Day 2, Part 2, the one in which I explain that the Nemo quote reference was due to the fact that we had to keep swimming, that is driving, even though we were sick and tired of it, otherwise we would never make it to WALT DISNEY WORLD!
When we left the Hicks, they were on the cursed, never-ending highway of doom that is I-75 in GA.
They had cheated the space-time continuum (sp?) by arriving in Chattanooga much earlier than expected, a feat that would not be repeated on this trip.
There was payment to be made for this dash of grace, and space and time are cruel taskmasters.
They had foolishly and with a crazy moment of hope informed the Bionic SIL that they might make it to Pop Century by 5 pm.
Little chance of that my friends, little chance of that....
BUT then, like a small beam of sunlight, they saw it....
The FLORIDA BORDER!!!
And with it, the welcome center.
There are palm trees, and maps, and flyers on FL, and ORANGE JUICE samples.
(pic courtesy of disneygirl)
We were finally in Florida, but as we looked at the map, we realized that our dreams of being at WDW around 5 pm were definately NOT happening.
We cruise down to the toll road. For some reason, that seems to take forever too. Sigh.
And where are all the Disney billboards???
So...close...but...yet...so...far.....
(Where's William Shatner when you need him? Maybe he would do the Hicks on Holiday Audio Book!)
Then there it was...I-4.
I confess, although I know that Disney is WEST on I-4, I always get confused when that exit comes up.
And, for some unknown reason, it ALWAYS rains when we get to Orlando.
So in the midst of a horrible downpour John and I are having a, ahem, "discussion" about what exit we need to take.
Mom was like this in the back of the van:
Did I mention she is a good mom? LOL
Well, in spite of my senior moment, we end up going west.
Now it's just a matter of finding the exit for Pop Century!
When it was getting late, Bionic SIL called again to see where we were.
Well, we’re on I-4 in the middle of a horrible downpour, because apparently they order one of those every time we come to visit.
And we should be there shortly.
And then we saw it. Yes people, this could turn out to be a good trip after all, and this is how I know:
Happy all around, we found our exit, and were anticipating the welcome arch,
which we DID see, but it was a bit blurry due to the rain.
This is where the well-placed pic of the entrance of Pop should go, but we were soooo excited, we forgot to take one!
By the time we arrived at Pop, it had stopped raining, and we all trooped in to check in.
[I’m pretty sure families with nine members do not fake members to get MORE free dining, but, ok.]
Have I mentioned that I LOVE the Pop Century lobby.
It will always hold a special place in my heart for being the place that unexpectedly brought me to tears on our last trip there.
And waiting in the lobby, was the Bionic SIL and kids.
They still had no luggage, but they were in WDW!
It was 7 pm, and we had no wait to check in.
Our CM was awesome, and within minutes we were off to the room.
Our whole group was in 1154-1157, which was parking lot side of the Lady Bldg, the wing that points away from the Classic hall.
It was an excellent spot, not preferred, but only a few rooms away.
And, we were able park in the parking lot, unload everything quickly from the van, and head off to the Food Court.
Next up: "This is NOT Disney World!!!" said Princess K...
