Butterfly818
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2006
I'm a convert, what can I say!I can give you lots of quick facts, but I feel like first I should tell you why we're going to Disney World (umm duh, to be at the hapiest place on earth, silly, for many magical days!). Right well, we're going for that, but I suppose what I want to address is why that's so needed (because everyone is stressed, tired, and likes rides). Right, fine then, I am going to address why WDW is our choice over say Europe. (Got anything to say to that alter-ego?)
Our cast:
Me (Single Mom, 26)
DS (3 yr old blonde haired, blue eyed adorable creature)
DM (my really cool mom who wishes she could wear some of the retro teen styles that remind her of her youth
DD (my dad who asks my mom why wants to wear those hideous clothes again)
Our dates: Saturday Dec 8-Saturday Dec 15, 2007
All Star Movies Dec 8-Dec 12
Wilderness Lodge Dec 12-Dec 15
This entire Walt Disney World desire didn't hit my family repeatedly through the years growing up. Nope, we did it once in 1985 when my brother and I were toddlers. In 1986, I went to Disneyland with just my dad. My brother went to universal and maybe mgm I think in the mid-nineties with my dad (my dad flew out on business a lot and took us alternately to different places--my silly mom was a homebody who frequently demured
<yes she's crazy> ) I grew up, traveled everywhere, got married, had a baby, and I still was not bitten my the Disney bug. Somehow Disney advertising never really impacted us. I didn't notice til AFTER we were on track to go. Maybe I just didn't need magic until 2005. My ex is Austrian (there are no kangaroos in Austria, think about it). We were married a little while then had DS in 2004 who was a preemie. That added tremendous stress to our marriage, but my ex was miserable in this country. A lot of other things occured, but by summer 2005 we were split. And in November 2005 I was no longer a Mrs. I was pretty upset (gee imagine). You plan your life one way and as everything soon does, things change. Right around the time of the divorce I majorly focused on my career. There would not be 2 incomes. There was just me. In summer 2006 I was promoted, but the job was not in Dallas where I was living with my family. It was in Austin. And worse, my hours have never been 9-5. But my parents said take the job and we'll watch DS (my father works from home). I took it and this began all these months of my son's commute. It's really weird. I have sole custody of my son. But I have to get my mom to visit me to see me. And she does. She's unbelievably generous. When my father is out of town or just busy, she's down here with me for about half the month. It's the hardest thing I've ever done.
So why am I telling you all this? Because though I have sole custody of my son and his father is in another continent, the quality time I have with my son is limited. I become a term I heard frequently from friends growing up "a disneyland mama" (instead of daddy). It's a fascinating phenomena. He visits and I plan well, tons of things. Let's go to the children's museum, the zoo, the aquariums, Sea World (Texas remember), to the lake, to the inflatables/ bounce place.. I wanted to soak up my son. I still do every week I get with him, every long weekend, every moment. I work towards knowing at some point, I'll get promoted and these hours will stop. My son and I will be together again all the time and we'll be more financially secure. But I'm losing minutes of time with him everyday.
Then one day in the fall of 2006 after I moved 300 miles south, I was eyeing the travel section in Half Price books. This isn't uncommon, by 22 I had 16 countries under my belt and over a year and a half of those short 22 years had been spent on vacation or studying out of country. I get this restlessness and I have to explore somewhere. I was quite sure that I was too beyond an "overgrown theme park" especially one that had a set up of "fake countries". How silly, how stupid, oh no, how shortsighted of me. Anyways, the travel section I am well acquainted with. I realise in my single momhood with a baby, that domestic travel is pretty much what I'm limited too. DS had already been on two roundtrip flights by age 2. He's got his mom's blood. He's the most relaxed baby/ toddler anywhere. Up and down long highway trips, is my kid restless? Nope. Flying for 5 hours, is he good? Yup. He hangs with the pilot during boarding and is fascinated by the seatbelts. My son constantly asks to go somewhere. "Can we go to the store? Go walmart? Go play? Go Mcdonald's? Go mall?" (Can you see our options for cooler, indoor play options for July?)
So a Disneyland Mama needs to take her most special creature somewhere. And we need time together. Everyday we talk on the phone when we're apart. Have you ever explained to a 2/ newly 3 year old why you aren't there?
"Hi Mama."
"Hi baby"
"What's you doin?"
"Mama is at work, sweetheart."
"Oh, ok. WHY?"
"So we can have health insurance." (yes I do say it and don't you just wish they understood! lol)
"why Mama?"
"Because I love you"
"Ok, Mama, bye!"
And so it has gone everyday. So we need quality time and to "go" somewhere. Standing there in Half Price Books is a heavily weighted shelf for Florida vacations. A place that not only welcomes small children and their parents and actively seeks out their most active political votes (their money). I found an Unofficial Guide from 2002 I think and an old Passporter pre-color maps. For about $2 each I could be an armchair traveler (not to mention time traveler back to then). So I bought them and though nothing of the fact that I had opened the door to my heart and wallet to Disney...
I already knew of legendary Disney service. I had for my job read the Keys to the Magic Kingdom in the spring in 2006. I was pretty impressed with the service concepts. But remember I'm too cool for a mere theme park vacation. In fact prior to my promotion in the summer of 2006, my mom, my son, and I were heading to Austria (yeah I know I was paying for a trip to take my son to see my ex/ his dad.... should be his father's responsibility to see him), Czech Republic, and Hungary. They were all repeat countries, but they were going to be fun. I needed to spend time out of country. (Before I get flamed for being unAmerican, I LOVE my citizenship. And I get it's a privilege. May I point out that every time I leave and return my appreciation and awe of the USofA only grows. Do I have a very healthy dose or realism of what our current limitations/ issues are, yes.... Oh yes...... But I still LOVE th US of A) So anyways, we killed that vacation. And I had these prophetic old editions of Disney books. I'm lonely for my child, exhausted opening a new store (that's why I got the promotion faster--go to a new location and there you go), and really was undergoing major personal change. Maybe I'm really missing out here on this Disney Magic...
"Mom, you can go on a safari!!! Isn't that cool?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Disney World!!!"
"I thought you said that was a waste of money and people should direct their interests outside their own bubble and explore the world." (Ok I know I say crap like that ALL the time. In fact I'm blown away by all the famililes I hear say "We can't afford Europe/ Latin America/Asia. It's so expensive." They say this then talk about their 9 day stay at Walt Disney World. And I'm like, umm I bet I could do Europe cheaper... you don't need to stay in anything better than a pension, a hostel... I'm the first person to tell you to take one carry on bag and travel with the locals. I'm known for my attitude on this. I don't understand American style hotels in Europe. I don't. Which is al so why I don't understand non-Disney hotels in Disney! I want to be in the "native" land!!!
)"No, but it's cool, Mom. Tons of stuff for DS to do. Did you know they have this huge aquarium? And there is this restaurant called the California Grill. And they have value resorts... It's actually fairly decent when you price it out... A FEW days at WDW, check out some theme parks..." Oh yeah I was being sucked in big time. A few days? What was I thinking?
I started searching online.
I'm a big travel planner. I find the coolest places, the little tricks, I analyse and reflect. I'm the default travel agent for friends and family. I've taken phone calls from distressed relations stabding in D.C. asking me where they should go and how they should get there. How hard could WDW be? I found these boards by the fall. I lurked for awhile. I joined a touring plan site. I went and bought current editions of my travel guides. I ordered custom maps from Disney because someone on these boards mentioned it. And worse--I walked into the Disney Store! My child was never going to wear characters! 
Are you laughing at me now? That's ok, my best friends and mom do too on this one. My son was to be dressed classicly at all times and not "branded" by a cartoon. I still feel that way about a movie that comes out or Nickelodeon or what have you. But now my child is thoroughly branded by Disney. Somehow walking back into those stores reminded me of my own childhood. There's Bambi. There's Thumper. There's Tigger. Oh I loved Tigger growing up! How had I forgotten? Did I forget I could sing ALL of the princess songs from all the major movies? I was 10 when the Little Mermaid was my FAVORITE. I relented the first day. One Buzz shirt. I saw Toy Story. I had cried during the part where Jessie sings about when she once was loved... And then I had seen Jessie honored at the Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth. Heck, she was in a museum. I'm big on museums. Disney must be classic enough to let my son parade on his chest. So he got a Buzz shirt. "To infinity and beyond" I like that. DS likes that. Buzz seems like he's on his way to "go" somewere.
The silliness is we all know Disneyana is wrapped up in pop culture. And it's also classic culture. My heart melts and then sings to "A Wish Upon A Star." I sang this in the NICU while DS was a 2lb tiny creature being fed through a tube. Amazing that I forgot it's Disney. It was just a song I knew and sang to my son.
Yes, you laugh at me. I was totally anti-Disney before.
So after my rounds of Disney Store perusals, web surfing, book reading, I went home for Christmas. I was home with DS uninterrupted for 5 whole days. We watched the Disney Christmas parade (which I have now recently learned is taped way before--love the boards!
). I got so excited. How cool is this? How beautiful!! My mom watched. She was hooked too.Now we were on a campaign. DS always watches Playhouse Disney. He loves Mickey Mouse. It wasn't hard to tach him to say "I want go to Disney World!" Why would we team up and teach my son this? Because we knew one man who was in charge of his rightfully earned frequent flyer miles. My dad and the very devoted Grandpa of DS. I had already planned to get my son and to go by 2007, maybe in free dining if they had it. We could only go for about 5-6 days and we'd have to stay in a value, but heck thoe days with DS! Pure Nirvana! I can't give my son a big house right now, a daddy to play ball with, etc. Heck, I can't even ive him me 24/7, but I could give him maybe a week in WDW. If I saved really hard and accepted a very large credit card bill to hit me. I could have swung it. But I was suckered in by the those Magical Gatherings commercials with parents AND grandparents in tow. And the year of million dreams ones.... They got me so excited. I'd see them and point at the tv to dear son... "There! There! That's Disney World! Do you want to go?"
"Yay!!" he'd shout. (What's mama so excited about?)
Luckily he remembered to say "I want go to Disney World!" to the perfect person... Grandpa. Grandpa said that sounded great.. when he was 5 or 6 or even 7. Grandpa had last been to Universal and MGM with DB, at the time in middle school. That wasn't quite what DM and I were going for. No, let's go this year, for Christmas, for DS.
He thought we were nuts. "What's there for a 3 yr old?" "Everything we say! And he'll be almost 4!"
I uhh brought out those planning dvds I'd have never been caught dead with a few years ago...
Umm yeah... I so sent off for everything!
I really liked it. That and I like how it's close to MK but without the 3 monorail resorts' price tag. It just felt right. So that's where we split our stay.
