The Shmoopy DINKs 3rd Annual Xmas Trip - new 2/3: The Origin Story

[jluvsdis]

Girlbomb, I'm usually a lurker, but I just have to tell you how much I enjoyed your trip report. You are a wonderful writer and I will be buying your books to read them also.

I'm very happy that you've made your plans to return again in December, only 10 months to wait for another Girlbomb trip report

Jill

 

[JennSaint]

Just wanted to let you know I thoroughly enjoyed reading your entire trip report. My family and I leave in 35 days and reading interesting reports are helping pass the time.
Now I need to read your 1st book. When does the second one come out?
Thanks again for the great entertainment!

 

[Hedy]

So sad your TR is over!

 

[Glendamax]

Wait . . . am I understanding this correctly?

Is this trip report over?

Are you telling me that there will NOT be another installation for me to read tomorrow, causing me to feel E-LIT-ER-RATE, and without enough creativity to come up with colorful descriptions like you do? So no more unexpected moments of a peek into your family life, romantic life, and city life? Only for you to make yet another smooth transition into describing a ride, or resort?

Huh . . .


Some people.


Well Done.

(Will be back later with comments on your last day!)

 

[girlbomb]

Girlbomb, I'm usually a lurker, but I just have to tell you how much I enjoyed your trip report. You are a wonderful writer and I will be buying your books to read them also.

I'm very happy that you've made your plans to return again in December, only 10 months to wait for another Girlbomb trip report

Jill

Jluvsdis, thanks for delurking to say such wonderful things. You've put a big smile on my face.

Just wanted to let you know I thoroughly enjoyed reading your entire trip report. My family and I leave in 35 days and reading interesting reports are helping pass the time.
Now I need to read your 1st book. When does the second one come out?
Thanks again for the great entertainment!

JennSaint, I hope you're eagerly awaiting an amazing trip! The next book comes out Feb. 12, while you're in Disney World -- but I'll make sure that Amazon saves a copy for you. It's got a mini-trip report in there (of our 2005 trip), and lots of "looking forward to Disney" passages. But also (I should warn readers) drugs, violence, and adult language. NOT very Disney-esque in that respect!

So sad your TR is over!

Hedy, me too! Now we're all counting on you to streeeeetch yours out and keep us in the World.

Wait . . . am I understanding this correctly?

Is this trip report over?

Are you telling me that there will NOT be another installation for me to read tomorrow, causing me to feel E-LIT-ER-RATE, and without enough creativity to come up with colorful descriptions like you do? So no more unexpected moments of a peek into your family life, romantic life, and city life? Only for you to make yet another smooth transition into describing a ride, or resort?

Huh . . .


Some people.


Well Done.

(Will be back later with comments on your last day!)

Glendamax, I know how you feel -- I'm sad that your TR is drawing to a close! And I laughed out loud at "E-LIT-ER-RATE" -- you've got a great way with words, as all of your fans will be happy to tell you. I've seen other commenters tell you how wonderful your writing style is, and as a writing teacher, I wholeheartedly agree. So glad to see you've got a Sept. trip coming up!

 

[bensonmum]

I really hate to see your TR come to an end. I might not post very often, but I do frequently lurk and have read more than my share of TRs. I don't know when I've been so entertained by one. Thanks - and I'll be looking for your 08 report!

 

[girlbomb]

Thank you very much, bensonmum. I too have lurked on many a TR, but now that I know how great it feels to get positive comments, I'm going to be commenting a lot more!

 

[zweihund]

I just spent the last three hours reading your amazing TR. Thanks so much for sharing! I am impressed by your endurance.....my hub and I think we are going crazy if we go on a ride two or three times in a day. But you guys put us to shame!

 

[bumbershoot]

It took me two late nights to read your report, and now I can't even remember how I found it. I think it involved Hedy's food reviews? Not sure.

Loved your report! Sometimes I read WDW TRs and think "they don't seem to go on many rides out there in Orlando, do they?" But you two, you went on some rides! Er, attractions? Whatever, rides. And you ate, and you wandered. You pretty much did it all. Well, you didn't swim; I didn't see mention of pools (does the Contemporary, AKA coolest-looking-hotel ever, at least in pictures, have a pool?), but then neither do I when at DLR. There's just no tiiiiiime.

[– my dad, who hates Disney World, because, as he says, “That b%&tard killed Bambi’s mother,” a scene that caused him to abruptly yank my six-year-old butt right out of the movie theater. Still, he took me to Disney World one year when he was at a convention in Orlando, and though he gritted his teeth the entire time, I loved it, and remain ever grateful.

That just made me laugh in recognition of my former self. Disney stories are VERY good at killing off the moms, or in the case of The Lion King, the dad. I was very disturbed by that for quite a long time, then my own mom died and I had to avoid all Disney films, then I started realizing that they are almost all based on fairy tales, and the stories need something to hinge on, as I'm sure you're aware , and there is almost nothing like a parent's unexpected death to cause growth and change and "the rest...of the story". So a few years after my mom's death, I can watch Disney movies with almost no problems (though watching Finding Nemo with my son the first few times was fairly difficult) and understand the need for the deaths...and I'm a DLR fanatic now (solo two day trip coming up in a week).


I'm also right there with that mysterious robot poster person, with the Tokyo thoughts...though I want to go to DisneySea.

Anyway, thanks so much for having such a good time that you had to come back and write about it!

And DH would say thanks for selling your books through amazon...he works there (we used to both work there, it's where we met, actually, before the brutal Seattle layoffs that "got" him) and it makes him happy when people use their services.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh, and I also liked your report b/c it gives me the perspective of my brother and his wife, and my best friend. Brother/SIL are blissfully childfree, and my friend has liver issues so even if she wanted kids she really couldn't have them (would involve coming off of immuno-suppressive drugs and that's not a good thing when you need them) and her health history would make it hard to adopt...probably best she doesn't want any.

Anyway. Sometimes I wonder why on earth they want to hang out with my boy, or me, even, b/c it's a fact that people talk about what's going on in their lives, and when you have kids, that is going on in your life...so I'm totally boring and he's a handful and I just, you know, wonder sometimes.

So I liked reading your report, to know that perhaps others are seeing the cute moments, and not just the monster moments, and that his enjoyment doesn't just amuse us. Though I should know that b/c all of Brr-bank Bakery (in DCA) cracked up when he looked outside at the Block Party Bash (which WDW has stolen, I hear, you stinkers), noticed a character, and called out "Mister BoDado Head!!!!!", but sometimes I just need to read it to believe it.

So thank you for that, too!

 

[girlbomb]

Oh, awesome! New comments! I wonder why I wasn't notified by subscription? There's no way I would let comments go unanswered for days -- comments are the food of life!

I just spent the last three hours reading your amazing TR. Thanks so much for sharing! I am impressed by your endurance.....my hub and I think we are going crazy if we go on a ride two or three times in a day. But you guys put us to shame!

Thanks for reading, zweihund! I'm looking forward to catching up on your geek reports!

Loved your report! Sometimes I read WDW TRs and think "they don't seem to go on many rides out there in Orlando, do they?" But you two, you went on some rides! Er, attractions? Whatever, rides. And you ate, and you wandered. You pretty much did it all. Well, you didn't swim; I didn't see mention of pools (does the Contemporary, AKA coolest-looking-hotel ever, at least in pictures, have a pool?), but then neither do I when at DLR. There's just no tiiiiiime.

Hi, bumbershoot! Alas, we did not swim, though the weather was perfect for it, and the pool at the Contemporary looked like a lively place to hang out. As you said, there was just no tiiiiiime! And we'd even told ourselves we'd go to one of the water parks this year if the weather permitted. But we're just so park-crazy that we couldn't tear ourselves away.

Also, I'm grateful for your insight into what happens after the death of a beloved parent. I'm glad you can watch the movies again, and that you've got a trip planned to DLR! I'm reading the UG to DL and dreaming about the day when we'll be able to visit there...

Oh, and I also liked your report b/c it gives me the perspective of my brother and his wife, and my best friend. Brother/SIL are blissfully childfree, and my friend has liver issues so even if she wanted kids she really couldn't have them (would involve coming off of immuno-suppressive drugs and that's not a good thing when you need them) and her health history would make it hard to adopt...probably best she doesn't want any.

Anyway. Sometimes I wonder why on earth they want to hang out with my boy, or me, even, b/c it's a fact that people talk about what's going on in their lives, and when you have kids, that is going on in your life...so I'm totally boring and he's a handful and I just, you know, wonder sometimes.

So I liked reading your report, to know that perhaps others are seeing the cute moments, and not just the monster moments, and that his enjoyment doesn't just amuse us. Though I should know that b/c all of Brr-bank Bakery (in DCA) cracked up when he looked outside at the Block Party Bash (which WDW has stolen, I hear, you stinkers), noticed a character, and called out "Mister BoDado Head!!!!!", but sometimes I just need to read it to believe it.

So thank you for that, too!

Well, thank you for doing the hard work of raising a child! That way lazy people like us can experience the vicarious joy they bring. And they do bring so much joy!

I know I should call this TR finished, but I'm hoping to post one or two more little things about the origin of our first trip. Thanks again for reading!

 

[girlbomb]

Well, we've still got ten months and two days until our next trip to Disney World, but we're already making plans (of course!). On our agenda:

Victoria & Albert's
Ft. Wilderness Segway tour
And maybe even lunch with an Imagineer!

Fortunately, we've got something coming up much sooner to look forward to -- my new book is coming out in just nine days. Here's an excerpt from page 93 of Have You Found Her, explaining how we wound up in Disney World to begin with.

This scene is set in the visiting room at a psych ward, where my little volunteer-ee, Samantha, has been temporarily remanded:

"It had been a brutal few days -- she'd been coming face to face with old nightmares, things she'd managed to blot out with heroin and meth and whatever else was handy. Now sober, she was having flashbacks, night terrors, panic attacks; even with the meds, she was a wreck. From the time I got off the elevator every day to the time the nurse escorted me away, Sam stuck to my side, begging me for some kind of answer, some kind of relief. How was she supposed to live through all of this? When was this going to get better?

Rehab, I told her. Rehab was going to help her out so much, and then, a year from now, when she graduated...'How about this,' I blurted. 'When you graduate from rehab, I'll take you to Disney World.'

She gaped at me, astonished. 'Are you kidding me?'

Are you kidding me? I asked myself. What the h*ll are you promising her? Man overboard! Man overboard!

'I'm totally serious,' I replied. 'Let's make a bargain, and shake on it. If you go to rehab and stay sober for a whole year, next winter I will take you to Disney World.'

'For real?' Sam looked awestruck, almost frightened, as the idea dawned on her -- I really was serious. Me and her, we'd go to Disney World, just like Ashley [a counselor from the shelter] and her family; we'd ride all the rides and eat all the candy and buy matching souvenir t-shirts. 'I...I always wanted to go there, when I was a kid.'

When she was a kid, she was beaten with an electrical cord. When she was a kid, she had to steal her own food or starve. Samantha had never been a kid, but I would fix that.

'It's a deal, then.' I extended my hand. 'Shake.'

Sam shook my hand, still wary, despite her widening grin. 'This is, like, legally binding, right? You're really serious?'

'Certifiably,' I promised.

'Oh man, I am totally going to stay totally sober from now on,' she vowed. She straightened her posture, and her face was shining with reverence. 'I'm not even gonna huff the air freshener I got stashed in my room anymore.'"

And so began our adventure -- now I can never go to Disney World without thinking of, and thanking, Samantha. Next year will make our fourth annual Samantha Dunleavy memorial Christmas trip. I can't wait to get there and report back!

 

[Circusgirl]

Congratulations! Enjoy this special time!!!

I highly recommend lunch with an Imagineer - I participated in one about two weeks ago and everything about it was scrumptious. We received cool Disneyesque name tags, souvenir menus with our names on them and a glass commemorative plate signed by our Imagineer. The lunch took place in a special hand made private room and was Princess level elegant with meticulous service and fabulous food. We also were given a short tour of the restaurant and learned interesting historical tidbits. Our Imagineer was an artist, and talked in general about his work and answered our many questions.

Keep us posted on your plans!

I've entered the CMO contest and have enjoyed the process as much as planning a trip. Does anybody else among your fan base have an entry?

 

[Hedy]

That's so sweet..I keep on meaning to pick up Girlbomb.

 

[girlbomb]

Circusgirl, thanks for the recommendation! And congratulations on your CMO entry. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

And Hedy, I hope you'll check it out, but be warned -- there's no Disney in Girlbomb. There should have been. Thank goodness I can have so much of it now.