Our Best Friends Are Flakes … A December WDW Trip Report

The Planning:

Well, I wasn’t planning another trip until at least spring break ’09. On my “grad and birthday blowout” solo trip in March (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=295870&highlight=H20Babie), I had booked the bouceback offer for December 1-7, which I cancelled this past spring when I bought a new house and started my teaching career.

While working over the summer in the same office building as Suzy-Q, we devised a scheme to take the kids to Disney. It started off slowly, just something we’d joke about or daydream about to pass the lunch hours. First, we looked at spring break 2009 – too expensive for Suzy Q. So then I started thinking, well, December is value season (yea, don’t get me thinking … it leads to more WDW vacations). Before you knew it, by the end of August, we had put deposits down on room only ressies at CBR with my CAA discount. Then, lo-and-behold, Disney came out with a great offer, including the DDP (which I said I would never do again). We switched to All Star Music, added our parkhoppers and the DDP, and it still came to less than our CBR room only reservations.

But, I still had a feeling that it wouldn’t happen. Suzy-Q was, and is, going through a messy divorce. She, too, had just bought a new house (mine, actually!) Then, in October, she came over with the kids for dinner and a movie. We browsed airfare prices and found a great deal on United. We booked on the spot.

Then, my mom and dad booked a golf trip to Orlando, leaving November 25 and returning December 1. Thinking that this might be our last time to Disney for a while, I invited them to meet us. My mom said yes, instantly. My dad … not so much. He can’t believe how Disney addicted I am. I mean, he gets it, but doesn’t understand why I don’t go anywhere else.

We spent the next two months watching Disney everything: rides on You Tube, home videos, vacation planning DVDs, Disney on Discovery and Disney movies because … WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY!

Good for you guys. Go and have a blast.

Have a great time! We'll be there at the same time....I'll keep an eye for you! You had special shirts, made, right? I think I remember a thread about them. Did you end up getting those?

I love your TR's! I'm gonna live vicariously thru you. We were supposed to go the 2nd week of December but had to reschedule due to finances and such with the hurricane damage. I'm so happy you get to make another unexpected trip. And how much fun will it be to see things thru the eyes of little newbies??? That's what I'm looking forward to in our January trip.

Enjoy and keep the updates coming!

Looking forward to reading your report - not too long to wait to departure. Have a great time

ToddLee said:

Good for you guys. Go and have a blast.

Click to expand...

Thanks, and we will

happymom52003 said:

Have a great time! We'll be there at the same time....I'll keep an eye for you! You had special shirts, made, right? I think I remember a thread about them. Did you end up getting those?

Click to expand...

Yes, we did. There will be an update on here with photos of the tees. Stay tuned!

sweetpee_1993 said:

I love your TR's! I'm gonna live vicariously thru you. We were supposed to go the 2nd week of December but had to reschedule due to finances and such with the hurricane damage. I'm so happy you get to make another unexpected trip. And how much fun will it be to see things thru the eyes of little newbies??? That's what I'm looking forward to in our January trip. Enjoy and keep the updates coming!

Click to expand...

I know, I can't wait to see their faces coming out from under the train station! We're having dinner at the Liberty Tree our very first night so it will be absolutely amazing for them!

CAPTAIN HOOK said:

Looking forward to reading your report - not too long to wait to departure. Have a great time

Click to expand...

Thanks! There will be updates every day until we leave ... my version of the adult countdown! :lol:

The T-Shirt Controversy!

So, we had the idea of getting t-shirts made for the trip. But there was a tad of controversy associated with them: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=356927&highlight=H20Babie%2C+Tee. Anyhoo, we made them up, and I couldn’t decide on which one for me, so being the ultimate shopper that I am, I ordered both.

I only have photos of the backs (so far), but I've captioned them as to who and what is on the front.

Mine #1 (Miss Suzanne/Miss Piggy)


Mine #2 (Stitch)


Action Jackson (Chip'n Dale)


Princess Claire (Cinderella)


Captain William (PoTC)


Grandma Incredible (Mrs. Incredible)


Queen Suzanne (Evil Queen)

We will be there the same week. Im gonna look for those T-shirts you had made up. So funny.

Love them! Can't wait to see you wearing them in your trip report. Have a great time.

Those t-shirts are great. I especially love Grandma's! Have a great trip :sohappy:.

Surprise!


Unknown to the kids, I decided to make Claire and William's first WDW experience extra magical, by ordering gift baskets from Memories by Betsy. What a great service! I gave Betsy some short descriptions of the kids:

• Claire, age 7, first time to WDW and, of course, a Princess.
• William, age 6, first time to WDW, a bit of a scallywag.
• Jackson, age 7, a Disney "veteran". His favourite characters are Chip'n Dale and he's looking forward to riding the Rockin' Roller Coaster for the first time. He also likes Star Wars and Test Track.

And … voila! These will be waiting for the kids in the rooms when we arrive. The cards are signed from Mickey
I’ll have to get the camera ready just outside the door.

You'll notice that Jackson's basket (Chip'n Dale) also has a 1 Visit Button as well as a Congratulations button. That's because I didn't want him to feel left out. We're going to use the 1st Visit Button and write in "at Christmas" and on the Congratulations button, we'll write in "1st Time on Rockin' Roller Coaster." He has been waiting to ride this for a few years now, and this trip he'll finally be tall enough!

Oh ... also in the baskets are 6 Santa Hats with Mickey Ears (one for each of us).

Can't wait ... 7 more sleeps!
:xmas:

Well, my parents slept over last night (they live outside the city) so they could leave their car here and take a taxi to the airport. When I leave for the airport, I'll take their car, use Valet and Away, and my dad will pick up the car later that night when he returns!

6 more sleeps to go!

And on to the next installment:

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's off to Shop We Go!

Things specifically bought for this trip:

Heys Travelmate:

New Cellphone with added on US airtime:

And, of course, Disney wear:

Por moi:

And for Jackson:

Tune in tomorrow: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Thank you for all of this so far! I absolutely love your trip report and I fell out of my chair reading the shirts!:lol: I will anxiously awaiting more!

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Packing

I’m just going to do this one word-for-word from e-mails I received from Suzy-Q.

T minus 14 days: I'm going to do laundry tonight and start packing.

T minus 12 days: I want to pack. God, I am so going to run out of time.....

T minus 10 days: Just starting to panic. I'm sure I'll forget everything I need. Oh, well ... I'm sure Disney will have whatever I need. CAN"T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

T minus 8 days: Just going to get clothes started this weekend and then I'll come by your house on Sunday and we'll make a list of all the things I need. I have no clue. I'm useless...

T minus 7 days: I’m coming over! I need to borrow some clothes! I have NOTHING!

T minus 6 days:
T minus 5 days: 5 more sleeps! THANK GOD!! Hey, do you think I should start packing?? lol

T minus 4 days: I am running out of time. Just bagged. AND I STILL HAVE TO PACK!!!!!

T minus 3 days: Okay - just getting into panic mode now ... I need to be home and getting my crap together...not sitting around at work. AARGGHH!


T minus 2 days: The other Suzanne has in her hands a whole wack of laundry that needs to get packed!!! Thank God for you! xoxoxo

And on Facebook: Suzanne needs to buy luggage, and shorts, and find her Disney stuff....Where's Thing One when I need her!!!!!

Today's status: Suzanne is looking forward to some quiet, quality time tonight...packing can wait for the weekend.

:lol:

:lol: Great report so far!! Have a great time!!

ToddLee said:

We will be there the same week. Im gonna look for those T-shirts you had made up. So funny.

Click to expand...

DAKOTADISNEY said:

Love them! Can't wait to see you wearing them in your trip report. Have a great time.

Click to expand...

HollyBelle said:

Those t-shirts are great. I especially love Grandma's! Have a great trip :sohappy:.

Click to expand...

DormaNesbit said:

Thank you for all of this so far! I absolutely love your trip report and I fell out of my chair reading the shirts!:lol: I will anxiously awaiting more!

Click to expand...

Disneyfalcon said:

:lol: Great report so far!! Have a great time!!

Click to expand...

Thanks everyone! Yes, I love my Mom's tee, too. She didn't know about them, so when they arrived and I gave it to her, she ended up snorting while drinking her coffee (needless to say, it wasn't a very magical moment for her when the coffee started coming out of her nose :ROFLOL.


I don't know why I'm so extra excited about this trip. Maybe because it's the holiday season, perhaps because I'm going with my best friend (who is like a sister). It could be guilt about going solo this past spring, and I'm looking forward to spending a whole week with Jackson. Whatever it is, I can't remember being this anxious. I mean, I'm always excited to be going to WDW, but this time, it's different.

Actually, it's pretty weird. Suzy Q and I have known each other for 16 years now. We met while working in a club in our early 20's. We have the same first names, the same middle names, we were born within a month of each other, we both met our husbands while working at the club (both were bartenders and I went to high school with hers), we were married the same year, we had our (first and my only) babies the within months of each other, and then ended up living in the same area of the city with our children going to the same school and in the same class. Very ironic. She even dropped out of my wedding party ... she didn't approve of my (now ex) husband. Her excuse was that she was getting married the following month and expenses were tight. It was only the night after my ex and I separated that she came over with a bottle of wine and told me the real reason. God, I love her!

And SHE really needs this vacation more than ever. As I mentioned earlier, she's going through a really nasty divorce. Her husband is a police officer who works 3 hours out of town, hasn't paid child support in over a year, threatens to take the kids away but only sees them when it's convenient for him, stalks her by texting and basically messes her up by telling her he loves her and wants her back yet he is living in their old house with a 19 year old (he's pushing 40). She soooo needs to leave her worries behind. I think the Disney magic will good for her. That's why I've done (spent) so much more this trip. Ordering the baskets, a surprise Girls Night Out with my mom babysitting, games and guidebooks for the kids, the tees, pre-ordering photopass so that she will have some great memories of this quality time with her kids.

Anyway, thanks for listening (reading?) my rambling thoughts.

4 more sleeps and we will be home :sohappy:

I hope you, the kids and your best friend have a wonderful trip!

I looooove the shirts! How cool is that? Can I steal your idea??? I can soooo work up some good shirts for us referencing the cost of the evacuations for the hurricane(s), the cost of repairs to our home, the heartbreak of canceling the December trip, and finally making it home to WDW in January being our "priceless".

I can understand your excitement. I get extra jazzed with the planning for our upcoming trip that my brother and his girls will be joining us on. I'm especially excited for the girls because they've been thru a lot of tough stuff since their parents divorced 3 or 4 years ago. Both girls are so sweet and want this trip soooo bad. At this point I'm really crossing my fingers, toes, legs, eyes, and everything else hoping they don't have to cancel going with us. Their trip hinges on his youngest daughter's grades. I try not to get my hopes up too much just in case. And **just in case** I've got a secret second set of ADRs booked for a party of 4 so if their trip falls thru my family isn't stuck with no ressies. Once something is concrete either way I'll cancel the ADRs not needed. Hubby and I just thought it was the smartest thing we could do to cover all our bases.

I'll definitely be following your trippie to see how it goes with the little newbies. Thanks for the updates. I'm so excited for you! I love that you're counting sleeps, too. That reminds me of MNFootballMommy and her family last December as we all counted down to our pre-holiday trips. Memories.... :xmas:

Thanks sweetpee!

I really hope your brother and his girls get to go. And if they don't, at least your family will be able to have a magical time post-hurricane. Obviously, we've never dealt with that phenomenon but we have dealt with massive floods which postponed a trip back to WDW in 1997. Every spring, there is some flooding, but nothing as bad that year. It was even dubbed "Flood the Century" by the press.



I know how you feel about them cancelling on you too. Until Suzy Q got their passports and booked the flights (which are non-refundable), I had the sneaking suspicion that they would cancel on us. Hang in there, and I'm crossing my fingers and toes for you! It will all work out in the end

And yes, go ahead and make those tees! (I stole the idea myself )