jaineparr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 7, 2008
- Messages
- 68
I went to Disney Land back in 1968 and somehow, never made it down to WDW, though I was a Club member back when they first had it... Anyway, I recently got married to a Florida Boy, and after all the hoop-la was over with the wedding, I started asking when we'd go to Disney World? All the time dating, dashing up and down the East Coast planning the Wedding, visiting for Holidays and no Orlando? Finally, in early March of 2008, our Best Man announced that he and his wife were planning a trip and did we want to go along? Three days in May. Does a bear live in the woods? Of course we were going! And while we were at it, since we'd be splitting the cost of a room, why not add a few more days to the trip? It was decided. The Expotition would begin on Monday morning and end Saturday afternoon.
And so it began. I, the 46 year old woman, was finally going to get to go to Visit The Mouse after a forty year span. First ever trip to WDW for me, since it wasn't even open until October of 71. Whee! To make things even better, I was traveling with Florida Residents! I was sure that they'd know all the ins and outs of getting around WDW and all the neat and nifty hidden doo-dads. We began e-mailing and chatting on the phone about WDW. I mentioned Hidden Mickeys and there was much head scratching and Looks of Blankness from the Florida contingent. They'd never heard of them. I sent URLs and they went, "Wow! this is cool! We never knew about this!" I toddled out and got a book on them, to throw into the suitcase. I also picked up two guide books that shall remain nameless, as they did not have much Information of Use. What they did have was URLs, so I started on the Web, reading and sending links to the Florida contingent.
Let me describe us now, so you are not confuzzled. First, there is me. I'm a Planner. A Researcher. I am retired from a computer job and work part time as a personal trainer. I do photography, scrapbooking and a few other things. Eeyore is the one for me! Then there is Wonderful Hubby. He sells parts for big trucks and heavy equipment. He rides a Harley (that's how we met, I ride, too) and he's kind of a Beast/Sully person. He's also a very good dancer, Country Western stuff. Then there is Best Man, who drives a dump truck and has the most visible/audible sense of humor. If anyone could say something in a totally off-the-cuff way and get a CM playing the part of a character to break character, it would be Best Man. He's a Tigger kind of guy. Then there is Wife of Best Man, who works construction and has a sort of Piglet character, though she doesn't think so. She's a worrier, but she manages to have a lot of fun anyway. Her fave is Pooh. So, there are three Florida residents, and me. Well, Wonderful Hubby is a former Florida resident, but I still count him as a Florida Boy. Two couples, one newlywed and the other married for about 25 years.
By the end of March, we were going to look for Hidden Mickeys, we had reservations to stay on grounds at a cabin in the Fort Wilderness campground and Best Man was going to rent a golf cart somewhere less expensive and trailer it in. The flight reservations for us Northerners had been made. I was just starting to plan.
By the beginning of April, I'd read enough to realize that ADRs were going to have to be made, or we'd be standing in line and still might not get seated. Hungry me = Grumpy me, and I prefer Eeyore to Grumpy, ya know? I made an Executive Decision and started making phone calls. Best Man got the reservations adjusted, so I could add to them without going through him. In no time at all and without consulting anyone else in the Expotition, I made ADRs for our first night dinner at Epcot, our second day Breakfast with Eeyore and a Fantasmagic package. At that point, Best Man started to panic, thinking that all these ADRs were going to be for $100/plate kind of meals. We got that cleared up with only two or three phone calls. Hollywood and Vine is actually the least expensive Fantasmagic package. Best Man retaliated with our third night dinner at Chef Mickey's. All was well.
Wonderful Hubby/Beast is a Non-Planner, preferring to just let things happen and all this ADR schedule was starting to raise his hackles. So, just as I was getting on a roll, I put on the brakes and stopped. Screech! There were to be No Plans At All for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. None. Not any. Not even one. The official Plan for the Day was Nothing Planned. The Non-Plan was shared with the Beast and the teeth baring measure turned into a smile. I got three days to plan, he got three days to non-plan.
Best Man is part angel I think, sharing what he has and making life nicer for everyone around him. He has promised me that I will have a float for use in the pool of the sort that is usually displayed with some bone dry, fluffy haired arm candy draped over it, sipping on a drink with a paper umbrella while floating in the pool to show how effective the float is. I don't think of myself as arm candy, but with the right bathing suit, a little Photoshopping and taking off your glasses to look, I can pretend to be. That is how I plan to spend some of those non-planned days. I've got a plan for those days? Yeah, I said I was a planner. Because my plans are only for myself, I can get away with it. The Beast will continue to smile.
-In Which We Begin to Shop-
After some looking around, the husbands determined that it would not be cheaper to rent a golf cart elsewhere. One was reserved at FW. Wife of Best Man won Employee of the Month (again) and started shopping for things like charcoal for the grill with the gift card that she received. I went out and found a picnic tablecloth to toss into the suitcase. I might be a Yankee, but I know better than to arrive empty handed. I thought about what I was going to wear and started moving things around in my closets. The wives were just starting the shopping, the husbands had decided on the correct golf cart and were all done.
As a photographer with a goal of getting pictures of herself having fun, I needed to have at least one other person taking pictures. Any self respecting photographer has more than one camera and I had four. None were right for Wonderful Hubby to use, being either too complex, too large or 'I can't touch that, it's your Nikon.' (see my avatar for clarification) When the local camera shop had a tent sale, I made WH select some cameras that he'd be willing to use. I had final say, as I was not about to have him select a piece of trash with a lens on the front of it. He now has a Nikon Coolpix. To mollify him about the cost, I sold my Olympus DSLR set up and covered the expense. I always hated that camera, anyway. I was a Nikonian, hiding my true character.
Any self respecting photographer also has a selection of camera bags in which to haul around the lenses, flashes and accessories so near and dear to the hearts of photographers. I had none that would work for a Disney configuration. After more on-line research, I selected a Think Tank bag and used some of the Olympus $$ for it. It has a seam sealed rain cover that goes with it. Florida rain showers are a given.
I planned to use a tripod and photograph Wishes. I called Disney and asked twice and discovered that you are allowed to bring tripods into MK. Some places require you to register in advance and receive a permit. Disney does not. But the head of my tripod was huge and heavy and outdated in the way it works. The remaining Olympus $$ went for a new ball mount. There are good tripods and there are light tripods. I have a good one. Wonderful Hubby carries it for me. It's part of what makes him Wonderful.
I was still not done shopping. As a personal trainer, I work in running shoes. Since I'm not a runner (used to do about 12 miles a week) I know when they are worn out, they are worn out. Mine required replacement. One new pair later, I thought I was done shopping. Hah!
When taking digital photos, it is a Good Thing to be able to back up the card quickly, regularly and in a permanent manner. This means burning a CD of them. This can be done for a fee and with some waiting, at several locations in the parks. The CD burner on my HP laptop failed. It's old, wimpy and not worth repairing. I got a refurbished Dell with a 17" monitor. And 4GB of RAM, and dual processors, and, and, and... I can now back up my photos in the cabin, without paying Disney for the service. I also have a laptop that is more capable than the servers I used to support at the office.
At this point, it is still early-mid April. I have ADRs for four meals in three days, two of which are character meals. I have a lot of photography and computer equipment that I intend to drag along with us. I've got sneakers, I've got more reading to do.
-In Which More Persons Join the Expotition-
A 46 year old newlywed usually means there are stepchildren somewhere. I did not have children before I married. Wonderful Hubby has one son. He's named after his father therefore, I shall call him Junior here. Junior is a great young man, expecting to finish high school soon. He's in an alternative program through the local community college. After he gets his diploma, he'll enter the USMC. Hooyah! The alternative program should wind up before we leave Orlando, so he would be available to join us on Thursday or Friday and stay through Saturday. As Junior lives in Florida, spending time with his father before he sets off to become the third generation Marine in the family is important. Junior becomes the fifth person in the cabin.
But wait, there's more! Best Man and Wife have a son, also named after his father. Junior the Second will be staying with us as well. He's not interested in going to the parks, he wants to take his girlfriend out swimming with dolphins. Girlfriend? Yup. That makes Seven in one Cabin. Blink, blink... inhale, exhale, repeat. In with Ghandi, out with Ghengis... I can do this. Calm. Calm is the word. CALM! Do not think about how Junior likes to take 45 minute showers. Do not think about Junior the Second's girlfriend's long, thick hair that takes forever to dry. Close your eyes to the fact that you know Junior the Second is a slob. Keep breathing. In with Ghandi, out with Ghengis...
The slim and quickly vanishing hope is that Junior the Second and Girlfriend will leave shortly before Junior arrives. But it is still a hope and the best that I can do. Nothing is decided as of right now, other than we will be there and that we will have a good time.
-And Here, I Fell Asleep-
More on this pre-trip report later. I'm sure total strangers will be thrilled to read about the Great Scrapbook Countdown Page and the Proposal of a Proposal. There's also the Non-Plan to fill out and the Cake Hotline. In case you thought that was all, there is also the Handicapped Tag we must address. I thought planning a vacation was fun. I thought I knew how to plan. I thought it was going to be possible to plan. I'm re-thinking those thoughts. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Probably not.
And so it began. I, the 46 year old woman, was finally going to get to go to Visit The Mouse after a forty year span. First ever trip to WDW for me, since it wasn't even open until October of 71. Whee! To make things even better, I was traveling with Florida Residents! I was sure that they'd know all the ins and outs of getting around WDW and all the neat and nifty hidden doo-dads. We began e-mailing and chatting on the phone about WDW. I mentioned Hidden Mickeys and there was much head scratching and Looks of Blankness from the Florida contingent. They'd never heard of them. I sent URLs and they went, "Wow! this is cool! We never knew about this!" I toddled out and got a book on them, to throw into the suitcase. I also picked up two guide books that shall remain nameless, as they did not have much Information of Use. What they did have was URLs, so I started on the Web, reading and sending links to the Florida contingent.
Let me describe us now, so you are not confuzzled. First, there is me. I'm a Planner. A Researcher. I am retired from a computer job and work part time as a personal trainer. I do photography, scrapbooking and a few other things. Eeyore is the one for me! Then there is Wonderful Hubby. He sells parts for big trucks and heavy equipment. He rides a Harley (that's how we met, I ride, too) and he's kind of a Beast/Sully person. He's also a very good dancer, Country Western stuff. Then there is Best Man, who drives a dump truck and has the most visible/audible sense of humor. If anyone could say something in a totally off-the-cuff way and get a CM playing the part of a character to break character, it would be Best Man. He's a Tigger kind of guy. Then there is Wife of Best Man, who works construction and has a sort of Piglet character, though she doesn't think so. She's a worrier, but she manages to have a lot of fun anyway. Her fave is Pooh. So, there are three Florida residents, and me. Well, Wonderful Hubby is a former Florida resident, but I still count him as a Florida Boy. Two couples, one newlywed and the other married for about 25 years.
By the end of March, we were going to look for Hidden Mickeys, we had reservations to stay on grounds at a cabin in the Fort Wilderness campground and Best Man was going to rent a golf cart somewhere less expensive and trailer it in. The flight reservations for us Northerners had been made. I was just starting to plan.
By the beginning of April, I'd read enough to realize that ADRs were going to have to be made, or we'd be standing in line and still might not get seated. Hungry me = Grumpy me, and I prefer Eeyore to Grumpy, ya know? I made an Executive Decision and started making phone calls. Best Man got the reservations adjusted, so I could add to them without going through him. In no time at all and without consulting anyone else in the Expotition, I made ADRs for our first night dinner at Epcot, our second day Breakfast with Eeyore and a Fantasmagic package. At that point, Best Man started to panic, thinking that all these ADRs were going to be for $100/plate kind of meals. We got that cleared up with only two or three phone calls. Hollywood and Vine is actually the least expensive Fantasmagic package. Best Man retaliated with our third night dinner at Chef Mickey's. All was well.
Wonderful Hubby/Beast is a Non-Planner, preferring to just let things happen and all this ADR schedule was starting to raise his hackles. So, just as I was getting on a roll, I put on the brakes and stopped. Screech! There were to be No Plans At All for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. None. Not any. Not even one. The official Plan for the Day was Nothing Planned. The Non-Plan was shared with the Beast and the teeth baring measure turned into a smile. I got three days to plan, he got three days to non-plan.
Best Man is part angel I think, sharing what he has and making life nicer for everyone around him. He has promised me that I will have a float for use in the pool of the sort that is usually displayed with some bone dry, fluffy haired arm candy draped over it, sipping on a drink with a paper umbrella while floating in the pool to show how effective the float is. I don't think of myself as arm candy, but with the right bathing suit, a little Photoshopping and taking off your glasses to look, I can pretend to be. That is how I plan to spend some of those non-planned days. I've got a plan for those days? Yeah, I said I was a planner. Because my plans are only for myself, I can get away with it. The Beast will continue to smile.
-In Which We Begin to Shop-
After some looking around, the husbands determined that it would not be cheaper to rent a golf cart elsewhere. One was reserved at FW. Wife of Best Man won Employee of the Month (again) and started shopping for things like charcoal for the grill with the gift card that she received. I went out and found a picnic tablecloth to toss into the suitcase. I might be a Yankee, but I know better than to arrive empty handed. I thought about what I was going to wear and started moving things around in my closets. The wives were just starting the shopping, the husbands had decided on the correct golf cart and were all done.
As a photographer with a goal of getting pictures of herself having fun, I needed to have at least one other person taking pictures. Any self respecting photographer has more than one camera and I had four. None were right for Wonderful Hubby to use, being either too complex, too large or 'I can't touch that, it's your Nikon.' (see my avatar for clarification) When the local camera shop had a tent sale, I made WH select some cameras that he'd be willing to use. I had final say, as I was not about to have him select a piece of trash with a lens on the front of it. He now has a Nikon Coolpix. To mollify him about the cost, I sold my Olympus DSLR set up and covered the expense. I always hated that camera, anyway. I was a Nikonian, hiding my true character.
Any self respecting photographer also has a selection of camera bags in which to haul around the lenses, flashes and accessories so near and dear to the hearts of photographers. I had none that would work for a Disney configuration. After more on-line research, I selected a Think Tank bag and used some of the Olympus $$ for it. It has a seam sealed rain cover that goes with it. Florida rain showers are a given.
I planned to use a tripod and photograph Wishes. I called Disney and asked twice and discovered that you are allowed to bring tripods into MK. Some places require you to register in advance and receive a permit. Disney does not. But the head of my tripod was huge and heavy and outdated in the way it works. The remaining Olympus $$ went for a new ball mount. There are good tripods and there are light tripods. I have a good one. Wonderful Hubby carries it for me. It's part of what makes him Wonderful.
I was still not done shopping. As a personal trainer, I work in running shoes. Since I'm not a runner (used to do about 12 miles a week) I know when they are worn out, they are worn out. Mine required replacement. One new pair later, I thought I was done shopping. Hah!
When taking digital photos, it is a Good Thing to be able to back up the card quickly, regularly and in a permanent manner. This means burning a CD of them. This can be done for a fee and with some waiting, at several locations in the parks. The CD burner on my HP laptop failed. It's old, wimpy and not worth repairing. I got a refurbished Dell with a 17" monitor. And 4GB of RAM, and dual processors, and, and, and... I can now back up my photos in the cabin, without paying Disney for the service. I also have a laptop that is more capable than the servers I used to support at the office.
At this point, it is still early-mid April. I have ADRs for four meals in three days, two of which are character meals. I have a lot of photography and computer equipment that I intend to drag along with us. I've got sneakers, I've got more reading to do.
-In Which More Persons Join the Expotition-
A 46 year old newlywed usually means there are stepchildren somewhere. I did not have children before I married. Wonderful Hubby has one son. He's named after his father therefore, I shall call him Junior here. Junior is a great young man, expecting to finish high school soon. He's in an alternative program through the local community college. After he gets his diploma, he'll enter the USMC. Hooyah! The alternative program should wind up before we leave Orlando, so he would be available to join us on Thursday or Friday and stay through Saturday. As Junior lives in Florida, spending time with his father before he sets off to become the third generation Marine in the family is important. Junior becomes the fifth person in the cabin.
But wait, there's more! Best Man and Wife have a son, also named after his father. Junior the Second will be staying with us as well. He's not interested in going to the parks, he wants to take his girlfriend out swimming with dolphins. Girlfriend? Yup. That makes Seven in one Cabin. Blink, blink... inhale, exhale, repeat. In with Ghandi, out with Ghengis... I can do this. Calm. Calm is the word. CALM! Do not think about how Junior likes to take 45 minute showers. Do not think about Junior the Second's girlfriend's long, thick hair that takes forever to dry. Close your eyes to the fact that you know Junior the Second is a slob. Keep breathing. In with Ghandi, out with Ghengis...
The slim and quickly vanishing hope is that Junior the Second and Girlfriend will leave shortly before Junior arrives. But it is still a hope and the best that I can do. Nothing is decided as of right now, other than we will be there and that we will have a good time.
-And Here, I Fell Asleep-
More on this pre-trip report later. I'm sure total strangers will be thrilled to read about the Great Scrapbook Countdown Page and the Proposal of a Proposal. There's also the Non-Plan to fill out and the Cake Hotline. In case you thought that was all, there is also the Handicapped Tag we must address. I thought planning a vacation was fun. I thought I knew how to plan. I thought it was going to be possible to plan. I'm re-thinking those thoughts. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Probably not.
