Three Amigos, Two Big Sisters, and the Food and (hopefully) No Whine Fest!(Pretrip)

[mickeymousemom]

Trip dates: October 21st thru 28th

Before I introduce the cast, let me explain the title. The three amigos would be DH, DD3, and me. We are together all day because DH works 2nd shift. My two older DD's would be the big sisters, and I used the term "no whine" because these trips to WDW are about the only time of the year my two oldest really get along. We bond as a family(DH works alot of overtime) and no one complains. I love it!

Cast of characters:
Me, Mickeymousemom, 3M: I’m a 40 yo mom of three girls who’s loved Disney since my Dad introduced me to it in the mid 70’s. I plan all year for these trips, but we aren’t a commando type family. I make ADR’s just to immerse myself in the magic and to feel closer to the trip. Oh…and I tend to ramble. Lots. You'll see. I’m the queen of rambling.


DH(Todd) He loves Disney as much as me, but tries to be a little more macho about it. Will roll his eyes at me, but I know he feels the same way. He’s my best friend and food buddy.

DD17(Chelsea). She loves Disney, but is growing weary of our trips every year. Is tired of getting up early on vacations. Would rather be at the beach. Looks like Tinkerbelle.

DD12 (Emilee). This girl is as much a Disney fanatic as DH and I. She never gets tired of a WDW vacation, but I can see the almost-teen in her emerging, as last year she slept in with her sis and decided against Chef Mickey’s for breakfast. Oh well. I still have one more.

DD3 (Brennyn). This girl has got it goin’ ON where Disney is concerned. She has known the names of and recognized all the princesses since before she was 2. She can name that WDW tune in 3 notes. Loves Sleeping Judy, Jamsun, Cinderella, and lots of other characters. Promises to not be scared of Chip and Dale, Goofy, and Pluto this year.


This trip came about the same way as all the others. Out of a grossly insane NEED to visit the World. We are “Worldaholics”. We must have our fix. Really, our trips aren’t something that “come about”. Our trips are something that just are. Twenty-four hours a day. Every day of the year. From the first trip we made as a family back in 2001, it has been one continuous idea. It has to be. For our sanity. We have the ever popular family members who think we’re better off to be committed and put in detox. Until they kidnap us and throw us in a white padded room with an exorcist, we’ll continue our treks to the world of Walt. The ever so wonderful, stress-relieving, magical, other-worldly, World of Walt Disney.


As usual, earlier this year we put down our annual deposit thru Magical Journeys. Then the wait began. I had a couple months until I could make any ADR’s so for now there was nothing to do(to keep me "in the magic") but talk incessantly about Disney. Twenty-four hours a day. Every day. We talked. We discussed. We obsessed. We worried(okay, I worried). Okay…after weeks of discussing our trip one of my favorite steps in planning had finally arrived. It was time to make ADR’s! We stuck with a few of the old places (LeCellier, Ohana, and Boma) and added a few new ones (1900 Park Fare for dinner, Crystal Palace, and Raglan Road).
We decided on the DP, free or not. It allows us to eat at places we normally couldn’t and put it all in layaway. I LOVE layaway. You can hand all kinds of things to the lady at the WalMart counter and then worry about paying for it later . So, we laid is away a trip to Disney. With all the food we could ever ask for. I love food. Food is love. Love is food. We’re food fanatics. Maybe that’s food FATTIES. Who knows. I do know that eating at WDW is at the top of the list for us. Anyway. We’ve never had a bad dining experience at the World. How could we? It’s food. It’s dining. It's dining and food at DISNEY WORLD. It's when all we ever dream of comes together. It's Eden. As in the Garden of. As in Paradise, baby. Okay. So.
We vow to lose weight over the summer so we can really enjoy the Wonderful World of Foo....er...Disney. We aren't horribly over weight, but both of us could stand to lose several pounds. DH has done great. I’ve lost about 9 pounds and we have less than 2 weeks to go. Oh well. If I can just lose a few more so I don't come home weighing what I did 6 months ago. I need to remember that no one is making me eat every morsel on my plate.
OH....and I suppose I should mention that we did indeed end up getting a discount. When it was released, we had a balance of over $300. After the discount, we were down to $75! I'll take that!


So, here we are. Less than two weeks from pulling out of the driveway and I'm working on a pretrip report. By doing this I am pretty much committing to the full Monty. No. Not that. Believe me; you don’t want to see it. Wouldn’t be pretty unless you’re into Rubenesque…and even at that it ain’t pretty. So. Did I spell that right (the “rubenesque” thing)? I’m too lazy to go look it up. Oh well. So, be forewarned. I am so NOT good at finishing things. I still have trim in my living room from about 5 years ago that isn’t finished.

ANYWAYS (A pet peeve of mine....that word ANYWAYS), I’ve pretty much told you all where we’re eating. We fully plan on using our (and stealing our 3 DD’s ) snack credits at the F&W Fest and trying some pairings this time also. We’ve just recently gotten a little more interested in the wine thing, but are still pretty much “big dummies” where fermented grapes are concerned. We really do need to find a class on “Wine for Dummies”. Maybe we just need to find some class .

Our one other big thing we have planned is to take our 17 yo on a trip to Sea World. Our DD loves marine life and since we don’t know how many more times she’ll go with us before she enters the big wide world, this was the perfect time to do it. We’ve also told her we wouldn’t rush so much this time, as she thinks vacation is for taking it easy (can you imagine?). I imagine there’ll be days when she and Em will want to sleep in a bit or head back to the room on their own. They’re responsible kids so they’ll be fine. It’s amazing how time flies. I remember when my oldest was born and all the nurses commented on her huge cheeks. That was yesterday. Today she is driving, doing her own thing…and growing tired of these trips. I’m old. I’m SO old. Am I the only one my age who feels no different now than I did at 20?? Don’t get me wrong. I’m more tired. I have a heck of a time getting up off the floor, and it’s hard to make my 3yo understand that. My knees crack, and my metabolism is as slow as it’s ever been. But. I AM wiser. I DO have more patience....and I ramble. Never used to do that. But, as it were, I'm getting completely

So…as I find myself at the close of my pretrip report, I’m hoping that I don’t bore you all. I’m not much of a trip report hanger-outer, but the ones I have read scare me. They are intimidation at it's best. They make my undies bunch up and the goosebumps party when I realize I'm going to attempt what they have all accomplished...an entertaining over-the-top-in-a-good-way trip report. Well...maybe I should just stick with trying to get a smile outta somebody. Just once.
Zzub’s trip report described that POR coffee walk like no other and I’m so looking forward to my own early morning coffee walk. Just Dh and me. Our quiet time. Love it.
Vette Chick writes one hilarious trip report.
Princess Aurora’s was one of the first reports I had read on here in a while and I loved every entry. Everytime I go into a Hot Topic, I think of those Cat Eye pants.
And then there are the Happyhaunts. You're not a DIS'er if you don't know of Mel.
And the new one…for me anyway…the Focker thing. I know the movie and I laughed my hiney off. But I’m still confused about this group of Fockers here. Must be a fun group. Focking. Fockers. Fock! I only hope my report will be a nanometer as good as these talented people!

See you in a few weeks…or months…well…I’ll see you soon!

 

[mickeymousemom]

Bump...cause I edited and re-edited.