The Mills and Jones Xmas extravaganza

[Melonz]

Well the time has all too slowly come around for our next adventure to the Sunshine State.

The usual suspects are:

Mel (that's me) 38, well for a few more days and I'm milking them for all it's worth. 39 now boo hoo. Supermum, supermad & superbad. Also known as good cop, bad cop.

Paris, 15 turning sweet 16 whilst there. Has Autism, wicked sense of humour, tells it as it is and little brother TORMENTOR extraordinaire

Chanelle, 14 Supermodel in the making along with the wonderful attitude that these lovely ladies have. Has been known to laugh at least once a year. Blackberry permanently attached. Loves Justine Beaver

Ethan, 9 turning 10 whilst away. Also known as the superhero Afro man. Hoping he'll be brave enough to go on RnR and ToT... woteva. very likeable chap.

So that's us. Ok, ok I'll post some piccies of us. Hang on a mo.


Paris


Chanelle


Afro Man


So after a really horrible year that I never wish to repeat we are ready for a fabalicious holiday. We fly out on Xmas Day. What no turkey dinner I hear you cry! Nope and let's face it who really wants to spend 6 hours cooking something that no one will eat 'cause they've stuffed themselves eating chocolate while hiding in the wardrobe :angry:

So like I said, we have a couple of birthdays . Paris is turning sweet 16. Not a phrase that any parent would've come up with and most definitely fails the trade descriptions act. Mmmmm it sounds like something a spotty teenager would come up with to get his leg over back in the 50's.
Anyway, back to the birthday! Sooooo we have a character meal at Krystal Palace (my sis name which is why I spelled it this way). I think Paris may have forgiven Pooh for not coming back from his bog break last year. If not watch out Pooh
We're also doing a Wishes cruise with JackeyH and family

Fast forward a one week and it's Ethan's birthday. Double digits boy!
We have an ADR at T Rex. Ethan LOVES his burgers. We might see La Nouba and spend the evening at DisneyQuest. Here's Ethan's idea of Heaven.



So here's the plan. Me, keep the fighting and arguing to a minimum, have "the best day ever" (Spongebob) 14 days in a row. Be good cop.

Paris, to see EVERY PARADE. Paris loves the characters. Have I already mentioned that? ! Good old Paris always has the best view. She just pushes and shoves everyone out of the way until she is at the front. Totally oblivious to tutt, huffs and puffs from all around.
Apologies if she has done this to you or in fact DOES this to you over Xmas. This is how much she loves the teddies..oops slip of the tongue there



No fast rides please. Peter Pan and Dumbo rides are the highlight

Chanelle, as she's now 14 I'm sure her agenda will be to look good and keep an eye out for the fit boys Next will be the rides, the faster the better. Must have a pic with Minnie Mouse And bribing/bullying her brother to go on the faster rides

Ethan. Now, he's determined to ride RnR and ToT. Oh yes he's acting the big boy now. 4000 miles away and 8 weeks to go and he's definitely going on these 2 rides... woteva

This is Ethan in 2006. I had "forgotten" to tell him that he probably won't like this ride.



And this him on the "spinning tea cups in the sky" BEFORE I told him to make sure he screams when he goes down the drops.



He didn't look quite so happy when he got off that one LOL. I'm surprised he's still talking to me. So forgive me if I'm slightly pessimistic that he will actually reach his goal

My ultimate goal is that we will all be as happy as we were in this pic.



I remember the photopass guy very well. He said to the kids "hey guys, fancy a picture taken with Shamu"? Er, thats's my mum! What, you're kidding right? "er, no" . "Oh I get it you're all adopted" "still no". "Oooooooooh...your dad is really good looking yeh and has a few beers in the evening, during the day? Maybe all day?
Now, my ex is no oil painting here's a pic to prove it.

Soz peeps, I tried to upload a pic but an error message said, "unfortunately, due to the nature of the picture and the family ethos of this site we are unable to accept your picture. Please remember that this site is used by the very young, very old and some with a nervous disposition. So apologies again

So 8 weeks to go and we have some very excited people in the house.

Hope to see some of you there although that is highly unlikely as we'll probably be jammed in like sardines and unable to move.

See Ya real soon!

Mel

[highland lass]

have a great holiday when it comes
best idea ever to travel on christmas day - no cooking

[macdonald88]

Xmas at disneyworld what better place to spend it! Hope you all have a fantastic time and the birthdays will be celebrated in style. I love the pic of you kittie sooo cute

[chaffey]

What a wonderful day to be going on holiday, your christmas day will be five hours longer than ours Hope you've got lots of presents packed as thats more time to open them

hope you have a fab holiday and a great new year

[JackyH]

Well done Mel good start. Really looking forward to the wishes cruise. You and your family look lovely and we are all going to have a great Christmas.

[Melonz]

Originally Posted by JackyH

Well done Mel good start. Really looking forward to the wishes cruise. You and your family look lovely and we are all going to have a great Christmas.

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Let the good times roll. See you soon

[Melonz]

Originally Posted by macdonald88

Xmas at disneyworld what better place to spend it! Hope you all have a fantastic time and the birthdays will be celebrated in style. I love the pic of you kittie sooo cute

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Kittie is 2 now. The lovliest cat I've ever had the pleasure to have.

[phgannon]

Hi Mel

I bet you're all getting super excited now about the trip seeing as how Christmas is getting nearer - Christmas ads playing on the TV, Christmas stuff in the shops and so on. It all serves to remind you that your trip is just around the corner That's probably the biggest and grandest countdown that you can get!

So, you're flying out on Christmas Day?! I've flown out to Orlando on Christmas Eve before and that was really cool. The atmosphere on the flight was like nothing else

One of our seats on the flight was next to Paul Burrell who had just finished his stint in the jungle on I'm A Celeb. This was in 2004. He was flying out with his kids. DW bent his ear all the way on the flight over and for the whole duration of the holiday all I got from DW was "Paul says the best place to watch Wishes is...", "Paul says that there's a good place to eat on...", and so on. You get the idea

I was looking at my trip report earlier and whilst it looks like we didn't do as much as I'd hoped, my lasting memory of that trip is of a wonderful way to spend Christmas! Certainly one of the most memorable Christmases... for all the right reasons! For example, we spent New Years Eve on the beach (avoiding the crowds!) having a picnic and building sand castles.

Be prepared for the parks to be heaving for the first week that you're there but they do quieten down significantly straight after New Year (from Jan 2nd onwards).

I hope you all have a ball, you deserve it.

Patrick

PS Wish I was coming!

[Melonz]

Originally Posted by phgannon

Patrick

PS Wish I was coming!

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There's plenty of room

Hi Patrick

I remember ready some of your reports a while ago. Did you take you' MiL? Very brave

I'm actually really enjoying all the Xmas ads and music, normally it drives me mad :angry: It actually serves as a reminder of what's coming. Yipeee.

Paris is on hyper mode. I've never seen anyone soo excited after hearing an IKEA ad (Xmas bells) on the radio.

Our plan for NYE is Epcot, yes i Know that 95% of brits will be heading there too and dinner at Tepannado. I chose this ADR purely on the basis of a video I saw on You Tube I know that Ethan won't eat anything but he still wants to go, he said he'll try it I'm sure I'll be heading off to buy him burger and fries at some point in the evening but I don't mind.

I know it's going to be busy I'm hoping that GAC will help us get on a couple of rides during Xmas week. Athough I'm quite happy to go with the flow and take in the atmosphere

This is our 4th trip and it's always just been me and the kids. I don't mind but it would be lovely to sit on the balcony with a glass of wine and another adult. Just to talk about the days events and whats to follow. It would be great for someone else to drive, tell ME what we're going to do and just take over a little bit.

BUT it sure as hell beats lying by a pool for 2 weeks.

Mel

[phgannon]

Originally Posted by melanie997

There's plenty of room

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Oh if only I could afford it but I'd be there in a flash if I could

Originally Posted by melanie997

I remember ready some of your reports a while ago. Did you take you' MiL? Very brave

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Yep, that's right, I invited my MIL to come along. I also invited her to come on our last trip to DLP in Aug '08. I did it for her and the kids really.

Originally Posted by melanie997

I don't mind but it would be lovely to sit on the balcony with a glass of wine and another adult. Just to talk about the days events and whats to follow. It would be great for someone else to drive, tell ME what we're going to do and just take over a little bit.

See more...

Well, I was always the designated driver when we went away, not that I'm complaining because I wouldn't have it any other way really. And as for planning... don't get me started! Our trips to Orlando were planned out well in advance using all of my project management experience!

Ohhhhhhhh, I really wish that I could come. I don't mind being your driver for a fortnight!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing more of your plans as the trip gets nearer.

Where are you staying this time around? I bet your hoping for another upgrade to a suite!

Patrick