laura_hattaway
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2007
- Messages
- 139
NOTE: The actual trip report begins on page 3, post 37. I have links to the cruise photos (nearly 500) and food (more than 100) in my signature. Enjoy!
This afternoon when our pizza was delivered, an interesting thing ended up on the table with all of the receipts... it was a parchment scroll, rolled up, with a piece of hard candy attached. Naturally, my six-year-old daughter was interested. "Can I open it?" she asked. "Sure," I replied casually, opening the pizza box.
After a moment's work, she unrolled the paper and read:
Its New Year
Two-Thousand Eight.
Hope your year is
Extra great!
You worked hard
Last year, we know.
But you said you
Longed to go
On a trip to
Somewhere neat.
Soon your wish
Will be complete!
In ten days
Well go away.
Where, you wonder,
Will we stay?
Thats the secret
You must learn.
Each days clue
Youll have to turn
Over in your mind,
You see,
Till you solve
The mystery.
Before we go any further, let me catch you up...
THE PLAYERS:
Laura me, 35.
Ken my husband, 44.
Daphne our daughter, 6. Also known as (AKA) D.
Sarah my sister, 33. AKA Sister (to me) or Aunt Sister (to Daphne).
Ken Sisters husband, my brother-in-law, 34. AKA KWBiii.
Hannah Sisters eldest, my niece, 8.
Mackenzie Sisters middle, my niece, 6.
Taran Sisters youngest, my nephew, 4. AKA TJ.
Jim my dad, 63. AKA Dad or Pappy. Or Moneybags.
Donna my mom, 62. AKA Mom or Nana.
THE PLACE:
Disney Magic, Western Caribbean, January 12 January 19, 2008.
In 2003, my entire family (originally from Arkansas) was living in Las Vegas, Nevada. My parents had moved out in the mid-90s. Id followed year later and eventually met my husband, an Alabama native, in the desert. After the birth of my sisters first child, her family moved that way, too. My dad thought itd be fun to take the whole family to Hawaii. We were all on board, so for nine months, we researched, planned and dreamed. We set up a message board to keep track of our thoughts and ideas and to share information. My dad burnt a hole in his charge cards. And we had an excellent week! Dad had found a great set of bungalows right on North Beach, away from the tourists in Waikiki, and by the time we got there in May 2004, we knew how to navigate like a local. If youre interested, pictures are here.
Later that summer, Ken, Daphne, and I moved to northeast Texas. As 2004 became 2005, Pappy got another vacation itch. This time, he said, we should go to Disney World. Once again, the family message board was erected. This time, we used it even more, as my family was half a continent away. We studied crowd levels, traffic flow, restaurant reviews, and once again spent the better part of a year getting our ducks in a row so that our actual vacation would be both fun and relaxing. My mom retired from teaching in 2005. Two months later, my dad walked into the office and was told by the company for whom he had worked 16 years, Nothing personal, but your job is being eliminated and this is your last day. Facing this unforeseen speed bump, he assured us, The trips still on! It would be our last hurrah. So, once again, he wore out his check book. And, once again, we could not have had a better time.
The trip out, Animal Kingdom, Epcot World Showcase, Magic Kingdom, Epcot Future World, Disney MGM Studios, and coming home.
Almost as soon as we returned from Disney World, there were whisperings about someday going on a Disney Cruise together. My parents have taken 13 or so cruises on other lines and have loved traveling that way. About this time last year, my dad started suggesting the time was ripe to plan such a cruise. Thing is, there is no way wed be able to afford it for years. Im a stay-home Mom and I love it! We are completely debt-free, including our house (those who have moved from the East or West coast real estate markets farther inland know what I mean), and its awesome. However, our margins are extremely slim, and theres not a lot left over after the bills.
Once again, Dad extended an offer: if we would pick up everything else, hed pay for the cruise itself. How could we resist?! And, actually, they ended up paying for our passports and our onboard tips, as well (a pretty chunky chunk of change). Since Nana and Pappy have decided the only way to cruise is with a view, they put us and them in Category 6, port side, and my sisters family of five in a Category 4, also port side, just up from us a couple of floors. Since we started planning the trip, my parents and my sister's family all moved to northeast Texas, too; we're all separated by 30 minutes to an hour.
By way of confession, I stole "Ten from Texas" from my dad's stateroom door design. I'd been trying to think of something clever for the title for weeks, but had come up empty. Hopefully he wasn't planning to use it for this board...
So, here we are again! Less than two weeks before we sail, and we are coasting. Our year of research and development has meant that these last days have very little last minute scrambling. And its truly been a group effort! My parents forked over the dough for the majority of the trip. My brother-in-law, whose job requires that he travel a lot, used Hilton points to buy us a free room right on Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise. Here and there, Ive picked up some themed wardrobe items for my nieces and nephew. And I think were ready to go!
Now.
So far, Daphne only knows we're going *somewhere.* Over the next ten days, more clues will come. Her guesses today were: the toy store, CiCi's Pizza, and her favorite hotel (a Holiday Inn with an atrium and indoor pool in fabulous Fort Smith, Arkansas). With the bar set so low, a Disney Cruise revelation is going to bring her to her knees!
Thanks for joining our adventure!!
P.S. The pictures are our stateroom door decorations!
This afternoon when our pizza was delivered, an interesting thing ended up on the table with all of the receipts... it was a parchment scroll, rolled up, with a piece of hard candy attached. Naturally, my six-year-old daughter was interested. "Can I open it?" she asked. "Sure," I replied casually, opening the pizza box.
After a moment's work, she unrolled the paper and read:
Its New Year
Two-Thousand Eight.
Hope your year is
Extra great!
You worked hard
Last year, we know.
But you said you
Longed to go
On a trip to
Somewhere neat.
Soon your wish
Will be complete!
In ten days
Well go away.
Where, you wonder,
Will we stay?
Thats the secret
You must learn.
Each days clue
Youll have to turn
Over in your mind,
You see,
Till you solve
The mystery.
Before we go any further, let me catch you up...
THE PLAYERS:
Laura me, 35.
Ken my husband, 44.
Daphne our daughter, 6. Also known as (AKA) D.
Sarah my sister, 33. AKA Sister (to me) or Aunt Sister (to Daphne).
Ken Sisters husband, my brother-in-law, 34. AKA KWBiii.
Hannah Sisters eldest, my niece, 8.
Mackenzie Sisters middle, my niece, 6.
Taran Sisters youngest, my nephew, 4. AKA TJ.
Jim my dad, 63. AKA Dad or Pappy. Or Moneybags.
Donna my mom, 62. AKA Mom or Nana.
THE PLACE:
Disney Magic, Western Caribbean, January 12 January 19, 2008.
In 2003, my entire family (originally from Arkansas) was living in Las Vegas, Nevada. My parents had moved out in the mid-90s. Id followed year later and eventually met my husband, an Alabama native, in the desert. After the birth of my sisters first child, her family moved that way, too. My dad thought itd be fun to take the whole family to Hawaii. We were all on board, so for nine months, we researched, planned and dreamed. We set up a message board to keep track of our thoughts and ideas and to share information. My dad burnt a hole in his charge cards. And we had an excellent week! Dad had found a great set of bungalows right on North Beach, away from the tourists in Waikiki, and by the time we got there in May 2004, we knew how to navigate like a local. If youre interested, pictures are here.
Later that summer, Ken, Daphne, and I moved to northeast Texas. As 2004 became 2005, Pappy got another vacation itch. This time, he said, we should go to Disney World. Once again, the family message board was erected. This time, we used it even more, as my family was half a continent away. We studied crowd levels, traffic flow, restaurant reviews, and once again spent the better part of a year getting our ducks in a row so that our actual vacation would be both fun and relaxing. My mom retired from teaching in 2005. Two months later, my dad walked into the office and was told by the company for whom he had worked 16 years, Nothing personal, but your job is being eliminated and this is your last day. Facing this unforeseen speed bump, he assured us, The trips still on! It would be our last hurrah. So, once again, he wore out his check book. And, once again, we could not have had a better time.
The trip out, Animal Kingdom, Epcot World Showcase, Magic Kingdom, Epcot Future World, Disney MGM Studios, and coming home.
Almost as soon as we returned from Disney World, there were whisperings about someday going on a Disney Cruise together. My parents have taken 13 or so cruises on other lines and have loved traveling that way. About this time last year, my dad started suggesting the time was ripe to plan such a cruise. Thing is, there is no way wed be able to afford it for years. Im a stay-home Mom and I love it! We are completely debt-free, including our house (those who have moved from the East or West coast real estate markets farther inland know what I mean), and its awesome. However, our margins are extremely slim, and theres not a lot left over after the bills.
Once again, Dad extended an offer: if we would pick up everything else, hed pay for the cruise itself. How could we resist?! And, actually, they ended up paying for our passports and our onboard tips, as well (a pretty chunky chunk of change). Since Nana and Pappy have decided the only way to cruise is with a view, they put us and them in Category 6, port side, and my sisters family of five in a Category 4, also port side, just up from us a couple of floors. Since we started planning the trip, my parents and my sister's family all moved to northeast Texas, too; we're all separated by 30 minutes to an hour.
By way of confession, I stole "Ten from Texas" from my dad's stateroom door design. I'd been trying to think of something clever for the title for weeks, but had come up empty. Hopefully he wasn't planning to use it for this board...
So, here we are again! Less than two weeks before we sail, and we are coasting. Our year of research and development has meant that these last days have very little last minute scrambling. And its truly been a group effort! My parents forked over the dough for the majority of the trip. My brother-in-law, whose job requires that he travel a lot, used Hilton points to buy us a free room right on Cocoa Beach the night before the cruise. Here and there, Ive picked up some themed wardrobe items for my nieces and nephew. And I think were ready to go!
Now.
So far, Daphne only knows we're going *somewhere.* Over the next ten days, more clues will come. Her guesses today were: the toy store, CiCi's Pizza, and her favorite hotel (a Holiday Inn with an atrium and indoor pool in fabulous Fort Smith, Arkansas). With the bar set so low, a Disney Cruise revelation is going to bring her to her knees!
Thanks for joining our adventure!!
P.S. The pictures are our stateroom door decorations!
It gets me all giddy...well...MORE giddy. 
I can't believe I can't even trust my own flesh and blood!
