2nd Anniversary at AKL Pre-Trip!

[jaineparr]

I was trying not to get too involved in pre-trip planning. I mean, I'd talked to the Concierge at AKL and given them my wish list, but other than that bit of planning, I'd tried to keep my excitement to a minimum.

I'd planned for four big meals, a Safari to take pictures of the animals and Cirque. Other than that, we wanted to hang out and play at the parks a bit. Doesn't that sound like a pretty relaxed trip? Usually when we head to Florida, it becomes a traveling circus, what with catching up with family and friends and all the scheduling havoc that creates. The last two trips started with just the two of us and ended up with six or eight folks to co-ordinate. I felt like a cat herder at times. This trip is just the two of us and it is going to stay that way.

The home planning has just started. If I get it right, my DH will have no idea how much work has gone into the trip. We will leave breakfast and wander over to a show that will be just starting and isn't that 'lucky timing'? Not really, it's fine tuning a trip plan to make it not feel like a trip plan. I'm the planner and the hyper one. I can commando tour the parks in a heartbeat. But, DH does not like that at all. He'll dig in his heels and refuse to march another step to the drummer he thinks is in my head.

But DH loves the things that I plan. I simply can't tell him that I've got lots of things scheduled. If I say that I've planned for us to have breakfast at a certain location at a particular time, he's fine with it. I don't mention that I know when we leave breakfast, we will walk in a specific direction and take in thus and such show. When we leave the show, we meander over in a different direction and stop to get him a favorite snack. Then over that-a-way for a roller coaster and then a brief pause for some pictures. What do you know? It's just the right time for us to catch a parade and here we are at an ideal spot for viewing it with cameras handy.

Does he know that I've planned and timed the entire afternoon for us to be in just the right spot for wonderful things to happen right in front of our noses? Nope. And as long as I'm not frantically checking schedules and maps, he'll never know. It's part of the Magic.

 

[jaineparr]

And the planning continues!

Magical Express - check!
Food preferences - check!
Dining - long since done!
Golf - check!
Shows - check!
Park schedule - check!

We are trying to keep this a small trip and not meet up with lots of family and friends. We do that every other time we go down to Florida and it turns into a circus and isn't very relaxing. To keep the trip small, we are claiming to be planning a trip to Phoenix, to visit my sister's family. That way, we have a reason to be out of town, but not catching up with the Florida herd.

Do I feel guilty? Not a bit. Between us heading down and them coming up, we'll have had no less than 5 visits with family and friends since October!

Still on the to-do list is decorate my little trip notebook with a character face and decorate envelopes for Mousekeeping.

I'm undecided on a door decoration... Could be fun, could be cute, could be a lot of extra work. I'm thinking of a romantic Mickey and Minnie in matching outfits and our names on their 'shirts.'

 

[stitcharoo]

haha.
i love the way you write!
it's funny

this PTR is very good.
i likeee it!!
oh, and i love how you've planned things out.
clever

 

[jaineparr]

Thanks Stitcharoo!

I'd been bounced around a little when I tried to call to make arrangements for DME from the airport. I think they have changed the phone numbers around since I last used them. I'm one of those folks who will save numbers in their cell phone, just because I can and I might need them again. Yeah, it's a bit OCD. But I don't mind, because it has really saved my bacon a couple of times when traveling.

I got through and they couldn't find my reservation in the computer at first, but it finally showed up. Yesterday, the DME envelope arrived in the mail! Yahoo!!! For a change, they spelled my husband's last name correctly. It's a German name and folks who hear it have no idea how to spell it and they frequently get it wrong, even after we spell it for them.

I'm reminded of a story about a woman with a Polish last name who called the Polish Embassy for something. The person at the embassy asked her how to spell her name. "Cee, zee..." and she was interrupted. "No, I need to know how to spell Louise."

Bit by bit, the pieces for our January trip are falling into place.

I still haven't decided about a door sign. I think I'll give it a shot and see if I like it. If I hate it, I won't pack it.

I'm thinking about how I'm going to hide the evidence of this trip. Before we leave, we are going to have some Florida friends up for a visit. They love Disney, but four people = not a romantic trip. I can't leave any evidence of the trip lying around the house. I've got to put it away in a place where they won't stumble across it, but that I can remember where it is when I need it. And I'll need it in a hurry, as they are leaving only hours before we head out ourselves.

The fiction is that we are planning a trip to Phoenix, so we can pack our warm weather clothing and golf stuff and not cause issues. But I can't pack Disney door signs when we are going to Phoenix, now can I?

 

[Villainess]

I'm in - I love sneaky trips and DH will love the 'magic' that just appears in front of him.

 

[jaineparr]

I'm home, Bud, my DH, is at work and I'm gonna try to work on a door sign. If it goes well, you'll see a photo. If not, you still might see a photo!