Like a Bad Meal (V Keeps Coming Back) - THE END! 1/12/09

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

No, No, No! Not Madonna - SID & NANCY!!!

 

[sorul82?]

there's no such thing as "overuse" when it comes to the semicolon.

Just please don't say comma splice. It gives me the hebee jebee's like nails on a chalkboard.

 

[PrincessV]

No, No, No! Not Madonna - SID & NANCY!!!

Heh, heh!

Just please don't say comma splice. It gives me the hebee jebee's like nails on a chalkboard.

You've got it! But you may want to look away for the first part of the next update...

 

[sorul82?]

You've got it! But you may want to look away for the first part of the next update...

Ok, tell me when it is safe to look.

 

[scrap4u]

Hey V! Glad to see you have another report going! This one sounds promising.

I haven't been around too much the last few months but I have been lurking over on your other report. I haven't finished it yet so it should be interesting reading 2 at the same time.

Of course, at 1 point I was reading 3 of The happyhaunts reports at the same time until Mel let them die. I hope you didn't do the same with yours!

Hard to believe Leo is going to be 6! They grow up so fast!

 

[PrincessV]

Of course, at 1 point I was reading 3 of The happyhaunts reports at the same time until Mel let them die. I hope you didn't do the same with yours!

HIYA!! I haven't seen you in a while - it's good to have you back! Nope, much as I adore Mel, one thing I'll not imitate is her utter - yet strangely charming - inability to finish a TR.

 

[PrincessV]

All Hail Aldus Manutius!
The heroic status of Aldus Manutius the Elder (1450-1515) among historians of the printed word cannot be overstated.
WHO invented the italic typeface?
Aldus Manutius!
WHO printed the first semi-colon?
Aldus Manutius!
The rise of printing in the 14th and 15th centuries meant that a standard system of punctuation was urgently required, and Aldus Manutius was the man to do it.
-calendar page excerpted from Lynn Truss’ “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”


Trip #1 – Four Parks, Two Days and We’re Still Alive!

Pre-Trip

Frankly, there’s not a lot to tell of the events leading up to this, the first of my regurgitating, er… recurring trip reports. It was somewhat last-minute and began with ideas of a Mother-Son weekend in April….


WHOA! Wait just a minute – some of you may be thinking, “Didn’t V start her 2008 WDW trips with a visit in January??” True. Leo and I did, in fact, visit The Mouse in late January of this very year. More importantly, we visited our dear friends Lauralee and Michael then, too.

Which is partly why I won’t be reporting on it here. All has been reported on LL’s report and there’s no need to repeat it here. If you haven’t read hers yet, head on over – it’s good stuff.

So I see no need to repeat reports of a trip about which much has been reported already.




That, and I don’t remember a whole heck of a lot about it at this point. Heh.




No, this new TR begins with a weekend in April. And it was a tough weekend to pin down. See, I can count on Leo being with me every other weekend, except when a holiday comes in and screws things up for a while.

Which is exactly what’s happening this year.

Leo’s scheduled to be with his dad Memorial Day weekend. With that thrown in, I wind up without him for all but one weekend in May. And that one weekend is his birthday party, so no WDW.

I wasn’t keen on April, but with Easter so early this year, I thought maybe, maybe late April wouldn’t be too bad, crowd-wise. And I was pretty desperate for some warm-but-not-yet-so-hot-it-makes-me-feel-like-a-McNugget touring weather.

I own a DVC membership, but my points are spoken for until March 2009. So I sidled on up to the Annual Passholder’s section of the Disney site and looked for a good rate at a Value resort…


Only All Star Movies.

No way. I’m a total snob when it comes to mattresses and ASMo hasn’t been rehabbed yet.

Fine, how about the Moderates…

And here’s where things got interesting:

POR only had the most expensive Water View category.
Ditto for CBR.
POFQ had nothing.
CSR had the Water View, and also the Standard View price for which I was looking!

BUT, in the second choice option it showed CSR again, with a Standard View, with a price $25 less than the previous screen.



HUH????



I have no idea if this was some kind of website error or if there’s some kind of hidden, cheaper booking category within “Standard”, but let me tell ya – I jumped on it! Moments later, I wondered just what that secret booking category included.



That was pretty much all the planning that went into this trip. Two days before we left, I asked Leo which two parks he most wanted to visit. His answer: MK and AK.

Then I asked, “And what do you want to do at the AK?”

Here’s his answer, verbatim: “The animal ride, the tigers, the bats and the snake-in-the-glass-box-next-to-the-bats.”

Me: “That’s it? Just the safari, tigers, bats and the snake-in-the-glass-box-next-to-the-bats?”

Leo: “Yep.”



Well. That took care of our first hour in The World.


So I offered up another activity:

“If it’s warm enough, would you like to go to Typhoon Lagoon?”

Leo: “YEEES!!!! Disney’s water’s not cold?” Spoken like a true Florida boy. Poor thing – he’s been desperate to swim, but our pool’s not heated and it’s still cool enough at night that the water hasn’t gotten warm enough for swimming. But I know WDW’s water is heated to 82-ish, which isn’t ideal for us Floridians, but manageable.

I reassured Leo that yes, Disney’s water was warm, and mentally penciled in Typhoon Lagoon for the afternoon of Day 1.



Day 2 was easy – all MK, all day long. Gramma hates the MK, so I try to limit our time there to 3-hour increments when she’s along. But, with it being just Leo and me, I thought we could stay until we had to head back home.

Plus, my DIS friend boysmom5150 was arriving at WDW that morning and I wanted to catch up with her.


So, by Friday night, I had a plan, hotel reservations, and a packed suitcase.

Hmmm. Seems like my suitcase brought along a couple of friends. Does anyone else think this is a bit excessive for an overnight stay?


Strange place to ask that question, I know.


But really – I remember a time when I could prep for an overnight stay at WDW with a single, small backpack. For both me and my then-DH.

So why do I require so much more STUFF now??? I seem to have become far more high-maintenance than I was nearly 20 years ago. Back then, we spent a day at MK and EP, bopped over to Pleasure Island, then decided (at 2am) we couldn’t drive home. So we showed up at the Grand Floridian, no bags in sight, asking for a room. For the night.




Nowadays, I pack, among other things:
A small down comforter.
An extra sweatshirt in case I get chilly in the room.
Every medication I or Leo could possibly need.
Extra shoes, in case my feet need a change.
One entire extra outfit for Leo. You never know.
Breakfast food so we don’t have to deal with going somewhere.
Dishes with which to dispense said food.
A book for reading after Leo falls asleep.

You get the picture.

Reviewing that list, my luggage pile doesn’t look so bad after all.




So I got ready by packing up and Leo geared up with some pirate play and a wholesome meal of mac & cheese and apple.

He’s pretending to be the Kraken. Charming.


We both managed to get to bed at a reasonable hour and slipped off into a peaceful slumber before our early morning departure.

Next: Oy – the teenagers! Oy – the heat!

 

[jcc0621]

Oooh. Am I first

Great start! Isn't it amazing how much stuff you have to pack for one small child

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

The snake in the glass box next to the bats? I'll have to keep an eye out for that one.

I really like Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. It's the English teacher in me. I tried to get a student I was tutoring to read it last year, but he thought it was, and I quote, stupid. Ummm... okay.

Love the picture of Leo. The whole pirate hat meets Krakan thing works for me.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

the first of my regurgitating, er… recurring trip reports.

Definitely recurring. Not regurgitating. THAT would belong over on ZZUB's report.

Then I asked, “And what do you want to do at the AK?”

Here’s his answer, verbatim: “The animal ride, the tigers, the bats and the snake-in-the-glass-box-next-to-the-bats.”

Me: “That’s it? Just the safari, tigers, bats and the snake-in-the-glass-box-next-to-the-bats?”

Leo: “Yep.”

A boy after mine own heart. And so young! These are my favoritest things at AK too...well maybe sans snake-in-the-glass-box-next-to-the-bats and add on Flights of Wonder.

Does anyone else think this is a bit excessive for an overnight stay?

I thought, "Wow, she's a light packer!" I'd likely have twice this. For just me.

That mac and cheese looks like the bomb diggity. Sorry, ZZUB used that in his most recent post. The phrase has been stuck in my head all day.

Yay for a great update!

 

[Lauralee131]

It must be Tuesday!!!

Laughing, just a little bit at the down comforter, but other than that...honestly, for 2 people, it didn't look like you had all that much stuff... But, you've seen how I pack so....

Love Leo's impression of the Kracken...I think I have a couple of pictures of him doing that in January with Michael....hmmm...January...January....I had a trip report going for January...

Hmmmm....wonder if it's done yet....

 

[DisneyJo]

So I see no need to repeat reports of a trip about which much has been reported already.

Can I say that about the August trip????

BUT, in the second choice option it showed CSR again, with a Standard View, with a price $25 less than the previous screen.

Wooohooo

Moments later, I wondered just what that secret booking category included.

Ewwww Ranchos maybe?

But I know WDW’s water is heated to 82-ish, which isn’t ideal for us Floridians, but manageable.

But V that's like bath temperature

So we showed up at the Grand Floridian, no bags in sight, asking for a room. For the night.

And did they have one?

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

....hmmm...January...January....I had a trip report going for January...

Hmmmm....wonder if it's done yet....

You mean the TR elves have been slacking?

 

[jcc0621]

It must be Tuesday!!!

Laughing, just a little bit at the down comforter, but other than that...honestly, for 2 people, it didn't look like you had all that much stuff... But, you've seen how I pack so....

Love Leo's impression of the Kracken...I think I have a couple of pictures of him doing that in January with Michael....hmmm...January...January....I had a trip report going for January...

Hmmmm....wonder if it's done yet....

Gee, I wonder if it is...should we all go look

 

[KatGarcia]

I think you packed a normal amount...but most of us here have issues when it comes to that kind of thing...but I;d always rather have too much than not enough!

 

[thewesterberg]

All Hail Aldus Manutius!
The heroic status of Aldus Manutius the Elder (1450-1515) among historians of the printed word cannot be overstated.
WHO invented the italic typeface?
Aldus Manutius!
WHO printed the first semi-colon?
Aldus Manutius!
The rise of printing in the 14th and 15th centuries meant that a standard system of punctuation was urgently required, and Aldus Manutius was the man to do it.
-calendar page excerpted from Lynn Truss’ “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”

Thank you for the very informative lesson. He was one busy guy, inventing italic AND the semi-colon!

BUT, in the second choice option it showed CSR again, with a Standard View, with a price $25 less than the previous screen.

JACKPOT!! Don't you just love finding a deal like that?! My good-cheap-hotel story is from our first night as newlyweds. Our choices were pretty limited as I had waited too long to book something and nice weekends are few and far between in Northern MN so EVERYTHING was booked. I called a htoel super late one night and the guy behind the desk said he'd give us a "special" since it was our honeymoon - the honeymoon suite for $69 if we left him a little tip. I thought it sounded fishy, but told him to put us down for it. The next day I called to talk to the supervisor to find out if this was real or not. She sounded NOT so happy, but said she'd honor the price and "She'd be talking to him." We ended up paying less for our suite than our guests did for regular ol' rooms.

“If it’s warm enough, would you like to go to Typhoon Lagoon?”

Question for you - our DS is a year younger than Leo. Is Typhoon Lagoon better for little guys that are 5?

So, by Friday night, I had a plan, hotel reservations, and a packed suitcase.

Hmmm. Seems like my suitcase brought along a couple of friends. Does anyone else think this is a bit excessive for an overnight stay?

Do I see a kitchen sink in there somewhere? No, it really doesn't look like that much!

 

[sorul82?]

Did you grab a bottle or two of that wine before heading out?

Hmmm. Seems like my suitcase brought along a couple of friends.

Did you pack those 5lb dumbells again?

He’s pretending to be the Kraken. Charming.

Yes, he is charming!

I keep calling Kraken, "McKraken."

Oy – the heat!

NO! Not heat!

 

[Goofyluver]

One suitcase families are *SO* uninformed.

 

[askelton]

It is much harder to pack for one night than one week!

Next: Oy – the teenagers! Oy – the heat!

The heat in Florida is so good October-March.

 

[hematite153]

Just out of curiosity...what temperature is the water in your unheated pool?

I always think that the wdw pools are VERY warm. When my Dad had a pool in his yard, anything over 15C (59F) was considered warm enough for swimming and I swam at least once in 12C (53.5F) water.

I know that we set our standards based on what we're used to, and, that I think it's too hot at about the point you find it warm, but, I always find it funny when I hear about standards for cold.

(I do prefer swimming in water over 20C (68F), though.)

Great update!