TinkyBelle
Mamma, we're safe...all the crop circles are gone!
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2005
- Messages
- 109
Hello All!
This is my first time writing on the board so please make allowances for my ignorance. This will be long but hopefully not too boring. If I get too long winded just tell me to shut up, although my husband will tell you that I never listen.
I am currently in the process of planning a trip to the world for this December for a total of 10 people!!! Something that you need to know right away is that my brain does not run on one nice straight track like most people's but has more loops and turns than any roller coaster. I often get lost in my own head and have to be re-directed (by an outside source) or I just come up with another thought and get lost again.
Now for the cast of characters:
Myself~ the 26 yr old mother who was once dragged kicking and screaming to Disney World and then never wanted to leave
the Husband~ 28 yr old Disney World lover who dragged his wife kicking and screaming to the World
the Princess ~ 3 yr who has never been to the World and I'm sure that if she understood that's she's going she would be thrilled
Nana~ My mother.. never been to Disney World but loves all things Disney
Papa Larry~ My step-father and he would rather be golfing.... wait a minute that's what he's going to do
Robbie-Girl~ My younger (by 6 years) sister who is finally going to Disney World
Mama2~ the Husband's mom... Disney World is just a perk, the main attraction is her grandbaby
Nici~ the Husband's 16 yr old sister... woohoo!!! She's getting out of Texas
Tom~ the Husband's cousin who lives in Florida.. so he let's invite him along too
Ash~ wife to Tom and since she lives with him....she is also invited
(just a little side note...I really do want Tom and Ash to come,
don't think that I don't, I was just mentioning how they got invited)
Now that we are all acquainted let's get on with the show..........
About two years ago the Husband's company transferred us to a tiny little island with nothing on it... Okay yesterday I saw a cow and maybe a goat or two. There is not however any shopping malls, Wal-Marts or movie theatres. In short there is nothing but my trusty computer. My husband on the verge of taking away my credit card..haha I know the numbers by heart hehehe. Anyway, the Husband, brilliant man that he is, came up with a plan! He tells me that he would like to go to Disney World again in December of 05 (this conversation took place in May or June of 04), We're going back to the world!!!
Wait...back up...say that again; I am sure that I did not just hear him say that I was going to have to plan this vacation.... I don't plan things, they just happen. Although this could be why I get into so much trouble and constantly have accidents but still I don't plan. What am I going to do 
I do what any sane woman would do.....
Right, so I call my mom and tell her what my evil diabolical husband has done. This is where I will mention that I have the best mother in the entire universe! After finally getting the story... this might be hard to believe but I ramble...she told me that I would need to find a hotel and look into airfare and pick the days and choose tickets. Okay! I can do all those things. So....where do I look? If the Husband thought that he was going to get away scot free this is where he realizes his mistake. I don't know how to surf the net, I get lost
I can find stores, if I know the names and Amazon and that's about it. the Husband to the rescue! The next day in the favorites is the Disney World page with all the information I could ever want, I think. So I did my research, I should say that at this point it was just the three of us and we had yet to invite anyone else. But I'm looking at all these resorts and talking to Nana about them and think, why hey why don't you and Papa Larry join us. We haven't seen you in over a year and the princess will be three by then, so come join us. Gasp, shock, amazement..she agreed. Of course Papa Larry has reservations, what could he possible want to do at a theme park. I hit him in his week spot...Do you know Papa Larry that they have golf courses, not just one but multiple, tournament type courses. Hmmmm, total agreement on the vacation from Papa Larry!
Meanwhile, Tom and Ash move to Florida and we say hey want to come and join us on the family vacation....guess what they said, if you guessed no then you obviously did not read the beginning of this report. So our little three person vacation is now 7 people.
I spent hours going over the pros and cons of all the resorts on the Disney World property and when Nana and I have it narrowed down to two wonderful choices, it only took 4 months; I ask the Husband what he thinks. I am pretty sure that I am supposed to be planning this vacation but here is where I am told that we will be staying at SoG. Why did I spend 4 months researching, something I never did for school, just to be told that the one resort I hadn't even looked at was the one we were going to be staying at? At least I had fun looking up all the resorts!
It is still up to me to make the reservations and everything else, so off I go....
We have reservations...then in a conversation with the Husband he mentions that Mom2 and Nici are going. Well, I am glad he told me before we left. So its back to the phone to update the reservations.
Then I did something so organized that I shocked myself. I wrote up a budget! It covered everything that I could think of... the airfare, the over night hotel in Baltimore, the rooms at SoG, the park tickets, food, a rental car (if needed), a overnight hotel in Orlando, tickets at other theme parks, and a spa day at the GF. Yeah for me!!!
Showed it to the Husband 
Then I did even more. I got detailed description of all the restaurants, to include food type, ps required, and character seating. Then I sent the list to the other members of our party and asked for requests. Got the ps list down, months in advance!
Got the list of all spa services at the GF and e-mailed it to Nana so she could join me on my spa day, if she should so desire.
Researched height requirements, my husband will say that I did this so that I wouldn't be disappointed (I'm 5'1" and wear a lot of height adding shoes) but I did it for the Princess. Then printed up some Disney secrets (thanks to the DIS) to share with the family. The location of (with directions to) the nearest Wal-Mart. The Extra Magic Hours and what rides in each park would be open. I even made up a scavenger hunt and character search. I was really getting into this whole planning thing. Here is where things start to go wonky!
Dear Papa Larry decides that he only wants to stay for one week of our two week vacation. What a party pooper...well, doom on you! But wait, I have a brilliant idea
...Robbie-girl would love to go to Disney World. So invites to the younger sister and the rsvp is returned. She will join us for the second half. Problem solved! Thank you, Thank you! No applause necessary. I may be an airhead 98% of the time but the other 1% is pure genius!
The beginning of September is here and I am ready to make the priority seating arrangements. I had a wonderful lady help me through the entire process. My little Princess gets to have breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and lunch in Cinderella's castle! Yeah for the mamma! One of the requests that I got was for the Liberty Tree Tavern (it's the characters dressing up in colonial costumes, how could you pass that up), however, it was booked for the night I asked for. Unless, we went in later, and this was only possible if we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Hmmm, let me think, the chance for my little Princess to party with Mickey and friends. Let's pass! If you believe that, then something has shorted circuited somewhere and you should have a doctor check you out. So I bought 9 tickets and made the ps for LTT. A phone call to Papa Larry to tell him that he has to go on this day because I bought him a ticket and it's non-refundable and that is all there is to it!
Now all we have to do is buy the plane tickets. Easier said then done! I found wonderful prices and flights that would get into MCO around the same time for myself, the Husband and the Princess, Mama2, Nici and Robbie-girl, with all of us coming in from different states this was a minor miracle. Did I mention that we're paying for there airline tickets? Well, we want them to go and this way they can. I bought Robbie-girl's and then realized that I didn't know what time we would arrive in Baltimore. the Husband's company sends a plane to the island once a week to bring in supplies and people and take out vacationers. So he checked on the schedule the next day and horror of horrors the schedule has changed. Instead of arriving and leaving on the weekends, they have decided to torture me by changing to the middle of the week. All right, I am sure that the change had nothing to do with me but still why couldn't they have waited until the New Year. This is why I don't plan. Other people mess it up!
Right, we just call up SoG and add a couple more days at the end of the reservation, change the arriving airport to the one by Tom's house so we can visit with the two of them for a few days and we are back on track. Time for a rant session here...Can someone explain to me why there would be no flights out of Baltimore and going to Orlando after 9 pm? We were hoping to do all the flying in one day, only to run into this. The earliest flight is at 6:30 in the morning and lasts for 9 hours with stops in Cincinnati and Atlanta. What kind of craziness is this!?! Unless I have a warped map Cincinnati is not on the way to Orlando. But I digress! An overnight stay in Baltimore is fine; a different airport with a slightly longer drive from Tom's house is not a problem. The different airport shortens our trip by 5 hours or more. No stop in Cincinnati, yeah, not that I have anything against the city but I want to get to Disney World. Plus the Princess will not be fun on a 9 hour flight with stops in two airports. So our tickets are bought.
I have, contrarily, to my nature actually kept track of all the changes being made for this vacation on my budget. I do not want to get there and not have enough money. We totally paid off one credit card just so I can shop and I don't want to have to use it for necessary items. Have I mentioned that the Husband is the best man in the world?
Okay, enough with the mushy stuff and back to my overly long narrative. Or whining and complaining as the Husband calls it.
So the only tickets left to buy are for Mama2 and Nici. Let me just call and see if they mind leaving really early in the morning. Arriving early at MCO for maximum play time at the parks is a must on my list. Does anyone out there have a 16 yr old daughter? Well, Mama2 is having about all the problems you can have with a 16 yr old.
I'm thinkin that Mama2 needs to come by herself and leave Nici with her other brother and take a little time for herself. Mama2 has other plans..... She feels it would be best if she stayed home. Now I have been planning for months and months and there is no way that she is going to not come. I remind her that the Princess will be there and that her son will be there and the Princess and her nephew and the Princess, do you notice a theme? I tell her she should come and talk to Nana because she raised three girls and we all made it past 16, and so did she. Without any jail time for any of us I might add. Talking to her would be cheaper than therapy with the advantage of being held in Disney World. I mentioned the tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which were non-refundable and I didn't mind too much if Nici didn't come but to lose $80 was harder to handle, not really but I thought the guilt might work. She said she would think about it, 
call back next week.
Well, for all of you holding your breath in suspense.....................................
breathe now. She's going but she only wants to go for a week, does this sound familiar? Thank you Papa Larry for starting a trend!
Now her tickets are bought so she's stuck going. I think that if he has to the Husband will walk from Florida to Texas and drag her on the plane, just to make sure she goes.
Here is hoping that all the trouble is over with and that entire vacation is gloriously fun. I know it will because we'll be at Disney World!!!
Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoyed the ramblings and rantings of this simple soul. Until next time! __________________
This is my first time writing on the board so please make allowances for my ignorance. This will be long but hopefully not too boring. If I get too long winded just tell me to shut up, although my husband will tell you that I never listen.
I am currently in the process of planning a trip to the world for this December for a total of 10 people!!! Something that you need to know right away is that my brain does not run on one nice straight track like most people's but has more loops and turns than any roller coaster. I often get lost in my own head and have to be re-directed (by an outside source) or I just come up with another thought and get lost again.
Now for the cast of characters:
Myself~ the 26 yr old mother who was once dragged kicking and screaming to Disney World and then never wanted to leave
the Husband~ 28 yr old Disney World lover who dragged his wife kicking and screaming to the World
the Princess ~ 3 yr who has never been to the World and I'm sure that if she understood that's she's going she would be thrilled
Nana~ My mother.. never been to Disney World but loves all things Disney
Papa Larry~ My step-father and he would rather be golfing.... wait a minute that's what he's going to do
Robbie-Girl~ My younger (by 6 years) sister who is finally going to Disney World
Mama2~ the Husband's mom... Disney World is just a perk, the main attraction is her grandbaby
Nici~ the Husband's 16 yr old sister... woohoo!!! She's getting out of Texas
Tom~ the Husband's cousin who lives in Florida.. so he let's invite him along too
Ash~ wife to Tom and since she lives with him....she is also invited
(just a little side note...I really do want Tom and Ash to come,
don't think that I don't, I was just mentioning how they got invited)Now that we are all acquainted let's get on with the show..........
About two years ago the Husband's company transferred us to a tiny little island with nothing on it... Okay yesterday I saw a cow and maybe a goat or two. There is not however any shopping malls, Wal-Marts or movie theatres. In short there is nothing but my trusty computer. My husband on the verge of taking away my credit card..haha I know the numbers by heart hehehe. Anyway, the Husband, brilliant man that he is, came up with a plan! He tells me that he would like to go to Disney World again in December of 05 (this conversation took place in May or June of 04), We're going back to the world!!!
Wait...back up...say that again; I am sure that I did not just hear him say that I was going to have to plan this vacation.... I don't plan things, they just happen. Although this could be why I get into so much trouble and constantly have accidents but still I don't plan. What am I going to do I do what any sane woman would do.....Right, so I call my mom and tell her what my evil diabolical husband has done. This is where I will mention that I have the best mother in the entire universe! After finally getting the story... this might be hard to believe but I ramble...she told me that I would need to find a hotel and look into airfare and pick the days and choose tickets. Okay! I can do all those things. So....where do I look? If the Husband thought that he was going to get away scot free this is where he realizes his mistake. I don't know how to surf the net, I get lost
I can find stores, if I know the names and Amazon and that's about it. the Husband to the rescue! The next day in the favorites is the Disney World page with all the information I could ever want, I think. So I did my research, I should say that at this point it was just the three of us and we had yet to invite anyone else. But I'm looking at all these resorts and talking to Nana about them and think, why hey why don't you and Papa Larry join us. We haven't seen you in over a year and the princess will be three by then, so come join us. Gasp, shock, amazement..she agreed. Of course Papa Larry has reservations, what could he possible want to do at a theme park. I hit him in his week spot...Do you know Papa Larry that they have golf courses, not just one but multiple, tournament type courses. Hmmmm, total agreement on the vacation from Papa Larry!Meanwhile, Tom and Ash move to Florida and we say hey want to come and join us on the family vacation....guess what they said, if you guessed no then you obviously did not read the beginning of this report. So our little three person vacation is now 7 people.
I spent hours going over the pros and cons of all the resorts on the Disney World property and when Nana and I have it narrowed down to two wonderful choices, it only took 4 months; I ask the Husband what he thinks. I am pretty sure that I am supposed to be planning this vacation but here is where I am told that we will be staying at SoG. Why did I spend 4 months researching, something I never did for school, just to be told that the one resort I hadn't even looked at was the one we were going to be staying at? At least I had fun looking up all the resorts!
It is still up to me to make the reservations and everything else, so off I go....
We have reservations...then in a conversation with the Husband he mentions that Mom2 and Nici are going. Well, I am glad he told me before we left. So its back to the phone to update the reservations.
Then I did something so organized that I shocked myself. I wrote up a budget! It covered everything that I could think of... the airfare, the over night hotel in Baltimore, the rooms at SoG, the park tickets, food, a rental car (if needed), a overnight hotel in Orlando, tickets at other theme parks, and a spa day at the GF. Yeah for me!!!
Showed it to the Husband Then I did even more. I got detailed description of all the restaurants, to include food type, ps required, and character seating. Then I sent the list to the other members of our party and asked for requests. Got the ps list down, months in advance!
Got the list of all spa services at the GF and e-mailed it to Nana so she could join me on my spa day, if she should so desire.
Researched height requirements, my husband will say that I did this so that I wouldn't be disappointed (I'm 5'1" and wear a lot of height adding shoes) but I did it for the Princess. Then printed up some Disney secrets (thanks to the DIS) to share with the family. The location of (with directions to) the nearest Wal-Mart. The Extra Magic Hours and what rides in each park would be open. I even made up a scavenger hunt and character search. I was really getting into this whole planning thing. Here is where things start to go wonky!
Dear Papa Larry decides that he only wants to stay for one week of our two week vacation. What a party pooper...well, doom on you! But wait, I have a brilliant idea
...Robbie-girl would love to go to Disney World. So invites to the younger sister and the rsvp is returned. She will join us for the second half. Problem solved! Thank you, Thank you! No applause necessary. I may be an airhead 98% of the time but the other 1% is pure genius! The beginning of September is here and I am ready to make the priority seating arrangements. I had a wonderful lady help me through the entire process. My little Princess gets to have breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and lunch in Cinderella's castle! Yeah for the mamma! One of the requests that I got was for the Liberty Tree Tavern (it's the characters dressing up in colonial costumes, how could you pass that up), however, it was booked for the night I asked for. Unless, we went in later, and this was only possible if we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Hmmm, let me think, the chance for my little Princess to party with Mickey and friends. Let's pass! If you believe that, then something has shorted circuited somewhere and you should have a doctor check you out. So I bought 9 tickets and made the ps for LTT. A phone call to Papa Larry to tell him that he has to go on this day because I bought him a ticket and it's non-refundable and that is all there is to it!
Now all we have to do is buy the plane tickets. Easier said then done! I found wonderful prices and flights that would get into MCO around the same time for myself, the Husband and the Princess, Mama2, Nici and Robbie-girl, with all of us coming in from different states this was a minor miracle. Did I mention that we're paying for there airline tickets? Well, we want them to go and this way they can. I bought Robbie-girl's and then realized that I didn't know what time we would arrive in Baltimore. the Husband's company sends a plane to the island once a week to bring in supplies and people and take out vacationers. So he checked on the schedule the next day and horror of horrors the schedule has changed. Instead of arriving and leaving on the weekends, they have decided to torture me by changing to the middle of the week. All right, I am sure that the change had nothing to do with me but still why couldn't they have waited until the New Year. This is why I don't plan. Other people mess it up!
Right, we just call up SoG and add a couple more days at the end of the reservation, change the arriving airport to the one by Tom's house so we can visit with the two of them for a few days and we are back on track. Time for a rant session here...Can someone explain to me why there would be no flights out of Baltimore and going to Orlando after 9 pm? We were hoping to do all the flying in one day, only to run into this. The earliest flight is at 6:30 in the morning and lasts for 9 hours with stops in Cincinnati and Atlanta. What kind of craziness is this!?! Unless I have a warped map Cincinnati is not on the way to Orlando. But I digress! An overnight stay in Baltimore is fine; a different airport with a slightly longer drive from Tom's house is not a problem. The different airport shortens our trip by 5 hours or more. No stop in Cincinnati, yeah, not that I have anything against the city but I want to get to Disney World. Plus the Princess will not be fun on a 9 hour flight with stops in two airports. So our tickets are bought.
I have, contrarily, to my nature actually kept track of all the changes being made for this vacation on my budget. I do not want to get there and not have enough money. We totally paid off one credit card just so I can shop and I don't want to have to use it for necessary items. Have I mentioned that the Husband is the best man in the world?
Okay, enough with the mushy stuff and back to my overly long narrative. Or whining and complaining as the Husband calls it.So the only tickets left to buy are for Mama2 and Nici. Let me just call and see if they mind leaving really early in the morning. Arriving early at MCO for maximum play time at the parks is a must on my list. Does anyone out there have a 16 yr old daughter? Well, Mama2 is having about all the problems you can have with a 16 yr old.
I'm thinkin that Mama2 needs to come by herself and leave Nici with her other brother and take a little time for herself. Mama2 has other plans..... She feels it would be best if she stayed home. Now I have been planning for months and months and there is no way that she is going to not come. I remind her that the Princess will be there and that her son will be there and the Princess and her nephew and the Princess, do you notice a theme? I tell her she should come and talk to Nana because she raised three girls and we all made it past 16, and so did she. Without any jail time for any of us I might add. Talking to her would be cheaper than therapy with the advantage of being held in Disney World. I mentioned the tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party which were non-refundable and I didn't mind too much if Nici didn't come but to lose $80 was harder to handle, not really but I thought the guilt might work. She said she would think about it, call back next week. Well, for all of you holding your breath in suspense.....................................
breathe now. She's going but she only wants to go for a week, does this sound familiar? Thank you Papa Larry for starting a trend!
Now her tickets are bought so she's stuck going. I think that if he has to the Husband will walk from Florida to Texas and drag her on the plane, just to make sure she goes.Here is hoping that all the trouble is over with and that entire vacation is gloriously fun. I know it will because we'll be at Disney World!!!
Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoyed the ramblings and rantings of this simple soul. Until next time! __________________
You thought it came didn't you? No such luck. So mom calls the office in Virginia and asks them and she's told that they need to have a copy of photo id. This is not mentioned anywhere on the website and I would like to know what good a copy of a picture will do when I am in Portugal and they are in Virginia and have no idea what I look like? 
They will however let my mother order one since she is in fact my mother (which she can't actually prove) and has photo id. Again she is in Washington and they are in Virginia but hey I guess that if the name on the bottom matches (which it doesn't cause she has since re-married) then why not give it to her! Have I mentioned they have no way of knowing if the pic even matches her? Enough already get over it! Anyway, so about six months after realizing that I need my birth certificate I have one. Go and try to get my passport and what do you know, I can't! I have gotten married since I was born and no longer have the same last name that is on the birth certificate that I spent so much time getting but I need proof of this legal name change in the form of my marraige license. Which just happens to be in a box in storage in Texas (there is a weight limit on the amount of stuff you are allowed to bring to the island, wouldn't want it to sink to the bottom of the ocean like Atlantis now would we?). So I spent two months looking on-line trying to find the office that would allow me order a new one. Finally Mama2 found it for me, the only problem was that I couldn't get it to come up on my computer 
and I tried many many times. In a fit of desperation I asked my mother for help (like all good girl children do) and she gently reminds me that Mom2 lives in Texas, in fact she lives in the same town that we got married in and has the same last name has my husband, this means that they will give her a copy of the license and she can send it to me. Riiightttt! In all our phone conversations Mom2 and I had not thought of that. 
