Casey's mom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2000
- Messages
- 163
Saturday, March 10
Cast:
Me: 34, obsessive Disney planner (but I try to keep that to myself)
DH: 43, tolerates WDW, but would rather go windsurfing (outnumbered on this point, however)
Casey: 4-1/2, not the most adventurous but loves going to WDW!
Chrissie: 3, almost always happy, loves dinosaurs, the color purple and visiting Disney
The alarm went off at 5:45am and I hopped into the shower quickly then woke up DH and the girls. Chrissie was ready to get up and head to Disney and Casey was, as usual, still sleepy but at least cooperative. We were on the road by 6:40am and got to JFK airport by about 7:20am. Curbside check in was reasonably brief but freezing â we couldnâÂÂt wait to get to Florida and some warm temps and sunshine after a long, cold NY winter! DH went to park the car while I got the luggage checked and we waited just inside the terminal right outside a security checkpoint until we spotted DH on the other side of the checkpoint. I put our bags (including my briefcase full of work and my laptop computer -- cue the foreboding music please) onto the conveyor belt, then in a wave of confusion, a group of 4 or 5 adults traveling together basically slowed to a crawl right in front of us as I stretched to see if our stuff was coming out the other end of the security conveyor belt. The men in front of me must have emptied every pocket in their pants, shirts and jackets of all metal objects. Finally we made it through and DH had picked up all of our bags and the stroller â except my briefcase! I looked all around â Had I not put it through the machine? (I knew I had) Was it waiting with someone on the check-in line next to the security checkpoint? (Nope) I practically stuck my head into the x-ray machine looking for it thinking â apart from the expense of losing the computer â that I wouldnâÂÂt be able to read all of the stuff I had to read over the weekend for work.
Finally, I asked one the security people to call someone and the police soon arrived. They took info about me and a description of the bag and what was in it and asked whether I had a description of the people in front of me or whether I had seen anyone else that looked suspicious. The bag was just a navy blue LandâÂÂs End briefcase, although it had a gold monogram put on by my law firm. I remember years ago I saw some TV show âÂÂ20/20 or PrimeTime Live -- about thieves who watch you put your stuff on the conveyor belt then distract you or slow you down going through the metal detector and take your stuff, so I had a bad feeling that I would never see that briefcase again! We were ready to just give up and go to our gate when one of the detectives took a walk towards a check-in line for an AeroMexico flight and came back with my briefcase!!! He said it was just sitting on the ground unattended â like someone picked it up by mistake, later realized it wasnâÂÂt his and left it there. The unbelievable nerve!!! I hugged the detective and we happily headed for our gate.
We would have had plenty of time to get a cup of coffee and a little breakfast but for the briefcase disaster. Instead, we stood on the Starbucks line for a few minutes, gave up and boarded the plane. This was a huge mistake since none of us had eaten anything at home and we had, of course, forgotten to pack the snacks we bought at the store the day before. The only food served on the flight was a tiny bag of snack mix (125 calories) and a drink. It was 8:25am, so this was a little bit annoying. So we were starving by the time we got to Florida, but at least we had no legroom at all for the flight. The good news was that our flight landed 30 minutes early, we picked up our bags and rental car and were on our way to the Yacht Club by noon!
I am a huge fan of the Beach Club â we stayed there last year, but DH wanted to try the Yacht Club, and I wasnâÂÂt about to argue. He wanted to stay on the concierge floor, but bargain-conscious me (HA HA), I reserved a standard view room. We got to the resort around 12:30 or so and crossed my fingers at the check-in counter that our room would be available. We were then informed that not only was our room ready, but we were getting a big fat upgrade to a waterview room!!!!! We stayed in Room 4069, which is a long way from the main elevator, but very close to the back staircase and small elevator, both of which we used often. We had a view of part of Stormalong Bay, the beach and the water out to the bridge to the Boardwalk Resort. We also had a GREAT view of the Illuminations fireworks from our balcony, which the kids really enjoyed.
Our original plan was to have some lunch and spend the afternoon at the pool. We first headed over to our favorite burger spot â Beaches & Cream for â you guessed it â cheeseburgers and fries. They were great! After lunch we acknowledged that it just wasnâÂÂt a great beach day and decided to risk visiting a park. I usually donâÂÂt want to go anywhere near a park unless it is first thing in the morning because I hate to wait on line with the kids. However, we were really surprised at how well the afternoon turned out! We got to the Disney-MGM studios around 2, rented a double stroller and trekked to the Fastpass lines for RnR Coaster and the Tower of Terror. Since we had 4 tickets, but only 2 riders (DH and I), we could get 2 fastpasses for each ride. Casey is tall enough for the Tower of Terror, but thought the ride looked, well, terrifyingâ¦. (particularly from the ground below where you see the doors open up high and then hear people screaming as they drop)
We then marched across the park dodging cheerleaders left and right and headed for the Muppet 3D movie. While the very loud parts startled the kids, I think they enjoyed it, and DH and I loved it as usual (we have seen this before). Leaving the theater, Casey and I spotted Buzz and Woody â two of CaseyâÂÂs favorite characters â and headed on over to AlâÂÂs Toy Barn to meet them. Casey, Chrissie and I got in the long line (UGH!) and settled in to wait to meet Buzz and Woody. Next thing you know, Jessie came out and a much shorter line for Jessie formed. DH hopped into that line and when he got close to the front, the kids walked over and met Jessie. They were a little shy since this was the first big character of their trip, but DH (hopefully) got a cute picture of the girls with Jessie. Rejoining the Buzz and Woody line with me, we wound up waiting not nearly as long as I expected, and after a shy introduction, Buzz and Woody got big hugs from Casey and Chrissie and there were smiles all around!
It was now time to head back to take advantage of our Fastpasses. On the way, we stopped at the fire truck next to the big muppet gift shop to let the girls âÂÂdriveâ the fire truck and ring the bell a few times. They loved this! Little kids are so great â it takes so little to make them ecstatically happy! On the way over to the ToT, we spotted Dopey and stopped for a quick hug and a picture. The characters are really great with little ones! The girls and I waited outside the ToT while DH rode. Even with Fastpass it seemed like it took a pretty long time for him to get through, but it was still way better than having him wait on the gigantic standby line. (Why does anyone wait on standby lines when they are so long and fastpass is available???) Next it was my turnâ¦I found myself in the front row of the elevator with 2 teenage girls, one of which was a nervous wreck. It really made me nervous just listening to her. I didnâÂÂt know what to expect at all and I really enjoyed the ride. I was even a little scared â but in a fun way. The drops were not as bad as I thought they would be. The kids had a snack and drink while I was riding so everyone was happy⦠and on to the RnR Coasterâ¦.
Our fastpasses came out 3:05 to 4:05 for ToT and 4:10 to 5:10 (or something close to that) for RnR Coaster, so our timing was great. DH rode first and came out saying it was one of the best rollercoasters he has ever been on! I was next â (oh, did I mention I loved walking by what seemed like a thousand people waiting on line for this ride). I loved this ride! I promised Chrissie we would make the last showing of Bear in the Big Blue House. Beauty and the Beast was closed, which was too bad as Chrissie is a huge fan of the Beast! The Indiana Jones show was closed as well, by the way.
We met Pinocchio on the way â one of ChrissieâÂÂs favorites â and we just made it to the show, which of course meant that our seats were lousy. We sat all the way over on the right side so we could only really see the side of the stage. We would have been a lot happier in chairs, but Chrissie enjoyed doing the bear cha cha cha, so it was well worth the discomfort of a very hard floor seat.
By this point, we were all exhausted and I knew we would never make it through the wait for Fantasmic, so we headed back to the hotel. I have never seen Fantasmic and the kids really want to see it (based on clips they see on their Disney trip planning video), but I just donâÂÂt want to put them through a 1.5 hour wait for anything. I would wind up with 2 very cranky kids on my hands and none of us would enjoy the show if that happened. We will have to wait until they are a little bit older (of course, this means we have to come back toWDW!). We showered, ate a surprisingly good dinner at the YC Galley, stopped by Beaches & Cream to split a huge sundae (between the 4 of us), watched the fireworks from our balcony and crashed hard by about 9:25pm.
NEXT UP: The long awaited breakfast with the princessesâ¦.
Cast:
Me: 34, obsessive Disney planner (but I try to keep that to myself)
DH: 43, tolerates WDW, but would rather go windsurfing (outnumbered on this point, however)
Casey: 4-1/2, not the most adventurous but loves going to WDW!
Chrissie: 3, almost always happy, loves dinosaurs, the color purple and visiting Disney
The alarm went off at 5:45am and I hopped into the shower quickly then woke up DH and the girls. Chrissie was ready to get up and head to Disney and Casey was, as usual, still sleepy but at least cooperative. We were on the road by 6:40am and got to JFK airport by about 7:20am. Curbside check in was reasonably brief but freezing â we couldnâÂÂt wait to get to Florida and some warm temps and sunshine after a long, cold NY winter! DH went to park the car while I got the luggage checked and we waited just inside the terminal right outside a security checkpoint until we spotted DH on the other side of the checkpoint. I put our bags (including my briefcase full of work and my laptop computer -- cue the foreboding music please) onto the conveyor belt, then in a wave of confusion, a group of 4 or 5 adults traveling together basically slowed to a crawl right in front of us as I stretched to see if our stuff was coming out the other end of the security conveyor belt. The men in front of me must have emptied every pocket in their pants, shirts and jackets of all metal objects. Finally we made it through and DH had picked up all of our bags and the stroller â except my briefcase! I looked all around â Had I not put it through the machine? (I knew I had) Was it waiting with someone on the check-in line next to the security checkpoint? (Nope) I practically stuck my head into the x-ray machine looking for it thinking â apart from the expense of losing the computer â that I wouldnâÂÂt be able to read all of the stuff I had to read over the weekend for work.
Finally, I asked one the security people to call someone and the police soon arrived. They took info about me and a description of the bag and what was in it and asked whether I had a description of the people in front of me or whether I had seen anyone else that looked suspicious. The bag was just a navy blue LandâÂÂs End briefcase, although it had a gold monogram put on by my law firm. I remember years ago I saw some TV show âÂÂ20/20 or PrimeTime Live -- about thieves who watch you put your stuff on the conveyor belt then distract you or slow you down going through the metal detector and take your stuff, so I had a bad feeling that I would never see that briefcase again! We were ready to just give up and go to our gate when one of the detectives took a walk towards a check-in line for an AeroMexico flight and came back with my briefcase!!! He said it was just sitting on the ground unattended â like someone picked it up by mistake, later realized it wasnâÂÂt his and left it there. The unbelievable nerve!!! I hugged the detective and we happily headed for our gate.
We would have had plenty of time to get a cup of coffee and a little breakfast but for the briefcase disaster. Instead, we stood on the Starbucks line for a few minutes, gave up and boarded the plane. This was a huge mistake since none of us had eaten anything at home and we had, of course, forgotten to pack the snacks we bought at the store the day before. The only food served on the flight was a tiny bag of snack mix (125 calories) and a drink. It was 8:25am, so this was a little bit annoying. So we were starving by the time we got to Florida, but at least we had no legroom at all for the flight. The good news was that our flight landed 30 minutes early, we picked up our bags and rental car and were on our way to the Yacht Club by noon!
I am a huge fan of the Beach Club â we stayed there last year, but DH wanted to try the Yacht Club, and I wasnâÂÂt about to argue. He wanted to stay on the concierge floor, but bargain-conscious me (HA HA), I reserved a standard view room. We got to the resort around 12:30 or so and crossed my fingers at the check-in counter that our room would be available. We were then informed that not only was our room ready, but we were getting a big fat upgrade to a waterview room!!!!! We stayed in Room 4069, which is a long way from the main elevator, but very close to the back staircase and small elevator, both of which we used often. We had a view of part of Stormalong Bay, the beach and the water out to the bridge to the Boardwalk Resort. We also had a GREAT view of the Illuminations fireworks from our balcony, which the kids really enjoyed.
Our original plan was to have some lunch and spend the afternoon at the pool. We first headed over to our favorite burger spot â Beaches & Cream for â you guessed it â cheeseburgers and fries. They were great! After lunch we acknowledged that it just wasnâÂÂt a great beach day and decided to risk visiting a park. I usually donâÂÂt want to go anywhere near a park unless it is first thing in the morning because I hate to wait on line with the kids. However, we were really surprised at how well the afternoon turned out! We got to the Disney-MGM studios around 2, rented a double stroller and trekked to the Fastpass lines for RnR Coaster and the Tower of Terror. Since we had 4 tickets, but only 2 riders (DH and I), we could get 2 fastpasses for each ride. Casey is tall enough for the Tower of Terror, but thought the ride looked, well, terrifyingâ¦. (particularly from the ground below where you see the doors open up high and then hear people screaming as they drop)
We then marched across the park dodging cheerleaders left and right and headed for the Muppet 3D movie. While the very loud parts startled the kids, I think they enjoyed it, and DH and I loved it as usual (we have seen this before). Leaving the theater, Casey and I spotted Buzz and Woody â two of CaseyâÂÂs favorite characters â and headed on over to AlâÂÂs Toy Barn to meet them. Casey, Chrissie and I got in the long line (UGH!) and settled in to wait to meet Buzz and Woody. Next thing you know, Jessie came out and a much shorter line for Jessie formed. DH hopped into that line and when he got close to the front, the kids walked over and met Jessie. They were a little shy since this was the first big character of their trip, but DH (hopefully) got a cute picture of the girls with Jessie. Rejoining the Buzz and Woody line with me, we wound up waiting not nearly as long as I expected, and after a shy introduction, Buzz and Woody got big hugs from Casey and Chrissie and there were smiles all around!
It was now time to head back to take advantage of our Fastpasses. On the way, we stopped at the fire truck next to the big muppet gift shop to let the girls âÂÂdriveâ the fire truck and ring the bell a few times. They loved this! Little kids are so great â it takes so little to make them ecstatically happy! On the way over to the ToT, we spotted Dopey and stopped for a quick hug and a picture. The characters are really great with little ones! The girls and I waited outside the ToT while DH rode. Even with Fastpass it seemed like it took a pretty long time for him to get through, but it was still way better than having him wait on the gigantic standby line. (Why does anyone wait on standby lines when they are so long and fastpass is available???) Next it was my turnâ¦I found myself in the front row of the elevator with 2 teenage girls, one of which was a nervous wreck. It really made me nervous just listening to her. I didnâÂÂt know what to expect at all and I really enjoyed the ride. I was even a little scared â but in a fun way. The drops were not as bad as I thought they would be. The kids had a snack and drink while I was riding so everyone was happy⦠and on to the RnR Coasterâ¦.
Our fastpasses came out 3:05 to 4:05 for ToT and 4:10 to 5:10 (or something close to that) for RnR Coaster, so our timing was great. DH rode first and came out saying it was one of the best rollercoasters he has ever been on! I was next â (oh, did I mention I loved walking by what seemed like a thousand people waiting on line for this ride). I loved this ride! I promised Chrissie we would make the last showing of Bear in the Big Blue House. Beauty and the Beast was closed, which was too bad as Chrissie is a huge fan of the Beast! The Indiana Jones show was closed as well, by the way.
We met Pinocchio on the way â one of ChrissieâÂÂs favorites â and we just made it to the show, which of course meant that our seats were lousy. We sat all the way over on the right side so we could only really see the side of the stage. We would have been a lot happier in chairs, but Chrissie enjoyed doing the bear cha cha cha, so it was well worth the discomfort of a very hard floor seat.
By this point, we were all exhausted and I knew we would never make it through the wait for Fantasmic, so we headed back to the hotel. I have never seen Fantasmic and the kids really want to see it (based on clips they see on their Disney trip planning video), but I just donâÂÂt want to put them through a 1.5 hour wait for anything. I would wind up with 2 very cranky kids on my hands and none of us would enjoy the show if that happened. We will have to wait until they are a little bit older (of course, this means we have to come back toWDW!). We showered, ate a surprisingly good dinner at the YC Galley, stopped by Beaches & Cream to split a huge sundae (between the 4 of us), watched the fireworks from our balcony and crashed hard by about 9:25pm.
NEXT UP: The long awaited breakfast with the princessesâ¦.
