#girlstrip - Pre-trip ramblings, Soppy Mush and Serious Over-planning

[wilma-bride]

“We’re going to be staying up late, drinking, making memories that we can laugh about for the rest of our lives, because that’s what a girls trip is for” – Girls Trip Movie, 2017

Me

I’m Joh (yes, the 'h' is deliberate), 45 years old (and feel every single bit of it right now) - lover of cocktails, Disney and holidays! My favourite ride is Tower of Terror, favourite snack is the Cronut and favourite drink at Disney is the Grey Goose Citron Slush from France Pavilion, Epcot. Most looking forward to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and our bar crawl in Disney Springs (more on that later).

My daughter, Rhiannon

Rhiannon (or Rea) is 24 – lover of Strawberry and Lime Cider, animals (particularly cats) and Disney! Favourite ride is flight of passage, favourite snack is also the Cronut (or anything involving mac and cheese) and favourite drink is the Peach Snap from China Pavilion, Epcot. She is most looking forward to all the festive decorations, food and activities.

So, as you have probably deduced, this trip is a Girls Only trip with me and my daughter.

When I was younger and my friends would tell me that their Mum was their best friend, I would look at them like they were mad. I didn’t understand how your Mum could be your friend, although it is fair to say that my Mum and I do not have the best of relationships. In fact so much so that when I posted this on Facebook the other day….

Rhiannon messaged me to say this….

That’s why nobody was more surprised than me when my daughters grew up into the wonderful adults that they are today and I realised that I love their company, we get on great, we laugh and cry together and generally have a good time. Don’t get me wrong, we do fight and argue (although far less now that we don’t all live under the same roof ) but it really is like having two best friends. I have no idea if they think of me in that way, you’d have to ask them, but I certainly am very proud of the wonderful adults they have become and I love to spend time with them.

When my eldest daughter, Sian, was 21, we took a mother/daughter trip to Walt Disney World and we had a great time. Sian and I are very alike, though, and it's fair to say we had more than our fair share of ups and downs during that week. It was a week of fun and laughter, but also tantrums and tears (mostly mine). The low point of that trip came early on when, after a stressful day at Animal Kingdom, mainly caused by the fact that I persuaded Sian she didn't need to take a hoody to the park with her, then it rained and her hair got wet and went frizzy, we went to the Boardwalk Bakery in the evening to pick up a cupcake. I passed it to Sian to hold, she promptly dropped it on the floor and I accused her of doing it on purpose. She maintained that she didn't, at which point I told her she may as well throw it away because it was ruined and she promptly threw it in the nearest bin. The row that ensued after that was epic - and my belated apologies to anybody who was staying at the Boardwalk at that time, who may have overheard it. I can only say that we were both over-tired and stressed, and I'm not proud of the fact that we ended up having an argument so early in the holiday.
The good thing, though, is that we got it out of the way early on and we didn't have any more major falling outs. We laugh about it now, of course, and it's a standing joke in the family that "you'd better not drop Mum's cupcake".

So, back to this trip. I had wanted to make the Mother/Child trip at 21 a family tradition, but when Rhiannon turned 21, circumstances meant that it just wasn’t possible for us to go away together. And, for one reason or another - mainly due to the fact that she has been busy becoming a midwife - it still hasn't happened. Back in February this year, when we were in the midst of planning our family trip to Orlando for Rhiannon’s graduation, some American friends of mine were talking about taking a quick trip to Disney in November, to see the Christmas decorations and attend Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. They tried to encourage me to go, but I told them there was no way I could afford it, since we were still paying for our trip in August. But, in the back of my mind, the cogs started turning, the Mickey Maths calculator fired up and I started to think that, if I went on my own, I could probably use air miles to cover the flights. We had enough DVC points for a short stay so it could be doable and I have ALWAYS wanted to see Disney at Christmas – in fact, if I have any regrets where WDW is concerned, it is that I never got to see the Osborne Lights. I floated the idea with Gary, telling him if he wasn’t happy, I wouldn’t go but, to my surprise, he said it was no problem and I should go and enjoy myself (I have the best husband in the world ). I don’t quite remember how, or why, I mentioned it to Rhiannon but the next thing I know we had decided we would go together. The first thing I told her was she had better not drop my cupcake

Rhiannon and I are NOT the same, except maybe when it comes to obsessing and over-planning. We don't look the same, we don't think the same, we don't act the same - in fact, I often joke that maybe she's not really my child. Maybe because of the fact that we are very different, we do get on incredibly well. And we do have a lot of things in common, one of which is drinking

So we may well need to be booked into rehab when we get back

We booked reward flights for November, flying out on the 24th and home on the 30th, and I booked 6 nights at Saratoga Springs resort, in a deluxe studio. To make the trip even better, we realised that Linda (who gate-crashed our August trip) and her husband, Philip, were going to be at Disney at the same time, prior to a cruise they are taking. We couldn’t have planned it any better.

At some point, during the last few months, Rhiannon and I realised that 6 nights didn’t seem to be enough and so we added another night. We changed our return flights, and just had to pay an admin fee of £30, plus the extra tax, which was pennies. I couldn’t get an extra night at Saratoga so I booked a night at Coronado Springs Resort, for which I paid cash. Neither of us has stayed there before so we are looking forward to that – not that we will be spending much time at the resort, as we have an action-packed schedule. We are going to need a holiday to get over this holiday

[Goldia]

This sounds like it is going to be a really special trip, just the 2 of you together! And not long to wait now either!

[Dogwalker]

Whoop whoop!
This is going to be a fun one!

[wilma-bride]

Originally Posted by Goldia

This sounds like it is going to be a really special trip, just the 2 of you together! And not long to wait now either!

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I seriously cannot wait to spend this week with my daughter at our favourite place.

Originally Posted by Dogwalker

Whoop whoop!
This is going to be a fun one!

See more...

We're going on holiday THIS MONTH!

[collybird]

'Don't drop mum's cupcake' We all have those arguments we can laugh about years down the line.

Your trip is going to be magical. We have done Disney in November three times but switched to September the last few trips (direct flights!), but everyone's pictures of Disney getting all Christmas-sy over the last few days have made me so wistful for it.

P.S. What was the Christmas job that you got out of the way?

[wilma-bride]

Originally Posted by collybird

'Don't drop mum's cupcake' We all have those arguments we can laugh about years down the line.

Your trip is going to be magical. We have done Disney in November three times but switched to September the last few trips (direct flights!), but everyone's pictures of Disney getting all Christmas-sy over the last few days have made me so wistful for it.

P.S. What was the Christmas job that you got out of the way?

See more...

I can't wait to see all the holiday stuff. I have always wanted to visit over Christmas but hubby isn't into the idea at all, so this was the perfect solution.

We defrosted the fridge freezer (I detest the job and every time I do it I say we must buy a frost free freezer - if only I could stop spending all my money on Disney ).

Thanks for reading along. Believe it or not, I am jealous of your September trips, it's my favourite time of year to go - can't wait until the youngest has left school/home and I can go in Sep/Oct again.

[wilma-bride]

So, with just 3 weeks to go, let me tell you about our plans. The main purpose of the trip is to see the decorations and participate in the Christmas activities that take place at Disney World during the holiday period.

Since it is just me to worry about (Rhiannon is paying her own way), it seemed like a good opportunity to do some of the special events, tours and other things that I normally balk at paying for when there are three of us.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

This was the first event that was decided upon, way back when we first booked. It was never in doubt that we would go – both Rea and I are excited to see the parade and Holiday Wishes. It will be completely new to us, having never been to Disney at this time of year. We chose Thursday 29th November, as that is the date that the rest of the group are planning to go. As soon as they went on sale in April, we bought our tickets direct through Disney, with Passholder discount, at a cost of £141.26.

UnDISCOVERed Future World Tour @ Epcot

While we were in the midst of planning, Linda messaged me one day to ask if this tour would be something we’d be interested in. Having done a few of the tours at Disney World, I didn’t need asking twice so, having confirmed that Rhiannon was happy to do it too, we booked. Linda was on holiday when the booking window opened, so I booked for all four of us. We got a DVC discount on this, so it cost £47.17 per person.

Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam Holiday Dessert Party

This was a relatively late decision. Linda had mentioned she was thinking of booking for her and Philip, and asked if Rea and I would be interested. Rhiannon was keen, so we decided to go for it. Linda booked this and it was $79 each. I like the fact that they have savoury items, as well as desserts, as well as unlimited alcohol

In addition to the paid events, we have some other activities planned.

Resort Tour

We are planning a morning touring the Magic Kingdom resorts, to see the decorations. We are excited to see the gingerbread house at the Grand Floridian and the Christmas trees and other décor. We are also hoping that there might be a couple of specialty Christmas snacks offered that we can partake in along the way.

Disney Springs 'pub' crawl

Linda and Philip will join Rea and I for an evening of drinking and snacking around the various Disney Springs drinking establishments. There are a few places on our list to visit, including Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar, the Shine Bar at Art Smith’s and the Paddlefish rooftop bar.

4 Parks in 1 Day

Rea and I will be undertaking a ‘four parks in one day’ challenge. In each park we will:

• Ride at least one ride
• Take a Photopass picture with a park ‘icon’
• Eat a snack
• Meet Mickey and Minnie

We will also take a different mode of transportation between each park. We have ordered t-shirts from an Etsy seller, which are being delivered to Saratoga Springs for us.

So, there you go. We are really packing it in to this trip, but I'm sure it will be amazing. A week seemed like such a long time until we realised we were trying to cram 3 weeks’ worth of activities into it

[Goldia]

It all sounds great fun. We did the 4 parks in 1 day challenge this summer. It was tiring but it was fun.

[Dogwalker]

As if I'm not excited excited enough! Reading this had made me want to go and start packing 😊😊😊

[GezzasGem]

What a great idea! My DD is only 6 but you've already sown the seeds... 🤣🤣🤣🤣