10-2006, 05:41 AM
Love the tale so far, having way too much fun reading it.
Also wanted to tell you that I refer to my four year old twins as "the boy" and "the girl". Mostly because when they were born family members would say, who am I holding, the boy or the girl, if I hadn't dressed them as per gender. Just kind of stuck with me to this day.
MonorailPilot
11-10-2006, 09:05 AM
When I saw Overdue and Overpacked II on the Trip Reports Thread I got excited quick. I absolutely love your trip reports LaLa!
nicolemarie
11-10-2006, 01:08 PM
Also: NM don't despair re: driving under the arches. You don't have to follow Disney's road signs. Irrational people may bicker about this, but you certainly are free to drive under the arch and then double back to the AKL.
See? This is yet another example of Disney manipulation at it's finest. I never even thought of that. Just a blind follower. Doing what they tell me to do. This is MY trip dadgummit!! And if I want to go under the arches then double back to the AKL, so be it.
But then there's that matter of being ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT to see our room. And get checked in. And all sitchuated. So what to do? Crap.
Then my mind shifted to the Dateline special on bedbugs and I instinctively scooted down in the bed a little bit because I forgot to rip the headboard from the wall to check for signs of bedbugs earlier that night. I meant to do it, I just never got around to it. Then I started thinking about bedbugs, which made me itch all over.
I saw that disgusting special. And I have checked every hotel bed we've been on since. Thankfully, I've never found the bugs. But if they're there, they won't sneak up on NM during the night. :eek: :magnify:
DH was sawing some major logs in the bed next to us.
Figures.
My husband could sleep through a couple of bricks being dropped on his head (not that I’d ever do that) but I’m wide awake at the slightest shift in covers coming from our kid's rooms across the hall.
NM: Wow. That was a rough night last night. Little man could not stop coughing/crying/throwing up/calling for YOU.
DH: Are you serious? Why didn't you wake me up? I am so sorry. I didn't hear anything at all.
NM: (I say nothing here. I just give him the look. Because, really? What can you say to that?)
We’re at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Alright girl. Get going in double time, now. It's getting good and NM wants all the scoop. 12 days, baby. 12 more days.
It would be cliche for me to tell you how much I love your report, sweet friend. Looking forward to more!!
NM
IkeandMike
11-11-2006, 05:30 AM
"Smack me three times" too funny. Kids can come out with the best things. I know have to try and find your first trip report, this one's too much fun.
Nasus
11-11-2006, 03:47 PM
Subscribing...I really enjoyed Part one.
Susan
Backstage_Gal
11-11-2006, 08:08 PM
LaLa, LOVE your report! Again. Since I also read your first one.
Looking forward to the rest.
Disfan3
11-13-2006, 09:35 AM
LA! I love you. You know I am a fan for life. Your stories bring me much joy and happiness and 26 pgs on Word for me to read while I drive (ok my dh drives) to TN for Thanksgiving!!
Just wanted to say I miss you and love your TR!
AND YOUR HAIR! :sunny:
[QUOTE]But to him, that carpet just screams hotel room.
Hotel room just screams vacation. And vacation just screams fun.
A couple months after we had returned from our second trip to Mouseworld, my son walked up to me as I was starting a load of laundry. He stood there with his eyes closed, breathing deeply. As I was trying to figure out what was wrong with him, he said "Ah, smells like Disneyworld." The nickel hadn't totally dropped in for me yet when he said "Doesn't it smell like Dixie Landings dad?" Oh! Bleach. Chlorine. 'Ol man island pool. So we stood there like a couple of idiots breathing Disney Clorox.
To this day I still have a jar of instant nescafe at work because that's what you get in the rooms there, it tastes like crap but it also tastes like vacation.
Thanks for a great chapter La La, I love every word of it.
Or do I?
NM: Lexmelinda and ahutton sound like they know what they're talking about in regards to the arches. Or do they? Of course they do. Anyway, I would tell you an alternate route too because I know you so want to drive under the arches. But I don't know any. That's why DH drives. Personally, I think I'd listen to ahutton. Cause when ahutton talks, everybody listens. Or is that E.F.? I don't remember.
Chappie: Consider yourself slapped five times. But your post made me laugh my way into some internal injuries. I'll be sending you the bill.
Disfan3:: So glad you decided to drop by! Thanks so much for the sweet comments. Have fun in TN and drink lots of sweet tea.
ZZUB: I'm so sorry to be the bearer of bad news but yes, LaQuinta really did have curved shower bars. Just like WL. They even had a shower curtain with a little window which the kids thought was cooler than ice cream. But if it makes you feel any better, of all the things LaQuinta is Spanish for, the following are not included: valet service, a fridge with two snack drawers, a waterfall source in the lobby, cool and quick elevators, a freakin geyser out back, honey mixed with fingernail polish scented air freshener, a view of the Electric Water Pageant, and a boatride to the MK. But I gotta admit Bring on da Puke, Bring on da Poop is pretty catchy. Maye I'll start changing my title from time to time and include that one in the rotation.
Nebo: Loved the story about your son and the chlorine. Isn't it funny how smells can take us back to a place? Some we wanna go to, others maybe not so much. Thanks for posting.
NAB: You know, we've never done Punch Buggy. Just the sign thing. Maybe there's a reason for that. Cause I can just see it now. The boy would punch his sister a little too hard accidentally on purpose, she would start screaming bloody murder and then what little sanity my husband and I have left would be thrown out the window before we bypass the arches. We just prefer to confuse them with math instead. It's in the genes.
Thanks to everybody that responded. I love reading all of your comments. We spent the weekend out of town in the Sock Capital of the World, no less. It was actually gorgeous there. Who knew? And we actually had fun. Not Disneyworld fun, but still, it was good. Anyway, I sad all that to say this. I'm about halfway finished with the next chapter so it'll be a few more days before I can get it up. So cool your jets Taskmaster NM. LY/MI.
Not played.
Thanks again everybody.
Yall rock!
:moped: :moped:
lexmelinda
11-16-2006, 07:30 AM
:bounce: This belongs on page 1.... ;)
AUDramaQueen
11-16-2006, 04:20 PM
We spent the weekend out of town in the Sock Capital of the World, no less. It was actually gorgeous there. Who knew? And we actually had fun.
So I guess you made sock puppets. Did you go up "the mountain" (as they call it in those parts) to Mentone or DeSoto State Park? If so then it is actually beautiful up there especially this time of year.
Well glad you had fun anyway. Can't wait for the rest of you report...
ForKeeps
11-16-2006, 09:17 PM
LaLa,
I have to confess, I was craving a bit of Disney and caught Overdue & Overpacked II last week. Your trip report was just so good that when I noticed your linked to TR1 I just had to read it. I READ THE WHOLE THING!!! I couldn't focus on anything else until it was done. You know I have both a bachelors and masters in English and if half the things I read were as good as your writing maybe I would have done a phD.
It's just fantastic!!!! I can't wait for more.
Minniespal
11-17-2006, 06:19 AM
Enjoying ~ Thanx for posting.
ForKeeps: Thanks so much for the sweet comments. I'm glad to know you enjoyed the other TR. It really was a lot of fun to write. Hope you weren't eatin' a bagel as you read it though.
AUDramaQueen: You might be pleased to know that we actually passed a lot of Auburn fans coming back from "the mountain" that weekend. And yes, we did see the state park and most of its waterfalls. It was gorgeous. Thanks for posting.
Minniespal: Good to "see" ya. Thanks for stopping by.
Okay, I've got the other one done, just gotta add some pics and then I'll have it up.
So hang tight.
:moped:
With the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky, we finally find our way in the Circle of Life.
Or at least the front door of the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We pull up with music blaring and hopes soaring.
Since this was our first experience staying at a deluxe, we were totally pumped and beyond ready to check out the resort. We were also pretty curious as to how much better this place could be as opposed to the moderates. Which we love.
In other words, since we dropped some extra cash to kick it up a notch, we were hoping to be blown away.
And we weren’t disappointed.
We case the joint and instead of immediately whipping into a parking place, we casually drive up to the valet. That’s right. You heard me. Okay, that’s wrong. Technically, you read me. But we did valet park our ride this trip. Not every time, but a good bit of the time. Much more than we did last year anyway.
When in Rome.
Anyway, we get a gander and are in total awe of this place.
One of the first things I notice is that the light fixtures hanging above us are seriously bigger than our minivan. Heck, those suckers are bigger than the kids’ bathroom at home. But they're so cool. I secretly vow to hang a couple of those suckers in my driveway once I hit it big and win the lottery.
Right after I actually play it.
Yeah, we’re rednecks. It doesn’t take a lot to impress us. Just hang some gigantic light fixtures above a forty foot tall covered driveway and you’ve got our attention.
We tell the valet that we are checking in. Since we’re arriving so early, we know that our room won’t be ready. So our gameplan is to park the van, check in, get our tickets, enjoy our day and come back to unpack the van once our room is ready later on that afternoon.
We inform the valet of The Gameplan and he (very courteously) directs us to the temporary parking area. It’s right beside the building and directly across from the handicapped spaces. Such a smart idea, that temporary parking. If they had temporary parking at POR, I don’t remember it. Of course I also don’t remember Plan B so take that with a grain of salt.
We smile as DH kicks it on in.
We honestly couldn’t have asked for better weather for our first day at Disney. It’s actually warming up very nicely. We hear birds chirping as we hop out and begin our extremely short walk towards the resort’s front doors. From temporary parking.
We’re feelin’ good.
Since it was a Saturday, there were tons of people milling around the resort that day. You might even call it bustling. Whatever that means. We smile at the other guests and greet them as we pass by.
“Hello. How are you? We’re not just coming for breakfast, you know. We belong here,” we tell them with our eyes.
“Who gives a rip?!” they yell at us with theirs.
From what I could tell, there were lots of people checking out right about the time we were checking in that day. They had their SUVs and minivans backed up and were doing the assembly line thing to get all their luggage and plastic Mickey Pants bags loaded. They were hard at it but every now and then, they’d take a break from their packing to look up and scream obscenities at us with their eyes.
Just their eyes.
Then they’d say “We don’t know you but don’t come bringing your dumb smiling faces and your sweet little Disney packet of confirmation junk and lame Tinkerbell luggage tags around me or I’m gonna take you down to Chinatown, you stinkin’ sorry newbies.”
What was that about?
Could it be that we were on the receiving end of some severe cases of Disneyfreude?
Surely not. That’s not supposed to come into play until we’re the ones packing up and leaving.
I have to say this was the first time we’d ever noticed people actually looking mean and nasty while they wheeled their luggage carts around and bid the Mouse farewell as were were preparing to tell him hello.
Of course, this was also the first trip we had made since ZZUB introduced the term Disneyfreude into our collective lexicon. Maybe we noticed it this time around because we were just now able to recognize the tell tale signs of it reflected in the green eyes of strangers. For the first time, we understood that we could actually be the people they loved to hate merely because our vacation was beginning and theirs was ending.
Or else they were all going into Zebra Dome withdrawals.
Come to think of it, that seems more likely.
Whatever the reason, I do know that we got lots of hostile stares and glares as we made our way into the AKL that morning. It was definitely a rough crowd. Undeterred, we throw them all the Loser sign, push our way past potential felons, and find ourselves standing in the cavernous lobby of the resort.
The awesome size and detail of this place just amazes us. We’re in agreement. This place is fine.
Plus they have really cool massive light fixtures in here as well. That's a plus. Just look at those suckers. They'd look so awesome in the living room.
Of our imaginary mansion.
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Yes, it's definitely fine. And although the lights are gigantic, we notice that they give off little to no illumination at all.
In other words, it's surprisingly dark.
In fact, as we walk out of the blinding Florida sunlight and into the darkness of the cave that is AKL, our visibility immediately drops to zero.
We blink a few times to try to force our eyes to adjust to the lighting but it’s no use.
The kids bump into each other. I bump into a column and DH pretends he doesn’t know any of us.
We feel around behind us for some walls and are horrified to find there are none. We then decide the best plan of action is to drop down to our knees and crawl up to the front desk. On the way there, we bump into the Keeper of the Check In Line who helps us up, scolds us publicly, and directs us to the back of the line.
And then smiles really big and welcomes us to the Animal Kingdom. And here’s the kicker. He hopes we enjoy our stay.
That’s the thing about Disney CMs. Even when they’re getting onto you, they’re nice.
Unless you’re using flash photography on Stitch and then it’s a whole different ballgame.
After a few minutes, our eyes are able to adjust to the lighting and we’re good to go.
From the moment we walked through the front door, we had been taking in the smell of the place. No, not that smell. That one comes later. Don’t worry. I’ll warn ya. Or will I?
Anywho, if you’ve ever been to AKL, you know what I’m talking about.
There’s a sweet, woodsy smell that just emanates from the place. It’s absolutely wonderful and by the end of the week, it smelled like coming home to us. I actually asked one of the CMs in the gift shop one day if he could tell me what the smell was.
You have to be very specific when asking that question in Disneyworld.
I had read somewhere that they burned certain types of wood in the firepit and that was what gave off the aroma. I was curious as to which ones it was. Yes, I’m a full blown Disney geek. But I claim it. I own it. And don’t laugh too soon. Cause you’re reading this mess when you could be out for a run or something. So guess what? That means you’re one too.
Anyway, when I asked the little guy what the smell was, his response to me was “Dot de Disney Mogic”.
Translation: I have no idea what that smell is, lady. I just work here. Gimme a freakin’ break. Are you gonna buy that mug or are you just gonna stand there and look at it?
So as I stand in line and breathe in de Disney Mogic, my mind turns to the task at hand.
When we booked the room, we booked a standard view. Standard room, standard view. The jump in price from standard to savannah was pretty steep and since this was our first foray into the deluxe arena, we were just thrilled to even be there. Standard was beyond cool. Then one day my dear husband went to allearsnet and pulled up the pictures of the bunkbed savannah view rooms. The kids saw the pictures and immediately worked themselves into a bunkbed lovin’ frenzy just at the thought of it. They were drooling over those bunkbeds and talking about seeing animals in the backyard when they woke up in the morning.
They had gotten their hopes up.
So we have the talk with the kids.
We tell them to not expect bunkbeds in the room, and to definitely not expect to see animals from the balcony. We tell them we can always just walk out back to the overlooks to see them whenever we feel like it. The important thing is that we would be there. In Disney. Together. Whether we looked out onto a parking lot or had a room without bunkbeds didn’t matter. I reminded them that we should count our many blessings and just be happy to be there.
They quieted down for a minute and I was proud of us. We had given them food for thought. Their little wheels were turning, I could tell. We had passed along some sage advice to our children and they were taking it in like the little sponges that they are.
It wasn’t long before the boy piped up.
“Mom?”
“Yes, son?”
“Can I have the top bunk?”
So much for sage advice.
I remember reading some tips right before we left on our trip. One of the many good tips I read that day mentioned the fact that AKL is normally a pretty upgrade happy resort and that it wouldn’t hurt to ask for an upgrade at check in. In other words, although there were certainly no guarantees, there was a chance that we might be able to score a bunkbed room. Or possibly even a savannah view.
Dare we even allow ourselves to think it?
So as we stood in line and the kids practiced their sad faces (we told them to do that for effect) my husband and I worked out our (my) game plan.
As we round the corner and are waiting for the next CM to beckon us over, DH turns to me and says “Okay, La, you’re up. Look, work your magic. Offer ‘em cash. You’ve got free reign to flirt. Call in some backup if you need to. Whatever. Just get those kids some bunkbeds. Make it happen.”
Then he does his best Bela Karolyi impression and yells “You can DO IT!” and slaps me on the butt.
Oh, the pressure.
“Next”
We step up, tell them our name, and as if on autopilot, I throw out a sly “How YOU doin?” complete with head bob and half grin.
The two chicks at the counter ignore me.
One keeps typing stuff on her little computer while the other one tells her what to type. They seem awfully busy and I hate to interrupt the productive little teamwork thing they’ve got going on. DH nudges me. I open my mouth and dive head first into my prepared statement. Before I can even get to the word “bunk bed”, Fastest Fingers in the SouthEast tells us our room is ready.
Without even looking up.
Huh? That wasn’t supposed to happen.
I tell her that although she’s already assigned us a room and we’re thankful that it’s ready, the kids really have had their hearts set on a bunk bed room and if there’s any way possible we could get one, we would be eternally grateful.
“I’ve already upgraded you” she says.
“Excuse me?” I ponder.
“Yes maam. You’ve been upgraded to a Savannah view room with bunkbeds” she counters.
“And your room is ready,” the other one adds.
DH and I look at each other in amazement.
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. She did it before I even asked!
Mama like.
She hand us our cards and various paperwork. She then circles our room on the map. We’re on the Kudu Trail overlooking the Sunset Savannah.
We grin big goofy grins and thank them profusely. Then we turn and do the chest bump thing. This time it was me and DH. Not the kids. The kids opted for the Cabbage Patch this time.
We decide since our room is already ready, we’ll get moved in, head over to the Mara for lunch and then hit Typhoon Lagoon after that.
We’re psyched and ready to get going.
My husband decides to go out and deal with the bellman and the luggage on his own and tells us to just hang out and explore the lobby while he’s gone. I agree quickly because even though we’ve been married for eleven years and have two kids together, he occasionally needs to be reminded what a foolish decision it was to marry an overpacker.
At any rate, I’m thankful for the offer because I don’t want to be anywhere near that poor bellman when he realizes how much crap we brought with us. In fact, I’m guessing DH told me to hang out inside just so he can drag my good name through the mud in privacy once the poor guy opens the hatch and goes into shock.
But it’s all good cause the kids and I get to explore while DH deals with the luggage.
Sucker.
We walk around the lobby and look at the firepit. Very nice.
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We check out the funny looking statue made out of cloth and sticks. Very interesting.
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We head into the gift shop and browse for a few minutes. Very expensive.
Okay, I didn't take a picture of the Zawadi Marketplace. So sue me. I didn't want to look like too much of a dork. Although considering the fact that I did take pictures of the food on my plate (as you'll soon find out), I think it's safe to say my feet are firmly planted in Dorkville, USA.
We stroll around a little longer. I wanted to wait for my husband before I let the kids get their first view of the animals. I didn’t want him to miss their reactions so we (I) decide to find a couch in the lobby and we cop a squat.
And wait.
While we were waiting, Bono found what he was looking for, Guns ‘n Roses ran out of patience, and the Baha Men finally figured out who let the dawgs out.
I start to get a little worried that maybe we’ve missed him. Maybe he had already come back in and I didn’t see him. It was entirely possible considering the fact that I could barely see my hand in front of my face. We (I) decide to head out front to check and see if he’s still out there.
Yep, he’s still out there. Still in the unloading zone.
I spot the van right off and we walk up to my husband.
It’s at this point that I catch my first glance of the bellman. Bless his heart. He looked to be a strapping man, tall and of sturdy build. But the man was sweating like you wouldn’t believe. He looked stressed for some unknown reason. I walked up right about the time that he shoved the last piece of luggage onto the cart and half expected to hear him complain. Like DH would have. But I was surprised that he immediately turned and took off inside as if our load was nothing but mere child’s play to him. You would have thought it was light as a feather and nothing out of the ordinary. The man was run walking with our feather light load and I think I even saw him half smile at one point. It was hard to tell under all the sweat but still, I was impressed.
Not even the first snide comment.
Uh oh. They were being too courteous. We were in trouble. I was starting to feel spoiled.
DH then tells me to go on up to the room with the kids and he will meet me once he’s gotten the car sitchated. He hands me the card key and a lil sumpm sumpm for the bellhop’s trouble. We knew we would need to tip him extra.
Good thing we had the foresight to bring a couple of our prize winning cattle and chickens from home for the occasion.
I follow Sweaty Boy inside and am surprised to see that he has wheeled our stuff to a little desk right inside the door.
He has abandoned it. Left it for the next schmuck. Passed the buck. Got the heck out of Dodge.
He tells me to go on up to the room and someone else will bring our luggage up. Okay, whatever. I hand him the reigns to the livestock and thank him for his help.
Then we head off to find our room.
We take off down the long hallway and follow the signs, looking for an elevator to take us up to the fourth floor.
The slightly curving hallway seems to be as long as a football field but we find plenty of distractions along the way to keep our minds off the walk. Ever so often, we come ujpon a large group of windows overlooking the savannah. Stationed at each section of windows is a very big and very comfortable animal print bench. Bench doesn’t seem like the right word to use for these things because they actually seemed more like armless couches. As we pass each strategically placed bench, the kids must touch each and every one with their hinies, if only for two seconds. They sit down on it then jump right back up and exclaim “This is the COOLEST HOTEL I’VE EVER SEEN IN MY WHOLE TIRE LIFE!” and giggle uncontrollably.
Then they run to the next section and repeat the scene all over again. The girl screams the boy’s name each time she spots something new and cool she likes.
They are completely enamoured of the place, needless to say. And so am I.
They had me at the light fixtures.
We finally locate the elevator. I push the up arrow because we want to go up and that’s how these things work. Or so I’ve been told. The elevator dings, the doors immediately open and we get our first glimpse of a group of people whose faces will soon become very familiar to us.
For reasons other than what you may be thinking.
Up Next: “So do you come here often?”
mlill
11-17-2006, 12:03 PM
Animal Kingdom Lodge is awesome!!! I can't wait to read about your stay! Great pictures of the lobby! It's so hard to take a good one in there, it's either too light or too dark! LOL! I'm really enjoying your TR!
-Michelle
lexmelinda
11-17-2006, 12:35 PM
I actually asked one of the CMs in the gift shop one day if he could tell me what the smell was. Did it have anything to do with that long toot that ZZUB heard?
We step up, tell them our name, and as if on autopilot, I throw out a sly “How YOU doin?” complete with head bob and half grin. :lmao:
“Yes maam. You’ve been upgraded to a Savannah view room with bunkbeds” she counters.
“And your room is ready,” the other one adds. Now dot's de Disney Magic. What a blessing! Thanks for the fun read. I'm glad your feet are firmly planted in Dorkville, USA and you make me glad that mine are too. ;)
Never been in AKL before so thanks for those pics. It almost looks like WL. With all the wood. We stayed there last Jan.
I think you would need a house the size of the lodge for those lights. Or a crane to hang it off of in your driveway.... :lmao: They are cool though.
--
tink38
11-17-2006, 02:07 PM
Well, well, Ms. La - What a nice surprise to see you here!
I am so happy the kids got the bunkbeds. We were upgraded to Savannah view with bunkbeds as well!
Great installment. Thanks for sharing.(In memory of B.)
First timer
11-17-2006, 02:07 PM
I am so happy that you have posted the next installment as I have been waitng and waiting - but please can someone tell me why I can not view the pictures! It's just not going to be the same without some visual aid! I keep getting the little red x placeholders.
Frickles
11-17-2006, 02:21 PM
While we were waiting, Bono found what he was looking for, Guns ‘n Roses ran out of patience, and the Baha Men finally figured out who let the dawgs out.
:rotfl:
Good one Ms. LaLa!!! I am so excited for you all that you got a mack daddy upgrade!!! What a treat and I just HOPE that happens to me someday. I've asked twice now. No luck.
I can't wait to see the pictures of your room! I know you took some.
NM is going to be so pumped after reading this.
They were hard at it but every now and then, they’d take a break from their packing to look up and scream obscenities at us with their eyes. Ah yes. Disneyfreude. You were on the receiving end of full on end of vacation jealousy. It's good that you realized it. You got to enjoy schadenDisneyfreude. Which is even better than Zebra Domes. But only a little bit.
Translation: I have no idea what that smell is, lady. I just work here. Gimme a freakin’ break. Are you gonna buy that mug or are you just stand there and look at it? That's just funny. Because it's true.
Not even the first snide comment.You do realize they work on tips, right?
They had me at the light fixtures.This made me scream. Out loud. Not really. But it did make me smile. Big.
Excellent chapter, my friend.
:moped:
Chapter 11
11-17-2006, 03:17 PM
Since this was our first experience staying at a deluxe, we were totally pumped and beyond ready to check out the resort.
My understanding is that, since your visit, AKL has been downgraded to a Value Minus. WTG, hick girl.
But we did valet park our ride this trip.
How much did you have to tip them not to park it at the Hess station, where I'm sure they thought it belonged?
Then they’d say “We don’t know you but don’t come bringing your dumb smiling faces and your sweet little Disney packet of confirmation junk and lame Tinkerbell luggage tags around me or I’m gonna take you down to Chinatown, you stinkin’ sorry newbies.”
You know, it is possible that you should stop listening to those voices in your head. Just a thought.
No, not that smell. That one comes later. Don’t worry. I’ll warn ya. Or will I?
Ah, vomit reference No. 3 (oblique, I'll grant you, but there it is).
Dare we even allow ourselves to think it?
Why not? Apparently, you have all sorts of ridiculous thoughts (see above, re: the imaginary conversations taking place inside your head), so why not this one?
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about. She did it before I even asked!
You got mojo, girl.
They had me at the light fixtures.
The AKL completes you. How touching. Gonna jump on some couches now? Oprah called, just in case you were wondering.
Ah, another good one, La (and only 1 vomit reference).
Disfan3
11-17-2006, 03:21 PM
mama went deluxe heh??
LA! Before you know it you'll be a deluxe queen baybee....a Polynesian Princess even!?!?!?!? Welcome to my world. Of not only overpacking but overspending and overcharging and overdoing, err...everything. ;)
FREE UPGRADE?? YOU ROCK! You are my shining star...thats who you are...
Let me repeat... FREE UPGRADE for the LA squareds! WOW. Now go find the monorail cpt. and coax him into 5 in the front...and show ME and (l) how its done...
:smooth:
I can't wait to see the redneck la's do deluxe all the way!! HORRRAY!! :cool1:
LYMI
:thumbsup2
P.S. I also like when you guys get to TL...thats always a killer chapter...and the reason MY own kids got to do the wave pool this year :) :wizard:
Your report makes me happy. Thank you. :love:
You know, it is possible that you should stop listening to those voices in your head. Just a thought.
I'm sorry. Did you say something? I wasn't listening.
You got mojo, girl.
Must've caught it from The Girl. I hear it's highly contagious.
You do realize they work on tips, right?
Oh ZZUB. Plug in. We brought livestock for that. Step away from the big bowl of Snowcaps, man, and please try to keep up from now on. Glad I could make ya smile though, my friend.
...but please can someone tell me why I can not view the pictures! It's just not going to be the same without some visual aid! I keep getting the little red x placeholders
I'm not sure why you can't view them. Maybe someone a little more computer savvy than me can help ya out with that question.
Originally Posted by LaLa
I actually asked one of the CMs in the gift shop one day if he could tell me what the smell was.
Did it have anything to do with that long toot that ZZUB heard?
Now that was funny. And a little gross all at the same time.
We were upgraded to Savannah view with bunkbeds as well!
Sweet, Tink! I just love it there. I'm hoping NM stumbles into some of the same kind of Disney Mogic on her trip next week.
What a treat and I just HOPE that happens to me someday. I've asked twice now. No luck.
You're obviously not holding your mouth right, Frick. LY/MI!
Great pictures of the lobby! It's so hard to take a good one in there, it's either too light or too dark! LOL! I'm really enjoying your TR!
Thanks! I have some that are so dark the only thing you can make out is the big wall of glass overlooking the savannah in the back. Luckily I took a disgustingly high amount of pictures so the odds were with me. I had three that turned out normal.
P.S. I also like when you guys get to TL...thats always a killer chapter...and the reason MY own kids got to do the wave pool this year
Well just wait'll you read about our adventures there this go round. Without giving anything away, it was a very interesting and hair raising experience. Yeah, we were psyched about the free upgrade. It was very suhweet!
:moped: :moped:
RunningthruDisney
11-17-2006, 04:26 PM
LaLa
Great report!!!! My cousin and her family stayed at AKL last March and loved it. The pictures of the kids on the balcony are great. They saw lots of animals. So I hope your kids did too. Congrats on the upgrade :cool1:
AKL was on our list, but since I am running the Half Marathon in January, we decided to stay at VWL instead. It will be my nephews first trip and they love anything with dirt, water and a boat. I wanted to be as close to MK as possible for their first trip. But animals are a close 2nd.
Looking forward to your next post
nicolemarie
11-20-2006, 08:16 AM
GIRL!!!! That is perfect timing. The pictures are gorgeous. I am seriously fired up now - and I don't even care if I get an upgrade. I'm just happy to be there.
As we round the corner and are waiting for the next CM to beckon us over, DH turns to me and says “Okay, La, you’re up. Look, work your magic. Offer ‘em cash. You’ve got free reign to flirt. Call in some backup if you need to. Whatever. Just get those kids some bunkbeds. Make it happen.”
Then he does his best Bela Karolyi impression and yells “You can DO IT!” and slaps me on the butt.
Oh, the pressure.
That's a prime example of why I love your trip reports. This is just FONOFF funny. And yet, I can see it being true.
I loved reading this installment. As usual, I wanted to quote the whole thing. But since I have 40 things I should be doing instead of sitting at my computer, I'm gonna keep it simple.
Another good one, LaLa, my friend. I am so excited to take some pics of my own just like those. And I might even throw in one of the Marketplace.
I know I can outdork you.
NM :sunny:
GIRL!!!! That is perfect timing. The pictures are gorgeous. I am seriously fired up now - and I don't even care if I get an upgrade. I'm just happy to be there.
I'm seriously fired up FOR YOU, my girl!
And maybe just a little jealous.
I know yall are gonna have a blast down there. Make sure you eat a funnel cake and watch Illuminations for me. I know you will. Now get off the computer and get packin, Woman!
Running Thru Disney: Thanks for posting. I know you'll love VWL. Some friends of mine stayed there a couple of years ago and they absolutely loved it. Personally, I've never been there but that won't stop me from thinking it's great.
Should have the next one up shortly...
:moped: :moped:
KangaFan
11-20-2006, 10:41 AM
This is such a great report! I am hopelessley addicted to reading your and so many others TRs. You should seriously switch to a writing career if that's not what you're doing already.
I'm thinking of restricting myself to TRs in the "Finished" section only, however. I can't stand the suspense! :yay:
Thanks for sharing!
Ding.
“Hi. How are yall? Goin’ up?”
In our quest to locate the room, we had gone around the world and back again. Apparently my internal GPS was just as useless inside AKL as it was on I-75.
But somewhere along the way, we had finally managed to stumble upon an elevator. It was our ticket to ride. We were beyond ready to get up to the fourth floor to check out our room. Because it was so calling our name. But before we hopped on the elevator, I wanted to make sure it was going up. And since my first question was met with blank stares and awkward silence, I felt inclined to ask the group of people standing in the elevator my question again.
“Are you going up?”
My words were greeted, once again, by silence and polite smiles. What's up with that? I was on the verge of asking them if the cat got their tongue when I got it. Apparently they didn’t speak English. Either that or they just didn’t feel like talking to me.
One or the other.
So I point my little finger up to the heavens and questioningly (it’s a word) raise my eyebrows.
Body language. It’s the universal language.
It worked because they quickly point their little fingers downward and then one of the girls smiles timidly and says “No, down.” Well, at least one of them can speak English. Guess I was wrong. Or at least half wrong. Cause I’m never fully wrong. Just ask my husband.
Anyway, I smile back at them, tell them okay and step back to wait for another elevator. The kids whine as they realize we’re not getting on that one. The room is starting to raise its voice.
As the doors close and we say goodbye to the cute group of teens with a serious lack of communication skills, I push the up arrow again.
Ding.
Wow. That was quick.
The doors part and in an instant, we’re face to face with the smiling teens again.
There’s a little confused laughter and then an awkward silence. Half of them stare at the floor, trying desperately to avoid eye contact as they shuffle their feet. The other half of the group stares straight up at the interesting and cool ceiling tiles. They look everywhere but straight forward.
“Long time no see” I joke. Just to break the ice. Who knows if they understood me. To this day I still don’t know if more than one of them spoke English but you can’t blame a girl for trying.
The doors finally close. I wait a few minutes to give them enough time to take off to wherever it is they’re going and then push the up arrow again.
Ding.
Doors part. It’s them again.
My son says “What in the world?!”
I hear a few nervous laughs and I throw out a “So.. do you come here often?” Again with the avoiding of the eyes. At this point, I can’t help but laugh. The doors finally and mercifully close.
And once again, I wait. The kids are both giggling and shaking their heads. The boy tells the girl “When that door opens, I better not see them again!” The girl agrees by simply saying “Yeeeeah.”.
The thought occurs to me that we could already be checking out the view and jumping on the beds if we weren’t being elevator stalked by Menudo and their fan club.
I wait for a sufficient amount of minutes to pass. Surely by now they've taken off downstairs and I won't be messing them up by pushing the button, I think to myself.
I hit it and hold my breath.
Ding.
And guess who it is.
I stick my head in and yell “Peek a boo I see you!”
At this point we all collapse into a fit of laughter. As entertaining as this little twisted game of hide and seek is, I'm tired of playing. I say to heck with it and get on the elevator. They say to heck with it and get off. We bid our non speaking friends farewell. Again. They were all laughing and scouring the hallway for another elevator that wasn’t possessed as the doors closed behind them.
I hit the button marked “4” and we were on our way.
Ding.
I was almost afraid to look but a quick check of the illuminated numbers above my head told me we were in the right place.
Hmm. Wonder why it worked for me and not them. Wonder if it could have anything to do with the fact that I took some action. Grabbed the bull by the horns. Stepped up to the plate. Made it happen.
You know, actually pushed one of the freakin’ buttons to tell the elevator where to go.
A half hour and a few million steps after we'd left the lobby, we finally arrive at our room. Bellman #2 is already there when we arrive. He’s been waiting on us. Probably for quite a while. We walk up, he calls us by name, smiles at me, cracks a joke, and calls me ma’am.
That’s right. They don’t have that at a moderate, baby.
He notices we approach him from the opposite direction. Meaning, he figures out we went the long way around. Ya think? He proceeds to give me directions on how to get to our room quicker the next time. He tells me to walk up about ten feet.
I trust Deuce even though I’ve only known him for five minutes so I do as he suggests.
He then yells “Sucker!,” grabs my camera bag, and runs in the opposite direction as fast as he can.
Okay, I’m kidding. He didn’t really do that.
But I did walk up about ten feet and I did get a surprise.
I was looking out over the lobby. It was right there beside our room the whole time. We didn’t have to walk all the way around. We did all that for nothing.
I had two thoughts pop into my head simultaneously.
One was that I’m an idiot with no sense of direction. And the other was that I was seriously happy. Because how awesome is that? Not only did we get a free upgrade, but we also got a seriously sweet location. I was lovin’ the AKL and we hadn’t even seen the room yet.
I thank him for passing on that little tidbit of info and we all head into the room.
Our little family has been known to put on quite a display when we first check out a hotel room. Please refer to the chest bumping incident at the LaQuinta if you doubt my word. But we had company this time. Nice company. So we had to play it cool until he left. And that’s a very difficult thing to do when there is hand carved furniture and cool light fixtures that just beg to be gawked at and made a fuss over.
I catch the kids tracing their fingers over the designs carved into the cool as all get out armoire. I do the same thing when Deuce turns his head. I yearn to jump on the beds but resist the urge.
And then from out of nowhere, the silence is shatterered as the boy tells dignity to go play in his own yard.
He can’t hold back any longer and yells at the top of his lungs, “BASKETS! LOOK! OH M’ GOSH! Look at those COOL BASKETS!”
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You just can’t make this stuff up.
Here we are with a fake African savannah on the other side of our balcony and the thing that pumps the boy up is a trio of baskets hanging on the wall.
Deuce is hard at it and I feel like I should at least help him unload all the junk we brought. I start to take a few bags off the cart and he stops me. He tells me he’s got it and that I should just go enjoy the baskets.
I realize at this point that maybe he works for tips. Cause I hadn’t thought of that before. Even though we did bring livestock.
Or did we?
But back to Deuce and the tip.
Oh crap. The tip.
And that’s when it hits me.
My husband has the cash. Dangit. I had already given Sweaty Boy the tip and didn’t have anything left for Deuce. Never figured there’d be a Deuce. At any rate, here he is, being all nice and courteous and I have nothing for him.
I know I have to tip the man something.
I discreetly check my purse for something, anything, that might be of value.
I always carry Tic Tacs and Dentyne Ice with me. That could work. I find one of the boy’s Hot Wheels cars. I decide against that because Deuce doesn’t look like he’s into Hot Wheels anymore. Wouldn’t wanna insult him. As I dig around in my purse a little more, my hand brushes against something hard and cool to the touch. Now what could that be? Ah yes, my gold medal. Never leave home without it. Well, Deuce is definitely not gettin’ his hands on that bad boy. I fought way too hard for that puppy to just give it away to the first bellman that unloads a luggage cart for me. Although it would have gone nicely with his outfit. I finally decide on a couple of coupons for a free Chick Fil A sandwich with the purchase of a Kid’s Meal. That should do the trick. Cause that’s good stuff right there. I was really looking forward to using that myself but desperate times call for desperate measures.
I remind myself that it’s more blessed to give than to receive as I grab the coupons and a handful of Tic Tacs.
I turn around to find DH walking in the door.
Finally. And right on cue.
That boy has no idea how close he came to getting’ his first Tic Tac Tip.
As Deuce finishes up, we walk out onto the balcony.
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We check out the wildlife.
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The kids absolutely lose their minds when we spot a couple of giraffes off to the right of our balcony.
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And then there's this guy. I'm not quite sure what he was ticked off about but he didn't seem very happy.
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Did you know AKL even has snakes on their savannah? Now you do. Nice to know they're keepin' it real.
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Yes, they even have snakes there. Which is kind of odd to me. But the boys thought it was pretty cool.
Then DH tells me “Hey, check that out.”
He points to a sign posted on the balcony. It’s a warning of sorts. The gist of the message is that they have cameras trained on the balconies at all times. For the safety of the animals. They do not allow you to “feed” them and I guess they monitor the balconies to make sure everyone is a good citizen in that regard. Anyway, the message goes on to remind everyone to basically be careful and to close the curtains for privacy when needed.
Because Big Mickey is watching.
In other words, if you don’t want it to flash across some little security dude’s monitor, don’t put it out there. We laugh as we imagine what incident(s) must have led to the posting of that warning. Because you know there always has to be an incident that leads to the posting of The Warning.
I make a mental note to heed the Balcony Warning of Wisdom.
And to not let the kids pee off the balcony.
We come back inside and Deuce tells us what animals we can expect to see on our savannah. He lets us know that although all savannahs have giraffes, the one that we are on doesn’t have zebras or some of the other bigger animals. He suggests that we ask the front desk to move us to another savannah with bigger wildlife around Monday or Tuesday when the resort will be a little less crowded.
We thank him for his knowledge and help and tip him nicely when he finishes.
As soon as we hear the door close behind him, we all look at each other.
It’s on now. We skip around the room excitedly. We take pictures and touch everything. The boy kicks his shoes off and rubs his feet on the carpet. We say “Cool! Come look at this!” about ten times each.
The kids fall in love with the bunk beds. It was love at first sight.
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Okay, yeah I know I got more of our bed in that shot than I did the bunk beds but I couldn't help it. I was just a little distracted by that mosquito net. I've never had a mosquito net over my bed before. And I was hoping it was just for decoration. But check out those lights.
The girl notices that they each have their own cool little light above their heads. She is amazed by the bunkbed light. Guess she’s got a little bit of her Mama in her. She then stares a hole through it and proceeds to turn it on and off about ten times. Just to see if it works.
We check out everything in the room and are sufficiently impressed. We love the bathroom.
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You’d think we’d never seen granite countertops and nice faucets before.
There's even towel animals waiting for us on the back of the toilet. How cool is that? We just checked in and they already have towel animals waiting.
Mama like.
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We get everything unpacked and then decide to head down to The Mara to grab some lunch. We take the beach bag with us because after we eat lunch, we plan on grabbing a bus over to Typhoon Lagoon for some fun in the sun.
We head out the door, hang a right towards the lobby and make our way down to the Mara.
The first thing we notice when we get there is that they now have all Snack Options for the Dinning Plan clearly marked. That was new since last year. Pretty cool. Of course, the kids see the big bags of Cheetos and want that for their meal. With a side of Cheetos and Cheetos for dessert. We hop in line and order something other than Cheetos.
It takes a few minutes to get our food because they have to cook my chicken pizza and melt DH’s Smoked Turkey melt. As we’re waiting on our food, we strike up a conversation with another family. We find out it’s their last day. If they were feeling the slightest case of Disneyfreude, they sure didn’t show it. They were really nice. Turns out they’d been there all week and inform us that this was the exact perfect time for us to come, that the lines have been really short all week.
I get a really weird case of déjà vu.
I ask them if they’re from Georgia, by any chance. And if they like to lie to people just to get their hopes up.
Okay, I didn’t ask them that last part but I wanted to.
Anywho, they seem to be nice folks.
They excitedly give us the 4-1-1 on stuff that we already know about. Stuff that we knew about four years ago. I’m sure yall probably come across this from time to time. And I always get a little bit of a kick out of it. For about two minutes anyway. I mean, I don’t want to come off as a know it all but there’s only so many times I can nod politely and say “Oh, yeah. Really?”
It takes all of about three minutes for me to break.
I can’t pretend any longer. I hold up my carpel tunneled right hand and point my arthritic index finger at them. And then I tell them “My hand didn’t always look like this, you know. It used to be pretty. But that was before I discovered the DIS. And allearsnet. Now I spend night and day researching facts about Disneyworld. Facts that are so minute and trivial that it would make your head spin. And maybe feel a little sorry for me. So yes, I know about Extra Magic Hour. And yes, I know they have busses that take you to the parks. I know they have character meals and I even know they have a Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom. And what the name of it is. So step back, Jack. You have no idea who you're dealing with".
Okay maybe I didn't really say all that. But I so wanted to.
“Your food’s ready”, the lady at the counter announces. Except she said it with a really thick accent.
"Food's ready." I cheerily tell DH. I was thankful for the diversion and grab my tray with my one good hand.
I don’t know what it is about eating your first meal of the trip, especially when you’re on the dining plan. Even though it was just counter service and it was just sandwiches and a pizza, we were really excited about our meal. Maybe because it was free. If we had been paying for it, it might not have been such a magical moment.
Once we get our food on the trays, we move over to the cooler to peruse and make our selections in the (free) drinks and deserts category.
And that’s when I spot it.
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Ahhh yeah. Zebra Domes, baby.
A nice little container of chocolate goodness. Yellow to go.
Just look how many are in that sucker. It’s three of them along with two Chocolate Mousse Crunches. Not that I could ever eat all of it but still. I know a deal when I see it. I hope it counts as a “legal” desert on the dinning plan. And why wouldn’t it? It’s a desert, right? It’s not like it’s lobster. It’s a Zebra Dome. It’s not out of my league. Surely I can have it.
Right?
I turn to Georgia Who’s Been Here All Week and casually ask him if he knows if they’re letting the Value size container of Zebra Domes count as a desert on the dining plan.
He tells me to go ask my little imaginary friends in my little computer.
Kidding.
He actually gives me a sheepish knowing smile.
He knows about the Zebra Domes. He knows because he and his wife have had this conversation all week. His wife said she thought it would count as desert. Apparently he disagreed and forbid his wife to even TRY to get the Zebra Domes as a desert. I guess Georgia thought it was out of his league, this big ole box of chocolate delight. He had been there all week and apparently didn’t even bother to try.
I have no more use for this guy.
I plop it down on my tray and head up front. I watch as the CM looks over our choices. And gives us the green light.
We got the Zebra Domes through security.
We find a table, spread out, and dig in. We are surprised at how hungry we are. Just as a little heads up for anybody that’s planning on going to AKL anytime soon. By this I mean Nicole Marie. Listen to me. Skip the chicken pizza. Don’t waste a credit on it. It was seriously nasty. But I will tell you that there have been more than a couple of times since we’ve returned from our trip that I have had a pretty strong craving for a Smoked Turkey Melt with just a smidge of Sundried Tomato dip on it. Now that was a good sandwich. It would seriously blow a cheesesteak out of the water. It was awesome.
While we are eating, we notice a little family sitting next to us. I don't recall how the conversation started, but we found out this was their first trip there. They were really nice. That was the second family we'd met since checking in. That was kind of the theme with us this year. We met people. Lots of people. And strangely enough, every single family we met was from the South except for one. So as we finish up our lunch and talk to the North Carolina family, I feel a tap on my shoulder.
I look up to find a woman standing there holding a container of cheesecake and a Diet Coke in her hands.
“Do you want these?” she asks.
She tells me she and her family have to go catch a plane and they were trying to use up all of their meal credits. They couldn’t bare to let them go to waste since they were free but they just couldn’t eat everything. So she pushes the food in our face and asks if we want it.
I look at our little table. Between the four of us, our table is covered with food. Food that I know we won’t be able to finish. It’s just too much. But it’s the dining plan, dangit. And we’re entitled to it. Because just like this lady who refused to let the Mouse have a couple of his credits back, we’re bound and determined to get the most bang for our buck.
Plus it’s cheesecake. And who doesn’t like cheesecake?
But before I can respond, I hear DH step up.
“That’s very nice and we appreciate it but no thank you” DH tells her with a polite smile.
I kick him under the table.
“You don’t say no to cheesecake, man!” I tell him with my eyes.
We whisper back and forth for a minute and then he turns to the woman and says “Okay. If you’re trying to get rid of it, we’ll take it off your hands. Thank you. That was very nice of you.”
The nice but total and complete stranger hands him the items.
As DH slides the container across the table towards me, he murmurs under his breath, “Hope you enjoy your Anthrax Cheesecake.”
My husband is a very trusting and naïve individual. Yeah right. And KFed can rap.
We finish up our meal and head out back to check out the pool. It’s pretty cool. My husband reminds me that it’s the biggest resort pool on property and that it has a zero entry section. His Disney geek was showin’.
We had been to Boma before in years past and had taken the kids out back to the Savannah to look at the animals but we had never checked out the pool area at this resort before. I was taken aback at how pretty everything was. The landscaping was gorgeous and we were surprised to find a little waterfall behind Boma.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce33b3127cce8dfcc542546a00000036100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6ce33b3127cce8dfcc494142400000036100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
We stroll around a little longer, and then we finally decide it’s time. We're ready for some fun. Wave pool style.
We decide to head out front and grab a bus to Typhoon Lagoon.
And that was our first mistake.
Up Next: The longest bus ride in the history of Disneyworld
Chapter 11
11-20-2006, 01:51 PM
We check out everything in the room and are sufficiently impressed. We love the bathroom.
You’d think we’d never seen granite countertops and nice faucets before.
Tell the truth -- it was the miracle of indoor plumbing that had you all agog, wasn't it Backwoods Girl?
Once we get our food on the trays, we move over to the cooler to peruse and make our selections in the (free) drinks and deserts category.
Was that a Gobi? Or a Sahara? Well, it is supposed to be Africa, isn't it?
I have no more use for this guy.
A My Cousin Vinny reference? Nice.
They couldn’t bare to let them go to waste since they were free but they just couldn’t eat everything.
You've been taking spelling lessons from Haley, haven't you?
Very nice installment, but, no vomit references? How disappointing. Tally is currently 3. Let's try to do better in the future, shall we?
megandbrandon
11-20-2006, 01:52 PM
Ding.
Ding.
And guess who it is.
I stick my head in and yell “Peek a boo I see you!”
At this point we all collapse into a fit of laughter. [/B]
:lmao: :rotfl2: :lmao: :rotfl2:
Okay, I seriously lost it here. I am shocked that my co-workers didn't run in here to see what I was laughing at because I was so loud. This chapter was excellent as the two before it were. You are seriously the BEST!
We are going to Disney in August and it will be my husband's first trip ever! I know, I was shocked too. He thinks I'm ridiculous for being on the DIS and reading all this but I think after I show him your TR he'll understand not only why I love these reports so much, but why people are so in love with the Mouse and the World.
Thanks so much for writing such a fantastic report! :thumbsup2
monymony3471
11-20-2006, 01:54 PM
Another great installment. Thanks for keeping me going through my very difficult, agonizing wait. It's only here I can share my excitiment. 4 more days!
southernbohemian
11-20-2006, 02:05 PM
Ding.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
I wish some network would make your TR into a sitcom. The Griswalds have nothing on the LaLas!
I'm fairly certain we can go ahead and add the Tic Tac Tip into the lexicon of the Trip Reports board. Classic.
Keep 'em coming.
excellent installment........... :thumbsup2
I'd love to stay at AKL some day!!!
lexmelinda
11-20-2006, 03:28 PM
New installment already? Impressive....and funny to the bitter end. My DD17 and I read and laughed together. Thanks for another fun installment. :thumbsup2
scrap4u
11-20-2006, 03:42 PM
Great reporting LaLa! We love AKL too. We've had a standard room and a savannah room but have never gotten an upgrade. You work it girl! :thumbsup2
KangaFan
11-20-2006, 07:33 PM
The thought occurs to me that we could already be checking out the view and jumping on the beds if we weren’t being elevator stalked by Menudo and their fan club.
:rotfl2:
Okay, so this whole episode had me laughing so hard that my DS7 stopped what he was doing to come and read over my shoulder. " 'Freakin',' that's funny, Mom, can I say that?" Thanks for expanding my son's vocab! :rotfl:
BratTink
11-20-2006, 08:40 PM
LaLa, I'm really enjoying your report. Thanks for keeping it rolling!
1000thhappyhaunt
11-21-2006, 12:25 AM
Ding.
Great chapter.
Ask Chappie.
Ding.
Great pics.
Ding.
Except for the snake.
Ding.
Why NOT pee off the balcony?
It's your right. You're not at a mod anymore.
Ding.
How long does it take you people to figure out an "ele-va-tor"?
Ding.
You are clearly... escalator people.
Ding.
My mistake.
Too complicated.
Ding.
Che Guevara.
Che-st kiddin'.
Ding.
Great chapter.
Forget Chappie... it's good and funny. All around.
Ding.
Your husband is NOT a geek. And, yet, K-Fed CAN rap.
I think.
Or do I?
Ding.
BAT.
You STILL make me la la. La La.
Cheers, Melly.
:moped: :moped:
nicolemarie
11-21-2006, 04:47 AM
Not only do I hope we DON'T get an upgrade, I'm gonna get the willies everytime we walk around the AKL. I'm gonna be just waiting on a nasty snake to fall out of the big honkin' light fixtures and land around my neck.
And to think, I came here to get excited.
LA!! It's another great read, sweet friend. You are just hilarious. Menudo? Cool Baskets? Livestock for a tip?
But the best...
As I dig around in my purse a little more, my hand brushes against something hard and cool to the touch. Now what could that be? Ah yes, my gold medal. Never leave home without it. Well, Deuce is definitely not gettin’ his hands on that bad boy. I fought way too hard for that puppy to just give it away to the first bellman that unloads a luggage cart for me.
I was DED.
It takes all of about three minutes for me to break.
I can’t pretend any longer. I hold up my carpel tunneled right hand and point my arthritic index finger at them. And then I tell them “My hand didn’t always look like this, you know. It used to be pretty. But that was before I discovered the DIS. And allearsnet. Now I spend night and day researching facts about Disneyworld. Facts that are so minute and trivial that it would make your head spin. And maybe feel a little sorry for me. So yes, I know about Extra Magic Hour. And yes, I know they have busses that take you to the parks. I know they have character meals and I even know they have a Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom. And what the name of it is. So step back, Jack. You have no idea who you're dealing with".
You know, this wouldn't be nearly as funny if it weren't true. For me, anyway. My husband gets a huge kick out of striking up conversations with folks when we are at Disney. They walk off and he says "ROOKIES!" And we both feel a pathetic sense of pride at our knowledge of the World.
Just as a little heads up for anybody that’s planning on going to AKL anytime soon. By this I mean Nicole Marie. Listen to me. Skip the chicken pizza. Don’t waste a credit on it. It was seriously nasty.
Thanks for the tip. Because I'd think chicken pizza was good. And now I'll know. Although if I ordered it, I'd have to pay. Which probably means we'll be busting up the cooler to the room again and my meals will consist of foldover PBJ's. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Thanks LaLa, for this very timely installment. I'm up doing a last bit of DISin' this morning - I'm too excited to sleep. :)
NM
The thought occurs to me that we could already be checking out the view and jumping on the beds if we weren’t being elevator stalked by Menudo and their fan club. I would have been in a full on rage if some dorks were preventing me from celebratory bed jumping and balcony gawking. But the new phrase you've coined made me laugh.
I dig around in my purse a little more, my hand brushes against something hard and cool to the touch. Now what could that be? Ah yes, my gold medal. Never leave home without it. And again, the lunacy you manifest is laughable. Assuming arguendo you did win a gold medal for anything, it would be in the Liar's Olympics! You're ready for your career in politics now.
It would seriously blow a cheesesteak out of the water.This just proves Charlie Rangel was right about you people.
“That’s very nice and we appreciate it but no thank you” DH tells her with a polite smile.IS HE INSANE?! You NEVER refuse cake. Even if it spiked with anthrax or bullets. It's CAKE, dangit!
Thank you for allowing me to eat my lunch in peace today.
:moped:
AUDramaQueen
11-21-2006, 03:10 PM
Thanks for the great post, LaLa. I was feeling blue because one of our dogs died this morning and now I'm feeling a little more yellow. I guess that makes me green, huh? Great. Just call me Kermie...
Frickles
11-21-2006, 10:57 PM
LaLa!!! You had me at Menudo!
So is that what granite looks like? Wow.
Did you use the mosquito net? Does it really work? Does it keep the love bugs away?
Love the pictures! What a sweet room you had girl! This sounds like the start of a pixie dusty-ish trip! popcorn::
daly7o9
11-22-2006, 06:24 AM
Just caught up to ch.6.
Tic Tac Tip!! :rotfl:
I suppose I've gotta go to work now, dang it! (Stupid job)! Just kidding...after all I've gotta finance my Disney addiction somehow.
Keep it comin'!
kristinleigh
11-22-2006, 10:18 AM
LaLa! I'm a newbie but a long time lurker.
Lovin' your Trip Report. :thumbsup2 Except maybe the snake part!
nataliz
11-24-2006, 07:40 AM
LaLa-
I'm really enjoying your trip report. I was at AKL this summer and it looks like we had almost the same view. I agree the smell of the resort is amazing!
Keep up the great trip report!
AshClan
11-24-2006, 07:49 AM
You are so awesome, girl. I am ashamed that it's taken me this long to get here, but it was so worth the wait, as I knew it would be. I'm sitting here trying to recover from my turkey hangover and laughing myself silly. Thanks for limiting the vomitous references, as, this morning, my bloated stomach wouldn't have needed much encouragement to pull a ZZUB on the keyboard.
I loved so much of this, and laughed out loud multiple times. The elevator story...OMG....DED. The AKL is a beautiful resort. So glad you have been bitten by the Deluxe bug. And the upgrade pixie dust was great! What is wrong with me? Huh? Both you and ZZUB got tagged by the upgrade fairy and yet I got stuck in a standard room at WL. Hmmph. Guess the two of you are just prettier than me. (Well, I know you are. Z...not so sure. It was probably the Mrs.)
Finally, imagine my horror to discover that I had misused the Disneyfreude reference in my TR. I have to go edit. Due to a misplaced "schaden" when describing the resentment I faced from departing visitors on my 1st day. What mensches you all are for not correcting me. I'm off to edit now.
Can't wait for the rest!
smidgy
11-25-2006, 12:49 PM
mrs. nebo here is loving your report. the elevator incident had me in stitches!
AKL has special meaning for us. not only was it our first foray into the previously unreachable deluxe world, it was our first trip back to disney after reuniting. romance was in the air! :love:
looking forward to more!
kpk89
11-25-2006, 01:59 PM
I just caught up on about twelve-teen chapters of your trip. Ding! :rotfl2: 80's music references outnumbering vomit references! :thumbsup2 Baskets!! :banana: I lovelovelove the AKL too. Stayed there on a waytooshort trip a few years back. I thought it was all exotic and gorgeous. DH thought it was "dark and dreary." I am ashamed.
Cause we've still got plenty.
Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. Our week was very hectic but also very happy. What holiday isn't, right? Well, besides Groundhog's Day. Cause really, who cares? Besides those guys in the funny lookin' top hats. No offense to anyone who may be reading this and wearing a funny looking top hat. On second thought, if you're sitting around reading this and wearing a top hat, maybe you should be offended. Might do you some good.
Anywho, just wanted to respond to a few posts here and there. There and here.
Chappie: You're not as smart as you think you are, Mr. Human Spell Checker. Mr. Gobi or Sahara. Which, by the way, made me laugh so hard every time I read the word desert that I would have spit my dentures across the room if I wore any. But back to your not so smartness. That was not a My Cousin Vinny reference. If I had intended it to be a My Cousin Vinny reference, I would have written it like "I got no more use fa dis guy." Please try to keep up. And stay out of the tin cans at 7-11. That stuff clogs the arteries. To your brain. But I'm glad you're reading and posting, Hick boy.
Mel: Ding. Your post totally cracked me up. Ding. I'm glad you're back. Ding. Who the heck IS Che Guevara? Ding. Maybe I should google him. Ding. You forgot to italicize. Ding. You can do that for emphasis, you know. Ding. Hope all's well with you and yours. Ding. Love ya, my girl.
megandbrandon: Thanks so much for your post. It was really sweet. Have a great time at the World. You hubby's gonna fall in love with it.
KangaFan: Ditto yours. And sorry for introducing that one into your family lexicon. It could be worse though. He could be butchering the word Disneyfreude like Ash.
Segue.
Ash: Great to see you made it over here, woman. I'm loving your TR. And don't sweat the Disneyfreude thing. I think I got it wrong in the first Overdue and Overpacked. But I don't feel like going back to check.
ZZUB: You're still on Ignore for the Snowcaps thing so if you did happen to drop by here after this last chapter (which I don't know if you did or not) and post some type of slanderous libel under the guise of a legal term, I would never know it. So if it's all the same to you, I'll just assume that whatever it was that you posted (if you did post anything at all, that is) was very sweet, kind, flattering, and encouraging. So thanks, my friend. I appreciate all the kind words you may or may not have posted. Right back atcha in spades. I think.
Frickles: Can you believe we didn't use the mosquito net at all? Take a minute to wrap your mind around that one. I don't know about love bugs, but we never came across any bed bugs. Good thing cause I would've gone nuts.
NM: Welcome back, girl! Hope you had a great time at the AKL, ate some Zebra Domes and didn't run into any snakes. Can't wait to see you up on the TR Board.
Southernbohemian: Thanks for that post. DH and I both got a kick out of it. Christmas Vacation is one of our absolute favorite movies and we throw out Griswold quotes so much around here it's actually pathetic.
AUDramaQueen: Sorry to hear about your doggy. Hope you're feeling much more yellow than blue today.
And thanks to everybody who posted. I really appreciate each and every one of your comments. I'm working on the next one now and hope to have it up in a couple of days.
Yall rock.
:moped: :moped:
ntink
11-27-2006, 09:22 PM
QUOTING (the button is not working for me tonight) - Just as a little heads up for anybody that’s planning on going to AKL anytime soon. By this I mean Nicole Marie. Listen to me. Skip the chicken pizza. Don’t waste a credit on it. It was seriously nasty.
Thanks for the tip. Because I'd think chicken pizza was good. END OF QUOTING
First, let me just say that your trip report is a bright spot in my day. What a great writing style. :goodvibes
But I must disagree with you on the pizza - we were at AKL in August and I probably ate one each of the 5 days of our trip and could have gone for more - it was one of my favorite CS foods.
Can't wait to read more - thanks for sharing your trip.
IkeandMike
11-29-2006, 04:17 AM
Just to let you know, and to keep you on the first page, I have started reading your completed trip report. FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY. I hope the bump works. :rolleyes:
As we found out this trip, there are many differences in Disney’s moderate resort and deluxe resort categories. And one of the first differences we noticed was the way the bus depots are set up.
At a moderate, there are several different bus depots strategically placed around the joint. You walk to the one closest to your building, cop a squat (if you’re lucky) and wait for the busses to roll by. As soon as one appears, you then MUST strain your eyes as you try your hardest to read each bus’s destination and be the first to announce it to your family.
If it’s the one you’re looking for, you have to announce the park’s name excitedly and follow it with “That’s us. Come on, let’s go.” It’s mandatory. If it’s not the one you’re looking for, you have announce the name of that park and then follow it with “Dadgummit. Didn’t they just have one come by here for (insert park name) not two seconds ago?” and accompany it with an eye roll.
Also mandatory.
But at the deluxes, it’s a whole different ballgame. There is only one bus stop location for the entire resort. We were a little worried about this because we imagined it would be the same as at the moderates. We pictured POR’s measly little North Depot transposed onto AKL property with all of humanity jockeying for position. And a seat.
In fact, the only thing that gave us pause in picking AKL was the transportation. It’s pretty far away from the action. And we don’t like long bus rides. And then there was that whole one bus stop thing. So we were admittedly a little apprehensive as we embarked on our first AKL bus voyage.
But the AKL bus depot is humongous. Ginormous. And three other non words that all mean the same thing. We even saw a guy there entertaining the crowd with the little Guess Which Cup It’s Under game several times during the week. It was a full blown party. I don’t know if they’re all like this because other Disney owned deluxes have either the monorail or the boat. But if not, maybe the people that designed AKL felt like they must compensate. For something. Anyway, it seriously goes on for days. The depot is divided into sections and each section is clearly marked with a different park’s name. Meaning, if you want to go to Epicot, you keep walking until you see the cute little African themed sign that says Ep(i)cot. Then you cop a squat and the Epicot bus will come to you. No more straining your eyes to be the first one to identify the bus as soon as it rounds the corner.
Well, okay, yeah we still did that but that’s just us. Cause that’s how we like to have fun in our family.
You shouldn’t be surprised. We played the Spot the Disney Sign game for a full hour on the way down.
What I’m saying is you don’t have to do it.
Not unless you want to.
So after we get our bellies full at the Mara, which shall henceforth be known as Tomorrow because that's what the girl dubbed it, we cut through the resort and head out the front doors. We hang a left and walk down the pathway to the bus depot that’s bigger than Texas and look for the Typhoon Lagoon sign.
We’re somewhat disappointed as we read the sign and are reminded that both waterparks share a bus with another destination. Doh! We knew that last year but had forgotten it on our non Disney time. Kinda like how the boy knew the Beverly was nasty last year but forgot all about it through the year as his mind was otherwise occupied with non Disney stuff like football and friends and school. In that order.
Yes, we were caught off guard, but we were already there. And it was our first day. We didn’t want to have to go all the way back and get the van just to drive to Typhoon Lagoon.
Besides, how bad can it be, right?
We sit down and wait. It doesn’t take too long for a bus to show up. Freaky Cyborg Scanner Guy calls it. Dangit.
“TYPHOON LAGOON. That’s us. Come on, let’s go.”
We hop on and are pleasantly surprised to find the bus nearly empty.
Everyone that was waiting with us at the exclusive Typhoon Lagoon/Downtown Disney section ambles on, finds a seat, stretches out, exchanges smiles and pleasantries and then it happens.
The Terminator was the first to notice it (of course) and he turns to me, points up front and says “Listen.”
Someone is standing just in front of the steps leading up to the bus. She’s involved in a deep conversation with the driver. The exchange seems very dramatic. We both strain to hear the conversation because apparently we’re both equally nosy.
Lady: I need you to wait for the rest of our group. Can you do that?
Driver: How long you gonna take?
Lady: I don’t know, they’re still in the room.
Driver: Still in de room?
Lady: Yes but they’re coming and I need you to stay here and not leave.
Driver: I give you five minute. (not a typo)
Lady: We’ll need longer than five minutes. They’re not even downstairs yet. You have to wait because the next one won’t be along for another half hour or so, right? That’s too long for us to wait.
Driver: Depend on de traffic and I give you five minute.
With that, he turned, looked straight forward, and zoned out. He may as well have added “And that’s final” for emphasis. The way DH does. Undeterred, she kept explaining to him how important it was that he waited until they came. Because they paid more for their vacation than everyone else.
So we sat on the bus and waited. In the time it took for the rest of the family to make it, someone actually recognized Scat Cat over at Epicot and asked for his autograph.
In other words, it was a lot longer than five minutes.
But finally the son boarded. We knew he was a member of the Tardy family because he busted onto the bus in a full sprint, breathing hard with beads of sweat dropping off him. Although we weren’t too happy with the sweat droppage, we were at least pleased to see that he was in a rush. Because if we had to wait for them, we at least wanted to know they were in a rush.
The dad was another subject.
It took several more minutes for Cool Moe Dee to show up.
When he finally did, he sauntered onto the bus like a rock star without a care in the world. He had perfectly coifed hair and a complete lack of sweat. The guy was moving as slow as pond water. At one point, I swear he even did a little backwards jig. Let me just say that we have absolutely no problem waiting for someone on a bus every now and then. It definitely wasn’t the first time we had waited for someone while we sat on a Disney bus and we never thought twice about it before. Stuff happens to all of us. But the fact that we had been waiting forever for this guy to show up and he couldn’t even be bothered to at least power walk really got under our skin. When he finally crawled past us, DH looked at me and did the combination head shake and eye roll. A lady sitting across from us saw him and took that as her cue to lean forward and laugh really loud. Like scary loud. She then proceeded to dog the family out for the next few minutes.
Using her outside voice.
And that’s how we met Atlanta and her crew. We eventually ended up talking to her a good bit. Because what else did we have to do in the forty five minutes it took for us to get to Typhoon Lagoon?
That’s right. It took darn near an hour to get to the waterpark.
The bus took forever to get to its first destination, Downtown Disney. Once there, we had to stop at the West Side, and the Marketplace, and then Pleasure Island, picking up and dropping off at each section.
It took less time for the Grand Canyon to form than it took for us to get to Typhoon Lagoon that day. At least it felt like it anyway.
But we finally did make it and we (re)learned a very valuable lesson.
To drive to Typhoon Lagoon next time.
It didn’t take long for us to get happy after the longest bus ride in the history of Disneyworld finally and mercifully came to an end.
In fact, all it took was this…
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tlagoon.jpg
Oh yeah. Mama like.
We head straight to the gift shop and rent a locker for our gear. We always rent the big locker because we always need the big locker. Yet we still stand at the counter each year and act like we could actually get away with renting the little locker.
DH: What do you think, you think the big one? Or the little one?
Me: Do you think it’s too big for the little one?
DH: I don’t know, La. I’m thinking the big one.
Me: Okay, let’s just go with the big one.
I don’t know why we do that. We’re not indecisive people. Maybe we do it to make ourselves feel better about being overpackers, who knows. I can’t decide.
At any rate, we break down and rent the big one (big surprise) and then make our way through the sea of pasty white sweaty stranger flesh that is the epitome of a Disney water park. We finally locate our locker. We start getting bumped into and gawked at by strangers in Speedos as we get pool ready beside our locker so we throw our stuff in, slam the door really hard, and head off for some fun.
Our first stop is Crush n Gusher.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tl1.png
I absolutely love this ride and had really been looking forward to riding it.
But I knew this year I wouldn’t be able to ride with DH and bust his eardrums in the process because it was just the four of us. We had no friends along with us for the ride this time. No babysitters. Our parents were not around. It was just us. Our little family. I was pretty happy about it because we usually end up going with at least one other family on our trips. And although it can be a ton of fun to have friends or relatives around to goof off with, sometimes you just need for it to be just your family. My family. Just us. Because although I believe friendship is a wonderful gift to be treasured and nurtured, I also believe family comes first. And that it’s important to carve out bonding time for just the four of us with no one else around from time to time.
I said all of that to say this. I knew I was going to have to ride Crush n Gusher by myself. I wasn’t particularly crazy about the idea. I’d much rather share the ride with my husband. But since we were on our own this year, there wasn’t much we could do. It was either skip the ride altogether or ride alone. Unless the boy stepped up. Which I wasn’t really counting on. Because he’s not much of a thrill rider. He didn’t want to ride it last year and I didn’t think he’d want to ride this year either.
We get up to Crush n Gusher and suddenly the boy decides he wants to ride. We’re both pleasantly surprised. I let DH take him because I know my husband had been looking forward to having some fun with his boy this trip. He was psyched and ready for some one on one bonding time with his only son.
In his mind, he imagined the boy would run up to him and beg his father to take him on Rock n Roller Coaster. He imagined they would then sit side by side, laughing the whole way while the girls were in some far removed location patiently awaiting their return with bated breath and a refreshing drink and snack in hand. For them. Then he imagined the two of them would hit Tower of Terror and laugh the whole way and say things to each other like “Girls stink” and bond like only men can do.
The only problem with that little scenario is that the boy is eight. And would rather eat an entire plateful of Disney green beans than ride either the Tower of Terror or the Rock n Roller Coaster. Go ahead and mark Expedition Everest off the list too. We’re sure of it. Well, I’m sure of it anyway. At this point, DH was still holding out hope.
But back to Crush n Gusher.
I tell the boy to go with his dad and then he can go again with me when he comes down if he feels like it. He grins and they take off excitedly for the first of their male bonding episodes. I take the girl over to the pool to swim while we wait for the boys to splash down out of one of the three tubes on the other side of the rope.
It takes a really long time but they finally emerge in their little double tube. Now it’s my turn. And I’ve been ready for this my whole life.
We make our way out of the pool and I immediately sense a problem with the boy. He didn’t like it. Not one stinkin’ bit. He refuses to go again. We can’t make him get on it again.
Apparently my husband forgot to tell him to hold his tail up on the way down.
Ouch.
I’m not into causing a Splash Mountainesque meltdown again so I resign myself to the fact that I’ll be flying solo.
I tag out with DH and take off to grab a tube. It was a double cause they don’t even make tubes for singles for Crush n Gusher. How’s that for funny? Disney just assumes everyone will have at least one or two other people to ride with and not be pathetic enough to have to ride by themselves. So they don’t even bother to make a tube for a single.
Of course that’s probably not the real reason but it felt that way as I made my way up past all of the loud, laughing, having a good time doubles and triples.
I picked the tallest one, I think it was the Banana Blaster. I throw my tube down and get sitchated. Before I push off, I ask the CM at the top if a single rider had ever flipped over on a double tube. Disproportionate weight distribution and all that. Her exact words were “I haven’t had one flip yet.” To which I responded “Great. Just because you said that, it means I’ll be your first.”
And with that, I was gone like a shot. I’m happy to announce I didn’t flip. But I did have a flippin good time. Man, I love that ride. I got my Laugh Scream on the whole way down without anybody riding in front of me to give me any lip about it. Maybe this single rider thing wasn’t too bad after all.
It was over way too fast and I secretly entertained the idea of sneaking past DH and trying to squeeze another ride in. But dang that conscience of mine, I just couldn’t do it. So I grab the crew and we head off to the next adventure.
We hit Gangplank Falls, the family raft ride. We love this ride too but it always takes forever to get through the line. And then the ride down lasts a total of about ten seconds. It’s awesome while it lasts but it just seems like a lot of work and waiting for such a short period of happiness.
From there, I spot Mayday Falls. I’d never ridden it before. The boys rode it a couple of years ago while I waited on the sidelines. It looks like fun so I tell DH I want to ride it. I try to get the boy to ride with me but he’s having nothing to do with it after the butt kickin’ he took on Crush n Gusher. DH tells me he’ll take the kids and to meet him at Ketchakiddee Creek when I’m done.
He suddenly feels the urge to push some poor little kid out of the way and take over their water cannon.
I hop in line and before I know it, I’m on my single tube careening through caves and getting doused with ice cold water from overhead. It was a lot of fun. Except for that wrist injury I suffered. I was holding onto the handles of the tube because I didn’t want to fall out (duh) and the tube suddenly spun in one direction and then whipped back around in the opposite direction as I hit the side of the cave. I was holding on pretty tight so when the tube spun back in the opposite direction, my right wrist absorbed the shock. I have to say it hurt pretty bad. Not bad enough for me to report it apparently, just bad enough for me to complain about it for the next hour or so.
And then write about it here.
After the tube ride was over, I made my way over to the water cannons and was surprised to find DH was actually letting the kids man the things for a change. They were having a blast. I show my husband my wrist, tell him I’ve got a bobo and tell him to kiss it.
Amazingly, it didn’t make it feel any better. Maybe he wasn’t holding his mouth right.
After the PDA, we head over to Castaway Creek. Now this is more the boy’s speed. He loves the lazy river.
Earlier that day as we were unpacking and settling into our room, the kids both scrambled up onto the top bunk and excitedly watched Stacy do her thang on the Top Seven Things To Do loop.
Over and over again.
They replay it over and over again. And I can’t fake it, I can’t take it, no.
Am I the only one that’s wondered why they highlight just seven? Seriously. Why wouldn’t they do a top ten? Did they not have enough time and money to invest in ten? Were the other three closed for refurbishment? Did Stacy’s stylist throw her hands up in the air and quit after seven? That might explain the braids. Or did the producers have all they could take of Stacy and insist their sanity would be in jeopardy if they were made to tape three more segments?
At any rate, as we walk up to Castaway Creek, the boy points and says “Look at all the lazy people in the lazy river.”
I spank him really hard and tell him he won’t be gettin’ any supper later as punishment for putting a mental image of Stacy in those braids in my head.
Okay, I really am just kidding about that one. Of course I didn’t spank him. But he did go hungry.
Or did he?
Anyway, we stand on the steps at one of the entry points and look for four tubes. In the time it took for us to find four tubes, Disney remastered and released one movie out of the vault.
It took that long.
We finally find some tubes, jump in, and float down the river like a bunch of lazy people.
Halfway around the loop, the girl scrambles into the tube with her dad. As we float around the meandering river, they lay there with their heads together, just relaxing and quietly talking to each other. At one point, the child even fell asleep on his shoulder. They were that relaxed.
Cut to the boy.
He walks down the middle of the river and then jumps up onto the side of his tube from underneath every now and then. But he never can quite get there on the first try. So he must then jump off, splash around in the water a lot, squeal really loudly, laugh, and try it all over again.
Simply put, he was having a blast.
After we wind around underneath the caves and get shot in the face by ice cold water for awhile, the boy decides it’s time for some Wave Pool action. Because it’s the only thing he likes better than the lazy river.
So we find an exit, hop out, and make our way over to the wave pool. The kids hit the water and it’s not long before they’re squealing with excitement as they splash around.
Me: Look how excited they are. They’re so cute. You know they’ve been waiting for this all day.
DH: silence
I look over to my right and discover that where my husband once stood not two seconds before, there is now only air. I look back over my shoulder to find the man has cut out on me. Left me high and dry. Left me holding the bag.
He’s about thirty feet away already and is waving at me. He makes a hugely animated pointing gesture towards a lounge chair off to the side, then makes a stretching motion meant to indicate he’s beat and he’s gonna rest for a bit. In the lounge chair.
What’s up with that?
Well, okay. Whatever.
I turn to look back at the kids.
Because we live on the Coast and are around the water a lot, it has always been extremely important to my husband and I that our kids know how to swim. And know how to swim well. So they have both taken swimming lessons since they were three years old. During the summers, DH and I take turns moving our lunch hours around at work so we can have them at the pool. It’s not easy but we do it because it’s important. As a result, they both can swim like little fish now. But even so, it always makes me a little nervous when I’m the only parent in the water with the two of them. Because I’m a worrier. And that’s what I do. That’s another thing my Mom passed down to me. I’m a worrier with just a touch of overprotectiveness thrown in for good measure.
It’s because of this that I don’t ever let them venture out further than their little toes can touch, even if they can swim well. When they’re with me, we go no further out than about three feet. Max.
That’s my rule.
They have their Nana to thank for it. In a roundabout way.
I walk over to them and immediately the girl wants me to hold my breath and dive underwater with her. So we hold hands, count one, two, three, and plunge down underwater together. We hear the sound of the water bubbles in our ears as we come eyeball to eyeball and make funny faces at each other and then shoot back up. “That was so cool! Let’s do it again!” she squeals when we come up. We plunge back down and this time I snap a picture of her with my underwater camera. We come back up and she's all smiles. Even her little eyes are grinning underneath her pink goggles.
The boy is swimming around us and then suddenly plants his feet and tells his little sister to swim to him. It takes her two seconds to take off towards him. He catches her and tells her “Good job! Now, swim back to Mom.” She turns around, plunges headfirst into the water and takes off.
We’re having such a nice, calm, time together. I was proud of my son. He was being so sweet with his younger sister. In fact, both of the kids are on their best behavior and being really sweet to each other. It’s nothing but smooth sailing.
We play and laugh together for a few minutes longer and then suddenly the girl announces that she’s a little baby duckling.
And that I’m the Mama duck. And that the little baby duckling is swimming to the Mama Duck but the little baby ducking can’t swim and the Mama Duck has to save the little baby duckling.
She’s five. She likes to pretend to be little baby animals from time to time. So sue her. We know a good lawyer.
The child splashes around in the water and proceeds to make the loudest quacking noises I’ve ever heard in my life. She’s so into it. She’s feeling the little baby duckling’s pain. She is one with the little baby duckling.
People start to stare.
Because the quacking is starting to get out of hand.
I tell the little baby duckling to quack a little more quietly. I catch her and she quiets down for a minute. Then all of a sudden the little baby ducking is in trouble again. Although Mama Duck is still firmly holding her, somehow, the little baby duckling is in some serious trouble. The quacking is working its way up to an insane level again when she decides to go for broke and begins the flailing of the arms and the drowning victim facial expressions.
And yes, she would like to go ahead and thank the Academy now.
I’ve got water splashing in my eyes, eardrums that are about to bust from all the quack quack quacking going on and then from out of nowhere, the boy pounces on me and tackles me. He was off to the right watching the commotion and no doubt waiting for the perfect time to strike. This eight year old boy that’s nearly as big as I am literally flies from out of nowhere and bodyslams me. Hard. We both go flying underneath the water and I swear I can still hear the quacking underwater.
We come up and he’s laughing hysterically. But I wasn’t.
I let him have it and that’s when I notice it.
I never like to be in more than about two feet of water with the kids when the wave comes. Tops. And I’m talking about the big wave. It starts out at six feet and then gradually gets smaller the closer it gets to the “shore”. When we’re standing somewhere around the two foot mark, it’s usually just the perfect height when it comes in. I put the girl on my hip and the boy has a blast attempting to jump over it. It’s always enough to give us a thrill but still, it’s not enough to send us barreling underwater.
But as I recover from the tackle, I notice we’ve drifted a little further out than I want us to be when the wave comes. I realize there hasn’t been a wave unleashed yet the entire time we’ve been out there so I tell the boy to head back closer to the shore and I sling the girl up on my hip. Just in case.
We start walking and wouldn’t you know it, that’s when we hear it.
The unmistakable sound of a six foot wall of water being produced.
Oh crap.
Up Next: A Rude and then Ruder Awakening
First timer
11-29-2006, 01:01 PM
People start to stare.
Because the quacking is starting to get out of hand.
I tell the little baby duckling to quack a little more quietly. I catch her and she quiets down for a minute. Then all of a sudden the little baby ducking is in trouble again. Although Mama Duck is still firmly holding her, somehow, the little baby duckling is in some serious trouble. The quacking is working its way up to an insane level again when she decides to go for broke and begins the flailing of the arms and the drowning victim facial expressions.
And yes, she would like to go ahead and thank the Academy now.
I can't take it. I have to take a break - you are truly killing me here and I am going to be fired for laughing like a hyena!! :rotfl: :lmao: :rotfl2:
Your writing is the absolute BEST!!!!!!! :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2: :cheer2:
hi LaLa.........love your writing!! thanks for another fun installment!! :thumbsup2
Kay7979
11-29-2006, 04:58 PM
Great cliff-hanger ending. Hope you all can "Hang 10" :rotfl:
I don’t know why we do that. We’re not indecisive people. Maybe we do it to make ourselves feel better about being overpackers, who knows. I can’t decide.Well done.
And I’ve been ready for this my whole life.This seems vaguely familiar to me. I didn't realize you were such a fan of the Irish.
it just seems like a lot of work and waiting for such a short period of happiness.You just perfectly described being a lawyer.
Were the other three closed for refurbishment?That killed me. DED, dead.
Just one question. Why did you ride the bus? Is it b/c your daughter is nuts for Disney busses?
:moped:
nicolemarie
11-29-2006, 09:20 PM
As soon as one appears, you then MUST strain your eyes as you try your hardest to read each bus’s destination and be the first to announce it to your family.
OK - we did this at AKL. It's a good thing the kids had binoculars. :thumbsup2
Lady: I need you to wait for the rest of our group. Can you do that?
Driver: How long you gonna take?
Lady: I don’t know, they’re still in the room.
Driver: Still in de room?
Lady: Yes but they’re coming and I need you to stay here and not leave.
Driver: I give you five minute. (not a typo)
Lady: We’ll need longer than five minutes. They’re not even downstairs yet. You have to wait because the next one won’t be along for another half hour or so, right? That’s too long for us to wait.
Driver: Depend on de traffic and I give you five minute.
ARGHHHH!!! How frustrating!! We had a similar experience. It still aggravates me to think about it. But this is your TR, not mine. So I'll save it for later.
And although it can be a ton of fun to have friends or relatives around to goof off with, sometimes you just need for it to be just your family. My family. Just us. Because although I believe friendship is a wonderful gift to be treasured and nurtured, I also believe family comes first.
That sounds much better than our reason. Which is that no one is worthy to share a Disney vacation with us. You have to love it like we do or you're out. And frankly, we haven't found anyone like that yet.
OK. I'm not quoting the whole Typhoon Lagoon story, but suffice it to say that we are there! It sounds like so much fun. We'll definitely have to work it into our next trip.
Yet again, your installment is worth the wait. I love your stories and your humor. Thanks for sharing it with us.
NM :sunny:
lexmelinda
11-30-2006, 07:38 AM
Lady: I need you to wait for the rest of our group. Can you do that?
Driver: How long you gonna take?
Lady: I don’t know, they’re still in the room.
Driver: Still in de room?
Lady: Yes but they’re coming and I need you to stay here and not leave.
Driver: I give you five minute. (not a typo)
Lady: We’ll need longer than five minutes. They’re not even downstairs yet. You have to wait because the next one won’t be along for another half hour or so, right? That’s too long for us to wait.
Driver: Depend on de traffic and I give you five minute.
I find it hard to believe that anyone would have the NOIVE to ask the driver to wait?! If they won't seat an incomplete party at a Disney restaurant, why would they make dozens of people who have already waited for the bus...wait some more for a couple of folks who can't get it together? :sad2:
To drive to Typhoon Lagoon next time.
We learned to drive from POR to AK...similar situation as the POR-AK bus stops at BB on the way. Wondering why you didn't go to BB instead of TL since it's so much closer to the AKL? I've never been to either. Is TL better?
Am I the only one that’s wondered why they highlight just seven? Seriously. Why wouldn’t they do a top ten? Did they not have enough time and money to invest in ten? Were the other three closed for refurbishment? Did Stacy’s stylist throw her hands up in the air and quit after seven? That might explain the braids. Or did the producers have all they could take of Stacy and insist their sanity would be in jeopardy if they were made to tape three more segments? NO...you are not the only one who has wondered that? I figured Disney marketing did lots of fancy research and figured exactly how much time we had to watch The Stacy Show....but your reasons seem more likely. I think it has to do with the braids. :)
Chapter 11
11-30-2006, 07:59 AM
Nice installment -- no vomit references, though. That's two in a row. Slacker. Query: so what you're saying is, the bus took a while to get to Typhoon Lagoon? 'Cause I wasn't sure.
KangaFan
11-30-2006, 08:06 AM
Love the game of spotting the bus--thanks for the tip--it will be a great way to entertain my oh-so-patient children who just LOVE to wait for everything--NOT! :thumbsup2
P.S. How do you handle the simultaneous shouting and "I said it first" squabbles???
P.P.S. or is P.S.S.? So glad we were not there for your bus experience. DH would have felt it necessary to explain (in his military officer take charge voice) to said woman why the bus and the rest of the crew should not wait due to her poor planning (while I scoot down in my seat and pretend I'm traveling solo and my-oh-so-logical son says, "yes, you should have set your alarm for an earlier time") :rolleyes1
P. (Sx3) Thanks for another excuse to avoid cleaning by bathroom, thoroughly enjoyed your latest. Really don't want to clean aforementioned bathroom, so if you would care to post another ASAP, it would be greatly appreciated. :goodvibes
AshClan
11-30-2006, 08:58 AM
Another awesome installment, LaLa!
Re the bus incident: I cannot believe the bus driver waited for them for that long! If someone is at the front door of the hotel, running toward the bus, fine. But, STILL IN THE ROOM?! Are you kidding me? I am also shocked that no one on the bus made a stink. Not that I would've either, other than to my DH, but there's usually someone in any crowd that will. I guess "Atlanta" is the closest you got. 'Cause "outside voice" complaining after the fact is the next best thing. Or is it??
We went to Typhoon Lagoon on our trip in April '05. We drove. Didn't realize what a smart move that was, but I will stick with that plan from now on. Haven't yet tried the Crush n Gusher, but you made it sound so fun, it is ON our list for April '07 for sure!
I can't wait to hear the resolution of the cliff hanger! I got stuck in deep(ish) water for that big wave once or twice. SCARY. And I didn't even have little ones with me!
Keep it comin', girl! You always take me to my Laughin' Place!! :rotfl:
kpk89
11-30-2006, 10:32 PM
Ditto, Ash. Oh. My. Gosh.
La, maybe in some far distant future we'll meet and our kids can play baby duckling. Because mine do that too. But they also do it in the grocery store, walking behind me in a line, like ducklings. Because they have learned that if they walk in FRONT of me and my cart, they get knocked over while I'm strolling forward and looking down at my list.
So, maybe in some far distant future we could get together for a round of ducklings. Except in the far distant future it might be weird because the kids will be all growed up.
Great chapter!
1000thhappyhaunt
11-30-2006, 10:44 PM
Secondly: why didn't you just DRIVE there?
Thirdly: we all KNEW you were gonna get the BIG locker.
Now then, back to business: La La!!!! I think this is the funniest trippie on the TR boards. Well... second. No... third. At least. Heh heh.
Definitely THE FUNNIEST!!! I took more than five minute (no typo) to read. Walked around my kitchen and then did a backwards jig. And then read it again. It was THAT good.
No carp.
I've never done Crush n' Gusher... but now I MUST. Alone.
For that's how it must be done.
I'll splint my wrist beforehand tho. And hold my tail up on the way down.
Thanks be to you.
However... I don't have to wait to see my DH push a small child out of the way for command of a water-cannon. I've seen it. Before.
On British Day at TL.
Did you have lunch? There?
'Cause we did. And it was NO Mexican festivus. If I remember correctly.
Here are FOUR mopeds for you:
:moped: :moped: :moped: :moped:
One for you. You crazy pretty funny La La you. One for your cool ask Dh. One for your sweet boy and one for your sweet girl.
Cheers, Melly.
What is a bobo? I thought it was a boo-boo. But... perhaps, I'm not holding my mouth correctly when I type it.
horsegirl
12-01-2006, 10:15 AM
We got to do one of the slides (I don't remember which), well my DH and the 2 bigger kids did, then a lightening storm came and closed the park. We were freezing and it was AUGUST!!!!!!!!!!! We did get a free days pass on the way out to use next time.
Great installment La! Where are all the references of the bathing suit mishaps? I KNOW you saw some...we sure did. :crazy:
MyTalula
12-01-2006, 02:25 PM
Lady: I need you to wait for the rest of our group. Can you do that?
Driver: How long you gonna take?
Lady: I don’t know, they’re still in the room.
Driver: Still in de room?
Lady: Yes but they’re coming and I need you to stay here and not leave.
Driver: I give you five minute. (not a typo)
Lady: We’ll need longer than five minutes. They’re not even downstairs yet. You have to wait because the next one won’t be along for another half hour or so, right? That’s too long for us to wait.
Driver: Depend on de traffic and I give you five minute.
With that, he turned, looked straight forward, and zoned out. He may as well have added “And that’s final” for emphasis. The way DH does. Undeterred, she kept explaining to him how important it was that he waited until they came. Because they paid more for their vacation than everyone else.
My head would have popped right on the spot, I am so impatient. :sad2:
Apparently my husband forgot to tell him to hold his tail up on the way down.
Ouch. Oh no a boo on the bummm not good for first impressions.
At any rate, as we walk up to Castaway Creek, the boy points and says “Look at all the lazy people in the lazy river.”
I spank him really hard and tell him he won’t be gettin’ any supper later as punishment for putting a mental image of Stacy in those braids in my head.
:lmao:
It took that long. I'm starting to think you might be akin to my impatient-ish persona???
Next visit we're making time for the waterparks dangit! Sounds like a blast!
First timer: Glad you're enjoying the report. But don't get yourself fired. Because then how would you be able to go to Disney? I can't be responsible for that. The burden would be too great.
ZZUB: You get points for remembering the girl and her thing for the busses. Other than that:
NM: Yeah, I hear those binoculars are pretty handy to have around at the AKL. And even at the Magic Kingdom. Cause you never know when you might need to get a closer look at Tinkerbill. I'm so excited you've started your report, my girl. I know it's gonna be great.
Ash: Re: The bus thing. Yeah, we were a little surprised that they would to that too. Like I sad, we've sat on the bus while people were coming before but we could actually see them running up to the bus trying to make it. I have absolutely no problem with waiting for others in that situation. And I honestly don't think everybody was that upset about it until we saw how slow and nonchalant the guy was about it. There weren't really that many of us on the bus at the time so I guess the odds for a full blown spectacle were a little lower than normal. If it would have been a crowded bus, I'm sure things would have gotten ugly. I guess everybody else was smart enough to drive to TL that day.
Lexmelinda: Re: Your question about TL vs. BB. We have been to both water parks and love both equally. They both have their draws. BB has the Toboggan Racers which is the absolute best water slide at either of the parks IMO and the family raft ride is much better there than at TL. On the other hand, TL has Crush n Gusher and the wave pool. So it just depends on what you want to do as to which park you choose. Personally, I wanted to ride Crush n Gusher so that's why it was put on the itenerary for the first day instead of BB this trip. Cause Mama has control over the iteneraries. We kept meaning to make time for BB but never got around to going. We'll have to hit it again next trip.
KangaFan: Yeah, I'm surprised DH didn't make a big stink about the bus thing. I attribute it to the fact that we were on arrival day when he was still in a good mood and not on departure day where he dons his Grumpy shirt.
kpk: Your post made me laugh out loud, my 89 sista. Adult ducklings walking behind us in the grocery store would be so not cool. Love ya my girl.
Mel: Who are you? Am I supposed to know you? Oh wait, you're that chick that used to write all those funny trip reports, right? Man, they are the FUNNIEST. Except that they're the second funniest. At least. Or are they? I laughed for days at your post. I was DED. Completely. Youhave to ride Crush n Gusher on your next trip to the World. Just so you can think of me and cry just a little. :moped: :moped: :moped: :moped: Four for you. Hope your crew is doing okay. LOVE YA MY GIRL!!!
Horsey: Yes, unfortunately, we saw things at the water park that the human eye should never be made to endure. Frankly, my eyes have just recently recovered from a few of the sightings. Why oh why is the question I have to ask myself everytime I walk into a Disney waterpark. But I had pity on Bagel Boy and decided to mess with Chappie's tally so I decided not to go into detail about it. But I can if you're asking. Cause that sounded like a challenge.
Chappie, My Talula, samc, and Kay7979: Thanks for posting. I really appreciate all your comments. Except for Chappie's.
You know I'm kidding Chappie. SLAP.
After an obnoxious bout with the flu, things are starting to get back to normal around our house so I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within the next day or two.
Thanks so much for reading, everybody.
monymony3471
12-04-2006, 03:17 PM
Why is it that buses will wait for those who expect it. Who don't appreciate it. But will leave those in the dust who were really trying to get there with only a few strides to go?
Thanks for the update. Great as usual.
Disfan3
12-05-2006, 08:07 PM
bring on the next chapter woman!! To heck with the HOLIDAYS!! I need some more overpacked...to get me over my winter blues!!
:sunny:
I feel I should begin this chapter with a warning of sorts. A heads up. A disclaimer. But enough with the phrases that mean almost the same thing. Let’s cut to the chase.
This one is long.
Longer than the stand by line for Soarin at four p.m. on any given day during Christmas week. Longer than the line for the POR bus after Epicot's Not So Much Extra Magic Hour. Longer than the list of Jasmine's middle age male fans.
It's that long.
So you might wanna grab yourself a lil sumpm sumpm before you dive in. Like a seat. Or a tub of popcorn with extra butter. A value size vat of hairy pickled pig lips. Or even a bagel if you’re into that sort of thing.
Cause this might take a while.
Let me start by setting the scene for you.
Disneyworld. Typhoon Lagoon. The Wave pool. Me and the kids.
Well, me and the girl.
We were on our own because the boy had left us far behind and was getting a workout trying to run through the water like Forest Gump. Wasn’t workin’ out so well for him, by the way. But that’s neither here nor there at this point.
Dad on the shore in the lounge chair totally oblivious to his surroundings.
Huge wave coming.
Running for our lives.
Okay, again, we weren’t actually running. Because you can’t do that in the water unless you’re Denise Austin. Or Gilad. Or Billy Blanks. Or Rocky.
That’d be the Rocky from Rocky I, not to be confused with the Rocky from Rocky XVI, which is in fact coming to a theater near you. Before long. I’m sure of it. Check your local listings. Or you know, call the Movie Phone.
But back to what I was saying. I can’t run very well in water cause I‘m not any of those people.
Or am I?
Anyway, the wave was coming fast and we were out too far. But just so you know, we weren't out as far as five feet. We weren’t even out as far as four feet. But we were out far enough that I was out of my wave pool comfort zone. I don't like that feeling when I’m in the water with my kids so I had the girl slung over my hip while I semi ran, semi high stepped it, trying my best to make it back up to two feet before the wave did.
We finally make it up front and turn around. We laugh at all the other suckers getting wiped out as we jump over the wave and then head off for a snack.
Well, that's how it was supposed to go at least.
Only it didn't.
Because the girl and I were two of the suckers that got wiped out.
The wave reached us much faster than I expected. I had my eye on the boy and saw that he was way ahead of us. He was really close to the faux shore so I knew he'd be okay.
Then I turned around to look for the wave.
It was already there.
I had just enough time to brace myself and tell the girl to hold on to me and hold her breath before it hit. And when it hit, it hit hard. Within seconds we were swirling underwater. I couldn't see anything but white foam, which totally freaked me out. Because I couldn’t see my daughter. I couldn’t see her face. I could feel her so I knew I still had her but still. I wanted desperately to see her.
There were probably ten different thoughts that ran through my head simultaneously at that point. I won't go into what I was thinking but I will tell you that not one of those thoughts was a happy thought. I knew she could hold her breath underwater probably better than I could. I just wasn't sure how long she could hold it. Or how long she would need to hold it. The pressure from the wave finally broke up and I was able to break through the surface. The whole episode probably lasted no more than about ten seconds, which doesn't seem all that long really. But while it was happening, it seemed like forever and a day.
As we shoot up out of the water, I look over at the girl and check her over. She's fine, I tell myself. Thank you Jesus, I tell Him. Then I take a deep breath and try to calm my mind and bring my heart rate down from the 500 bpm range.
Needless to say, she didn’t think it was cool and didn’t want to do it again.
That made two of us.
I scan the water feverishly for the boy and spot him immediately. He was on all fours crawling up to the lounge chairs. He looks back in our direction with his eyebrows furrowed. At first glance I can tell he's not happy. I scramble back up front as fast as I can with the girl firmly latched onto my hip. We meet up with the boy and I assess the situation.
I’m relieved to find out he didn’t get wiped out. But he did get a noseful of water and he ain't happy about it.
We scan the crowd for my husband. Their father. I finally spot him and we drag our battle weary bodies over to his lounge chair.
The three of us stand in front of him dripping wet.
Our five year old child still has her arms and legs wrapped around my body in a death grip. She has firmly latched her ankles together in a locked and loaded posture. The child is whimpering and wiping snot on my bare shoulder. The boy is standing beside me calling the wave stupid and trying to blow the water out of his nose without Kleenex. Every hair on his head is standing straight up. He has a surfer’s mohawk and his eyes are red from the chlorine. As I stand there, I can barely see daylight through the mass of long, wet, wavy hair that is still hanging down in my face from the wave incident. My bathing suit is still askew and my back is literally about to break under the strain of carrying around a five year old child whose legs are almost as long as mine.
We are all traumatized and shivering.
My husband, my dear, sweet husband rolls over. The man stretches, yawns and rubs his eyes. Then he puts his hand up in front of his face as if to block the sun (or the sight of us), squints his eyes and says the following.
To me.
“Oh, hey. Where’ve yall been? You should've seen it, La. You should’ve seen how high that water got up here. It came all the way up under my lounge chair, touched my back and woke me up. Can you believe it woke me up? I’m pretty ticked off about it because I was really snoozing.”
“Is that so?” I ask.
I pry the girl off me and set her down.
I then push the hair back away from my eyes, square my shoulders, and punch him dead in the face.
Thrice. In rapid succession.
For good measure.
Once he recovers, we calmly make our way out front to the lockers to retrieve our gear.
We've had enough water park for one day.
We're not feeling the wave pool love anymore. Plus 3/4 of us just want to sit down and recover from the incident. And 1/4 of us just wants an icepack.
Okay you know I’m kidding. I didn’t really beat my husband up. But I did give it some serious thought.
Or did I?
Once we're out front, the girl and I duck into the bathroom to get changed while the boys throw a shirt on at the locker. Guys are lucky like that. They can get dressed anywhere. Girls, not so much. Unless you're Paris Spears.
We make our way to the AKL bus stop and walk up at just the right time. We literally step onto the bus without breaking our stride. Amazingly, no one asked the bus driver to wait for the rest of their party who still happened to be floating around the lazy river with all the other lazy people. We went straight back to the AKL instead of stopping at DTD first. The bus ride was unbelievably short this time compared to the earlier trek to get there.
We'll take the bright spots wherever we can find them.
As we hop out at the Club Med bus depot and make our way up the small hill to the resort, DH suggests we cut through the door that leads to the Zawadi Marketplace instead of walking all the way around to the front doors.
From that point on, that was our entry point whenever we came back from the bus depot.
Strange how strategically placed that door was. It all but said "Hey. Pssst. Over here. Don’t bother walking all the way around to the front. You don’t wanna do that. You’re tired and it's a really long walk around there. Cut through here. And while you’re at it, buy something.”
Amazingly, even Disney's bus stops have dump shops.
Unfortunately and predictably, I succumbed to the Disney marketing strategy. I couldn’t just cut through. I had to linger and buy a lil sumpm sumpm. Or two. Or three. Or four. Or five. Actually, they were all necessities so don’t call me weak. Yet.
That comes after our visit to Mouse Gear.
Anywho, I had to find another lanyard for the boy's Pal Mickey from last year since he lost the one that came with it. After conferring with a couple of CMs and realizing they would not, in fact, just give me a new Pal Mickey for the heck of it, I found a perfect royal blue lanyard for him, grabbed some autograph books and a couple of foot long pens with Mickey ears on the end and headed out front.
Once we were in the lobby, we found there was a set of stairs off to the left. They looked almost hidden but DH spotted them and thus was born our routine. From that point on, every time we came back from the parks, we'd cut through the dump shop, hang a left, walk up just one flight of stairs (since the lobby is on the third level) and make our way to the room.
We walked that path so many times that week I could do it in my sleep.
Although I wouldn't want to because it’s really dark in there and those darn columns tend to get in your way when you least expect it.
As we walked to our room that first day, we noticed there was quite a commotion going on in the lobby. Make that a very loud commotion. There was a group of African singers and dancers putting on a show in front of the firepit.
We all stopped to watch the action for a bit.
They were really good and reminded me of that group that used to sing with Paul Simon years ago. Don’t ask me the group's name because I don’t know. I only know about it because I saw them on Johnny Carson performing with him one night many moons ago. And back in those days, I was more into the Artist Formerly Known as Dense and a long haired rocker who wore acid washed jeans and sang about a little runaway than I was Paul Simon.
I don’t mean to be coy, Roy. Just listen to me.
It’s not like I hate him or think his grandfather's a jerk or anything. I actually like a couple of his songs, but other than that, I've just never really been that big of a fan.
Of Paul Simon.
Or as I call him, Al.
Let the flames begin.
Long story short: I don’t remember the African group’s name. The one that used to sing with Al. But I do remember that they were very, very good. They had beautiful voices and their harmony was dead on perfect. I could watch them for hours.
Just like this group.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/ak.jpg
The boys had their fill after just a few minutes and decided to head to the room but the girl and I lingered a little longer.
We stood on the overlook near the bridge. Over troubled water.
Or the lobby at least.
I picked her up and held her so she could get a good view as the group pulled guests up one by one to dance with them on the shiny dark hardwood floor. If we weren’t one level above them, I have no doubt my daughter would have run up to dance even without an invitation. She loves music of any kind and she also loves to dance. I wonder where she gets that from. Anyway, we really enjoyed the performance and thought it was a nice little surprise for our first day.
Have I mentioned that I love that resort?
Once I finally put the girl down, she stomp danced and hummed the music, mimicking it perfectly, all the way down the winding hall to the room.
I’m sure the neighbors enjoyed the encore.
The girl and I throw the door to the room open only to find the boys sitting on the balcony elbow deep in a couple bags of Cheetos.
Busted.
They're rebels. Without a clue. Much like my friend James Dean.
I remind them we’re not supposed to have food out there and tell them security will be busting through the door any minute to haul us all away to the Reedy Creek Penn where all the other Disney rule breakers go. Right after the little dudes in security finish carefully scouring last night's videotape for any previously, ahem, unseen evidence, that is.
We get rid of the contraband and decide to relax and take in the wildlife for awhile.
As we sit around on our balcony and talk, we extol the virtues of Disneyworld and AKL. Because nothing beats the feeling of arrival day. And especially a free upgrade on arrival day. As I recall, there were several emphatic declarations of love being thrown around at the time.
Declarations of love for Disney and AKL being thrown around. Not for each other. That doesn't come into play until later. And I'll give you fair warning before I bring the sap.
I think you know the next line.
Anyway, after we took turns declaring our love for all things Disney and trying to identify the animals that were out and about on our (non) private savannah, we checked our watches.
And it was late in the evening.
With all the music seeping through.
But really, without the music seeping through. Cause the stomp dancing singers had already stomp danced their way out the door and off to meet Julio down by the schoolyard.
What I’m saying is it was crunch time.
We had an ADR for Tony's Town Square at the MK for that night.
It would be our first time to try Tony’s. One of the reasons I booked Tony’s (other than the fact that Chef Mickey’s and the Crystal Palace and Ohana were all already booked for that night) was because after doing lots of careful research, I discovered Tony’s had a patio out front.
That’s right. A patio. Who knew?
Uh, yeah. That'd be me. I knew.
Anyway, I also discovered that if you were fortunate enough to be able to score a patio table and time it right, that it was the perfect place to watch the parades roll by.
Segue.
I love Spectromagic. Absolutely love it. My husband can take it or leave it. He thinks they could add so much more to it by throwing a few beads and some moon pies.
But that’s another story for another place and time.
Anywho, he’s not particularly fond of fighting the crowds for a piece of treasured curbside real estate when he knows he’s not in for any doubloons so I was hoping we would be able to score a table at Tony’s. On the patio. Because I thought he would really enjoy it. And I already knew the kids and I would.
How could we not? It was a virtual triple whammy. A trifecta of sorts.
The Magic Kingdom, Spectro, and food.
You can't ask for any better than that. Well, technically I guess you could but we won’t go into that now.
Because if we didn’t get a move on, we were gonna be late for our ADR and all chances of us scoring a good table would be gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday.
So I switched it up some. Sue me. Because yes, I actually do know a good lawyer.
We all take a turn in the shower and get dressed, all the while being mindful of the Balcony Warning of Wisdom. Once we were ready, we grabbed the backpack, the camera, the camcorder, Punk Mickey, and hit the door.
That’s right. It’s the mouse formerly known as Pal Mickey.
You see, my husband likes to mess with the kids' heads occasionally. Like telling them two weeks before we leave for our trip that Disneyworld called and said they would be closed and that we shouldn't bother coming. Or repeatedly calling them by the name of an annoying relative until they actually start answering to it. Or renaming their toys.
So as we head out the door to the Magic Kingdom, my husband renames the mouse.
DH: Hey boy, don’t forget Punk Mickey.
The boy: Dad, it’s Pal Mickey.
DH: That’s what I said, boy. Punk Mickey.
The girl: Daaaaaady...
Three of us laugh while the fourth manages a look of indignation.
The boy grabs the mouse and the kids giggle all the way down the hall. They take turns pushing Punk Mickey’s belly and laughing at the same old hot dog jokes as last year.
We head out to the bus stop that’s almost as big as P Diddy's ego and have a seat. I checked my watch and started to get nervous.
Because time was slip sliding away.
I was curious how long it would actually take us to get from AKL to the far reaches of the MK so once we got on the bus, I decided to time our trip. From the time we got rolling to the time we rolled up at the MK was fifteen minutes. It was no monorail ride over from the Contemporary, but still, it wasn’t half bad.
We hop off and make our way up the winding mauve colored walkway for our first glimpse of the Magic Kingdom.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/mk.jpg
Have I mentioned that I love this place?
We get our bags checked, proudly slide our cards through the card reader for the first time and then push our way through the sideways spider. As per our routine, after our cards shoot out on the other side one by one, we hand them all back to DH for safekeeping.
Cause he’s the man.
Just ask him. He'll tell ya.
We then make our way through the tunnel. Normally our first stop would be off to the left to rent a stroller but since we were only going to have enough time to eat dinner and then catch Wishes, we decide not to get a stroller for the night. We were actually going to make the kids walk. Gasp. It was a first for us.
As we head through the tunnel, I grab a guide map just out of habit. Turns out, I wouldn’t need it. In fact, we would hardly refer to a map at all on this trip in any of the parks.
Because we already knew where all the family bathrooms were. And where all of the uncrowded bathrooms were. We’re cool like that.
We are running just a tad behind (that’s the overdue part) as we officially enter the Magic Kingdom and make a beeline over to Tony’s Town Square.
My husband has a thing for crowds. He’s not a big fan.
So as we open the door to the restaurant and look around, he is completely flabbergasted. Shocked. Caught off guard. And three other phrases that all mean the same thing. He is taken aback because everywhere our eyes rest, there is a person. Not just one person. Oodles of persons.
They are all standing around looking haggard and hungry. And they are all waiting on the same thing we’re about to be waiting on. A table at Tony’s.
As we scan the room, we notice people sprawled out in the middle of the floor with their arms resting over their eyes. If I didn’t know any better, I'd think these people were on a ten hour layover at LaGuardia. Or at least Hartsfield. They looked that tired. And that ticked off.
Adults were parked in front of the TV watching the Lady and the Britney right along with the kids. I heard children complaining to their parents that if they had to wait one more minute, their insides were literally going to cave in. And then all would be lost.
DH was not pleased.
Because the only thing he likes less than being in a big crowd is having to wait in a big crowd. After the big crowd had already checked in before us.
Great. This was gonna go just super. I could tell already.
We get in line and finally make it up front. We give them our last name and I tell the girl that we’d like to have a patio table if at all possible. She gives me the spiel about not being able to guarantee anything. Yeah, yeah, I got it, chick.
I tell her I understand the protocol because I’m no rookie and she tells us we’re free to mill around and that they'll call our name when the table is ready.
Fast forward to one hour later.
The room has just about cleared out except for us and a few other very hungry stragglers.
We could smell the food wafting in from the dining room and needless to say, everyone in our family was ravenous and grumpy by this point. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my son chewing on the chair with a wild look in his eyes and my husband gnawing on his leg. The other leg. His other leg.
Not the boy’s. Cause that would be weird. And also illegal I think.
What I’m saying is they were really hungry.
And really grumpy.
All night long we had heard families being beckoned one by one to their table in that cool way they only do at Disneyworld. We kept waiting for someone to stand in the middle of the crowd and yell "Attentione, Attentione! (Spell check that one, NM) We now have a lovely table waiting for the LaLa family."
Apparently our lovely table wasn’t into waiting any more than we were.
Fast forward to four minutes later.
The kids have had all they can take.
The boy has already finished his first course of chair soup and has begun to eyeball the chair rail. Speaking of eyes, DH's are about to pop out of his head. He is on the brink of saying to heck with it. He threatens me with Casey's so I get up and take matters into my own hands.
I go have a little chat with the chick up front. Turns out our lovely table became available right as I was asking about it. Imagine that. I watched our last name roll up on the screen and I immediately became giddy.
No hot dogs for us, baby. Mama wants a steak.
I tell the guy to skip the Attentione crap and get us to our lovely table pronto. Then I ask if our lovely table happens to be out on the lovely patio by any lovely chance.
I knew I stood little chance of getting what I wanted because it was insanely crowded. And at this point, any one of us would've taken a plate of spaghetti set up on a table out back. After the dogs had already had first shot at it.
But he checked his slip of paper and replied, "Yes maam. You’re out front on the patio. You’re lucky. You timed it perfectly and you’re going to get to see Spectromagic roll by from out there. The view's amazing."
SCORE!
Two times in one day, baby.
I was literally giddy with excitement. I couldn’t help it. All that planning and hoping and waiting and it actually worked out the way I wanted it to in the end. That doesn’t normally happen for me. I was beyond happy. I actually looked back at my husband and giggled as I told him we scored the patio table. I giggled like a school girl and then I raised the roof. Just a little. I halfway raised the roof.
I think I goobed the guy out.
Not my guy.
And even if I did goob him out, it doesn’t matter cause it’s too late for him now anyway. He had his chance to kick me to the curb eleven years and three months ago. Now he’s stuck with me. Till death do we part and all that. No, I’m talking about the other guy. The CM. I could tell by the look in his eyes that my happiness was goobing him out. Or frightening him. One or the other.
Maybe a little of both.
He deposited us at our lovely patio table and made himself scarcer than Michael Richards's agent. In other words, we never saw him again. Which was fine by me. He kinda goobed me out and scared me all at the same time.
We check out our view (which was TOTALLY AWESOME by the way) and order our food.
Both DH and I ordered a steak and salad with some really good, creamy ranch dressing on it. I order Ranch because I refuse to eat bleu cheese dressing. I could up Chappie's puke story tally by sharing the hows and whys of that statement but I’m not inclined to at the moment.
Besides, some boy might be scarfing down a bagel at this very minute. It’s been known to happen.
Anyway, it was around this time that we were in the middle of the nationwide spinach Ecoli scare so when they brought out my salad, I pointed to a suspicious looking leaf sticking up out of the overabundance of really thick and creamy Ranch dressing.
I then proceeded to have this exchange for the first of many times on our trip.
Me: Is that spinach in my salad?
Server: No maam. It’s arugula.
Me: Are you sure? Cause it looks like spinach to me. And I don’t want Ecoli.
Server: Yes maam, it’s perfectly fine. It’s arugula.
Me: Okay, but only if you’re sure.
I would have this conversation with almost every server I encountered that dare serve me anything that vaguely looked like spinach. I wasn’t playing around. I wasn’t into getting Ecoli at Disneyworld.
Cause that would really stink.
Literally. And figuratively.
The kids ordered pasta and chicken noodle soup as their appetizer. I have to say I was slightly disappointed in the food at Tony’s. It definitely wasn’t the worst meal we’d had at Disney but it was also a far cry from the best meal we’d had at Disney. The steaks were pretty bland by themselves and if it weren’t for the gorgonzola butter on top, it would’ve been a thumbs down for me. As it was, that stuff that tasted like it had five thousand fat grams in one teaspoon made all the difference in the world. Go figure. But it was wonderful and gave the steak a really good flavor.
Mmm. Gorgonzola butter. Not that’s some good stuff right there.
The entire time we were eating our meal, we noticed the crowd build up just on the other side of the patio. We watched all the peeps jockeying for position as we sat at on our perch and were served food and had our glasses of sweet tea refilled on a whim.
We pointed and laughed at all the poor schmucks that were sitting on the curb as we settled into our seats and ate our steaks with gorgonzola butter.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tonys.jpg
And then just as we were served our Mascarpone Cheesecake, which was totally and completely out of this world, it started.
I was having some problems with the night setting on my camera, so sorry if these turn out a little blurry.
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a11.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a10.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a2.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a1.jpg
Like my friend Nicolemarie, I love the Spectromagic music. It never fails to put a huge, goofy smile on my face. I grin through the entire parade. We try to see it on our first night and have been pretty successful most years. So for that reason alone, the Spectro music means we have arrived. To me. I guess you could call it my Disney bus. It means our vacation has begun.
And it had. On this magic night.
We sit back and take in the parade in all its splendor. As each illuminated float rolls by, the kids stop eating their ice cream sundaes long enough to excitedly yell the name of the characters and point and wave at them. This trip was all about Minnie for our daughter. She still loved the Princesses, but for some reason, she was all about Mickey’s main squeeze this go round.
So she lost her mind when she saw Minnie's sparkling float roll by.
We were watching the videotape the other night and I got the biggest kick out of watching her trying her hardest to get Minnie’s attention. She wiped the ice cream from her mouth and yelled at the top of her little lungs for Minnie. Twice. And then once more for good measure. Then she blew Minnie a huge chocolate covered kiss. I realized for the first time as I watched the camera pan out, that Minnie actually waved back to her and blew her a kiss right back. I didn’t catch that the first time.
Must have been sidetracked by the non anthrax laced cheesecake.
Sure, I guess she could have been waving and blowing kisses to some other little girl in our general direction but we'll say it was directed at our girl and leave it at that.
That’s our story and we’re stickin to it.
We finished up our dessert as the parade rolled by. I was on top of the world. It was an awesome setup, I have to say. Everywhere we looked, we saw twinkling lights, whether it was from the buildings surrounding us on Main Street or from the floats and characters themselves. Best of all, we weren’t standing up or sitting on the concrete curb. DH turned to me, pulled me close into a squeeze, and told me I did good. He nodded his approval.
The lovely patio table was a hit.
In fact, we had such an awesome setup that lots of other people tried to insinuate themselves in between us and our view. I can’t tell you how many people we saw try to climb up onto the patio through a set of steps that was clearly blocked off. Lots of people came wandering out of the main dining room and parked themselves directly in front of our us. And proceeded to enjoy the parade.
For a moment anyway.
But not to worry.
Because one thing all my research on the DIS did not tell me is that Tony’s lovely patio has its very own bouncer. That’s right. A bouncer.
And she was a mighty tough one at that.
Her name was Cecilia.
Or was it Mrs. Robinson?
Truth is, I don’t recall.
She wasn’t young in years but you could tell with one glance that she was as tough as nails. The woman wasn’t playing around. She had game and she was bringin it to the table.
The lovely patio table. Which we scored. Have I mentioned that?
Anyway, she stood at attention on our immediate right and if she saw anyone so much as think about standing in front of us or anyone else fortunate enough to be seated outside, she quickly approached them and ran them off. I was amazed at how busy she was. She swatted down potential squatters with amazing speed and accuracy. Some people were courteous and others wanted to argue with her. But she wasn’t the type to lose an argument.
We thanked her for her help and ended up talking to her a good bit in her down time. I made the remark that she looked like she had her hands full. I asked her if she usually had a hard time convincing people to take their seat. She looked at me with eyes that had no doubt seen the ugly side of human behavior and informed me that I wouldn’t believe some of the things that had happened over the years even if she told me.
I was immediately reminded of my run in with Perma Scowl at the Four Corners of Insanity and I had no doubt she was telling the truth.
So here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.
After the parade ended, we signed our bill and laughed out loud. Really loud. Cause you just gotta love that free dining. We then bid Cecilia Robinson and our lovely table farewell and headed off once again to rub elbows with the common folk in our quest to find a spot for Wishes.
We walk up towards Main Street in our efforts to scope out a spot. It was wall to wall humanity at the cross street, which was my first choice. So we decide to just stand in the middle of Main Street.
For some reason.
DH wasn’t sure about my location choice.
"Are you sure we can do this? Are you sure we can just stand in the middle of the street?" he kept asking.
"Of course we can." I tell him.
Then, "What's the matter? Didn't you read ZZUB's trip report, Man?"
That part was just with my eyes.
As the four of us stand there, our daughter decides she wants a Mickey bar. Of course she does. She has just eaten chicken noodle soup and pasta and an ice cream sundae yet now she suddenly wants a Mickey bar.
When we first began our Disney negotiations last year, one of the first things the girl said she wanted to do was to eat a Mickey ice cream bar. She had been talking about it ever since and in that exact moment the realization hit her. She was in the land of the Mickey ice cream bar. It was fireworks time. Which automatically brings to mind snacks. So no matter how full she was, she was bound and determined to take in the chocolate and vanilla joy that is a Mickey ice cream bar.
I can vaguely relate because after all, we are once again in the land of the Elusive Dole Whip. And I feel the girl's pain.
So we turn to DH and between mine and the girl’s joint feminine wiles, we convince a reluctant man who only wanted to sit and watch some fireworks to get up, fight the crowds, and go on the hunt. He grabs the boy to help him carry the stuff back and they're off.
They were being the hunters and we were being the sit back and waiters.
As we wait for them to come back, I take the time to dig into the backpack and pull out the kids' glow necklaces from last year. Only this time around I had mastered the art of the on/off switch. Because I had taken great pains to practice it in the mirror before we left.
So I turn on the necklace with a little bit of flair and bravado and hand it to the girl. I do the same with the boy’s and throw it around my neck. We have our own little strobe light thing goin’ on while we wait for them to come back. All we needed to get the party started right was a lil Tone Loc and a couple of speakers as tall as me.
It didn't take long for the boys to show back up. It didn’t take long because they didn’t get anything. They came back empty handed.
"Oh no they didn't" my daughter says with her eyes. And her head. And her hip.
DH claims he couldn’t find an ice cream cart. The girl is upset and begins to cry. She so wanted that Mickey bar. My husband bends down and hugs his daughter. He tells her not to cry and that we'll get her one on the way out. It’s better this way because she won’t be so full when she gets it. And maybe she'll actually be able to eat both ears instead of just one before it melts into a big pile of vanilla soup. It’s for the best, she’ll see. She nods her head in agreement and dries her eyes. Her brother cracks a joke as if on cue and she busts out into a full laugh. With tears still streaming down her face.
But it’s all good. Cause we'll get it on the way out. Daddy said so.
As we stand there and wait for the show to start, a guy wearing a firefighter shirt approaches us and tells us that he and his family are leaving the park for the night. They have a double stroller and he tells us if we want it, it’s ours. We take them up on the offer and thank them profusely.
Every time we come to Disneyworld, we invariably will witness an act that will make our heads spin and leave us wondering what's wrong with humanity. But as this firefighter father proved, the opposite is also true. For every blatantly selfish act that we witness in Disney, there are also lots of random acts of kindness that we witness as well.
And as for me, I’d like to believe the latter outnumbers the former.
The kids scramble into the stroller, glad to be able to finally take a load off. We look toward Cinderella's castle and are once again amazed at how pretty it is at night. And no matter how many times I may see it at night, it never fails to leave me in awe as the colors change from purple to green to blue and on and on.
And in that very moment, we hear the music start.
That beautiful, unmistakable music.
Starlight starbright. First star I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might
Have this wish I wish tonight…
All of a sudden the music crescendos with those two notes that we all know so well and the sky is lit up with the first of the stars that blaze across the sky in an arc above the castle. I’m not afraid to admit that at that point I may have cried. Yes, I actually did. I cried just a little. Hard to believe, right? I grab our daughter and hold her so she can have a better view.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a7.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a5.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/a4.jpg
As the music and the voices wind their way through the classic movies, our son and daughter excitedly yell out the names of each of the character's voices. They don’t miss a single one. Then they laugh. Really laugh.
For seemingly no reason at all.
How about that?
We’re a couple of Disney Dorks raising another couple of Disney Dorks.
It’s a family tradition.
And I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Up next: The Elusive Mickey Bar
Dreamer & Wisher
12-06-2006, 08:58 AM
Hooray I'm first~! :surfweb:
First time for me ever. Love the pictures :thumbsup2
THanks for sharing your trip with us.
nicolemarie
12-06-2006, 09:41 AM
I loved it. Although it might have freaked me out just a little.
Once we were in the lobby, we found there was a set of stairs off to the left. They looked almost hidden but DH spotted them and thus was born our routine. From that point on, every time we came back from the parks, we'd cut through the dump shop, hang a left, walk up just one flight of stairs (since the lobby is on the third level) and make our way to the room.
Borg.
As we sit around on our balcony and talk, we extol the virtues of Disneyworld and AKL. Because nothing beats the feeling of arrival day. And especially a free upgrade on arrival day. As I recall, there were several emphatic declarations of love being thrown around at the time.
Borg.
You see, my husband likes to mess with the kids' heads occasionally.
Big time Borg.
I was curious how long it would actually take us to get from AKL to the far reaches of the MK so once we got on the bus, I decided to time our trip. From the time we got rolling to the time we rolled up at the MK was fifteen minutes.
Seriously Borg. Everytime I was on the bus.
As per our routine, after our cards shoot out on the other side one by one, we hand them all back to DH for safekeeping.
Borg.
Fast forward to one hour later.
NOT Borg. My man wouldn't have waited. I frequently remind him that if you add up all the time that we just spent driving to a restaurant with no wait, we could have already been eating at the first one.
Like my friend Nicolemarie, I love the Spectromagic music.
Best Borg of all.
I’m not afraid to admit that at that point I may have cried. Yes, I actually did. I cried just a little. Hard to believe, right? I grab our daughter and hold her so she can have a better view.
Or was it that one?
We’re a couple of Disney Dorks raising another couple of Disney Dorks.
Nope. THIS is the best Borg of all.
LaLa. That was an AWESOME installment. I would have quoted more, but much like your mailbox, I've probably exceeded my available space. :teeth:
I love hearing about your trip because the parallels really are scary. AKL was a great resort, wasn't it?
Thanks again for taking us along with you. I'm craving some cheesecake. Anthrax-free, of course.
NM :sunny:
I actually do know a good lawyer
His name wouldn't begin with a Z would it?
Because we already knew where all the family bathrooms were. And where all of the uncrowded bathrooms were. We’re cool like that.
Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar.
My husband has a thing for crowds. He’s not a big fan.
A man after my own heart.
Great report, but I need another bucket of popcorn popcorn::
Love the Simon & Garfunkel references :goodvibes
monymony3471
12-06-2006, 12:05 PM
Man LaLa you weren't kidding.
I think my bottom has become one with my chair.
Excellent!
Right on!
I think I need a crow bar.....
awesome............I enjoyed it so much it didn't seem long at all.......I love your humor..very funny stuff :rotfl2:
serendipity
12-06-2006, 02:07 PM
I love it! Thanks so much for your TR. I love the AKL it's so pretty. I've only gotten through a few of your chapters but just wanted to respond.
Of course, I wasn't middle aged when I began reading this. Oy vey. This was longer than the Lord of the Rings. Which I've never seen. But I hear things.
Fortunately, this was very good reading.
Or else there would be some kind of punishment.
He thinks they could add so much more to it by throwing a few beads and some moon pies.Virtually everything goes better with moonpies. Moonpies are good food.
There was a group of African singers and dancers putting on a show in front of the firepit . . .They were really good.No offense, but how do you know they were really good? Do you have a lot of experiene with African singers and dancers? Maybe they were really lousy and you were just being a dumb American with diamonds on the soles of your shoes and didn't know any better?
:moped:
brandt79
12-06-2006, 04:16 PM
Like my friend Nicolemarie, I love the Spectromagic music. It never fails to put a huge, goofy smile on my face. I grin through the entire parade.
BORG. You an add me to that list. I was a huge fan of the Main Street Electrical Light Parade, for sentimental family reasons, but I am just as big a fan of Spectromagic now. I listen to the soundtrack in my car at least once a day. I'm definitely trying for a patio table at Tony's next trip.
KangaFan
12-06-2006, 07:34 PM
As we walked to our room that first day, we noticed there was quite a commotion going on in the lobby. Make that a very loud commotion. There was a group of African singers and dancers putting on a show in front of the firepit.
Was I the only one who thought you were on day 4 or so? You packed a whole lot of action into your first day! Thanks for the laughs. :teeth:
Because we already knew where all the family bathrooms were. And where all of the uncrowded bathrooms were. We’re cool like that.
Okay, so I thought I was done planning, but I hadn't even considered the all-important potty stops. I've got to know, where are all of the family and uncrowded bathrooms? :scratchin
His name wouldn't begin with a Z would it?
Actually, no. It wouldn't.
Oh wait. You didn't think I was talking about ZZUB did you? Cause you know he's not the only good lawyer I know. I know quite a few good lawyers as a matter of fact. But ole ZZUB does currently hold the title as the funniest lawyer I know. And the grossest. What Simon and Garfunkel references?
I think my bottom has become one with my chair.
I think I need a crow bar.....
That makes two of us. So do you like Billy Idol?
awesome............I enjoyed it so much it didn't seem long at all.......I love your humor..very funny stuff
Thank you SamC! And ROLL TIDE for you too!
No offense, but how do you know they were really good? Do you have a lot of experiene with African singers and dancers? Maybe they were really lousy and you were just being a dumb American with diamonds on the soles of your shoes and didn't know any better?
No offense, but how do you know you're not still crazy after all these years?
But I hear things.
Saidly, that's your first clue. My friend.
Although it might have freaked me out just a little.
Borg.
I frequently remind him that if you add up all the time that we just spent driving to a restaurant with no wait, we could have already been eating at the first one.
Borg.
I'm craving some cheesecake. Anthrax-free, of course.
Borg.
I would have quoted more, but much like your mailbox, I've probably exceeded my available space.
I made like B and deleted. Fire away.
BORG. You an add me to that list
Borg.
Sorry, got carried away. Definitely try for the table on your next trip. It's awesome. Or on second thought, maybe you shouldn't. That's right. You shouldn't. NOBODY should. Yall don't bother with it. Cause I have to be able to get in next time I go.
I've got to know, where are all of the family and uncrowded bathrooms?
Kanga, Kanga, Kanga. Count yourself fortunate that you're standin' on the outside of the Disney Circle of Dorks. Besides, if I posted the location of the uncrowded bathrooms on the DIS, I'm guessing they wouldn't be so uncrowded next time. And I have to be able to get in there next time I go too. But thanks for reading. AND posting!
Serendipity: Thanks for responding. Love the name by the way. Hop to it. Apparently you've got some readin' to do. As long as you weren't already middle aged when you started, you should be okay though.
Dreamer and Wisher: Thanks for being first! I really appreciate the comments!
monymony3471
12-06-2006, 09:33 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by monymony3471
I think my bottom has become one with my chair.
I think I need a crow bar.....
Originally Posted by LaLa That makes two of us. So do you like Billy Idol?
No, long story that's what most people think.
Do you like the teletubbies?
Chapter 11
12-06-2006, 11:16 PM
Nice installment, La. I'll give you two vomit references on that one, although for the life of me, I could not possibly find them in order to quote them in that Homeric-like epic you just dropped on us. Indeed, I think the title should be changed to the "IlLaead". And hey:
Actually, no. It wouldn't.
Oh wait. You didn't think I was talking about ZZUB did you? Cause you know he's not the only good lawyer I know. I know quite a few good lawyers as a matter of fact. But ole ZZUB does currently hold the title as the funniest lawyer I know. And the grossest. What Simon and Garfunkel references?
I thought I was the grossest ....
kathymc
12-07-2006, 02:53 PM
Thank goodness I dont know how to quote, because if I had to quote everything that made me laugh, or smile, or tear up, or slightly gag, or break into a song - I wouldnt know when to stop.
I am really enjoying hearing your reactions to the AKL as we had a fabulous stay there a few years ago and it brings back great memories. Oh how we loved stepping off the bus and getting the blast of cold air as we walked into the shop each night - and browze for the 10th time! We'd wake up all hours of the night and peek outside to see if the animals were still there! My DH dubbed the big bull like looking thing with the big horns a Gizulgabeast. Dont know why I just shared that, but I guess thats just what us dorks do.
As always, thanks for sharing your trip with us.
mlill
12-07-2006, 03:00 PM
WoW! Watching SpectroMagic from a patio table at Tony's! How cool is that?! I just might have to ask for a patio table when we go to Tony's next week! I can't wait to read more...
Happy Holidays!
-Michelle
RunningthruDisney
12-07-2006, 10:58 PM
Great Report!!!!!
I do have to say of all the time I have been to Disney, I think I have eaten at Tony's once a trip, but never during the parade. :confused3 That is what happens when you are a go with the flow family.
AshClan
12-08-2006, 10:18 AM
“Is that so?” I ask.
I pry the girl off me and set her down.
I then push the hair back away from my eyes, square my shoulders, and punch him dead in the face.
Thrice. In rapid succession.
I wouldn't have blamed you!! :rolleyes:
Amazingly, even Disney's bus stops have dump shops.
Never thought about it, but you're right!!
I don’t mean to be coy, Roy. Just listen to me. Or as I call him, Al. We stood on the overlook near the bridge. Over troubled water. And it was late in the evening.
With all the music seeping through. Cause the stomp dancing singers had already stomp danced their way out the door and off to meet Julio down by the schoolyard. gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday. Because time was slip sliding away.Mama don't take my Kodachrome away.Her name was Cecilia.
Or was it Mrs. Robinson?So here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.
Geesh, for someone who's not a Paul Simon fan, you've done a masterful job with his lyrics!!! :confused3 (Did I miss any?)
Adults were parked in front of the TV watching the Lady and the Britney right along with the kids.
That's just FOF. :rotfl2:
kpk89
12-08-2006, 05:24 PM
Another great(long) chapter! Ick on the wave pool scariness ... and I would've punched your husband 4 times. Well, if he were MY husband I would. I don't actually have anything against your husband.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo (spelling?)-The name of the group that sings with Paul Simon and that Life Savers commercial. I'm lovin' this trip report just like your others!!! Thanks!
Frickles
12-09-2006, 07:52 AM
So you might wanna grab yourself a lil sumpm sumpm before you dive in. Like a seat. Or a tub of popcorn with extra butter. A value size vat of hairy pickled pig lips.
That was for Chappie wasn't it. I hear he loves those things. As well as my hams.
I knew she could hold her breath underwater probably better than I could. I just wasn't sure how long she could hold it. Or how long she would need to hold it. The pressure from the wave finally broke up and I was able to break through the surface. The whole episode probably lasted no more than about ten seconds, which doesn't seem all that long really. But while it was happening, it seemed like forever and a day.
This right here just scares me and I am so sorry it happened to y'all. I wish we could have made it there that day! We would have played the duck game with you for sure. And I would have swam with you La. BUT, I got that picture you sent me after you got there. http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m39/Frickles89/crowdedwaterpark.jpg
We don't do crowds well.
The girl and I throw the door to the room open only to find the boys sitting on the balcony elbow deep in a couple bags of Cheetos.
This would so be my boys. But Big Frick would be hurling the cheetoes off the balcony to lure the animals closer.
Loved it LaLa!!!!
I think you met the 470,000 word requirement for once!
Can't wait for more! popcorn::
Indy's Girl
12-09-2006, 05:45 PM
Just found your first trippie a few days ago and finally finished it up and made my way over to the sequel. So far it is just as good as the first! I love your writing style and can't wait for more! :goodvibes
tiggerbell
12-09-2006, 07:47 PM
Lovin' it. Mean it. Your writing transports me. And I tried your laugh-scream in September. It morphed into a very low-pitched scream. The kids named it "The Man Scream". Not flattering.
2cutiepatooties
12-10-2006, 09:06 PM
Great report. Can't wait for more popcorn::
Master Gracie
12-11-2006, 02:07 PM
Tolstoy's got nuthin' on you.
This makes War and Peace look like the Cliff's Notes version of "A Female's Guide to Logical Thinking." Nice to see you back writing again. Actually, truth be known, I guess you have been writing for some time, I just haven't been reading. That is now remedied and you are doing a wonderful job.
Now, to the nuts and bolts...
But back to what I was saying. I can’t run very well in water cause I‘m not any of those people.
Or am I?
No
I finally spot him and we drag our battle weary bodies over to his lounge chair.
The three of us stand in front of him dripping wet.
It's a good thing you didn't drop water actually on him...that would have been rude...and he might have gotten mad at you.
Guys are lucky like that. They can get dressed anywhere. Girls, not so much. Unless you're Paris Spears.
I can attest to the male portion of this statement. I have actually done a complete wardrobe change in a moving vehicle before...in broad daylight...whilst I was driving. Never said I was the sharpest knife in the drawer, but there you go...
Amazingly, even Disney's bus stops have dump shops
Are you kidding? Forget the bus stops...even Disney's toilets have dump shops...wait...nevermind.
So she lost her mind when she saw Minnie's sparkling float roll by.
She is her mother's daughter. What is it with you girls and lights anyway? You are going to give people the wrong impression of the South. Some of us do actually have electric lights in our houses now. A few even have running water, indoor plumbing, and a livestock-free living room. Scary, but true.
We’re a couple of Disney Dorks raising another couple of Disney Dorks.
Congratulations!
Oh, and thanks alot. I had finally broken free of you people and here you have to drag me back in.
I hope you're happy.
Oh, and thanks alot. I had finally broken free of you people and here you have to drag me back in.
I hope you're happy.
Well well well.
Look who decided to join us. It's Master G with a Double E. And just to clear up any confusion you may have fostered, yes, we actually do have them new fangled electronic lights in the house. But we're still waitin' on the running water. Or are we? Good to see you back around bringing the funny, MG.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo (spelling?)-The name of the group that sings with Paul Simon and that Life Savers commercial.
Thanks for filling me in, Bean! They really were good no matter what ZZUB said about them.
Thank goodness I dont know how to quote, because if I had to quote everything that made me laugh, or smile, or tear up, or slightly gag, or break into a song - I wouldnt know when to stop.
I am really enjoying hearing your reactions to the AKL as we had a fabulous stay there a few years ago and it brings back great memories. Oh how we loved stepping off the bus and getting the blast of cold air as we walked into the shop each night - and browze for the 10th time! We'd wake up all hours of the night and peek outside to see if the animals were still there! My DH dubbed the big bull like looking thing with the big horns a Gizulgabeast. Dont know why I just shared that, but I guess thats just what us dorks do.
As always, thanks for sharing your trip with us.
I loved reading this. See, you just took me back there in my mind for a minute or two. Thanks Kathy. A Gizulgabeast, huh? Well, that's better than what we came up with. We just called it "that bull with really big horns".
Geesh, for someone who's not a Paul Simon fan, you've done a masterful job with his lyrics!!! (Did I miss any?)
Yeah, well, that's what I do. Just call me the lyric lady. Me and Haley, that is. Love the edit, by the way. And right back atcha, Woman.
Another great(long) chapter! Ick on the wave pool scariness ... and I would've punched your husband 4 times. Well, if he were MY husband I would. I don't actually have anything against your husband.
Ick is right. And I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that. LY/MI my 89 sista.
I thought I was the grossest ....
No, you're the smartest. Because you know the difference between the Sahara and Sara Lee.
Do you like the teletubbies?
No, but I hear Chappie does.
Great report. Can't wait for more
Just found your first trippie a few days ago and finally finished it up and made my way over to the sequel. So far it is just as good as the first! I love your writing style and can't wait for more!
Thanks so much you two. I appreciate your sweet comments.
Tiggerbell: The man scream made me laugh out loud. Thanks for reading and posting.
Frickles My Girl: Good grief, that picture makes me ill just to look at it. Can you imagine how nasty that water is? I'm thankful I've never been swimming in that water. Anyway, I would've quoted it but that means I would've had to see it again. And after a bout with the stomach bug and some serious ZZUBage this weekend (I'll spare you the details), I'm not taking any chances. LY/MI Woman.
RunningThruDisney and mlill: I have to say the Tony's patio table was amazing and it really made our first night there. Definitely try to get in on your next trip. You too Brandt. It's so worth it.
I've got the next one ready and it should be up shortly. Thanks again to all who posted anything encouraging at all.
Yall Rock!
:moped: :moped:
I’ve done a lot of things in the thirty five years that I’ve been on this earth. And if for some reason I had to make a list of everything I’ve done in this life and show it to you, it still wouldn’t be as long as that last chapter.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
Actually, if I could ever compile such a list and allow you to peruse it, you would find that out of all the things that I’ve done, I have never once been caught in a wild stampede of buffalo. I’ve never been in a mosh pit. I’ve never run with the bulls. I had a Red Bull once, but I don’t think that’s the same thing.
That’s more of a prerequisite to the running of the bulls. And if it’s not, it should be.
Anyway, I’ve never done any of those things. But I may as well have. Because when the fireworks end on any given night within the far reaches of the Walt Disney World Resort, it is literally every man, woman and child for themselves.
As the last burst of color fades from the sky over Cinderella’s Castle signaling the end of Wishes’ grand finale, we hear wild applause go up around the park.
And that’s our cue.
“Let’s hit it.” DH says.
We turn to leave. But it’s too late. Cause we’re already caught in gridlock of the worst kind. It was sweaty stranger gridlock. I was being forced to stand way too close to sweaty people I don’t know. My personal space was being violated. Worse than that, my sense of smell was being violated. We slowly move along with the ebb and flow of the group and finally manage to do the chain gang shuffle all the way up to the front of the park.
We spot an open pocket and are just about to make a run for it when it happens. The beginning of the end. Well, not really the end. That won’t come for another eight months at the rate I’m going.
Our daughter spotted an ice cream cart.
You’ll remember at some point during the Lord of the Rings installment, her father promised her a Mickey Ice Cream bar on the way out. But even if you didn’t remember, she did. And that was all that mattered at the time.
So she points to the cart and wiggles her little hand around, reminding him of his promise. We stop dead in our tracks and watch as our open window closes. Then we sigh heavily and get in line.
And we wait.
And wait.
The girl has a smile on her face from ear to ear. She points to the picture of the Mickey Ice Cream Bar. She tells us that’s what she wants. As if we didn’t already know. As if she hadn’t already made it clear the first fifty eight times she said it.
Finally it’s our turn.
My husband places the order and whips out the card. The card on which our dining plan information resides. Because the last time we checked, the Mickey Ice Cream Bar was still considered a snack on the dining plan. Maybe it won’t be in 2007 with all the changes to the dining plan but we weren’t concerned about 2007 that night. It was 2006 and as far as we knew, the Mickey bar would be hers with one swipe of our handy Key to the World.
And it normally would have.
If only that darn snack cart had been accepting anything other than cash.
It took two different Snack Cart guys to convince my husband that they were not going to accept our Key to the Food. Because it was closing time or some crap like that. The pantry was locked. And our key didn’t fit.
Which wouldn’t normally be a problem.
Had we actually thought to bring some cash along for the ride.
Go ahead and insert the record scratching noise here.
I'll wait.
Yes, you read that right. We didn’t bring any cash with us that night. How dumb can we be, right? We’ve done some stupid stuff before (mainly he has not me) but that one really took the cake.
Well, except for the Gasoline Incident of 1996 which earned him the nickname 'Octane' across three counties. Cause that one really took the cake. Took the lifetime of cakes, actually.
Yeah, don’t ask.
Back to our (his) stupid mistake of not bringing any cash to the parks. Yes, I blame my husband. Because I’m the one writing this and he’s not. So I can do whatever I want. Hey baby. Love you. Really mean it.
Anyway, as I slowly began to realize what was happening, that we were being denied a snack that one of us really wanted and had been looking forward to because the snack cart people weren't going to accept anything other than cash as payment, I started to laugh.
And the more I thought about it, the harder I laughed. It may sound strange to you right now, but for reasons that may come to light in another six or ten or twelve months down the road in someone else's totally rockin' trip report, I couldn’t stop laughing. I tried to keep a straight face for the kids. And DH. Who was not amused. But I just couldn’t do it. I just had to shake my head and laugh.
Because the irony of it all was just too much.
Freaky borg.
The laughter came to an abrupt end though when I looked at my daughter’s face.
She began to cry very softly (which is much worse than a full on obnoxious cry) at the realization that she would not be getting a Mickey bar after all. The Mickey Bar had become elusive for her in much the same way as the Dole Whip had become elusive for me. Only she wanted this more than I wanted a Dole Whip.
Because it’s chocolate. It’s very refreshing. And who’s gonna turn down a Mickey bar?
I could tell my husband felt really bad. I felt sorry for him. I felt sorry for her. And I felt bad for laughing. What can I say? I feel things. To be honest though, short of staying overnight and spit shining the garbage cans on Main Street, there was nothing we could do about it. We told her (again) that we would make sure she got a Mickey Bar first thing in the morning when we got to Epicot.
Now if she had been a teenager, she would have no doubt given us the look and possibly some lip at that point. But she’s not. For now she’s still five. And she's a good girl. So she gave us something much worse.
A reluctant nod of agreement, puppy dog eyes, and guilt.
The Inescapable Parental Guilt that Pervades Everyday Life had reared its ugly head.
Valuable lesson number two relearned. Never rely on just your dining plan card in the parks. Always bring cash because you never know when they’re gonna lock the pantry door and spit in the general direction of your grossly inadequate Key to the Food.
We left the scene of the crime and hoofed it out to the bus stop.
Again, we timed it perfectly and never broke our stride as we walked onto the bus. We’ve never had that happen leaving the parks after the fireworks. We liked it. Once we were on the bus, DH pointed in the direction of the two last seats left on the right. Right on the left. Our other left. Gorilla. He motions for me and the girl to take them and then he and the boy grab two seats directly across from us.
As the lights dimmed and we began to move toward our resort, our daughter climbed up into my lap and laid her head on my shoulder. I hugged her tight and gave her a kiss as we settled in for the ride.
And it was in the quiet on the way back to the AKL that I noticed the family beside us.
If you read the last trip report, you might remember that I like to people watch on Disney busses. In fact, if people watching were an Olympic event, I’d take gold in that one too.
But enough about my title, let’s get back to the family.
Actually, it was a dad and his daughter. A Disney Dad and his daughter. The little girl looked to be about four years old. She and our daughter made fast friends. I know this because I saw them look at each other and then giggle at nothing. Which is the true sign of friendship when you’re five years old.
The thing that stood out to me about them and the thing that makes it even worth writing about was the back and forth between this little girl and her Daddy.
He leaned over and cracked joke after joke for her and after each one, she would throw her little head back and cackle really loudly. He sang Disney songs to her. In his full voice. He wasn’t the least bit embarrassed to sing out loud in his big voice on a crowded bus for his daughter’s amusement. In that moment, that little girl was the only thing on her Daddy’s radar. I could tell that he wouldn’t hesitate to rope the moon for her if she only asked. The man was so wrapped it was pathetic.
Except that it was more sweet than pathetic.
Anyway, it was really cute to watch and it made me think of my husband and his relationship with our daughter. And all the other sweet Disney Dads out there who work so hard day in and day out and live for family vacation so they can have that moment where the world stops, everything fades away and it’s just them and the ones they love the most. Enjoying each other’s company and making memories together.
The way it should be.
As the bus made its way out to the back forty, the driver came on over the loudspeaker to make an announcement. He started by informing us that we had all picked the exact perfect time to be in Disneyworld. I immediately wondered if he, too, was from Georgia and was also a pathological liar.
He went on to tell us that us that Disney was on the cusp of kicking off a brand new promotion. Celebration. Promotional celebration.
Whatever.
Gone was the Happiest Celebration on Earth. They had kissed it goodbye along with the bling bling on the castle. Which was a shame, because I kind of liked it. I liked the bling.
But no matter. Cause this was a new day. We were standing on the brink of the Year of a Million Dreams Celebration. Promotion. According to Mr. I’m Gonna Show You a Good Time Even Though You’re Tired and Sleepy, it was the perfect time to be in Disney because the very next day was the kickoff for the new promotion. Celebration.
Whatever.
He explained that Disney Cast Members were being instructed to pick guests out of the crowd at random at all four theme parks. The chosen guests would then be awarded a special “dream”.
“A dream? What is this dream that you speak of?” we ask him with our eyes.
According to Mr. Informative, Disney was set to award its guests everything from Golden Fastpasses to a night in Cinderella’s Castle to free Disney vacations for life.
“WhatchutalkinboutWillis?” we ask him with our mouths.
We weren’t sure what the story was with the Golden Fastpasses. And even though I didn’t know what it was, I knew enough to know I wanted it. I already knew about the night in Cinderella’s castle. That was old news. Albeit great news. I had been reading about it on allearsnet and I knew enough to know I wanted that one too.
But the last one. Oh, the last glorious one blew our collective minds.
My husband and I perk up. We lock eyes from across the bus, raise our eyebrows, and mouth to each other in amazement the words Ralph Cramden has just laid on us.
Free Disney vacations.
FOR LIFE.
Now that’s what I’m talking about. I gotta get me some of that.
Suddenly everyone on the bus woke up at the same time. The murmurs began in the front and worked their way towards the back. The bus was abuzz. Which oddly enough, is a backwards ZZUB.
But we won't go into that now. Cause my stomach is still reeling from the Weekend of ZZUBage we just experienced. It wasn't pretty in case you're wondering. Catch that one, Chappie?
Moving on.
The air in the bus suddenly turned electric as we realized there was the possibility that any one of us could be picked out of a crowd and awarded free Disney vacations for life.
Tomorrow. Tom Morrow, even.
All around us you could hear the whispers.
“Sp..sp..sp...Free Disney vacations…sp…sp...sp…No, he said for life…I’m serious that’s what he said…sp…sp..sp…How much does that Le Cellier rock?!...sp...sp...sp..."
Nobody cared about the Golden Fastpasses or the night in Cinderella’s Castle. Well, yeah we cared. And sure, those were great and none of us would be turning ‘em down when our time came to be pulled out of the crowd the next day. But the last one was the deal breaker. It was the coup de gras. The piece de resistance.
The gift that would keep on giving.
And it was ours for the taking.
Instantly families began to put their heads together in efforts to formulate a game plan. The goal was to attract enough attention to themselves that the Disney brass would be willing to pick their crew out of a crowd.
A crowd of approximately three billion people.
I quickly made a mental review of the clothes I had packed for us three months ago. Cause you just had to know that if the higher ups were going to pick someone out of a crowd to award free Disney vacations for life to, they’d be picking the family that was sporting the Disney logo.
Non Disney logo wearing families didn’t stand a chance.
That was just a given.
I mentally pencil in a few ensembles and decide that I’ll have to go through the closet when we get back. Because it was on now. With free Disney vacations for life at stake, the wardrobe choices for the week were absolutely critical.
In a transparent effort to calm the frenzied crowd, Mr. What Have I Done began a sing along. We sang the Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round and if you’re Happy and You Know It the rest of the way back to the resort that night.
The kids woke up and got the biggest kick out of singing a song about a bus. On a bus. I wish I could remember the guy’s actual name because he was the best bus driver we’d had at Disney so far. And not just because he laid some seriously cool knowledge on us that night. He was really nice and a lot of fun. He put a mass of tired tourists into a great mood and helped us make some great memories.
And yes, great memories can even happen on a Disney bus. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Disney Dad and his litte girl that were sitting next to me that night.
I’m sure they would agree.
We arrive at our resort and hop off the bus. A quick duck through the dump shop and off to the left and next thing you know, we’re in our room. I practically run to the closet to get my wardrobe game plan ironed out. I slide open the door and inspiration hits me in the face.
Did I mention the fact that our daughter was so completely into Minnie this year that it was pathetic? Okay, it wasn’t actually pathetic. It was more cute than anything. When we booked the reservations and bought our MNSSHP tickets, the girl informed me she wanted to dress up as Minnie for the party.
Done.
I ordered a Minnie costume from the Disney store and only let her try it on once before wrapping the pretty sequined dress in plastic and tucking it away in her closet to await its debut on Disney property. As I stood there and heard the words Free Disney Vacations For Life in my head, I eyeballed the brand new cute as all get out Minnie dress and began to think.
I began to think the thoughts of a desperate Mom. My rationale was that if they had to pick someone out of a crowd to give a cool as all get out award to, chances are, they’d pick someone with a Minnie in the family. Of course they would.
It was common sense, right?
The Minnie dress had become our ticket to free Disney vacations for life. Along with those Golden Fastpasses. And the night in the castle. May as well throw that in too. We’re not picky. We’ll take what we can get.
So I run the idea past my husband, the more practical one in our union.
He looks at me as if I’ve lost my ever lovin' mind.
He says “Do you have any idea how dirty that thing will be by the time she’s finished wearing it around Epicot all day? You know we’ve got to get her a Mickey Bar and you know what she looks like after eating one of those things. It’ll be vanilla soup from head to toe for her. The thing’s got that shiny stuff on it (sequins to women, shiny stuff to men) so you can’t wash it. It’ll be filthy for Chef Mickey’s and the party. Put the dress back up and throw a Disney shirt on her.”
Well pooh on you.
But he was right. As bad as I hated to admit it, he was right. Dangit.
So I pick out some shirts that scream “We have fallen for your marketing strategy hook line and sinker. Now give us our major award.” Actually, they just said Disney on the front. That was the best I had.
Once I laid our clothes out for the next day and washed up, I joined the rest of my crew out on the balcony.
Ever since we checked in all those hours ago, I had been hearing about this “fake moonlight” that is supposedly cast over the savannah and was pretty curious to see what it was all about.
It looked like nothing. Nothing out of the ordinary, that is.
From what I could tell, they had mounted some low lighting somewhere on top of the resort and it was just bright enough to cast a subtle glow down onto the savannah. It was pretty cool I guess but it honestly didn’t look much different to me than any other normal night when the moon is out. It looked very natural.
Which I guess was the point.
We soon leave the fake moonlight and warm night air behind us and head back into the chilly hotel room. We’re beat. We’re ready to hit the sheets.
We get the kids ready for bed and then they scramble up into the bunkbeds. It doesn’t take long for them to fall asleep. It had been a long day for them. For all of us. I tuck our children into their cool as all get out bunkbeds, turn out their cool as all get out lights, and give them a kiss.
Then I climb into bed beside my husband.
After a semi heated debate, we determine that the mosquito net most likely was there for decorative purposes only and that we didn’t need to mess with it. Because we weren’t in real Africa. Just fake Africa. And in fake Africa, they only stock fake mosquito nets. To go with the fake moonlight on the fake savannah.
No matter what hotel we’re staying in, unless it’s the Ritz Carlton, I have this thing about the beds. I don’t usually like ‘em. And not just because of the bed bug thing. And also not just because I’ve heard things about the cleanliness of those hotel room comforters. If you don’t already know, I won’t tell you.
I’ll spare you the need to reach for a gross of personal barf bags which you may or may not have tucked away into your desk drawer.
And you’re welcome for that.
Anyway, I don’t like hotel room beds mostly because they all pale in comparison to our bed at home. Our bed is the bomb. Truly. It’s probably the most comfortable bed on the face of the planet. Ever. I love that bed. And it has spoiled me. Anyway, I was a little worried about the beds at the AKL because at first glance, they honestly didn’t look very comfortable.
But they were.
They were surprisingly comfortable. So as DH and I laid there curled up in the crisp white sheets on our surprisingly comfortable hotel room bed, I was happy. I was tired, but I was also happy. We had done a lot of cool things on our first full day in the World. We talked and laughed together about some of the day’s happenings. He surprised me by reminding me to include our run in with Cool Moe Dee in the trip report. My husband was laying in a bed in Disneyworld, thinking back on the days’ happenings, and he is already telling me how to write “our” trip report.
Disney Dork indeed.
Then he tells me to make sure I write about the fact that he fell asleep while the kids and I were busy getting wiped out in the wave pool. Apparently he thought it was funny.
So I punch him again really hard in the stomach right before he goes to sleep.
Twice.
For good measure.
Sweet dreams honey.
Up Next: Epicot, Epicot, and more Epicot.
Ellester
12-11-2006, 09:11 PM
I'm first, I'm first! I can't believe I'm first! Now I get to read! Hurray!
OK, now I've actually read it. Another excellent installment. I didn't comment on the last chapter, but I am totally BORG with the wave pool. Our incident was this summer at the Wet-N-Wild in Greensboro, NC. My dh was out in the deep water with our dd8 and I had my ds2 on my hip. I really did not expect the wave to be quite that powerful and had to watch helplessly as my dd5 was ripped from my grasp and literally tumbled head over heels twice in the water before being thrown to the concrete. She had a huge road rash on her thigh and now has a lifelong aversion to wave pools. I held on to my son through the whole thing, but it was iffy. I'm saving for dd's therapy now.
The Disney Daddy description was SO sweet. And how true is the way little girls make instant friends! My dd5 still talks about her friend from the U-Haul store that she got to climb on boxes with for 15 minutes while I waited in line to pay. Did I mention that was three months ago? I think we could achieve world peace in a heartbeat if all the UN delegates were kindergarteners!
Rock on with your report!
ukwildcat
12-12-2006, 07:26 AM
Very nice report, Lala. I especially liked the small paragraph about Dads and their daughters. While I don't have a daughter (at least not yet), I feel the same about DS. My time with him is relegated to a few hours in the evening and weekends. At WDW, time stops, worries disappear, and I'm just Dad. It's great.
Now, onto something less sappy. I, too, had a Gasoline Incident in my earlier years. Mine involved lighting my head on fire. If you elaborate on your husbands Gasoline Incident I'll do the same for mine.
Looking forward to the next chapter. Thanks for sharing your memories.
Master Gracie
12-12-2006, 07:49 AM
Don't ask.
Ahh, but I must. What, pray tell, earned your husband the nickname of Octane over the majority of 3 counties...or was it 4?
The description of the dad and daughter was pretty cool. I hope I am that way when Jen and I have kids. Don't see any reason that I won't be, as I am, like as not, to burst forth into song on a crowded bus anyway, and I don't even have children.
nicolemarie
12-12-2006, 08:23 AM
And the more I thought about it, the harder I laughed. It may sound strange to you right now, but for reasons that may come to light in another six or ten or twelve months down the road in someone else's totally rockin' trip report, I couldn’t stop laughing.
You mean my rockin' trip report? Oh no, wait. We weren't on the dinning plan. You must mean someone else. And I'm calling 10 months. Things will get crazy around there before too long.
Anyway, it was really cute to watch and it made me think of my husband and his relationship with our daughter. And all the other sweet Disney Dads out there who work so hard day in and day out and live for family vacation so they can have that moment where the world stops, everything fades away and it’s just them and the ones they love the most. Enjoying each other’s company and making memories together.
What a great paragraph. And so true. My DH is a very driven guy. While I believe he does a great job prioritizing and making sure he carves out good time for us at home, work is just demanding. No matter how you slice it. But he always leaves the work at work when we are on vacation. And you can see and feel the relief in his demeanor.
Although his singing out loud is now cause for my 8 yr old to roll her eyes and say - with a smile that tells how she really feels - "Daaaaddy, that's so embarrassing." Which makes him do it all the louder.
Non Disney logo wearing families didn’t stand a chance.
Hmmm. I'll remember that for the May trip.
No matter what hotel we’re staying in, unless it’s the Ritz Carlton, I have this thing about the beds. I don’t usually like ‘em.
Anyway, I was a little worried about the beds at the AKL because at first glance, they honestly didn’t look very comfortable.
But they were.
They were surprisingly comfortable.
Although there were many other BORG-worthy comments, these two caught my attention the most. It's exactly how I feel on both counts. I, too, was VERY pleasantly surprised. They were great beds.
My husband was laying in a bed in Disneyworld, thinking back on the days’ happenings, and he is already telling me how to write “our” trip report.
Disney Dork indeed.
We did the same thing. Everytime my DH would do something idiotic - which is frequent given his penchant for immaturity - he would say "Don't put that in the Trip Report."
Another great one, my friend. You know I love reading your report. It takes me on vacation with you. And who doesn't want to go on a vacation to Disney World?
Especially when in reality they are at home in sweats with tile guys in the kitchen and a sick child in the bedroom.
Great job, sweet girl. :sunny:
NM
Okay, I usually try to wait and do a group response but this one I just can't pass up.
I, too, had a Gasoline Incident in my earlier years. Mine involved lighting my head on fire. If you elaborate on your husbands Gasoline Incident I'll do the same for mine.
That post made me laugh so hard the gag reflex became engaged and now I think I just might throw up again.
Well, I'm glad to see you lived to tell about the time you set your head on fire. And as much as I would love to hear all about that one, I've got a feeling that if I gave the scoop on the Gasoline Incident of 1996, I'd be sleepin' in the shed tonight. It was that dumb.
I'll ramble on endlessly about every thought, feeling and emotion we had on our trip to Disneyworld but for the sake of my marriage, the details of the Gasoline Incident of 1996 stays in the lock box.
But I loved the rest of your post. It was really sweet.
My dh was out in the deep water with our dd8 and I had my ds2 on my hip. I really did not expect the wave to be quite that powerful and had to watch helplessly as my dd5 was ripped from my grasp and literally tumbled head over heels twice in the water before being thrown to the concrete. She had a huge road rash on her thigh and now has a lifelong aversion to wave pools. I held on to my son through the whole thing, but it was iffy. I'm saving for dd's therapy now.
Yikes. Bless her heart. Wave pools can be a lot of fun, but they can also be very brutal. We never realized just how much until this last trip. Sorry to hear yall went through that. Thanks for posting. And rock on TTD!
Ahh, but I must. What, pray tell, earned your husband the nickname of Octane over the majority of 3 counties...or was it 4?
Just three. And see the above. By the way, I have no doubt you'd be a great Disney Dad, MG. But you might wanna rethink that whole singing to yourself on a crowded bus thing. People might start to think you're on prescription medicine or something.
You must mean someone else. And I'm calling 10 months. Things will get crazy around there before too long.
So true.
And the borgness thing between the two of us is really starting to get out of hand, NM. Are you really Z in disguise? An alter ego, perhaps? Wait. Scratch that. You can spell. Loved the post, my girl.
:moped: :moped:
WheatThins
12-12-2006, 09:04 AM
Great report. Thanks for sharing.
Wheat Thins
team weasel
12-12-2006, 10:16 AM
LOVING the trip report! :rotfl2:
First timer
12-12-2006, 01:28 PM
And in that very moment, we hear the music start.
That beautiful, unmistakable music.
Starlight starbright. First star I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might
Have this wish I wish tonight…
All of a sudden the music crescendos with those two notes that we all know so well and the sky is lit up with the first of the stars that blaze across the sky in an arc above the castle. I’m not afraid to admit that at that point I may have cried. Yes, I actually did. I cried just a little. Hard to believe, right? I grab our daughter and hold her so she can have a better view.
OOOOH! First you have me laughing my way out of a job (and out of a trip to WDW - as you very wisley put it) now after reading this I am all teary!! For goodness sake someone is going to think I am having a nervous breakdown!! :teeth:
Can't wait for the rest!! :yay: :yay: :yay:
serendipity
12-12-2006, 01:55 PM
Wow. I don't even know where to begin. I just finally caught up. You are an AMAZING writer and are absolutely hilarious. There's not even a starting point I can commend you on because all of it is wonderful. The detail you put into it is great...I have to ask you, how on earth do you remember all of the minute details. I write down basic facts while at Disney so I remember the gist of what happened, but I have to know what your secret is!
I’d take gold in that one too.If by "take" you mean, "make up a lie about your pretend Gold medal," then I suppose you could "take" the Gold in that one too.
And all the other sweet Disney Dads out there who work so hard day in and day out and live for family vacation so they can have that moment where the world stops, everything fades away and it’s just them and the ones they love the most. Enjoying each other’s company and making memories together.That's only half the story of being a Disney Dad. You didn't see the bribery, begging, cajoling and endless hours in the County Bounty buying "prizes." Or is that just with my family?
We have fallen for your marketing strategy hook line and sinker. Now give us our major award.” Actually, they just said Disney on the frontDisney, roughly translated, actually does mean, "empty your wallet, Sucker!" So you were close.
It occurs to me that this was the end of day one!No wonder I'm so tired. I need a nap. And a new keyboard. But that's not really your fault.
:moped:
lexmelinda
12-12-2006, 04:36 PM
Sorry, LaLa.....I did get through the War & Peace installment and enjoyed it muchly but did not have time to post after reading. A LaLa installment can never be too long and it was wonderful, BTW.
Always bring cash because you never know when they’re gonna lock the pantry door and spit in the general direction of your grossly inadequate Key to the Food. We found this out at the gelato cart in Italy...no takey the Key to the Food. Got my last 5 bucks.
The thing that stood out to me about them and the thing that makes it even worth writing about was the back and forth between this little girl and her Daddy. I am so glad that child didn't vomit. I really thought she was gonna blow there for a minute.
Cause my stomach is still reeling from the Weekend of ZZUBage we just experienced. So sorry....all five of us had it Thanksgiving week....not pretty here either. Hope you guys are all feeling better. Thanks for another hilarious installment!
Disfan3
12-12-2006, 04:52 PM
another goodie my friend...THANK YOU!
SoccerDogWithEars
12-12-2006, 05:49 PM
I LOVE your trip report. I only wish I could write like you, and I'm even taking a creative writing class. But nothing they can teach us can touch your natural talent....do you have pixie dust on your fingers perhaps?? I would've posted earlier, but I had a Chemistry test to study for, though I blew off the last couple of topics to sneak back on to the Dis :blush: ...don't tell my mom!!! Your elevator incident had me crying because I was laughing so hard, I was very glad I was by myself. I'm hoping to pester my parents into going back in May; Mom's recently gotten into this whole running thing-she did the Minnie 5k last year and is thinking about the 15k this year. I told her I'd run the 5k, but there was no way she was convincing me to ditch school to run for 10 miles...3 miles I will though. Keep up the good work, I'll be checking back regularly......."Honest Ms. McKeand, it was Lala that made me fail this test......Mickey bars are SO much cooler than molarity....." :teeth:
WheatThins
12-12-2006, 07:21 PM
I LOVE you're trip report. I only wish I could write like you, and I'm even taking a creative writing class. But nothing they can teach us can touch your natural talent....do you have pixie dust on your fingers perhaps?? I would've posted earlier, but I had a Chemistry test to study for, though I blew off the last couple of topics to sneak back on to the Dis :blush: ...don't tell my mom!!! You're elevator incident had me crying because I was laughing so hard, I was very glad I was by myself. I'm hoping to pester my parents into going back in May; Mom's recently gotten into this whole running thing-she did the Minnie 5k last year and is thinking about the 15k this year. I told her I'd run the 5k, but there was no way she was convincing me to ditch school to run for 10 miles...3 miles I will though. Keep up the good work, I'll be checking back regularly......."Honest Ms. McKeand, it was Lala that made me fail this test......Mickey bars are SO much cooler than molarity....." :teeth:
For the love of bribing a family member to post a comment to your report. Have you no shame Loo Loo?
Wheat Thins
spotty
12-13-2006, 12:56 AM
I'm a newbie on DIS but a Mouse dork since birth and have found the Trip boards!
Thank goodness my DH understands my sickness/addiction/obsession (pick one) and brought me dinner while I read your reports.
I read the 1st installment then had to go back and read the 1st trip.
I have to say Thank You....we were there right after 9/11 and your epilogue was perfect.
Then I could not stop myself (did I mention a little OCD over here!) and continued to read and caught up on trip 2.
I have been laughing my patookis off!
BTW, the snoring story really spoke to me. There is a long story involving my DH's ex-wife sleeping in a OKW bathtub because of his Sister, my now SIL. Fast forward a couple years, I hear both sides of the tragic story then take my first DW trip with new SIL. 18 pillows later and a serious consideration of how comfortable a bathtub could be, I totally take the Ex's side. (Or is it just that she got the DVC points in the divorce :rolleyes1 )
Can't wait to hear more!
KangaFan
12-13-2006, 08:04 AM
Another great installment! Loved the story about the Disney Dad. Uninterrupted time with our kids with no distractions of work or housework is one of the things I am most looking forward to. :sunny:
BTW, I understand about not sharing your uncrowded bathroom secrets. I guess when it comes to the all important potty stop, it does need to be every woman for herself. I am just hoping that imagineers who spent the time and money to study where to strategically place trash cans will also have figured out that we girls need two--make it three--times as many stalls as our male counterparts. :thumbsup2
MouseDogMom
12-13-2006, 08:24 PM
I LOVE your trip report. I only wish I could write like you, and I'm even taking a creative writing class. But nothing they can teach us can touch your natural talent....do you have pixie dust on your fingers perhaps?? I would've posted earlier, but I had a Chemistry test to study for, though I blew off the last couple of topics to sneak back on to the Dis :blush: ...don't tell my mom!!! "Honest Ms. McKeand, it was Lala that made me fail this test......Mickey bars are SO much cooler than molarity....." :teeth:
Too bad Mom's reading the trip report too... but I can forgive her for sneaking off from studying to read the last installment, since I keep sneaking away to my computer to read it too! LaLa, I don't know how you do it, but your writing is amazing. And I can't wait to find out if you got the elusive Dole Whip - your last report certainly made me go in search of one on our last trip, and I have my fingers crossed that you were successful this time!
INdisneyfamily
12-14-2006, 04:37 PM
As the lights dimmed and we began to move toward our resort, our daughter climbed up into my lap and laid her head on my shoulder. I hugged her tight and gave her a kiss as we settled in for the ride.
You made me cry...boy, do I miss those days! Our daughters are 20, 16, and 12 now...don't know where the time went. Lucky for me they still LOVE Disney!
Anyway, it was really cute to watch and it made me think of my husband and his relationship with our daughter. And all the other sweet Disney Dads out there who work so hard day in and day out and live for family vacation so they can have that moment where the world stops, everything fades away and it’s just them and the ones they love the most. Enjoying each other’s company and making memories together.
The way it should be.
Couldn't have said it better myself! :grouphug:
pongoperdigirl
12-14-2006, 05:45 PM
LALA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I be lovin your report.
Really.
You actually made me almost spit soda on my screen. With one part.
Which I don't remember.
Cause it was last night.
ANd this is today.
Glad I finally got all caught up.
I want to add this: If I could find a way to get the bed and the bedding from the Contemporary to my house I would. It was freakin amazing.
So I hear ya on the comfortable bed.
PrincessV
12-15-2006, 03:43 PM
Clearly, I'm late to the party here. But someone recently made the comment on my TR that I sound an eency bit like your DH. In regard to my rules governing the packing of the vehicle, that is. So I had to come over and see if this could possibly be true.
Yep.
Then I saw this:
As he is driving down the road, it’s not enough for him to rely on the signs that were placed along the roadway to guide him towards his destination. No, the road signs are not good enough. He’s gotta kick it up a notch. He must constantly have a visual as to where he is in relation to the map. He also must know, at all times, approximately how many miles away he is from his next turn.
Uh huh. Dead ringer. For the record, I'm a 5' woman. Still, dead ringer. :lmao:
Okay, back to this awesome story!
lexmelinda
12-18-2006, 05:30 AM
popcorn::
Frickles
12-18-2006, 07:47 AM
As the bus made its way out to the back forty, the driver came on over the loudspeaker to make an announcement. He started by informing us that we had all picked the exact perfect time to be in Disneyworld. I immediately wondered if he, too, was from Georgia and was also a pathological liar.
He went on to tell us that us that Disney was on the cusp of kicking off a brand new promotion. Celebration. Promotional celebration.
You know LaLa we had this happen to us to. The same day. We were renting our boat for a ride along the POR river when the CM told us about it. We had stars in our eyes and a major case of the 'what ifs'. Kinda freaky borg cool isn't it? I, like you, thought about my outfit. Borg. I started that morning a little bit tired from a long night out the night before. When Manny took my keys. Soooooo, it wouldn't have mattered if I was wearin bling from head to toe, I looked rough. That was the day I tried to get the golden fastpass due to what happened with my valet parking ordeal. It didn't work though!
Anyway, I don’t like hotel room beds mostly because they all pale in comparison to our bed at home. Our bed is the bomb. Truly. It’s probably the most comfortable bed on the face of the planet. Ever. I love that bed. And it has spoiled me. Anyway, I was a little worried about the beds at the AKL because at first glance, they honestly didn’t look very comfortable.
But they were.
They were surprisingly comfortable.
I was wondering when you were going to start disinfecting this room. Did you bring your Lysol? Do you still feel a need to Lysol the heck out of the place when it is a Deluxe? I have to add, when we stayed at the Poly, I loved loved loved the bed and all the many pillows they gave me to cuddle up with. That is important you know. :)
:moped: :moped: :moped:
Of course I brought the Lysol. Duh.
But I think the story about my disinfecting routine got lost in the shuffle somehow. In other words, I forgot to write about it. But that's actually a good thing though because if not, I'd be over my 100,000 word limit by now. If there is one. Obviously there's not because Mel's still around. Or is she? Hmmm. Interesting. I might be onto something. Anyway. Long story short. I brought the disinfectant and the room was properly sanitized before anybody was allowed to touch anything. And I've got a feeling you could never look rough, Woman. Even after the Manny incident. Love ya Mean it!
Lexmelinda: Pass that popcorn around. I've finally got my appetite back. Hope yall are all doing okay too. And the fact that you thought the little girl on the bus was going to vomit cracked me up. Yes, I think I need therapy at this point.
PrincessV: You should really get a Delorme. Whatever that is. And thanks for popping by to check out the trippie.
PongobreakinthalawPerdigirl: I be lovin your post. But what's soda? Is that anything like Coke? And I'll have to try harder next time. My job's not complete until you give your monitor a carbonated beverage/spit shower. Quit breakin tha law.
SoccerDogwithEarsand MouseDogMom: That exchange was so cute. SoccerDog, you might wanna keep that whole I'm not paying attention in class thing on the down low with your mom around. Just for future reference. Go Mom on the Minnie 5K. That's very cool. Thanks for your sweet words, both of you. I really appreciate it.
KangaFan, FirstTimer and TeamWeasel: Thanks so much for hanging with me. And for posting.
Wheat Thins: Do I know you? And who is Loo Loo? Obviously you're posting on the wrong trip report. But thanks for sharing.
Spotty: Glad you found us. And thanks for your kind words. What's a patookis?
INdisneyfamily: You mean when they get to be 20, 16, and 12, they don't climb up in your lap and lay their head on your shoulder anymore? Now I'm really sad. But thanks for posting. I appreciate it. :grouphug: Right back atcha.
Serendipity: Thanks for your sweet comments. I really means a lot. As far as remembering details, the thing that helps me is the fact that I take an absolutely insane amount of pictures. It helps to jog the memory when I go back through them on the computer. Vacation videos help. And so does DH. He's very detail oriented himself and has a great memory so it's a group effort sometimes between the two of us. This time around, I actually took notes, wrote down a few key phrases and things to remember for the first half of the week. I got bored with it and gave it up the last few days of the trip so we'll see how it goes then. It may not be pretty. I'm giving you fair warning.
Disfan3: LY/MI Woman.
ZZUB: Another day, another attack on a DISboard member. What is it with you and the gold medal thing? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were a delusional maniac with a gold fetish. And yes, it is just your family.
I'm working on the next installment now and hope to have it up shortly.
Thanks for all the comments, yall. I love every one of em.
Truly.
:moped: :moped:
Our wake up call came way too early Sunday morning.
But too early would have been bearable if only Mickey had been the one on the other end of the phone. That’s right. He wasn’t. And neither was his freaky little eight armed homie, Stitch. They were both MIA. DH answered the phone excitedly that first morning only to find there was just dead silence on the other end.
Or so he claims.
What’s up with that?
Where’s the love?
It’s almost enough to make me wanna Mmm Bop somebody in the head.
Almost, but not quite.
He (we) was (were) more than a little disappointed in the fact that we were awakened by dead air instead of an overgrown rodent and ugly alien tag team, but we hauled our butts out of bed with a smile anyway. Because no matter how surprisingly comfortable the AKL beds were, they didn’t hold a candle to what lay before us.
It was Epicot Day, baby.
If you read the last trip report, you’re already familiar with our spelling of the second best park on Disney property. I don’t spell it that way because I have a freaky thing about misplaced vowels and consonants.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I spell it that way because that’s how our daughter pronounces it. I thought she might actually pronounce it correctly this year but we were pleased to find that she still pronounced it wrong. Despite our son’s best efforts to correct her. We shushed him on more than one occasion. And no, it wasn’t pretty.
Yeah, we’ll be taking that Parent of the Year Award now for sabotaging our children’s vocabulary skills all for the sake of cuteness.
But the way we see it is this. As the years roll by, she’ll have plenty of time to call the much maligned but still second best park on Disney property by its correct name.
For now, it’s still Epicot.
And that’s just fine by us.
We have our breakfast in the room, get showered, changed, load ourselves down like a couple of pack mules, and then take off down the hall for our first full day of Disney fun. We smell the Disney Mogic as we maneuver down the stairs and head out towards the bus stop.
It doesn’t take long for a bus to pull up. We grab some really cold purple seats and settle in for the ride. Because we didn’t have to stop at DTD first, we make it to Epicot in record time. Okay, maybe not record time, but decent time. Acceptable time. Respectable time. Morris Day and the Time.
Sorry.
We hop off the bus, make our way up front, and as soon as we catch a glimpse of the overgrown golf ball and hear that music, we’re instantly transported to our happy place.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt4.jpg
I don’t think it can be said enough so I’ll take this opportunity to say it again. Our entire family loves Epicot. We really do. We love the sounds, we love the smells (not all of them of course), the rides, the countries, the food. It's all good to us. Well, all except for El Rio del Tiempo. We don't love that. But that's beside the point.
When I watched our vacation video the other night, I was reminded that my husband referred to this particular park as the happiest place this side of Heaven. And the tone of his voice and the look on his face told me he really meant it.
That’s how much we love our Epicot.
We have some good friends who won’t even “waste” a days’ ticket on Epicot when they go to the World. We’re seriously reconsidering remaining friends with them. Ditto one particular person on these boards (again, not naming names but it’s ZZUB) who has, in the past, taken great pains to equate the second best park on Disney property with lameness.
Lameness.
But that’s okay though. It’s all good. We still love it and still hold out hope that maybe, just maybe someday, our friends both real and imaginary might just come around and see Epicot for all the wonderful things it has to offer and finally give the second best park on Disney property the mad props it deserves.
Whatever that means.
But enough about the Epicot haters. Both real and imaginary.
Back to our happy place.
We stop in front of the ball to have the obligatory picture made and are handed our first Photopass card of the trip. DH goes to get a stroller while the kids and I hang out and peruse the granite garden. We wave to our mugs permanently etched into the stone and and then take off excitedly when we see DH round the corner with the plastic purple stroller.
The kids were ready to see some characters so we made our way over to Living with the Land.
Just kidding. The Character Connection. That’s where we went.
And it was a first for us.
We’d never been to the Character Connection before. Sure, we’d heard of it and knew there was a place in Epicot for character meet and greets besides the Double Dutch Bus, but we never really knew where it was or what the deal was with it. But after reading some tips, we made it a priority to check it out on this trip. And we weren’t disappointed. The whole gang was there. We made our way through the characters’ lines and tried our best to fill up those Photopass cards. We also got some heavy hitters’ autographs and some pretty decent face time with the characters.
It was a nice start to the day.
As we were visiting with Goofy, the girl looks over to her left and spots Minnie. It was at this point that one of the most memorable moments of our trip happened. On our vacation video, you can clearly see a slightly impatient Goofy waiting on the boy to find a blank page in his autograph book, me struggling with two handfuls of junk trying to help, and the girl.
The girl makes her way across the bottom of the screen, taking three great big semi hesitant steps toward Minnie. She then sticks her little index finger up, points it straight at Minnie and tells her “I got a toy of you.”
It may not sound like that big of a deal to you, but the expression in our daughter’s voice and the way she pointed that finger was priceless. She had Minnie’s number and she was tellin’ her about it. You can hear both me and my husband cracking up on the video. It was one of those moments that will no doubt be replayed over and over within our family circle for years to come.
It was that cute. Trust me.
Minnie absolutely ate it up. She giggled really big and motioned her over. Because the boy was getting set to take the Photopass picture with Goofy at that time, I told her to just take the picture really quickly first, and then she could run over to Minnie.
Big mistake.
Because not two seconds later, Minnie was ushered off to see Will Smith for her regulary scheduled mindsweep.
We had to wait a few minutes for Minnie to come back and when she did, she didn’t seem to have any memory of our daughter giving her the cutest props ever in the history of Disneyworld. She also seemed to have no memory that she had just excitedy ushered the girl over as if to say “Get your cute little tail over here and get you some Minnie love!”
Strange how that worked.
But it was all good. They both still got a hug and a kiss on the forehead from Minnie. The girl was a bit more excited about that than the boy. I think he rolled his eyes if I remember right. He’s eight going on fifteen and he’s starting to believe he’s too cool to be kissed on the forehead by characters at Disneyworld.
DH not so much still but the boy, yes. He's too cool.
We make our way through the room and wrap up our time at the Character Connection with a visit with Chip and Dale.
There are some characters that some of us like better than others. For instance, the boy is goofy over Goofy. The girl’s all about Minnie. DH likes that tramp Jasmine, and I love the Main Mouse. But the two characters we can all say we love equally are Chip and Dale. Those goofy chipmunks totally crack us up.
No matter how many times we see them balance a pen on their noses, it still makes us laugh every time. I don’t know why. It wouldn’t be as funny if we saw the Oven Mitt Man do it. We wouldn’t laugh at that. We’d probably grab the kids and do the sidestep all the way out to the car.
But there’s just something about those chipmunks.
We spend a good bit of time goofing off with them, take a family photo, wave goodbye and then head out the door onto our next adventure.
Next up is Soarin.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt17.jpg
Ahhhh yeah. Mama like.
Over the course of our one week trip, we went to Epicot three different times and ended up riding Soarin four times. We honestly wanted to ride it more but due to crowds, four times was the charm.
We love this ride. It’s immersive and amazing and it never fails to put a huge goofy grin on our faces for the entire length of the ride. I get the biggest kick out of looking over at the kids’ faces as we’re flying over the orange trees or climbing up beside the snowy mountain peak.
I could go into great detail trying to describe this ride for you. But I don’t think I will. I’ll think I’ll just take you with us instead. If you’re wearing flip flops, you might wanna leave ‘em on the floor or lose em forever.
And don’t forget to store these little beauties.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt18.jpg
Nice work pal.
Buckle up and click the pic.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/th_Untitled_0001.jpg (http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/?action=view¤t=Untitled_0001.flv)
Once we touch down, we head out to the front and hit the Fastpass machine. Well, we don’t actually hit it, we stick our tickets in and get four fastpasses for roughly an hour later.
Then we make a beeline for Test Track.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt1.jpg
As we wind our way around the empty queue, we get more excited with each step.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt2.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt3.jpg
We love this ride as well. Not quite as much as Soarin, but still. It’s pretty darn close.
Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t added a Lightning McQueen character meal and Meet and Greet out front yet. I figure it’s only a matter of time.
We crowd into the room and maneuver our way through clueless newbies until we’re standing right beside the door over to the right that leads you out of there.
You know which one I’m talking about.
Sometimes being a Disney Dork has its advantages.
As DH and I high five each other over the the prime piece of real estate we managed to score, I notice our son is looking rather fidgety. He then looks up at me and tells me his stomach doesn’t feel so good.
And that he thinks he has to throw up.
Right then and there.
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.
I immediately look around for a fanny pack, a keyboard, or a barf bag.
Or at least a garbage can to shove his head in. But there’s no such luck. Until those doors open, there’s nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
Hello. We’re the LaLas and we puke in public.
As I scour the place, the boy looks up at me and says…
Him: Mom?
Me: Yes, son?
Him: Does this thing really go 65?
Me: What?
Him: They said this ride goes 65. Does it really? I never knew it went 65.
All of a sudden the clouds part and the source of our son’s stomach issues become crystal clear.
Now, I can’t tell you how many times the boy has ridden Test Track. He loves it just as much, if not more, than we do. But this time around, he picked up on a little bit of information he didn’t possess before. Somewhere in the presentation, he heard them say the top speed for Test Track was 65 mph and it spooked him.
Prime example of why we don’t believe in educating our children.
Or do we?
Anywho, when you’re eight years old, 65 mph sounds unbelievably fast. When you’re thirty five, not so much. Nevertheless, he began to worry that somehow the ride had changed since the last time he rode it.
And that 65 would maybe somehow mean we were all about to go Mach 3 with our hair on fire. On a highway to the danger zone.
And he wasn’t feeling the need.
The need for speed.
My husband and I explain to him that the ride is no different now than the other times he’s ridden it. And that Mommy drives faster than that to work every morning. He finally decides he doesn’t actually have to throw up after all and we convince him to get on the ride with us.
Because it’s either that or hang out with some stranger while the rest of us get our Laugh Scream on without him.
Kidding.
We pile into our car, buckle up, pull on our yellow straps and take off.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt6.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt19.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt7.jpg
One of the best pictures I have from that trip was taken of our son on that ride. He was sitting to my right and at the very minute that our car went up on its side in the curve, I snapped a picture of him.
He had the biggest grin on his face and his eyes told the whole story.
He had a blast.
Speed? He was speed.
After the ride was over, we made our way past the photo place. Redneck Ride Photo Number One coming up.
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6cc39b3127cce8f8ac097989100000016100Acs2jVo2bM2 NA
One thing that was new this time around was that you could swipe your Photopass card and have the ride picture added to your collection on the card. Even though I’d already taken the Redneck photo, I stopped and swiped the card anyway.
Not because I had any intention of actually purchasing it later, but I did it just because I could.
I was on vacation.
Gimme a break.
Like you don’t do the same thing.
As we make our way through the dump shop, I hear someone mention how cute the girl is. Just like every other mother on the face of the planet, my ears perk up and I get extra nosy when I realize someone is talking about my child. I turn around to check out the situation and find that the voice belongs to a CM. She had spotted the girl in her bright red eye catching Disney logo shirt (yes maam) and was enamoured of her.
She has a big smile on her face and doesn’t take her eyes off our daughter. Once she realizes the red Disney Tshirted child belongs to us, she approaches us and asks if we have a few minutes to spare.
She wants to know if we’d like to participate in a special activity.
What’s that? Was she….picking us out of a crowd?
Why yes I think she was.
DH and I exchange glances and we just know we’ve hit the jackpot. We high five each other with our eyes. Just our eyes. Cause we had to look cool and detached. As if we weren’t expecting anything. But deep down, we were giddy.
Because a Dream was knocking on our door.
Well hello there Free Disney Vacations For Life.
Come on in, kick your shoes off and sit a spell.
Up Next: The LaLas Get a Major Award
Frickles
12-18-2006, 10:45 AM
The suspense is going to kill me!
Kay7979
12-18-2006, 11:33 AM
And that 65 would maybe somehow mean we were all about to go Mach 3 with our hair on fire. Up Next: The LaLas Get a Major Award
I love this line. Very visual. Great report, as always. Despite tormenting us with this cliff hanger ending, I hope you get the "Major Award" you anticipate. :rotfl:
nicolemarie
12-18-2006, 12:49 PM
I spell it that way because that’s how our daughter pronounces it. I thought she might actually pronounce it correctly this year but we were pleased to find that she still pronounced it wrong. Despite our son’s best efforts to correct her. We shushed him on more than one occasion. And no, it wasn’t pretty.
Would that be kinda like the tongue-lashing our daughter received when she told my son it was "peanut butter" not "hetta butta"? He was two. And I was livid.
I love the video of Soarin'!! What a great ride. Thanks for taking us along.
What’s that? Was she….picking us out of a crowd?
Why yes I think she was.
DH and I exchange glances and we just know we’ve hit the jackpot. We high five each other with our eyes. Just our eyes. Cause we had to look cool and detached. As if we weren’t expecting anything. But deep down, we were giddy.
Because a Dream was knocking on our door.
Well hello there Free Disney Vacations For Life.
Come on in, kick your shoes off and sit a spell.
Girl! You can not leave us hanging like that! And to assume you will get in another installment before Christmas is probably a little too much, huh?
You know, you'll have to count us among the Epicot lovers this time. We developed a new appreciation for that park. We've always just kinda liked it. But this time - the decorations, the Candlelight Processional, Soarin', the World Showcase...we really wanted to have spent more time there. I guess we'll have to put those AP's to good use!!
Another great installment, friend. I look forward to hearing the rest. And in the event you don't post a new installment before Christmas, have a wonderful holiday and we'll look forward to hearing from you when you get more time!!
NM :sunny:
I don't know what's worse. That you brought the Hanson or that I recognized it was Hanson.
Ditto one particular person on these boards (again, not naming names but it’s ZZUB) who has, in the past, taken great pains to equate the second best park on Disney property with lameness.I could respond to this but I won't. Except to say that I actually took great pains to equate Epcot to a middle school. And alliteration aside, my simile still stands.
DH answered the phone excitedly that first morning only to find there was just dead silence on the other end.Perhaps they had you on ignore?
Sometimes being a Disney Dork has its advantages.As long as no one knows your true identity, the advantages are endless.
Hanson???
Prime example of why we don’t believe in educating our childrenI didn't realize anyone in your neck of the woods did believe in educating their children.
Although no one threw up in this installment it still made me sick. But for other reasons. Hanson???
I enjoyed the Soarin' video. That was fun to watch and although you probably violated a half dozen copyrights (I don't know, I'm not a lawyer), I'm glad you took the time to video the ride. That ride is one of our favorites.
And so is your Trip Report.
:moped:
Chapter 11
12-18-2006, 03:57 PM
Morris Day and the Time.
Sorry.
You should be. That was really bad.
We make our way through the room and wrap up our time at the Character Connection with a visit with Chip and Dale.
There are some characters that some of us like better than others. For instance, the boy is goofy over Goofy. The girl’s all about Minnie. DH likes that tramp Jasmine, and I love the Main Mouse. But the two characters we can all say we love equally are Chip and Dale. Those goofy chipmunks totally crack us up.
Yeah, but just try calling them Alvin and Theodore, and see what happens. It ain't pretty. Trust me.
Next up is Soarin.
Loved the video -- we rode it 3 times last week and that brought back happy memories. But, just one question: were you not listening when they said absolutely no video or flash photography? Isn't your DH a cop? Tsk, tsk.
And that he thinks he has to throw up.
Thanks for that -- I think the count is now 6.
Because a Dream was knocking on our door.
Well hello there Free Disney Vacations For Life.
Nah -- just a lifetime supply of fanny packs.
Good one as usual, La. Don't know why I feel compelled to say that every time. It's like an ingrained habit now.
Disfan3
12-18-2006, 04:49 PM
W H A T?
What kind of cliffhanger is THAT??? WOMAN???!?? And how did the hair hold up this yr on good 'ol TT?? I am sure you looked amazing even at 65 mph.
We actually stoo in a 40 min line (don't ask...Disney Dork I am not...more like Disney DUHHHHMMM) for TT. It was well worth the wait LA2. Thanks for sharing. I cannot wait to hear what is next!
CANNOT WAIT I SAY!!
flying_babyb
12-18-2006, 05:07 PM
loved chapter 1
ukwildcat
12-18-2006, 05:24 PM
You know I sit around pining for these TR's. Nothing really witty to say, so I'll just say I'm glad I'm not the only one who absolutely loves Epcot, sorry, Ep-i-cot.
Thanks for the installment. Please don't make me wait very long for the next one. That goes for NicoleMarie and Zzub as well.
SoccerDogWithEars
12-18-2006, 07:36 PM
At the risk of treading on you and ZZUB's territory, is the major award the water slide gold medal? Sorry, that's what came to mind when I read that. I have actually FINISHED my Chemistry homework (so THERE Mom) and came on the Dis. Though am having trouble breathing since SOMEBODY *coughMomcough* decided to give me a worse cold then they had, so I'm going to go obliterate another box of tissues now. Lovin the trippie!!!!!
ferretxxxferret
12-18-2006, 07:46 PM
Dang I have hit the end! Now I can't wait for more! :thumbsup2
Backstage_Gal
12-18-2006, 07:59 PM
Lala, great report as always, and I LOVE the Soarin' video. Can't wait to hear what the surprise was....
Oh, and Thanks for posting!
It’s almost enough to make me wanna Mmm Bop somebody in the head.
Thanks, I had just forgotten about them and you had to bring them up again.
We smell the Disney Mogic as we maneuver down the stairs and head out towards the bus stop.
Is this a new version of mojo? Just askin'
Ditto one particular person on these boards (again, not naming names but it’s ZZUB) who has, in the past, taken great pains to equate the second best park on Disney property with lameness.
Well you do have to consider the source.
Sometimes being a Disney Dork has its advantages.
I don't care what ZZUB says, it doesn't matter if they know your indentity or not. Advantages are advantages.
ForKeeps
12-19-2006, 07:17 AM
La La,
Your posts are SO fabulous...I know I've said it before, but....wow.
I loved the video clip. And I swear that I could smell the oranges...err...wait was I eating the orange? :teeth:
Master Gracie
12-19-2006, 10:25 AM
Well it's about time you drag your sorry butt back here and entertain us...what do you think we pay you for anyway?!?
It’s almost enough to make me wanna Mmm Bop somebody in the head.
:sad2:
It was Epicot Day, baby.
Ooh Yeaaa! (Spoken with the inflection of one Mr. Savage...Randy Savage, aka, The Macho Man. Not to be confused with the villiage people version of the same.)
I loves me some Epicot. Both sides. Mission Space, Test Track, Soarin'...I even love Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination, and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. And I could spend an entire day wandering around World Showcase. Sampling food, looking in the shops, soaking up the atmosphere...Epicot is my park too.
Ditto one particular person on these boards (again, not naming names but it’s ZZUB) who has, in the past, taken great pains to equate the second best park on Disney property with lameness.
Yeah...but it's Zzub. When has he ever exhibited anything that remotely resembled taste? Besides...he graduated from Bama...be happy he can even spell lameness, much less use it correctly in a sentence.
DH likes that tramp Jasmine
No doubt, cause she reminds him of you... :rolleyes1
Note that if he begins to use said comparison, there is only a slight usage fee. I am very reasonable.
Buckle up and click the pic.
Wheeeee! I love that ride...but then I have already stated that once.
Up Next: The LaLas Get a Major Award
Well, just remember the little people.
And I don't mean the Ewoks at Star Tours either....
The girl makes her way across the bottom of the screen, taking three great big semi hesitant steps toward Minnie. She then sticks her little index finger up, points it straight at Minnie and tells her “I got a toy of you.”
that's just sweet!!!!!!!!!
WheatThins
12-19-2006, 02:22 PM
Great report. Thanks for sharing.
First timer
12-19-2006, 03:05 PM
Now that is just so wrong - leaving us hanging like this!! : :)
Disfan3
12-19-2006, 09:59 PM
getchur heiney back here woman and tell us the DREAM!!
COME ON NOW!!!
LYMI!!
tink38
12-20-2006, 11:31 AM
I'm with Disfan! More, please. Step AWAY from the pork products, wash your hands and TYPE!
Last edited by Chapter 11 : 12-18-2006 at 05:13 PM. Reason: Negative Ghostrider -- the pattern is full ....
Yet another reason why you’re the smartest lawyer I know. Or are you? At any rate, you have boundless supplies of pop culture references floating around in that head of yours. And that's cool. Thanks for not leaving me hanging. That goes for all of yall. All those Top Gun references made me want to seriously sit down and watch Tom and Co. blaze across the sky into the danger zone. But I couldn't find the movie. Turns out DH put the video in a garage sale a couple of years ago. He's lost that lovin feeling.
Yeah, but just try calling them Alvin and Theodore, and see what happens. It ain't pretty. Trust me.
Okay, this cracked me up for days. Not really. It was more like minutes. But still, it made me laugh.
At the risk of treading on you and ZZUB's territory, is the major award the water slide gold medal?
SoccerDog, you wouldn’t be referring to the second consecutive Waterslide Event gold medal would you? If so, no. That doesn’t come till later.
Thanks, I had just forgotten about them and you had to bring them up again.
Have you forgotten about them again? Good. Hanson. Now you can start all over. And you’re welcome.
Well you do have to consider the source.
So true.
No doubt, cause she reminds him of you...
I don’t know whether I should be flattered or punch you. Well, when in doubt, go for the butt whuppin’ I always say.
Yeah...but it's Zzub. When has he ever exhibited anything that remotely resembled taste? Besides...he graduated from Bama...be happy he can even spell lameness, much less use it correctly in a sentence.
This was funny so I guess you’re off the hook. But I’m watching you.
The suspense is going to kill me!
Well, I wouldn't want that to happen to my sweet friend. Take your mind off it. Go eat a bowl of cereal and some Laffy Taffy. LY/MI!
Would that be kinda like the tongue-lashing our daughter received when she told my son it was "peanut butter" not "hetta butta"? He was two. And I was livid.
Hetta butta? Now that’s too cute. I’d be livid at the demise of that one too. And of course yall love Epicot. I wouldn’t expect anything less from our sweet borg family. Love ya Woman.
I don't know what's worse. That you brought the Hanson or that I recognized it was Hanson.
Yeah, it’s worse that you recognized it was Hanson. And I just quoted a couple of lines, it’s not like I went out and downloaded them or anything. I haven’t gotten that far gone yet.
And alliteration aside, my simile still stands.
Call me crazy, but this is one of the funniest lines I’ve read in awhile. I laughed really hard about it for hours. Not sure why. Then I promptly went out and rented Roseanne Seasons 1-90 and watched it nonstop for the next three days. In an attempt to surround myself with imaginary people who don’t use words like alliteration and simile.
Glad you liked the video. Even though it was filmed on location in the park you equate with lameness. Lameness. But thanks for the props, my friend. I really appreciate it. :moped: :moped:
We actually stoo in a 40 min line (don't ask...Disney Dork I am not...more like Disney DUHHHHMMM) for TT. It was well worth the wait LA2. Thanks for sharing
Sorry you had to stoo in a 40 min line. Whatever that means. But I am glad to know you got to ride TT. It’s awesome, right? Thanks for hanging in there with me Woman. And the hair was all over the place. For some reason it doesn’t want to stay in place at 65 mph. Go figure.
UKWildcat: Glad to see you spelled it correctly. And thanks for posting.
SamC: Nice pickup on The Ralphie movie, which is what my kids call it. It’s not A Christmas Story, it’s The Ralphie Movie. Thanks for posting.
Wheat Thins: Great balls of fire. What’s that a reference to? It’s not the new pig latin is it? And again, who are you? Do I know you?
Tinkinadrink: Good to see you over here Woman. And calm yourself. All will be revealed in time.
BackstageGal, FerretXXXFerret (I’m not gonna even ask),FirstTimer, ForKeeps, FlyingBabyB, Kay7979: Thank yall so much for your sweet comments. I really appreciate them. Yall all rock.
I’ve got the next installment done, so I’m hoping to have it up soon.
Needless to say, this will be the last chapter I post before Christmas so I just want to tell all of yall to have a wonderful, blessed and safe Christmas. Spend some quality time with your families. Laugh a lot, eat a lot and let the true meaning of Christmas shine through as we celebrate His birth. My prayer for yall is that you are each blessed with health and happiness for this Christmas season and the years to come.
And that you each find a Super Duper Reindeer Pooper under the tree.
Cause that's really important.
Have a very Merry Christmas, my friends.
God Bless.
LaLa
:moped: :moped: :moped:
Yet another reason why you’re the smartest lawyer I know.Clearly you're baiting me. And GeorgiaDog and Wheat Fat and Master G. I imagine if quoting from Top Gun makes someone "the smartest lawyer [you] know" I'll have to continue to toil in stupidity. Must be the reason I haven't made partner yet. At my annual review in January when I'm asked to discuss my accomplishments in '06, I will cite not my billable hours, not my win-loss record, not the new clients I added to my book of business, but my familiarity with pop culture references. And Gosh! if that doesn't make me partner then I'll have to settle for sitting in an airport lounge, sipping tepid water while a formerly attractive instructor with an androgynous name tries to buck me up.
Clearly you're baiting me. And GeorgiaDog and Wheat Fat and Master G. I imagine if quoting from Top Gun makes someone "the smartest lawyer [you] know" I'll have to continue to toil in stupidity. Must be the reason I haven't made partner yet. At my annual review in January when I'm asked to discuss my accomplishments in '06, I will cite not my billable hours, not my win-loss record, not the new clients I added to my book of business, but my familiarity with pop culture references. And Gosh! if that doesn't make me partner then I'll have to settle for sitting in an airport lounge, sipping tepid water while a formerly attractive instructor with an androgynous name tries to buck me up.
Well, well, well. What have we here?
I'm just minding my own business, slaving over the next installment when I hit the Preview Post button and get slapped in the face with a lil sumpm sumpm from ZZUB.
Prime example of why you're not the smartest lawyer I know: you eat Almond Snickers, Snow Caps and actually lived under the delusion that Bama was gonna beat State. And I wasn't baiting you. I was only baiting Master G. Cause of that whole lawyer thing he's got going on. Or is it a pharmacist thing he's got going on? I honestly can't be expected to keep up with him.
BUT your whole post made me laugh, Z. So hard. Really hard.
Prime example of why you're still the funniest lawyer I know.
Preace. Whatever that means.
:moped: :moped:
Sometimes things just seem to fall into place when you least expect them to. But then again, sometimes they don’t.
That really has no relevance here, it just sounded good.
Or did it?
Anywho, we stood there in the Test Track dump shop while visions of free vacations for life danced in our heads. DH in his kerchief (whatever that is) and I in my cap took one look at each other and agreed to give up a couple of spare minutes in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.
The CM ushers us over to the side and asks the kids if they would like to take a test. The girl says yes and the boy says no.
Typical.
He’s out of school and he ain’t about to be takin’ no stinkin test. Crazy lady.
We tell him that it doesn’t involve the times tables (multiplication tables to all you educated folk) and he agrees. She tells them that if they take the test and answer three out of five questions right, they’ll get a lil sumpm sumpm for their trouble.
Then she looks to us for approval.
“THEY’LL DO IT! BRING IT ON SISTER!” I yell at her.
Okay so I didn’t actually yell. But I did tell her to bring it.
Bring the dream to Mama.
The test was a trivia question thing about Test Track. Later that day, I wrote down the questions so I could remember them. For here. Yes, I know. Dork Central.
But just for kicks, let’s see how you do. I’ll give you the answers later. And no Googling.
1. Name three of the tests sequences you experience during Test Track.
2. Who sponsors Test Track?
3. What attraction did Test Track replace?
4. How fast does the ride go? Okay, so I already told you this but…I rounded up. What is the actual top speed?
5. How many seconds does it take to reach top speed?
With a tiny amount of help from us, the kids get all but the last question right. We had no clue what the last one was. But that’s okay. We still got four out of five right.
And you know what that means. If you don’t, we did. And that’s all that mattered anyway.
The CM breaks out into a huge grin. She literally cannot wait to give us our major award. It’s the first day of the Year of a Million Dreams Celebration. Promotion. Whatever. We’re not even three hours into our day yet and we’ve already clinched the free vacations for life thing. We just know it. That’s gotta be what she’s about to bestow upon us.
Right?
Well, it’s either that or the Golden Fastpasses. Or the night in Cinderella’s castle. One of the three. We’re sure of it. Why else would she be smiling so much? The prize she’s giving out has got to be the bomb with a grin like that.
We’re beside ourselves with giddiness as she tells us to follow her. We follow like four ducklings in a row. I turn around a couple of times and exchange goofy grins with DH. She gets to the counter, pulls out a Disney file, asks us our name, and then proceeds to assign us our Dream.
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
We can see she’s writing something but we can’t make it out. The anticipation is killing us. Then she’s finally done.
She hands our Dream to us with a smile.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/cert1.png
Insert record scratching noise.
Hold the phone.
A crummy certificate? That’s all we got? A crummy certificate?
It may as well have been a reminder to drink your Ovaltine.
Or a leg lamp.
We were picked out of a crowd of approximately three billion people to take a test and all we got was a certificate when there were free Disney vacations for life to be had?
Talk about your pump fake.
Well, that’s the thing about expectations. And I should know better. Lesson number three relearned. Lower those expectations so you won’t be disappointed.
But at least the moment was certifiably magical. At least there’s that. The reason I know it was certifiably magical is because we have a certificate that tells us that.
Otherwise we’d never know.
But I’m optimistic. It’s all good. We’re here all week. I’ve got a few more Disney logo tricks up my sleeve. Surely we’ll have another shot at the Golden Fastpasses later on.
See how I did that? Lesson learned. I’m already lowering those expectations.
We mope out of the dump shop and head over to Spaceship Earth.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt10.jpg
The line was pretty short so we made our way through quickly. As we were power walking, a mom behind us notices the boy’s Punk Mickey.
I can’t tell you how many times on this trip someone asked us a question about Punk Mickey. “Do you like it? Is it worth it? What does he do? Can we just have yours?” Apparently not only does he tell lame jokes and sing songs, but he’s also a conversation piece. Like the cast of Hee Haw.
The mom explains she’s been thinking of getting a Punk Mickey for her kids and wants to know if our kids like him. Hello? It’s Mickey, lady. Take a look around. Where are we? And did you really need to ask that question?
She asks some more detailed questions and then wants to know if we felt he was worth the money. I immediately answer yes. I go into this big spiel about how we’ve used him two years in a row and that he keeps the kids entertained while we wait in line. He still talks and sings and plays games when you take him home and he’s good to have around when you’re going through Disney withdrawals two months later, yada yada yada.
My husband turns around, shakes his head and says “Don’t listen to her. It’s not worth it. Do yourself a favor and don’t buy it. Grab a park map and a times guide instead.”
Then he turns back around and smiles. He just slammed me. I give him a flat tire and a wedgie out of principle. The chick behind us laughs.
It was a confused laugh.
Well, that’s what she gets for trying to talk to us.
We hop in our little blue cars, sit back and enjoy Spaceship Earth. Saidly, it wasn’t Space Mount’n this year. The boy got to her when we weren’t lookin’. Dang education.
I don’t know why we like this ride so much but we do. Freaky caveman robots with piercing eyes aside. I actually like the smell of Disney’s pathetic attempt to simulate burning wood at the beginning. It smells familiar and brings back memories for me. And the ride itself always puts me to sleep. But in a good way. I love the part where your car turns around backwards and you begin your descent back to Earth. It’s always very relaxing and a nice break in an otherwise hot, hectic day.
Plus those mile long, winding glow necklaces are pretty cool to watch. Even if they are outdated.
After we come back down to Earth and make our way back out into the blinding light, we head over towards the Land. Again.
But not without stopping at Mouse Gear first.
I love Mouse Gear. I could literally stay in there for hours because they have so much cool stuff that I would love to have. Like Mickey cereal bowls. Mickey waffle irons. Mickey salt and pepper shakers. Mickey hot cocoa sets. Four foot tall stuffed Mickeys. Mickey scrapbooks. Mickey crystal thingamabobs. The list goes on and on. But on that day, I settled for a really cute vintage looking baby blue Mickey tee for the next day’s round of the LaLas vs. the Dream Team. I had another Mickey shirt back at the hotel room but it wasn’t cute enough. Not when we’re talking Golden Fastpasses.
DH grabs yet another shirt with the Walt Disney World logo on it. He already has more Mickey shirts than any of us put together, which is the true sign of an undercover Disney Dork. We let the kids pick out a lil sumpm sumpm. Which takes forever. I turned 60 while I was waiting on the boy to decide between a Pirates of the Caribbean action figure set or the Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest play set. Which were practically the same. I grab a bag of Goofy Candy Co. sour gummies (the best), we finally get checked out and we’re ready to hit it.
But before we hit it, we walk outside and stand in the breezeway and watch the lady with the floating balls that nobody ever buys.
Now, to be honest, I don’t remember why we were standing there at this point. I only remember we were waiting on DH for some reason. I also don’t remember why I stuck my hand in my pocket, which was where I was keeping the Photopass cards. I don’t remember pulling the cards out of my pocket by mistake along with my hand. I don’t remember them dropping on the ground and I don’t remember leaving them there as we hurried over to the Land.
Yet I have an impressive memory.
So I did remember to check for them later when a priceless photo op presented itself. And I do remember being really upset that they weren’t where they were supposed to be. I do remember turning my pockets inside out and dumping out the backpack looking for them. I do remember accusing DH of losing them. And then I remembered what must have happened.
We hightailed it back to the breezeway but there was no trace of the cards. I went into Mouse Gear and was promptly passed around to three different CMs. All I wanted to know was if someone turned in a couple of Photopass cards but you’d think I was asking what the square root of 78,965,543 was.
Or whether it was the Moors or the Moops.
Clapton or the Kinks.
I’m finally passed far enough up the ladder of responsibility that I find someone who can actually give me an answer. While she’s carefully folding shirts. The answer is “No.” Imagine that. She suggests we check the parks’ Lost and Found on the way out. For a second, I wonder how many Photopass cards might be turned in to Lost and Found on any given day in Epicot. And if our cards were there, how would we know they were ours? I imagine getting home, pulling up the pictures on my computer and having some Japanese family grinning from ear to ear while they grope Mickey staring back at me.
That was my train of thought for a second anyway.
And then I realized they have computers at Disneyworld. Duh. And that they could pull it up before I took it with me. So it was all good. We make a mental note to check Lost and Found at the end of the day. We don’t hold out much hope but we’ll give it a shot. Not that I have any intention of actually purchasing the pictures when we get home but still. You never know. Stanger things have happened.
We head out of the breezeway and over to the Land. We use our Fastpasses and hit this ride again.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/s1.jpg
We giggle and smile the whole time. Again. On the way out, we grab four more fastpasses for later. Man, that ride’s awesome.
From there, we check our watches. It’s time for lunch.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt16.jpg
We’ve never eaten at the Garden Grill before but it was recommended by a friend who really liked it. So we decided to give it a shot. Before we left, I was reading up on it and found out that the restaurant spins through different scenes while you’re eating.
Spins.
While you’re eating.
I immediately pictured it as the tea cups with a plate of turkey and dressing and some sweet tea set out in front of us. I don’t do spinning rides and wasn’t too sure about doing spinning restaurants either. But after doing some research, I only found a couple of reviewers that said they felt motion sick during the meal. Because they were looking at the floor actually moving. I make a mental note not to look at the floor and start to get excited about checking out a new character meal on our first full day at the parks.
As far as the kids knew, this was just a regular lunch. We didn’t tell them Mickey and the gang would be there because we wanted to surprise them. They had absolutely no clue. I think DH and I were more excited about this meal than a few others because we knew the kids wouldn’t be expecting the characters here.
See? We got the low expectations thing down pat now.
We check in at the podium, we’re handed a pager and are told it’ll just be about ten minutes. We grab a seat over to the right with the rest of humanity waiting to beat us to a plate of flank steak and Disney grown carrots.
Little did we know we were about to be treated to dinner and a show.
Off to the side of the Garden Grill, there is an elevator. A very small elevator. In front of that elevator is a line of ECVs waiting to go downstairs. The elevator dings, the doors part, and it’s Menudo back for an encore appearance. Kidding. It was an older lady on an ECV. She was facing the inside of the elevator which meant she would need to back it out.
Just so you understand where I’m going with this, she would need to back the ECV out of that amazingly small elevator.
Back it out. Of the elevator.
You just know this is gonna get ugly, don’t you?
She backs up and immediately slams into the wall. Hard. Her head pitches backward and she grimaces. Then she puts it in drive and heads back the way she came. Really fast. Way too fast. She slams into the back wall of the elevator. Hard. Again.
Throws it in reverse. Bam! The head kicks back.
Forward. Bam!
Reverse. Bam!
Forward. Bam!
Reverse. Bam!
Emeril didn't have anything on her. She kicked it up a gazillion notches by the time she was done.
Not only could she not navigate her way out of the elevator, but she also had the mouth of a longshoreman. And in the heat of battle, she wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over World Showcase Lagoon. We felt the floor shake with each collision. The ceiling tiles began to fall. Babies witnessing the spectacle clung to their mothers’ chests and began to scream. Husbands witnessing the spectacle clung to their wives’ chests and began to scream.
But for different reasons.
In short, she darn near tore the place up trying to get that ECV out of that blasted elevator. But she finally managed it. By the time it was over, my husband was doubled over on the floor laughing so hard he couldn’t see straight. He had tears rolling down his face and was incapable of forming speech for a good fifteen minutes.
Ditto the boy.
It was ECV carnage the likes of which we hadn't seen since The Wal Mart Check Out Incident of 2002. Don’t ask. But there were injuries involved.
Our pager finally goes off so we pick ourselves up off the floor and head inside. The kids get their first glimpse of Mickey and the Chipmunks (good name for a band) and they lose their ever lovin minds.
“I DINT KNOW MICKEY WORKED HERE!” they scream.
The kids are beside themselves with joy. It’s infectious. The girl’s voice raises three octaves and she yells everything that crosses her mind for the next ten minutes.
“LOOK! IT’S CHIP AND DAYUHL!” That’s how she says it. Give a girl a break.
“LOOK! PLUTOS’S HERE TOO!”
“LOOK! MACARONI AND CHEESE!”
“LOOK! TREES!”
The boy is a little more low key but still excited. He sits and laughs and tells us how much he loves us and that he’s so glad we brought him to Disneyworld. He thanked us for bringing him and his sister to the World three different times during the course of the meal.
And he really meant it. He was feeling it.
Just as our son was telling his father thank you, our daughter decided to curl up in DH’s lap and lay a kiss on his cheek.
And that was the exact moment that my husband referred to Epicot as the happiest place this side of Heaven.
I wonder why.
It doesn’t take long before they bring out our first family size plate of flank steak, turkey and dressing, chicken strips, mac and cheese and other various comfort foods.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt11.jpg
Okay, so it looks pretty gross, I admit. Especially the pink in the middle of that steak. But the food was actually pretty good and the character interaction was wonderful. They were really on at that meal. All of them. Mickey and his homies were constantly goofing off and making us all laugh. They spent a lot of time with the kids and made multiple passes by our booth.
At one point, the girl was just sitting there minding her own business in the booth. She was eating her chicken strips like a good girl when Pluto spotted her.
What happened next was recounted over and over again in the days that would follow.
By the girl.
And not in a good way.
Pluto got a running start from the booth behind us and galloped up on all fours to within one inch of our daughter’s face. His entire body shook violently and he absolutely freaked her out.
And not in a good way.
She was literally shaking. But she was still smiling. I think she was too scared not to smile. Both of her hands were in her mouth and she was smiling and shaking, looking up at this overgrown, overzealous dog who had just gone all freakshow on her.
DH turns to Pluto and goes “Dude, don’t you think that’s a little much?”
Okay, so he didn’t. But he should have.
At any rate, he pulled the girl into a hug and tried to make her laugh at silly Pluto. But it didn’t work. She talked about Pluto getting in her face forever and was scared of him for the rest of the trip.
Thanks Dude.
But at least she got this afterwards.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt12.jpg
The kids had the best time decorating their cupcakes. I don’t remember what the exact name for our dessert was. I think it was some sort of chocolate banana bread pudding if I remember correctly. But what I do remember is that whatever it was, it was out of this world. It was utterly amazing and we made a couple of pigs out of ourselves with that one.
We really enjoyed the Garden Grill. It was one of the highlights of our trip and I’m glad we decided to go. Pluto scarring our daughter for life aside. My worrying about the spinning restaurant was all for nothing because you couldn’t really feel it unless you looked at the floor or focused on one particular spot for a few minutes.
Not that I ever did that.
But I told DH to. Just to test the waters. Turns out DH doesn’t like spinning restaurants either. Who knew?
Anyway, it was really cool to be able to check out the inside of Living with the Land as we ate. The booths gave the place a semi private feeling, which is totally different from Chef Mickey’s. All in all, the place got two thumbs up from us.
We all four agreed. Lunch at Garden Grill was a great call.
From there, we went to swim with the fishes. Or at least look at them. We shimmied on over to the Living Seas. Of all the sea creatures in there, the kids were the most excited about the dolphins. They’re beautiful animals and they fascinate all of us. We stood there for what seemed like forever and just watched them swim around.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt14.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt15.jpg
After we found the dolphins, we found Nemo. And Dory.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j268/LaLas1/tt13.jpg
Then we went outside and found out the definition of a Redneck Double Stroller.
Yeah, it’s basically a single with an extra rider.
The boy was seriously tired at this point so we told the girl to move her feet over and let her brother hitch a ride over to Ice Station Cool. Club Cool. Whatever.
Top that one, ZZUB and NM. I’ll see your four year old in a stroller and your seven year old in a stroller and raise you one.
We threw a five year old and an eight year old in a single stroller.
Cause that’s how we roll it.
We pull up to Club Cool, usher the kids out of the Redneck Double Stroller, and head inside. It’s so funny to me that just like Mel’s Calvin, the boy forgets how bad the Beverly tastes until he’s had a huge gulp of it.
He’s hot and thirsty so he grabs a cup and tries to decide which one to sample first.
Me: Why don’t you try that one right there, that Beverly? I bet that’s good.
The boy: Well okay. Looks good to me.
He fills the little cup up to the rim and takes a big swig. And almost chokes. I have a picture of him with a look of complete and utter disgust on his face. I call it Post Beverly. Or do I? Anyway, I felt sorry for him so I directed him toward the Smart Watermelon. To cleanse the palate.
We tease because we care.
Or is it we scare because we care?
I help the girl pick out some really good tasting samples (we avoided the Vegitabeta) and then I look over to my left. And spot something I’ve never seen before.
There’s a guy with an empty water bottle filling it to the rim with the ginger ale drink. No lie. He wasn’t worried about the stupid two oz. cups that were provided for his convenience. He had pulled out the big guns. He wanted him a full thirty two ounces. I laughed really hard and found DH to tell him about it. Because we like to make fun of people together, not separately. By the time he looked over, Mr. DMVC was already on his second water bottle.
Apparently a CM told him his water bottle was good for free refills for life.
Plus it makes a really nice souvenir.
Or so I hear.
Up Next: The Elusive Mickey Bar Part II
tink38
12-21-2006, 12:35 PM
Great installment, La. But you misspelled a word. No really, you did. Go look.
Also - I agree with your review of Garden Grill. I had reservations about the spinning as well. And what is all that red goopy stuff in the middle of your plate, woman? Never mind the rare steak, what IS that stuff?
LY/MI!
Frickles
12-21-2006, 01:08 PM
You got a stinking certificate? That just sucks. Seriously.
I love Mouse Gear. I could literally stay in there for hours because they have so much cool stuff that I would love to have. Like Mickey cereal bowls.
I know a really cool girl that has those. That would be me.
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m39/Frickles89/P1010700.jpg
I hand wash these babies daily.
LaLa!!!! I just loved it! Now I am bummed that we missed our Garden Grill reservation to go to the Electric Umbrella for a #5.
The lady in the elevator story has just killed me!!!! That right there is the good stuff. Bless her.
I hope the LaLa's have a wonderful Christmas!!!!!! Love ya girl!
PrincessV
12-21-2006, 01:08 PM
A crummy certificate? That’s all we got? A crummy certificate?
It may as well have been a reminder to drink your Ovaltine.
Or a leg lamp.
:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
I KNOW of what you speak (write)! My family, too, was recently the recipient of one of Disney's Major Awards - I've got a lovely chunk of paper proclaiming us the Newest Residents of the 100 Acre Woods. Niiiice.
I'm finally caught up and still loving your TR! :cheer2:
And in the heat of battle, she wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over World Showcase Lagoon.
and was last sighted hoovering somewhere over Lake Michigan....
thanks for the latest installment......it was a delight..........hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
spotty
12-21-2006, 01:55 PM
Spotty: Glad you found us. And thanks for your kind words. What's a patookis?
I am asssssuming that was rhetorical?
Not only could she not navigate her way out of the elevator, but she also had the mouth of a longshoreman. And in the heat of battle, she wove a tapestry of obscenities that as far as we know is still hanging in space over World Showcase Lagoon. That is freaking hysterical! I didn't realize Mel HappyHaunt was in an ECV.
I've got the redneck ride to top your redneck ride. But you'll have to wait a few weeks to find out about it.
And don't be defaming the DMVC. It's full-on sanctioned by Disney. But only at your resort. Can't be filling up resort mugs in the park. Duh.
They do make nice souvenirs, though.
:moped:
I am asssssuming that was rhetorical?
Yes it was. And why did you put so many s's in there? ;)
Great installment, La. But you misspelled a word. No really, you did. Go look.
Also - I agree with your review of Garden Grill. I had reservations about the spinning as well. And what is all that red goopy stuff in the middle of your plate, woman? Never mind the rare steak, what IS that stuff?
LY/MI!
Tink, if you'd climb outta that drink, you'd realize that the red stuff is cranberry sauce. Some people have a thing for guacamole. Apparently I like me some cranberry sauce. LY/MI!
I KNOW of what you speak (write)! My family, too, was recently the recipient of one of Disney's Major Awards - I've got a lovely chunk of paper proclaiming us the Newest Residents of the 100 Acre Woods. Niiiice.
The Newest Residents of the Hundred Acre Woods? I am SO ded. That killed me. Apparently your award was a little more major than ours.
and was last sighted hoovering somewhere over Lake Michigan....
You know it.
thanks for the latest installment......it was a delight..........hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Sam. You too. And Roll Tide! :sunny:
I know a really cool girl that has those. That would be me.
Frick, if I have to see those cool as all get out cereal bowls one more time, I think I'm gonna develop a case of Mickey cereal bowl envy. Seriously. I love those. You think it's too late to put 'em on my list for this year? Thanks for the sweet wishes. I hope the Fricks have an awesome Christmas. I love ya girl.
I've got the redneck ride to top your redneck ride.
Don't tell me you let da Schpup! wide on top of the stwoller? That sounds just like something you ZZUBs would do. Next thing you know, you'll be shopping at Target, eating at gas stations, talking openly about bodily functions, and last but not least, attempting to use a said, faded refillable mug from Port Orleans Riverside at "The Lodge".
:moped: :moped:
Chapter 11
12-21-2006, 02:59 PM
A crummy certificate? That’s all we got? A crummy certificate?
It may as well have been a reminder to drink your Ovaltine.
Or a leg lamp.
Bummer Ralphie. Embrace the magic.
In short, she darn near tore the place up trying to get that EVC out of that blasted elevator. But she finally managed it. By the time it was over, my husband was doubled over on the floor laughing so hard he couldn’t see straight. He had tears rolling down his face and was incapable of forming speech for a good fifteen minutes.
Ditto the boy.
ECVenfreude?
Me: Why don’t you try that one right there, that Beverly? I bet that’s good.
The boy: Well okay. Looks good to me.
He fills the little cup up to the rim and takes a big swig. And almost chokes. I have a picture of him with a look of complete and utter disgust on his face.
I call it Post Beverly. Or do I? Anyway, I felt sorry for him so I directed him toward the Smart Watermelon. To cleanse the palate.
We tease because we care.
Enjoy those therapy bills.
Nice installment. We'll have to give Garden Grill a try next time, for variety's sake.
WheatThins
12-21-2006, 03:21 PM
Blah, blah, blah. I see your pictures are of the same quality as Mel's.
Wheat Thins
nicolemarie
12-21-2006, 03:54 PM
Wait a minute!! I thought you were done until after Christmas! I don't have time to read right now...but I'll be back. And I can't wait.
NM :sunny:
nicolemarie
12-21-2006, 04:18 PM
We’re beside ourselves with giddiness as she tells us to follow her. We follow like four ducklings in a row. I turn around a couple of times and exchange goofy grins with DH. She gets to the counter, pulls out a Disney file, asks us our name, and then proceeds to assign us our Dream.
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
We can see she’s writing something but we can’t make it out. The anticipation is killing us. Then she’s finally done.
She hands our Dream to us with a smile.
Let's just say I've got a little experience here. And my question is, are there really folks out there who think this is cool? Maybe they just don't know there are better options. I mean, there are folks who still don't know about regular Fastpasses - much less DREAM Fastpasses. So I guess there are those who would be impressed with a certificate. But this seems like a huge waste to me. And I challenge you to find a bigger Disney Dork - so I'm one who would be impressed.
Plus those mile long, winding glow necklaces are pretty cool to watch. Even if they are outdated.
You mean these? Yeah, I like em, too. Borg.
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j182/nicole0330/IMG_0747550x367.jpg
It was ECV carnage the likes of which we hadn't seen since The Wal Mart Check Out Incident of 2002. Don’t ask. But there were injuries involved.
What happened with the WalMart Check Out Incident of 2002? And why are we ALWAYS talking about Walmart?
LaLa, LaLa, LaLa. All kidding aside. You are an awesome writer. I love your stories. Not only do they take us right along with you, they are hilarious, too. Thanks for investing your time to do this. It's much better than making dinner for company!
And who's the chick with the cool bowls? I could use them for salads tonight.
Merry Christmas my sweet friend!
You know I love ya!
NM :sunny:
SoccerDogWithEars
12-21-2006, 11:42 PM
Ok, so it's now 12:38 a.m. eastern standard, and I'm STILL not in bed. At least tomorrow's a holiday. Lala, why must you do this to me?? I have a book I've borrowed from a friend that she has threatened death to me if I do not return it soon, yet I find myself drawn to my computer and my cursor automagically going to click on the Dis in my "most recently visited site" list. Curse you for being such a great writer!!! Kidding, I love you too much (never mind I've never met you) to curse you.
That ECV incident had me laughing out loud. Reminded me of the Teenager Learning To Back Up In A Parking Lot incident........ahem, for the record, my mom SAID there was nothing to hit........
I'm so glad y'all enjoyed Garden Grill. I've been trying to convince Mom to make ADR's/PS's or whatever they're called now there for AGES!! And yet she always finds a way to thwart me. Stupid credit card holders, they think they have all the authority.
Anyway, I'm off to bed now, hope you have a LaLa's Very Merry Christmas Party at your house. LY/MI, and all those cool slang terms I'm supposed to know as a teenager that mean you rock.
P.S. Don't let my mom see the salad bowls.......we have no room in our cabinets for anything else. The Mickey wine glasses are already teetering precariously on the edge of our china cabinet.
KangaFan
12-22-2006, 12:05 PM
Hmmm . . . ECV accident or secretly training for the Buzz Lightyear bumper cars at DQ . . .
Thanks for the comic relief and yet another excuse not to scrub my toilets!
Hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family!
Syds-Mom
12-26-2006, 10:13 AM
Just wanted to say how much I am enjying reading about your trip while I plan for min in two weeks. I hope you had a wonderful holiday and hope to read more of your trip before I leave.
Sandy
serendipity
12-26-2006, 12:24 PM
Another great one LaLa. We love Spaceship Earth too, well, I do, my fiancee on the other hand uses it as nap time, but that's a whole other trip report. Glad you liked Garden Grill! By the way the part about the double red neck stroller is hysterical! Merry Christmas!
ahutton
12-26-2006, 02:47 PM
That sounds just like something you ZZUBs would do. Next thing you know, you'll be shopping at Target, eating at gas stations, talking openly about bodily functions, and last but not least, attempting to use a said, faded refillable mug from Port Orleans Riverside at "The Lodge".
Now - don't knock eating at gas stations. From a Texas redneck to the rest of you - if you see Rudy's somewhere in or near Texas. Stop. Really. It's good food. Much better than you would expect. But watch the pickles, they are really, really sour. And you can fill up on your way out!!
Still really enjoying sharing the family trip - makes me want to actually get off my patookis (did I spell that right???) and write one myself!
AshClan
12-26-2006, 05:20 PM
LA!!
I'm just getting caught up after the craziness of the past couple of weeks, and I am LOVING your last two installments. I didn't think you could top the Menudo elevator incident, but the ECV lady made me laugh even harder. Cry, in fact! :rotfl2: Good thing I wasn't drinking anything or I'd have needed a new monitor. And the Soarin video!! I went to my happy place watchin that. :goodvibes Thanks for sharing ;)
Hope you had a joyful Christmas, and that you and your adorable family have a blessed New Year. Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!!!
kpk89
12-26-2006, 09:09 PM
LaLa, I am doing the scream-laugh. Only it's the cry-laugh. Laugh-cry. What matters, it's the laughing so hard you're crying. That poor woman! Do you LaLa's laugh when somebody trips and falls, too? :lmao:
I think the Cool Club guy should've filled 16 of the 2 oz cups,then funneled them into his bottle. It seems more okay that way.
Garden Grill sounds like a winner. Mayhaps the kpks will dine there in, oh, a couple of weeks!!
southernbohemian
12-27-2006, 02:15 PM
I should really stop reading this report while the baby is napping - keep waking the poor thing up with my own version of getting the laugh scream on. Can't be as scarring as a major run-in with Pluto, though. Or could it?
Somehow with the holidays I missed Chapter 10 and also luckily missed out on the agony of guessing the major award. I feel for the children. Really. Now they see what knowledge is good for - a lousy, overhyped certificate. Too bad it cost me tens of thousands of dollars and four years of my life to learn the same thing upon college graduation. Bitter? Not me!
And may I second the Rudy's recommendation? I adore ordering meat by the pound, free sliced bread and getting to eat off of wax paper! And just to up my redneckness, the best king cakes in the entire world come from a gas station in Springfield, Louisiana that also specializes in fish bait. Who said Walmart had the corner on one-stop shopping?
lexmelinda
12-30-2006, 06:55 AM
popcorn::
Grammyof2
12-31-2006, 07:59 PM
Happy New Year LALALALALALA :dance3: :dance3: :dance3:
AussieAngel
01-01-2007, 07:11 AM
Yayyyyyy! Lala, you have brought me back to the DIS boards, after a 3 month absence! :cheer2:
It's been 3 months because I live way over here in Australia, and since our trip to Disneyworld last September, I'm just too sad that I won't be returning for a long, long time! The Disney boards just make me too sad!
But reading your trip report has reminded me of all the fun and cute and silly things that are a Disneyworld vacation, and you know what?! I'm now happy that I've been, and not sad that I won't go again for years!
(Although... we're heading to Hawaii for our honeymoon this time next year. I wonder how long a quick flight from Honolulu to Orlando would take? Heeee!)
Anyway, a very big thankyou Lala, for your gorgeous trip report so far!! What a lovely family! And what a fun vacation! Can't wait to read the rest!! :yay:
eemiles03
01-01-2007, 02:21 PM
Oh my...I'm a lurker by nature...as I myself have only been to WDW one day.....when I was like 5...Your trip report has me busting a gut...I was doing the laugh cry as well while reading the ECV amusement....Can't wait to read more....
ALittleDisneyFan
01-02-2007, 02:54 PM
This is one of the funniest TR's, ever. I think you need to go to WDW more often. :lmao:
Just turning the page :)
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