B'rer Karen's June 2003 trip--Pre-trip and Day 1

[B'rer Karen]

Cast of Characters:
Karen: That’s me. 28 y/o Disney addict who is taking four trips to Disney this
year.
Michelle: aka M, 30 y/o, one of my closest friends in the world who I’ve known
since high school.
Steve: Michelle’s husband, 32 y/o Also known since high school, although I
didn’t really get to know him until after they got married. A great guy
who I also count amongst my closest friends.
Andrew: aka Drew, M and Steve’s 4 y/o son who I absolutely adore!
Nathan: aka Nate, M and Steves’s 3 y/o son and my wonderful godson!

Pre-Trip
My friends M and Steve had been planning to take a family vacation to WDW in March 2004. They were going to do the Disney Cruise followed by a few days at WDW. But then in May WDW came out with a wonderful offer for military personnel called the Military Salute. On top of the cheaper hotel rates offered to the military, they could also get special park passes. Steve is in the Coast Guard, so his pass would be completely free. He could also purchase up to 5 more tickets for friends and family for $99 each. The passes are 5-day ultimate park hoppers. This was an offer too good to pass up. So they quickly changed their plans and decided to just take the cruise next spring and go to WDW now.
They started planning when they would go and decided to go the first week of June. They would be driving from CT and were discussing the drive down. They decided to see about stopping in and seeing me in NC, as they hadn’t seen my house yet and M had been talking about bringing the boys down sometime this summer anyway. And then it dawns on M; I have an annual pass. Maybe I’d like to go with them. So on Sunday May 17th, M called me up and asked if I’d like to go to Disney with them. Well of course I wanted to. I always want to go to Disney, even if I was just there in March and I have trips planned for September and October! But I had just gotten back from vacation (went to Vegas), and it was only two weeks away. Could I get the time off of work?
I went in to work on May 18th and checked my vacation balance. I had some time left, but I had really wanted to carry a week over at the end of the year. But I could eat a day into that. I figured I could only afford to take 3 days off, June 2-4. Now I just had to get approval. I talked to my boss and he told me if I could get everything covered, I could go. Oh my gosh, I am going to Disney in less than 2 weeks. I can’t plan, get ready, and pack in less than 2 weeks, could I? If it means going to Disney, you better believe it.

5/31/03
M, Steve, Drew, and Nate left CT around 4:30 am Saturday morning. They arrived at my house in NC around 4:00 pm. Quite a long day for them. As we wanted to get an early start the next day, that meant an early night tonight. We cooked out on the grill (in the garage since it started pouring!) and had a nice dinner, taking the time to catch up with one another. We hadn’t seen each other in a year and I had missed all of them, most especially the boys. They had gotten so big! And they’re so much fun. I knew this was going to be a great Disney trip. We made it to bed around 10 pm and planned to get up around 3 am so we could hit the road by 4.

6/1/03
My alarm went off at the obnoxious hour of 3 am. Not that I was really sleeping! I quickly took a shower and then woke M and Steve up. I had coffee brewing while we were getting ready. The boys were excited too. They’re not normally early risers, but they were up and at ‘em today, ready for Disney! We did a great job of getting everyone ready and we pulled out of the driveway promptly at 4 am. I was driving separate for two reasons. 1) There was no way all 5 of us and our gear was going to fit in one of our vehicles. 2) M and Steve would be staying in Florida for the whole week, but I would be heading back on Wednesday. So we had our own mini caravan driving down to Orlando. M and Steve had the two-way radios, and we kept one in each car so we could keep in contact with one another on the way down.
Our first stop was 2 hours into our trip at 6 am. We stopped at South of the Border, which is on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina. Steve needed to fill up his gas tank and fill up his coffee cup. It was a short stop and we were quickly back on I-95. Our next stop was at 8 am for breakfast. We stopped at a rest stop in South Carolina that had a McDonald’s. We ate breakfast, refueled our cars, hit the restroom, and got something to take with us to drink on the road, and then we were off. We drove through Georgia and into Florida before it was time for another short break. We hit the restroom and topped off our tanks. Next stop, Walt Disney World!
The sight of the big arch welcoming us to the Walt Disney World Resort came into view, I was filled with excitement. I was home!!! Throughout the trip M and Steve had been in the lead, while I followed. But when we entered the property, M came over the two-way and asked if I’d like to take the lead. You bet I would! I pulled in front and led us to our hotel, the Dolphin. We arrived at 1:30 pm
Steve and I checked in, and then parked the cars while M took the boys, the bellman, and our luggage, up to our rooms. We had adjoining rooms on the 8th floor. I had never had an adjoining room with someone before. That was a lot of fun, and the boys liked going back and forth between the rooms. Somehow I lucked out and got a balcony. I guess it is luck of the draw since every other room had a balcony. I had stayed at the Swan before, but never the Dolphin, so I was excited to try a new hotel. You can’t beat the location. I love being that close to Epcot. The rooms were good size, each with 2 queen beds. There was a safe in the closest, a sink area with a lot of counter space outside of the shower and toilet, and another separate sink and counter area next to the closet. This would work quite nicely. I also liked the theming in the halls. It was like you were at the beach and each room was a cabana.
Once we were settled in, it was time to go to our first stop, the Magic Kingdom. M told me that this was where they always started their Disney vacations, and, as luck would have it, that’s my tradition too! We headed to the bus stop and didn’t have to wait long for our MK bus to arrive. A short time later we were there! I think I was just as excited as the kids! As it was late in the day, the security lines were short and it didn’t take very long to get in. M and Steve first had to stop at Guest Relations to purchase their military salute passes. As we were waiting in line, M made a comment that if I didn’t have an AP, they could have purchased a military salute ticket for me. Then M came up with a brilliant thought, they could purchase one for my mother! I am taking my mom for a 4-day weekend in October so we can go to the food and wine festival. I had planned on just buying her a 4-day hopper and paying for entry in to PI one night. That would have cost me over $200, so this was a wonderful offer. I so appreciated M thinking of it. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. But the offer is for friends and family, so it was all on the up and up. We did run into a little problem with the passes though. When they purchased them, they were given Steve’s, which had his name on it and it said “comped” on the back of it, since his was free. The other 4 passes all had Steve’s name on it and they were all identical. They all said “5-Day Military Salute $99” on the back, even though they told the Cast Member that they would need 2 adult and 2 child tickets. The Cast Member handed them the tickets and just said to make sure that whichever ticket each person used, they used that ticket again. No problem. M let each of the boys pick the character (on the front of the ticket) that they wanted, and she’d remember whose ticket was who’s based on that. So M hands me the ticket for my mom, which I put away. I go through using my AP. Steve goes through the turnstile, doing the finger scan for the first time to activate his pass. M sends on of the boys through with their ticket, and then sends the next one through and it’s asking for a finger scan. These guys are too little to reach the finger scan. The cast member just waves him through. Then M goes through, also doing the finger scan to activate hers. We thought all was fine, but it would come back to haunt us later.
We really didn’t have a plan of where to start so we just headed down Main Street. We stopped at the board in the hub that tells you all the wait times. Buzz didn’t have a long wait so we decided to make that our first ride. M and Drew rode together, Nate and I rode together, and Steve was a lone gunman. Nate and Drew did pretty well for not being able to aim all that well! When the ride was over, I was victorious. That was short lived though. I wouldn’t do very well on the rest of our trips through this ride!
Next we headed to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Since I don’t have children and had never been to the Magic Kingdom with children, my only experience with this land was getting on the train here. There are very few rides in the four WDW parks I haven’t been on, and every trip I try to do something new. This trip it would be the “kid” rides, and I was excited about that. M wanted to take Nate on his first roller coaster, so it was off to Goofy’s Barnstormer! M rode with Nate, with Steve and Drew in the car behind them, and I was in front, trying to snap some pictures. I kept looking back to see Nate’s reaction. He loved it, as did Drew.
We left Toontown and entered Fantasyland. There all five of us squeezed into a teacup and spun ourselves silly. We were all giggling and dizzy when the ride stopped. We continued into Fantasyland, walking as quickly as we could pass the down for rehab Pooh so that the kids wouldn’t ask about it. There wasn’t much of a wait for Snow White’s Scary Adventure, so we decided to ride that. Nate was not a fan. For almost the whole ride he kept saying, “I want out, I want out.” He did like to see the Heigh-Ho’s (seven dwarfs) though. I don’t think he was scarred for life, but he definitely did not want to go on that again.
We had a PS at Le Cellier for dinner, so we needed to head over to Epcot. We left MK and took the monorail to the TTC, and then transferred to the monorail to Epcot. When we arrived at Epcot, the ticket situation came up again. I went in with my AP. Steve went in with his ticket. M sent one of the boys through fine, but then when the other one was to go in, it was asking for a finger scan. The CM eventually waved him through, and then M entered, but we couldn’t figure it out. There was no obvious difference in tickets, but it seemed as if one of the boys had a ticket that was coded as an adult. That probably meant that the ticket I had for my mom was coded as a child. And even though they were the same price and should be the same thing, we could see this was going to be a hassle. We decided to get it taken care of the next day.
Once we were in the park I was immediately struck by the wonderful topiaries on display. I had never been to Epcot during the flower and garden show and had totally forgotten that it was going on. There were some really beautiful displays and I took some pictures as we headed through Future World to the World Showcase. Our PS for Le Cellier was at 6:30, and it was only 6:00, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check in while we were there, so I did and got our little buzzer that would let us know when our table was ready. M, Steve, and I each got a beer from the cart outside and then meandered through the Canadian pavilion. We just sat and relaxed for a little bit and just enjoyed being on vacation. Drew needed to go to the bathroom, so Steve took him and M and I stayed with Nate. Well for some reason he was being a grump and making a grumpy face, which was actually quite cute. M wanted to take his picture, but he kept turning away from her. So I jumped up with my camera and ran around to the way he was facing, opposite M, and wouldn’t you know it, he turns sideways so he’s not facing either of us! Well we played this game for a little bit and that actually got him laughing and back in a good mood.
Finally, at a few minutes before 6:30, our table was ready. I couldn’t wait for them to bring us the pretzel bread! We didn’t take long to order. The boys split chicken and fries. M had a mushroom filet mignon with risotto. I had a filet mignon with cream cheese mashed potatoes, Steve had the maple ginger glazed salmon, and all three adults had their famous cheese soup and another beer. We actually almost forgot to order that. We had talked about it all day long, but in our eagerness to order our dinners, we forgot. Thank goodness for Steve, who remembered at the last minute! The food was wonderful as always. I swear I could live on cheese soup and pretzel bread!
After dinner we decided to see O Canada! Right before we were to go in the theater, Drew needed to use the bathroom, so Steve took him. M, Nate and I saw the movie. Nate thought the movie was neat. In the beginning a bunch of Mounties ride towards you and then around you on their horses. Nate exclaimed, “They’re all around us!” After the movie we met up with Steve and Drew and headed to get a spot for Illuminations. We found a spot between France and Morocco. While we were waiting for it to start, the kids wanted to dance. So M danced with Drew while I danced with Nate. Both kids like to dance, but Nate especially does. He is a dancing fool. When the show started, I picked Nate up so that he could see. He seemed to like it, especially me dancing around with him to the music, but the loudness of the fireworks hurt his ears and he kept covering them up. Illuminations is one of my three absolutely, positively, must-do things in order to consider my trip a success. But I found that instead of watching the show, I was watching Nate. I loved seeing his reaction to the show. I realized that this trip was going to be unlike any of the other trips I had taken to WDW before.
When Illuminations ended, we walked out through the International Gateway back to the Dolphin. I helped get the boys ready for bed and got lots of hugs and kisses goodnight. At first I thought, “That’s so sweet that they keep coming to Aunt Karen for hugs and kisses.” Then I realized that this is just a child’s ploy for delaying going to bed. Whatever, I’ll take it!
Even though I had been up since 3 am, I couldn’t go to be early while on vacation. So I took the bus over to Pleasure Island. I love to go to the Adventurer’s Club and could spend every night there, even if it’s just for one drink. I get off the bus and start out towards the entrance near the West End. As I’m walking along, this man comes up to me—a very drunk man I must say—and he says to me, “Can I take you out to dinner?” Oh, yeah, sure. I don’t know you, you’re hammered, but yeah, that’s attractive, let’s go. Right! So I blew him off and headed in. As soon as I got in, I got myself a drink and a seat in the parlor area and called my friend David in CA. I said, “Guess where I am?” And David, knowing that I was at WDW said, “Well, it’s about 11 pm there, I’m guessing you’re in the Adventurer’s Club.” Does this mean I’m predictable? Anyway, I’m talking to David and one of the characters, Fletcher Hodges, the club’s ichthyologist, walks past me and says to me, “Say hi for me.” After a quick conversation with David, I moved to a chair nearer the podium where I knew they’d be doing the nightly initiation soon. I sat there for a while just sipping my bear and enjoying the atmosphere. Then another character, Owen T Wren, the club’s Treasurer, came around and talked to the crowd. As he was walking behind me, he was telling everyone in the room to stick around because there was something great coming up later, something that will “knock you over.” And as he said that, he came up behind me and tipped my chair back, so I’m staring up at him. He looks at my hair and says, “Can’t even see the roots” then calmly puts my chair back down and walks away. I thought it was hilarious. This is what I love about the place!
Later it was time for the initiation. Owen T. Wren, Emil Blehall, and the Colonial teach you the club song, creed, and salute. When everyone was initiated, Owen made a speech. He was saying something to the effect of, “Now that you’re all members, you can count on your fellow members for anything. You can show up at their house, day or night. If you’re starving, that woman (points to woman at bar) will feed you. If you’re sinking in quicksand, that man (points to man sitting down) will help you out. That woman (points to me), well she’s going to save me tonight.” I was embarrassed, but it’s all in good fun. And like I said, this comedy is what keeps me coming back. Pamelia Perkins also pointed me out for my outfit (I was wearing a halter top and cutoff shorts). She was admiring another gal’s tight, leopard print, Capri pants and mentioned how good she would look wearing those. That she’d be a hottie. Then she pointed at me and said, “I let her borrow that outfit from me.”
Shortly after midnight, it was time for the last show of the night. First all the characters come out and beat on different instruments one at a time. Then they all come down stairs playing their instruments, and they were passing out instruments among the guests. I got to play the maracas. Then it was the final show of the night, the Hoopla. I like this show because all the characters get involved and they always do something a little different. After the Hoopla I hopped on the bus back to the Dolphin, where I met a very friendly, funny family, who I chatted with all the way back. Once back in the hotel, I decided to watch ESPN to see the results of the day’s NASCAR race. I have the worst luck when watching Sportscenter. Whatever I want to see is either the very last thing shown, or it’s shown right before I turn it on. At 2:15, after being up for 23 hours, I gave up and collapsed into bed.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

What a fun start to you adventures - thanks for posting!

 

[LeftCoaster]

Originally posted by B'rer Karen
As soon as I got in, I got myself a drink and a seat in the parlor area and called my friend David in CA. I said, “Guess where I am?” And David, knowing that I was at WDW said, “Well, it’s about 11 pm there, I’m guessing you’re in the Adventurer’s Club.” Does this mean I’m predictable? Anyway, I’m talking to David and one of the characters, Fletcher Hodges, the club’s ichthyologist, walks past me and says to me, “Say hi for me.” After a quick conversation with David, I moved to a chair nearer the podium where I knew they’d be doing the nightly initiation soon.

My favorite part. Alcohol and talking about me.

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for sharing - Wonderful reviews!!!!

 

[tmq2766]

Experiencing Disney is one thing but experiencing Disney through the eyes of a child is a totally different story