The Berg-Berts do WDW, Part 30 – Closing Thoughts

[sheridac]

Shuttle to a hotel (non-Disney), pizza ordered in, early to bed. And my beautiful wife. The one who said, “for better, for worse”. The mother of our two children. Won’t speak to me. Unless it is gruntable. Ya’ll, that was a very cold night. And not because of the air conditioning.

Oh, Lacto!!!!

 

[horsegirl]

Shuttle to a hotel (non-Disney), pizza ordered in, early to bed. And my beautiful wife. The one who said, “for better, for worse”. The mother of our two children. Won’t speak to me. Unless it is gruntable. Ya’ll, that was a very cold night. And not because of the air conditioning.

Awwww. Your punishment from me would have been to make you stay for three more days and spend that money on seaworld and more diz!

So why is THIS important? Because we tell #1S we are going to Disney again and will be flying down. He is very excited. But in a moment of quiet, with a voice that needed comfort and reassurance, he simply asks, “Are we going to get to sit together on the plane?”

DOH!!!!

my professional opinion is he is scarred for life.

 

[latoberg]

We live in NE Oklahoma. We are about ½ an hour from Tulsa. Tulsa has a nice little airport. It is serviced by most of the big name airlines: AA, Delta, Southwest, you get the picture. But Tulsa doesn’t have one thing that many other airports have: special discounts on airfare. For weeks I compared Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, and Dallas/Ft. Worth. I have flown out of 3 of those airports. So I was kind of familiar with them. When I was researching airfare, guess what I found. The best price was at an airport I have never been to. And is 4 hours away. But it was a really good price. Because Tulsa’s prices stink. Even though the paper said it has the best prices in NE OK, NW AR, SW MO. You know why? It’s the ONLY stinking airport big enough to land a bunch of big planes.

So I start looking for airfare. But gas is climbing upward. Buy now or wait? Chance a good price now or chance a fare hike to match gas? Gas is shooting up (at this point we were seeing 2.30’s). Ever one to play it safe, I took the early price. So we bought our tickets in May. And wife said one thing after I paid for them. “Do not look at any more prices.”

I should have listened.

Prices dropped a little. Then leveled out for a while. And then in August the bottom fell out of the prices. There were deals everywhere. Oh well, live and learn. At least we are flying together on the same plane and maybe even in seats that are close to each other.

But here is the kicker. Tulsa still doesn’t have any deals on airfare. We are still breaking even by driving 4 hours away and getting a motel.

Wait, if it is breaking even, then why aren’t we going to the closer airport? You may ask.

I would rather you didn’t.

 

[javamom]

I hear you there, we are also going to travel 4 hours away to cheaper airfare for our Decemebr trip.... it's nutso, particularly when I think of all of my tax dollars going to subsidy the airlines in our city for "cheaper" airfares. TO be fair, they do have one pretty cheap flight to MCI, but you can only fly on Saturdays and that didn't fit our schedule.

 

[NAB]

We do that too Lacto you not alone. We live in Canada and fly out of Buffalo. Which is 3 hours away and we have an airport an hour away. We just say it is extra day to our holiday. The kids get to go swimming for a day and we get a cheap flight. But hubby is like you he keeps looking too to see if he could have done better.

Hope you having great weather. Say hi to Drebert for me. I see a storm coming towards you and it's called Maelstorm and it will bring a mass of Vikings.

 

[GeorgiaAristocat]

I agree. Once booked, just stop looking.

Stop.

NOW.

STOP IT, I SAY!!!!!!

 

[horsegirl]

But here is the kicker. Tulsa still doesn’t have any deals on airfare. We are still breaking even by driving 4 hours away and getting a motel.

Wait, if it is breaking even, then why aren’t we going to the closer airport? You may ask.

I would rather you didn’t.

Great job writing your trippie from WDW. Sitting in the dark while the kiddies fall asleep are we? I only have one question...Why aren't you choosing the closer airport, if you are merely breaking even?

 

[nicolemarie]

If you have seen the planning video, there is a silhouette of Goofy walking by a porthole. One time on his journey past the porthole, he falls with his characteristic, “Yoo-hooo-hhhhoooo!” #2S is anxiously waiting to get on “the boat” so he can watch Goofy fall down; just like the video. He has reality issues. But he’s 4.

We too have that planning video and have watched it MANY times just to see Goofy fall. My kids laugh hysterically every time.

Our Spring Break trip to Disney was planned after some toying with the cruise idea.

We stayed at the Yacht Club - water view - for 7 nights, bought 3 8-day PH's, one annual pass, and ate lots of TS meals for the same price as the 4 night cruise.

And the boats don't even have rides!!

Lato, your report is SO FUNNY! My son is taking a little nap and I had time to read the entire thing just now. I can't wait to hear the rest. Especially the part where you meet some Vikings. Wish I could join ya'll!!

I have laughed out loud so many times. Thanks for the fun this afternoon!

And I love the pics. Priceless.

Ya'll be safe and have a great time.

NM

 

[drebert]

oooopsie.

BTW, it's raining

 

[latoberg]

We are preparing for our trip. We are at about 1 ½ months to go. It is becoming Fall-ish. And that means one thing – state fair time. Oklahoma is blessed with two state fairs. Huh? How’s that, again? Yep. Two state fairs every year. The Great State Fair of Oklahoma and the Tulsa State Fair. The GSF is in OKC. The Tulsa SF is in….Tulsa. We are close to Tulsa. We don’t like the TSF. We like the GSF. So I like to go to the website and see who is coming each year. A couple of years back, we discovered that Disney On Ice was pretty cool. We saw Toy Story 2 on Ice. At that time our #1S was really into Toy Story.

I checked the website to see what was coming and knew in a flash we had to go. The Incredibles are going to Magic Kingdom. WoW! What a co-inky-dink.
The show was also going to be at the TSF. But a couple of things stood in the way. First was that we don’t like the TSF. Second was that it would happen while WE were at WDW.

Then I looked on the activities list and saw another Disney link. At one of the pavilions was Raven Symone. And right now #1S is so into Disney pre-teen shows. He loves Suite Life. He likes Hannah Montana. He likes Raven. So we knew he would love it.

So we plan the mini-trip to OKC for the GSF…KWIM?

There was one little hitch. Raven and the Incredibles were both going to be in OKC only one day: Sunday. Now refer back to the introduction. See my job? Pastor. I ONLY work on Sunday. So we worked around the church schedule and knew that we had, at best, 30 minutes of stretch room.
So the day arrives. Drebert has a great plan. She ditches out of church early to get us lunch ready to eat on the road. So we can get out and I can just change clothes. Then we will be on our way.

Church ends. I shake hands. And when it thins to the point of the last stragglers, I grab my stuff and head out. Swish, change clothes. Back in the car in record time. Actually I was a little slow, but still had plenty of time. In the car and on the road. We still had our 30 minute window. Outstanding.
OKC is 2 hours from our front door. And that day it was raining. YAY!!! No really, we need it. So rain was beautiful. Except now the fairgrounds would be puddled (it quit raining over the fairgrounds before we left). Cruising down the road. Kids are watching their movies. Snacking on sandwiches and chips and Zebra Cakes. And we get to OKC with the same 30 minutes to spare.
It was cloudy and cool. It had been raining all morning long. We were hoping for low crowds. As we round the highway to the fair, we saw the lines of traffic on the offramp. Both directions. Down the highway we see that another entrance to the park is lined up about two miles long. This is not going to be a low crowd day.

But I proved that I know how to beat the lines. Found an entrance with very little lines. Then we pull up to the gates and the line for tickets is one block long. Dadgum, what is this? I’ve never seen lines like this. It hit me late why I don’t remember lines like this. We don’t normally come on the weekend. But I drop Dre and #1S off to deal with a line, while #2S and I park the car. Well, I park the car. He keeps running commentary. Like, “Why are all these people at the fair? Why did we come to the fair?” Not in an obnoxious, “I don’t want to be here” way. More of a what is this new experience kind of way.

Park the car and hike to the gate line. Wife and #1S are standing off to the side. I think for a moment, “Woman, what are you doing? Get in line.” But I knew the answer before I spoke. It was just a man reaction. See we had entrance tickets. ‘Cause we buy tickets online. And you get entrance with the purchase of Disney On Ice tickets. So we march in with no line. “See ya’; didn’t wanna be you” was kind of running through my head. In a small voice.

Not like God’s.

So we have 10 minutes to find the Raven concert. We get there just as the music is starting. Be we don’t see Raven. Oh she was there. So were most of the pre-teen children from the greater Oklahoma City area. It was packed. Overflowing out of the pavilion and outside. And we weren’t getting in. Dre tried, bless her heart. But there was no way she and the boy were getting anywhere close for him to see Raven. So we left.

And then we wandered around the fair. Killing time for the Incredibles. Had some funnel cake (#2S eats the heck out of funnel cake – Nanny’s influence). #2S also announced that the funnel cake wasn’t nearly as good as the funnel cake at the local water park. #1S had a big honkin’ pizza slice. Mostly by himself.

Then it was time for the show. A quick change into costume for #2S. Dre put his Incredible uniform/costume in the car. So he was now ready to join the fight for being above average. We walk into the arena and get our programs ($8 with free mask) and our wristbands (free with paid admission) to help save the Kingdom. Dre picked up a second program and mask (no bickering please) and we were in for the show. We had great seats. Except for the poor family behind us with a very cranky little one. It unnerved me, but I was sympathetic. No evil stares and not too many heavy sighs.

And the show began. This was a great program. I loved the original plot. This was not a rehash of the movie, like some DoI shows. New material and familiar voices. All of the Incredibles and Frozone appear. Mickey, Minnie, and some of their friends were there. The Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, BTMR, the Mansion, IASW, and PoTC all got attention. It was a fun romp through the Magic Kingdom. On ice. And it was a great way to start the last week before the next week when we will be there. For real.

Look out Syndrome. The Bergman’s are coming to WDW.

 

[NAB]

Sorry about the rain, today and then. Do I have that right. I had to check to see what time frame we were in also. This fall right .

I'm glad the fair got you in the mood for the real thing. Hope it stopped raining,but if it doesnt' like you did before forge ahead. Always something to do in Disney rain or shine.

 

[latoberg]

Sorry about the rain, today and then. Do I have that right. I had to check to see what time frame we were in also. This fall right .

I'm glad the fair got you in the mood for the real thing. Hope it stopped raining,but if it doesnt' like you did before forge ahead. Always something to do in Disney rain or shine.

Hey NAB, it quit raining right about when I was writing. We hopped back to the resort for a break (and change into dry clothes). Then we headed back out. It rained in the Fall and in the Spring. But today is Narfeldem

 

[Grammyof2]

I am lame and marking my spot on all the trippies so when I get back I know where I am

 

[latoberg]

Here are some of the pics from the Disney On Ice show The Incedibles In A Magic Kingdom Adventure.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Lacto!

Those are lovely pics, but what in the WORLD(!) are you doing posting them now?

Shouldn't you be getting a move on? Go feed the Otters, or something?

Lisa, get him moving!!

HAVE FUN GUYS!!!!!

 

[latoberg]

Days of waiting and living with the expectation of vacation was maddening. We spent the days of that last week counting down the days. I had lots of time to ponder: what are we forgetting? Did I get the planes right? Do I have all of the ADR’s planned? Is there any way the kids can stay home at this point?

That last one was not true. I was committed to taking them. Just not excited. I kept having flashbacks of the last trip. And Lisa was threatening them with not going. So I didn’t have to.

Friday arrived. This was Trip-mas Eve. We were driving out on Saturday for Kansas City. But Friday night was special, too. For #1S. He had a slumber party. 9 7- & 8-year old boys. Talk about the craziness involved with that. Amongst yourselves. Cause we were content. Only one child to deal with was a vacation in and of itself. Plus we had some friends take us out to dinner.

Thanks again, y’all. And thanks again for that other thing.

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. I’ve heard that somewhere and thought I’d use it because it was a be-a-yu-ti-ful day. We were leaving. #1S was done with his party at 9:00. Lisa went and got him. We loaded up the car when she got back. And I mean LOADED. That poor thing was groaning each time a bag came out of the house. By the time we were done there was luggage everywhere.

8 days of vacation required 6 suitcases, 5 carry-ons, and a stroller. Crap. I was groaning every time a bag came out. And I was carrying some of them. At one point I looked at the pile of luggage. Then I looked at the open trunk. Then back at the luggage. Then the trunk. Luggage. Trunk. Nope. There was no way it was all going to fit. And it didn’t. It had to go up front with the boys. Not instead.

Once everyone and everything was loaded (we assumed) we headed out. Wave bye to the house. Wave bye to the church. Wave bye to the money we will be throwing away enjoying the heck out of ourselves. But we didn’t care. We saved for this trip and it was going to be fun. Or someone was going to die.

Then the cell phone went off. I was two miles from the church when it went off. And I knew who it was. No, it wasn’t a weird psychic thing. I have my phone to play a certain song when people call. But you were a little freaked out, weren’t you. I answered the phone and it was a church member. He had a request. “Have fun,” he says, “but get me a picture of you kissing Mickey.” Okay. One picture of me kissing the big cheese eater.

On a side-note, have you ever seen Mickey eating cheese? I mean really, he isn’t your stereotypical mouse. Even Jerry (of Tom &…) ate mouse. Rizzo the Rat – cheese. Chuck E. Cheese – ummm – yeah. So, as much as some of my Viking friends like to assume about me, I think Mickey may have a cheese aversion. Me, not so much.

So, phone call ended, we are on the road. First order of business is not crashing and dying. I have that thought run through my head a lot when I’m on long trips. But a second or third order of business is breakfast. Because this is a special trip, we decide somewhere special for breakfast.

The World’s Largest McDonald’s. It’s in Oklahoma. Says so on the billboard outside the restaurant.

And that’s where we ate. Well, Lisa and the boys ate. I had the breakfast of cops and bus drivers – coffee. Then we were back on the road.
We got to Kansas City without incident. 4 hours and nothing special but breakfast. We even got to the hotel without getting majorly lost. Yay! But……..

 

[latoberg]

Lacto!

Those are lovely pics, but what in the WORLD(!) are you doing posting them now?

Shouldn't you be getting a move on? Go feed the Otters, or something?

Lisa, get him moving!!

HAVE FUN GUYS!!!!!

Hey BG! Glad you back from the Mother/Fatherland!

We are getting around. Just slowly.

Dre is waiting to read this update, though. Bye!

 

[saschab]

On a side-note, have you ever seen Mickey eating cheese? I mean really, he isn’t your stereotypical mouse. Even Jerry (of Tom &…) ate mouse. Rizzo the Rat – cheese. Chuck E. Cheese – ummm – yeah. So, as much as some of my Viking friends like to assume about me, I think Mickey may have a cheese aversion. Me, not so much.

Maybe Mickey is lato-....errr, I mean lacto-intolerant?! (sorry... couldn't resist..)

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

Lato

Just a shout out to a fellow Okie, and Fastpasser. I posted there once, does that count?

Loving the TR. Except your dislike of the TSF. I love it! Of course I moved here from Alabama, where you can't go to the state fair because it is overrun with gang members. And I haven't been to the one in OKC, so I can't compare.

Looking forward to more!

 

[NAB]

Glad you didn't get lost on your way to the airport. My kids would have loved to go to that Mc's but you would never have got them out. We avoid McDonalds with a play areas if we are in a hurray.

If the car is so full how are you going to bring all the new stuff back?

Hope you have a great day!!!!! How hot is it in Sept.?