Overdue and Overpacked: POR 9/23-10/1 THE EPILOGUE IS NOW UP ON PAGE 25

[LaLa]

Okay, so technically I guess this is my second go round trying to write this trip report. But after living off PB&Js and MREs for a full month before our trip to POR back in September, the first go round ended up reading more like a dining trip report than anything else.

Seriously.

I left out so much good day to day stuff that I decided to give it another shot with some actual theme park DETAILS instead of a mere dining blow by blow…. “We ate at blah blah blah and OMG, it was AWESOME!”

Soooo, here goes. But let me warn ya: I’m no Vettechick or ZZUB, so just don’t expect too much from me and you won’t be disappointed. That’s kinda my motto.

I’ll try not to bore you with too many long, drawn out minute details of how our trip came to be. Basically, we wanted to go for our 10th anniversary.…ALONE. At the Grand Floridian. We figured 4 days would be awesome. No kids. Just us, like it used to be way back in the day.

But the problem is that we really love our kids. Our kids really, really, really love The Mouse. Like crazy love The Mouse. They loved The Mouse before they ever even knew The Mouse. They love The Mouse so much that you hate The Mouse compared to how much they love The Mouse. Soooo, therein lies the rub. We knew ourselves well enough to know that we would not be FULLY able to enjoy ourselves. We knew that we would be feelin’ The Guilt (you know, the inescapable parental guilt that pervades everyday life) in a big way every time we passed a cute little family of four in the parks with their sweet little Disney T-shirted kids dribbling melted Itzakadoozie juice all over themselves and giving The Mouse googly eyes.

Plus plug our little itinerary into your calculator and you will come to the conclusion that for the same price, we could bring both the young’uns with us and stay all week at a moderate. We pass up the pipedream yet again of actually laying our heads down in the GF and plan to bring the kiddies along.

We originally planned on going later than we did in October, but Katrina showed up and rocked our world. Thanks be to God, we escaped with minimal damage to our home and even though we had already planned and paid for our trip well in advance of the storm, we debated canceling just because there was so much devastation around us that we didn’t know if we would feel quite right takin’ off to DW while everything else around us was in shambles. We talked and talked and debated and debated, and finally decided that getting the kids away from the madness if only for a week would be a good thing. Because our trip was planned for the week that the kids would be returning to school, we had to push the trip up some and go while they were still out and the schools were being repaired.

I had worked on and obsessed over ADRs from the 90 day out window on, but I happily reworked them at the last minute with the help of a wonderful CM and I am glad to say that I got most of what I wanted. We got Chef Mickey’s, 1900 Park Fare, CG, Boma and several other good ones. BTW, we did have the Dining Plan, but it was not free. We had previously paid for it and just happened to be going at the same time as all the other peeps that got theirs for free. I will admit that I felt a little gypped that we actually had to PAY (gasp!) for the dining plan when all around us, there were people laughing hysterically upon being handed the receipt, but for the record, we will never return to DW WITHOUT purchasing the Dining Plan. Even with paying for it, it was soooo well worth it. Okay, there I go with the food again. Back on track….

So we gathered the crew, which consisted of…

Me Disney freak, family photographer and germ buster, notorious overplanner

DH Just as bad off as I am, although he likes to try to act like he isn’t

DS7 totally consumed by Star Wars and Power Rangers, can recite lines from Jim Carrey movies complete with mannerisms, likes to terrorize his little sister

DD4 complete girly girl, has been known to get DH to book a trip by merely batting her eyelashes and uttering “Daaaaaaddddy, I miss Mickey”

Okay, not sure of the abbreviations for this but we also went with some friends of ours….DH’s good friend from high school and his wife and two girls, we’ll call them DHF, DHFW, DHFDD1 and DHFDD2.

How ‘bout THEM apples? I made up my own abbreviations.

So, we make the LONG drive down to the House of Mouse. Before a family road trip, some kids may ask their parents, “How long till we get there?” Not ours. They ask “How many movies till we get there?’ Gotta love technology.

So, about 4 movies later, we cruise underneath those beautiful arches and are OH-fficially back in our little haven, our little place-o-happiness, where all your troubles seem to fade.

That’s the thing, isn’t it? That’s why we keep comin’ back, spending our hard earned cash. It’s because when you are there, you are in a perpetually happy place. Bosses disappear. Deadlines and stress are gone. The pressures of everyday life seem to fade away as soon as you arrive and hear the Main Street music and see that castle glowing green and blue and purple for the first time on your trip. I could go into much more detail concerning what we were glad to have left behind us at home on this particular trip, but I don’t think I will.

So, here we are approaching the Happiest Place on Earth.

Just to show our spirit, we are listening to none other than …... drum roll please…... Mouse Music. Nothin’ gets the kids pumped for The Mouse like playin’ M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E and hittin’ repeat.

BTW, for future reference, nothin’ drives DH crazier than the oh so lovely combination of Orlando traffic, screamin’ kids hyped up on a couple of Bug Juices and Skittles and playin’ M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E and hittin’ repeat. Seriously, the minivan was a’rockin’ when all of a sudden, we hear the most blood curdling scream come from the back of the van. It was DD. As Bill Cosby says, (we love us some Bill Cosby!) DH’s leg started shaking. The louder the scream, the more it shook. He was literally to his breaking point, when we saw what our sweet little princess was freaking out about.

You see, to her, the arches do not mean she has arrived. In her four year old mind, she does not necessarily associate passing under those arches with physically getting her to DisneyWorld. Nor does she associate a resort hotel like POR with the parks. Us, yes. Her, not so much. She only knows they give you stickers when you get there and let you watch movies while your parents take forever to check in, but there’s still no connection with Cinderella’s castle.

But the bus she knows. She remembers. She knows that when she gets on that bus, it will take her to The Mouse, where she wants to be more than anything in the world.

And so she screams and laughs and points and DS joins in. DH and I look at each other and break out in goofy spontaneous laughter. Yes, I know, we’re pathetic.

Up next: "Yes ma'am, I am a DISer and I am onto you."

 

[ZZUB]

I'm glad to be the first one to post on your thread. I really enjoyed the first installment and I'm looking forward to much more. And don't be afraid to put in too much detail. Details are like chocolate; we can never have enough. It looks like you got to Disney World right after we left. I'm interested in your view of PORiverside and the parks.

Why do you use your boss as a coat rack when you dance?

 

[kpk89]

Good start -- I can't wait to read more! Like ZZub says, details are like chocolate. Kinda messy at times, but good.

Um, though, don't you think it's a little risky tossing around Madagascar references on a DISNEY thread? 'course you could've said, the kiddies love the Mousey. Anything's better than my 2 yr old going around saying "excuse me, you're biting my BUTT." Nice.

Oh and when I saw your title I thought you were going to Disney overdue, like as in pregnant and should've dropped 2 weeks ago, and that's what brought me to your thread. To read about the crazy lady giving birth on the monorail. Now I understand that it was more like the TRIP was overdue, 'cause you missed the Mouse. But you got me, and I'll faithfully read your report. Just don't leave us hanging for weeks between chapters, like SOME people.

 

[LaLa]

Oh, Da Man posted on my trip report. Now the pressure is on.

Just kiddin. Glad ya liked it. Yeah, I am kind of new to this trip report thing. We'll see how it goes. One thing is for sure...it ain't short on details. Should be a pretty long one, so just bear with me.

Oh yeah, the boss comment...Oyyyy. Ya finish the sentence 'One night in a bar' once on a Get To Know You thread and there it is. You're tagged for life.

I should probably include an explantion under my tag bc it really does sound worse than it was. I work for an attorney and we had a meeting in New Orleans with another firm several years back. After the meeting, we all decided to go out on Bourbon Street. We went to this place called The Cats Meow, a karaoke bar that probably no longer exists, and what can I say, they started playing our song. All the girls went up on stage to dance and left our boss holding our purses and jackets. It was really pretty funny after it was over and done with, just the thought of him standing there by himself, holding all these purses. He's a cool boss, what can I say?

So there it is. Totally innocent. The Tag Fairy got me good on that one.

 

[LaLa]

Good start -- I can't wait to read more! Like ZZub says, details are like chocolate. Kinda messy at times, but good.

Um, though, don't you think it's a little risky tossing around Madagascar references on a DISNEY thread? 'course you could've said, the kiddies love the Mousey. Anything's better than my 2 yr old going around saying "excuse me, you're biting my BUTT." Nice.

Oh and when I saw your title I thought you were going to Disney overdue, like as in pregnant and should've dropped 2 weeks ago, and that's what brought me to your thread. To read about the crazy lady giving birth on the monorail. Now I understand that it was more like the TRIP was overdue, 'cause you missed the Mouse. But you got me, and I'll faithfully read your report. Just don't leave us hanging for weeks between chapters, like SOME people.

We have seen that movie so many times since the kids got it for Christmas that it is just starting to blend in with everyday life. Sorry, I will try to keep my references strictly Disney related in the future.

The overdue meant the trip report was overdue, as in the trip happened in September. Sorry for the confusion. If I thought I could read about a lady givin' birth on the monorail, I'd be clickin' on it too. Now THAT would be a trip report!

 

[jennymouse]

Yes, more please.

 

[DisneyDreamer2]

please keep them coming

 

[J and R's mom]

Joining in on the fun. ZZUB sent his readers this way. Great start so far. Can't wait from more!

 

[Disney owl]

Great report, thanks for sharing your photos

 

[Chapter 11]

See, this just isn't fair -- yet another very promising trip report to keep up with. We're going to the House of Mouse in December, so I've been busy doing the osmosis thing as part of my pre-planning (you know -- read as much as you can and hope some of it actually penetrates into your long-term memory). But now I've become addicted to these trip reports, and between the various long-running and well-written sagas on this board, I've got no time for work. Darned clients -- if it weren't for them, the practice of law would be so much nicer. Oh well, life's too short to worry about billable hours -- that's my new motto.

 

[LaLa]

So we make our way to the lovely Port Orleans Riverside. We case the joint and whip into a parking place. Hop out, look around. Lookin’ good. Not overly crowded like last year. Maybe this was a good thing, coming earlier instead of later. Crowds are going to be thinner, we can just FEEL it. Yep, life is good.

We walk up and the kids get the obligatory stickers and get all googly eyed, because it is, after all, The Mouse. We get our first glimpse of Port Orleans from the inside out.

Ooooohhhh. Aaaahhhh. Mama like.

We head straight for the (short) checkin line. As per the DIS Tips Board, we (well, okay, I) faxed our room requests exactly 4 days prior and had it duly noted at the time of our reservation. We wanted to be in the Magnolia Bend section if at all possible. We had a choice between staying in a mansion or staying somewhere that’s not a mansion. As for me and my family, we’ll be pickin’ the mansion every time. Mansion, Baby.

In the fax, we (I) let them know that our two parties would be traveling together and although we do not require adjoining rooms (opens up a whole can of worms you don’t even want to deal with) we would like to at least be in the same building if at all possible. So at checkin the CM tells us that we will be in the Alligator Bayou section.

“Uh-huh…. well, you see, I faxed a room request 4 days ago and had it notated at the time that we made the reservation that we wanted to get a room in Magnolia Bend if possible. Do you not have any more rooms in the mansions left at all?” I say as I take another glance around at the empty room.

The CM looks at me as if I have sprouted a third eyeball.

He looks a little wet behind the ears and goes and confers with another CM. They have a pow wow and look at each other, then look back at me. Then they bring another, older CM in on it. They all confer and finally the older CM approaches. Obviously they have come up with a game plan as to how they will deal with me.

“We got your room request and you wanted to be in the same building as your friends, right? Well, they are in Alligator Bayou, so basically you can either be in Alligator Bayou with them or you can be in Magnolia Bend without them” she says.

So then I say “Well, they requested Magnolia Bend as well, and you will just have to excuse my friends because unlike me, they are not DISers. They are Newbies and bless their hearts, they don’t know that they do not have to just take whatever room you throw at them. I, on the other hand, am onto you. I know this because I DIS. Now if you will kindly pick another room for my friends and me, we will leave you in peace.”

Or something like that.

Well, whaddaya know, all three of them looked again and found plenty of rooms in Magnolia Bend that were not adjoining, yet in the same building. Non smoking too. Imagine that. We left sassified.

We find our rooms and get all excited again. Nice rooms. We have stayed at all the mods except POFQ and have found these rooms to be the prettiest of all. The rooms at CB were just a little bit bigger than these, but DH and I are both in agreement that these are MUCH prettier. I was pleased that there was an actual decent sized TV for a change. Previous years at CS and CB, there was like a 13” in there or something. Okay, maybe not 13” but it sure seemed like it.

DH and I agree that I will stay in the room with the kids and check out the new Disney Guide thingy and do the weird sanitizing thing that I always do while he brings in our stuff from the van. Is it just me or is the new girl in the Top 7 Things To Do show kind of annoying?

Anywho, we’re watchin’ and sanitizin’ and opening the fridge door and oohing and ahhhing over the Mickey soap bars (no, we don’t get out much) and I notice that DH’s Disney Magic is ever so slightly deteriorating with each additional trip. Let me just fess up right here and now:

I am an overpacker. My Mom was an overpacker. Her Mom before her was an overpacker. Seriously. I remember as a kid taking road trips and my Mom would have every available square inch of our station wagon loaded down with stuff. If you got hungry on the way, Mama had you covered. She’d whip out a banana and peanut butter crackers in a heartbeat. Feelin' a MacGyver moment comin' on? Chances are she could get to a stick of gum and a paperclip within seconds. I swear, the woman carried around a one armed one horned flying purple people eater in her purse.

And the apple does not fall far from the tree. So after DH’s 8th load, he’d had it.

“OMG, This is absolutely RIDICULOUS! I cannot BELIEVE you brought this much stuff! What on EARTH did you pack?!!!!”

I could have reminded him of prior occasions where he had blown his top and complained about my overpacking only to find out we desperately needed some of the frivolous things that I had brought, like the year before at DW, when I brought a case of antibiotics (okay, it’s not like a CASE, as in a million bottles or anything, it’s a box with about 24 unmixed tiny little 5 ml bottles in it) that our pediatrician’s office at home had given us just to have on hand. JUST IN CASE. I was ridiculed then for bringing them . Ragged. Big time. Never in a million years will we have a need for that, it’s just taking up space, yada yada yada…. Sure enough, about our 3rd day into the trip, DD 3 at the time, spikes a nasty fever and is just out of sorts. We call our ped’s office and speak to them, tell them our situation, describe symptoms, etc. They tell us it sounds like an ear infection, put her on the Cefzil I had brought and call them back to let them know how she does. The day after starting her on the antibiotic, fever goes down, she feels 100% better. I could remind him of how he ate crow after that but instead, I smile sweetly and say “Mark my words. You will need that one armed one horned flying purple people eater before the week is out, Mr. Grumpy.”

So we FINALLY get everything sitchated and get cleaned up. We are gettin’ hungry so we head down to the food court and check out the grounds on the way. For those of you who have never been to POR, the grounds are just beautiful. Really very lovely.

We walk around and are just lovin’ this resort.

This is the point that is the best for me, right after checkin when you are checking out your resort. You have your entire vacation ahead of you and the opportunities for fun are endless. We were all wearin’ permagrins.

We get our first dose of the Dining Plan with the food court and are absolutely amazed at how much food they give you. We meet a really nice couple from Georgia with a little girl about our daughter’s age and strike up a conversation. They inform us that the entire week has been soooo not crowded, and that we have picked the exact right time to come because all week they never waited longer than 10 minutes for a ride, and that was for Soarin’. Yep, it will be a good week. No crowds. You heard ‘em. Thanks Georgia!

After lunch, we stop by the Ole Fishin Hole and the kids lose their minds watching fish eat.

Then we head back to the room to get cleaned up. We have an ADR for Planet Hollywood that night at DTD. We decide to hop on the boat.

That was one of the reasons we chose POR, because of the scenic boatride to DTD.
Sitting at home, we had envisioned a nice, relaxing boatride with lights twinkling on the water as we slowly float down the Sassagoula River, and hear the clip clop sound of the horse drawn carriage crossing the wooden bridge. At least that’s how it was in our minds. Expectations are funny. If you set them too high, they can come crashing down.

Hence my motto.

So we start out on our hike over to the marina with grand expectations of our long anticipated boatride. On the way we pass the horse drawn carriages and get to hear the clip clop of its feet over the drawbridge, which was really cool.

Expectation number 1 fulfilled.

We didn’t have to wait too long before a boat slid up beside the marina.

Our boat captain introduces himself. We put all the kids together in one row. DH is feelin’ frisky and offers to let me have his seat on the outside so I can see the pretty sites better. We snuggle up and and we are off for our fantasy boat ride. We slide past all the pretty mansions and head over to POFQ. The kids are mortified bc they thought the dragon water slide was going to be right outside their hotel room door and not “all the way over heeeeerrrreeee”

About 10 minutes into the boatride, the captain says “If you have your rain gear handy, you better put it on, because it will start raining in just about one minute.”

Insert record scratching noise here.

We look at each other as if to say “Is he serious?”

But this is not the way it’s supposed to be. Then I halfway pull at my rain gear in the backpack while others are looking around, trying to see what others are doing and gauge their reactions accordingly.

We are all like sheep, we just follow.

I pull out the kids gear first and they think it’s cool. We try to get theirs on them and honest to God, the bottom falls out. It doesn’t just start to sprinkle, I mean it was raining cats and dogs. We were all on an episode of Lost and the captain was John Locke, looking up at the sky. I am getting soaked to the BONE. Meanwhile, DH is pretty dry sitting over there on the inside. I try to scoot over and get out of the direct line of fire but it’s no use. The damage has been done. I’m just thankful that I didn’t wear white at this point.

By the time we get to DTD, the rain has stopped. We lumber off the boat and Locke flashes us a knowing smile and gives the kids a doubloon.

We loved Planet Hollywood. OMG, it was Awesome. Just kidding. We did like it though. Cool atmosphere. We did a little shopping after supper. And yes, that’s what we call it south of the Mason Dixon line.

I got my Potato Head parts… uhhhm, I mean, the kids’ Potato Head parts at Once Upon a Toy. I checked out and the CM took one look at my highly intelligent Potato Head box stuffing job and said “Overpacker, huh?”

We decided to hop on the bus to take us back to the hotel. It took forever for us to get back but once we were there, we crashed. That’s another good thing about Disney- no sleepless nights. It’s the only place where as soon as everyone’s head hits the pillow, we are OUT until The Mouse calls. Speaking of that, we found out that the best way to handle The Mouse call is to just hit speaker on your phone. We found that out this year after years of going “Come ooooonnnnnnn, wake up. Answer the phone. It’s Mickey, I promise. You’re gonna miss him! That’s it, I’m answering it and you won’t hear him if you don’t wake up!”

Then DH rolls over and says’ "Oh, allright. I'm up, I'm up...."

Just kidding. The kids. It was for the kids. Wasn’t it?

Up Next: “Would You Like Mashed Potatoes With That?”

 

[krismom]

My new favorite trip report thread.....
Why do the CM's always play that good cop / bad cop thing on us when we check in? At the Poly last summer we had the same thing- "oh yes, we got your request and unfortunatley we still put you as far as posible from where you asked." Other CM: "let's see what we can do for you... oh here's a spot, right where you asked!"

keep em coming! and thanks for the laughs!

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Love your trip reports!! Please keep them coming.

 

[stitchesmom]

I am loving your report. Thank you. POR is my favorite resort and your descriptions is exactly how I like to remember it.

"Insert record scratching noise here" That's the best I couldn't stop laughing

Don't wait too long until your next post I'm leaving in 10 days and will need another fix before I go.

 

[frankenpooh]

Enjoying your report; please drag it out! Since 1000thhappyhaunt and zzub are about done with theirs, I need some new reading material.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

More please.

 

[heaven2dc]

You have all of the "C" family laughing here in VA!! What a great start - and now where's the rest???? More Please!!

 

[zachnlucy]

Talk about great timing. Great report, keep em coming, we'll be at POR in April! Where are you in Mississippi? I was born in NOLA and we moved to McComb when I was 12.

 

[Fionasmommy]

Great reports!! Keep 'em coming!

 

[dismom9761]

Great report!Looking forward to more.