Mickeystoontown's Gang hits the Bahamas & WDW! Who gets choked or stuck this time?

[brookelizabeth]

"Equal opportunity dreaming" That's hilarious!!!!

And LOVE the surprise on the upgrade!!!! It will be so much nicer for them not to have to switch resorts too!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ohhhhh, I LOVE surprises! (not a surprise right??)


What great news, and I'm sure that's going to be a great surprise all the way around!

You like surprises do you? I was really happy that I was able to change them over to the CBR so they won't have to change resorts early in the morning.

Awesome surprises!!

I know! I'm happy and so was Lacey.

Would you like to be my TA?

Sure! You already know that I have the tenacity of a bulldog when it comes to trying to get a better deal.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Whee Whoo!!! That is awesome It's always nice to get some pixie dust before you even get down to Disney
And what fun to have secrets. . .good thing you can blab 'em here, it sure helps to keep them irl!!

Ain't that the truth! If I didn't have ya'll to talk to, I'd blab my secrets out before I knew what I was doing.

You go girl!

I've been having itchy fingers too. I like to "modify" things too. not with my cruise, but with WDW. LOL

I am liking your modifications! Adding another day and staying at the AKL. That's a wonderful modification.

AWE!!! YAY!!!! You are such a nice momma! Wanna adopt me??? Two sweet girls are part of the package!

Sure! Come on over, I have an extra bedroom. Of course, I'd have to clean out all my sewing stuff but that wouldn't be a problem.

Aww...Castaway Cay sounds wonderful!! When we were looking into going it was what I was looking forward to the most.

Yay for the surprise!! I know how much you love CBR and it sounds like it works out better so they don't have to switch after their first night!! That's great news!!

I'm super excited about Castaway Cay even know that it will test all of my strength to just sit and do nothing.

It was a nice surprise for me when the castmember said he could change their reservation over to the CBR. And, the cost to make the change was pretty minimal.

 

[reelmom]

We booked our first cruise! I am excited, nervous, scared, and happy! There is so much to learn. I will probably drive you crazy with questions. I know I have already asked RinkyTinkyTinky a million questions. Thanks to everybody for offering advice. I can tour WDW in my sleep but there is so many new things to learn about a cruise. I think the most stressful thing is the thought of relaxing. According to my DH, I don't know how to relax. I am a go, go, go kind of person. Anyways, we have 393 days until we cruise on the Disney Dream on May 26, 2013.

 

[rndmr2]

Wow! That's great you were able to upgrade Lacey and Jesse. I hope you two are able to keep the secrets!

 

[Coconuts]

Whew, finally caught up again. Haven't been on the boards in about a week and there was a lot of reading to do.

I'm glad you were able to snag the CBR room. It's always so nice when your plans come together when traveling with another party that have different plans. It will be awesome that you will both be at CBR together.

We are cruising in August, are also first timers, and I'm having anxiety attacks researching port excursions too. Information overload is an understatement. Opting out of everything at CC sounds like a great idea and I think that's what we'll do too. I think the kids will be happy to just play in the water and on the beach and have room to run. I haven't even come close to a decision about Nassau though.

 

[MHTeacher]

Glad you were able to link everyone's reservation, and that you got some extra pixie dust to get Jesse and Lacey moved over to CBR with y'all!

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Sorry about hijacking your thread with the pics of Castaway Cay, just all of the talk about it made want to do it.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Whew, finally caught up again. Haven't been on the boards in about a week and there was a lot of reading to do.

I'm glad you were able to snag the CBR room. It's always so nice when your plans come together when traveling with another party that have different plans. It will be awesome that you will both be at CBR together.

We are cruising in August, are also first timers, and I'm having anxiety attacks researching port excursions too. Information overload is an understatement. Opting out of everything at CC sounds like a great idea and I think that's what we'll do too. I think the kids will be happy to just play in the water and on the beach and have room to run. I haven't even come close to a decision about Nassau though.

I do love it when all of the plans seem to magically fall into place. Lacey & Jesse were fine staying at Pop that first night but I always wanted them to stay at the CBR if I could get them a room.

The number of port excursions was so overwhelming but I think we made a pretty good choice. I guess we'll see in a few weeks.

Glad you were able to link everyone's reservation, and that you got some extra pixie dust to get Jesse and Lacey moved over to CBR with y'all!

Me too! It always bothered me that I couldn't get their first night's stay at the CBR but thought it was a hopeless cause.

Sorry about hijacking your thread with the pics of Castaway Cay, just all of the talk about it made want to do it.

Are you kidding me? I love the pictures and am glad that you posted them. I have always said there is no such thing as hijacking when it comes to my reports. The more conversation, the more interesting it is.

 

[mickeystoontown]

"Equal opportunity dreaming" That's hilarious!!!!

And LOVE the surprise on the upgrade!!!! It will be so much nicer for them not to have to switch resorts too!

Hey if I can dream about the scrumptious Johnny Depp, I guess John and Hunter can do a little dreamin' too.

I was so happy that I was able to switch Lacey & Jesse's first night reservation over to the CBR.

on being able to move Lacey and Jessie over to CBR a day early. Now the hassle of having to change resorts is eliminated and you both have a fun little secret to keep until the trip! That old saying, "No harm can come with asking" came true in your case. Glad you thought to ask!

Yep, my innocent question turned out to be a good thing. I"ve always said it never hurts to ask and in this case, it certainly didn't.

Castaway Cay is a true island paradise that only Disney can have. There are so many great things like for example mount Rust More

Plus also the great views of the ship from places like the heads up bar.

Also don't forget to check out the old school parking lot trams they brought over.

Thanks so much for posting the pictures! I am a picture person so seeing these make me even more excited.

Yay for upgrades! Your photos are making me want to go so bad. Although I cannot complain because I just got back from a trip to Europe!

Europe! You should write a trip report so we can all read about it. Isn't there some place here on the Dis that you can write non Disney related reports?

Yeah for the surprises! I've told River that the June trip most likely won't be happening. When I do figure out new dates I want to keep the whole trip a surprise until we leave!

I hate that you guys are probably going to have to cancel but keeping the trip a surprise is a great idea. The year that we surprised Hunter with the trip (I had changed jobs and we had to cancel our Disney vacation.), we were declared the best parents in the whole wide world. I bet you could joing those ranks too if you surprised him with a trip.

Surprises are awesome! YAY for you!

I know! It's so much fun knowing that the girls know about the changes but the boys don't.

Looks like somebody got an extra dose of pixie dust. That's awesome, I just love surprises.

Yes, we did and I'm so happy for it.

 

[Woth2982]

Europe! You should write a trip report so we can all read about it. Isn't there some place here on the Dis that you can write non Disney related reports?

I should. I always end up abandoning my TRs though lol. I may do a PTR for several trips I have coming up, one to DL and one potentially to WDW if the costs to fly drop! I signed up for the Wine and Dine 5K, I could easily slip a little of my UK trip in there.

 

[BMC423]

First off let me say that the more I read the funnier I think you are! In fact because of it I just spent about 1/2 a morning last weekend reading your last TR (it could have something to do with my CBR excitement as well). Anyway, I've been a good grad student lately which means more paper writing, and less DISing so I had a lot of catching up to do.

I've never been on a cruise ship either and am definitely looking forward to all your pictures! Good job un the upgrade $150 bucks seems like a reasonable amount especially since it means more comfort! Someone mentioned using your experience as a guide for their future cruise planning, you should know that fully plan to do the same.

While I haven't been on a cruise I have been to the Bahamas! John (DH) and I went there on our honeymoon, and it did not disappoint! I loved it there and really want to go back someday. The rum cake is really good. We didn't really do a lot of sightseeing, since we stayed at an all-inclusive but we did go into town twice. We went to the zoo which was ok.. and we visited the pirates museum which was fun. We also visited Atlantis which is very nice, but overpriced IMO. This was all about 5 years ago so I'm sure things have changed.

 

[KatMark]

Lisa, I admit I can't catch up on everyone's TR or PTR's....so I'm following from this point on. I am happy, though, that you got Lacey and Jesse over to CBR.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Yay!!! That's so exciting that you were able to get their reservation moved to CBR too! I'm sure everyone is going to be thrilled!

 

[TinksThree]

Where are ya'll going on the cruise? I can't remember.

Chris wants to go to the Mayan Ruins so I think it will probably be on Royal Caribbean. We have cruised with them before and it was nice. Plus it appears that I am getting much better quotes from them than from Carnival! That has surprised me! We will sail from New Orleans so that cuts down on travel time too. I am determined one day we will be on a Disney cruise though!!


How awesome to get the upgrade! It will be great for Jesse and Lacey to be there the whole time too!!

 

[MEK]

It's never too late to sub, right?

 

[mickeystoontown]

It's never too late to sub, right?

Heck no! You know how my reports seem to drag out so it's never too late.

Chris wants to go to the Mayan Ruins so I think it will probably be on Royal Caribbean. We have cruised with them before and it was nice. Plus it appears that I am getting much better quotes from them than from Carnival! That has surprised me! We will sail from New Orleans so that cuts down on travel time too. I am determined one day we will be on a Disney cruise though!!


How awesome to get the upgrade! It will be great for Jesse and Lacey to be there the whole time too!!

My boss has been to the Mayan Ruins and has talked about the trips many times. Cruising from New Orleans is much closer for you guys.

Yay!!! That's so exciting that you were able to get their reservation moved to CBR too! I'm sure everyone is going to be thrilled!

I was happy that my innocent question ended up with such great results.

Lisa, I admit I can't catch up on everyone's TR or PTR's....so I'm following from this point on. I am happy, though, that you got Lacey and Jesse over to CBR.

It's hard getting back to the real world isn't it? I hated to hear the news about your friend and have prayed for their family.

First off let me say that the more I read the funnier I think you are! In fact because of it I just spent about 1/2 a morning last weekend reading your last TR (it could have something to do with my CBR excitement as well). Anyway, I've been a good grad student lately which means more paper writing, and less DISing so I had a lot of catching up to do.

I've never been on a cruise ship either and am definitely looking forward to all your pictures! Good job un the upgrade $150 bucks seems like a reasonable amount especially since it means more comfort! Someone mentioned using your experience as a guide for their future cruise planning, you should know that fully plan to do the same.

While I haven't been on a cruise I have been to the Bahamas! John (DH) and I went there on our honeymoon, and it did not disappoint! I loved it there and really want to go back someday. The rum cake is really good. We didn't really do a lot of sightseeing, since we stayed at an all-inclusive but we did go into town twice. We went to the zoo which was ok.. and we visited the pirates museum which was fun. We also visited Atlantis which is very nice, but overpriced IMO. This was all about 5 years ago so I'm sure things have changed.

Oh gracious, if you are all caught up with both the trip report and this pre-trip report you really were one busy girl! I'm happy to hear that I was able to keep you entertained.

As I said, I can never leave well enough alone and when I saw that blue modify button, I just had to click on it and now I'm glad that I did.

I've had a lot of recommendations for the pirate museum. I really need to check out the site again and see if we can work it into the plans.

I should. I always end up abandoning my TRs though lol. I may do a PTR for several trips I have coming up, one to DL and one potentially to WDW if the costs to fly drop! I signed up for the Wine and Dine 5K, I could easily slip a little of my UK trip in there.

Heck yeah you should! You know that I'd be a reader for sure.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Morning everybody! Before I write up my next installment, I wanted to offer an apology to ya'll for not replying to your posts or getting an update done.

We've had a lot going on in the McBride household so I haven't been able to stay on the Dis much. As you can all tell, we're a pretty upbeat family but there's been much heartache over the last few weeks. I'll try to explain it all without being too much of a Debbie Downer. Please indulge me for just a bit.

For those of you who are subscribed to my "Jumping, Dancing..." trip report, you already know about my aunt who was diagnosed with cancer and there's nothing they can do for her other than keep her as pain free as possible. She has been unable to attend church or spend much time with her friends and family like she usually does. She saw the doctor late last week and they have increased her pain meds and given her a B-12 shot to try and keep her energy level up. My mother is trying to deal with it as best as possible but I can tell by her mood and maneurisms that it's hitting her pretty hard so I am trying my best to keep Mama involved in things that we are doing in order to keep her mind occupied.

Last Monday, the Associate Pastor's daughter-in-law (Aly) underwent a double mastecomy. She is just 24 years old and has been battling cancer for 7 months now. On the day of the surgery, I, along with hundreds of others, fasted and prayed for this beautiful young woman. Around 3:00 p.m. or so, we heard the news that the surgery was complete and that the doctors said everything went well. She had all of her breast tissue removed in both breasts, 2 lymph nodes removed on her right side, 17 lymph nodes removed on her left, 5 drains put in under her breasts and armpits, and 2 tissue expanders put behind her chest muscles.

The C word is a word that I wish none of us ever had to go through or speak of but it makes it even harder when you see people that you love and respect battling it. Thankfully, both of these women are strong, Christian women and I believe that their faith will carry them through these hard times.

So, enough about the sad things, let me tell you about Aly's test results. Actually, I won't tell you, I'll simply copy what Aly and her husband, Josh, sent out in an email:

Wow...well today will be another day we will never forget. We just got done meeting with Dr. Litton and as if God needed to prove himself again, He did just that in a huge way. We were waiting for my appointment today, and Dr. Litton and another doctor walked in. She asked us if we had heard our results yet, and we said no. She said ,"Good, I always like to have another doctor with me when I give good results." and I said, "So, it's good?" She said, "No, it's perfect!!!!" All breast tissue and lymph nodes came back completely clear - no evidence of disease- anywhere. She was so shocked and excited, because she rarely gets to give this news. Josh and I are still in awe, although we expected my full healing. Our God is so faithful!! Please praise Him with me today. For all who prayed, fasted, and sought the Lord on my behalf...there are no words!!! At some point, I will have full-body scans to be deemed "cancer-free", but I already know what the scans will show I am just one thankful girl. Psalm 30:2 "O lord my God, I cried out to you, and you healed me!" Thank you for crying out with me!!! Our God is just amazing. I will write more today or tomorrow of details, but wanted to share this amazing news!!!

I would appreciate it if you would remember these families as they go through their fight with the despicable disease. For my aunt, there's nothing that can be done except pray that she spends her last days on this Earth free of pain. For Aly and her husband, even though the results were fantastic, there is still more that they must go through. They are so young and I pray that they have many many cancer free years together.

Okay, moving on to my other excuses for not updating.

1) Hunter is moving into high school next year and John and I had to attend a mandatory parents' meeting at the high school. This is the same high school that John, Lacey and I attended and I couldn't believe how much the school had grown over the years. They have their own fully functioning bank, courtroom, culinary arts department, robotics team, and more right there on campus. I almost fell to the floor when they told us that they expect about 1,900 students this year with approximately 600 of those being freshman. That's a whole lot of kids at one school. But, they do try to keep the freshman classes in one wing and slowly integrate them into the other parts of the school so that they are not overwhelmed making the transition from middle school to high school.

2) Hunter is first chair viola and they had their last strings concert on Monday. It was held at the high school auditorium and they didn't have the air on despite the fact that it was about 85 degrees outside. Put a bunch of bodies into an almost full auditorium and it made for one hot evening.

3) Over the course of the last three weekends, we have worked on getting our garden prepared for planting and actually planted it. It's not a super big garden but it had us working our booties off getting it all done. We have purple and green onions, garlic, about 40 tomato plants, a dozen cantaloupes, a dozen various pepper plants, rows of squash, string beans, butter beans, corn, cucumbers, okra and some kind of funky looking cabbage that I forgot the name of. We also planted a ton of various flower seeds and a row of sunflowers. On the outside three rows, we planted another row of iris bulbs. My mother had these iris growing in various spots around the yard and in the garden and they had multipled so that we made three rows for them in the garden.

4) John has two jobs that he bid on and got. One of them, he finished up over the weekend and the other, we are starting on this evening. The first one was a lot of manual labor and this next one is a lot of tedious work. But, we're going to net a good bit of money from both of them so it's worth the extra "oomph" that we are putting out on them.

In between all that, we've been doing the normal things like running a household, going to work, keeping the yard looking decent. You know...the normal stuff. Oh and Hunter went to Dallas last week on a trip with the orchestra.

Whew! Now ya'll know why I haven't been back to update before now. Speaking of which, let me go so I can start writing up the next installment.

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Wow Lisa you are one Superwoman that made me tired just reading it!

That's great news about your friend Aly! I don't know if I ever told you but my mother is a breast cancer survivor. River's father had to put his mother in a nursing home today. She is just not in touch with reality all now. He is very upset but it had to be done because she kept wandering off and can't recognize anyone or remember names. I just think its so sad that you live your whole life only to not be able to remember any of it

I hope the shot your aunt got helped some. I'm keeping her in my thoughts every day.

That sounds like one huge garden you have there! It really puts mine to shame but I just haven't felt like putting much effort into this year. Maybe I'll get a burst of energy.

That's also great news that John got both jobs he bid on

 

[mindystar]

Let's see if it will let me post this this time

I would appreciate it if you would remember these families as they go through their fight with the despicable disease. For my aunt, there's nothing that can be done except pray that she spends her last days on this Earth free of pain. For Aly and her husband, even though the results were fantastic, there is still more that they must go through.
I will keep your mama and your aunt, as well as Aly and her husband in my prayers. What wonderful news for Aly, and so great to see what prayers and faith lead to m

1) They have their own fully functioning bank, courtroom, culinary arts department, robotics team, and more right there on campus. I almost fell to the floor when they told us that they expect about 1,900 students this year with approximately 600 of those being freshman.
Holy Macaroni--that is one cool school!!!

2) Hunter is first chair viola and they had their last strings concert on Monday.
Very cool, Hunter. . .sorry it was so hot for the concert!

3) We have purple and green onions, garlic, about 40 tomato plants, a dozen cantaloupes, a dozen various pepper plants, rows of squash, string beans, butter beans, corn, cucumbers, okra and some kind of funky looking cabbage that I forgot the name of. We also planted a ton of various flower seeds and a row of sunflowers.
Now why on earth would that take three weekends to complete? Wowzers woman, you guys are good!!! If you end up with too many you could always ship them up to me

4) John has two jobs that he bid on and got.
That is awesome!!!

In between all that, we've been doing the normal things like running a household, going to work, keeping the yard looking decent. You know...the normal stuff. Oh and Hunter went to Dallas last week on a trip with the orchestra.

Whew! Now ya'll know why I haven't been back to update before now. Speaking of which, let me go so I can start writing up the next installment.
Can't wait! (but I guess I have no choice )