Mommy's Escape to Disney - 4/7 Part 4 added -Who are those people? #18

[TriMom]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Part 1: The Voice of Desperation[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]The Trip:[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Saratoga Springs – Studio Room, 3 nights, January 27-30[/font]


[font=Arial, sans-serif]The Cast:[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Me: SAHM of a 2 year old, and a 2 month old, both boys. I'm not quite myself these days, as I am averaging 4 hrs of sleep[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]DH: Works very hard so I can stay at home, and doesn't mind when the dishes are still in the sink when he gets home.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Nana: My DM, who so graciously kept my boys for the weekend, and who is afraid I will not allow her to keep them again.[/font]

********************************************
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Sometime after 11:00 pm Christmas Day:
DH and I are up with 4 week old new baby, exhausted.

DH: What do you want to do?
me: I tivo'd a Disney thing on the History Channel - Let's watch that

Show starts ... opening montage

DH: Hey! This is new... look Everest is almost complete
me: Yeah! It's finished, DVC members get a preview
DH: When?
me: I don't know, sometime at the end of January

I look over, laptop is already whipped out

DH: Jan 26 - 29. We should go
me: HAY YEAH! LET'S GO
DH: Really????
me: Pull up Southwest

computer stuff...

DH: LOOK! There is a Ding for $34
me: BOOK IT!!!
DH: Really??? Can we get a studio?
me: I'll find one. BOOK IT!!!
DH: What about the kids?
me: My mom will watch them. BOOK IT!!!
DH: Can we really do this??
me: BOOOOK IT!!!! This Ding will expire in 9 minutes! BOOOOOOOOK IT!![/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]The studio was booked, Child care was arranged, promises were made, favors called in, and muffins baked. We were going!!!!![/font]

 

[Alicnwondrln]

i know that feeling
cant wait to read more

 

[pumba]

you are wicked lucky......Although I would love to take care of our not yet born granddaughter with her 22 month old big brother. Heck they can go anywheres they want. Thanks for getting us updated on your escape

 

[Twingle]

I'M SO JEALOUS!

I have a six year old son and two year old twin girls - I can't seem to convince myself that I'm "allowed" to go to Disney without everyone! Continue your trip report, please!

Hope you had an awesome time!

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

Wow! Sounds wonderful!

We have never planned a last-minute-spontaneous trip. That would be so fun! And no kids. . . no stroller . . . no diaper bag . . .

 

[TriMom]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Let me start off by say that DH are bad parents. I let my 2 ½ yo play with toys that are clearly marked for ages 3 and up. And I DON'T always change the baby's diaper when we get up for our 3:00 am feeding. We won't be winning any parenting awards this year. So this is the reason I feel only a small amount of guilt about running away for the weekend. [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]The child care issue is a bit tricky, Nana has a new job, and can't take Friday off, she also has an 8:00 am meeting on Monday. Hmm. Our flights leave Friday morning at 8:20, and return home on Monday morning at 7:25. It's time to call in some favors from our friends. Because we are bad parents, I do not worry about the boys. However, I was very concerned about the people watching the boys. They all assure me they don't mind, but I bribed them with muffins anyway.[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]No one slept well on Thursday night. We were all up by 5:30, myself up since 3:00, the little one seems to eat, a little, all the time. The 2 yo must have know something was up because he was in our bed by 1 am, and he kept waking up every 45 minutes to ask if he could watch Dora yet. So by 5:30, I was too tired to try to make everyone sleep for 30 more minutes and declared the day started. The car and bags were already packed, all we had to do was put on clothes and get in the car. WHY did this take an hour? HOW are we running late? I know I am going to miss my flight!!!! [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]I will have to interject here with a confession – I am Mary Kathryn, and I have groupCophobia. Actually, I don't really care about what Southwest group we are in, but I have a horrid fear of missing a flight. I truly worry that they may take off early or something. This fear annoys DH to no end. However, the fear probably stems from the fact that DH believes that if the plane leaves at 8:20, we really don't need to be at the gate until 8:05. Arrrrrrrggggg![/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]At 6:30 we arrive at my best friend's house. We drop the kids, and the muffins and run! Only 15 min behind schedule. We will be OK. I only have a small stomach ache at this point. Then we hit traffic – the small stomach ache becomes a burning ball of fire. This is supposed to be a vacation? We park at the airport, 7:40 – well at least we don't have to check anything. I am ready to throw up. We get through security, and I start running. DH complains – It's only 8:00, why are you running? I try to explain that they will CLOSE boarding in 5- 10 minutes. The plane LEAVES at 8:20, we are expected to be on board – RIGHT NOW. We get to the gate, and are one of the last people to board. But we made it – so who is right? I'll leave that up to you.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]The rest of the journey to the World is uneventful. The plane lands, we get our rental car with only the smallest amount of trouble, and we have ones for the toll roads. I am now ready to have fun.[/font]

 

[pumba]

hey you know that being a good mommy means making and taking time for you and your DH.....you need to rest .....thanks for your remarkable SW flight run...

 

[krismom]

I swear I fantasize about DH wanting to take an impromptu trip to WDW! I hope you know how lucky you are!!!!

 

[jackdis]

Good for you. DH and I had a little getaway for a few days in Feb. without the children. (not to Disney) You have to do that every once in awhile!!!!

 

[OhMari]

Glad you got away.

I could never understand why everyone visited me when the baby was only 2 weeks old. Every cooed and ahhed over the baby. Why didn't people come around at 6 weeks when you desperately needed the sleep.

I was lucky enough that I could go to bed at 7:00 pm after supper and my husband did baby duties till midnight. After midnight I had to get up. We had a good system worked out.

Marisa

 

[brandip22]

great for you- now on to more reporting!!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading ~ Thanx for posting.

 

[TriMom]

You all are right!! We are really blessed to have great friends and family who will let us get away. I have Mommy's group this morning, but part 3 should be up this afternoon.

 

[antree]

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[TriMom]

I'm Running Away Part 3: That looks like a really long bridge.

We have a few more things to do before we can submerge ourselves in Disney Magic. We need provisions. We stop at the Winn Dixie, just down the road from the Crossings. I like the Winn Dixie, it's clean and it's not crowded. And the prices are soooo much better than Goodings. But the best part is there is a liquor store in the parking lot! One stop shopping! Well DH and I are in Winn Dixie to buy breakfast stuff, snacks, and Diet Coke. We start arguing about how many Cokes to buy. Yes – an argument. Then I realize... We have not had breakfast, we were going to get something on the way to the airport, but we obviously did not have time for that. We were then going to stop on the way to Disney, but somehow the trip from the airport was shorter that we remembered, and we just didn't stop. We are starving, and I get very grumpy when I am hungry. So I probably started the fight. Upon realizing the problem, we started laughing, bought some amount of Diet Coke, and set to finish our errands quickly. On to the liquor store. I will highly recommend the ABC liquors next to Winn Dixie. The lady there was incredibly helpful. She showed us the best deals they had going, and gave us a free tin. I think it was a left over Christmas promotional item, but hey free stuff is free stuff. We left happy with our free tin, vodka, Irish Cream, Bloody Mary mix, and a bottle of wine. Ok, so it was not really wine – it was Abor Mist, which I consider a wine cooler in a large bottle, but I like it and that's all that really matters.

Another interjection here for the teetotalers– please don't let this shopping trip influence your thoughts about us. We are not people who drink very often. Drinking is maybe a twice a year thing for us. So when we do it, we do it right.

Provisions in hand, it is finally off to Saratoga Springs. We go to check in, it's only noon, so the status of a room is questionable. Good News! A room is ready now. Would you like this one? DH passes, the room is on the ground floor, and he was looking forward to a balcony. There is another room ready, and it's on the 4th floor. The CM whips out a map, and shows us where the room is, it's right next to a bus stop and a quiet pool, in the Paddocks. As she is telling us this she points to the Paddocks section which is located across a very large pond, with a verrrry long bridge. This pond/bridge combo takes up at least a third of the map. Slight disappointment sets in. We were a long way away. But it was a room, and we were happy to have it.

Back in the car to park next to this Paddocks section that was rumored to be part of SSR. Up to the room. Ahhh! This room is very nice. We are instantly in love. Then out to the much coveted balcony. Yes, look, there is the quiet pool, and there is the bus stop. And wait, is that the bridge? That's it??? THAT is what took up a third of the map? I can see the main building. That is a 5 minute walk at most. Who drew that map? And where did they learn about scale? I was now completely pleased with our room.

 

[Twingle]

Yah, that map of Saratoga Springs can be pretty misleading! My dad thought that it would take a lifetime to cross the bridge, so he waited for the bus while we walked. We made it in about six minutes, he came in about 20!

I was also pleasantly surprised with how close the walkway to Downtown Disney was. I was afraid I'd have to pack gatorade and a snack to make that hike!

Glad to know that their are other part-time lushes like DH and I. We also only drink about twice a year, but then it's the GOOD stuff!

 

[dismom9761]

Great report!My DH are planning on an adults trip Sept.2007.With four kids it will take that long to line up babysitters. And there will definitely be a liquor stop.

 

[TriMom]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]For those of you who are so desperate for entertainment that you are actually reading my trip report:[/font]​

[font=Arial, sans-serif]1: BLESS YOU!!! And I hope that you are enjoying it. [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]2: I'm soooooo sorry that it took so long to update. We have been struck by illness in our house. DS (4 mo.) got RSV, and we almost had to hospitalize him, the we found out DS(2) has sleep apenea, and will have his tonsils and adenoids removed next week. [/font]

Now on to the story:

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Part 4: Who are those people?[/font]
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Even though we are only here for the weekend, we need to unpack. I like to unpack at Disney, because it gives the illusion that you will never have to return home. DH unpacks the clothes, I unpack the bar, er I mean the groceries. And start to make the official – we are on vacation without the children – Bloody Marys. I make one for each of us(rather strong) and we head out again to the much coveted balcony. I sit, sip, and close my eyes. A feeling of relaxation that I have not felt in 2 ½ years overcomes me. I smile. When I open my eyes, DH is looking at me. He smiles then we laugh, and we knew right away that this was the best idea. We finish our drinks, and I make another round, as we plot the afternoon's activities. It is of course – Animal Kingdom! We are off to ride Everest. I mean, that was the point of this little excursion wasn't it? We rush off to catch the bus.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]On the bus, we chatted with a very brave family from Seattle. They were on their way to Blizzard Beach. It was not cold, per se, but this Southern girl had on a light jacket, as highs were in the 60's. There was no way I was swimming. Chatting on buses is one of the things I love about Disney. Where else in the world will random people just say hi to you for no reason? Anyway, as the bus pulls up to AK, we get our first glimpse of Everest... and we are so excited! DH and I are adrenaline junkies. We SCUBA dive, I have bungee jumped, and we ride roller coasters. I know that Everest is a family coaster, and it's not going to be the biggest, or fastest, but it's DISNEY – so it's going to have a great story. And sometimes that is just as cool. Plus it's a coaster we haven't been on before.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Walking toward the AK entrance, I overheard what I feel was a very strange complaint. A woman was vocalizing, loudly, that they flew down from New Jersey because they heard Expedition Everest might have been open. And they got here, and it was open. But since they weren't AP holders or DVC members no one would let them ride it. And that just wasn't fair seeing as how they had traveled so far to get here. I just didn't get it. If I was going somewhere for one particular reason, I would do a little research. That 's all I'm sayin. I would have done some research.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]We went to activate our AP's – and I love the first day of AP's. The first day of an AP means you 365 more days that you could go to Disney. And for us, it means that we have enough trips planned to justify the cost. It's a very happy feeling, so I did a little skip. The CM at guest services was very chatty and very nice. We she saw we were from Tennessee, she was disappointed that there was no Southern accent, so being on a first day of AP high, I treated her to a real belle thank you and goodbye. She appreciated it, and I had fun.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]Finally in Animal Kingdom, we had 1 more stop before arriving in Asia for Everest. I needed a beer. You might be thinking that since this is not a dining report, that I just neglected to tell you about our fabulous lunch we finally had, but alas no. We still have not eaten anything all day. And I just made it at least 4 drinks(remember, rather strong Bloody Marys) on an empty stomach. We were certainly ready to ride Everest.[/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]I won't give you the turn by turn analysis of Expedition Everest, there are plenty of great threads out there that already do that, and besides, you may be wanting it to be a surprise. I will say that I loved the cue. When you are in the Expedition shop in the cue look for the Yet Tea. I found that really funny. I LOVED the ride. [/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]After our exhilarating tour of the Himalayas we head off to visit the Cretaceous Period. Ugg – Dinosaur is a 55 min. wait. It's not worth it to me. I don't love Dinosaur, it's jerky, and it's loud, very loud. And I think it was scarier when it was Count Down to Extinction. Anyway, it's not my favorite ride, and I was not waiting 55 min. for it. So we went to ride Primeval Whirl. 5 min wait. That is doable, and I do like Primeval Whirl. We stopped in front of the mirrors in the line. As I looked at our reflections, I wondered who are those irresponsible, drunk people? Then I remember – THAT'S US – like we were back in collage, when we were drunk a lot more often, and being responsible was being on time to a 10am class and showing up for work early in the same day. I don't really miss those days though, and you couldn't pay me to be 22 again! But it certainly is fun to be 22 for the day![/font]

[font=Arial, sans-serif]After whirling and reflection I insisted that we finally get something to eat. I head for Flame Tree, and DH is off to Pizzafari. We will meet up at Pizzafari. As I navigate the parade crowd, my ribs are noticably ogled by hungry husbands – and a couple even asked where I got them. DH was sad that he got Pizza too. We sat outside Pizzafari, and watched the parade while we ate. I was glad that we got to see the Jammin Jungle Parade, I really enjoy it, but it is a hard parade to schedule when you have babies. After the parade, we went to hop on the Safari, but we were blocked the the parade, and even though I do enjoy the parade, I didn't want to watch it twice. Plus I had been up since 3 am, and I was ready to call it a day. So we hopped a bus back to SSR.[/font]

 

[Kala]

I LOVE it! We have often fantasized about doing this, and I came close to surpirising him like that once, but he's just not the "spur-of-the-moment" kind of guy. Keep going so we can live vicariously through you!

 

[ntburns22]

I love this. I must show it to DH to prove it can be done.