Trip Prequel: Research and Practice

Light Meter by Lisa K. Berton

Preparation is a key component to each form of travel, including equestrian. Without proper preparedness, miner setbacks disguise themselves into monstrous obstacles. Confusion and the sense of feeling overwhelmed can ruin what should be happy moments.

It is for such reasons that my friend Terri and I took substantial time and asserted endless energy into laying the groundwork for our 3-night Walt Disney World vacation. Don’t think about why two young lasses such as ourselves with well over 40 combined ventures would require so much planning. This isn’t Jeopardy. It’s more like Battleship with Mongala Millie and Twister replacing red with Fantasyland, blue with Liberty Square, green with Adventureland, and yellow with Main St., U.S.A.

Before taking flight to your choice of Disney Parks, familiarizing oneself with the stories that spawned attractions and characters is vitale. Personally, I beat Terri on this matter by jumping head first into an animation and live action pool consisting of rentals; Tangled, Tom and Huck, Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Gnomeo and Juliet, The Tigger Movie, The Sword in the Stone, The Great Muppet Caper, and Vintage Mickey. Add to that Winnie the Pooh in the theater and my personal copy of The Three Caballeros and I was filled with character(s).

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Hellooooooooooooo Prince Caspian!

Every day for roughly 10 days prior to our impending hoopla we would update each other on our research plans and accomplishments. As the flights times drew nearer we also found ourselves imagining what we wish we we doing.

Messages from Terri:
For today I feel like riding Figment, er the Figment ride all day with a few breaks at Ice Station Cool or whatever they are calling it these days.

Hurry up! Spaceship Earth is only on a 5 minute wait!

I discovered Disneyish items at work or at least made them such. My co-worker Agatha keeps a container of assorted hard candies on her desk. Something gold shimmered under the fluorescent lighting and caught my eye. :gasp: A Werther’s Original! Practice for the Germany pavilion accomplished.

Then just a few days later, I turned to my right and saw the back of my co-worker’s chair or was it a doom buggy? My mind was playing tricks on me. Oh how the need to quench my thirst with Pixie Dust-flavored Kool-Aid shook me to the very core of mine own Disney geekiness.

Music! It soothes the soul and relaxes the body and counts as a preparation. To appease and calm myself for the benefit of those around me in the office, I set the MP3 player and reveled in The Muppet Show: Music Mayhem & More – The 25th Anniversary Collection. Relaxation didn’t kick in. Rather I spent over an hour bopping around in my seat, shaking my head, and singing. While I wondered if my co-workers would find my behavior odd, the true absurdity is that none of them seemed to notice or care. Pay attention to me!!! I’m not even in a cubicle, I’m inbetween or at The Inbetween.

More messages from Terri:
I am sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant preapring for Marrakesh, 1900 Park Fare, Mama Melrose, and Raglan Road.

I could go stand outside in the rain to preapre for the Orlando afternoon downpours!

Staying the course and rehearsing for plenty of walking, sweating, and carrying photography equipment meant a visit to the nearby zoo. My pal Julie from work and I set out for a good 5 hours of walking up and down hills, photographing animals, bathroom breaks, and even locating a baby bunny like those seen at Walt Disney World Resorts. It was a magical day.

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Once upon a time there were 3 tortoises. The biggest tortoise was a bully and wouldn’t let the other tortoises hang out at his pad.

Terri and I felt ready for the challenge (and Tropical Storm Irene was gone) and so we packed our bags and headed to our respective airports, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and T.F. Green Airport. With fists raised we declared, “Don’t mess with us Katia and/or Lee.”

Previous entry: Trip Prequel: Decisions, Decisions

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2 Replies to “Trip Prequel: Research and Practice”

  1. I’m glad I’m not the only one who has madcap preparations for a trip to the World!

    Very entertaining reading! Thank you for sharing!

  2. This was a cute blog! I love the anticipation of an upcoming trip! I hope you had fun (Should I even hope…I’m SURE you did) 🙂