The financially irresponsible WDW trip! [June 25th: p.45, posts 668 & 669]

[rockstargeisha]

What a wonderful report so far! Thank you so much for sharing, looking forward to more.

 

[KathyRN137]

Now it was time to make our way back over to Liberty Square for the parade and to meet up with Mike (from the TGM forums) and his wife.

Do you mean The Mike?? I'm dying to find out!!

Kathy

 

[DebIreland]

Do you mean The Mike?? I'm dying to find out!!

Kathy

I better nip this one in the bud!!! Noooooo, not *the* Mike!! Sorry. Just a guy I briefly messaged on the TGM forums one night who had the same ADRs as me. He said he was going to be at WDW at the same time as us so asked us to meet up with him.

tigger536 - Thanks a million!! Wow! Two trips for you, excellent. You're going to love MNSSHP. It's definitely something you have to experience for yourself as no words will effectively describe the wonderful atmosphere at it.

jonslola - Yes, the music and voiceovers were amazing too. I'd forgotten about that. I have the Illuminations MP3 downloaded - it's incredible. Moves me to tears every time I listen to it.

twobforhim - Thanks so much! Love having you here.

Lovemy3babes - Thanks!! I hear ya on the "financially irresponsible" Hopefully it won't be *too* long before we're both back there!

disneyaddicted - Thanks! Yeah, the trick or treating was fabulous - we ended up with 5 very full bags! Nothing special as such for Haunted Mansion that I recall but it certainly 'felt' more Halloweeny on Halloween!!!

Born 2B a Princess - Welcome!!! Thanks for subscribing

slotzkin - Yay! Thanks! Glad I could give you a few chuckles!!

preschoolmom - You are so kind, thanks!! Oh and welcome!!! So glad you're here.

Nicole786 - Nicole, I've tried and tried but I'm still about "another 30 for me today! 370/600". Sorry, it's late, I'm confused at the best of times, lol!! But please do explain!!

rockstargeisha - Yay! Another newcomer. Thanks so much for the kind words!!

 

[Jake & Crew]

nudge.......

 

[Glendamax]

Glendamax - Yeah yeah the TR, whatever! Forget that a sec................. speaking of DVC....... Oh wow!!!!!!! You joined? You are a DVC member? Did you take the points I had my eye on? Did you? CONGRATULATIONS! That is so cool!! Hey girls, Glendamax has FREE accommodation at Disney!!! How about a girl's weekend?? I may jest but actually I'm kinda half dreading that aspect of it (if or when I do join)... you know, every Tom, Dick and Mary planning a trip to Florida asking can they use my points. Please let me know how DVC works out for you....

Hey! Sorry I never repsonded. I just found this today!

I bought through Disney with the minimum 160. I'm not worried at all about people asking to use my points for free without me going, because they can't. It just wouldnt make financial sense, especially this early in the contract. Of course my friends are welcomed to come WITH me I'll be using my points for the first time in September. When I get back, I'll definetly let you know how it was!

Now, I gotta go catch up on your latest installment . . .

 

[twob4him]

Hi Just Checkin in

 

[Beka]

Great TR so far! More! We want more! I gotta say, your kids are adorable, but your DD takes the cake! What a doll! Hearing kids in a foreign (well, it's foreign to me!) accent makes it even cuter! (When I spent 10 days in Paris, I could just about die from the cuteness of the kids there speaking French!) Your boys had such creative ideas for their Halloween costumes. Gotta love it! Your TR has made me wanna go to the MNSSHP now.

 

[nts4wdw]

Well, I don't know how far ahead you are or if it is tomorrow over there already, and I don't want to miss it so............
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAYNE!!!!!!

from some of your mum's crazy Disney friends in the US!!
Have a great one!!!!

 

[DebIreland]

Aw thanks Lynn!!! That was really sweet.

Yes folks, despite my youthful and girlish charm laughing I am now officially the mother of a teenager. It's past midnight here so 'Wayne', my eldest, is now 13.

I'm so proud of him.

Only thing I can't understand is, it seems like just a few years since I was a teenager and now I'm the mother of one. How'd that happen?

 

[andiepie]

Wow! I made it through all of that and I'm officially caught up! What a trip! Such fun reading it all, and Happy Birthday to your "Wayne"!

 

[DisneyJo]

Happy Birthday Wayne​

Hope he has a good day!​

 

[lamagique]

Whew, this has been a long, very detailed TR and it's not even done yet. And you know what? I'm lovin' it. You've got me hooked! Yipee!

 

[DebIreland]

Jake & Crew & twob4him - Thanks for keeping this thing moving.

Glendamax - Thanks!! I bet you're excited about September. I love that whole DVC thing. I either need to knock the idea right out of my head or else just do it cause right now I'm obsessing I tell ya!

Beka - Thanks so much!! Yes, I was delighted with their costume choice and we had a total blast at MNSSHP! If you can you really should try to get to it some day!! Thanks again. Glad you're here.

andiepie - Thanks a million for the kinds words and birthday wishes for 'Wayne'.

DisneyJo - Aw, thanks!!! That was really nice! He had a great day today. Got a new iPod (he paid half and we paid half). He's thrilled with it! He's waiting for Spiderman 3 to come into the cinema so he can go and celebrate his birthday with his pals. Jo I meant to say, please please please write a pre-TR (and then obviously the full TR) for your upcoming trip. I think you'd do such an amazing job!
P.S. I'm back to say YOU GOT ANOTHER TAG! - EXCELLENT!!!

lamagique - Hey thanks! Was it detailed? There were at least two days in there when I didn't mention that days knickers choice or bathroom-stop frequency. So glad you like it!!!

 

[twob4him]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAYNE!!!!

 

[disneyaddicted]

(in my best Marilyn Monroe voice)

Happy Birthday to you, Happy birthday to you
Happy Birthday Dear Wayne, Happy Birthday to you

 

[DebIreland]

twob4him - Thanks Cathy!

disneyaddicted - Aw thanks. I got the chills your Marilyn impersonation was so spot-on.

 

[DisneyJo]

Jo I meant to say, please please please write a pre-TR (and then obviously the full TR) for your upcoming trip. I think you'd do such an amazing job!
P.S. I'm back to say YOU GOT ANOTHER TAG! - EXCELLENT!!!

Don't you start on the whole Pre TR thing too Think it's a bit early at the mo as we don't go till August and my plans are very boring as just booked it all with virgin, but I will soon And 3 tags I know Read them from top to bottom the TF is witty

 

[DebIreland]

This is my 2000th post!!

To celebrate I've added Mickey Ears to Beaker in my avatar. Hope you like it!

Being a total nerd 'n all, I took a screenshot of this before it moves quickly along to my 2001st post.

Okay folks, this TR is moving waaaaaay too slowly. After 6 months, I'm still on Day 8 out of 17. I'm gonna try to get it all finished up in the next couple of weeks. I really really am

Next chapter is done and I will post it shortly....

 

[DebIreland]

Part 23: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (contd. yet again but finished at last!)...

(Still) DAY 8 - Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Let me preface this next part by saying that I have no time for bigots and I truly cannot fathom why people get their knickers in a knot over somebody else's sexual orientation. I love the latest news that Disney World are now offering Commitment Ceremonies to gay couples. Yay! Way to go all you couples in love, gay and straight.

Why you might ask am I going on about this in the middle of my TR? Well, remember I told you we were due to meet a fellow Disney lover called MIke? We had talked on the phone earlier and arranged to meet opposite the Hall of Presidents just prior to the start of the Halloween Parade. Now we didn't know each other well - we had simply exchanged just two short, simple messages on the TGM forums. I knew very little about him except that he would be in WDW the same time as us and he would be there with his wife. So, we got to the Hall of Presidents, crossed over to the other side allocated for wheelchairs and ECVs (Mike was using an ECV) and looked around, not having a clue what he looked like but knowing that we were looking for a middle aged couple. I guess due to the brevity of our internet friendship it didn't cross my mind that he and his wife were both male. [It was a lesson in stereotyping for me. Why did I assume 100% when he said "wife" he meant a woman?] In case you're wondering, his wife's name could be either male or female. So the thing is I was looking and looking and couldn't see a middle-aged couple anywhere. This was very confusing to me as he definitely said "across from Hall of Presidents". People were starting to wonder what I was looking for as I stood there and scanned the faces, left, right, then left, then right again. Nope. They're not there.....

So we were just about to give up when I heard a voice call out "you must be Deb" and I turned to see a guy I'd seen already when I was scanning the crowd and there was MIke. I smiled, said hi and he said "this is K...., my wife". "Who is your wife?" I thought and must have transmitted the same thing with my eyes (awful I know). "This is K...., my wife" he said as he indicated the man next to him. Ah! It started to make sense. Of course that's why I didn't spot him earlier cause I was looking for a male/female couple. Thankfully the awkward and embarrassing 'scanning the crowd' part was over. So we chatted briefly, I introduced the kids and DH, we exchanged pleasantries and agreed to chat properly later as the parade was about to begin and we wanted to get our spot.

Thankfully I must be doing something right because it didn't cost the boys a thought that Mike and K are a married couple who are both men. I raise them to be tolerant of others and never to judge people by creed, colour or sexual orientation. I think, if I might say so myself, I'm not doing a bad job of it as they truly didn't bat an eyelid. We all agreed they seemed very nice and that we'd try to see the villians show or do something with them when the parade was over. We waved over every so often from our vantage point across the way.

Alice was still being very cautious after her fireworks fright so while the boys had a great spot out front (thanks to the kindness of a woman next to us who asked her daughters to push up), Alice wanted to hang back a bit with DH & I. That was fine. But after a few minutes she asked if she could go out front with the boys. We were delighted so we indicated to Wayne to take her on his lap but just as she was about to sit down, a Haunted Mansion ghoul (at least I think that's what he was) jumped out of the parade and said "BOO" to the people next to us and Alice nearly jumped out of her skin and started crying. It was just bad luck with the timing. DH and I took her back and once more she buried her head in my shoulder. But she's a great girl and in no time at all she was ready for more fun.

Here are some photos of the parade (again, sorry for the poor quality)...

The parade was good - the boys would give it 8 out of 10, DH and I would give it around 6 out of 10 I guess. [That's 6 relative to other Disney parades. All parades are 10 relative to any non-Disney parades!] I felt it dragged on a bit.

When it was over we went across to meet Mike and K and decided to go and see the Villians show in front of the castle and then do the Trick or Treat trail at Toontown again (if we could find it ). I didn't envy Mike's task of maneuvering his ECV and veering through those Halloween crowds! But he pulled it off masterfully! So off we went, all 7 of us. K was dressed in a Mickey Mouse costume so now we had two Alices, a hippie and a Mickey Mouse!

I wasn't overly interested in the Villians show but thought it would be worth a look and it was, not so much for the characters but for the lights around the castle foreground. We got a nice (fairly quiet) spot and watched the villians do their thing. Alice was up and about at this point stretching her legs and seemed to enjoy the characters' antics.

When that was over we made our way (successfully) to Toontown and did that trick or treat trail again. If you ever attend a MNSSHP night, don't bother queueing up in the individual trick or treating stations (unless the lines are short) cause it's more fun (and more lucrative ) to just do the Toontown Mad Hatter trail. We did well and the boys were very excited to be getting all those sweets. Once again (as was the case on our first trip to the U.S.) we were amazed at the emphasis on peanuts in American confectionary. I like nuts so no worries there but it seemed every second thing had a nut flavour (loved those Reeses Peanut Butter Cups - I think that's what they're called). For anyone wondering about the candy, what you get is little mini-snack size bars and individual lollipops and jellies and lots of Snickers.

So it was a lot of fun chatting to Mike and K. They are big WDW fans and had been on so many trips we were amazed (and naturally green with envy). Mike was very talkative but K was quieter but had a great dry sense of humour. When I first saw him I knew he reminded me of someone but couldn't think who. Suddenly it hit me that he was the spittin' image of Rob Reiner. I'm a big Rob Reiner fan [Spinal Tap is one of my favourite movies] but I also think he's so sweet looking with that nice gentle face and bright eyes so, thinking it was a compliment, I asked K if anyone had ever told him he was the double of Rob Reiner. I don't think he was too pleased. He didn't let on but I could tell that he didn't like the comparison. Yikes! Not a great way to start a friendship. But we moved on and chatted happily and the kids enjoyed hearing tales from Atlanta where they live and mostly, hearing about all the different things they'd done in Disney World. Excellent.

So we did our trick or treat trail and came into Tomorrowland and all of a sudden, tiredness overcame me. Oh wow! I was so completely drained. It was about 11.30 by now and the crowds were clearing out fast so we decided to call it a day. Mike and K were staying on for a while to get the last out of the night. We compared itineraries for the week - me never fully revealing the extent of my minute to minute scheduling but saying things like "yeah, we'll probably go to AK on Friday" and "well chances are we'll do Epcot tomorrow". Yeah, right, like I didn't plan it to a tee with military precision. Anyway, I did tell them that we had an ADR for Akershus the next day at 12 so they said they'd meet up with us in Norway after that and we'd take it from there.

So we said our goodbyes and made our way to Main Street, happy to have met Mike and K.

An unusual Mickey at the end of Main Street

Off we trudged (is that a word?) to our bus stop, amidst the silent hoardes of exhausted party-goers.

We got on our packed bus and as I looked at the kids weary and bleary-eyed faces I hoped the journey wouldn't take too long. But you know what happens when you do that - you jinx it! We were in for the longest bus ride of any WDW journey we'd ever undertaken. It took us the best part of an hour to get back to The Boardwalk. The driver seemed to take a totally different route. I don't know why as he made the usual stops.

One thing happened on the bus that actually brought tears to my eyes. There was a woman sitting across from us with her little girl on her lap. The girl was around 5 I guess. The bus was very quiet so we could easily hear their conversation. The Mom asked her little girl if she'd had a good time and her DD looked up at her and said in the sweetest voice "it was the best time Mom but please can we come back tomorrow?". The Mom said "no darling sorry, we need to go home tomorrow" and the little girl started sobbing quietly and said "but please can we come back Mom? I want to wear my Princess dress again and I want to meet the princesses again". Oh God, my heart ached. I smiled at the Mom and I could tell she was about 2 seconds away from openly crying. She was holding her daughter close and I am certain, more than anything else in the world at that moment, she wanted to say "sure honey, let's stay". Those last days are hard. They were such a sweet mom and daughter.

Finally we got to BWV at around 12.45am and Garth and I took a couple of photos en route to our room....

The massive lampshades in the hallway at BWV... (note 'Hippy Garth' in the background' )

So we collapse into the room, exhausted but all in agreement that MNSSHP was absolutely brilliant, far better than we ever imagined - a night we'll never forget. Wayne wanted to fall into bed right there and then but I insisted that he remove his face paint which he did wearily and haphazardly. We got a sleeping Alice ready for bed without waking her and Garth examined our candy loot and pronounced it a great success! Pretty soon after it was lights out, the end to another wonderful and magical Disney day.

Up next: World Showcase including Akershus and another get-together with Mike & K; some embarrassing one-sided gift-giving; lots of time at the BW pool and back to WS again for my favourite thing in all of Disney World - ILLUMINATIONS!

 

[lorimc]

Glad to see you are back in business, Deb!!!

Can't wait to read more, but I am sad it is ending!