Mickey Nut 50
07-28-2002, 08:12 PM
Part IV – Day One of the Much Needed February Trip
The Cast:
Carol, fellow Disney nut, sometimes needs a wheelchair
Michael, 13 – Carol’s nephew
Me, tour guide, addicted to Disney
Grant, 14, my son, and Disney pal
(Remember, we arrived Feb. 15 at 1:00 am)
After Alien Encounter, we headed towards the Haunted Mansion, waited a few minutes to get a fast pass for just after the parade. There was an older couple there continually trying to get a fast pass. They said their passes wouldn’t work, and were mystified as to why everyone else’s was working. They must have had 30 blank tickets on top of the machine! I realized that they must have had a valid pass somewhere else and explained to them how the system works. I suggested they find a CM who would be very happy to further explain it. With that I turned slightly and there was a CM. She said I was doing a great job, and there wasn’t much else to explain. I felt kind of good being an “honorary” CM!
Bopped over to the parade – great position for filming – right where the parade starts to turn down Main St. We only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was a great parade. Poor Ursula had a “deflation” problem, though. Her head was normal for Ursula, but her chest and shoulders were quite flat! The CM in the costume was doing his/her best to keep her chin down so it wouldn’t be so obvious. I doubt many kids noticed.
After the parade, we started heading down Main Street. I wanted to leave the park by 4:30 so we could find the condo while it was still light. Carol headed back to Cindy’s to pick up our mugs we had purchased at lunch. After doing some more pin trading and buying, we finally made it out of the park and on our way around 5:30. We planned on coming back for the fireworks and Spectromagic parade.
The directions sent to me by the vacation club who owns the condo left a lot to be desired. There were several directions – to the condo from the airport, to Disney from the condo, and to the airport from the condo. Since there weren’t directions from Disney to the condo, we tried to “read” them backwards. After driving for what seemed forever, we finally found Poinciana Blvd. We went past several sets of condo villages then there was nothing but farmland! There was no mileage listed on the directions, so we had no idea how far to go. I finally stopped in another condo village that I recognized from the vacation club’s web page. There was a small gift shop with a very helpful clerk. She took one look at the directions and wondered how we even found Poinciana! After a bit of thinking and reading, she said we needed to drive about 4 miles further down Poinciana. OK – back in the car, it’s definitely dusk now. We finally get to the condo village – but it’s a gated community!!! I didn’t know what number to punch, I tried all the numbers on my reservation form – didn’t work. In the meantime, cars are lining up behind me. I finally make the person behind me realize that I needed to back up so he could get through. That accomplished, I continued trying to figure out what the pass number was. Carol suggested we fly through with the next car. I was planning on just that.
We noticed a man standing on the other side of the gate, apparently waiting for someone. Just then, a car stopped, a lady jumped out from the passenger side, punched in a number, they pulled through and stopped for the man. We jumped through the gate, and stopped beside them. We asked what number they put in, and explained that we weren’t provided a number. They turned out to be Brits here on vacation and very willingly and helpfully gave us the number they were provided. Whew!
OK – now we’re in the condo village – start looking for the street and condo. Nice place, wonder where that street is? After driving all around, we decided it must be in that area just to the left of the gate (no street sign there). Yippee! There it is! Very nice condo! Three bedrooms (king, queen, and two twin beds) 2 ˝ baths, washer/dryer, cable in each room. I was hoping for a pool, but nothing in my paperwork indicated there was a pool, nor was there anything in the condo telling us what the amenities might be. (Found out just the other day there is a lake, nature trail, pool, and community room – bummer we missed all that – but we really didn’t have the time anyway).
At this point I collapsed on the couch. As I mentioned, we had planned on going back. I told everyone that at this point I’m not promising anything. Of course the boys had unlimited energy. Carol and I didn’t.
After an hour’s rest, I was rejuvenated and suggested that we head to Downtown Disney and eat at McDonald’s. That got a resounding positive response from everyone.
Of course in the World of Disney pin trading was going on, along with a lot of purchasing. I spent a bit of money on pins, etc. for Grant to trade, as did Carol for Michael. We came across a number of pin traders – people who are really serious about this! One man in particular caught our attention with the really fun pins he had. There was one he had on that particularly caught our attention. It was a big round one, and when opened, a hinged Goofy appeared! Turns out it was a special edition. He suggested some places where we might find it, as we all wanted one just like it.
We finally headed back to the condo about 10:30. Tomorrow becomes the “Quest for the Goofy Manhole Cover” pin!
The Cast:
Carol, fellow Disney nut, sometimes needs a wheelchair
Michael, 13 – Carol’s nephew
Me, tour guide, addicted to Disney
Grant, 14, my son, and Disney pal
(Remember, we arrived Feb. 15 at 1:00 am)
After Alien Encounter, we headed towards the Haunted Mansion, waited a few minutes to get a fast pass for just after the parade. There was an older couple there continually trying to get a fast pass. They said their passes wouldn’t work, and were mystified as to why everyone else’s was working. They must have had 30 blank tickets on top of the machine! I realized that they must have had a valid pass somewhere else and explained to them how the system works. I suggested they find a CM who would be very happy to further explain it. With that I turned slightly and there was a CM. She said I was doing a great job, and there wasn’t much else to explain. I felt kind of good being an “honorary” CM!
Bopped over to the parade – great position for filming – right where the parade starts to turn down Main St. We only had to wait about 15 minutes. It was a great parade. Poor Ursula had a “deflation” problem, though. Her head was normal for Ursula, but her chest and shoulders were quite flat! The CM in the costume was doing his/her best to keep her chin down so it wouldn’t be so obvious. I doubt many kids noticed.
After the parade, we started heading down Main Street. I wanted to leave the park by 4:30 so we could find the condo while it was still light. Carol headed back to Cindy’s to pick up our mugs we had purchased at lunch. After doing some more pin trading and buying, we finally made it out of the park and on our way around 5:30. We planned on coming back for the fireworks and Spectromagic parade.
The directions sent to me by the vacation club who owns the condo left a lot to be desired. There were several directions – to the condo from the airport, to Disney from the condo, and to the airport from the condo. Since there weren’t directions from Disney to the condo, we tried to “read” them backwards. After driving for what seemed forever, we finally found Poinciana Blvd. We went past several sets of condo villages then there was nothing but farmland! There was no mileage listed on the directions, so we had no idea how far to go. I finally stopped in another condo village that I recognized from the vacation club’s web page. There was a small gift shop with a very helpful clerk. She took one look at the directions and wondered how we even found Poinciana! After a bit of thinking and reading, she said we needed to drive about 4 miles further down Poinciana. OK – back in the car, it’s definitely dusk now. We finally get to the condo village – but it’s a gated community!!! I didn’t know what number to punch, I tried all the numbers on my reservation form – didn’t work. In the meantime, cars are lining up behind me. I finally make the person behind me realize that I needed to back up so he could get through. That accomplished, I continued trying to figure out what the pass number was. Carol suggested we fly through with the next car. I was planning on just that.
We noticed a man standing on the other side of the gate, apparently waiting for someone. Just then, a car stopped, a lady jumped out from the passenger side, punched in a number, they pulled through and stopped for the man. We jumped through the gate, and stopped beside them. We asked what number they put in, and explained that we weren’t provided a number. They turned out to be Brits here on vacation and very willingly and helpfully gave us the number they were provided. Whew!
OK – now we’re in the condo village – start looking for the street and condo. Nice place, wonder where that street is? After driving all around, we decided it must be in that area just to the left of the gate (no street sign there). Yippee! There it is! Very nice condo! Three bedrooms (king, queen, and two twin beds) 2 ˝ baths, washer/dryer, cable in each room. I was hoping for a pool, but nothing in my paperwork indicated there was a pool, nor was there anything in the condo telling us what the amenities might be. (Found out just the other day there is a lake, nature trail, pool, and community room – bummer we missed all that – but we really didn’t have the time anyway).
At this point I collapsed on the couch. As I mentioned, we had planned on going back. I told everyone that at this point I’m not promising anything. Of course the boys had unlimited energy. Carol and I didn’t.
After an hour’s rest, I was rejuvenated and suggested that we head to Downtown Disney and eat at McDonald’s. That got a resounding positive response from everyone.
Of course in the World of Disney pin trading was going on, along with a lot of purchasing. I spent a bit of money on pins, etc. for Grant to trade, as did Carol for Michael. We came across a number of pin traders – people who are really serious about this! One man in particular caught our attention with the really fun pins he had. There was one he had on that particularly caught our attention. It was a big round one, and when opened, a hinged Goofy appeared! Turns out it was a special edition. He suggested some places where we might find it, as we all wanted one just like it.
We finally headed back to the condo about 10:30. Tomorrow becomes the “Quest for the Goofy Manhole Cover” pin!