The Don’t Postpone Your Joy and Birthday Celebrations Mousefest Trip - UPDATED 12/31 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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The Don’t Postpone Your Joy and Birthday Celebrations Mousefest Trip - UPDATED 12/31
Cast of Characters: Me, JoanW, aka Joanie Balonie, the aging princess, age 5-0 creeping daily upon me, first time Mousefester; DNiece-in-law (DH’s Pat’s niece) Louise, aka Weezie, also a princess, not aging as fast as me, but is 39+ and holding, 3rd time’s a charm at WDW and first time Mousefester; and younger DSis Mary Jean, known sometimes as MJ cause there’s too many vowels in her full name, a Disney World Virgin, first time ever to the parks and Mousefest, and “it’s a small world after all” – lives in the same neighborhood in Michigan as Jennifer Marx’s sister. And a princess too. Such royalty.
Purpose of Trip: We’ve adopted Caldercup’s mother’s mantra of “Don’t Postpone Your Joy" as a way of getting over the shock of losing our mother at Christmas last year, and Louise is dealing with chronically ill parents. And I’m turning 50 in January and Louise is turning 40 two weeks before me. And Mary Jean wanted some warm weather and fun because it’s cold and snowing all the time in Michigan. More on that cold later.
The Plans: We started talking about Mousefest I think in May. Or June. I got a pm from Larry and Eileen and others about who could possibly attend. I started working more hours over the past year and got a good raise. I could pay for this myself and not touch house money. An independent woman! I asked DH Pat via email (I'm such a weenie) if he would mind if I took a vacay with Louise, and he didn’t say no, and didn’t say yes, which means in his best Eeyore voice, “okay, if you HAVE to. I’ll survive.” Sweet. Let the planning begin. He feels the magic, sees the magic, but doesn’t feel the need to experience it more than one time in his lifetime. And I’ve taken him three times already. His magic level has been achieved. And then DSis Mary Jean wanted to come along too because she knew that it sounded like really big fun. And that means if she comes along, we can stay at Shades of Green, the military resort onsite (retired Navy), which means all the perks of onsite at a great price! Score! And tickets! And Starbucks! And no DH or Children of the Corn to watch me! Pure Joy! I can be as corny as I want to!
Louise and I checked flights from Baltimore on a daily basis, and in July we scored round trip flights under $200. We snagged those, and Mary Jean got hers from Michigan. And a $17 a day rental car from Priceline. She got our reservations for Shades of Green. We’re in! I could say it out loud that we were going! I have this voodoo feeling that if I get too excited it will crash and burn and not happen. So I withheld my excitement.
Speed up the months, and it’s December. And I have to get my butt in gear to make arrangements for the girls to get to and from school. And play practice. And load the fridge and freezer. And put up the tree, decorate the house, make sure there's dog kibble for the dogs, do laundry for the time I am away and for the rest of the family, and pack my suitcases, print itineraries for me, and DH Pat on the kids, and as I type this it exhausts me. But it's so worth it. I also packed some "things" to share my joy. I crafted, I shopped, I had the excitement I'd been holding back.
So on Wednesday, December 10, I load my 30 lb suitcase and carryon into the car at 11:00 pm, and set my alarm for 5:00 am. I pop two Tylenol PM's and my head hits the pillow with a thud.
Next: Let the Festing Begin, and Fun Joan, Louise and Mary Jean Emerge!
I have to back track a little before I can begin my departure story. Mary Jean’s flight from Lansing, MI was changed a few times. She ended up flying out a day earlier, arrived at Orlando by 3, got the rental car, and was checked in at Shades of Green by 5:00 pm.
Louise called me around 2:00 on Wednesday to say her dad was admitted to the hospital with a variety of organ failures (he’s 77), and a host of other issues. She and her brother drove down to the hospital to assess the situation. He needed medical care and fast, and there was nothing for her to really do, so I and other family members convinced her that he was going to be in the hospital the entire time we were in Florida, and there was no reason to postpone her trip. We all have cell phones and if anything changed, the hospital or her mother and brother would let her know. I crossed my fingers that Louise would follow my advice and not back out.
So on Thursday, December 11, Pat said he’d drive the girls to school for me so I could get my self to the airport a little earlier. It was raining. And cold. Heavy rain. And it’s 6:15 am. About 6:30 I’m getting a little closer to the airport, and I decide to call our local radio station, Mix 106.5 from Baltimore to try and get a message on the air to the girls and Pat. They were discussing holiday traditions or something on the air. I got through and mentioned that although everyone was miserable in the cold and rain today, I could care less, as I was on my way to Florida to go to Disney World with my “adult” friends. No kids, no husband, no supervision. The DJ’s and I discussed Pleasure Island and I was sad to inform them that it was no more. But there were other “adult” ways to enjoy oneself. I told them I wanted to say “waaaah waaaah waaaah” to the girls who would be listening in the car with Pat. I hung up and called Rachel on her cell phone and made sure they put the station on in the car and weren’t all iPod’d and not talking to Pat.
So, I’m pulling into the airport “loop”, and it comes on the air. And I’m howling and laughing when my phone rings. It’s Louise, and she heard it too, and said it was “a sign” that she made the right decision and was nearing the airport too! Hurray! I wimped out on parking in extended parking and parked in the expensive, $20 a day, covered parking lot that is attached to the airport. I’m on vacation, and it’s cold and raining! I check in my 30 lb bag and head over to the gate. I then realize that my cell phone is about to die, but I don’t have time to charge it in the wall. So I wait for Louise. While I am waiting they announce we can get the exit row seats for free, which I claim for us. She finally shows up and we board the plane. We have an 8:40 flight, which is slightly delayed because of the weather. We land on time in Orlando, which is now engulfed in rain, and is not much warmer than Maryland!
We decide we need nourishment since we didn’t get anything in the airport in Baltimore, so we grab venti Peppermint White Mocha’s and scones, nosh all the way to baggage handling. As we descend down to the luggage area, who do we spy at the bottom but Mary Jean holding a hand made sign that says WELCH, since that’s both our last names. We head over to get our suitcases. While we are waiting, I whip open my carryon and pull out foam tiaras that I made for us, festooned with jewels, glitter swirlys and stars, and our names in glitter, only I didn’t have enough vowels for Mary Jean, so hers said MJ. Fully tiara’d we gathered our stuff and made our way to the car, a nice Pontiac G6. We looked at the ominious sky and headed out to Shades of Green. We are on vacay, we need are in need of FAB's. Or FB's. Or something. And we need the rain to stop.
We were getting closer, and saw
and although it was raining, I was back!
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