Jodie's TR. Thankfully it was a short trip. Final: Day 3, Pt 2 posted!

[AlexandNessa]

The cast –

Me (Jodie), 33, happy to be in Disney; not quite so happy to be sharing a room with mom and sissy. I’m spoiled that way. More on that later.

Mom, late 50s. I believe she was born a worried mom. A worry wart and non-thrill seeker. Favorite ride of all time: The People Mover. Happy to be in Disney. Along with my dad, dutifully took her 3 children to Disney several times during our formative years. Also loves me unconditionally, despite my constant reminders to lighten up.

Sissy, 26, flat broke, but also happy to be in Disney. My only drinking companion; however, no one ever seems to notice she is drinking with me. This makes me the only drunk. Not fair.

Aunt S, mid 50s, OK, technically she’s not my aunt. She’s my mom’s cousin. I don’t know what that makes her to me, but she has always been Aunt S to me.

Uncle J, mid 50s. Aunt S’s hubby. I know, technically not my uncle either, but my family is close that way.

Cousin Dee, early 30s, Really, I don’t know the correct term, but she has always been my “cousin.” Uncle J and Aunt S’s daughter.

Baby J, 4 months, Cousin Dee’s son. I have no clue what the right term for his relation to me would be. Already Aunt S refers to me as “Aunt Jodie” in front of him, so the tradition continues. Surely, someone will know and will fill me in on all the proper “familial” or genealogical terms.

Noticeably absent but may be talked about is my DH (Mike), Dee’s DH (Rob), and my dad (Big Joe) who all couldn’t make it for silly work-related reasons.

Work, hmmpphh.

Also absent are Aunt S’s mom (Aunt Marge) and her sister (my grandmother). They were unable to make it due to age and health and fear of travel issues and a general unknowledge of all things Disney.

Also, I have a brother and sister-in-law who think we’re crazy to go to Disney as often as we do and rebuffed my suggestion to have their wedding last fall at WDW instead of Kauai (which was soooo convenient for his entire east coast family). They were not invited. They do not have the Magic and never will and are hereby banished from this trip report for now and evermore. The only reason I mention them at all is because I said my mom has 3 kids (who again she and my dad dutifully took to Disney on a yearly basis) and I didn’t want anyone to be confused.

Got that, everyone? There will be a test later.

Well, Aunt S and Uncle J are DVC members, and they signed their Christmas card to me, “We are going to Disney April 6 – 12. Just get down there; the room is free!” Yippee! I was totally aware that this was an extremely generous offer, especially those nasty weekend points! Although I tried 3x to offer to pay for the points, I was unsuccessful. I felt a bit guilty about such a generous gift and figured I would make it up to them later.

Soon, my mom and my sister were in on the trip as well and we began making airline reservations, none of which looked pretty. See, mom and sissy are averse to flying out of Newark and would rather fly out of ABE, a small, quaint airport just about 18 miles from home, which offers no direct flights to MCO. Hmpphh. I should have sent them off on their own, but I am a team player.

They’re blood afterall.

For some reason, Friday fares were a lot worse than Thursday fares, but sissy and I couldn’t take off work on Thursday and so were left to find a Thursday late afternoon /early evening flight.

Aunt S, Uncle J, Dee and Baby J all took direct flights from Atlantic City to MCO.

They were the smart ones.

I let my mom book us through Orbitz on a flight that went from ABE to O’Hare/O’Hare to MCO.

Big mistake.

I have flown many a time between O’Hare and ABE on United for work, and they were so bad with delays and cancellations, I stopped flying them. But they can’t really be late ALL the time out of there, right?

Wrong.

We were fine on the ABE/O’Hare leg, but saw on the Departures display that our second flight had now moved from 7:15 to 8:30. So we arrived at O’Hare at 6 o’clock and now had a 2 ½ hour wait due to weather in the area, they said.

Weather? Liars. All of them!

I had packed sandwiches from my favorite Deli at work and put them in a cooler and lugged it with me. I was glad I did as all the restaurants were packed. I had bought a Humdinger, a Suzy Wong, and a Miss Malley sandwich, figuring there would be something for everyone.

Sissy and mom asked what was on each sandwich, but I made them pick without telling them. I found myself mildly entertained by this as did my sister. My mom never quite got my humor (she is always saying I’m my father’s daughter).

“Well how do I know which one I want?” she asked a bit confused.

“You don’t. You have to guess. Now, what will it be? A Humdinger, a Miss Malley, or a Suzy Wong?”

This kept us entertained for a good 10 minutes, as sissy and mom figured that the Suzy Wong would be full of sesame dressing and oranges. This worked for me since that’s the one I wanted anyway. For anyone familiar with Annie’s Deli in Pluckemin, NJ, the Suzy Wong is simply chicken salad with bacon and some other stuff like lettuce and tomatoes.

I didn’t tell them that until after they picked their sandwiches and I called, “no backs.”

They were happy with their choices, but I think they would’ve been happy with anything at that point. We are a family of eaters.

I took this time to call Tiffany Town Car to say “hello, haven’t seen you since September, are you watching the delay on my flight grow exponentially?”

They really are so pleasant over at Tiffany. No problem, yes, they see it’s delayed, someone will be definitely be there to pick us up whenever it arrives.

Yeah for Tiffany!

We finished our sandwiches to find that our flight was further delayed to 9:15, now due to “tornadoes in the Midwest.”

My mom is easily bored and annoyed (telltale sign: deep breath followed by heavy sigh), so I introduced her to the wonderful world of Soduko. I gave her my book with puzzles of all levels and had her try an easy one first.

This would be yet another form of entertainment for me.

You see, much to the delight of our fellow weary travelers, my mom did her Sudoko out loud.

Full of furious concentration: “OK. I have a ‘1’ there and a ‘1’ there, so the ‘1’ in this box can’t go here, here, here, or here.”

Now, imagine this for numbers 2 –9 until she was done with the puzzle. My sister tried to hurry her along with a little help that mom found frustrating. Which made the “Soduko Outloud” even more “outloud.”

She’s my mom. I was amused. The 8 people (I counted) who moved while shaking their heads in my mother’s direction, were not.

Some of them even gave up primo seats to sit somewhere on the floor to be stepped on and over.

We were now hearing all the harried announcements on why our flight would be delayed even further as we were all waiting impatiently for our plane to get in. The flight times kept being pushed back 10 minutes at a clip, and I was now a bit annoyed and called DH to have him check the weather online to see what kind of weather was in the area and to find out where our plane was coming from. Our home computer is a piece of crap, and he never got a chance to do it.

Finally, we were able to board about 10 o’clock. The pilot got on and admonished us “to be nice to the flight attendants. The delay wasn’t their fault. This kind of stuff happens all the time and it’s just our tax dollars hard at work and no one does anything about it.”

What is that supposed to mean? I thought it was “weather in the area.” Then it was “tornadoes in the Midwest.” Now it’s our tax dollars and politics? I didn’t get it.

All I know is that United out of O’Hare sucks and I wish a pox on whomever and whatever is not using my tax dollars wisely and is taking away from my precious Disney time.

Not very Disney-like of me now, is that?

We had an uneventful flight and we finally arrived at baggage claim in MCO at 1:45 am. Our Tiffany driver was patiently waiting for us and very chatty. This made me happy, and he earned a $30 tip on a $90 fare.

We arrived at Old Key West sometime after 2 am and were in our room sometime around 2:30 or so.

This is where I show my spoiled, selfish side. We had a studio room: you do the math:

Three women, two beds, one bathroom.

Does not play well with others. Does not like to share.

Now, I love my mother and my sister dearly, but dare I say, I love them more on the holidays and over the phone. We got along so much better once I moved out of the house and was on my own and no longer living with them.

It got nervy in a house.

Now we were in a studio.

Is that wrong? Surely, I am not the only one that has ever felt that way about their loved ones.

At this point, mom was C-R-A-N-K-Y. I felt I could be punished at one wrong wisecrack.

My discomfort, of course, was all my husband’s fault.

Had he been able to get off work, we’d have gotten and paid for a room of our own, and no one would’ve thought anything of it. But now, there is no good way of telling your sissy and mom that you love them, but you’d love them even more in your own room all to yourself now, is there?

I’m in Disney. I will relish this time with my female brethren.

My mom was exhausted and I could tell by the huffing and puffing that she was struggling with her suitcase. I carefully offered help, as the three of us were already stepping over one another trying to unpack. I don’t know how families of four stay here.

They must not pack their entire bathroom like the 3 of us managed to do.

My mom asked if anyone was hot and should she turn down the heat.

Both sissy and I said, “sure.”

“Ok, what do you think? Should I set it to 60?”

“60? Do you know that’s one away from 59?”

Bad move on my part.

We settled at 69.

We tried to set the clock before going to bed, but mom was the only one with a watch.

What time is it?

“3:45”

Great. Now I have to tell her it did not take us two hours to get from baggage claim to here.

“Really? So late?”

“Crap. 2:45”

Someone get this woman a bed!

Stay tuned for Day 1: There is a difference between “awake” and “up.” Having 2 beers does not make me an alcoholic, and why all people should pass a reality test before being allowed to rent a scooter.

 

[bluejay2006]

This is great! I can't wait to hear more!

 

[Twingle]

Hee, hee, hee. Love the mental picture of out loud Sudoko!

Great start - can't wait to see what happends!

 

[DeterminedOne]

Great start. I loved every sentence!

 

[dahuffy]

 

[maxiesmom]

Ooohh, I'm hooked allready! It sounds like you will have a most interesting trip.

 

[tammyandtommy]

"A Humdinger, a Miss Malley, or a Suzy Wong?”

This kept us entertained for a good 10 minutes, as sissy and mom figured that the Suzy Wong would be full of sesame dressing and oranges. This worked for me since that’s the one I wanted anyway. For anyone familiar with Annie’s Deli in Pluckemin, NJ, the Suzy Wong is simply chicken salad with bacon and some other stuff like lettuce and tomatoes."

OK OK so what are the other two sandwiches?? Im dying to know!!!
By the way I feel the same way about my mother and sister!

 

[nickelsfamily]

I'm hooked!! Can't wait for your next post...

PS You are a wonderful writer!

 

[OhMari]

I don't understand why you went from New Jersey to Chicago to Orlando. Sometimes when I try to get a direct flight from O'Hare to Orlando I've seen a few choices to Kansas City, or Dallas and then to Florida. Is this what happened?

Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to read more.

 

[riopooh]

This is off to a fun start! keep it coming!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent start ~ Can't wait for more.

 

[declansdad]

ok I'm curious, what happen's next?

 

[AlexandNessa]

Wow, sounds like I need to get a-crackin on Day 1. Hopefully that will be done some time today!


TammyandTommy:

A Humdinger, if I remember correctly, is roast beef, bacon, melted swiss, russian dressing, LTO.

A Miss Malley, again if memory serves, is turkey, pepperoni, melted swiss, shedd's sauce, and probably LTO.

OhMari:

Out of Allentown, PA, we pretty much had the choice of going from Allentown to Detroit or Allentown to Chicago to connect to Orlando at the time we needed to leave. ABE is crazy that way. For anyone who thinks I'm a martyr now, thank you!

Stay tuned..

 

[tammyandtommy]

I think I'll take a humdinger, next time you go to ABE call me im 30 minutes away, I can pick it up! LOL

 

[Skwinkles]

Ah...good old ABE - Allentown Bethlehem Easton. I've flown out of there on several occasions. Good times. My favorites are the connections to Philadelphia which take like 10 minutes so they fly you so low that you think you might hit a few birds on the way.

Great report. Can't wait for more!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Loving it!

Allyson

 

[AlexandNessa]

Ahhh, 8:05 in the am. If you’ll remember, we’d gone to bed around 3 am, too tired to wash off airport stink before hitting the hay.

I had gotten in one bed. I didn’t care who or what was sleeping with me at that point. My mom had gotten into the other bed, and wearily said to my sister as she came out of the bathroom, “Pick whoever you love the most to sleep with.”

I had to laugh. After being C-R-A-N-K-Y for the past 8 hours or so, mother shows signs of having a sense of humor.

Maybe this won’t be so bad.

But that comment does mean I am now guaranteed to sleep with my sister that night.

I warned her, “Don’t come too close. I might forget who I’m sleeping with.”

“Shut up.”

That was a fitful 5 hours and 5 minutes of sleep, until we heard this entirely too loud conversation that was happening…

In the bathroom.

Yes, my mom, trying not to wake us up, was now calling Big Joe (my dad, in case you weren’t paying attention or are joining us late) to say that we had gotten in very late and did he remember to close the shower curtain after his shower this morning?

“Because, you know, you leave the shower curtain pushed to one side after you get out, and that’s how mold happens. You can’t leave a wet shower curtain bunched up like that.”

Pause.

“Well, go do it now. It will take 2 seconds.”

Each with one eye open, sissy and I turned toward each other and slowly shook our heads.

“Mom, you might as well be standing over us talking through a megaphone right now!”

We could hear everything. Clearly. Echoing. A tinny type of echo.

Mom laughed and apologized, explaining she was trying not to wake us.

Also stuck sharing a small room with family and want a bit of privacy for a phone call?

Hear this: the bathroom is the worst place for said privacy. The megaphone comment was genuine. Do I exaggerate some things here and there?

Yes. But this is not one of them.

Go outside to make your private phone calls.

But do not do so in your nightgown as my mom was about to do.

Got that?

Well, now it was time to call the rest of the gang, who were just downstairs from us in a 2-bedroom.

Mom said, “I’m sure they have to be up with the baby by now.”

Sissy and I had not moved from bed.

Mom excitedly called Aunt S, and said, “We’re here! Everybody’s up!”

Sissy and I yelled back, “We’re AWAKE. Not UP. There is a difference between AWAKE and UP.”

She quickly corrected herself to Aunt S, who of course was “UP” with the rest of her crew and eating breakfast.

We were all invited down for coffee.

Sissy and I told mom to use the bathroom first so that she’d be the first one down to Aunt S’s. She seemed happy for the offer.

We needed a bit of time to get moving and were grateful for the short reprieve from mom.

I sent my sister in next as I do not like to feel rushed in the bathroom. Besides, I have long hair and it takes a while to wash and condition it. Mom and sissy have short hair and they can’t fathom what in the world takes me so long.

Ah, mom is gone. Safely downstairs.

Sissy is in the bathroom.

I try to imagine for a brief moment that the room is all mine.

Not happening.

Finally, sissy is done and gone down to Aunt S’s.

AND THE ROOM IS MINE, IF BUT ONLY FOR A HALF HOUR.

I wanted to bask in it, but really, that would be rude, wouldn’t it?

I showered all of that airport stink that no one who was reasonably sane would sleep in, but remember; I had started my journey with my female brethren at 3 pm the previous day and didn’t hit a bed until 3 am. That’s enough to make anyone not sane, at least temporarily.

I joined the others downstairs.

Now, here’s where I tell you that Mike and I do not have children. It seems too daunting a task for us. We’re too intimidated to be parents. Besides, we can barely afford and take care of ourselves. There is no way we could be responsible for children.

At least children that would grow into responsible, productive adults.

This is the first time I am meeting Baby J. I managed to miss the shower, christening and all that fun stuff due to work.

There’s that work thing again. Hmmpphh.

Baby J is a very sweet and happy baby. Always smiling. Easily entertains himself.

The good kind.

Only cries when he’s hungry or tired or needs to be changed or hears a really loud noise.

A really good baby.

One that Mike and I could almost handle.

And then I saw ALL the things Cousin Dee had to pack for him. A little playpen type thingy, his bouncy chair, all the diapers and wipes, and the car seat, and the stroller, and 8 bottles, and formula, and I don’t even know what else.

Daunting. To me, at least.

I am envious of those who are good moms and don’t think a thing of all the work involved, and Cousin Dee is one of those moms.

Nice, patient, and organized. She keeps written records of how much Baby J ate when, and how long he slept, and when and what kind of diaper she changed for him.

I couldn’t do that. I’m not that organized. And I’m a bit on the lazy side. Definitely not a good mother-type.

We spent some time catching up a bit and then decided that since rain was in the forecast sometime over the weekend, we’d go to the pool before hitting MGM.

We had to go to the front desk first to get new key cards. We came in too late and the computers were down, so we didn’t have our names on our cards and we didn’t have charging privileges.

Knowing that I’d want a beer while at the pool, charging privileges were a high priority.

Unfortunately, we got stuck with “Earning My Ears” girl, who took forever and still managed to screw it up. But we didn’t find that out till later.

Now, keeping track of time?

Everyone was at Aunt S’s by 9.

Time to catch up and decide to go to the pool: 9:20

Out the door to the front desk: 11:15.

Babies will do that to you.

We wound up at the pool by around 11:45.

Ah, finally some sun. See, it had snowed two days before in NJ. Now, I was baking my so-called tan in the Florida sunshine.

I say so-called tan because I freckle. I like to stay next to the pasty white people (read mom and sissy) because everyone looks tan next to them.

Aunt S said, “Who in the hello brought SPF 4? Why bother?”

Yes, that would be me. Hey, they didn’t have to use it. I had the sporty SPF-30 spray for everyone else.

Everyone had fun putting Baby J’s feet in the water and cooing over him.

I, on the other hand, was careful to time myself and rotate accordingly to ensure an even freckling.

It was time for a beer. Let’s see if these charge cards work.

I politely asked if anyone else wanted a beer.

Didn’t think so.

Then, sissy sheepishly looks towards my mom, sees she is preoccupied with the baby in the pool, and whispers, “I’ll join you.”

She had to come up to the bar with me. The server needed to see both adults.

Apparently, you’re not allowed to double fist at Disney.

Either that or she thought I would be the bad mom-type to give a baby alcohol to put him to sleep. That seems silly.

A baby wouldn’t need an entire 16 oz beer after all.

Well, lo and behold, our charge cards do not work, and of course I went to the pool without cash naively thinking that with said handy dandy charge card, I wouldn’t need it.

I am not about to ask my mom for cash for beer. I don’t know why. She’s not that bad.

I begged the server: please, we just got back from the front desk and they just swiped my credit card and room key together and said I was all set!

So, after a lengthy call, a one-time charge was allowed through, but I would need a new card. The server yelled at the front desk that they needed to come and drop my new key to the pool because it was their mistake. I was happy about that as it was a long walk to the front desk from the pool, and I didn’t want to add an extra stop on our way to MGM since I was already beginning to see how much time it was taking to get everywhere with three extra people and one baby.

Coincidentally, I finished my first beer about the time our new keys were dropped off.

I announced that I was going to get another beer. After all, I wanted to make sure the room key now worked effectively as a charge card. I didn’t want to have to deal with this again at the parks. You know.

Well, it was time for everyone to go in and get ready. I got the look that said, “Do we have to wait for you?”

Sure don’t! I know my way back and figured that they’d need the extra time to change out of bathing suits and into appropriate park attire.


My, I’m getting wordy, aren’t I? It's time for me to go to work, so I'll post this now and return later....

Stayed tuned for MGM – the Hollywood Brown Derby and why I’m a heathen, and nasty scooter man…..

 

[Cinerama]

Looking forward to nasty scooter man! Thanks!

 

[nickelsfamily]

Charge cards....gotta love 'em!

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Oh, I can relate to your report on so many different levels already! I like my room to myself, and the nice convenient airports, but I recently got sucked into a trip where I shared a room with family, and had a four hour middle of the night drive to get to the airport! (At least I avoided flight delays this time!)

I too am curious about the sammiches- sounds yummy!