Grumpy turns sixty, where else could we be ?? *Updated 10/04*

[marivaid]

It was December 30th in a lovely village near Versailles, France, around 7am. The birds were not singing. The streets were too quiet, not a sound to be heard. A not so young woman was going through the motions of her early morning routine. She took a deep breath, opened the door to her house,stepped outside...



And then I landed flat on my butt.



I barely noticed, and couple seconds later I was back up - nothing very unusual, really, as I had spent most of winter with my butt on ice cold streets. We had a rough one here - oh nothing like the stuff you guys get in, say, Maine. But for us it was rough. Sleet, rain, ice, snow, or all of the above every day since mid-November.

But somehow that morning was different. It was Tuesday, and although it was holiday season, most people had gone back to work the day before. Yet I couldn't hear a single car or bus in the street.

I walked up to my place of work, a supermarket which is only 6 blocks from my house. I must have slipped a hundred times on my way up and didn't see any other human being. The streets were covered in ice, maybe an inch thick.

When I finally reached work, I joined my friends in the staff's meeting room to listen to the radio.

"streets and highways are blocked by accidents for miles"
"totally unprepared"
"no one can get through"

"will most likely happen again and could be worse tonight and tomorrow"

We were scheduled to leave for Disney World at 6am the next morning. :scared1:

Saved by the Grump,sort of. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31195197#post31195197)

Take us home, country road... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31410687#post31410687)

Happy New Year, Grab a Mug! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31539484#post31539484)

The day I ate Epcot, Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31608510#post31608510)

The day I ate Epcot, Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32082072#post32082072)

THE text message of 2009 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32257769#post32257769)

It's her birthday, and she'll grump if she wants to, Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32371584#post32371584")

In a nutshell, the end. (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33820228#post33820228")




:love:

[GreatBiscuit]

Hurray! Another TR! Signing on. First post and already a cliff hanger? This one should be good!

[penguingirlie]

I can't believe I am finally at the beginning of one of your reports. I absolutely loved the other ones. Can't wait to see what fun awaits!

[thegreggersmom]

Yeahh!! I am in, too! :cool1:

[CPer'sMom]

Hi Marina :wave2: Glad to see the start of a new TR! :cool1:

[heaven2dc]

Oh My!! Oh No!! :scared: I hope you make it to the airport - this is going to be one fun ride!!

[k_reile]

can't wait to read another report.

[AshClan]

Marina,

I am THRILLED to see you and Grumpy back for another ride! Happy Belated Birthday to her! Can't wait to hear about all of your adventures!!:thumbsup2

[eyor44]

Hello! I am here also. Can't wait.

[Stacybaeasm]

There's just never a dull moment with you and Grumpy! I can't wait to hear the rest of this one. Count me in for the ride. Oh, and happy birthday Grumpy!!

[OhMari]

Maine,
compare, have sympathy for people in Wisconsin,
we had snow, snow and more snow, and what is it doing now,
FRICKIN SNOWING!!!!


Rant over,
I read your last one, before I put it in completed.
I didn't want you to think I didn't, but I do, I am still a lurker at heart.


And, I"m betting you got out, it is called "de-icing, and it smells horrible".

[miceli20]

I'm so happy I love reading your trip reports.

[Kellyh123]

I love reading your reports! I laughed so hard at the last one it was great!

[KathyRN137]

Wow! I didn't even know there was another trip that needed reporting!!

:cool1: Bring it on!

Kathy

[irky416]

I loved your last TR! I can't wait for this one.

[VanniGirl]

WooHoo!! Another report - can't wait for the details.

:cool1:

[disneysuncat]

I'm definitely in for this one, and your pre-trip report too!

[The Three Cabs]

I am in!!! I am glad to see you are writing another trip report :woohoo:

[NMW]

subscribing

[whogirl'smom]

Yay! You really just need to move to Florida, you know....

[MickeyPalace]

Definitely subscribing... Wouldn't think of missing the trip! :banana:

[angela3676]

:banana:trip report, bring it on!:banana:

[Plumeria]

I lurked on all of your other Trip Reports. I am definately on board for this one!

[PixieDustandEeyore]

I sympathize with the winter comments. I live near Ottawa, Canada...and I think I spent winter on my butt two. Even crushed a ligament in my wrist right before travelling to California, the plus side I got to do early boarding for extra assistance, and since overhead compartment space is at a premium it worked! I am so glad to see another TR I enjoyed your last one so much!!!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Woooohoooo! Another Marina report! I'm so glad you decided to tell us about your mini trip to see the mouse. :goodvibes

[Simba22]

Yay! I get to read a Trip Report AND a Pre Trip Report from you at the same time! You reminded me of a winter story from here in Connecticut though.... a couple years ago we had a big snow/ice storm. My sister was leaving school and slipped and fell in the middle of the sidewalk. Some kid comes running up to her and goes "OH MY GOD ARE YOU OK?? EVERYONE SAW THAT!!" :rotfl2:

[tink1957]

:yay:Oh Boy!!! Another Marina trippie!!! I can't wait.:surfweb:popcorn::

[jillyb]

Yay!! Can't wait to hear about Grumpy's birthday trip!

[29apr00]

WOO HOO!! Marina and Grumpy go to WDW! Another great TR in the works!! Can't wait!

[The Moonk's Mom]

Oh yeah...I'm in too!!!:cool1:

[cherokeemamma]

Hello Marivaid,
So happy I found this early. Looking forward to hearing all about your adventures. I have one request...Please, tell me your sister did not come. :confused:
Happy belated bday to Grumpy!!!!princess::cake:

[joleen76]

Yay another TR!! I can't wait. I have loved your last two!

Bring on the Grumpy stories...I love them! :goodvibes :dance3:

[mrsksomeday]

I am glad I found this link in your signature, I would have kicked myself if I had missed one of your TRs. I can't believe we will be missing you again for your Disney trips. We are going in Oct. and mid-Dec.

[Hedy]

:hug::hug::hug:

[DisneyTabby]

I'm here too!:cool1:

[magicallyDisney001]

Yes! Another TR! Update soon! :3dglasses

[luvngoofy]

I'm in too! I lurked on the others and it was difficult finding them at times!:lmao:You have the BEST reports!:dance3:

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in for this one!

[porknbeans]

I thought I would never get hooked on reading someone elses reports/stories of their visits to Disney.....I was wrong. Marina you do such a fabulous job of writing that I can't wait for another snippet of your life and travels. Keep it up and count me in!

[mom2mek]

Phew - thought I missed a whole bunch, but nope...just comments! :lmao:

I can't wait to read all about your mom's birthday celebration! Woo-hoo! Love your reports! :goodvibes

Sara

[janloz]

I'm in too. Loved your previous adventurers with Grumpy.

[iluvuwdw]

I have been quietly lurking , I love reading your trip reports and hearing about your adventures . Can't wait to read more :surfweb:

[WDWKrazedKitty]

I am breaking from my lurkdom to sub. I can never get enough of Marina & Grumpy!!! I LOVE your TR's. They always make me laugh!!! Can't wait. :banana:

[marivaid]

Holy moly !!! You guys are sooooooooooooooooooooooo good for my ego :) Thanks for all the comments, I'm going to really get this thing started now! That darn computer keeps overheating and shutting off just as I'm done with a long post grrrrrrrrr

[marivaid]

It was a very odd morning day at work. Customers had begged us for weeks to open an hour early - which for most of the staff, meant showing up at 4am instead of 5. They were lucky and missed the storm. Anyone who was due at work past 6am and drove, well, those were still out there somewhere trying to get through. And the customers ? I believe the first one showed up around 9.

But while I was vegetating at work, Grumpy was busy making sure we would get on our plane the next day. I'd called her as soon as I reached work to tell her about the weather. My father was supposed to drive us the next morning but that was out of the question now. He already isn't comfortable driving when it's dark, if it's dark AND slippery, forget it. We had to get us a cab but there's only one cab company here and I figured they would be booked solid. I was right. I discussed that with a friend at work and he told me there was a "personal chauffeured car service" right here in our town that was about the same cost as a cab and they may be able to take us.

Grumpy called them. She was told they could take us to the airport - tonight.
Now, we don't live on top of the Mont Blanc or anything, but there is one very nasty hill going up to our place. That thing is a death trap on GOOD days. When I used to drive a scooter around, I would actually stop breathing every time I had to go up or down that road. If it's raining or snowing, the buses will stop their service at the bottom of the hill.
You HAVE to go up that road to get to our house, the only other way would take you about 2 hours. The lady from the car service company told Grumpy she had no way to know for sure if the car could get up there the next morning.

So Grumpy booked it for tonight, and then got online to find us a room in a hotel by the airport for the night. She called me to say she settled on an Ibis that was cheap enough at about $120 for the night. The cab itself was about $150.

I had to ask my mom to pack my stuff. She had booked the cab for 8pm, the latest time she could get, but I was supposed to get off work at 7.30pm. The streets were still so bad at lunch time that I decided not to risk it and stay at work for my break. To make matters worse, I was also moving at that time, in fact I had gotten the keys to my new apartment the day after Christmas. So a good part of my clothes and things were up in boxes, and my bedroom was even more of a mess than usual. That didn't help Grumpy. In the end she ended up throwing any T-Shirt that had a smiling mouse on it in a duffle, add on as many clean pairs of jeans she could get her hands on, and declared I was good to go. I gave a list of things I needed besides clothes and she reported that she had found everything, no problem.

It was a long, long day. I was working the oyster stand in the lobby and was freezing to death. Plus, oysters gross me out. We eat them raw in France. I can't believe so many people love to eat things that look like they just came out of their noses. And that they'd pay $25 for a case of 12. But they do!

At 6.30 the store was pretty much empty, and I went to my supervisor to ask her if I could leave early. I told her about us having to leave tonight instead of the morning and for once she was nice and let me out a little before 7pm. I rushed home, washed some of the oyster smell off me, and checked if I had the basics - passport, money, credit cards. Good to go.

Soon enough we were in a very nice van with a very nice and chatty driver. He asked us which hotel we were spending the night at and Grumpy said, "the Ibis".

"Which one?"
"The one by the airport."
"Hmm there are three of them,at least."

Ooops.

Of course Grumpy being Grumpy, she hadn't bothered to write down the address of the hotel she booked. She had printed her reservation but there was no address on it.

She decided it was the "big one" and so our driver let us out there. We collected our luggage and waited in line about 20mns at the front desk. Grumpy handed the guy our reservation....

"Oh, you are at the wrong hotel."

Why, of course we were.

[cherokeemamma]

Great update Marivaid. I would be completely terrified if someone else packed for me, especially my mother. You are very brave.;)
Looking forward to more....:woohoo:

TTFN
Cherokeemamma

[jillyb]

"Oh, you are at the wrong hotel."

Why, of course we were.

:rotfl::rotfl: I know it probably wasn't funny at the time but I laughed out loud when I read this. And like PP, I would hate to see what my Mom packed for me. Can't wait to read more!

[Heluvsme]

How did I miss this? I'm so happy you're writing another one!

Yay!!!

[The Moonk's Mom]

Oh that is too funny! :lmao: Sorry! But it is! You just had to know that was going to happen! Hope the rest gets at least a little better!

[29apr00]

Grumpy packed for you!?!? How could you not have been packed 24 hrs before you were supposed to leave? I'm usually packed atleast a month in advance! :lmao: Wrong Hotel!?!? UGH that would be horrible!! I hope the wrong hotel allowed you to stay, or atleast offered transportation to the correct hotel!

[whogirl'smom]

Not the wrong hotel! :lmao: Please post a picture of the offending hill--I would love to see it!

And oysters should be fried and doused in ketchup, shouldn't they?

[eyor44]

YAY! Grumpy and Marina are off to Disney! :cool1:
Can't wait to hear if you found the correct hotel.........

[slotzkin]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE your trip reports and am on the edge of my seat for your next adventure!:yay:

I was in Paris for 2 weeks this past November and find your local comments hilarious!

[KathyRN137]

:lmao: I can't believe you hadn't packed yet!!

If my mother ever had to pack for me, you probably couldn't lift the bag!!

The "Killer Hill" sounds scary! :eek:


Kathy

[disneysuncat]

I cannot WAIT to read what Grumpy didn't pack for you...or did.

[winkers]

I always seem to be late to the party....

I agree with you on oysters......raw or cooked it's like chewing a giant booger.

For some reason I thought that you would get alot of snow in France. Well other than the southern coast.

[kimbo0569]

I'm in! I love reading your TR's among others....can't wait to hear more. I haven't been around here much, life has gotten in the way, plus I haven't had a Disney trip in the works but I suckered dh in and managed to get him to agree to another trip in 2010 sometime, including my mom and his. (knew that would get him...)

[NotSoEvilStepmother]

Ah. I'm late!:scared1:
Joining in!

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Great start! Glad you're back!!

[angela3676]

Soon enough we were in a very nice van with a very nice and chatty driver. He asked us which hotel we were spending the night at and Grumpy said, "the Ibis".

"Which one?"
"The one by the airport."
"Hmm there are three of them,at least."

Ooops.

Of course Grumpy being Grumpy, she hadn't bothered to write down the address of the hotel she booked. She had printed her reservation but there was no address on it.

She decided it was the "big one" and so our driver let us out there. We collected our luggage and waited in line about 20mns at the front desk. Grumpy handed the guy our reservation....

"Oh, you are at the wrong hotel."

Why, of course we were.
:eek: :lmao:
I love reading your trip reports Marina. :thumbsup2

[MEK]

Wrong hotel! Very funny! :lmao::lmao::lmao:

Let me guess....It was the last one you went to! Am I right?? :rotfl2::rotfl2:

[DisneyTabby]

This can only happen to you guys:lmao::rotfl:

[marivaid]

So there we were. Let me remind you I had been up since 6am and worked all day. I was NOT in a good mood.

We tried to change our reservation for this hotel - after all, it's a chain, couldn't they transfer it ? But they were fully booked. The man at the front desk told us to cross the lobby, go through the train station that was a few minutes away, cross that, and that we could get a shuttle to the right hotel from there.

So off we went. It was mighty cold outside. We rolled our bag and suitcases through the RER station and waited outside for the shuttle. The man had told us it would be a burgundy van.

One yellow bus, one pink van, two green ones, a couple reds - but not burgundy red - later, we were still waiting and about ready to call it quits when the darn burgundy van finally showed up. We made sure were going to the RIGHT hotel this time and THEN got on.

There was a place to put your luggage but it was pretty full already. Grumpy laid her suitcase on it horizontally, taking whatever space was left. The van started moving about two seconds after we got on and I had no time to put it on the right way, plus I was holding the duffle bag with one hand and my suitcase with the other one. So I just stood holding on. Grumpy kept telling me to sit, I kept telling her the luggage wouldn't stand all by itself and to move hers if she didn't want it to fly off. She said it was just fine as it was.
Of course, when the driver made a sharp turn to get into the parking lot of our hotel, off went her suitcase.

"You happy now ??"

Yeah, okay, I was a bit nasty. I blame the oysters for this.

This hotel was MUCH smaller and not as fancy as the one we'd first been in, but on the bright side, THEY had a room for us :)

Well, us, or a couple of leprechauns. Wanna see what $120 gets you 10 miles from Charles de Gaulle Airport ?

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/trip/DSC00476.jpg

Fancyyyyyyyyyyy !!!!!

Oh well. We only had to sleep there one night and it was clean enough. I was way too tired to get an actual shower now, so instead I set my clock up for 5am so I'd have time to clean up properly in the morning. Mistake.

Before we went to sleep, I checked my stuff since Grumpy had been the one who packed it. My french cell phone works fine in the US but it cost me a lot to use it there, plus it costs a ton to my American friends to call me on it even when I'm in the country. So I have this prepaid phone from T-Mobile we use whenever we're in the US. The phone had been charging the night before, and I had asked my mom to unplug it and put it in my backpack.

I pulled the baggy out and found myself staring at my humongous media drive charger.

"What the f... is that thing doing here?"
"It's the charger you told me to put in your backpack."
"NO, it's not. I asked you to put the cell phone that was charging in my backpack."
"Well, isn't that a charger?"
"Well, is there a damn PHONE on it???"

Yeah yeah I know, I was starting to sound like my lovely sister. But seriously. The thing weighs like two pounds. It's about five times bigger than a cell phone, let alone a cell phone charger. What on Earth was she thinking ?!

"I guess I really can't ask you to do anything correctly without me holding your hand."

Oh no, did I really say that ???? :eek:

I am MORTIFIED remembering that. Poor Grumpy. She got really upset and told me a few choice words. Then she got into bed and turned off the lights.
I'd been sound asleep for a while when I heard a big BOOM. I jumped up and turned on the light.

Grumpy had rolled off her tiny bed onto the floor - but she was still sound asleep! The bed was so low to begin with she probably hadn't even noticed she'd fallen off it. I couldn't help but laugh, and that woke her up...

"mmm hein heuh but what....what am I doing on the floor?????"

I was laughing so hard I couldn't answer. She started to laugh too when she figured out what she did. I helped her back up and we tried to get back to sleep but every few minutes one of us would burst into laughter.


Phewww... thank god for clutziness and low beds. The nastiness was gone from both of us!

We did manage to get a couple hours sleep and then the phone alarm woke us up at 5am. I went straight into the shower and trust me, I needed it. I still felt oystery. We hadn't packed any toiletries because we always use Disney's but it hadn't occured to me that there would not be anything except a bar of soap provided in our hotel room. So yep - I washed my hair with soap. I have very long, very fine hair, and it didn't like the soap at all. I had the hardest time untangling it after that, and then I realized there was no hair dryer either. Two persons, two towels. If I used the other one to dry my hair, Grumpy'd have to dry herself off with her socks.

OK now I know this is just a one-night kind of hotel at the airport. But COME ON ! Towels, shampoo, and a hair dryer are basics. I guess I'm spoiled by the US where there's always a decent Days Inn for 49 bucks near any airport. And the rooms are not midget-sized. :confused3

We had to catch the shuttle - there was one per hour - and so I had to go out in the 16 degrees weather with wet hair. Luckily I had warned Grumpy before she got in the shower so she chose not to wash her hair at all rather than put up with wet soapy tangles.

The roads weren't too bad that morning and we made it to the airport in no time. We were the first ones to check in for our flight, went through security as soon as it opened. I had my suitcase searched and the guy asked me why on earth I was carrying that huge charger with me. He even wiped it with some sort of cloth - I wonder what the heck he thought it was ???

We had time to spare and had hoped we could do some duty free shopping but the shops were not open. That was odd. They are usually open by 8, and there it was, 8.30 and still closed. We asked an airport employee and he said the roads were still very icy and a lot of people were stuck on the way. Apparently there had been some accidents as well. :sad2:
I was glad we'd decided to leave the night before!

Grumpy & I went to have breakfast at the one place that was open.

Pineapple juice and fake donuts, yum!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/trip/DSC00477.jpg

Then we went to wait for our plane. Of course, ten seconds after they announced that we would be boarding soon, the duty-free shop opened. I ran in to get Grumpy's cigarettes and was back on time for us to board. As usual we were the first ones on the plane ! No upgrade this time but we had nice coach seats in what I like to call the mini-cabin. There's only about 12 rows, right after First Class. My mom doesn't like it much though because she can see what's going on in First Class yet can't be there :rotfl:

I took a picture a few minutes after we took off.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/trip/DSC00479.jpg

Then my mom slipped me a Tylenol and I snoozed the rest of the flight away.

Grumpy woke me up about 15mns from landing so I could fill our Visa Waiver cards. No, we're not transporting livestock (besides ourselves).No we have never plotted to kill anybody (except that one time and he totally deserved it). No, we don't have over $10,000 cash on us (if only!).

This year they changed that stuff and instead of filling the card when you're in the air, you have to do it online before your trip. It's good because as usual, when we got to Immigration, people kept being sent back in the line because they hadn't filled their card correctly.

We never got through Immigration so quickly in Miami before. I think it was like 5mns at the most. Awesome!!!

I hate the Miami aiport. There's absolutely NOTHING to do there. Even their Starbucks stinks. My mom loves it though, because of "her cage" aka smoking area. I didn't even know you could still have smoking areas in airports. I guess because technically this one is outside then it's legal. Grumpy's little heaven. Sad.

We were upgraded to First Class on the flight from Miami to Orlando. It's only like a 45mns flight but it didn't cost us a thing. I was still working on that Tylenol anyway and slept through it.

As soon as we landed in Orlando though, I was bright & awake !!! First ones off the plane. Take fake monorail. The shops were closed (it was New Year's Eve, after all!). Side B, take elevator to Magical Express. Check in. Wait for bus. Sit in front so that you can take a picture of that wittle thing


http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/trip/DSC00481.jpg


At last... we were back in Disney World !!!!!!!!!!!!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Wow...note to self-do not stay at $120 a night room near Charles de Gaulle! That's pretty bad when they don't give you shampoo or a hair dryer. :eek: I thought having those items was pretty standard, but then again its been a couple of years since I've been overseas.

Glad that you made it safe and sound to Disney. There's nothing like driving up to that archway to welcome you back home. :)

[k_reile]

we had to stay a night at the charles de gaulle airport when we first got to Paris bc we decided to add a day and couldn't add on to our current reservation in Paris because of the futbal (or was it soccer tournaments) in October 07 going on so it was packed. The hotel near charles de gaulle wasn;t nothing much but it at least had tolitries and a hair dryer. How horrible to take the RER with luggage though. We could have taken one from the airport hotel to the hotel in PAris but with all of our luggage and train transfering it was soo not worth it. We got a cab!

[29apr00]

Yeah you're finally here!! What an experience you had getting here!! Poor Grumpy falling off the bed! :rotfl: I hope she didn't end up with any bruises!!

[Hedy]

Poor grumpy!

[KathyRN137]

Poor grumpy!

:laughing: Poor Grumpy?? How about poor Marina?!!

At least you both arrived safely!

Kathy

[MickeyNicki]

See this is why I love your reports.....they have everything you never thought could happen happening in your trips!

So now you are in WDW, so it has to get better right? Or are you saving a tasty nugget for us?

[MEK]

Grumpy falling off the bed!!!!! OK I laughed out loud, twice! :rotfl2:

Now I have a question for your - How does Tylenol keep you asleep through an entire flight from Paris to Miami?????? This must have been a tylenol PM with benadryl in it??? What's the secret?

[eyor44]

YAY! You got to the World. Congrats on the upgrade and ease of getting through everything. Can't wait to hear what else Grumpy packed for you.

[kid-at-heart]

Wonderful start. Waiting for more. :goodvibes

[thelittlemermaid83]

:lmao: what a classic, Grumpy falling off the bed :lmao:

[miceli20]

Ok I gotta tell you I love love your trip reports, but this one:lmao: Grumpy falling off the bed:rotfl2: She will never live it down. I can't wait for more. Watch for my trip report coming soon, it is full of eventful funnies.

[miceli20]

Ok I gotta tell you I love love your trip reports, but this one:lmao: Grumpy falling off the bed:rotfl2: She will never live it down. I can't wait for more. Watch for my trip report coming soon, it is full of eventful funnies.

[mrsksomeday]

I would have been cracking up too seeing Grumpy on the floor still asleep. I can't believe no hair dryer or shampoo, what the heck??

I have never seen the WDW sign at night, thanks for showing the picture. I can't wait to read about your Disney adventures!

[Heluvsme]

Poor Grumpy! Oh my gosh, I feel like I know her now after these trip reports and I'm feeling so bad for her. I'm glad she has a sense of humor!!

:goodvibes

[joleen76]

Great update!

Can't wait for more! popcorn::

[cherokeemamma]

I knew your mom should not have packed for you...I saw that coming. :rotfl2: I seriously cannot imagine what my mom would have packed for me. My mind will not let me go there...:eek:

And Grumpy falling off the bed had me laughing out loud too! Hopefully, she was OK.. Glad you guys made it safely to the World. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to the next installmentpopcorn:::woohoo:

BTW...how long was your flight? Never been to Paris but really would like to. My DD talks about Paris all the time..go figure. She is only 10!:confused3

[disneysuncat]

YAY an update! That hotel room is something else. And no hair dryer? Barbaric!!!

I wonder what that cloth wiping/charger incident was about.

[tnmt]

I love reading your trip reports!

[WalkingintheFog]

:surfweb::surfweb:

omg, I so love reading your trip reports, pre trip reports---have you published any books yet? I'll buy whatever you can get published!

Signing up! :flower3:

[MickeyLover20]

Subbing...your TR's are awesome! I couldn't stop laughing about Grumpy falling out of bed :rotfl2: Can't wait to hear more!

[Baloo]

Yes ...I've been waiting to hear about this trip! :cool1:

Grumpy fell off the bed?!? snort! :lmao:At least it brought out the happy in both of you!


As always Marina I so enjoy reading your reports!Looking forward to more.:thumbsup2

[pacman9a]

Hi Marina

I've just finished reading about your trip with your sister :surfweb: and can only echo what everyone else has been saying, you were very patient and I would have ditched them after the first day!

I have really enjoyed reading all your reports, you have a great writing style :thumbsup2

Hope to read more of this one soon :goodvibes

[Pip-a-dee-doo-dah]

Can't wait to hear the rest of it! Thanks!

[WalkingintheFog]

So, maybe you should start writing a series of articles to sell to magazines!!!

Hope all is well! Remember, no matter frustrating things get, there's always a light shining somewhere for you!
Or people hanging on your every word!!!!:surfweb::)

[kid-at-heart]

Waiting for more.... :goodvibes

[cherokeemamma]

:rolleyes1O Where, O Where has Marina gone?
Oh Where, O Where could she be?:rolleyes1

Please give us some more of you trippie...

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.....TTFN Darlene

[scottish mum]

Long time lurker here. I love your TR they are always such great fun. Looking forward to another update

[adisneymama]

Hi! Can I get onboard with this trip report too? I loved your other reports! Can't wait to hear more! I can just see you and Grumpy laughing at her falling out of the bed!:lmao:

[marivaid]

There's nothing like driving up to that archway to welcome you back home. :)

Ain't that the truth. We always see them at night though for some reason ! Maybe this summer I'll finally get to take a pick of them in daylight. In the meantime I have the salt & pepper shakers to look at :rotfl:

How horrible to take the RER with luggage though. We could have taken one from the airport hotel to the hotel in PAris but with all of our luggage and train transfering it was soo not worth it. We got a cab!

We only had to go through the station not actually get on the RER with our stuff thank goodness. I did it once to save on cab fare, never again!

Yeah you're finally here!! What an experience you had getting here!! Poor Grumpy falling off the bed! :rotfl: I hope she didn't end up with any bruises!!
Poor grumpy!
:laughing: Poor Grumpy?? How about poor Marina?!!
:lmao: what a classic, Grumpy falling off the bed :lmao:
Poor Grumpy! Oh my gosh, I feel like I know her now after these trip reports and I'm feeling so bad for her. I'm glad she has a sense of humor!!
Subbing...your TR's are awesome! I couldn't stop laughing about Grumpy falling out of bed :rotfl2: Can't wait to hear more!

Grumpy's fine :) She would tell you she didn't actually fall off the bed just "rolled off a little".... yeah, onto the floor. I call that falling off.

So now you are in WDW, so it has to get better right? Or are you saving a tasty nugget for us?

What happens in WDW, stays in WDW.. Or ends up on the DIS!

Grumpy falling off the bed!!!!! OK I laughed out loud, twice! :rotfl2:

Now I have a question for your - How does Tylenol keep you asleep through an entire flight from Paris to Miami?????? This must have been a tylenol PM with benadryl in it??? What's the secret?

Just regular Tylenol, the fake Walgreens kind I think but they all do the same to me. Meds just work really well on small brains I guess LOL. One tablet of Advil usually knocks me out for a good 8 hours. :confused3

YAY! You got to the World. Congrats on the upgrade and ease of getting through everything. Can't wait to hear what else Grumpy packed for you.

Let's just say she won't be packing my bag this time.:rotfl:

Watch for my trip report coming soon, it is full of eventful funnies.

It's on my list ! :thumbsup2

I have never seen the WDW sign at night, thanks for showing the picture. I can't wait to read about your Disney adventures!

Coming soon :) But we actually behaved this time. No lemon panties !

BTW...how long was your flight? Never been to Paris but really would like to. My DD talks about Paris all the time..go figure. She is only 10!:confused3

Hope you have a lot of savings if she already wants to come here at 10 lol
The flight from Miami is about 9 hours then it's a short 45mns from Miami to Orlando. We almost always take the same flight that leaves at 10am from Paris (4am Miami time) and lands in MIA around 1pm.

I love reading your trip reports!

Thank you!!!

I wonder what that cloth wiping/charger incident was about.

You and me both. That still bugs me, did he think I was carrying a bomb in there or something??

:surfweb::surfweb:

omg, I so love reading your trip reports, pre trip reports---have you published any books yet? I'll buy whatever you can get published!

Signing up! :flower3:

LOL no, no books. There was this really awesome article in my school newspaper some 20 years ago but I don't believe it drew international attention.
:rotfl2:





Waiting for more.... :goodvibes

:rolleyes1O Where, O Where has Marina gone?
Oh Where, O Where could she be?:rolleyes1

Please give us some more of you trippie...

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.....TTFN Darlene

Long time lurker here. I love your TR they are always such great fun. Looking forward to another update

Remember, no matter frustrating things get, there's always a light shining somewhere for you!
Or people hanging on your every word!!!!:surfweb::)

Sorry I'm taking forever to update this TR, and I have done zero work for our upcoming trip either !! Work's been tiring and to top it off I had water damage in my apartment and the agency that is renting it to me could not care less. I guess when I stop paying rent they'll start returning my calls. :mad:

[marivaid]

Coronado Springs was even more gorgeous than we remembered. The Christmas decorations were not too shabby!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/trip/DSC00482.jpg

We checked in with a very nice CM who wished us a Happy New Year and asked us the usual "have you been there before" questions. We were assigned to the Ranchos which freaked me out a bit at first, but she told us we could check tomorrow if a room had opened up in Casitas.

The walk to our building took quite a while, good thing our big duffle was being taken care of by Magical Express. Grumpy had to stop when we reached the Dig Site and said she couldn't wait to go back in that pool and hot tub. It was New Year's Eve and it seems everyone was in the parks because we didn't see any other guests betwee the time we left El Centro until we reached the Ranchos.

Grumpy took a shower while I called the front desk to inquire about a package that I had sent to the resort (and was told I could pick it up at the Business Center during business hours the next day). Then I asked if she could tell me which parks were closed to capacity. As expected, Magic Kingdom was. We could go to Epcot or MGM but Grumpy said that she had no desire to go to MGM, and we were going to spend the entire day at Epcot the next day so we decided Downtown Disney would do for the night.

Here's Grumpy at the bus stop :)

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/trip/DSC00485.jpg

Downtown Disney was busy but not as bad as I had expected. Rainforest Café had a 2hour wait for a table though! We made our first stop at the stand next to the water so Grumpy could get a margarita. Then we windowshopped a little until Grumpy was done drinking, and headed to Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner. Grumpy chose a beef sandwich and I of course got mac'n'cheese :) Now THAT it was I call a New Year's Eve feast!

You'd think I'd have photos of Downtown Disney all pretty lit up, of the Christmas decorations and beautiful store windows, but no. I do however have a great pic of mac'n'cheese, in case you never seen any.... :confused:

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/dining/DSC00491.jpg

Pretty, heh ???

So anyway. We were at Downtown Disney. The shops were open. What else could we do ?? If you've read our previous reports then you of course know that we are not into shopping that much :rolleyes1

We took on World of Disney first. Since I was moving into my own place I wanted household stuff, mainly kitchen things since at the time I wanted to do a Mickey-themed kitchen (I since went for the tornado-went-through-and-who-needs-clean-spoons theme instead). On a previous trip I had bought one hard plastic plate with Mickey parts on it and I wanted to finish the set but WoD had everything except the plates.
They were having a 50% sale on mugs though and so I decided to buy four of them. How long does it take to pick four mugs ? Well, when its me, it takes close to an hour.
I wanted all of them to match yet be different. Same shape & style but with different characters. Every time I found a style I liked I couldn't find four different characters in that style. Or I didn't like the colors. Grumpy was losing patience, we had five days to shop why did I have to buy those right away ?? I don't know why. But I had to.
Eventually I settled on four vintagey-looking coffee mugs, which were okay but I wasn't too crazy about them. I had to get going or Grumpy was going to break twenty mugs on my skull. Plus I was worried that Goofy's Candy Company would close before we could get there :)

Grumpy found a sweatshirt she liked but couldn't make herself buy it. It was pretty expensive. I reminded her that she was going to get a $75 gift card for her birthday so she opted to wait until she had the card to buy it.

My mom waited for me outside Goofy's while I went and got us a few treats. I can't recall what I bought exactly but it probably included a gingerbread cookie for me and fudge or a chocolate strawberry for Grumpy.

She wanted to get going, even though it was still early at barely 11pm. She wanted to go to the pool :) So we hopped on a bus and got back to Coronado Springs. Grumpy headed for the quiet pool while I unpacked and went online for a little bit.

2008 turned into 2009. I know this is going to be a good year, after all, we were at the happiest place in the World when it started :)

[MeMom]

Coronado Springs was even more gorgeous than we remembered. The Christmas decorations were not too shabby!

You'd think I'd have photos of Downtown Disney all pretty lit up, of the Christmas decorations and beautiful store windows, but no.



We took on World of Disney first. Since I was moving into my own place I wanted household stuff, mainly kitchen things since at the time I wanted to do a Mickey-themed kitchen (I since went for the tornado-went-through-and-who-needs-clean-spoons theme instead).


2008 turned into 2009. I know this is going to be a good year, after all, we were at the happiest place in the World when it started :)


Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort - even moreso at Christmas!

Did you see the Christmas tree with all of the games outside Earl of Sandwich? It was so neat.

Disney does have some cute kitchen stuff. Were you looking at the red and black stuff, the white and blue, or some of those really bright-colored new sets that are more spring/summer looking?
We have a silverware hunting game at our house sometimes. If we want to find a fork, we go to Drew's room and gather up two or three. He's the world's worst about putting things back as he goes. He likes to have a collection, and then bring them in and fill the sink. It drives me nuts!

We'll be seeing the new year in in Disney World this year. We're planning to watch MK fireworks from the Poly beach.

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Marina, I have a Disney mug affliction so I understand your dilemma in picking out just the right set. CSR looked beautiful with the Christmas tree and poinsettias. :cloud9:

[Heluvsme]

I can't think of a better way to start 2009!!

:thumbsup2

[KathyRN137]

2008 turned into 2009. I know this is going to be a good year, after all, we were at the happiest place in the World when it started :)

Absolutely! :thumbsup2


Kathy

[CherylA]

I'm very excited to see an update. I love that I get to read about your stay at CSR because we're staying there in August and never have before.

Kids must have wordly taste these days because my daughter informed me last week that she wants to go to Paris (she's 6!) When I told her I "knew" someone from France ('I know her on the computer' I told her) she was very impressed!

I enjoyed your update and as always the pictures really complete things for me. I'm going to be better about taking photos this trip because I'd like to put together a trip report when we return.

[GreatBiscuit]

Great update! The midget beds had me cracking up.

The Mac N Cheese pic was a hoot as well. My daughter would be right there diggin in with you. That girl could live on the stuff.

Looking forward to more!

[mom2mek]

Great updates Marina! I understand totally about the picking-out-just-the-right-set-of-mugs-dilemma! It's overwhelming sometimes! :headache:

The resort looked beautiful! I love Grumpy's shirt - does it say "Chill out"? :lmao: Looking forward to more! popcorn::

Sara

[jojo0612]

A new trip report! :yay: Loved all your past ones and so glad I joined the party for this one! :cheer2:

[MEK]

Thank you for the update! Can't wait to go home tonight to see your pics! Looking forward to more updates! I agree that you had the perfect start to the New Years. Happy 2009!

[OhMari]

Well, us, or a couple of leprechauns. Wanna see what $120 gets you 10 miles from Charles de Gaulle Airport ?That picture of the room, was really funny. Sorry your mom fell out of bed.

We just ate breakfast last Sunday at the PepperMarket. Lunch at the PepperMarket is really good, not so good for breakfast. I don't know what I was thinking. We decided next time we go to WDW, we definately want to stay at Coronado.

Hey, did you see the Cruise Ship Wonder is going to be in Europe, in 2010?
We are seriously thinking of doing the cruise, except our flight is almost as expensive as the Cruise, which airline do you use.

[whogirl'smom]

Thanks for the pic of the Christmas tree--we will be at CS in December! No other happier place to start a new year than Disney!

[Simba22]

OK I just caught up so I'm a little behind the times:

1) How in the Disney World did you not pack like 2 weeks before you left? I always have my suitcase packed and ready to go! I have been known to wear the same pair of pants every day the week before we go to Disney just so that I can complete my packing!

2) If my mom had to pack my stuff for me I would end up with 3 suitcases. She is notorious for overpacking. I was like that at first but I have seriously lightened up over the years. Seriously...I would have had a bunch of t-shirts that I didn't want to wear, every pair of socks and underwear I own, every pair of pants/capris, 3 or 4 pairs of pajama pants, and 1 bra. :confused3 But i would have had bandaids, 2 toothbrushes, my own tube of toothpaste, and a hairbrush but no shampoo or conditioner. And she would pack me sneakers instead of flip flops which I hate.

3) I could only shake my head when you said that Grumpy didn't print/write down the address of your cheap hotel. I always print everything and carry it with me...and it's not like there is more than one All Star Movies... but still, I have to have that stuff with me or I panic. And imaging poor you working all day, stinking like oysters, dreading the thought of what your mom packed or did not pack for you, and then having to schlep all of your stuff to ANOTHER hotel in the middle of winter made me want to cry for you. But I laughed for about 15 minutes when Grumpy fell off the bed.

4) I can't believe no shampoo in your bathroom! Apparently, midgets don't need shampoo or hairdryers. And it's funny because I've been in some LOUSY hotels here in the US (never been overseas) and even THEY had shampoo and a hairdryer. That's just sad. And especially since, like you said, you can find nice hotels here for cheaper than $120 a night.

5) How long is the flight from Paris to Miami anyway?? I can imagine it's long and boring. The 2.5 hours it takes us to get to Orlando is enough for me.

6) I LOVE Coronado Springs! I want to go back there soooo bad. It's definitely my favorite of the Disney Resorts we have stayed at. But we're poor this year since we just moved into our own apartment too so it's back to the values for us. We are staying at Pop though and we've never been there so I'm looking forward to a new place.

Can't wait for more!

[cherokeemamma]

Great Update...thanks for sharing!

I agree...what a wonderful way to start 2009 at the Happiest Place on Earth. :thumbsup2 I have always wanted to visit Disney during the holidays...maybe oneday:rolleyes1.

Looking forward to more..

Oh yeah, hope everything works out with the water damage at your apt.:wizard:

[29apr00]

What a GREAT start to the new year! Starting at WDW is bound to bring you lots of luck!

[AshClan]

Marina, you (and Grumpy) crack me up!

I am happy that you two made it safe and sound, despite ice storms, oysters, wrong hotels, and falls from bed! Can't wait to hear more. And if Grumpy ever decides to skip a trip, you know where you can find some willing travel companions, right?!?! I just know that you would be a hoot to spend time with!!

Oh, and on the mac & cheese. It looks soooo good. But I was afraid to order it when we were at WPE last week, because I don't like blue cheese (or gorgonzola), and I think it's in there. Can you taste it? (In other words, does the mac & cheese taste moldy???)

[marivaid]

Oh, and on the mac & cheese. It looks soooo good. But I was afraid to order it when we were at WPE last week, because I don't like blue cheese (or gorgonzola), and I think it's in there. Can you taste it? (In other words, does the mac & cheese taste moldy???)

Nope ! I don't do moldy cheeses either. I mean, they send people in masks to scrape that stuff off our walls, isn't that a clue that maybe we shouldn't be eating it ?!

I'm happy to report and give a big thumbs up on the nonmoldiness of the WPE macncheese. :banana:

[marivaid]

Here's the deal. I don't do confined spaces that other people breathe in. No I don't go ballistic and I don't check my will before entering a plane, but when I get on a plane there's a 99.9% chance I will get some kind of throat/nose/ear/alloftheabove nasty ailment within the next few days. I was sick as heck when we went to Disney in July 2007 and have very little recollection of the last 2-3 days of that trip. Wouldn't have been so bad if the trip had lasted more than 6 days. :rolleyes1

Anywhoo... After that last trip I went to see my doctor and he told me the one thing that could work was to take a big dose of steroids before getting on the plane. I took Prednisone for years (didn't help the whole Turkey thing one bit), then my asthma got more or less under control and I only take it occasionally now. One of the main side effects is still the same : I get incredibly hungry. If I wasn't somewhat vegetarian I could totally eat a horse. If someone made a horse out of candy, Mr Ed would be in serious trouble. And Grumpy would be there to help.

So, as advised by Dr Wacko, I had been taking a triple dose of Prednisone for the past four or five days. I felt fine, and was just waiting for the whole starving thing to happen.

It hit on January 1st. Some people drink around the World - I actually ate the World that day.

Oh yeah cause today we went to Epcot !! It had evening EMH that day and we wanted to enjoy walking around at night with the Christmas decorations everywhere. We were up bright & early, and took a little walk outside to check out the Ranchos. Back when I was still looking at pictures of CSR and wondering if I could like the resort, the Ranchos were the area that I liked most but the location worried me. We got over that idea pretty quickly.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00492.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00494.jpg

Oh look, a Grumpy !!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00496.jpg

We found the bus stop with no problem and soon were on our way to Epcot. Now, we have NEVER managed to make it to rope drop at Epcot. I don't know why. We can make it at DHS which is the park we do a whoopin two darn rides in, but when it's our favorite park, Epcot, we're always late.

Soarin' already had a 35mns wait when we got to the times board, about 10mns after opening. We decided we wouldn't mind waiting 35mns and headed to The Land. Only, once we got there, the wait time had gone up to 50mns. Nuh-huh. We grabbed Fastpasses and crossed the park again to ride Mission:Space, which was a walk on.

Hello, Lieutenant Dan!

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00498.jpg

We had a blast and went right back in for a second ride. I *love* this ride ! It used to scare the living daylights out of me. We've only done the green version so far but one of these days I'm gonna grow cojones and ride the spinning side.

After our second ride we spent some time in the gift shop. All the T-Shirts were at 50% off that week and we took full advantage of it. Grumpy chose a black shirt with "I need some space" in pink, I got a crazy tie/dye with planets and stuff on it (hey, I'm not allowed to wear T-Shirts at work anyway, so I'll wear whatever I want under my own roof, missy!). We even got some for Alex and Jessica. For Jessica a glow-in-the-dark Mission Space and for Alex we got an awesome Yoda T-Shirt that says "Judge me by my size do you?" (Alex is barely 5 feet tall). Okay so not very Mission-Spaceish, and Grumpy has no idea who Yoda is so she refers to this as "the troll shirt".

And it's in that shop that I found some glow in the dark stars to put on walls. My new place is full of them now and they are SO cool. It really feels like you're sleeping under the stars. :cloud9: I've gotten quite a few compliments on those :rolleyes1

We had all that stuff sent to our room, and after we got out of the shop, I realized I was hungry. Yep, already. It had started.

There was an ice cream cart getting ready to open and I got in line. Those 6 snack credits were already burning my pockets! Right next to the ice cream stand the guy set up a bunch of boxes of fresh fruit and veggies.
Grumpy was impressed.

"Look how nice that is ! So you can have a healthy, fresh snack instead of fatty chips or sugary ice cream. That's a really great option!"
"So, you want the fruits or the veggies?" I asked
"Huh, me ?? What am I, a rabbit? I want Cheetos."

I'd seen oodles of photos of the infamous chocolate covered frozen banana on the DIS and that's what I wanted. We used two snack credits and went to find a spot in the shade with our treats.

Grumpy polished off her Cheetos like a Tasmanian devil. I took a bite of my frozen banana and was shocked that it tasted so... frozen. Don't ask me why, but I somehow had not processed the frozen part of "frozen banana". I thought it'd be cold but still bananaish mushy which was not the case. Wasn't bad but wasn't good either and so my mom finished it.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00499.jpg

For Christmas I'd gotten my mom a camera. She took pictures, I know she did. She took a pic of me with the banana that I knew I would NOT be using in my trip report :rolleyes: The pics are still in her camera somewhere. Wherever the camera is.

Test Track looked so appealing but as usual my mom would have none of it, and I didn't feel like going in as a single rider. So, bybye Test Track. See you next trip.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00501.jpg

It was almost time to use our Soarin' FPs anyway so we went back towards The Land. I begged my mom to go see the Circle of Life movie. It makes me bawl. I love it. So we went and then back downstairs to ride Soarin'.

Grumpy & I were good girls and waited patiently in line without doing silly faces or taking silly pictures.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00504.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00506.jpg

We had a nice flight with Patrick, grabbed another set of FPs and discussed lunch. Sunshine Seasons would be convenient since we were there,but I also wanted to try Tangerine Café in the World Showcase.

How about we share a meal at Sunshine Seasons, go for a walk around WS and share another meal at TC ? Sold.

We knew what we wanted : salmon, and it was very yummy. With the DDP we also got dessert. Grumpy knew she wanted a baklava in Morocco and didn't care which one I picked here, so I went for the strawberry shortcake.
Grumpy also got herself a side of tomato & mozzarella with a snack credit.
We found a table and started the Attack.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00508.jpg

Everything tasted soooo good. The shortcake especially was pure heaven.

"Wasn't that shortcake soooo good ???"
"How the heck should I know ?? You inhaled the thing in two seconds."

And it wasn't over yet. Not even close.

We left The Land and headed towards World Showcase. Stopped at the shop near The Plaza for some browsing and we met a cute buddy we had a conversation with.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00511.jpg

Grumpy trying out her camera....

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00512.jpg

Our next stop was England.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00514.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00515.jpg

We'd never visited the shops there. Wow, talk about a blast from the past !! PETER RABBIT!! I spent my whole childhood with him. :hug: I tried to find some Lamb Chop stuff but didn't find any. I did, however, find some Little Miss & Mister books and bought six of them. They didn't have my favorite though, Mister Messy. Maybe next time.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00516.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00517.jpg

I wanted to take a pic of Grumpy in the little British salon area.

"This is a fancy place, try to look respectable!!"

.....
...


http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00519.jpg

:sad2:

[eyor44]

can't wait until I get home and can see the pictures. (work firewall deletes them)
Thanks for the update. :thumbsup2


edit: okay got to see the pics. Wow! that strawberry short cake looks great.

[jillyb]

OMG...that strawberry shortcake looks sooooooooo good! And I think Grumpy did a fairly good job of looking respectable. She wasn't sticking her tongue out! LOL

[mom2mek]

Great update as always Marina! :goodvibesI was laughing out loud at the fact that you didn't realize the frozen banana was actually frozen!

Lunch looks good - I would have inhaled that strawberry shortcake as well! :love:

Were there a lot of chalk drawings - that's pretty neat!

Sara

[whogirl'smom]

I feel for you-- I took prednisone only once for my asthma and all I remember is being hungry for 3 days! My mom takes it regularly for her arthritis and it has no effect at all on her. :confused3

You've got to let the banana thaw a little before eating it, then it's much better. :thumbsup2 Yes, that means carrying around a banana for a few minutes, I know, I know.

[CherylA]

Your Ranchos pics of CSR are really pretty. We're staying there in August, as I think I've mentioned before (I'm a little excited about it) I've requested Casitas, I hope I get it. But you didn't mind Ranchos? Was it really far from everything?

[29apr00]

I don't take predisinoe but i'm pretty sure i could eat my way thru the world too! Everything looks so good there, and plus....all the walking burns off everything you eat! Nothing has time to settle on your thighs, so it's just perfect!! :lmao:

[smarsha4455]

Great update as always! I am going to have to try that Strawberry Shortcake looks sooo yummy!

[jfegan]

It really feels like you're sleeping under the stars. :cloud9: I've gotten quite a few compliments on those :rolleyes1

Really!?!



I took Prednisone for years (didn't help the whole Turkey thing one bit),

Whats 'turkey thing'? Is it another allergy?

PS love the report. Write a novel...I would read it. You already have fans!:coffee:

[CoP Luv]

I just stumbled on your report and LOVE IT! I read your last two in one sitting (at work) :surfweb: and thought they were so good!

You had me laughing out loud twice: once with Grumpy falling out of bed :lmao::lmao:...and I don't really remember the other one.

Can't wait to try the mac n' cheese on our next trip! :love:

[MEK]

Thanks for the great update and pics. Your lunch at Sunshine Seasons looks delicious.

I'm curious - why doesn't grumpy like Test Track?

[KathyRN137]

I'm still laughing at you not realizing the frozen banana was... frozen!!

Lovely resort pix.... so glad you were happy with CSR!


Kathy

[DisneyTabby]

Can't wait for a new update.:)

[EPRV We love Disney]

Me too! Me too! popcorn::

[jenb1023]

I don't know how I missed this TR!

I am subscribed to your PTR and have read your other TR's but somehow missed this one!

Great job so far! Love Grumpy staying asleep when she fell out of bed! Can't wait to read more about your Epcot day!

[Simba22]

my BF and I just read your last update and even though we just ate dinner a couple hours ago, we were both staring at that strawberry shortcake saying "im hungry now" Although I would much prefer the frozen banana, or "Pervert Pops" as my step-mom calls them. Think about it for a few minutes and it will come to you..... :rotfl2:

[Jakesmom1]

Count me in on this one too, I have loved your past ones. :surfweb:

[Baloo]

I love Grumpy's Mickey jacket!

The short cake looks amazing!

Great update!:thumbsup2

[iluvuwdw]

Marina , I am with you . I didn't realize that the banana was frozen either. I never had one and always wondered. :)

I love the pic of Grumpy at England it is priceless.

Great update can't wait for more :surfweb:

[disneysuncat]

Where are you Marina? Hope you are okay! Obviously I am going into withdrawals from no "adventures of Grumpy". :)

[A&Bmama]

Long time lurker... Love, love, LOVE your trip reports!

Hoping for a new installment soon :goodvibes

[winkers]

I've always been so impressed with your English skills, but I see the word
Frozen is your stumbling block!:rotfl2:

[Sorsha]

Hi Marina!
I'm on board for your trippie! Always love to read about your adventures with Grumpy. :)

[adisneymama]

Waiting for a new installment as well. Hope you and Grumpy are ok!

[Kirby]

Okay, it's time for an update. While I enjoy reading everyone else's posts, I enjoy yours more.

[tink1957]

Hey Marina, where are you? All this popcorn::popcorn::is going straight to my thighs.:rotfl:

Seriously, we want to hear from you.....

[eyor44]

::wave2:

[suz_cute]

Marina, I got to the party a little bit late, but I am SO enjoying your trip report (as always)!! Keep the updates coming! popcorn::

[BigEeyore]

:rolleyes1 Waiting for another update...come back Marina!

[eyor44]

popcorn::

[marivaid]

A month between updates !! Yikes !!! Ok, where was I ??
Oh yeah.

We left England with our books and continued our tour of World Showcase.
Pretty gardens in England.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00523.jpg

We skipped France as usual - one of these days I will go in there, seriously. Grumpy needs to try that slushie everyone is always talking about.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00526.jpg

We soon made it to Morocco, and it was about time, because I was mighty hungry ! We ordered the lamb & chicken platter.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00527.jpg

I like to tell myself I'm a vegetarian. Except for bacon. And chicken. And a good ole burger once in a while. Yeah fine I'm about as vegetarian as Homer Simpson. That lamb smelled soooooooooo good.
Months later I would tell my mom, remember how good that thing was in World Showcase and she would simply reply "no". Wish makes sense, since she never got to taste it. :guilty: She loved her baklava though.

We finished our tour, stopping to look at Christmas trees

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00532.jpg

... and to watch the candy lady in Japan...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00530.jpg

We got there towards the end of the show but it was still pretty amazing to watch. After that we went into the Japan shop where Grumpy bought postcards and I agonized for half an hour about a $15 tiny Sanrio purse. Perfect for work now that I will live accross the street and won't need to carry my life with me anymore. Grumpy got sick of me not making up my mind and said she wanted to go back to CSR for a swim. I put the purse back on the rack and obliged.

On the way we did stop for a minute to watch this at the Mexican pavilion....

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00534.jpg

Cute, but very very loud. Back to CSR we went. We stopped at MouseGear because I wanted a hoodie. I'd regretted not buying one back in July and wasn't taking any chances this time. All I hoped was that they would have some big sizes available. MouseGear is good for that, and this time was no exception. They had plenty of 3X and I was glad. I was even more happy when I realized that every 3X sweatshirt was swallowing me whole. Seriously, you could have put Grumpy & me in there. Now I knew I'd lost some weight, but I didn't think it was enough to go down a size. Yay !!!! I ended up buying a red fleece jacket with a Mickey on the side. Red is my store's color, and the Mickey design was discreet, so I hoped I could maybe wear it to work once in a while. I ended up wearing the thing nearly every day until March. Best $50 ever spent.

I took the time to snap some pics of the topiaries at the entrance of Epcot, then we got back on the bus to CSR.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00535.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00539.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00541.jpg

I knew I had Bath & Body Works and Walgreens packages coming my way and had been told one was already there, and that I could pick it up at the Business Center. So I let Grumpy get off at Stop #3 and continued to El Centro. I found the business center easily. There was a country dancing competition going on and some people were rehearsing in the hallways, it was pretty neat to look at. Yeehaw!!

At the business center I got my tiny little 19lbs package from Walgreens. I thought I'd be able to walk back with it (19lbs ain't so heavy compared to me lol) but it was too bulky. So I had to wait for a bus to Downtown Disney which took quite a while to get there. I made it back to our room eventually, but it was too late for me to go to the pool. So I just cleaned up and waited for Grumpy. I'd been sitting on the bed watching Stacy for 10mns when I realized I was hungry. You gotta be kidding me !!!!

When Grumpy came back to the room she asked me if I still wanted to go to Cape May for dinner that night. I couldn't possibly tell her I was starving and would eat her if we didn't go. So instead I said oh yes, I heard they have good salads. It will be a fresh and light meal before we go back to Epcot.
Yeah right. Salads. To quote my mother, what are we, rabbits ???

We had planned on going to El Centro and taking a cab to the Beach Club but when a bus to MK showed up seconds after we got to Stop #3 we changed our minds. We got to MK, ran after the BC/YC/Swolphin bus (and learned that it's a big NO NO to not use the walkways and run between the buses instead). We stopped at the YC so we could see their Christmas decorations.

The pic is dark so I don't know if you can see the cute boat ornaments on their tree....

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00543.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00545.jpg

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http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00549.jpg

We crossed Stormalong Bay to get over to the Beach Club...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00550.jpg

....

The decorations were the same as last year's and they were lovely.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00552.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00553.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00555.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00560.jpg

We checked in at Cape May and had a great dinner. The food is not fancy but they had plenty of salads, AMAZZZZZZZZZING redskin mashed potatoes, corn, ribs, and sweet desserts. I ate like a pig again. We definitely got our money's worth ! Cape May is a clambake but we never even went over to the clam side. Next time, maybe :) That's if Grumpy ever agrees to go back, considering she almost had to pull me out of there. Illuminations were in our future.

Comin' up (hopefully not next month), chillin' in World Showcase......

[CherylA]

Yay finally an update! Hey whats with the picture of the Yacht Club "village" display. Is that a drunk elf that tipped over the sled? :rotfl:

[OhMari]

The decorations were the same as last year's and they were lovely.

Do you think they put the chocolate decorations in cold storage?
I know at the Boardwalk, they made the Donald and Daisy Cakes at the Boardwalk Bakery.
I saw Daisey getting made and I yelled to the Baker:
"So where is Minnie goin?"
The Baker replied,
"Daisy is going upstairs in the Boardwalk lobby.":rotfl:

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Love the update Marina. Yes, you MUST get a slushie at the France kiosk on your next trip. We're currently putting the finishing touches on a Christmas trip again this year and your pictures just got me even more excited for it than I already was. :goodvibes

[Kirby]

What do the slushies that I keep hearing about consist of?

[NWOhioAngela]

What do the slushies that I keep hearing about consist of?

Lemon Slush
Kiosk in front of France, Epcot (Stolen from this thread:www.disboards.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=32086015)

1 liter (1 quart) Grey Goose Citron Vodka
250 ml (1 cup) lemon/lime sour mix
lots of ice

Blend with ice (or swirl in a slushy machine) until drink has an “ice slushy” texture.

Orange Slush
Kiosk in front of France, Epcot

1 liter Grand Marnier
250 ml sour mix

Blend with ice (or swirl in a slushy machine) until drink has an “ice slushy” texture.

[mouseketeer70]

OOH! That recipe for the lemon slushie! Thanks! I can't drink margaritas (tequila allergy--funny, the allergist doesn't have shots for that:confused3) But these sound pretty good! I will definitely have to try one when my DH and I go in two weeks!

[NWOhioAngela]

OOH! (tequila allergy--funny, the allergist doesn't have shots for that:confused3)

I wouldn't worry. Tequila shots always get me in trouble, anyway!;):lmao:;)

[whogirl'smom]

Great update--I can't wait to see those Christmas decorations!

[Kirby]

Do they let you have a tiny taste, like what they do in some candy or ice cream stores?

[eyor44]

Thanks for the update. I love all the pics.

[GreatBiscuit]

Another great update! Cape May sounds awesome! Looking forward to hearing more!

[MickeyLover20]

Great update...can't wait for another!:)

[Backstage_Gal]

Do you think they put the chocolate decorations in cold storage?

No, they are made new every year

[WalkingintheFog]

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:Do they let you have a tiny taste, like what they do in some candy or ice cream stores?
:rotfl::lmao::rotfl2:

Sign me up!:thumbsup2


Woo Hoo! Thanks for update Marina! I was getting withdrawal symptoms...shakes and all...it's been too long! hee hee!:flower3:

[CherylA]

OOH! That recipe for the lemon slushie! Thanks! I can't drink margaritas (tequila allergy--funny, the allergist doesn't have shots for that:confused3) But these sound pretty good! I will definitely have to try one when my DH and I go in two weeks!


How did you find out you have a tequila allergy? I ask because I think I might have one too. I can not drink the stuff. Used to be able to but now as little as half a margarita can make me dizzy and once I even passed out?!! Long after I go to bed (perfectly sober) for the night I wake up in a cold sweat. It's awful, and it only happens with tequila. I drink Rum now!;)

[29apr00]

Another great update!

[mouseketeer70]

"How did you find out you have a tequila allergy? I ask because I think I might have one too. I can not drink the stuff. Used to be able to but now as little as half a margarita can make me dizzy and once I even passed out?!! Long after I go to bed (perfectly sober) for the night I wake up in a cold sweat. It's awful, and it only happens with tequila. "

Same thing. Although it has always made me sick. I get stabbing stomach pains, yucky stomach "issues", cold sweats, and all. Even if I only have one small drink with tequila. And it's only tequila, no other alcoholic beverages. I thought I had food poisoning one time. Called doctor (who is a family friend) because of the stomach "issues" that woke me up and kept me awake in the restroom all night and he said it could be food poisoning or a severe food allergy. The only thing we can figure that was different was the booze.

"I drink Rum now!"

Yo ho Yo ho A pirate's life for me!:dance3:

[MEK]

So great to see an update! Yeah! :banana::banana: and thanks!

[CherylA]

"How did you find out you have a tequila allergy? I ask because I think I might have one too. I can not drink the stuff. Used to be able to but now as little as half a margarita can make me dizzy and once I even passed out?!! Long after I go to bed (perfectly sober) for the night I wake up in a cold sweat. It's awful, and it only happens with tequila. "

Same thing. Although it has always made me sick. I get stabbing stomach pains, yucky stomach "issues", cold sweats, and all. Even if I only have one small drink with tequila. And it's only tequila, no other alcoholic beverages. I thought I had food poisoning one time. Called doctor (who is a family friend) because of the stomach "issues" that woke me up and kept me awake in the restroom all night and he said it could be food poisoning or a severe food allergy. The only thing we can figure that was different was the booze.

"I drink Rum now!"

Yo ho Yo ho A pirate's life for me!:dance3:

Thanks! So I'll be looking for those slushies in France. They sound awesome!

[coffeehousemom]

No, they are made new every year

Ok so the $20,000 question is>>>>>>>>>>> HOW DO WE GET IN ON GETTING THAT CHOCOLATE WHEN THEY ARE DONE WITH IT?

[GreatBiscuit]

Ok so the $20,000 question is>>>>>>>>>>> HOW DO WE GET IN ON GETTING THAT CHOCOLATE WHEN THEY ARE DONE WITH IT?I seem to remember a TR from WAAAAAY Back when, where someone asked one of the chefs about this and the answer was that because it is sitting in the open for so long, that they cannot serve it for sanitary reasons.

[TreslovesWDW]

Love your trip reports , can't wait to hear more.

[coffeehousemom]

I seem to remember a TR from WAAAAAY Back when, where someone asked one of the chefs about this and the answer was that because it is sitting in the open for so long, that they cannot serve it for sanitary reasons.

sanitary schmanitary its chocolate!!!! :rotfl::rotfl:

[cjlvsccm]

I seem to remember a TR from WAAAAAY Back when, where someone asked one of the chefs about this and the answer was that because it is sitting in the open for so long, that they cannot serve it for sanitary reasons.

We took the Yuletide Fantasy backstage tour last Dec, and were told why they can't be eaten: they have to treat all those fabu chocolate and gingerbread decorations with incecticide!! :eek: I suppose it would be very un-magical to find a trail of ants (or worse) in the gingerbread village or chocolate carousel, no? :laughing:

Sorry to hijack! Loving your trip report as usual, Marina! I've lurked through your previous reports, thought I would say HI. :wave2:

In 18 hours we will be on our way to the World!! :woohoo:

[WalkingintheFog]

"How did you find out you have a tequila allergy? I ask because I think I might have one too. I can not drink the stuff. Used to be able to but now as little as half a margarita can make me dizzy and once I even passed out?!! Long after I go to bed (perfectly sober) for the night I wake up in a cold sweat. It's awful, and it only happens with tequila. "

Same thing. Although it has always made me sick. I get stabbing stomach pains, yucky stomach "issues", cold sweats, and all. Even if I only have one small drink with tequila. And it's only tequila, no other alcoholic beverages. I thought I had food poisoning one time. Called doctor (who is a family friend) because of the stomach "issues" that woke me up and kept me awake in the restroom all night and he said it could be food poisoning or a severe food allergy. The only thing we can figure that was different was the booze.

"I drink Rum now!"

Yo ho Yo ho A pirate's life for me!:dance3:



I think I have some sort of allergic reaction as well....after 6 or more drinks, I lose my motor coordination, and my speech gets slurred. Sometimes I even fall down! :drinking1:drinking1:drinking1:drinking1:drinking1 :drinking1:rotfl:

[marivaid]

We waved goodbye to the Beach Club and walked over to Epcot. The sun was down by now, and, we were starting to get a wittle bit cold. Nevermind, we both have jackets for once. I sure was glad I'd gotten that fleece thing earlier.

Although it was EMH we were not planning on hitting a lot of rides. We wanted to find a new viewing spot for Illuminations, hang around World Showcase a bit, and maybe hit Spaceship Earth on the way out since we'd had fun on it the last time. That, and Grumpy wanted to do... American Adventure.

Look it's not that I'm not "patrioticky"... but I just can't stay awake in that theater. I think it's the music, because the movie IS interesting, I love Hall of Presidents and can stay awake in it for quite a while but American Adventure, the last time, Grumpy had to shook me awake. It was pretty embarassing. There may have been drool involved. :eek:

So, I was a bit apprehensive about that. If I had known in advance what I was going to do that night I wouldn't have worried about something as silly as drooling in a theater.

We stopped by the American pavilion to check show hours & take a few pics...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00570.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00572.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00577.jpg

That's the gingerbread house inside the Liberty CS place. Cute but nowhere as impressive as the GF's, of course.

Anyhoo, Grumpy & I ended up finding a good spot in front of the Japan pavilion. They have little stone benches right next to the water and we set up camp there. I went back in the shop to get the tiny purse I was agonizing about earlier in the day and was happy as a clam (haven't used it once yet).

We waited. And waited. And waited. We were freezing and a bit bored so we took silly pictures.

French women are always sex symbols. Righttttttttttttttttt

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00590.jpg

A prettier picture so you're not scarred emotionally for too long....

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00581.jpg

Feeling better ???

Illuminations was great as usual. I don't have pics because in order to take them, I would have had to remove my hands from my fleece-lined pockets. Not an option that night !
It ended up being a very good spot, we finally got to see the stuff they show on the globe. Well, I do have the eyesight of a carrot-loathing rabbit so I couldn't make out exactly what the stuff was, but at least I knew there was stuff and not just moving colors like I initially believed.

When Illuminations ended we let the masses exit then we got up to leave, and for some reason we went downstairs then back up again. On my way up, I stumbled over a stair. Grumpy said something like, great, first night and you're already falling. I dusted myself off and proceeded to fall over the same stair immediately.

Let's face it, that thing hates me. Grumpy was, of course, laughing her butt off (she's got some left). So were two older ladies watching us.

"Try it again ! Third time's a charm, sweetie!"

Bugger off, grandma!

Grumpy & I were laughing soooooo hard and it was soooo cold and we had been waiting sooooooo long for Illuminations and I had drank sooooooo much ice
tea at Cape May... you can see where I'm going with this ???


My name is Marina, I'm thirty years old, and I kinda peed my pants in EPCOT.


Okay I didn't cause the lagoon to overflow or anything, let's put it in perspective people, but still, I was dying. I dumped Grumpy there and ran to the restrooms. I was waiting impatiently in line (I guess I could have yelled "LET ME FIRST I ALREADY STARTED! to speed things along...) when my cell phone rang. Grumpy.

"What happened, why did you leave me there ? Where are you?"
"Bathroom. I, hmmm, really needed to leave."
"Why???"
"I, hmmm, had a little accident."
"OMG are you hurt ? Are you bleeding ????"
"No you MORON I had an ACCIDENT. I'm in the frickin BATHROOM!"

You'd think I would have thought of switching to French at some point but nope. Not that it would have helped much since "accident" is the same in both languages. As usual French is useless.

ANYWAY.... Grumpy met me outside when I was done, hmm, freshening up. Of course laughing in my face. I told her that in light of my extremely embarassing experience I shouldn't be forced into American Adventure but she would have none of it and since we were close to America, off we went.

No Voices of Liberty tonight :(

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00592.jpg
Wonder if Walt ever heard of Nellie Olsen ??

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00595.jpg

I drooled again. Worse, I was holding the bag with my mini purse in it and whenever I'd fall asleep too deeply, I'd drop it and then wake up with a lovely grunt. Grumpy actually moved a couple seats away from me after a few minutes of this.

Once the nap, sorry, show, was over, we walked around Epcot enjoying the Christmas decorations. We love Epcot at night this time of year, can never get enough. We knew the decorations would be gone in a couple days and we wouldn't see them again for a long time so we took our time.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00599.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00601.jpg

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00602.jpg

Not enough time left to do Universe of Energy this time, Grumpy refused to do Test Track again saying one pantwetting was enough for tonight thankyouverymuch, so we went into Spaceship Earth instead.

This definitely wasn't my night. I wish I had the chance to take a photo of the picture they take of you in the ride. I TRIED to look nice, I swear. Instead, I had a piercing, dark gaze, shut lips, and flared nostrils.

My mom said it first and best "You look evil."
Thanks. She was right on and I couldn't argue. Couldn't look at the pictures, either.

We left Epcot and while waiting for our bus I checked my cell phone. Jessica, my sister, had sent me a "happy new year" text message. She also asked me what we were doing. I decided to be honest.

I started the 2009 year as a freezing, falling, pant-wetting, drooling, evil-looking turkey. You ??

[BigEeyore]

:rotfl2: You almost made ME pee my pants reading that!!!! :lmao:
Great update!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

This just wasn't a good day for you with all the bodily fluids! :rotfl: At least you can laugh about it now-and we can too. :goodvibes

[Pollito916]

I started the 2009 year as a freezing, falling, pant-wetting, drooling, evil-looking turkey. You ??

But you were in Disney World!!!

I hope the rest of the year has been better for you!

[winkers]

:lmao::lmao:

I think anyone watching you trip over the same stair twice would have been laughing!

Now I can add "accident" to my miniscule french vocabulary. :)

[KathyRN137]

My name is Marina, I'm thirty years old, and I kinda peed my pants in EPCOT.



:rolleyes1 Oh my dear, just wait until you've had a few kids......


And I am not emotionally scarred! In fact, I like seeing your picture for a change!! It's good to put a face with the report!


Kathy

[WalkingintheFog]

......
Let's face it, that thing hates me. Grumpy was, of course, laughing her butt off (she's got some left). So were two older ladies watching us.

"Try it again ! Third time's a charm, sweetie!"

Bugger off, grandma!
...........
Grumpy & I were laughing soooooo hard and it was soooo cold and we had been waiting sooooooo long for Illuminations and I had drank sooooooo much ice tea at Cape May... you can see where I'm going with this ???

My name is Marina, I'm thirty years old, and I kinda peed my pants in EPCOT.
.............
We left Epcot and while waiting for our bus I checked my cell phone. Jessica, my sister, had sent me a "happy new year" text message. She also asked me what we were doing. I decided to be honest.

I started the 2009 year as a freezing, falling, pant-wetting, drooling, evil-looking turkey. You ??

:rotfl::lmao::rotfl2:
I peed my pants reading this!

[MickeyLover20]

Great update!!! It sounds like you had an interesting New Year's Eve...hopefully there won't be anymore accidents. I love reading your reports, you are hilarious!!! Can't wait for more :yay:

[eyor44]

I can't see the pictures again! :confused3 Sometimes living in a small town with only one internet provider isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[29apr00]

:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: Great update! Too funny. I could sooo see myself doing that, espically the little accidental wetting of oneself. I always tend to hold it too long at WDW...too much great stuff to see to go to the bathroom!

[PRaffen]

Oh, Marivaid, you make me laugh! You write the best trip reports. Thanks for another great update.

[CoP Luv]

:lmao::rotfl2::lmao::rotfl2::lmao::rotfl2:

I could see myself doing the same thing!!!!!!!!!!

[JLKennedy]

Lovin' the update, I was beginning to wonder if we'd hear the rest when Grumpy turned 61!

[daisylove]

Great update. thanks Marina!

[Simba22]

I drink Rum now!;)

"Ooh I like rum! Rum's good!" pirate:

That's my favorite alcoholic drink! I don't have an allergy to tequila, I just can't drink the stuff! Waaaaaaay too harsh for me! :faint:



ohhh marina you poor thing! Let's just say that I sympathize with you on the "accident." It happens...nothing you can do sometimes! And you definitely should post more pics of yourself but it wouldn't kill you to SMILE!!!!

OK 1:24am here in Connecticut so I'm off to sleep.

[mouseketeer70]

Marina have you ever thought of doing a reality show? "The True Disney Adventures of Grumpy and the Turkey"? If it is this entertaining in writing think of how much fun it would be to watch you guys!!:happytv:
Patiently waiting for more...popcorn::

[k_reile]

Marina have you ever thought of doing a reality show? "The True Disney Adventures of Grumpy and the Turkey"? If it is this entertaining in writing think of how much fun it would be to watch you guys!!:happytv:
Patiently waiting for more...popcorn::

it would be a lot better than Jon and Kate plus 8:happytv:

[marivaid]

So happy to read that there are many pantwetters reading my TR :)
Who would have known we had so much in common ?? :lmao:


Marina have you ever thought of doing a reality show? "The True Disney Adventures of Grumpy and the Turkey"? If it is this entertaining in writing think of how much fun it would be to watch you guys!!:happytv:

Good idea but unlike Kate Gosselin, I don't fit in the frame!

[marivaid]

I'm going to skip over January 2nd because we did nothing very interesting... or if we did, I don't remember it. I know we had breakfast at Pepper Market then went shopping at the Premium Outlets, and at night we went to see Fantasmic. That's it. SO I'll go straight to January 3rd, aka Grumpy's Birthday!!

We had a late start that morning. My mom wanted to go to the pool and it was her birthday, helloooo, so of course she got to decide. I occupied myself by going to the Business Center to retrieve another package and to the CSR gift shop. Well, what did they have, but those half-Mickey mugs I had wanted that first night at World of Disney !! The CM at the store told me I could exchange my mugs here if I still had the receipt but I didn't get to it that day.

It was past noon when we made it to Magic Kingdom. Usually, that's the time around which we leave ! The park was crowded and we knew it would be the last day until Splash Mountain went down for rehab, so first things first we had to go get FPs.
My mom wanted a burger with fixins at Cosmic Ray's but on the way to Splash we found Pecos Bill and they had a fixins bar too so we opted to go there for lunch instead and Grumpy had her fixined'bugga.

After lunch I went to get us FPs for Big Thunder Mountain. We thought it best to wait a bit before doing Splash and headed to the Haunted Mansion instead. I think it's the first time I actually had to queue for HM ! Didn't take that long, maybe 20mns, but usually we walk right in.

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Then we went into Fantasyland, which was mobbed, except for PhilarMagic, which was great as that was what we wanted to do, yay! They were still doing the 1/2 off on shirts so we spent some time in the shop but I don't recall us buying anything. Grumpy begged for a cigarette break and we went to the area behind Liberty Tree Tavern. Then, we took a spot in front of Liberty Tree to watch the parade and the entertainment that preceeds it.

Like this dude...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/DSC00630.jpg

.. and a lady who I am sure didn't expect to be quite the center of attention that day. We didn't notice it at first, but people around us were giggling long before the parade started. Then Grumpy saw why...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/DSC00631.jpg

I'm sorry, I couldn't help but take that picture. Seriously, this lady's backside was being photographed by a dozen guests around us , I don't know how she didn't think it was weird that people were taking pictures when the parade had not started. She kept moving around and bending over to get stuff, and in the process she nearly mooned all of us back there... I felt bad for this woman!

"Maybe I should go tell her, you know, discreetly??"
"How do you discreetly tell a stranger that everyone's looking at her butt?"

Good point.

Thankfully the floats started arriving at that point and we focused on those instead.

Picture time!


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Thong lady was gone before the parade ended, which saddened us a bit. But we recovered fast, and went to do our usual get-soaked-on-Splash-and-dry-off-on-Big-Thunder-Mountains-Fun ! They put us in the front row on BTM , and good golly we screamed louder than Woody Allen at a Hannah Montana concert.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/DSC00670.jpg

Don't worry, she was just fine. The tongue & drool is just for show.

[luvngoofy]

Great Parade pictures and update.
I can't believe you took a picture of thong lady.:lmao: It would be so much fun to hang with you and Grumpy!

[eyor44]

YAY!!!!!!!
I can see the pictures now! You take the best pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[mom2faith]

I cannot beleive it tiik me this long to find another TR from you!! I fell left out...like I missed out on the last month of you :(

Anyhoo...I am glad I found you!! I read your last TR and laughed until I cried - this one is no different!! From Grumpy fallin gout of bed to your "accident". Your TRs ROCK!!!

PS I must second the "just wait til you have kids!" a sneeze can cause an "accident" regardless of where you are in the "world"!! LOL!!

Can't wait for more!!

Amy

[tink1957]

:lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:Thong lady cracks me up(no pun intended).;)

[Pinkpony]

I love your TRs! You are so hilarious!

I agree that you and Grumpy's adventures at DW would make a great reality show. I'd watch it! :happytv:

This is such fun reading, keep 'em coming!

:cheer2:

Pink

[MEK]

Great update, even though I can't see the pictures at work. I can still use my vivid imagination! :laughing:

[Simba22]

I have a Hello Kitty bag that is very similar to the one that your mom has except mine is a bit bigger!

Great update! Looking forward to more!

PS - I booked my airfare this morning for our October trip! :woohoo:

[Mom2Evie]

French women are always sex symbols. Righttttttttttttttttt

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D1/DSC00590.jpg



First & most importantly, you look GREAT!! You never, ever post pics of yourself and I can't understand why.
Second, THAT Mickey on your fleece is "discreet"? If that is how you define subtle, I'm wondering about this little accident that you had in EPCOT. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Excellent Trip Report, as usual!!

[jenb1023]

I am off the DIS for a few weeks and come back to two updates! Woo-hoo!

Love your text message to Jess - too funny!

I agree on a reality show - maybe someone can just follow you two around with a camcorder next trip and you can post your adventures on youtube.

Looking forward to the next update!

[mrsksomeday]

First & most importantly, you look GREAT!! You never, ever post pics of yourself and I can't understand why.


I know I second you looking great, we need to see you more!!

[Pinkpony]

Bump

This doesn't belong on the fourth page! :goodvibes

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Have a safe trip Marina! I wish I was going too, but I'll settle for living vicariously through you. :goodvibes

[LuvnDizney]

I see you will be heading to Disney again very soon!! Have a great trip, cant wait to read about it and the rest of this trip. Your trip reports are a true delight


Melissa:)

[Poohgirl521]

Can't wait to read the rest of this TR. I see that you also have another TR to do once you return from your current trip. Hope your having a good time!!

[BarleyJack]

Subbing....Marina, where are you? We need our fix! LOL

[OhMari]

Hey,
I'm not going to try my french out on you,
I tried that in Mexico-spanish-and that did go over to well.
But where are you?

[Jakesmom1]

Marina, where are you ???

We want to hear more. :surfweb:

[marivaid]

For my defense, it HAS been nearly a year since our trip. It's almost normal that I have so little recollection of it.

It was the night of Grumpy's 60th birthday and I had booked Liberty Tree Tavern for what, I assumed, was the last time, since Disney execs decided they would get rid of the characters at that restaurant. They were gone on January 5th, and this was January 3rd.

The characters only had two nights left and boy were they making the most of it !! Chip & Dale in particular were going nuts , pun intended. Minnie kept dancing with Chip, then Goofy would come over and get mad at her for cheating on Mickey. They were running around everywhere, bumping into people (who loved it), chasing each other... When dessert time came, Grumpy was surprised to see Chip bringing her a birthday cupcake and singing to her.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/th_MOV00695.jpg (http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/?action=view&current=MOV00695.flv)

I made sure she kept her hands away from Pluto's crotch this time...

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/DSC00705.jpg


Oh yeah, and just before going into the restaurant, Grumpy got to meet what she refers to as Kung Fu Donald.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/DSC00677.jpg

Yes I wrote Kung Fu. This is Grumpy we're talking about here, people ! Kung Fu and Davy Crokett are the same thing as far as she's concerned.

We ended the night by watching SpectroMagic, going on our favorite rides again,and of course, watching Wishes from our notsosecretanymore spot.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/th_MOV00789.jpg (http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D3/?action=view&current=MOV00789.flv)

The castle is so beautiful around Christmas. There's no way we'll make it there this year and I'm going to miss it.

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Grumpy got her $75 birthday gift card - she was one of the first persons to get one, the CM said. She used it to buy herself a cute Minnie hoodie. I got myself an awesome 2009 sweatshirt, with the fab 5 embroidered in the back.
Definitely NOT discreet!

Our last ride was Buzz Lightyear. Grumpy beat herself and got her lowest score ever of... 1200. She declared the ride was broken. :rolleyes1

Did you think I was kidding when I said we barely went in the parks this trip ? Well, I wasn't. We didn't go in a park again.

The next day, we first went to Chef Mickey's, where Grumpy celebrated her birthday again and where Donald (no longer in his Kung Fu outfit) walked on her foot, unwillingly giving me the best character greeting picture EVER.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D4/DSC00812.jpg

Then we went to Florida Mall, where we bought a bunch of stuff we didn't need, I got my right ear pierced 2 more times, and I introduced Grumpy to Dippin Dots.
After a short break at CSR, we headed to dinner at Boma that I have no picture of since 1/it's too dark and 2/I would require a third hand, because the other two are busy pushing food in my throat.
What can you do to burn off Boma calories ??? Go to Walmart, of course. Well, I needed stuff for my new apartment and you know, they don't sell shower curtains in France. Not cute ones at least.

And on our last full day, what did we do ?? Well Grumpy woke up saying she'd dreamed about a gold colored Coach bag. Where do you think we ended up ?
Yep.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q209/marivaid/JAN09/D5/DSC00840.jpg

Penniless, we spent the afternoon at the pool. It was a gorgeous day, in the high 80s I believe. It was snowing at home.

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And finally we went to spend our last 2 TS credits at Narcoosee's... to celebrate Grumpy's birthday since, ya know, we hadn't done anything yet.

Well, no surprise here, Grumpy loved her lobster. Someone had put a nasty crabbyish crust on what used to be a perfectly fine fish, yuck, thank goodness for dessert.
Watching the fireworks from the restaurant was gorgeous. They didn't do anything special for the birthday though, but Grumpy didn't care. There were no characters and she was a bit birthday-ed out at that point.

We visited the Grand Floridian a bit

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Still beautiful. Still quiet. Still chic.
Still definitely NOT for us.

The last thing Grumpy wanted to do before we left was for me to take a picture of her laying down in a hammock at CSR. It took forever to get her in there but only a second for her to roll off and find herself face down in the sand.

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But she had her picture!

It was so hard to leave the next morning. The weather was so beautiful! We were a bit worried about having to transfer planes in Dallas but we LOVED that airport. First thing Grumpy saw was a TGI Friday's, and she was sold.That airport is like a mini mall. Stores everywhere.

Ya know, because we had not shopped enough.

[karenell]

You changed plane in DALLAS?? :eek: Good Grief!

Happy Birthday, Grumpy! You never looked better! :flower3:

Thank you for finishing your trip report Marina! I LOVE reading your stuff!
:lovestruc

Don't you have another trip waiting in the wings for us?popcorn::

[29apr00]

quick but still a great ending!!! On to the summer trip!!

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Sounds like a great way to end the trip...good food, good shopping & a good view of Wishes. :goodvibes

[DisneyTabby]

So happy to here from you Marina! Bravo on finishing this trip.