Ditching the Hubbies for Mousefest - Final Thoughts COMPLETED 3/4/08 About This Page:

[pparm]

It sounds like you've got a lot going on!
Have a wonderful time and we'll be waiting to read all about it.

Paula

[Minnie Lor]

Looks great! Just a few more days and we'll all be meeting. Looking forward to it!

[award]

Sounds great! I really enjoyed you IN girls last trip report!! Hope you have a great time!

[KrisLuvsDisney]

Great start

I can't wait to hear all about your trip. I can tell just from the PTR that it is going to be full of moments!

I just have to figure out a way to get to Mousefest soon

[Grammy Grumpy]

Great stuff! Take care getting to the airport and hope to see y'all soon.

[PrincessSharon]

Great plans, Dawn. Can't wait to see you again!!

[DawnDenise]

Tiff and I made it back home and now are in the process of getting all the pics together. Had a fantabulous trip! Met up with some old friends and met some great new ones!! First update will be in a day or so.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you're home! Can't wait for the update

[DyanKJ130]

back you two!! Can't wait to hear about everything!

[lauren-roxy]

Welcome back!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip!!

[goofysdtr]

Welcome back! Can't wait to hear the details!

[DawnDenise]

Day 0: Getting to Indianapolis

I woke up fairly early Tuesday morning and had to get Ana to the new kennel and then run to the bank for some cash. Being that I haven’t ventured out on my own much since moving to Louisville, it was a little bit of an adventure finding where the kennel was located. After speeding past two of the roads I needed to turn on and making a U-turn to go back to them, I finally made it to the kennel and met the people that were going to be taking care of my baby. They let me walk Ana back to her run and she went off to play without a glance back at me. “Mom” was having a harder time with this good-bye. I talked to the owner a little longer and then made my way back home after stopping at the bank and McD’s for a fountain drink.

After showering and eating a bagel, I sat on my bed looking at my open suitcase wondering if I had everything. My mom called to wish me a good trip in the midst of unpacking and repacking for the second time. Somewhere in there, I took a happy nap for about an hour. Might as well get the sleep in when I can because I know I don’t sleep much when I get to Disney. I woke up and sent a text message to Tiff to see how she was doing. She was finishing up some final things and would be heading out the door within the hour.

I somehow managed to get my suitcase, laptop backpack, and baggalini down the stairs without killing myself. I grabbed the extra goodie bag for Tiff and headed out to the car to load it up. I ran back inside and checked all the lights and doors and said good-bye to my home. One quick stop at the gas station to fill up and I was cruising west on I-64. I sent another text to Tiff to tell her I was on my way.
After dead stop traffic getting on the ramp to I-65N, I popped in my Happiest Celebration on Earth CD and made my way north. Set the cruise and off I went. About 30 miles into the trip, I was dying of thirst so I made a quick stop in Scottsburg, IN. I received a text from Tiff saying she was on her way as well. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I found a “partner” on the road and we just hung together at a constant speed. Before I knew it, I turned onto 465 and into very familiar surroundings of my old hometown. I found the Quality Inn by the airport and parked. I called Chuck, who was in Mexico on business, and let him know I made to Indy. Next, I let Tiff know I was at the hotel and she let me know how much she hated Indy traffic. Based on where she was, I decided to go ahead and get checked in.
After a quick bathroom break, I made my way to the check-in desk and waited while the lady finished talking to her friend on the phone. I explained that I booked through the website and noted that there would be two cars for the park-n-fly option. She grimaced (not a good thing to see when checking in) and informed me that the price given to me on the website did not include the parking fee. I asked what the difference would be and she told me the price. I agreed as it wasn’t much more. As we were finishing up, she tells me that the second car would also have a fee. And why didn’t you tell me this as I was paying for everything else???? I told her we would stop by and get it ironed out before we left.

I went out back to the car and at that moment, Tiff pulls up beside me. I tell her where we need to park and she follows me around. Once parked, we get out of cars and hugs are exchanged. I give her the lowdown on the parking situation and we unload our bags. After finding our room, we both plopped down on a bed and chatted. We each gave one another our goodie bags. The funniest thing I got was a pack of flavored chapsticks that were based on Coke products. Three of them were Fanta flavors of cherry, orange, and grape. Of course the first thing that ran through my head was theme song. “Fanta, Fanta, Want a Fanta!” The theme song would be sung more than once on this trip. If you don’t know what I am talking about, the commercials they play before the movies in the theater sometimes have these girls singing a very repetitive, annoying song.




After chatting for over an hour, we decide to head out to get something to eat. Since I have yet to find a good Mexican restaurant in Louisville (including chain restaurants), I suggested we go to On the Border. Tiff agreed and we hopped in my car and headed out to Avon, IN. We had a very good dinner. The camera was with me but no pictures were taken. We were just too busy talking.

We made it back to the hotel with no issues and sorted through our suitcases to get our traveling clothes out and repack. We set the alarm for 5:45am as the shuttle was taking us to the airport at 6:30am. Tiff was out rather quickly. After tossing and turning on my part for about 90 minutes, I finally dozed off.


Day 1, Part 1: Leaving Indy


The alarm went off way too soon but then it hit us that we were going to Disney. We had heard rumblings on the weather report the night before that Indy might get some snow. We both went to the window to see about 4 inches of the white stuff covering the parking lot. Yucky!!

We get down to the front desk to check out and Tiff runs out our overnight bags out to her car. When she gets back in, she talks to them about her car and find out they are going to charge Tiff $30.00 to park there. Outlandish!! But you do what you gotta do. It is still cheaper than parking at the airport. I grab Tiff’s slip to put in her car window and carefully walk out in the snow to put them both in our respective cars. Upon returning, we head to the van and the driver loads our bags and heads to the airport. Check-in was smooth, as I had already done it online but we had to check our bags. I was al worried that my bag was going to be overweight and was shocked that it only weighed 36lbs! Tiff was under too so off we went to security.

This is one of those moments I always regret bringing my laptop. It is just a pain in the you know what to take it out of the bag and then have to somehow gather the laptop, the bag, my personal item, my sweatshirt they made me take off because I had a shirt on underneath, and my shoes before getting run over by the businessmen who think they are being delayed by my feeble attempts to move out of their way. Sheesh! After Tiff and I get our belongings in order, some sort of caffeinated beverage was on the agenda.

I stopped at the Subway and grabbed a soda while Tiff headed for Starbucks for a frappuccino something or another. Can you tell I don’t drink coffee or anything from Starbucks???? Since my line moved much quicker, I called Tiff a slowpoke and told her I would grab us some seats. Tiff arrived at our seats triumphantly with her iced mocha caffeinated beverage thingy.




We people watched and waited for our plane to start boarding. I had purchased Exit Row seats for us when I checked in online as I love the extra leg room it provides. We are also the third group of people to board on Northwest. We get settled in our seats, making sure our iPods were within reach. We were sitting there at the gate for awhile. Every time we looked out the window all we could think about was Tina and her pics from no longer de-icing planes. ( Tina!!)




We moved away from the gate only to be told that it’s going to be 25 minutes or so before we get de-iced as the trucks needed to get refilled. Of course, we are sitting out on the tarmac with no airflow which causes the plane to get real stuffy. Eventually, we get de-iced and we are finally in the air making our way to Orlando. The pilot promised to try to make up some time in the air as we were about 45 minutes late leaving.

The flight itself was uneventful. Tiff and I went through the SkyMall magazine. I watched The Incredibles on my iPod, as Tiff listened to some tunes on hers. We both chose Ginger Ale as our complimentary beverage and were pleasantly surprised to get the full can. We were about 30 minutes out of Orlando, right before the pilot began his descent, when I had to go to the bathroom. Anyone that knows me, knows I have a fear of going to the bathroom on planes. Don’t know why as my rear quarters aren’t about to be sucked down that seat, but I do. Unfortunately, my bladder was not going to wait. I looked at Tiff and said if I wasn’t back in 10 minutes to send a search party. I did survive but wasn’t happy about it.

We made up about 20 minutes in the air so kudos to our pilot. After disembarking, Tiff headed for her bathroom break and then it was off to check in at DME.

Coming Up: Pop Warner hits us early, Our Room is Ready, and our first Visit to MK

[award]

Awesome can't wait for more!!! Glad ya'll made it safely even though it involved a trip to the airplane b'room!! I hate using those also!

[lindawdw]

Great start Dawn!!! I can't wait to hear about your first day at WDW!

[MickeyMAC]

Great updates, Dawn. Come on Tiff join in.