The Queen, The Princess & The Geek: Two Trips *Couple Plans #28

[book_junkie]

The Queen, The Princess, & The Geek: 2 Trips, 14 Days, Oct-Nov Pre-Trip

Once Upon a Time...
There was the Queen Mama ( ), The King ( ), the Princess ( ) , and the Prince ( ), and while the Queen Mama LOVED Disney, they couldn't afford much, and only went to Disney twice as a family while the Princess and the Prince where growing up. The Queen Mama tried to give the Princess and Prince a love of Disney, taking them to every movie ever made, and buying shirts and Mickey Mouse phones. The Prince was immune, but soon a love of Disney appeared in the Princess, although not in the way it showed in the Queen Mama. Much to the amusement of the King and the Prince, the Princess loved the engineering and the details of Disney, not the fairy tales- the adventures, not the fantasy, but this was fine to the Queen Mama, because at least it was a love of Disney.

After the second trip to Disney in 1994, the Princess entered college, and shortly after fell in love with the Geek ( ), and even while trying to find her way through college the Geek kept by her side. They graduated, and married, and since jobs for geeks were few and far between, they had to move far away from the Queen Mama, the King, and the Prince (who was now entering high school). 1,285 miles- the Queen Mama let them know.

The Princess went on to graduate school and earned her Masters of Library Science and became a youth librarian, and the Geek and the Princess finally settled down, and 6 1/2 years after they had married, they were finally settled enough to take their honeymoon. The Princess had been telling the Geek about Disney World, and they both had a love of fantasy, and attractions, and shows, so they booked it.

However, while the Princess' family were excited about it, the Geek's family did not understand at all- why spend all that money on a theme park? Why buy into the consumerism? Why Disney? The Geek grew understandability concerned- having never experienced the magic, he did not understand. However, he had faith in the Princess, and when they finally ended up at the Wilderness Lodge, they both knew they found their Disney Home. They agreed that as long as they could, they would return to Disney every three years to renew the magic.

And they did in 2007, telling everyone they were going, facing much scoff from outsiders save for the Princess' family- who met them there for part of the trip, which changed the magic for the Princess and the Geek, but while it was a different magic, it was still a type of magic.

However, the magic didn't last, possibly because the Princess and the Geek were using their vacations to visit family around the country instead of taking time for just themselves, and faced with outside pressures, medical issues, and other things, the Princess and the Geek went back to Disney to get a magic fix in 2009- a quick trip to tide them over until this year when they could take their full trip. They told no one of their plans, and to this day no one knows where they went- it's still a secret. They came back refreshed, and recharged, and realized that while they love their families, they need to make sure to take time out for themselves as well.

The Geek, at the 599 day mark, made reservations for the room, although due to economic reasons it was at Port Orleans- French Quarter instead of Wilderness Lodge. The Princess, who had been lurking on the Dis and other boards, started playing around with trying to get PIN numbers, and keeping an eye on discounts and codes. And neither told their families what they were planning- the Geek because his family wouldn't understand, and the Princess because while she loved her family, she didn't want the Queen Mama and the King to join them on this trip, and the Princess hasn't quite found a way to let family know that sometimes the Princess and the Geek are going to take vacation time that will be just for them. This trip is just theirs.

And so the Princess and the Geek were planning their trip for October 23-November 2, 2010, and were excited! And the Princess and the Queen Mama were chatting via facebook (which the Princess had taught the Queen Mama over Christmas two years ago) and both mentioned that it had been such a long time since they had had a mother/daughter outing due to the King's health, and wouldn't it be wonderful if they could go somewhere together. The Queen Mama said that she couldn't go anywhere because she'd be afraid the King would get into trouble, and the Princess mentioned well, why not just a long weekend? So the Queen Mama thought, and thought, and finally decided that yes, that would work! But, where would they go?

The Princess offered California, New York, Oregon- but none tickled the Queen Mama's fancy. Finally, the Princess offers up the suggestion of Disneyland, and the Queen Mama says no, because it's too far from their home, but what about Disney World? The Princess thinks it over- would it be too much with the trip with the Geek? NEVER!!! So, the Princess and the Queen Mama coordinate schedules, and now the Princess and the Queen Mama can go October 1- October 4. Looking at their budget, they book Port Orleans- French Quarter as well, and now the Princess is planning two trips, looking for discounts for two different times, two different flights, and two VERY different trips.

Will everything turn out happily every after? Only time will tell! But the stories will continue, especially as the Queen Mama as decreed we are not to tell the King about the trip- the King is on a need to know basis, and he does NOT need to know!

 

[book_junkie]

So in March my mom (the Queen Mama) and I (the Princess) are talking and decide that we need to do a girls' weekend trip SOMEWHERE because it's been years since we've done anything together for any length of time. And my mom decides the only place we can possibly go is DISNEY!

We looked at all the resorts online, and ended up booking a water view at Port Orleans French Quarter, double beds, and I'm looking for codes and pins and deals, because right now we have the rack rate, and deals haven't comes out for October.

All well and good, but the only weekend that works with both of our schedules is October 1-4, and that leaves less than two weeks to plan out any ADRs... And it's the opening weekend of the Food and Wine Festival... and rumors about free dining...

She's in Illinois, I'm in Texas, so we're doing long distance planning over the phone and internet, and I did mention that she's told me we're not to mention it to my dad (the King) because he's on a need to know basis, and he doesn't need to know, right? She doesn't want to hear him complain about the money, about how he's not getting invited, yadda yadda yadda...

So I'm at work one day, and I get this phone call:

What are you doing?
I'm working, Mama, can you speak up?
No, I have to whisper because I'm calling from the bathroom.
Why are you calling me from the bathroom?
Because your father is following me around the house. I think he's suspicious.
Well, you are calling from the bathroom, Mama, that might give him a clue.
Well, he won't give me a minute's peace around the house.
Maybe you could give him something to do outside?
Great idea.
What can he do outside?
Well, he could take the dog for a walk, right?
Wonderful! XXXXXX, GO WALK THE DOG!
grumble grumble grumble
He's gone. Now, where do you want to eat at Disney?



The next day I get another call from the bathroom which goes similar, although this time I suggest that she just get on Facebook and we can chat.
That's brilliant!
Mom? Mama?
five minutes later

via facebook
I think your father knows something.
Well, the hiding out in the bathroom and the Disney books all around the house might be a clue, Mama. Why don't you tell him?
He's on a need to know basis.
OK.

So we get our ADRs semi-settled, and then I discover that not only do I get to make them, I get to get up early on Easter, and it's also the start of Daylight Savings, so up an hour earlier. And I went the wrong way and added an extra hour since I'm in the Central time zone and Disney is in Easter, so I'm up an hour before the computers come up.

But, it was worth it! The online reservations came up at 5 a.m. my time, and I was able to get Crystal Palace for dinner (betting on MNSSHP the first night), Le Cellier for dinner on Saturday, and California Grill on Sunday in time for fireworks either for the normal Wishes or for the Hallowishes if MNSSHP was that night. And, when the phone lines opened up, I was able to book the Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian as a special surprise for us the day we leave. Yea!

But, we still can't tell my dad.... and my husband, the Geek ( ) is cracking up because he knows all of what's going on, and shares my opinion that my dad knows exactly what's going on, and is just stringing my mom along. I mean, who could not notice 6 different Disney planning books spread around the living room, along with spreadsheets, dining plan notes, and the reservation information from Disney?

 

[book_junkie]

So while my mom (the Queen ) and I ( ) are planning our Girls' Weekend to DisneyWorld and my mom tries to hide everything from my dad (the King )my hubby (the Geek as he's a software engineer) and I are trying to plan our own trip at the end of October.

Last year's trip was a spur-of-the-moment thing- everything had pretty much got to from work to family and everything in-between and we just needed to get away. The last straw was the car dealership not accepting the warranty they sold us on the car they sold us on the moon roof the car came with- it had leaked three times in less than 10 months, and the last soaked the entire interior which was going to have to be replaced. And they said it would going to be on our dime. This being the car we were taking in two weeks on a driving tour of the Southwest- Grand Canyon, Arizona, etc. Needless to say, THAT didn't happen (that sucker got fixed on their dime and then traded in), and instead of driving west, we flew east to Disney, and while we enjoyed our time, we hit free dining so a lot of places we wanted to eat were full, we hit a Florida heat wave, we didn't get the best prices for ANYTHING, etc. etc. etc.

What we did find out was that if you don't tell your family you're going to Disney- either side - then you don't get hassled about it! We've got two sets of people in our combined family:

the who are overjoyed about you going to Disney, want to know all about it, and then somewhere along the way suggest that, hey, wouldn't it be wonderful if THEY could come along as well? Which totally missed the point of it being OUR vacation time, not a family vacation time...

and

the why are you going? Haven't you been there? You could visit us! Don't you miss us? Why spend all that money on the consumerism waste, and don't you know how they changed the fairy tales and objectify women and yadda yadda yadda

So we didn't tell anyone where we went last year- "oh, we just drove along the coast forgot the camera, forgot the cell phone charger so kept them off save for emergencies and checked voice mails at night, just stayed where ever and enjoyed some us time" and got no flack and no hassle. First Disney trip like that EVER!!!

So we're doing that this year!!!

Now, I have to admit, I have spoiled my Geek... our first trip we stayed at Wilderness Lodge (it was our actual honeymoon, even if it was 6 1/2 years after the fact), so we splurged. The next trip, we got an awesome rate on a package deal with family, so again, we stayed at the WL. Last year, the options were few and far between for our dates, and it ended up being cheaper to do WL through one place than a moderate through Disney, so we did that. So now, working on a very tight budget, I ask my hubby what I thought would be a simple question- where do you want to stay that we can afford with XXXX? I'm thinking POFQ is a good choice.

Little did I know that meant RESEARCH. Off he goes, researching all the sites, then we check out all the books from the libraries we can, then we go haunt the local bookstores for up-to-date information. THEN come the spreadsheets and the cross-checks. Finally, weeks later he comes back and says, yea, that looks good. So he goes ahead and books it, and ta da! we have a vacation, geek style.

I didn't have the heart to ask him whether he wanted to drive or fly that day... let him rest first...

 

[book_junkie]

My family likes jokes and likes to be ornery, but sometimes my mom gets blinders on, and doesn't see what everyone else does. Dad says it's the fact that she married into the family, while the rest of us were born it. Like the fact that calling from the bathroom to talk about Disney plans would completely set my Dad's radar off that she's hiding something... Which makes it worse...

The beginning of the end of the decree that Dad wasn't going to know of our girls' trip until September 30 when she flew down is all the fault of the Disneystore.com. I THOUGHT I had her convinced that since we were going to Disney and doing POFQ, not a value, and that my hubby and I were doing a vacation at the end of October (not telling her that we were doing Disney, as well), that I had to really watch the budget so no birthday gifts, extra spending, just things when we get down to Disney- and even then not super expensive things.

Then I get a call.

From the bathroom.

Again.

Which means she still hasn't told my dad the King ( ) about this trip, even though she's booked the room in her name, and we put the plane tickets that we got an excellent deal (able to do it cheaper to fly my mom to me and then fly us both to MCO and back and then her back on her own than both of us fly on our own to MCO and meet up), on their credit card as she's got a Disney Visa card and wants the points so she can use them on stuff.

Have you been on Disneystore.com? Do you know what they have ON SALE!?!?!?!??!
Mom, are you in the bathroom again?
Your FATHER is home.
Ah. What do they have on sale?
THIS:

and I can buy it with POINTS!!!!! Don't we need 2 for our trip?
Um, I think I'd rather spend the $130 on stuff at Disney rather than luggage, what do you think?
I think I need it!!!! Do you want to match?!?!?!?! It's hard-sided! I can ship all my clothes back, and fill it with souvenirs!
Or you could save the $130 and spend that on souvenirs and new clothes.
But I need it! I'm going to get it! I just have to hide it from your father.
Don't you think he's going to notice the suitcase coming to the house?
Not if I get to the post office first.

So she buys it. And she doesn't get to the Post Office first. So my dad gets it, and has it open and in the living room when she gets home.

Now, she's been calling me from the BATHROOM. Looking on Disney websites. Got all her travel books out, and is highlighting them different colors from last year (pink because we're girls). She's been getting mail from Disney because of the reservations. The credit card bills are showing the deposit from the room, and the airline tickets. But you can't convince the woman she's not pulling something over on my dad. Subtle she's not, but some things she just does not see...

So my dad decides to get her back. For the next week, my mom is rolling her suitcase around the house, storing all her Disney planning stuff in it- papers, books, highlighters, binder, EVERYTHING. Playing with her new toy, all excited about the trip and everything. And still thinking that he does not know anything is going on. Well, she goes to work one day, comes home, and can't find it. Anywhere. Checks every room in the house, the garage, EVERYWHERE. Can't find it.

Asks my dad where it is. He says he put it up. That's all he says.

So she calls me.

YOU NEED TO TALK TO YOUR FATHER!

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

He has TAKEN my SUITCASE and WILL NOT give it back. I am DIVORCING HIM. Here. Talk some sense into him before I do something I may or may not regret.

Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. Hi Dad.

Hi Princess. How are you?

Good. Sounds like Mom's upset.

(snickering) Yea, seems that way. I don't know what she's upset about. I put the suitcase up, got tired of tripping over the damn thing. It's where it belongs.

Okay.

Love you, Princess.

Love you, Daddy.

From that conversation, I know exactly where that thing is. He decided to pull her chain a bit since she's not telling him about the trip, so he put up her new suitcase in the corner of the garage where the old suitcases are- and where she wouldn't look for her newest toy, especially when it has all of her Disney books and planning papers...

Eventually she finds it and they get over it, and finally my dad knows about the trip and there is no more hiding!

(at least for the Girls' Trip.....)

 

[book_junkie]

So I'm trying to organize two trips, one with my mom the Queen ( ) and myself at the beginning of October that now EVERYONE knows about and one with my husband the Geek ( ) at the end of October that no one knows about.

Rumors of free dining for that time are floating around, but no one knows what they're going to be, and there are no discounts out for October yet, and while we've gotten really good deals on airline tickets, any little bit helps. SO, playing around on the DIS I click on the Discounts and Codes link, and learn all about the magic of PIN CODES. We had always just used either the general public offers or the Visa offers when my parents went with us. So, I tell my hubby, and his logic brain is all: how does it work, what's the algorithm, what's the pattern. Then he does it. He says the fateful words: Well, it's all random, you'll never get one.

Now, before he had said that, I was going to play with it, and if I got one great, if not, we'd wait and see what deals came out in October. Our dates were set, we knew that there were probably some type of general deals that would come out in October that would save us some money, and if needed we could change the package we had to room only and get the tickets cheaper or go through AAA to save money. But saying I'd never get one? I think not!

So I tried the different tricks posted on the DIS, using a few different email addresses I had- his email address that Disney already had, my main email address that they didn't, the email address I used to order stuff online, and I made one new one for Disney stuff. I played around with things. He started teasing me every so often, asking on Tuesdays if I can gotten any 'special mail" while he geeked out on spreadsheets on whether free dining options would save us money versus other options based on our ADRs (California Grill, Artist Point, and Trail's End).

I got countdown clocks, stationary, and other downloads. Many many letdowns. And then....



I got a white rabbit pin, the 20/30/40% room discount! So I ran the numbers, and discovered that we could stay at the Wilderness Lodge for what we were paying at POFQ without the discount...


So, when I finally got home from work, he's sitting there smug and asks me if I got any special messages from Mickey today. I said no, but I got one from Nivens McTwisp (the name of the White Rabbit from the new Alice in Wonderland film), and he's invited me to the Wilderness Lodge for the price of POFQ. So I'll be staying there. The look on his face was priceless!!!! Blew his logic out of the water! So, we went from POFQ to WL for the same price.


But that's not the best part for this chapter of the story. Along with this being our girls' only trip, and the first one we've had in forever, my mom is celebrating being 6 years in remission from cancer this fall. Her type of cancer has a high re-occurrence rate, almost always in the first five years. Finally her oncologist has gone from saying at her check-ups "when the cancer comes back" to "if the cancer comes back", and while the chemo and other treatments have done a number on the strength on her bones, she's just wonderful.


So after looking at the numbers, and my vacation budget, and what I can do, I get on the phone to Disney, and I get Caitlin, who is wonderful. And we look at this, and look at that, and are able to work that Disney magic, and make changes to my mom's and my reservations, and then she connects me over to the new resort and I talk to them for a bit, and then do some more Disney magic.

And a few days later ( at 4 a.m. ) I get a call.

At least we're out of the bathroom now. But it could be a little later- I am SO not a morning person.


What is going on with our Disney reservations?!?!?!?!
Morning Mama. How are you?
WHAT IS ALL THIS? I have this welcome package from the Polynesian- we're not staying at the Polynesian...
Disney magic?
WHAT?!?!?!?!?

So I explain about the pin and Caitlin, and that I was able to upgrade us from POFQ to the Polynesian, which has always been her dream, and that we had gone from a water view of the Sassagoula River to a theme park view of the Seven Seas Lagoon and the Magic Kingdom. Did she mind?

I am now the favorite child, btw.

Totally worth all the downloads and messing around with the Disney site. For all those who haven't gotten pins, keep trying, because the tricks do work. They worked for me. If I could share mine with you, I would.

 

[book_junkie]

And when your traveling companions are curious, they tend to find out your secret plans... With my mom who's pouring over websites like allearsnet.com, it's hard to pull of a surprise.

I knew that she'd found out about the upgrade from POFQ to the Poly because she's the main person on the reservation, so keeping that a secret was out.

The Queen ( ) and I tink are only going for a long weekend, so it's hard to try and plan things into a weekend when there's already so much that you want to do!

She's not up to long walking that would be required for any of the tours, so those are out... And she already knows about Disney Florist, so I'm wondering if she's already contacted them about doing something for the room- she keeps ending every email with "I know something you don't know"

I had thought about surprising her with tickets to MNSSHP when we're down there, talking it through with my hubby, and we both thought that we'd have a wonderful time... until she calls up saying, Hey, want to go to the Halloween party? I read that the tickets go on sale soon....

So then I'm thinking maybe I can get custom shirts made for our trip, because then we could have a "costume" for the party without worrying about things being too hot... Then she calls up, hey, let's make shirts for our trips!!!! We can wear them to the party!!!! I saw some really pretty ones from last year some people put up!

After asking around on the DIS, I made reservations for us for the Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian the last day we're there, and since I'm handling the ADR's, hopefully she won't trip over it- although if Allears does a review, I may be out of luck!

My hubby tigger, however, is a little bit easier to sneak things past, even for a computer geek. After things are booked (room, package, whatever) he's done- no more planning, whatever. In the past, I've gotten to surprise him with Keys to the Kingdom tour and the Steam Train tour, special dinners, MVMCP...

This time around, I found out about the Dine with an Imagineer experience, and knew that he'd have a blast with it. So I called, got a CM who had NO idea what I was talking about. Then got transferred to another CM who knew what I was talking about, but it was a less than magical experience.
CM: What date are you wanting?
Me: Ideally, Thursday, October 28, but we'll be at WDW from October 25- November 1.
CM: So what date are you wanting?
Me: Thursday, October 28
CM: There are no exeriences that date.
Me: Could you check the other dates?
CM: What dates?
Me: October 25- November 1
CM: I can only go through October 25-October 31
Me: OK
CM: OK what?
Me: Please check those dates
CM: Check those dates for what?
Me: (now banging my head) For the Dining with an Imagineer experience
CM: I can try

Finally she discovers there's one on Tuesday, so I book it, and we're good!

And then I have a panic attack two weeks later when my husband calls to double confirm dining reservations, and asks me about this one to the Brown Derby for lunch on the 26th that wasn't on our plan... Just sounded good for the desserts and salad honey....

 

[book_junkie]

So, my mom The Queen (after

and I (therefore the Princess of Quite a Lot

) have a general itinerary...

Unfortunately, there are a lot of holes to fill, as I'm sure if I don't have a general plan of what park to go where it'll be a lot of my mom the queen looking at me saying, What do you want to do today?

Thursday, September 30
flies down to DFW to join and for the night, as in the weirdness of airline pricing it was cheaper to buy a solo round trip for her to DFW and back and to have us fly together to MCO and back than for us to fly separate to MCO....

Friday, October 1
and get up before the dawn to catch our flight to MCO, then pick up the rental car. thinks this is unnecessary as we could use the ME and WDW buses, but I have ruled the day. It's going to be early October and it will probably be HOT, and while Mom's in remission from cancer, the treatments have made her weaker than she normally would have been, and she's used to doing WDW on an ECV. While we'll probably use the monorail to Epcot and definitely for MK, not waiting for the buses at AK and MGM will make a world of difference I think.

Then, after stopping for sunscreen and water and other sundries....

WE CHECK INTO THE POLY!!!!

and then we're off! To where, is currently up for debate. To Dumbo! To Food and Wine Festival and Chocolate Lava Bailey Cakes!

back early to the Poly as soon as the room's ready, because we have an ADR at the Crystal Palace at 5:50 p.m., and then tickets for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party that night!


Saturday, October 2
Where we're going and what we're doing is currently up for debate; I'm waiting to see how is feeling after being up all night... But we do have ADRs at the California Grill @ 7:45 p.m., and are staying for Wishes on the Observation Deck, and might do a little more MK after that...

Sunday, October 3
Probably hanging around Epcot, especially as we have a 5:00 p.m. ADR at Le Cellier. After that, we're heading to MGM for evening hours, and milkshakes at the Sci Fi Drive In.

Monday, October 4
Up early for Animal Kingdom Early Hours, then opening at MGM to do final farewell rides of ToT, RnR, and the Muppet Ride. Then back to the Poly to check out and a final farewell to MK. We have a 2 p.m. ADR at the Grand Floridian for the Afternoon Tea.

Our flight leaves at 7-something, so we have to be at MCO at 5-something, so off we'll go.

Lots of shopping will ensue, good times will be had, and memories will be made.... ixiedust:

 

[book_junkie]

So, from October 24 - November 2, my hubby (the Geek ) and I tink, are going to WDW for our vacation this year, and unlike last year actually have reservations ahead of time! Unfortunately, this means that my Geek has time to plan and schedule things. He is definitely a type A personality, and if you give him a schedule, he will stick to it until you beat him with a stick. There's a lovely part in the Unofficial Guide to Disney World that a reader sent in, titled something like the Type A Spouse's Pledge. I'll have to find it and post it, because it SO fits my hubby to the bone.

He will go commando and have to hit every attraction tink: but we don't LIKE It's a Small World; It's Step 5 on the plan, get in line!) on his list until we're done or I've dropped dead, then wonder why we're grumpy and miserable. So, I've got more of a guideline for our trip this time, and hopefully it will work better...

Sunday, October 24
Fly from DFW to MCO, pick up rental car, get sundries, and check into WL (thank you pin code!), and hit whatever park floats our fancy...
ADR at 8 p.m. for California Grill (our tradition- we've always gotten reservations here for our first night, and watched Wishes from the Observation deck)...

Monday, October 25
evening hours at MK

Tuesday, October 26
ADR at 11:00 a.m. at the Brown Derby for the Dine with an Imagineer Experience that he has no clue about- still thinks it's just a lunch thing and I've lost my mind....
Tickets to MNSSHP that night, so after the morning in the park and lunch, we'll probably head back to WL and chill...

Wednesday, October 27
Evening Extra Magic Hours at Epcot

Thursday, October 28
Possibly morning hours at MK

Friday, October 29
Evening Magic Hours at AK

Saturday, October 30
Early hours at HS

Sunday, October 31
Dinner ADR at Trail's End Buffet followed by a Haunted Carriage Ride

Monday, November 1
Extra Hours at HS
ADR at Artist Point, another tradition of ours, closing out our vacation here

Tuesday, November 2
Check out of WL, and saying good-bye to WDW for what is possibly a good three years....

But there's still so much to do! My mom the queen wants shirts for our trip, so I have to figure that out, and hubby wants to dress for the MNSSHP, and we're flying and he doesn't want to check luggage....

 

[Legendofthehawk]

Wow! Loving your PTR style. Your use of smilies is both inspiring and awesome.

Your mom sounds like quite the character. This part really cracked me up.

-
Well, he could take the dog for a walk, right?
Wonderful! XXXXXX, GO WALK THE DOG!
grumble grumble grumble
He's gone. Now, where do you want to eat at Disney?-



We'll be there around the same time as you the second time around. We are stayin at the Poly, but a close contender was WL.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[book_junkie]

Background- my poor hubby is an uber geek, and any time he gets his hands on a plan/guide/schedule he has to follow it. I think he's just wired that way- see schedule, must follow plan to tiny fine print. Unknown to me, on a previous trip, he photocopied ALL of the touring plans out of the back of the Unofficial Guide MULTIPLE TIMES, then LAMINATED all the copies, and carried them with him every day. We followed them until I rebelled, and we had a few non-Disney moments. He ended up being dunked in the pool fully clothed and having his laminated copies taken away for good.

So, when I found this in the Unofficial Guide, I just died... I am making my husband the Geek swear this on ANY vacation we take from now on. (comments in () are my own taken from previous trips)

The Type A Spouse's Bill of Rights​

1. We will not see everything in one vacation, and any attempt to do so may be met with blunt trauma. tigger: But next is IASM! I'm not going- skip it! But it'll throw off the timing! We HATE IASM! BUT IT'S ON THE PLAN!!!!!)

2. Len Testa (programmer/ultra guru of the touring guides) will not be vacationing with us. His plans don't schedule time for benches. Ours may. tink: Let alone bathroom breaks, looking at small details, shopping, catching performers, etc. but it's a plan! We must stay with the plan! )

3. We may deviate from the touring plans at some point. Really. tigger: but it's a plan )

4. Even if it is not on the Disney dining plan, a funnel cake/ other snack may be purchased without a grouchy face from the non-purchasing spouse. (this wasn't ever an issue with us but I can see where it would be with others)

5. Sometimes, sitting by the pool may sound more fun that going to a park, show, or other scheduled event. On this vacation, that will be fine. tink: especially if you tick off the wife enough that she shoves you into the pool! Otherwise, you may find yourself sleeping in the lobby)

6. "But I thought we were going to..." is a phrase that must be stricken from discussion of any plans that had not been previous discussed as a couple. (For us this morphs more into did you want to see Wishes? oh yeah, what time was it again? 9. oh yeah, where was it again? Main Street. oh yeah, where are we now? HS what time is it now? 8:30 RUN for the car!)

7. Other items may be added as circumstances dictate at the parks. tigger: 4 a.m. time to get up for rope drop!!! this is vacation, not boot camp!!!! but we have to see the pre-show, then get in line for this, and this and this and this... do you want this marriage to survive this vacation? come back to bed)

This is from pg. 85 of the 2010 version of the Unofficial Guide to Disney World, with the picture of Primeval Whirl on the cover.

____________________________
@legendofthehawk: thanks! my mom is a hoot! Hubby and I love the WL, so couldn't pass it up when we got the pin code... the poly was too much of a stretch even with the code for when we're staying with our budget, especially with the two trips and the way things are going economy wise...

 

[book_junkie]

For what it's worth...I've got a clarification to contribute.

I like plans (we know this), but I'm also perfectly okay with a plan that is the absence of a plan -- this means that if we plan not to have a plan, then anything we plan is by definition not part of the plan, and neither of us (that means me) is allowed complain about not doing it because we planned not to do anything planned. That way, no matter what happens, when I ask the question, "is everything going according to plan?" my answer must always be "YES, everything is going according to plan!" All is right with the world.

BUT if we plan to change the plan from not having a plan to having a plan to not having a plan, then we can plan ahead for the time when we have a plan, of course, and we don't have to stop planning when we transition to the planless time, but we (once again, I) do have to let go of whatever plan we might (or might not) have been following.

Plans follow four additional rules:
1. The first casualty in any battle/encounter/activity is the plan.
2. Lamination does not protect a plan.
3. A good dunking is an excellent antidote for a plan overdose.
4. Plans don't have a good time, people do.


-- The Geek

 

[book_junkie]

I my Mom but there are some days that I really think my phone either puts some weird distortion through the lines like a time warp or my mom needs days to process things...

We're got our room at the Poly , our flight, and everything set, and then started talking about extras, like whether or not to go to MNSSHP....

Hey Mama, you know that we're going to be going down at the same time as the Halloween Party... want to go?
Oh, well, your father and I went last time but we didn't have a good time and stay all that long. Wasn't really worth the $$$.
Oh, OK.

(three days later)
Did you know that we're going down the same time as the Halloween Party?
Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssss?
Don't you want to go? It'll be so much fun! We'll have a wonderful time! Let's get tickets!!!!
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy.....

(another call)
Hey, Mama, I got the tickets for the Halloween Party, and it looks like some people really dress up for the party. Did you want to dress up for the Halloween Party? Pirate outfits or funky hats or something?
Oh, I don't think so, it'll be too much trouble.
Oh, OK.

(two days later)
Hey, I was looking online at the party pictures from last year, and people really dress up for the party. What do you want to wear? We could be princesses, or fairy godmothers with full skirts!
Mama, you do remember that we're going the first weekend of October, right? It's going to be really hot- do you want to mess with heavy skirts? (Not going to mention that I haven't worn a dress since my sister-in-law's wedding 6 years ago)
Oh, I didn't think about that...
We could do special T-shirts with designs on them, that would be special and wouldn't be too hot if it's toasty with Florida humidity...
No, I think we should do costumes....

(two weeks later)
I was just off the phone with your aunt in Titusville, and did you know that it gets up to 90 degrees in October with humidity in Disney World?!?!?!?
Yes?
Well, costumes are going to be WAAAAAAAAAY too hot. What do you think about t-shirts or something?
Sure! What about pirate skulls or something on the back that say Boo To You?
But nothing with skulls or ghosts, I don't want it Halloween-y...

 

[book_junkie]

So, after going back and forth via phone and facebook, my Mom the Queen and I finally got an agreement on costumes for MNSSHP- T-shirts! What she doesn't know is that I've gotten a couple of extras for the trip...

Surprise Shirt:

by pixiecrafts but in these colors

which happen to be 's favorite colors....

 

[book_junkie]

I knew everything was going too smoothly, and I tempted Eris, Goddess of Chaos and she responded by playing Three Card Monty with flight plans for not ONE trip but BOTH trips.

First up to get messed around was our Girls' Weekend. My Mom ( ) calls me up anxious about emails she's gotten from the airline saying there's all sorts of changes on ALL the flights we've booked but she can't get at them because she doesn't remember her login. So I ( ) log in, and now instead of flying on planes that have 5 across (two seats on one side and three on the other), all of our flights (4 total- one down and back just for and then one over and back for both of us) have been moved to planes that have 6 across (three and three). Princess: got put into the middle seat on the flight down and back, which does NOT work as she has a bit of claustrophobia, while on the flight to MCO and back we were put in separate middle seats across the plane. SO does not work. A half hour later the tickets are fixed and seats are assigned, and then I spend another hour calming down and convincing her that we are together and it's all good.

Well, evidently I dealt with that too easily, as then had emails from the airline we booked OUR flights with saying there had been 'changes' and three times there were links to accept the change, while hidden in the middle of the message was the phone number to call if it wasn't OK- like one of those hidden picture puzzles. So we log in and see that it's not plane changes, it's a whole SCHEDULE change- the flight there is fine, but the flight back added a connecting flight when we had non-stop, and made us show up an hour earlier for our flight, but cost us 2 hours of travel time with a half hour layover. And we were scattered throughout the flight- middle seats everywhere- and we PAID to get seats together on this airline. A two hour called ended up getting our money refunded from THEM, and now we have to call the air travel insurance company to get it refunded. And get a new flight.

Grrrrrrr.

 

[book_junkie]

So, when we last left off, and were flightless to MCO and back , but had tickets and a room at WL for their vacation, while and got resettled from scattered middle seats to sitting together. Finally after going over everything, and were able to find flights they could afford for the days they already had off from work so vacations didn't need to be shifted and nothing at Disney needed to be changed, because at this late date it would have been

But today is like CHRISTMAS!!!!! we found flights that were cheaper than the first airline!

Then I find out that our shirts from Pixiecrafts (etsy name) are ready, and they rock: For our girls' trip surprise shirt:

For and

Then I get the mail and our shirts from Zazzle are in:

and our MNSSHP tickets showed!!!! And I found the perfect crowns for and along with crown earrings for our girls MSNNHP shirts!



Things are falling into place! Now to get to start thinking about Halloween costumes for our party night!

 

[book_junkie]

So, after much discussion, and I have figured out what we're wearing to MNSSHP on October 26! (At least, it's what it is this week)... , in worship of all things geek, has drawn diagrams and thinks that he can make his own outfit in worship of the uber geek film of Disney:

Supposedly all it takes is some type of battery powered wire and a sweat-suit type outfit. He cracks me up... I my

My outfit is going to be much easier... I'm going to go as:

I know, I know, not Disney, and not even Marvel, Harley is DC, but she's so much fun.... I've even got the base of the outfit:

and all I need to add is a few little touches. Take out the mask, add on some felt diamonds, and add a harlequin mask... And the material for my costume is very thin so it won't be too hot for a Florida October, and can be worn with black shorts and some weird red/black socks from Hot Topic if it's really too hot like last year....

And, they should be easily packed to fit in the carry-on!

 

[onescgirl]

I'm enjoying your ptr! Funny about all the secrets!

I love the tie-dye shirts!!!

 

[book_junkie]

So I got my "Evil Jester" costume in the mail yesterday... and it's a no go. Based on what the customer service rep said and what the website said, it should have fit without a problem, even with my ness. But nope, not a go. So off it goes back to returns, and back I am to find a costume.



Now I can do

and that should fit, but I'm worried about the skirt part- will I be tripping all over it turning the night?

Or I can cobble together a Star Trek uniform with dark shorts/pants and this:

but it's just so discouraging to be told something's going to fit, and then it doesn't....

I know I have time as this is for 's and my trip near the end of October, but still...

 

[book_junkie]

I'm enjoying your ptr! Funny about all the secrets!

I love the tie-dye shirts!!!

Thanks! I love them too! They came Saturday, and they totally rock! I found a DIS-er who does them custom order (PixieDust32), and she totally rocks!!!!

 

[book_junkie]

So, the traditional saying is that bad things come in threes, right? So, even though I have two trips, hopefully it's only three right since they're to the same place? And I've had two:
1. SNAFU with plane tickets
2. SNAFU with Halloween costume not fitting

so then my parents Pseudo Divorce at 5 a.m. this morning should be the third right?

I swear, my mom was born a Southern diva in the wrong body- she needs to be in the era of Gone With the Wind or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or something because everything is dramatic as can be no matter what it is....

Now, actually, learning about it at 5 a.m. is my fault because I left the phone in the bedroom and the ringer turned on. I fell asleep with it last night because I was waiting for to call- he's in California visiting family over the long weekend while I'm stuck at home as I had to work Saturday... no rest of the public librarian in an extremely short staffed public system....

5 a.m. on the first morning of the first day I have off like a normal person since the 4th of July...

I am DIVORCING your father, and it is ALL your fault.
uh, wha?
Let me talk slower. I AM DIVORCING your father, and it is ALL your fault. I would send him to you to deal with as it is MY house, but that would mean he would be there when I get there for our trip so I am going to have to send him to your brother.
why? ( as I'm rapidly texting so he has some warning that invasion is imminent )
Well, since we're staying at the Poly, and I've been looking at the Tikiman site, and I HATE my old camera (that she bought at Christmas) and it's our ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME Girls' Trip so I needed a new camera and I found THIS on Sale so I had to have it:

along with extra lenses and everything.
uh-huh (digging deeper under the covers and kicking myself for not leaving the phone on silent)
so now I have to find the perfect backpack to carry it everywhere so I can take pictures on our trip, but YOUR FATHER (you know, when you're in trouble as a kid, it's always the opposite parent's child, well, it's always YOUR FATHER when he's done something ) says it's too expensive and doesn't understand. I need it, and he said that it's frivolous. And worse, I need to return it. IMMEDIATELY. So I'm divorcing him. And it's all your fault.
Okaaaaaaaay.
So, are you going to tell me what my surprise is yet?
good night, Mama, talk to you later when, like, the sun is up and stuff.