Joyciemc
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2002
- Messages
- 2,701
Starring:
Mark, 23- College friend, limited Disney experience and up for the adventure.
Joyce, 23- me! Disney crazy, not happy unless a trip is in the works.
Eric, guess! (yup, 23)- my DB. We went to WDW in May 2003, and he's a convert.
Sunday, January 4, 2004 Day 1:
We woke up early, got ready and headed out... luckily, no one tripped and rolled down the hallway. We made it to the lobby to take the 5:30 shuttle to the airport. The driver was there. The receptionist was there. We were there. Our luggage was there. Sooooo.... we wait. It's getting awkward, as everyone in the room knows what we're there for, but no one makes an attempt to get the shuttle rolling. So I approach the desk: "Excuse me, can we..."
"He'll letcha know when he's ready." Gum chew, gum chew.
okie dokie... a few minutes later, we head to the shuttle. My seat belt doesn't work, so I hang on tight. Right before we're about to leave, a different driver comes and kicks our driver out. Whatever. I am so not understanding the culture of the LaGuardia Clarion Hotel. The point is, we get to the airport and check in. For the record? Song rocks. We use the self-check in kiosks and skip a huge line.
We're waiting at the gate and get the announcement that our plane has the TVs!!! SCORE! Finally, it's time to board. We get on the brightly colored airplane and settle in. Unfourtunately, we're the only ones to do so. We were set to leave the gate 1/2 hour early when the announcements start: "We can't push back until everyone has found their seats." "You must take your seats for us to leave." "SIT THE CRAP DOWN!" (that last one was in my head). At one point, there was a man standing in the aisle videoing his family. Like, wouldn't that video be WAY better if it included footage from Florida? Right, so SIT DOWN!
Whew. We ended up taking off a bit early and the 3 of us settle in for some Music Trivia. We stink, but it's fun. I get bored and switch to some quality BBC programming.
During this time, Mark and I discuss how we thought Eric's mom was going to some crappy island for her vacation (for the second time! She must like slanty hallways). Turns out Bonaire is a SCUBA diving island. It still doesn't make sense to us why she is going on a trip that she seems to have ZERO excitement for.
The flight is uneventful and we land about 35 minutes early. I never understood the time <a href="http://get-faster.com?go=travel" onmouseover="window.status = 'goto: travel';return 1" onmouseout="window.status=''">travel</a> capabilites of commercial airlines, but this worked for me. I asked Mark if he was happy to be in Florida and he said, "Eh, it's kind of a dive- I've been before." Here we go.
It was HOT in MCO. Not the weather I was expecting. (don't get used to it- that's all I'm saying) I duck into the bathroom to put some shorts on and we go meet or Tiffany Towncar driver, Ines. She was nice, and so cute! We waited for our bags and got them all except for one of mine. GRRRR. I filed my report and had the assurance of the baggage staff that I'd have my bag by the next day. I was happy- they sell undies in DTD.
Ines gets the car, and we stand by the poor Mears people. I can poke fun, because I was one of them last May. Those blinky pagers are shaped like coasters because they're made for restaurants... not shuttle services! We get in our lovely car, and I think we're intimidated by Ines because we're very quiet.
We finally make it to All Star Movies and check in. Earlier, we'd discussed how the only place we didn't want to stay was Mighty Ducks. Eric and I had stayed in Toy Story, and loved it. We thought Dalmations was cute and convenient. Love Bug is nicely landscaped. So, we just didn't want Mighty Ducks. I get in line to check in (and it was a line!). The CM helping me is earning his ears (can't remember his name), but does a good job. We're in Mighty Ducks! But it's only 10 am and our room is ready, so I just go tell the boys to suck it up and carry my bags over there. No, I didn't tell them to, but they did carry them. It was fine- we ended up using the Music bus stop a couple of times, but the walk to the main Movies building really wasn't so bad.
I think our first park visit is going to have to wait... my hands are tired and we have lots more to talk about!
Missed the pre trip?
Here's part 2 of day 1
Mark, 23- College friend, limited Disney experience and up for the adventure.
Joyce, 23- me! Disney crazy, not happy unless a trip is in the works.
Eric, guess! (yup, 23)- my DB. We went to WDW in May 2003, and he's a convert.
Sunday, January 4, 2004 Day 1:
We woke up early, got ready and headed out... luckily, no one tripped and rolled down the hallway. We made it to the lobby to take the 5:30 shuttle to the airport. The driver was there. The receptionist was there. We were there. Our luggage was there. Sooooo.... we wait. It's getting awkward, as everyone in the room knows what we're there for, but no one makes an attempt to get the shuttle rolling. So I approach the desk: "Excuse me, can we..."
"He'll letcha know when he's ready." Gum chew, gum chew.
okie dokie... a few minutes later, we head to the shuttle. My seat belt doesn't work, so I hang on tight. Right before we're about to leave, a different driver comes and kicks our driver out. Whatever. I am so not understanding the culture of the LaGuardia Clarion Hotel. The point is, we get to the airport and check in. For the record? Song rocks. We use the self-check in kiosks and skip a huge line.
We're waiting at the gate and get the announcement that our plane has the TVs!!! SCORE! Finally, it's time to board. We get on the brightly colored airplane and settle in. Unfourtunately, we're the only ones to do so. We were set to leave the gate 1/2 hour early when the announcements start: "We can't push back until everyone has found their seats." "You must take your seats for us to leave." "SIT THE CRAP DOWN!" (that last one was in my head). At one point, there was a man standing in the aisle videoing his family. Like, wouldn't that video be WAY better if it included footage from Florida? Right, so SIT DOWN!
Whew. We ended up taking off a bit early and the 3 of us settle in for some Music Trivia. We stink, but it's fun. I get bored and switch to some quality BBC programming.
During this time, Mark and I discuss how we thought Eric's mom was going to some crappy island for her vacation (for the second time! She must like slanty hallways). Turns out Bonaire is a SCUBA diving island. It still doesn't make sense to us why she is going on a trip that she seems to have ZERO excitement for.
The flight is uneventful and we land about 35 minutes early. I never understood the time <a href="http://get-faster.com?go=travel" onmouseover="window.status = 'goto: travel';return 1" onmouseout="window.status=''">travel</a> capabilites of commercial airlines, but this worked for me. I asked Mark if he was happy to be in Florida and he said, "Eh, it's kind of a dive- I've been before." Here we go.
It was HOT in MCO. Not the weather I was expecting. (don't get used to it- that's all I'm saying) I duck into the bathroom to put some shorts on and we go meet or Tiffany Towncar driver, Ines. She was nice, and so cute! We waited for our bags and got them all except for one of mine. GRRRR. I filed my report and had the assurance of the baggage staff that I'd have my bag by the next day. I was happy- they sell undies in DTD.
Ines gets the car, and we stand by the poor Mears people. I can poke fun, because I was one of them last May. Those blinky pagers are shaped like coasters because they're made for restaurants... not shuttle services! We get in our lovely car, and I think we're intimidated by Ines because we're very quiet.
We finally make it to All Star Movies and check in. Earlier, we'd discussed how the only place we didn't want to stay was Mighty Ducks. Eric and I had stayed in Toy Story, and loved it. We thought Dalmations was cute and convenient. Love Bug is nicely landscaped. So, we just didn't want Mighty Ducks. I get in line to check in (and it was a line!). The CM helping me is earning his ears (can't remember his name), but does a good job. We're in Mighty Ducks! But it's only 10 am and our room is ready, so I just go tell the boys to suck it up and carry my bags over there. No, I didn't tell them to, but they did carry them. It was fine- we ended up using the Music bus stop a couple of times, but the walk to the main Movies building really wasn't so bad.
I think our first park visit is going to have to wait... my hands are tired and we have lots more to talk about!
Missed the pre trip?
Here's part 2 of day 1
