1 Queen, 3 princesses and a reluctant King planning to go to Disney

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

I thought I would start a planning thread. I have been planning this trip... well... for 13 years. Yet, only last month did I hold my breath and leap into reservations.

This trip planning is held under strict confidentiality. Very secret... The King nor the princesses have any clue. The queen cannot afford it, but will find a way and in the end all will live happily ever after... well, let's hope.

For 13 years I have been receiving emails from Disney on my Yahoo email boasting the claim to eternal happiness (well at least for a few days). Each newsletter and each email would send me into a tailspin or sighs and sometimes tears. It was if.. just beyond my reach, was an entire world to share with my children. But alas, Disney does not account for divorce, travel, small children and unemployment. However, the magic was always beckoning.. right there in my email, calling, calling, promising......

A new marriage, a new education, a new position and a new daughter later I received in my Yahoo box, another magic email. Whereas I had stopped believing in the Magic during a few years of disgruntled distress, in my box, an email beckoned. As I watched my newest daughter dance in her Belle gown while my oldest daughter sang the words to the beauty and the Beast song and my middle daughter sighed as she looked on with delight.... I decided that now was the time to capture the magic again. So I ever so hesitantly went to the Disney website and started by throwing in some dates for Christmas next year and found..........

 

[Mandie_Jo]

Can't wait to see how this goes!! I love surprises and it sounds like good things are happening for you!

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Princess A : Will celebrate her 16th

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[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Princess T

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[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Princess H

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[Mom of 3 Princesses]

That there was very little to celebrate. (Albeit Disney told me their was). I had some time at Christmas 2011 that I HAD to take for vacation (budget cuts and all that) and started looking. Since we were a family of 5 on a budget, I was looking at about 4 nights in a value resort. I was also looking at the week of the 26-31st. (within those dates). We were SOOOO limited!!

Soon, I had decided on POR. But after I read all the reviews about how spread out things were, I started thinking it might be difficult for a little one. So perhaps the "music resort suite?" But at Christmas? With so many people there? Would the buses not be nuts? Hmmm back to the Riverside. Meanwhile, I started to do a little research and found a few websites and was able to find the travel agent, DAWN from Small World Vacations.

Patience is a virtue and a MUST working with me. I think that the Disney people have me on special list cause they are tired or hearing from you, pricing vacations and giving quotes that I never book.

However, things were still out of my price range (or so I thought) and did not commit. SOOO.. one time (on probably call # 70) to the Disney vacation people, they mentioned that I had a pin connected to my name... A WHAT? A PIN? Like a debit card pin? What the heeee is a PIN? Well, if you traveled before the 21st you would receive a Pin at discount off your rooms.. REALLY? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

So I called and started looking into packages for the 17th-23rd (what the hey, might as well give it a shot) Talked to a really nice guy who said, "Let's try the Contemporary"
The one with the Monorail, I ask.
Yes, he says
*****note.... before this I was not feeling magic I was feeling disappointed at the rates and how much it was going to be******
The monorail that runs through the lobby? I say again
Yes, he laughs and says again...
Uh oh.... what was that I just felt on my head... my eyes are itchy.. was that... pixie dust? No way, not magic... but......maybe.. just maybe....

 

[Four*Peas]

Ahhhhh!!! You are such a great story teller!

Keep going girl, I'm hooked!

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Well, just maybe we should rewind the clock a few years, let's use a the ship from "Flight of the Navigator" so that we can return to the present quickly, should we need to.

My grandmother lived in Miami when I was a child and we frequented the World many times. I remember riding the Monorail and being enclosed it that ever magical speedy monorail. ITs above ground trek to the land of enchantment mesmorized me. Of course, back them there was only the MK and really, what else did you need. A day of pirated and hitch hiking ghosts could fill weeks!! It was "mystic portal" that loomed ahead as we pulled into the stop at the Contemporary. Each time the conversation was as follows~
Mom, what is this place
A hotel
Can we stay here?
no
why?
we don't need to, your grandmother lives in florida
Dad, can we stay here
We did once?
REALLY!!!
yes
Can we stay again?
no it was exspensive and not that nice

As the train monorail pulled out of the station, my hands left shadowy dew marks and the lines from my forehead made strange shapes on the window.

I was going to stay there one day......

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Now, as time has it... and nature does as well, children have a tendency to grow up, parents have tendency to to split, and grandparents have a tendency to move. So we went to Disney a few more times and when I was about 14 I told my parents I did not want to go anymore. Peter Pan was replaced by growing up with first kisses and Mr. Toad's wild ride was replaced by learning to drive and who needed ghosts when Chemistry is scary enough to fill anyones nights with nightmares.

When I was 18 my father asked me where I wanted to go for my Senior Trip. Having a severe case of MONO that almost killed me, I requested going to Disney. We stayed the night off Disney and although I was excited about passing through the Contemporary the thought of returning to my hotel room after only a few hours and a LLLOONNGGG nap in front of the Disney castle, I couldn't wait to fall asleep.

But, I can still remember how disappointed my father looked when I almost begged off seeing Tinkerbell fly to the castle. I think it was at that moment that I realized that Disney did something.. strange to adults. here was my father, a strong man, with tears in his eyes watching a woman on a wire....

Of course at 18, I could hardly understand........

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Ah yes, understand that we make choices in our lives, and understand that things happen because of the choices we make.

Disney asked "What will you celebrate?" well not long out of HS I celebrate the birth of Princess A and three years later, that of princess T. XH at that time was in armed forces..and Queen H did not make a good "hurry up and wait" wife, so we left those forces for the civilian world, plaqued with debt and no education and two small children... Ah yes... understanding the choices.

11 years ago, XH and I took our children to the World, we stayed at the All Star... we were looking for Magic. My little ones found Magic, PA (Princess A) talks about the magic of meeting Cinderella for the first time. She recited some of the movie and I have a picture of her gazing in adoration at Cinderella... Magic.

But as life would have it, Pixie dust was short on supply that year and within weeks XH and I split... no Magic, no dust, no World... just bills, single parenthood, no education and emails in my yahoo box, reminding me... that I could not find the magic, specially when they were going to turn off the lights for non payment.....

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Non-payment is difficult to deal with, but even more so when you know that times are tough.. but we find a way to survive day by day. I went back and got that education, raised those girls and found a strength I never knew I had. Or, maybe I did...but it was not a magic thing anymore.

When I was young, I used to sing that song "one day my prince will come." By the mid twenties, I realized that no one was coming. There was no slipper, no prince and fairytales were for those that were not up to their Mickey ears in bills...

Yet, my princesses grew up really fast, especially princess A who knew what it meant when we would stop by the church food pantry. Sometimes , I couldn't help but remember what she looked like when she danced with Cinderella....

After some time, I met my DH that reminded me that someone could still treat another like royalty. Although, he comes from a family that believes that places like Disney are just a product of American Consumerism and boredom, he always smiled when I would mention that I wished that I had been able to take the girls to Disney.

Now, in the meantime, I finished this education, married an amazing man, watched my little girls grow steadily into young women (grown up princesses) and celebrated the birth on my Princess H.

Princess H is truly the princess, although her love was always the colorful and dramatic Muppets. I began to believe that she would skip the "Disney Princess stage" although our many Disney VHS tapes sat silently collecting dust in our cabinet.

Until one day, she opened the cabinet and pulled out a tape.

WAAASSS Dis?
Cinderella
Ella?
Yes
Watch
ummmm... ok.

With the creak of the turning tape a look of anticipation crossed her face, her older sisters walked in to ask what we were watching,
Cinderella (me)
Cinderlla? Princess A
Yeh, PH found it
oooo I want to watch it too, PT

I then realized that I was looking at three of my princesses revisiting the magic of Cinderella.. there was some magic there...

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

I stood, pretty stunned by the looks on their faces.

Now, living pretty much out in Never Never land (and not the fun area) we do not have a Disney Store. In fall, we traveled to a more 'populated' area to Christmas shop. It was there that I found a Disney store.

I may live in in the boonies, but I haven't always. I always loved the Disney store, it was a like a little slice of Disney. Of course, time makes you forget. Looking at the massive lines and decorations stirred not a whisper excitement, just a sense of mission to find those little figurines of princesses that I just knew that my daughter would never play with (PH).

I have to admit though, it was enough to make me think of the look in my dad's eyes when I looked up to see Tinkerbell on the ceiling... it was weird, what was this illogical silly soft feeling that I was having about Disney... sigh..

That leads us to my trail Marathon....

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

a trail marathon to be exact... UGH... I give mondo kudos of respect for runners that can tackle a marathon without a thought. That of course is not me. I run because I am glutten for punishment. At least, that is what my therapist would tell me if I did see one. I push myself through that 26.2 miles so that I can feel the pain and the relief of the finish.... not to mention being in direct competition with the part of me that wants to give up. Knowing that I am just too stubborn to quit... this time around...

Well this is a particular hairy marathon. It is a trail.. and hilly and not very well marked either. I spent a lot of time alone, going for over an hours sometimes never seeing another soul.

your mind goes places sometimes when you run, and this day was definitely one of those days.

I started thinking about those Disney princesses, those disney princesses... I hated those princesses for being so happy, hated them for being so pretty, hated them for disappointing so many girls who want to be just like them.. after all i was NOTHING like them

well...Forgive me.. this part gets blurry put I remember the train of thought

Snow white, well I was like snow white, innocent and sweet, and somewhere, inside, I still was
Sleeping Beauty... Ok, so she spent a lot of like sleep walking, never knowing what the future held...I suppose in a way I am that way too
Cinderella... isn't it funny how I wanted a dress that sparkled like hers .. hang on... I wore one like it to my wedding... subconciously?
Alice... yeh I know she is not a princess, but she get rather tired of things always changing and never knowing what or who she was going to be the next minute
Jasmine... Sure, I would love to have a magic carpet, to see a whole new world... but wait, hadn't I traveled with my husband to different countries.. something I would never have dreamed of even 6 years before?
Belle... not that was one smart chick, I love to read, my profession revolves around books
And Mulan... Yep, fight hard, hang tough, gain respect, stay a woman...

okay,,, so maybe I didn't hate them all that much.. BUT why in the world was I thinking about Disney characters. must be the Disney store and the Cinderella movie.

then I found myself looking for dresses....

 

[MelMel11]

Really enjoyed reading your post. Also glad to see someone else from North Carolina. I cannot wait to read more..

Melissa

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

For princess H. Belle and Sleeping beauty, cinderella and tinkerbell...

All those Disney movies were starting to get there workout... and Princess A,T and H were memorizing them as the sat TOGETHER and watched them.

Thus leads us right up to Christmas morning... Princess H's favorite presents? The Princess Figurines and the Belle dress...

As I watched my Princess dance in her Belle gown while my oldest daughter sang the words to the beauty and the Beast song and my middle daughter sighed as she looked on with delight... I realized that Princess H was looking at her older sis as they danced, the same way Princess A did Cinderella all those MANY years ago.... I decided that now was the time to capture the magic again. So I ever so hesitantly went to the Disney website and started by throwing in some dates for Christmas next year and found..........

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

That we are back where we left for our time travel.... so now we are at the present... and the princesses need to sleep, so I will add more soon... because, I am pretty sure that the magic never left and that was DEFINITELY pixie dust..

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

Dust, or rust, I am not sure, but the thought of creaking open my wallet to pull out a Credit Card for a deposit was sending my into a dizzy!!

The nice man that I talked to painted the magic picture of the Contemporary. With my wonderful pin, it was was a bit more than I wanted to spend originally, but what they hey. I had a little over 10 months to pay for all of it... right?

So I decided on the Contemporary. A night, I lay in bed thinking about walking around that lobby and looking up at the Monorail as it raced past me. I could imagine the little ones inside asking Mom and dad when they could stay at the Contemporary too. I would smile in a knowing and encouraging way, as if to say "one day you will stay here too" LOL.. Keep in mind, I said "imagined" I am not quite THAT cheesy.

Therefore my dates were set, Dec 17th-23rd (as XH and I's agreement is that we would not have PA or PT away from the other parent for Christmas Eve or Christmas day.) At least I had that part down packed.

It began with a standard room at the Cont., but thought more about a Garden room and booked the Garden room. My FABulous SW agent Dawn booked it for me.

Dec 17-23
Garden Room at the Contemporary
Disney Plus Dining Plan
And tickets to the Magic.

Simple huh?

Well King T has no idea, and this Queen H is paying for princess braces, student loans, and a trip that Princess A was nominated for this summer. O Boy, not to mention that I really want a new camera.. since my point in shoot is going to end up a dumpster somewhere because it cannot seem to take a NON BLURRY photo. So, how to pay for a trip, without King T and the PRincesses knowing. That is the Million dollar question. Hopefully I can keep it quiet until a few weeks before and load them all up including Reluctant King T and get their bootys to Disney.

Of course, we are only a few weeks into this and... well... already things are changing..

I can't help but to think of the Bible verse, When I was a child.....

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

No longer a child, but now an adult. And thinking that I would love to go to the Polynesian. So after many emails to Dawn, we found out that for an extra 200.00 we could get a room at the Poly. It was a very very difficult decision of of course a different route... but here is my reasoning...

 

[kittylady1972]

We loved the Polynesian...and the Contemporary. No matter which one you choose I think you'll be thrilled!

Can't wait to read more...

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

(Thank you everyone for reading my posts and being interested!! Thank you also for your encouragement.)

So... here were my thoughts

1. Although we LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of being able to walk to MK.. and extra 5 minutes, is not going to kill us. Besides, if we are so tired we do not want to wait, then kids and DH and I are going to be too tired to walk with kids who are too tired to even stand and wait for the monorail.

2. The rooms at the Contemporary are BEAUTIFUL!! But, so are the ones in the Poly. After a loooonnnngggg day, I just feel like the darker and warmer colors are going to be a little more... relaxing (that's just me) Besides, with a toddler (or at that time 4 year old) I am not looking forward to turning her away from those glass table/desks that are there (at the Contemporary).

3. I used to travel for work and stay in all different types of hotels. The Contemporary would be something I would compare to a very nice Hilton or Marriot... very snazzy, very upscale... but very business like. I love the thought of going somewhere where everything in 'themed'. Not that I think the CR is not 'themed' I just think that time has caught up to the theme... now is what WD was thinking of when he imagined the Cont.

4. I like the idea of the 'island' theme in the lobby as well as am looking forward to seeing the torch lighting at night. My older girls will love that.

5. With a litte one, the CR pool (NOT the BLT) is not really good for a her. It would be a little deep. At the POLY there is more of a 'beach' pool that makes it more small kid friendly. Besides, my older ones are going to LOVE the volcano slide.

6. Although we are going to spend most of our time at MK, I like the fact that the monorails for both Epcot and MK are right there.

7. I like the proximity to the Neverland childcare.

8. I run, so I am looking forward to the running path as well as looking forward to taking torch lit strolls with my DH.

9. More green space for the baby to run and chill... we are going to need some downtime for her, and I think the greener, grassy environment is going to be good.

10. I also like being able to sit on the beach and watch the parade as well as the fireworks (and sitting in the pool) as well.

I love the Contemporary I really really do.

The things I love about the Cont. are things that I can visit it for. I love the monorail, but I can stop and walk around the Cont. And beside, this is Disney, i want the magic to keep going even after I return to the resort.