I realized in my opening that I never laid out any of the details of the trip that seems to be customary. Better late than never, right?
Dates: December 4th - 12th, 2010
Locations: Grandma & Grandpa's house in Lakeland for the first night and the last two nights, with A TreeHouse Villa at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort for 5 nights.
Well, I guess that's that. Now (almost) on to the report...but first we need to start with a flashback. [Que wavy screen treatment and chimes]
Our last two trips were driving adventures. The last time we flew was in March of 2009. We left our house in Racine and headed north on our 30 minute drive to the airport for our early morning flight. It was early March, and snow can always be a problem. While there were flurries that morning, we decided to take the Jeep instead of the minivan. You know, just in case it snowed while we were gone, we might want the four wheel drive for the drive home. In the 18 miles from our house to the airport, it went from flurries, to light snow, to heavy snow, to white-out blizzard. I dropped Bambi and the kids off at the terminal and headed out to remote parking. Because, well, I'm a cheapskate. I parked the Jeep, opened the door, and stepped into a 12" snowdrift.
Anyway, we were delayed over 2 hours, but did eventually make it and had a great time. We found out later that the airport in Milwaukee got 14" that day. Not the City of Milwaukee, mind you. Just an isolated pocked right around the airport. The rest of the county only had between 2 and 6 inches. 
[Close wavy screen treatment and chimes]
Which brings us back to December 4th, 2010. Earlier in November we had a few flurries, but nothing that stuck to the ground. What do we wake up to on this day?
Of course we would get the first snowfall of the year on the day we're supposed to fly! We were already on a tight schedule. Our flight was supposed to land at 6:14 eastern, at which time Bambi's dad was going to meet us at the airport and we'd head to Downtown Disney for a DIS meet with several members of the
DIS Dad's Club at 7. We really couldn't afford any delays.
Our flight was scheduled to leave at 2:30, and I kept checking Frontier's website, and it never showed delayed. Maybe we would have a little Pixie Dust on our side. So while Evan and Bambi slept, Madison and I did some shoveling and playing in the snow.
We didn't have much snow, and it wasn't wet enough to make a big snowman, but we did manage to get enough for a snowmouse.
Just like our last flight, we left the van in the garage and loaded up the four wheel drive sleigh and headed north to the airport. And just like our last trip, the snow got heavier as we drove. By the time we pulled into Wendy's for lunch, there was probably 4 or 5 inches on the ground.
Again, I dropped Bambi and the kids off at the terminal and headed out to remote parking. I'm a cheapskate, remember?
The airport was a breeze thanks to online check in, no checked bags and absolutely no security line. Within minutes, we were getting recombobulated. No, really, General Mitchell Airport even has an area of benches and tables just past security where you can do just that: (Please ignore the fact that's it dark outside for our 2:30pm flight. My picture turned out bad so I had to borrow a friend's)
We still had about 2 hours until flight time so we let the kids play in the kid's area down concourse D for a while. Soon enough, we headed down toward our gate when who do we see at the airport? Yup, the right jolly old elf himself.
The kids had a nice chat with him, gave him their wish lists and posed for some pictures. I wonder how he got clearance to land a miniature sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer? Does he have to go through the TSA screening before he leaves? And what was he doing in Concourse D anyway? The International flights are in Concourse A at Mitchell.
So, we find a nice place to sit near the gate and watch all of the other families come piling in around us. Then, 15 minutes before our flight is supposed to leave, and without a plane at the gate, they announce our flight is delayed. No surprise there. We boarded about 40 minutes late and had a relatively uneventful flight.
Frontier has DirecTV on most planes in their fleet. I didn't pay for it (
cheapskate) , but we were treated to a free screening of Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. They also have different animals painted on the tails of their airplanes. For those of you that like to keep track, our plane on the way down was Stan the Ram. (Picture borrowed from Wikipedia)
Soon enough, we were on the ground and in Grandpa's SUV heading toward Downtown Disney.
Kaylene and Kayden had gotten down the day before, visited with some relatives, then caught a ride to DTD with Grandpa. We met them there, then headed over to Ghirardelli's for an ice cream meet with fellow members of the DIS Dad's Club. Left to Right, we have chilicoupons, dvczefs, GoHeard1028, myself, and DisneyDadC.
What a great group of guys. The waited around more than an hour after I was supposed to be there. Thanks fellas!
Ghirardelli's was, as always, fantastic. Our family has a tradition that we go to a local ice cream shop on day of the first snowfall of the year. It usually at 7 block drive. This year it was 1200 miles - but the tradition continues!
We milled around for a bit then headed over to the Earl of Sandwich for Grandma & Grandpa to get some dinner. (We were all full from our ice cream dinner. I love vacation!) There was a musician outside playing remixes of Christmas tunes, all of which had a beat that really made you want to dance. So the kids did.
(I love the way Madison's beads are flying around in that last shot!)
Since this was Kaylene and Kayden's first trip, we all went over to the had store to get Mickey Ear Hats. Here the princess gets carried back to her coach.
It was getting very late, and we had a lot to do the next day. We all headed back to Lakeland to get settled in for the night.
Coming Up Next: A fiasco checking in and (this is hard to believe, but I swear it's true) a very first milkshake
Or should I say hi to 'The woman who single handily kept a whole Brazilian Tour Group at bay, so we could have a good spot for Wishes?'
and thanks!
