The Fixer and The Cookmaster:major pixie dust*IT'S FINISHED*EPILOGUE UP!!#389

[jamal]

Well, I'm writing this so you kind people will hold me to my promise to write a TR when we return. We're leaving in 2 hours and I thought I'd give you a title before we go. I cannot imagine what I will do with my time when we return in ten days, so I'll write a trippie for you. And me. Mostly me.

The Pre-trip report is written, but you're gonna have to wait until we return to read it. Because between now and then, you'll get to laugh and celebrate the terrific threads going on now and you'll forget our little cast. So I'll post it all when I get back... after I read the ones I've missed while I'm gone.

I'll spread some pixie dust for y'all. FIRST POST: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=12138928&postcount=9

Jamal
AKA The Fixer

 

[pumba]

you lucky.....you are probably on your way.........and I have another month to wait.......hope to hear from you after

 

[OhMari]

 

[javamom]

As Crush would say:

Cha, do it dude!

enjoy!

 

[TLinden16]

Have a wonderful time! I look forward to hearing about your trip when you return.

 

[Minniespal]

Have a wonderful time ~ Look forward to hearing about it when you get back.

 

[jamal]

Well, we just got home from the glorious, magical ten day trip! I have notes and pictures for the trip report; yes, it's coming this week!

How am I supposed to wake up in the morning without Mickey and Stitch calling??

 

[byoung]

Have a great vacation.

 

[jamal]

The Cast
Me, The Fixer (because I fix problems and situations, not things), Jam, Jamal, 42 year-old obsessive Disney planner, wife and mom
DH 44, Baloo! Told me early in our dating he wanted to honeymoon at Disney. Shrek (sorry, but he is…an ogre with a heart! Everyone calls him Shrek. We’ve never been to Universal so don’t flame me.), Mr. Incredible, too.
DS11, A, Calvin AND Hobbes, sweet, the imagineer, black belt, lives for Disney magic, Cal, has firm plans to work for Disney. Not a greedy spender like his brother…
DS6, E, Schmev, made of steel but terrified of Splash Mountain, Happy, Golden Sunshine, Buff. Greedy little joker....

Our friends:They will be known as The Gatelatch family. Explanations to come! Keep reading! CookMaster, GS12, GS9 (Gatelatch sons)
The CookMaster, became my friend through our sons’ friendship. Songbird and lover-of-life, has zesty hair, Scoutmaster, The Magician (you’ll see!!!)
Cledus B. Gatelatch: The RugDoctor, Aladdin, can’t vacation more than 6 days.
Their DS12, or GS12, actor and awesome kid, Boy Scout, Captain Hook, terrific friend to my A!
Their DS9, or GS9, comic book writer extraordinaire, Beat, C, has written two hilarious comic books about “The Fixer” (me) and “The CookMaster” (his mom). More on that later!!!


I’ve been planning for months. Three months. Ever since DH swept in a few days before Christmas and said the words that make me fall in love with him again: “Let’s go back to Disney spring break.” Oh, I love that man! He knows I need something to look forward to after Christmas and what is better to look forward to than Disney?

I fret that our children will be spoiled rotten adults. I loathe our over-indulgent culture. I am a minimalist at heart (well, sorta) and want us all to appreciate the material blessings that come our way.

Then DS11 reminds me he and his brother are not spoiled…except about Disney. Yes, he’s right. Except for his six magical trips to The World, his almost-12 years on earth have been spent as Cinderella’s apprentice, cleaning ashes and soot and washing clothes on a rock. Our hovel is bare save the memories we cherish from our irresponsible vacations to Kissimmee, FL.

You’re not buying much of this so far, are you?

So we surprised the kids with a clever note in the Christmas tree and I’ve been analyzing and planning since December 26. OK, noon on Christmas Day.

A little background and a scan of my signature below will remind you we went to DW last May. We are fortunate to have many Dis-loving friends and try to convince them to go with us when we can. The only thing more fun than planning a WDW trip for four is planning one for fourteen! That was last year’s trip, when two families joined us. Magical, magical. I’m still poring over those pics. One fond memory of that trip—our first with evening EMH—was when our husbands took the older kids on Space Mountain at 11PM one night and my friend and I agreed to meet them with our five-year-olds back at the ride exit at 11:45. We walked off laughing, for who in the real world dashes off to play with two five-year-olds at 11:30 at night?

Anyway, those two dear families weren’t able to Dis with us this year—something about funding higher education-- so I began to work on DS’s good friend’s family. The Cookmaster brings laughter, music, compliments, and a giving spirit—oh, and the best cookies you’ve ever eaten—to all she touches. She is a dear friend, a real friend, the kind you know you’ll always enjoy as you finish each other’s sentences. Her DH is Aladdin by trade, owning a flooring/carpet company, who ‘squeaks when he walks’ according to the Cookmaster. He works hard, loves his wife and boys, and had a great time on their first Disney trip 2+ years ago. They are in by mid-January! They want me to plan it all and even act excited when I say I‘ll make a spreadsheet for the trip. Good friends, these people. A and E are overjoyed; they love this family.

Subscribe to TGMiKE, plant myself at the throne of the PC , and let the planning begin!

Planning the trip gave me something to look forward to in January and February.

Then it was just time to GO!!
Five. More. Days. I am already too excited to sleep. What will I do when this vacation is over? Clean my house? Interact with my family? Oh, duh. Write the trip report. I am scared of vettechick; she doesn’t like pre-trip reports that dangle in cyberspace for eternity.

And we're off...
NEXT chapter: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=12151646&postcount=16

 

[pooksma]

Sweet! Lets hear more!!!!

 

[nicolemarie]

Love your report - it does sound like we have a wee bit in common!! Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[1000thhappyhaunt]

I'm in, Jami!

Mel.

 

[MOMOFMNM]

me too!!

lovin it!!!

 

[horsegirl]

oh golly, I'm in too!

 

[Cinders Mum]

this is looking to be another epic TR, thanks for taking the time out to post .... can we have more now please

 

[jamal]

Part 2: Let’s get on with it!:

What’s on the dining room table in the days before we go: sunscreen, sunstick, Neosporin, Mickey backpack, NEW** Tink messenger bag, Ziplocs, swim goggles, 97 pages printed from TGM, two digital cameras, and three disposable cameras

Since we are going for nine nights, I’ve packed ten pairs of shoes. The mostly fun, colorful flip-flops are in their own bag, tucked away from DH’s eyes. By the time DH gets home from a short work day, I have everyone’s bags packed, no sleep under my belt, and the travel folders tucked under my arm. Let’s go, already!

We scoop up the kids at school and kick off spring break by heading straight to the airport. Woo whoooo!! The four boys think we are on different flights, but we surprise them by jumping on the plane together. The other surprise-and yes, it’s a huge one- is the fact that through a generous friend/benefactor of DH, we are ALL going on a private plane!! We are not rich folks, people. We are not rich people, either, folks. This is the treat of a lifetime, maybe two. The CookMaster is never thrilled about flying and makes sure the pilots are cheerful and clear-eyed before we take off. While she chatted and tried to distract herself and her boys during takeoff, I spotted one of my favorite sights on God’s green earth. It was a shiny red bag of the CookMaster’s famous chocolate chip cookies!! She handed them to me and smiled her comforting smile: “They’re straight out of the oven! This bag is for your room!” Joy, joy. A little aside on the history of The CM’s cookies. She has made them for years, even selling them to faithful addicts during leaner times. Well I was leaner too before I met these little gems. Here’s the kicker, though: she won’t share the recipe. Hmmmph. We’ve tried. Her friends have bribed her kids, rifled through her pantry, and offered great reward for The Recipe (and I don’t mean Miss Mamie and Miss Emily’s for all you Waltons fans out there; I’m a charter member of that club, too). If you ask for the recipe, she just says she’ll make them for you whenever you want them.

I ate three before coming up for air.

DH was sitting near the front of the plane in a seat that prompted E (our DS6) to say, “It looks like Daddy is sitting on a potty.” Sure enough…

He felt close to the pilots so he suggested we offer them some cookies. We surrendered four. Nice, huh? Four cookies for a man and woman who hold your family’s lives in their wrists.

They scarfed them down and…you guessed it… asked for the recipe.
AHA!!! THAT”S IT!!! She’ll HAVE to give the recipe to her pilots! I lunged forward an urgent request for them to hold their own. They said they couldn’t guarantee a smooth landing without possession of the recipe.

It. Almost. Worked.

But the CM is smart enough to know this man and woman love their families, too. She didn’t budge and we took the rest of the cookies with us to the Poly!

I looooove the Poly. We stayed at the CR last year and I loooooooved the view and the walk to MK. The Poly just feels like everything we want in a vacation. It has a beach, great pool, view of a princess castle, sleek transportation by land, sea or air rail, peaceful landscaping, and friendly staff.

We entrusted our luggage to the bellhop while we strolled to the Hawaii building to check in. I felt so classy plopping in front of the concierge with my dog-eared folder of Dis-info. “I hope we are on the second floor, as requested.” “ We have you on the third floor,” she aloha-ed.

Is that the SMOKING optional third floor?

Yes.

**NOTE: This portion of the TR will offend smokers who don’t like pious anti-smoking preteens. This will happen again, so be warned.

DS11, the honest D.A.R.E. graduate, hates smoking. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he heard the “S” word. I rolled my eyes to no one in particular since none of you were around and hoped the Concierge would get the hint. She (sweet Betsy, by the way, she does have a name) offered Room 1501 on the first floor. “It’s on the other side of this wall,” she said.

OK, your ears. We walked in, fell in love with our temporary home, grabbed our luggage when it arrived, and dashed off to meet the Gatelatches at Tokelau.

We had a mouse cooking a late dinner for us and were not about to be late!

NEXT: Chef Mickey’s, MK, and tallying meltdowns and fights… NEXT chapter: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=12157562&postcount=19

 

[jes77]

Looking forward to your next post!!
You can't really mean that there were some fights along the way ... ohhhhh ... I'm shocked

 

[nicolemarie]

Love your writing - and the notebook full of Dis info.

I can not believe we were both on the bummed Spaceship ride!! It really is a small world, isn't it? (that was a really cheesy cliche)

Anyway, look forward to hearing about your experience at the Poly. We were between it and the YC and chose YC because of the pool. I still want to try the Poly, though.

Happy writing!!

 

[jamal]

Part 3, still day one

We bounced up to the Great Ceremonial House (where I have never seen a ceremony) and, after a quick spin around the pin kiosk, walked out to the monorail. A asked if we could ride in front and I gave him my best ‘sure, dear’ even though I knew the front would be taken. Well, those four boys DID get to sit in the front of their first monorail ride! We adults considered running away but wished the driver luck and hopped in the next car. We loved imagining the fun in the front car with four excited boys. I used the opportunity to spring into TourGuideJaMI mode, explaining the wedding pavilion, GF, and the exhausted parcel of children being pulled out of Magic Kingdom.

At the CR, the boys showed off their monorail co-pilot cards and we rode down to Chef Mickey’s. The first character we saw was Genie! I’ve never seen him at Chef Mickey’s before. I didn’t even know the Mouse and Genie were buds! We plowed and waved through our favorite way to kick off a Disney vacation. First Night at Chef Mickey’s has become a tradition; it gets us in the Disney frame of mind and magically turns 11 and 12 year-old boys into napkin-waving autograph hounds!

It also turned all four boys into soft-serve ice cream gluttons; I stopped counting E’s trips to the machine at three…

One more explanation of the Dining Plan to the DHs and we were ready to settle our bill. GS9 spent the final minutes dancing—he’s really good—during Mickey’s celebration, much to Goofy’s delight. I loved watching the CookMaster receive kisses from Chef Mickey and the other culinary kindred experts.

When we got home (yep, I wanted it to be!) I spent about 30 minutes unpacking and settin’ up housekeeping. We were all too excited to sleep but DH managed to drift off about 4 minutes after we slid our key in the door. Once the discussion about the daybed was settled (E claimed it and everyone was thrilled—he’s STRONG and restless day and night!!) I pulled out my MightyBright (clip-on reader light. Oh, come on.) and rattled my TGM pages until I could fret the next day’s itinerary no more. I fell asleep thanking God for our rich blessings and the love I have for my family!!

Next up: The Magic Kingdom, and yes, the promised meltdowns and fights we witnessed! Next Chapter:http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=12161851&postcount=25

 

[OhMari]

Cool a Private Plane, did you land at Orlando or a different airport.

You made me think about the smoking issue. He never smokes in our house or in a hotel room, but WDW is pretty strict about places that you can. Are there places on a map that shows were smoking is permitted?