The $175 Promise
Today we got up and headed out on our lovely 8 to 9 hour adventure to Disney World. We stopped off at Walmart and picked up a car DVD player. Incidentally, this is our THIRD car DVD player in two years. The first one bit the dust, the second one we could not find the cord (or one to replace it) and I could not let charlotte suffer staring out the window the entire day, so this is our third purchase. I need to get a beeper or something for this one. I did pick out a hot pink one and plan on marking the cord with some nail polish, so hopefully its the end of us losing it.
So we pick that up, get some gas, and get on the road. BTW, gas was $1.82. I felt like I was in college again with those prices. It makes me want to open up a big well in my back yard and syphon it into a hole for the future. I felt like being a rebel and getting premium. Almost.
On with the trip…….we were actually in the car around 9:30am and we arrived about 6:30pm Orlando time. Charlotte was SUCH an angel. I mean, not one slight complaint. For a 3 year old, she was nearly flawless. She watched Spongebob Squarepants about 100 times, appropriately Cinderella twice, and took a small nap. All day, we were pumping her up for Disney and Arabian Nights. Now Arabian Nights is this dinner show where they do a big horse theatre live in front of you while you eat dinner. Of course, we get into town and the show is starting in an hour and a half, we had yet to find our condo, we have charlotte getting antsy about “seeing horses” and we were nervous that we didnt have reservations after such a lengthy promise from us. Charlotte is like an elephant. Once you tell her something, you CANNOT get out of it without her noticing. I could tell her three weeks ago that on January the 12th at 8pm I was going to take her to the store, and she would be ready at 7:59 when the date approached, asking me when we were leaving.
I started to panic a bit. Arabian Nights is one of the most popular shows in Orlando. It often sells out nightly. We drove up and down the road, still not finding our condo and now it was past 7:30. We decided to skip going to the condo first and go to the show instead. We stopped by a ticket place and they tell us its sold out. Oh. Shit. But we head over there anyway to see if we could get any last minute, walk up, tickets. I told my DH I dont care what we had to do, sneak in, show boobs, whatever…we needed to get tickets.
I literally prayed the whole way there. We get there…..parking lot is insane. I run up there and cut off about 100 slower, less frantic, mommies, jump in line and we get tickets. VIP seats, but tickets. We got 2nd row, VIP seats, that only cost us a….cough…….$175. Yep. You read that right. $175. I am 10 hours into this vacation and my wallet is burned through.
But the point is, I wanted to keep my promise to my daughter at all costs, because I always want her to know she can trust me. When I say no, I mean it, when i say yes, I mean it. And that when I tell her something, I am being honest. It was truly an amazing experiance and in the end, worth every penny, watching her hoop, hollar, clap, and enjoy herself to the fullest. I actually teared up watching all the joy in her face.
So now I know what I would pay for a promise. $175. Plus tip.
~Trisha
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14 Comments
OMG Trisha! Now I KNOW you are my soul sista…lol…I had a very similar experience with my daughter in NYC..she wanted SO BADLY to go on one of the horse drawn carriages and I promised her…I had NO idea it cost $75.00 for the FIRST HOUR and $50 for the following hour! YIKES! Not as bad but–like you said, it is the pure JOY on their faces that you live for!
Awww, you’re such a good mom, Trisha… The idea that you would cough up that much for tickets just to prove to charlotte that you mean what you say is SO sweet and shows how sincere you are. I’m glad you’re having a great vacation already!
Im glad she loved it! ^_^ You guys have as much fun as you can have! I love you all. Give Chris and Charlotte my love.
Love you
That is great that you respect the weight of your words
Good Job 
have so much fun.
wow. thats amazing. now when she gets older and rebels you can tell her “I spent $175 for Arabian Nights!!” you better behave! lol. just kidding.
~misty~
That is awesome. Soooo many parents wouldn’t have done that and it’s true she’ll remember this for the rest of her life I bet! It’s not like you wasted $175 on an Elmo doll she’ll forget about tomorrow, this is something you don’t do everyday and a memory! Go Mama!
You are such a good mom!!!!
TO be VIP on top of all the promise Mommy made? I bet you are the world’s biggest hero right now!
Holy money! That was expensive, but it sounds like it was much enjoyed!
That is a wonderful show. I’ve actually seen it twice with my past Girl Scout Troop that I was a leader of. They often have Girl Scout discounts and then you get back stage and get to walk around the stuff.
I’m glas Charlotte enjoyed the show and that you kept your promise. What a great Mommy!
awww what a sweet story! Probably the best $175 you spent!
What a good mama you are. Charlotte will remember that for the rest of her life, I’m certain.
Hope ya’all have an awesome time in Disney. I’m so incredibly jealous. Of course, if I’d stop having kids, maybe we could afford to go!
Can’t wait to hear more!!
Girl. Don’t have a baby. Adopt me!
My parents wouldn’t have in a million years done that!
awwww!! Trisha you are a good mama!!!