With less than a week to go, Ive been busy with all those last-minute, pre-vacation preparations: Setting up the cat sitter. Checking the 15 day weather forecast. Scheduling my workload immediately before and after the trip. Packing what I can.
Stressing about my hair.
Yes, again. Remember, I did chop it some more.
And it looked great.
For 2 days.
Now, its back to an okay-but-sort-of-Momblobby-not-at-all-edgy-not-crying out Beneath this suburban mom exterior lies an artsy, urban rockin hot chick!-bob.
I called my stylist. Nope. Cant get in till May 15.
So now Im faced with making a few cuts here and there on my own or letting my mother have a go at it. Or leaving it be and wearing a hat for the next week. None of them ideal choices. Really, this isnt intended to be a cliffhanger. I truly have no idea how itll pan out. Im waiting right along with you all for the results.
But enough of that. I actually
have been doing more than obsessing over my hair situation.
After all, Ive got some exciting new things planned for this trip! Im in line to host one of our infamous Focker
Crocs during my stay; Fritzie von Crocker Focker, to be precise. And Ill be getting him from
puggymom at MGM,
in person on May 2! No way none of this leaving the Croc at the front desk avoidance for us
were making it an official Team Focker Watch meet! And were hoping a few other TFW members will be able to join us as well.
I have gotten the packing started and am pleasantly surprised at how little luggage Leo and I need this trip! Its been so long since we traveled in warm weather, Id forgotten how much less room Ts take up compared to sweaters. Between us, weve got two carry-on sized wheeled suitcases, a small overnight bag for our one night at AKL, and the beach bag with towels for Typhoon Lagoon.
Oh my have I even mentioned Typhoon lagoon yet??? Guess its time to talk itinerary.
I knew a couple things I absolutely wanted to do from the very start of my planning.
A. I dont want to go to Animal Kingdom (AK).
2. Id love to take Leo to his first water park.
As for AK, well
we live mighty close to Busch Gardens Tampa. And IMNSHO, AK is a sad attempt to cash in on the wonder that is Busch Gardens. Dont get me wrong Disney does a lot of things right at AK! I mean, those have to be the happiest darned lions in captivity, right? But Disney completely missed the boat on crowd control at this park. Its crowded, narrow pathways are the antithesis of Busch Gardens. Ive been to BG in July and, while expectedly hot, the wide open spaces kept the breeze flowing and the people separated
niiiice!

I went to AK in August and nearly wound up with heat stroke.

And it never fails to give me a pounding headache.
My point here is that I can live without AK. But Leo likes the animals. Thats why were staying at AKL for a night! Leo gets his animal fix and Mommy gets to skip out on AK.
Im very excited about Typhoon lagoon, though! Readers of
Wheres the Lime? Might remember Leos tendency to sink like a stone. Guess what? He still does.
But. TL has this awesome little kiddie area with slides just his size and only 2 feet of water. Not only can Leo have a good time, Im hoping hell get more comfortable in the water, too. And. I have fond memories of my previous trip to TL. Where I spent the afternoon at that nice little beachfront tiki hut that serves icy-cold grown-up beverages!
Also on the agenda is a Girls Night for D, E and me. Gramma offered to babysit so we can get out for an evening and we gratefully accepted! Well decide just what well be doing once there, but have it narrowed down to one of these:
*EP for drinks and Illuminations, followed by some Boardwalk time
*Downtown Disney for drinks and shopping
*Drinks at the Poly beach, watching the Electrical Water pageant and Wishes
Anyone see the common theme throughout?
So our days look like this:
5/1 MK morning, then hang at the AKL pool before dinner at Boma
5/2 meet up with D at MGM, then head to CSR before dinner at Ohana
5/3 Typhoon Lagoon, followed by some down time and Girls Night
5/4 MK baybee!, then some pool time and dinner at Concourse Steakhouse
5/5 EP all day, lunch at Biergarten and dinner, maybe dessert instead at Coral Reef.
5/6 our last day
my family will start out at either MK or AK (Leos choice), then head to EP with lunch at Garden grill. D and family will go to AK all day.
I, of course, have my daily touring plans all worked out. Ive got this handy-dandy system for keeping track of them: rolodex cards! Yep, I print out the days plans, glue them to rolodex cards, insert into rolodex plastic sleeves, tape em shut and string them onto a keychain. Low tech you say? Absolutely. But darned affective I can pull the cards out and change things as needed! Look for yourselves
Notice how the itinerarys already changed since I took this pic?!
As for Gramma.... Gramma likes to pack at the last minute, bringing enough clothing to last 3 weeks. She also brings a ton of food. As if we might starve at WDW??? I dont know, but when we went to Paris, her bag arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport with a giant tag warning that it was extremely heavy. When we unpacked at the hotel I discovered why: shed packed 2 6-packs of soy milk, 2 boxes of South Beach bars, and a 12 pack of peanut butter crackers. I always leave plenty of room in the car for Grammas luggage.
I guess were ready to go!

Now, to get through the next 3 days
3 days using Vs Fuzzy Disney calendar, that is
