[Floridasunshine]

Some of you all may have read that my 11 year old daughter won a Radio Disney call-in contest for Wild Adventures/Raven concert tickets. Well, her name was also included in a drawing for Typhoon Lagoon Hannah Montana "So Hot Summer" concert tickets. Her name was drawn and she WON!

I was sooooo excited for her. That is, until I realized it was on a Thursday and we live 3 hours away. I was just starting a new job (with the same company, but new boss & duties) on Monday. I was not about to ask for time off my first week!!!! And my husband is self employed but spring and summer are his busiest seasons and he was booked to the max.

So what to do???? First we tried grandparents who live in Orlando with no luck. Then my best friend who is also the mother of my daughter's best friend---she couldn't get off work. Then other friends. Then other aquaintances. It was beginning to look like my daughter would not get to go.

Finally my 21 year old daughter volunteered to fly down from Virginia (she would pay half and me half) to take her and my son and one of their friends. So I hastily buy the $248 plane ticket and everybody is happy!

At 6 am on Wednesday she called me in a panic. Apparently I made the flight reservation for Thursday in error!!! Scrambling, I was able to get her on the Wed. 8:25 am flight for another $159! ...but the flight is delayed and delayed and delayed (fixing a broken toilet!!!) ... they finally put her on another flight ... it was delayed and delayed and delayed... my poor 21 year old is in tears... she ended up going home... who knows if she will ever get a credit or refund....

Now I have two daughters in tears when my 11 year old realizes she can't go to meet Hannah Montana. I bite the bullet and ask my new boss for Thursday off. She does not sound happy, but gives me 'you need to do what you think you need to do speech'. I finally decide my family comes first.

So,,, I have 1 hour to get myself and my son packed up, pick up my daughters friend and off we go!!!!

We arrive at Grosvenor Resort where Disney Radio had a room waiting. At check-in they gave us 4 typhoon lagoon and 4 Disney Park Hopper tickets (all expiring 6/23/06). They also gave us a $50 Disney gift certificate! The hotel was okay but not much to write about ... I was disappointed they close the pool from 10 pm to 8 am. Since we got there at 10 pm we could not use the pool.

The next morning we boarded the Radio Disney chartered bus to go to Typhoon Lagoon. Radio Disney Orlando personality "Bugsy" was on the bus and was tons of fun. They passed out our "VIP" necklaces and our blue sparkly wristbands. They also passed out 4 MORE Disney Park Hopper tickets and 4 MORE Typhoon Lagoon tickets, because the first set were printed wrong and weren't supposed to expire until 9/30/06!!

We get to TL and our poor bus driver "Bob" got lost. We ended up totally in the back production area of TL. We saw all the equipment trailers and busses and even Hannah Montana's tour bus! Boy, I never knew there was so much stuff that was involved in producing a television broadcast! i have never seen so many electric wires in one place.

Poor Bob finally reaches a dead end at the end of the line and has to turn that big ole bus around on a postage stamp size piece of land. But he does it! Way to go Bob! After almost running over a parked golf cart, we finally get back around to the front entrance. We are ushered off the bus straight thru the gates like VIPS! No bag checks, no tickets taken, no nothing!

We're in! The place is PACKED! We are a little lost at first. We see a huge long line of people with VIP passes who are waiting to get into the concert area. We finally walk up to the front and ask the guard at the gate if it is necessary to wait in line with our passes. The guard says 'no" and that she cannot understand why all these other folks were waiting in line, because there would be plenty of room inside.

So, we decide to hit the wave pool! What fun! My kids had never been to a wave pool and were amazed at the size of the first tsunami wave that hit them. It is a wonder we did not all drown! That pool is fun but dangerous....

We then head to the Crush and Gusher. We get two double tubes and head up the ladder. After about a 15 minute wait, we shoot down the tubes in our double innertubes. My poor son (10 yo) had never been on a waterslide so he did not realize he should hold his hiney off the bottom of the tube. So he had to walk like a duck for a little while because he had a 'shaved butt' as he called it.

After getting a soda a taking a spin on the lazy river, we decide to go check out the concert that is about to start. They head already started letting the wristbanded folks into the gated area and passing out water. It was friggin' hot. But there were so many adults standing in front of the stage that my kids could not see Hannah Montana at all. I just think the parents could have let their kids have their fun and they could have stood back some. It was a small gated area, so nothing would have have happened to their kids---they would have been in plain site with them inside the gate.

We finally decide to skip the crowded first concert and ride rides and then go to the second concert. We do more attractions like the humunga cowabunga and the wave pool some more. Hannah Montana only sang about 4 songs for each 'concert'. Both were televised.

We go check out the 2nd concert, flash our little sparkly blue wristbands and we're in. Again, the parents were standing in the way and we could not see anything. I finally find some 'stump' poles and let my kids stand on them. They were only like a foot high. But of course some lifeguard came along and made them hop down. they weren't hurting anything and they were not high enough to be in any danger.

Hannah was GREAT though... and it was HOT! I gotta give the chick kudos for hanging in that heat.

Later during the day they had a meet and greet for the contest winners. The kids got to meet the stars of the show and Hannah and get their autographs. Some of the parents who did not have the blue wristbands were being really nasty though. I ignored them because I feel my daughter won the contest fair and square and they had no right to be nasty to us about it! The crowd almost got out of control around the meet and greet area and it was a little disorganized there. But my daughter got her Hannah Montana hat signed and my son got a poster signed and we got to make tons of pictures.

All in all it was a terrific day! I want to thank Radio Disney, Disney, the Grosvenor, Hannah Montana and company, and all the wonderful Typhoon Lagoon employees for a truly wonderful and memorable day for my daughter and son and their friend!

[iluvwdw]

What a cool day!!! Too bad about your 21 year old daughter and all of her problems with the flight. I hope you guys get your money back!!!!!!!!

[Erin]

Awesome!!! What an awesome day!!!!! I'm glad you made it - I hope the airline company reimburses you, though!

[DisneyTeacher]

I'm so glad your daughter got to go to the concert! It sounds like you had a great day even though the kids couldn't see much. I hope your other daughter gets the money back, what a stressful mess.

[Dana]

Sounds like a perfect day. Sorry about your oldest DD..that just stinks. All those delays and then no trip at all. Ridiculous!

[CaraMia]

First off, I think you are a great mom for taking the kids. Being a working mom of a 4 yr old who has at least 2x-3x parties in which "mom" is invited to...I know how hard it is to juggle between work and family. If I were you and had that dilemma I would have done the same thing. Sometimes even the simplest appearence at an event for your kids makes a world of difference to them.

Just curious, how were things at work when you returned? Did you get in trouble?

[15 mins to wdw]

The airline should refund you every penny of your money plus some (but the plus some proably won't happen) If they try to tell you it was weather don't take that, this problem was a mechanical problem with the plane that started it.

Sounds like you had a good trip and I think I may know BOB.

[Floridasunshine]

Originally Posted by 15 mins to wdw

The airline should refund you every penny of your money plus some (but the plus some proably won't happen) ...

Well, get this!!! I got a letter in the mail today from United. I expected it to be a response to my complaint or an apology or something. No!!! It was a BILL for $59 dollars!!!! Apparently they had only charged my card $100 for the change fee and now they are saying they are charging my card the other $59 for a change to a flight that never got off the ground!!! United Airlines STINKS!!!!!

Also

Originally Posted by CaraMia

Just curious, how were things at work when you returned? Did you get in trouble?

.

Well, really it is another job with the same company...different job, different area, and different boss but with the same company. So I am not really in any kind of probationary period or anything.

So far I have not talked to my boss again yet. But I did miss my first training session on Thursday.... ugh. I just wish I could figure out what I was doing with this new job. But all three of us new hires are having trouble, so I know it is not just me.

[LAURENGOLD]

WOW!!! What a day, sounds fabulous!!! My dd would be so jealous. She just loves Hannah Montana.

I'd love to see some of the pictures!

Oh, and btw, I'd totally have ditched work too. I don't even think I would have tried to arrange anything else...lol. A Mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.