Forums Closed
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As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
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11-24-2005, 11:59 PM
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#1
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Community Rank: Scout 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Lafayette, LA & BCV
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 4,751
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Macy\'s Surprise Trip - Updated 1/30
It is hard to believe that it has been nearly a month since our trip. Time has really flown and things around here have been BUSY! Since my friend [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Terri (DrDolphin) is anxiously waiting to read about the surprise, I am going to try to get started with my trip report and hopefully I can have plenty of it up by the time all the Mousefesters return from their trip and start their reports! I won't post any pictures this weekend since I am writing from home and using dial-up internet (remember I live in the boonies and dial-up is all we get - ahhhh the joys of country life). Ready?? Here we go...[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img]
Trip dates: October 27th to November 2nd, 2005 (not the original plan but we'll get to that shortly)
Adventurers: Me, my sister, Kim and my daughter, Macy
Last fall, after reading so many great things about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and the Food and Wine Festival, I knew I had to experience these events .[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] The annual passes I bought in May gave me the perfect excuse to plan a short trip - gotta get my money’s worth, right? Knowing that Charlie wouldn’t be interested in another trip to Disney so soon, I asked my sister if she would be interested in going to Disneyworld with Macy and I for Halloween. She had only been to Disneyworld once when she was 4 but had very little memory of that trip and I knew she would love to experience Disney with Macy. She said [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] and the planning began.
The first thing we decided was that the trip would be a surprise for Macy. Next, we decided we would fly out of New Orleans on Saturday, October 29 and stay in Orlando until Wednesday, November 2. We also decided that we had to spend Halloween in Magic Kingdom at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party even though we knew it would sell out and the park could get crowded. I rented DVC points for a studio at Beach Club Villas and purchased our tickets to the Halloween Party. Thanks to a great Ding rate from Southwest, we purchased our airline tickets for $82 roundtrip per person [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif[/img]. Yes indeed, things were falling into place for this surprise trip and we were going to have so much fun!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img][img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img][img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
Many emails were exchanged while we decided where to dine [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/hungry.gif[/img] and what things my sister most wanted to see in the little time we had. Somewhere along the way I started emailing her a Disney Picture of the Day. This came to be the highlight of our mornings while counting down the days until our trip.
Next up - August brings lots of changes. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jack.gif[/img]
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11-25-2005, 02:31 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Trailblazer 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: South East London
Posts: 5,164
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Oooh a great start, it sounds really good - those photos in your signature of Macy are so cute [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] More please!
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11-25-2005, 07:45 AM
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#3
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Community Rank: Adventurer 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Foothills of Maine
Posts: 784
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Great start...keep it up I wanna hear what happens next! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
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11-25-2005, 08:17 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Great start Monica!!!!! Can't wait to read more!!!!
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11-25-2005, 08:45 AM
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#5
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But why is the rum gone?
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Needville, Texas
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 12,286
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Great start Monica!! Waiting for more!
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11-25-2005, 09:43 AM
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#6
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Lafayette, LA & BCV
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 4,751
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
I have a little extra time this morning so here is another installment.
By mid-August things started going downhill. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Well, actually, we had a brief uphill climb and then came the downhill part. First the uphill climb: When I received my school calendar from Macy's school I noticed that Macy would be out of school on October 27 for Parent/Teacher Conference (we were planning to leave for Disney on October 29). I struggled, briefly, with pulling Macy out of school one additional day so we could leave on the 27th instead of the 29th. My sister said two more days at Disney was fine with her so I went to work on adding two days to our trip!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] WhooHooo!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Our airline tickets were not a problem since Southwest had been Dinging the New Orleans to Orlando flights pretty regularly. I lucked out again and got a $32 Ding and immediately changed our tickets! The problems started when I found out that none of the DVC resorts had a studio available for October 27 [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img] so we would have to find something else for our additional two nights. No problem right? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] Wrong! I am sure everyone is familiar with the Best Rate fiasco and the end of regular AP codes. My sister had made a room ressie at Port Orleans French Quarter at rack rate and I had run across a great deal for a room at the Sheraton Safari near Downtown Disney for $65 per night including tax while we were waiting for Disney to release AP rates. At the time, I decided this would be good to have as a back up in case Disney discounts did not pan out. I was really glad I did when Disney announced at the end of August that Best Rate was now the only way to get AP rates and they must be booked at least 60 days in advance - our trip was now 58 days away - so we were out of luck [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]. We decided we did not want to pay rack rate for Port Orleans [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] and canceled that ressie [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]. We would much rather save the money and stay at the Sheraton for 2 nights, right?? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img]
If that was not bad enough, I am sure everyone is very familiar with Katrina and her little visit to New Orleans. Katrina’s devastation meant we no longer had $82 flights to Orlando and no one had any idea when the New Orleans airport would reopen. Since our tickets were booked with a credit that I had from Southwest, I really needed to rebook with them and I did not want to wait and see what would happen with New Orleans. I feared waiting would mean much more expensive flights because it would be too last minute. Our options now were either drive to Houston, TX and deal with the traffic or drive to Jackson, MS. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img] Both are about a 4 hour drive for us. Ding made the decision a no-brainer with $29 one-way fares to Orlando out of Jackson. I quickly canceled New Orleans and bought 3 roundtrip tickets for $71 per person. Who would have ever believed we would be flying for less than $75 per person. Even when you consider the cost of gas and parking, this was still more than $100 per person cheaper than flying out of Lafayette or Baton Rouge.
[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Things were in place once again.
Now all was well right? Wrong! I was still not content with staying offsite at the Sheraton even if it was a really great deal and only for 2 nights. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img][img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] With the help of my friend Jill (Jillybean) I tried again to see if any studios were available through DVC. No luck. Then, out of no where,[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/announce.gif[/img] Disney released codes for the general public. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] I took a very deep breathe and, for the very first time ever, I called CRO myself and made room reservations using the code!! In the past I had always used a travel agent but this time I decided to try it out myself. I really felt like a big girl! I was able to get right through and yes, the discounted rate was available for our dates at Port Orleans French Quarter!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] We were now staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for twice what we were paying at the Sheraton but it’s only money, right?? Whooo Hooooo - six night on-site!!!!!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] Now I was feeling very content. Yes, this surprise trip was going to be fabulous! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]
Next up - You want to do what????
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11-25-2005, 09:49 AM
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#7
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Dreaming of the Future
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 24,867
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
I can't wait to hear more! Great report!
Amy
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11-25-2005, 10:00 AM
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#8
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Living Seas wannabe
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 31,940
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Oh I am SO glad you started this report!!!! I have been waiting to read all about Macy's suprise!!! Now I have to go to Mousefest and wait till I get home to read the rest - but great start so far (and even with Katrina you scored great plane tickets!!!)
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11-25-2005, 12:10 PM
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#9
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But why is the rum gone?
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Needville, Texas
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 12,286
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Great update Monica!! Waiting for more!!
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11-26-2005, 12:07 AM
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#10
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Great update Monica!!! Glad you were able to stay on-site!!!
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11-28-2005, 10:36 AM
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#11
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New York
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 7,960
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
I just [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] surprise trip reports! I can't wait to hear more!
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11-28-2005, 11:53 AM
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#12
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posts: 7,526
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Wow, what changes!! I'm really excited to read about Macy's surprise ... more, please!
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Sponsored links
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11-28-2005, 12:33 PM
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#13
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Great start Monica [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
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11-28-2005, 12:38 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Trekker 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 1,904
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Wow! You really had to go through alot just to get off the ground. Can't wait to read more.
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11-30-2005, 08:58 AM
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#15
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Community Rank: Scout
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Lafayette, LA & BCV
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 4,751
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Re: Macy\'s Surprise Trip - The Adventure Begins
Sorry for the delay. On to the next installment:
You want to do what???? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]
Two weeks before we were scheduled to leave for Disney, my wonderful, non-Disney loving, husband decided that he wanted to come with us [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]. I was very excited because he was showing interest in Disney but I was also sad because the trip was no longer a "just the girls" trip. This also made me wonder if the Disney magic was finally reaching him [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/questionicon.gif[/img]?
I made a few phone calls and within no time, he had a plane ticket, was added to our room ressies, added to our ADR’s and had a ticket to the Halloween Party. Like Macy and I, he also has an AP so he was set. Now I just needed to get him a costume for the Halloween Party. I told him since Macy was "little Jasmine" and I was "big Jasmine" (I wanted to be Minnie but Macy wanted me to match her instead) he could be Aladdin. He adamantly refused (not manly enough for him [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]). Ok, how about Genie [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]?? That got a big "No way" also. Well, what about Rajah (Jasmine's PET Tiger)? This he agreed to and, as it turned out, was easily done. I picked up some tiger print material at Walmart and had my mom make him a t-shirt and a tail that would hook on the back belt loop of his jeans. We could get his face painted before going to the party and he would be ready to go! That done, I was now thinking this is a great addition because we now had a strong man to help us with our luggage and he could entertain Macy while my sister and I shopped!!
Well, the excitement didn’t last very long. A week or so before leaving Charlie started his normal Disney grumbling. This really irritated me since he originally wasn’t invited anyway and didn't have to come. After a few days of putting up with this I finally blew my stack. I told him to either get excited or stay home because he was getting on my nerves. The conversation was actually a bit longer. This took place early in the morning before work. He called me later that day to say he really didn't want to come and would stay home. Now I was back to being excited!! I know that sounds really mean but I would much rather him stay home than aggravate me for seven days on vacation. I took care of canceling all of his reservations before leaving work and could hardly wait to get home to take his stuff out of my suitcases. I laugh now because it took me less than 10 minutes to unpack his stuff, rearrange all of my stuff in the suitcase and put all his stuff away. Did I mention that I was excited??
Now we were back to our "Just the Girls trip" and we only had to make it through one more day of work and school. For Macy, this last day of school was also Report Card Day!
Next Up: Report Card Day - good thing or bad thing??
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