The Disney princess audition, triple hurricane, fueding family, LONG drive , T.R.!

[cinderella73]

UPDATED 5-28-09

Introductions http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29551526&postcount=59

A bit about us http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29552161&postcount=61

Hitting the road.. Are you coming or not?
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29554066&postcount=63

2nd day on the road and arrival at Windsor Hills
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30960506&postcount=85

Care to see what Florida does to your hair? http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30960806&postcount=86

1st day at MK with hurricane Hannah in tow! http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30961986&postcount=88

A day of rest at Windsor Hills and keeping our eyes on hurricane Gustav cat 5 !!!
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32018524&postcount=104

MGM here we come ! Part 1 http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32018595&postcount=105

Part 2 http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32018650&postcount=106

Part 3 http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32018688&postcount=107

What happened - is happening ? http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35123636&postcount=138

Epcot ( or a trip tp ER?) http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35124319&postcount=139

MGM / HS - Shes so happy she is dancing in the streets! Just a quick video http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=35124561&postcount=140

****COMING SOON **** ( not listed in order)
MGM
Downtown Disney and Celebration ( Lego store and more)
Disney face character auditions
Breakfast at WL
more park days
and much much more....




Did I snag you with my snazzy title ? Well did I? No? ... Ok well it will get better. I am just getting started. Much to come.

Last time I tried doing a trip report it was a total failure. But I am determined to see this one through! I enjoy readings everyones reports so much. I hope I dont put any of you to sleep! If you are reading this and lurking , let me know! Otherwise I might turn chicken , feel unloved and run tail and hide! You wouldnt want that would you? Not when this trip will entail all the excitments of fueding family members, Disney princess tryouts and brushes with hurricanes! And of course oh so much more. But this is a pre trip and trip report in one so you will have to wait for the good stuff.

BEFORE we get started let me give you some basics. We leave next week. I am NOT packed. But I AM under budget! So many things came up in the last 2 weeks that drained my trip funds! We rented a beautiful home offsite ( I will share info on that later) . I will be adding lots of pics and video in the next couple days. Im going to try to figure out the whole posting links to my posts and how to upload pics that are not monster size thing. So bear with me . Any tech advice welcome. Oh and excuse the typos . Posting with one contact lense in at 1 am is not such a good thing ! lol

OKay lets start with the introductions:

Me~ 34 ( am I that old already?) I am the driving force behind this trip. I love all things Disney. I grew up a hour from WDW and visited there many times a year over the course of my childhood. As a kid who didnt have the easiest life ( no feelings of self pity here) WDW was a place for me to escape to. I was the little girl that really believed in fairytales and magic with all my heart , and I still do. I am the biggest kid . My kids like to tease me but they really think its cool. They just dont admit it to me to often. I think I am a pretty cool mom if I do say so myself! I am the mom that throws all out Indiana Jones partys , plays Halo on Xbox with my teen , and runs around playing lazer tag with my boys. I love to do things with my kids . I am also a homeschooling mom and in the process of trying to start up my own non profit food allergy education organazation ( that was a mouthful).

Hubby~ We have had a tough year. He is really excited and ready for this trip. He gets stressed out a LOT. He gets stressed over getting stressed. Needles to say I have taken over most of the planning. The budget part is what gets to him the most. I am hoping he will wind down quite a bit once we get down there. Oh did I mention he is NOT thrilled my mother and sister might be joining us? He is afraid she will drag us down and take advantage of us and then do nothing but complain anyway. Not to mention the drama my sister loves to induce. I hate to say it but hes right. But what can I do they are family right? Maybe they will behave.. maybe... If not I am sure this trip report will get pretty interesting. Oh I almost forgot something. It will be his birthday when we are down there. I want to do something special. He doesnt want a over the hill party. lol I told him fine then I will give him a Disney princess party. He is not amused... I dont think he believes me anyway!

DD14~ What can I say! She is 14! I had a epihiany the other day when my DD informed that me that she wanted to fix up her room. So ok I said let go reorganize it a bit. BUT NO! She meant lets get rid of all things princessy and all the dolls and pink girly stuff. She wanted a " cool" room now.So we went out and bought her new bedding and paint out of trip budget money. (can u say spoiled?) She informed me also that she has not like Disney princess stuff for like 3 years now, she did it just for me. WHAT? IS SHE CRAZY? What 14 year old does not love Disney princess stuff? I am 34 and I love it! Wait... you mean thats not normal ? Thanks! She did give me a hug and tell me that I could always put the dolls in my room. So my little girl packs up and thows out all her " baby" stuff and all of sudden I feel like crying. Not a bad kind of feeling but a " My little girl is growing up kind of crying". When you realize as a mom that the world is moving way to fast and it scares the heck out of you. Driving in as little as 2 years!!!! I think I will faint! But to be honest, I think she is still excited about Disney . I saw her myspace (she has to show me everything she does online!) and her blog was how she was all excited. She is already thinking of what to pack. But she is refusing BBB this year! Geez... she takes away all my fun! Maybe we can take hubby there for his princess party. heheh Oh and I did forget to mention I did get one princess back in her room... We picked out Disney paint at Home Depot.We got Sleeping Beauty pink paint! So Hah! I win! She has a sarcastic sense of humor and pretends that I "embarrass" her . She calls me a Disney dork. But she really loves it.

DS~ 7 He is a charmer. One look from him and I dare you to deny him anything. He's got a beautiful head of curly hair and eyes that just make warm your heart. He loves to play pranks on his sister! He is very creative and comes up with so many solutions to things. He has a little mischevious streak to him to. He keeps us entertained and always makes me laugh. We have been having a lot of bonding time lately. I love just listening to his thoughts and ideas. He has a silly goofy sense of humor and will always crack a joke .

DS~ 6 My little guy. He is the worlds pickiest eater! He truly gives me heart failure! Whoever said " They will eat when they are hungry" didnt know my son! Seriously he kicks my butt at super smash bros. at 6 years old! Thats scary! His smile just lights up my day and makes me forget everything . He has a witty sense of humor with a touch of sarcasm and all at 6. He is such a cutie. My only child that actually enjoys schoolwork! I am hoping this never changes, but I know better.

Now here is where it gets interesting....

My mom and sis might are coming along as I mentioned . You know that " If you cant say nothing nice dont say anything at all " thing? Well I can say a few nice things... I can...

My mom ( Lets just call her grandma, she would love that!)

My Mom/Grandma~ Just had gastric bypass. She is doing good now . Had it over a month back but is still not wanting to move or walk much. She likes to milk things a bit , she has always been that way . So much that no one ever takes her seriously. She is really wanting to go on the trip with us, but at the same time all she does is say how she hates everything we are doing. She has nothing good to say about Disney mind you ( or much else). Just mostly how dirty , crowded , and crappy it is in general. And dont get her started comparing how wonderful Universal is to Disney. ( Course last time we I took her on a trip with me we stayed at the Hard rock in orlando and had no waits for lines at Universal. We visited Disney one day during a holiday and arrived at 12 pm. So of course it was bad! I have tried to convince her September is different and we are going EARLY. Oh yeah and she thinks that Disney has some front of the line pass that they will give her because no one would ever expect her to actually stand in line 4 weeks after a gastric bypass .( Insert eye rolling smiley) ( My Grandmother btw had surgery for cancer recently ,has 2 knee implants and back surgery and walks everywhere, even she cant understand why my mom is acting like this! ) My mom and I are not really close. She has me when she was 21 and not really ready I think. Our relationship has always been strained. But I do try. She is not the mothering / grandmotherly type. But se does have a great relationship with my sister ( who she has when she was older and ready, so we have a huge age difference) . Even though I would venture to say its not the healthiest.

My sister~ 17 She has a huge heart and really wants to be a good person. She is very giving and loves kids. She does want to be happy but she has so many deep issues ( from living with my mom no doubt) and it seems like she can never just sit for 2 seconds and count her blessings. I want her to be happy . She thinks the world is out to get here and no one loves her etc etc... I try to help but it has always backfired. I have learned the hard way to only help when its really wanted and sometimes not even then. She is a bit difficult and gets into fits about things where there is NO reasoning with her. Anything my mom says she agrees with. She can be very negative and sometimes her and my mother can both be very mean and catty. I actually had to take them ( mother and sister) out of my life last year. I renewed my relationship with my sister BUT with "guidelines" and " rules" . I didnt want my kids being affected by their bad choices. They wanted us back in their lives so it was with certain caution that I allowed it. The thing is is you always want a relationship with your family right? I want it to work, so I try . But I do have lines drawn. I could list stuff here that would make Walt turn over but lets not ( that would make me a bad person!)! lol My sister also believes Disney will "stink". She is like a mini version of my mom. But maybe.. there is still hope. She is 17 and I will MAKE her have a good time. Because as crazy as she drives us all ( and herself) I want her to open her eyes to life outside the bubble .If it gets to the point where she is taking away from the kids by causing anyone to be upset I will back down and focus on the people that want to be there.I will not let one person ruin a trip for a bunch of people who want to be there and are happy. My sister I should mention attends theater schools and plans on being a actress.( runs in the family) Oh.. and she wants to try out to be a Disney face character. She wants me to take her to the auditions that will be going on when we are down there.OUR CONVERSATION: OK but you dont live there! No problem says my mom , we will move down. OKayyyy says I, how the heck will you do that so fast? Stay with friends of course.. What about your husband and dog back home? Oh their fine... what? Ok... Disney auditions it is... That you will want to check back up on for sure. Oh I had to sit and listen to them go on about which princess's were attractive and which were " OMG , so ugly"
( according to my sister). My mom was the worst! "Disney picked her! Your kidding. She looks 40 or she has wrinkles!" I could only roll my eyes. I must say in my sisters defense that she does love kids and would be a wonderful princess. I hope she gets this , it would be a good thing for her. I feel like I made her sound so bad but really... you have no idea! I am terrified how things will go.

So with the exception of my mother and sister which seem so set on going even though "Disney is terrible" ( I am warning them about complaining in front of us , I told them to talk about all their " problems" and "dislikes" in private with each other so the rest of us could be enjoy ourselves), we are all so excited. We are now facing the possibility according the the latest weather reports of encountering a hurricane as we arrive. Between the hurricane , my fueding family ( husband and mother, although my husband has promised to be good! ) , and the Disney princess auditions with my sister who will no doubt not be happy if she does not make it I am sure this will be a eventful trip!

So.. You still with me? Will my sister become a princess? Will my mom behave? Will my husband be able to tolerate my mother? Will a hurricane hit? Will my teen rebel at wearing matching family shirts? Will my boys learn you cant take "everything" home from the Lego store? Can I keep my husband from weaing socks with his crocs ?( no seriously he even grabbed dress socks last time....) Oh the plot thickens....

 

[magicgirl]

I am eagerly waiting for more. Last year my sister and neice ( 20 year old spoilt princess ) came with us. We are going on our own this year.

 

[cinderella73]

I am eagerly waiting for more. Last year my sister and neice ( 20 year old spoilt princess ) came with us. We are going on our own this year.

Woohoo my first official reader! Glad you are joining me. Yeah sisters are something in and of themselves. My sister is totally my mom's baby / spoiled little princess. I have a feeling that just like you , my next trip will be " minus" the add on's. ( sister and mother)

But everyone is getting into a excited mood now and upbeat. So we will see how it goes. I am hoping for the best.

 

[william4192]

I'm on board and plugged in.

 

[cinderella73]

I'm on board and plugged in.

Awesome! Thanks William! I was so worried no one would join up . Happy to have you along.

I am off to go take some pics to post up. I will update tonight.

 

[missj1975]

Lurker checking in

 

[YIPP-E]

I'm in too. It's sounding good so far.

 

[inkedupmomma]

lurking what part of pa are you in?

 

[Aurora410]

Sounds interesting! I am waiting for more.

 

[vettechick99]

Great start so far! We are going in October for Strollin' & Boozin' so I'm getting excited by reading lots and lots of TRs. Can't wait to read all about your vacation.

BTW, is that you in the avatar? Whoever it is is beautiful!

 

[zeni]

Enjoying your TR. Keep it comin'

 

[Lan]

I will be in Disney next Friday. I can not wait to hear what happens on your trip. I like the fact that you will not let your mom and sister ruin the family vacation.

 

[fortheloveofamouse]

Family feuds in the happiest place on earth sucks, my MIL ruined our trip last year! Hope you all can get along, and if not..... ditch them!

 

[FreFam5]

Great report so far - I can't imagine how you fizzled on your last one! reading about your sister reminds me about why my sister and I would NEVER vacation together!!!!

Can't wait to read more!!!!

 

[pinkteacup]

Waiting for your next post.

 

[Nancy for Disney]

You have an audience

 

[Nancy for Disney]

Oh and look, you are on page 2.

 

[nateryan]

Very interesting about your family. I do hope that everyone gets along and enjoys themselves in Disney. Looking forward to more.

 

[FairyGodmotherJen]

We leave next week, too (nine days, to be exact) - YEAHH!!!!

I'm with you on the hurricane watch thing! Looking to read the next installment....

 

[cinderella73]

Okay I am back! I am sooo happy to see you all here! Last report I waited like 2 days and no one posted . So having you all makes this so much more fun.

I didnt get any packing , LMGH , etc etc pics tonight like I planned. I ended up shamooing my carpets so I would come back to a clean house. Thats if it stays clean till we go. I am going to upload some more pics and videos tomorrow. But for now here are some pics to get you all more familiar with us.
Not sure if I have the sizing right so bear with me..

I dont like to post pics of the younger ones but I think will do. Its Police officers Vanilla and Frog Toffee... I have no idea! lol Kids come up with the craziest things. They just walked out into the living room and I had to get this pic. The next night they were captin underpants and poopoo head. They keep me entertained.

This is my daughter and I at Animal Kingdom last year after Kali River Rapids. That was one hot miserable day.

This is my sister on the left with my daughter on the right. This pic is kind of backward because my sister usually wears makeup and my daughter doesnt. But that was a night when my sister took my daughter out for a makeover. It was a example of some of the sweet things that she does. Its kind of strange sometimes having a sister and a daughter close in age!

Since you are all following along on my sisters audition I thought I would show you some of her nicer studio pics. This was a pic that was done last year before her sweet 16th. I threw her a Mad Hatter party and she came as the Queen of Hearts. You can see how pretty of a girl she is.

This is the way she normally looks without all the makeup.

Here is my husband . This was taken at Ak last year. Every pic I see of us from that day we are miserably hot. I hope this year is cooler. I guess I should be saying I hope there is no hurricane as well!

This was on the most precious moments our whole trip. This was such a big deal to my son and he was so shy. The cowgirl was so good to him and really had no idea how much it could have meant to him . This is him taking the cowboy oath. He saw Woody prior to the show and wanted to hug him but they were going inside. He just collapsed of a broken heart. I have never seen him act like that. I went over to the handler and she gave him a few special minutes with the characters and when they came out for the roundup a few minutes later they all knew he was waiting and gave him lots of attention. Much to my daughters amusement they pulled me in as well. I had to dance with a big cowboy hat on my head. There on the side was my smart alec daughter laughing and holding the video camera. This trip I promised her I will get her back. lol

This is my other son and he loved when we got to the park early and got to ride the rides with the characters. He wanted to make in on time to ride on Dumbo with Stitch buthe left before we got through that blasted long line. I had no idea the characters came out early and rode the rides. Now that we know it will be something we aim for everytime. Its our goal that we will make rope drops this time. Last time we made it in about 15 20 minutes after opening. Which was good for us. But this time we want to get in before opening.

This is a typical example of my house. Here I am trying to take a pic for my myspace and the little booger runs up behind me and scares the crap out of me. Lol I had no idea he was in the pic till after I uploaded it.

And the crowning touch! Dont we look like we like we get along? lol I have to tell you the story behind this pic. My mom and I were sooo close to being on the now soon to air season of Biggest Loser. We made it past a couple hundred thousand all the way to NBC executives . Past casting directors and everthing. We were waiting on pins and needles and told that any we might be asked to hop a plane and fly to LA at any time . Well we didnt make the cut because in the end they had a certain slot to fill and in our case they needed a hispanic mother daughter. We were also told we were top in line for the next season ( the one that starts filming in a couple weeks) . But my mom tired of the stress went ahead with her gastric bypass. Now the stress was pretty horrible. We worked so hard and had to submit video after video and give interviews and so on. We dont even get along so everything was a huge struggle for us. My friend Jen Widder was on season 5 ( she helped us through the casting process)and I went to go see her in NYC and got to meet Jillian Michaels. Wow is all I can say about the experience. I dont care of someone is a celebrity. I dont get nervous or impressed. But she was amazing and so so sweet. She gave me a big hug and told me that I didnt make it because God knew I didnt need the show. And that I was strong enough to do this on my own. I cried and she hugged me and we had a nice talk. She told me if I did get on the show she would kick my #$% . lol She lectured me against gastric bypass and gave me the best inspiration anyone ever could. I went out and got a trainer/ gym membership and havent looked back. I have a lot to lose so its really daunting. But I told myself I can eat what I want just a lot less. So far so good. Its not pouring off like it is with my mom . But its coming off at a pretty steady but slow rate.So at WDW I plan on ordering kids meals , getting fruit and that kind of stuff. All the walking will help to. Maybe my trip report name should be Disney on a diet? Sorry to get off topic but as you can imagine its a big part of my dynamic with my mother right now. Its like she wants to compete with me as to who can lose it faster. She is always asking me " So what are you down to now?" uggg

Thats Jen on the right.