The Three Good Fairies Trip Report

[debloco]

First off, let me say that this is my first attempt at a TR. I have enjoyed reading many other wonderful TR's and pay homage to delswife (Wobin!) who set the standard IMO, and other greats: ZUBB, TwinkieMama, UtahMama, VetteChick, and 1000thHappyHaunt.

I am no ZUBB, TwinkieMama, UtahMama, VetteChick, 1000thHappyHaunt or delswife...just so we're clear. Maybe I'll evolve into something that's me, but the jury is definitely out on that.

Preface: In Which the General Stuff is Covered
Cast: Me, my DD (17), my DM and her DH
We're from the Chicago area, my DM and her DH moved from here to the Ft. Lauderdale area 3 years ago.
Dates: October 19th-23rd

First thing-staying off property…never again.

Beach Club Villas- …definitely an add-on someday

DVC- for a studio at the BCV for Sunday night! After staying off-property for the first time EVER since 1974, we appreciated in new ways the many little things that we’ve taken for granted before. EMH, KTTW cards, Disney transportation and resorts, that feeling that you are a part of the magic in a way that (I’m sorry, but it’s true-flame me if you feel the need) just isn’t possible if you’re not at a Disney resort…I don’t care which one it is, but you need to be at one to have that "part of the magic" feeling.

The weather…hot, humid, sticky…yuck! A heat wave that weekend made it feel like July

Coming up...

Chapter 1: In Which We Find out We Can Actually Go

 

[crcormier]

Awww, don't sell yourself short, Deb, I'm looking forward to it!

 

[tmasingo]

Can't wait to read the report, Deb Great start

 

[blue_river]

I'm in too

 

[MerryPoppins]

Can't wait for chapter 1!

 

[piglet too]

Come on Deb!!!! I can't wait to read it

 

[BethanyF]

we're waiting Deb

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Waiting.

You need to put the link in your siggie so I can check back often.

 

[debloco]

Chapter 1: In Which We Find Out We Can Actually Go
I should start off by telling you what happened prior to us leaving for the trip. Originally, we were supposed to go to WDW for a few days before the DVC Member Cruise that we had booked back in December ’05, and paid for in full in January ’06. The timing was great b/c my DD had a three-day weekend due to it being the end of the 1st quarter, so she would only miss 4 days of school. The plan was to fly down that Thursday night and spend Friday and Saturday at the parks doing MNSSHP, F&WF (Three Dog Night!) and the DIS DVC Member Meet before the cruise and then board the 4-day cruise on Sunday.

But the back-story on that is that my DH was laid-off from his job in September ’05 and while he hoped to find another job before it would become an issue, he did not. I cancelled the DVC Member Cruise on the last day I could before we would be hit with a penalty. So all of our money was refunded, but I had just lost something I was looking forward to and meant so very much to me. Despite what my DH said, doing it another time won’t be the same. For one, they don’t necessarily do the Member Cruise every year, and this year was the celebration of the 15th anniversary of DVC.

I hoped to be able to still do the weekend part considering that we have DVC points and AP’s, so I was looking for a great deal on airfare. Luckily, I found flights on SW for just $135 roundtrip! I used my birthday money, and I bought my DD her ticket for her birthday. We also used birthday money for our MNSSHP tickets, so the only expense left was food. I figured with eating breakfast in and being cost-conscious the food budget wouldn’t be that much more than if we had stayed home. My parents drove up from the Ft. Lauderdale area to come with us, so they would be able to pick us up from the airport.

After booking the airfare, I tried to get a DVC studio anywhere for those dates. They had nothing, nada, zilch. I went on the waitlist for a week just in case. Meanwhile I found a 2-bedroom villa at the Sheraton Vistana Resort for a great deal. My parents know how difficult things have been, so they offered to pick up the hotel if my DVC didn’t come through. It was so wonderful of them and I cried when my DM told me “DH said for you to just get down here and don’t worry about the hotel.” Thanks Mom and DH!

Lesson I learned: don’t book airfare until you know you can book a DVC room! I should have figured it would be tough given that the Member Cruise was that Sunday and it’s F&WF. But I assumed that there would be something available at SSR or OKW. Wrong, wrong, and wrong some more. Should have called DVC first.

So the whole trip was not for certain until the Friday before we left!

I called DVC to order tickets for the 10/20 MNSSHP right after that and went through the whole spiel. The CM said I would receive a call a few days later with my will call number. Fine, good.

Now that we knew we were actually going, my DD wanted the three of us to dress up in costumes for the party. She wanted us to be a “set” and her first idea was for us to go as the Three Good Fairies-Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather from Sleeping Beauty.

My DM thought this was a great idea. Of course, she and my DD weren’t going to be doing most of the work! My DM and my DD are two peas in a pod in many ways: they like being the center of attention; they both love whipped cream, pickles, and dark chocolate (not together!) They go on “adventures” together and “get” each other’s silliness and sense of humor. I love that they have a special connection that goes beyond the things I’ve mentioned. But these things apparently skipped a generation (read: me), as I do not care for being the center of attention unless I am in charge and/or getting to tell people what to do. Nor do I possess much of an ability to joke around or be silly. And I’m fine with that. I have always been a pretty serious person who likes to think about things, likes to have them make logical sense and likes to analyze information. This, of course, sometimes drove my DM a little nuts when I was growing up. She would try to tell me a joke, and instead of laughing, I would pick it apart and explain why it didn’t make sense. But I digress. Point is, they love the limelight and can cut loose and have a good old time in ways that my more reserved self cannot. My DD and I sometimes joke about this and she says, “you’re no fun!” to which I reply, “I never said I was fun.”

Coming up…
Chapter 2: In Which We Gather Supplies for the Costumes

 

[debloco]

Waiting.

You need to put the link in your siggie so I can check back often.

You got it!

I tried last night and the hyperlink function is not working properly, so I had to do it this way

 

[tmasingo]

But these things apparently skipped a generation (read: me), as I do not care for being the center of attention unless I am in charge and/or getting to tell people what to do.

Great installment, Deb Can't wait to read more!

 

[CdnDisneyNut]

Good job so far Deb

 

[MerryPoppins]

Great start. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[firstmickey]

great report so far, deb! Keep it coming!

 

[debloco]

Chapter 2: In Which We Gather Supplies for the Costumes and Sew
DD and I go to the fabric store on Saturday to get material, supplies and a skirt pattern. Now, I know how to sew…but it makes me grumpy and ranks right up there in the top 10 list of things I really dislike doing…like ironing, weeding, and cleaning the filters on the pool.

When we got home, there was a message from Adrian at DVC. By the time they called my ticket order over to whoever they needed to call, the 10/20 MNSSHP had sold out. She said that we were still going, they got us tickets but now I had a GSR# instead of a will call number and that I would need to pay for the tickets that night instead of them charging my credit card ahead of time. Hmmm…does that mean I’m not getting the advance purchase price anymore? DVC Member Services is closed on Sunday so I’ll need to wait and call on Monday.

Back to the costumes…since it’s been a long time since I’ve taken on a sewing project, I didn’t even think about the pattern size when I asked DD to pull it from the drawer. Turns out that she grabbed an AA size that only went up to size 12. Which would have been okay, except the waist sizes had no relationship to reality! I swear they were using the sizing from the 1940’s. I didn’t discover this until Sunday, and Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays so I couldn’t go and get the right pattern. Meanwhile, DD is trying to figure out a pattern for the capes and it’s not going well. We got some cheap “test” fabric, but trying to do it in one piece was not working…it just didn’t lay right.

They were out of the color of satin for DD (Merriweather’s) cape, but they said it was due in on Monday. We bought the fabric for my DM’s and my skirts and capes and decided to wait to get the skirt fabric for my DD until we could match it to the cape. Something I forgot when I went back Monday to get the right size pattern and the cape fabric.
We found wings, wands and hats at a discount party store. By this time it was late on Saturday. Sunday ended up being a bust with no pattern to work with, so I was left to make everything between Monday afternoon and Thursday at 1pm! Plus I needed to pack! Yikes!

Monday I went and got the right size pattern for the skirts, Lauren’s cape fabric, a pattern for a cape and Stitch Witchery for the skirt hems. Let the sewing begin! ! I pretty much sewed from Monday afternoon until Thursday afternoon My DD helped by cutting and sewing the panels of my skirt and her own.

I realized I didn’t have the fabric for DD’s skirt and went and got that on Tuesday…I think. Anyway, by the time I went to bed on Wednesday I was sore all over and the skirts still needed to be hemmed and the wings sewn on the capes. Both went fine until…in trying to “tack” the upper part of the wing onto my DM’s cape the needle on the sewing machine hit the wire and BROKE. Arrrrgghhhhhh!!!!! I have no other needles that I can find, and it’s now 1 pm. The time I had originally wanted to leave for the airport. I pushed it back to 1:30 pm thinking that we would still have plenty of time.

Coming up…
Chapter 3: In Which We Try to Find the Airport

 

[MerryPoppins]

Oh my gosh! You know how to do cliffhangers. You've left me in suspense.

 

[piglet too]

I can't wait for the next part Deb!!!!

 

[Madaboutthemouse]

Great report so far Deb! Can't wait for the next part!

 

[blue_river]

oh I just can't wait to see the costumes!