Have a Happy Birthday - Part One - Updated 9/30 COMPLETE About This Page:

[Jillybean]

Have a Happy Birthday – Part One

Sibling rivalry - - it began with Cain and Abel and it has continued through present day with such pairs as Marsha and Jan, Zack and Cody, and now . . . Mary Devall and Maddie. You probably think that I’m looking ahead to our trip in October when Maddie will turn 3, but my friends . . . first you must go back in time with me . . .

It all began when one of my best friends discovered that she would be back in Disney again this fall to host a conference for her company. She finally convinced her parents to drive down her niece and nephew at the end of the conference so that she could introduce the little ones to Disney. Since we do a lot of things with her family and since she knows we us some Disney, she asked us to join them. We had hoped to make another MNSSHP this year, so we figured why not go then!

As soon as my friend gave me the dates, we realized that Maddie’s birthday would fall right in the middle of our trip. What better way to celebrate your birthday! We began telling her all about her birthday at Disney and delighted in her absolute joy, but we didn’t realize that it would raise the little green monster in another small child that lives in our household.

We started hearing little phrases like “Why does Maddie get to spend her birthday at Disney?” and “I’ve never had my birthday at Disney.” The various reasons that we gave (1) we didn’t plan to have Maddie’s birthday at Disney; 2) we’ve usually just returned from Disney when it’s your birthday; 3) it’s the dead of summer (i.e. extreme heat and crowds) when it’s your birthday) didn’t stop the questions.

Finally, Thom and I sat down for a little pow wow. At the time, I was still a department of one (although they did interview someone during our June Disney trip), so I didn’t feel that I could take the time off since I was already taking a few days off the week after her birthday for a previously planned trip to Hilton Head. Thom works from home now, so he thought he could fit in a quick trip - - and he actually seemed pretty excited about it. We decided to give her the option of having a birthday party or a quick trip to Disney.

When we sat her down and gave her the choices, her first question was “Can I do both?” My little girl is definitely not timid in asking for the moon. We reiterated that she could have one or the other and she immediately said “Disney.” The planning began immediately since we were a little over a month from her birthday. With the loss of our direct flight, their next best option was to drive so that was the plan (as much as Thom hated to do so ). My job was to call DVC the next day to see what availability there was.

Me being me . . . I couldn’t help but think “what if Thom and Mary Devall went down ahead and then Maddie and I joined them on the weekend.” I had priced taking the train to NYC for trips before, so I thought why not price it for the other direction. The price for an adult and a child was actually cheaper than it would cost to drive.

I realized quickly that it wasn’t realistic for Maddie and me to join them just for a night, but I did share my “train” news with Thom. Mr. “Hates to Drive on Vacation” was blown away by the idea of the train and immediately decided that he and Mary Devall would be taking the train. Since the train leaves Columbia about 1:30 a.m., we also decided that booking a sleeper car for a bit more would be in their best interest. I found a 20% off discount code online and then Thom called Amtrak to book it.

My call to DVC the next morning pretty much confirmed what I expected - - only SSR and OKW were available. After conferring with Thom, I called back and booked them two nights in an SSR studio.

As far as ADR’s, Thom wanted to keep those to a minimum because he was planning on the two of them staying on the go the entire trip. He even mentioned going to all four parks the day of her birthday (remind you of anyone from our June trip whose names start with “K” and “S” and end with “aren” and “haron”? ). I did talk him into letting her pick one special meal the day of her birthday.

Meanwhile, at work, an offer was finally extended to and accepted by a man (the one interviewed while we were in Disney) for the position in my department. Once I met him, I realized that he had the experience and confidence to handle things in my absence, so you know probably know what I began thinking. I shot off an email to Thom asking him if he minded Maddie and me busting in on his trip with Mary Devall (and in all honesty, it wasn’t just them going without Maddie and me . . . it was mainly that I didn’t want to miss her birthday ). He called me at work and said he didn’t mind at all. Then I threw a whammie at him . . . “Um . . . what do you think about extending it to four nights from two?”

I nearly left him speechless because he didn’t quite know what to say at first . . . but he finally came back with a “well, I guess so.” I called DVC and was able to extend our stay at SSR and he called Amtrak to add Maddie and me to the reservation and upgrade us to a bedroom. Done!

When we told Mary Devall that evening that all of us were going now, she was excited and began telling Maddie “You should thank me for this trip, Maddie.” And she continued to tell Maddie that for weeks. Of course, Maddie would just look at her as if to say “whatever.”

Both girls were so excited about this trip, but I have to say that they seemed to be just excited about going on the train - - or “choo choo” as Maddie prefers to call it. And if you really want to know the truth, Thom and I were just as excited about our new form of transportation!

The only remaining piece of business was to nail down where Mary Devall wanted to dine on her birthday. She immediately said that she wanted to eat wherever Minnie was (kinda makes you think of another person from our June trip - - begins with “E” and ends with “ileen”. ) We were already within 30 days of our trip, so I feared we would be out of luck.

I began the telephone call with “Chef Mickey’s. We’ll take whatever time you might have - - breakfast or dinner.” What I didn’t expect to hear from the CM was “We have lots of times open. You tell me what you want.” I was blown away because I was honestly expecting her to laugh at me and remind me that (a) this was the busiest time of the year and (b) I was calling less than 30 days out. I chose a breakfast time and then I explained to her that we were on a “Minnie” hunt for my daughter’s birthday. The next thing I knew she was telling me open times at LTT for dinner that evening. Well, why not? We could always cancel if it didn’t suit.

And then the CM threw in one final suggestion and it was a biggie. During our June trip, Mary Devall had apparently watched some of the Disney channels and had discovered Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She began asking me where DTD was and if we could go to BBB. I held her off on that trip stating that you had to have an appointment. Let’s put it this way . . . she had talked a lot about BBB in the weeks since our trip. Thom and I were a little unsure of it because some of the little girls that we had seen wearing the BBB sashes around the parks looked a bit . . . hmm . . . I can how put this . . . hoochie. Now you might be asking “Aren’t you the same two people who keep letting your 6-year-old’s face be superimposed on the bodies of Queen Amadala and Princess Leia in rather hoochie attire?” Yes, but that’s beside the point. We might get a glimpse of the grown up Mary Devall if BBB got hold of her.

So . . . when the CM suggested a perfect time after breakfast at BBB, I bit the bullet and put a credit card hold on it. It would be a perfect surprise birthday present for her - - that is, unless Thom totally had a meltdown and then I could cancel it. When I broke the news to Thom, he did take a little convincing, but he agreed in the end. I keep joking him that he would be happy if both girls ran around in t-shirts, shorts and tennis shoes for the rest of their lives.

Just so you realize that Thom and I did have a slight ulterior motive in asking Mary Devall to choose between a party and Disney, I’ll share a little story with you (and don’t I always have a little story to share ). Last summer, one of the kindergarten moms suggested that the three little girls who shared birthdays within a week of one another have a joint birthday party to keep the kids in their class from having to attend three parties within a week. Mary Devall was okay with it, so we moved ahead with the plans. We needed a rather large venue so Thom and I offered our back yard and the water slide that we bought for Mary Devall’s 5th birthday party. The problems (although we didn’t consider it a problem then) began when one of the moms asked if a little girl in another kindergarten class could be included giving us four birthday girls.

On the day of the party, what seemed like hundreds of parents and children descended upon our home. I honestly had never set sight on most of the people because the majority of the party goers ended up being children from the fourth birthday girl’s class! We probably had a maximum of five children from the other three girls’ class! It was a zoo - - children everywhere, parents everywhere, parents leaving children with the promise to pick them up later. We have several sets of French doors leading out to our patio and none of them stayed closed - - it took me days to get all of the flies out of my house. One of my best friends came into the kitchen and suggested that I remain inside with a glass of wine. Everyone seemed to have a great time, but Thom and I were rather traumatized by the event. So . . . when the chance of a birthday without a party arose, we jumped at it!

With our limited plans made for the birthday trip, we just sat back and counted down the days! Before we knew it, we were setting the alarm clock to wake us up at 12:30 a.m. for our big train adventure (and for those Gladys Knight & the Pips fans . . . a.k.a. our midnight train through Georgia ).

Up next . . . choo choo!

[DyanKJ130]

Great start, Jill!! The train sounds like a fun idea! Can't wait to hear the rest of the plan.

[disneydani]

Okay...I am totally confused....you already managed to take this birthday trip in between the June extravaganza and Maddie's planned Fall trip? You are truly amazing! How awesome everything fell right into place, a sure sign for a wonderful trip ahead.

danielle

[Jillybean]

Originally Posted by disneydani

Okay...I am totally confused....you already managed to take this birthday trip in between the June extravaganza and Maddie's planned Fall trip? You are truly amazing! How awesome everything fell right into place, a sure sign for a wonderful trip ahead.

danielle

Yep! This is actually a trip report for Mary Devall's birthday instead of a pre-trip report for Maddie's. I had it in my countdown, but no one noticed.

Jill

[lindawdw]

This is going to be fun Jill!!! I can't wait to hear more.

[B.M.]

Great start!
Cant wait to hear all about it!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Shoot! I was hoping all of this was a lead-in to a Labor Day trip and that we'd be at WDW at the same time.

Ah well, another Jillybean trip to read. That's good enough for me!

[lauren-roxy]

Great start!!!!

[JoanW]

I noticed it in your countdown, but I am totally amazed at the amount of trips you have juggling at once anyway. I can barely fit in one every two or three years.

[Desiree]

Wow - another TR! I think I remember Eileen or Sharon noting that Thom had gotten back to WDW before her - perhaps it was a reference to the "choo choo trip"?! Can't wait to read about the celebrations!!

[chezp]

I am so jealous that you're able to fit so many trips in - I wish we could do the same thing. What wonderful plans you've got - and how lucky you were with both BBB and Chef Mickey's. It sounds like everything's coming together perfectly for you.

[Minnie Lor]

Oh how fun! Can't wait to hear about your experience on the train.

[tammyd_rn]

Darn another trip that I still didn't get coincided with mine so we could meet. Well I will keep trying to catch up with you and your family. Looking forward to more.

[njsmama]

More please!!!!

[disneydani]

Originally Posted by Jillybean

Yep! This is actually a trip report for Mary Devall's birthday instead of a pre-trip report for Maddie's. I had it in my countdown, but no one noticed.

Jill

Vaguely recall a countdown for Mary Devall's birthday but didn't put two and two together. Now you will really have to be zipping along on this TR in order to finish up before the fall festivities! How awesome to have both birthday celebrations at WDW!

danielle