LT Hambone
<font color=green>Check out this Mug!<br><font col
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2000
- Messages
- 153
Monday morning, April 28th, 4:50 AM. The alarm from hell sounds its mournful cry, and with a bevy of swear words, is silenced. My wife and I, along with the entire floor of our hotel, are awake.
Since our flight leaves BWI at 8:00 AM, my Pop used one of his countless free night coupons from Marriott at the airport location so we didnt have to fight traffic at oh-dark-thirty. By 5:40 we were in the lobby and board the waiting shuttle for the terminal. By 6:30 we were at our gate, munching on our Pop Tarts. We did not wake the security gods they were kind to us and we were through in no time at all.
This was my first flight on Southwest, and I was in for an adventure. Our boarding passes had a big A on them, and at first I thought we were being given high marks for arriving early and not checking luggage. My wife quickly explain that the A meant we were in the first group to board and find a seat.
Find a seat? What crazy person designed this system? Images of grade school flashed through my head remember going to class for the first time, and there was no assigned seating? If you were late, you either wound up next to weirdest guy/girl in school, or worse, in the front row. Here I was, 27 years later, reliving my worst fear from grade school.
As I sat pondering my fate (who would I wind up next too?), I observed human nature. People were already lining up, an hour before their flight, and jockeying for position. Amazing. I considered starting a line of my own, just to see what would happen. Yes it was a full flight, but everybody was guaranteed a seat. Maybe not in the location they desired, but they would get a seat. So why make such a big deal out where you are in line?
After about five minutes of pondering, I decided if you cant beat them, join them, and hopped into line.
We took off on-time, and arrived ten minutes early. The flight crew was hilarious they had us sing happy birthday to some poor girl in the back of the plane. Then they sang a song to the tune of Auld Lang Sign Let other airlines be forgot This is the way flying is supposed to be fun!
Without baggage to acquire, we went to claim our rental car and we were in for a pleasant surprise our rental agency (Dollar) is in the terminal! Yeah, no waiting for another shuttle bus! By 10:20 we were heading south out of the airport and on our way to POR!
Thats when my wife decided to have a flash of brilliance. Why dont we go to Universal Studios today? Great idea the weather was perfect, it was early, and we probably wouldnt be able to get our room at POR for another few hours. There was only one problem we were heading THE WRONG WAY!
Ok, so how do you make a u-turn in the middle of the airport? Very carefully. After clearing the construction zone, we took the first exit, hung a left, and headed back to the airport. Smooth move! Back into the construction zone, found the airport north exit, and within a few minutes we were going west on the Beeline Expressway. And nary a dent or scratch on the rental card.
By 11:00 we were in the parking garage at Universal. After using the backseat of our car as a changing room, we were ready to answer the next big question of the day would my old ticket work?
You see, back in October 1999 I was in Orlando on a family trip. I had a two-day ticket for Universal, but because of a hurricane (who would have thought they would be a problem in Orlando?), I only used one day. But I kept the ticket in my wallet, and being a guy, forgot about it.
Fortunately, I remembered about the ticket before going on this trip. So our friend only had to get us one two-day ticket and one one-day ticket to Universal. So with a drum roll I handed the ticket taker my 3 1/2 year old ticket, and waited. The ticket taker then said the words I was dreading, Sir, have a good day at Universal Studios! Holy matured manuscript Batman! It worked!
Ill spare everyone the lowdown of how our visit went. Suffice to say we were done by 4:00. Yes, done. No lines, no waits, no nothing. Done. We missed the stunt show (didnt feel like waiting), the Terminator ride (broke), and Jimmy Neutron (who the @#$% is he, and why is he named after a sub-atomic particle?). Is Universal better than MGM? Heck no. Universal is a collection of repeats either take a well known movie and recreate a scene from the movie (Earthquake, Twister), or take a well-known movie and recreate multiple scenes (E.T., Jaws, Back to the Future, M.I.B.). The park is also smaller, and has very little to keep the kids busy. I could not imagine needing multiple days to see everything in this park.
With Universal Studios behind us, it was off to POR! Check in was a breeze our water-view room was in building 85, Magnolia Terrace, third floor, room 8917. Huh? Normally room numbers match building and floor numbers what sick, twisted individual designed this system? While I pondered the complexities of Disneys unique room numbering system and its direct relationship to the meaning of the universe, we walked to the food court, purchased our refillable mugs, filled said mugs, and headed out into the great unknown.
Finding our building was the easy part, figuring out where to park was the hard part since we didnt know where our room would be. Or next challenge was finding a way to the third floor. Anyone who has stayed in Magnolia Bend knows what I mean there is no direct route to the third floor, unless you are fortunate enough to discover the elevator. which we didnt do until the third day! And the signs are not much help they tell you your room is on the third floor, but not how to get there!
After a few hours of searching (well, it seemed like a few hours), we found our room and the biggest let-down of the entire trip. Our room faced the water, sure enough, but you couldnt see the water through the trees! We came very close to marching back to the front desk to complain, but then we took stock of the situation we were on the top floor, in the middle, and only one of two occupied rooms on our row. Translation it was going to be very quiet and peaceful. We shrugged our shoulders, and went on inside. Ill save my thoughts on POR until the last installment.
After a quick dip in our very quiet pool, we took a walk down to the French Quarter for dinner. Our plan for the evening was simple see the Magic Kingdom fireworks and the Electrical Water Pageant from the Polynesian. Our transportation plans, were not so simple.
After a quick refill for our mugs, we were off. First we took a bus to Epcot. Why? Because it came first! At Epcot we transferred to the monorail and headed to the TTC. At the TTC we started following the signs for the walkway to the Polynesian, but kept running into dead ends. I later learned the signs were wrong instead of pointing to the left and the front of the TTC, they were pointing to the right towards the ferry! So back to the monorail for a quick ride the Polynesian.
After grabbing a snack at Captain Cooks, we headed out to the beach. Thanks to Tikimans great web page, we avoided the main beach and went right for the small beach between Sunset Point and the TTC. There was nobody on this beach it was completely deserted! We grabbed a hammock, and settled in for the show.
After watching the fireworks with a great view and still nobody on the beach with us, we headed over to Sunset Point for the Electrical Water Pageant. Still a WDW classic, and we got a very up-close view because a strong breeze was blowing the floats towards us! By the time the show finished, the floats were within a few feet of the shore close enough to see the drivers!
With the show over, it was time to head back. Anyone who has used WDW transportation knows the hardest thing to do (aside from trying to hang-on for dear life) is to go from one resort to another. What we wound up doing was taking a bus from the Poly to Downtown Disney, and then riding the boat back to POR. If you ever get the chance, take the boat at night. Very romantic, and the music changing to fit the scenery is a very nice touch.
Since the boat dropped us off near the food court, we felt obliged to refill our mugs with hot chocolate before walking back to our room. This was a small adventure because not only was it the first time we walked to our room from the food court, but it was dark and we couldnt see our bread crumbs.
After a few more hours of searching (it was late, and we were tired, so it seemed like a few hours) we found our room (why is there no direct staircase to third floor!), and collapsed.
Our first day had come to an end.
Next Up Day 2 Of Our Return To WDW Theres A Shower Cap On My Seat!
Since our flight leaves BWI at 8:00 AM, my Pop used one of his countless free night coupons from Marriott at the airport location so we didnt have to fight traffic at oh-dark-thirty. By 5:40 we were in the lobby and board the waiting shuttle for the terminal. By 6:30 we were at our gate, munching on our Pop Tarts. We did not wake the security gods they were kind to us and we were through in no time at all.
This was my first flight on Southwest, and I was in for an adventure. Our boarding passes had a big A on them, and at first I thought we were being given high marks for arriving early and not checking luggage. My wife quickly explain that the A meant we were in the first group to board and find a seat.
Find a seat? What crazy person designed this system? Images of grade school flashed through my head remember going to class for the first time, and there was no assigned seating? If you were late, you either wound up next to weirdest guy/girl in school, or worse, in the front row. Here I was, 27 years later, reliving my worst fear from grade school.
As I sat pondering my fate (who would I wind up next too?), I observed human nature. People were already lining up, an hour before their flight, and jockeying for position. Amazing. I considered starting a line of my own, just to see what would happen. Yes it was a full flight, but everybody was guaranteed a seat. Maybe not in the location they desired, but they would get a seat. So why make such a big deal out where you are in line?
After about five minutes of pondering, I decided if you cant beat them, join them, and hopped into line.
We took off on-time, and arrived ten minutes early. The flight crew was hilarious they had us sing happy birthday to some poor girl in the back of the plane. Then they sang a song to the tune of Auld Lang Sign Let other airlines be forgot This is the way flying is supposed to be fun!
Without baggage to acquire, we went to claim our rental car and we were in for a pleasant surprise our rental agency (Dollar) is in the terminal! Yeah, no waiting for another shuttle bus! By 10:20 we were heading south out of the airport and on our way to POR!
Thats when my wife decided to have a flash of brilliance. Why dont we go to Universal Studios today? Great idea the weather was perfect, it was early, and we probably wouldnt be able to get our room at POR for another few hours. There was only one problem we were heading THE WRONG WAY!
Ok, so how do you make a u-turn in the middle of the airport? Very carefully. After clearing the construction zone, we took the first exit, hung a left, and headed back to the airport. Smooth move! Back into the construction zone, found the airport north exit, and within a few minutes we were going west on the Beeline Expressway. And nary a dent or scratch on the rental card.
By 11:00 we were in the parking garage at Universal. After using the backseat of our car as a changing room, we were ready to answer the next big question of the day would my old ticket work?
You see, back in October 1999 I was in Orlando on a family trip. I had a two-day ticket for Universal, but because of a hurricane (who would have thought they would be a problem in Orlando?), I only used one day. But I kept the ticket in my wallet, and being a guy, forgot about it.
Fortunately, I remembered about the ticket before going on this trip. So our friend only had to get us one two-day ticket and one one-day ticket to Universal. So with a drum roll I handed the ticket taker my 3 1/2 year old ticket, and waited. The ticket taker then said the words I was dreading, Sir, have a good day at Universal Studios! Holy matured manuscript Batman! It worked!
Ill spare everyone the lowdown of how our visit went. Suffice to say we were done by 4:00. Yes, done. No lines, no waits, no nothing. Done. We missed the stunt show (didnt feel like waiting), the Terminator ride (broke), and Jimmy Neutron (who the @#$% is he, and why is he named after a sub-atomic particle?). Is Universal better than MGM? Heck no. Universal is a collection of repeats either take a well known movie and recreate a scene from the movie (Earthquake, Twister), or take a well-known movie and recreate multiple scenes (E.T., Jaws, Back to the Future, M.I.B.). The park is also smaller, and has very little to keep the kids busy. I could not imagine needing multiple days to see everything in this park.
With Universal Studios behind us, it was off to POR! Check in was a breeze our water-view room was in building 85, Magnolia Terrace, third floor, room 8917. Huh? Normally room numbers match building and floor numbers what sick, twisted individual designed this system? While I pondered the complexities of Disneys unique room numbering system and its direct relationship to the meaning of the universe, we walked to the food court, purchased our refillable mugs, filled said mugs, and headed out into the great unknown.
Finding our building was the easy part, figuring out where to park was the hard part since we didnt know where our room would be. Or next challenge was finding a way to the third floor. Anyone who has stayed in Magnolia Bend knows what I mean there is no direct route to the third floor, unless you are fortunate enough to discover the elevator. which we didnt do until the third day! And the signs are not much help they tell you your room is on the third floor, but not how to get there!
After a few hours of searching (well, it seemed like a few hours), we found our room and the biggest let-down of the entire trip. Our room faced the water, sure enough, but you couldnt see the water through the trees! We came very close to marching back to the front desk to complain, but then we took stock of the situation we were on the top floor, in the middle, and only one of two occupied rooms on our row. Translation it was going to be very quiet and peaceful. We shrugged our shoulders, and went on inside. Ill save my thoughts on POR until the last installment.
After a quick dip in our very quiet pool, we took a walk down to the French Quarter for dinner. Our plan for the evening was simple see the Magic Kingdom fireworks and the Electrical Water Pageant from the Polynesian. Our transportation plans, were not so simple.
After a quick refill for our mugs, we were off. First we took a bus to Epcot. Why? Because it came first! At Epcot we transferred to the monorail and headed to the TTC. At the TTC we started following the signs for the walkway to the Polynesian, but kept running into dead ends. I later learned the signs were wrong instead of pointing to the left and the front of the TTC, they were pointing to the right towards the ferry! So back to the monorail for a quick ride the Polynesian.
After grabbing a snack at Captain Cooks, we headed out to the beach. Thanks to Tikimans great web page, we avoided the main beach and went right for the small beach between Sunset Point and the TTC. There was nobody on this beach it was completely deserted! We grabbed a hammock, and settled in for the show.
After watching the fireworks with a great view and still nobody on the beach with us, we headed over to Sunset Point for the Electrical Water Pageant. Still a WDW classic, and we got a very up-close view because a strong breeze was blowing the floats towards us! By the time the show finished, the floats were within a few feet of the shore close enough to see the drivers!
With the show over, it was time to head back. Anyone who has used WDW transportation knows the hardest thing to do (aside from trying to hang-on for dear life) is to go from one resort to another. What we wound up doing was taking a bus from the Poly to Downtown Disney, and then riding the boat back to POR. If you ever get the chance, take the boat at night. Very romantic, and the music changing to fit the scenery is a very nice touch.
Since the boat dropped us off near the food court, we felt obliged to refill our mugs with hot chocolate before walking back to our room. This was a small adventure because not only was it the first time we walked to our room from the food court, but it was dark and we couldnt see our bread crumbs.
After a few more hours of searching (it was late, and we were tired, so it seemed like a few hours) we found our room (why is there no direct staircase to third floor!), and collapsed.
Our first day had come to an end.
Next Up Day 2 Of Our Return To WDW Theres A Shower Cap On My Seat!
