Easley Girls do Disney (in a G-Rated way, of course!)

[easleygrls]

Only 3 days to go…we are all so excited we seem to be annoying the heck out of everyone we know. Imagine that! Some people just don’t get it!

So now I’ll try to share the excitement with my first ever pre-trip report. The lineup goes like this:
Me, Anne (as author I reserve the right to omit my age!)
DP Mandy 39 (Ain’t no omittin’ there!)
DD Chadley 7

Anne, Chadley, Mandy--definitely not Sunday go to Meetin ready in this pic!

The Cat, Cheetah, who has a supporting role in this pre-trip.

Cheetah, Cheetah, she's so Sweetah!

We live in Easley, Upstate SC, in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachians. Even though I’m lucky to have parents with a beach condo near Charleston, which they actually let us visit several times a year, we still haven’t had a “real” vacation since DD was born. Long weekends fit more into our schedules, and we have had some fun times in Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, Asheville, and if we are feeling really brave, Gatlinburg. Like a traveling salesman, I can tell you which gas stations have a clean potty and an Icee machine anywhere along I-85, I-26 and I-385. Well……maybe the salesman wouldn’t know where the Icee machines are. But for car trips with DD, that’s a must!
We have been discussing a weeklong trip for a while, but to where? Anyplace far enough away to make it more than a weekender would mean flying, and three tickets to anywhere usually means big bucks. What are three girls to do?

 

[easleygrls]

Back in February I realized I had a sizeable tax refund and not a whole lot to do with it. Last year it was medical bills, the year before that car repairs, etc, you get the idea. I stewed on that tax money for a month or so, until I saw an ad in the Sunday paper. Allegiant Air had a rate to Orlando of just $79 each way. Now, WDW had been in the back of my mind, but always in a “one of these days cause I sure can’t afford it right now” kind of way. $160 a ticket sounded great! When I fly from here to South Bend IN (Go Irish!!) to visit my parents, the round trip ticket is usually about $350. That has become the yardstick by which I measure all plane tickets. So I surfed over to the Allegiant Air website to check it out…and the tickets for that weekend (March) were only $39 each way! The deal was sealed. Well, almost………

A check of DD’s school schedule and DP’s work schedule made us decide on June 10 – 16. We knew it would be hot & humid, but hey, it is here in the summer too. We opted for sooner rather than later when the weather or crowds might be different.

Back to the Allegiant website. Now, they only fly out of Greenville/Spartanburg on Sun, Tues, Thurs, and Sat. But a check of the June schedule had NO flights listed at all for any day after June 10! Was this some kind of cruel joke? 40 minutes worth of hold muzak later, the rep told me they only took reservations 3 months in advance. After many days of being on pins and needles, we finally got our tickets!

 

[easleygrls]

So, OK, we have our tickets. Think we oughta get a room now? I priced a few things on the WDW website. I ended up booking through AAA. Usually I accidentally say AA, but that’s a whole ‘nuther thread! I don’t know that we saved a ton of money, but the convenience of it all was nice. The only Value available with the AAA package was AASports. Maybe not my first choice, but OK by us! Last time DP & I were at WDW was 1995, and we stayed at ASMu and loved it. DD took the Virtual Tour and likes it a lot! Of course, she did see the tour of AKL and asked why we couldn’t stay there instead. Why not indeed! Ahem cough-up-some-of-your-allowance-sniffsniff.

I had a very dear friend that passed away earlier this year from breast cancer. She was a WDW and DIS fanatic (Tiger Fan). I have lurked on the DIS many times, especially when she would tell me about something I just HAD to read, but I didn’t join until recently. So after all that lurking, how I ask you did I miss the minor detail that Allegiant flies into Sanford, and the ME doesn’t go there? Picture: A CM standing with a hand on one hip, waggling a finger at me and bobbing that head saying “Don’t EVEN go there…!” I read lots of threads about car services and car rentals, and after much discussion we decided to rent a car. I surfed for a couple weeks and kept an eye on prices, and ended up with a car for the week for about $150. Not too bad, I think.

So now we have a way there, a ride once we get there, a place to crash, and all kinds of tickets to the happiest place on Earth. What’s to eat?

 

[easleygrls]

This ADR thing nearly knocked us for a loop! In ’95, the only thing meal-wise we got with our package was 1 character meal we didn’t use. (Back in the day, DP & I could commando the parks. This time…ain’t gonna happen with a 7YO.) We did lots of research on where to eat and looked at lots of menus. It seems like there are a million places to eat and each of them has had a million reviews. Is it a good thing or not when the whole family looks at food porn together? Luckily for us since we are on the DDP, DD loves carrots & ranch, grapes, and applesauce! She voted for everything that had either pizza, pasta, hamburgers, or hot dogs. We already decided this will pretty much be an eat what you want whenever you want trip. Whew! We finally nailed down these ADRs:
Sunday 8pm The Plaza
Monday 10am Akershus for the Princess Breakfast
7pm Gulliver’s Grill (OOP)
Tuesday 1:10pm Le Cellier
Wednesday 10:30am O’Hana’s
Thursday 9:20am Breakfastosaurus
Friday 3:50pm Mama Melrose for the Fantasmic package

And THE MOST important ressie of the week:
Wednesday 5:30pm BBB! (Not dining of course but still important)

In general we tend to be pretty laid back and mellow. We already know DD can’t go from sunup to sunup without a break at the pool and a nap. Come to think of it, neither can I! We know even a week might not be enough time to see everything, and that’s OK. We’ll be back! So with all that in mind we were very flexible in our ADR choices. I didn’t make any of them till 8 weeks out, and still got every restaurant we wanted even if we had to take some at off times. DD will be more than happy to use up some of those snack credits to hold her over!

 

[Avivasmom]

WOW 3 days away how exciting. My dd wishes we were going tomorrow...she cannot wait. Told her she has to start camp and we are going when camp is done!!

 

[easleygrls]

It'll be here before you know it. But you know time is different when you're that age!

 

[easleygrls]

More coming tomorrow...

 

[easleygrls]

My boss said if anyone looks up anal retentive in the dictionary, my picture would be there. I have listed every entry I’ve ever read in a dictionary, plus every picture I’ve looked at in a dictionary, and cross-referenced them with an index, so I KNOW my picture wasn’t in there! What’s wrong with alphabetizing your CDs and making sure your towels are all folded and facing the same way?

Anyway, at one week out I came into all of my list making glory. I had so many lists I needed a list to keep them all straight! I’d hate to get all the way to the World and realize I forgot my glasses AND contacts, or realize I forgot to take out the remnants of last night’s dinner.

One thing on my list was to try & find a new swimsuit for the trip. The one I have is perfectly fine...just a little stretched and past its prime since it IS maybe 6 or 7 years old. It might be OK for the ASSp pools, but it might be dangerous to wear it on one of those killer wedgie and enema waterslides at BB or TL.

First of all, you wouldn’t know its June and 90 degrees here...there are almost no bathing suits left. Not the one I would shell out for, anyway. And another thing, why is it next to impossible to find a regular, somewhat modest suit when you get to be a woman of a ‘certain age’ and ‘certain size’? Everything I tried on made me look like a poster child for “What Not to Wear” or the before ad in <insert your favorite diet program here>. I finally settled on a garish tropical number, mainly because the neckline didn’t plunge to my bellybutton. Harumph! I also have been nursing an angry case of poison ivy for almost a month now. My legs look like they’ve been striped with a hickory switch. I thought about posting a pic of them but ewww. No. I will be instantly recognizable by my legs and suit though!

Another thing on the list involves the aforementioned cat, Cheetah. Everyone that I know well enough to ask to come feed, water and scoop poop will be out of town the same time we are. At least that’s what they SAID..........
So we got her a set of self-feeders and waterers. The size that holds a gallon. We also decided to test out how long the food would last, since this cat has a huge appetite. DP and I filled the food holder with almost an entire 7 lb bag of kibble, and the water holder with a gallon of water. As we picked them up to carry them upstairs to the feeding station, DP dropped the food holder which promptly fell apart and sprayed kibble everywhere as far as the eye could see. Note to self: When DD has to do a project about the Big Bang theory, this would make a great visual aid. It has been 6 days since the beginning of the experiment, and Cheetah hasn’t even really put a dent in either the food or water. And if she does manage to eat it all she can always reach up under the fridge to dig out the pieces we might have missed during cleanup.

Then of course there are the lists of postcards to send from the “Pay it Forward” thread. I have been busily collecting names and stamps. I even have one that goes to Gambia, Africa! DD got her postcard last week and absolutely squealed! I can’t wait to mail mine out.

More to come...

 

[prncssmel]

My boss said if anyone looks up anal retentive in the dictionary, my picture would be there. I have listed every entry I’ve ever read in a dictionary, plus every picture I’ve looked at in a dictionary, and cross-referenced them with an index, so I KNOW my picture wasn’t in there! What’s wrong with alphabetizing your CDs and making sure your towels are all folded and facing the same way?

I do those, too. I see nothing wrong with it.

One thing on my list was to try & find a new swimsuit for the trip. The one I have is perfectly fine...just a little stretched and past its prime since it IS maybe 6 or 7 years old. It might be OK for the ASSp pools, but it might be dangerous to wear it on one of those killer wedgie and enema waterslides at BB or TL.

First of all, you wouldn’t know its June and 90 degrees here...there are almost no bathing suits left. Not the one I would shell out for, anyway. And another thing, why is it next to impossible to find a regular, somewhat modest suit when you get to be a woman of a ‘certain age’ and ‘certain size’? Everything I tried on made me look like a poster child for “What Not to Wear” or the before ad in <insert your favorite diet program here>. I finally settled on a garish tropical number, mainly because the neckline didn’t plunge to my bellybutton. Harumph! I also have been nursing an angry case of poison ivy for almost a month now. My legs look like they’ve been striped with a hickory switch. I thought about posting a pic of them but ewww. No. I will be instantly recognizable by my legs and suit though!

DF wondered why I was buying a suit for Septmber last month. He doesn't believe me that these things sell out like crazy. You can't actually wait until summer to buy summer clothes.

Your DD is so cute. Looks like you guys are in for a wonderful time.

 

[Eventer98]

Great start...can't wait to hear more! I wish I could leave my 3 cats for the week but I think the house would need to be fumigated from the litter box smell!! Plus, one of the cats needs a pill ED. I am going to have to sacrifice a few days in there b/c I have 3 days with no coverage. Oh well. I am sure she will be fine. Have a great trip!!

 

[easleygrls]

I do those, too. I see nothing wrong with it.

See? What she said!!!

 

[easleygrls]

Great start...can't wait to hear more! I wish I could leave my 3 cats for the week but I think the house would need to be fumigated from the litter box smell!!

This was actually part of the cat experiment...going 7 days without scooping to see if the litter box could 'take the load' (so to speak!)

Let me just say some theories should remain thoeries.

 

[Eventer98]

This was actually part of the cat experiment...going 7 days without scooping to see if the litter box could 'take the load' (so to speak!)

Let me just say some theories should remain thoeries.

If you had a male cat I bet he wouldn't stand for a dirty pan!! Girl cats are just better like that!!

 

[easleygrls]

Here it is…the day before the big event. The excitement factor is in overdrive as we are trying to get all the last minute packing & cleaning out of the way. DP is taxed with laundry, and is running around looking for every scrap of fabric that she can cram into the washer. I am in charge of errands and last minute purchases, so I have been to the bank, post office and Wal-Mart all before I would normally have my first cup of coffee. DD, who is excited beyond words, has got that deer-in-the-headlights look today. I think she can sense the frenzy and is trying to stay out of the way! The cat has been the same way. It’s good they have a kindred spirit in each other so they can lay low together.

On a side note, does anybody ever feel guilty about leaving work during vacation? It’s not that I’m a workaholic by any definition. Maybe it’s not exactly guilt…..I guess I’m worried someone is going to mess something up while I’m gone! Before I sound too full of myself, let me explain. I am the Sys Admin for the local Chapter of a National Non-Profit. We have about 50 employees spread over 4 counties. Most of them are older ladies. OK, I really don’t have anything against old ladies in general. My Granny is one. My Mom is one. And alas, I am rapidly becoming one myself. But my typical day goes something like this:

Panicked Old Lady: Hon, I broke my computer!!
Me (in troubleshooting mode): Oh no, really?? What happened??
POL: I used to could click here and it would go somewhere else! Now it’s broken!
Me (in serious mode): Oh, you know what you’re right…I think that USED to be a link, but they must have changed the website. The only time something is a link is when you can put your arrow on it and it turns into a pointy finger. You can only click on text and go somewhere else if there’s a pointy finger.

OR

Panicked Old Lady: Hon, I broke my computer!!
Me (in troubleshooting mode): Oh no, really?? What happened??
POL: I don’t know. It won’t take my password. Did you change my password and not tell me?
Me: No ma’am
POL: Well then what is my password?
Me: I don’t know anyone’s password…that’s supersecret just between you and your computer. But if you tell me what you want it to be, I’ll change it for you and I promise I won’t tell.

OR

Panicked Old Lady: Hon, I broke my computer!!
Me (in troubleshooting mode): Oh no, really?? What happened??
POL: Every time I try to turn it on, all that comes up is a blue screen.
Me (thinking I might have a serious problem here): OK, show me what you did…
POL: See…every time I press the button, blue…(she is turning the monitor on and off. The PC is not on.)
Me: Ohhhhhhh…you know, this happened to me last week too. You need to turn on the computer here first (show her the ON button) and you should be OK.

I guess if they mess one up, there are 49 others they can use. I am resolving to try & put them out of my mind! On the other hand, I have been fantasizing about corralling them all on TOT and watching them drop over and over again. I guess I DO need a vacation!

 

[easleygrls]

I could write a book about the things I have seen in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Today, while doing my last minute running around, I saw this for the first time ever:

Boy it's hot!!

According to which temperature sign you want to believe, it was anywhere from 98 to 103 here today, with about 40% humidity.

You can bet I jumped onto the Weather Channel website to check out what's in store for us next week. Except for tomorrow when we'll be en route during the hot part of the day, it's forcasted to be between 88 - 92 all week, with about 54% humidity! Not bad at all!

 

[easleygrls]

I went to DL when I was about 9, then WDW for the first time at 12, then WDW again in 1995. I love WDW. I am looking forward to a million different little things. But really, this trip is all about DD!

Excitement is contagious, and DD has come down with a huge case of the WooHoos! She has actually been practicing a Happy Dance. It’s kind of a combo of the Running Man and the Cabbage Patch, and …ahem…it’s harder than it looks!

I saw on someone else’s pre-trip that their vacation grew out of seeing the Nick commercial for the Sponge Bob hotel rooms. DD is a Sponge Bob freak, and begged to look at the Nick Hotel website all the time. I too was appalled at the prices, and I too thought, OK, we’ll stay there maybe one night and then go to Disney. I finally sat down with DD one evening and let her do the virtual tour of ALL the hotels at WDW. That was a loooong evening! BUT…mission accomplished…she dropped Nick for WDW!! Minor detail…she wanted to stay at AKL or WL. Yeah, we me too! But for this go round at this time of year for this length of time, ASSpo is the perfect fit.

DD has been to Carowinds a couple of times. I suppose in her mind she is trying to guess what WDW is like by thing in terms of Carowinds. Boy is she going to be pleasantly surprised! The thing I am most looking forward is watching her have a great time! We have been looking at pics of the hotels – especially the pools, the rides, the characters, the food, BBB before & after shots, and on and on. She is going to need Benadryl with a Dramamine chaser to sleep tonight! Just kidding, yo. Actually that might be DP’s pre-flight cocktail since she hates to fly.

So everything is packed, and it’s off to bed with us. Can’t wait!!

 

[easleygrls]

Here we go!

DD woke up this morning, and said "I dreamed of Disney and cake and slobbered!" Can't wait to make those dreams come true!

Updates to come next week...

 

[prncssmel]

On a side note, does anybody ever feel guilty about leaving work during vacation? It’s not that I’m a workaholic by any definition. Maybe it’s not exactly guilt…..I guess I’m worried someone is going to mess something up while I’m gone! Before I sound too full of myself, let me explain. I am the Sys Admin for the local Chapter of a National Non-Profit. We have about 50 employees spread over 4 counties. Most of them are older ladies. OK, I really don’t have anything against old ladies in general. My Granny is one. My Mom is one. And alas, I am rapidly becoming one myself. But my typical day goes something like this: [/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

Panicked Old Lady: Hon, I broke my computer!!
Me (in troubleshooting mode): Oh no, really?? What happened??
POL: I used to could click here and it would go somewhere else! Now it’s broken!
Me (in serious mode): Oh, you know what you’re right…I think that USED to be a link, but they must have changed the website. The only time something is a link is when you can put your arrow on it and it turns into a pointy finger. You can only click on text and go somewhere else if there’s a pointy finger.

OR

Panicked Old Lady: Hon, I broke my computer!!
Me (in troubleshooting mode): Oh no, really?? What happened??
POL: I don’t know. It won’t take my password. Did you change my password and not tell me?
Me: No ma’am
POL: Well then what is my password?
Me: I don’t know anyone’s password…that’s supersecret just between you and your computer. But if you tell me what you want it to be, I’ll change it for you and I promise I won’t tell.

OR

Panicked Old Lady: Hon, I broke my computer!!
Me (in troubleshooting mode): Oh no, really?? What happened??
POL: Every time I try to turn it on, all that comes up is a blue screen.
Me (thinking I might have a serious problem here): OK, show me what you did…
POL: See…every time I press the button, blue…(she is turning the monitor on and off. The PC is not on.)
Me: Ohhhhhhh…you know, this happened to me last week too. You need to turn on the computer here first (show her the ON button) and you should be OK.

I guess if they mess one up, there are 49 others they can use. I am resolving to try & put them out of my mind! On the other hand, I have been fantasizing about corralling them all on TOT and watching them drop over and over again. I guess I DO need a vacation!

I am not the system adminsitrator, nor do i know an excessive amount about computers. But at my last job, I was the youngest person in our office, which made me the de facto computer fixer.

Here we go!

DD woke up this morning, and said "I dreamed of Disney and cake and slobbered!" Can't wait to make those dreams come true!

Updates to come next week...

Oooooh, that is too cute. Hope you are all having a fabulous time!

 

[Eventer98]

I meant to get on sooner to say goodbye...guess I missed you!! Anyway, I hope you have (had) a magical trip and I can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[Eventer98]

Are you guys back yet? I was hoping for an installment before I leave!