Payback’s a …. Trip to Disney World! (Jun 6 - 16) Updated 8/7 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I am truly so excited that you are writing a TR, Karen! And after I mentioned Zack to Stefanie, we're both excited about meeting you! Loads of for finishing the packing and prep. See you soon!
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OMG Karen, what a great start! We have great faith in you in regards to doing a complete TR when you are home.
I hear you about being a daughter and having to do things for a father that should never be done by them. My father was such a proud man and when he was on hospice care and day to day things had to be done by me and my brothers he was so great at putting me at ease during very uncomfortable situations.
Enjoy your trip, your family and your friends. We'll be here waiting for your TR.
Great start Karen...regardless of why you wrote this I'm happy to see it. Got to love your choices for Zack as to what he wanted to do for his birthday, I used the same reasoning as well - DD gave up the "BIG" costly, buy a dress I will never wear again party and instead chose Disney (we must have done something right in the raising of our children ) at least they make wise choices.
Have a great trip with lots of food, tons of , and many with family and friends. Hope Zack has a terrific !!!!
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Cut to the original purpose of this trip. I asked my darling son early in the school year if he’d rather have a big 16th birthday bash with his buddies or go to WDW for two Star Wars Weekends. I think I phrased it something like this, “Zack, we could like get a couple pińatas and some streamers and invite your friends over for rutabaga and prune juice for your 16th birthday or we could take a deluxe ten day trip to Disney World with the chance to go to two consecutive Star Wars Weekends. What do YOU want to do?” Wisely, the lad went with numero dos.
Love, Love, Love your tactics! And I can't believe Zack will be 16 this year and CJ is 13, for that matter! I feel so old!
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Well something happened on the way to our magical, stress free journey through the 10th grade. Zack hit a couple of bumps in the road that made the journey neither magical nor stress free. It’s nothing major, and Zack is still a great kid, but, I’ve been reminded multiple times this year that I’m really glad I’m not growing up in today’s world. And, I’ve developed handfuls of grey hair and a couple of deep wrinkles courtesy of my dear boy. But you know what they say, payback’s a …
Wait til "SENIORITIS" hits in 2years!!! More than once I've wanted to slap Joe upside the head and yell "SNAP OUT OF IT!" ala Cher in Moonstruck
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Never fear! Along came my dear friend, Olivia, with a book that she thought I might enjoy. As soon as I read the endorsement on the cover from one Mr. Bob Smith, Dedicated Father, I knew this was the book for me. It read, “Until I read this book, I had no idea how easy it could be to traumatize my children. Now they’ll definitely need therapy!” Do you see why I was sold on How to Traumatize Your Children? Sure, it’ll be expensive to take the teenager to Disney World, but now I had a step-by-step guide for how to make it fun for me too! And for those of you horrified that I would think of this, don’t worry, the book promises that I’ll be able to, “Defend [my] choices against others who’ve opted to traumatize their children differently.”
Dang, coulda used this book during my pre-grad gift vacation I took Joey on! Instead I awarded his "senioritis" with a pre-grad vacation
Quote:
Originally Posted by zacksmom_1993
Under the principle that tanned fat is more visually appealing than white fat, I’ve also successfully applied self-tanner to the point that I now resemble a lumpy Orange Creamsicle. Check.
I too try to adhere to this principle!
Happy 75th to your dad! Can't wait to hear all of the crazy antics! I know you all will have an amazing trip!
You probably all know by now that I’ve got a trip to Disney World in, um, one day. What you may not know is that I’ve been struggling with whether or not to write a trip report. I’d always PLANNED on writing one. But, Eileen kept needling me. Poking, prodding, making fun, soooo sure I’d never do it. It made me not want to write one at all. Because if I did, she’d say, “You only wrote it because I pestered you into it.” And, if I didn’t, she’d say, “See! I told you you’d never write a trip report.” Either way she’s right, I’m wrong. She wins, I lose. But you know what they say, payback’s a …
Pffft... she's no one to talk!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
Looks like I'm ready to go. Now, why can't I get on a plane before Wednesday the 10th?
Have you seen my ticker?
Quote:
Originally Posted by rlb38
Interesting start.... maybe you'll finish this report before Eileen finishes her report from her trip with CJ ???? ENJOY sounds like you've earned it.
Not likely! In fact, that's the reason I've chosen to tag onto Jilly's TR, since that's the one most likely to be finished! Of course, that doesn't mean I have faith that Eileen will finish her TR from eleventeen months ago either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caldercup
I love how the other members of the CLQ are boisterously commenting on their current-for-some/upcoming-for-others joint trip and... Sharon?
Sharon seems to have had to hunker down and not do too much in the way of posting or taking part in the insanity.
She's just committed to typing away on her two (count 'em TWO) trip reports and is letting the rest of us make fools of ourselves.
Typical... just typical of ShaSha to come off smelling like a princess-y rose while the rest of us are rolling around in the muck.
Eileen
I seriously cannot wait to see y'all!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Oh yeah... Karen's ankle is healed enough! (She was trying to take Jill's girls on one of her patented death marches at our beach house over Spring Break.)
It figures -- I was in great aerobic shape in December and Karen was nowhere to be found. This trip, I've slacked off at the gym and I'm gonna be huffin' and puffin' and Karen will be pointing and laughing.
Good thing Jill likes to walk slowly (since it helps keep the FAB from spilling out of the glass as you wander around World Showcase.)
Eileen
I get on a plane in 4 hours and 49 minutes (not that I'm counting or anything ) and I've finished the last of my required work before I leave for vacay. Actually, I rolled into work about 8:45, and plugged away non-stop on this project. I was SURE it was like noon when I looked at the clock and realized I'd been in the office for about an hour. These days are the LONGEST! Anyway, now that I'm done with the work I get paid for, and even done with the work I shouldn't be getting paid for (like printing boarding passes or, um, reading trip reports) I figured I'd UPDATE a trip report on the company dime.
For those interested in these sorts of things, here are the relevant details for the grand vacation: Dates: June 6 - June 16 (technically I get on the plane at 5PM today, meaning cocktails at 4, meaning vacation starts mid-afternoon on the 5th )
Who:
Get yourself comfy, this could take a while! Actually, it won't because now I'm leaving in four hours and 26 minutes! Jill and fam are there now, Zack and I will be there tomorrow, Eileen comes on Wednesday, Sharon comes on Saturday morning, and Dad and Alice come Saturday afternoon. The concierge lounge has been warned to order lots of vino, preferably in big plastic bottles.
Resort:
--Wilderness Lodge club level (6th - 13th), I've requested a room in the North wing, so hopefully we'll either get a courtyard view or a view of Magic Kingdom fireworks
--Villas at Wilderness Lodge (13th - 16th)
Dining:
6/6: Lunch at Sci Fi
6/7: Dinner at Hoop Dee Doo
6/8: Lunch at Teppan Edo
6/9: Dinner at 1900 Park Fare
6/10: No food plans, just lots of fun plans since Eileen arrives today!
6/11: Breakfast at Donald's Safari Breakfast and Dinner at Chef's Domain at Citricos
6/12: Lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby (and not just any ol' lunch either!)
6/13: Lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe
6/14: Zack's Birthday! Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and Dinner at Boma
6/15: Dinner at Biergarten (this one's really for my Dad since he was stationed in Germany for four years)
Almost all the meals are with Jill and fam, and I'll be shoveling in Eileen and Sharon time as fast as food at any meals where they're at WDW. Plus I'll finally get to meet Heather at a couple of the meals! Hooray!
Special Plans: I can't reveal all my secrets! But, I can tell you that we've got a grand treasure hunt planned for the kids on Wednesday; the special Wildlife Discovery Excursion for club level guests on Thursday for Eileen, Zack, and me; and (the one I'm most looking forward to) Lunch with an Imagineer for Zack and me on Friday. I'm also dying (see that Eileen? ) to see how things go on Thursday night when Zack plays babysitter to Maddie (and maybe Mary Devall if she wants.) Zack had those girls wrapped around his finger in April, so I'll be interested to see what he gets them to do for him this time around. For Zack's birthday, it's the last day of Star Wars Weekends so we'll probably be spending most of the time at the Studios blowing through his Birthday Fun Card. But, I've also ordered the Mad Hatter Cake for our breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. I'm hoping that the Mad Hatter and Zack have one of their patented encounters.
So, there you have it. But, I have to end with a shout out (and a way for her to post the cool stuff to MY trip report) to my dear Eileen! She has done some amazing, amazing work the past week or so to make this trip absolutely magical for Zack, Maddie, and Mary Devall. Actually, the only way that this trip would be perfect would be if she changes her mind and throws CJ on the plane with her next week (school, schmool.) It makes me a bit sad that he won't get to participate in all of the little magical moments that his Mom worked so hard on. We'll just have to figure out a way to bring him into the fun too!
I know the whole payback's a ... theme was written with a wink and a nod to Eileen, but she's MORE than paid her dues. And, as I said to her last night, if she wasn't around I'd have to pay to have someone laugh at my jokes anyway and the hourly rate would be much more than a trip to WDW! And, now I've blathered so long, I only have 4 hours and 8 minutes left before I leave on a jet plane!
__________________
Karen, aka Zack's Mom - Lover of all Things Disney and the San Francisco Giants!
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And after I mentioned Zack to Stefanie, we're both excited about meeting you! Loads of 
for finishing the packing and prep. See you soon! 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
) at least they make wise choices.
food, tons of 
, and many 
with family and friends. Hope Zack has a terrific 
!!!!
And I can't believe Zack will be 16 this year and CJ is 13, for that matter! 
I feel so old!
Angie
Because if I did, she’d say, “You only wrote it because I pestered you into it.” And, if I didn’t, she’d say, “See! I told you you’d never write a trip report.” Either way she’s right, I’m wrong. She wins, I lose. But you know what they say, payback’s a …
PassPorter Guide Author
Liz 
) and I've finished the last of my required work before I leave for vacay. Actually, I rolled into work about 8:45, and plugged away non-stop on this project. I was SURE it was like noon when I looked at the clock and realized I'd been in the office for about an hour. These days are the LONGEST! Anyway, now that I'm done with the work I get paid for, and even done with the work I shouldn't be getting paid for (like printing boarding passes or, um, reading trip reports) I figured I'd UPDATE a trip report on the company dime. 
)
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