Our Magically Dysfunctional Gathering

[Lauralee131]

Welcome back. I can't believe these people. They're leaving you with some pretty steep bills. You could've had another trip for you with what you've been spending. Loved when you had the boat go faster.

Thanks Sherri! I was kind of enjoying that moment on the boat too! Wish you could have seen her hanging on for dear life!! It was awesome!!

 

[Lauralee131]

You look so happy raising the flag and being on Main Street. I truely hope that there were enough happy moments to offset to evilness that is your SIL.

Thank you for sharing your cautionary tale, and I hope you have a much better time in December (we'll be then too, the 2nd to the 10th!)

Thanks for the kind words, bekkiz! They are very much appreciated. I'm soooo looking forward to December! We're staying at the Poly (the 2nd to the 9th)...we should look for each other!!

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

OMG, the nerve of some people!

I can't even imagine being stuck with large bills like that, over and over again.
I probably would have lost it.

Can't wait for the rest!

 

[DisneyMissy318]

Glad you are back from your trip! Caught up with all of the antics this morning - all I can say is What Nerve your SIL has!

I would have prepared an itemized list and presented to her with attached receipts! If you haven't already - Christmas is just around the corner - you could print it out in Disney Font and wrap it in a present!

Was there a mistake with the TS credits - I think that is my fear! Yikes!

Anxiously awaiting the rest!

~M~
Melissa
Mom2Madi

 

[sherreis]

Glad you are back from your trip! Caught up with all of the antics this morning - all I can say is What Nerve your SIL has!

I would have prepared an itemized list and presented to her with attached receipts! If you haven't already - Christmas is just around the corner - you could print it out in Disney Font and wrap it in a present!

Love that idea!

 

[MainStMandy]

OMG your trip report rocks. My ex-husband and I took friends with us a couple years ago...disaster!! I just thought it would be fun to show them Disney the right way...let's just say our vacation habits are a bit different...They took the wrong flight, ended up arriving 12 hours later than they should have, and the wife of my dear friend has sprained her ankle and DIDN'T TELL US TILL SHE GOT THERE!! We wasted our first day getting her a wheelchair...I feel for you!

 

[aries1980]

I just spent the last hour reading from the start. I dont know how youve done it so far.. very good trip report by the way too, Love to comment more but must go pick uop the dh from work. Will check in aagain, cant wait to see what happens next.

 

[Lauralee131]

OMG, the nerve of some people!

I can't even imagine being stuck with large bills like that, over and over again.
I probably would have lost it.

Can't wait for the rest!

Thanks Nurse_Mommy4...I can't believe that I kept my cool...For a while I felt bad that maybe they didn't have the money or something and maybe I somehow sucked them into going and they couldn't say they couldn't afford it? Who knows. But as far as the attitude and the behavior of hers/theirs go? That was simply inexcuseable and unacceptable, especially considering where we were. Who needs to be like that at Disney World of all places?!! I think I finally came to the realization that in the end, they ruined their own trip, which is worse than ruining someone else's...they spent all that money to be miserable. It is what you make of it and they never even gave it a chance to just be happy and enjoy themselves for 9 stinkin' days...their loss...

I can at least laugh about them and try to throw them overboard behind their backs!!

Thanks for reading...I'll try and get more done ASAP...

 

[Lauralee131]

Glad you are back from your trip! Caught up with all of the antics this morning - all I can say is What Nerve your SIL has!

I would have prepared an itemized list and presented to her with attached receipts! If you haven't already - Christmas is just around the corner - you could print it out in Disney Font and wrap it in a present!

Was there a mistake with the TS credits - I think that is my fear! Yikes!

Anxiously awaiting the rest!

~M~
Melissa
Mom2Madi

Thanks Missy! You just can't take some people anywhere! LOVE that idea by the way! Had me rolling!!

Yes, there was a mistake with the TS credits...we called and checked on it when we got back and the front desk was able to the next day and we had plenty to spare. We were so freaked out that I cancelled the Luau, thinking that we were all out of credits, seeing as I'd already had more than enough expensive dinners, if you know what I mean!

Thanks for reading - I'll get some more out as soon as I can!

 

[Lauralee131]

OMG your trip report rocks. My ex-husband and I took friends with us a couple years ago...disaster!! I just thought it would be fun to show them Disney the right way...let's just say our vacation habits are a bit different...They took the wrong flight, ended up arriving 12 hours later than they should have, and the wife of my dear friend has sprained her ankle and DIDN'T TELL US TILL SHE GOT THERE!! We wasted our first day getting her a wheelchair...I feel for you!

Thanks MainStMandy...good knowing there are others who can sympathise with that whole "Gotta laugh to keep from crying" vibe I had going!!

There's yet even more antics to come as soon as I can get it out...I have a lot of work to catch up on from being away, but will hammer it out as soon as I can.

Thanks again so much for reading!!

 

[Lauralee131]

I just spent the last hour reading from the start. I dont know how youve done it so far.. very good trip report by the way too, Love to comment more but must go pick uop the dh from work. Will check in aagain, cant wait to see what happens next.

Hey aries! Welcome to my nightmare! Thanks for reading! I appreciate it...misery loves company!

There were a few good times, but we all know that it's the bad ones that always stick in our heads up in the forefront, right! And I guess the drama makes for good reading!

Thanks again for reading...I'll get some more out as soon as I can!

 

[Eeyore's Tiara]

I leave for a week and come back to all of this! Wow, you've been busy!

I am truly sympathizing with you about this trip. But at least you got to see Kelly Ripa and her dh. Why is it that when people are being extremelly difficult, they don't want to go their own way and let you have any peace? It seems like the worse they're wound up the more they refuse to split up for the day.

My dh was so frustrated he said we were coming back without anyone with us this next year. Hey, did you catch the next year part? I've converted him... He'd never been to Disney before this, but he enjoyed himself when we managed to have alone time.

Your TR makes me wonder how you are getting along with your DSIL and DBIL at this point in time. Are you on speaking terms? Are you just going to forgive them the money to salvage whats left of your relationship with them? And did the hotel ever say anything about their smoking in the room?

 

[DebIreland]

Wow! GREAT report! I love it! Although at times my heart was breaking for you having to put up with that pair. Disney World trips are so precious, it's just horrendous when someone sabotages a second of them. I'm angry on your behalf How come your hands didn't involuntarily reach to trottle her? lol You are a saint! I was so relieved when you and your two guys got some time to yourselves.

Nope – she forgot…went shopping…bought a beach towel for the mailman or somebody.

I remind her not to forget the paper boy with a snarky smirk…she doesn’t get it and asks me, “Should I really get him something?”

Too funny!

Your little boy is so cute - that photo of him sulking on the monorail is just adorable. That's one to blow up to life-size for his 21st birthday!

Can't wait to hear more. You, your DH and your boy make a lovely looking family.

 

[krismom]

Awwww- I'm at the end already?! You are seriously making me reconsider ever traveling my husband's family. My family, of course, does Disney right! Anxiously awaiting more...
PS- Just curious, did the Ripa family have a plaid vested tour guide or did they wait in lines like us regular folk? (my respect for her hangs in the balance!)

 

[DawnA401]

I am really enjoying your report. Maybe next time I could come with u, I would like some free meals too....

 

[Lauralee131]

I leave for a week and come back to all of this! Wow, you've been busy!

I am truly sympathizing with you about this trip. But at least you got to see Kelly Ripa and her dh. Why is it that when people are being extremelly difficult, they don't want to go their own way and let you have any peace? It seems like the worse they're wound up the more they refuse to split up for the day.

My dh was so frustrated he said we were coming back without anyone with us this next year. Hey, did you catch the next year part? I've converted him... He'd never been to Disney before this, but he enjoyed himself when we managed to have alone time.

Your TR makes me wonder how you are getting along with your DSIL and DBIL at this point in time. Are you on speaking terms? Are you just going to forgive them the money to salvage whats left of your relationship with them? And did the hotel ever say anything about their smoking in the room?

Thanks ET...I've still got a few days left to post and have to get back at it...I tend to get wrapped up every where else on the Disboards and forget all about finishing my TR...going to try and work on it today. Thanks for the sympathy - it is much appreciated! Nothing some shock therapy and time on the Disboards venting won't fix though! Congrats for converting your DH!! Mine is very much looking forward to going back in December...and just the 3 of us!

We (DSIL/DBIL) are back on speaking terms...how could we not be? We don't have a lot of family and were SOOOO close prior....but, it's not the same. DSIL used to talk on the phone pretty much daily now it's every week to 2 weeks we catch up, but definitely not the same....there's some kind of invisible wall there now. We weren't speaking when we departed the World and didn't for a couple of months afterwards and it was as if the trip never happened. We've never spoken of it since - in fact, I haven't even seen the pictures she took...she hasn't offered and I haven't asked.

And no, the hotel never said anything about their smoking...although I would imagine the people occupying the room after they left probably did!

 

[Lauralee131]

Your little boy is so cute - that photo of him sulking on the monorail is just adorable. That's one to blow up to life-size for his 21st birthday!

Thanks Deb! How'd you know I was going to use that sulking shot as future embarrassment?!?!

I have a few that I'm saving for future special occasions...first girlfriend, wedding, etc...

And of course some of these pictures will come with parenting advice for him, like:

Never turn your back for a second while your baby is eating...

And to panic when you think your child is occupied at the kitchen table and you hear "I look just like Daddy"...again, never turn your back - even for a second...

Ah yes...I'm definitely stashing these away for later!! LOL, but anyway, I'm getting away from myself! Thank you for reading...I don't know why I didn't throttle her either...Several times I considered it...but her behavior was bad enough...I didn't want to sink to her level!!!

 

[Lauralee131]

Awwww- I'm at the end already?! You are seriously making me reconsider ever traveling my husband's family. My family, of course, does Disney right! Anxiously awaiting more...

DON'T DO IT - SAVE YOURSELF!!!!

PS- Just curious, did the Ripa family have a plaid vested tour guide or did they wait in lines like us regular folk? (my respect for her hangs in the balance!)

The Ripa family did have a plaid vested tour guide...the guide even pushed the kids' stroller for them...which I had a hard time understanding the need for that...it wasn't like she was signing autographs or being friendly to fans or anything...

 

[Lauralee131]

I am really enjoying your report. Maybe next time I could come with u, I would like some free meals too....

Good one, you got me there!!! I totally deserved that!!

 

[Lauralee131]

I decided that today was the day I was going to go and tour SSR…I’ve been wanting to buy into DVC for years and I’m going to do it this year. Yessireee…this is the year…right before we left for WDW, we were informed that my job is transferring us to North Carolina…that means we’re going to be selling our house…we have a ton of equity in it and this is our chance!!! Yipppeeeee!!!! The van will pick us up and then drop us off anywhere we want afterwards…maybe we’ll just veg out by the pool today…Hmmm…I think I’ll try and talk Cruella into going to Wal-Mart to buy her Disney souvenirs! Then I hear it…”We’re coming too…maybe we’ll buy one…” I think, ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? You can’t even buy your own food!!! Ok, so I know that they won’t buy one, so why should I care if they come? And then I hear that So-And-So, you all remember So-And-So, right?? Well, So-And-So has a timeshare somewhere in Orlando and of course, it’s the best so Cruella is going to scout out a Disney timeshare just for the heck of it, because if they do buy one, it’s going to be where So-And-So says to buy. Phew…lucking out there!!! I sarcastically ask why then is she slumming with us at the WL when she could be staying at So-And-So’s timeshare…What’s that? Oh – they only have it for a certain week during the year? Oh yes, I say, So-And-So is brilliant…that’s far better than buying a bunch of points that you can use any time of the year…It’s much better to be locked in to the same week each year…spontaneity is so over-rated!! So off we go…we arrive at SSR and are given coffee and donuts, etc. while we look around a bit…I wonder to myself if Cruella will shove some in her purse so she can have yet another free meal later too….hee hee…But she surprises me and doesn’t…but true to form, she criticizes the coffee…even though it’s free, it should taste better she says…WHATEVER… It's pretty sad when even FREE isn't good enough...



We meet Bernard, who remembers speaking to me on the phone last year he says. Yeah, sure I think…you probably just searched for my name in the computer or something, but he mentions my “unusual” name and recalls a joke I made about my last name…Wow – is it really possible? Ok, I like you already…now where do I sign? We get ready to tour the units and surprisingly, there was absolutely no pressure and no sales pitch. He is pleasant and Cruella reverts to her real estate agent persona and makes sure that he knows she is an agent…even walking to the units, she announces loudly that she’s used to giving these kinds of tours and it’s so unusual to be on the other end…Bernard must not have heard because she scurried up to his side and said it even louder. He was very polite to her but he must’ve sensed that she wasn’t going to buy…his answers were all directed to me and DH and around her. Of course, she totally manipulated the conversations throughout our tour of the units, but I was able to squeak in my few questions. DH and I decide that we’re going to get either a 1 or 2 bedroom and the only issue we now have is that buying at this time will show on our credit report and we’re going to have to get a mortgage in our new location in a few weeks. Bernard assures me that buying into Disney Vacation Club is a private mortgage transaction and I should have no problems and gives me a name/number to call in member finance to have that explained to me in more detail. We return to the office and get some more details and then we’re off to the ice cream parlor and wait for the van to return to pick us up. DS and I enjoy some ice cream while everyone else goes outside for a smoke. Cruella had been complaining that she needed one so I happily said “You go ahead, we’ll be in here”…



We decide to head back to WL when the van comes and I start placing subliminal suggestions that Cruella and Horace should get the rental car today…it’s good weather for shopping…Have you gotten anything for the Avon lady yet? Turns out that was the phrase that worked…they go to the front desk to see about getting a car and the boys and I decide that it’s a good pool day…Cruella comes back excitedly saying that she can rent a car for only $21 and that sealed it. We split up, agreeing to catch up that night for dinner and the boys and I get our suits on and head to the pool. The 3 of us had a great time. What a nice, relaxing day. I went back to the room to get my book so I could lounge around and read and Mousekeeping was just finishing up our room…she grabbed my hand and squeezed so hard and thanked me profusely for tips I’d been leaving and I told her that I appreciated the towel animals she’d left and she said that ours was one of the cleanest rooms she’s had and that some, and she nodded her eyes toward the connecting door to Cruella’s room, were so bad that it made her want to cry. I apologized for that and she again squeezed my hand and thanked me over and over again and said how much she appreciated our leaving her a tip each day…What a nice lady she was…and our room was always spotless with a cute little towel animal each day…


I headed back to the pool and we spent most of the day there…DH was happy as he had a day that I was not “dragging him around like a rag doll”, while the MK was silently calling my name, but I resisted and enjoyed a slow day.



Cruella and Horace came back near 4:00…uh oh…she doesn’t look happy…she looks stressed out…Silently I enjoy this…and ask for more details! Turns out that the rental car didn’t cost $21…it ended up costing over $200…I couldn’t help myself…I burst out laughing…she told me that they took the insurance…HA HA HA you did WHAT?!?! See – I told you they don’t travel much! I’m loving this…she’s ranting about the cost of the car, making me feel soooo much better about the cost of those meals…But wait, it gets better…She pulls out her Wal-Mart bags…want to know what she bought?? Huh? Do ya?? She pulls out a vacuum packed brick of coffee, a purse and a sheet of Mickey Mouse stickers that she bought for DS with his name on it…I reduce the urge to burst out laughing…She spent over $200 on a rental to car to go to Wal-Mart for $15.00 worth of stuff…I can’t take it…I need to excuse myself…I go next door to my room and laugh hysterically into a pillow so she can’t hear. And I’ll admit it…I laughed so hard that a little pee came out!! Can you believe that? They came all the way to Walt Disney World to go to Wal-Mart, which is located every 5 miles in New Jersey, to spend $200 on a rental car to buy COFFEE …I’m LOVING this people!!! I compose myself and go back outside where we discuss our plans for the evening…

A knock at our door and DH opens it to see our Mousekeeper there...she is done with her shift and wanted to come and thank him personally as well for our generosity. Can you believe that? What a sweetheart. For those of you not sure about tipping...believe me, it is appreciated by Mousekeepers!!! I thought that was the nicest thing and I made sure before the end of our trip to tell the front desk about what great service we got and how sweet she was...



DS has been asking to go to “Kids Club”, so we decide to sign him up and then head to DTD…we decide to leave at 5:30 and drop off DS on our way to the bus stop. Surprisingly Cruella is not yet ready so I go to drop off DS at kids club and return to our room to get ready to go…Now I’m mad…really, really mad. I’m paying $10 an hour for the Cub’s Den to sit in my room and wait for Cruella. It’s now after 6:30 and I flip out. That’s it, we’re leaving…you can meet us there…Buh Bye… All of a sudden they emerge…funny how threats work…I think they do this on purpose…we get out to the bus stop and catch the DTD bus just in time…Cruella and Horace sit across from us and I decide to work some more subliminal “ditching”…I tell Cruella that this is the perfect night for them to go shopping in DTD and DH and I will head to Pleasure Island. I have my cell phone on me, call me when you get to P.I. and we’ll tell you where to meet us. She said that she thought we’d hit DTD stores with them and I said “Well, if I hadn’t have wasted 2 hours in the hotel waiting for them to get ready while paying for babysitting for DS, I would have, but it’s late and I want to go have a good time. With that, I practically push them off the bus at DTD and you can see the anger on her face…she starts cursing as they get off the bus and I enjoy that moment…it worked, it worked…They stand there on the sidewalk outside our window and I can see her yelling at me…I vaguely hear her favorite 4 letter words and put my hand to my ear, motioning that I can’t hear her and laugh and wave goodbye…DH tells me that was mean…then he hugs me…We head to P.I. and immediately get a couple of drinks upon entering and walk around to decide what to eat for dinner. I love the drinks at P.I. – they’re strong and yummy…we go by the theater where LaNouba is and DH wants to know why we didn’t get tickets for that. I told him that So-And-So didn’t like the show…he growls and we agree that since we’re buying into DVC and will be back soon, that we will go next time. I can see on his face that he’s bummed we’re missing it. We keep drinking and walking and we settle on House of Blues for dinner and there’s a 20 to 30 minute wait so we get a couple of drinks and sit outside...it’s a beautiful night and we enjoy our time together and it passes quickly – soon our table is ready and we head inside.



We enjoy a few more drinks…ok, I do, DH isn’t a big drinker, which works out great for me…permanent designated driver! But anywho…the drinks continue to flow and we have a yummy dinner – try the ribs next time you’re there…they were awesome! After dinner we decided to go and check out the Adventurer’s Club…and what a great decision that was….it was fabulous. We had a great time and again decide to hit this one again next time…It was a really good show, we laughed a lot and once again, Disney has outdone themselves with the details…for example, have you noticed the ship in the bottle above the bar? I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t been, but I highly recommend it and think that it should be seen twice as you’ll spend so much time taking in the surroundings that you may lose a bit of focus during the show. Or maybe it was my buddy Jack Daniels robbing me of my focus. At the end of the show we decided it was time to head back to pick up DS…as much as I would have loved to stay it would have made for a really long night for a little guy. I check my phone – nothing from Cruella and Horace…it was a good night. I had one too many drinks and had the giggles and told DH that he had to go into the Cub’s Den and pick up DS as I couldn’t!! Ok, maybe a little less drinking next time…Naw…it was fun. DS had a great time and was already asking to go back again…Well, OK – if you HAVE TO….how nice to enjoy a grown up night out!!! That’s pretty much all I remember…Tomorrow is MGM day!! YAY!!!!



G’night everyone!!