National Lampoon's February Quest For Fun!!~ LIVE UPDATE 2/9 post 852

[Blueyed Girl]

The following is a quote "based on" one of my favorite movies...it is also edited for content....

"This is not a vacation . . . it's a QUEST! IT'S A QUEST FOR FUN! I'm gonna have fun, and you're gonna have fun! We're all gonna have so much darn fun we'll need plastic surgery to remove our smiles! You'll be whistling Zip-a-dee-doo-da out of your behinds!..... I've got to be crazy! I'm on a pilgrimage to see a mouse! Praise Mickey Mouse!"

~Clark W. Griswold~

One of the reasons I find the above movie quote so darn funny is because it is so very close to what our family vacations were like when I was a kid. The way my dad behaved on vacation is scarily close to Clark W. Griswold himself. I remember driving to Walt Disney World for my very first trip ever when I was in the 4th grade. Clark was right. It was not a vacation. It was a quest for fun!! Back then there was no such thing as ADR's. There wasn't even a time when we made hotel reservations!! We got in the car at 5am and we drove to Florida. When it started to get dark we'd pull into whatever town we were next to and start going to hotels one by one to see who had vacancies. This didn't always lead to the greatest of places to stay but one thing is for sure, we always met interesting people.

I remember one trip in particular where we drove from Louisiana to Colorado to visit family up by Denver. Remember, this is my dad so we didn't just shoot up diagonally to Denver. He wanted us to "see the land" and stuff. So we drove half way across the United States.....uh, I mean we drove across the state of Texas because my dad wanted us to see the "nothing" in El Paso. We were on our way to New Mexico to see Carlsbad Caverns. Somewhere around San Antonio or so, he decided to skip El Paso and just go to Carlsbad. Thank goodness!!!! Because I'll tell ya, the desert was not kind. I swear there were times we may have run off the road, which I firmly believe has contributed to me never ever being able to fall asleep in a vehicle again. I also became a "woman" while driving through that desert which lead us to have to pull over at a "town" with a sign that said population 0.007. It was a small store/gas station/mechanic garage/someone's house all rolled into one. My dad was actually mad at me that God decided it was time for me to recieve the gift of woman-hood. If you've seen the movie National Lampoon's Vacation, then you are laughing your butt off right about now....and yes, my younger sister almost "stabbed her brain" at one point. Eventually....2-3 days later we made it to our destination in Colorado. This crazy "vacation" was the longest we had ever taken before and there has never been another one that long since. I think we were gone for over 2 weeks! Here is a couple of pictures of us coming into New Mexico. While taking the first picture by the "welcome" sign, I believe it was my dad who discovered that on the other side of the sign, it said that you were now leaving New Mexico. He had the idea to take the last photo of us being "tired" because we were "on the way home". (see what I mean about my dad?)

Finally at Carlsbad Caverns we had to do the typical photo with the Ranger....

Somewhere in New Mexico......
"'Clark'!!! If we back up anymore we will fall off the cliff!!"

So my friends, new and old, I welcome you to my new Pre Trip Report!! Hi, I'm Cherie! I'm an OCD Disney Vacation Planner. I truly believe that my planning obsession is directly related to my insanely crazy, fly by the seat of your pants, childhood vacations. I'm so obsessed with planning our Disney trips that I am now a part time travel planner on the side of being a stay at home mom. I'm 36 years old and I've been married to my DH for 15...almost 16 years. We have one son who is 5 and in Kindergarten. I am room mother for his class this year and I'm loving every crazy minute of that. (again...the planner obsession!)



Up next I will introduce the cast and explain what makes THIS TRIP so special!


__________________________________________________________
CHAPTER LINKS:

CAST INTRO

OFF TO RIDE THE POLAR EXPRESS

A RIDE ON THE POLAR EXPRESS!!

POLAR EXPRESS RIDE CONTINUED

TA-DA!! INTRODUCING THE NEW BINDER!!

A TRIP WITH FOOD ALLERGIES!

DATES, RESORTS, & DINING PLACES

DINING CHANGES & MEETS

LOUISIANA SNEAUX!!

A FEW PICS FROM PAST TRIPS

CUTE CHRISTMAS VIDEO

MERRY CHRISTMAS & PAST PICS PART II

PAST PIC'S PART II - CONTINUED

CHRISTMAS PART 2 & INTRODUCING THE COUNTDOWN CALENDAR!!

A GIFT FROM DVC, A NEW BAG, & PAST PICS PT. 3

CONTINUED FROM LAST POST

SHOPPING FOR DISNEY!! past pics pt. 4

PLANNING & TRAVEL ITEMS

30 DAYS LEFT- START THAT COUNTDOWN!!

SHOPPING & MORE PAST PICS

LETS CATCH UP PLUS PAST PICS

TWO WEEKS FROM NOW PLUS MORE PAST PICS

MORE PLANNING & PAST PICS

BLAST FROM THE PAST

A SEMI-LAME UPDATE

LAST FULL UPDATE!!

LIVE UPDATE!!!

 

[Poolrat]

Been following you for a while now ( not in the creepy way )but this trip with all the Dis meets has all the potential of greatness.

Along for the ride.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Been following you for a while now ( not in the creepy way )but this trip with all the Dis meets has all the potential of greatness.

Along for the ride.

Glad it's not in the "creepy way".

Glad you are here and posting! Yes, this trip is going to be AWESOME!!

 

[englishrose47]

Oh Darn it I'm not first ,but at least I beat Winkers and Jordan!


Hmmm Part timeTrael Planner how does one apply for that!!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Ohh, this is gonna be fun!!! I am so happy you decided to being a PTR now. Great start...love the old photos!

BTW ~ My dad was Navy (forever) and every time we were transferred we drove and stopped to see all the sites...we never booked a hotel in advance and had some pretty funny memories - but I'd not trade one of those memories for the world...crisscrossing across the US.

Anyhoo....I'm here for the long haul!!

LOL...Rosie you beat me!!! I was wondering when you'd be here!!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Oh Darn it I'm not first ,but at least I beat Winkers and Jordan!


Hmmm Part timeTrael Planner how does one apply for that!!!

Yes you did!!

I found a travel agency that would "hire" me and sent me to online classes.

Ohh, this is gonna be fun!!! I am so happy you decided to being a PTR now. Great start...love the old photos!

BTW ~ My dad was Navy (forever) and every time we were transferred we drove and stopped to see all the sites...we never booked a hotel in advance and had some pretty funny memories - but I'd not trade one of those memories for the world...crisscrossing across the US.

Anyhoo....I'm here for the long haul!!

LOL...Rosie you beat me!!! I was wondering when you'd be here!!

Glad you're here!!

Oh I would not trade our crazy trips for anything in the world either! Those were some fun times and great memories.

 

[jordanyosh]

hello!!!!!!!!!!

 

[punkin413]

hey, blue (as jordan calls you...i'm not sure of your real name! ) i'm here. gotta go back up and find out what those nifty flashback pictures were now.

 

[punkin413]

okay, it's cherie. i knew that! how could i forget that??

~Clark W. Griswold~

he's one of my heroes.....seriously. "christmas vacation" is my all-time favorite christmas movie. well, it's actually tied with "a christmas story."

oh, eddie, if i woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, i wouldn't be more surprised than i am now.

I remember driving to Walt Disney World for my very first trip ever when I was in the 4th grade.

the thing that sticks out in my mind about one of our trips to disney in the car from nashville was that we had to drink fresca and have donuts for breakfast. have you ever eaten donuts with fresca? it's disgusting!

I also became a "woman" while driving through that desert which lead us to have to pull over at a "town" with a sign that said population 0.007. It was a small store/gas station/mechanic garage/someone's house all rolled into one. My dad was actually mad at me that God decided it was time for me to recieve the gift of woman-hood.

oh, you poor thing! what a way to "become a woman." when i was 15 we were at universal and my "montly friend" decided to arrive while we were in line for king kong. talk about great timing! oh, the joys of being a female.

I'm so obsessed with planning our Disney trips that I am now a part time travel planner on the side of being a stay at home mom.

so am i!!!! well, i'm a part-time travel planner, not a SAHM. pretty cool, though, huh? i just started this back in may with a travel agency that specializes in disney trips. it's been pretty good so far!

 

[winkers]

I'll always remember this ptr, because it's the first time I've seen "recieving the gift of womanhood" used in one.

Your family trip sounds like alot of fun!

 

[englishrose47]

Morning Blue !!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

hello!!!!!!!!!!

HELLOOOOO THERE!!!!!!!

hey, blue (as jordan calls you...i'm not sure of your real name! ) i'm here. gotta go back up and find out what those nifty flashback pictures were now.

okay, it's cherie. i knew that! how could i forget that??

THEY CALL ME STA-CEY...THAT'S NOT MY NAME!! THATS NOT MY NAME!! ......I sweare that song has been stuck in my head for like 2 weeks now!

Anyhoo, you can call me blue if you want. I think most people say that because mine and winkers real name is spelled exactly the same and we are on many of the same PTR's and TR's.

he's one of my heroes.....seriously. "christmas vacation" is my all-time favorite christmas movie. well, it's actually tied with "a christmas story."

oh, eddie, if i woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, i wouldn't be more surprised than i am now.


I love the National Lampoon movies!! Each one is in a funny world all it's own.


the thing that sticks out in my mind about one of our trips to disney in the car from nashville was that we had to drink fresca and have donuts for breakfast. have you ever eaten donuts with fresca? it's disgusting!

eew, no!! We've done the mini powder donuts with coke or sprite, which isn't all that wonderful either but...FRESCA??

oh, you poor thing! what a way to "become a woman." when i was 15 we were at universal and my "montly friend" decided to arrive while we were in line for king kong. talk about great timing! oh, the joys of being a female.

I KNOW, RIGHT?? OMG, King Kong!! That is too funny!

so am i!!!! well, i'm a part-time travel planner, not a SAHM. pretty cool, though, huh? i just started this back in may with a travel agency that specializes in disney trips. it's been pretty good so far!

That's what I do too! I actually have to give props to Scottny for helping me out with that. He gave me the info. I love it! I mostly just do it here locally. But it's a great way to feed the planning obsession!

I'll always remember this ptr, because it's the first time I've seen "recieving the gift of womanhood" used in one.

Your family trip sounds like alot of fun!

I wasn't sure if I should include that for fear of TMI. But then I thought.....why the heck not, Winkers got peeps peeing in fountains!!

Morning Blue !!

Good morning my little Rosie-poo!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Cherie, just noticed your countdown ticker - that is sooo cute!! LOVE it!!

(okay, waiting for more, please.)

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Cherie, just noticed your countdown ticker - that is sooo cute!! LOVE it!!

(okay, waiting for more, please.)

Thank you! Mrsksomeday made it over at the Enchanted website. If you like the ticker you can click on it and look at the others she has made. They are all really cute!

 

[MaryAz]

Hiya Blue
Jumping on board. I also have a Kindy kid though mine is a DD. Room Mom-kudos to you. I do volunteer though. Can't wait to meet the cast.

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Let's get started on the Cast intro! I've already introduced myself so lets start with...

DH - 39 years old. We've been married for 15 years...16 in January! He is a really hard worker and I'm so proud of him. He is in the oil & gas industry. At only 39 years old he has been with his company for 20 years this December! He is the reason I'm able to be a stay at home mom. He's got a great work ethic. He is just as hooked on Disney World as I am. He's just not as quick to admit it. I do notice him mentioning it more to people lately, though.

DS - 5 years old. He is in Kindergarten this year. He is my one and only bundle of joy. He LOVES dinosaurs and says he wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up. He thinks this year is his year to brave the ride "dinosaur". We shall see if that actually happens. We do so much together and I'm hoping that I can keep it close to that way even when he is a teenager. In August I brought him to see the Jonas Brothers concert in Houston. He is in the fan club and they have a deal where you can register to win a "meet & greet" with the Jonas Brothers. HE WON!!!! So, not only did he get to experience an awesome concert, but he actually got to meet them.

We have been fortunate enough to go to Disney twice a year for the past 2 years in a row. Before that it was once a year. I've lost count on how many times we've gone now. We are addicts, as are all of you! So what makes this trip so special??? Well, for starters February is our favorite time to visit WDW and I didn't think we were going to get to go this year due to DH's work schedule and DS being in school. I don't know how but it somehow worked itself out where we could go! The school is okay with it and we found a week that DH could go. The other reason(s) this trip is so special is because some of our favorite Dis "peeps" were going to be there! First it was Jordan. (Jordanyosh for you newbies out there) If you haven't read his PTR or past TR's then you need to! Then we found out that Winkers & DJay are going during this time too!!

During our February trip in 2008, we met Jordan and his family & friends! Somewhere during his PTR back then he and Winkers had some sort of conversation on how Winkers should go on the trip too. Well, since she couldn't be there in person, she sent a "flat" of herself to Jordan. What is a flat you ask? It is a laminated picture of herself stuck on a popsicle stick!! Jordan and family brought "flat winkers" around WDW with them in a hysterical turn of events. So when I met Jordan and his "peeps", I also got to meet "flat winkers". The next surprise was getting to meet Rosie on this trip too! (englishrose47) She was so sweet and gave me a "fockers" lanyard! You will have to go to the community board and look up "focker watch" to understand this one!

So this brings us to May 2008!! During our February trip, I fell ill with bad sinus problems. DH brought us back in May as a "make up trip". During that time Winkers was also doing a "make up trip" of her own. The flat winkers craze had taken off by that point, so Jordan decided to send us each a "flat jordan" for our May trip. Winkers and I were to meet on that trip but it didn't work out. We each had our own "adventures with flat jordan" that brought on much laughter in our trip reports.

On to February 2009! Winkers just so happened to be going the same time as us AGAIN!! This time we did get to meet and it was so much fun. All it did was leave me wanting more!! Meets at Disney world are so much fun. We also got to meet Wirki from here on the Dis and Enchanted.

And now we are to the present!! I found out that Scottny wanted to get in on our meets this trip so he scheduled a weekend getaway just for that purpose! Now we have..... Scott, Jordan, Winkers, & Rosie!! This is going to be one heck of a trip. I absolutely can not wait to meet up with this great bunch of people again and to meet Scott for the first time!

Here are some pictures of past meets and some fun with Flat Jordan....

me & rosie...

me, rosie, & jordan...

me & jordan doing his signature picture pose...."the tongue"

I almost forgot that I was traveling with "pirate pete" that year. He got to meet flat winkers. See Jordan's TR to see how they hit it off.

me, winkers, & wirki...

me & jordan again...

A few of our adventures with flat jordan...

Up next.....IT'S BINDER TIME!!!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Hiya Blue
Jumping on board. I also have a Kindy kid though mine is a DD. Room Mom-kudos to you. I do volunteer though. Can't wait to meet the cast.

HI THERE AND

I love doing the room mom thing! It got a little hectic for halloween but it was fun.

 

[punkin413]

But it's a great way to feed the planning obsession!

definitely! as mary margaret says (one of my TA friends....desperatelydisney here on the dis) it's like being an alcoholic bartender!

In August I brought him to see the Jonas Brothers concert in Houston. He is in the fan club and they have a deal where you can register to win a "meet & greet" with the Jonas Brothers. HE WON!!!! So, not only did he get to experience an awesome concert, but he actually got to meet them.

very cool!

So this brings us to May 2008!! During our February trip, I fell ill with bad sinus problems. DH brought us back in May as a "make up trip". During that time Winkers was also doing a "make up trip" of her own. The flat winkers craze had taken off by that point, so Jordan decided to send us each a "flat jordan" for our May trip. Winkers and I were to meet on that trip but it didn't work out. We each had our own "adventures with flat jordan" that brought on much laughter in our trip reports.

i was there during that time, too! i think our dates for that trip were april 26-may 2. i met winkers that friday night at the pirate & princess party. she was so sweet!!! and i had flat people with me, too, on that trip. i got to meet flat jordan...what a thrill!

here's the link to that part of my TR if you wanna see: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26952150&postcount=1713

Now we have..... Scott, Jordan, Winkers, & Rosie!!

what a great group!!!

i have to ask....what the heck is he holding???

 

[Blueyed Girl]

definitely! as mary margaret says (one of my TA friends....desperatelydisney here on the dis) it's like being an alcoholic bartender!

SO TRUE!!!

very cool!

OMG, it was so much fun! His little face just says it all in that picture. He was soooo excited.

i was there during that time, too! i think our dates for that trip were april 26-may 2. i met winkers that friday night at the pirate & princess party. she was so sweet!!! and i had flat people with me, too, on that trip. i got to meet flat jordan...what a thrill!

here's the link to that part of my TR if you wanna see: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26952150&postcount=1713

Oh yeah I think I remember that!! You must have left before we arrived. I'm off to check out that part of your TR...



what a great group!!!

I'm so excited!!



i have to ask....what the heck is he holding???

He says it is the ray gun from the buzz lightyear ride at Disneyland in California. You can actually hold those in your hand! Maybe it would improve my score!!

 

[Blueyed Girl]

PUNKIN....OMG, my DS had the exact same pirate costume as little Luke for the P&PP that year. Too cute!! I also had the same ears as you.

PS - I REALLY MISS THE PIRATE AND PRINCESS PARTY AND WISH THEY WOULD BRING IT BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!