Joy to the World: an offsite Christmas extravaganza at Disney, Universal & SeaWorld – Dec. 2016 TR

[dancin Disney style]

Today is "National Grab Some Nuts Day". I will just let everyone interpret that however you want to. Hehehe.

Wrong

So who's joined in the fun?

Wrong

I grabbed some peanuts and made peanut butter cookies - does that count?

partially wrong


It's National Grab YOUR Nuts day.

I've been away for a few days because life has interrupted my internetting. I come back and see that you all are celebrating the wrong holiday. @juniorbugman since you owned the nuts you made the cookies with I will allow it.....it's a technicality but you did grab your nuts.





Since Gina has left me in charge AGAIN (ok, she didn't really but that's my story and I'm sticking to it) I will fill you in on my latest disaster. Someone around here has to give some sort of update on something.....

Get this, last week my (sort of) aunt who is in her late 60's was trying to move a dresser down a flight of stairs and the dresser fell on her. She took herself to the hospital in a cab and they said nothing was broken and it would hurt for a while. They put her back in a cab and she went home. The next day she falls trying to use the toilet and can't get up off the floor. Yes, the phone call was literally "I've fallen and can't get up". She lives alone and there it absolutely no one but my mom and I. My mom calls me at work and relays the story, then says there is nothing she can do to help so I will need to leave work and go handle it. We both go to the house and end up needing to call an ambulance then going to emerg for several hours. The aunt is still in hosp now after a week and may have to stay another week. Then they will be sending her to rehab at the facility I work in. Getting her into my building took a lot of fancy talking. She will be at least 3 more weeks until she is able to stand and then her therapy can start and it could be as long as 3 months before she goes home. I have had to go to her house everyday, twice a day, for the last week to take care of her two cats. My mom spent over 3 hours on the phone today trying to find some sort of care for the cats. I just don't have the time to go there everyday for the next 3 months and I don't think it's right that they be left alone that long. My mom is terrified of cats so she can't help.

Drama....when will my life be boring again? At least GC has had a week off work and has been out having a good time with friends. She has not been in my face even once. Perhaps she has a little sympathy for me this week. I think mass quantities of alcohol are in order.

 

[dancin Disney style]

You might be coming my way in August?!?? Like, THIS COMING MONTH?!? For real? Heck yeah, you tell me the date and I'll have the wine ready!

At this point you've read the post above on my current life. I won't be going anywhere other than to the funny farm in the next month or more.


BTW, if working remotely was possible I would hire you in a minute.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hi everyone, I'm finally checking in.......assuming anyone is still around!! (I won't blame you if you've all long since headed for the hills......this poor report has derailed horribly over the last few weeks)
Let's just say its been a trying couple of weeks . But I've almost made it through. One more day .

Work has been horribly trying and so painfully awkward. The bank manager has gone out of her way to be cool and critical, so every second I've been at work I've been on edge. The days have been endlessly long and emotionally draining, as I take these kinds of things very personally. Many dear friends and family have questioned why I rode out the last two weeks (and didn't just tell them to stick their job), I wanted to end the experience with class.....even if they chose not to do the same. This was for me. As the old saying goes, "how people treat you is their karma. How you react is yours".

In the midst of my crappy days at the bank, my mom announced that she is selling her house and moving in with my sister, which was much harder news to absorb than I ever expected it to be. Not only was it tough to accept that she feels her Alzheimer's Disease is progressing fast enough to warrant giving up her independence (that's heartbreaking all on its own, especially when I'm so far away) it was a double blow to learn she was moving in with my sister. I'll spare you the details and all the skeletons in the family closet, but let's just say that there's a reason (a bunch of them, actually) that my sister and I have not spoken in years. I haven't agreed with how she has treated our mom for the last 10 years, and it breaks my heart to know that mom will soon be LIVING in her house. I've shed a lot of tears since the bombshell was dropped last week, and between that and my work stresses, I've been in no mood to be posting trip report updates.

But, its time for me to pull my lip up off the floor and stop pouting. It's time to refocus and accept the things I cannot change, and mom's condition and pending move are two of those situations.

Soooo.....we are heading home this weekend for a long-overdue visit with both Steve's parents and my mom, as well as Jake and Brittney. Steve's parents have sold the family farm (where he and all of his siblings grew up) so its imperative he gets one more chance to walk the property of his childhood home before it welcomes new owners on August 28th. Mom has a few things she wants me to take home with us as she prepares to put her house on the market, and she needs Steve to help with a few minor repairs before the sign goes on the lawn. And I need some time with my boy, whom I have been missing so badly lately it hurts.

There's been too much change this year. Enough, already!!

While I haven't been on the boards very much over the last 14 days, I have been reading all of your posts whenever I get the chance and was so warmed by your comments. You really did make me smile with your suggestions that I could succeed in a tourism-related capacity ..... that's my dream, my "someday" hopes . While I haven't been able to find anything I could do remotely from here in Michigan (and I looked.......trust me!!) its still my long-term goal. As soon as life takes us to the sunny south, I'll be first in line at the next Vistana or SeaWorld career fairs . For now, I learn patience .

I still promise that I will finish this report, though it will be next week before I have a chance to post the next update. I will not rest until the final chapter is wrapped up. The best of the trip has already been summarized, but there's still a few tidbits worth sharing: not the least of which is Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. I will get there, I assure you.

And our October trip? We're just 9 weeks and 3 days to take-off! It seems so soon. But at the same time, it can't come soon enough.

Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement. You guys are THE best.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

Well it's hard to read how unhappy you've been so a great big hug from me. Families can be the worst and also the best at times!

I hope seeing everyone this weekend lifts your spirits and by then you will have finished at work so that will be something off your mind. Hang in there!!

 

[I-4Bound]

Safe travels! Family drama is always so difficult. My heart goes out to you. We are walking the difficult road of a parent with dementia, too.

 

[KsGiGi]

Sorry to hear about the trying times you have been having! Hoping a trip home, especially spending time with your son, will be just what you need.

 

[nancipants]

Gina, I'm sorry to hear about your mother. My aunt has lewy-body dementia that progressed super rapidly over the past four years. She's currently in a memory care facility here in Florida after my mom moved her down from New York. It's so heartbreaking to see family members go through that. A terrible disease that needs to be eradicated. *hugs*

 

[Joanna71985]

Take your time! Good things are worth the wait

 

[dancin Disney style]

You know that I work with people with Alzheimer's. I hope it eases your mind a little to know that when a person makes their own decisions to move in to a care situation they do much better than a person who is placed in to care without input.

While I know going to your sister's is not what you would choose for your mom try to be optimistic about it. Perhaps it's a new start for the two of them. At the very least it's an option to keep mom at home and out of long term care longer.

If I can offer any help feel free to email me any time or call if you would like.

 

[Monykalyn]

Take care of you and your family. We will be here when you are ready. Safe travels home to see family!

 

[dalmatian7]

just a hug . And a wish for safe travels and a good time with family.

 

[3cmom]

Have a wonderful weekend! Praying that seeing your mom and Jake will help!

 

[Lynne G]

Have a great trip back home. It is trying to see a parent make where they are living change. Hoping all are happy and you get some loving from family. Hugs my friend.

 

[pattyw]

My mom spent over 3 hours on the phone today trying to find some sort of care for the cats. I just don't have the time to go there everyday for the next 3 months and I don't think it's right that they be left alone that long. My mom is terrified of cats so she can't help.

@dancin Disney style I have many cats and I so wish I lived near your aunt- I would happily care for them!! Do you have any pet sitting services in your area? I have a company that I use when we're on vacation- they come once daily to feed my cats, scoop boxes, etc.

 

[dancin Disney style]

@dancin Disney style I have many cats and I so wish I lived near your aunt- I would happily care for them!! Do you have any pet sitting services in your area? I have a company that I use when we're on vacation- they come once daily to feed my cats, scoop boxes, etc.

Thanks...that's really kind.

So after spending 4 days at the vet's office they are now currently residing at the Cat Castle. It's a cat hotel. Actually, it seems like a pretty good place. The day I dropped them off there were 130 cats being boarded there. The ladies that work there told me that after this week the numbers drop by about 25% and then after labour day they drop drastically. After labour day the 'boys' will spend a big chunk of their day roaming loose inside the hotel. They offered several discounts but the total cost is still over $2000. To be honest knowing that my aunt is totally fine with that cost I felt like saying I'd move them to my house for less money. GC could use an extra $1000 or so for her school expenses this year. My mom and I have had a ton of jokes over these cats and really the entire situation. Every day something happens. My aunt is a little slow and it would never occur to her that she should offer anyone a little something for all the trouble.....not that we would take it though. Just to see what would happen my mom has told her several times about the financial responsibility that GC has with school this year and has been telling her about how GC has helped with the cats and several other things. My aunt's response was "here, the nurse said you have to call the ambulance for my ride on Monday" and then hands my mom a paper with phone numbers on it.

 

[pattyw]

Thanks...that's really kind.

So after spending 4 days at the vet's office they are now currently residing at the Cat Castle. It's a cat hotel. Actually, it seems like a pretty good place. The day I dropped them off there were 130 cats being boarded there. The ladies that work there told me that after this week the numbers drop by about 25% and then after labour day they drop drastically. After labour day the 'boys' will spend a big chunk of their day roaming loose inside the hotel. They offered several discounts but the total cost is still over $2000. To be honest knowing that my aunt is totally fine with that cost I felt like saying I'd move them to my house for less money. GC could use an extra $1000 or so for her school expenses this year. My mom and I have had a ton of jokes over these cats and really the entire situation. Every day something happens. My aunt is a little slow and it would never occur to her that she should offer anyone a little something for all the trouble.....not that we would take it though. Just to see what would happen my mom has told her several times about the financial responsibility that GC has with school this year and has been telling her about how GC has helped with the cats and several other things. My aunt's response was "here, the nurse said you have to call the ambulance for my ride on Monday" and then hands my mom a paper with phone numbers on it.

A cat resort? How cute! Actually $2000 sounds pretty steep but I pay $20 per visit each day for the pet sitter to come to my house for a half hour visit. So I guess for 24 hour care it may not be too bad! I hope the cats don't order too much room service!

 

[dancin Disney style]

A cat resort? How cute! Actually $2000 sounds pretty steep but I pay $20 per visit each day for the pet sitter to come to my house for a half hour visit. So I guess for 24 hour care it may not be too bad! I hope the cats don't order too much room service!

It's an all inclusive resort......food and drinks are included and served by a waitress in a tight t-shirt.

If we could have found someone for $20 a day to come to the house it might have been a better option. Hard to say really. The days that I went to the house it took me nearly an hour each time because I felt like I had to actually see the cats to be sure that they were ok. One of them I couldn't find for three days and it really worried me. They are not the friendliest and would hide really, really well. As soon as I opened the front door I could hear them run. After speaking to several people some said that no they didn't agree with the cats being alone in the house for as long as 3 months and others said they would be fine as long as someone was there daily to feed etc. We really didn't know what to do.

 

[livingthedream]

Gina:

Know you are busy completing your commitments at the work place you are leaving soon, but I was so excited that I had to share my news with you and group!

You may recall that me and my hubby are living across the country from each other right now (for a whole year) because of work (much like you and Steve were separated last fall for a period of time). We have seen each other three times for long weekends since January, and I was quickly giving up hope that my dream of meeting him in Orlando would come true before Christmas. Well, fate would have it that both our work project commitments have a gap suddenly where we are going for 7 days around the Labour (yes, I'm a Canuck! ) Day long weekend to Universal!

I can't believe it. This trip will happen in THREE weeks, so I'm kicking planning into high gear (although I know planning is not required nearly as much at Universal compared to WDW). Its just more about how we navigate the heat and still get to see everything we want.

I'm SOOO excited that we will actually get a week together

Care to join me in my Happy Dance?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Gina:

Know you are busy completing your commitments at the work place you are leaving soon, but I was so excited that I had to share my news with you and group!

You may recall that me and my hubby are living across the country from each other right now (for a whole year) because of work (much like you and Steve were separated last fall for a period of time). We have seen each other three times for long weekends since January, and I was quickly giving up hope that my dream of meeting him in Orlando would come true before Christmas. Well, fate would have it that both our work project commitments have a gap suddenly where we are going for 7 days around the Labour (yes, I'm a Canuck! ) Day long weekend to Universal!

I can't believe it. This trip will happen in THREE weeks, so I'm kicking planning into high gear (although I know planning is not required nearly as much at Universal compared to WDW). Its just more about how we navigate the heat and still get to see everything we want.

I'm SOOO excited that we will actually get a week together

Care to join me in my Happy Dance?

I am SO unbelievably happy for you!! I will absolutely dance to that news!



And how awesomely exciting that you hardly have any time to wait!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Friday, December 23rd

We opted to Uber to Capone’s Dinner & Show again this trip , so that Steve could enjoy as many of the included beverages as he wanted without having to worry about driving. Uber has worked spectacularly for us on previous visits, and pick-up again this time was swift and timely . We were dropped off at the entry door of Capone’s exactly 5 minutes before the doors opened to VIP guests at 6 pm.

Precicely at 6 o'clock (I love it when people are prompt! ), one of the resident gangsters came outside to distribute tickets and give us the secret code which would grant us entry to the lounge and dining room. As each party entered, mug shots were taken by Capone’s staff before we were ushered upstairs to the second floor for the pre-show entertainment in the Two Deuces Lounge. We strolled over first to the bar (for our complimentary beverage , one of the inclusions with the VIP upgrade) and were immediately greeted by Vito, one of the memorable servers from our first visit in October. He shouted a hearty welcome to us, then stopped…..looked again , and yelled HEY! I remember you guys! My friends from Canada!

I have to say, we were rather impressed . Considering the volume of people he would see each week, we were shocked that he remembered us specifically. That’s pretty awesome.


Vito chatted away enthusiastically with us as he poured our drinks, entertaining us with his big personality as he did on our first visit two months prior. Much as we could have enjoyed sitting down and continuing the animated conversation, there was other fun to be enjoyed in the VIP lounge so we moved onward to the hot snacks that were located next to the gambling tables: cheese and pepperoni pizzas, nachos and cheese, French fries, onion rings, and popcorn. We both helped ourselves to a small plate, but kept it to a minimum knowing that a veritable Italian feast would be served in less than 90 minutes.


We headed over to the gambling tables (“gambling” is a free perk for VIP guests, with each person being given an initial 5 chips to participate in either blackjack or roulette) and ran into our second grand welcome of the night: our friend Snaps.

Oh My God! You’re back! My friends from Canada!


Again, we were floored …..and more than a little impressed. We’re not exactly what I would call “memorable” people , so this really made us smile.


Snaps was working the blackjack table that night, so we sat down in two empty chairs and joined the others who had decided to play. I had never played blackjack before, but Snaps was happy to explain the concept and walk me through the first couple of hands (making my first play a free one, unless I won, in which case he promised me the winning chips). I ended up catching on pretty quickly and lady luck was definitely on my side . By the time the VIP hour had come to a close and it was time to begin seating us in the dining room, I was second behind the overall winner by one single chip. I may have missed out on the Grand Prize t-shirt, but I felt like a winner nonetheless!


We were taken down to our table and offered the first of many beverages that we would drink that night.

Thank goodness for Uber!!!

Our seats this time were dead center of the stage, but much further back. We had requested that we be placed near some Dis friends who were also joining us for the fun that evening, but who had opted to forego the VIP upgrade. While most of the VIP seating is directly alongside the stage, there are also a few that are not. This allowed us to be within chatting distance of @greenclan67 (Carrie), her husband Derek, and their other friends who came along .

It really would have been a shame to have not been able to laugh and visit with them throughout the night!


We headed to the buffet for the first round of homecooked deliciousness, and were immediately glad we limited the amount of snacks in the VIP lounge. The smells emanating from the buffet stations were enough to kick start the salivary glands. Let me tell ya, Mama Capone knows how to cook!!

There was lasagna, meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, sage stuffing, different types of pasta, a selection of salads, freshly baked rolls, hot vegetables, freshly baked pizza, and a carving station that featured a massive turkey, roast beef, and stuffed pork loin. There were several kid friendly options (chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, etc.) and I’m pretty sure there was also a fish dish or two. As a finicky eater by nature, I absolutely *adore* this buffet. Everything is so darn good.

As we dug into our dinner, a few of the characters from the show began milling about and stopping by tables to interact with guests. Not surprisingly, Steve ended up with a pretty girl fawning all over him ……it seems to be a recurring theme . He swears it’s the bald head effect . And as usual, he quite enjoyed all the extra attention .

Once the non-VIP guests had all been seated and everyone had been granted the uninterrupted opportunity to make at least one trip through the buffet line, the show kicked off in a flurry of singing, dancing, and corny jokes.

While this show incorporated a holiday overlay for the Christmas season, it still kept audience participation as an integral (and entertaining) part of the night. Some poor guests were less than enthused about being whisked from their seats to the stage, but their hesitance only made it funnier .

Or, maybe it was all the alcohol? Meh, who cares?

The “holiday overlay” turned out to be pretty minimal, and the script was largely unchanged from the show that we saw in October. That was a-okay with us, as we really enjoyed the show in the fall and it was great to see it a second time (and the Christmassy touches they did incorporate were perfect for the season).

Round two was just as funny as the first time. Most of the actors and actresses were different from the October show (the exception being the amazing gentleman who played Fingers Salvatorio…..his personality stole the show the first time, and easily did so again on this night!) so while it was essentially the same script, it was quite different in many ways.

Near the end of the show, the servers began tossing some balls into the crowd. While baseball has never been one of my finer skills (and I’m definitely not known for being overly coordinated at the best of times) I somehow managed to catch one. Perhaps it does pay to be one of the few sober folks at the end of the night .

I turned in the ball to the gangster working the bar, and he handed me a little Capone’s gift pack: it was filled with an assortment of little trinkets from the gift shop including a pen, post cards, a plastic fedora, a drink cozy, and a bracelet.

The final bow was taken right around 10 pm, to a well-deserved round of applause.

We stuck around for a little bit, chatting it up some more with Vito and Snaps (we seriously can’t say enough good about those two……not only are they amazing servers who really make the night at Capone’s memorable and special, but they are just two fine fellows all the way around) and conversing with Carrie and Derek. We beckoned our Uber around 10:30……I think we were literally among the last to leave. Steve promised Vito and Snaps we would see them again in the spring, and we would hold true to that promise .

We had another excellent Uber driver shuttle us back to the Vistana, where we fell into bed and slept soundly right through to morning. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and our travel day back to the frosty north. But first, we’d have a little time in the parks and one final epic dining experience to cap off an amazing vacation…..because every great trip should start and end with ice cream .


Our final full day is next.