Who Invited My Mother In Law? A Moderately Deluxe TR All New X 3 & PTR Link 2/3 !!

[shan23877]

nebo is like the little old lady who causes an accident and keeps driving.!! I take no responsibility for him whatsoever. (half the tme I just pretend I don't know him)

 

[wendy3]

nebo is like the little old lady who causes an accident and keeps driving.!! I take no responsibility for him whatsoever. (half the tme I just pretend I don't know him)

 

[shan23877]

That's pretty much like us. Ed's family didn't really do vacations growing up either. I think they went to Disney once. He was so young he really doesn't remember it - Epcot wasn't even open yet. My dad & stepmom tried to take us on summer vacations when they could. I hope we're blessed enough that we can continue to do these vacations for our little family. It really does give us so many wonderful memories & such special bonding time.

My grandparents took me to WDW twice when I was kid, but my mom wasn't able to. I really love the memories that we make-especially at WDW. I know that when she'd older I'll look at those pictures and be so glad that we did it.

Ed's the same way - he's very laid back so I usually get my way. It's when I start adding on to the vacation or upgrading something that I usually go in with a point to prove.

I can't remember the last time Bryan said no to me. We usually find a way to work it out. We're usually on the same page when it comes to the budget. I usually over-budget so that when we come home there's "surprise!" money. He likes that.

Last night, Reid told Ed that if he will continue to pay for Disney vacations for us, Reid would pay for himself to go to LSU when he's a big boy. Poor kid doesn't know what kind of deal he was making there. On the other hand, Ed was quite happy with that deal.

That's hilarious. Poor kid, I hope he enjoys those vacations! We've often told Maddie that she better plan on getting scholarships. Hello state school!!

I'm back and caught up.

What a rude person from New Jersey that was (kind of like the "jerk" on the elevator with me yesterday when he said "I guess I should start following the Sox again since they are doing well; I said, "not me." He asked if I was not a baseball fan? I said, "yes, I'm a Cubs fan." He replied, "I'm sorry". If I had been quick enough I would have said: "at least I'm not a fair weather fan that ONLY follows when the team is playing good).

Welcome back! I hear that stuff about the Cubs all the time. I usually respond in similar way. Jerks.

Anyway, I agree...the Stitch ride is awful (it fits right in with Carousel of Progress for me...two things I really despise at the MK). It was awful when it was Alien too.

It's just awful! I can't stand that ride. I don't have any strong feelings about CoP, but we usually skip it.

I just ate up Maddie's time at the BBB. How absolutely beautiful our new little Jasmine is (and tell Dad to lighten up...it will only get worse as she gets older so he should prepare himself ).

I love the photo of Princess Jasmine lounging on the chair.

Her dad is just not ready for his little girl to grow up. He actually did really well with it though.

lol! Very True! I have worked in a stadium for the last 17 years and if I had a Penny (yes a PENNY) for every kid that dad drops off looking prim and propper and then makes a bee line for the washroom and comes out looking like a trashy music video extra I would be retired by now.

AHHHHHH! That's really scary! I remember a lot about being a teenage girl, I hope that I'll know enough to look out for that when the time comes.

You have some of the best ideas! What a great way to tell your DD about going to BBB!!!!!!!

Thank you so much!

LOVED the BBB post! Little girls sure do love being treated and dressed up like princesses (but who doesn't) ! Our flower girl did BBB the morning of our dress rehearsal and she was still gliding on air that evening. She too picked out the Jasmine shoes and they made an appearance at the reception.

How awesome! That's a dream come true day for a little girl. One of Maddie's fondest dreams is to be a flower girl. Those little Jasmine shoes are too cute!

 

[tralin]

AHHHHHH! That's really scary! I remember a lot about being a teenage girl, I hope that I'll know enough to look out for that when the time comes.

Look for the trace of make up when you pick her up. They never get it all off with some kind of tell.

 

[Lisa29]

What a great update. The whole BBB experience looks amazing.

That reservation will be the most important for me to get next year now, ohana, CRT, chef mickey, they will all have to wait! Though I do have to think of DD no. 2 as she won't be old enough so will have to make sure we get some good ADRs for her. DH will just have to help at 180 days!!

Can't wait for the next update.

P.S. my eldest has one of those weird fake smile things she does too - I try telling her to think of balloons, castle party, the monorail, etc to get a real smile!

 

[amandaw]

My grandparents took me to WDW twice when I was kid, but my mom wasn't able to. I really love the memories that we make-especially at WDW. I know that when she'd older I'll look at those pictures and be so glad that we did it.

She will most definitely have wonderful memories of the 3 of y'all in WDW! And as she gets older, hopefully, she'll realize how much time & money went into these trips & she'll appreciate them & y'all even more!

I can't remember the last time Bryan said no to me. We usually find a way to work it out. We're usually on the same page when it comes to the budget. I usually over-budget so that when we come home there's "surprise!" money. He likes that.

Yeah, Ed never tells me no. I pay the bills & take care of our finances. So, normally if I suggest something, he knows I've already worked it out with our budget.

OMG - we are so much alike! I put "surprise" money in our vacation budget, too! I like to have it because (1) I don't want to feel like I have to watch every single penny while we're vacationing and (2) I know we won't use it all. So, like you said - you get to go home with "extra" money!

That's hilarious. Poor kid, I hope he enjoys those vacations! We've often told Maddie that she better plan on getting scholarships. Hello state school!!

Reid is determined to play football for LSU. And baseball. I told him to work hard at it & maybe he can. And I told him he needs to get some sports scholarships.

 

[CandleontheWater]

I LOVE the photos from the BBB, Maddie makes an ADORABLE Jasmine! I don't think you have to worry about a little stomach showing in the costume at her age. At 12 or 13, maybe then, but 5 year olds are still just sweet little girls.

I also cannot believe your MIL making those rude comments about the price, I don't think I would have been thrilled if I overheard her talking about me!

I totally agree that the memories are priceless and that they are only young once!

 

[smidgy]

uh-oh. we are White Sox fans, and LOVE COP! what are we doing here?

 

[laura74]

nebo is like the little old lady who causes an accident and keeps driving.!! I take no responsibility for him whatsoever. (half the tme I just pretend I don't know him)

uh-oh. we are White Sox fans, and LOVE COP! what are we doing here?

 

[ChefDisneyLu]

uh-oh. we are White Sox fans, and LOVE COP! what are we doing here?

IDK about you but since I am not a "Fair Weather Fan" I am gloating!!!

Totally J/K!

Go Bears!!!!!

Lisa

 

[shan23877]

I LOVE the photos from the BBB, Maddie makes an ADORABLE Jasmine! I don't think you have to worry about a little stomach showing in the costume at her age. At 12 or 13, maybe then, but 5 year olds are still just sweet little girls.

I also cannot believe your MIL making those rude comments about the price, I don't think I would have been thrilled if I overheard her talking about me!

I totally agree that the memories are priceless and that they are only young once!

The tummy showing didn't bother me too much, but daddy wasn't ready for it! She had so much fun in that outfit!

I really hope that no one overheard MiL

I can't wait to spend that money again! It's worth every penny!

uh-oh. we are White Sox fans, and LOVE COP! what are we doing here?

I have no strong feelings about CoP, and since you're not mean about my Cubs you're safe here!

IDK about you but since I am not a "Fair Weather Fan" I am gloating!!!

Totally J/K!

Go Bears!!!!!

Lisa

I don't watch football much, so we should all be fine in the fall.

Incidentally, DH's company arranges an outing to a MLB game every year for the employees and their families. So, I'll be at the Cell next week. I wonder if I'll get my butt kicked if I wear blue?

 

[shan23877]

It was about 1:30 by the time we finished our BBB business, and the princess needed her lunch. Since it was her special day, only her favorite food would do. We were headed to Adventureland for cheese quesadillas. On our way we stopped by to see what the wait to meet Ariel and Eric was. The line was so long that they’d already begun lining people up for the 2:15 meet so we passed hoping that the lines would decrease after the parade.

We made our way to Tortuga Tavern where we dined on cheese quesadilla with grapes, taco salad, and a beef burrito. The food was actually really good. My only complaint was that it wasn’t super hot, but by the time I loaded up the taco salad with scads of sour cream, cheese, lettuce, and tomato from the toppings bar I wouldn’t have been able to tell how hot it was anyway.

We were able to find a seat in the shade, and Maddie had a fantastic time at one of her favorite restaurants.

After lunch we headed toward the Jasmine Meet and Greet. It was our highest priority for the afternoon because Little Jasmine really wanted to have her photo taken with the real deal. Unfortunately, the line there was already closed. While we were walking there, we noticed that one of Maddie’s brand new Jasmine shoes had already broken. The little elastic strap that crossed over the top of her foot had come unsewn. They had her size at the gift stand next to the Aladdin/Jasmine M&G so we stopped there to exchange them.

The CM at the counter couldn’t find the shoes on our receipt from the BBB, but she made the exchange for us anyway. I still have no idea if we paid for those shoes or not.

Since we couldn’t meet any of the princesses, we decided to find a spot to watch the parade. Before we settled in to watch, MiL had to leave. The ME would be picking her up at 5 pm, and she had a little more shopping to do.

In the last few months I’ve had the chance to reflect on the vacation. While MiL frustrated me on occasion, and actually made me out right mad on some others, I’d probably let her join us again. I honestly feel as though I went into the trip with expectations that were too high. My MiL is not a demonstrative person, so doesn’t easily share her feelings. Yet I still expected that she’d be just like I remembered my loving and cuddly grandma was when she took me to WDW for the first time. That’s just not really MiL’s style. And, since we’ve been back she’d said several times how much she enjoyed the trip. She tells everyone that she meets that the only way to do WDW is on the Dining Plan like her daughter in law does, and that she can’t wait until I plan the trip for her whole family to celebrate her 60th. (I told her that I’d love to plan the trip, and that I think the best plan is for everyone to eat breakfast and dinner together, and go our separate ways during the day. She agrees ). So while the trip wasn’t perfect, maybe it wasn’t that bad either. Our learning curve was just a little steeper than I had hoped.

Once MiL left, we found a place in Liberty Square to watch the parade. A very nice family offered to let Maddie stand at the rope with their kids so that she could see the parade. (This was the second time this happened, and each time it renewed my faith in humanity a little bit). While we waited for the parade to start, Bryan noticed that the shutters on the buildings in Liberty Square are hung crooked. He asked the closest CM why, but she had no idea. I decided to pop into the Heritage House gift shop to see if anyone there could help.


Can you see how the shutters are further away from the window at the top than at the bottom?

​

The CM working at Heritage House was a wealth of information. I could have talked to him all day! According to him, Liberty Square is based on colonial America (mostly Philadelphia) and at that time shutters where hung with leather straps. Since the leather would stretch, shutters were often hanging askew. He went on to say that there are no bathrooms in Liberty Square proper (no indoor plumbing in the colonies), and encouraged us to check out Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe (and even though the 2 p’s and e bother me, we did before the trip was over). He said that the Christmas Shop is divided into 3 areas representing 3 shops common to the time. We were encouraged to check out the music shop area of the store where he said we’d find an advertisement for music lessons. After doing that, we were supposed to look at the name of the ice cream kiosk behind Heritage House. Even though we didn’t go into the Christmas Shop until the last day of the trip, I won’t keep you in suspense. The music teacher offering lessons in Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe is Ichabod Crane, and the ice cream stand is Sleepy Hollow Refreshments. I loved that CM! Unfortunately, the Hall of Presidents had just let out and a few people wandered in so I didn’t get to talk to him anymore. We did share the info with the original CM that we’d asked and she seemed really glad to know! Only at Disney people.

The parade started and was just as cute as usual. The highlight for Maddie had to be when the gang from Aladdin walked by. Jafar pointed and stared our little Jasmine down, and the Genie came over for a hug from an old friend. And this my friends is why we’re never going to be able to skip a parade with Maddie around. Darn you Disney! Some things you just do too well!

Right at the rope!

Here it comes!

I'm sure that they're very nice people, but those dancers look kind of mean in this picture.

All those princes are terrible flirts, they all waved at the tiny princess.

Hello old friends!

Catching up a little

MVP of Day 3

For all of you Eugene fans in the crowd

And Katt's boyfriend

​

During the parade Bryan and I discussed our game plan for the afternoon, we had a little princess on our hands, and she was going to need to meet some friends. It's been what? Like 2 updates since you've seen pictures of Maddie with characters? Unacceptable! We had Meet and Greets to get to!

 

[amandaw]

Great update!

Your reflection back upon the trip with MIL is very admirable. I think many people (myself included) would just remember the bad & say never again! I'm glad you were able to see the positives and that you would go again with her. And it sounds like she thinks a lot of your Disney planning skills! I'm glad she agreed to the plan for her 60th!

What fun interactions during the parade! Maybe if Reid had an experience like that he would actually want to watch the parades.

I really hope she got to meet Jasmine that day! She's just too cute dressed up like her!

 

[kmedina]

Maddie really looked so happy even at lunch. I love the BBB even though we have yet to experience it personally. One day, I will have a daughter! Sorry her shoe broke, but I am glad she was able to exchange them. The dining plan is the only way to do WDW, like her DIL does. That is the best thing your MIL has said so far. I agree. Unless we are staying off property or do not need park tickets (AP), I do not think I would ever go without one.

I could not agree more on having big parties meet only for meals. It is so hard to get anything done in big parties. Every time we tried to stay with a big group, we left at the end of the night thinking we barely did anything that day. Now, I leave when the big group refuses to move.

I love that the Genie came up to greet Maddie. If stuff like that ever happened to us, we would watch more parades.

I hope one of the meet and greets is with Jasmine. That line better re-open.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Maddie looks like she was having an absolutely wonderful day!!!

I'm glad that you were able to see the positives in bringing your MIL along in the future. It really does sound like she had a wonderful time on the trip she took with you, and sometimes people just have very different touring styles that have difficulty meshing. I think the "meals then separate ways for a bit" style may be a great plan for you guys in the future!

 

[afwdwfan]

I'm glad that your MiL has fond memories of the trip. Even though she might have verbalized her inner monologue a few too many times. You're going to have that when you travel with extended family. Believe me, we vacation with my parents every few of years and take trips with my in-laws on even number years. You're not used to being around them all the time, and they're going to get on your nerves a little bit. You just have to take the good with the bad and focus on the bright spots. That's what makes you want to spend your vacation time with them again in the future. Well, either that, or insanity.

I always love the little touches they put into the decorations and scenery in the parks. It seems like you can never go there without seeing something new or learning something new about it.

 

[Queenofallthings]

What a great update! Those were very kind words you used when describing the trip while your MIL was with you and I love the plan you have in place for her 60th. It's so hard to vacation with other's no matter how much you love them and it's good to have your own time alone...I always find that helps!

Maddie makes a beautiful Jasmine and I love how Genie came over to her! I love those kind of memories....when I think back to our own, I can hardly believe how many years have passed in between.

 

[Caretames1]

A fun and reflective update!

Maddie had the greatest smile at the restaurant! Food must have been good.


You have major props coming your way to want to travel with your MIL again. Knowing how she is, helps with understanding what she does.

For future trips, I do think a meal as a group is a good idea, and then doing your own thing is what's gonna keep everyone sane!


I love that parade, and Genie was probably the cherry on top!

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I love this update! Tortuga Tavern is one of my favorites, too! Can't wait to see Little Jasmine with the characters!

I also love that you are able to find the positives in the trip! You are one nice lady!! And based on my earlier plans. . .the desserts at 'Ohana are now safe from being thrown at people! Just kidding--it really is great that you can do that and plan another trip. I like your idea for your trip!

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Great update! I love the new info about liberty square! True Disney - its all in the tiny details! It's awesome that Genie came to visit Maddie during the parade. What a special day for her!