[honeybee723]

These Digs are Way Better Then the Mayflower!...Pre-Trip Report

Well, I’m pretty sure they will be since 1) I’ve never known Disney to stick 102 people in a hotel room together and 2) We’re staying Club Level baby, so that’s an upgrade in itself…but more on that later.

Hi, I’m Melissa …for those of you who haven’t met me yet. How ya doing? This will be my third trip report but my 30-something trip to WDW. If you ask my husband, he would say it’s my 40-something trip, but honestly I’ve completely lost track since a lot of my travels were done at a young age. I really don’t know what makes him think he’s right anyway since he didn’t even know me yet. But for all the married people out there…and you know who you are…the constant battle of who’s right and who’s wrong continues. You’re supposed to pick and choose your battles right? Well, he chose the battle of being right about how many times I’ve been to WDW, so I think I’ll chose to be right about how many times he forgets to call me when he’s going to be late from work…grrr! Anyway, enough about our marital problems, let’s move onto the trip itself.

I’m guessing either by the title I came up with or by my lovely little countdown ticker, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that this is a vacation that will be taken during the Thanksgiving holiday. Obviously I can’t put anything past my fellow Passporters because in both cases you’d be correct, and if you missed both references than you’re a little behind…it’s okay, I’ll wait for you to catch up.

Are we all together now? Good, let’s continue…

As much as I want this to be a fun, light-hearted report, I can’t really continue until I explain how the idea for this trip came to be, and why we chose to travel during Thanksgiving. For those of you who read my last trip report Taggin' Along Compliments of Disney!, you know that when we returned my Nanny took a turn for the worse and eventually passed away ten days after we came home. It happened very suddenly, I wasn’t even aware that she had been sick before we left, and it kind of erased all of the fun we had just had…almost like we had never even gone at all.

Thanksgiving has always been the holiday that my family doesn’t look forward too. I know some of you can relate. It’s that one holiday that falls around the time of a family dispute, a death, something you just don’t like to remember or think about…that’s Thanksgiving for us.

Thanksgiving falls around the time of my Nanny and Poppy’s wedding anniversary, a very happy time, but it is also the holiday that fell a couple of days before my Nanny suffered a very bad stroke in 1999 that caused all of our lives to change dramatically . My Poppy passed away in 2005, and while it was extremely difficult, it was quick, sudden, and just…final. This time, however, was very different. We sat by my Nanny’s bed, day in and day out, until finally ten days later when she was ready, she passed. I think it was more difficult because, at least for me, I had never experienced something like that before, and because being the first grandchild, I was very close to her.

We buried her on my mom’s birthday, and when Thanksgiving rolled around, no one was looking forward to it. My mom and I sort of knew what the other one was thinking even without discussing it, and when I approached her about taking a trip to Disney during the week of Thanksgiving she didn’t even question it, she just said . I wanted her to have a week where she didn’t have to think about the sadness that surrounds this holiday , or about whether or not she had to cook for everyone, and if she did have to cook, who would that “everyone” be since we all have other families to visit now. I just wanted us all to have fun…yes, fun. Didn’t this report start out kind of on the fun side? You’re right, it did, and that’s how I’m going to continue it from here on out!

We’re now at the 3 month mark! Just a side note, for all of those holiday shoppers out there...get ready, it’s almost time to begin your Christmas shopping. Until then, I hope you’ll find enjoyment in reading a trip report that’s as stuffed full of fun as that poor unfortunate Turkey is stuffed full of, well…stuffing. I didn’t know where to go with that so I just went with the obvious. So, sit back, relax, and loosen up those belts people. It’s that time of year again!

Up Next: Five Little Pilgrims