Everything is Satisfactual - A TR (9/22-9/31) Updated 12/9 Last Day

[If U Had Wings]

Once upon a time there were 2 beautiful princesses who lived in a far off land known as Connecticut.

They were happy princesses with a paparazzi (aka family) that they adored, and even though their land wasn't terribly magical most of the time they were content to wear their princess dresses while hanging around the castle and running around the kingdom.

Then as a special treat 2 years ago, because they were such special princesses, their posse took them to the much more magical land of Walt Disney World. The princesses knew they had found their true home. A second trip to this magical place last August was just as wonderful for them, but alas only the mom and dad members of the paparazzi went with them. While happy to be back in Disney World, they were desperately missing the rest of the paparazzi. When they got home from their vacation they told everyone the next time they all had to go, it just wasn't the same without them. (Meanwhile a few of the paparazzi snuck off for September and October trips on their own).

As cold and snow fell across the land of Connecticut, the two princesses could think of nothing but sun, pools, and Mickey Mouse. They began to ask when they would be going to Walt Disney World again. Much to their dismay Mom & Dad told them there would be no trip to Disney this year. They were a bit to Disney'd out. This year they said they would go to New Hampshire to see trained bears, Santa Claus and Storyland instead.

Our princesses were aghast! Bears? Storyland? Santa Claus? That Santa guy is well and good in December, but he's got nothing on a giant mouse! They started to create a plan. By hook or by crook they'd be back in Disney this year, and bring their entire paparazzi with them this time.

 

[If U Had Wings]

The princesses, being as opposite as princesses can be, formulated two different plans of attack on the paparazzi. Highly effective, but radically different.

Princess "Jasmine" (6) is the elder of the two princesses.

If you had to describe her in one word it would be "sweet". She'll share anything with you, and always knows when you really need a hug, even if you never asked for one. A bit of a perfectionist, as a baby it took her forever to start talking, because she wouldn't say anything out loud until she was able to say it perfectly. Even now, getting something wrong is the only thing that will reduce her to tears. Forgets nothing, and at age 2 was able to give directions from the back seat of the car to get to grandma's house 30 miles away. Worries more than my 92 year old grandmother (about everything). Also tends to be brutally honest, so never ask what she thinks if you don't want a truly honest opinion.

Jasmine's got the mind of a future lawyer. She started telling her mom and dad that New Hampshire would be nice, not the same as Disney, but nice. Then she'd start sliding in little comments like "Santa's Village has nice rides, but everything is a bit small for you mommy and daddy." The next time she'd add to her argument. "A vacation where you can't go on the rides won't be much fun for you." All the while she is sounding so concerned and worried about how much they will enjoy their vacation. She's all set then to close out her plan of attack. "You know Walt Disney World has lots of big rides for you to ride. It would be much more fun for you there." That's her plan of attack. Nothing about how much she wants to go, all about how much better it will be for her parents if they go.

Princess "Cinderella" or Cin for short (4) can't be bothered with such mind games.

Direct and to the point, Cin is the family comedienne. Her greatest joy comes from doing outlandish things to illicit laughs from everyone. For a 4 year old she has impeccable comedic timing and facial expressions that have you laughing in no time. She just glows when she gets you to laugh. Basically a mini version of her father. Competitive to a fault. Not just happy to play any kind of games, wants to be first. Absolutely fearless. Launches herself at things 100% without worrying about getting hurt, or failing. Worrys Jasmine to no end. At the end of the day she's not happy unless she's curled up in your lap like a cat.

Cin's plan of attack to get back to Disney World was to act as if she was going anyways. I stoppe over to visit her and Jasmine, and she wants to play "Test Track". As she occupies herself directing me to pull on my yellow seat belt, she tells me she's going to Disney World this year. Really? "Yes" she tells me. "You, mommy, daddy, grandma…everyone." I check with my brother, thinking maybe they made some change I wan't told about. Nope. No trip to Disney this year. They need a Disney break. New Hampshire this year, definitely New Hampshire.

Cin kept this plan up for awhile. She told everyone she was going to Disney again. Her nursery school teacher, her grandparents, the man at the deli counter. Utterly convinced that mom and dad would give up this silly New Hampshire idea. Jasmine kept telling everyone how much happier they would all be if they went to Disney (she would grin and bear it if she couldn’t go to New Hamshire - she is only worried about all of them). Somewhere along the line mom and dad caved. A trip to Disney would be much more fun. The princesses are only this young once. It would be really nice to do another paparazzi trip.

So the princess' mom and dad put out a call to the rest of the paparazzi. Walt Disney World, last week of August. Now as much as the rest of the paparazzi love the princesses this was not an immediate yes. August being the primary cause of concern. August in Florida more specifically being the problem. That and an already in the works trip to Disney for one of them. How long before they cave and join in??

 

[If U Had Wings]

So, how long did it take for the paparazzi to cave and join in on the fun? It's almost embarrassing how quickly we caved.

Here's the paparazzi joining our princesses for a week of fun and magic:

Me (Belle)

37 year-old single aunt to our princesses. I haven't been lucky enough to meet my beast yet, or have my own little pirates and princesses. This occasionally makes me sad when I'm at Disney seeing all the happy families, but going with my 2 nieces makes it easier. They make everything so special.

A little more about me. I live in CT, but for a year now have been working in my favorite city in the world NYC. I fell in love with NYC when I was 11 years old, and it has been a dream come true to be able to work there. I don't even mind the commute most of the time. The cost of the train ticket however is awful, and I've had to start job searching again closer to home.

I was originally planning a trip to Disney with one of my BF's in October. We went last year and had a blast. I had been holding off on booking that trip while I was job searching. I didn't want to start planning, and then have to cancel because I found a new job. Then my brother approached me with this August trip. I felt very torn on which trip to make. I didn't want to cancel with my friend, but didn't want to miss out on a trip with the nieces. Niece Cin told me in no uncertain terms that it was her I was to go with. Jasmine thought long and hard about it, and told me it was a tough decision and she'd be sad if I couldn't go with her, but would understand. In the end I told my friend I just couldn't commit this year. If I get a new job this year and need to back out of my trip, my parents will still go and it won't ruin their vacation. If I had gone with my friend and had to cancel, her vacation would be ruined. It's not a complete loss, we are going to try to go next year.


Grandpa Grumpy (65) & Grandma Tink (58):

My mom and dad. Absolutely adored by Jasmine and Cin. My brother likes to say that Grandma Tink rates higher than him with Jasmine. Grandpa is Grumpy. Grumpy is a lover of all the thrill rides, and Tink still hasn't gotten over that they closed If You Had Wings. (Although Soarin makes her just as happy now). Complete Disney addicts, and the best parents ever. Tink hates FL in the summer, but the lure of the princesses was too much for her. Grumpy is due to have rotator cuff surgery as soon as workers comp gives him the okay, and was reluctant to book a vacation. Finally deceided that he was going no matter what. May be recovering while we are on vacation.

Brother Mickey (34), SIL Minnie (35) and SIL's Dad Eeyore (69)
Mickey is the family comedian, much like daughter Cin. Somehow manages to always keep a perfect temperment no matter what is going around him. Fantastic dad to his two girls. Even now as grown adults we still enjoy driving each other nuts. It will be interesting this trip to see who is the most compulsive planner him or me. So far this trip has been a pretty good mix of the two of us. His wife Minnie works way too hard, traveling a lot as part of her job. Is looking forward to a week away from it all.

Here's a picture of the gang from the last family trip back in May 2006. I searched through all my pics and this was the only one I had of all of us. I need to fix that this year.

Coming soon, Can we agree on a hotel?

 

[BrittBritt]

Oh! I love the way you're writing this as a story! The two princesses are completely adorable, and you sound like such a fantastic aunt for them. Can't wait to read more!

 

[If U Had Wings]

So excited a reader! Glad to have you aboard!

I adore my two nieces so much. They were so excited that I was coming too. They are never happy unless they are with the entire family. Of course Cin told me she knew I would come. I guess they've already figured out that I'm that easy when it comes to them. I at least am not as easy as grandma and grandpa. I think the girls had figured out how soft they were by the time they were a year old.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Once upon a time there were 2 beautiful princesses who lived in a far off land known as Connecticut.

How sweet are they?!

This year they said they would go to New Hampshire to see trained bears, Santa Claus and Storyland instead.

Remember Benson's Animal Farm? I LOVED Benson's. I was so sad when it closed. But not even Benson's could compare to Disney.

That's her plan of attack. Nothing about how much she wants to go, all about how much better it will be for her parents if they go.

What a diplomat.

Cin's plan of attack to get back to Disney World was to act as if she was going anyways.

Smart plan, that is.

37 year-old single aunt to our princesses. I haven't been lucky enough to meet my beast yet, or have my own little pirates and princesses. This occasionally makes me sad when I'm at Disney seeing all the happy families

I have my Beast but we don't have any pitter pattering in the house (unless you count the kitties). And sometimes this makes me sad too. Until I walk past the 42nd meltdown of the day. Then I'm content to make my way back to my child-less room.

The cost of the train ticket however is awful

Oh how I can relate, my friend. I work in Boston but live over an hour away. My train ticket is $250/month. Oh how many Disney trips that could pay for in a year!

Grumpy is due to have rotator cuff surgery as soon as workers comp gives him the okay, and was reluctant to book a vacation. Finally deceided that he was going no matter what. May be recovering while we are on vacation.

My boyfriend had rotator cuff surgery in November. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. I wish him the best of luck.

Great start, so far! Looking forward to more!

 

[buffy0214]

Very cute start...I'm in

 

[If U Had Wings]

Remember Benson's Animal Farm? I LOVED Benson's. I was so sad when it closed. But not even Benson's could compare to Disney.

Oh how I can relate, my friend. I work in Boston but live over an hour away. My train ticket is $250/month. Oh how many Disney trips that could pay for in a year!

I don't think I ever went to Benson's. When I was a kid we'd always go to Lincoln, NH. We'd hit Clarks Trading Post (for the bear show), Storyland, Santa's Village, and Natureland. We'd also usually go up to the top of the mountain too. The name is escaping me at the moment. I always loved it, but then again, I didn't make it to Disney until I was 8.

Boston is my 2nd favorite city. My father was on a temporary transfer at one point to the Natick area. He'd come back to Connecticut for the weekend, and I'd head up with my friends to use his room over the weekends to go into Boston. It's awful how expensive the train tickets are. Mine is $350 a month. $350 of a crowded, dirty train where you don't even get a seat sometimes.
That being said, I'd much rather take the train, then sit in my car in I95 traffic.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Very cute start...I'm in

Welcome! I promise my next installment soon.

I just need to scan in a few photos.

 

[Lemming_of_the_BDA]

I'm in, Can't wait to see what happens next.

 

[If U Had Wings]

My apologies for not having updated. Twice a year I have the worst difficulties adjusting to the time changes and it messes me up for weeks. I think it has to do with the differences in the amount of light that's out when I wake up in the morning. I get used to seeing some sun light in the morning, and then I'm suddenly waking up to pitch darkness again and my body is telling me to stay asleep. I hate changing the clocks. I've overslept more times than I care to admit to since changing the clocks. It's horrible.

So before we update on our 2 princesses, today we are going to look back a bit.

Once, way back in the early 70's Belle and Mickey lived without any knowlege of the land called Walt Disney World. They had no idea what they were missing. That was until their cousins came back from a vacation filled with stories of this wonderful place.

That would be Mickey on the end crying because I stole his Mickey ears. I'm in the middle, and my cousin is the one on the other end who stole my ears.

They were told in no uncertain terms though, that they were not going to be going to Disney any time soon. Mickey and Belle were not quite as smart or as persistent as our current princesses are and soon forgot about Walt Disney World. They were happy going to New Hampshire to see the trained bears, Santa Claus and to ride in Cinderella's pumpkin coach.

In 1979, Ma Tink and Pa Grumpy surprised them with the news that they were finally going to Walt Disney World. Mickey and Belle were thrilled with the news and were on their best behavior. The trip came into jeapordy however, just a few days before they were scheduled to leave. In the middle of a particularly energetic pillow fight an expensive ceiling light was broken. No one wanted to lay claim to being responsible (mostly because after being plunged into darkness, neither Belle nor Mickey really knew who had done it). Ma Tink and Pa Grumpy announced that unless someone fessed up the trip to Disney would be cancelled. (Just as a side note - Belle and Mickey now realize that they were pretty dumb and gullible as no one was going to be cancelling a trip 2 days out. Luckily their intelligence level has risen since then).

Anyways, they took joint responsibilty and the trip went on as planned. The station wagon was loaded up with all the bags on the roof. Grandma and an aunt were along for the trip so Mickey and Belle were tossed in the back area with the luggage. Luckily they survived their very unsafe seating arrangement.

I think all it took was seeing the lobby at the Poly and Ma Tink and Pa Grumpy were just as hooked as Belle and Mickey. My most memorable experience of this trip was the Disney information channel on the resort tv's. Mickey would watch nothing else the entire time we were there. I think it was his favorite part of the entire trip. I can still remember cast member Susan singing a little Walt Disney World song and then welcoming everyone with a "Hi, I'm Susan!". To this day whenever anyone in my family starts planning a trip to Disney we all launch into the song, and end with the Hi I'm Susan. Honestly, I think we watched it about 500 times that week. I wish I could find a clip of the music.

My other memory of this trip was of riding Space Mountain with my aunt. This was back when you just straddled the seat, and sat in between the other person's legs. There must have been no seat belts or lap bars, because I slid off the seat on the first hill, and rode the rest of the ride on the floor. I refused to go on again, and kept riding "If you Had Wings" with my mom instead. (Love Space Mountain now though).

I found this picture when going through my stuff.

No one in the family knows if this is from the same trip, or if we went another time that we are forgetting about. (I thought we had gone again, but my mom says no). My brother is the one throwing me off. He has lazy eye, and was patched in one picture and not in the other. I think we are going to have to drag out the photo albums and do some research.

Also, does anyone know if these totems are still over at the Poly? I'd love to get a new picture with the totems now that we are older this year.

Nevertheless, a family of Disney addicts had been born.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

I LOVE the old school pics! I really need to get around to scanning some of mine and getting them up on my pre-trippie.

How refreshing it will be to revisit what I was wearing in 1986.

 

[stagemomx3]

I love your report so far! The princesses are beautiful, and their dual plan of attack was brilliant! How many different ways did I have to type that word before spell check ok it?

 

[If U Had Wings]

Where to stay?

A simple enough question most of the time when planning our trips to Florida, but this year it caused a bit of turmoil.

Ma Tink, Pa Grumpy and myself like to stay onsite. No change that, not like - love. For us the resort is just as important as any other part of the vacation. Plus the ease of not having to even think about driving for the week is wonderful. Could we afford it we'd have our butts parked right at the Poly.

Not so for the rest of the paparazzi. They like to stay off-site. They usually leave the parks early, and eat at restaurants outside the parks. Plus SIL Minnie travels a lot for her job, and usually has a large stash of Marriot rewards points so that they don't have to pay anything for the hotel for the week.

In 2006 when we all traveled down to Disney together the on-site contingent of our group got talked into staying off-site at the Embassy Suites right near the Downtown Disney entrance. It was …. nice. The place was clean. We had a free full breakfast every morning cooked by a man who called me Crystal for the entire week. The pool had an indoor section which was nice when it rained. Having the living room area in the rooms was nice. It just wasn't the same. For us something was missing.

When we ran the numbers this year, we figured it would be about the same for us to stay at a moderate Disney resort as it would be to stay at the Embassy Suites again once you factored in the car we would have to rent staying offsite. We deceided that much as we would love to be closer to the princesses for the entire week, we would book our room at the POFQ. (Our favorite home away from home).

Mickey and Minnie came back with a counter offer though. They now wanted to rent a vacation home. That way we could still all stay together. (Minnie especially loved that they have a personal pool as she gets a hinked out by public pools). This was tough. The temptation of being closer to the princesses was very tempting, and the pictures of the houses looked lovely. Again the cost would have been about the same, but a couple of factors swung us back over to the POFQ for good.

The decision to add on more days. Originally we were traveling from 8/23 to 8/30. We were a bit slow on the uptake, but after looking at the calendar one day, Ma Tink realized we would be coming home on Labor day weekend. We had Monday off. We had no reason to rush back on Saturday, we could add on another day. Then we realized that flights were cheaper on 8/22 then on the 23rd so we added on a day there as well. Since we all weren't staying the same days, booking the house wouldn’t really work out.

Ma Tink requires maid service on vacation. She wants fresh towels in the bathroom, and her bed made daily. She insists on it. She also does not want to cook any meals. She tells us she does enough cooking and cleaning the rest of the year. On her vacation she refuses. The house doesn't have maid service and they plan on cooking breakfast daily. These things do not sit well with Ma Tink.

We also started realizing that we each wanted to do some things on this trip that would require a bit of alone time. Ma Tink wants to spend more time by the pool with some frosty drinks. Pa Grumpy is going to be recovering from rotator cuff surgery, and might want to return to the room for rest periodically, and I want to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour and possibly the Segway tour again. Staying off-site would make this virtually impossible as we'd all have to keep the same basic schedule. Being onsite we can all come and go as we wish.

We all feel a bit guilty about not being with the princesses, but this really works out for the best. Everyone else is staying in a smaller vacation home. We will be at our favorite moderate Port Orleans French Quarter from 8/22 - 8/31. We played around with the idea of trying out WL, but once we added on the extra days we changed our minds.

Right now we are booked with a regular AAA discount. I've been trying to get in touch with my AAA agent about free dining to no avail. The other agent in the office told us he's out because his child is sick, and she is unable to adjust his reservations. I am trying to be understanding, but I'm really annoyed that there is no back up in the office for this kind of event. I'm really hoping we won't miss out on the free dining. We want to change our reservation to 2 nights room only, followed by 8 nights with the free dining and park hoppers. My parents have 4 one day passes, so I would just have to get 2 passes for myself for the first 2 days.

I was going to just call Disney myself and make a new reservation with my Disney Visa, but am concerned about the other reservation. We paid for insurance on it, and now we don't know if we are going to have to pay insurance twice if we book 2 reservations. I would also feel exceptionally guilty about cancelling the reservation and losing the agent his commission. (Of course doing so may cost me a couple of extra hundred dollars).

It is just way too stressful. Next time I think I am just going to book my package on my own. The only reason I even went with an agent this time was because you can't get the AAA discount on a package without it.

 

[klacey1]

They're beautiful girls-- can't wait to hear more!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I love your report so far! The princesses are beautiful, and their dual plan of attack was brilliant! How many different ways did I have to type that word before spell check ok it?

Thanks. I adore the two of them! I can't wait to go with them this time. They were determined that they would go to Disney this year. Nothing else would do.

 

[If U Had Wings]

They're beautiful girls-- can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for reading! Lots more planning to come.

 

[pajules]

Just jumped onboard and and am all caught up. You have very persuasive princesses! It's amazing how smart kids are today and pick up on things. I think my DS and Cin would get alone great. He is also a comediane, with a very witty sense of humor. Kids don't seem to get it, but the adults sure do. I'm hoping he's a Jerry Seinfeld in the making, paycheck and all.

I also enjoyed your childhood pics. Brings back memories for we 30 somethings.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Just jumped onboard and and am all caught up. You have very persuasive princesses! It's amazing how smart kids are today and pick up on things. I think my DS and Cin would get alone great. He is also a comediane, with a very witty sense of humor. Kids don't seem to get it, but the adults sure do. I'm hoping he's a Jerry Seinfeld in the making, paycheck and all.

I also enjoyed your childhood pics. Brings back memories for we 30 somethings.

It is scary how on smart they are sometimes. My older niece especially scares me a bit. You can almost see the wheels in her brain turning. She can solve sudoku puzzles faster than me, and can rattle off a bunch of numbers and add them up immediately. She forgets nothing, and has a plan of attack for everything.

The younger one isn't quite as bad. She does most of what she does for a laugh.

They both get a kick out of looking at the pictures of when daddy and aunt Belle were kids.

 

[If U Had Wings]

Has anyone who has used a travel agent to plan their Disney trip ever felt like they know more than the agent.

I can't begin to describe how annoyed I am getting with using my agent. I really was happy with him in the begining, but this week I'm at my breaking point.

We booked with an AAA agent in order to get the AAA discount on a package with dining. Now we want to take advantage of the free dining offer for the majority of our trip (our dates are 8/22 - 8/31) so I've been attempting to contact my agent since Saturday.

I had tickets to the Yankee game on Saturday, so I wasn't going to able to make it to the office before we left so I e-mailed him. No response. I know he needs my Disney Visa number so he has to get in touch with me before he can change the reservation. Monday comes, and half the Dis boards are on the phones. I am waiting. No call, no e-mail. My parents drop by the office on Monday. He is off with a sick child. The other agent won't do anything with our reservation since it's not hers. Leaves my agent a note. Monday passes without him getting in touch with me.

Tuesday arrives and still no call. I leave voice-mails and e-mails - no response. I am, to put it mildly, getting perturbed. I feel bad though, since I know he is probably still home with a sick kid. In that case though, I think that the other agent in the AAA office should have been able to help me.

I was all set to just book a new reservation on Tuesday night, but deciede to hold off until today. I arrive at work today to find that I had been left a voice mail from my agent at 5:30 the night before. This again annoys me as I specifically told him in every message I left for him that after 5 to call my cell number. It only got better as his voice mail to me tells me that the free dining offer had only been a rumor before now, and wasn't begining until today (Wed.).

Honestly, I shouldn't know more about the offer dates than my agent should I? He wasn't anywhere on target with that.

He tells me to call him back, I do, and of course get voice mail again. (With the same message from Monday saying he was out of the office until Tuesday). That was at 9am. It is now 2 pm and I still haven't heard anything from him. I am at about the breaking point, and I consider myself to be a fairly patient person. I wouldn't even mind so much if he was just honest and said that he had some personal issues he had to deal with, and would get to me as soon as possible. I hate feeling like I'm not even being responded to. I feel ignored, and as a customer I don't think I should have to feel that way. The more time that goes by without a response, the more I am not begining to care if he gets the commission or not.

I'm going to give a call back and let him know if I don't hear back from him, I am just going to book it on my own tonight. I don't want to put this off until tomorrow when it opens up to everyone. If I am not able to get POFQ I'm going to be upset.