That Pirate Stole My Tiara: The Pre-Trip Report

[Lady Lallie]

Yup. Jinx looking oh so happy in his birthday hat.

Jinx is quite pouffy.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Jinx is quite pouffy.

I actually prefer the 'Bad Cat' ones but I got this one as a gift and have been using it at work.

 

[willwriteforears]

This totally made me think of "Shaun of the Dead", which BF and I just saw a couple of weeks ago for the first time. I mean really, there's no relation to your quote except for the zombie factor, but it's a totally hysterical movie.

That it is. Did you ever see Hot Fuzz? It's with the same guys. Also hilarious, but I think I like Shaun better on the whole

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

That it is. Did you ever see Hot Fuzz? It's with the same guys. Also hilarious, but I think I like Shaun better on the whole

Never seen Hot Fuzz. Maybe that's one to rent this weekend.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

First, let's all pause for a moment and..

...

DO THE 30 DAY DANCE!!!

Next, today's trivia:

In Muppet Vision 3-D, after grabbing your 3-D glasses, look to your right where you see the 'Security Office'. You'll see a sign that reads, "Back in 5 minutes. Key is under mat." If you stop and look down, you'll find a mat with a key embedded in the carpet underneath.

Thirdly, Disney knew. They KNEW. They put a tracking device on my confirmation materials so that I would get them on 30th Day Eve.

Coinkydink? Possibly.
Big Brother-esque? Maybe.
Just another perfectly timed piece of the "We even know how many squares of TP each guest uses on average" Disney machine? Likely.

I don't mind it so much. It put a big smile on my face to see that the Envelope of Happiness (not the be confused with the check-out Envelope of Doom) arrived in my mailbox yesterday.

However, if the next time I open my mailbox there is a tiny fairy in there wearing Mouse Ears, absentmindedly licking an Itzakadoozie and making notes about our cell phone bill, waiting to send the info on down to the Disney Execs, I might be a bit miffed.

Or ask her to include my resume with her notes.

Depends on my mood.

I carefully opened the envelope (sorry, no pics yet - you have NO idea the current state of my dining room table where my laptop currently resides) and immediately fell in love with the clear, Mickey-embossed envelope.

I love the magical stationary its all printed on.

I love the magical luggage tags.

I love the magical vouchers.

I loved reading all of the magical information which I actually committed to memory months ago when the trip was confirmed. Both pre-Poly and post-Poly.

It seriously got me excited and warmed my heart.

Which is a good thing.

Because Tink's about to admit something a bit shocking to y'all.

You may want to sit down.

::ahem::

::shuffle::

Despite anything written here on the DIS, until I slipped my finger along the back of that envelope and reached inside...

I wasn't really feeling all that excited about our trip anymore.

::chirpingcrickets::

Hello? (Hello?Hello?Hello?)

Come back. Please?

In all seriousness, I knew we'd have a great time on the trip but I was having a hard time being excited about it anymore.

I blame part of it on the fact that I now have SO MUCH MORE to get done pre-trip than ever before, thanks to the impending move. I'm doing a little bit every day but still, when I say I have a lot to pack, I'd like you to think of the self-service warehouse-type pick-up area at your local IKEA. ::shudder::

As helpful as my lists are, they're also a little overwhelming.

Um. Excuse me one sec. I have to go pick LL up off of her floor.

::shuffleshuffleshuffle::

It just looks like SO MUCH on paper! And that's just the Disney list!

Finally, in all reality, I'm not surprised I haven't been excited. I tend to get this way for a little bit before every trip. Sometimes all of the planning is draining. Physically and emotionally. I hadn't said anything about it here on the DIS yet but I seriously needed a good Disney jolt, otherwise I was actually going to start getting depressed about this trip.

Apparently Disney also monitors my moods (NOProzac) and sent that little Envelope of Happiness just in time.

So today I woke up, still overwhelmed, but revived. Renewed. Recycled, even. (NOAhnold) I'm just going to continue to plow through what I can. It will all get done. I know it. And this trip might just feel even better than I expected considering how run down I might be come 9/20 after all of the packing and such.

Now, if only that little mailbox fairy had the winning lottery numbers...

 

[If U Had Wings]

So today I woke up, still overwhelmed, but revived. Renewed. Recycled, even. (NOAhnold) I'm just going to continue to plow through what I can. It will all get done. I know it. And this trip might just feel even better than I expected considering how run down I might be come 9/20 after all of the packing and such.

Now, if only that little mailbox fairy had the winning lottery numbers...

30 Day Dance!!!

I think that getting that package really helps get you reved up to go again. I was begining to have a bit of a lull myself before the package arrived. I tend to blame it on overplanning, and the let down when everything is set to go!

You are going to be so ready for your vacation, after all your work packing leading up to it.

 

[trixiequilts]

Oh how I wish I were going to receive that shiny, sparkly, sprinkled-with-pixie-dust envelope in my mailbox someday. sigh. But alas, as we are renting points, all I've received (and will ever receive) is a pdf file of my reservation via my e-mail inbox. Do you think pixies can live in there, too? Because Disney could really gather some good info in those accommodations!

 

[willwriteforears]

Ah, yes. Reminds me how I'd lost a little of the excitement in the week or so leading up to my trip. Which may have been related to the last-minute tasks I had to complete.

But the joy did pick up again the night before once I'd gotten off of work. So maybe it was the evil job that robbed me of the excitement. I wouldn't put it past it.

Anyway, glad the Envelope of Happiness got you stoked again! Particularly just in time for the 30 day dance!

 

[Sarilas]

WAHOO for the 30 day dance! (I am SO over seeing 100+ days on my calendar.)

 

[Lady Lallie]

That was a rough post. My brain just can't comprehend how a list can be overwhelming. It's not the lists fault! Most of the time I feel better after making a list because I can cross things off and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Hmmmm. Next time I have to make a list not related to Disney I must monitor my feelings towards the list closely.

I do agree with the pre-Disney letdown. I have been working very hard to focus on the happy things to come on the trip and I think updating a lot has been helping me. At the beginning of August I didn't think the trip was ever going to get here and I was just ready to plan something else, you know?

 

[MRYPPNS]

It's not the lists fault!

 

[askelton]

30 Days

 

[TarzansKat]

Long lost sis?

Um, seriously? Same genetic code, same wavelength?

I totally get what you're saying about feeling meh about the trip.

I've btdt. Lots. It's that I've planned so much, done so much, and dang if that pesky real life doesn't get in the way of my magically planned magically perfected magically wonderful Disney vacation.

So, fear not, brethren! I'm with you!

And for the thirty day dance! That rocks!

 

[LegoMom3]

I have definitely BTDT!

But now, at a mere 18 days out, I'm over it!

Seriously.

Go read the installment I just put up on my own PTR, maybe you'll catch some of my all-kinds-of-excited!!

Cuz apparently I have plenty to go around!


BTW, is it just me or does that Mickey-embossed vinyl envelope smell reaaalllly good?!


.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

You are going to be so ready for your vacation, after all your work packing leading up to it.

I'm sending lots of Skittles your way for your trip!!!

Do you think pixies can live in there, too? Because Disney could really gather some good info in those accommodations!

Oh jeez! I think that pixie would turn your Inbox into Disney spam (NOSPAM) central!

But the joy did pick up again the night before once I'd gotten off of work. So maybe it was the evil job that robbed me of the excitement. I wouldn't put it past it.

I know I shouldn't worry in advance, but I am the teensiest bit concerned over what my emotional state will be the night before the trip. Said state may or may not be directly correlated to how much of our apartment is left to be packed.

I am SO over seeing 100+ days on my calendar

The double digits will be here before you know it! I promise! I've SO been there!

It's not the lists fault! Most of the time I feel better after making a list because I can cross things off and it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Oh me too, me too! I completely agree with you. I think it's just the sheer number of things on said lists.

Also, I totally thought of you this morning as I reviewed my Disney packing list on the train ride in.

It's that I've planned so much, done so much, and dang if that pesky real life doesn't get in the way of my magically planned magically perfected magically wonderful Disney vacation.

You forgot magically delicious. (NOLuckyCharms)

BTW, is it just me or does that Mickey-embossed vinyl envelope smell reaaalllly good?!

OMG. No joke! I totally agree! They should come out with a wearable scent called 'Eau du Arrival Package' or 'Eau du Plastic Mickey Envelope'.

OK guys, not much of an updated today but here's the trivia

29 Days!!

When the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was being built, it was struck by lightning.

 

[PrincessV]

Yay for now-less-than-30 days!

You had some pre-trip angst. It's okay, it happens to the best of us.

Probably the worst of us, too. But let's not be negative.

 

[MomsOf2boys]

29 Days!!

When the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was being built, it was struck by lightning.

Hooray for 29 days!!!

I am telling the boys that one... They like that kind of Trivia. They have been reading ghost stories on a Dis thread and my youngest has made himself unable to stay at home alone........EVEN IF WE ARE RIGHT OUTSIDE GARDENING!!

 

[mrsschlep]

I am loving your report!!! ... so much that I am obsessed with checking multiple times throughout the day to see if you have added anything new! I figured it's about time to subscribe since I can never find it and always have to go through the shrinking tink post to get to here, lol!!!! I am also loving your trivia... Wed. I will be doing my 30 day dance for my adults only trip for 8 of us! I am going to steal some of your trivia if that's ok...

Good luck packing... your new place sounds great!!

 

[LegoMom3]

Hi Tink!


......



.

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

Hi.



Remember me?

Tinkerbellarella.

Nice to meet you again.

I have taken a break from the world of packing tape (I hate packing tape), boxes, Sharpies and things that say, "Fragile" and "Liquid" and "Living Room" and "I probably should've thrown all of this out but I'm a packrat so just don't look in here, honey."

Just kidding about that last one. Mostly.

But I've been missing the DIS and my friends and this pretrippie, so by hook or by crook I was determined to get a new chapter up here this morning and catch up on all of my subscriptions.

Despite the fact that packing up a rather large apartment has been the focus of the last week and a half of my existence, I actually have some trip stuff to report!!! WOOHOO!

(This is very good for you because without this info I'd be regaling you with tales of how I've already packed up three things that I needed and how one is actually questionable because I think it's actually lost.)

Disney Item #1 is a fairly significant item on the list because it deals with our itinerary (STILL in it's unmodified second generation - until now!). On our last day in Orlando we were planning on going to Sea World, possibly with Missy's sister and family, but after looking at our respective budgets (we've both had unexpected things to replace (my apartment, her fridge) I started to muse. Musing is good. It's better than having ideas. Because if someone doesn't like your musing, you can be all like, "Oh, it was just something that crossed my mind," and the other person can be like, "Yeah, don't think that's quite gonna work." Whereas if you're all like, "OHMYGOD! I had the best idea! Let's suchandsuch! Isn't that awesome?!" the other person may just be like, "Um, dude? Dude."

So, there I sat at my desk, working on the most tedious task in human history after naming the little plastic thing on the end of a shoelace (an agelet (sp?), by the way). I was thinking that as much as I love the fishes, I didn't love the $60 pricetag for the day. What I did love was the fact that our Disney tickets would still be good for that last day. At NO extra cost. I e-mailed Missy and we have since discussed three options, the decision of which will depend on her sister's plans:
a.) spend the day at the parks, just the two of us, and have Missy's sister pick us up later in the day to head up to Tampa
b.) spend the day at the parks with Missy's sister (but sans her kids as they will have just started back in school) and head to Tampa later in the day
c.) have a leisurely morning at the resort and have Missy's sister pick us up earlier in the day so that they can spend more time together

I'd be satisfied with any of the three.

If we do end up in one of the parks, we're probably going to wait until that day or the night before to decide where we want to go. It's going to depend, I think, on if we got to see everything we wanted to see or if something requires another visit. I'd love to end my visit to the World at the MK but this is not a dictatorship (that I know of).

The second item of business on this here update has to do with packing. I KNOW. You don't care exactly how many boxes and reusable Stop & Shop bags it took me to pack my whole kitchen (somewhere in the area of 8/10 and 6). This is DISNEY packing I'm talking 'bout Willis! I'm happy to say that I'm further along in my Disney packing than I thought one could be 18 days out from my trip. And actually, I have to thank moving for that. I have two more loads of laundry to do that happen to contain things I want to wear on the trip and I will be fully packed suitcase-wise. I'm going to pack up my carry-on next and that will be it. Finis. Done. The End. My possesions lived happily ever after.

I do have a packing picture that I want to share except that I forgot my memory card at home.

::sigh::

So lemme esplain.
I have 4 children I'll be buying souvenirs for (3 lil cousins and my godson) and will hopefully be buying a little bit for myself. There is NO room in my suitcase for any of that once it's packed. So my plan was to pack a secondary bag to check if I needed to. I was worried that perhaps I wouldn't be able to even fit the bag in the suitcase until I had one of them thar ideas.



The secondary bag is my pink Nike gym bag. Decent size. And actually, the exact length of the height of my suitcase. Same width when full too. So. All of my stuff is packed into the gym bag. Which is, in turn, zipped into the suitcase.

Done and done.

Third piece of business - I bought a pair of black Croc Capris. Yes, ANOTHER pair of Croc flippies. Three total.
I have joined the dark Croc side with V.
I must bring balance to the Force.

Numero quatro - I cashed in my Disney change, saved up only over the past few months, and was rewarded with $49! I asked for all ones and divvied out enough for Mousekeeping each night. The rest I'll keep on hand for other tips or snacks. I still need to take more "significant" cash out to have on hand just in case, but I'll likely do that the day before we leave.

This weekend I'm hoping to put together all of the crafts and gifts I'm planning to bring with me. I've gotten the stuff together but everything is still in parts (TK - can you PM me the nugget's tee size?).

Other than that, there's nothing left to do but wait and count down.

Countdown.

I know. I'm WAY behind on daily Disney trivia, but unfortunately, as I type this, I'm on the train and am not with my countdown calendar. I'll try to update again later today and catch y'all up.

For now, that's where we're at. The excitement is slowly ramping up each day. I've been thinking about all of my DIS friends that have just left (Lallie), will be leaving in 5 short days ::coughcoughLegoMomsnifflecough:: and my long lost sister's magical trip in 12 short days.

::sigh::

Are we there yet?