A Gem of a Birthday-Celebrating my 40th@AKL(No Kids!)11/03 Link to Next report!

[DearDaisyinDurham]

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...

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.

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.



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.

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.



Then a few minutes later he came out with a wonderful surprise.

WTG DH!!

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?


Dh did good!

YOU youngster YOU!! Welcome to the 4-0 club Diamond!

 

[jelloarms]

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]

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.



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.



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.

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.

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?”



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?



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?



Click here for the next installement http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33013745&postcount=209

 

[lisalonglash]

Seriously, reading that just made my head hurt for you On the one hand, I can't help but feel for you; but on the other hand, it did make me (sorry!). You have so much more patience than I do

I hope you eventually got to ride Snow White and then to see the parade & fireworks!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

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.

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.

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!

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 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 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 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...

Dh did good!

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]

Seriously, reading that just made my head hurt for you On the one hand, I can't help but feel for you; but on the other hand, it did make me (sorry!). You have so much more patience than I do

I hope you eventually got to ride Snow White and then to see the parade & fireworks!

During the thirsty moment I was really questioning why I didn't bring my BFF instead of my husband.

 

[Charleston Princess]

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.

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]

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]

Oy! Men! Things like that drive me up the wall. Pfffft.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

hmmmm......will the line still be non existent or are those cheerleaders clogging it up?? and don't get me started on nasty bathrooms

 

[Diamondintheruff]

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.

hmmmm......will the line still be non existent or are those cheerleaders clogging it up?? and don't get me started on nasty bathrooms

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]

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]

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]

Weird...what a time to need a drink and bathroom break, it is like a 5 minute ride!

I hope you get to ride it!

 

[purplepeg]

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]

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.




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.

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]

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!

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]

I"VE MISSED YOU.....I was seriously sitting here tonight, yup, that's right, Saturday night and I'm at home on the boards 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 I am thinking of you and sendingthat you are successful in finding it. We've missed you terribly and I'm glad your back

 

[Charleston Princess]

That stinks about the computer! Pixie dust for your lost memory card!!!

 

[declansdad]

Hope you find everything. I'm looking forward to the rest of the report.