Happy Wednesday! As most of you know, our big TMSM Meet Up was last weekend. A good time was had by all! Let’s talk about it!
Whenever Meet Up weekend is coming, I always stress. There’s so much to do, plus I have my Michigan besties staying with me, so I have to get the house in order. We picked up the girls
from the airport later in the evening on Thursday. Seeing my friends from home always does my heart good. We got back to the house, talked for a bit, they browsed through my LuLaRue collection, then we went to sleep. The next day was going to be busy! Friday night, we had a book party for Moving to Main Street USA at Paradiso 37, Disney Springs. The weather was looking pretty bad, so I was worried that the patio party would be ruined. Lucky for us, the staff at Paradiso 37 was great and accommodated our group by moving the event indoors. My friend Janel was helping to organize, Paula and Michelle were on it as well, so all went great. some of our staff was there, including Joe and his wife Chrissy, who surprised me, I didn’t know they were coming to town! So awesome! Seeing people come out, with my book in hand, is truly a humbling experience. Hearing that they enjoyed it, and would love to see a sequel… well, I can’t ask for anything more than that. I appreciate everyone who came out to support our efforts and celebrate with us!
Saturday was meet up day…. go time. Do I stress? You bet. I just want everything to go well, and when you have a large group of people, it’s important to organize and do things right. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, the monorail had just broken down. Of course. Every time we need to be somewhere on time, something happens. It never fails. We waited for the monorail, then finally decided to head to the boat, as we knew time was running out. When we finally arrived at the gates of the MK, we ran into some people I was waiting to see, Fran’s family. I knew this year would be hard, being that this was the first meet up without our dear Fran. They came out to honor her, and spend the day with us. We even made polka dot ribbons in honor of Fran, so she’d be with us all day. When we got inside the park, there was already a large group waiting for us. There were familiar faces, but a lot of new attendees as well. Such a great feeling. After the parade, we got together for the first group photo of the day! The meet up was off to a great start!
The first ride of the day was the Jungle Cruise. The cast members did great accommodating our large group, and gave us three boats all to ourselves. How cool is that? After the Jungle Cruise, was the Haunted Mansion. One of the neatest things, is to have the stretching room FULL of Main Streeters…. reciting along with the Ghost Host. Oh yes, we were all “that guy” and it was pretty amazing. We stopped for a photo after the Mansion as well. After that, was Pirates of the Caribbean then a break for dinner at Pecos Bills. Before we knew it, it was time for the last group photo of the day, up by Cinderella Castle. Seeing so many people throughout the day, making new friends and enjoying each others company, just makes my heart full. It’s hard to explain, but I know that I’m beyond grateful for the people who support TMSM. They mean more than I could ever say.
After the last picture, a storm was rolling in, fast. The original plan was to do something as a memorial for Fran with her family, but we had to take cover. My part of the planning was done, as I wanted to do whatever her daughters and husband requested as far as that goes. We stood around by the Monsters Inc area, sharing stories about Fran and just being together. Fran’s family wanted to release balloons for her, but it was raining so we weren’t sure how that would work. Well, where there’s a will there’s a way. Balloons were found in time to let them go during the fireworks. It was pouring rain, but it didn’t matter. Being there for the Hesse family took priority over all, and they were able to honor her with all of us there too. It’s amazing to me, how by starting TMSM seven years ago, that such strong friendships were formed. Friends who became family. It’s truly a blessing. My heart hurts for Fran’s family, she’s so missed by all. Tears were shed, hugs were given, and I do believe that Frannie was smiling down upon us.
On Sunday we just laid low a bit, then went to Disney Springs for dinner. We ate at T-Rex then caught up with Fran’s daughters for a bit. Before we knew it, Monday was here and it was time to take the girls to the airport. It was so nice to have my girls here, they’re so supportive of everything I do, and I appreciate them always being there. We promised each other we wouldn’t cry at drop off time, because I’ll see them for Christmas, and we all know how fast time flies. So, now what? Another TMSM Meet Up weekend is behind us, and it’s time to play catch up. We were invited to go to the live show of ABC’s “The Chew” on Thursday morning, so I’m exciting about that. Also exciting, we have a big shipment of Disney Villains merchandise coming in our next LuLaRoe shipment! The LuLaRoe business is going great, thanks to all of you! I can’t wait to see what’s next. Thank you, all of you, who followed along with us last weekend, whether it was in person or at home. Meet Up weekend is my favorite time, it’s one of the best aspects of this job, and I love you guys for being there. Thank you for being part of our Disney Ohana, you’re the best. Until next week, sending you lots of love, blessings and pixie dust! See ya real soon! ~M
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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