CleveRocks
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster worshipper
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
- Messages
- 9,589
When we last went to WDW in May of 2005, I had dabbled in DISboards but didn't feel I was really a part of it. I wrote a trip report and posted it, day by day, on another board, but I figured I'd bore you with this TR in preparation for our next trip in November.
The cast:
Eric Me! 38, cognitive therapist, apparent masochist
Lisa my wife of almost 14 years, 36, pediatrician
Ben my son, 5
Mollie my daughter, 2 ½
Marshall Lisa's Dad, 64, pharmacist
Helene Lisa's Mom, 61, complainer-in-chief
I have to step back and set this stage. When they heard my wife and I talk two years ago about taking our kids to WDW in 2005, my in-laws quickly invited themselves. We knew this was going to be difficult, and we weren't disappointed. The first clash occurred when MIL insisted we use her TA. We gave in rather quickly, and I still regret it. The second clash occurred last winter as we tried to make flight arrangements. They wanted to fly out of Philadelphia because that's what they're accustomed to. They live in Philadelphia, about 45 minutes from PHL, and we live about 90 minutes from it, but we live only about 15 minutes from Atlantic Citys airport, ACY. The flights I priced out of ACY were about $100 per person cheaper than the ones out of PHL, and the parking at ACY is about $10 cheaper per day. When we proposed we all fly out of ACY, save $740 between the six of us, and have them sleep over so we'd all have a short 15 minute ride to ACY, my in-laws initially balked because it was "too complicated." To us, it seemed a lot more complicated to drive 2 hours to their house with our kids, try to put the kids to bed in a strange place, then wake up at 3:30 a.m. to drive another 45 minutes to PHL, and pay a lot more for the "privilege." We eventually won out, just barely.
My mother-in-law then said she'd make the flight arrangements with the TA, and there was no way I was going to let that happen, and with good reason as I'll explain in a minute. It turned out I had to make them, anyway, because they needed me to lay out the money for their airline tickets. MIL called to tell me she had the flights all figured out and wanted to give me the information so I could book it with the TA. Well, I obviously had been checking it out, too. Spirit Airlines has two daily flights from ACY to MCO, at 7:10 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. Being that we already had to cut the trip one day short due to FIL not wanting to ask a co-worker a favor and get an extra day off, I certainly wanted the morning flight so we could enjoy a large portion of the first day. When MIL called me with her info, of course she chose the 1:50 p.m. flight because she said she and FIL wouldn't want to have to wake up early if they didn't have to. When I explained the advantage of the early flight, she limply agreed to wake up early.
I also need to explain that my in-laws, especially MIL, are very out of shape. For example, I live just a few blocks from the beach and they always drive to the beach from our house when they visit; they'd rather fight for a parking space (and sometimes walk two or three blocks from there to "our" beach) than walk the four blocks from our house. My wife and I weren't in the best of shape, either, but around Thanksgiving we started a walking plan which evolved into a three-miles/four days per week running plan.
In January, I began to discuss with my MIL ideas for PSs [the former term for ADRs], etc., trying to read menus to her from allearsnet.com and asking her and FIL's preferences; I thought I was being considerate. She scoffed, saying there's no need to plan ahead, that it's just plain silly, and besides, she and FIL will be just fine with counter service meals all week. Behind my back, MIL complained to my wife that I was overplanning and that we'd be unable to have a good time because of it. Let's just say that by before dinner on Day 2 of our trip both of my in-laws were complaining that I didn't make good enough PSs. When I explained that it would be difficult if not impossible to walk up to a table service restaurant in WDW, my FIL said we should go to a restaurant in the Contemporary or "that Florida hotel" because "no one else" would think of trying to eat dinner at those places.
OK, so you get the idea.
As we were leaving on May 8, we were part of the whole mess surrounding the launch of DME. On May 7, I received our DME materials in REGULAR snail mail from our TA. There was even a "form letter" card in there from WDTC to the TA's office stating that the DME documents were sent to the TA by "express delivery" (i.e., FedEx) because of the time-sensitive nature of the documents. That we received them at my home 150 miles from her office the day after she dropped it in the mail was about a 50/50 proposition, and needless to say I was pretty pissed about that whole deal. Keep in mind that several days earlier I explained the DME system to this TA.
Walt Disney World began with a 4:15 a.m. alarm going off on Mothers Day. To be continued ....
The cast:
Eric Me! 38, cognitive therapist, apparent masochist
Lisa my wife of almost 14 years, 36, pediatrician
Ben my son, 5
Mollie my daughter, 2 ½
Marshall Lisa's Dad, 64, pharmacist
Helene Lisa's Mom, 61, complainer-in-chief
I have to step back and set this stage. When they heard my wife and I talk two years ago about taking our kids to WDW in 2005, my in-laws quickly invited themselves. We knew this was going to be difficult, and we weren't disappointed. The first clash occurred when MIL insisted we use her TA. We gave in rather quickly, and I still regret it. The second clash occurred last winter as we tried to make flight arrangements. They wanted to fly out of Philadelphia because that's what they're accustomed to. They live in Philadelphia, about 45 minutes from PHL, and we live about 90 minutes from it, but we live only about 15 minutes from Atlantic Citys airport, ACY. The flights I priced out of ACY were about $100 per person cheaper than the ones out of PHL, and the parking at ACY is about $10 cheaper per day. When we proposed we all fly out of ACY, save $740 between the six of us, and have them sleep over so we'd all have a short 15 minute ride to ACY, my in-laws initially balked because it was "too complicated." To us, it seemed a lot more complicated to drive 2 hours to their house with our kids, try to put the kids to bed in a strange place, then wake up at 3:30 a.m. to drive another 45 minutes to PHL, and pay a lot more for the "privilege." We eventually won out, just barely.
My mother-in-law then said she'd make the flight arrangements with the TA, and there was no way I was going to let that happen, and with good reason as I'll explain in a minute. It turned out I had to make them, anyway, because they needed me to lay out the money for their airline tickets. MIL called to tell me she had the flights all figured out and wanted to give me the information so I could book it with the TA. Well, I obviously had been checking it out, too. Spirit Airlines has two daily flights from ACY to MCO, at 7:10 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. Being that we already had to cut the trip one day short due to FIL not wanting to ask a co-worker a favor and get an extra day off, I certainly wanted the morning flight so we could enjoy a large portion of the first day. When MIL called me with her info, of course she chose the 1:50 p.m. flight because she said she and FIL wouldn't want to have to wake up early if they didn't have to. When I explained the advantage of the early flight, she limply agreed to wake up early.
I also need to explain that my in-laws, especially MIL, are very out of shape. For example, I live just a few blocks from the beach and they always drive to the beach from our house when they visit; they'd rather fight for a parking space (and sometimes walk two or three blocks from there to "our" beach) than walk the four blocks from our house. My wife and I weren't in the best of shape, either, but around Thanksgiving we started a walking plan which evolved into a three-miles/four days per week running plan.
In January, I began to discuss with my MIL ideas for PSs [the former term for ADRs], etc., trying to read menus to her from allearsnet.com and asking her and FIL's preferences; I thought I was being considerate. She scoffed, saying there's no need to plan ahead, that it's just plain silly, and besides, she and FIL will be just fine with counter service meals all week. Behind my back, MIL complained to my wife that I was overplanning and that we'd be unable to have a good time because of it. Let's just say that by before dinner on Day 2 of our trip both of my in-laws were complaining that I didn't make good enough PSs. When I explained that it would be difficult if not impossible to walk up to a table service restaurant in WDW, my FIL said we should go to a restaurant in the Contemporary or "that Florida hotel" because "no one else" would think of trying to eat dinner at those places.
OK, so you get the idea.
As we were leaving on May 8, we were part of the whole mess surrounding the launch of DME. On May 7, I received our DME materials in REGULAR snail mail from our TA. There was even a "form letter" card in there from WDTC to the TA's office stating that the DME documents were sent to the TA by "express delivery" (i.e., FedEx) because of the time-sensitive nature of the documents. That we received them at my home 150 miles from her office the day after she dropped it in the mail was about a 50/50 proposition, and needless to say I was pretty pissed about that whole deal. Keep in mind that several days earlier I explained the DME system to this TA.
Walt Disney World began with a 4:15 a.m. alarm going off on Mothers Day. To be continued ....
