Lollipop Mom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2003
- Messages
- 1,079
Cast of Characters:
Me, Lori age 31
DH, David 34
DS Brandon 3 ½, expert monorail spotter
DS Connor 21 months, Pooh groupie
My Mother, Grammy 60-something
My Father, Poppy, 60-something
Background info: This last minute trip was the first trip to Disney for our us as a family. DH and I were both last here, though not together, in the early 90s when UGA played in the Citrus Bowl and we were both in the Redcoat Band. Weve been planning on taking the kids to Disney in May for some time now. A few months ago, my parents bough a Winnebago to fulfill their dream of traveling through their retirement. My son, Brandon, LOVES his Winnie. Not long after Thanksgiving, my Dad got the idea that he needed an inverter that would allow them to have power without running the generator. He did research and found out that Camping World in Kissimmee can do one so he called and asks if we would like to take a trip to Disney after Christmas so he can have this done. Everyone was already planning on being off from work so we figured, why not! Who cares if its the busiest week of the year, if we dont get to see something, well see it in May! So our last minute trip began. We didnt tell Brandon about the plans just in case we had to cancel for some reason. He was already THRILLED to be going in May. He watches the planning video regularly and tells us frequently how he is going to have breakfast with Pooh and ride Thunder Mountain Railroad.
December 27, 2003---Preparing to Leave
My husband and I have been taking vacations together for almost a decade now, youd think we would have learned how NOT to leave things to the last minute, right? No! That would take the fun out of the last minute rush and fighting! Cant start a vacation without some extra stress.
Today is Davids birthday and the day before we are scheduled to leave for Disney. To top it all off, hes sick. I have a much-needed haircut scheduled for this afternoon. I get there only to find out my regular stylist has called out sick but someone named Jack can do my cut if I can wait for half an hour. No problem, I REALLY need the haircut and the post office is right next-door. I can go get my post card stamps and send off a letter we needed mailed certified mail. Get that done and come back to wait and wait and wait for Jack. I would leave but I desperately need this haircut and my kids arent here whining so why not sit and flip through magazines. Jack shows up, we chat about what I want and he goes to work. Final product is just what I wanted! Fun, different, carefree looking perfect. I head home to check on David before running more errands. Hes decided he needs new shoes too so we pack the kids in the car and head out to go shoe shopping. I feel my blood pressure gradually rising as I go through shoe after shoe not finding one that fits. I start contemplating wearing Keds but keep reminding myself how much walking Ill be doing. FINALLY, 5 minutes before the store is to close I find the perfect show. WHEW relief! David finds some as well. Well just be the family with the bright white, brand new shoes! Whats next on the list cash? We go to the ATM and wouldnt you know it broken. Try another. It wont read our card. David is complaining about how now well have to pay fees to use a different ATM. We finally get our cash and head home.
I have most of my stuff set aside but Ive left all of the kids packing till tonight. BAD IDEA. Check the Orlando weather forecast. It looks perfect! Highs in the mid 70s, lows in the upper 50s. So shorts. OK, problem. Brandon was a size 3T over the summer and hes a 4T now. Not good. I found 2 size 4T shorts and spent the next 2 hours checking all of the 3T stuff figuring out what of it is the biggest. Pack it up and pray for the bet.
December 28, 2003 On our way!
Travel rule #1: NEVER get a new hairstyle the day before you are supposed to leave on vacation! You will never be able to get it to look the way it is supposed to before your spouse is standing in the doorway yelling at you to step on it!`
We head to my parents, odd-looking hair and all, to get our stuff put away in the RV. We get there and they are nowhere to be found. Sit around for 20 minutes or so with Brandon throwing a fit that he wants to get in the Winnie. They finally show up and we start putting our stuff away. Dad is of course antsy because hes ready to go and why are we waiting? Dad doesnt do waiting very well; a good trait to have when headed to WDW for the busiest week of the year, right? I explain AGAIN that we are waiting till we get our stuff put away, if you had left us a key we would have been able to put it away while you were running errands this morning!
Were finally off. Brandon still doesnt know we are going to Disney. He knows we are going to Sherwood Forrest, which is the name of the RV resort in Kissimmee we will be staying at. We go a little more than half way and stop for the night at another RV resort.
December 29, 2003 Orlando at last!
We arrive at Sherwood Forrest and Brandon is having a ball riding his new scooter he got from Santa and counting Winnies. Our game plan was to get set up, call for the ECV were renting for Grammy to be dropped off, pick up the rental car and David and I could go to DTD so that we can pick up Grammy & Poppys passes and activate our APs. We get in touch with the guy from Randys mobility that we are renting the scooter from and he tells us its too late to drop the scooter off today. I make arrangements for him to meet us at Camping World at 8 AM the next day and take care of everything then. By 4:00 Im reminding everyone that we still have to pick up our rental car and the office closes at 5:00.
David and I go to pick up the car. I had gone through Hotwire and reserved a compact car for a week for $170. We get to the Budget counter and the guy tells us all he has is a full size car but they will still honor our discount. To me, this means that we get the full size car at the compact car price. No, he wants to give us the full size car at a 15% discount. We argue with him for 30 minutes. I am showing him that I have a reservation that Budget allowed to go through for a COMPACT CAR and that hotwire had us prepay. He insists this isnt the case. We argue more and insist that he call a manager. Bottom line, we got the full size for $185. I wasnt happy about paying more, but that was much better than the $274 he was trying to charge us.
We get back to Sherwood Forrest and Grammy is cooking dinner. She asks when we are going to tell Brandon about Disney. I had PSs for the character breakfast at the Beach Club for the next morning and planned to let him find out then but Mom REALLY wants to give him the Disney Dollars and tee shirts she had bought for the kids. We discuss that and agree that if I can get PSs for breakfast with Pooh then she can do that. We get them so we sit the boys on the couch and start the video camera. We tell him we have a big surprise for him and tell him we came to Sherwood Forrest to go somewhere else. We give him the stuff and ask him where he thinks he could use that. He says maybe Disney World. We tell him hes going in the morning and we video the most under whelming reaction ever. Oh, OK. Disney World. Can I go swimming now?
After Dinner we head to DTD to get the passes straightened out. We go ahead and bring everyone since its no longer a surprise that we are going to WDW. This is our first taste of how crowded it will be this week. Got the passes with no hassle at all. We walked around for a while and let Brandon play in the Lego land area. Mom and I took Connor with us to the Disney mega store to get autograph books and pens. I also got a lanyard with a pouch to keep our passes in. Mom comments that Ive come a long way from the girl who wouldnt be seen dead with one of those the last time we were at Disney. A lot changes in 19 years!
Me, Lori age 31
DH, David 34
DS Brandon 3 ½, expert monorail spotter
DS Connor 21 months, Pooh groupie
My Mother, Grammy 60-something
My Father, Poppy, 60-something
Background info: This last minute trip was the first trip to Disney for our us as a family. DH and I were both last here, though not together, in the early 90s when UGA played in the Citrus Bowl and we were both in the Redcoat Band. Weve been planning on taking the kids to Disney in May for some time now. A few months ago, my parents bough a Winnebago to fulfill their dream of traveling through their retirement. My son, Brandon, LOVES his Winnie. Not long after Thanksgiving, my Dad got the idea that he needed an inverter that would allow them to have power without running the generator. He did research and found out that Camping World in Kissimmee can do one so he called and asks if we would like to take a trip to Disney after Christmas so he can have this done. Everyone was already planning on being off from work so we figured, why not! Who cares if its the busiest week of the year, if we dont get to see something, well see it in May! So our last minute trip began. We didnt tell Brandon about the plans just in case we had to cancel for some reason. He was already THRILLED to be going in May. He watches the planning video regularly and tells us frequently how he is going to have breakfast with Pooh and ride Thunder Mountain Railroad.
December 27, 2003---Preparing to Leave
My husband and I have been taking vacations together for almost a decade now, youd think we would have learned how NOT to leave things to the last minute, right? No! That would take the fun out of the last minute rush and fighting! Cant start a vacation without some extra stress.
Today is Davids birthday and the day before we are scheduled to leave for Disney. To top it all off, hes sick. I have a much-needed haircut scheduled for this afternoon. I get there only to find out my regular stylist has called out sick but someone named Jack can do my cut if I can wait for half an hour. No problem, I REALLY need the haircut and the post office is right next-door. I can go get my post card stamps and send off a letter we needed mailed certified mail. Get that done and come back to wait and wait and wait for Jack. I would leave but I desperately need this haircut and my kids arent here whining so why not sit and flip through magazines. Jack shows up, we chat about what I want and he goes to work. Final product is just what I wanted! Fun, different, carefree looking perfect. I head home to check on David before running more errands. Hes decided he needs new shoes too so we pack the kids in the car and head out to go shoe shopping. I feel my blood pressure gradually rising as I go through shoe after shoe not finding one that fits. I start contemplating wearing Keds but keep reminding myself how much walking Ill be doing. FINALLY, 5 minutes before the store is to close I find the perfect show. WHEW relief! David finds some as well. Well just be the family with the bright white, brand new shoes! Whats next on the list cash? We go to the ATM and wouldnt you know it broken. Try another. It wont read our card. David is complaining about how now well have to pay fees to use a different ATM. We finally get our cash and head home.
I have most of my stuff set aside but Ive left all of the kids packing till tonight. BAD IDEA. Check the Orlando weather forecast. It looks perfect! Highs in the mid 70s, lows in the upper 50s. So shorts. OK, problem. Brandon was a size 3T over the summer and hes a 4T now. Not good. I found 2 size 4T shorts and spent the next 2 hours checking all of the 3T stuff figuring out what of it is the biggest. Pack it up and pray for the bet.
December 28, 2003 On our way!
Travel rule #1: NEVER get a new hairstyle the day before you are supposed to leave on vacation! You will never be able to get it to look the way it is supposed to before your spouse is standing in the doorway yelling at you to step on it!`
We head to my parents, odd-looking hair and all, to get our stuff put away in the RV. We get there and they are nowhere to be found. Sit around for 20 minutes or so with Brandon throwing a fit that he wants to get in the Winnie. They finally show up and we start putting our stuff away. Dad is of course antsy because hes ready to go and why are we waiting? Dad doesnt do waiting very well; a good trait to have when headed to WDW for the busiest week of the year, right? I explain AGAIN that we are waiting till we get our stuff put away, if you had left us a key we would have been able to put it away while you were running errands this morning!
Were finally off. Brandon still doesnt know we are going to Disney. He knows we are going to Sherwood Forrest, which is the name of the RV resort in Kissimmee we will be staying at. We go a little more than half way and stop for the night at another RV resort.
December 29, 2003 Orlando at last!
We arrive at Sherwood Forrest and Brandon is having a ball riding his new scooter he got from Santa and counting Winnies. Our game plan was to get set up, call for the ECV were renting for Grammy to be dropped off, pick up the rental car and David and I could go to DTD so that we can pick up Grammy & Poppys passes and activate our APs. We get in touch with the guy from Randys mobility that we are renting the scooter from and he tells us its too late to drop the scooter off today. I make arrangements for him to meet us at Camping World at 8 AM the next day and take care of everything then. By 4:00 Im reminding everyone that we still have to pick up our rental car and the office closes at 5:00.
David and I go to pick up the car. I had gone through Hotwire and reserved a compact car for a week for $170. We get to the Budget counter and the guy tells us all he has is a full size car but they will still honor our discount. To me, this means that we get the full size car at the compact car price. No, he wants to give us the full size car at a 15% discount. We argue with him for 30 minutes. I am showing him that I have a reservation that Budget allowed to go through for a COMPACT CAR and that hotwire had us prepay. He insists this isnt the case. We argue more and insist that he call a manager. Bottom line, we got the full size for $185. I wasnt happy about paying more, but that was much better than the $274 he was trying to charge us.
We get back to Sherwood Forrest and Grammy is cooking dinner. She asks when we are going to tell Brandon about Disney. I had PSs for the character breakfast at the Beach Club for the next morning and planned to let him find out then but Mom REALLY wants to give him the Disney Dollars and tee shirts she had bought for the kids. We discuss that and agree that if I can get PSs for breakfast with Pooh then she can do that. We get them so we sit the boys on the couch and start the video camera. We tell him we have a big surprise for him and tell him we came to Sherwood Forrest to go somewhere else. We give him the stuff and ask him where he thinks he could use that. He says maybe Disney World. We tell him hes going in the morning and we video the most under whelming reaction ever. Oh, OK. Disney World. Can I go swimming now?
After Dinner we head to DTD to get the passes straightened out. We go ahead and bring everyone since its no longer a surprise that we are going to WDW. This is our first taste of how crowded it will be this week. Got the passes with no hassle at all. We walked around for a while and let Brandon play in the Lego land area. Mom and I took Connor with us to the Disney mega store to get autograph books and pens. I also got a lanyard with a pouch to keep our passes in. Mom comments that Ive come a long way from the girl who wouldnt be seen dead with one of those the last time we were at Disney. A lot changes in 19 years!
