Cast: Beth (me: 40, planner, fretter, trip #9)
Dh: Mark (39, a great big wonderful kid, always up for a lark,trip #5)
DS: N. (trip #5, pre teen, and determined to do every ride he was too afraid of on his last trip)
DD: A. (trip #4, 7yo, so totally psyched)
Saturday, August 3: Our SW flight leaves about 8:30 in the morning, so I figure we'll get to the airport about 2 hours early, check in & get boarding passes at the curb, then have breakfast in the airport. We leave the house about 5:45am, and we make great time. I'm glad we've arrived at the airport early because there is a long line at curbside. We hit the line, check in smoothly, get our passes (Boarding Group A, so I'm confident we'll all sit together). Then we kick back & just wait at the gate. Security was cool at the airport, we were checked pretty thoroughly, and saw others being detained, but everyone was pretty good about it.
I understand that the flight went well, I thought it was a bumpy ride through hell, but everyone else felt it went smoothly. I must say that our FA's on SW were awesome...they were making jokes with everyone, smiling & laughing. They seemed very comfortable with the flight, too. Clearly they were insane.
We arrive in Orlando about 11:30am, and proceed to the baggage claim, where our Tiffany driver is supposed to meet us. He's not there, so we go in search of our luggage, while M. loiters around the escalators waiting for our driver. M. gets the biggest charge out of seeing the guy with our name on the sign...this may be one of the highlights of his trip. When he finds him, he sends the driver off to get the car, and then retrieves the kids & I at the luggage carousel.
We go out to the front, and you know, it wasn't much hotter in Orlando than it was back home...not bad. Our driver, Marcello picks us up, and we're off. Marcello was ok: young & handsome (Brazilian), and also a part time life guard at Port Orleans. He was quiet though, and didn't have a whole lot to say, so we interviewed him all the way to the hotel. We tipped him $15.00 when he dropped us off.
I loooove arriving at the Polynesian! The guys who help you with your luggage out front are so great, not only do they take care of your bags, but they make you feel so welcome. Laird took good care of us here, and M. tipped a buck a bag. Inside we check in with Raul (very pleasant) and we got everything we requested: Tokelau, non smoking room, with full balcony...it was 3rd floor (now I've read that the rooms on the 3rd floor are smoking optional, but there was a tag on our door that read "Non Smoking Room"). Our room was ready immediately...WOW! and Richard brought us & our luggage to our room, and this guy is awesome! On the ride on the little cart, he pointed out everything, and had lots of suggestions & ideas for us: Capt. Cooks is open 24 hrs; don't forget sunscreen; Monday is the busiest day in the parks (he said);go in early, & then again at night. He told us about the buses, the TTC & the Character Caravan...he was great!).
Our room was nice, standard, with a good view of the gardens. The daybed mattress was great, but the two queen bed mattresses were a little...worn, I guess I'd say. I could feel the coils on mine. We didn't stop to unpack, we were starving, so straight to Kona Cafe for lunch & pina coladas (cokes for the kids). While we're sitting there, the skies opened up and the rains poured down. My gosh, I couldn't believe how much rain fell. It lasted all through lunch, and didn't stop. We got our WDW ponchos from last time (though N. needed a new one because he no longer fits a child size) and headed to Epcot. We love Epcot. The kids really like the Coke Ice Station (haven't been? Try Italy's beverage (tee hee). Then we saw HISTA...A. got spooked at the lion part, but otherwise liked it ok. The rest of us loved it! For us the World Showcase is the highlight of Epcot, and we got to England just in time to see the British Invasion...M & I really enjoyed this, but N. thought the music was boring (boring?!) and A. was wet and wanted to shop. We made the kids stand in the rain (cruel parents) and listen to the tunes, then we headed onto France and saw the Living Statues...we got to see them 3x on this trip, and they were always a riot. By this time the rain had pretty much stopped, and the kids were a little tired, so we headed back to the room. I laid down on the bed...just for a minute, mind you...and didn't wake up until Sunday morning. M. took the kids to the pool (they thought the volcano pool was cool, but wayy too crowded, so they stuck to the quiet pool) then got them some dinner, watched the boat parade & fireworks and put them to bed.
We made it...and the arrival was every bit as magical as every other trip we've ever made.
Dh: Mark (39, a great big wonderful kid, always up for a lark,trip #5)
DS: N. (trip #5, pre teen, and determined to do every ride he was too afraid of on his last trip)
DD: A. (trip #4, 7yo, so totally psyched)
Saturday, August 3: Our SW flight leaves about 8:30 in the morning, so I figure we'll get to the airport about 2 hours early, check in & get boarding passes at the curb, then have breakfast in the airport. We leave the house about 5:45am, and we make great time. I'm glad we've arrived at the airport early because there is a long line at curbside. We hit the line, check in smoothly, get our passes (Boarding Group A, so I'm confident we'll all sit together). Then we kick back & just wait at the gate. Security was cool at the airport, we were checked pretty thoroughly, and saw others being detained, but everyone was pretty good about it.
I understand that the flight went well, I thought it was a bumpy ride through hell, but everyone else felt it went smoothly. I must say that our FA's on SW were awesome...they were making jokes with everyone, smiling & laughing. They seemed very comfortable with the flight, too. Clearly they were insane.
We arrive in Orlando about 11:30am, and proceed to the baggage claim, where our Tiffany driver is supposed to meet us. He's not there, so we go in search of our luggage, while M. loiters around the escalators waiting for our driver. M. gets the biggest charge out of seeing the guy with our name on the sign...this may be one of the highlights of his trip. When he finds him, he sends the driver off to get the car, and then retrieves the kids & I at the luggage carousel.
We go out to the front, and you know, it wasn't much hotter in Orlando than it was back home...not bad. Our driver, Marcello picks us up, and we're off. Marcello was ok: young & handsome (Brazilian), and also a part time life guard at Port Orleans. He was quiet though, and didn't have a whole lot to say, so we interviewed him all the way to the hotel. We tipped him $15.00 when he dropped us off.
I loooove arriving at the Polynesian! The guys who help you with your luggage out front are so great, not only do they take care of your bags, but they make you feel so welcome. Laird took good care of us here, and M. tipped a buck a bag. Inside we check in with Raul (very pleasant) and we got everything we requested: Tokelau, non smoking room, with full balcony...it was 3rd floor (now I've read that the rooms on the 3rd floor are smoking optional, but there was a tag on our door that read "Non Smoking Room"). Our room was ready immediately...WOW! and Richard brought us & our luggage to our room, and this guy is awesome! On the ride on the little cart, he pointed out everything, and had lots of suggestions & ideas for us: Capt. Cooks is open 24 hrs; don't forget sunscreen; Monday is the busiest day in the parks (he said);go in early, & then again at night. He told us about the buses, the TTC & the Character Caravan...he was great!).
Our room was nice, standard, with a good view of the gardens. The daybed mattress was great, but the two queen bed mattresses were a little...worn, I guess I'd say. I could feel the coils on mine. We didn't stop to unpack, we were starving, so straight to Kona Cafe for lunch & pina coladas (cokes for the kids). While we're sitting there, the skies opened up and the rains poured down. My gosh, I couldn't believe how much rain fell. It lasted all through lunch, and didn't stop. We got our WDW ponchos from last time (though N. needed a new one because he no longer fits a child size) and headed to Epcot. We love Epcot. The kids really like the Coke Ice Station (haven't been? Try Italy's beverage (tee hee). Then we saw HISTA...A. got spooked at the lion part, but otherwise liked it ok. The rest of us loved it! For us the World Showcase is the highlight of Epcot, and we got to England just in time to see the British Invasion...M & I really enjoyed this, but N. thought the music was boring (boring?!) and A. was wet and wanted to shop. We made the kids stand in the rain (cruel parents) and listen to the tunes, then we headed onto France and saw the Living Statues...we got to see them 3x on this trip, and they were always a riot. By this time the rain had pretty much stopped, and the kids were a little tired, so we headed back to the room. I laid down on the bed...just for a minute, mind you...and didn't wake up until Sunday morning. M. took the kids to the pool (they thought the volcano pool was cool, but wayy too crowded, so they stuck to the quiet pool) then got them some dinner, watched the boat parade & fireworks and put them to bed.
We made it...and the arrival was every bit as magical as every other trip we've ever made.
Krissy
