Dorkapalooza 2006 - EPILOGUE on PAGE 15!!

[AshClan]

Okay, first of all, I need to say that neither my husband nor I are dorks. At least WE don’t think we are. And, all of my wonderful, fantabulous DIS friends are not either. So that’s not the reason for this title. That reason will be revealed in this first installment. Below. After my cast run-down.

CAST of Characters (and, boy, are they characters....)

Me: Susan, Ashclan, Ash, Maelstromer, (44...for a few more days!!). I am a WDW trip planning freak. (As, I suppose, most of us are here on the DIS.)

Jay: DH (also 44), the most wonderful husband in the world, IMHO. And handsome, too. Some say he looks like JFK Jr. Well, when he was alive (yeah, thanks for that, Jami)! He isn’t as much of a WDW freak as I am. And, until very recently, he had never even looked much at the DIS (other than a few choice ZZUB tidbits I had him read). But he loves to see me happy. And both WDW and the DIS make me happy. So he was game for, if a little leery of, this trip. He did not regret his decision, TFI.

DS14 & DS12: NOT with us on this trip. But a very important part of our lives, obviously. We are going again in November, and they will be there for most of that one. So we did make some observations on their behalf in preparation for that upcoming trip. (Yes, we are going twice in a month. And plan to go again in April. Did I say I am a WDW freak?) They are both wonderful boys. They stayed with various family members (although mostly at our own house) while we were partying down south. They didn’t mind. Really. They are great kids. And although they love Disney, they love to stay home, too. Do I sound guilty? Well, I was. But just a little.

DISfriends: Maelstromers, Fastpassers, Crazy people, but very, very wonderful people. And very funny. And loads of fun. It all started here on this TR board. And with some unpleasantness here that led us over to the Community Board (CB). And we have “talked” on a daily basis for over six months. Well, some of us on a daily basis. Some of us less frequently. But they have all become such a wonderful part of my life. A bunch of them were meeting at WDW during the weekend of Sept. 29 - Oct. 2. Actually, it was originally just set to meet at Maelstrom (...is a Fastpass?!?!) on the morning of the 2nd. It kinda grew from there.

So, anywho, this meet was taking shape. And I was getting antsy. I wanted in. Even though we had already started planning our November trip. So, I asked Jay. Our anniversary is in September....my birthday is in October. I thought, maybe, that this could be an “anniverthday” gift. He barely paused. Said, “sure”. (Told you he is wonderful!) I didn’t waste a minute before I started planning. Free airfare (we were bumped en route to last spring’s cruise..thanks for the inspiration Horsegirl!!), free dining (Ya Hoo!! Music to this foodie’s ears), and the justification (with a few more visits in the works) to buy APs. How could we go wrong? I also decided, since this was to be a short-ish trip, that we could afford to do the Wilderness Lodge, in a normal room, since we didn’t have to worry about the crowdedness of sharing with our boys. (We like renting DVC with the boys for the extra room. More on that later, too.) I loved the look of the WL lobby when we dined at WCC a couple of years ago, and always wanted to try it out. So the WL it was. I even used a travel agent, which I never do. Between the free dining, our first try with ME, and paying “rack rate” anyway (due to said free dining), I figured it would be worth a try. (Used Cathy at Dreams Unlimited. She was great!)

THEN, the planning began in earnest. Had to plan our itinerary. So I could plan our dining (or dinning, for the spelling impaired). Because, as we all know, the dining is the most important part. Especially when it’s free. And when we don’t have picky kids tagging along! I think everything was pretty caste in stone within a week or two. Doesn’t take me long. We had only three full days, with a late afternoon/evening on Friday, and just an hour or so on Tuesday morning. ADRs included: Boma, Kona Café (thanks for the recommendation, LaLa!), Concourse Steakhouse, and Alfredo’s.

When I started, the only “appointment” we had was the Maelstrom meet on Monday morning. So I knew we’d be in Epcot that day. After reviewing the EMH schedule (which usually just helps me decide which parks to avoid...), our plan fell into place rather quickly. Later, a few changes arose. Lots of friends had managed to secure ADRs at the California Grill. For Wishes viewing. I decided I’d like to do that, but was unable to get an ADR later than 4:30 p.m. or so. Not very helpful when Wishes is at 9. I was about to give up, when two of my dear friends, Sheridac and Jamal, came to my rescue. They invited us to join them on Sunday night at 9 for their big-group ADR at the Cali. I was thrilled. Bye-bye Concourse. I then decided, if we were eating that late on Sunday, we may want to do a sit-down lunch. So I set an ADR for LTT for 1:00. Good decision, that. I also set one last one for WCC breakfast before ME was going to pick us up on the dreaded last day. Done, done, done. At least with dinner and “which park which days”.

I continued to chat with my friends. And to get more and more excited. And to exchange itineraries. Jay was getting a little nervous. He told me that, although I really enjoyed my DIS friends, and that they may be really fun and personable online, I shouldn’t be so sure that they would be all that “normal” when I met them in person. He suspected that I may be unpleasantly surprised by these people who spent so much of their time on the internet. Of course, I was one of those people, but he seemed to not really grasp that. Or he doesn’t have as high an opinion of me as I think he does. At any rate, he named the trip. And the meet. Dorkapalooza 2006. Yep, my wonderful husband was dissing the DIS. And my dear friends. And, to be honest, his own wife. Now you know where the title for this TR came from!

NEXT UP: More planning, pre-departure anxiety, and pixie dust!

 

[Grammyof2]

All dorks raise your hand "You can pick the losers in the 1st 5 minutes" I believe that is a quote from JFK Jr

Great start

 

[jamal]

Yippee!!!! Am I first?? Cause I wanted to be FIRST... to say... this is awesome!!! OK, not first but happy to follow Grammy...

Ash, great start!! Thanks for filling us in on JFK Jr's REAL pre-meet impression of us. My Shrek calls us dorks, too, and rightly so!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: meeting you two was one of the highlights of my trip!!

Keep it coming cause I want to re-live the magic!!!

 

[horsegirl]

Gosh! Two Dorks beat me here. Dork #3 signing on! Now I must go read! And what does that wonderful man call us now? Hot babes, I bet!

Susan, in the words of Olive Oyl's father. Jay owes us an apology! And I just have to say again, you are one of the most stunning couples I know!

Great start and this was a fun read! I am excited to hear more! BTW! I am proud to be a Dork, how about you?

 

[AshClan]

Look at those post times! Talk about support!! I just want to say that I will be posting Part Two sometime this afternoon. The 1st installment looked a lot longer in Word..............

 

[sheridac]

Uuummm. Speak for yourselves. I am NOT a dork.

 

[kpk89]

I knew I wouldn't be first. I never first.

Great start, Susan. Now get to the part where we're NOT dorks!

((Are we not dorks? I think we actually are.))

 

[AshClan]

PART TWO- More planning, pre-departure anxiety, and pixie dust!

So...all of our planning was pretty much done. I pledged to make this a “non-commando” trip. That means not only would we be wearing underwear, but we would take it easy. Enjoy the scenery. Soak in the magic in a way I have never allowed us to before. After all, we were coming back in month. Plus, we didn’t have the kids. So, I set my sights on just a couple of attractions per park:

EE at AKL. With my bestgirlfriendsista Horsegirl. After all, her amazing description of riding it for the first time with her daughter was my inspiration. (Note: If you haven’t read her TR, READ IT. It is amazing!!) Horsegirl’s story made me want to ride EE in the worst way. When she promised to ride my 1st ride with me (Jay’s not a big roller coaster fan), it made me even more excited!! It was sure to be one of the highlights of our trip.

Splash, Philharmagic, Depp of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion at MK. The 1st two are my favs, ‘nuf said. Just HAD to check out Johnny in the new and improved POC. And Haunted Mansion. For a few reasons. For Mel, 1000thhappyhaunt, of course. The founder of the M1 (the first Maelstrommer thread), co-inventor of the “Maelstrom....is a Fastpass?!” phenomenon (along with our good buddy ZZUB) and one of the most talented, funny, and entertaining writers here on the DIS, or anywhere, for that matter. Plus, for myself. Because I love HM. And ever since taking our boys on it, at the tender ages of 5 and 3, I haven’t been able to ride it. Because I scarred them. For life. They won’t go near it. No matter how much I beg and cajole. My DS14 is over 6'4", for goodness sake! He’s still a weenie when it comes to HM. And I have given up trying to change his mind. No kids this time meant we could ride it! YaHoo!! (or Yoo Hoo, if you prefer.)

Soarin’, and maybe Test Track, and of course MAELSTROM at Epcot. I love, love, love Soarin’. Test Track, if we had time, would be a fun diversion. Maelstrom, well, that ride has taken on a whole new meaning for me since my last trip in 2005. And I was going to be meeting sooooo many of my dear friends there. We’d ride it together. What could be more fun?

So, I was psyched. However, I was also a little scared. See, Jay and I had not been on a plane together without the boys in years. Since they were babies. I fly on occasion for work. But I’m alone. The thought of the TWO of us BOTH being on a doomed flight and leaving the boys behind, well, I just got sick everytime I thought about it. Most of the moms I spoke with understood. “But,” people would say, “you’re in a car together all the time. It’s more likely you’ll be in a car accident than a plane crash.” True, but a plane crash is more scary to me. I’ve been in a few car accidents. And have always walked away essentially unharmed. Save a random case of whiplash or two. But I sucked it up. I am not a nervous flyer. I’m fine once I’m on the plane. It’s the anticipation. So, aside from fleeting moments of panic, mostly late at night, I resolved to not worry. Too much. And that was that. More or less. Of course, it all turned out fine. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t be writing this report. So no need for you to worry

Time flew. Way at the beginning, Jay implied that I would owe him big-time, because this weekend would be crowded with meets and DISdork sightings. I corrected him. We were only planning to attend one meet! On Monday morning at Maelstrom! That was IT! The rest of the time it would just be the two of us. HA! Time passed. Plans evolved. Itineraries meshed. We would now be bumping into friends at Boma on our first night. Several of them. A few others were going to join Horsegirl and me to ride EE on Sat. morning. A “girls night” scheduled for Saturday would now include an early Poly bar meet to which men were invited (so Jay & I could stop by). We would also be meeting up for a Mel-tribute at Haunted Mansion on Sunday morning. Sunday night was our Cali Grill dinner (so excited!!). The Maelstrom meet was still scheduled for Monday morning, but now we were also meeting up for Illuminations and for a post-extravaganza visit to a little piano bar on the Boardwalk. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

Jay was getting a bit concerned, but he remained good natured. He also needed a vacation. Badly. So he was game. He did express a little trepidation from time to time. And he would roll his eyes every once in a while. But he was a good sport about it. And, as I mentioned, he was enjoying my happy anticipation. Because he likes me to be happy. He loves me, even if he thinks I’m a dork.

Packing was fairly effortless. I packed two outfits for each day. As usual, I was shocked at how many pairs of shoes I needed. Of course, every once in a while I’d chat with Sheridac (most of us have each other’s phone numbers at this point), and I’d realize that my packing list was small potatoes. No matter how much I brought, Sher would beat me by at least double. Little black dress was purchased for Cali. The accompanying little black shoes were chosen. For daytime, Crocs became a bit of an issue. I am not a Croc girl. Those clog-like things that are so popular with DISers just aren’t my style. The flip flops, however, intrigued me. I had heard how comfy they were, and I liked the idea of footwear that would be cooler (temperature-wise) than sneakers. We had some problems, though. When I went to buy them online, they would not accept Amex. Which is all I carry. And Jay had misplaced his MasterCard and reported it lost. Of course, he found it shortly thereafter, but it was too late. And it took the idiots at Chase about three or four weeks to replace it. By then it was way too late to order online. And I live in Boston, people. Flip flops are not in the stores in September. Jamal, my sweet friend from Tennessee, came to the rescue. She and I exchanged foot size info (we have the same sized foot!) and she bought me my pair of Crocs, brown with blue, to be delivered at Boma on Friday night!! She is such a sweetie!!!! I also packed up all my v. critical (or very critical for those of you who did not read, or see, Bridget Jones Diary) liquids and gels and put them in a UPS next day air package on Weds. evening, and shipped them to myself at WL. I didn’t know when the luggage would reach us via ME, and I needed my makeup and hairspray for Boma prep. Genius idea, if I do say so myself. Worked like a charm. After my two weeks of planning and prep and ironing and packing, Jay swept in on the night before our departure and packed himself in about 10 minutes flat. Typical.

I had the family lined up to watch the boys, and explained their itinerary to them. I think they listened. I bagged up their lunches with instructions for what refrigerated items needed to be added. I put out clothing with post-its marking the day for DS12 (fortunately the older one takes care of his own clothes). Shopped for easy prep food to leave behind. Wrote out detailed “school morning routines” and posted on the refrigerator. And we were ready. I hoped.

Friday morning. Got the kids off to school with little stress. They didn’t seem the least bit concerned about us leaving. Both wished us “fun at Disney World”, and neither wanted any Disney souvenirs. Easy peasy. We packed up the car, went for breakfast, met a friend near the city and got dropped off at the airport. Two hours early. I had checked us in online the night before (good thing...they had not only changed our departure time, but our flight number, too!), so we didn’t have much to do. Dropped off our suitcase and garment bag with the skycap and vegged at the gate. Now, an aside about the gate. I always try to get emergency exit seats for us, even if we are traveling with the kids, and they have to be in a different row. This is because Jay is really really tall. 6'6" or 6'7", depending upon who you ask. (Officially, I think his doctor says 6'6 ½".) Anywho, he needs legroom. And on the rare occasion that we don’t get emergency exit seats, he invariably ends up either (1) getting his knees banged up by the hostesses’ drink cart, or (2) sitting behind the one person on the plane that feels the need to recline their seat aaaaalllllll the way back. For the entire flight. So it’s important to me. When I booked our flights online, I was not allowed to book emergency exit seats. This happens often. The strategy is to get to the gate early and watch the desk. As soon as someone comes on duty, I politely approach, point out my husbands loooonnnggg legs, and ask if there might be a chance to get ee seats. Which I did this time. And the very nice woman said she’d check it out for me and would make sure we were first on the list for any that were available. A few minutes later, she came over to us to say that, unfortunately, all the ee seats were booked. But did we at least have an aisle? We didn’t. She went back to the computer (with me right behind), and managed to get us bulkhead seats. Aisle and middle. Not as good as ee, but much better than the norm. We were grateful and expressed that to her. A little bit later, we board the plane. The seats aren’t bad. Jay’s feet are actually in first class, as we are in the first seats in coach. We joke about his feet being in 1st class. A few minutes, and he grabs my hand. “Come with me” he says. I, being a total goody two shoes, panic. Is he leading me into 1st class as a joke? Does he really think we can “sneak” in? And then I see her. The lovely lady from the gate. Motioning us into the last two 1st class seats! She BUMPED us! I love her. MAJOR pixie dust. And VERY comfy, spacious seats. Hee hee. We are happy. Really, really. Shortly thereafter, I order a Bloody Mary. Weak. Because I am trying to get rid of a headache, but I don’t want to be sleepy when we land. Turns out, I ended up with two Bloody Marys. But they were obviously weak. Because I never felt the slightest bit buzzed or sleepy. Jay stuck with his water. And a few select snacks, too. Fun, fun. Happy, happy. Smooth flight, and we landed just about 10 minutes late, at about 3:00 p.m., which wasn’t bad at all.

Exiting the plane, literally, just as I am about to say goodbye to the flight attendant, my phone rings. It is Horsegirl. (I believe this is our 3rd conversation within about 24 hours. We are excited.) She is on ME heading to her hotel. She had a horrible trip down. In case she writes another TR, I’ll leave the details to her. Suffice it to say that she did not have the pixie dust that we had. And I feel kinda bad telling her about ours. But, being the lovely person she is, she is very happy for us. We agree to see each other in a few hours at the Victoria Falls Bar by Boma. She will be with Sheridac and her friend B, and Jamal and her friends M & S. Also, I think they’re bringing Grammyof2 along. With Grampyof2 If you read Sheridac’s report, you will discover that this was a feat and ½. Sher had to use all her mad skillz, as she was trying to combine two ADRs (an hour apart), plus add a couple more bodies. If you understand Sher and her mad skillz, there was not much of a question how this would turn out.

Next pixie dust moment: We get to the ME desk. Sign in, go over to the “queue”, and are rushed through. Our bus is about to leave, but they can squeeze us on. Our deplaning to bus boarding time totalled about 20 minutes, I think. NICE! We were on our way. With guests of the Poly, GF, and Contemporary. Horsey had recently stayed at the Contemporary. She had told me on several occasions that WL is the FIRST stop! In fact, she told me again just then on the phone. She lied. Well, she didn’t LIE so much as she made an incorrect assumption. Just because it was HER first stop, did not mean it would be MINE. In fact, it was the third stop. But y’know what? I didn’t care all that much! I was so happy to be on our way. Our driver was chatty. She kinda sounded like Rosie O’Donnell. I said to Jay, “She’s from NY”. A couple of seconds later, she said “I’m from NY”. Jay smiled at my mad skillz (see, Sher’s not the only one)!! She talked and talked and talked. Mostly to the people up front. From Philly. They chatted about regional foods. About cheesecake and cheesesteaks. About NY Pizza. About Florida’s no-good water. Specifically, she told a long story about how she can’t make DEVILED EGGS (I SWEAR, she did!! I just about freaked (NOF)!!) because the water is so bad, that hard boiled eggs won’t peel properly. All the egg white sticks to the shell and makes a mess. She has to travel to the next county to use her mother’s water. Or something like that. Not an important detail, but the deviled egg thing just cracked me up. I wanted to pipe up to ask if she likes to eat them for dessert, but I decided to exercise some self-control.

Disclaimer: The deviled egg thing could, I suppose, be considered an inside joke. If you haven’t read 1000thhappyhaunt’s latest TR. The one of the revolving titles. If you haven’t. Go read it now. Go ahead. I’ll wait here. On second thought, don’t. It’ll make this little TR look too lame. Read hers after you finish this one. Thank you. Disclaimer over.

NEXT UP: WL, and skipping, hugging, and screaming at Boma.

 

[horsegirl]

This thread is worthless without pix! Nah, just kidding. brb SUSAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is a great start!!!!!!! I love this. Am I biased because it is all about us? Perhaps. Or because you say so many nice things about us? Perhaps. But actually you are very entertaining!!!!!!!!! And I did NOT lie. Twice the wilderness lodge was first on DME, coming AND going....so there!

I need to post a pic of you and your gorgeous husband. I will soon, if you don't, so hurry up.

BTW, people, this couple is White House material. Jay is a politician and an amazing people person. Susan has the grace and elegance and brains to be the behind the scenes actual president. She would be an incredible ambassador! Many of us have decided to quit our jobs, move to Boston and help Mr. Ashclan with his campaign!

Did I say this is a great report?

 

[jamal]

Borg on everything horsey says!! #1, #4, and #7 (my friends from the trip and I..you'll read, I'm sure) all said we'd move to Mass. to run Jay's campaign and we don't even know his politics!!

Pics, baby. Didn't I send you a bunch of you two cuties???

I loved reading all about the planning and your adventures before we met!

Keep it coming; we'll wait.....

 

[sheridac]

Ash!!! You're futher ahead than me!!! I didn't even get to MCO yet!!!

Rhut-Rho!!!

 

[Yzma and Kronk]

I'm a Dork........and I don't mind

Great report Ashc(l)an.

I am not a nervous flyer. I’m fine once I’m on the plane. It’s the anticipation. So, aside from fleeting moments of panic, mostly late at night, I resolved to not worry. Too much. And that was that. More or less

.

I bagged up their lunches with instructions for what refrigerated items needed to be added. I put out clothing with post-its marking the day...

Not Dorks......more like great minds think alike! BORG!

And Double BORG....

Borg on everything horsey says!! #1, #4, and #7 (my friends from the trip and I..you'll read, I'm sure) all said we'd move to Mass. to run Jay's campaign and we don't even know his politics!!

I'm in.......will he come and run in Canada too?

Thanks Ash!

Looking forward to more.

With pic's.

 

[sleepydog25]

I continued to chat with my friends. And to get more and more excited. And to exchange itineraries. Jay was getting a little nervous. He told me that, although I really enjoyed my DIS friends, and that they may be really fun and personable online, I shouldn’t be so sure that they would be all that “normal” when I met them in person. He suspected that I may be unpleasantly surprised by these people who spent so much of their time on the internet. Of course, I was one of those people, but he seemed to not really grasp that. Or he doesn’t have as high an opinion of me as I think he does. At any rate, he named the trip. And the meet. Dorkapalooza 2006. Yep, my wonderful husband was dissing the DIS. And my dear friends. And, to be honest, his own wife. Now you know where the title for this TR came from!

NEXT UP: More planning, pre-departure anxiety, and pixie dust!

I'm sure I'm normal, but I'm not sure about the rest of those characters. . .

 

[UtahMama]

YAY! This is great stuff, YOU!

"Dork" is the highest term of endearment in our house. That, and "Pooh-Head"

So I like!

Cant wait to read all about your many meets..it'll feel like we were THERE! (the DISlosers back home!)

I love FIRST class! So, I'm glad you got bumped! That was COOL!

 

[drebert]

I'm a Dork too!!!

Love, Love, Love, the TR! I am so happy to get to be among the Dork's that you and Jay got to meet.

My boys could be junior campaigners for Jay! They absolutely loved him! (We did too. The two of you are so precious!)

Keep it coming!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Go Susan, go Susan!! Love it!! So glad you got pixie dust before you even arrived!

Yeah, you kept me from my work for a little while longer. Thanks!!

Can't wait to read it all... Someone please tell me how to get caught up with work, AND laundry, AND M2, AND write a TR, AND read all these other TRs. I will have to develop some mad skillz in a hurry! Either that, or I'll have to start sleeping only 2 hours per day, like Sher.

More, Susan, PLEEEEEEEEAAAAASSSSSSE!!!

 

[latoberg]

Ash, you have a great narrative style. Loving the TR so far. You're a great storyteller.

 

[pongoperdigirl]

Hi there.
I guess I am a dork too.
From afar.

I love your trippie so far.
I can't wait to read the rest

 

[ZZUB]

So I could plan our dining (or dinning, for the spelling impaired).

What a strange attack on NicoleMarie in the early part of your Trip Report. Why would you do that, Ashclan? Why?!

After years of reading your encouraging posts on my Trip Reports, I finally get to respond to one of yours. Great report! Thanks for sharing.

And other gratuitious crap like that.

So my favorite screename went to Disney World and is writing a report about it? Now then, finally, a reason to get up in the mornings.

Very much looking forward to reading more.

 

[AshClan]

Wow, this is a really interesting experience. Writing a trippie. And checking for responses. I was so happy to see I had made it to two pages!! And that I hadn't disappeared this afternoon into TR oblivion.

I also now understand what everyone says about the encouragement, and how motivated it keeps you. So thank you all, really.

Gram - Thanks for rushing right over here to be first. You are the queen and commander, no doubt!

Jami - You are the sweetest, and #1, #4 and #7 will be making several special appearances in this report, for sure.

Horsey - The gushing! My goodness! Jay is only kinda a politician, y'know. He's appointed. Not elected. But if he ever decides to run, you and Jami will be the first people we call. Pictures are coming soon.

Sher - the race is on, baby! Let's just see WHO has mad TR skillz!!

Kimmie! - Embrace the Dorkdom. You and Doug are just SO cute in that siggie pic.

YAK - Canada sounds pretty good to me these days! We will seriously consider it! Especially if there is any of that Thanksgiving pie left!!

SleepyD - Yeah, you're normal. I SAW the picture of your painted toes, Mister. In YOUR TR. 'nuf said.

UtahMama - Even though you weren't there, you make an appearance in the next installment!!

Drebert & Lacto - We loved you AND your boys. Thanks for checkin' in. I may have to steal a couple of your pictures, too!

Rhonda - Welcome back, sweetie. Yes, the re-entry is a rough one. But, gosh, you guys should be used to it by now!!!

Pongo - You are SUCH a dork! And I mean that it in a really good way. I will even make sure to put in the picture that includes you....from NY!!

ZZUB - Thanks for stopping by. I was hoping you would. You elitist, Harvard, fascist, missed-the-dean's-list-two-semesters-in-a-row Yankee *******. (I think we have our coasts mixed up, though....)

Love you all!!