BethC1952
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2001
- Messages
- 3,949
I'll be posting the "Sea" portion of this report on the Cruise Line Trip Reports board within a day or two.
Day 1 - We leave (and arrive, and visit Disney-MGM Studio)
The big day started early--we woke at 4 AM (flight was scheduled for 8 AM at Newark Airport, a little over an hour from home), and limo was scheduled to arrive at 5:15. I followed my regular morning routine of peeking out my bedroom window to check the weather. I pulled the drape back enough to see out and saw--nothing! The fog was so thick that I couldn't see the trees on my lawn, less than five feet from the window. This was not a good sign. We got up and finished our absolute last-minute packing (nighttime medication, toothbrushes, etc.)
and then we waited--and waited. The limo driver finally arrived at 6 AM. We understood, due to the incredible fog. He also told us that, at the time he last checked, the airport was fogged-in and there was no estimate of when flights would begin to take off!
Our trip to the airport was entirely uneventful. We arrived just after 7:15, delayed only slightly be the fog, which was now lifting a bit. I don't do curbside checking of my luggage, since I feel better knowing that I've done all I can to assure that my bags and I will be on the same plane. We had e-tickets, which should have given us an easy check-in, but the machine wasn't working properly and we had to find someone to finalize our boarding passes. They did tell us, however, that the airport would be re-opened to departures at 8:00, so we might have a two or three hour delay, but we would get off the ground before noon!
We arrived at the gate just as the final boarding call was issued, found our seats with no problem and settled in. We left the gate a few minutes after 8 (not bad, considering), and the captain made his cheerful "good morning and welcome to Continental Airlines Flight ". He also mentioned that we were 35th in line for takeoff! Looking out the window, I could see more traffic on the runway than on the New Jersey Turnpike, which runs beside the airport. However, traffic moved quickly and we were soon next in line. During the wait, we were all amused by the little boy across the aisle, who kept asking his mother when the flight would "blast off"!
Great flight--until about 20 minutes from Orlando. Then we ran into some pockets of turbulence, which tossed the plane around a little bit, and made a bit of a bumpy landing. Bumpy enough, in fact, that the little boy who couldn't wait to "blast off" needed several airsick bags before the plane arrived at the gate. Even with the delays, however, our flight landed five minutes earlier than scheduled!
We gathered our luggage and headed for the Mears Shuttle, with a little trepidation after reading about them on a few message boards. The experience was entirely satisfactory. We waited less than ten minutes for a bus which would take us to Port Orleans Riverside, with one stop at Port Orleans French Quarter.
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As we pulled into French Quarter, I was thrilled with the sight. I couldn't imagine that Riverside could ever be as nice.
We pulled into Riverside, and my fears were immediately eased. The driver unloaded our bags, and the magic of Disney began. The bellman took our bags (except our day bag) to the luggage storage area, gave us a ticket and explained that, once we checked in, we should call bell services and they would bring our bags within fifteen minutes. They also gave us directions to the lobby and front desk area.
Check-in was a breeze. The Cast Member at the desk was very helpful and friendly and efficient. However, just as we were getting ready to get our KTTWs, he asked us to wait there was something he had to take care of. He returned a moment later with a lovely box of chocolates and a "Happy Anniversary" note! (Thanks, Debby at Atlantic Travel in Long Branch!) He also gave us a map with the route to our room marked on it don't lose your map! Even though it was only 1:30, our room was ready and we could go right there. We were headed to Alligator Bayou, Room 3717, almost as far from the lobby as you can get. The walk is lovely, however, and the grounds are beautiful, and DH and I were prepared for miles of walking on this trip.
Our room was very nice, and it was a first-floor corner room with a garden view (just luck of the draw we didn't ask for anything except a standard room). Our luggage arrived about five minutes after we called; we unpacked and set out on our first Disney adventure in 16 years. And that adventure had to begin with food. We headed back to the food court, to eat and to pick up our refillable mugs. We think the mugs were one of our best decisions on the trip. We drink lots of tea and soft drinks, and it was good to know that we could get them any time. We also carried them with us to the parks each day, filled with ice. By the time we were ready for refreshment, we had ice water, and were able to fill them at every water fountain we found.
And now a word about our touring plan we didn't have one. Our goal was to relax, to find each other again after 28 1/2 years of marriage. We wanted a no-pressure, no-rush vacation with some magic thrown in. The only plan we made was which park we would go to on which day. Our first afternoon/evening was designated for Disney MGM Studios. Plenty of research and the friendly people here had let me know that the transportation system still worked pretty much the way it did 16 years ago, and we did find that it helped to have a mental map of Walt Disney World! We walked to the North Bus Depot (about a minute from our door) and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom, where we switched to the ferry to the Ticket and Transportation Center, and the bus to Disney/MGM. Less than 45 minutes after we left our room, we were through the gate of the Studios and admiring the architecture! I've been to Hollywood, but DH hasn't, and he was thrilled when I told him that it felt "real". We wandered around the entire park, stopping in almost all of the stores. I love to shop--I don't buy much, but I love shopping! We aren't thrill ride people, nor were we in the mood to sit through any movies (we sat enough on the plane!), and character sightings and such aren't really our thing, but we did go to the Muppet 3D Adventure. It was a wonderful way to start our trip! DH and I both have some visual problems, and, in the past, most 3D has been lost on us, but our new eyeglasses proved worth every penny! The effects are great with a few surprises thrown in.
We spent a few hours there, and, once we were satisfied that we had seen what we wanted to see and taken pictures of everything we could, we decided to head back to our room to get some rest so that we could tackle the Animal Kingdom in morning and a water park later in the day.
On our way back, we stopped once more at the food court, intending to fill our mugs with tea and go back to the room and relax. It was then that we both remembered that it was my birthday! So we stopped for ice cream and called it a night.
So far, the Disney magic was working!
Day 1 - We leave (and arrive, and visit Disney-MGM Studio)
The big day started early--we woke at 4 AM (flight was scheduled for 8 AM at Newark Airport, a little over an hour from home), and limo was scheduled to arrive at 5:15. I followed my regular morning routine of peeking out my bedroom window to check the weather. I pulled the drape back enough to see out and saw--nothing! The fog was so thick that I couldn't see the trees on my lawn, less than five feet from the window. This was not a good sign. We got up and finished our absolute last-minute packing (nighttime medication, toothbrushes, etc.)
and then we waited--and waited. The limo driver finally arrived at 6 AM. We understood, due to the incredible fog. He also told us that, at the time he last checked, the airport was fogged-in and there was no estimate of when flights would begin to take off!
Our trip to the airport was entirely uneventful. We arrived just after 7:15, delayed only slightly be the fog, which was now lifting a bit. I don't do curbside checking of my luggage, since I feel better knowing that I've done all I can to assure that my bags and I will be on the same plane. We had e-tickets, which should have given us an easy check-in, but the machine wasn't working properly and we had to find someone to finalize our boarding passes. They did tell us, however, that the airport would be re-opened to departures at 8:00, so we might have a two or three hour delay, but we would get off the ground before noon!
We arrived at the gate just as the final boarding call was issued, found our seats with no problem and settled in. We left the gate a few minutes after 8 (not bad, considering), and the captain made his cheerful "good morning and welcome to Continental Airlines Flight ". He also mentioned that we were 35th in line for takeoff! Looking out the window, I could see more traffic on the runway than on the New Jersey Turnpike, which runs beside the airport. However, traffic moved quickly and we were soon next in line. During the wait, we were all amused by the little boy across the aisle, who kept asking his mother when the flight would "blast off"!
Great flight--until about 20 minutes from Orlando. Then we ran into some pockets of turbulence, which tossed the plane around a little bit, and made a bit of a bumpy landing. Bumpy enough, in fact, that the little boy who couldn't wait to "blast off" needed several airsick bags before the plane arrived at the gate. Even with the delays, however, our flight landed five minutes earlier than scheduled!
We gathered our luggage and headed for the Mears Shuttle, with a little trepidation after reading about them on a few message boards. The experience was entirely satisfactory. We waited less than ten minutes for a bus which would take us to Port Orleans Riverside, with one stop at Port Orleans French Quarter.
------------------
As we pulled into French Quarter, I was thrilled with the sight. I couldn't imagine that Riverside could ever be as nice.
We pulled into Riverside, and my fears were immediately eased. The driver unloaded our bags, and the magic of Disney began. The bellman took our bags (except our day bag) to the luggage storage area, gave us a ticket and explained that, once we checked in, we should call bell services and they would bring our bags within fifteen minutes. They also gave us directions to the lobby and front desk area.
Check-in was a breeze. The Cast Member at the desk was very helpful and friendly and efficient. However, just as we were getting ready to get our KTTWs, he asked us to wait there was something he had to take care of. He returned a moment later with a lovely box of chocolates and a "Happy Anniversary" note! (Thanks, Debby at Atlantic Travel in Long Branch!) He also gave us a map with the route to our room marked on it don't lose your map! Even though it was only 1:30, our room was ready and we could go right there. We were headed to Alligator Bayou, Room 3717, almost as far from the lobby as you can get. The walk is lovely, however, and the grounds are beautiful, and DH and I were prepared for miles of walking on this trip.
Our room was very nice, and it was a first-floor corner room with a garden view (just luck of the draw we didn't ask for anything except a standard room). Our luggage arrived about five minutes after we called; we unpacked and set out on our first Disney adventure in 16 years. And that adventure had to begin with food. We headed back to the food court, to eat and to pick up our refillable mugs. We think the mugs were one of our best decisions on the trip. We drink lots of tea and soft drinks, and it was good to know that we could get them any time. We also carried them with us to the parks each day, filled with ice. By the time we were ready for refreshment, we had ice water, and were able to fill them at every water fountain we found.
And now a word about our touring plan we didn't have one. Our goal was to relax, to find each other again after 28 1/2 years of marriage. We wanted a no-pressure, no-rush vacation with some magic thrown in. The only plan we made was which park we would go to on which day. Our first afternoon/evening was designated for Disney MGM Studios. Plenty of research and the friendly people here had let me know that the transportation system still worked pretty much the way it did 16 years ago, and we did find that it helped to have a mental map of Walt Disney World! We walked to the North Bus Depot (about a minute from our door) and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom, where we switched to the ferry to the Ticket and Transportation Center, and the bus to Disney/MGM. Less than 45 minutes after we left our room, we were through the gate of the Studios and admiring the architecture! I've been to Hollywood, but DH hasn't, and he was thrilled when I told him that it felt "real". We wandered around the entire park, stopping in almost all of the stores. I love to shop--I don't buy much, but I love shopping! We aren't thrill ride people, nor were we in the mood to sit through any movies (we sat enough on the plane!), and character sightings and such aren't really our thing, but we did go to the Muppet 3D Adventure. It was a wonderful way to start our trip! DH and I both have some visual problems, and, in the past, most 3D has been lost on us, but our new eyeglasses proved worth every penny! The effects are great with a few surprises thrown in.
We spent a few hours there, and, once we were satisfied that we had seen what we wanted to see and taken pictures of everything we could, we decided to head back to our room to get some rest so that we could tackle the Animal Kingdom in morning and a water park later in the day.
On our way back, we stopped once more at the food court, intending to fill our mugs with tea and go back to the room and relax. It was then that we both remembered that it was my birthday! So we stopped for ice cream and called it a night.
So far, the Disney magic was working!
