Who Invited My Mother In Law? A Moderately Deluxe TR All New X 3 & PTR Link 2/3 !!

shan23877

I make lists about my lists
Joined
Jul 9, 2011

Who Invited My Mother-In-Law?
The true story of how one family pulled off the surprise of a lifetime, stepped up to the plate of the Deluxe Dining Plan, took thousands of photos, traveled with Grandma, and lived to tell the tale.

A Moderately Deluxe TR

Hello! And welcome to my second Trip Report!


My name is Shannon. I watch way too much reality television, I love all kinds of puzzles, and I play skee ball on my phone equally well with my right or left thumb. I’m totally Type A, a rabid sports fan (go Cubs), and I really love visiting Walt Disney World.

A not-so-flattering photo of me, but there aren't many too choose from since I'm usually doing the photographing. That'd be me on the right.

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My DH is Bryan. He loves to play golf and watch baseball. His favorite TV shows are on the History Channel, and he loves bad ‘80s movies. He once left his IPad at work and got so bored that he went to bed at 8:30. He likes WDW a lot, but would really like to go on a Disney Cruise.

DH is the one in the middle.

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Our beloved DD is Maddie. She’s 5 years old and her favorite colors are pink, purple, and sparkle. She loves to tell knock-knock jokes and often makes up really, really bad ones if she can’t remember any real ones. Her favorite television shows are Doc McStuffins and Project Runway. She calls Michael Kors her favorite American designer, loves to dress like a princess, and her favorite art supply is glitter glue. If given a choice, Maddie would live at Walt Disney World.

A blurry photo of the little darling, but I love that I captured her true smile.

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Up next: A little backstory.​
 
The One With the Back Story

The One With the Big Surprise

The One With The Arrival

[URL="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=44877778&postcount=97"]The One Where We Traverse the Caribbean Beach (Resort)[/URL]

The One With the Dancing

The One With the Pinkie Promise Part One

The One With the Pinkie Promise Part Two

The One With the Tremaines

The One With The Bribery

The One Where They Light Up The Sky

They One Where They Trek Through Africa

The One With Tusker House

The One With The Almost Meltdown

The One With the "Squirrel!"

The One With Yak and Yeti

The One With the Last Princess

The One With The Ugliness

The One With 'Ohana

The One With the Crystal Palace

The One With the Fairy Godmother

The One With The Bibbity, the Bobbity, and the Boo!

The One With All the Liberty Square

The One Where Little Jasmine Meets Her Prince

The One Where They Ride! (and take lots of photos)

The One Where They Ride! (and take lots of photos) part 2

The One With Cinderella's Royal Table Part One

The One With Cinderella's Royal Table Part Two

The One With the Public Service Announcement

The One With the Front Row Seat

The One With CBR In the Morning

The One With the Very Merry Unbreakfast

The One With The Time Out

The One With The Worst Use of a Deluxe Dining Credit EVER

The One With The Speeder Thingy Part One

The One With The Speeder Thingy Part Two

The One With the Luau Part One

The One With the Luau Part Two

The One Where She's Got the Moves Like Jagger

The One With Hollywood and Vine (and Maddie's boyfriend Jake)

The One With All The Mania!

The One Where Mommy Needs a Time Out (and Caffeine) Part One

The One Where Mommy Needs a Time Out (and Caffeine) Part Two

The One With 50's Prime Time

The One With the Triumphant Return

The One With Cape May Cafe

The One With Epcot in the Evening Part One

The One With Epcot in the Evening Part Two

The One With Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

The One With the New Dress - Real Life Update

The One With the Land

The One With No Plan

The One With the Photo Pass Bonus Pics

The One With Via Napoli

The One With All The Halloweens--Real Life Update

The One Where We Locate the Crowds Part One

The One Where We Locate the Crowds Part Two

The One Where We Locate the Crowds Part Three

The One With the California Grill

The One With Ohana-Breakfast

The One With the Ruiner of Innocence

The One in Which The Ruiner of Innocence Will Not Win

The One With All the Christmas-Real Life Update

The One With Tony's Town Square

The One With Chef Mickey

The One With the Last Night

The One With The Epilogue

The One With the Wrap Up and PTR Link!
 
If you’d like to know more about how this trip came about, you can check out my first TR—with bonus PTR! (the link is in my signature) Or, you can read the Cliff’s Notes version here.:thumbsup2

In August of 2012, we took Maddie on her first trip to WDW, and before it was over I was planning and plotting for our next trip. In November of last year, DH was offered a new job that would relocate us to the Chicago suburbs—about 100 miles from where we live now. As we discussed the idea of moving, I suggested that it would be nice to take a vacation before the madness of moving and starting new jobs took over. :scratchin It took a while, but DH agreed and like any good DISer, I made ADRs immediately.

We booked the trip a bit late-not until mid February, and after many chats with CMs we settled on CBR (the moderate part of the unabridged title)- water view- for 7 days with park hoppers and DxDP (the deluxe part). Within the next 60 days, DH had accepted the position, we’d listed and sold our house, and hunted for and found a new house. And since the vacation was touch and go until the very end, we decided to surprise DD. :cheer2:

Along the way someone got the bright idea to invite my Disney-loving MiL to join us :guilty:, and at the VERY last minute she decided that she’d come along for the first 3 days of the trip.

We had earned every minute of this vacation.
 
Yay! The new TR is started! :cool1: I can't wait to hear all about the trip.

Your intro's completely cracked me up! I didn't realize how much alike our families are. Of course, I already knew that you & I are both very much Type A people. But, I also watch way too much reality TV! :sad2: I'm watching the Real Housewives of NJ right now that I recorded earlier tonight. Ed is also lost without his iPhone or iPad to play games on or check sports scores. We're also huge sports fans. Ed loves them all! My absolute favorite is college football. And, lastly, I literally laughed out loud about Maddie & her bad knock-knock jokes. Reid is going through the same phase right now! This is a common one of his:

Knock knock
Who's there?
Reid
Reid who?
Banana

:confused3

He thinks he's hilarious of course! Doc McStuffins has become a favorite of his also. It is a cute show. Does Maddie like the Octonauts?

And I LOVE that she knows who Michael Kors is! Watch out when she becomes a teenager! :lmao:
 


Three days before our trip, I noticed that DD’s ear piercing looked a little red. Upon further investigation I saw that it was indeed infected again. If you’ve memorized the details of Always Let Your Preschooler Be Your Guide, you know that we had a piercing infection on our last trip to WDW. We hadn’t had any problems since then, so I surmised that Maddie’s earrings just don’t like Disney World. I cleaned it up, changed her earrings, packed the special ear cleaning stuff, and hoped for the best.

Two days before our trip began we attended the wedding of a very dear friend. On the day of the wedding, Maddie and I decided that we’d treat ourselves to pedicures (well I did the treating, but you get the idea). Mads just got her toes painted while I opted for the whole shebang, but I created a monster that day--she can’t wait to have them done again.

On our way to the wedding DH and I stopped at Build a Bear to use a $10 gift card that DD had gotten. We intended to buy her an outfit for one of her exsisting bears, but of course we ended up getting her a whole new animal. We chose a brown dog since DD and I would be without our furry buddies for the next month (DH and DDogs currently reside with MiL while DD and I are in an extended stay hotel), and we chose a princess T-shirt for it to wear. During the cocktail hour of the wedding, they served some of the best Crab Rangoon either of us have ever had and DH told anyone who would listen that he was eating so many because he was in training for the Deluxe Dining Plan at Disney ::yes::. The wedding was lovely and I was very glad that we’d gone, but we left pretty early because the next day was Moving Day.

The agreed upon closing date of our old house fell just 5 days after we returned from our trip to the World, so our moving day became the day before we left for Disney. On that day we rose very early and with the help of my brother Uncle Cory, we loaded all our earthly possessions onto a moving truck.

In the middle of all the loading, we finally let DD in on the surprise. the days leading up to our vacation were the hardest days to keep the secret. We couldn’t wait to tell her! I’d put together a gift bag for her to open containing a new princess bathing suit (or diving suit :confused3), 3 autograph books, a pair of Ariel sunglasses, and a princess coloring set with mini-markers. If you'd like to see the video of her reaction, click here.




She was pretty pleased with her surprise. :cheer2:




The castle made the short list of things to stat at the hotel with us princess:


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After the big reveal, I immediately set about packing DD’s clothes and princess dresses princess:(her brand new Rapunzel wedding dress went into the carry-on so that she’d have royal options even on the first park day) and helped the boys finish packing the truck.

After dropping Uncle Cory off at his apartment, I drove DD and I to my MiL’s house while DH drove the truck :drive: (had to use a new smiley!). We quickly stashed all of our stuff in her garage and basement where it would stay for the next month :crowded:. As soon as the last box was unloaded, DH and I hustled over to our new house for its’ inspection, and then we hit DH’s cousins’ house for dinner. We chatted for a bit over delivery pizza and then got our butts back to MiL’s where we’d stay the night. We got back to her house at about 9:00 pm. DD and I hit the sack immediately and after a couple of vodka tonics DH went to bed as well. We need a good night’s sleep because very, very early the next morning we were flying to Disney World!!!

Up Next: Disney Day!
 
Yay! The new TR is started! :cool1: I can't wait to hear all about the trip.

Your intro's completely cracked me up! I didn't realize how much alike our families are. Of course, I already knew that you & I are both very much Type A people. But, I also watch way too much reality TV! :sad2: I'm watching the Real Housewives of NJ right now that I recorded earlier tonight. Ed is also lost without his iPhone or iPad to play games on or check sports scores. We're also huge sports fans. Ed loves them all! My absolute favorite is college football. And, lastly, I literally laughed out loud about Maddie & her bad knock-knock jokes. Reid is going through the same phase right now! This is a common one of his:

Knock knock
Who's there?
Reid
Reid who?
Banana

:confused3

He thinks he's hilarious of course! Doc McStuffins has become a favorite of his also. It is a cute show. Does Maddie like the Octonauts?

And I LOVE that she knows who Michael Kors is! Watch out when she becomes a teenager! :lmao:

YAY!! You're here!!! :wave2::welcome:

That's crazy about the simillarities! I'm watching the Biggest Loser on Netflix since we're DVRless at the moment :rotfl:--and it's a season that I've seen before! :confused3

Ed and Bryan sound a lot alike. DH plays some sort of Risk type game on the IPad, and it seems to take up lots of his time. :lmao:

My first love is baseball, but I love college basketball too. Bryan will watch anything that's on, and I consider a golf tournament the perfect chance to take a nap. I've slept through so many that I'm actually conversational in golf! :thumbsup2

I love Reid's joke. Sounds very familiar. Maddie can't keep 'em that short though. We usually end up listening to a 30 second punchline. ;)

Mads does watch Octonauts, but it's not one of her go-tos. She still a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse girl.

Bryan told Maddie that when she learned to tell time he'd buy her a watch. Her response? "Michael Kors makes watches, right Daddy?":rotfl2: We're in Big Trouble!!!
 


Love the video of the surprise! Maddie is so adorable!

I don't which is my favorite part - her excitement over the "diving panties" or when she's talking about the dog pooping on the carpet. :lmao: Gotta love kids - you just never know what's going to come out of their mouths!

YAY!! You're here!!! :wave2::welcome:

That's crazy about the simillarities! I'm watching the Biggest Loser on Netflix since we're DVRless at the moment :rotfl:--and it's a season that I've seen before! :confused3

Ed and Bryan sound a lot alike. DH plays some sort of Risk type game on the IPad, and it seems to take up lots of his time. :lmao:

My first love is baseball, but I love college basketball too. Bryan will watch anything that's on, and I consider a golf tournament the perfect chance to take a nap. I've slept through so many that I'm actually conversational in golf! :thumbsup2

I love Reid's joke. Sounds very familiar. Maddie can't keep 'em that short though. We usually end up listening to a 30 second punchline. ;)

Mads does watch Octonauts, but it's not one of her go-tos. She still a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse girl.

Bryan told Maddie that when she learned to tell time he'd buy her a watch. Her response? "Michael Kors makes watches, right Daddy?":rotfl2: We're in Big Trouble!!!

Oh yeah - Ed will watch golf & tennis & Nascar....I don't know which one of those bore me the most. :rotfl:

Reid still loves Mickey Mouse too! He actually loves most of the Disney Junior shows still. Octonauts has become a favorite in the house. We like the litte songs they sing at the end. He's also getting into superheroes now so it's a mixture of Disney Junior & Spiderman, Avengers, etc. I think we're going to take him to see the Avengers movie this coming weekend. Should be a nice break form unpacking.

That's hilarious about the watch! Oh, yes! Y'all are definitely in trouble with her. By the time she becomes a teenager, she'll want clothes from all of the top designers. Forget the Gap! :lmao:
 
Connor and I watched the video together. He laughed and I cried. It was really cute. I love how she discussed where the dog would stay. Thanks for sharing that. How cool was that!

I know you were so busy before you left and cannot wait to hear all about the trip. You deserved a break and what an awesome place to take it. There is no doubt you loved CBR, but I am anxious to read your thougts.

I highly recommend you take the cruise Bryan wants. You will all love it.
 
YAY for a new TR! We are leaving for our vacation in an hour, but I had to take a few minutes to read your first installment this morning first.

I love the reaction video! Maddie is so sweet princess:
 
I'm so happy you were able to pull off the surprise! The video was so cute, you could just tell she was over the moon!

I think it is so funny that Michael Kors is her favorite designer, she has great taste! :thumbsup2

You guys are in the hotel for a month, right? Please let me know how it goes. We're going to be staying at an extended stay in Norfolk for about three weeks while we are waiting for DH to deploy. I'm dreading living in a hotel, so if you have any tips to make it easier, I'm all ears!

can't wait to read about the trip!
 
I'm joining in...anyone who says Go Cubbies gets my attention. Where in the Chicago area did you move to?
 
I'm here! Can't wait to read more! Our DD's could be twins!! She has the castle too and loves it!!
 
I will get to join in this TR from the beginning!

I love the surprise video, so adorable. I don't think I could keep the secret.

My husband plays risk and some game like risk, (conquest maybe?) CONSTANTLY on the iPad. He also watches golf/talks about golf too much, lol. I just do not get the appeal. The only shows on my DVR are reality shows! I'm glad to know I'm not alone. I'm a big baseball fan too.

We will be staying at CBR on our trip at the end of the month but in a pirate room. I'll be interested to hear what you thought of it. I'm jealous you did DxDP, we would like to do that one day.

Can't wait to read more about your trip!
 
Oh no, not another Cubs fan... :sad2::lmao:

I figured I'd come over and check it out since I actually saw this link before the TR really got rolling.

Congrats to your DH on the new job! I think another trip to WDW is a great way to get away from the stress of moving.:thumbsup2

By the way, great title! :lmao::rotfl:
 
Maddie's reaction was way too adorable!!!! I love that she wants to make pictures for the Princesess:rotfl2:

I loved your first TR and can't wait for this one popcorn::
 
I am so glad I found your TR. The surprise for your daughter was too cute! We are leaving for our 2nd trip in August and we still have not told our DD. I think I will borrow your idea and surprise her on the day we are leaving. We are leaving Friday afternoon, so I can have a bag with a new swimsuit and her autograph books that I made for her in there and let her know we are leaving that afternoon. She keeps asking to go back and we always just say "hopefully soon!"

Can't wait to read more of your adventures. :goodvibes
 

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