Our 8th WDW Adventure..the trip I 'took out' one of my teenage sons..that's Rippin'!

Here it is, the next installment in our Disney adventures hot off the press for your reading pleasure. For those who’ve followed my last reports (and I, theirs) rest assured that this report will rival my first from January ’09. One of y’all must’ve ratted me out to Tinkerbell and had her read my last report because she tracked us down after we got to WDW and thoroughly flogged us with her wand o’pixie dust. We inhaled. Then we drank the water. The result was a rocket-shot straight to the top of the magic-meter....and our faith in wishing upon stars to make dreams come true has been restored in full and then some. So....please stand clear of the doors....por favor mantanganse alijado de las puertas....hold onto your hats and glasses, ‘cause this here’s the wildest ride in the wilderness!!!!


Preface: ((<---heh-heh...Who puts a preface in their TRs???))

I couldn’t do this report justice without a bit of back-story for the usual gang out there who tunes in. Everyone else can just skip forward. Let’s be honest, we all sorta vaguely follow each other’s lives indirectly by reading each others’ reports and conversing over various topics. We catch the milestones as they relate to our common thread of Disney addiction. I don’t know if others are as insane as we are but our lives tend to revolve around our Disney adventures in some way, shape, or form. The significance of our 8th family adventure can’t be appreciated unless you hear some of the highlights since we last left you at the conclusion of our 7th trip in January this year.

Did ya notice the underlying sadness in that last trip and report? We did. For months we blamed it on Mother Nature’s cruel-n-frigid prank with the weather. As 2010 progressed we came to understand where the dark cloud that seemed to follow us around really came from. It came from us. Yep. We did that. Going into that trip we knew that this year was going to be rough. Tracey had already been job searching for over a month. We knew his project was nearing completion and jobs in his line of work were evaporating daily. Even with the nest-egg we had worked so hard to prepare ourselves with, the uncertainty the future held was overwhelming. So we arrived at WDW on that trip not knowing if or when we’d be able to return. The thought that we were staring down what could potentially be our last adventure for quite some time was heartbreaking. For an example: the joy & excitement in arriving was overshadowed from the very start by the sad idea that we possibly wouldn’t have that again. You see? It was those kinds of things that had us dragging that dark rain cloud around with us everywhere we went. At the conclusion of our January 2010 trip we actually gave thought to the idea that maybe our pixie dusted glasses had been shattered and the magic that used to live within our hearts had all but died. I wasn’t sure we’d ever go back even if everything worked out in the months to come.

And then life has it’s way of flinging the perspective stick it at you. In our family’s case, it was the whole stinkin’ tree.

Our year of insanity included: Tracey unemployed for the first time in 17 years, me standing up to the bubba’s in the public school system here and taking back control of our children’s educations, Tracey set a new record for himself (gotta laugh) for the most number of employers within a single year at 4 while the boys & I plunged headlong into homeschool together which is HUGE and life-changing in itself. It’s been crazy with all the twists-n-turns and the ups-n-downs. There were numerous times we could literally see ourselves losing everything we’ve worked so hard for all these years. In spite of everything that life threw at us, we were still happier than we’d been in a long time. Like Mama Odie says to Tiana & Naveen, ya gotta know whatcha neeeeeed. With each other we have always had everything we needed. Everything else, all the stuff, even Walt Disney World...it’s all just the lagniappe. Without life kicking us square in the tookus so our big ol’ heads could pop out for 2 1/2 minutes we might have gone on overlooking the best stuff in life.

And so we arrived at our 8th Walt Disney World adventure raring to go with a renewed perspective and a whole lot to be thankful for: each other.





Enough of all that mushy-gushy stuff. Let’s get this show on the road!

Here’s the particulars and the plan:

WHO: Tracey/DH, Chandler/DS-14 yro, Brian/DS-13 yro, Riley Belle/DFG (Dear Furry Girl), and Kelly/me!

WHERE & WHEN: (it was a 3 week multi-part road trip)

<-- 11/8-11/11..........Gramma’s house in Pensacola, Florida
<-- 11/11-11/21........Walt Disney World: Port Orleans French Quarter and Best Friends Pet Resort
<-- 11/21-11/28........My folk’s house/Nana & Grandpaw’s house in Monroeville, Alabama

THE TWISTS:

The boys & I aren’t limited to the schedule that Tracey has with work. We drove and had fun along the way. Tracey flew in to meet us at WDW on arrival day and flew back to Houston on departure day. Thanksgiving morning he flew again & I picked him up. Even with all the gas in the car added to Tracey’s airfare(s) we still spent less than we would’ve for the 4 of us to fly round trip to Orlando. We haven’t had our own car at WDW with us since our 4th family trip. Having our car there was something I really, really wanted again and am sooooo glad we did. Besides, I love a good road trip and that time spent with just me & the boys was a blast!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Pre-WDW Day 1 - Nov. 8th: Roadtrippin’? That’s Rippin’!

The Journey Begins

No trip can be without a hitch. 2 days prior to our planned departure there was an unexpected issue with Chandler’s orthodontics that required an adjustment by the doctor. This postponed our departure by 1 day from Sunday to Monday morning.

Riley Belle knows when the suitcases come out of the closet it’s time to go somewhere. In the past when we took our big family adventures our dearest friends stayed at our house and kept an eye on our little toy schnauzer. This year they had to move out of state for work so after much thought and consideration it was decided the best thing for the pooch would be to not abandon her with strangers for so long at the pet resort in Houston. We didn’t want to bother our not-as-wild-about-dogs family members to dog-sit. So little Riley Belle was set for her very first trip to Walt Disney World! WooHooo!!!! ((Although I’m sure she didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as we did...LOL!))





Pre-WDW Day 1 - Nov. 8th: Roadtrippin’? That’s Rippin’!

The flexibility of homeschooling is wonderful. It’s one of those perks that’s like the butter on the pretzel bread. The pretzel bread is killer all on it’s own but the butter kicks it up a notch. Then there’s the little negative effect of all that flexibility. Y’all know I’m NOT a morning person at all. I enjoy sleep entirely too much for mornings to be my friend. Now that we homeschool I don’t have to get up at 6:00 every morning to rush the boys off to school. We sleep until 8-ish (sometimes later if Chandler doesn’t get impatient and fuss at me to get out of bed). Now when I have to get up earlier than 8 for anything it’s absolutely brutal on me. Painful. Agony. Blech! Which makes the unGodly hour of 5:30 a.m. that I hit the ground running for the first leg of our road trip absolutely insane for me. But I did it! I was so proud. My target time for pulling out of the garage was 7:40 a.m. We pulled out at 8:10 a.m. Some people may look at that and think, “How can you be proud of being 1/2 an hour off schedule?” Well, I’m proud that it wasn’t a whole HOUR off schedule. LOL!

Riley! You wanna go for a ride?!?! ((On a normal day this produces excited yips, bouncing all around our legs, and even crazy mid-air twisty-turns.)) She ran for the car.

“Ready, Momma!!!!”

For trip documenting purposes I took a moment to snap a couple pics of our starting position on the nav system map and the mileage on my car. WooHoooo!!!! Let’s GOOOO!!!!

We stopped in at the orthodontist’s office in Bridge City. We didn’t have an appointment but I had spoken with the doc on the phone Friday evening so he knew we’d be there. A few quick adjustments to keep that mean ol’ Crozat from digging into the roof of Chandler’s mouth and we’re on our way!

Almost. The boys were whining about being hungry. ((Get ready. That’s a major reoccurring theme.)) We swung into Sonic, got breakfast, walked the dog, and NOW we’re on our way! For real this time! We hit I-10 eastbound to make some serious time.


Hey! It’s the welcome wagon! They got the memo that I was coming. Hi there!

Just beyond we spotted this beeee-yooo-tee-full sign! Laissez les bon temps roulez, y’all! It’s gooooood to be back home in Louisiana if only to pass through...

Just after we got into Louisiana, Chandler had a bit of an issue with one of his breakfast cheese sticks trying to kill him. A clump went on down while there was a bit left to chew so the stretchy stringy cheese was choking him. He’s a bit naturally dramatic so he was in the front passenger seat flailing and gagging and carrying on as if death was upon him. As I was whipping the car onto the shoulder of the interstate I flung an empty Sonic bag at him in case he started heaving. Hey, at least I didn’t do like Tracey did when I had morning sickness with Chandler on a road trip in our -then- new car. I didn’t nearly kill anyone slamming on the brakes & swerving...I didn’t reach across my kid to open the door then shove him out of the car...and I didn’t toss a napkin out at him. LOL! Nope.

The boys and I road trip well together. Chandler DJ’s from the front passenger seat while Brian plays his DS or movies on his laptop with headphones in the back. Riley rides well, too. She just lays in our laps like a limp noodle.

Somewhere between Lake Charles and Baton Rouge Chandler asked me about some songs he only vaguely remembered us listening to in the car on a trip from when he was a little guy. He hummed some of the tune to one song...recalled some of the words of another being about biscuits...and was certain it was rap music. Sir-Mix-A-Lot?! OMG! Talk about a blast from the past! ROFLMAO! So it was decided we’d stop at the Best Buy right off the interstate by where we used to live in Covington to see if they had a copy of SMAL’s Swass on the shelf. I had my doubts.

Between Baton Rouge & Hammond I was getting a bit sleepy and started wishing Chandler was 5 months older so I could switch seats with him. Then I spotted this tanker truck and I felt better. LOL!

This is where we used to live! Oh how we miss good ol’ Louisiana! The culture is like no other and the amazing cuisine has ruined us forever. Thankfully, this was also the exit for Best Buy. I was ready to stretch my legs.

I parked near a grassy patch at Best Buy so Chandler could walk the dog. Brian & I needed to use the little girls’ and boys’ rooms so we made a bee-line for the store. On our way back out I ran past the cd aisles seriously doubting they’d have a copy of Swass. Seriously. SMAL is more known for his ‘big butts’ proclamation on a later album. Or so I thought. They had 1 copy. Not 2. Just 1. And Chandler was ecstatic.

We may have had a mutiny onboard if I hadn’t agreed to stop for the boys some lunch. Taco Bell was close & convenient. With the quantities that Chandler tends to order it was a reasonable alternative for the wallet, too. I’m not a huge fan of that food. We hopped back on the interstate, went up 1 more exit, then stopped again to top off the car & hit up the Starbucks Tracey & I used to visit every morning on our 100 mile commute when we worked together at Wink Engineering by the airport in New Orleans. I got a nice passionfruit tea in my venti refillable Starbucks cold tumbler and an oatmeal for lunch (w/fruit, nuts, 4 splendas, no brown sugar, thanks).

It’s always a mixture of sad fun to ride thru our old stompin’ ground and what used to be my jurisdiction. All too soon we were on the I-10 Pearl River bridge crossing into Mississippi. And it’s official.

We were steady jammin’ to Rippin’, Gold, My Posse’s on Broadway, Hip Hop Soldier, and Buttermilk Biscuits thru Mississippi. ((I still can’t help but marvel at the cool-factor in jamming to the same stuff I had on cassette in my Walkman when I was 13/14 years old with my 14 year old kid!)) I’ve run that stretch of I-10 so many times in my life I think I could’ve slept thru it and still maintained. Maybe I did because absolutely nothing stands out in my memory from that hour or two.

Sweet Home Alabama! Where the skiiees are so blue!!! Sweet Home Alabam-ah! Lord, I’m comin’ home to you....here I come....Alabam-ah....

We cruised thru to Mobile, shouting & waving to Tracey’s WooWoo out the windows at the west Mobile exit to go to the cemetery. We’re odd. I know. More shouts & waves before we hit the tunnel to the bayway for Aunt Stacey & gang!

The bayway seemed to get longer and longer the more I needed to use the little girls’ room. Eek! I was dying! I think we did a full Dukes of Hazzard hook-slide into the Starbucks parking lot at the Malbis exit. The boys got all the trash out of the car and walked the dog for me. Brian got a tall decaf iced mocha & I got a bottle of Ethos water. I know. Coffee shop bottled water. It’s a big bottle, tho, and the water isn’t funky! Next stop would be Gramma’s house....well, if my bladder would hold out anyway....

We were sitting at a traffic light waiting to make the turn back onto I-10 EB when Chandler and his eagle-eye spotted a little something that was picture-worthy. It’s a Ford Falcon!!!! Poppa has one that’s all hot-rodded out so Chan-man snapped a picture and sent it to him so he’d know we were thinking of him.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Travel day #1 is almost done!

It wasn’t long and we were zipping past this goooorgeous little gem!

Much cheering ensued!

20 minutes later we were parked in front of Gramma’s house. Riley was so stinkin’ happy to be there, too. We unloaded the car into the guest room, visited a while, then had a quick dinner at a nearby Chinese buffet (Kirin, Gramma’s choice). We crashed kinda early (9-ish if I recall) that night which is no surprise considering the long day we had.

I didn’t give much thought during planning to the pro’s/con’s of road trippin’ on my own with the boys and the dog so far without Tracey to help with the driving. I gotta say, it’s nice to be able to sit in the passenger seat and read or sleep my way to various destinations. Driving it all on my own wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was fun! I felt like a real explorer of sorts...the kind that utilizes the lovely Starbucks app that gives them all the locations of all the Starbucks locations on their route! LOL!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Pre-WDW Day 2 & 3 - Nov. 9 & 10: Gramma’s house & Krispy Kreme!

Pre-WDW Day 2 & 3 - Nov. 9 & 10: Gramma’s house & Krispy Kreme!

I’ll never understand why I don’t think to whip a camera out whenever I’m visiting my grandmother. You’d think I’d know by now that those days are totally worth snapping some pics of everyone together. Dangit. I think when I’m in the moment sitting on the sofa talking endlessly with the awesomest of Gramma’s I’m so like cozy and content that pictures escape my brain. Maybe it’s the coffee. My mom’s family literally live on coffee....morning, noon, & night there’s coffee. If you have people stop in for a visit let’s put on a fresh pot, break out some danish or other sweets, and enjoy some more coffee together. LOL!

I won’t bore y’all with all the silly details of my visit at Gramma’s house. I think it’s a bliss for me that it’d be impossible to convey to you.

The boys had 4 days of school work I required them to complete before Disney. They were supposed work in the car on Monday and Thursday which they decided they didn’t want to do. So the deal was they had the 2 days at Gramma’s house to accomplish 4 daily increments in each subject before the Disney fun could begin. If this required us to stay in the room our first day or two, so be it. 4 days before the fun could begin. ((Oh yes, I can crack my teacher-whip well!)) I really gotta give mad props to them, too. Those guys busted their butts getting everything done. I’m so proud! I gave them the task, they managed their procrastination, and stepped-up to meet the deadline. Kudos to them!

My mom drove down from her house to hang out for a day, too. We went to Target together and had some silly fun perusing the toy department, talking about our favorite laundry detergents, yadda yadda yadda. I had to get the Boots No. 7 wrinkle cream stuff our Target was out of the previous week. As I mentioned before, my mom isn’t at all the insane girly-girl I am so she had some fun with my wrinkle cream hunt. We’ve collectively decided that they didn’t stock enough of that stuff to fulfill our full-body wrinkle needs. Oh the joys of growing older and enjoying it with your mom.

No trip to Pensacola would be complete without a doughnut run to Krispy Kreme. These wouldn’t be a requirement if we had a KK in our area but they don’t. A doughnut run is a tradition now. Chandler, my morning blossom child, wakes me up at the butt-crack of dawn yapping about Krispy Kremes. I tell him I need 15 minutes longer. He wakes me again 14 1/2 minutes later. I tell him it’s not been 15 minutes...gimme 5 more minutes. 5 more minutes to the second he’ll wake me again and I finally decide he’s not going to let me sleep so I get aggravated and get up. Usually still in our jammies & flip-flops I’ll grab my purse & leave Brian, my lucky little sleeping devil, in bed while Chandler and I run up to the local Krispy Kreme on 9th Ave. The thought in not getting dressed is that they have a drive-thru so it’s okay. But I always change my mind and go inside anyway because A. I don’t live there and won’t have to look at those people again anytime soon, and B. How do I know what I want if I don’t look at the cases full of all the yummy doughnuts??? Do you see the joy these delicious little fried morsels can inspire in my son????

And we always buy too many because buying one of any variety would be just wrong. So 2 dozen specialties, a dozen warm glazed, and 2 chocolate milks later we were on our way back out to the car.

The visiting continued. One of my aunt’s came from her house for lunch, the boys finished their school work, I had to wash & prep the car, do laundry, bathe the dog, etc. It was a semi-late night but who was sleeping anyway?! We were going to Walt Disney World tomorrow!!!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

WDW Day 1 - Nov. 11: Buttermilk Biscuits here we goooo..

WDW Day 1 - Nov. 11: Buttermilk Biscuits here we goooo...sift the flour, roll the dough...

Early morning test #2: set alarm for 5:30 a.m. with a target departure of 7:00 a.m. I arose from beneath my covers at 5:45 and we were in the car at 7:10. I’m getting better at this.

Are we ready to roll????

Mileage and tire pressure check. Oh! It’s a little chilly this morning.

There we are on the nav system map. Let’s go....

...but not before breakfast and coffee, of course. Breakfast was Booger Sling...er...I mean Burger King...for the boys and coffee and an oatmeal from my home-away-from-home....

Headed towards the I-10 eastbound yellow brick road.

Escambia Bay was pretty with the early sun dancing on the water.

Gettin’ pretty good mileage for a 6-cylinder sports sedan. It’s warmin’ up a little, too. I was clippin’ along pretty fast so why were there so many cars zippin’ past me like I was crawling?

Are we having fun yet?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Standby for the entertainment...

We passed our first sign of many announcing it was a zillion and one miles to Tallahassee. I explained to the boys that the stretch between Pensacola & Tallahassee was worse than the stretch between Lake Charles & Lafayette. There is absolutely NOTHING to look at and it’s boring as heck. Every time we’d pass another sign telling us how far I’d say it again, “Did I mention this stretch between Pensacola & Tallahassee totally blows?” See what I mean?

So the boys ditched me and did some of this:

That is so freakin’ wrong!


I turned on some Disney remix tunes and sang like I was THE American Idol (not that I watch that show and I’m sure my dog was in agony). Eventually we made it to Tallahassee. WooHoo! Progress!

So here’s a random piece of childhood memory. When I was growing up in Orlando with my mom & ex-step-dad (<--that has such a Baby’s-Momma’s-Cousin’s-Sister’s-Uncle sound) my dad who was still in the Navy would drive down to pick up my brother (ObrienIII) & me when we had our visits once or twice a year to go spend time at my aunt’s house in south Alabama or his apartment in Pascagoula when his ship was in dry dock or to Pensacola when he did a couple years of shore duty at the brig on base. We’ve burned that highway from Orlando to Northwest Florida and back many a time. One of the big landmarks we always made it a point to spot was the big golden glass office building in Tallahassee. Dumb, random, and trivial. I know. But it was a big deal to 2 little kids blissfully cramped in a car for hours on end. If you look thru my dad’s old photo albums you see pics of 2 goofy kids in a car making faces at the camera with these random shots of a golden glass office building right in the middle. Seriously. So who am I to break tradition? Chandler asked me where I was hiding the happy-hay at my urgent instructions to get my iPhone poised for the obligatory golden glass building shots. And here they are:

We stopped on the other side of Tallahassee for gas and lunch. The dog was giving me the “I’m seeing yellow, Mom” look, too. I topped off the tank, hit the McD’s drive-thru, and we were cruising again.

Between our refuel stop and the turn south in Lake City our giddiness was getting the better of us. Not long ago I caught a lovely classic on XM Radio’s 90s on 9 (Crash Test Dummies ‘Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm’) that had me rolling laughing thinking of H2OBabie’s last TR. The boys, who are perpetually with me it seems, thought it was funny, too, so they downloaded it on iTunes. A week or so later Chandler went to play it from his iPod in the car. When you scroll thru the music titles ‘Stupid Linda‘ (<--the not-so-bright lady who lives in the dashboard of my car) reads them. Well, she’s ‘Stupid Linda‘ for a reason. She goofs stuff up all the time. Scrolling thru titles to hear what Stupid Linda has to say is a road-trip hobby for the kids....and Tracey. Seriously. Think of how some of the titles from Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic‘ or Trick Daddy’s ‘Thug Matrimony’ can be read. It’s straight-up comedy. And so, just for H2OBabie, here’s what Stupid Linda has to say about ‘Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm’:




I wasn’t quite at the point where I was regretting buying that Sir-Mix-A-Lot cd because it was still funny to see the kids jamming to it. I dared Chandler to gimme some video footage of Buttermilk Biscuits. He was in just silly enough of a mood to not back down from this dare. The first clip he was just gettin’ down but then in the 2nd clip I informed him it didn’t count unless he rapped while he was gettin’ down. So, (he’s gonna kill me but it’s sooooo worth it) here ya go!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Arrival! Finally!!!!

Before we knew it, it was time to make THE turn south onto I-75! Cheers, whoopin’-n-hollerin’....

Traffic was actually pretty light heading south. It’s more fun to weave the traffic but I was okay with cruising along anxiously. We stopped for another potty break, dog walk, and to top off the tank somewhere between the turn & the Turnpike. The Chevron Stupid Linda mapped for me was kinda old. We even had to go inside to get the key to the restroom! Haven’t done that in YEARS! Another lady must’ve had the same reservations about having to fetch the key-on-a-stick to use the facilities because when she approached me as I was walking back towards the store building she said, “How bad was it?” I smiled and reported that it was useable, no-frills, but not a Bucees by far. LOL!

Back on the I-75 and boy was the excitement growing! Wowzers! And then we passed by THIS milestone!

I didn’t get a shot of the Hwy 429 sign because Chandler and I were watching the GPS map closely along with the signs & lane directions thru all that construction at the interchange. Plus, I think my mom called for like the 5th time to share in our growing excitement and ask “Are we there yet?!”

And then we were there!

We were cheering and clapping and then I hear Brian in the back seat, “I think I’m gonna cryyyyy!!!!” LOL!

Arrival time: 3:30 p.m. EST.

First things first, Riley had to get checked in at the Best Friend’s Pet Resort because she can’t go to POFQ with us. I only briefly thought to fling her out the window as we passed by but then my little lovey looked up at me with her sweet widdle puppy-wuppy eyes and I knew this would be a little bit of sadness in our happy moment. I handed Brian my iPhone to get pics to mark the occasion while Chandler had Riley on the leash and I was digging her stuff and documents out of the car. Here’s the shots Brian got of us taking Riley Belle into the Best Friend’s Pet Resort.

((forehead smack))

A photographer, my sweet boy ain’t. We coulda been anywhere. But that’s what we got.

Checking the dog in was quite smooth. They took note of her feeding schedule and all my concerns. The staff is so good, understanding, and welcoming. I didn’t feel at all like I should hold back any of my thoughts or concerns for fear they’d think I was one of those over-zealous insane picky-petunia dog-moms. I gotta also take a moment to say that this pet resort is extremely nice. It’s a step above the usual pet boarding facilities we’ve used with Pet Paradise in it’s features. The decor even in the pet boarding spaces was just enough to make you feel like you had just checked your furry loved one into a deluxe resort. It doesn’t feel at all sterile, either, which is nice. The entire place is very, very clean not just in appearance but by smell. At no time during our numerous visits there over the course of our trip did I ever see any messes or dirty animals or anything out of place. All the areas we went in (not just the lobby) smelled perfectly clean and immaculately kept. That’s saying something.

So after we said our sad little goodbyes to our little Riley Belle (yes, I got choked up...she’s my baby!) we were on to POFQ! Woot!


Tracey & I stayed at POFQ for our kid-free 15th anniversary adventure in May of ’08. We really loved it there. It was so peaceful and comfortable. The best part was that it captured the best parts of the ambiance of the actual French Quarter in New Orleans and left out the scary people, drunks puking in the alleys, etc. They even give you beads sometimes and you don’t gotta flash any boobies to get them. Can’t argue with that!

So as the boys and I proceeded from the guard shack towards the resort entrance they both were awestruck. Seriously. They were gasping and ooh’ing and aah’ing. Then Chandler said with wonder, “Mom, it’s beautiful. It’s like you’re really in New Orleans....” to which I replied, “Well yeah...that’s why it’s called Port Orleans French Quarter. We told ya!”

We got our room assignment which wasn’t exactly what we had put in our requests but sorta close. We asked for building 2, 5, or 4 ground floor. Tracey and I had been in building 2 ground floor facing the pool which was perfect. We got building 2 but we were 3rd floor on the back of the building facing the courtyard with fountain.

I was thinking of Jen’s (mouselvrmom) family’s tradition of taking a pic by the door with the room number for posterity. My boys weren’t as accommodating, tho. Here’s what I got:

I forbade the boys entry until I inspected the mattress corners, etc. with my handy-dandy LED flashlight that I got at Target while I was there with Mom. Then I had to snap a couple quick pics for Tracy (harveyt0206).

How could I not be distracted with a towel Mickey?!?! I almost decided not to do the bed-checks because of that Mickey. How can a bed with a Mickey on it be anything less than perfect?! I checked, tho. Oh yes. I checked carefully.

The boys and I moved in, set up everything including Brian’s c0t (<--can you believe that word is spanked by the Verbage Gods?!...that's why it has a 0 in it vs. an o) that I got from LLBean for $75 shipped.

 

[obrienIII]

Finally, you start your report!:brick: I'm so glad you all found the pixie dust again! I hate I had to miss this trip with you guys, as I'm sure do those poor customers of mine who paid dearly for having me be at their homes instead of in WDW with the family! Keep the updates coming, I love you guys!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

A Not-So-Very Whispering Canyon Birthday!

We had time to kill before Daddy/Tracey arrived. His flight had been delayed a little by bad weather in Houston. Grrrrr! Didn’t they know we had veeeery special dinner reservations to get to?! We figured the best use of our time while we waited would be to run out to Target on Irlo Bronson Hwy for bottled water & 12-packs of sodas.

Y’all hafta understand, I’m the kinda girl that if I ain’t driving I’ll never remember routes and how to get places. When we use Disney’s buses they are driving. When we had our car at WDW before Tracey was driving. I’m basically clueless. But I have my lovely nav system in the car. I may have been clueless but I wasn’t helpless, by God. LOL! So Chandler & I ran the search on the nav system to find the nearest Target which was the one I thought it would be. We hit the button to have Stupid Linda show us the route. Fab. Here we go.

While sitting at a traffic light not far from the resort I spotted this 80’s Chevy Chase Vacation station wagon that was totally rim-pimped. Chandler snapped a pic for me to share:

We were laughing so hard we didn’t notice the route that Stupid Linda had us on was taking us where we shouldn’t be. I turned around right quick in a cast parking area that’s right behind where Test Track runs it’s high-speed loops. Needless to say, ((Holly, you were right)) Stupid Linda reverted back to her original name which is a bit less than magical. I had words with Stupid B-**expletive** as I picked my pea-brain way out to that main road that runs in front of Downtown Disney. Then Stupid Linda rerouted us an even dumber route which really got me going again. The boys were rolling. Thank God Chandler has been blessed with his dad’s sense of direction because he got us there using the visuals on the maps in the nav system without any advice from Stupid.

My mood was immediately spiked back to ecstatic at the discovery that this wasn’t just a Target, it was a SUPER Target! ((squeals)))

Before we got out of the car I lectured the boys in the importance of NOT looking like flaming tourists so that we didn’t come off as easy targets to the bad-guys of the world. I told them not to run for the Disney stuff section with excitement or even refer to vacation or Disney or anything while we were outside the car. Overboard on the careful meter, maybe, but growing up in Orlando I know that even back in the 80s the oblivious tourists were a favorite target for criminals. I was a chick with 2 younger teens. It seemed like the thing to do.

We grabbed our bottled water, caffeine-free root-beer for Tracey, Cherry Pepsi for the kids, and a few other things we thought of that we needed. For the return trip to the resort I went the way I thought I should instead of the way Stupid Linda said to go which ended up just fine. No wrong turns or anything. I just drove us there. The boys were impressed.

When we got back to the room and unloaded the new round of crap I got a text from Tracey saying he had been on the ME bus for almost an hour before it even left the airport and that he was getting close. It was 7:20 and we had a 7:50 ADR at Whispering Canyon that we could NOT miss.

The boys and I met Tracey at the curb in front of the resort at 7:30. Lotsa hugs and kisses and happiness all the way around. We missed Daddy. We checked his one suitcase at Bell Services then dashed off to the car to go to dinner. We made it to the Canyon on time. Whew!

This was the most important meal of our trip! Brian’s birthday was Saturday, Nov. 6th. With all the hullabaloo with us packing, etc. we didn’t get to have a proper birthday cake for him. Instead he had a friend sleep over and cupcakes. Birthday cake, making a birthday wish, and blowing out the candle(s) is the most important part of a birthday to me. Mostly it’s the wishing but you get the point. A few weeks previous to our trip I had contacted CakeMan-Brian at the Contemporary’s bakery to work out the details of a specialty cake order for my Brian. I ordered a 8” round chocolate w/buttercream cake with some sort of reference to Steamboat Willie since that’s my Brian’s favorite. I was quoted a price of $65 w/no delivery fee necessary to Whispering Canyon. As instructed I had called the cake line with the details and set up the credit card guarantee. We were set.
Our wait for our table to be ready was about 15 minutes. We sat in the lobby. No Christmas decorations up yet. Then the beeper thing went off. Yay! Time to eat! As we were walking to our table one of the CMs was whoopin’ it up for a birthday victim then led the entire joint in a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You - ChaChaCha’. As soon as the seater person walked away Brian leaned over to me with a very stern face and said, “If they do that to me I will get up and leave. I’m not kidding.” I thought I was gonna yack.

Dinner progressed nicely. The couple at the table next to us looked at their bill then informed their waiter that they forget to mention they had wanted to split the check. The waiter snapped it back up, ripped it in half, then tossed it back. We were dying laughing.

At some point I caught our waitress and informed her about the cake that should be in the back for us, pointed inconspicuously towards Brian, and asked her not to let anyone sing to him because he’d have a full-drama teenage-freak-out. She smiled. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous that telling her about the possibility of a freak-out might not have been the thing to do. I mean, what better way to get the whole place whoopin’ ‘n hollerin’ than to play it up on the victim who dreaded it most and SHOWED it? Thankfully, when she returned to clear the table for dessert the kiddo had gone to the restroom. I apologized for having a little stick-in-the-mud on our hands. She was so dang sweet. And she’s right, we’ve all been 13 before. That’s a tough age. Brian’s been really emotional about it, too. He doesn’t want to grow up. He wants to stay a kid and live at home with us forever. God love ‘im. That with his teen hormones kickin’ in he’s had some really emotional spurts lately that caught me a bit off-guard.

Brian returned to the table and we all just sorta made small-talk as the man-of-the-hour tried his best not to look too nervous. He was, tho. I could tell. Our waitress finally returned with a big ol’ cake, plopped it down in front of Brian, poked the candle into the front, smiled down at him, and said, “Here ya go. I ain’t sayin’ a word.” His jaw just dropped. He looked at the cake at her, back at the cake, then towards Tracey & me, and a smile melted across his face. Our waitress lit the candle and backed away. I asked if it was okay for just us to do a little soft ‘Happy Birthday’ which he agreed to without hesitation.




My baby made his 13th birthday wish and blew out his candle. Let us all just hope it wasn’t the same thing Tracey wished for on his 13th birthday because it’s something just awful that I can’t say on a family-friendly forum. **sigh**

So here’s what $65 get’s you for a custom cake. I’ve seen way better so I was sorta a little disappointed.

I can’t complain. When I emailed with CakeMan-Brian I didn’t give any specific instructions or examples of what I wanted because I generally subscribe to the idea that artists produce their best work when allowed creative freedom with their medium. If I ever order a custom cake again I’ll be sure to get really over-specific instead of just saying, “incorporate Steamboat Willie and have fun”. Brian, on the other hand, adored the cake. He loved the white chocolate Steamboat Willie piece. That makes it priceless. My buttercream frosting is waaaaay better, tho. The cake was moist but, again, nowhere near what I make. I guess you can’t have it all, huh? LOL!

More hilarity for ya: after I took the cake pics Brian asked if the decorations were edible. Yep. I plucked a Mickey off the side & ate it. Brian slowly pulled the white chocolate Steamboat Willie off the top & took a bite. Chandler reaches over, carefully removes one of the bundles of colorful stars, & gently bites down on one. Well, those were plastic. He realized it instantly then tried to play off his error kinda looking around to see if anyone else just caught that. Someone did. Our waitress was nearby & saw him. She was giggling, trying not to just laugh out loud at him. She & Chandler had a funny exchange over it when she mentioned she caught that. I was relieved he handled her little poke of fun so well. His teenage sensitivity has made him a bit (or a lot) over-sensitive to harmless jokes in the past so it was refreshing to see that he had matured enough to handle that situation so well and actually enjoy it.

A few more antics before it’s time to head back “home”.

We parked back out front at POFQ, retrieved Tracey’s suitcase from Bell Services, then walked thru the main building towards our room. The live music was playing at Scatt Cat’s which was veeeery loud. Or maybe we’re just that big of old farts now.

We all washed up and hit the hay. The paper-thin washcloth I bathed with really had me longing for the plush stuff I’ve gotten spoiled to at the deluxes. I know. What does it matter? Right? The little things like the not-so-great toiletries, thin bathroom linens, no enclosed closet, uncomfortable double beds...all these little things stand out to me now which sorta bugs me. Oh well.

G’night y’all.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Finally, you start your report!:brick: I'm so glad you all found the pixie dust again! I hate I had to miss this trip with you guys, as I'm sure do those poor customers of mine who paid dearly for having me be at their homes instead of in WDW with the family! Keep the updates coming, I love you guys!

Yeah. Okay. I don't want to hear none of your --->:brick: crappola. Who's been to WDW TWICE since May and has yet to post a single picture much less a whole report?! I'm glad we found our Pixie Dust again, too. I know it's kinda a bummer you & Mom didn't get to come with but that's okay. When it's meant to be everything will come together and we'll be rockin' it big time. Now, now there's noooo need to take out your frustrations on your poor customers. Although...I'm sure it made for a great Christmas for the girls. I'll have to tell them "you're welcome" after Santa comes for his annual visit. Updates will follow. I better get some sleep tonight with the full day of digging the in-law's front steps slab tomorrow. :hammer:

 

[jhoff3405]

I'm along for the ride. Looking forward to the rest!

 

[corey154]

Yeah a Sweetpea trip report! I can't wait to finish reading it!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It was funny to see the drive pics...I totally agree about that horrible stretch in the panhandle of FL. The whole I-75 stretch totally reminded me of when I lived in Gainesville ...especially the southern section (of course it was a different joy- the joy that I was near MCO and on my way back to college). Can't wait to read more!:wave:

 

[mickeysshoes]

Great read so far!!! Really enjoying!!! Love the pictures

 

[Ariel484]

Yay, a Sweetpee trip report! Can't wait for more!

...also, LOVE your dog and your D&B tote...both are super cute!

 

[Alison1975]

fellow homeschooler here..loving this!!!

 

[HollyBelle]

I'm super excited to see your report! And let me just say, I'm so happy to hear that the magic is truly back and this trip found you and the fam completely up to your ears in pixie dust. I can't wait to hear all about it. So far... I totally agree with your assessment of the cake and its complete and total lack of creativity. And for $65?! I, too, would be disappointed if it didn't taste as good as one I can make at home.

I heart your trip reports, Kelly! Now I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment. :sohappy:

 

[BlizzardPoke]

Awesome start! I can't wait for the rest!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

WDW Day 2 - November 12: Holy smokes!!!! I got money back from Disney!!!!

WDW Day 2 - November 12: Holy smokes!!!! I got money back from Disney!!!!


Can you believe it?! I woke up at exactly 6:17 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep! I stirred a little and Tracey, who was already laying there wide awake, realized I was awake. We giggled like little kids! A few minutes of tickle fighting and laughter and the boys were awake, too. I *heart* WDW!

Tracey ran down to the front desk to do our big check-out/check-in. ((We booked the free dining from 11/12 - 11/21 then decided we wanted to arrive on the 11th but that date was blacked-out of the free dining so we had a room-only discount that first night.)) The guys all had breakfast offerings from Sassagoula Floatworks. I had my instant oatmeal + 2 splendas, Nasty-Cafe Disney coffee because I discovered I forgot my Starbucks Via at home this morning, and my vitamins. Brian had the beignets but didn’t like them. Chandler, who is a living bottomless pit these days, took a bite of one and said they were gross. In fact, the exact quote from both boys was, “the beignets in the school cafeteria are better than that”. See? Spoiled to good food.

I stopped in at the lobby ladies room on our way out. The potties are like old water-closet style with the tank up high on the wall and you gotta pull the chain to flush. How cute is that??? No pics of that, tho. Don’t worry. LOL!

We walked out to the bus depot to wait for the MK bus. Imagine our confusion then excitement when the bus that pulled up was one of the plushy DCL buses! The driver stepped out, looked at all the confused faces, smiled, and said, “Anyone wanna go to the MK? That’s where you’re going, right?” Another lady and I both stepped forward and asked if he was in the right place and if we heard him right. He assured us he was where he was supposed to be and taking us to the MK was going to be his pleasure this morning.

Bam!

This trip is starting off right, baby!

When we arrived at the MK we headed straight to Guest Relations outside the turnstiles to upgrade the boys’ and my 10 day base MYW ticket from our package to our FL resident seasonal passes. ((Don’t get confused. Yes, under my username on the left it says we live in Texas. We also maintain a residence in Florida. Hubby works contract engineering so we move around.)) The CM who assisted us was really great. He told us that it would take just a few extra minutes but he wanted to be sure to give us a refund of the entire 10 day ticket price (I had no idea that the tickets are even slightly discounted when sold in the packages) then charge us for the passes vs. just upgrading one to the other. After the transaction was complete I got a refund of $9 + some change. When does the Mouse eeeever give you money back like that?! So Chandler took a pic for me! Woot!

Good start indeed!

We headed into the park and the fun began.

Brian wore his birthday button and met the mayor. The mayor asked him how old he was and agreed with us, "13 is a tough age but a good time your whole life has yet to come".

The boys and I ran into The Chapeau and listened in on the gossip line (it was loud this time so we could hear it really good). Then we stopped over to listen to the music lessons for a moment or two.

We decided to go right from the Hub into Tomorrowland. Right between the Laugh Floor and Stitch’s Great Escape we spotted Push having some fun. We stopped to watch then he approached us. He wanted to know why the boys weren’t in school. We told him we homeschool and he’s in our classroom. He laughed and said, “Riiiiight! Good excuse!” LOL! It was all good. Much fun. We took some pics. Then Stitch came over and Push was a bit freaked out because Stitch had escaped. He was hollerin’ for security to come rescue the world from Stitch which made Stitch a bit nervous so he ran & hid.

We moved on so others could enjoy Push’s antics. As we got a little bit away from the area I stopped the boys and turned them back to look for Push’s “friend”. He was pretty easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for. Chandler got a little inconspicuous pic of him. Both boys thought it was pretty cool how the whole thing worked and enjoyed the little bit of insider knowledge (if you want to call it that).

**SPOILER ALERT** <-- for those who don’t want to see
See the guy with the orange hat? He's in constant motion talking into his hand.

Tracey had run ahead for a potty break before we were to reconvene for a shot on Space Mountain. A lady approached the boys & me with 3 FP’s for Buzz Lightyear. Cool!

We hurried off to meet Tracey so he wouldn’t be left standing around wondering where we were. Space Mountain had just been 101 and come back up so we were able to walk right on.

This was our first trip on Space Mountain since the on-board audio had been added/turned on. I noticed the sound but the overall effect was underwhelming because of how the sounds get louder or softer depending on how close you are to a stationary speaker. If the sound was more constant and had smooth, intentional volume nuances it would be far better. IMO, the powers that be missed the mark on that one.

One trip on SM was enough for us old fuddy-duddies and we decided to make use of the quiet walkway to Toon Town Fair for a quiet moment to recuperate. On the way we got this shot:

The town area was already getting pretty congested so we just kept moving towards Fantasyland to see what it looks like with all the walls. They’re very “in your face”, to say the very least. It was weird to have big heavy equipment like riiiiight there next to you.

There was a guy standing in front of Pooh handing out fastpasses for Philharmagic. Really? Why on earth would I need one of those? It’s not like I can’t just walk right in there. LOL!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

While I'm waiting for a few missing pictures to upload to continue my next update....

I'm along for the ride. Looking forward to the rest!

Thanks for coming along with us. I hope everyone will be patient...this one won't go up as fast as they have in the past. I've got soooo much going on right now. I'm not even at home. We're in Alabama...again...

Yeah a Sweetpea trip report! I can't wait to finish reading it!

Yaaaay! Corey154's coming with, too! Woot!

It was funny to see the drive pics...I totally agree about that horrible stretch in the panhandle of FL. The whole I-75 stretch totally reminded me of when I lived in Gainesville ...especially the southern section (of course it was a different joy- the joy that I was near MCO and on my way back to college). Can't wait to read more!:wave:

That is the dullest stretch of highway ever. Thank goodness I was still working on my morning coffee. Dull rides put me to sleep... LOL! Glad to see ya here!

Great read so far!!! Really enjoying!!! Love the pictures

Thanks so much! I've got a couple days upcoming that have like 190 pictures. I won't post all of those but they should be more picture-heavy.

Yay, a Sweetpee trip report! Can't wait for more!

...also, LOVE your dog and your D&B tote...both are super cute!

Yay! You're here, too! Wow! Everyone is along for the ride. I love it! The more the merrier in my book! I should have a bunch more tonight for y'all. Awwww...and Riley Belle (who's currently snuggled up next to my legs in bed) loves you, too. She loves everyone. Thanks for the compliments on my tote. I'm totally addicted to Disney Dooney's! You'll see my Christmas present on our last day when I picked it out AND got the Disney Visa discount.

fellow homeschooler here..loving this!!!

Fist-bump for the homeschoolin' team! Seriously, it's been the hardest thing ever but it's also been the most rewarding. Love love love it. My only regret is not taking the plunge sooner. Hope you enjoy the rest! Thanks for joining in!

I'm super excited to see your report! And let me just say, I'm so happy to hear that the magic is truly back and this trip found you and the fam completely up to your ears in pixie dust. I can't wait to hear all about it. So far... I totally agree with your assessment of the cake and its complete and total lack of creativity. And for $65?! I, too, would be disappointed if it didn't taste as good as one I can make at home.

I heart your trip reports, Kelly! Now I'm anxiously awaiting the next installment. :sohappy:

Holly! I'm totally not gonna nag you about a TR because I knoooow you got a bunch going on planning a wedding, etc. Glad to see you made it for the adventure, too. Golly, is the magic ever back! I think now we're just not so hung up on when we'll get back to WDW. That's inevitable. The cake. Ugh! I was pretty let down on that one. I've seen some totally amazing stuff come out of that bakery so I think that's part of why I felt the way I did. I think the cake lacked cohessiveness. Like there wasn't really a design. It was just various accessories all thrown together. Ya know? As for taste, we rarely order jambalaya anywhere anymore either because once you've had the best and have learned to cook it so well it's just setting yourself up for a let-down if you order it just anywhere. I should approach cakes and my expectations there the same way.

And thanks for the kind words. I totally *heart* your reports, too. You're the one who inspired me to do all these reports to begin with so my hat's off to you, my friend.

Awesome start! I can't wait for the rest!

Well thank you muchly! I'll be plugging these updates in as fast as I can. Be sure to stay tuned! :wave: