Happier'n a Tornado in a Trailer Park: A Pre-Trip Journal Updated w/link to TR p 11

[winkers]

The man just cannot understand why I don't want to wear shorts while we're at Disney. Dude, I stopped wearing shorts 10 years ago. Why can he not understand that many women over the age of 30 no longer wear shorts in public? And that although I have lost a bunch of weight in the last year, I'm still not comfortable with my thighs. If I can add three inches of fabric and call them capris, all the better for me.

.

I consider my wearing capris a public service!

 

[winkers]

However, when I was in my late adolescence, my sister and I did call her Pat a lot:

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That's too funny! Your poor mom!

 

[roxannensteve]

Hi Miss Kim, loving your report so far. Ya know, my DH just doesn't understand the fact of not wearing shorts either.

 

[oybolshoi]

Dateline: February 19, 2007

Grammy, age 61. Gosh, is that right? OK, yeah it is (I used a calculator to double check. Hey, I teach kindergarten. 2 digit addition in my head is not a strength). My mom is a physician’s assistant and likes to be busy. Here's a picture so you can see that she looks nothing like Grimace: (If you haven't read Oybolshoi's Argle Bargle trip report yet, you should.)

Oh, my...some day a perfect stranger is going to approach my mother and ask for a photo opportunity and autograph session and I will have no one to blame but myself.

I'm waiting for the day I get a phone call at work..."Brenda, some person I've never met before approached me at Harrahs and started talking about our most recent WDW trip. And this person kept calling me 'Grimace.' Is there something you're not telling me?"



Hysterical laughter aside, that's great news about your mom joining you for the trip. I hope you all have a terrific time - and I'm sure you will!

Thanks for the props on the TR, by the way. I'm always happy if people are having a good time reading!

Keep up the great pre-trip work! It's been a real pleasure reading this so far.

 

[rentayenta]

Keep it coming, great report! The title had me!



Thanks for including the POR pics!

 

[BrerMama]

LOL! Class of 2000 here.

Woo Hoo! Love to see fellow Wildcats. Man, I hate it when kids come walking into school wearing the Jayhawks.

Hi Kim! Our POR dates overlap! Hopefully we'll bump into each other...well not really - I'd hate to spill your mug full of Diet Coke! But if I see you, I'll wave

Well, I'll probably be frequenting the refillable mug station, so look for me there. My word, my addiction to caffeine is just getting worse instead of better!

I consider my wearing capris a public service!

Hi Miss Kim, loving your report so far. Ya know, my DH just doesn't understand the fact of not wearing shorts either.

Oh my gosh, I literally just bought a pair of shorts this morning. They are quick drying and I thought they'd be great for Animal Kingdom/Kali River Rapids. The good news is that I got a size smaller than my old shorts and they're still too big. The bad news is that they're freaking shorts! I feel sorry for anyone who sees me that day...

Oh, my...some day a perfect stranger is going to approach my mother and ask for a photo opportunity and autograph session and I will have no one to blame but myself.

You do know this is going to happen at some point, right? Heck, if she were coming down with you this trip, I'd make it a point just to find you so I could bring a purple pen and ask her to sign my kids' autograph books. Seriously loving your TR, even if I don't always remember to post. I'm still reading along!

Keep it coming, great report! The title had me!

Thanks for reading! I'm having a great time posting and writing it! Gosh, even though this pre-trip is stuck back in February, we're really down to just 5 weeks from today when we start our journey!

 

[mdsouth]

I just have to chime in. I am enjoying the report so far, and I am in for the ride. The pixs of your mother and Pat and your comment is too funny. I too am addicted to Diet pop (Coke or Pepsi, it really doesn't matter).

 

[BrerMama]

I too am addicted to Diet pop (Coke or Pepsi, it really doesn't matter).

Now see, there's someone who understands. Brand does not matter. All that matters is no calories and caffeine.

 

[Dusted]

I'm in. Read the intro, and now am forced back to my obligations for the day. Can't wait for more free time to sit back. Planning on a POR trip this fall, so I'll be soaking in the tips!

 

[ClaraBug]

I LOVE my capris, LOVE LOVE LOVE' em!!

But we are going in August, so I will need the shorts...its just too darn hot.

Have you tried the Bermuda shorts? They are longer than normal shorts but not as long as capris.

 

[oybolshoi]

You do know this is going to happen at some point, right? Heck, if she were coming down with you this trip, I'd make it a point just to find you so I could bring a purple pen and ask her to sign my kids' autograph books. Seriously loving your TR, even if I don't always remember to post. I'm still reading along!

Yes, I'm painfully aware that some day my secret will be out of the bag.

Kids with autograph books lining up for photo shoots with Grimace... ... what a great visual image. Thanks for giving me the giggles while I'm "working."

And thanks for reading my TR - glad to know you're still on board!!

 

[BrerMama]

I'm in. Read the intro, and now am forced back to my obligations for the day. Can't wait for more free time to sit back.

Welcome to the report! Hope you enjoy!

I LOVE my capris, LOVE LOVE LOVE' em!!

But we are going in August, so I will need the shorts...its just too darn hot.

Have you tried the Bermuda shorts? They are longer than normal shorts but not as long as capris.

Hey, I live in Kansas, and it gets really hot here in the summer, but I still wear capris. It would have to be a hot, hot heat to convince me to give up the capris. I do have a few pairs of pedal pushers... shorter than capris, but not shorts either. Love 'em!

Yes, I'm painfully aware that some day my secret will be out of the bag.

Kids with autograph books lining up for photo shoots with Grimace... ... what a great visual image. Thanks for giving me the giggles while I'm "working."

Hey, I can make it reality. Just let me know next time she's coming....

 

[BrerMama]

Dateline: March 6, 2007 (That's when I wrote this. It's the end of April as I'm posting this, so climb in your time machine and go back a good six weeks with me...)

Well, I got out of bed at 5:50 am. I would love to say I woke up at 5:50 am, but the truth is, I was awake at 3:30 am with a migraine.

Anyway, woke up, grabbed the phone, a pen and a credit card and started dialing.

Score!

I got us an Illuminations cruise. So exactly 90 days from today, we'll be celebrating Tater's birthday. Epcot at rope drop. Ride the rides. Le Cellier for lunch. Back to the hotel for a pool break. Return to Epcot and work our way around to the International Gateway. Check in at the Yacht Club at 8 pm, for our private cruise.

There, a decorated boat will be waiting for us. Tater has never in his 13 years had a big birthday party. He's not exactly an outgoing kid, and with a birthday in the summer, it's always been a struggle. This was going to be the year we did something, but no one seemed to excited about the idea, so I've already scrapped it.

Looks like instead, we'll be cruising and watching Illuminations. I'm still debating ordering a cake for the cruise, but I'll do that much closer to our cruise date. I'm so excited about this whole idea, and I know he likes it, too. And to think that the whole birthday thing was Dan's idea. If we're going to splurge, he said, might as make it a party.

Other updates....

Spent some time with my sister this weekend, and when we got home, we had decided to switch some things around in our itinerary so that we're spending more time with my family. We'll be at Magic Kingdom on a Saturday, which means we'll be there for Gay Day. Should be interesting. I'm more concerned about crowds than anything else. The Sissers are going to have breakfast at Crystal Palace at 10:30 am, but I'm not really feeling it. For one thing, we already have a CP breakfast for 8 am, and I really love that idea. For another, if I moved our CP to Saturday, I'd have a lot of rearranging to do of the entire list of ADRs. Instead, I made an ADR for the Plaza, which is highly recommended on one of my Disney boards, and is a cheap TS that we can pay out of pocket. I wanted to try this place, so I'm excited.

Moving our MK day meant that we'll be spending a full day at Epcot two days later. Made an ADR for Le Cellier for lunch this day, and I'm so excited about trying Soarin. And you already know about our evening plans for that day.

No other big developments. Right now, our big discussion is whether to try to do laundry during the trip. I really don't want to do laundry. Really, really don't like to do laundry on vacation. I think it's an aversion to coin operated washers and dryer. Reminds me of college and being broke. And the thought of spending a chunk of my time doing laundry just makes me cringe.

Of course, if you don't do laundry, you've got to have enough clothes to make it through 14 days away from home.

What a quandry. And one we still haven't solved. I think we'll end up doing a couple of loads of delicates and shorts. But I hate to think of it.

See, planning a Disney trip is more than just where we'll stay. Or where we'll go. Or where we'll eat. It's laundry. It's what camera do we take. It's what shoes should we wear. Disney requires organization and planning and thought.

Either that, or I've lost my mind.

But I'm in good company.

[Aw, man, another entry without photos. I hate that. OK, I'll share a layout from our last trip to Disney. This one was published in the special issue "Scrapbooking Shortcuts using Simple Schemes" by Simple Scrapbooks magazine. I've actually had quite a few layouts published in the past, but stopped submitting about a year ago and am just having so much fun doing what I want to do with my scrapbooking. But that's a whole 'nother story. For now, here's my layout:

Now there's a picture. I feel better. ]

 

[roxannensteve]

We did the Wishes Birthday Cruise for DH's 29th Birthday kast trip & it was the best thing we ever done there. Here is a picture of his cake which by the way was delicious!!!!

 

[Dusted]

What? That's it? And you posted today already. Darn it. I want more. Now. I have free time. Sort of.

Love the report. Looking forward to resort details, did you request a certain building, you mentioned #15 before... Looking for suggestions for room requests. We are bringing my DD4 so distance to bus, food, pool and drinks from our room is a BIG issue. Can't tell you how many times I've run back to the room ( OK, felt like running anyway) to get something we needed while family waited for the bus...

Can't wait for more. Maybe I'll check out the other TR you suggested...

 

[oybolshoi]

I love your scrapbook page!!

I'm no good at all kinds of stuff like that. My creative deficiencies don't prevent me from from scrapbooking, but my pages end up looking like something that the Retirement Castle residents put together right before getting their daily dose of meds.

And congratulations on the Wishes cruise!!! What a great way to celebrate your DS's birthday - you're such nice parents!

I can't wait to hear all about it!!

 

[BrerMama]

We did the Wishes Birthday Cruise for DH's 29th Birthday kast trip & it was the best thing we ever done there. Here is a picture of his cake which by the way was delicious!!!!

Thanks for the photo! I still haven't decided about the cake. Just seems like we're going to be eating so much during the trip, not sure we need a cake, too. But I love the Hidden Mickey with the plates in that photo!

What? That's it? And you posted today already. Darn it. I want more. Now. I have free time. Sort of.

Love the report. Looking forward to resort details, did you request a certain building, you mentioned #15 before... Looking for suggestions for room requests. We are bringing my DD4 so distance to bus, food, pool and drinks from our room is a BIG issue. Can't tell you how many times I've run back to the room ( OK, felt like running anyway) to get something we needed while family waited for the bus...

Can't wait for more. Maybe I'll check out the other TR you suggested...

Sorry... I'm trying not to over post, but I may pick up the schedule a bit. We're down to 32 days! As for requesting a building at POR, this trip I requested 14 or 27. However, after reading a lot here about how rooms are assigned, I decided I'm going to simply ask what they have available at check in and hopefully I can choose from there. I really want something other than a parking lot view (and I'd love a corner room). We're more familiar with the resort this trip and our kids are older, so I'm willing to walk a bit more in order to not look at cars all day. In 04, when our kids were younger (and we still took a stroller), 15 was great. We couldn't have been any closer to the main bus stop, which was our priority at the time.

I love your scrapbook page!!

I'm no good at all kinds of stuff like that. My creative deficiencies don't prevent me from from scrapbooking, but my pages end up looking like something that the Retirement Castle residents put together right before getting their daily dose of meds.

And congratulations on the Wishes cruise!!! What a great way to celebrate your DS's birthday - you're such nice parents!

I can't wait to hear all about it!!

Thanks for the comments on my page. I'm a simple scrapper, but it's years of practice that have gotten me to this point. And years of yearbook and newspaper design before that.

Thanks for the congrats on the cruise! I'm really excited about it!

 

[winkers]

I'm having the laundry dilema also. When it was just dh & I last year I spent 3 hrs doing 2 loads. I swear it would be faster to just blow dry them myself! So with 6 of us I'm not sure what to do. I'm thinking as long as I only have to wash undies and socks I should be ok.

 

[jenr812]

Love the SB page! How fun that you're doing a cruise. What a special birthday celebration We considered doing a cruise or sharing one, but maybe next trip. This one keeps getting more and more expensive as it is LOL Laundry on vacation stinks (no pun intended!) but it's a necessary evil for us, too, as we simply don't have enough clothes to not do some wash! Last time I just did it while we were at the quiet pool and it worked out nicely.

 

[DisneyDadFaNaTic]

I'm so excited! We are going to be there from May 26-Jun 2. Your TR is great and your family looks wonderful. Don't be to hard on DH for his gray hair. I've shaved my head for 7 years and on a dare decided to grow mine out again. I found out I have less and what I have is gray. At least he still has all of his. I can't wait to shave mine again.

Keep up the good work!