***Two BIG GIRLS and a BOY Trip Report***

[MK2thcleaner]

Cast:
DS: 11 yr old who is very mature and cares nothing of what others think of him.

DM: My 54 yr old mother who is a bit more round around the edges than the average person (think fluffy then add some extra fluff).

Me: (Mica) 31 yr old single mother, avid vacation planner, admitted “Mousehead,” who takes (very much so) after the maternal side of the family. (By the way, I'm a tad long-winded)

2006 Adventure:
Beach Club December 15-19
Wilderness Lodge December 19-24
Disney Wonder 4 night Bahamian Cruise December 24-28

Abstract:
Trips to Walt Disney World are amazing, but truth be told it’s all about being with family. We learned early on that all the planning I spent countless hours on for nearly a year was time well spent, but not necessarily something we wanted to follow. Having to travel a bit more slowly than in the past, due to chronic back pain and weight issues, we all managed to see and do the things that we wanted to, and used an early bird strategy when it came to touring the parks. We also learned that ECV’s can be a guest’s best friend when it comes to being tired, sore and bruised, but still wanting to be immersed in the Disney Magic.

While some may think that the Beach Club Resort is wonderful, we learned we prefer the CM’s, guests and the casual, family atmosphere of the Wilderness Lodge, though Stormalong Bay ruined the rest of the pools for my DS. Both resorts, being deluxe, offer amenities that we desire in a luxury vacation, but the Beach Club felt a little too stuffy for us since we’re the type of people who generally stay in a Motel 6. Wilderness Lodge, on the other hand, was warm and inviting, and of course offers amazing proximity to the Magic Kingdom.

Cruising the Disney Wonder over Christmas is the way to go if you’ve got a few thousand dollars lying around!

Pre-Arrival: (aka: If They Call You, Just Go!)
We arrive at ICT airport at 5:30am for our 6:30 flight. No worries, maan (we’ve already adopted a Bahamian attitude)! Wichita’s airport is tiny and has maybe 14 gates. Check in and security check points are a breeze, though my DM and I both have a seat and rest to get our shoes back on (fluff often gets in the way). After a bit of huffing and puffing we’re off to our gate. DELAYED: We realize that IAH is fogged in and our flight is delayed for 2 hours. We sit in the airport giddy at the thought of being in our favorite place on earth in just a few hours. This delay will not affect our mood, things are fine. Our plane is cleared to board at 8:30 am, and we realize we’re going to miss our connection. Okay… settle down now… this will not ruin our trip. “Be Bahamian!” I remind myself. We arrive at IAH and the place is a mad house. We’re told that fog has delayed planes for the last few days, and we see scads of people scattered in every corner, many sleeping, some reading or listening to mp3 players, but the vast majority of them looked VEXED. After 25 minutes in line, a few of which are spent with a rather unfriendly Continental employee banging on her keyboard, we are re-booked for our destination but not confirmed to fly until 9:30PM. We’re told we are stand-by on flights that are leaving every hour until then, and basically encouraged to be at every gate to see if we hit the lotto. Greaaaat. I try to look on this positively, I guess we can practice the “hurry up and wait” strategy that we will soon have to employ when touring the Disney parks with an over-eager 11 year old. We basically run, as fast as two fat women and a boy loaded down with all the carry-on’s can, to the next gate. DS grabs a hot dog and a soda from the stand next to our “first best hope” for departure. I’m too nervous to eat. I hate airports, mainly because I feel out of control. DM and I perch like hawks near the seating area. This place is packed and the only way we’re getting a seat that isn’t on the carpet is to prey on them. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a pooh-sized person try to get off the floor, but it isn’t always pretty. I vow not to be the laughing stock of the airport, and try to distribute my weight evenly across my size 11 feet while I pray for a flight to begin boarding so I can relax as much as is humanly possible when your stomach is in knots and you’re worried that you’ll arrive at MCO and won’t have transportation to your very expensive resort because “does magical express service run that late?” and you’ll have wasted money on a room and a half days park time all in an airport. Breathe… breathe. Calm down. “Be Bahamian, Be Bahamian.” I keep trying to remember my mantra, but my butterflies are still fluttering and my head is throbbing, when finally we get seats. Not seats on the plane, but seats in the waiting area…hey, we’ll take any seat we can get right now.

We wait, eagerly hoping they’ll call us to get on this flight, but our hopes are not high, since there are so many others who are obviously waiting on the same thing. Finally, ticketed passengers are boarding and all those left behind are staring, fixated on the Continental gate agent. I wonder if this woman knows how much power she has over me right now. I would do some fear factor-esque task if she commanded me too, just to get a seat on that plane (and I’m a picky eater). I attempt to implant our names in her mind with my non-existent telepathic powers… if she’d just look at me, she’d hear my pleas in her head. Alas, she avoids eye contact and I resort to mumbling prayers under my breath, and then settle on the fact that we may have to sprint to a second gate. My Mom then asks, “What if they only call you guys?” This idea hadn’t crossed my mind. I can’t separate from my Mother; this does NOT fit into my perfectly planned trip. “Umm, I dunno,” I stutter. “I guess we’ll wait then.” To which my DM cries, “If they call you, JUST GO.” Whoa! Guess I had my mind made up for me, but what are Moms for anyway. Suddenly, there’s activity at the desk… a flurry of papers…and finally the gate agent begins calling out names, none of which are mine or my DS, but one of which is my mother’s. “Should I go?” She queries. I’m nervous about saying yes. God knows she can’t handle life without me. She rarely flies, we’ll we rarely fly. What will she do if she has to sit in an airport for hours waiting on us to get there at 11:30PM? Before I can respond, she’d flown out of her seat and up to the desk. “Umm, bye,” I mumbled. In those few minutes we could have sketched out a bare bones strategy for the next few hours. I could have reminded her to turn her cell phone after she landed and I could have reminded her that we were taking Magical Express Service and that she should go ahead to the resort if we don’t get on a plane until 9. Instead of all those things we could have said, we simply exchanged looks, mine defeated, and hers elation. She’d hit the lotto… without us!

I overhear the gate agent telling the others waiting where the next gate is. Again, we move as fast as we can to that gate. My son is calm, cool. He embodies Bahamian. I’m freaking out! Truth be told, I’m not worried about my Mom, I’m worried about me. Yes, I know I’m a grown woman, but…I want my Mommy. At our “second best hope” I catch a gate agent with no line. I approach him with a sad, puppy dog look on my face (one that I did not have to fake) and I tell him I’m an inexperienced flyer. He tells me I’m in the right place and I see that our names aren’t far down on the list. He assures me there are many missed connections due to the fog and that we’ll probably make it on this plane. We take a seat…and wait. I try several times to call my DF and tell him what’s happened, just in case my DM calls him. How will she know what’s happened if I don’t talk to her or leave her a message. I’m sure she’ll be sitting there worried sick waiting for us to walk by her in that gigantic, international airport. We’ll never find each other. Oh, Lord, what have we done!?

POOF, our names are called and we’re on a flight to our favorite place on earth, but I can’t enjoy the anticipation because I’m worried and scared. Hopefully my DM is still alive, I mean, she could have withered away without me. She’s sitting in an airport and has no idea if we’re on our way. Upon landing we head to Disney’s Magical Express all the while looking this way and that for a disheveled, distraught grandma who must certainly be in tears at the thought of being without us. As we escalate downward towards DME, I hear her voice. Jubilation pulses through me. I wrap my arms around her and hug her…I never do that…and tell her I’d been trying to get her the message that we were on our way so she wouldn’t be worried. “I already knew you were coming,” she replies. What? How? Was it those aforementioned telepathic skills? “I asked a gate agent if you’d gotten on the next plane.” DOH! How could I not have known that you could get that information real time? I’m an idiot!

Stay tuned for official Day 1: DME, BC Check-in, Beaches and Cream, Extra Magic Epcot (AKA: This wasn’t in the plan!)

 

[akrake]

Cast:
“What if they only call you guys?” This idea hadn’t crossed my mind. I can’t separate from my Mother;

Before I can respond, she’d flown out of her seat and up to the desk. “Umm, bye,” I mumbled.
/QUOTE]

omg...too funny...bye mom!!

 

[Marla Hellwig]

So glad you all arrived and ready to start your adventures

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

I'm in for this one! I am glad you are all finally in the air and on your way to the House of Mouse. Looking forward to your next report.