Our Magically Dysfunctional Gathering

[Lauralee131]

Ok, so how much did you tip the ME driver. I am a good tipper too, i tip waitresses 20%, but I try not to eat at sit down meals where I am waited on either.

I normally tip 3 to 4 dollars a bag, more if they're really heavy and I was prepared to give this man $15 - now all we had was a couple of small carry-on bags, but still, a lot of people depend on tips so I try to be as generous as possible...He only got $10, and I felt that was a stretch, but I thought that maybe he needed it pretty badly if he was mentioning it constantly like that...

 

[Lauralee131]

Pigletforever and disneylizzy - thanks for reading!! If I can save just one person by putting this out there...

You too OhMari!! Thanks!! I'm really enjoying this - don't know why I didn't do it earlier...it was probably too fresh back then!!

I have to go to St. Louis on Thursday until Sunday so I don't know how much more I'll get done this week, but I'll do my best!! Thanks again everyone!

 

[OhMari]

Your little guy looks like the little boy in "Jerry McGuire".

Your sil sounds a lot like mine, and I only have one, so I never get to compare her to anyone until today.

 

[pigletforever]

I can sympathize. Wait till you read my report. we are traveling with DS17 ex girlfriends family. Didn't know we were booking the same resort for the same week until it was done. The kids broke up a month ago and to top it off the parents are headed for a divorce. At least we only have 2 meals scheduled with them. haven't figured out what to call my report yet. the mom has yet to make and ADR's and we leave in 11 days. This also makes me want to rethink trip with MIL next fall.

 

[Lauralee131]

Your little guy looks like the little boy in "Jerry McGuire".

Your sil sounds a lot like mine, and I only have one, so I never get to compare her to anyone until today.

Well, you have my sympathies!!! NEVER, EVER again, I can tell you that!

 

[Lauralee131]

I can sympathize. Wait till you read my report. we are traveling with DS17 ex girlfriends family. Didn't know we were booking the same resort for the same week until it was done. The kids broke up a month ago and to top it off the parents are headed for a divorce. At least we only have 2 meals scheduled with them. haven't figured out what to call my report yet. the mom has yet to make and ADR's and we leave in 11 days. This also makes me want to rethink trip with MIL next fall.

Wow, Pigletforever...I can not wait for that one!!! The drama just makes my brain sweat...I would almost rather do my trip again!! Just kidding!!

 

[Lauralee131]

​

Ah….I rub the sleep out of my eyes, fully refreshed from – WHAT?!?! It’s 4:30?!?!? Oh man, you’ve got to be kidding me…Well, I’m awake…WIDE awake so I’ll make some coffee and sit outside and enjoy the quiet. Ok, yeah well that was fun…NOW WHAT?!?!? I decide to go for a walk. I grab my flip flops, top off my coffee and head out the sliding glass door and who do I find - a family of ducks…the baby was just too cute! Well, the ducks and I took a walk…seriously, everywhere I went the ducks followed me. We played follow the leader for a bit and headed back to our patio. Come to find out that DSIL left all the leftover pizza outside the night before on her patio chair in a giant Ziploc bag. Wasn’t that nice of us to buy tons of pizzas for everyone and give it all away!?



Ahem…anywhooo…while the ducks and I were out for a stroll, some other lovely feathered friends had discovered the pizza on the patio and had eaten half of the Ziploc bag and were tearing the pizza to pieces…I’m thinking ducks and birds in general, are lactose intolerant…want to know why I think this? The lighter it got outside, the better view I had of DSIL’s patio and the “poop-fest” that has occurred there. No respect for the occupants of the hotel room, or the furniture, or anything else for that matter…Remember the saying – the **** hit the fan? (Pardon my French!) Well, that’s what it looked like…like a giant fan blew poop EVERYWHERE – I think there was even some “spackle” on the sliding glass doors!! I won’t gross you all out, but let’s just say that the pizza didn’t sit well with our fine, feathered friends! In light of last night’s ranting and ravings by my DSIL, I found this to be very, very funny…karma at it’s best…She pooped on my Disney World so to speak, and Walt found a way to give it back!! Thank you, sir!!! I vow from here on out to give you all of my family’s money every year JUST BECAUSE that was soooo funny!!



So after I compose myself and finish my coffee, I go inside to try and rally the troops. Wasn’t happening…nothing…no sign of movement and no sign that it would happen anytime soon either. The wake up call came and it was me who answered…not DS as I’d hoped. Guess I wore him out the night before…



For some reason, we didn’t get a stroller yesterday…probably because we thought we’d see how he did…I recall asking him and he didn’t want one…by 9pm, his wagon was draggin’ but he was a trooper…he kept up the best he could and walked the whole way…was not carried once…today we’d try and talk him into it. Ok, I’m now on my second pot, not cup, of coffee…it’s 7:30…I can’t take it anymore…I wake my guys and they get up and moving. While they’re waking up, I go outside on the patio to have a cigarette and there is DSIL…swearing at my ducks! Ah, good morning sunshine. She’s not dressed, my BIL is still sleeping. We’ll never make rope drop…I’ve warned them all about rope drop…apparently it went in one ear and out the other. Either that or she couldn’t hear me over hear swearing like a sailor!



I tried to get her up and moving and she pretty much told me where to go, and then told me not to leave without them…well, I said, you’ve got a half hour…THEN we’re leaving. Surprisingly enough, everyone is up and ready pretty quickly and I’m rushing them all out the door…I hear grumbling amongst the troops…What?! Now you want to eat, too? Did you maybe think about eating earlier??? UGH…ok, FINE – we’ll eat something off a cart when we get there, can we just go?!?! No – they want to sit down and eat breakfast…FINE…eat QUICKLY. We got to Whispering Canyon in time to find a 25 minute wait…think my head is going to just blow right off my shoulders…until – they made me laugh there…Ok, I’ll chill out a bit…we sat down for breakfast and had a really nice time! Really enjoy that restaurant – we’ll have to go back! Finally we pay the check and head out of WCC, DSIL/BIL go right, towards the lobby doors and we head left, to go to the boat…Hmmm…where are you going? Well, where are YOU going? DSIL wants to take the bus…it’s faster…this, from the world traveler herself. I said that I didn’t want to take the bus, I’d rather take the boat. “Well”, she says, so-and-so “says that the buses are faster from this hotel.” Ok, well obviously since it’s now ELEVEN A.M., I’m not in any rush. You can go take the bus I tell her and we’ll take the boat and meet you there. Nope…she wasn’t going by herself (some city girl, eh) but she was going to make everyone on the boat unhappy because of the fact that “So-and-so” said the bus was faster…



Ok, we get to Magic Kingdom, fairly quickly I think, but nonetheless, we’re there!



We head to Tomorrowland and already the complaining starts…DSIL…wait, from now on we’ll refer to her as Cruella – it suits her I think (Thanks OhMari!)…so now Cruella is complaining about how everywhere you go at Disney World, you have to walk. Can you guys believe that? Now I’d warned her about the amount of walking we’d do. She even bought new sneakers and Teva’s for the trip, so she knew there’d be walking. Maybe she was saying it so that others would be forewarned that they’d do a lot of walking that day?!? That must be it, as it was certainly loud enough for all to hear! The complaining subsided though when there was a shop to go into…she had no problem there. We went to Carousel of Progress, one of my longtime favorites since I was a child…We walked right in, no waiting so everyone was happy. Now imagine this – the theatre was not even 50% full and she goes up front and asks this couple to move so we can all sit together…can’t even tell you how empty the theatre was and she’s asking people to move. Well, the couple gave her this blank stare and shrugged their shoulders…turns out they don’t speak English. Well, that set her off…the last I heard was “Well if you can’t speak the language, then you…”and I walked away and sat about 10 seats away…DS, DH and I enjoyed it, she checked her voicemail throughout it…when we left, she went on and on about how she didn’t like it…Grrr…there she goes, raining on my parade again…



We headed off to the Indy speedway so DS could drive the cars. Cruella is now complaining about the lack of smoking areas instead of the walk…it’s almost refreshing! We decide to send the boys and I’ll go with her to the smoking area as we all know that she can’t go anywhere alone! We sit on the bench at the smoking area by the train stop at Mickey’s Toontown. Again with the cell phone. I tune her out and talk about the cool things that await us…a load of people get off the train and someone must’ve looked at Cruella, because BANG – she was off like a rocket…using all of George Carlin’s favorite words…I was mortified…I told her that no one said anything about her smoking and she went on and on swearing at everyone and purposely blowing her smoke at people walking by…Have you guys ever heard of such behavior? THEN to top it off she now directs her bombs at me – telling me that she left her mother at home and didn’t need me here, etc…Oh – did I mention that my SIL is in her late 50’s? Real mature, eh?



So I left and caught my baby just in time driving his Indy car! I think DH’s neck still hurts from his “wild ride”…

Well, I think I’ve had enough “reminiscing” for one evening…hope I’ll be able to sleep! Up next…Frontierland…Wish me luck!



Good night everyone! Thanks for playing our game!

 

[sherreis]

Thanks for the update and looking forward to more. I have a feeling that my SIL is related to yours.
The worst part of your TR, is that I have a feeling that it is going to get even worse yet. Hard to imagine.

 

[dean556]

your SIL sounds just like mine,I dont think I could bring myself to ever go to the world with her no matter how much she begs

I feel for you!

 

[Adi12982]

Hello - I'm a fellow Lurker - I am part of another board (GASP) but I love to come here and read what people are saying. . . I just HAD to join after reading the start of your TR! WOW - I am soooo soooo soooo sooo sorry that this is what you had to put up with. I look forward to sympathizing firther with you and reading what else is going to come out of Cruella's mouth!

 

[casey49781]

Love the report,,,Sorry she was so nasty,,,,

 

[MousekaMaddi]

u had me at hello............................more please

 

[Lauralee131]

Wow - I have a page 3! I feel like Sally Field on Oscar Night...you like me, you really like me! A few shout-outs:


Sherreis - Thank you! And yes, unfortunately, it's gets worse...

dean556 - Thanks for your sympathy! It's much appreciated!

Adi2982 - Welcome!! Glad you're here! You'll love these boards - so many great people and wonderful stories...

Casey49781 - Thanks so much for reading!

Mouskemaddi - Thank you as well....

I really appreciate all of your comments! I am finding it increasingly more difficult to write this TR and I'm only on day 2! The sad thing is that DSIL and I were extremely close prior to this trip...spoke on the phone just about everyday, shopped till we dropped together at all the major JC Penney sales, etc...it's funny how a vacation can change things....

I leave tomorrow for a business trip for 4 days, but I'll try very hard to keep it going!! Thanks again for all of your support! And for letting me air my dirty laundry!!

Remember - friends don't let friends go on vacation with family!!

 

[Lauralee131]

Ok Mousketeers, I’m back…and we’re still on Day 2, getting ready to leave Tomorrowland. I feel deflated…not the trip I was hoping for, that’s an understatement. Now, no one wanted to “plan” their trips thru the parks because I, their Disney Nazi, have planned out meals, which has stressed them all out, so we are basically wandering the Magic Kingdom, which actually wasn’t that bad, all things considered…I mean, really, can it get much worse Friends? Ummmm….yeah, it can. We continue wandering and DS and I decide to ride the Tea Cups…love that ride. Just looking at it makes my DH sick, so riding it was not an option. DS on the other hand, LOVES rides…the wilder the better…I can’t wait until he gets taller to do Space Mountain, etc. with me. I use that to try and get him to eat veggies, by the way, and it doesn’t work. Just the sight of even a green spice on his place and his Junior Eating Disorder kicks in and then he can’t eat anything at all. Kind of funny actually…



So we continue wandering and as we pass the Dumbo ride, it appears they’re filming something…they actually have cameras everywhere and a big screen up behind the ride, but we can’t see anything going on “celebrity-wise”, so we keep going, but keep our eyes peeled for the plaid vests, just in case. We head to It’s a Small World…Cruella and…hmmm…we need a name for him, don’t we Friends…how about Horace? Ok, so Cruella decides she doesn’t want to ride and she and Horace will wait for us. She’s complaining about wanting to find a smoking area and having to walk so I tell them that they don’t need sit outside and wait for us, feel free to go off on your own. No, big sigh, we’ll wait…Great. Thanks.



DH, DS and I ride Small World and we came out and there they were…looking very happy – NOT. We wanted to hit Peter Pan, but there was a pretty decent wait…Cruella had a fit and began making a scene that she has to wait for everything in this place and it’s filled with screaming kids…Hmmm…did you NOT think there’d be kids here? At Disney World?!?!



So off we wander to Liberty Square and to the Hall of Presidents. I really enjoy it and figured it’s a bit more grown up so it may please some of the rest of our traveling party. Oh no, what if we have to wait? The parade had just ended so it was a bit crowded out there. DH goes to park our stroller and I walk over to say something and I turn around and there I am, face to face with Kelly Ripa! (She looks happy, eh?)

She looked at me and immediately turned her back to me…friendly, eh? She didn’t look happy…her littlest one was not in the best mood, so I could definitely sympathize! So, I ogled her hubby for a minute and then we went in to the HOP. We all enjoyed it and when it was over we reorganized our stroller a bit before moving on. Cruella was now storing all of her things in the stroller – remember, she enjoys the shops and the stroller was getting a bit crowded, so I tried to make room for DS, etc…and then I hear a raise in volume coming out of Cruella…she’s now yelling and swearing at Horace for falling asleep inside the HOP! He’s finally giving it back to her saying he wasn’t sleeping and then, the worst happens…she turns to ME (gulp)…did YOU see him sleeping?? No, I said, I was enjoying the show, not looking to see if Horace was sleeping and besides, I didn’t hear any snoring, so maybe he wasn’t sleeping! Uh oh…Houston, we have a problem…she is now SCREAMING at poor Horace for sleeping and LYING about sleeping…dropping those f-bombs like they were any other word, such as “and” or “if”…and LOUD…With that, she curses him out one more time and walks away…Horace, swearing loudly to himself, but I’m sure not so loudly that SHE could hear him, followed her…So there we our, DS, DH and I looking at each other, both glad they’re gone and wondering if we should go find them? All their crap is now piled in our stroller and they’re gone. Naw, let’s enjoy the quiet for a while! We head to Haunted Mansion, just the 3 of us and had a nice time…Notice the "relieved and relaxed" smile on DH's face...Ahhhhh

DS really enjoyed it and the little details, the moving face in the headstone, etc really blew his little mind. It was cute.

It was kind of funny watching DS out of the corner of my eye as he wasn't sure what he just saw here...did it move? Didn't it move? I had a bit of fun with it, I'll admit..."I didn't see anything, what are you talking about?" It was fun...

And we enjoyed each other's company. We meandered towards the park exit, kind of looking for Cruella and Horace so we didn’t get saddled with all their stuff! It’s getting close to dinner time and we’re getting hungry so we make our way towards the exit, slowly giving them one last chance to get their stuff…We stopped at the back of the castle as we were stuck in a bottle neck and took a couple of pictures…Cinderellabration was going on so we had a few minutes to wait. By the time we actually got to where we turned in the stroller, still no sign of Horace and Cruella, so now we’re stuck with all that junk, plus our own. Ah well, it’s a small sacrifice for a peaceful evening! We decided to take the monorail over to the Poly and grab something to eat. We went into Kona, which was like a ghost town and we had a fabulous meal, just the 3 of us and enjoyed each other’s company, agreeing that this afternoon has been the best of our trip so far. We strolled around the Poly for a bit and then made our way back to the WL laden with bags and had a nice relaxing evening for a change. I made out all my Paying it Forward post cards and popped them in the mail…glad to share some Pixie Dust with others… Mouskeeping left us a little towel animal with a thank you note for her tip! Can you believe that? How sweet!

DS lay in bed, listening to the bedtime stories on TV and DH and I relaxed and yes, I had a few drinks …again! Cruella and Horace were still no where to be seen…it was a good night!! Thank you Vacation Gods...I'm not worthy!!

Well gang, I have to get ready for work...have a great day everyone!!! And thanks again for reading!!

 

[Adi12982]

I am really happy to see that you had a better day 2. I am really bothered by the language out of Cruella! My DH and I are soooo careful at WDW (an other places with kids). . . I mean we really shouldn't swear anyhow, and when i have children I do not want them hearing those words. . . so I do not want to be a hypocrite.

I hope your next trip is the magical trip you grew up loving so much!! The worst trip we ever had to WDW was when my mom invited my uncle, his wife and my cousin. . . . that was the only trip my mom wasn't in charge and he (my uncle) was grumpy and didn't want to stay past 5pm ANYWHERE. . . needless to say my mom said never again. Made the mistake in 2002 to invite my BIL (back then DH and I were not married). . . invited him to split costs (I was in High School and financing this trip) and so he could help my DH with carrying my brother onto rides (My brother is in a wheelchair) - what a mistake that was, he basically ONLY paid for his tickets after a HUGE fight at Typhoon Lagoon - he got a free ride on housing, food, etc. The best day we had was the day he decided to sit by because it was raining and my DH, brother and I had a blast!!! Once again, never again! You live and you learn!! Now I will go with my MIL and FIL, my mom and step dad, brother, his GF of two years and DH (and if my grandparents wanted to come them too). . . Like you Disney means sooooo much to me and I do not want anyone putting a damper on my magical trip!

 

[PrincessV]

OMG - I really don't know whether to laugh or cry! Cruella's behavior is, without a doubt, the worst I've ever heard of in WDW. I'm so sorry your family had to deal with it, and I swear, I just gave a great big sigh of relief on your behalf when Cruelle and Horace took off and left you guys alone!
Unfortunately, I suspect they'll be back soon...

 

[**pixiedust**]

I know that this must have been torture on you, but as an outsider reading it it is so funny! You are a great writer! I can't wait for more!

I just have one question - and PLEASE don't take this the wrong way as I am just curious. Didn't your sister-in-law exhibit any of these traits before you went to WDW? There was nothing that might have tipped you off that she would behave like this? I'm just saying...did she magically turn into a you-know-what when she entered Orlando???

 

[Lauralee131]

I am really happy to see that you had a better day 2. I am really bothered by the language out of Cruella! My DH and I are soooo careful at WDW (an other places with kids). . . I mean we really shouldn't swear anyhow, and when i have children I do not want them hearing those words. . . so I do not want to be a hypocrite.

I hope your next trip is the magical trip you grew up loving so much!! The worst trip we ever had to WDW was when my mom invited my uncle, his wife and my cousin. . . . that was the only trip my mom wasn't in charge and he (my uncle) was grumpy and didn't want to stay past 5pm ANYWHERE. . . needless to say my mom said never again. Made the mistake in 2002 to invite my BIL (back then DH and I were not married). . . invited him to split costs (I was in High School and financing this trip) and so he could help my DH with carrying my brother onto rides (My brother is in a wheelchair) - what a mistake that was, he basically ONLY paid for his tickets after a HUGE fight at Typhoon Lagoon - he got a free ride on housing, food, etc. The best day we had was the day he decided to sit by because it was raining and my DH, brother and I had a blast!!! Once again, never again! You live and you learn!! Now I will go with my MIL and FIL, my mom and step dad, brother, his GF of two years and DH (and if my grandparents wanted to come them too). . . Like you Disney means sooooo much to me and I do not want anyone putting a damper on my magical trip!

Thank you Adi12982 - I was pretty appaled by it either and I'm no saint myself, but boy, of all places to behave like that! And around my son as well - they normally don't act like that so I was just shocked...But you'll see...it continues...

 

[Lauralee131]

OMG - I really don't know whether to laugh or cry! Cruella's behavior is, without a doubt, the worst I've ever heard of in WDW. I'm so sorry your family had to deal with it, and I swear, I just gave a great big sigh of relief on your behalf when Cruelle and Horace took off and left you guys alone!
Unfortunately, I suspect they'll be back soon...

Unbelievable, isn't it PrincessV? I have never seen such behavior in the parks, no less out of them...Your "spidey-senses" are correct...they do come back...
It really was awesome when they were gone...the tension was less and even though our load we were carrying was much heavier, I felt a lot lighter!!

It's like one long bad episode of Seinfeld or something...but no - at least they laughed once in a while!! I'll try and write more tonight after I finish packing...

Can't wait for December...going to be soooo much better...I feel like I'm getting a "Do Over"!!

 

[Lauralee131]

I know that this must have been torture on you, but as an outsider reading it it is so funny! You are a great writer! I can't wait for more!

I just have one question - and PLEASE don't take this the wrong way as I am just curious. Didn't your sister-in-law exhibit any of these traits before you went to WDW? There was nothing that might have tipped you off that she would behave like this? I'm just saying...did she magically turn into a you-know-what when she entered Orlando???

Know what, Pixiedust, we spend lots and lots of time with them throughout the year. She's always been kind of high strung, but because of her profession, she's on the run all the time, but OMG - NOTHING like this Cruella-Does-Disney impersonation she was doing...If she was anything like that, I would never have invited them. And she's never been and she loves my son to pieces and I just thought it would be nice to go on an extended vacation together, plus we were moving down South shortly after that, so the trip was really special...or it was supposed to be anyway. Disney Villians gone wild, I guess!!!

It doesn't improve a whole lot either from here on out...gotta tell ya!! I'll write more as soon as I can!! And thanks for the compliments and thanks for reading!!