A Very Belated Ultimate Pretty, Pretty Princess Trip Report

[Hollymom1229]

Okay ya’ll, go easy on me, it’s my first time…er…trip report. Anyways, some quick back story. The fine Disney corporation sank their non-retractable claws into me at a very young age. The truly scary part was they had an accomplice in my own mother. You see my mother was one of those little kids who would run home from school to watch Uncle Walt. So all three of her kids were raised with a healthy love of all things Disney. In none did the brainwashing take so well as yours truly.

I went to Disneyland more than 10 times between birth and age 5, including a 25 hour stint in the park for it’s 25th anniversary. This was a special event that my dad, the master of radio contests, had won tickets too and then was sent out to sea by the U.S. Navy. This left my mother, sister, brother, and I (3 y.o. at the time) to spend 25 blissful hours in the park. I’m sure to this day that my mother has not quite fully forgiven me for riding Small World over 20 times.

Fast forward 9 years, my father is retired from the Navy and now we live in the DC Area. My brother and sister who 10 and 9 years older than me respectively are out of the nest as it were. So mom and dad take me to WDW and the true bug takes over. My mission for the next 9 years will be to get back. This dream comes true when my mom plans a trip for her, sis, and I in 1999. We stay off property and it seems everything related to being offsite is a nightmare. While every experience in the parks is a dream come true. Lather, rinse repeat 2000 and 2001 trips.

I finally learn at this point, cause while I’m slow, I’m not stupid. I plan a trip for my boyfriend of 4 years and I in 2002 at the CBR. Which of course is promptly shut down for renovations. One tearful call later to CRO and we’ve been upgraded to a Savannah View at AKL for only $20 more a night than our already deeply discounted rates at CBR. I felt like a conquering hero, that I had truly pulled a fast one on Disney for I am so super clever. Yeah, it rarely works that way. You see they dug the claws in a little deeper. Not only was I now addicted to on-property but also deluxe in one fell swoop.

We skip in 2003 as that boyfriend of 4 years and I get married, I go back in 2004 with my BIL and DH. We stay at the VWL on a rental from a very nice DIS Boards member. Another amazing trip.

Which brings us to the trip this report is about. In 2005, my mother, the source of all my Disney obsession turned 60 y.o., a fairly large milestone birthday. My sister, the closet Disney fanatic, and points out this fact to me in January. She then reminds me she hasn’t been to WDW since 2001, and she and her husband intend to start having kids in about a year. Very subtle, or completely not, take your pick fine reader.

Now our mother has been a wonderful mother to us our whole lives, loving, supportive, and pretty much everything you could want a mom to be. Because of her both my sister and I are successful women in our own right completely separate from the loves of our lives. Which means when we hatched our plan for a girls trip to celebrate mom’s birthday at WDW it really was just a formality asking our DH and fiancée. Dear as they are no one dares question a Jones girl, especially when the words “Pretty, pretty princess trip” are being spouted at you with eyes that would make a character from Japanese animation jealous. Yeah, we’re good like that.

So with complete spousal support in hand we begin planning the trip for mid-September. Mom’s birthday is February 28th, but even I’m not so good as to put together the ultimate Princess trip in less than a month and a half. Well that, and my mom works for the United States Post Office, meaning she needs at least 6 months lead time to request a week’s vacation.

So with dates settled, we pick the location, once the numbers were crunched my sister I swallowed the biggest brainwashing yet and realized nothing would do for the pretty, pretty princess trip but the Grand Floridian. Yep, we’re suckers. But I’m not sure if even we would have made this plunge if not 2 weeks after we started talking trip and still 4 weeks until we’d tell her my mom hadn’t seen a special on the Del Coronado in San Diego and began waxing nostalgic about how beautiful it was.

Every trip to WDW when we pass the Grand Floridian my mom talks about how beautiful it is and how much it reminds her of the Del Coronado, and she wishes we could stay there like real celebrities. My mom is the sweetest woman alive, but a little naïve, I sometimes think she underestimates how much Disney will treat you like a celebrity especially if you’re willing to pay for it.

At this point, we’ve got a hotel only reservation, we’ve got out dates (9/11/05 – 9/17/05). We are now just waiting for the AP codes, any specials, and the date to come when I can start make PS, for that’s what they were and that’s what they remain to me.

Fast forward until February, we give Mom her present and she looks as excited as a little girl. Then she asks if it’s just us 3 girls, we say yes, she says “oh” followed by little sad face. No I’m justifiably wounded here, my own mother doesn’t relish the idea of spending a week with her girls. So being the good daughter I am I ask what the problem is. “Can Kay go to?” Kay is my wonderful mother-in-law, she is fun-loving, silly and a blast to be around. She unfortunately married the king of the sick in the muds. My FIL is a nice man, but his idea of fun is a day trip to an outlet mall and making it home in time for a nice balanced dinner at home. Please insert yawn here.

My mom had really bonded with my MIL over the years DH and I had been together. So we gladly accommodate her wish, and MIL jumps at the chance. She’s never been to WDW before, she’s 58 y.o. has recently undergone a rough back surgery and is looking forward to double knee replacement in the coming year. If anyone deserves to get away it’s her.

So that is your cast of characters for the ultimate Pretty, Pretty Princess trip of 2005.

Me – 27 y.o. Disneyophile and the ultimate vacation planner
DSis – 36 y.o. Closet Disney lover and a true princess at heart
DM – 60 y.o. Nostalgic lover of all things Disney, especially Uncle Walt and the dispenser of the familial brainwashing
DMIL – 58 y.o. First timer, but with an almost obscene sense of fun, definitely the mother of my husband.

Tune in soon for part 2: More prologue bits and then the beginning of the trip.

 

[Cass]

I'm hooked already...

When your mom had the little sad face I thought she was going to ask forthe menfolk to come along! phew, thank goodness it was just Kay she wanted.

 

[Hollymom1229]

Posted twice.

 

[Hollymom1229]

Cast:
Me – 27 y.o. Disneyophile and the ultimate vacation planner
DSis – 36 y.o. Closet Disney lover and a true princess at heart
DM – 60 y.o. Nostalgic lover of all things Disney, especially Uncle Walt and the dispenser of the familial Kool-Aid
DMIL – 58 y.o. First timer, but with an almost obscene sense of fun, definitely the mother of my husband.


So over the next few months all details get worked out. The DDE card gets ordered and free dining is released, which even factoring in the cost of the DDE and the AP discount makes it worth it to pay rack rate and take the free dining. Also many little birthday trip surprises are planned. DSis and I know of them all because we stink at secret’s but we can keep them as long as we can share them with each other.

PS are made for every possible special girlie trip place possible including breakfast at CRT, tea at the GF, dinner at CG, and dinner at V&A. We intend to spoil ourselves royally.

After months of waiting and more than one vaguely jealous comment from the men in our lives we are ready to go. At this point my DMIL has reassured me at least 100 times she’s up for the extensive walking at WDW. (Please note first report and scheduled double knee replacement)

On September 11th, DH and I wake up at 5:00 AM. It’s not a pretty scene, he’s not a morning person in general, and when he’s being woken at this hour to take his sweetie to the airport for a week of fun while he goes to work it’s even less pretty. There are some definite non-Disney words muttered under his breath, but my excitement more than makes up for the lack of sweetness on his part. By 5:45 we’re packed in the car and headed to my in-laws. It’s a quick drive and before too long we’re loading my DMIL’s luggage in our car and laughing at my DMIL giving my stick-in-the-mud FIL goodbye kisses as he grumbles about the waste of money.

We hurt the first hurdle as we’re getting in the car and I realize that even with her cane DMIL is not moving well. Every time she sits there is an accompanying groan of pain, not a good sign. We make it to the airport by 7:15, DH drops us off curbside with many good bye kisses and wishes to have the best time ever (he really does improve the longer he’s awake). DMIL is thrilled with the ease of curbside check-in and points out how great the service is, all the while I’m thinking wow, turning her into a Disney nut is going to be too easy. We go into the terminal and wait for my mom and sister to arrive. They join us a few moments later with my BIL. Turns out he parked the car and escorted them in carrying all their bags and waited in line with them to check in. Hmmm…brownie points to the BIL, whatever can DH do to make up for it.

I might as well let you in on a little family joke now. My DH and my BIL (sis’s hubby) compete regularly for brownie points from my mom. It’s done in many silly ways, but mostly by treating her like a queen and treating her daughters like princesses. So I knew once DH heard of BIL’s obvious ploy for points the game would be on once again.

So we are all checked in and ready to head for the gate once DSis and BIL get done with their super smoochy goodbye, we make our way through security with minimal effort. By this point we realize we are starving and we still have well over an hour until our flight, so we treat ourselves to egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches with coffee and orange juice. Hmmm…hardly princess food, but it sure hits the spot, and seeing as our next meal isn’t planned until 3 PM, we needed sturdy food.

At 8:50 we are boarded and my DMIL expresses for the first time that she wasn’t expecting this much walking and her knees were beginning to swell up. *Blink* *Blink* “Uh…what?” We’ve walked through an airport and stood around for maybe a total of ten minutes, we’re going to be in trouble. I’m beginning to think she believed Disney would magic away the knee problems at this point, because I’d taken her for months completely through how much walking is expected a day. Deep slow breaths…we’ll just see about getting a wheelchair when we get there.

Flight is smooth, DMIL is ridiculously excited, it’s been about 20 years since she was last on a plane. And before we know it, we arrive at MCO. By this point DM and DMIL are commiserating on all they went through raising their kids and are talking so closely you’d think they were teenage girls plotting. Believe me when I tell you that this is not the end of the age regression. The wonderful people at the gate for US Airways brings a wheelchair because the 2 ½ hour flight has resulted in my DMIL’s knees locking up. We then head to baggage claim. There is oohing and ahhing and a massive desire to start shopping. But I am the master and commander of this princess trip and I lure them onward with promises of many more stores at WDW.

As we come into baggage claim the first surprise is standing right in front of us, and somehow, my beloved and often scatter-brained mother misses it. Standing in front of us is our driver from Tiffany Towncar with a sign reading “Happy Birthday DM, and Welcome to the Princess Trip.” I’d worked this out months in advance it was perfect and she walked right on by. Fortunately I was aware and dragged my mom back to read the sign. “Oh someone has the same name as me.” Everyone reading this please feel my pain at this moment and internalize it. I love her, but sometimes there are no words. DSis at this point just laughs, she’s good like that and goes up to the driver. He then helps us gather the bags and brings us out to the limo.

That’s right a full limousine, because if we are going to stay at the Grand Floridian, we’re arriving in style for we are princesses and we deserve it. *Insert Snooty Look of Your Choice Here* DM and DMIL are speechless at the sight of the limo. DM just loves riding in them on principal and this was DMIL’s first trip in one ever. Our driver was fantastic and ensured we were comfortable with drinks and put on Cheaper by the Dozen. Perfect movie for the mom’s while the driver and I swapped Disney trivia, DSis was just relaxing and soaking it all in (for someone as uptight as she can be, she sure knows how to relax as will be seen as this continues).

About 30 minutes later we pull up in front of the Grand Floridian, to many oohs and ahhs. DM actually gives a little sniffle, DSis and I give her big hugs cause she really is the best and she really deserved this.

Tune in soon for part 3: We’re here, but one of us can’t walk to well, now what?

 

[CarolB]

You are cracking me up already!!!! Can't believe you waited so long to post this!

 

[Jules123]

Anxiously awaiting more!

 

[Marla Hellwig]

looking for more