Because this was a very “impromptu” trip there was very little planning involved, besides a “Want to go to Disney with me instead of going to my wedding?” and “Absolutely!” And with that our “Runaway Mousewives” Disney trip was born.
From left to right: Heather, Elysabethe, Sarah, and Erin (the bride)
Let me backtrack for those of you who are now thoroughly confused. Our little Mousewife, Erin, was set to be married on July 31, 2016. She was with her Prince Charming for about 5 years. These high school sweethearts ventured through college together, multiple jobs, and well, 5 years of life. He popped the question to Erin about a year ago and the whirlwind of wedding planning began! This would be the very last wedding in the Mousewives group. Only something happened. Prince Charming actually turned out to be more of a Hans. The wedding was cancelled. The gifts were sent back. Erin was no longer getting married. It was as if our little Cinderella was not getting to the ball she had always dreamed of.
But with the help of her Fairy Godmother (Mom) and fellow Mousewives (her sisters), we decided to plan a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth on the original date of her wedding. Although Erin is still obviously quite hurt and saddened by the whole ordeal, she was (is) excited to have a wonderful trip with her sisters and mom and start a new adventure.
“I’m a Damsel. I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day.”
Something tells me with a little faith, trust, and pixie dust, our Erin will be just fine.
Okay, everybody neat and pretty? Then on with the show! We planned to stay Friday through Monday (at least Heather, Erin, and Tammy would arrive Friday, as they were driving); Sarah and I would arrive Saturday afternoon from the airport. Our destination? The Best Western located in Disney Springs. My sisters and mom all had annual passes and I had a two day Park Hopper. We didn’t make any dining reservations, but we weren’t worried…we always eat well in Disney!
Leading up to the trip was, of course, a lot of excitement and also group texts of “Should we do fastpasses for Frozen Ever After or the new Soarin’?” and “Who’s bringing sunscreen? We don’t need 5 bottles!” and “Only 12 more days, Mousewives!”. But the day was finally here, or “day before” I should say, since my flight was leaving Saturday. However, I would be driving to my sister’s house Friday night to fly with her, so I counted today as a travel day. I had a full day of work today which went surprisingly fast. My coworkers were excited for me to be going “home”. They would often check the countdown I had (have) hanging in my cubicle and count down the days with me.
It was actually a funny story, but around 10:00 a.m. on Friday my coworker and I were sitting in a meeting. Very randomly she shouts, “Elysabethe! You’re going to Disney tomorrow! Let me get you the code for the Siemens VIP area!”. I was very confused. “VIP area?” I asked. Even having been a Cast Member I had never heard of anything like this. She explained that since her dad works for Siemens, the sponsor of Spaceship Earth, they have a VIP area. She could get me a code and we would be able to access it. I was very excited at being able to see the Siemens lounge, but then she explained we could actually use it. She said there is a soda fountain, air conditioning, and couches, and best of all it is actually located inside Spaceship Earth! What?! There’s a VIP lounge inside the ball and I had no idea! Too cool. As if I wasn’t already excited about going to my home (a.k.a Disney) after two years away, this was certainly the icing on the cake. I can’t wait to include details of this part of our trip! It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I am SO thankful for her thoughtfulness and her dad’s willingness to provide us with the code. (Disney people are just the best, aren’t they?!)
After work I had a few hours to spend with my husband and puppy. By that I mean I packed while my husband played Pokemon Go and Millie, our dog, sat thoroughly confused as to why we were not enjoying our usual after work routine of eating dinner, going for a walk, and watching Once Upon a Time until bed. Sorry Millie… I got places to be, Disney to see, and a plane to catch!
I also tried to upload photos from my phone to OneDrive, but boy was it taking forever. I was at capacity on my storage, meaning I couldn’t take any more photos and I didn’t have room in my small Allegiant-approved “personal item” to fit my regular DSLR. Will this trip report be photo-less? Stay tuned to find out!
I said a teary eyed goodbye to my husband and off I went on my 3 hour drive to Sarah’s house. The drive felt like forever plus some more since there was construction for about 70% of my route. Ugh. But I was on my way to Disney so I couldn’t be too disappointed. I got to Sarah’s house at about 11:00 p.m. She showed me to my room, which to my delight was set with Minnie Mouse towels and Disney soaps. How sweet of her! I got a shower and then re-organized some of my things from the bag I would be taking and the overnight bag that would stay behind. I wish I could say I then went to sleep, but I was just too excited! To help, I decided to read some Disney trip reports. That only added to my excitement though. I ended up going to sleep around 12:30 a.m.