A Gem of a Birthday-Celebrating my 40th@AKL(No Kids!)11/03 Link to Next report! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Diamondintheruff

04-15-2009, 12:55 AM

1) How this trip came to be! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31349536&postcount=3
2) The Cast http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31362879&postcount=12
3) The Plans http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31457281&postcount=18
4) Thurs April 23-The Day before we arrive in WDW http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31693636&postcount=52
5) Thurs April 23-Finally Leaving Home!http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31825778&postcount=78
6)Thurs April 23-Crossing the Border!http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31909827&postcount=90
7)Fri April 24-My Birthday morning!http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32015691&postcount=113
8)Fri April 24-Arriving in Disney! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32139887&postcount=125
9)Fri April 24-Check out our room! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32213464&postcount=138
10)Fri April 24-Our First Park of the Trip! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32312588&postcount=149
11)Fri April 24-Dinning Castle Style! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32455791&postcount=166
12)Fri April 24-A Chocolate Slipper http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32510754&postcount=175
13)Fri April 24-We've had dinner now what? http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32575825&postcount=183
14)Fri April 24-Rides and Shopping and Savannahs http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33013745&postcount=209
15)Saturday April 25 No Pooh for Breakfast **double post** http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33221364&postcount=219
16)Saturday April 25 Breakfast continued **double post** http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33221377&postcount=220
17)Saturday April 25 Touring http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33819153&postcount=296the Kingdom http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33594132&postcount=232
18)Saturday April 25 Riding the Wave http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33627709&postcount=242
19)Forgotten Photopass Pictures http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33627709&postcount=243
20)Sunday April 26 First Tonga & First Test Track ride http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33660008&postcount=255
21)Sunday April 26 Epcot=Meltdown http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33708244&postcount=269
22)Sunday April 26 Epcot throws us a curb or three http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33747218&postcount=280
23)Sunday April 26 Showdown in Mousegears**double post**http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33819153&postcount=296
24)Sunday April 26 Showdown in Mousegears**double post**http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33819160&postcount=297
25)Sunday April 26 Changing the Plan http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33856103&postcount=310
26)Sunday April 26 Where's the Beef? http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33870477&postcount=317
27)Monday April 27 Early morning departure day humor http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33900188&postcount=327
28)Monday April 27 Disney Studios morning http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33939916&postcount=333
29)Monday April 27 Transportation Mistake and Departure. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33955438&postcount=338

Plans for my October 2009 Trip http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33823658&postcount=306

Diamondintheruff

04-15-2009, 12:02 PM

“Honey, you know my 40th birthday is coming up right?”

“Yeah” Dh replies hesitantly.

“Do you think maybe, we might possibly go away somewhere for it?’

“Like where?”

“Well, I was thinking.. you know, um.. Disney?”

“You want to take the kids back to Disney for your Birthday?”

“No. I want just us to go. We could leave the kids with my parents.”

“Really? You want to go to Disney” (Okay wait for it because this is the word we all hear when we talk about going to Disney to non-Disney obsessed people.) “AGAIN?”

Yup I sure did want to go do Disney. It’s really a silly question. Like I’m ever going to say no. What was the man thinking? He probably thinks I’m crazy to want to go back when we had gone the last two summers with the kids and my parents.

Dh flashes me a look like I’m out of my mind.

“What about the plan?” He asks.

The plan was that we would go back in 2011 with our extended family. In his defense I had promised him we wouldn’t go back again until 2011. In my defense, technically “we” wouldn’t be going back again. The whole family was not coming. It was just going to be the two of us. I hadn’t promised that “us” wouldn’t go again. I said “We”.

Amazingly, once I pointed out that Disney can be romantic, that it would be like re-living our Disneymoon from 12 years ago and that we could eat at restaurants that the kids wouldn’t step foot into and that we could take it at our pace he actually said “YES!”

I was so excited. Planning could begin.

It started with a phone call to my Mom. I had to organize the kids before I could even think of booking. She agreed but used that same word that Dh had.

“Again? You want to go to Disney again?” my Mom asked.

Then I called up my Travel Agent. She’s awesome. I use Christine at Fairytale Destinations. She was the only one who didn’t use the word “again”. She gets it.

So before long we were booked for POP for three nights with three days of tickets and the dinning plan. I re-joined Tour Guide Mike and added a ticker under my Disboard Signature.

I picked out the restaurants we wanted to eat at and waited for the 180-day mark to arrive. Of course as we all know, Disney revamped their reservation system so I had to wait until the 90-day mark. I somehow survived it. In the meantime it gave me more time to play with my plans and I decided to upgrade Dh and I to Deluxe Dinning. The man likes to eat well so it wasn’t a hard sell.

Finally the 90 day mark came and I managed to get all the ADR’s that I wanted. I had my TA Christine call and I slept in. I’ve done the calls before myself and felt okay at letting her handle the reins this time. It’s a big move for a control freak like myself. They should make a hallmark card for such an occasion. Also it should be noted again, that she is awesome.

Around the 45 day mark when it was time to pay, I got an email from Christine. Some deluxe resorts were being offered at a discount. I could upgrade from POP if I so wished.

Once again a silly question. Of course I wished but I didn’t have the budget for it. Then I had an idea. I called my Mom.

She hadn’t decided what to get me for my birthday. So I suggested the upgrade. She agreed and Christine moved us on up from POP to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I was super psyched.

So it will be Animal Kingdom Lodge just Dh and myself from Friday April 24th (my birthday) until Monday April 27th. Not long I know but since we are leaving the kids and I’m a part-time Kindergarten Teacher it was the best I could do.

Dh and I have three wonderful children. I also have a set of wonderful parents who have agree to look after their grandchildren for the weekend so their only daughter can celebrate her 40th birthday at her favorite place.

I told myself I wasn’t going to do another Trip Report. I told other people I wasn’t going to do another Trip Report. But then, I finished (finally) my first report and instead of feeling good about it, I felt kind of… well, kind of empty. So here I am making a liar out of myself and smearing my personal life all over the Internet to boot. Are you sure this is the kind of person you want to read a trip report from? Apparently I have issues setting boundaries and you’ve already seen me prove how I can twist a promise to suit myself.

If you’re still here then let me welcome you to my report. It’s always exciting to have readers. Even more exciting to have posters but then I don’t want to appear too pushy. I suppose a “please post, pretty pretty please ” would fit into that later category.

Up next the pictures I promised and an introduction to the cast.

akayek31

04-15-2009, 12:21 PM

Hey I am here. I can't wait to read more. I am having with drawls since TR is done. :) Only 36 days til I go.

shellywalker

04-15-2009, 12:23 PM

I'm tagging along! I'm excited for you to be able to share this time with your DH! As you know, I'm doing the same! It's always okay to leave your kids behind for a little adult disney fun! Looking forward to hearing more!

tinkermamaof2

04-15-2009, 12:36 PM

Can't wait to hear about your plans. You are going to love Animal Kingdom Lodge, so nice of your Mom to pay for the upgrade for your birthday! Just so your husband knows, he has to go along with ALL of your plans, it is YOUR bithday trip!LOL:rotfl: You deserve it!

Patti

lisalonglash

04-15-2009, 02:10 PM

I'm in - can't wait to read more! :cool1:

autumnpalm

04-15-2009, 02:17 PM

I'm in!!!:wizard:
'

Sounds like it's going to be a great trip.:goodvibes I think an upgrade to AKL is just about the perfect birthday present. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your plans.:thumbsup2

Diamondintheruff

04-15-2009, 04:45 PM

I'm in - can't wait to read more! :cool1:

Good to hear from you again Lisa! I'm heading out your way on Friday to visit a friend in Langley.

I'm in!!!:wizard:
'

Sounds like it's going to be a great trip.:goodvibes I think an upgrade to AKL is just about the perfect birthday present. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your plans.:thumbsup2

You found me! I wish I was going to the Tea at the GF like you. But since it wasn't on the DDP, Dh nixed it. I'll have to wait until I go with my Mom. She'll eat it up.

DearDaisyinDurham

04-15-2009, 07:15 PM

:cheer2:~I'm in!~ :banana:
:yay:~I'm in!~ party:

lisalonglash

04-15-2009, 07:19 PM

Good to hear from you again Lisa! I'm heading out your way on Friday to visit a friend in Langley.

Make sure you wave to me on your way by :goodvibes

Diamondintheruff

04-16-2009, 01:52 AM

So I promised to introduce you to the cast. It's quite small. Just Dh and I. We've been married for almost 13 years and have been together for almost 19 years.

We met at University. The Sunday night before our first classes there was a BBQ on the lawn for the freshmen. I saw him leaning in the doorway with the light shining behind him and our eyes locked. It sounds corny but my heart skipped a beat and I just knew he was going to be someone important in my life. We didn't start dating until two years later but we always kept tabs on each other. We were friends of friends and each time we ran into each other the sparks flew.

My 40th birthday trip will not be the first time that Dh and I have been to Disney alone. We went in the early 90's. We were visiting my grandparents in Daytona Beach and drove down for the day. Here are some old pictures I dug up.

Just remember a couple a things while viewing these photos.

1) It was the 90's. Don't judge if you weren't there. Fashion is fickle.

2)These are photos of photos. We have a scanner but if you want to wait until I figure out how to use it the clothes you have on right now will be considered as outdated as the ones I'm wearing in the pictures.

Here is Dh back then just Dboyfriend in front of the castle.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/f08dc1a8.jpg

Here I am in front of the castle.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/3be27b5c.jpg

Here is Dh sitting in a stationary car outside the speedway.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/05f147e4.jpg

Here he is again possibly outside of the enchanted Tiki room. Anyone want to confirm this?

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/e22063b6.jpg

Finally here I am again near the Jungle cruise ride.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/cb6e0fc6.jpg

Then five years or so after that trip we got married.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/fa83f49d.jpg

We went to Disney for our Honeymoon. I had watched an Oprah show and she did a segment on the Disney Institute. It no longer exists. :sad1: I believe it is Saratoga Springs now.

Anyhow we loved our time at the Disney Institute. It was like camp for adults. Each day we had three time periods that you could choose different activities to participate in. We went rock climbing, took cooking lessons, had wine tasting classes, massages, golf lessons and even went on a catered canoe picnic. Here are some pictures to prove it. Notice who is "driving" the canoe.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/45e23723.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/d6f8d5bb.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/5b3e2036.jpg

Actually there is a funny story about how we crashed our golf cart after a wine tasting session. Who knew you were supposed to spit out the wine?

We only went into the actual park twice. We did MK again but sadly I don't have any pictures. I did take some at Epcot.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/adef7852.jpg

We had dinner at the original Alfredos' which is also gone.:sad1:

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/131ecca0.jpg

Once we returned home, we settled down into married life. We got a dog. We got real grown up jobs, bought a house and started having children.

Here is a current picture of us. This was taken by the bartender at the GF while the kids were at the Wonderland Tea party. We lounged, we napped and we shopped. Okay Dh napped. I shopped but we both lounged which this picture is evidence of.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/August%202008/August%2021-27%202008/21-PaulChrisGrandFloridian.jpg

In seven days we will be throwing the kids, the dog, the house, our adult responsibilities to the wind and taking off for WDW. Woo Hoo!

Next up "THE PLAN" otherwise known as things that Diamond wants to do at WDW and Dh will just have to suffer through it!

Hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane.

lazydoxy66

04-16-2009, 05:37 AM

Yay!!!!! Great start. You 2 are so cute!

I think I saw you had posted this on Enchanted too. I'll probably follow this over there.

roxannensteve

04-16-2009, 09:21 AM

Hi - you are reading my PTR so I needed to come check out yours.

We are very much alike. We took our Honeymoon in Disney as well & you are already know we are doing a kid free trip too.

We are staying at POR but I saw the discounts for the deluxes & AKL was a thought. Glad you ugraded from POP, deffinhately a step or 2 or 3 above.

Can't wait to read more...

CanadianWDWfan

04-17-2009, 01:45 AM

Hi, followed you over here from another TR. :wave2:

I can't wait to hear how your bday trip unfolds....;)

Diamondintheruff

04-18-2009, 12:40 AM

Yay!!!!! Great start. You 2 are so cute!

I think I saw you had posted this on Enchanted too. I'll probably follow this over there.

Yes, I'm doing one on enchanted as well.

Hi - you are reading my PTR so I needed to come check out yours.

We are very much alike. We took our Honeymoon in Disney as well & you are already know we are doing a kid free trip too.

We are staying at POR but I saw the discounts for the deluxes & AKL was a thought. Glad you ugraded from POP, deffinhately a step or 2 or 3 above.

Can't wait to read more...

I'm looking forward to reading your report too!

Hi, followed you over here from another TR. :wave2:

I can't wait to hear how your bday trip unfolds....;)

Well, welcome!

:cheer2:~I'm in!~ :banana:
:yay:~I'm in!~ party:

I was wondering when you would show up.

Make sure you wave to me on your way by :goodvibes

I'm here!

Nemo32

04-20-2009, 12:21 AM

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about your trip. AKL is so cool, I wish I could've stayed there. I hope you try Boma.

Have a magical birthday and getaway! :wizard:

Diamondintheruff

04-21-2009, 08:48 PM

I've been in Vancouver visiting friends for the weekend so I haven't had a chance to update. I flew through the states from Buffalo to Seattle instead of doing the Toronto to Vancouver thing. Southwest had a destination sale a few months ago for Seattle and all fares were 50% off. This weekend were the only dates open because I would never have choosen to make this trip a weekend before my Disney weekend. But I couldn't resist.

I drove myself and pulled into my driveway at 3:30 this morning. Needless to say I was not the most effective teacher today for my kindergarten class. I'll probably even less so next tuesday when I return home from Disney. It's sad to realize that next week at this time my trip will be all over.

Speaking of my trip, It's time for the reveal of the "Plan".

Keep in mind that it's a short trip, we're doing the deluxe dinning plan and we really aren't thrill ride people. In fact we are just thrilled to spend some time alone together and at disney to boot. Okay truthfully Dh would rather just stay in the hotel the whole time but too bad mister. We are at disney and we will be getting out and about.

Thurs April 23
-Stay in hotel in buffalo overnight. It takes a little over 3 hours to drive to the buffalo airport in good traffic and I don't want to be tired on my arrival day considering I'm only there 3 nights.

Fri April 24

MY 40th Birthday
-fly to MCO to arrive early afternoon.
-check into AKL
-Go to MK, get birthday giftcard
-Dinner at Cindy's castle (never been)
-Watch Wishes, no spectro tonight (never seen either)

Sat April 25
-Breakfast CP before park opening
-keys to kingdom tour
-afternoon at pool
-dinner at the waves
-watch spectro

Sun April 26
-Breakfast kona (trying Tonga Toast!)
-epcot trying Test track and mission space (never done)
-lunch chefs du france
-drinking around the world (not totally but definatly a grey goose slushy)
-want to see the Canada movie
-afternoon at pool
-very late le cellier dinner

Mon April 27
-Breakfast Boma
-Massages at GF spa
-lunch wolfgang pucks downtown disney
-use snack credits at goofy's for covered pretzels.
-plane departs dinnertime, drive home for early am arrival the next day and go to work!

Diamondintheruff

04-21-2009, 08:49 PM

I'm here! Can't wait to hear all about your trip. AKL is so cool, I wish I could've stayed there. I hope you try Boma.

Have a magical birthday and getaway! :wizard:

Yeah! You made it!:cheer2::cheer2:

DearDaisyinDurham

04-21-2009, 09:24 PM

oooooooooooh! L-O-V-E the plans! A+++++++! Can't wait to hear more!

don't you love Vancouver? I could happily move there. next time I go, I want to see Seattle as well.

Diamondintheruff

04-21-2009, 11:47 PM

oooooooooooh! L-O-V-E the plans! A+++++++! Can't wait to hear more!

don't you love Vancouver? I could happily move there. next time I go, I want to see Seattle as well.

Oh how exciting to get an A+ on my plans. I've always been an overachiever in school. Could be why I never actually left it.

I was actually outside of Vancouver. I have a good friend that lives in Whistler and another who lives in Langley so I rarely make it into the actual city other than to the airport. Of course this time as I mentioned I went through Seattle.

My girlfriends picked me up on friday but I took the bus back myself monday. I didn't want them to have to take another day off work for me.

The bus I took went from south B.C. to the seattle airport. It was a long four hour ride. They drove us through downtown seattle and to the base of the space needle. Not that we could get off the bus but still I felt like I had done some sight seeing.

akayek31

04-22-2009, 12:40 AM

Nemo32

04-22-2009, 02:43 AM

Awesome itinerary! You'll love everything! Sounds like a lot of R&R...something you need.

topdog

04-22-2009, 08:44 AM

Yay! You get to try the Tonga Toast!!!! Get ready for the sugar rush :thumbsup2 and then "Power Disney". :rotfl2:

How was Vancouver? My sister's family lives at Burnaby area. I heard it's very clean over there. I've never been there yet but plan to because I want to go to Whistler for a skiing expedition.

I wish you have a wonderful and magical trip. pixiedust:

CanadianWDWfan

04-22-2009, 08:58 AM

Fun getaway to see your girlfriends! Why do all the great air fares have to be in the USA? Glad you had a great weekend!

Your plans sound excellent, I would love a trip right now like yours. ;)

Have a magical time and be sure to share when you get back!

:bday: and enjoy your bday gift card!

I can't wait to try Tonga Toast in August. Yummy!

luvpooh

04-22-2009, 12:56 PM

Hi there! I just finished reading your other 2 trip reports (neglecting a lot of work, lol) and I just loved them, you have a beautiful family!

I am looking forward to reading your TR about this weekend, and I hope you have a great birthday! I celebrated my 30th in the World (as well as my 32nd this year) and it was very special.

Diamondintheruff

04-22-2009, 01:34 PM

So what are you going to buy with your gift card? I think I am going to spend all of mine in the POTC giftshop lol. I want to hear all about Le Cellier. I am excited about eating there and want tips from a vet on what to get.

I think I'm going to buy mickey earrings. I've almost bought them twice before. Speaking of twice that's how many times I have been to le cellier. It's all about the cheddar cheese soup for me.

Awesome itinerary! You'll love everything! Sounds like a lot of R&R...something you need.

I've been wanting to eat in France since reading your TR. I think you went to the other one but still. You sent me in that direction.

Yay! You get to try the Tonga Toast!!!! Get ready for the sugar rush :thumbsup2 and then "Power Disney". :rotfl2:

How was Vancouver? My sister's family lives at Burnaby area. I heard it's very clean over there. I've never been there yet but plan to because I want to go to Whistler for a skiing expedition.

I wish you have a wonderful and magical trip. pixiedust:

Thanks for popping over Topdog. Loving your trip report. Still waiting on the edge of my seat to find out what happens with your lost wallet.

Pretty embarassed of my sad photos compared to yours. You sure do take a great shot!

Vancouver is lovely. I have family out there as well. My Mom used to work for Air Canada and got us all family fare tickets to go visit so I've been many times.

You must make it out some day especially to do the whistler skiing trip you mentioned. I've got friends in Whistler as well. It should be an even better ski vacation now that they are upgrading for the olympics.

Fun getaway to see your girlfriends! Why do all the great air fares have to be in the USA? Glad you had a great weekend!

Your plans sound excellent, I would love a trip right now like yours. ;)

Have a magical time and be sure to share when you get back!

:bday: and enjoy your bday gift card!

I can't wait to try Tonga Toast in August. Yummy!

I'm super psyched for the Tonga!

I'll be out your way the weekend after this trip for a dance recital. Tell me all your snow is gone!

Hi there! I just finished reading your other 2 trip reports (neglecting a lot of work, lol) and I just loved them, you have a beautiful family!

I am looking forward to reading your TR about this weekend, and I hope you have a great birthday! I celebrated my 30th in the World (as well as my 32nd this year) and it was very special.

Thanks for the lovely comment about my family and I'm impressed you've made it through the other trip reports. Should be less meltdowns in this upcoming trip. I hope.

Diamondintheruff

04-22-2009, 09:16 PM

So I'm in the midst of packing but I'm not so sure what to pack. I have way too many clothes out. I'm not really sure how hot it is going to be. I'm so used to going to Disney in August that I'm not sure I'm taking weather appropriate clothing with me.

I still have a million things to do so I have to STOP sitting at the computer.

-finish packing clothes
-pack toiletries
-print out coupon for airport parking
-print map to hotel
-print maps for my parents of various places they have to transport kids to
-wrap a birthday present
-change guest bedroom sheets for parents

I'm promising myself not to log back in until I finish my list. Hopefully I will get it done.

autumnpalm

04-23-2009, 12:02 AM

Diamondintheruff

04-23-2009, 09:05 AM

So I only have to make it through School today, then an early dinner with the kids and then we're off. We're staying at the airport tonight and we leave tomorrow.

I've packed everything but my toiletries (but I can do that afterschool) and set out lists and maps for the grandparents.

I can't believe the day has come! I've waited so long and other than the suitcases in my room it doesn't feel possible that today is the day.

I hope it doesn't end too quickly. Now I wish it was longer than a weekend.

Bye for now! Next time I check in I will be out of thirties.

Diamondintheruff

04-23-2009, 09:10 AM

Your plans look perfect! Wow, I can't believe you're leaving so soon!

You are going to LOVE LOVE LOVE Wishes and ahhh I dream of having a massage at the GF one day!! Are you planning on doing a TR?! I hope so!:goodvibes

What hotel are you staying at overnight in Buffalo? We're starting to think of staying over instead of leaving at some crazy hour in the morning.

MMmmm and Tonga Toast. I could so go for a piece of that right now!:cheer2:

Thanks!

Check out www.parksleepfly.com

There are threads on the canadian boards that rate the hotels at the airport. I've stayed at a couple but best western and the millienium are my favorite. The best western is cheap and cheerful plus they have breakfast. The millienium is a bit fancier, next to the walden galleria mall, accross from the olive garden and krispie creme with Target down the street and they have an indoor pool. Breakfast is usually not included.

This time I am paying for my own parking and getting the hotel seperately. It worked out cheaper for me since I am only parking for three nights.

Disneychix

04-23-2009, 09:57 AM

Just found this PRT today and I'm so excited that you are going TOMORROW!! Happy Birthday and have a wonderful vacation!!!

Nemo32

04-23-2009, 05:23 PM

Have a great trip and take lots of pics!!!

DearDaisyinDurham

04-23-2009, 07:19 PM

:tink: Have FUN and Happy 40th!!!
:goofy: :mickeyjum :tigger: :donald: :dumbo: :stitch:

:bday:party:
:jumping1: :rainbow: :jumping1:party::

Diamondintheruff

04-23-2009, 07:37 PM

Just found this PRT today and I'm so excited that you are going TOMORROW!! Happy Birthday and have a wonderful vacation!!!

Welcome and thanks!

Have a great trip and take lots of pics!!!

I'm even going to try to take "foodie" pictures this time.

:tink: Have FUN and Happy 40th!!!
:goofy: :mickeyjum :tigger: :donald: :dumbo: :stitch:

:bday:party:
:jumping1: :rainbow: :jumping1:party::

Thanks! See ya when I get back.

lisalonglash

04-23-2009, 08:21 PM

Have a wonderful fantastic incredible time!!! Just you and dh... enjoy the freedom to do what you want, when you want :goodvibes

I'm looking forward to your report when you return :thumbsup2

tinkermamaof2

04-23-2009, 10:30 PM

Have a great holiday!!!! Your plans seem great! Can't wait to hear about it!:goodvibes

Patti

PrincessBrideJo

04-24-2009, 10:44 PM

Happy Birthday and I hope your trip is everything you dream of. I can't imagine only doing a weekend, I wouldn't know what to cut out but it seems like you have everything under control.

akayek31

04-25-2009, 04:33 PM

Happy Birthday. I missed it yesterday sorry :)

Diamondintheruff

04-28-2009, 07:22 PM

I'm back!

Got in late last night. We rolled into the driveway after 2 am.

We had a great time. Dh sucessfully surprised me for my birthday. It wasn't jewelry-I don't want to get anyones hopes up. After all it is my Dh we are talking about. He's distantly related to Scrooge after all. But still it did cost some money and most importantly it meant he had to do some disney research and put time and effort into it.

I'll admit I was kind of scared to spend all that time alone with Dh. Silly isn't it after being together for 18 years? I was skeptical and afraid that we wouldn't remember how to have fun together just the two of us. I needn't have been. We remembered. In fact we had way more fun than we did on our Disneymoon almost 13 years ago.

He did hit the wall at one point. I'll cover it in more detail in my actual report. Although we had a blast, this trip did not turn him into a Disney finatic.

I was able to try some things I've been wanting to for years and my list of things is getting shorter. So I've still got a list for the next trip. Whenever that is.

The kids did just fine with my parents. My parents are still napping.

We're off Friday for the weekend. Which means I won't be able to start my TR until after this weekend. Surprisingly Dh suggested we take the laptop with us so that I can start typing it out. Perhaps I will. I was just surprised he brought it up.

I do promise I will be writing a report. I took way too many pictures not to do one. I even took "foodie pics". It's just that you'll have to wait a week. I'll try to make it worth it.

mollyseven

04-28-2009, 07:30 PM

Diamondintheruff

04-28-2009, 07:34 PM

Have a wonderful fantastic incredible time!!! Just you and dh... enjoy the freedom to do what you want, when you want :goodvibes

I'm looking forward to your report when you return :thumbsup2

Thanks! Of course if I had given Dh the freedom to do what he wanted we never would have left the resort! He understood the theory behind getting to the parks at opening but he didn't like it much.

Have a great holiday!!!! Your plans seem great! Can't wait to hear about it!:goodvibes

Patti

Thank you. My plans changed a bit but in the end we were both happier. Stay tuned to find out what we did instead and why.

Happy Birthday and I hope your trip is everything you dream of. I can't imagine only doing a weekend, I wouldn't know what to cut out but it seems like you have everything under control.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! It is true you just can't get everything done in a weekend. I had to think about what I really wanted to do most and for the rest of the stuff have the courage to walk by it while chanting "I will be back again another day". It seemed to work.

Happy Birthday. I missed it yesterday sorry :)

Oh, don't be sorry. Thanks for thinking of me at all. I'm honoured. In fact I'm taking a cue from Disney and I'm planning on celebrating all year long.

DearDaisyinDurham

04-28-2009, 07:34 PM

Yay, you're back!!! :goodvibes
So happy to hear you had such a wonderful time! :cloud9:

Diamondintheruff

04-28-2009, 07:44 PM

O.k I have subscribed and was actually thinking about you last night when you would've been on your flight...I was sad for you!! ahhhh.....
Well glad you had a good weekend, I bet it seems a blur right now....when Dave and I went alone last year for 4 days it seemed a blur afterwards....but a lovely blur.
I was just sitting here thinking I can't wait until next March break for our next trip ... that will mean no 2009 trip and will break our current run of yearly trips but husband would be quick to point out that "ahhhh last year you went 3 times Denise so you can't complain can you??"... Of course I can. It doesn't help my cause but complain I can.
Can't wait to see your photos and hear about the weather and crowds and fun you had.
:lovestruc

Good to hear from you. Still owe you that iced cap.

I remember you did all those trips last year. To quote Yoda (badly) "Sorry for you, I don't feel". Where are staying for the march break trip this time?

A lovely blur is a good description.

I will be back with the report soon. It's this work thing that keeps getting in the way. It's a good thing I love teaching so much.

Diamondintheruff

04-28-2009, 07:48 PM

Yay, you're back!!! :goodvibes
So happy to hear you had such a wonderful time! :cloud9:

Hey it's my other neighbour! Howdy!

Yes I did. I could break into song spontaneously. Specifically I was thinking of the flashdance theme.

Now, I've had the time of my life...

I suppose I should think of a Disney one. Believe it or not nothing is coming to mind. Not much is on my mind at the moment. Lack of sleep really does that to me.

Dh is out working and I'm manning the fort myself tonight. Is 7pm too early to put a 10 year old to bed?

Queenofallthings

04-29-2009, 11:40 AM

declansdad

04-29-2009, 11:51 AM

Looks like I got here just in time to hear about the trip.

Tnkrbelle565

04-29-2009, 01:59 PM

Subbing so I can go back to read

Lady Lallie

04-29-2009, 03:13 PM

I'm here! I'm excited to hear about your trip. :goodvibes

shellywalker

04-30-2009, 11:07 AM

Welcome back! I can not wait to see pics and hear all about it! :cool1:

Nemo32

05-01-2009, 12:19 AM

Welcome back! I've been super busy with finals...glad to hear you had an awesome time and can't wait to hear about it in your TR report!!

PS ~ I got a pin code for 30% off and no one will go with me!!! I suppose 3x in a little over a year is a bit much???? :rolleyes1

Diamondintheruff

05-06-2009, 01:16 PM

The Plan-Work that day
-Leave home around suppertime
-Cross border into the states safely (still get questioned about student visa)
-Quick shopping at the Outlet Mall
-Check into Hotel
-Get a good night sleep

**Disclaimer**
Sorry no pictures this one but there will be in the others.

The Reality

It was a regular Thursday morning at the Diamond household except for the fact that I had piles of things everywhere. Okay I will fess up. There are always piles of things but this morning the piles actually had a purpose.

Piles of clothes by open suitcases, piles of paper containing vital information for my parents coming to look after the kids while we were gone, piles of clean laundry that I had yet to put away (I ran out of time the day before) and piles of groceries on the counter due to my late night shopping escapade which completely drained me of all energy to finish putting them away. Of course I was already so tired that I felt like a pile of …. I’ll let you finish that thought in your head, as this is a family site.:rolleyes1

I was doing my regular running around like a chicken with my head cut off morning routine.:headache: Packing lunches, fixing hair, signing school notes, making kids practice piano, making kids eat a balanced breakfast, making kids clean up their dishes after said balanced breakfast and of course squeezing in some personal time to make myself look “purdy” for the day. Was it any wonder why I needed this vacation?

Today was a working day for me so I had to get ready to go at the same time as the kids. I teach kindergarten part time and in my school district the kids go to school for a full day but on every other day. So I teach my own class for a full day on Tuesday and Thursday while my counterpart teaches on her class on Monday and Wednesday. We alternate Fridays. It actually works out that she works more Fridays than I do since we have quite a few holidays on Mondays like Easter off.

I took off for school about 20 minutes earlier than the kids. Dh takes them to school when I’m working. Two of my kids go to my school. My oldest goes to our sister school (we share the same principal and some of the staff). Our sister school offers a French immersion class starting in grade 5. So he started there this year. Eeoyre (DS10) was pleased to escape the reach of Mom. However, I sometimes supply teach at his school and even his particular class so I still have some tentacles he has to watch out for.

When it is one of my kindergarten student’s birthdays I bring out a birthday crown and make them the official caregiver of the birthday bear stuffed toy. If you press a button on the bear he plays the birthday song. Since I had told my students it was going to be my birthday tomorrow they all though I should wear the crown today. So I obliged them. They sang a lovely rendition of “Happy Birthday” to me. Over the course of the day I attempted to loose the crown. Each time I put it down somewhere one of my students would run up to me with it and tell me to put it back on. Eventually I just gave up and kept it on.:bride:

I had been counting down the number of days left to my colleagues and everyone was super excited for me. They sang an impromptu “Happy Birthday’ in the lunch room as well. After they had all complemented me on how lovely I looked in my crown of course.

After school, my parents came to pick up the youngest two kids. My parents had arrived in the afternoon. They live an hour away in Toronto. I jumped in the car with them and took them on a quick tour of the places they needed to visit this weekend. You know, piano teacher’s house, grocery store, drug store, school bus stop, Hospital Emergency Room. Then they dropped me back off at school. I had to wait for Eeoyre (DS10) to finish piano lessons nearby. I took this time to get ready for the next day of school, as I would be rushing in and tired from the weekend.

When I arrived home with Eeoyre I found supper in full swing. Nanny (my mom) had started it and was unpacking the kid’s lunches too. God bless her. This meant I could go and finish up my packing. I really just had our toiletries to sort out. It shouldn’t have taken much time.

Dh was home but on the phone downstairs in his office. He was all flustered because we still hadn’t rented out our apartment for May, which is a week away. The guy that is there now is late on rent and not sure whether he is going to move out or what. We own two apartments in a house not far from ours. We’ve only owned it for about 18 months and this landlord thing is new territory for us. Dh is very stressed about it. Not that I blame him but I was hoping to have a fun weekend getaway. I broke into the song “ On the Sunny side of the Street”. He was not amused.

Despite my cajoling he said he still had things to do and couldn’t take off for a bit. That worried me. Dh is so not known for his sense of time. “A bit” could be five hours. I frowned. I might have even sulked. Perhaps some of my kindergartener’s behavior had rubbed off on me.

“But it’s almost 5pm and we wanted to get across the border in a decent time remember?” I pleaded. Of course decent time was referring to a time when the outlet mall was still open for business. I hadn’t shared my definition with Dh. He thought decent time meant not to late to get a good night sleep.

“Yeah, I know. Look I’m sorry but I’ve got to get these things done.”

I must have looked forlorn because Dh stood up from his chair and hugged me.

:hug:

“I promise to be as quick as I can. Off you go otherwise you will distract me and it’ll be even longer before we can leave”.

He gave me a chaste kiss on the top of my head but the sparkle in his eye spoke volumes.

Upstairs I went. I went through my five pages of instructions with my parents in full detail. They were ready for anything now. I had dinner with them and the kids. I took a plate downstairs to Dh.

“Are you almost finished?” I asked hopefully.

“Um… yeah… almost” he answered. I could tell he was lying.

Then I loaded all the luggage in the van and programmed the hotel address into the GPS. I was ready. It was almost 7pm and I had missed my opportunity to do any shopping at the Outlet Malls. There was still tomorrow morning. I knew Target opened at 8am and our plane left at 12:50. Surely I could quickly pop over to Target then?

I was getting a little fumed. Here I had planned and packed and agonized over every detail for this weekend and he wasn't here to start it with me.:headache:

So here I was all packed and ready to go just waiting for Dh. Was this to be a theme for the weekend? How much longer would he be? Would we even leave tonight or just forget it and head out early tomorrow morning?

Click here to find out http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31825778&postcount=78

lisalonglash

05-06-2009, 01:24 PM

tinkermamaof2

05-06-2009, 01:27 PM

Yeah Diamond your report is started! My husband always has one more thing to do, then when we start driving he has to stop for a washroom break.:confused3 So nice to have had your Mom to help you. I hope you got some shopping done! Can't wait to hear about your trip!! Have a great day!!

Patti

Tnkrbelle565

05-06-2009, 01:37 PM

Soooo soooo sad to live in a country where you have to cross the border to go to Target ;):scared1::lmao:

Great start!!!! I knew you'd find a way to throw some drama in it!

Diamondintheruff

05-06-2009, 01:38 PM

I'm here Jewel, I found you:laughing: I cannot wait to hear all about it, glad it was a success! It's so different when you just go as adults, no kiddies, my BFF and I did that in 2005....had a blast!!!

Enjoy for weekend and can't wait for your next post:cool1:

I'd love to go with my BFF one day and ditch the hubby too.

Looks like I got here just in time to hear about the trip.

Reading through your report started me with the idea that I could leave my kids behind too.

Subbing so I can go back to read

I knew you'd show up some time! Okay so I was getting a little worried. Just a tad. I got a great new ulcer medication that took care of it though. Course I can stop taking it now that you're here. (LOL)

I'm here! I'm excited to hear about your trip. :goodvibes

I did think about taking some light fixture pictures for you. I couldn't remember what you already had though. But you've certainly been an influence on me as there were many times I stopped to examine them.

Welcome back! I can not wait to see pics and hear all about it! :cool1:

Sorry no pics in this one. I do have tons of them though. I even became a foodie picture taker. Never thought I would be taking pictures of my meals.

Welcome back! I've been super busy with finals...glad to hear you had an awesome time and can't wait to hear about it in your TR report!!

PS ~ I got a pin code for 30% off and no one will go with me!!! I suppose 3x in a little over a year is a bit much???? :rolleyes1

I wish I could go with you. I have over $100 in credit on Southwest to use up too.

Lady Lallie

05-06-2009, 01:41 PM

I'm a big sulker when my plans don't go as planned.

I hope that you have time to go to Target in the morning! :goodvibes

Diamondintheruff

05-06-2009, 01:44 PM

I'm sorry your dh messed up the plan :sad2: Wow, you sure are organized :worship: I hope you ended up being able to hit Target the next morning before your flight! :thumbsup2

Can't wait to read how this all turns out popcorn::

It's pretty hard to keep me from Target. I had already scouted out what I wanted when I was in Seattle the week before. I had a list. I had a mission. Dh didn't know what he was up against.

Yeah Diamond your report is started! My husband always has one more thing to do, then when we start driving he has to stop for a washroom break.:confused3 So nice to have had your Mom to help you. I hope you got some shopping done! Can't wait to hear about your trip!! Have a great day!!

Patti

My Mom and Dad were troupers. I am so grateful to them. Because we don't live in the same town they don't get to partake in the everyday activities and routines of the kids. It was great for them and my kids. I hope to be able to do that when I'm a grandparent one day.
Soooo soooo sad to live in a country where you have to cross the border to go to Target ;):scared1::lmao:

Great start!!!! I knew you'd find a way to throw some drama in it!

Yeah, no target and no american girl. Stop rubbing it in.

Diamondintheruff

05-06-2009, 01:49 PM

I'm a big sulker when my plans don't go as planned.

Me too!

And this wasn't just any old plan. This is a Disney plan. Okay so maybe just a getting to Disney plan but still. You don't mess with Disney plans.

shellywalker

05-06-2009, 01:57 PM

Doesn't sound like things got off to the greatest start! I hope things get better in the next post :flower3:

DearDaisyinDurham

05-06-2009, 06:43 PM

Oh my $$ is on you to make it to Target!!!

Your parents are wonderful, it must have been fun for them to share that time with the kids.

Waiting to read more!!!

akayek31

05-07-2009, 12:26 AM

Cool you started your TR. I am 14 days (after midnight anyway lol) away from leaving and I am not even close to being as organized as you are. Hope you get to Target (did not know that it was only in America)

mollyseven

05-07-2009, 09:35 AM

That is so funny about your whole plan and then it going out the window....well only so far I hope. It works the same way for me although the plans are usually just in our heads and not told to others so the others aren't aware of any plan and totally don't understand why we get upset......I always have a plan that is usually messed up. Hubby and I are going away next weekend and hubby just thinks we are going to a resort and going treetop trekking .... he has no idea of the minute by minute plans that are in my head.....trouble.!!
Can't wait to hear details of the disney days.....the photo's are great by the way...laying by the pool with a drink!! heaven.

Diamondintheruff

05-07-2009, 11:46 AM

You know how when you've just finished a Disney trip and don't know when your next one will be how disapointed you feel?

I've been feeling this way.:guilty:

Dh said we could go again in 2011 when our extended family were planning to go. I'm all for that. It's just that it seems like a looong time.

So just recently I've discovered that the diamond clan might be heading back to WDW earlier than that. We are switching Dance studios and the one we're looking into will be going to a competition in WDW in July 2010.

Is it wrong to pick a dance studio based on a possible dance competition in WDW?

I suppose since we haven't even signed up yet and I haven't mentioned it to Dh yet that it's too early to insert a ticker in signature?

Doesn't sound like things got off to the greatest start! I hope things get better in the next post :flower3:

Actually for travelling with Dh this start wasn't bad. He is never on time for anything!

Oh my $$ is on you to make it to Target!!!

Your parents are wonderful, it must have been fun for them to share that time with the kids.

Waiting to read more!!!

You'll have to wait and see if I make it to Target or not. Yes, my parents are great and had been looking forward to an extended stay with the kids. They came loaded with sugary snack food and plans to have a "stay up all night" night.

Cool you started your TR. I am 14 days (after midnight anyway lol) away from leaving and I am not even close to being as organized as you are. Hope you get to Target (did not know that it was only in America)

Sadly Target is not in Canada yet. We have a department store called zeller's that carries some of their lines but it is not the same thing.

I bet you're more organized than you think. I certainly didn't feel organized.

That is so funny about your whole plan and then it going out the window....well only so far I hope. It works the same way for me although the plans are usually just in our heads and not told to others so the others aren't aware of any plan and totally don't understand why we get upset......I always have a plan that is usually messed up. Hubby and I are going away next weekend and hubby just thinks we are going to a resort and going treetop trekking .... he has no idea of the minute by minute plans that are in my head.....trouble.!!
Can't wait to hear details of the disney days.....the photo's are great by the way...laying by the pool with a drink!! heaven.

I always have a plan in my head and contingency plans as well. Some of them are just too detailed to explain to anyone. Could be why I love being a teacher. I get to plan and be in charge all the time. Of course the fact that I love kids, love breaking into song and wearing seasonally decorated clothing helps.

You've seen the sneak peak of the photo's on facebook. No more spilling secrets!

DearDaisyinDurham

05-07-2009, 12:20 PM

You have pictures on Facebook! Can you PM me? I want to see!!

Queenofallthings

05-07-2009, 03:52 PM

Nemo32

05-07-2009, 04:57 PM

Update please? I am anxiously waiting...

Diamondintheruff

05-07-2009, 08:47 PM

I completely know how you feel....when we get home I am so depressed and think.....is it too early to start planning for next year? :rolleyes1

I'm not sure what's happening for us after the trip this summer, Jasmine really needs to get a job and she is going into grade 12 in the fall so we have University to think of too.....keeping in mind I think I may have spent her education fund on WDW trips:sad2:

Can't wait for morepopcorn::

I can't believe someone as fabulous looking as you has an almost University age daughter. It's just not possible.

Where is she (you) thinking of for next year?

Update please? I am anxiously waiting...

You'll be waiting for a while. It was a short trip and since I don't know when my next one will be I have decided to try and stretch this trip report out to a maximum of two updates a week. I don't work Mondays and Wednesdays so look for updates then.

Okay I have an idea when my next one might be but nothing is for sure yet. I mentioned above that we might switch dance studios and then go to a dance competition at WDW in early July. There are plans rolling around in my head. Such as, the dance competition is off site. Would we stay offsite to be close to the competition and then move to onsite later? You all have no idea how annoying Dh is during dance competitions. He forgets that he is the lowest on the totem pole and drives us all crazy. So maybe I could convince Nanny to come down with me for the dance competition with Eeoyre, Cindy and I and then Dh, Jedi and Poppa can arrive later when we switch to onsite. Then again I promised the kids that next time we go we would stay at the Nick Hotel. So I have to look into that to. But I really haven't given it much thought.:rolleyes1

Tnkrbelle565

05-07-2009, 09:00 PM

Okay I have an idea when my next one might be but nothing is for sure yet. I mentioned above that we might switch dance studios and then go to a dance competition at WDW in early July. There are plans rolling around in my head. Such as, the dance competition is off site. Would we stay offsite to be close to the competition and then move to onsite later? You all have no idea how annoying Dh is during dance competitions. He forgets that he is the lowest on the totem pole and drives us all crazy. So maybe I could convince Nanny to come down with me for the dance competition with Eeoyre, Cindy and I and then Dh, Jedi and Poppa can arrive later when we switch to onsite. Then again I promised the kids that next time we go we would stay at the Nick Hotel. So I have to look into that to. But I really haven't given it much thought.:rolleyes1

LOL!!! Why do you think that Aisling is still in dance lessons??? Our studio goes to Disney every 3-4 years. They went last year so I figure by the time they go again, Aisling will be in the "big girl" classes and be able to go :thumbsup2;)

Queenofallthings

05-08-2009, 11:09 AM

Ok, how sweet are you? Oh by the way loved your last reply to Peg, I was killing myself laughing, I couldn't wait until Jasmine got home to show her.:rotfl2:

I honestly don't know if we will get there next year....just typing that makes me a little nausceous:sick:I would love to surprise Jasmine with a cruise for her graduation, but honestly, don't know if I can afford it:confused:

Maybe the year after Peg and Geodoc will let us tag along again,.....I can be the nanny!!!!:eek: Unfortunately we did traumatize Snow last year on the flight so she never wants to fly with us again.....I really think this is why Peg and family are flying down 2 days before us:rolleyes1

I don't blame you for stretching it out....I would do the same thing:worship:

I started a pre-trip for August....I didn't think I would but now that I got into the techno age and have the internet at home, it's much easier than trying to get to Peg's on the weekend:sad2:

hlrababy

05-09-2009, 04:21 PM

Hey!!! I am here, better late than never!!!:lmao:

Diamondintheruff

05-09-2009, 06:33 PM

jelloarms

05-10-2009, 07:02 AM

Hey, newbie here. Just wanted to tell you I really REALLY enjoyed your other 2 TRs. In fact your TR was one of the TRs that inspired me to create and account and write one of my own reports. I liked how you not only wrote about the good times but you wrote about the...not so good times as well. Although there are a lot of enjoyable TRs on here, the ones that mention the not so good times are more entertaining.:laughing: I can't wait to hear about your short trip with your husband!

Diamondintheruff

05-10-2009, 10:57 AM

Queenofallthings

05-10-2009, 11:03 AM

Happy Mother's Day my friend!!!!:flower3:

shordiebecka

05-11-2009, 11:50 AM

I'm subbing too! I am so excited for your PTR, because it's an adults only trip AND you are staying at AKL. I am staying there in July and I feel like no one who stays there writes TR :rotfl: Subbing!

autumnpalm

05-11-2009, 08:06 PM

Oooh I hope you get to Target! I was really bummed that we didn't get there in May... but since we're renting a car in June I have my fingers crossed that we'll be able to make a stop!

I totally understand wanting to take it slow with your TR. Eagerly awaiting the next update though!:goodvibes

Oh, and... I think picking a studio based on Disney trips is a completely acceptable reason!:rotfl:

Diamondintheruff

05-14-2009, 07:42 PM

Obviously we did leave home eventually.

It just felt like a long time to me.

I had told my parents their babysitting duties would start after school. I had put them in charge of making dinner, driving Eeoyre (DS10) to and from dance, supervising homework and piano practice. Okay so I didn’t believe that they’d do the homework and piano practice but I had to at least mention it. In reality I had set up a date with the kids piano teacher so that the kids could practice with her. My parents are musically illiterate. Plus they are grandparents. They don’t exactly “tell” my children what to do. They suggest, they cajole and when necessary they bribe. I didn’t figure any of that would actually work on piano practicing.

So while I was waiting for my beloved hubby to finish whatever it was that was so important it was keeping us from starting our vacation and most importantly a trip to Target my parents were in full swing of unpacking lunches, making dinner, settling their own belongings in their room, playing games with the kids, giving them dinner, picking up Eeoyre from dance, bathtime, before bed reading time, washing up the dinner dishes and walking the dogs (mine and theirs). Most of these things were done by Nanny and even done with a smile. She is awesome. On top of all the things that she does for us she truly understands the kids. She “gets” them as people. I’m truly grateful for all her help (and Poppa’s).

I never even asked her if she would do this weekend for me. I just called her up (months before) and told her I wanted to go away with Dh for my 40th birthday and needed her to look after the kids.

“Should I put this on the calendar Dear?”

“Yes Mom”.

“All weekend Dear?”

“Yes. Well, like a long weekend. We want to go away from the Friday to the Monday” I answered her.

“So I should mark on the calendar that we’ll be coming up on Friday night and leaving on Monday afternoon?”

“Well, umm.. I was hoping that we would leave early Friday so I’d need you to already be there Friday morning.”

“So I’ll mark down Thursday night to Monday afternoon shall I?”

“Yes, Thursday night would be great. But umm… we might not get in until later on Monday night. I’ll have to check out the flights and get back to you okay?”

“Yes, I’m just marking this down in pencil on the calendar. When you book your flights then I will go over it pen. You did say you haven’t booked them yet right?”

In my Mother’s World there is a marked difference between activities on the calendar in pen and in pencil. Clearly she didn’t believe I would pull this weekend off.

“Not yet. But I will soon. I’ve got my eye on a direct flight coming home at a good price.”

“Now Dear, you are going to fly out of Toronto this time aren’t you?”

“The flights I’m looking at are so much cheaper out of Buffalo.”

“I can’t abide all that nonsense of flying out of another country. It just doesn’t seem right. Surely you can find something reasonable from Toronto. I hate the thought of you driving all those extra miles to that airport.”

It should be noted that my Mom retired from Air Canada. She feels even mentioning the names of other airlines and consequently competing airports is traitorous.

“I know you worry Mom. But I just can’t beat the prices flying out of Buffalo. I’ve done it a few times now and there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“Now Dear, I’ll tell you when I have nothing to worry about.”

She didn’t quite believe this weekend was actually going to happen. I don’t know if she ever changed it from pencil to pen in her calendar. Regardless, she showed up ready for duty at the prescribed time with a smile on her face.

I thought I would add this part about my relationship with my Mother to illustrate just how long I was waiting for Dh. Long enough to spend time evaluating my relationship with my Mother.

Long enough that there was no reason to pick up a meal on the road as I ate dinner with the family.

Long enough to help clean up after dinner.

Long enough to ask Eeoyre (DS10) how his 2 hour dance class was as he was back from it.

Long enough to listen to Jedi (DS6) explain the star wars trilogy.

Long enough that my daughter taught me the Hannah Montana throwdown Hoedown dance BACKWARDS!

So in case you haven’t taken the hint it was a friggin gosh darn long time that I waited for that man!

It wasn’t easy getting out of the house. The kids (who seemed okay with the idea of Mommy and Daddy leaving when it was spoken about in a future tense) suddenly decided they didn’t want us to go. They were fine until Dh poked his head up out of the basement.

“Okay, I’m almost ready to go now. Have you packed my stuff yet?”

“Honey” now this was said in a very sarcastic voice “It’s been packed and loaded in the car for three hours now!”

“Oh, what time is it anyhow?’ He says innocently. Like he doesn’t know. The time is displayed on his monitor and he had a big clock up above his computer. I’m not buying any of his innocent act. He knows what time it is.

“Time to GO.”

At this word the troops fall in.

“You’re not going now Mommy are you?” Cindy (DD8) asks.

“Don’t go Mommy” Jedi (DS6) says as he throws himself against me.

“Take me with you” says Eeoyre (DS10). “I’ll be on time. I’m ready to go now. You can just leave Daddy here and take me.”

It seemed like a tempting thought at the time. Dh was not starting out in my good books.

“Aw guys, you know we love you but it’s time for Mommy and Daddy to have some time to themselves. We’ll be back soon (notice I don’t actually but a time limit to it) and you’ll have Nanny and Poppa to spoil you silly until we get back. You’ll probably have more fun than we will.” Not that I believe this because what is more fun than Disney but I have to put up a strong front for the kids.

They still don’t quite buy it and Cindy (DD8) runs to block the front door.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/d30e8fcc.jpg

Then Jedi (DS6) runs to block the back door.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/21075f50.jpg

After some extra hugs, Nanny saved the day and distracted the kids with a package of sugar covered little donuts she had brought with her. Dh and I finally escaped while they consumed the white powdery baked goods in another room. They barely waved goodbye after the package was opened.

It was 8:10 when we finally drove out of the driveway. That is sooo much later than I wanted to leave that it bears repeating 8 fringging 10 in the evening.

We still had a three hour drive to get to our Hotel and a border to cross on the way.

I took the first shift driving. I was too impatient to sit there in the passenger seat. I had been sitting for hours already and I felt it was time for action.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Dh asks.

I’m thinking is this man for real? Do I know where I’m going? Of course I know where I’m going. I have preprogrammed our GPS and I have a printout from mapquest. I’m good to go. I have to take a few moments to calm myself before answering. After all he hasn’t paid any attention to amount of detail that I have put into this trip. He just knows I’m on the computer all the time. He hasn’t actually listened when I’ve shared information regarding this trip. I doubt if right now he could tell me what airline, what resort, what parks, what restaurants any information about this trip.

Wouldn’t it be blissful to just leave it all up to someone else.

Wait! No it wouldn’t. In fact I couldn’t stand not knowing where we were going or what we would be doing there.

Hello, control freak here. I could never just leave the planning to someone else. I’m the kind of person who reads the first 50 pages of a novel, and then has to read the end to find out what happens. Only then can I relax reading the rest of the story. I would never want someone else to plan my vacation.

So I guess I understand where he’s coming from. He didn’t want to know about the vacation when it was in the future. But now that it’s here in the present he wants to know. It’s like he works on a 4 hour time slot. He only wants to know what’s going on in the next four hours. I figured out the 4 hours because that’s how long he can go between meals.

Dh hates to but lots of time and effort into planning long term things. He’s a moment by moment kind of guy and I’m a I just figured out what we’re doing 9 months from now kind of girl. We cancel each other out. So I suppose it’s a good match.
Yes, that is why I married this man. He lets me plan things for him. He lets me pick out his wardrobe. He lets me plan. I love this about this man.

So why is that fact that he asked me if I knew where we were going bothering me. Am I thinking he doesn’t trust me? Cause that’s can’t be it. I shouldn’t let it bother me. I should just smile and say of course sweetie. I have the directions right here if you want to double check. I should just say these words. I know I should. Why am I still gritting my teeth in anger than?

Deep breathe Diamond. I tell myself. I can get through this. This is my husband that I love. (I know I keep dwelling on that but for some reason I needed reminding). We got off to a late start but not all is ruined. I can still have fun. I will have fun. I will enjoy Dh’s company. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Moments later after many deep breaths I relaxed my hands on the steering wheel and said

“I know where we are going. I have the directions right here if you want to take a look.”

I was proud of myself for not blowing up. That counting to 10 thing really does work.

“Oh, good!” he proclaims.

Then surprises me with a “Thanks for doing that”.

To finish me off with a “This is gonna be great. I’m really looking forward to it”.

I smiled sweetly at him. An honest to goodness real smile. No trace of sarcasm in it at all. Honest!

I let myself relax and realize he is right. It was going to be great. And I had been looking forward to going this vacation too. My guard is down once again. At least until he asks me about the upcoming exit on the highway.

“Are you going to stop at the Tim Horton’s coming up?”

I’m wondering if this is a trick question. You see my hubby has read “The Wealthy Barber” and all those financial books that say if you saved what you spend on designer coffee each day you’d have a fortune. Dh takes it seriously. He hates it when I buy a coffee anywhere. Why would you when you can make your own at home he thinks? Of course he doesn’t drink Coffee so it is no problem for him to give it up.

I have made myself a cup a tea for the road. In an old refillable mug from Disney. You know the "Year of a Million Dreams one". Of course that year was really two but who am I to question the Math Logic of Disney-me a lmere kindergarten teacher.

Since I had my tea there was no need for me to get a cup of coffee. He has seen me drink from the cup. We are just 10 minutes from home. Why would I need to get a cup of coffee now?

It's not that I don't like coffee. I do. I like Tea too. When I order from Tim Horton’s I especially like half decaf coffee and half hot chocolate. You see I can’t drink caffine after 5pm or so. It really keeps me up. Now if I need to stay awake then I will drink it but since I was already excited enough. I was on my way Disney. Who needs caffine to get excited about that? There was no danger of me falling asleep at the wheel.

There was a danger of irritating my husband though. I know he hates it when I have a timmies (this is what we Canadian’s use to refer to Tim Horton’s products in an affectionate manner). So I don’t know why he asking if I’m going to stop there.

Is this a test? I know I’m already spending copious amounts of money on our weekend escapade do I dare put him over the top with a cup of coffee? I don’t know what the right answer to this riddle is so I decide to throw the question back in his pocket.

“Do you want to stop at Tim Horton’s?” Picture my eyes as wide as

“If we can.” He replies.

I search his inflection for any sign of how much danger I might be in. I decide to test the waters again.

“Is there something you want to get there?” I ask.

“No. I just have to go to the restroom.”

UGHHH! Not even 15 minutes on the road and the man needs to find a restroom.

I should have know it wasn’t a test. Men don’t set us up on tests. It’s the other way around. Geesh I need to relax a bit. This is no way to start out on our vacation. Just when I think I’m okay with it when he throws another curveball my way.

“You can pick up something at Timmie’s if you want. I have some money.”

Okay, it’s amazing I didn’t get us run over on the highway right then and there. I was shocked. Here was my husband suggesting I spend our hard earned cash on designer coffee. Wow. This sort of thing doesn’t happen often.

Let’s hope this happy go lucky mood lasts the whole weekend.

But what are the chances? I muttered to myself as I drove up to the door of the rest station and let Dh out.

I would be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind to take off and leave him. If only I had the guts to do a solo trip I might have.

Up next crossing the border. Do they actually let me in this time? Click here to find out.http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31909827&postcount=90

Diamondintheruff

05-14-2009, 08:02 PM

Happy Mother's Day my friend!!!!:flower3:

Thank you. Had a lovely day. Hope yours was as well.

I'm subbing too! I am so excited for your PTR, because it's an adults only trip AND you are staying at AKL. I am staying there in July and I feel like no one who stays there writes TR :rotfl: Subbing!

We will eventually get to AKL. I promise. Glad to have you along for the ride. Hope you have a wonderful trip and stay there yourself.

Oooh I hope you get to Target! I was really bummed that we didn't get there in May... but since we're renting a car in June I have my fingers crossed that we'll be able to make a stop!

I totally understand wanting to take it slow with your TR. Eagerly awaiting the next update though!:goodvibes

Oh, and... I think picking a studio based on Disney trips is a completely acceptable reason!:rotfl:

Welcome back!

I hope I get to Target too!

Eeoyre tried out the new studio last night. He really like the Ballet Mistress and she pulled me aside and told me she was impressed with him. So it looks like all systems go and that means soon I can start planning for another trip to Disney!

Tnkrbelle565

05-14-2009, 09:33 PM

Queenofallthings

05-15-2009, 11:30 AM

Oh my....you truly have the patience of a saint!!! Me...not so much!! My head would have been spinning around....ask Jasmine, she's seen it! I am one of those people (Jas calls me a freak) who checks 13 times on the way to the airport that I have our passports.....

I hope you got to Target.....I love love love that store!!!:lovestruc My best friend Brenda, her daughter Kayla, Jasmine and I are are heading to Fargo on Sunday for a 3 day getaway:cool1: I am not going to lie to you....I get down on my hands and knees and kiss the floor when we walk into Target:yay:

Jas is so excited...the girl has a slight obsession with Hollister and Abercrombie....I have heart palpitations when I see the amount of cloths she has to try on....then I get the look....you know the one....."but I really love it all mom"....:rolleyes1 And I do what I do, get out the 'ol credit card!!;)

Peg will be on here in no time saying I was the one that created this shopping crazed monster....errr daughter:scared1::scared1: I do love to shop, but only get that glazed eye look when we're in Grand Forks or Fargo...never get it here, no, here is a chore to shop!!:rotfl2: It's not a true shopping trip unless you have to clculate your purchases, hope to God you're within your $400 limit each, remember to get the exchange rate the day you leave, god knows it makes a difference.....and get to talk to the wonderful customs officers:scared:

Can't wait for more....I'll fill you in next week on our adventures!!!:flower3:

Lady Lallie

05-15-2009, 12:12 PM

I was absolutely cracking up at your description of waiting for your DH. :lmao: I would have been flipping out, kudos to you for seething on the inside. :thumbsup2

Nemo32

05-15-2009, 04:40 PM

I need more updates, please?

Hurry and get to the part where you are at the AKL AND IN WDW!!!! :goodvibes

tinkermamaof2

05-15-2009, 11:18 PM

Glad to see that you made it through the blockade of your children! A stop at Timmies to use the washroom? Hmmmm, doesn't sound familiar to me, my nerves grate when we are driving to the airport as my husband always has to stop after making me wait forever, I also try my best to be nice...you did a good job, I often lose my cool and feel very stressed when I try not to. I love my husband, but he drives me insane when we travel! I really hope you get to Target, my girls and I always stop there after we go to Galleria Mall, it's the best! Hope you are happy when you get to AKL!!!

Patti

purplepeg

05-19-2009, 12:17 AM

Well, well, well, another tr by Diamond. I am happy to be along for the ride:cool1:Now really get on with it already, I'm here and I know you were waiting for me before things really got started:rotfl2::rotfl2::lmao::lmao:

Ok, seriously, I would have killed my husband:scared1:And you know he was just trying to butter you up "letting" you get a Tim's:rolleyes1You are a better woman than I.

Now seriously, GET ON WITH IT!popcorn::

DearDaisyinDurham

05-19-2009, 12:23 AM

yes! they HAVE to let you in!! and your poor DH, if he thinks timmies is expensive what about starcrack??

Diamondintheruff

05-19-2009, 08:53 AM

You look a little shady to me so I'm guessing that you have problems at the border. But since I'm also a "read-ahead" kinda gal...I already looked at all your pics on FB so I know that you eventually get across ;) ;):rotfl2:

The border guards usually like to detain me and toy with me for a while. My paperwork for my student visa wasn't done properly and it will live to haunt me forever it seems.

Oh my....you truly have the patience of a saint!!! Me...not so much!! My head would have been spinning around....ask Jasmine, she's seen it! I am one of those people (Jas calls me a freak) who checks 13 times on the way to the airport that I have our passports.....

Better to check than to arrive empty handed I would think. Actually I know. I have forgotten it before!

I hope you got to Target.....I love love love that store!!!:lovestruc My best friend Brenda, her daughter Kayla, Jasmine and I are are heading to Fargo on Sunday for a 3 day getaway:cool1: I am not going to lie to you....I get down on my hands and knees and kiss the floor when we walk into Target:yay:

I liken the way I feel entering the double doors at Target to the "welcome to Disney" sign on the roadway entering Disney property.

Jas is so excited...the girl has a slight obsession with Hollister and Abercrombie....I have heart palpitations when I see the amount of cloths she has to try on....then I get the look....you know the one....."but I really love it all mom"....:rolleyes1 And I do what I do, get out the 'ol credit card!!;)

Just last week Eeoyre announced he wanted a T-shirt with Hollister on it. He has no idea what it is but wants it anyway. So I guess I will be feeling your pain soon.

Peg will be on here in no time saying I was the one that created this shopping crazed monster....errr daughter:scared1::scared1: I do love to shop, but only get that glazed eye look when we're in Grand Forks or Fargo...never get it here, no, here is a chore to shop!!:rotfl2: It's not a true shopping trip unless you have to clculate your purchases, hope to God you're within your $400 limit each, remember to get the exchange rate the day you leave, god knows it makes a difference.....and get to talk to the wonderful customs officers:scared:

I've got it down to a science now. When I go through the till at Target I make them ring up three or four seperate bills. All my clothes go on one bill where I shred the bill and tear off the tags immediately. The kids clothes go on another which I may declare or may not depending upon the overall spending and of course things that I must declare go on another.

Can't wait for more....I'll fill you in next week on our adventures!!!:flower3:

I was absolutely cracking up at your description of waiting for your DH. :lmao: I would have been flipping out, kudos to you for seething on the inside. :thumbsup2

If I flipped out everytime Dh drove me round the bend I'd be in the looney bin by now.

I need more updates, please?

Hurry and get to the part where you are at the AKL AND IN WDW!!!! :goodvibes

Impatient now aren't we? It's a short trip. I have to streeetch it out. But I will have an update tomorrow for you.

Glad to see that you made it through the blockade of your children! A stop at Timmies to use the washroom? Hmmmm, doesn't sound familiar to me, my nerves grate when we are driving to the airport as my husband always has to stop after making me wait forever, I also try my best to be nice...you did a good job, I often lose my cool and feel very stressed when I try not to. I love my husband, but he drives me insane when we travel! I really hope you get to Target, my girls and I always stop there after we go to Galleria Mall, it's the best! Hope you are happy when you get to AKL!!!

Patti

No matter how crazy Dh drives me I was determined not to let it undermine my thrill at being at Disney. I'm not a huge Galleria Mall fan. I used to love Steve and Barry's so years ago I would go but now I usually prefer the outlets. Apparently my DS10 Eeoyre is discovering Hollister and Abercrombie stuff so I guess I will have to take more side trips to Galleria again.

Well, well, well, another tr by Diamond. I am happy to be along for the ride:cool1:Now really get on with it already, I'm here and I know you were waiting for me before things really got started:rotfl2::rotfl2::lmao::lmao:

Ok, seriously, I would have killed my husband:scared1:And you know he was just trying to butter you up "letting" you get a Tim's:rolleyes1You are a better woman than I.

Now seriously, GET ON WITH IT!popcorn::

I love how the pot is calling the kettle black! "Get on with it" she says. Hummpht. Patience my dear, you know like I had to have waiting for your report to be finished. Oh wait. It's not finished yet is it?

All kidding aside. I promise to do an update weekly. Each week. I should be posting a new one tomorrow.

yes! they HAVE to let you in!! and your poor DH, if he thinks timmies is expensive what about starcrack??

Oh we don't mention the Star... companies name. When we go away for March Break there was a Star.... store practically next door. I had to save up "my" money to buy myself a treat each morning. It was best for our marriage if I didn't consume it in his presence. All our friends travelling with us loved to bug Dh with guesses at how much money I had wasted there so far this trip. It became a game of sort as in today she has spent enough to fill half a tank of gas. He's famous for his frugality in our circles. Of course when someone wants advice on saving money or a second opinion if something is a good price Dh is the first place they go.

purplepeg

05-19-2009, 04:05 PM

oh I do love to egg you on. But my report is almost finished, just the flights home now and that is just so sad!

lisalonglash

05-20-2009, 01:47 AM

So I'm reading your last installment and I'm thinking "how in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is her head not exploding holding all that in?!" :confused3 I'm telling you, you are WAY more patient than I am! :lmao: I'm glad you finally got on the road and I hope you REALLY enjoyed that surprise coffee :surfweb: I'm always surprised at how much cheaper Tim's is compared to Starbucks - I went to Tim's this evening to get English toffee coffee for me, a mocha for dh and a hot chocolate for ds#2 (so we didn't freeze to death watching ds#1's baseball game LOL) and the total was only just over $5.00! :eek::goodvibes

Can't wait for the next update! popcorn::

Diamondintheruff

05-20-2009, 01:47 PM

So we make a brief pit stop at Timmies. In Dh’s defense it was quick. I declined getting anything to drink as I had my homemade Tea and if my calculations were correct my Tea would require us to stop in an hours time anyway. I didn’t need to add any more liquid to the mix.

As I’m pulling away Dh casually mentions the Toy store around the corner.

“You know the Adult Toy Store is just around the corner.”

“Ahem..” I answer as casually as Dh.

“There are open until 9. Did you want to stop in?” He’s smiling now.

“How do you know how late they are open to?” I asked.

He just shrugged and continued smiling.:blush:

We bantered back and forth teasing each other until we…

I think I will just leave you guessing what became of that conversation. The imagination is a wondrous thing.

Although, I will tell you that even the mention of that store was enough to push Dh over to the “Happy Side”. He was in a great mood after that.

As we pulled back on to the 401(our major highway) I turned on the radio. The radio is usually a source of conflict between Dh and I. You see I like to listen to music while driving. I’ve been known to barrel down the freeway belting out dance tunes like I was auditioning for Canadian Idol.:mic:

Dh on the other hand prefers “talk radio”. He especially enjoys the show “Leaf Lunch”. As you can probably infer from the name it is an hour-long program at lunchtime devoted exclusively to the Maple Leaf Hockey Team. He will listen to podcasts of it.

Now, I haven’t gotten around to listening to podcasts on Disney yet. One of the main reasons being that-I often can’t get access to a radio. You see, I can’t stand more than one sound medium on at a time. So if the radio is on, I can’t have the television on as well.

Frequently as it is the case at my house that the kitchen computer will be playing one of Dh’s podcast, he will have the kitchen radio on and in the adjoining room the kids will have the television on. On a good day, I can hear Dh’s bathroom radio (he showers in the Manroom downstairs exactly under the kitchen) while I’m at the kitchen computer too. It’s just too much for my ears.

I find it funny that Dh will run around the house turning off lights to save money but ignores the sound outlet fact. How he can ignore me harping on him about it is yet another mystery.

Should any of the radios let out some static I go completely berserk. Static physically hurts me. You might as well be stabbing me with a knife. I can’t ignore it or work through it. Static drives me totally crazy. Driving up north to the cottage we start to lose radio stations to static. It’s a problem for me. I make sure it’s a problem for everyone else too.:laughing::laughing:

So, in case you couldn’t tell, the ownership of the radio while driving is a sore spot between Dh and I. Often the driver gets to do the choosing. So I often choose to drive.

Since it was my birthday trip and since I was driving, I decided to take command of it. I switched it on to one of my favorite pop music stations.

Just starting up was the song “I want to take a ride on your disco stick” by Lady Gaga (I believe). Dh hadn’t heard it before. He listens to the words in songs. Me, I just sing them. I hadn’t really paid attention to these words. So when Dh starts questioning the wording and in light of our conversation about the Adult Toy store it all seems so very very funny. We head into Toronto breaking out in laughter about our marketing plans for a “disco stick”.
:rotfl::rotfl:

The ride through Metropolitan Toronto was uneventful. We got a little somber passing the Ford Plant in Oakville. We live close enough to the GM plant in Oshawa to have friends and neighbors that have been laid off already from there. Years ago Dh worked as a computer programmer in a factory that made car parts for the big 3. No matter how I feel personally about the politics behind the automotive industry it’s hard to deny the depression that many people who are no longer employed by the industry and its offshoots.

Around Hamilton, my Tea starts talking to me. We find another Tim Horton’s to stop at. This time I use the facilities and get myself a Hot Chocolate.:coffee: Dh doesn’t even bat an eyelash at this. Of course he doesn’t offer “his” money either. But I can scrounge up enough coin to cover a small drink. He drives this next round.

There are three bridges you can take to cross into the States. We opted for Queenston-Lewiston. It’s usually the busiest but since it was almost 11pm I figured we were safe. We pull into the Duty Free. We decide to get the double pack of Baileys. It’s got two bottles (in a lovely clear beach bag) for $40 Canadian.

I say we decided but really it was I. Dh really wanted to get some beer. I convinced him we needed the Bailey’s for my parents. They love it in their coffee in the morning at the cottage and this way we would be done with a present for them. He took the guilt bait and walked away from the beer. Dh doesn’t like coffee (I know I already mentioned this but just in case you forgot) and he doesn’t like Baileys either. I knew I had a good chance of scoring some of this Baileys while I was at the cottage so the idea was much more appealing to me.

We put the Baileys under our seats in a stow and go compartment. Totally love the stow and go. The rest of the van pretty much sucks but the stow and go rocks. At this point I had forgotten that we were now over our alcohol limit. I had an open bottle of coconut rum in my bag to take with us. Dh had a couple of beer in his bag. Actually at the time I didn’t know he had brought the beer. It was one of the few things he packed himself. That and his toothbrush and he is good to go. Sigh…

We decided I would be the one driving when we crossed the border. :drive: I’m better at the “smooching” thing. We double-checked that we had our passports, and our hotel and airline printouts. We were good to go.

I’m not fond of the narrow bridge thing. I have some vertigo issues. I try not to look down. There is another bridge we take in Kingston across the thousand islands that is worse though. Too high and too much water. At least it was dark so I tried to keep looking straight ahead. Dh did his little speech when we crossed the flagpoles at the top.

“No man’s land coming up. Get ready to commit a crime. It’s coming… it’s coming… Okay do a crime…. NOW! Opps we lost our chance.”

Every time we cross over he does a variation of this. Is there even such a thing as no man’s land? Maybe I need to bring up the subject on the next open mike on a talk radio show.

We ascend back down the bridge and can just make out the border gates. It’s always a surprise what you will find. It might be busy. It might not be. Now I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be busy but you never know.

I was right.

It wasn’t busy.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/2d892de3.jpg:blush:

One guard was open and one car ahead of us. At least once I’d like to skip my usual picking the slowest lane ritual. But there was only one lane. By default it was the slowest lane.

The guard did his best not to be in a good mood.

“How many people in the car and what are your nationalities?” doomed the guard.

“Two. My husband and myself. We’re Canadian.” I hand over our passports.

He swipes them. I cross my fingers. I have been pulled over many times. It was a faulty student visa I had a few years ago. Last year I bit the bullet and registered myself with Homeland security. I filled out buckets of paperwork. I got a letter back in the mail that could neither confirm nor deny that Homeland security had deemed me a security risk. They could only confirm that they got my paperwork. They already had my fingerprints.

I’ve crossed enough times to know the drill by now. After the guard swipes my passport, if he manually types in something then I’m doomed. It’s off to the “Big House” for questioning. If he just holds the passport and continues asking questions then I’m okay.

With batted breath I watched him swipe my passport computer code. I waited to see what he would do next.

He read something on the screen, furrowed his eyebrows and then swiped again.

Oh No.:sad2::worried:

They might have changed the process. It looks like this is an extra step and I resign myself to a couple hours wait next door.

I look longingly at my Hot Chocolate. I’d better not drink it. They don’t let you go to the bathroom while you wait in detainment. I guess they are afraid you might leave, ingest, hide, or otherwise destroy some evidence while you are waiting.

Mr. Double swipe moseys on out of his guardhouse.

“Where are you headed and what is the purpose of your trip?”

“It’s my 40th birthday and we’re going to Disneyworld!” I’m a little over excited with my response.

“How long are you staying and do you have anything to declare?” Mr. I’m in capable of asking one questions at a time asks.

“Just the weekend and we picked up two bottles of Bailey at duty free as a present for my parents who are looking after our children”

Here comes the shocker. The guard smiles. Yes, he did. No guard who has ever sent me in for questioning has ever smiled at me.

This is a good sign.

“Let me get this straight. You are going to Disney and you aren’t taking your kids?” He asks.

“Yup” I replied.

“Well, I guess you better be buying them some big gifts cause I know my kids wouldn’t be speaking to me if the wife and I did that.”

With that remark he handed me back our passports, patted our car and sent us on our way with a “Have a good time and Happy Birthday” and a wink at Dh.

We made it through.

Yeah!:jumping1:

I waited until I was out of sight to do my happy dance of relief.

In truth there is not much time for it. For we didn’t have much time before we had to pull out the mapquest and look for the I90 or 290 or whatever. There are a bunch of exits on a bunch of roads that all have the same numbers in them and it confuses the heck out of me.

A minor spat with Dh took place over the GPS. I wanted to use it. He didn’t. He hasn’t spent much time with it. I won. It was my birthday trip after all. He started up the GPS. The calming tone of Richards voice was soon heard.

“Turn right and take the Highway,” coos Richard. All is well again. Or at least for a while. We cross the two bridges. Narrow one-lane bridges. We pay our toll too. I am familiar with this part of the drive.

Soon things stop looking familiar.:confused::confused:

“Where is Richard taking us?” I ask. Dh hasn’t been to Buffalo the amount of times I have. So it wouldn’t look familiar to him.

We hit another toll road. I don’t usually hit another one. I was confused. But I put my trust in Richard. Maybe it’s his English accent? He just seems so trustworthy, that I relax and just drive. It turns out he knew where he was going. We had to pay a toll of .15 cents though.

We had arrived at the Airport Hotel. It was 11:40 pm. So in case you haven’t guessed.

No Target for me. Sigh.:sad2:

We checked in. I picked this hotel because it has a big breakfast. Dh is just that much happier with a full tummy from breakfast. And one that he doesn’t have to pay extra for adds icing to the cake.

We unloaded the van and I skipped into the hotel lobby. Yes, me on the last day of 39th year skipped. Count this as Skip Number One. It happens again. I can’t remember the last time I skipped out of joy. I didn’t even realize I was skipping until Dh mentioned it. He probably thought I was skipping because we were checking into a hotel by ourselves. Sorry to disappoint him. It wasn’t the thought of being alone with him in a hotel that had me skipping. It was the thought that my journey to Disney had started that had me skipping. But I didn’t want to squash Dh’s good mood and point that out.

Our room was okay.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/bc1d6be4.jpg

Closer to the window you might be able to see my Hey's park bag. It's lime green. Dh carries a black one. I like it but lately have been noticing all the vera bradly bags. Not that I could get Dh to carry to one. I'm talking me. I like the look of them.

But back to my hotel description. Did I mention it was a Best Western? We had stayed here before so I knew what to expect. Not crazy about the smell of the cleaning products they use but since I wasn’t paying a whole lot of money and it was clean (with the free breakfast) I was happy.

I got organized for the morning. Dh turned on the TV and lounged on the King Bed.

I laid out our outfits for the next day, packed up our carry on luggage and sorted through our paperwork.

I have a tinkerbell folder to hold all our Disney stuff in.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/c31fa85d.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/052e9b90.jpg

Inside it is a tigger duotang with our flight and tonights hotel information as well as mapquest to and from the airport and hotel and a piglet duotang for our Disney Hotel and magic express information. I also have turqoise lined notebook I use as my journal to write down each day as it happens and a purple disney photo album that has become my Disney Bible. It might have been meant to be a photo album at one time but had been used as my Disney Bible for all our trips. It holds all my print outs from Tour Guide Mike, our daily plans and possible back up plans as well as sample touring pocket guides from the Unofficial Guide.

Just looking at them makes me happy.:love:

I wanted to go over tomorrow with Dh. I opened to tomorrow’s page and began.

“Tomorrow we will drive to the airport and park in lot A.” I started.

“Why aren’t we parking here and taking their shuttle like we did last time?” He asked.

“We’re saving $15 dollars by parking ourselves. And I have a coupon.” I answered waving it in my hand with a twinkle in my eye.

“A coupon eh.” Dh said mischievously with more than a twinkle in his eye. “That’s my kind of girl. Why don’t you bring your coupons and such over here where I can see them better” he suggested patting the bed beside him.

Knowing full well that it wasn’t our Disney plans on his mind I answered in my best school teacher’s voice “Not until you pay attention to the plans first.”

With a resigned look in his eyes he said “Fine.”

So we went over the plans for tomorrow and went to bed. There was even some sleeping involved. Click here to read about the next morning http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32015691&postcount=113

Diamondintheruff

05-20-2009, 02:05 PM

oh I do love to egg you on. But my report is almost finished, just the flights home now and that is just so sad!

Egg me on all want. I should warn you though Jedi is taking baseball this year and I've been working with him on his batting which means my pitching is getting better.

Don't be sad about ending your report. You have another trip to look forward to soon. Your first DVC trip. So far from Queenofallthings pre-trippie is sounds pretty action packed. By the by-Don't tell her but I'm so proud of her for getting online and running with her pre-trip. Just makes me want to burst. Of course, I try not to say nice things about her so let's just keep this between the two of us shall we?

So I'm reading your last installment and I'm thinking "how in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks is her head not exploding holding all that in?!" :confused3 I'm telling you, you are WAY more patient than I am! :lmao: I'm glad you finally got on the road and I hope you REALLY enjoyed that surprise coffee :surfweb: I'm always surprised at how much cheaper Tim's is compared to Starbucks - I went to Tim's this evening to get English toffee coffee for me, a mocha for dh and a hot chocolate for ds#2 (so we didn't freeze to death watching ds#1's baseball game LOL) and the total was only just over $5.00! :eek::goodvibes

Can't wait for the next update! popcorn::

Hey, I was writing the update as you were posting. This will be our first year with baseball. Jedi(DS6) is having a go at it. I used to splurge on Hot chocolate when I was watching Jedi and Cindy's (DD8) Hockey games. Baseball has to be warmer doesn't it? I know it's out in the elements but I'm afraid I will be a sit in the car parent when it's raining. I prefer Dance and Piano. They are warm and inside. I'm leaving baseball to Dh.

Dh found out that Tim Horton's gives the little guys free hot chocolate and tim bits after a practise (cause he was just in the drills section. They didn't have any games). Don't you know that Dh made Jedi get the hot chocolate and tim bits even if he didn't want them. Next year Jedi will be in novice Hockey and will be too old for the free stuff. Hope Dh has warned Jedi because he's gotten used to going there after Hockey.

Queenofallthings

05-20-2009, 02:27 PM

Yeah for getting across the border hassle free....Boo for not getting to Target:sad1:

I thought of you this past weekend when we went into Target....both Jasmine and I said "I wonder if Jewel got here when they were on their way to Disney"? We spent a considerable amount of time in the travel items section, I do love that section, it makes me smile;)

Great report so far, can't wait for more. :rolleyes1

lisalonglash

05-20-2009, 02:31 PM

“How do you know how late they are open to?” I asked.

He just shrugged and continued smiling.:blush:

We bantered back and forth teasing each other until we…

I think I will just leave you guessing what became of that conversation. The imagination is a wondrous thing.

Naughty, naughty boy :lmao:

Dh on the other hand prefers “talk radio”. He especially enjoys the show “Leaf Lunch”. As you can probably infer from the name it is an hour-long program at lunchtime devoted exclusively to the Maple Leaf Hockey Team. He will listen to podcasts of it.

Hockey - blech (oh, I'm such a bad Canadian :rotfl2:)

There are three bridges you can take to cross into the States. We opted for Queenston-Lewiston. It’s usually the busiest but since it was almost 11pm I figured we were safe. We pull into the Duty Free. We decide to get the double pack of Baileys. It’s got two bottles (in a lovely clear beach bag) for $40 Canadian.

Ooooh, Bailey's :love: and at duty-free prices too! :woohoo:

It wasn’t busy.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/2d892de3.jpg:blush:

Score! :thumbsup2

We made it through.

Whew! :cheer2:

No Target for me. Sigh.:sad2:

:sad2:

Inside it is a tigger duotang with our flight and tonights hotel information as well as mapquest to and from the airport and hotel and a piglet duotang for our Disney Hotel and magic express information. I also have turqoise lined notebook I use as my journal to write down each day as it happens and a purple disney photo album that has become my Disney Bible. It might have been meant to be a photo album at one time but had been used as my Disney Bible for all our trips. It holds all my print outs from Tour Guide Mike, our daily plans and possible back up plans as well as sample touring pocket guides from the Unofficial Guide.

You are SO organized! :worship:

“A coupon eh.” Dh said mischievously with more than a twinkle in his eye. “That’s my kind of girl. Why don’t you bring your coupons and such over here where I can see them better” he suggested patting the bed beside him.

Yep, sounds like my dh :rotfl: I guess it's a good thing that this continues to happen even after 15.5 years of marriage, right? :laughing: Way to delay him though! :lmao:

Can't wait for the next update! popcorn::

lisalonglash

05-20-2009, 02:34 PM

Baseball has to be warmer doesn't it?

Um ... sure, yep, way warmer, yep, sure it is :rolleyes1:lmao:

Dh found out that Tim Horton's gives the little guys free hot chocolate and tim bits after a practise (cause he was just in the drills section. They didn't have any games). Don't you know that Dh made Jedi get the hot chocolate and tim bits even if he didn't want them. Next year Jedi will be in novice Hockey and will be too old for the free stuff. Hope Dh has warned Jedi because he's gotten used to going there after Hockey.

I didn't know that! I'll bet my two are too old for that deal though :confused3 Your dh's frugal ways make me giggle - there are certainly similarities with my dh :laughing:

autumnpalm

05-20-2009, 09:47 PM

Just got caught up on your TR... it's so much fun to read! I feel like I'm right there with you guys.

Glad your border agent turned out to be a nice one.:goodvibes Love when that happens. Boo for no Target... you'll have to buy even MORE once you finally get there!:rotfl:

I love that you were skipping. That made me smile.:goodvibes

DearDaisyinDurham

05-20-2009, 10:32 PM

LOVED the update, too funny! Adult toys, Border crossings, Tigger folders, oh my!!
ETA: I want a Vera bag, too. You see so many pretty ones at WDW!

Queenofallthings

05-20-2009, 10:44 PM

LOVED the update, too funny! Adult toys, Border crossings, Tigger folders, oh my!!
ETA: I want a Vera bag, too. You see so many pretty ones at WDW!

What's a Vera bag:confused3 I'm thinking I need one though.....:guilty:

tinkerbell3747

05-21-2009, 12:05 AM

I am joining in! Just got all caught up and I am ready for more.....

DearDaisyinDurham

05-21-2009, 12:14 AM

What's a Vera bag:confused3 I'm thinking I need one though.....:guilty:

Isn't it CraZy what we see on the Dis! That we never knew we needed!! Let me know what patterns you all like!!!!

http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/ViewCategory.aspx?dept=400&

jelloarms

05-21-2009, 04:27 AM

Excellent read, as usual!:thumbsup2 I LoLed in real life at the part about the adult store.

Your husband makes me laugh. I thought I was the only one who really listened to lyrics in music. I too end up questioning the wording and when I go and look up what exactly the words mean, I end up in for a big surprise!

Like when Christina Aguilera and 3 other singers remade the song Lady Marmalade, I was really into the song but there was one lyric - "voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"

I had no idea what it meant and so I looked it up and boy was I surprised!

I can't wait to read more!

Diamondintheruff

05-21-2009, 08:43 AM

Hockey - blech (oh, I'm such a bad Canadian :rotfl2:)

Shh! Don't tell anyone. They might kick you out of the country!

You are SO organized! :worship:

Right back at you Ms. Iwatchedtheflightseverydayforlikesixmonths!

Yep, sounds like my dh :rotfl: I guess it's a good thing that this continues to happen even after 15.5 years of marriage, right? :laughing: Way to delay him though! :lmao:

You beat us. We'll be 13 years in June.

I didn't know that! I'll bet my two are too old for that deal though :confused3 Your dh's frugal ways make me giggle - there are certainly similarities with my dh :laughing:

If I don't laugh about it I'd cry.

Tim Hortons sponsers many "Timbits" teams. They are usually the starter age group so your kids are probably too old now. If they have a team shirt that says Timbits then they are entitled to the free hot chocolate (or small cold drink in the case of soccer) and timbit after their game.

Just got caught up on your TR... it's so much fun to read! I feel like I'm right there with you guys.

Thanks! Enjoying yours too. I was just showing one of the kids your pictures of the family suite and ASMu pool last night.

Glad your border agent turned out to be a nice one.:goodvibes Love when that happens. Boo for no Target... you'll have to buy even MORE once you finally get there!:rotfl:

I should have mentioned the need to buy more next time to Dh. That might have hurried him up.

I love that you were skipping. That made me smile.:goodvibes

I can't believe how many times I skipped this trip.

LOVED the update, too funny! Adult toys, Border crossings, Tigger folders, oh my!!
ETA: I want a Vera bag, too. You see so many pretty ones at WDW!

I have a big carryall bag that looks like a Vera bag. I almost bought one March break in the states but I wasn't fond of the only pattern they had in the style I wanted. Next year though.

Thanks for the link!

I love your new Signature!

What's a Vera bag:confused3 I'm thinking I need one though.....:guilty:

Did you ask Jasmine if she knows?

I am joining in! Just got all caught up and I am ready for more.....

:welcome: Glad you could be with us!

Excellent read, as usual!:thumbsup2 I LoLed in real life at the part about the adult store.

Wasn't sure if I should put that part in or not.

Your husband makes me laugh. I thought I was the only one who really listened to lyrics in music. I too end up questioning the wording and when I go and look up what exactly the words mean, I end up in for a big surprise!

Like when Christina Aguilera and 3 other singers remade the song Lady Marmalade, I was really into the song but there was one lyric - "voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"

I had no idea what it meant and so I looked it up and boy was I surprised!

I used to teach French so I was familiar with that particular song and it's lyrics.

Queenofallthings

05-21-2009, 01:40 PM

Isn't it CraZy what we see on the Dis! That we never knew we needed!! Let me know what patterns you all like!!!!

http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/ViewCategory.aspx?dept=400&

What would I do without my Dis friends:confused3 I am going to look and let you know which ones I like!!!! Thank you for the link:)

Queenofallthings

05-21-2009, 01:45 PM

I will ask Jasmine if she knows what a Vera bag is....won't I feel like a fool if she does:worried: She was after me for a Louis Vuitton bag last year for Christmas....yeah....cause I'm going to buy a 16year old an LV bag:rotfl

shellywalker

05-21-2009, 10:04 PM

Vera Bradley...and Coach are my FAVORITE bags! I just recently bought a Coach Hipster for vacation...and also the Vera Bradley Miller Bag for my carry on! I'm so pumped!!!! I'm a bag junky!

DearDaisyinDurham

05-21-2009, 11:49 PM

Vera Bradley...and Coach are my FAVORITE bags! I just recently bought a Coach Hipster for vacation...and also the Vera Bradley Miller Bag for my carry on! I'm so pumped!!!! I'm a bag junky!

:goodvibes you are so an enabler!! :rotfl2:

purplepeg

05-22-2009, 12:35 AM

Do you think the border guards have to take extra training on how not to smile even if you want to? I always get so stressed going through the border but am getting better the more I do it. I always smile real wide and am sugary sweet. It always kills me when I go across with the kids and I'm by myself not once have I ever been asked about a letter from dh for permission but without fail when we are returning to Canada, that's right, bring them back home, I ALWAYS get asked for the letter:lmao:Kinda late now isn't it? What exactly do the Canadian border guards want with that information? I'm on my way HOME!

Sorry you missed Target. Guess Dh figured since he missed the "toy store" you could miss Target:lmao:Men they are all the same are they not?

Love your organization. You'll make Queen proud. She's already done some of her index cards for August. Jasmine told me last year her mom would have rewritten some of mine because I had made a mistake and was too lazy to rewrite it, it was only two words! I suspect you'd be with Jasmine on that one?

Glad you got some "sleep".:rolleyes1

Queenofallthings

05-22-2009, 01:32 AM

lisalonglash

05-22-2009, 01:10 PM

Do you think the border guards have to take extra training on how not to smile even if you want to? I always get so stressed going through the border but am getting better the more I do it.

I think some of them DO take extra training - I think the course is called "how to freak people out who've done nothing wrong" :headache::laughing:

Organization is the key to happiness.....at least that's what I keep telling myself:yay: I do have to buy a 3 hole punch though, I can't get my airline itinerary into my duotang.....it's bothering me...hang on, maybe I am a little OCD:rolleyes1

Um ... yeah, you might be :lmao:

Shh! Don't tell anyone. They might kick you out of the country!

I know! Let's just keep that as our little secret :rotfl:

Right back at you Ms. Iwatchedtheflightseverydayforlikesixmonths!

Well, OK, true, but.... your organization skills are WAY above mine, your binder proves it! :thumbsup2

You beat us. We'll be 13 years in June.

An early Happy Anniversary to you for next month! :dance3:

Tim Hortons sponsers many "Timbits" teams. They are usually the starter age group so your kids are probably too old now. If they have a team shirt that says Timbits then they are entitled to the free hot chocolate (or small cold drink in the case of soccer) and timbit after their game.

No Timbit team here - they're in Little League, no sponsors :sad2:

:goodvibes you are so an enabler!! :rotfl2:

::yes:: :rolleyes1 :laughing:

Tnkrbelle565

05-22-2009, 03:02 PM

DearDaisyinDurham

05-23-2009, 12:59 AM

I was completely following along until I got to the word you used for the Tigger folder. What is that word???

BTW, that convo your husband you had about the toy store was completely filthy in my mind...you should be ashamed of youself- this is a family board ;) :lmao:

I feel so bad that you missed Target. I was to go for you and send you something stupid from the $1 Spot!

Did you declare ALL ;) your purchases my dear? :rotfl2:

Tinkerbelle, I hadn't heard of a duotang 'til I moved here. And the first time I heard a juice box called a Tetra pack, I was like WTH? :confused:

Diamondintheruff

05-24-2009, 10:13 AM

Sorry you missed Target. Guess Dh figured since he missed the "toy store" you could miss Target:lmao:Men they are all the same are they not?

Interesting, So purplepeg thinks we missed the Adult Store. I just said I would leave it up to your imaginations whether we did or whether we didn't.

Organization is the key to happiness.....at least that's what I keep telling myself:yay:

Good Mantra.

but.... your organization skills are WAY above mine, your binder proves it! :thumbsup2

Could all those who have a secret green binder stand please!

An early Happy Anniversary to you for next month! :dance3:

Thanks!

I was completely following along until I got to the word you used for the Tigger folder. What is that word???

Duotang. Pronounced Do-o-tang. It's a folder with 3 metal prongs in it for paper. You have them you just don't call them this.

BTW, that convo your husband you had about the toy store was completely filthy in my mind...you should be ashamed of youself- this is a family board ;) :lmao:

Apparently you have an active imagination too!

I feel so bad that you missed Target. I was to go for you and send you something stupid from the $1 Spot!

Sweet thanks for thinking of me.

Did you declare ALL ;) your purchases my dear? :rotfl2:

So according to Daisy we did go in and buy stuff at the Toy store. Interesting.

Diamondintheruff

05-26-2009, 12:44 AM

Got my photopass CD today! I shared it with a friend.

Here is a teaser dedicated to those of you who feel I am taking too darn long getting to the part when I'm in Disney and you know who I'm talking about!

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/2a4fa9c3.jpg

I've almost finished my next chapter. I meant to post it tonight but my computer took too long loading my photopass pictures. So it will be up Wednesday instead.

Diamondintheruff

05-27-2009, 10:09 PM

“Yeah well next time it’s your turn.” Booms a loud male voice coming from the hallway.

I open my eyes and try to focus on the alarm clock to check out what time it is. Only the clock isn’t on my side of the bed like at home. I had forgotten in my fatigue that I'm in a Hotel room. So the clock is on Dh’s side. This involves a lot more commitment to movement than I actually want to do in order to check out the time. It can't be wake up time yet. I'm still too tired. I sit up to read the clock over my lump of a husband.

The clock reads 4:36.:scared1:

Humph. Too early for me but apparently not to early for Mr. Boomingvoice in the hallway. He continues to banter back and forth with someone for a few minutes. I come to realize that while the Best Western may be clean it is not soundproof. Even Dh wakes ups.

“What time is it?” He asks because like me he thinks the clock is on my side, which makes me the holder of the time.

“4:30”

“Ugh” He mumbles and then suddenly opens his eyes as smiles sweetly and says “Happy 40th Birthday!”.

I melt a bit.:lovestruc

I'm still tired but not enough to go back to sleep. So I try to cuddle up into him and hope his sleepyness is catching. I can hear his breathing settle rhythmically and know he’s where I’m not. Asleep.:cloud9:

I wish I could slip back into dreamland. I’m not a great sleeper. According to my Mother I never was. After three kids and many nights of broken sleep my body and I have come to an agreement. It needs 4 hours of straight sleep. It’s programmed not to ask for more than that. Now that the kids are older and sleeping better (notice I didn’t say sleeping through the night) I really need to re-program my body. But that wasn’t going to happen today. I was wide-awake.

I lay quietly in bed for some time willing myself to go back to sleep.

I started thinking about all the things I had planned for this weekend and soon I was too excited to even think about sleeping. How could I possibly sleep when in a few hours I would be on my way to Disney?

I looked over at Dh who was having no trouble sleeping. Around 5:30 I quietly slipped into the shower.

By the time our wake up call at 7am I was fully dressed and had re-read all the restaurant menus I had printed out and highlighted my choices for the weekend.

I greeted Dh brightly-probably too enthusiastically for the time of day.

“It’s my birthday and I’ll go to Disney if I want to, go to Disney if I want, go to Disney if I want to” I sang to the tune of “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to”.

He put a pillow over his head. I’m not sure if it was my singing or my energy he objected to.

“Come on Hon, It’s time to get up and go. I’ve been waiting….” I whined, pouted and I even crossed my arms with a huff. Hmm.. I wonder where the kids get this from?

With reluctance he got up and showered. Why is it that the men take so much longer to get ready?

All the while he had to listen to comments from me like “Did I tell you space mountain was closed for refurbishment?” and “Don’t forget we get to order appetizers and desert since we’re on the deluxe menu”.

After what seemed like forever we were ready to head down for breakfast.

Breakfast is something else that Dh takes longer at than me. He’s not one to be rushed while eating. Since I knew we weren’t having a real meal until dinnertime when we would be in WDW :cool1: I encouraged him to make as many trips back up to the breakfast buffet that he liked. I knew it would be worth it to keep him happy even though it was killing me. I watched the news program they had on the TV and read some of the newspaper. Somewhere between watching him consume his fourth and fifth helping I had all I could take. I could wait no longer. I left him there eating breakfast and went on with my day.

I packed up our luggage, made a final sweep of the hotel room and loaded up the car. I was trying to maximize our time and keep Dh as happy as possible. Usually the loading of the luggage and the final hotel room sweep are done by him. Usually I make a point of not doing any jobs or chores that fall into Dh's realm. But today waiting for him to get around to doing his usual chores meant losing out on Target time.

My plan was to hit Target this morning before our flight. Our flight left around noon so we didn't have to be at the airport until after 10. I know Target opens at 8am so I figured I could spend about an hour there. Which by the way is about 55 minutes too long for Dh. Why I didn’t think about leaving him at the hotel room and going myself I’m not sure. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say.

Finally Dh pronounced himself done. He took a banana with him just in case. I’m thinking he’s going to have to leave the banana in the Van all weekend and it’s going to smell up the place but I didn’t want to argue with him. I let him have his banana. I would deal with this later. I needed Dh to be in a happy mood when I was about to go on a spending spree at Target.

In fact I had yet to mention the idea of a morning trip to Target to Dh yet. I waited until he was totally stuffed and happy before hitting him up with it.

"I was thinking that since we're all packed up and ready to go that we could quickly go to Target now."

"You were, were you?"

Dh responded with a witty remark about going back to our room and getting our money's worth but I was determined to get my Target trip in. He relented. Actually he wanted to price compare some electronic stuff anyhow.

So we checked out and plugged in our GPS. Richard quickly found us the closest Target. Did I mention my fondness for Richard? The fact that he can locate the closest Targets and such just endears him closer to my heart.

Here is a picture of the Best Western. You can see the shuttle in the driveway they use to take you to the airport if you park there.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/a80818fe.jpg

Here's Dh and I eager to head out shopping. Okay so maybe it was just me that was eager.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/f7c13019.jpg

When we got to the van Dh suddenly remembered something. He rushed around bags looking for it. It was a note from the kids wishing me a Happy Birthday.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/eeb47cad.jpg

Very sweet. I read them, hugged them to my heart and then gave Dh a big hug.:hug:

"You know it's not too late to get our Hotel room key back again? You sure you would rather go shopping?" Dh asked hopefully.

Not a chance buster. I had Target on the brain.

Target was about 10 minutes away from the Best western. It was 8:25 am when I first saw the Red sign.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/f1504f85.jpg

Ahhh.

Seeing the Target sign is almost as exciting as the first castle sighting for me. I love Target that much.

Once I entered those double doors and grabbed my plastic cart I was off. I ignored Dh. I have no idea what he did or where he was for my time there. I know he didn’t eat his banana. Frankly I didn’t care what he did. This was my time. I flew from department to department filling up the cart with potential purchases. Stuff for me, the kids, the house. You name it-if it tickled my fancy I put it in the cart.

I drive Dh crazy when I shop so it was just as well that he stayed away. He doesn’t like my theory to shopping. I grab anything that looks like a possibility and put it in my cart. I sort through the stuff later. So by the end of my store tour I have a pretty full cart. It never fails to give Dh a coronary looking at the pile of stuff in my cart.:eek:

I don’t mean to buy everything in the cart though. I still need to sort. So when I’m back at the front I grab another empty cart, move off to the side and then I start deciding whether the things are worth buying or not. I don’t have to double back through the store looking for something later. It’s all in my cart with me. It’s kind of like a power shop. Anyhow it works for me and my thinking patterns. I feel it saves time. Dh feels otherwise. But then, he doesn’t like shopping anyhow so his opinion doesn’t count. And it is my birthday. So there. Is there a smilie that sticks their tongue out?

That trip I ended up with a new pair of school shoes for me, black flats that are still sporty enough for gym class but dressy enough not to look like running shoes and a new pair of Capri pants. I bought a few items for each of the kids (mostly sporty stuff like the boys got shorts made out of the quick dry material and PJ’s). A couple food items that we can’t get in Canada like Cookie Crisp cereal, Rice Chex, Cheery Coke, rainbow goldfish and pink icing covered animal crackers. Nothing for Dh though. All in all I spent a little over $120 American. Not too bad for a power shop. But I need to backtrack. There was a problem with my purchase.

I swiped my card through the machine at the cash myself and waited for the screen to show the rectangle I needed to sign my John Henry to. I saw Dh hovering nearby. Good he wasn’t at the cash to see the actual total.

I was hoping to keep the actual amount from Dh at least for now. Eventually he will see the bill but since we were on vacation mode we don’t talk prices. It makes our vacation all that much more enjoyable for us all to save the money talk until we get home. Even the kids know the drill. Let Mommy pay. It's sort of an unspoken agreement.

It waited for some time for the familiar "sign here" screen to arrive. :rolleyes1

It never came.

Instead I got an "Oh dear" from the cashier.

This is never a good sign.

It seems our joint credit card wasn't working. :headache:

I had to call Dh over to pay for it with his business card.

I was mad at him thinking he hadn't paid our latest credit card bill. Of course we were also worried that someone might have used our card and now it was over it's limit. We weren't very pleasant with each other.

We called the credit card company from the store. It seems that our last month's bill was paid (I had some apologizing to do to Dh) but that there was recent suspicious activity on it. For my own security the credit card company was putting a hold on the card. The suspicious activity turned out to be me. I had been out to Seattle and Vancouver lthe weekend before and now here I was in Buffalo New York trying to use it again. I had to answer some security questions to get the hold released. Then I informed them that we were heading to Disneyworld. I needed my card to while in Disney. The credit card company noted our Disney vacation in my account. They said it would be ready to use.

With our Target purchases loaded into the Van and my apologies expressed we took off for the airport again.:woohoo:

Guess which one of us declared their hunger? Click here to find out http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32139887&postcount=125

Tnkrbelle565

05-27-2009, 10:33 PM

Guess which one of us declared their hunger?

The one who ate the banana??! ;)

Oh I'm so glad you got to Target. i was feeling really selfish that I go there several times a week :lmao:

You and the DH don't get too much alone time do you??? ;)

lisalonglash

05-28-2009, 12:17 PM

If it's any consolation, I wouldn't have been able to sleep either :banana: I laughed so hard at the "wink" references - that is SO my dh too! :lmao:

Woohoooo for you getting to Target!! I've never tried your cart approach, but it seems like it would work :thumbsup2

What a cute card your children made for you - child-made stuff is the best! :goodvibes

My vote for who was hungry is also your dh - good thing they have food at the airport! :rotfl2:

Nemo32

05-28-2009, 01:38 PM

Update please?

purplepeg

05-29-2009, 12:02 AM

I think I would have been having heart failure at the credit card problem:scared1: I'm all for security but don't get between me and my shopping:sad2:

:sad2:Not sleeping, man those kids owe us don't they? First they make us fat and uncomfortable and then wake us every night, umpteen times, and then when they finally do sleep we're still getting up because we don't know any other way. I've finally started sleeping better but I sure don't sleep well in a strange bed so even when I'm exhausted in Disney, I still don't sleep well. It's sad:sad2:

Can't wait for morepopcorn::

declansdad

05-29-2009, 10:37 AM

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/052e9b90.jpg

I do believe that our Disney drawer has all of these books and duotangs as well. Some of the Dollar Stores finest I think. :goodvibes

This is a great trip report so far. I can't believe that your kids let you go knowing where you were headed. We still haven't told Declan about last summer.

I seem to be the only male on this trip report so I thought I would leave out the adult store thing.

BTW - has anyone ever told you your dh looks like a younger Russ Howard?

Diamondintheruff

05-30-2009, 11:25 AM

The one who ate the banana??! ;)

Don't let this guy hear us talk about eating Bananas. :banana:

Oh I'm so glad you got to Target. i was feeling really selfish that I go there several times a week :lmao:

I was pretty determined to get there. The bullseye was calling to me.

You and the DH don't get too much alone time do you??? ;)

No I guess we don't. We're usually too busy shuffling the kids back and forth to their activities to notice.

If it's any consolation, I wouldn't have been able to sleep either :banana: I laughed so hard at the "wink" references - that is SO my dh too! :lmao:

I debated how and even if I should put the references in. Glad you enjoyed it.

Woohoooo for you getting to Target!! I've never tried your cart approach, but it seems like it would work :thumbsup2

Try it-You might like it.

What a cute card your children made for you - child-made stuff is the best! :goodvibes

Definately!

My vote for who was hungry is also your dh - good thing they have food at the airport! :rotfl2:

It seems he was always hungry for one thing or another on this trip (wink wink)[/QUOTE]

Update please?

Since you asked nicely. I'm working on it. Got a another dance competition this weekend to get through first.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=purplepeg;32033311]I think I would have been having heart failure at the credit card problem:scared1: I'm all for security but don't get between me and my shopping:sad2:

You know it!

:sad2:Not sleeping, man those kids owe us don't they? First they make us fat and uncomfortable and then wake us every night, umpteen times, and then when they finally do sleep we're still getting up because we don't know any other way. I've finally started sleeping better but I sure don't sleep well in a strange bed so even when I'm exhausted in Disney, I still don't sleep well. It's sad:sad2:

Maybe you'll find the DVC beds more comfortable?

Can't wait for morepopcorn::

Coming up soon!

[QUOTE=declansdad;32036650]I do believe that our Disney drawer has all of these books and duotangs as well. Some of the Dollar Stores finest I think. :goodvibes

My Tigger folder needs to be retired. I somehow got a rip down it last trip. I've been searching for a new one but so far not happy with my local dollar store finds. Course that doesn't stop me from walking out of the store with $20 worth of stuff that I think I might need.

This is a great trip report so far. I can't believe that your kids let you go knowing where you were headed. We still haven't told Declan about last summer.

In the kids defense they did get a super charged weekend with their grandparents who spoilt them silly.

I'm just not good with keeping Disney related secrets. I would have leaked it out.

I seem to be the only male on this trip report so I thought I would leave out the adult store thing.

:laughing:

BTW - has anyone ever told you your dh looks like a younger Russ Howard?

I had to look him up. Curling guy right? No one has ever mentioned that. He used to get Anthony Edwards alot and when he has his winter beard he gets Chris Elliot. I will pass that on to Dh.

autumnpalm

05-30-2009, 11:28 PM

Yaaaay, you got to Target!!!

Oh my gosh, what is Cookie Crisp cereal? That sounds like something I NEED.:rotfl:

The birthday card from your kids is too cute!:goodvibes

Diamondintheruff

05-31-2009, 10:32 AM

Yaaaay, you got to Target!!!

Oh my gosh, what is Cookie Crisp cereal? That sounds like something I NEED.:rotfl:

The birthday card from your kids is too cute!:goodvibes

Oh all those sugar morning rushes you've been missing out on. Jedi (DS6) is having some this morning. It's a weekend/cottage thing in our family to be able to consume sugar cereal in the morning.

Here's some pictures of what the cereal looks like and the box it comes in.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Cookie-crisp-above.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512HzgqggwL._SL500_AA280_PIbundle-6,TopRight,0,0_AA280_SH20_.jpg

vinu

06-03-2009, 02:54 AM

I had been through your links and thanks for your info, its a day that we all remember our childhood birthday keep that as a memories in our life.

akayek31

06-03-2009, 12:52 PM

I am finally back in the internet zone at our hotel that is not on Disney Property (I miss WDW :sad1: ) and have caught up with your report. I am so glad you finally got to target. I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't go to target when I wanted :) Can't wait to read more.

DearDaisyinDurham

06-05-2009, 02:00 AM

All caught up, hurray for Target, good update, you're almost :yay: ready to fly to the palm trees. and YES I'll say it, my imaginary trip would have me going in the store so YES you went in the store! INTERESTING, you bet!! :lmao:

Diamondintheruff

06-05-2009, 06:00 AM

“How can you be hungry after that huge breakfast you just ate?” I quizzed Dh.

:confused3

“Well, it was a couple of hours ago”

“No, you were still at the table two hours ago. Here eat this banana.” I tossed it towards him.

As he peels the banana we see the golden arches looming in the distance.

“How about we go through the drive-thru at McDonalds and I’ll just pick up a little something to tie me over?” Dh suggests sweetly.

Argh!

I turn into the drive-thru as he thanks me.

It will be eight hours until our first ADR and I suppose stopping at Mickey D’s is cheaper than whatever we would pick up at the airport.

Dh gets a McSkillet Burito and I get a Bacon and Egg Biscuit. This is a treat for me, as we don’t have biscuits in our McD’s in Canada. Just the breakfast sandwiches using English muffins. I pretend to be annoyed with Dh for causing us a delay but really I enjoyed my biscuit immensely.

:ssst:Shh! Don’t tell him.

We found our way to the Buffalo airport without any further delays. We almost stopped for gas but decided to wait until our return to do that. I was getting anxious about getting there. We parked in Long Term parking Lot A. It was pretty busy. We had to drive around to find a spot. A shuttle pulled right up as we exited the Van. I waved them away as I still had sort our new purchases and stow them under the seats in our stow and go compartments.

While I was sorting another shuttle drove by. The driver waited for us, as he was empty anyway. Before we left I took a picture of Cindy’s (DD8) penguin. She wanted us to take the penguin with us to Disney and although I had thoughts of writing a trip report with pictures of the penguin all over epcot in the end we decided to put penguin in charge of the van. She stayed in the front window and kept watch.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/0ac02633.jpg

Checking in took longer than I expected. I had neglected to notice (until last night) that my last name was spelt wrong for my flights. It was missing a letter. Just one. We had to wait for the agent to rectify it.

We crossed the security gate with over an hour to kill before our flight left. Dh made some business calls while I chilled out. Here I am chilling.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/f694def9.jpg

At one point I tried to call home to check in with the kids. It was a P.D. day so my kids had it off, but there was no answer and since I remembered I hadn’t left my parents directions on how to retrieve messages I just hung up. I learnt later they were at the Toy store. Poor kids getting dragged out shopping with their grandparents. Each of them got a new Webkinz as well as a few other things.

Our flight took off on time. I love Jetblue’s individual Television sets.:happytv::happytv:

I watched Law and Order Criminal Intent. I am a fan of all the Law and Order series. Years ago when we first married we used to watch the old episodes that came on at 11 pm. If justice was served I could get to sleep but if the bad guy got away I was up for hours. Dh finally put a stop to it and we started watching old “Friends” reruns instead.

I also watched “Making the Grade”. At least I think that was what it was called. It’s about a bunch of kids in an Arts High School like Fame. It kept reminding me of my Eeoyre (DS10). He’s going to a month long try out for Canada’s National Ballet School this July. It’s a full time school, which includes professional Dance Training from grade 6 to grade 12. The school officially calls the four weeks in the summer a “camp” but I’m more inclined to call a spade a spade. He went last year too. It was their preview of him. He was too young to start their school but they make room to take a “peak” at what is coming up for them. I know I mentioned this on last year’s trip report too.

The good news is that the Ballet School invited back for this year so that means they want him. The bad news is that this means the school wants him. Which opens up a whole new can of fish. I want him too. I like him. I’d miss him and miss out on so much of his life if he left to go live in Toronto with my parents. It’s hard to deny him this chance as well. Dh and I have much different feelings on the subject. He said even when I was pregnant with the kids that no matter how good they were at Hockey, (yes, and more Canadian references. Sorry!) That the kids were not going to be farmed out to other families just to follow teams around. They were going to live at home and if we had to we would drive a bit farther to get them the best Hockey coaching around but no child of his was going to leave our home until college or University.

Anyhow, all these parenting thoughts were going through my mind on our flight to Disney. I didn’t talk much to Dh.

There was a moment at the beginning of the flight when the flight crew asked who was going to Disney and we all cheered. The Disney excitement bubble came floating to the surface and I squeezed Dh’s hand. But it didn’t last long. The call of the individual television screens was too strong to ignore.

Before long Dh was off in his own world watching who knows what on his TV. Probably sports. Maybe even highlights of a minor hockey game filled with boys that have left their parents houses to live elsewhere and pursue their dream. *Ahem*

We had an all male crew on our Jetblue flight. Not that it was a big a plane but still you don’t see that happening much. Although I didn’t notice what Dh was watching on his screen I did make time to watch the in-flight crew do their job. I may be married but I can still appreciate the scenery.

The flight was pretty smooth. I did partake in some of Jetblue’s famous blue chips. Here is my first “Foodie” porn for you.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/948951e1.jpg

We had a smooth landing and we took off to pick up our luggage at the baggage claim. I feel safer picking up our luggage. We didn’t have a lot of time to waste today and getting our own luggage might have slowed us down a bit but I still think it was worth it.

We made our way to the magic express counter. Why oh why is it so far away? And why don’t they have better signage for it?

On our way through the airport I started to notice the cheerleading squads. Dh says he didn’t notice. I’m not sure how he could mistake the team jackets and bags but he maintains that he only has eyes for me. Sweet. I guess after all this time he knows not to acknowledge noticing anyone else but me. I’m sure he looks (as I just confessed to earlier) but we don’t share it with each other.

There was a really long lineup at the desk. It was outside of the queue. I waited in it and Dh, well; again I don’t know what he did. At one point he was on the floor doing hamstring stretches. See.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/6f479faa.jpg

Here is a closer picture of him. You can see our luggage beside him. I love my red and white polka dot bag. I had picked it up just for this trip.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/d79d76aa.jpg

The rest of the time he was probably NOT noticing the cheerleading groups.

I did help a few people in line. I tried not to listen in on any conversations but there were a few newbies with totally misguided information. I couldn’t help myself. Things like saying “Fantasmic” was at MK, and that only people staying at Disney resorts could get fastpasses. Usually I ignore these off the wall sort of stuff thinking that the longer these people who don’t bother researching before they arrive stand around in the park staring at the maps trying to figure out what to do next means more time I have on the rides but I was feeling generous. And it was a long line with lots of cheerleading captains registering their entire squads.

Boy was I glad I wasn’t staying at POP anymore. There wasn’t one cheerleading team at AKL. I was happy to note that the magic express put the whole team on a different bus after they were checked in. So I knew I wasn’t even going to put on a bus with them (Yeah). The teams actually lined up to the side of the carpet and seemed to take a back entrance out to their bus. Once again I was surprised by Disney’s or in this case Mear’s efficiency in handling the large groups.

Finally I made it up to the front.

I got my first “Happy Birthday” from the CM at the desk. We were directed to the red carpet. I almost lost Dh on the way to the carpet from the desk. Which is funny if you know how small an area that is. You see, Dh who was NOT noticing the cheer teams heard me say, “We’re up. Let’s go” and just followed along behind a team heading out the side door to a bus.

He snapped out of it and rejoined me. He took this picture of me crossing the red carpet.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/f23d114f.jpg

I turned the camera off and we found the AKL line. Now I always guessed that Disney was quicker with the deluxe resort bus loading. I’ve waited in line for 20 minutes or so in both a value and a moderate but made note that the Deluxe resorts never seemed to have a backlog.

Well, I didn’t even have time to turn my camera back on to take Dh’s picture with the signage before a CM was motioning us to load a bus. We made them wait until I finished taking the picture though. I figured I needed it for this trip report.

Here's the picture.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/560dfe3a.jpg

We followed the CM out to the bus and I was disappointed to see that it was just a plain Mear’s coach and not a Disney express vehicle. I was looking forward to the video. Instead we listened to heavy metal on the radio. Somehow listening to AC/DC and whitesnake just doesn’t scream I’m on my way to Disney. It just seemed so wrong.

I tried to cheer myself up though. After all the sun was shinning, all our luggage had made it, it was my birthday and we were on our last leg of our journey to WDW! Woo Hoo!

Here is the official sign as we entered Mickey’s country.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/9210e6b9.jpg

I was getting pretty pumped up by this time. Once again, I grabbed Dh’s hand and felt those familiar Disney excitement bubbles coursing through my veins. My eyes teared up it was hard to focus to take the AKL sign.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/0451d28a.jpg

Up next, we check in. My actual birthday dinner-Where did I choose to spend it? Click here to read on. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32213464&postcount=138

Diamondintheruff

06-05-2009, 06:20 AM

I had been through your links and thanks for your info, its a day that we all remember our childhood birthday keep that as a memories in our life.

Your welcome. Thanks for reading.

I am finally back in the internet zone at our hotel that is not on Disney Property (I miss WDW :sad1: ) and have caught up with your report. I am so glad you finally got to target. I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't go to target when I wanted :) Can't wait to read more.

Can't wait to hear all about your trip! I miss WDW too! Thinking of going to the Great Wolf Lodge this summer but it is so NOT the same that it's depressing. Sigh.

All caught up, hurray for Target, good update, you're almost :yay: ready to fly to the palm trees. and YES I'll say it, my imaginary trip would have me going in the store so YES you went in the store! INTERESTING, you bet!! :lmao:

Ha Ha. I knew it!

Hope you had a good trip. Are you going to share it with us? I need a link if you are. I'm trying to cut down on my Dis time (report cards, and I'm taking a course) so I am not allowing myself to go to the main boards and look.

Tnkrbelle565

06-05-2009, 11:57 AM

OH no! I forget where you were spending your birthday? MK??? Epcot??? Oh no!!!

DearDaisyinDurham

06-05-2009, 08:22 PM

Hmmmm....... birthday dinner, birthday dinner
It COULD be at Boma or Jiko, that way you could really check out AKL

BUT....I have a feeling it's at MK, as that's where the magic begins!!

And a LaZy aside, my new mini mini TR is just tacked on the end o' my old one .....

Lady Lallie

06-06-2009, 12:56 AM

I'm caught up! Yay!

I am so happy that you made it to Target.

I have a sudden urge to fly Jet Blue, the tvs and the blue chips are very enticing. :lmao:

What a bummer that you didn't get a real Disney bus with no video! :sad2:

akayek31

06-06-2009, 12:27 PM

I miss that Welcome to Disney sign :sad1:

Queenofallthings

06-06-2009, 11:02 PM

Phew...thank goodness you posted....I was going into withdrawal!!!!

Can't wait for more....patience is not a virtue with me....I know you're not surprised!!:lmao:

Diamondintheruff

06-07-2009, 12:36 PM

OH no! I forget where you were spending your birthday? MK??? Epcot??? Oh no!!!

Here's another hint. I celebrated on Disney Property.:goodvibes in a sit down restaurant. No counter service for my 40th B-day.

Hmmmm....... birthday dinner, birthday dinner
It COULD be at Boma or Jiko, that way you could really check out AKL

BUT....I have a feeling it's at MK, as that's where the magic begins!!

And a LaZy aside, my new mini mini TR is just tacked on the end o' my old one .....

We did go to Boma (I'm not an adventerous eater so Jiko didn't appeal to me).

I'll put you down for MK as your guess.

I have checked out your Lazy Lady mini mini TR!

I'm caught up! Yay!

I am so happy that you made it to Target.

I have a sudden urge to fly Jet Blue, the tvs and the blue chips are very enticing. :lmao:

What a bummer that you didn't get a real Disney bus with no video! :sad2:

I was meaning to post my blue chips pic on your trippie but photobucket and I are apparently not speaking. :confused3

If I wasn't in such a rush for my ADR I might have said I'll wait for the next real bus.

I miss that Welcome to Disney sign :sad1:

I almost missed it with my camera. I had it turned on to take the picture and after a certain amount of time it turns itself off.

Phew...thank goodness you posted....I was going into withdrawal!!!!

Can't wait for more....patience is not a virtue with me....I know you're not surprised!!:lmao:

At least I'm faster at posting than Peg.

It's been a heck of a week. All those end of the year celebrations at school and with the extracurricular activities. It's just been action packed.

Nemo32

06-07-2009, 04:38 PM

Queenofallthings

06-07-2009, 08:55 PM

purplepeg

06-07-2009, 09:11 PM

Ok, I will give you that, you are faster than Peg, as am I, but I think it's because I don't have little ones anymore. Most evenings Jasmine is out with friends or studying, so really what else do I have to do:lmao:

That was for Peg!!!!

Oh aren't you sweet trying to butter me up! Remeber it's my birthday next week, I'll be expecting a lrger than normal gift for all the ribbing I've been taking.:rolleyes1

autumnpalm

06-07-2009, 10:22 PM

I. Need. Cookie Crisp.:lovestruc I am so getting some on our way home from Buffalo!

I can sympathize with you on your NBS decision... my mom had HUGE issues with sending me away and at the time, I was even older than your son! How does he feel about going to a residency program? I have a lot of friends who went to NBS and some of them absolutely loved it and others found the program extremely... competitive, I think, would put it nicely. But I think it's a whole different dynamic for girls than boys. A lot more competition there. But still, it's such an amazing opportunity, one of (if not THE) best ballet schools in the country! The world of ballet is such a tricky one.:hug:

Ahhhhh the Disney sign. I miss that sight already and it's been a month!:rotfl:

Can't wait to hear about your birthday dinner. I'm going to guess... Jiko maybe?:confused3

Diamondintheruff

06-08-2009, 11:53 AM

LOVE Jetblue!

Deluxe resort lines DO move faster. On my first trip w/ Joe to WDW (his first ever) they didn't play the video! BUMMER...totally didn't get me psyched for the week I had spent months planning for! Second go around, we got it though!

So lucky! AKL!

I know everyone raves about southwest but IMO Jetblue rocks too!

I remember you writing about not getting the video because that was the first time I had realized that going on a plain old mears bus can happen.

You'll get my opinion on AKL next chapter.

Ok, I will give you that, you are faster than Peg, as am I, but I think it's because I don't have little ones anymore. Most evenings Jasmine is out with friends or studying, so really what else do I have to do:lmao:

That was for Peg!!!!

Oh aren't you sweet trying to butter me up! Remeber it's my birthday next week, I'll be expecting a lrger than normal gift for all the ribbing I've been taking.:rolleyes1

GIRLS, GIRLS! Be nice now.

Happy Birthday Peg!

I. Need. Cookie Crisp.:lovestruc I am so getting some on our way home from Buffalo!

I can sympathize with you on your NBS decision... my mom had HUGE issues with sending me away and at the time, I was even older than your son! How does he feel about going to a residency program? I have a lot of friends who went to NBS and some of them absolutely loved it and others found the program extremely... competitive, I think, would put it nicely. But I think it's a whole different dynamic for girls than boys. A lot more competition there. But still, it's such an amazing opportunity, one of (if not THE) best ballet schools in the country! The world of ballet is such a tricky one.:hug:

Ahhhhh the Disney sign. I miss that sight already and it's been a month!:rotfl:

Can't wait to hear about your birthday dinner. I'm going to guess... Jiko maybe?:confused3

My kids love having tiny choc chip cookies for breakfast. I did mention that it is a "treat" for them. It's usually just a holiday/weekend/at the cottage breakfast. Then again toaster strudels were on sale this week and Dh caved and bought them for them.:sad2: At least he made them have a glass of milk and some fruit with them this morning but it just felt wrong sending them off to school with a blue mouth.:headache: Did I mention I work part-time at their school?

The NBS is a huge issue at our house. I guess we will just have to wait and see if they even want Eeoyre. Speaking of dance, I'm taking Eeoyre to audition for Billy Elliot. They are holding open auditions in Toronto for the broadway production. Not that I expect he will get it but, it will be neat for him to see all these talented guys his age.

Diamondintheruff

06-10-2009, 11:38 AM

The Plan
Flight arrival 2:40pm in Orlando
Pick up own luggage, take magic express
Check in at AKL
Grab birthday gift card at park.
Dinner ADR at 5:45 at the park.

If you are doing the Math you will notice that I didn’t leave a lot of time to get to the restaurant.:teacher:

I was worried we wouldn’t make it for dinner but when I made my ADR’s this was the latest time I could get. I was worried sick about making it on time for months.:sick:

Anyhow, back to the Trip report, when I last left you Dh and I were on the Mear’s bus borrowed by magic express and we had just pulled up to AKL.

I was too busy working out a strategy with Dh to really enjoy my first glance at the resort. I took a picture of it but figured I would have time to enjoy the view later. However in hindsight a three-night stay at a WDW resort does not afford a lot of time for “later”. This lack of time was a re-occurring theme for the weekend. It upset both of us for different reasons. Me, because I wanted to do and see more and Dh because he felt there wasn’t enough time to lounge around and be lazy.

Here's my picture of the Resort.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/087b4ce0.jpg

“So you grab the luggage and I’m going to run ahead to get in line to check us in” I told him. I knew that there were four or five families getting off here and I wanted to be first in line.

I didn’t do the Internet pre-check-in. I thought it would be nicer to chat with the CM on the desk and have everything explained to me since I hadn’t been to AKL before. I thought how much time could it really save?

I crumpled a couple of dollars into Dh’s hand as a tip for the driver. He gave me a puzzled look so I had to explain to him what it was for.

“You’re kidding right? The guy moves my suitcase two feet and I’m gonna give him money?” He rolled his eyes.:rolleyes:

“My Vacation Honey. Remember? You’re here to go along for the ride. We’re at a deluxe resort and we WILL tip.” There was a veiled threat behind my words. He got it. He didn’t like it but he got it.

I always tip. I just do it without Dh noticing. Maybe he does notice or maybe he doesn’t. It doesn’t really matter. I’m not hiding it from him. I just know it is my job to tip and it’s best if I don’t bring attention to it. It’s just like when we go shopping and he walks away at the cash leaving me to pay the bills. The money all comes out of the same pockets but it’s just easier for Dh to enjoy being on vacation if he doesn’t physically see the bills till later.

I hightail it to the check in. I beat everyone from my bus. Not that it was a race. But still I won.:cheer2:

There are already three families waiting in line. There is one person waiting at the online check in. There are two CM’s serving the online registration people and one CM serving the “in person” check-in people. That just seemed wrong somehow to me.:confused:

The first time I look at my watch it reads 4:15.

It wasn’t actually my watch. I borrowed Eeoyres (DS10). I was planning on using my Disney Birthday gift card to buy myself a new one.

Since I had some time to wait I started to look around the lobby. My first impressions were that it was very dark. Coming in from the bright sunlight made it seem even darker. It took some time for my eyes to adjust. It was a good thing that the signage for the check-in was yellow and easy to spot in the dark.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the ceiling of the lobby. It must be four stories tall. I thought the lobby was very majestic with the dark woods and the high ceilings and yet still very comfortable. Not stuffy like the Grand Floridian.

Dh hates the Grand Floridian. He feels on edge there. But he quite enjoyed AKL.

Speaking of Dh, he showed up with the luggage and waited in line with me for a while. After a few minutes he couldn’t take it anymore and was chomping at the bit to start exploring. So he left.

He would check back in with me full of excitement saying, “Wait till you see this or that”. So it was clear he was fascinated and happy with our choice of lodging.

In the meantime I was getting pretty inpatient. I thought that once the online people had checked in that the CM’s would turn their attention us “in person” registration people. I just assumed that would be the case. Of course you know the old saying about what happens when you assume. It makes an as* out of you and me.:laughing:

I was wrong. The online CM’s did not help us. They conferenced together. I suppose they could have been talking about work related items but since it was getting close to 4:30 now and my line hadn’t moved at all I was getting frantic. There were still three families in front of me. If it took over 15 minutes to check one family in then I was never going to make my ADR on time.

I knew I needed to check in first to get my keys to the kingdom card so I could get into the park otherwise I would have just stored my stuff with luggage services and took off.

I know the Disney restaurants will still seat you late but how late? I was starting to worry.:scared1:

I sent pleading messages with my eyes to conferencing CM’s.

I sighed loud enough for all to hear me.

I resorted to toe tapping and checking my watch every few seconds.

Finally the CM’s stopped their conference. They called over a family in the front of our line. Then another. My luck was turning. A new CM emerged from behind the wall. She took another family and then it was my turn.

It was 4:38.

I had waited 23 minutes.

I hoped it was going to be my longest wait this whole trip. Thank goodness I didn’t have the kids running wild around me. I was impatient enough and the kids would have sent me over the edge.

I ended up with the original CM on the desk. In all this time she had only checked in just the one family. I wasn’t feeling too hopeful about getting this process done quickly at this point.:headache:

Because I don’t want to seem like a complainer I will just give you the facts. The CM was from New York State. She was chatty. I was to the point. I even mentioned I was in a hurry and that I had my ADR for less than an hour from now. She didn’t register.

“Hmm” she said looking over my paperwork. She kept putting in numbers and repeating “Hmm” in a quizzical tone. She started to worry me.

Then she floored me.

She told me I was at the wrong Disney hotel on the wrong date.

:faint:

Like I would make a mistake and book my trip on my birthday in the wrong month? I don’t think so.

I told her to look again.

“Hmm” was her reaction. I wanted to strangle this woman every time she said that.

“Could you possible made a mistake and booked the wrong date?” She asked.

“NO” I said.:mad::mad:

“I can see if I can find you something now if you would like but you will need to pay in full.”

“Yes, I would like something now and I HAVE paid in full 45 days ago when I was supposed to.” I replied.

“It says here you have only paid the $200 deposit.” She said.

You can imagine my stress level about now. It was a good thing that Dh was away from the desk at this point. He would not be feeling very magical.

At some point during the confusion the CM decided to actually plug in my reservation numbers instead of my name.

Voila! A current reservation paid in full popped up.

“Here we are.” She says.

Then another “Hmm”.

:confused3:(

“What name do you go by?” she asks.

We finally get down to the problem.

The CM had been plugging in my Travel Agent's name since her name was on the front of my envelope. My Travel Agent has the same first name as me so when the CM was calling me by my first name all seemed normal. My Travel Agent was planning a trip a few weeks from now and she was looking up her reservation not mine.

:sad2:

So I showed her my passport and all my reservation papers including the receipt that I was paid in full to Disney and got everything straightened out.

:worship:

I said I wasn’t going to complain but now that I think of it I should have made a call to her supervisor while I was there. Deep down I knew Disney would find a place for me even when she couldn’t find me in the system since I had my paperwork with me but it was still quite stressful.

It was after 5pm when I left her. She had sucked up all my patience. I needed a drink. I didn’t think I could be civil to her long enough to listen to her show me on the map where the food court and other things were. I barely let her tell me where my room was. I needed to break free of her.

She put my name on a birthday button for me and sent us on our way. I had wanted to get my birthday button with "Diamond" written on it but figured it wasn't worth the hassle to try and explain yet another name to her.

Oh I must mention Dh’s surprise. He had talked to our travel agent about possible surprises for my birthday. She suggested he call the resort and request an upgraded room. So he did. Dh called Disney all on his own to request a water view. The stars were in alignment (they must have foreseen my lengthy check-in wait) and we were granted one. He was so pleased with himself. He practically bounced all the way to our room.

:tigger:

I tried to keep positive as we found our way to our assigned room. It was too hard to stay in a negative frame of mind anyway. There is something so exciting about entering your hotel room for the first time. Even a non-Disney hotel room. My Disney bubble started percolating again.

Here is a picture of the resort map. You can see that we were in the main building off to one side. It didn't take us long to get to the food court, the buses, or the pool. I was pretty please with our location.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/bd246648.jpg

We arrived at our room. Giraffe Trail room 4008. Both of us stood looking at the door for a few minutes blankly. We’re so used to the kids fighting over who gets to open the door that we have become trained to stop and let someone else open it. We had a laugh over it.

:lmao:

I performed the honor of opening the door for the first time.

Here is our room.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/5994d2c6.jpg

We had a King bed and a lovely even though it was slightly obstructed by foliage view of the pool. I liked it obstructed like that. It made it seem more private.

Here is our balcony view.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/8f6ab814.jpg

The room was a good size but the bathroom was enormous. I think we must have had a wheelchair accessible suite. There were bars along the walls and the doors were wider than normal. Maybe all the AKL rooms are wheelchair assessable? I really didn’t do much research on the actual resort. Surprising I know but I had been so busy with the actual planning of each day that I kept forgetting to look into AKL.

So as I said, the bathroom was huge but I must say the actual décor of the room and the size of the bedroom left me feeling let down. I guess I expected a bit more. It’s nice and all but not overly nice. More of a moderate hotel feeling than a deluxe one in my opinion.

After running to check out the bathroom and the balcony I turned on Stacy and searched in my luggage for my coconut rum and cans of diet coke. I poured myself a drink (Dh had packed himself a couple of cans of beer and opened one too) and started to do a quick unpack.

Time was of the essence so I knew I couldn’t do a full unpacking. I mostly just took out stuff I’d need to turn in once we got back and stuff I needed to freshen up with to get ready for dinner. I wasn’t going to my 40th dinner celebration without making myself look presentable and showering off any airplane residue.

Both Dh and I had a real quick shower and changed into our “dinner wear”. We were out the door in record time.

Where did we go? Here’s your hint. It’s in a park and I’ve never eaten there before.

Lady Lallie

06-10-2009, 12:19 PM

shellywalker

06-10-2009, 12:25 PM

Yay! I love the pictures :) I always want to stay at the AKL with a savannah view of course! Did you feel like it took a long time to get around from there on the buses? It seems so far away from everything! Can't wait to read more!

Tnkrbelle565

06-10-2009, 12:30 PM

Another cliffhanger with with park and restaurant???? I'm thinking that since you actually took the time to shower and change, it's not MK because MK from AKL takes a good 1/2 hour to drive to! So it's got to be one of the closest parks. I'm going with Epcot.

lisalonglash

06-10-2009, 02:02 PM

Great update!! I'd have been biting my tongue big-time with that CM at check-in too :headache: The resort pictures are lovely :goodvibes I'm glad you ended up having enough time to get settled in before your dinner!

Oh, I'm going with Epcot and Chefs de France :thumbsup2

Nemo32

06-10-2009, 02:29 PM

I've always wanted to stay at AKL, but am not too sure about the dark, heavy decor.

If it were me with your check-in CM, I would've had a quite a temper...I'm impressed you held your cool. And how silly of her not to plug-in the ressie number after the first two misses with the name! Even you and I would make better CMs. ;)

Diamondintheruff

06-10-2009, 07:45 PM

Wonderful update! I would have been flipping at that CM. I have problems with my last name with my ADRs because they always spell it wrong even though I give them my confirmation number, then I have ADRs under all different spellings. Very panic inducing!

Looks like you had a great location for your room!

I am dying to know where you ate dinner. I am going to guess Brown Derby. I have no idea if you have eaten there or not before but that is what my gut is saying. :thumbsup2

I had some choice words to say to the lady but instead I choose to be a lady.

I thought it was a great room location. Very close and convient. Dh and I took the stairs lots of time and could get to the bus stop in a couple minutes time.

I remember reading about your dinner at Brown Derby and I admit I went straight to the menu after that and looked up possible choices. You made it seem very appealing.

Yay! I love the pictures :) I always want to stay at the AKL with a savannah view of course! Did you feel like it took a long time to get around from there on the buses? It seems so far away from everything! Can't wait to read more!

It was hard not to run around and check out the resort right then and there. I've already mentioned how excited Dh was.

We stayed at the Allstars before so the buses didn't seem all that much farther. Besides we didn't have the kids so the bus rides were much more tolerable. I suppose if I had ever stayed at one of the monorail resorts I might have found the commute too long.

Another cliffhanger with with park and restaurant???? I'm thinking that since you actually took the time to shower and change, it's not MK because MK from AKL takes a good 1/2 hour to drive to! So it's got to be one of the closest parks. I'm going with Epcot.

You know I love my cliffhangers.

Congrats about the new house and good luck packing! That can be a huge nightmare.

Great update!! I'd have been biting my tongue big-time with that CM at check-in too :headache: The resort pictures are lovely :goodvibes I'm glad you ended up having enough time to get settled in before your dinner!

Oh, I'm going with Epcot and Chefs de France :thumbsup2

I think I was in shock with the reservation mix-up.

Since it was my big four-O dinner, I wasn't going smelling like airplane. Dh and I were very quick getting ready. I was prepared to fight Dh and pay a Taxi if I had to.

I've always wanted to stay at AKL, but am not too sure about the dark, heavy decor.

If it were me with your check-in CM, I would've had a quite a temper...I'm impressed you held your cool. And how silly of her not to plug-in the ressie number after the first two misses with the name! Even you and I would make better CMs. ;)

When I got the chance to upgrade it was either Beach club, Wilderness lodge or AKL. I think I would have liked the Beach club decor better but I would have missed the kids and the Wilderness lodge is too "Canadian" for me. I know that sounds funny being a Canadian but I wanted an escape. So AKL it was. It's never jumped out at me as being a place I had to stay at and truth be told even after this trip I don't feel like I have to stay there with the kids next time. So I don't blame you about feeling unsure about it.
Of course you and I would make better CM's. It's my retirement plan. Dh has already agreed to it. The question is what job am I going to do there? There is so much stuff I want to do there.

DearDaisyinDurham

06-10-2009, 09:49 PM

purplepeg

06-12-2009, 12:34 AM

I am guessing the castle for dinner.

Nice view, I can't wait until our first trip there in 57 days 7 hours and 26 min, not that I'm counting!

Good for you for staying patient and calm 'cause you know if you had lost it it would have taken twice as long.

Can't wait for the next installment.

Diamondintheruff

06-12-2009, 07:43 AM

I adore your updates, they are HilariOUS and true.

I think that the room at CSR was just as nice as AKL so I agree w/ you that I would feel slightly let down .... HOWEVER how sweet of DH to upgrade you to water view!! I love the privacy of your view plus the pool!

Hmmmm..... I am sticking w/ my choice of the MK for your birthday dinner

Thank you for the compliment. It doesn't always feel so funny at the time.

I was surprised Dh had taken the time to call Disney for an upgrade. He did ask me the other day when I was composing a chapter if I remembered to include that little tidbit.:rotfl:

I am guessing the castle for dinner.

Nice view, I can't wait until our first trip there in 57 days 7 hours and 26 min, not that I'm counting!

Good for you for staying patient and calm 'cause you know if you had lost it it would have taken twice as long.

Can't wait for the next installment.

I was just so surprised that I was too shocked NOT to stay calm. There was a little part of my brain that was thinking if Disney truly lost my info and I had all my paperwork (which of course I did) then I might get an upgrade to make up for the hassle of them losing me. Maybe even a BIG upgrade. So I figured they'd either find me or upgrade me. I knew they weren't going to kick me to the curb or anything like that.

Queenofallthings

06-17-2009, 01:08 PM

Jewel - you are my hero:flower3: I would have clearly lost my mind.....head spioining around.....you know,....not pretty in general! It always shocks me when I get an incompetent CM, but hey, every organization has them and thankfully Disney has few andfar between.

Will wait patiently for next installment....popcorn::

Diamondintheruff

06-17-2009, 01:47 PM

**For those of you who guessed MK you were right!
** For those of you who guessed the Castle you were even more right!

The Plan
-Pick up Birthday Card
-Castle Dinner 5:45
-Fireworks and Parade
__________________________________________________ _____

We practically flew out of our Hotel room on the fourth floor, down the stairs and out to the bus stop.

Luck was on our side because a bus was loading for the MK.

:banana:

We even got a seat.

:banana::banana:

A couple people wished me a happy birthday and Dh took this opportunity to tease me for being a big kid at heart. He put his arm around me and gave me a big squeeze. We rode all the way to the MK like that.

:hug:

I felt like I was on my Honeymoon again.

Since I had missed the video on the magic express I was pumped when we turned the corner by the contemporary to hear the speakers announce our arrival to the park and give us those generic tips. I grabbed Dh’s hand once again and tried to communicate my excitement over our impending arrival with a series of squeezes. I don’t know if he totally got what I was trying to impress upon him but he understood that the castle was nearing and I was excited.

We headed for the will call window to get my birthday pass. Dh felt the need to double check what the birthday card could and could not be used for.

He didn’t believe me.

That angered me.

The fact that he still felt the need to ask the CM at the window when I had shown him the literature on the web and done my homework about it really pissed me off. Did he think I didn’t know what I was talking about?

UGHHH!

How is it that I can be totally head over heels for him one minute and the next want to crush him down to his heels? Is this normal?

I told him I was angry at him for double checking and not trusting me. His response was that Disney might have changed their policy.

“Since earlier this week? I think it would have been all over the disboards and I would have heard about it.” I replied.

“Don’t do that again. I know my Disney.” I said.

He just shrugged. He still didn’t get why it bothered me.

However, I wasn’t going to let this argument taint my visit today.

I did some deep breathing and tried to shake it off.

As we walked into the corridor and around the bend (we took the entrance to the right) to find ourselves on Main Street I started to skip. Dh noted it and grabbed my hand and skipped along right with me until we were practically in front of Tony’s restaurant before we burst out giggling like two schoolgirls.

Of course we had castles to visit so we had to pull ourselves together and get a move on.

First I found us a photopass photographer to capture the moment on film.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/4bd5c6ad.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/5ac882ea.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/5409268d.jpg

Then off to the castle we went.

We have never eaten at the castle. It just didn't seem worth it to us to waste two table credits when we were here with the kids plus the menu didn't appeal to them. They do so much better with buffets. But now that we were on the deluxe dinning plan suddenly the Castle made more sense. Plus the more I thought about it, the more the idea of spending my actual 40th birthday in MK having dinner at the castle seemed like the perfect way to celebrate it.

I made my ADR’s 6 months in advance and at the time the castle was supposed to close at 6pm. When the April park hours first came out the park was supposed to close at 7pm so we all suspected a Pirate and Princess Party was slated for this evening. I was looking forward to it.

Unfortunately, there was no party announced and they moved the park closing time back to 10pm. But the reason I am telling you this story is that when I arrived at the castle to register they still had open seatings. The castle was not booked. I witnessed a very happy (although a tad over-stressed) family of 6 get a table immediately. Another family of four was told to come back in 30 minutes. Understandably, I was a bit shocked by this. The CM at the desk said they must have forgot to reopen up the castle bookings when they changed the park hours. She said it happens sometimes.

We were sent to wander around for a few moments before they called our name. We were a tad late and Dh was shocked that we had to wait while the family of 6 just walked up and walked in.

I just shrugged it off and went over to take a closer look at the mosaics. I just love them; always have even as a child. I wanted to stay in a happy place. Complaining and moaning about it wasn’t going to make my vacation any more magical. Looking at the mosaics would. So off I went.

Dh went back over to the check-in desk. I was thinking oh great. Since I was the person that checked in once again Dh felt the need to check up on me. Like I wasn’t doing such a good enough job. It made it harder to stay in my “Happy Place” frame of mind.

Dh and the CM had a real conversation. It lasted a few minutes. Out of the corner of my eye because I was trying really hard to ignore Dh’s presence and what I felt was an affront on my Disney planning and knowledge I watched him point at some piece of paper and nod at the CM.

Now it was getting suspicious as well as annoying. Doesn’t that Man know by now that I am the Control Freak in the family? I make all Disney related decisions not him.

Hummpht! It took all my control to stay in my “Happy Place”.

Dh called my name and the CM he had been talking to showed us right in.

Still suspicious….

:confused:

What was Dh up to? Click here to find out http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32455791&postcount=166

Diamondintheruff

06-17-2009, 01:57 PM

shellywalker

06-17-2009, 03:00 PM

Love the update! I hate surprises....so hurry and finish :rotfl:

Tnkrbelle565

06-17-2009, 03:24 PM

I know I know what he was up to!!! Facebook ruins everything doesn't it?!?! How the heck did you get to the castle in time from AKL. You guys must be some fast showerers!!!

portocall

06-17-2009, 08:14 PM

I just love your writing style and I am here for the rest of the report... loving it so far!!!!

Diamondintheruff

06-17-2009, 08:54 PM

Personal life update

Just finished all my report cards! Woo-Hoo! It's a great feeling!

Here is me doing my freedom dance. Three more days and I'm out for the summer!

:cool1:

It's been a great class and I will miss the little guys next year. Not sure what I'm teaching next year yet. I know I've got a job at my current school but still waiting to hear exactly where I fit in. I know it's not in a classroom of my own.

Took Eeoyre DS10 to try out for the broadway show Billy Elliot on the weekend. They were holding open auditions in Toronto. It was a great experience for him to dance with all those other boys. He said it was like so you think you can dance. They taught them (20 boys ages 9-12) a hip hop routine and then had the boys perform it in groups of four. He was also there for the tap routine but then his time was up and he was excused.

Overall it was a great experience and he was glad to have tried it. We were interviewed for the Globe and Mail a toronto based national newpaper but it were only mentioned as a "boy from Port Hope". Eeoyre DS10 knew two other boys from his national ballet school experience. I never mentioned to the interviewers that Eeoyre went to that school too. However, the other two boys were named in the interview so I guess I should have.

Afterwards I took Eeoyre to the Eaton Centre (a big downtown mall located on Toronto's version of time's square) to buy some new clothes. He has recently discovered "Hollister" and "Abercrombie" and the like. So we just HAD to get some T-shirts. And so it begins....:sad2:

Love the update! I hate surprises....so hurry and finish :rotfl:

On my honour I promise as a minimum to provide weekly updates. Maybe more over some weeks but since I have no trips planned yet I'd like to stretch this report out.

I know I know what he was up to!!! Facebook ruins everything doesn't it?!?! How the heck did you get to the castle in time from AKL. You guys must be some fast showerers!!!

SH!

Which coincidently is the phonic sound I just covered in my kindergarten class yesterday. We spent the day singing lullabys. It was lovely and quiet.

Yes, we showered and drank our drinks as fast as possible. It helped that the bus was right there and our hotel room was right by the stairs. We were late but not by much.

I just love your writing style and I am here for the rest of the report... loving it so far!!!!

Welcome back! It's nice to see you back!

Lady Lallie

06-17-2009, 09:19 PM

Oh, you love to torture us! I am very impressed you made it though! Good for you!! :thumbsup2

Charleston Princess

06-18-2009, 10:46 AM

I'm here and off to catch up! :banana:

lisalonglash

06-18-2009, 11:35 AM

Whew, that was a great update, both WDW and life! :goodvibes

I wonder what your dh is up to :scratchin I bet it's something good! How fun to spend your birthday dinner at Cindy's castle!!!! :banana:

Oh, I know what you mean about them not taking our DIS-informed knowledge at face value! Dh did that last trip - he just wandered up to CP and said "let's just eat here for lunch" to me; I told him that there is no way we would get in without an ADR; he said that was ridiculous; he went up to the podium and the CM (who was probably laughing inside) told him that he was SOL; I stood there watching him and laughing (which made my boys laugh lol); he came back and acted all surprised that we couldn't get in for lunch. Boy, that was funny :lmao: He cut back on not believing my DIS knowledge after that though :laughing:

Woohoooo for no more report cards and I'm glad you and Eeyore had an enjoyable day in TO :cheer2:

DearDaisyinDurham

06-20-2009, 09:40 PM

:flower3: Hi Diamond, another Jewel of an update,
a gem of an update, and the PhotoPass pictures are so good!!

I think LM :rolleyes: thinks I'm losing it a bit when I do the hand squeezing so much at Disney....but hey, I could be screaming, "We're Here!" or "There's the CASTLE!!!" ... so really he should be happy it's just a hand squeeze and no one gets alarmed :rolleyes1

Best place for a birthday dinner that I can think of, hands down!!

Ummm.....loving :lovestruc one minute, loathing :furious: the next, yes, so true...we do love 'em :love: but they still drive us crazy at times! Especially when they don't believe that we know what we're talking about! WE KNOW! What we're talking about! WE are the ONES always talking about it, aren't we???

Glad Eeyore had the opportunity to go through the audition process for BE ... and I enjoy Eaton's! Even better now that there's a :yay: Chipolte so close by!!

Queenofallthings

06-21-2009, 01:11 AM

Sounds like you had a great day in TO:cool1: Hollister and Abercrombie....too bad he's not a girl, it's the only cloths jasmine wears, I could have shipped them to you when she is through with them:rotfl2: We have to travel all the way to Fargo to shop in those stores......not a hardship for the mama.....I get to go through Super Target, clearly how bad can that be???:confused3

purplepeg

06-21-2009, 01:00 PM

I knew it would it would be the castle! I mean really...where else would a girl go who loves Disney as much as you do? I can't wait to find out the surprise because I believe there is a surprise involved. I haven't checked out facebook because I want to be surprised. Men...that's all I can say...Men!
Love the photopass pictures!

Nemo32

06-22-2009, 02:16 AM

What is he up to?

Can't wait for the next installment.

Diamondintheruff

06-23-2009, 12:07 AM

Been away for the weekend at the cottage. Totally burnt and bitten to death. Even took the kids out of school for the day so we could spend the Monday at the cottage too(ah the perks of part-time work, the downside is the part-time paycheck!). Cindy(DD8) and Jedi (DS6) were thrilled to miss school but not poor Eeoyre(DS10). He cried when he heard he was missing a day of school. I guess he really is in those "tween" years now where his friends mean more to him than his family. Sigh...

Somehow we managed to have a good time. The weather was lovely even if the bugs were plentiful. I took the paddle boat out for the first time this year
only to realize that we forgot to put the rudder back on. Cindy (DD8), Jedi (DS6) and I got stuck out on the lake.:eek:

I thought it wasn't steering very well but I figured it was because the pedelling was so one-sided that we were going off course. Plus I let Cindy steer so I wasn't really paying any attention until it was too late.

Dh had to rescue us. My hero!:love:

Oh, you love to torture us! I am very impressed you made it though! Good for you!! :thumbsup2

I was going to make it to the castle come rain, sleet, snow or hail. NOTHING was going to stop me from making it there.

Actually I remember reading about you and Marc going for dinner there one night. It was one of the reports about it that made me rethink my opinion about it. I had always written off the castle as too much money (or dinner credits) to be worth it. But your report made it seem very appealing.

I'm here and off to catch up! :banana:

:welcome:

Loving your report.:love:

Thrilled you've stopped by.

Whew, that was a great update, both WDW and life! :goodvibes

I wonder what your dh is up to :scratchin I bet it's something good! How fun to spend your birthday dinner at Cindy's castle!!!! :banana:

Oh, I know what you mean about them not taking our DIS-informed knowledge at face value! Dh did that last trip - he just wandered up to CP and said "let's just eat here for lunch" to me; I told him that there is no way we would get in without an ADR; he said that was ridiculous; he went up to the podium and the CM (who was probably laughing inside) told him that he was SOL; I stood there watching him and laughing (which made my boys laugh lol); he came back and acted all surprised that we couldn't get in for lunch. Boy, that was funny :lmao: He cut back on not believing my DIS knowledge after that though :laughing:

Woohoooo for no more report cards and I'm glad you and Eeyore had an enjoyable day in TO :cheer2:

It's good you can laugh about it when your Dh questions your disney knowledge.

I actually thought about making a bet with him about it. Something along the lines of everything he feels the need to double check my answers to a Disney related question and I am indeed right that he owes me a five minute massage... or jewelry... or a dinner out... or perhaps a jewelry followed by dinner and topped off with a massage. Think he'll go for it?

:flower3: Hi Diamond, another Jewel of an update,
a gem of an update, and the PhotoPass pictures are so good!!

I think LM :rolleyes: thinks I'm losing it a bit when I do the hand squeezing so much at Disney....but hey, I could be screaming, "We're Here!" or "There's the CASTLE!!!" ... so really he should be happy it's just a hand squeeze and no one gets alarmed :rolleyes1

Best place for a birthday dinner that I can think of, hands down!!

Ummm.....loving :lovestruc one minute, loathing :furious: the next, yes, so true...we do love 'em :love: but they still drive us crazy at times! Especially when they don't believe that we know what we're talking about! WE KNOW! What we're talking about! WE are the ONES always talking about it, aren't we???

Glad Eeyore had the opportunity to go through the audition process for BE ... and I enjoy Eaton's! Even better now that there's a :yay: Chipolte so close by!!

So you're a fellow hand squeezer too. Glad I'm not the only one.

Okay now what is Chipolte's? I didn't notice it when we were there but we were really quick. Eeoyre doesn't like to shop. We ran into the mall, looked at the map, located the store we wanted, ran to the store, went straight to the sale rack, grabbed whatever was size XS and immediatly got in line. There was no fussing around and no chance for me to look around as I mentioned earlier Eeoyre doesn't like shopping and I had only paid for street parking for an hour. We hit three stores and the bathroom and hit the road all under an hour.
Sounds like you had a great day in TO:cool1: Hollister and Abercrombie....too bad he's not a girl, it's the only cloths jasmine wears, I could have shipped them to you when she is through with them:rotfl2: We have to travel all the way to Fargo to shop in those stores......not a hardship for the mama.....I get to go through Super Target, clearly how bad can that be???:confused3

Okay since you have the background on the Abercrombie thing, tell me this. What's the difference between abercrombie and Fitch (Finch? I don't know) and plain old abercrombie? What is an abercrombie? For that matter what is a Hollister? Inquiring minds need to know. I need help from an experienced teen mother. I'm just hitting the tweens. Spread the knowledge.

I knew it would it would be the castle! I mean really...where else would a girl go who loves Disney as much as you do? I can't wait to find out the surprise because I believe there is a surprise involved. I haven't checked out facebook because I want to be surprised. Men...that's all I can say...Men!
Love the photopass pictures!

I loved answering everyone's question on how I was going to spend my 40th birthday with "I'm going to Disney world and having dinner in the castle". Cinderella's castle really is the quentisental (I have no idea how to spell that. Sorry!) Disney World icon and everyone knew or understood where I was going even if they didn't understand why I would want to go there. I mean you all get it here on the boards but, "they" (the people not on the boards) don't always understand.

What is he up to?

Can't wait for the next installment.

You'll have to wait and see but I'll give you a hint. He did good. Later he drove me crazy yet again. But coming up real soon, you'll see. He did good.

portocall

06-23-2009, 04:01 AM

Just WHAT is it will 10 year old boys? I have three boys (10, almost 9, and 4) and like you said, only the oldest would cry if I told them no school? What happened? Luckily he isn't brand savvy (and if he were, too bad) but he is much pickier about what he is wearing these days.:confused3 Those in the know... please dish!

Charleston Princess

06-23-2009, 08:31 AM

Your weekend away sounds lovely! Don't worry -- tween girls are the same -- my Chelsea hates missing school, but Connor would stay home all the time if he could. Go figure! :confused3

Queenofallthings

06-23-2009, 10:33 AM

Sounds like you had a fabulous time at the cottage this weekend, too bad about the bugs, the mosquitos are plentiful here right now, but manageable during the day, the evenings....not so good:eek:

I almost spit out my coffee when I read about the paddleboat....why do these things happen to us??

I don't think there is a difference between Abercrombie and Abercrombie and Fitch...but maybe our American friends can set us straight;) Jasmine started shopping at Aeropostale when she was Eeyore's age, then progressed to Hollister and finally onto Abercrombie. She very rarely shops at Aeropostale anymore, however, she did buy Thomas a really nice polo from there last time we were down in Fargo:lmao: Good enough for her boyfriend, but not her.:lmao: She also picked him up a polo at A & F, she, believe it or not found nothing on our last day trip:eek: I was shocked, she is 16 afterall.:eek:

We are at 46 days and counting, can you believe it?

Diamondintheruff

06-27-2009, 12:06 AM

The Plan
Dinner at Castle 5:45pm
Wishes & Spectromagic
__________________________________________________ ________

We were ushered into the “waiting room” at the castle. Sounds like it should be elegant but it was really just a glorified waiting area. But it was air conditioned which I greatly appreciated.

We spotted Cinderella in a corner. She was talking to a family. There were a few other families waiting around the edges of the room. Maybe 4 other families in total. We were the only ones without children. The place was not packed and the because of it seemed to be quite spacious.

Dh and I easily found a bench. We sat and rested while we waited for Cinderella to finish with the current family. There was no one else entering the room so we knew it would be silly to stand and wait when we had a perfectly good bench to rest upon.

Here is a picture of Cinderella and her photographers.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/7c4b293e.jpg

A few minutes later the family left. Dh and I approached. It was a very quick visit. The photographer moved us through at a furious pace. I thought it odd, as there was no one behind us. Remember this fact. No one behind us. No one else entering the room. A few CM’s just standing around talking in the entrance way. So basically there is no rush for anything.

I guess the photographer was used to rushing. As soon as we stepped toward the roped off area for our pictures the photographer went into overdrive. Which I would have appreciated had I been waiting in along line up. Again, let me state-there was no one else needing or wanting a picture.

We walked right into the pose with Cinderella without so much as a hello. We posed. The photographer took two quick clicks of the camera and told us to step away to make room for the next group. Hands were placed on us as we were ushered out of the roped off corner area.

The next group? There was no one there.:confused3

I’m a rule abider so I did as I was told. I stepped aside and away from Cinderella.

I had heard that characters did not pay as much attention to the adults as the children and I can understand that but still this was if I may dare say it and I hate to say it in relation to anything Disney because it seems so foreign and wrong but it was….

RUDE.

I just wanted to say “How Rude!” In that same tone of voice that that little girl on TV in the ninety’s used to say it. Who was it that used to say that a lot? Was it Rudy on the Cosby show? Or maybe it was Stephanie on Full House.

Anyhow it is safe to say that I was missing the magic.

No pixie dust for Diamond.

:guilty:

Dh and I sadly sat back down on our bench away from the roped off area obediently. It was a most Undisney moment. I’m not sure what I was expecting from my interaction with Cinderella but I had certainly hoped for a Hi, How are you and a Happy Birthday to you.

I’m all for the characters putting more attention into the children than the adults but it’s not like I would have been stealing any time from the children. There was no one behind me. I was disappointed.

:sad1:

I told Dh so.

He said he too was a bit taken back how quickly they moved us through.

While we sat on our bench and waited for our names to be called to enter the actual restaurant upstairs we watched Cinderella make small talk with her photographer. That’s my small talk I was thinking. I felt a bit like grumpy and thought I’d better snap out it.

:mad:

Cinderella never was my favorite princess. Ariel is. And before there was the little mermaid it was Sleeping Beauty. Maybe Cinderella knew she wasn’t my favorite. Maybe that was why she dissed us?

Whatever the reason, it clouded my perception of the castle. Instead of looking for the beauty in all the carved wood and stained glass windows I started to look for the imperfections. They weren’t hard to find. I’ve decided not to mention them, as I don’t want to spread my grumpiness. If I ever go back I am going to wear my rose coloured glasses and try a do-over.

:cool2:

But I had to mention this next one because it was funny and it gave me the bump I needed to jump off the grumpy express.

After getting tired of waiting for the next group after us Cinderella decided to have a sit down on her bench and did a most unprincessy thing.

A totally human thing but I’m sure it’s a no-no for a Princess.

She yawned.

“Did you see that?” Dh nudged me.

“Yeah” I said.

“Could she get fired for that?” He asked.

Now he thinks I’m the-know-it-all of all things Disney. When we were picking up my Birthday Gift Card I didn’t know anything but now suddenly I do. Funny how he flips like that isn’t it?

“I don’t know. Let’s ask tomorrow.” I answered. I was referring to the Keys to the Kingdom tour we were booked on tomorrow morning.

We started bantering back and forth about all the other types of normal human movements that could get a Disney Princess fired. You know the usual picking their nose, adjusting their undergarments and such. We were giggling like two silly schoolgirls when they finally called our names. The back and forth comments went on for a while.

During our conversation, the family with the two little girls that saw Cinderella before us were having a meltdown. Both of the girls wanted to sit in the middle of the two parents. That is in between the parents and not beside their sister. It had all the makings of a good meltdown. A number 10 on the Richter scale. They had volume, strong body movement, tears and of course, weapons. They were using their plastic wands as swords.

I must say it was a lovely to just watch a meltdown happen and not have to react. I didn’t judge, I didn’t comment and I did try not to watch. Which was difficult because they were right opposite to us so it was hard not to look. It was obvious the parents were also tired and had lost their patience back in Fantasyland many hours earlier.

I did feel bad for the family. I couldn’t help it. I assume the parents were trying to provide their girls with a lovely memory by bringing them to WDW and eating in the castle but in the heat of the moment due to being tired, hungry and probably over stimulated the family was not able to enjoy this what I’m assuming was a long anticipated moment in a more loving way together.

It made me think about all the times my crew were acting up during our trips and how being too close to the scene had let my own fatigue and hunger dictate how I reacted to them. Overall my family had some great moments but there were many more where a much calmer Mommy would have produced a much more enjoyable family moment.

What ya gonna do though? I reminded myself that I had done the best I could at that moment and tried to wipe the guilt away as quick as possible. It’s hard though. Mommy guilt comes free with super memory glue.

Then there was another family having a meltdown. Only this time it was the parents. The family had an infant and a preschool aged child. They had the kind of double stroller where the infant seat fits right into the stroller. It was quite large. The CM was telling them they couldn’t take the stroller up to the restaurant due to it’s large size and I believe but I may be wrong that it was the restaurant’s policy not to allow strollers inside. The parents were appalled and very vocal about their anger. They didn’t want to wake their sleeping infant up. I found that funny as they were practically screaming and the noise was bound to wake up the kid. In fact they did wake up someone else’s child. Not that they noticed or cared. A little boy about three was snoozing in his Dad’s arm on a bench nearby and woke up to stare at them.

Eventually the whole room was looking at them they were making such a fuss. Even Cinderella looked up from her yawn, and the feuding sisters stopped tantruming to see who was yelling the loudest. The man irritated me. He was being rude to the CM and ignorant of the enjoyment of all the families around him.

The CM’s on site remained calm and collected and I think they more than earned their money tonight while the father was ranting and raving at them.

Another CM presumable of a higher position came out of the woodwork to try to calm the family down. He suggested they just take the infant bucket seat off the stroller and carry it upstairs. Well miracles upon miracles this suggestion did the trick. They took the bucket infant seat off the stroller and climbed those stairs as happy as could be.

While this was not as funny as a situation-it reminded me of the saying about missing the top of the mountain for the iceberg. It was such an obvious suggestion and such a simple solution that I guess everyone had overlooked it.

Dh and I followed the bucket seat family up the stairs. I hoped our table was not going to be near them. Our name had been called before the bucket family but we waited for their rampage to be over before approaching. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

While climbing the stairs up to the restaurant I couldn’t resist one last look back at Cinderella. She was still sitting on her bench resting. As luck would have it she was watching us.

Our eyes met briefly.

Then she did a most princessy thing.

princess:

She waved and called out to me.

“Happy Birthday Princess!”

She must have caught sight of the birthday button on my park bag. I’d like to think it was a sprinkling of pixie dust.

Either way it bought a lump to my throat, tears to my eyes and a belief in the magic of Disney all over again.

Up next Dh's birthday surprise click here to see it http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32510754&postcount=175

Charleston Princess

06-27-2009, 12:21 AM

I am so glad that Cinderella redeemed herself at the end because I was feeling very disgruntled with her and her sleepy self. I hope it was the start of a lovely birthday dinner! :goodvibes

Diamondintheruff

06-27-2009, 12:21 AM

Real Life Update!

School is over! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Took Eeoyre(DS10) and Cindy(DD8) plus a friend of theirs to see the musical "We will Rock you" this week in Toronto. It was great. The kids are excited about Queen's music now. They've taken to singing "Radio Gaga".

Just WHAT is it will 10 year old boys? I have three boys (10, almost 9, and 4) and like you said, only the oldest would cry if I told them no school? What happened? Luckily he isn't brand savvy (and if he were, too bad) but he is much pickier about what he is wearing these days.:confused3 Those in the know... please dish!

Just weeks ago I was bragging to a friend how my 10 year old didn't notice name brands.

OPPS!

So hopefully you'll have more time before your son notices.

Your weekend away sounds lovely! Don't worry -- tween girls are the same -- my Chelsea hates missing school, but Connor would stay home all the time if he could. Go figure! :confused3

My Cindy(DD8) is always coming up will ailments that REQUIRE her to stay home. She has been for years. I hope she'll start liking school better soon!

Sounds like you had a fabulous time at the cottage this weekend, too bad about the bugs, the mosquitos are plentiful here right now, but manageable during the day, the evenings....not so good:eek:

I almost spit out my coffee when I read about the paddleboat....why do these things happen to us??

I don't think there is a difference between Abercrombie and Abercrombie and Fitch...but maybe our American friends can set us straight;) Jasmine started shopping at Aeropostale when she was Eeyore's age, then progressed to Hollister and finally onto Abercrombie. She very rarely shops at Aeropostale anymore, however, she did buy Thomas a really nice polo from there last time we were down in Fargo:lmao: Good enough for her boyfriend, but not her.:lmao: She also picked him up a polo at A & F, she, believe it or not found nothing on our last day trip:eek: I was shocked, she is 16 afterall.:eek:

We are at 46 days and counting, can you believe it?

I have to check out Aeropostale. From the looks of the clothes on kids it seems they have small sizes which Eeoyre needs. Of course I need a while for my wallet to recover from the last shopping trip.

Diamondintheruff

06-27-2009, 12:24 AM

I am so glad that Cinderella redeemed herself at the end because I was feeling very disgruntled with her and her sleepy self. I hope it was the start of a lovely birthday dinner! :goodvibes

Oh you're very quick! Or perhaps like me you don't have exciting plans on a Friday night.

Disgruntled is a very good word to describe how I was feeling about her.

Nemo32

06-28-2009, 04:08 AM

Cinderella redeems herself in my book with that last farewell. :)

Poor dear must be so tired being around kids all day.

Lady Lallie

06-28-2009, 12:00 PM

Oh, I was so upset about your Cinderella interaction and then she redeemed herself. Yay! Cinderella has never been my favorite either. :rolleyes:

I have witnessed so many scenes of adult meltdowns at Disney that it gets a little silly. :upsidedow

akayek31

06-28-2009, 03:10 PM

You are a better woman than I am because if someone would have put their hands on me to push me away from a character I would be having a adult meltdown. I may have been banned from the castle :eek::rotfl2:

PracPerfPatricia

06-28-2009, 04:27 PM

The Plan
Dinner at Castle 5:45pm
Wishes & Spectromagic
__________________________________________________ ________

While climbing the stairs up to the restaurant I couldn’t resist one last look back at Cinderella. She was still sitting on her bench resting. As luck would have it she was watching us.

Our eyes met briefly.

Then she did a most princessy thing.

princess:

She waved and called out to me.

“Happy Birthday Princess!”

She must have caught sight of the birthday button on my park bag. I’d like to think it was a sprinkling of pixie dust.

Either way it bought a lump to my throat, tears to my eyes and a belief in the magic of Disney all over again.

Up next Dh's birthday surprise.

Yeah!! (she redeemed herself-I'm so glad for you...Happy Belated Birthday!) Your husband and you have dialogue that reminds me of me and my husband...:lmao:-fun report so far...

DearDaisyinDurham

06-29-2009, 09:20 PM

yay, it's a Diamond update AND it's summer! gems and jewels!

love the castle scene, could so picture myself there with you guys (not that you'd have wanted me sitting in the middle) and crikey what is with everyone freaking out?!?! bet it felt good to be cool & calm

you really did dash in & out of the Eaton Centre! hmmm, Chipolte is a burrito place that is SO good. The last time LM had to go for an appt downtown he got us 2 each, one for lunch, one for dinner :rotfl2:

Diamondintheruff

07-01-2009, 01:13 AM

We were ushered upstairs into the dinning room. We went past a couple of tables that were empty; some of them had celebration confetti and streamers on them.

Not my table though.

Sigh.:sad2:

We were against a railing towards the back of the room. Not a bad placement. I opted to take the seat that looked out the window. Dh faced the middle of the room.

My view of the windows.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/8237508c.jpg

I loved the high ceilings and I am a sucker for the wooden beams. It just happens to have a light fixture in it for LL.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/e200a36f.jpg

I had printed off the menus from allearsnet.com and we were eager to order. I knew weeks in advance what I was going to order but Dh just decided on the plane on the way over. Our server arrived to take our drink orders and was surprised to hear that we were all set to order.

Here's the menu. The real one was much prettier than my printed from the internet one.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/44766d26.jpg

I ordered the salad to start but minus the blue cheese. Unfortunately it also meant minus the candied walnuts.:headache: It was pretty blah.

Dh got the spring rolls. He said they were okay. He’s had better but he’s also had worse.

My salad came about 5 minutes before Dh’s spring rolls. I think they must make the meals by shifts. When they brought me my salad, the server had about 6 salad plates on his tray and he went around the room to different tables delivering them. It was the same when Dh got his spring rolls. The server had a tray full of spring roll plates and distributed them around the restaurant.

It got me wondering just where the kitchen was? Do they bring the food up in shifts in elevators?

Dh was in awe that there was no alcohol.

"You are honestly telling me that the whole of magic kingdom is dry?" he asked.

"Yup. That's what I'm telling you." I replied.

"But Epcot had alcohol right?"

"Yup" I replied again sipping my non alcoholic mocktail of orange juice and sprite.

"I don't get it. Are you sure you have this right? All of the magic kingdom is dry?" He asked again.

Now he was starting to bother me. Once again he was questioning my Disney knowledge.

"Fine. Don't believe me. But I'm right. Ask the waiter next time he's here." I say through clenched teeth.

"I will."

And he did.:headache:

No surprise but it turns out that I am ideed right. The Magic Kingdom is dry. As nice as it is to be right, I was still annoyed by his need to double check. It's a good thing dinner arrived to take my mind off how annoyed I was.

Here I am with my Mocktail before he annoyed me.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/aaf41246.jpg

For dinner I ordered the salmon. It was okay. I really like salmon and it was a nice big piece but perhaps a tad over cooked? I’m not an expert or anything and I would eat it again but it certainly wasn’t the best salmon I’ve ever had.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/c061059e.jpg

Dh had the prime rib. He had a hard time on the plane deciding what to order. He hates asparagus. He knows he should like them but the prime rib came with grilled asparagus and he was hesitant about it. In the end he decided to order it and it turns out that he really enjoyed the grilled asparagus. His piece of prime rib was done just to his liking. Very soft and tender. He was one happy puppy. This was to be a recurring theme of the trip. A full Dh was a happy Dh.:goodvibes

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/170108cb.jpg

During dinner the floor show started. This surprised me. I hadn’t realized that the fairy godmother and mice sing a song. I knew they would be there walking around but the song surprised me.

I got a “crick in my neck” from turning to look. I wish I had of let Dh look out the window instead.

The show was cute. But once again because we were two adults the characters did not even visit with our table. I got a wave and wink from the fairy godmother.

Sigh.:sad2:

I’ve decided that when I retire and become the reigning fairy godmother at the castle that I will make sure I talk to the adults too.

In fact Dh and I talked at lengths about our plans to retire and work down here. Dh isn’t sure what he wants to do. Something where he doesn’t have to be on his feet all day long. He’d like to be able to sit a spell. I suggested a bus driver but he didn’t like the idea of sitting all day either. I guess he’ll have to figure it out himself.:confused3

As for myself, like I mentioned, I want to be the fairy godmother.:wizard:

Dh also revisited his latest money making scheme. He wants to buy a trailer in Kissimmee. He has a buddy who has a friend that is selling a one-bedroom trailer for 15 thousand. Dh thought we should buy it, rent it out and of course stay there when we visit Disney.

This idea both thrills and bothers me. It thrills me because the whole concept concedes to the fact that we will be having many more visits to WDW over the years. This is a new concept for Dh to embrace. He was of the mindset that we would “Do Disney” once and it would be over with.

He now realizes he was wrong.

I just have to take a moment to let that statement sink in.

He now realizes he was wrong.

Great sentence.

Where was I? I got a bit distracted. Oh yes.

This trailer idea bothers me because I’m not about to be swayed into staying off property. I know that there are those that like staying off property and I've looked into it. But I've decided I like staying on property. I though Dh liked it too. I’m surprised he even suggested staying off site when he sings the praises not having to hire a vehicle because of the magic express and the Disney bus service.

So for me if we're going to invest towards continual trips to WDW it’s DVC or nothing. But I wasn’t ready to throw that at Dh just yet. He needs a few more years. I’m still pretty low in seniority at work and Dh owns his own business so in this economy it doesn’t make sense for us yet. So I’ll wait it out. Maybe next trip we'll take the tour.

So I bit my tongue about doing the DVC tour. I praised Dh for realizing that there were still many WDW trips in our future but told him (gently) that they would be on property and not from a trailer park. I pointed out how much renting a car was and parking each day. He conceded.

“Still, it’s something to think about” he ended with.

“Yes, dear” I replied. Otherwise known to all married men as the signal that the wife has had the last word and is only humoring you.

Our picture from Cinderella arrived. I don’t like it so I’m not including it. That’s the great thing about writing your own trip report. You can do anything you wish with it and it is my wish not to share the photo. I don’t even know where it is anymore.

The server came back to take our desert orders. He winked at Dh. I thought it odd.

Then a few minutes later he came out with a wonderful surprise.

Dh had pre-ordered a special birthday desert for me.

I got my very own chocolate slipper filled with chocolate mousse all decorated on a large platter that read “Happy 40th Birthday Sweetie”.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/a11fda75.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/7229d7f5.jpg

I didn’t even know that Dh knew you could request special deserts.

I was relieved to know that our server didn’t have the hots for my husband and thrilled that Dh went to the trouble to do this for me. It’s very untypical behaviour from him.

He shared with me that he wanted me to let all my disboards friends know about my special desert and therefore he didn’t want to put my real name on the plate so I could post pictures. Wasn’t that sweet of him?

I was surprised.

Honest I was.

I had hoped that Dh would pull something like this but never believed he’d go to the trouble.

I was wrong. (For some reason I like the word wrong better when it’s in a sentence about Dh’s behaviour and not mine.)

Dh did good!

Now I have to top that for his 40th in September. Yes cougar that I am, I married a younger man. He wants a pig roast in our backyard with everybody we know. Do you think I could write Happy 40th birthday on the Pig with BBQ sauce? I guess I better start planning that. I’ve never roasted a pig before.

Back to me and my birthday surprise, the chocolate was way better than the salmon and I ate every last bite of it all up.

We rolled out of the castle and into the magic kingdom to continue my birthday festivities. This rolling out of restaurants is also a continuing theme as it was our first experience with the deluxe plan.

Up next I find out that everything you think you want to do and will enjoy doing while sitting at home reading the disboards may not in fact be enjoyable in person. Click here to read on http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32575825&postcount=183

Diamondintheruff

07-01-2009, 01:28 AM

Happy Canada Day to all my Fellow Canadians!

Cinderella redeems herself in my book with that last farewell. :)

Poor dear must be so tired being around kids all day.

:rotfl2:

I know I'm tired after being around the kids all day myself.

Yes, she did redeem herself.

Oh, I was so upset about your Cinderella interaction and then she redeemed herself. Yay! Cinderella has never been my favorite either. :rolleyes:

I have witnessed so many scenes of adult meltdowns at Disney that it gets a little silly. :upsidedow

I also wanted one of those wands they give the girls. Didn't you get one?

You are a better woman than I am because if someone would have put their hands on me to push me away from a character I would be having a adult meltdown. I may have been banned from the castle :eek::rotfl2:

If it had of been Ariel than yes, I would have been more vocal.

Yeah!! (she redeemed herself-I'm so glad for you...Happy Belated Birthday!) Your husband and you have dialogue that reminds me of me and my husband...:lmao:-fun report so far...

:welcome:

Maybe it's a husband class they take?

yay, it's a Diamond update AND it's summer! gems and jewels!

love the castle scene, could so picture myself there with you guys (not that you'd have wanted me sitting in the middle) and crikey what is with everyone freaking out?!?! bet it felt good to be cool & calm

you really did dash in & out of the Eaton Centre! hmmm, Chipolte is a burrito place that is SO good. The last time LM had to go for an appt downtown he got us 2 each, one for lunch, one for dinner :rotfl2:

Gems and Jewels is a great expression!

As long as you weren't freaking out too we would have loved to have you with us. It did feel good to be cool and calm. We were hungry and thirsty and tired but instead of freaking out we were being well to take a phrase from you we were being LAZY.

Nemo32

07-01-2009, 02:08 AM

Go DH! Very nice surprise...it looked delicious!

Charleston Princess

07-01-2009, 07:44 AM

Here's the menu. The real one was much prettier than my printed from the internet one.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/44766d26.jpg

So, did you ask to keep the menu by any chance? I always wonder if I asked if they would let me keep one of them?

No surprise but it turns out that I am ideed right. The Magic Kingdom is dry. As nice as it is to be right, I was still annoyed by his need to double check. It's a good thing dinner arrived to take my mind off how annoyed I was.

Don't you hate it when DHs pull things like that??? After all, they should just concede that we know many, many things about Disney. :laughing:

The show was cute. But once again because we were two adults the characters did not even visit with our table. I got a wave and wink from the fairy godmother.

Sigh.:sad2:

I’ve decided that when I retire and become the reigning fairy godmother at the castle that I will make sure I talk to the adults too.

I am kind of surprised that they don't stop to talk to the adults -- grown-ups need character time, too! :(

He now realizes he was wrong.

I just have to take a moment to let that statement sink in.

He now realizes he was wrong.

Great sentence.

:lmao::rotfl::rotfl2:

I praised Dh for realizing that there were still many WDW trips in our future but told him (gently) that they would be on property and not from a trailer park.

This cracked me up!!! Yes, on-property will always be the way to go for us as well!

“Yes, dear” I replied. Otherwise known to all married men as the signal that the wife has had the last word and is only humoring you.

You are so funny, but right! :laughing:

Dh had pre-ordered a special birthday desert for me.

I got my very own chocolate slipper filled with chocolate mousse all decorated on a large platter that read “Happy 40th Birthday Sweetie”.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/a11fda75.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/7229d7f5.jpg

I didn’t even know that Dh knew you could request special deserts.

This is awesome!!! I am very impressed that your DH pulled this one off!

Now I have to top that for his 40th in September. Yes cougar that I am, I married a younger man. He wants a pig roast in our backyard with everybody we know. Do you think I could write Happy 40th birthday on the Pig with BBQ sauce? I guess I better start planning that. I’ve never roasted a pig before.

:rotfl:

Lady Lallie

07-01-2009, 09:53 AM

Jen had to ask for wands for us. When I went for my birthday in September they gave me a wand and Marc a sword without asking. Who knows. :confused3

You sat at the exact same table that we did in September. It wasn't a bad table but not the best either. I sat facing inside the room but we missed the dinner show that time.

That was so nice of your DH to get your the slipper treat! :goodvibes

Queenofallthings

07-01-2009, 10:47 AM

Oh he did good!!! How did he know how to do it:confused3 I am impressed!

That dessert looks delicious.

I found when we had an adults only trip, the characters didn't have much time for us:sad2: My friend kept saying "Don't they realize when we were little our parents couldn't afford to bring us here" she wanted the interaction so badly:guilty: I had it with Jasmine, seeing it through her eyes:guilty She was so excited when we took Jasmine for her 12th birthday and they made such a big deal about it....Aladdin even ran over during the MNSSHP parade to sing a very quick version of "Happy Birthday" to her when he saw her birthday button.....Trish shed a few tears at that moment;)

DearDaisyinDurham

07-01-2009, 06:44 PM

I knew weeks in advance what I was going to order but Dh just decided on the plane on the way over.
Can't believe DH left it to the last minute like that!!

LM often asks me what I'm ordering before we go out...now sometimes I DO know but I WON'T tell him....leaving my options open... :rotfl2:

Our server arrived to take our drink orders and was surprised to hear that we were all set to order.

Little did he know!!

Now he was starting to bother me. Once again he was questioning my Disney knowledge. :mad:

I was still annoyed by his need to double check. It's a good thing dinner arrived to take my mind off how annoyed I was. :rotfl:

For dinner I ordered the salmon. It was okay.

the salmon at Artist Point is VERY good, almost as good as I had in Vancouver

As for myself, like I mentioned, I want to be the fairy godmother.:wizard:

you will be a WONDERFUL fairy godmother!!

He now realizes he was wrong.

I just have to take a moment to let that statement sink in.

He now realizes he was wrong.

Great sentence. ;)

Our picture from Cinderella arrived. I don’t like it so I’m not including it. That’s the great thing about writing your own trip report. You can do anything you wish with it so true, so true

The server came back to take our desert orders. He winked at Dh. I thought it odd. :lmao:

Then a few minutes later he came out with a wonderful surprise. :thumbsup2

WTG DH!!

I didn’t even know that Dh knew you could request special deserts. :rotfl:

I was relieved to know that our server didn’t have the hots for my husband and thrilled that Dh went to the trouble to do this for me. It’s very untypical behaviour from him.

He shared with me that he wanted me to let all my disboards friends know about my special desert and therefore he didn’t want to put my real name on the plate so I could post pictures. Wasn’t that sweet of him? :lovestruc

Dh did good! :thumbsup2

YOU youngster YOU!! Welcome to the 4-0 club Diamond!

jelloarms

07-05-2009, 05:03 PM

Hi, I've been away from the boards for a while but I am back! Great and entertaining updates. I would be pretty upset about the whole Cinderella thing if that happened to me. It was kind of funny that she broke character though. When we were at Hollywood Studios, we sort of saw Mary Poppins break character. We were behind her as she was walking to go backstage and we heard her complain to her handler that her throat was itchy and she was hot. Like with Cinderella, it was a human thing but so unlike their character. To me, Mary Poppins is a sort of person that would suck it up.

Diamondintheruff

07-05-2009, 11:27 PM

The Plan

Spectromagic 9pm
Wishes 10pm
_________________________________________________

So we finished our dinner at the castle in great time thanks to our pre-deciding what we wanted to order. The only other thing on my agenda tonight was to watch wishes.

I have never seen wishes. I have watched illuminations and some of the fireworks at the pirate and princess party but never wishes.

In truth I haven’t watched Spectromagic either. However, when I originally checked into the park hours for tonight it said the park was going to close at 10pm and only wishes was scheduled. I was hoping to do both the same night but would take what I could get.

When I re-checked the schedule for the park hours closer to my trip I was thrilled to see that they added the spectromagic parade too! Yay! I could do both in the same night.

:banana:

I reminded Dh as we walked down the terribly worn red-carpeted staircase at the castle of the plan for the night. I know I said I wouldn’t say negative things about the castle but serious folks. That carpet is threadbare. It’s not like it takes ages to replace carpet. Disney could get it done in a couple of hours during the night and not loose any restaurant time.

But back to the plan and my reminding Dh of it. Dh rewarded me with a “I remember tonight’s plan. Castle, fireworks and parade.” He proudly spouted.

:teacher:

Well technically he is correct. He just got them in the wrong order.

I hated to correct him with the teeny tiny fact that it is the parade that precedes the fireworks. I just let him puff out his chest with the pride at his spouting out his Disney knowledge like a peacock puffs out his feathers.

Plus he was still on a high from surprising me with my chocolate slipper. I just couldn’t burst his bubble.

I was pleased as punch at Dh for knowing I wanted to see the parade and fireworks. He remembered tonight’s plan. It was pretty simple after all. Not that I’m calling Dh a dummy but the man has a tendency too loose information in his cerebral cortex if he’s given too big a dose of it at a time or too far in advance.

The secret to Dh retaining information is in the amount given at just the right time. Not too far in advance but not too late either. It’s a delicate balance I’m still working out.

Still we must celebrate even the smallest victories. He remembered that we were having dinner at the castle, watching the parade at 9 and fireworks at 10.

Dh further surprised me by even remembering why we hadn’t seen these evening events at the MK before. This is a truly remarkable thing for him to remember because it signifies that

1) Dh has prior knowledge that there are evening events at the MK
2) Dh remembers that WE have not seen them and finally
3) That Dh is cognitive of Eeoyre’s (DS10) immense dislike of loud noises (aka fireworks) and large crowds getting in his personal space (aka sidewalk waiting for parades and fireworks crowds).

I was so proud of Dh for remembering all those things at once.:hug:

I had my own peacock feather fluffing moment.

My Dh had listened to me, remembered what I said and parroted it back to me without sarcasm.

Sigh.

I was a happy camper.:goodvibes

In our happy state we had exited the castle and just sort of wandered a bit. Unconsciously I lead us back towards Main Street. I wanted to stake out my parade seat and people watch.

Okay. So maybe that’s not entirely the truth.

The truth is I wanted to sit Dh down to stake out our parade spot while I searched in the shops for a watch to buy with my birthday fun card.

Dh had other plans.

While I tried to silently lead him back towards Main Street he silently resisted and we headed into the middle of fantasyland.

Our silent battle leads us right past snow white.

That’s when I noticed there was hardly any lineup. I forgot about our mute tango and got excited about the lack of a lineup. We hadn’t taken the kids on this ride as I thought it might be too dark for them. So I wanted to do it now. I figured we had the time as it was still early and again it had no lineup.

“Let’s go on Snow white,” I suggested with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store.

“Umm.” Dh stalls his answer.

I notice more people noticing the lack of a lineup specifically a rather large cheerleading group and start to panic there will be a line soon.

“Come on” I say playfully pulling him towards the ride.

“Later” he says unclenching me.

“But there’s no line up now” I say and in retrospect I was trying to go for a playful childish tone but probably sounded like a whine.

“I just don’t want to right now okay?” he says.

“I know I told the kids it was scary but it’s not that bad. Honest”

“Not now”

“Why. What’s wrong with now. The line is getting longer as we stand here.”

“You never mentioned going on rides tonight.”

“Well, I figured they would all be pretty busy but this one has no line up.”

“It’s not in the plan”

Hello. Since when is Dh the holder of the plan? I made the plan. I did the research. It was my birthday even. I knew when we had time to be flexible and when we didn't.

“Listen, don’t start quoting my plan to me. There is a lot more to the plan than I’ve let on and believe it or not there is some flexibility to it. We can ride Snow White and still be on track with THE PLAN.”

“I agreed to the plan and this wasn’t on it”

“Are you serious?”

:eek:

I hated to play the birthday card again but it seemed the situation called for it.

“You agreed to come with me to Disney for my Birthday to make me happy and here we are on my actual birthday and I want to ride Snow white”

I don’t get it.

I don’t get him.

I only get that he’s driving me crazy and that at this very moment we aren’t acting like a happily married couple. In fact we’re starting to become our own sideshow.

I’m calm enough inside to notice that we’re not fighting about whether to go on a ride or not. There is some sort of bigger issue going on. Possibly a control issue.

I take a deep breath to centre myself. Locate my inner calm.

I purposely adopt a quieter tone to my voice as I calmly ask “Why won’t you ride it with me?”

Dh takes a moment to himself as well. I suspect he’s realized he’s been acting irrationally as well. Or maybe he’s just so used to parroting back what I do that he takes the same type of deep breath and answers in a calmer tone as well.

“Because I’m … thirsty,” he says.

Thirsty?

The man is thirsty?

:drinking:

We haven’t been away from our table at the restaurant for more than five minutes and now he’s thirsty.

In my mind I’m picturing the tall glass of ice water that he left almost full on the table. Why the heck didn’t he just take a big gulp before we left? Is he kidding with this?

“I need to head to the nearest water fountain” he continues.

I scratch my head. Perhaps I shake it a bit too.

“You are thirsty?” It’s my turn to parrot back.

I can’t help myself with the next question. It’s the mother and teacher in me. I know I should have just kept my comment to myself but I guess it was the shock. I was so not expecting the thirsty response.

“Couldn’t you have thought of that before we left the restaurant?”

He scowled at me.

“I wasn’t thirsty then. Besides I also have to go to the bathroom.”

So this is where my kids get it.

All those times 10 minutes into a highway drive when one of them screams from the back of the minivan that they have to go. I can blame it all on Dh.

“Fine” I say through clenched teeth.

We head to the nearest bathroom.

I had used the bathroom at the castle. Don't get me started on the state of that washroom. Two disney dinning credits to use a bathroom in worse shape than the McDonald's on I95. But I digress. I figured what was good for the goose was good for the gander. I did consume a large amount of beverages at dinner and I figured I might as well try again since we were here anyway.

When Dh is finished using the facilities and getting a good long drink from the fountain I ask “Now can we ride Snow White?”

“Yeah”

But do we?

:confused:

Click here for the next installement http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33013745&postcount=209

lisalonglash

07-05-2009, 11:44 PM

Seriously, reading that just made my head hurt for you :headache: On the one hand, I can't help but feel :mad: for you; but on the other hand, it did make me :laughing: (sorry!). You have so much more patience than I do :upsidedow

I hope you eventually got to ride Snow White and then to see the parade & fireworks! :woohoo:

Diamondintheruff

07-05-2009, 11:57 PM

Go DH! Very nice surprise...it looked delicious!

I'll let him know you are proud of him!

So, did you ask to keep the menu by any chance? I always wonder if I asked if they would let me keep one of them?

I didn't ask. I'm sure you could. If I recall mine was a tad soiled but then I did say I wasn't going to complain about the castle.

Don't you hate it when DHs pull things like that??? After all, they should just concede that we know many, many things about Disney. :laughing:

I did make Dh sign a contract on our last family Disney trip to that effect. It cut down on the questions but did not eliminate them entirely.

This is awesome!!! I am very impressed that your DH pulled this one off!

I truly did not believe he had it in him. I was wrong. I even told him so.

Jen had to ask for wands for us. When I went for my birthday in September they gave me a wand and Marc a sword without asking. Who knows. :confused3

You sat at the exact same table that we did in September. It wasn't a bad table but not the best either. I sat facing inside the room but we missed the dinner show that time.

That was so nice of your DH to get your the slipper treat! :goodvibes

I should have just asked for a wand and sword but then we would have needed an extra sword since we have two boys and I didn't want to seem greedy so we didn't. Plus Dh said he didn't want to carry a sword all night. He was loving the freedom of no park bag.

Oh he did good!!! How did he know how to do it:confused3 I am impressed!

That dessert looks delicious.

I found when we had an adults only trip, the characters didn't have much time for us:sad2: My friend kept saying "Don't they realize when we were little our parents couldn't afford to bring us here" she wanted the interaction so badly:guilty: I had it with Jasmine, seeing it through her eyes:guilty She was so excited when we took Jasmine for her 12th birthday and they made such a big deal about it....Aladdin even ran over during the MNSSHP parade to sing a very quick version of "Happy Birthday" to her when he saw her birthday button.....Trish shed a few tears at that moment;)

Sadly I found most characters just glided past us.

The chocolate was delicious but the pillow that the slipper was on was like dried out sponge cake. I did not eat that part.

LM often asks me what I'm ordering before we go out...now sometimes I DO know but I WON'T tell him....leaving my options open... :rotfl2:

Dh did good! :thumbsup2

YOU youngster YOU!! Welcome to the 4-0 club Diamond!

Way to keep the suspense in your relationship!

Yes, Dh is happy to hear that I have posted the pictures of the slipper and glad to be on the receiving end of your cheers.Hi, I've been away from the boards for a while but I am back! Great and entertaining updates. I would be pretty upset about the whole Cinderella thing if that happened to me. It was kind of funny that she broke character though. When we were at Hollywood Studios, we sort of saw Mary Poppins break character. We were behind her as she was walking to go backstage and we heard her complain to her handler that her throat was itchy and she was hot. Like with Cinderella, it was a human thing but so unlike their character. To me, Mary Poppins is a sort of person that would suck it up.

I'm with you about Mary Poppins. She is english after all and should be sporting a stiff upper lip.

Diamondintheruff

07-05-2009, 11:59 PM

Charleston Princess

07-06-2009, 12:11 AM

I was pleased as punch at Dh for knowing I wanted to see the parade and fireworks. He remembered tonight’s plan. It was pretty simple after all. Not that I’m calling Dh a dummy but the man has a tendency too loose information in his cerebral cortex if he’s given too big a dose of it at a time or too far in advance.

The secret to Dh retaining information is in the amount given at just the right time. Not too far in advance but not too late either. It’s a delicate balance I’m still working out.

I don’t get it.

I don’t get him.

I only get that he’s driving me crazy and that at this very moment we aren’t acting like a happily married couple. In fact we’re starting to become our own sideshow.

We haven’t been away from our table at the restaurant for more than five minutes and now he’s thirsty.

“I wasn’t thirsty then. Besides I also have to go to the bathroom.”

So this is where my kids get it.

All those times 10 minutes into a highway drive when one of them screams from the back of the minivan that they have to go. I can blame it all on Dh.

:lmao::rotfl::rotfl2:

There is NO doubt in my mind that our DHs were separated at birth! I could easily have lived this update! In fact, I am pretty sure I have in a different format!

Diamondintheruff

07-06-2009, 08:20 AM

:lmao::rotfl::rotfl2:

There is NO doubt in my mind that are DHs were separated at birth! I could easily have lived this update! In fact, I am pretty sure I have in a different format!

Yes, I notice the resemblance to your Charles when I'm reading your reports.

Lady Lallie

07-06-2009, 10:35 AM

:headache: Oy! Men! Things like that drive me up the wall. Pfffft.

DearDaisyinDurham

07-06-2009, 03:17 PM

:scratchin hmmmm......will the line still be non existent or are those :cheer2: cheerleaders :cheer2: clogging it up?? and don't :sad2: get me started on nasty bathrooms :scared1:

Diamondintheruff

07-06-2009, 05:38 PM

:headache: Oy! Men! Things like that drive me up the wall. Pfffft.

That was pretty much the theme of my trip. I felt like I was plucking the leaves off a daisy but instead of saying he loves me, he loves me not it was he drives me crazy, he drives me crazy not.

:scratchin hmmmm......will the line still be non existent or are those :cheer2: cheerleaders :cheer2: clogging it up?? and don't :sad2: get me started on nasty bathrooms :scared1:

There were tons of cheerleaders everywhere. And still in their uniforms which I found interesting. I know when my family goes to dance competitions I make them change before they head out into public because what looks appropriate on stage does not always look acceptable in public.

eandesmom

07-07-2009, 12:07 AM

That trip I ended up with a new pair of school shoes for me, black flats that are still sporty enough for gym class but dressy enough not to look like running shoes and a new pair of Capri pants. I bought a few items for each of the kids (mostly sporty stuff like the boys got shorts made out of the quick dry material and PJ’s). A couple food items that we can’t get in Canada like Cookie Crisp cereal, Rice Chex, Cheery Coke, rainbow goldfish and pink icing covered animal crackers. Nothing for Dh though. All in all I spent a little over $120 American. Not too bad for a power shop. But I need to backtrack. There was a problem with my purchase.

Just subbing in, albeit a bit late!

A couple of things...so far.

I love your uh, toy store stop. Hmmn....that could make my DH rethink WDW as an adult only trip. Not. If it were other adults maybe...lol!

I love the fact your GPS has a name.

And really? no Rice Chex, Cherry Coke, rainbow goldfish and pink icing covered animal crackers? That's just wrong. Not that I actually eat any of them but still! Wheat Chex? Corn Chex? Are Canadians entirely Chex deprived? I had no idea. Maybe it's fair play for keeping Mackintosh Caramel/Toffee out of the states :)

Of course I can't get the ice cream with Rolo's in it here in Seattle, much to DH's everlasting disappointment. To me, that's just another excuse to go to Whistler though :)

portocall

07-07-2009, 01:46 AM

And here I was thinking that I was gonna inform my sweet DH that I was the sole keeper of the plan...lol... he is quite a literal man, so it would be no Snow White for me.

Love the slipper, that was so sweet of him to think of that!

Nemo32

07-07-2009, 01:14 PM

Weird...what a time to need a drink and bathroom break, it is like a 5 minute ride! :rotfl:

I hope you get to ride it!

purplepeg

07-07-2009, 11:57 PM

Ok, seriously? You may have well brought your kids! I'd have been divorced by now, even if he did arrange a nice sugar laden chocolate dessert!

Diamondintheruff

07-18-2009, 09:55 PM

Sad news have befallen the Diamond household. Our computer kicked the bucket. The really sad part is I hadn't backed it up in a couple of months so I lost quite a few pictures. Yes, my Disney pictures.

:guilty:

All is not lost as I had already printed out the pictures and finished my album. However, I can't find the memory card they were on. I must have put it someplace safe or worse even perhaps I erased them.:eek:

I have the first half of my trip downloaded onto photobucket. Of course I still have my photopass pictures.

It's been a sad time for me. I did lose other pictures as well plus I had written the next couple of installments on my trip and I'm mourning their loss as well.

So that is why I haven't been around.

Even though School is out, I've been taking a course. It's done this week. It's been tough working on the course on friend's computers and our laptop. But I should be back on track after that.

I'll need some pixie dust to find that memory card.

Diamondintheruff

07-18-2009, 10:07 PM

Just subbing in, albeit a bit late!

A couple of things...so far.

I love your uh, toy store stop. Hmmn....that could make my DH rethink WDW as an adult only trip. Not. If it were other adults maybe...lol!

I love the fact your GPS has a name.

And really? no Rice Chex, Cherry Coke, rainbow goldfish and pink icing covered animal crackers? That's just wrong. Not that I actually eat any of them but still! Wheat Chex? Corn Chex? Are Canadians entirely Chex deprived? I had no idea. Maybe it's fair play for keeping Mackintosh Caramel/Toffee out of the states :)

Of course I can't get the ice cream with Rolo's in it here in Seattle, much to DH's everlasting disappointment. To me, that's just another excuse to go to Whistler though :)

We do have some sort of chex cereal. But it's not rice chex. So we aren't totally without but close.

It is increasingly difficult to find Mackintosh Caramel here now. I saw it in a candy store in Toronto last month but your run of the mill variety store doesn't carry it anymore.

Personally I prefer the turtle ice cream over the rolo kind anyhow. It was on sale here a while ago and I had to stop myself from buying more than one container. Okay I can't lie-it was two but that was it. Honest.

And here I was thinking that I was gonna inform my sweet DH that I was the sole keeper of the plan...lol... he is quite a literal man, so it would be no Snow White for me.

Love the slipper, that was so sweet of him to think of that!

I think my Dh was more concerned with going to the bathroom than breaking from the plan because it certainly wasn't in my plan to go have a bio break five minutes after leaving a restaurant.

Weird...what a time to need a drink and bathroom break, it is like a 5 minute ride! :rotfl:

I hope you get to ride it!

That's what i was thinking only you need to insert some adult only words.

Ok, seriously? You may have well brought your kids! I'd have been divorced by now, even if he did arrange a nice sugar laden chocolate dessert!

He's catholic. He told me he'd never leave me. It seemed sweet at the time but now it's just creepy.

Queenofallthings

07-18-2009, 10:35 PM

I"VE MISSED YOU.....I was seriously sitting here tonight, yup, that's right, Saturday night and I'm at home on the boards:confused3 anyhoodle....I was sitting here thinking, Why hasn't Diamond talked to us lately, that is not like her not to check in.

I am sick about your pics and the fact that you can't find that memory card:sick: I am thinking of you and sending:goodvibesthat you are successful in finding it. We've missed you terribly and I'm glad your back:hug:

Charleston Princess

07-19-2009, 12:09 AM

That stinks about the computer! Pixie dust for your lost memory card!!! :wizard:

declansdad

07-19-2009, 10:12 AM

Hope you find everything. I'm looking forward to the rest of the report.

DearDaisyinDurham

07-19-2009, 11:10 AM

Hi Diamond, my first thought was, OH NO! Something bad happened! I was almost scared to click on the thread....read a couple lines & realized, phew, you're all ok......then re-read that part about your computer - oh no! Bad enough!! Argh. Sorry. :sad2:

eandesmom

07-19-2009, 02:54 PM

eandesmom

07-19-2009, 03:05 PM

It is increasingly difficult to find Mackintosh Caramel here now. I saw it in a candy store in Toronto last month but your run of the mill variety store doesn't carry it anymore.

I haven't seen it in several years, figured I was just looking in the wrong place :sad1: one of my favorite childhood/teen memories was riding the Princess Marguerite up to Victoria and getting a bar each way. They probably stopped making it as it took out too many fillings and cracked crowns. That stuff was hard as a rock but OH so good!

Personally I prefer the turtle ice cream over the rolo kind anyhow. It was on sale here a while ago and I had to stop myself from buying more than one container. Okay I can't lie-it was two but that was it. Honest.

:rotfl:

akayek31

07-19-2009, 04:08 PM

I know computer issues this year :lmao: I lost my computer while planning if you recall. Thank goodness I emailed all the information to myself. I am the person that deletes the memory card after each download to the computer. That is why before I did my report I uploaded all my pictures to Photobucket. I would have lost over 1200 pictures :scared1: I hope you find your card. I am glad everyone is OK.

PracPerfPatricia

07-19-2009, 10:09 PM

I am so sorry about your computer...you must be very frustrated...:scared1:

While I was reading about your husband-it reminded me of an article I read about how men and women's brains really do work differently-we are wired to multi task naturally and they tend to process things in a much more linear fashion...(now of course I can be objective about this because right now its about your DH and not mine...but don't worry-we'll be having another moment like that soon...:lmao:)

DH likes to know exactly what's going to be happening and he isn't always great with serendipity...if you give him the plan -that's the plan...

it's like if I were to tell him we were going to the mall to buy shoes...that's it...in his mind...shoes...no detours to the handbags or linens-it is all about the shoes-you know the whole hunter vs gather thing..."we're going to the store to hunt the shoes, bag them, and bring em home..."

Personally I think its quite impressive that he got the dinner, parade and fireworks thing down...see he was listening...:thumbsup2

Btw-I'm so glad that everyone is ok-when I saw your title I thought someone was sick...

Still -poor sick computer...may he rest in peace...RIP

(and may you retrieve whatever you can...)

shordiebecka

07-20-2009, 10:56 AM

boo to loosing all your pictures! that happened to me, and despite BF's best efforts..I lost everything on my hard drive. I invested in an external hardrive, and now back everything on my computer up onto that. I feel you though..its such a crappy feeling :(

Tnkrbelle565

07-20-2009, 11:06 AM

So sorry for your loss :hug:

portocall

07-27-2009, 12:27 AM

Sorry for your loss... I hope that you are able to have success in recovering at least some, if not all of your pictures.

Diamondintheruff

08-04-2009, 12:16 PM

Yes, we did ride snow white. There was a bit of a line-up by this time. When I say a bit I'm actually being nice. The lineup ended right outside of the railing area. I gave him "the look" when we got in line. You know that look that says I was right and you were wrong and now I'm angry with you. He ignored it. So we waited in the line in silence. For a while anyway.

Behind me was a father with a little girl who looked about four. I had seen them in the castle and noticed that their table was decorated for her birthday. She was dressed in a tink costume. It looked scratchy to me and I can only hope it looked worse than it felt. The father noticed my birthday button.

"Is it really your birthday today?"

"Yes, it is"

"Well what do you know honey," he says to his daughter. "This nice lady has the same birthday as you."

The little girl really couldn't have cared less. She was pretty grumpy. Could have been the itchy dress. But I was bored and obviously not in the mood to talk to Dh so I thought I'd pursue a further conversation with my birthday mate and her dad.

"How old are you?" I asked.

She held up four fingers. Then she asked the question that seems innocent to children but mortifies most women over the age of 21.

"How old are you?" Her father looked appropriately embarrassed and tried to apologize for her but I was fine with it. After all it's not like I'm going to see these people again.

"Oh, I'm so old I don't even have enough fingers to show you. I have to tell you. I'm forty."

"So that's kind of like me. We both have a four in our numbers."

"That's right. Wow. I'm impressed that you know about the number forty. I'm a kindergarten teacher and I have a class full of four, five and six year olds and you know what? Not many of them know about the number 40. That's one smart little girl you have there Dad."

After that we spent the time exchanging pleasantries like where we lived and how old our other children were. He had twin two year olds waiting off to the side with his wife. He was surprised to hear that we had left our children at home and were there alone together.

"Really? Were the kids okay with you leaving?"

"They knew it was coming. We usually go in the summer and to be honest I think they are under the impression that we are coming back this summer. We're not. So I suspect they'll be annoyed once they realize it."

Dh piped up with "My wife's parents are looking after them and I'm sure they having a grand old time. They are probably spending more money on the kids this weekend than we are here in Disney."

By the time we got to the actual ride I could tell that the Dad was getting over his shock and starting to see the merits in our plan.

The ride itself was uneventful. It's one of the ones that I remember vividly from childhood. I didn't enjoy it back then. I still don't enjoy it. We haven't taken our kids on it yet. Dh commented after the ride that having the kids skip it was a good idea. I wanted to say that going to the bathroom when there was no lineup was NOT a good idea but I didn't. I tried to push the angries away.

Next up Dh wanted to cross off another item from our list. The gifts for the kids. He had asked the kids what they wanted.

Jedi-Jedi robe
Cindy-baby Minnie with blanket
Eeoyre-glow in the dark string thingie. His broke he bought here earlier.

In true Dh fashion, he was determined to get all the gifts immediately. He wanted to get this shopping think over as quick as possible. I agreed we could hit some shops. I had visions of browsing through the merchandise kid free, just enjoying myself. I couldn't have been more mistaken.

We hit Sir Mickey's first. Dh goes right up to a sales clerk and asks about all three items. They didn't have any of them. The sales clerk said he thinks only MGM carries the Jedi robes, but if any place had them in the magic kingdom it would be tomorrowland. The sales clerk suggested we try Tink's treasures for baby Minnie.

Off to Tink's treasures we went. Once again I was thwarted in my plans to browse. I really wanted to get Cindy some Disney earrings. She got her ears pierced after our last trip and of course I wanted to look for a watch with my Disney funcard. Dh was having none of it. He went straight up to a sales clerk again and asked his questions. No baby Minnie there. She suggested one of the stores along the main street for it and agreed with the clerk from Sir Mickey's that the Jedi robe was most likely at MGM. We might find it at Downtown Disney at the world of Disney.

We weren't planning on going to MGM this trip. We had two and half days available for parks and MGM didn't make the cut. Dh knew this. I'm surprised that he did. I guess he must have paid attention at some time during my Disney rambles.

So just when I position myself in front of a rotating jewelry display Dh grabs my hand and says, "Come on." Off to tomorrowland we go.

While Dh heads into a store (I can't remember what it's called. It has the booth where you can insert your image in a star wars pose and it's beside the stitch ride) I notice that the fast pass return for Buzz is only 30 minutes away. I go and grab two.

Back at the store Dh has finished a conversation with another sales clerk. He is waving a baby Minnie frantically in the air in my direction with the same pride as if he had caught a fly ball with the bases loaded. His conversation with this sales clerk has confirmed that MGM has the robes but there is a slim chance that the world of Disney has them too. The clerk has gone to phone the world of Disney for us so suddenly I have time to browse.

I pick out a 2009 photo album. It doesn't take me much time as I had looked at the albums my other trips and knew that they were the same price everywhere. I pick out one that holds 200 pictures and has a sparkly red cover with a 2009 on it.

Dh takes the baby Minnie and my album to the counter. He inserts our Cinderella castle picture in the bag and has them deliver the goods to our hotel. He's pleased with himself. I'm a little worried as we are only here for the weekend and tell him he mustn't do that again because it could take a couple days to get there. He looks like a scolded school boy. I feel bad.

The sales clerk comes back from his phone call but has nothing to report. He was just passed from department to department and no one could give him an answer. We thanked him and went on our way.

It was still too early for our Buzz fastpasses so we went to my favorite Disney ride of all time.

You guessed it. The carousal of progress.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/12da798d.jpg

We had just missed a seating so had to wait for five minutes. There were only a couple of us waiting. Then as we were loading into our seats a group of cheerleaders got on. The took up a row right in front of us. How did I know they were cheerleaders? I think the fact that they still had their uniforms on and their hair in high ponies with a big red bow was the giveaway.

I was surprised to see so many cheer groups running around the park dressed in their cheer outfits. My kids dance competitively and I know it's a bit different but their costumes are expensive and I wouldn't let my kids wear them out until after the year was over plus their dance instructors are very strict about wearing warm-up suits so as to keep the surprise of the costume a surprise until you go on stage. So it is shocking for me to see these groups out and about in their uniforms.

We couldn't see over the hair very well so we got up and moved back.

The cheer girls weren't really that bad. It was just one girl who was on the phone the whole ride talking loudly and pointing out negative aspects of the ride to her phonemate. She made it difficult to hear but I already knew the dialogue so I tried to block her out. I thought a cast member rode with us through the ride and kept waiting for someone to tell her to get off the phone but no one did.

I still love that ride. Especially when the daughter is getting ready for the valentine dance. That's my favorite era,

We still had a couple minutes to kill before our fast passes. We sat down at a bench nearby that was facing a bandshell. I'm guessing it's the bandshell where the stitch show plays. It was showing videos of futuristic commercials. They were cute. Our real entertainment was a street sweeper. I don't think he saw us or else was just too involved in his own world. He kept balancing the end of his broom on his chin. He was pretty good. After a particularly long balancing episode Dh and I applauded. He turned beat red and then did the Dick Van Dick move from Mary Poppins where he tipped his hat and waddled off like a penguin before getting at least one heel click jump in the air. I wish I had of gotten his name to report how funny he was to his supervisors.

After our impromptu show, we headed to Buzz. There was no lineup in the fast pass line. We breezed in. I beat the pants off Dh and enjoyed gloating about it. It would be the only time all trip I would.

His score
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/75e57be9.jpg

My score
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/104f0dea.jpg

I rednecked the photo of us.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/065299b4.jpg

It was about 8:30 by now and time for us to find a spot for the parade. We made our way to Main Street stopping at the castle for a nighttime photo pass picture.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/ed62c7b8.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/d406dbc9.jpg

By this time, I was starting to feel a bit sick. My stomach wasn't feeling right and I had to stop to go to the bathroom behind Casey's. I knew I wasn't feeling well when the smell of the popcorn and other goodies coming out of Casey's didn't tempt me in the slightest.

We were both stuck with how busy the parade route was. It was super crowded already. People were everywhere and it was loud and smelly and well we both looked at each other and in that moment we decided to get the heck out of dodge. Before we left Dh asked once more just to make sure that I was okay with diverging from the plan. It was on the list to see the fireworks and the parade so by leaving we were in effect changing the plan. That doesn't go over very well with Dh. I think he was surprised I was happy to leave. Actually at that moment I was surprised I ever even thought about staying to watch them. Sitting at home in front of the computer it seemed like a good idea. But when it came down to it, I just wanted to escape the crowd and hop on an empty bus back to the resort. I'm still not sorry we decided to skip them.

We were both a bit peckish when we got back to AKL. We decided to search for MARA our food court and pick up a snack and our re-fillable mugs. Now if you remember I had the slowest check CM ever so I only grabbed the map of the resort and ran. I didn't let her tell me where anything was. Consequently we had no idea where Mara was. We found Boma and Jiko. We found a lounge. We found the firepit where storytelling happens each night. We found the savannahs. We spent some time on the savannahs. I saw zebra's and wildebeests and some birds. I couldn't name any of the other animals we saw. There was a guide out there taking to a family and that's how I knew about the wildebeests.

I tried to take a picture of the lobby from the outside. I couldn't get the lighting right. It was an awesome sight though. Here is my pathetic attempt at it.
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/141dd6b2.jpg

Finally we found Simba's babysitting service and the pool. As we were admiring the pool area I saw some people heading out of some doors with refillable mugs. That must be the way I thought and dragged Dh over to the glass doors. Sure enough we had found Mara. We felt like we had found an oasis in a desert. I don't know why we couldn't find it. They need some better signage I guess.

I was surprised at how small Mara was. We had stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and Allstar Music before and their food courts are huge. This was like a little snack bar in comparison. I made a mental note to avoid it during the meal rush. It must be nasty.

I saw the zebra domes in the refrigerator section. My stomach still wasn't feeling so great so I didn’t feel up to it. I pointed them out to Dh but he wanted something to stick to his ribs. He was man-hungry. His term not mine. He got a bowl of chicken corn chowder soup and I got a hot chocolate in my new mug.

We headed up to the room. Dh wanted to check out the Savannah again but I really only wanted to check out our restroom facilities. I really wasn’t feeling well. My stomach was churning.

We sat out on the balcony and I sipped my hot chocolate while Dh ate his soup. He wanted to head back down to the savannahs. I knew I needed to stay close to the bathroom. In the end he decided to go check it out himself and I turned Stacy up loud and listened to her while I was in the bathroom. Not exactly the romantic evening I was looking for.

I was still otherwise occupied in the bathroom when Dh got back. By the time I felt safe enough to make it to the bed he was passed out. I turned Stacy back on but put her on mute. Now I could see what I had heard earlier.

I was hoping I would feel better by tomorrow. I had a lot of eating to do on our deluxe dinning plan. Visions of zebra domes danced in my head as I drifted off to sleep.

Up next-We have an early ADR in an empty park and tour to take. Would I feel up to it. Worse yet would Dh catch what I have? Click here to find out. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33221364&postcount=219

Nicole786

08-04-2009, 01:40 PM

Diamondintheruff

08-04-2009, 01:59 PM

I've been really sick the last couple of weeks. I developed bronchial pneumonia. I hadn't the energy to try to sort out the computer depressed as I was about the memory loss. So I've been MIA for a while. Sorry.

I found my memory card. However, I had deleted alot of the scenery pictures I only took for my trip report. I still have lots though and it is possible that it will only be me who notices the missing pics.

Thanks for all your kind words and your patience.

I"VE MISSED YOU.....I was seriously sitting here tonight, yup, that's right, Saturday night and I'm at home on the boards:confused3 anyhoodle....I was sitting here thinking, Why hasn't Diamond talked to us lately, that is not like her not to check in.

I am sick about your pics and the fact that you can't find that memory card:sick: I am thinking of you and sending:goodvibesthat you are successful in finding it. We've missed you terribly and I'm glad your back:hug:

I can't believe how soon you are leaving. I hope you have a fantastic trip and I'm making my way over to your report as soon as I can.

That stinks about the computer! Pixie dust for your lost memory card!!! :wizard:

Thanks. I've got a lot to catch up on with your report. Looking forward to finding out what Charles did next.

Hope you find everything. I'm looking forward to the rest of the report.

Thanks. Glad to know you're still reading along. I don't actually mean to "man bash" so much as I mean to "Dh bash".

Hi Diamond, my first thought was, OH NO! Something bad happened! I was almost scared to click on the thread....read a couple lines & realized, phew, you're all ok......then re-read that part about your computer - oh no! Bad enough!! Argh. Sorry. :sad2:

I'm still down in the dumps about it. I hadn't backed up since getting my new camera in February. So I still need to download the new program to this computer to put the pictures back on. As I recall it was difficult the first time. I'm hoping Dh will do it for me.

Sending you lots of
pixiedust:!!!!!!!

I know myself and it would have been deleted :( Hoping you aren't like me!

It looks like I'm a bit like you. I did delete some of them.

I know computer issues this year :lmao: I lost my computer while planning if you recall. Thank goodness I emailed all the information to myself. I am the person that deletes the memory card after each download to the computer. That is why before I did my report I uploaded all my pictures to Photobucket. I would have lost over 1200 pictures :scared1: I hope you find your card. I am glad everyone is OK.

I've been having problems with Photobucket. It will only load 11 pictures at a time and it take about 30 minutes to do it. I'm guessing it was a symptom of what ultimately crashed it. Maybe it will work better now.

I am so sorry about your computer...you must be very frustrated...:scared1:

While I was reading about your husband-it reminded me of an article I read about how men and women's brains really do work differently-we are wired to multi task naturally and they tend to process things in a much more linear fashion...(now of course I can be objective about this because right now its about your DH and not mine...but don't worry-we'll be having another moment like that soon...:lmao:)

DH likes to know exactly what's going to be happening and he isn't always great with serendipity...if you give him the plan -that's the plan...

it's like if I were to tell him we were going to the mall to buy shoes...that's it...in his mind...shoes...no detours to the handbags or linens-it is all about the shoes-you know the whole hunter vs gather thing..."we're going to the store to hunt the shoes, bag them, and bring em home..."

Personally I think its quite impressive that he got the dinner, parade and fireworks thing down...see he was listening...:thumbsup2

Btw-I'm so glad that everyone is ok-when I saw your title I thought someone was sick...

Still -poor sick computer...may he rest in peace...RIP

(and may you retrieve whatever you can...)

I think I have read an article along similiar lines before. However, knowing that his brain works differently doesn't seem to help so much in the moment. I still resent him.

boo to loosing all your pictures! that happened to me, and despite BF's best efforts..I lost everything on my hard drive. I invested in an external hardrive, and now back everything on my computer up onto that. I feel you though..its such a crappy feeling :(

It's the remembering to back up I'm not so good at. I'll try to better in the future..

So sorry for your loss :hug:

Thanks!

Sorry for your loss... I hope that you are able to have success in recovering at least some, if not all of your pictures.

Luckily I was fairly up to date on my photo albums and printing them out. I still lost stuff. But it could have been worse.

Diamondintheruff

08-04-2009, 02:02 PM

I'm staying at AKL for my birthday in October and I can't wait! I stayed at POP the week after my bday last year and they put a card with a balloon in the room. Did the AKL do anything for your birthday?

I checked in on my birthday and there was nothing special in the room. Later on housekeeping clues into the fact it's my birthday but you'll have to wait until I get there.

lisalonglash

08-04-2009, 02:51 PM

In true Dh fashion, he was determined to get all the gifts immediately. He wanted to get this shopping think over as quick as possible. I agreed we could hit some shops. I had visions of browsing through the merchandise kid free, just enjoying myself. I couldn't have been more mistaken.

Uh oh :sad2: Men and shopping = annoyed women :laughing:

We still had a couple minutes to kill before our fast passes. We sat down at a bench nearby that was facing a bandshell. I'm guessing it's the bandshell where the stitch show plays. It was showing videos of futuristic commercials. They were cute. Our real entertainment was a street sweeper. I don't think he saw us or else was just too involved in his own world. He kept balancing the end of his broom on his chin. He was pretty good. After a particularly long balancing episode Dh and I applauded. He turned beat red and then did the Dick Van Dick move from Mary Poppins where he tipped his hat and waddled off like a penguin before getting at least one heel click jump in the air. I wish I had of gotten his name to report how funny he was to his supervisors.

That sounds like so much fun to watch! :banana:

After our impromptu show, we headed to Buzz. There was no lineup in the fast pass line. We breezed in. I beat the pants off Dh and enjoyed gloating about it. It would be the only time all trip I would.

I would've gloated too, J - good job! :thumbsup2

Finally we found Simba's babysitting service and the pool. As we were admiring the pool area I saw some people heading out of some doors with refillable mugs. That must be the way I thought and dragged Dh over to the glass doors. Sure enough we had found Mara. We felt like we had found an oasis in a desert. I don't know why we couldn't find it. They need some better signage I guess.

I'm glad you finally found it - how wierd that it was so hard to find! :confused3

We headed up to the room. Dh wanted to check out the Savannah again but I really only wanted to check out our restroom facilities. I really wasn’t feeling well. My stomach was churning.

Aww, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well :sick:

I was hoping I would feel better by tomorrow. I had a lot of eating to do on our deluxe dinning plan. Visions of zebra domes danced in my head as I drifted off to sleep.

I hope you were feeling better in the morning too! :hug:

Up next-We have an early ADR in an empty park and tour to take. Would I feel up to it. Worse yet would Dh catch what I have?

:eek:

Nicole786

08-04-2009, 07:40 PM

I checked in on my birthday and there was nothing special in the room. Later on housekeeping clues into the fact it's my birthday but you'll have to wait until I get there.

Okay awesome :) I have heard from other resorts that some have gotten a card from mickey or one of the princesses. I would really love to decorate the room but I feel thats kind of tooting my own horn or something ya know?

Queenofallthings

08-04-2009, 07:58 PM

You were a sick girl:sick:, I am so sorry to hear that. I hate being sick at the best of times, never mind in the summer:confused3

Sucks that your tummy was acting up in WDW, I feel for ya, when those wonderful smells don't entice you, you know something is amiss:lmao:

Glad you found your memory card, can't wait to hear more.

I spent a few hours at Peg's today helping her get some more packing done, this was the only day this week I'm not running around doing something. I'm so glad your back!!!

DearDaisyinDurham

08-04-2009, 08:14 PM

princess: Diamond!! Hurray, you're back!! Hope you're feeling better. Love the Happy Birthday photo in front of the castle!!

akayek31

08-04-2009, 08:39 PM

I am glad you are back. I hope you found all the goodies for the kids. I am sorry to hear that you got sick at Disney. Hopefully you felt better the next day :)

Tnkrbelle565

08-05-2009, 11:50 AM

I was wondering if you were okay...didn't see you around DIS or FB. So sorry to hear that you were sick. Glad to hear you are doing better.

Great update!!! They always crack me up!!! I'm so sorry you missed WISHES with your bellyache. I've fallen victim to that myself at WDW- I blame it on the humidity combined with the high fat diet.

Can't believe AKL didn't do anything on your bday. Shame on them!

Yes Mara is really small and doesn't have a very good . The worst we saw it was first thing in the AM. It was madhouse. The rest of the day it was ok because most people were in the parks.

Can't wait to see what is up next

Diamondintheruff

08-19-2009, 11:09 AM

The Plan
Early entrance to MK
Crystal Palace 8:15 am
Keys to the Kingdom Tour 9:30 am
__________________________________________________ _____________

The wake up call woke us up at 6:50 am. I answered. Dh didn't even notice it. It was a song. I can't remember what song as it was pretty early and I was groggy but I remember noticing that it wasn't the usual Stitch and Mickey conversation. I nudged Dh to get up. He wanted to shower and shave before leaving today but as I had showered and set out our clothes and bags the night before I only needed 10 minutes while he needed at least 40. And men think we are high maintenance. Ha.

Dh didn't want to get out of bed. Not that he wanted to sleep either if you know what I mean.:rolleyes1

"Well then you should have told me to set the alarm sooner." I said while trying to push him out of the bed.

"I didn't know I would want to last night cause last night I didn't want to get anywhere near you." He says as he holds his nose.

"Yes well being ill was not pleasant for me either thank you. I am feeling better this morning and we have some things to do this morning so get going."

"What about the afternoon?" Dh asks hopefully.

"I knew we'd be tired from the tour so we're coming back to rest."

"What if I don't want to rest?"

I threw a pillow at him as he ducked into the bathroom. Even though I didn't have to get up yet, I was excited to get on with our day and fully awake from the exchange with Dh so I got ready myself and sat and watched some TV while waiting for Dh to finish. The weather report was good for today.

It was 7:26 when we left the room. We took the stairs from our fourth floor room and cut through the gift shop. There were a bunch of families waiting for the MK bus. We waited about 10 minutes in silence just watching the families. I thought it might make me miss my kids but it didn't.

There was a cute family with matching Mickey head tie-dye t-shirts I thought might be disers but they were two benches away from me and I never saw any green Mickey head tags. I made sure mine was showing though.

We pulled into the magic kingdom and went right through the turnstiles. Security never even asked for a reservation number or anything.

I think I was looking forward to being in the park before the crowds almost as much as I was looking forward to the tour. Dh and I ran around taking silly pictures of ourselves. Dh really got into it.

Here is Main Street practically empty. It took my breathe away.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/553f9d59.jpg

We took some pictures of some window and shops. Here is the main street bakery.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/12f83c25.jpg

Dh took this one of Ariel for me as she is my favorite. I didn't even notice him doing this until I scrolled through my shots later.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/8fb64a2a.jpg

We took one of Goofy and us.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/45ed3c0d.jpg

Then I tried to get one of the big guy and me.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/1b6980ea.jpg

That's when I noticed someone else had been here before me this morning.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/88c4a6f7.jpg

We told a CM and they cleaned him up good as new.

Then Dh took some of me in the train station.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/57ce8af1.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/154c2524.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/e48a5785.jpg

Here's Dh getting into the swing of it.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/d53be627.jpg

I took the obligatory photo pass shots too.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/3c62a31d.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/76d489a0.jpg

Because this was my favorite of me I cropped it to just me and tink.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/e502bf72.jpg

Here's the castle and us.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/ac236d07.jpg

The obligatory kissing one.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/Photopass%202009/69366ad4.jpg

Dh took this shot of me on our way over to the Crystal Palace.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/2efdcfd0.jpg

Then we headed over to CP to check in.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/9ffe3453.jpg

I took some more scenery shots while waiting to be seated.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/d089015b.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/bc9297be.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0542.jpg

A castle view.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/d8c29e4f.jpg

Continued next post. Too many images. Click here or scroll down. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33221377&postcount=220

Diamondintheruff

08-19-2009, 11:10 AM

Finally we were seated. I was delighted to note that they had decorated my table for my birthday. Something the castle did not last night. We got a table super close to the buffet too.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0543.jpg

We were both hungry and immediately set about to filling our plates. This is our third trip to the CP but we had never been for breakfast. As far as buffets go it was good. I particularly liked the potato casserole but found the pancakes to hard and stiff from sitting around under the heat lamps. Dh still likes the potato casserole at Norway better but thought this was a close second.

My first course.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0544.jpg

Dh's first course.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0545.jpg

Then we went up for seconds. I can't remember what the fried thing is. It had cinnamon in it and was okay but mostly it I just tasted the oil.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0547.jpg

Dh had Pooh's breakfast lasagna which is in the bottom right but I couldn't tell you what the thing on the left was.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0548.jpg

Tigger came round while Dh was getting food so I missed that shot. But I got Piglet.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0546.jpg

In fact we only saw Tigger and Piglet because we wanted to catch a few rides before our tour.

Just as I was about to leave the server brought me a cupcake and a card.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0549.jpg

Very sweet.:cloud9:

I took a lick of the icing and off we flew to well... you'll just have to wait to find out. But I'll tell you this much. One of us gets hungry, overheated, overstimulated, tired and well just plain melts down. Right in the middle of main street. Click here to find out who has the meltdown. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33594132&postcount=232

Diamondintheruff

08-19-2009, 11:41 AM

Personal Update
The bad news.
Still battling this illness. Not sure what it is but it keeps moving around inside of me. It's pretty much gone out of my chest but has attacked my sinuses and I'm just sick of being sick. So sorry I haven't been around. I haven't had much energy lately.

The good news
As I had mentioned my oldest son Eeoyre (ds10 almost 11) loves to dance. He spent the month of July in toronto with my parents auditioning for Canada's National Ballet school. They have a full-time school program which would mean he would have to live in Toronto (an hour away) with my parents. We found out that the school thinks he has what it takes physically to enter their program. They would love to have him starting this fall. However, Eeoyre is just not quite ready to leave the nest yet. So they have given him (and us) this next year to think about it and offered him the chance to try out again next summer. We are thrilled he made it in and grateful that we don't have to give him up yet.

Men and shopping = annoyed women :laughing:

Aww, I'm sorry you weren't feeling well. I hope you were feeling better in the morning too!

My sons are just as bad to shop with. Thanks I did feel better in the morning.

Okay awesome :) I have heard from other resorts that some have gotten a card from mickey or one of the princesses. I would really love to decorate the room but I feel thats kind of tooting my own horn or something ya know?

Sometimes you have to toot your own horn but just in case why not have someone else phone the hotel to arrange it?

You were a sick girl:sick:, I am so sorry to hear that. I hate being sick at the best of times, never mind in the summer:confused3

Sucks that your tummy was acting up in WDW, I feel for ya, when those wonderful smells don't entice you, you know something is amiss:lmao:

Glad you found your memory card, can't wait to hear more.

I spent a few hours at Peg's today helping her get some more packing done, this was the only day this week I'm not running around doing something. I'm so glad your back!!!

Still pretty sick. I have to keep my head as still as possible. But at least I can breathe easily.

You're at WDW as I write this. Sending heaps of pixie dust your way.

princess: Diamond!! Hurray, you're back!! Hope you're feeling better. Love the Happy Birthday photo in front of the castle!!

Thanks. I think I like my Tink from the next morning the best.

I am glad you are back. I hope you found all the goodies for the kids. I am sorry to hear that you got sick at Disney. Hopefully you felt better the next day :)

There's more to tell about the search for the kids trinkets. Stay tuned.

I was wondering if you were okay...didn't see you around DIS or FB. So sorry to hear that you were sick. Glad to hear you are doing better.

Great update!!! They always crack me up!!! I'm so sorry you missed WISHES with your bellyache. I've fallen victim to that myself at WDW- I blame it on the humidity combined with the high fat diet.

Can't believe AKL didn't do anything on your bday. Shame on them!

Yes Mara is really small and doesn't have a very good . The worst we saw it was first thing in the AM. It was madhouse. The rest of the day it was ok because most people were in the parks.

Can't wait to see what is up next

I've really decided that I'm okay about missing the fireworks and the parades. I hate battling the crowds that much that I'm willing to give up watching them. Perhaps I'll try a wishes cruise or the beach at the poly. I think I could handle that.

Tnkrbelle565

08-19-2009, 01:54 PM

Wow!! DH is getting no lovin on this trip is he???

Again you guys amaze me with your fast dressing skills. You woke up at 6:50 and were at the bus station by 7:26? HOW????

Where you doing the Good Morning Show on the train track by yourself??? :rotfl:

Poor Roy! That was nice of you to ask the CM to clean him up ;)

akayek31

08-22-2009, 03:46 PM

I want to see Piglet! Two meetings with the other 3 and no Piglet. I guess I will have to do a character breakfast after all :(

Hope you feel better soon.

DearDaisyinDurham

08-23-2009, 04:01 PM

(((Feel better Diamond))) :flower3:
Did you get hit by the storm Thursday night??
:tigger: LOVE pooh: CP!!! Can't wait for the next update.

lazydoxy66

08-26-2009, 12:45 AM

Diamond,

I'm sorry you haven't been well. I hope it gets out of your system soon!!!

You look terrific in all of the photos! I love Piglet!!!

Yay for Eeyore!

Diamondintheruff

09-03-2009, 08:02 PM

Just booked another trip today!

:cool1::cool1::cool1:

I had some southwest credits to use up and although Dh tried to find a cheap weekend getaway elsewhere nothing was cheaper than heading back to WDW so here we go again.

We're trying to keep it on a budget so we're staying at POP and plan to go to MNSSHP instead of getting park passes. We might hit a water park since we've never done one but we'll wait and see what the weather brings. Besides it's supposed to be a "relaxing" vacation. Apparently Dh didn't appreciate the running around I made him do for my birthday weekend.

We're eating OPPs this trip. So tonight I'm going to sit down, look at the menu prices and figure out what fits into the budget.

About this trip report. I'm still waiting for Dh to fix our computer before I load the pictures on again. He keeps promising to get it done and the kids are after him more than I am so hopefully it will get done soon.

Thanks for hanging on.

Wow!! DH is getting no lovin on this trip is he???

Poor Roy! That was nice of you to ask the CM to clean him up ;)

How sweet of you to worry about Dh. Not to worry though. He got more than enough lovin.

I want to see Piglet! Two meetings with the other 3 and no Piglet. I guess I will have to do a character breakfast after all :(

Hope you feel better soon.

Funny how you didn't see piglet and yet he(or is it she?) was the only one I got a picture with.

(((Feel better Diamond))) :flower3:
Did you get hit by the storm Thursday night??
:tigger: LOVE pooh: CP!!! Can't wait for the next update.

We did experience some pretty crazy weather. It was actually Jedi's birthday and we had just left the ballpark when the weather turned.

I'm finally feeling better thanks.

Diamond,

I'm sorry you haven't been well. I hope it gets out of your system soon!!!

You look terrific in all of the photos! I love Piglet!!!

Yay for Eeyore!

Good to see you. Haven't updated on enchanted for ages. Not that I'm doing much of a better job here lately either.

Charleston Princess

09-03-2009, 09:18 PM

Woo hoo for an extra trip!!! Halloween at WDW is just the best!!! :goodvibes

purplepeg

09-03-2009, 11:12 PM

My dear friend, I am so far behind, I had no idea you were so sick, you poor dear! I'm glad you're feeling better. Are you back at school yet or is that next week? Take care, I'll just be waiting....popcorn::

Tnkrbelle565

09-03-2009, 11:14 PM

How are you going again before me?!?! I'm so jealous!!!!

Sounds like a totally different adventure this time!!! You are going to love MNSSHP! How are your kids accepting that you are going TWICE this year w/o them?!?!

Queenofallthings

09-06-2009, 01:27 PM

First off, hope you are feeling better....we thought of you when we were at the Magic Kingdom where we ran into you last year;)

So excited for you to have another trip to look forward too!!! Jasmine is trying to talk me into a graduation trip next summer for 2 weeks...she tells me she'll pay half....we'll have to see, if not it will be 2011 for us.

Can't wait to read morepopcorn::

lazydoxy66

09-06-2009, 04:53 PM

Congrats on another trip. I'm assuming it will be in October?

Diamondintheruff

09-16-2009, 02:30 AM

Saturday April 25 2009

The Plan
Crystal Palace 8:15 am
MK Park Opening (Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain)
Keys to the Kingdom Tour 9:30am
__________________________________________________ ______

After breakfast we quickly visited the little boys and girls room (Dh barely missed an opportunity to visit each and everyone in WDW) and were off to the slow release opening of Adventureland.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0542.jpg

I love this picture. It's so peaceful.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0541.jpg

It was already about 12 people deep. I took the pictures earlier while waiting for our names to be called at the Crystal Palace. I could just make out the CM's walking in the front. Once we were released we quickly made it up to the front and got a fast pass for thunder mountain before heading to splash mountain. We were huffing and puffing and it reminded me that if I kept eating like Pooh then I was going to start moving like him too.

I took some pictures of the cues at Splash mountain. I took so many that the man behind me was annoyed with me for stopping to take them. I guess it was because Dh and I blocked the line and made them stop behind us to wait. I may be Canadian but I’m not always polite.

Here are the pictures.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0550.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0551.jpg

Here's a picture of us waiting to unload.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0553.jpg

And here is my rednecked photo from the ride.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0554.jpg

We had to wait for two loads before we could get on the ride. We got placed in the front. Which I must say I didn’t really want so I was just about to offer the front to the man and his family behind me when I heard him grumble, “It figures SHE gets the good seats.” Now as I mentioned I was planning on being nice. But his grumpiness stopped me. Instead I said loud and clear “Oh Honey, Aren’t we so lucky to get the front seat? I’m so glad we did.”

Dh looked at me funny. He knows I prefer the middle of rides and gave me that squished eyebrow look. I don’t know if he ever understood and clued in or not. I guess he just figured it’s one of those quirky girl things that he’ll never understand. Like not just having colour coordinated purses but having seasonal colour coordinated purses.

So I pretended to be excited about being in the first car and off we went.

Of course you all know what happens to that first car.

It gets soaked.:headache:

Thankfully we were both wearing dry-quick bottoms. I had forgotten about water rides and had chosen to wear a white tank top but I did have a jacket to cover up.

Unfortunately we did not have time to ride Big Thunder Mountain before our 9:15 tour meeting time so after a quick dry off and cover up (on my part anyhow) off we ran to the front gate near city hall to meet our tour. I didn't want to be late. We had to head back to Main Street and as it is getting anywhere in the MK, it was a bit of a hike.

As we entered the building a CM said you must be Diamond and Dh. (Okay so he used our actual firstl names but you get the picture.) I was surprised that he knew who we were but then I realized I had my birthday button on and that we were the last two people to sign in for the tour. No one else attempted a ride before checking in.

The CM who ran our tour was Gregg. He had us pick out what we wanted to eat for lunch from a menu complete with pictures from the harbor house counter service menu. Then he gave us time to grab a free coffee or bottle of water and to hit the washrooms. Of which we were very grateful. Then he helped us set up our microphones.

There were 21 of us on the tour including Gregg's father who was taking the tour for the first time. Gregg was very knowledgeable and friendly. I enjoyed him and the tour very much. It was quite a hot day but there was a lovely breeze that made it more manageable.

Here is Dh checking in for the tour.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0555.jpg

I don't wish to spoil the tour for you. I know others have described it. It was long. We were finally released at 2:30 but I had as much as I could take by about 1:30. I was totally zonked.

I did know most of the Disney lore presented in the tour but it was new to Dh. It was an odd bunch of characters taking the tour. Again I looked for any lime green Mickey Heads but didn't find any.

We sat with a lovely couple at lunch. They were from New Jersey and had left their kids at home to celebrate her birthday weekend as well. Only her was tomorrow. They were about the same age and had two girls in the same age bracket as our kids. They had bought a four-bedroom house in Kissimee years ago with the intentions of staying there when they came to Disney and renting it out the rest of the year. However, they ended up buying into DVC instead and have never stayed at their house. Dh has been toying with the possibility of buying a vacation property. He wants it in Myrtle Beach where we go each March Break but of course I had always wanted it in Orlando. Now I figure I just want the DVC instead because I can't fathom staying off property so it really doesn't matter where it is anymore.

Although I'm not going to tell you anything specific about what we saw on the tour. I think you really need to take it yourself. It's a bargain at around $60. I will tell you how impressed with Disney I was. Not just with what I saw on the tour but they way they handled us. We just walked on rides like VIP's with no wait whatsoever. Plus for lunch they had our meals already waiting for us at the tables with our name cards in front of them. All our meals were hot and we were placed in a roped off area. Just the sight of those velvet ropes got me feeling all VIPish. I was super impressed.

Here is a picture of the velvet ropes. It's a little fuzzy. I think I must have started getting tired here and couldn't hold the camera straight.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0562.jpg

The flying dutchman display at the restaurant caught my eye.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0563.jpg

As did the collection of beer steins. My Dad has a small collection himself.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0561.jpg

Here is a picture of our tour guide Gregg talking to us at the beginning.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0557.jpg

Here we are riding the jungle cruise.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0559.jpg

I took some of the haunted house but they really didn't turn out well.

Now for my criticism of the tour. I was told it was a four-hour tour. So mentally I set myself up for four hours. When 1:30 came and went (the four-hour mark) and we were still going strong I was exhausted. So if you take the tour know that it might go longer than four hours. Sitting here at the computer I'm thinking it's a great thing we went longer but in the heat of the day when I had mentally booked four hours that extra hour really hit me hard.

When we ended Dh was hungry. He wanted to get a dole whip. As I mentioned I was exhausted and we ended the tour where we started at the tour guide office right by the front gate. I just wanted to get back to the hotel for a nap. In my defense I had been up later than Dh with my stomach issues the night before.

I just didn't have it in me to travel to Adventureland for a dole whip. In truth, I don't really like dole whips. They are okay but for me to travel that distance in the parade crowd that was gathering I would need to be getting something chocolate. Or at the very least alcoholic. Pineapple juice and vanilla ice cream just wasn’t going to do it for me.

I should have just headed back to the hotel myself and let Dh go. Instead I whined that we'd get caught in the parade and that I didn't have the energy to walk all that way and well we had a small row. Like I said, I was tired. I had hit the Disney wall. Apparently Dh was still a bundle of energy which is strange as he's usually the one to say he's had enough.

In the end he decided a frozen banana would do and picked one up from a cart nearby. Since it had chocolate in it I got one too. I think part of my whine was because I had low blood sugar. Also it was really getting crowded waiting for the parade and I realized on this trip that I really and truly hate the whole crowd thing. I thought I could handle it but apparently not. Although I like the idea of that new desert buffet option that has you in a roped off area eating chocolate while you watch the evening parade program they just started. Now that sounds pretty good to me. It wasn't going yet during this trip. Maybe next time.

We slowly made our way to the buses eating our bananas. It was a pretty empty bus ride back to AKL. Now we had full intentions of visiting “Napville” but the banana and the quiet air-conditioned bus ride back soothed our souls, the frozen banana must have melted my heart some as we even did a little “canoddling” at the back of the bus (like I said it was quiet and empty). We strolled off the bus hand in hand looking so lovely-dovey that the bus driver asked us if we were on our Disneymoon. So instead of hitting the hay for a nap we decided to …

hit the pool.:rotfl:

You didn't think I was going to say something else did you? Dh may have had some other indoor activity on his mind but I didn't want to waste another moment of the florida sunshine indoors.

I believe I was so gung-ho on swimming that I made a dash for the hotel room door yelling “Last one in the water's a rotten egg.” while Dh was all octopus arms attempting to pin me down.

I dashed and he darted and ...

Click here to find out http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33627709&postcount=242

Diamondintheruff

09-16-2009, 02:52 AM

I know I've been tardy with this report and I'm sorry. I think I've got this new hardrive figured out and should be much more timely. After all I

30 days

until my next trip. I have to get this done before that.

First off, hope you are feeling better....we thought of you when we were at the Magic Kingdom where we ran into you last year;)

So excited for you to have another trip to look forward too!!! Jasmine is trying to talk me into a graduation trip next summer for 2 weeks...she tells me she'll pay half....we'll have to see, if not it will be 2011 for us.

Can't wait to read morepopcorn::

It was supposed to be 2011 for us too. You never know.

I am feeling better thank you. It was a really rough summer illness wise for me.

How are you going again before me?!?! I'm so jealous!!!!

Sounds like a totally different adventure this time!!! You are going to love MNSSHP! How are your kids accepting that you are going TWICE this year w/o them?!?!

I've had no time to really talk to the kids about my upcoming trip. It's happening so quickly and we're so busy with school and all the after school activities starting that I'm pretty quiet about it. My oldest Eeoyre (DS11 he's since had a birthday since I was last on here) is pretty much over the whole disney thing. Or so he tells me. It makes me sad. So enjoy your DD enjoying it while you can.

My dear friend, I am so far behind, I had no idea you were so sick, you poor dear! I'm glad you're feeling better. Are you back at school yet or is that next week? Take care, I'll just be waiting....popcorn::

We were back at school on the 8th officially but staff had to be there on the 3rd.

Thank you for your sympathies about my illness. My family is so DONE with any sympathy for me.

Woo hoo for an extra trip!!! Halloween at WDW is just the best!!! :goodvibes

I'd love to see it at Christmas sometime too. Shh! Don't tell Dh that. I need to work him into it slowly. So I will settle for Halloween for now.

Tnkrbelle565

09-16-2009, 09:48 AM

Diamondintheruff

09-16-2009, 10:18 AM

And here I was thinking that your DH was finally getting some Disney lovin' with all that canoodling going on ;) :rotfl:

We are doing the WISHES dessert buffet...did you guys book it for your next trip???

I would love to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour...I didn't know that you got to ride the rides during it! That might make it more doable! Maybe I need to think about this for my next girls' weekend to WDW???

BTW...it has to be said...white shirt/Splash Mountain?? And you consider yourself a veteran :rotfl2:

Sorry about Eeyore losing the Disney Magic. :sad1:

I tried to book the dessert buffet but it was full. :guilty: It look great. I hope they keep it so on my next trip (so far it's looking like 2011 but I have something up my sleeve for 2010).

You have to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. In fact I order you to do it. It's something you could even do by yourself should you find you have some solo time on a girls trip. They seat you with people for lunch so that takes away some of the awkwardness of it.

Now about the white shirt. I don't know what I was thinking.:sad2: When I packed I was pretty rushed and although I remember thinking about the white t-shirt thing but then I must have lost that train of thought. Dh was happy I forgot. He made multiple comments about enjoying the view.

DearDaisyinDurham

09-16-2009, 08:47 PM

Diamondintheruff

09-16-2009, 11:07 PM

Diamond, I am so happy for you!! Hurray for another trip & trip planning! :grouphug:

Loved the update, as always! I find myself :laughing: mentally plugging DH & I into your TR & feeling like we're really there. Very fun! :goodvibes

On my solo trip I did the KTTK & liked it but our tour was much shorter so I would have been exhausted if it had gone on like yours did.

Happy Happy Halloween trip planning!!

As I mentioned I was sooo not prepared for our tour to be that long. I'm sure it was because the tour guide's father was with us.

Just today I was tweaking our trip planning. I've almost convinced Dh to get the free dinning plan instead of just room only. I've been working on pricing out all the places we'll be eating. I think I've got DH convinced. Stay tuned and I'll let you know. I already have the ADR's and we were just going to eat OPPs.

Charleston Princess

09-16-2009, 11:44 PM

Diamondintheruff

09-17-2009, 08:56 AM

Love those lovely peaceful shots at the entrance of Adventureland!

I would have done the same thing with that rude man! :headache:

I so tried to convince Charles that he wanted to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour on this trip, but he was being obstinate. Your description makes it sound like a lot of fun overall!

Don't you love that AKL pool? :cloud9:

Now I only know about Charles what you have told me in your reports but I highly suspect that a four hour walking tour is not his idea of a fun vacation activity. But you could do it by yourself. We had some people going solo on our tour and since you just walk around listening to your earpiece and Disney assigns you a place to sit at lunch so it's a pretty doable solo activity.

Charleston Princess

09-17-2009, 09:07 AM

Now I only know about Charles what you have told me in your reports but I highly suspect that a four hour walking tour is not his idea of a fun vacation activity. But you could do it by yourself. We had some people going solo on our tour and since you just walk around listening to your earpiece and Disney assigns you a place to sit at lunch so it's a pretty doable solo activity.

That's a good idea -- I will have to remember that! :goodvibes

Tiggerrn2

09-18-2009, 12:53 PM

Enjoying your TR. We loved AKL when we stayed there. Would love to do that one again. Seems I am on a track to try a new resort each visit, though. Looks like we will be there the same time over Halloween. When are you doing the party? I am headed down this time for my birthday with 2 friends-no husbands, no kids!!:banana:I am looking forward to doing all the things I can't do with kids. Maybe do a Segway Tour and plan to completely enjoy eating everything except a chicken nugget or a piece of pizza!
Looking forward to your next installment.

Diamondintheruff

09-18-2009, 03:29 PM

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/059_59.jpg

I love the pool at AKL. I love the zero entry and the slide. It wasn't too busy and we splashed around for a good hour and a bit. We had taken down our own adult drinks (mine was coconut rum and diet coke while I believe Dh had beer) from our fridge but I scoped out the alcoholic concoctions they had available at the pool bar.

Around 5:00 PM Dh decided it was time we head back to the room for a *ahem * rest.

We only meant to rest our heads for a moment or two and as we never intended to actually sleep we didn’t set the alarm. Dh woke up at 6:20pm. We had reservations at the Wave in the Contemporary for 6:45. That was 25 minutes from now.

Yikes!

We jumped out of bed as quick as could be, redressed and headed out to the buses. Okay what really happened is that I jumped out of bed while Mr. Octopus arms appeared and figured we had already missed dinner so he was trying to go straight for desert. I tsk-tsked him away and insisted if we rushed we could still make it. Unwillingly he relented.

Luck was on our side and as we rounded the corner at the bus stop we could see a bus for the MK. It only had a few people loading and we didn’t want to miss it so we ran for it.

Then we saw the last person loading and the doors close so we picked up our run into crazy race mode with arms waving (so it’s a good thing Dh had his Octopus practice earlier) and screaming, “Wait for us”. The driver saw us and reopened the doors. She laughed at us and told us to look behind the bus. We did and there was another bus for the MK sitting there. So we didn’t have to run like mad after all. Panting heavily and feeling silly we headed for the seats at the back of the bus.

The seats were only half full. We sat near the back where there was a family with triplets. Two boys and a girl. They looked almost three. I never talked to the parents and in fact I had a hard time figuring out who the parents were. They weren't sitting near the kids. In fact they had their back to them. Now, I'm not parenting expert. I try not to judge but these triplets were extreme. They yelled (the whole ride), they hit (other passengers too), the chewed on the bus railings and they ran around the bus. They were a nightmare. A nanny 911 call needed to be made. I have never seen such a sight in all of my Disney bus travels. The parents barely looked their way. The driver had to yell at them to sit down a couple of times. Still the parents didn't take any action. It was unbelievable. I prayed we wouldn't run into them again.

The entire bus gave the parents dirty looks but still nothing. Like I said unbelievable. I was super glad to see them head into the magic kingdom while we went to the monorail. I would not have gotten on a monorail with them. I said a silent prayer out to the magic kingdom to keep both the park and the kids safe because apparently the parents needed some help.

We took the monorail to the contemporary and enjoyed the quietness of the ride. Our compartment was pretty much empty.

However we had to wait for a bit. So we took some pictures to pass the time.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0572.jpg

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj22/diamondintheruf/2009/disney%202009/IMG_0574.jpg

Here's a shot of the gates at MK.

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Here's a shot of the comtemporary I took.

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We had quite a time trying to find the restaurant. I only knew that it was in the contemporary I never actually researched where in the building it was. I though I would see signs for it. We didn't. We finally figured out we had to go down towards ground level and found it.

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I really like the blue lights at the entrance.

As I mentioned we were late so they sat us at the bar. The bar area is lit by these blue lights. It made me feel like I was in a dance club or something. There was a large group at some tables next to us that asked if we could take their picture and they returned the favor.

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I ordered the drink with a flashing ice cube. I think it was called a magical star glowtini.

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I didn't really enjoy it. It is a mixture of exotic berry flavours and I guess I’m a traditional kind of berry gal. If it hadn’t been like $10 and didn’t have alcohol I would have left it. At least I got to keep the flashing ice cube. Speaking of which it had kind of disappeared from sight until the other night. In the wee hours of the morning our son Jedi (DS7) comes into our bedroom and complains about an eerie light in his closet. Turns out that my ice cube ended up in a box at the bottom of his closet. He had broken the on/off button and therefore the light was staying on. We had a giggle and put him back to bed.

But back to the report, we weren't at the bar very long before they sat us. The restaurant was not full. I asked Dh to pose for a picture so I could take a shot of how empty the restaurant was behind him. He "ham"ed it up.

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I ordered dinner and then took off to make a phone call home to the kids. We didn't want to use our cell phone as we are Canadian and the rates were too high so I used a pay phone at the hotel. Because I hadn't talked to the kids all trip yet it was a longer phone call than I intended it to be. My Mom had some questions for me and all three kids wanted to talk to me. I had to talk to my father as well because today is his birthday and I had to wish him a happy birthday. So what I’m saying is this was no quick short phone call to check up on the kids. Dh was good and worried by the time I got back.

The call took so long that our appetizers had arrived and been taken back to keep warm. I had the butternut squash soup. Loved it! It came with tiny grilled cheese sandwiches too. So cute.

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I also loved the bread they served there with pink Hawaiian salt in the butter. I tried not to fill up on the bread but again it was so good. The deluxe plan is honestly too much food. I suffered through it though.

I had some sort of pork tenderloin for dinner. It was okay but I was already stuffed after the soup and bread.

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I can't remember what Dh had as an appetizer. But here is the picture.

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For dinner he had the chicken pot pie. It wasn't his best meal.

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Since we had looked at the menus online we knew what we wanted to order. I wasn't really thrilled with the desert choices so I was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed my three choices. The waitress put a candle on them for my birthday.

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After dinner I wanted to head back into the MK.

But before we could go Dh had to go. Again.

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The man has a bladder the size of a pea. Next trip I'm thinking of packing adult diapers.

But before we could do that Dh had to question my Disney knowledge once again. Why does the man do this? You’d think he would have learned to submit to my superiority by now. At least in all things Disney anyway. LOL!

The tiff was about transportation back to the MK. I said we could walk. I was feeling super full from dinner and thought it would be a good idea. Dh didn’t believe that we could walk. He believed that we could only take a monorail or a bus. I actually don’t know if there is a bus from the contemporary to the MK? Anyone know? But I know you can walk and that many many people do. He still wouldn’t believe me.

Then he thought that since MK was only one monorail stop away that we could take the monorail. I mentioned that the monorail only runs in a circular movement and that the MK is NOT the next stop. Again he wouldn’t believe me. He could clearly see two monorail tracks. I pointed out that there are two loops and that we would be going on one tomorrow when we went to Epcot but that he was sadly mistaken in thinking he could hop on a monorail here at the contemporary and arrive at MK in only one stop.

Our argument went on in a circular motion. I even pointed that fact out to Dh. Then I started to get snippy and point our other facts from other arguments that have nothing to do with Disney. Yes folks, I had slipped past the point of reason. Isn’t is interesting how just a small segment of time can move you from looking so happy and lovey-dovey like this picture? Remember this picture just before dinner?

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Into a full blown “I hate his guts” argument? Anyhow, once again Dh would not be convinced and we headed up to the monorails. He asked a CM. Of course we know who was right.

ME!

I don’t believe any apologies were set out in my direction but then I was fuming so fiercely that I could only hear my own blood boil. We sat apart in the monorail. We also stalled three times. Three times ladies and gentlemen. Each time I glared at Dh as if to say through my expression “See there. You were wrong and your choice of transportation is flawed and taking us longer than it should.” Only I left out a few four-letter words, as I don’t want to get banned from the boards.

When we finally arrived at the MK the entry gates were packed. I almost turned around. Spectromagic was going on. We walked past the parade crowds and straight on to Mickey’s Philharmagic.

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I’m looking a little more pleasant in the above picture. We had to hold hands so we didn’t lose each other in the parade crowds and I guess I melted a bit. I hadn't forgotten or totally forgiven him for not trusting me but once again I didn't want to ruin the whole trip.

Then we did It’s a Small World.

(Lost my picture of the sign. Just imagine it here)

Fireworks had started at this point. So we avoided them by going on Buzz.

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Dh beat me. Nuff said.

We were going to do laugh floor but since the fireworks were still going we thought we would try to beat the rush to the buses.

We didn’t.

They were packed.

Plus it was a grad night. I had forgotten so the bus had to take a different route back to the hotel. We ended up on Bear Island Trail Road. That’s the only name I remember but we were way off the normal routes.

The driver was hilarious and informative. She was pointing out things as we went past like the recycling plant and other behind the scenes buildings you don’t normally see. I felt like I was still on the keys to the kingdom tour.

We reached our room about 11:15 pm. Fireworks went off later that night for the grad night. I’m not sure when. My eyes were too fuzzy to focus on the clock. We had another early morning ADR tomorrow that I was looking forward to.

I went to sleep dreaming of my first taste of …

Forgotten Photopass Pictures click here http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33627709&postcount=243