Inching My Way Closer to the Castle Final thoughts/future trips 4/2p90 The End 4/4p92

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney

Dude, I don't overpack; instead I've left stuff I need in Orlando waiting for me, it's called my Owner's Locker, remember?



D4D

I'm not gonna lie - that owner's locker is pretty nice. You should see all the stuff Jen has in there - first of all...REAL coffee mugs and secondly......Christmas and Halloween lights. I will admit - the Owner's locker is a nifty little invention. I wish I had thought of it.

I can't believe we didn't take a picture of the owner's locker. We took pictures of everything else....doh!

Originally Posted by KatMark

I'm here and so looking forward to another MaryEllen trip report and the added addition of Jen adding in as well.

Kathy! Are you at the beach now? I know you are still on va-kay! Love those beach vacations where you actually have time to DIS. How was the world?????? Hope you guys had lots and lots of fun!

Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney

I will leave you with a pic of our first ride!




MCO Monorail!

D4D

That is an awesome pic Jen! I think I tried for the same pic but by the time I put all my bags down the monorail was gone.





See what I mean??????

Originally Posted by vamassey1

I admit it. I'm an overpacker!

:

The only time it bothers me is in the airport. Usually I'm with Denny and he takes anything heavy. Jen kept offering to help me but I was determined to suffer in silence because I felt stupid for having all those bags.

Originally Posted by vamassey1

This report is going to be a blast!

I hope so!

Originally Posted by vamassey1

I
Mary Ellen I'm sorry you're feeling bad. It's tough to come back from vacation and be sick. I hope you heal fast.

Thanks. My oldest son was pretty sick this weekend so I'm not surprised I've got it. Hopefully it will stay mild like it is now. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Originally Posted by vamassey1

Jen, I can't wait to find out what you forgot.

It's not so much what she forgot, its the lengths she went to in order to replace it.

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

I'm here, I'm here! I will be back ASAP to read. I'm so far behind on everything due to a lovely little migraine I've been dealing with. I'm excited to read all about it!!

Migraines stink. I hope you are feeling better soon, but in the mean time.....
Brooke! You haven't missed too much yet. Unfortunately, I want get an update in tonight, but hopefully I will do one tomorrow.

[burly]

I'm in on the tag team approach!

[brookelizabeth]

Okay, all caught up now! I'm so excited to hear about BLT - since we are staying there in March!

I'm with Jen - I agree with the motto she has about buying it/not needing it...but on the over-nighting....that sounds like an interesting story!!!

[eandesmom]

Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney

[SIZE="3"][COLOR="Sienna"]I

Mama needs a vaca from being Mama; KWIM?

Completely know what you mean!

Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney

I usually travel with the mantra: If you forgot to pack it, buy it; if you can't buy it, you didn't really need it. After this trip I might amend that to say: if you can't buy it, have a friend overnight it to you! I'm sure we'll talk about that later

Originally Posted by MEK

Ya think?????? I am a really weird packer. I swear I take the same amount of luggage for a 5 day trip as I would for a 10 day trip. I blame it on the running clothes.

sometimes I take more for the short trip, especially if it's in a season where you just don't know how warm/cold it will be!

And besides, I don't think the cooler really counts as a packing/overpacking item. I mean if you drove and stopped by the store, those grocery bags wouldn't count. Right?

Really, I can justify almost anything!

Originally Posted by MEK

for overpacking. I told you we are going to get along so well. We have all the same habits!

Yep.

Coffee on the balcony in the morning - CHECK!
Wine on the balcony in the afternoon - CHECK!
Rum in the refillable mug by the pool - CHECK!
Really good food- CHECK!

Run in the morning....

well...........maybe.

I'll get up and walk though

Originally Posted by MEK

Oh and the DME rockstar......that was your phrase and I thank you for it!

hmmn, now I have to remember who said that about me

Originally Posted by MEK

I really would like to do an update tonight but I managed to pick up the cold that Brian and Nick had while I was away. I gotta tell you, this cold has knocked me on my @$$. I think I might go to bed early tonight, but I promise to update tomorrow.

or were you too busy plotting other adventures?

Originally Posted by vamassey1

I admit it. I'm an overpacker!

we can have a contest, come in May and we will see who over packs the most.

Originally Posted by MEK

I'm not gonna lie - that owner's locker is pretty nice. You should see all the stuff Jen has in there - first of all...REAL coffee mugs and secondly......Christmas and Halloween lights. I will admit - the Owner's locker is a nifty little invention. I wish I had thought of it.

I real coffee cups. I actually ordered special ones for our 09 trip and had them sent to the room as I knew the ones at FW were tiny.

Originally Posted by MEK

It's not so much what she forgot, its the lengths she went to in order to replace it.

I can't wait to see what it is!

[manntra]

Jen---thanks for the pictures of Sherpa Mary Ellen
True I would rather have too much then not pack enough but I always do laundry at least once if I am in a studio and more than that if I am in a 1br. And yeah...the cooler doesn't count
Great pictures of your first ride!

Hope you are feeling better

Tracy

[Dizneydawn]

Holy Cow! I am here and you are not on page 432!!!

Thanks for doing this report and also thanks for everything a few weeks ago. You helped more than I can ever say and I think you are an angel!!!

Now get crackin my friend!

[KatMark]

Originally Posted by MEK

Kathy! Are you at the beach now? I know you are still on va-kay! Love those beach vacations where you actually have time to DIS. How was the world?????? Hope you guys had lots and lots of fun!

Yes, MaryEllen, we are on Marco Island now (we'll be here until midafternoon on Tuesday before our flight home. We spent 90 minute with Nicki at coffee yesterday morning, an hour this morning and tonight we are having dinner with her and her husband, Todd. We are having a blast. And I love being able to finally catch up on the DIS when I need a break from the pool or beach.

[Ducky4Disney]

Ok, ok, the cooler doesn't count. Geesh!

I didn't pack water because I brought my filtered water bottle. BTW: I am still ticked at Brita for discontinuing theirs.

I love my hip pack! I can carry tons of stuff in there and not get tired. I didn't bring my DSLR and I went back and forth between kicking myself for not bringing it and glad I wasn't shlepping it around. I felt bad for Mary Ellen having to carry hers around and then I held it and realized how much lighter it is than mine (Nikon D200). Instead I brought my little Canon SX110 IS which is nice because it's small and light but I had to really work it to get the shots I wanted and even then it has a limited capability.

When I get home I'll put up some pics fromDME Rockstars!

D4D

[vamassey1]

Originally Posted by eandesmom

we can have a contest, come in May and we will see who over packs the most.

I wish I could! When we fly we go Southwest and I do believe in taking advantage of the 2 bags fly free.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by burly

I'm in on the tag team approach!

Oh Yeah....We are really tag teaming this one. I get to do the main updates and than Jen chimes in with everything I forgot....which is usually a lot because I am "old".

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

Okay, all caught up now! I'm so excited to hear about BLT - since we are staying there in March!

I'm with Jen - I agree with the motto she has about buying it/not needing it...but on the over-nighting....that sounds like an interesting story!!!

March eh? NICE! How did I miss this little tidbit of information. All I can say is the location is EXCELLENT and you will love it with Henry.

It was a very interesting little gadget she needed overnighted.....but more on that later!

Originally Posted by eandesmom

Completely know what you mean!

Everyone needs a break from their everyday routine and responsibilities so I hear ya both on that one!

Originally Posted by eandesmom

sometimes I take more for the short trip, especially if it's in a season where you just don't know how warm/cold it will be!

And besides, I don't think the cooler really counts as a packing/overpacking item. I mean if you drove and stopped by the store, those grocery bags wouldn't count. Right?

Really, I can justify almost anything!




we can have a contest, come in May and we will see who over packs the most.

I love that....complete justification for over packing. But you're right - grocery bags don't count so why should a cooler filled with water, beer, and COFFEE!!!!!!!! count!

Oh...and a contest.....you're on. Remember - I get FREE luggage. God, I love those SWA commercials - they crack me up everytime!

Originally Posted by eandesmom

C
Coffee on the balcony in the morning - CHECK!
Wine on the balcony in the afternoon - CHECK!
Rum in the refillable mug by the pool - CHECK!
Really good food- CHECK!

Run in the morning....

well...........maybe.

I'll get up and walk though

Walking is good. I will accept that as a substitute for running. It's exercise. It's relaxing. It's peaceful.

I can't wait to run around the boardwalk. That is going to be crazy!

Originally Posted by eandesmom

I real coffee cups. I actually ordered special ones for our 09 trip and had them sent to the room as I knew the ones at FW were tiny.

I love them too. They are so superior to plastic refillable drink mugs!

Originally Posted by manntra

Jen---thanks for the pictures of Sherpa Mary Ellen
True I would rather have too much then not pack enough but I always do laundry at least once if I am in a studio and more than that if I am in a 1br. And yeah...the cooler doesn't count
Great pictures of your first ride!

Hope you are feeling better

Tracy

Sherpa Mary Ellen....OMG.....I busted out laughing when I read this!!!!! It's especially funny because I almost bought a sherpa blanket at costco. It was so soft and cushy, but I was good, I resisted, I put it back.

I am feeling better - thanks. I think I might be able to kick this cold without too much problem.

Originally Posted by Dizneydawn

Holy Cow! I am here and you are not on page 432!!!

Thanks for doing this report and also thanks for everything a few weeks ago. You helped more than I can ever say and I think you are an angel!!!

Now get crackin my friend!

Dawn!!!!! So glad you stopped by!!!!!

And I am very happy I could help you out! I knew everything would work out for you and the kids. I'm so glad you made the decision you did. You've got great kids with a lot of character!!!!

Originally Posted by KatMark

Yes, MaryEllen, we are on Marco Island now (we'll be here until midafternoon on Tuesday before our flight home. We spent 90 minute with Nicki at coffee yesterday morning, an hour this morning and tonight we are having dinner with her and her husband, Todd. We are having a blast. And I love being able to finally catch up on the DIS when I need a break from the pool or beach.

I am so glad you are having a great time!!!! I know you must need an occasional break from all the pool and beach time. It must get really tiring! I hope you guys have a great dinner tonight!!!!! Catch a few rays for me!

Originally Posted by Ducky4Disney

Ok, ok, the cooler doesn't count. Geesh!

I didn't pack water because I brought my filtered water bottle. BTW: I am still ticked at Brita for discontinuing theirs.

I love my hip pack! I can carry tons of stuff in there and not get tired. I didn't bring my DSLR and I went back and forth between kicking myself for not bringing it and glad I wasn't shlepping it around. I felt bad for Mary Ellen having to carry hers around and then I held it and realized how much lighter it is than mine (Nikon D200). Instead I brought my little Canon SX110 IS which is nice because it's small and light but I had to really work it to get the shots I wanted and even then it has a limited capability.

When I get home I'll put up some pics fromDME Rockstars!

D4D

Oh Yeah.....my camera is nice and light. That's why I love it! I still think you got wonderful pictures with your camera cause you actually KNOW what you are doing. I am completely faking it.

DME rockstars...Oh Yeah.......

[MEK]

Well, I'm not gonna lie. I originally had a little hesitation about flying on 9-11. I'm not really superstitious, but the enormity of that day makes it very difficult not to think about flying. I originally booked my flight for 9/12. When I looked at the 9/11 flights they were the same price and there were ONLY 4 flights on SWA from Philly to Orlando. I guess that proves that a lot of people don't want to fly on 9/11. Ultimately the 9/11 flight prices dropped and I rebooked to save $50 and to get an extra Disney night!

I will always remember where I was on 9/11. I remember the patients' rooms I was in when the first tower fell and when the second tower fell. I remember a patient coming out of his room to announce that a second plane hit. It was pretty difficult to concentrate on work when the enormity of the situation became apparent. Reading about 9/11 and seeing documentaries always produces a visceral response in me. I am fascinated by the events of that day. Its so hard to conceive of all the tiny moments the make up the time from the departure of the first flight to the fall of the twin towers. So many things went wrong that day. Not just the terrorist attack that rocked the nation, but the inadequate response of EMS. The efforts of the police and firefighters in NYC were extremely uncoordinated and surprisingly ineffective for what was require to respond to an event of this magnitude. I am not criticizing either the police or the fire fighters. I am just saying that none of their well intentioned efforts could have resulted in a better outcome. Their radio frequencies were different and one group had no idea what the other was doing. They were ascending dark stairs carrying 50lbs of equipment without any effective means of communication. All this unfolding in a building that was supposed to be fireproof.

I bought a book sometime during the past year. It was on the discount rack at Borders. It was an extremely well researched and well written book that compiled thousands of phone records and hundreds of personal accounts in order to tell the real story of 911. There were behind the scene heros, there were people who responded with profound inner strength, and there were people who crumbled under pressure. There were survivors through a combination of sheer will and lucky timing and there were people who were doomed from the first impact. There was miscommunication and delays in emptying both the buildings. There was no way possible that helicopters could reach roof-top inhabitants. In some ways it was a day of Russian roulette.

For many months after 911 I hung a full size newspaper clipping on my refrigerator. It listed the names of every person who perished in NYC, Washington DC, and Schwenksville, PA. I told myself I was never going to part with it so I would always remember those people. But I guess one day Denny took it down and before I realized it was missing, it was out in the trash.

One of the first pieces of music I wrote was after 911....

Sometime ago we saw a firery ball from from the sky
The buildings fell and so much innocence died
We shook our heads in disbelieve
Our mouths opened wide
Then we paused to ask the Lord the question
"Tell me why? Can you tell me why?"

Hard to believe people among us live such lies
They hide it well, the evil glazed beneath their eyes
Do they ever feel sorrow?
Do they ever feel pain?
And even though we think we know the answer,
the question will always remain

The soldiers, they march to the front line
They hide it well, the fear etched beneath their eyes
They pray for their children and those yet to be born
But most of all the prayer that mankind will end,
end all war

So on 9/11 I was set to fly and for me I had to pretend it was like any other day. That was hard to do because Denny always has the Fox news network on. Every time I walked by the TV I saw video recaps on 9/11. I finally asked Denny if he wouldn't mind turning it off.

I finished my morning chores and then stopped by Walgreens to buy a Disney gift card to support my drinking habit. When I got home I made a serious rookie mistake. I got out my DME labels only to realize that I only had 1 left. I gave one to Jen weeks before and there was one left for me. I had originally thought that it was actually 2 tags. After I cut the tag in two, I found out my original thinking was incorrect. DOH! DOUBLE DOH! I had two pieces of luggage and only one tag - and now that tag was in two parts!

I texted Jen to tell her that I wasn't going to use the DME luggage delivery and I told her I hoped she wasn't mad at the inconvenience.

I left for the airport shortly after 10am. I needed to do a Costco drive by to return the memory card I bought - yeah I bought the wrong size. Easy to do, but this is the second time I have done that. Sheesh! All I can say is they all look the same size on that cardboard picture. I got in the return line and Denny ran in and bought me the correct memory card. Thank you Denny.

On the way to the airport I had a momentary feeling of panic. I had texted Jen twice that morning and I still hadn't heard back from her. Just as I was starting to think she dumped me, she finally texted me back explaining that she just got a new cool phone and forgot to turn the sound up! Jen was almost at the airport and I was still at least 20 or 25 mins behind her.

9/11 was a ghost town at the Philly airport. Seriously dead. I didn't even see any sky cabs outside and I LOVE those guys. I will seriously tip them any day over standing in the regular line. There was definitely a strong security guard presence at the airport. Once we checked our luggage (which took all of 30 seconds) we headed to the gait and grabbed some lunch at Mickey D's. We were both hesitant to take any pictures before the flight because we both felt uncomfortable.

Our flight left right on time and we were off the plane shortly after 3pm. Of course, SWA lands on side A and DME is on Side B, so we had a little back tracking to do after we got our luggage.

Jen is really good at making friends with people and she was already striking up a conversation with a fellow passenger as we were leaving the plane. While she was yaking it up, I took this picture of the pretty tile floor at MCO. I love this floor and I have always wanted a picture, so I finally had time to grab my camera,,,,,,,


The woman that Jen met was on her way to her 14th DVC member cruise. 14???? She told us that she had a total of 1600 points spread across the majority of DVCresorts. I thought Melissa was the point Czar, but I think she has us all beat in combined pointage. When Jen asked her if she visited the DIS boards she clammed up a bit and said she used to frequent the boards but she stopped because there was too much "misinformation". Uhmmm? Oooooooh Kaaaaaaaaay? So when we got to the monorail she got on her car and we got on our car and our paths never crossed again.

I actually took some pictures from the monorail. Might as well since I already had the camera out to take pictures of the floor.







Harry Potter is clearly well represented at MCO.....



One of these trips I AM going to get to Sea World.....



Finally Jen and Sherpa Mary Ellen made their way to this sign........



We were ushered into a line with POR, SSR, and Fort Wilderness passengers. We didn't have to stand too long until we were seated in a nice comfy bus. And with that Jen gave the Day 1 Sign



I'm not gonna lie - I completely stole this idea from Dawn's TR. But I love it so I made Jen provide daily sign language everyday.

Our bus driver was......



And he announced that he would be dropping off passengers in this order......

POFQ
POR
SSR
Fort Wilderness.

When I texted that information to cynthia she texted back "DME Rockstar". Yup, that's us! We totally rock.

In Case you forgot what a DME bus looks like, here you go......



We sat and looked at this screen for too long before the actual movie started....



And when it did I couldn't resist but take a few select pictures.......















This next picture will illustrate why you MUST sit in the front of the bus (not the back) if you want to get a decent picture of this........



Finally we have arrived at POFQ and despite the fact that our bags were the last to be unloaded, Norm did give exceptional service.....



Next Up.......Let's take the Bus, I mean boat, to DDT!

[vamassey1]

Wow flying on 9/11. I loved your song. Very thought provoking.

You have arrived! Congrats on being DME rockstars.

[Lady Lallie]

I honestly don't know if I could fly on 9/11. I remember that day so vividly, I don't think I will ever forget. Love your lyrics.

I love your tile floor picture, very pretty and artistic.

You are so good taking bus pictures, I didn't even get my camera out.

[Charleston Princess]

I am with Leslie, I don't know if I could fly on 9/11. I was in the middle of teaching (6th grade) when everything happened. Such a horrific day!

Love all your pictures of the airport! You know you are in Florida when you see the palm trees!

[Nermel9]

You are brave for flying on 9/11, I don't know if I could do it! I'm afraid of flying enough as it is!

I've never used DME, we always rent a car at the airport, but I'd like to someday, just so I could watch that movie!

I never think of taking pictures on the mini monorail, I'm definitely going to this time!