Disney w/ my girlfriend and my parents for 7 days. Woop woop! April/May '09

[TeaForTulips]

my day is off to a rough start as an extension of a rough evening...

so in attempts to help my mood and this day go along here is our updated schedule inspired by Angela's latest posting. As a reminder, we are staying @ All Stars Music. My goal is to stay @ CBR next time. Jen & I are very much beach people. Oh how I also long for AKL or the Cont but they are just so pricey! Anyway...


Thursday 4/23 -dad is off and will finish last minute things like taking the animals to their "hotel" and getting the rental van. mom, me, and jen all work until 6. when we get off we will go get my dads truck where he left it at the airport when getting the van. we'll drive to my parents house and leave. dad will have everything packed already. we'll stop at a random hotel whenever we get too tired to keep going.

Friday 04/24 -finish the drive! orlando or bust. we have reservations at the gateway ramada which is right near the wdw entrance.

side note... i am nervous about the weekend because grad nights is going on and im expecting to see an abundance of teenagers who think they are grown...

Saturday 04/25 - Epcot! AM EMH, flower & garden festival, illuminations. I am betting that either Epcot or AK will be Jen's fave. we enjoy travel, culture, and animals. The world showcase is gonna rock for her. we've never seen the g&f festival so im excited to do so. ive seen so many pictures im hoping it hasnt killed the splendor. We usually end up having dinner at the counter service in Mexico to get a spot outside to eat and then watch illuminations.

Sunday 04/26 -
Magic Kingdom! We have a ressie @ Crystal Palace @ 08:10 am. I am VERY excited for this. I really really want a mickey waffle..It also is PM EMH so they are open until 1. I am so excited for that too! Due to the early morning and late night I think we may take a break around lunch time to relax at the hotel.. I don't know though. We have never been the restful type, but that may change. Spectro Parade is at 9 with Wishes at 10. I this parade and bawl during the fireworks. We have never been more than one day to each park, so I will have to keep reminding myself not to rush, we have another day!

Monday 04/27 -
Animal Kingdom! It is AM EMH. I love AK. My goal this trip is to see DeVine. I want to see her so badly! I want to do the safarai first thing in the morning and again in the early evening in hopes to see lots of animals. My mother always gets a frozen choco dipped banana when we go here. id like to try yak & yeti counter service but my dad wouldnt like it so we'll see. Oh and Mount Everest! I have never been crazy about roller coasters that go in reverse because they seem to bang my head around and give me a headache...but I am hopeful and really wanna ride it. The park closes @ 5 and we plan to head to DTD. We have 8pm ressie @ Fulton's Crab House. This is the anni dinner surprise. My parents don't know about it. I am really looking forward to DTD because we have never been.

Tuesday 04/28 -Back to Epcot! It is again AM EMH. It will be nice to have 2 days at this park because I love it and there is so much to do! We are also really looking forward to Soarin! I'm so excited...i also wanna try some new foods here like sunshine seasons, yakitori (japan count service), or yorkshire county (uk count service)

Wednesday 04/29 -MGM! er Hollywood Studios.. hmpf. I know first thing on the list is to go get Fast Passes for TSM. I want to be able to go through the park and not rush to one ride. I know if I want to ride it without a crazy wait I will need the FP but I dont want to base our day around it ya know? I do really enjoy this park. the great movie ride, tot, etc... i love 'em! fantasmic is @ 9. the only thing i can remember really about the show is that i felt like we were in a bad spot to really see it last time... hopefully that wont be a problem. i kinda wanna eat at toy story pizza planet here. i dunno why...

Thursday 04/30 -Back to MK! It is AM EMH this time w/ Spectro Parade and Wishes again just incase. This will give us time to see everything and do things more than once if we want. I also wanna try some new eating spots here like cosmic rays. Usually our eating plans are ...we get hungry... we find the nearest reasonable place to eat that looks good to everyone.

Friday 05/01 -This is our last day and it is completely open. I like it that way because we can just do whatever we missed, whatever we wanna do again, etc. My only thing is that I wanna do is go back to DTD and eat at Earl of Sandwich. Our previous nite at DTD we are having dinner already, so this is my last chance to get it in! I am dying to try it! I have already narrowed down what i want. Im sure thats not crazy to my DIS friends tho! This night we will pack up. I will prolly cry.

Saturday 05/02 -leave disney world.. we will get up very early and drive to Jacksonville, FL. I was born at the naval hospital there almost 24 years ago. (yes i know i am very young.. jen reminds me all the time because she hates it ... incase i never mentioned it jen is in her 30's and it kills her i am "so young". my parents however are ten years apart and remind her theyve been married for 28 years. my dad is 60 and my mom is 50) ok back on track... we are staying with some old family friends who we always see when we go to disney. Jen and I will spend most of the day at the beach. It just so happens a surf contest is going on and Jen loves to surf. She will want to watch it im sure... I will want to lounge, shell search, and play. It wont be the same because this beach isnt as nice as our usual pensacola beach, but its still a beach! We'll spend the evening visiting with old friends and its sadly short lived because we leave the next day.

Sunday 05/03 -
We will wake up super early and make the drive home. It shouldnt be too, too bad because we can take turns driving, but we are gonng do it in one long day. We all have to be up and at work Monday morning. We left no margin for error...hopefully things work out as planned.


And there ya have it! i hope i didnt bore anyone!

 

[tiggersam00]

OMG your tornado story scared the silly out of me! I would have been crying like crazy! My cousin and i went to NC to visit my brother once and were driving to our hotel and talking about what we would do if we saw a tornado on the side of the road... I said I would duck and she slapped the backside of my head for such a lame answer lol! I just looked at her and said "I'm from Boston, I deal with snow, anything else and I would panic" and we both just laughed about it (and I still get teased about my answer lol). I am glad you are ok and made it home safely Tarah.

Also, your plan for the trip looks great! You will have a balst, I can't believe how soon it is, you must be so exciyted!!!

 

[Lynn5700]

Hi!!!! Just found your PTR and I love it!!! YAY for leaving in a week!

We go the day you leave lol!!! I'm excited for you!!! Your plans sound great.

 

[TeaForTulips]

OMG your tornado story scared the silly out of me! I would have been crying like crazy! My cousin and i went to NC to visit my brother once and were driving to our hotel and talking about what we would do if we saw a tornado on the side of the road... I said I would duck and she slapped the backside of my head for such a lame answer lol! I just looked at her and said "I'm from Boston, I deal with snow, anything else and I would panic" and we both just laughed about it (and I still get teased about my answer lol). I am glad you are ok and made it home safely Tarah.

Also, your plan for the trip looks great! You will have a balst, I can't believe how soon it is, you must be so exciyted!!!

Thanks Samantha! I felt so silly when I started to cry, but it was crazy! I'm used to hurricanes, not tornados! We drove around the other day to see some damage and a park near our house is nothing but trees down everywhere! Billboards were down too, but not just knocked over... bent in half!

I love your answer though! I give props for any nothern people who deal with snow. I lived in Chagrin Falls, OH and Erie, PA ... I am not a snow person. I love it for short vacations, but not to live! Yick!

Hi!!!! Just found your PTR and I love it!!! YAY for leaving in a week!

We go the day you leave lol!!! I'm excited for you!!! Your plans sound great.

Yay! New DIS friends! Thanks for joining, Lynn! I am super excited! I can't believe its FINALLY here! I promise I will leave lots of pixie dust when we leave for you!

I will have to go read your TR and PTR. It will help my day go by! How fun to be a DVC member!



side note... for some time now, when i click the drop down to change the font color it pulls up an itty bitty box when nothing in it. has this happened to anyone else? it wasnt always like this for me... i dont know what i did!

 

[HoneyLSU]

Thanks for the info. It is great to talk to someone who goes through the same thing because migraines are not really something a lot of people understand (but I am terribly sorry that you suffer from them also). They think all headaches are the same and really just don’t understand what we go through. To me, migraines are a disability and totally run your life. All my life people have told me to just suck it up and that’s just impossible.

I’ve had them since I was only 4 years old, but when I was younger I would have one a week (either a Sat or Sun) and a rare one during the week. I would feel awful and nauseous all day long. My headache would be (and still is) behind one eye (it varies) and it feels like my head weighs 80 pounds on that side. I'm sensitve to lights, smells and everything else possible. Medicine didn’t really work but I would usually “get sick” sometime around mid-afternoon and my headache would be gone by around 6 or 7. That was my childhood in a nutshell. Honestly though – that was nothing. I’d kill to go back to that!

Also around 5 or 6 I started seeing a Neurologist. I went through all the tests I could go through and they didn’t find anything. So she put me on Elavil nightly and Fioricet for the actual headaches. And from that point on (as far as I can remember) my headaches were pretty much under control (well I still had 1-2 a week, but that’s nothing) until a couple of years ago.

In the last couple of years they have become more frequent and more intense. Sometimes, they’ll last for days. Well in January, I had one for FOURTEEN days straight! I would take an Imitrex (my wonder drug) and it would go away but 10-15 hours later it would be back. I seriously thought I would never be happy again. Well I FINALLY got in to see a new Neurologist (I had outgrown my pediatric one and the 2 I had seen since then were jerks) and he felt that the Elavil had worn off and I had become dependent on the Imitrex. He gave me a steroid pack to wean myself of the Immy’s (as me and my BF call them) and started me on a low dose of Lamictal daily. Well over the next 2 months he kept lowering my Elavil until I was off of it and tried to raise the dose of the Lamictal. He told me to take the Immy’s when I needed them.

Well long story short, over the course of 20 years, I became dependent on Elavil. Once I stopped taking it, I couldn’t sleep at night and had all these other crazy side effects. I think I finally have them all worked out, but I’m still getting 3-4 headaches a week. If they start after I’m awake I can make them go away, but if I wake up with one it totally ruins my day (like yesterday.) Plus the Immy’s are not cheap (like you said), but I’m willing to pay $200 a month though to have a couple of “good” days a month though. I just have learned to budget like a beast!!

I totally relate to you though. You said you fear for a liver transplant one day and I actually spend a lot of time worrying about what the future holds in store for me with these headaches. I’m worried that the medicine will affect my body in a way that will create future health problems and infertility issues. It really scares me. I really got depressed over them the last few months. I find myself getting jealous of people that don’t suffer from them. I know I sound like a 2 year old but, “It’s just not fair!!!” I just have to keep telling myself that it could be a lot worse though. Migraines aren’t a death sentence, but I have to constantly make adjustments to my everyday life and I’m tired of living in fear. It’s exhausting. Plus the stress and worry lead to more migraines. It’s a vicious cycle.

I understand about numbing the pain. I honestly don’t remember the last time I haven’t had some form of a headache. If I don’t have one, I feel one coming on or am just anticipating the next one. I understand that I will probably always have headaches, I just hope one day they become less frequent and less intense. I really wish some sort of cure would be invented.

Have you tried daily preventative medicines? Most of them out there aren’t used primarily for migraine prevention though. The Elavil is used to treat depression and the Lamictal is used to treat seizures. I also tried Topamax a couple of years ago which is a seizure medication and I HATED it (I totally felt drugged) but looking back on it, it may have just been me not taking Elavil that caused the symptoms. My Neuro told me there were others but none he really wants to try me on because I’m still young and they may wreck my fertility (I REALLY want to be able to have kids one day).

I honestly don’t know what my triggers are either. I cut out coke completely (which I LOVE). Coke will sometimes give me headaches, but Dr. Pepper will cure them. If I sleep too late sometimes, I’ll get one. If I drink ANY alcohol now, I get one (that may be me getting old though – I could handle my liquor in college). There’s just so many things that I think can cause them, but they’re not consistent. So I just don’t know!







Ok, I'm done hijacking your thread! I really hope you have a great trip and your migraines don’t play a huge role in your trip. Please though, if you notice anything that triggers one, let me know. I’m so worried I’m going to get one and my poor BF will have to miss out on something at Disney. I already told him that if I get one I will go back to the resort without him, get my immy, rest, then meet him back. I’m sure y’all are going to have so much fun though that hopefully you won’t even think about your headaches!

Also, I noticed your post about grad night and I told my BF about it this morning on our way to work and he feels sorry for you!! He went in 2002 and said how he felt "grown" then too! I'm sure you won't notice too much of that though. His mom is actually leaving on the 22nd to go as a chaperone.

 

[Angela0917]

Yay, your schedule looks great!!!!! I can't believe you are leaving soooo soon!!! You have to be soo excited!!! I love having Disfriends leaving around the same time as me, it makes it more fun to have someone to be excited with!!!!

 

[jewels1916]

2 days!!! 2 days!!! It's almost here!!!!!!

Banana dance just for you.

 

[Enchanted]

Hey, Tarah! JUST THREE MORE DAYS!!!!! AHHHH!

I'm excited for you. In case you couldn't tell.

I loved the zoo mini-TR. We used to go to the zoo a lot when we were kids. We've always lived within an hour of the Cincinnati Zoo, and it's a crazy-awesome place. I need to suggest going again this summer because I would love to revisit it.

Yikes about the tornado! Where I live in Ohio we have tornado scares quite a bit so we're kind of used to it. Honestly, I couldn't believe you left Walmart and went out into the storm! I was like, "NO! Go back! Reinforced concrete walls and steel beams! You're safer in Walmart than at home! GO BACK!" Glad to hear that you got home safely though. And don't worry, I would've been bawling too.

Your itenerary looks great! I'm so excited for you!!! And I wouldn't worry too much about Grad Night kids. We've been in WDW when they've been there, and we would never have known it was Grad Nights except for the shortened MK hours. You'll be fine.

 

[TeaForTulips]

Yay, your schedule looks great!!!!! I can't believe you are leaving soooo soon!!! You have to be soo excited!!! I love having Disfriends leaving around the same time as me, it makes it more fun to have someone to be excited with!!!!

Yay! I totally agree! The DIS boards were angry with me when I was trying to post on your thread earlier! Everything looks soo great! All that pink! You know your fiance loves you! I hope we run into each other! My parents would be like "You know her how?" Although my father is seriously the type that knows someone anywhere he goes... I think it's a dad thing.

2 days!!! 2 days!!! It's almost here!!!!!!
Banana dance just for you.

Thanks! I feel special.

Hey, Tarah! JUST THREE MORE DAYS!!!!! AHHHH!

I'm excited for you. In case you couldn't tell.

I loved the zoo mini-TR. We used to go to the zoo a lot when we were kids. We've always lived within an hour of the Cincinnati Zoo, and it's a crazy-awesome place. I need to suggest going again this summer because I would love to revisit it.

Yikes about the tornado! Where I live in Ohio we have tornado scares quite a bit so we're kind of used to it. Honestly, I couldn't believe you left Walmart and went out into the storm! I was like, "NO! Go back! Reinforced concrete walls and steel beams! You're safer in Walmart than at home! GO BACK!" Glad to hear that you got home safely though. And don't worry, I would've been bawling too.

Your itenerary looks great! I'm so excited for you!!! And I wouldn't worry too much about Grad Night kids. We've been in WDW when they've been there, and we would never have known it was Grad Nights except for the shortened MK hours. You'll be fine.

I'm so excited! I technically work all day Thursday so that is a bummer... but Im still not counting it in my count down. I refuse! I can't wait to read more on your report! I'm crossing my fingers that I get to before I leave. (ahem.. hint hint.. )

Im glad to hear about your Grad Night experience... that is friendly.

 

[TeaForTulips]

Mini Update...

The packing has begun and surprisingly is almost finished. I was very bummed because my suitcase has been on loan out between my mom and my sister now for some time... I got it back to start packing and the zipper is broken! I don't care really except I TOTALLY would have bought that mickey mouse set when it was on sale @ disneyshopping.com for $50. Dang! It was the larger piece of a 2 piece wheeley set so I'm letting my 'rents use the smaller one. Jen & I are just using smaller duffles.

I also busted out some of my old school VB bags...

It drives Jen crazy to think that each one of those bags were at least $100 when I got them. The black micro back pack though has been so great though. They green micro bag is pretty big and is great too. I have so many older VB bags but I just don't care for them anymore. The newer patterns are just so much better!

I ended up using the green one for a "snack bag". My mom has already gathered the bulk of the snacks like goldfish, twizzlers, chips, etc... but here is some things I have gathered.

Anyone eat gardettos? well i discovered they make bags of just the little brown rye garlic bits... yum! Thats the only reason I used to buy the bags of gardettos! Also I of course had to get some mickey mouse clubhouse gummies... some worm gummies...beef jerky (whats a road trip without beef jerky??) Also I have some of those 100 calorie pack of sun chips, cheetos, and popcorn. Oh and those fruity lemon head things. They are like lemon heads but in a bunch of flavors. Jen is obsessed...

She is more so obsessed with this though:

I am bringing four 12 packs of diet dr pepper and I'm not sure it will be enough. This woman breathes diet dr pepper... I keep our apartment fully stocked. She thinks im a good girlfriend, but really its selfish because she is a gurdy without them! (fyi... "gurdy" in my family is what we say for someone who is in a bad mood)

My mom is making me a lil tank top shirt with some material I bought. Last weekend I tried it on so she could do some last minute pinning to make it fit better and its actually looking really cute! Some other things I have for the trip are...

the left is plaid shorts, the right is two tank tops that im going to layer.. the colors look better and match better in person. haha.

i loved the tie straps of this and had to get it. the design pattern is the entire shirt. its so loud on the hanger but cute on.

im really not one to see those jewel things on clothes and pick it up... but this was on clearance so i tried it on. once it was on it wasnt half bad so i got it... AK shirt maybe? its just a tank with that detail on top.

another clearance item... very plain tank top. just the detailed ruffled top and its all black. i like to save money..

i also sell AVON just as a side thing to make some extra money and get good deals. i was able to get some tinkerbell chapstick.. hehe... and some new eyeshadow.. also a new little organizer thing for jewelry, make up, etc. for all of it (chapstick, 2 eyeshadow sets, and the organizer was $9.66 plus tax )

I also wanted to buy a new game for my nintendo ds. Jen won one at work last year and it was pretty fun so last christmas she got me a pink one. I was on the hunt for a disney game that wasnt so childish that i would be bored... we have the lego star wars game for the wii and it is really fun. i was thinking... there is star wars at disney... so i got it for my nintendo ds too... it will hopefully be helpful passing time in the car.

Things to do still is last minute packing... I have to clean my fish's bowl (her name is Disney) and take her to my sisters house so she can fish sit. She is also watching my kitty Mr. Sherbert for me. He is the best kitty ever. I will miss him. Tuesday night we are going to the casino because they always send us free things. We had free hotel stays but didnt use them this month. We have money coupons and free dinner coupons so we're gonna do that tomorrow. Wednesday we have to go hang with Jen's mom. Thursday is pay day ie Disney money comes in day... so on my lunch break I have to go get mula. Then we leave that night! Will it get here already!!!

 

[autumnpalm]

OH MY GOSH.

You are leaving so soon!!! Great update! I love the snack bag. Bleghhh I cannot tolerate Diet pop though. I used to drink it all the time, but I'm really sensitive to artificial sweeteners now and they give me a terrible headache.

Your tops are REALLY cute. I really like the jeweled one! And the black ruffled one. The Avon chapstick is cute too, I love that it has Tink on it.

I cannot believe you are leaving Thursday night. AHHHH!!!



I am so, so excited for you!!!

 

[TeaForTulips]

so I don't really have an update. I've been working all day, but I just went online to make sure all my info was updated... I'm sure we all know how much the hours, etc change. well I am so excited because they changed the extra magic hours for the magic kingdom on april 26th where its open until 3 am!!! That rocks! They are doing the Spectro Parade twice. Hooray! Im so exicted! I am seeing a nap that day. I heard about the EMH going to 3 am last month but it was always showing 1 am for the longest time for when we were going. I think the 3 am rocks! Yay!

 

[autumnpalm]

Extended hours at the MK! Woohoo! Are you planning on staying all the way until 3? You'll have the park to yourselves!

 

[TxRabbit]

Oh WOW!! 3 AM!!!! That DOES rock!! Definitely take a nap and enjoy the park in the cool of the NIGHT!!!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful vacation!!!

 

[Angela0917]

AHH! I can't believe I miss the 3am EMHs by 1 day!!!!!!!

 

[Lynn5700]

YAY you leave soon!!!! So excited for you guys!!!!

 

[TeaForTulips]

Extended hours at the MK! Woohoo! Are you planning on staying all the way until 3? You'll have the park to yourselves!

Yes! We even told my dad expecting him to be a little less excited and really not up for it, but his reply was "Cool" I think if we take an afternoon break we'll be just fine! I know I'm sure gonna try anyway!

Oh WOW!! 3 AM!!!! That DOES rock!! Definitely take a nap and enjoy the park in the cool of the NIGHT!!!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful vacation!!!

Thank you! Yes, the cool of the night sounds wonderful!

AHH! I can't believe I miss the 3am EMHs by 1 day!!!!!!!

I know! I totally went and double checked your PTR because I thought you were gonna just miss it but I wasn't 100% sure. I of course then saw you were one day shy! I'm sorry! I was totally bummed for you! I can't believe they are actually gonna stay open that late. I just think that's crazy!

YAY you leave soon!!!! So excited for you guys!!!!

Thanks! Time is really not flying by like I wish it would! We are counting down the hours!

We're leaving tomorrow night, but not until after a full day of work...

 

[jewels1916]

I love Lego Star Wars. That's such a fun game. Are you super excited? I am excited for you, Tarah! I hope you all have a fabulous time, and that Jen really enjoys her first time at Disney World!

 

[tiggersam00]

2 days!! Woohoo! You must be super excited Tarah! Oh and I totally relate to the snack thing, I always bring so many snacks to WDW, DF usually just laughs at me because I never end up eating them with all the Disney food surrounding me lol! Just leave a little snacking room for a Captain's mai Tai at the POP pool

 

[TeaForTulips]

I love Lego Star Wars. That's such a fun game. Are you super excited? I am excited for you, Tarah! I hope you all have a fabulous time, and that Jen really enjoys her first time at Disney World!

Thanks! I'm insanely excited. Jen is super excited too. I'm not sure about my dad but all day the only thing really said between Jen, my mom, and myself is the phrase "im so ready to go!!!" It has honestly reached point of irritation that I cannot leave yet. pitiful i know... Im stuck at work for another 4 hours and then another 11 hours tomorrow. I know once 6 pm tomorrow hits though it will be so worth the wait. Oh! and Jen has been singing "Im so excited! .. Im so excited! ... I'm about to go to Disney and I think I like it!" thats my girl!

2 days!! Woohoo! You must be super excited Tarah! Oh and I totally relate to the snack thing, I always bring so many snacks to WDW, DF usually just laughs at me because I never end up eating them with all the Disney food surrounding me lol! Just leave a little snacking room for a Captain's mai Tai at the POP pool

Im sure most of our snacks will not even be touched except for the car ride, but my dad and jen are both late night snackers. jen's blood is made of diet dr pepper and goldfish crackers i swear. oh and ding dongs. but we werent bringing choco in the car...




so to assist in helping the time pass because all ive done today is watch the clock! here is my latest things to do list...

side note... i am a list maker through and through. jen makes fun of me. i make lists for everything and i like them to look pretty. jen will scribble something on my grocery list for example and then i copy it all over again because she messed it up. i cant help it!


Things To Do:

-Disney the fish taken to sisters house ... check
-Mr Sherbert the cat taken to my sisters ... check. (i worry about him because he is spoiled rotten and i think he may freak out at my sisters house who has two other cats.. )
-Empty and reload dish washer with last load of dishes (tonight)
-Empty trash for trash day... check
-Pack last minute items for staying @ parents tonight
-Load car (tonight)
-Go to Bank (tomorrow)
-WalMart for last minute items (tomorrow)
-Place AVON order (tomorrow)
-Go see Jen's mom to say goodbye for 10 days (tonight)
-paint nails for my and my mom, also apply mickey nail decals (tonight)


also for some bad news I think I am getting sick... I already have serious allergy issues, have had a headache for a couple days, but now I am also coughing a lot and have a sore throat. no sickness for disney!! sooo thankfully with my ex-pharmacist girlfriend she is forcing me (i hate taking medicine) to start a steroid dose pack among other things to ensure i am not full blown icky sick for vacation.

28 hours until we hit the road!!