Lauralee131
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2005
Hello everyone! Well, Ive been a long time lurker and havent posted hundreds or thousands of times as many of you have
Im usually too wrapped up in reading everyone elses stuff to take the time to post my own! In fact, since we returned from our last trip to the world in February, Ive been saying that Im going to do a TR
more like threatening myself really to sit the heck down and do it! It was a fun, eventful, and pretty dysfunctional trip oh yeah, and we celebrated my birthday in the middle of it! Everyone on our little Magical Gathering complained about it said that I planned our trip that way on purpose. Well, DUH
hey if you are going to elect me to be Julie Your Cruise Director, then dammit, shut the heck up and do what Im telling ya, WHEN Im telling ya! And if youre going to leave it up to me, then Im going to throw in little self-perks like that Im only human. Wouldnt you? Its funny how no one really wants to make the plans (Oh, we dont care when we go you decide) and the all important dining decisions (I dont care where or what we eat you pick), yet after all the arrangements are made, suddenly EVERYONE wants to throw 2 pennies at me and pelt me in the face with them. They not only rained on my parade, they pretty much peed all over it! I thought I was going to need therapy by the time we came back! So now that weve got another trip to my happy place within sight (Dec 2nd thru 9th at Poly), I thought that maybe Id start a pre-trip report as a way to occupy myself all thoughts turn to Disney even more so when were within 80 or so days from our trip. But, then I thought, Ill probably be referring to that (allegedly) Magical Gathering that was pretty much for the most part, anything BUT Magical. Ive never had anyone kill my Disney buzz before. Dont care to have it happen again either.
Youve probably all heard it before Never invite anyone, especially family, on vacation with you But no were different were very close with DHs brother and his wife, this trip is going to be nothing short of spectacular! Yeah, well Denial is not a river in Egypt and of course, to this day, DH tells me that as soon as I started mentioning this grand idea of mine that bells and whistles were going off in his head and he knew our trip was doomed. Ok, so tell me people, if your sweet, lovely spouse was planning this magical journey and you had this feeling in the pit of your stomach wait, not just a bad feeling, not just an utz in your gut, but an apocalyptically bad feeling about something like this, would you make even the slightest mention of it? Or would you let your better half twist in the wind???
So anyway, this trip was planned with all good intentions on my part. I wanted to sprinkle some pixie dust on the in-laws (BIL/SIL) for their first trip, as well as my own little family our DS4 was going to be experiencing the magic for the first time as well! I planned and planned, surfed the Dis, read the books did everything I possibly could to make this trip so magical and so memorable, that even when Alzheimers finally set in and they couldnt recognize family and friends anymore, they would still remember our little gathering it was going to be all that and a bag of chips. Now mind you, I have been going to my happy place since it opened my mom brought me just about every year, at least once a year up until I turned about 16 or 17. I was raised a Disney kid. I STILL AM a Disney kid, and always will be. In fact, at the age of (gulp) 37, I still get verklempt at pretty much just the thought of going to Disney World and when the television commercials come on - forget it instant blubbering idiot, just add water. The vacation planning video gives me goosebumps and tears all at the same time. Now, before I go any further, I should probably explain WHY I get this way. Its pretty personal, but pertinent as youll see later in my TR, and since Im sitting in a room all alone right now and cant see the looks any of you are giving me, Ill give you a little background on myself. Two months after my 3rd birthday, my father died in a car accident. A rather tragic, horrific one I might add. My mother, now finding herself a 21 year old widow with a 3 year old to support, began the short journey into a lifelong battle with alcoholism. Bless her heart though, she still managed to work 2 to 3 jobs to support us and managed to take me on vacation each year so we could spend some quality time together. When I was 4, my mother married a monster, for lack of a better word. Pure evil, plain and simple... The abuse started shortly thereafter. And Im not talking your average verbal abuse, Im talking the most horrifying abuse you could imagine and this was back in the day when husbands could beat, rape and nearly kills their wives and children over and over again, and police would simply look the other way. Domestic Violence was really an unknown, or should I say unspoken term back then. We tried to get away several times. We spent the next several years virtually on the run, always getting caught, barely getting away by the skin of our teeth. Now through it all, my mom had to continue working to keep those temporary roofs over our head so I spent most of my time home alone, a latch key kid as theyre now called. By the age of 6 I was wearing my house key around my neck, coming home from school, locking all the doors, closing all the shades and cooking dinner for myself, etc. But still my mom somehow managed to scrape the money together for a Disney World vacation at least once a year, usually twice back then. Disney World was the best place to hide I guess. For me, it was my chance to be a child. Once we began our walk up Main Street, I was free. I find it hard to explain the feeling I would get, to this day. Maybe it was like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders I was able to laugh, smile and spend some quality time with my mom. We didnt have a care in the world or at least we pretended not to for our time there and reality never entered into the picture. So even now, all these years later, just thinking about being there makes me cry. I can go there, be away from all of the realities of my adult world and be a kid again. It is truly the most magical place on earth for me AHEM ok, so now that Ive brought you all down and youre probably wondering what in the world possessed you to read this far, lets put our Kleenex tissues away and get back to present day. Come on, shake it off...
Where were we? Ah yes, I just explained to you my sick, morbid version of why Disney World means so much to me. So to share that childlike joy with others is a big deal. I wanted my BIL/SIL to feel like kids again and couldnt wait to see the magic thru not only their eyes, but my DSs eyes too.
I have now made it my mission to give everyone an incredible vacation. Whether they like it or not!!
Youve probably all heard it before Never invite anyone, especially family, on vacation with you But no were different were very close with DHs brother and his wife, this trip is going to be nothing short of spectacular! Yeah, well Denial is not a river in Egypt and of course, to this day, DH tells me that as soon as I started mentioning this grand idea of mine that bells and whistles were going off in his head and he knew our trip was doomed. Ok, so tell me people, if your sweet, lovely spouse was planning this magical journey and you had this feeling in the pit of your stomach wait, not just a bad feeling, not just an utz in your gut, but an apocalyptically bad feeling about something like this, would you make even the slightest mention of it? Or would you let your better half twist in the wind???
So anyway, this trip was planned with all good intentions on my part. I wanted to sprinkle some pixie dust on the in-laws (BIL/SIL) for their first trip, as well as my own little family our DS4 was going to be experiencing the magic for the first time as well! I planned and planned, surfed the Dis, read the books did everything I possibly could to make this trip so magical and so memorable, that even when Alzheimers finally set in and they couldnt recognize family and friends anymore, they would still remember our little gathering it was going to be all that and a bag of chips. Now mind you, I have been going to my happy place since it opened my mom brought me just about every year, at least once a year up until I turned about 16 or 17. I was raised a Disney kid. I STILL AM a Disney kid, and always will be. In fact, at the age of (gulp) 37, I still get verklempt at pretty much just the thought of going to Disney World and when the television commercials come on - forget it instant blubbering idiot, just add water. The vacation planning video gives me goosebumps and tears all at the same time. Now, before I go any further, I should probably explain WHY I get this way. Its pretty personal, but pertinent as youll see later in my TR, and since Im sitting in a room all alone right now and cant see the looks any of you are giving me, Ill give you a little background on myself. Two months after my 3rd birthday, my father died in a car accident. A rather tragic, horrific one I might add. My mother, now finding herself a 21 year old widow with a 3 year old to support, began the short journey into a lifelong battle with alcoholism. Bless her heart though, she still managed to work 2 to 3 jobs to support us and managed to take me on vacation each year so we could spend some quality time together. When I was 4, my mother married a monster, for lack of a better word. Pure evil, plain and simple... The abuse started shortly thereafter. And Im not talking your average verbal abuse, Im talking the most horrifying abuse you could imagine and this was back in the day when husbands could beat, rape and nearly kills their wives and children over and over again, and police would simply look the other way. Domestic Violence was really an unknown, or should I say unspoken term back then. We tried to get away several times. We spent the next several years virtually on the run, always getting caught, barely getting away by the skin of our teeth. Now through it all, my mom had to continue working to keep those temporary roofs over our head so I spent most of my time home alone, a latch key kid as theyre now called. By the age of 6 I was wearing my house key around my neck, coming home from school, locking all the doors, closing all the shades and cooking dinner for myself, etc. But still my mom somehow managed to scrape the money together for a Disney World vacation at least once a year, usually twice back then. Disney World was the best place to hide I guess. For me, it was my chance to be a child. Once we began our walk up Main Street, I was free. I find it hard to explain the feeling I would get, to this day. Maybe it was like a huge weight being lifted off my shoulders I was able to laugh, smile and spend some quality time with my mom. We didnt have a care in the world or at least we pretended not to for our time there and reality never entered into the picture. So even now, all these years later, just thinking about being there makes me cry. I can go there, be away from all of the realities of my adult world and be a kid again. It is truly the most magical place on earth for me AHEM ok, so now that Ive brought you all down and youre probably wondering what in the world possessed you to read this far, lets put our Kleenex tissues away and get back to present day. Come on, shake it off...
Where were we? Ah yes, I just explained to you my sick, morbid version of why Disney World means so much to me. So to share that childlike joy with others is a big deal. I wanted my BIL/SIL to feel like kids again and couldnt wait to see the magic thru not only their eyes, but my DSs eyes too.
I have now made it my mission to give everyone an incredible vacation. Whether they like it or not!!