Kimberly815
DIS Veteran<br><font color=green>you can call us M
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Messages
- 2,302
October 15th, 2005
Links to the rest of the report!
The One with the Pre-Trip
The One with Dinner at Boma's
The One with the 45 minute Safari
The One where Dudley did NOT do right
The One with the Segways and without paperwork
The One with the Kitchen Sink but no running water
The One with Dinner in the Castle
The One with the Incredibles
The One where we fly home
The One with Dinner at Bomas
The crew:
Myself; K-bug; age 25
Funnyman; my fiancé; age 26
Screamer; Jennifer48 here on the disboards; age 25
BurgerGuy; age 33
It cant possibly be 5am already. Why are we getting up at 5am when our flight isnt until 9, again? Oh, yeah. I made everyone.
After literally pushing FunnyMan out of bed, I get in the shower. Thankfully, I finished packing last night, because I sure did need a long shower this morning.
At 6am we are heading out to the car with all our luggage in the rain. (Of course it is raining. It has been raining for the past 10 days, why would today be any different!). FunnyMan stands guard with all our stuff while I bring my little red Beetle to front door of our apartment building. I arrive to frantic waving of arms. Rolling down my window, I ask What the heck is wrong with you? Your phone is ringing. Okay, so why dont you answer it then?
Its Screamer, and he hands the phone to me. Screamer and BurgerGuy are already at To-Be Sister in Laws (TBSIL) house. Within 5 minutes, we are too.
We pack up all the luggage in TBSILs lovely station wagon and then pile in. Luckily we all fit, and off we go. Down 93S, on our way to the Zakim Bridge and new tunnel which will easily get us to Logan International Airport. As we near Boston, panic sets in. There is an obscene amount of traffic for 6:30am on a Saturday morning, and we are slowing down by the second. Then, our worst nightmare hits. Huge traffic signs Detour: Storrow Drive last exit. WHAT?! You cant do this to us. As we inch along in almost dead stop traffic I think to myself Good thing I talked you all into getting up so early.
Not one of us has any clue how to get to the airport from Storrow Drive. I commute through the city everyday to work, but I rarely get off the highway! And then the magic happens. Disney has sent Tink up to help us! We pass by an officer following a highway crew truck. They are picking up the cones! We are free to continue on with our regular scheduled programming!
We are dropped off, checked in, and having breakfast by our gate before we know it. We board, and the flight is kind of rough. Very bumpy. And the worst part is we are on our way to Cincinnati!
We land, and have plenty of time to get to our next gate. So we stop for some treats. Carvel Ice Cream for me, and Cinnabun/Cinnasticks for everyone else. The girl at the counter absolutely loves her job. She was so bright and happy and excited to serve us (please note the distinct sarcasm). I cant wait to get to Disney World. Our gate was right next to the one leaving for Hawaii. They had a steel drum band and leis and free gifts. It almost made me want to hop on the plan to Hawaii. Especially when they gave us leis and gifts too!
But I knew Mickey was in my future. The flight from Cincinnati to Orlando was pleasantly uneventful. We werent lucky enough to all sit together, but the flight was much smoother. I was almost bursting when we landed at MCO. The sun was out (Is that what the sun looks like?). We retrieved out luggage with no issues; although it was still wet from Boston (The rain is taunting us all the way down here!). And head out to pick up the rental.
We had reserved a Trailblazer . . . but we received an Explorer. Apparently, this is better than a Trailblazer. Its all the same to me, as long as the luggage fits. On the road to the hotel, we make the obligatory calls to tell everyone we are safe. I call my folks; they are already checked in at the Radisson and are having drinks at the bar by the pool while they wait for us.
Screamer and I head into the lobby to check in, since the rooms are in our names, while the guys wait in the car. Check in goes smoothly with one exception, Screamer needs internet while we are here. Internet is only available in the South Tower. There are no rooms in the South Tower right now. Dont worry. There should be some later, and the girl at the desk will call up and let Screamer know later. If only this ended up being the worst of our room issues.
We head outside with our keys to our rooms. I am very excited to check in and go see my parents. Funnyman does not look happy. He has broken the filter on the camera. I had put the camera strap on the week before and used the camera for the entire weekend. The strap worked just fine. However, when Funnyman took the camera out to take photos of the hotel, the strap slipped out, the camera fell, and smash. No more filter. He was not a happy camper (not that I can blame him really: the last time we were in Orlando the camera was stolen, so it is kind of a touchy subject).
We head to the North Tower (the one without internet) and to our rooms. Before Funnyman and I can even put the keycard in the door, and employee comes out of our room. There is a lovely wet spot in front of the bathroom door. The employee calls down to the desk and sends up a bellboy to move us. This is disappointing since we have adjacent rooms to BurgerGuy and Screamer. But what choice do we have . . . so we move.
We check out our new room and find one good point- it has a view of the Tree of Life and Expedition Everest! As we are unpacking I realize that I have forgotten an important item: our Spider-Mickey antennae topper! How will we find the car now?!? Brushing this off, we contact Mom and Dad, and decide that it is about time for all of us to head over to Bomas for our dinner reservation. We all hop in the Explorer and off we go.
The Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautiful. There are no words to actually describe it. We spent a lot of time after dinner enjoying the lobby and the area outside. It is such a site to see. I would love to stay there. There are so many amazing details in the lobby that just leave you astonished.
We head downstairs to check into Bomas and the scent of all the delicious food hits us on the way down. Boy, are we hungry. We are seated within 10 minutes of checking in. The woman who seats us asks if someone is celebrating a birthday. After deciphering what she is saying (her accent was quite thick), we all point to Dad, who is celebrating his 50th birthday. She hands him a card and he opens it. She begins to explain that the card is signed by several cast members and all in their native African languages. We all marvel at the wonder that is Disney magic, but then Dad follows it up with Thank you, I will cherish this card that you got me from total strangers. Oh, Dad, I dont think you understand the magic like I do, but I love you anyway.
Kea, our server comes over and explains the buffet to us, reminding us to keep room for dessert. After Dad gets up to start loading his plate, I remind Kea that I ordered a specialty cake for Dads 50th.
We all loved the buffet. There were plenty of choices, and we found that even picky eaters could enjoy a lot of the food, although Screamer and I could not resist trying the Mac and Cheese! Dessert rolls around, and Kea brings out the cake. Dad is surprised, but looks relieved when Kea doesnt sing. However, Mom, Screamer, BurgerGuy, Funnyman and I manage a pathetic rendition of Happy Birthday. We all stuff a piece of delicious zebra decorated cake into our bellies, while I secretly think how yummy this cake will be for breakfast tomorrow morning.
After checking out some more of the hotel, and spending a few dollars in the gift shop for a new antennae topper (the golden Mickey ear one), we head to 7-11 to pick up a few things (sodas, snacks, breakfast stuff) to keep in our rooms. Of course, there was this crazy lady outside of 7-11 trying to solicit people into going to some meeting in the morning, with the promise of cash as payment. She would not leave us alone, so we went in quickly and got the heck out of there.
On the way back we decide to take a dip in the pool/hot tub before turning in for the night. So we all part ways with plans to meet up in a few minutes downstairs. Before we could even put away the snacks, there is a knock at our door. It is Screamer and BurgerGuy. They cant get into their room. They are going down to the front desk to see what is going on. We promise not to leave for the pool until we hear back from them. And we finally did hear back, about a half an hour later!
When they went to the front desk it turns out that the girl had checked them out of their current room to put them into another room in the elusive South Tower. However, all their stuff was still in the original room. So the bellboy had to walk them up to their old room so they could get their stuff, and then walk them to the new room at the other side of the hotel. When they got the new room, the keycard didnt work there either!! Screamer and BurgerGuy had to wait in the hall for the bellboy to go down and get the key fixed. Needless to say, by the time they actually got into their room, they werent too keen on swimming and just turned in for the night.
Funnyman and I met Mom and Dad downstairs and enjoyed the hot tub and pool for a bit, before planning to meet up at 8:30am the next morning. Then it was off to bed . . . for the best kind of sleep . . . Disney sleep!
Links to the rest of the report!
The One with the Pre-Trip
The One with Dinner at Boma's
The One with the 45 minute Safari
The One where Dudley did NOT do right
The One with the Segways and without paperwork
The One with the Kitchen Sink but no running water
The One with Dinner in the Castle
The One with the Incredibles
The One where we fly home
The One with Dinner at Bomas
The crew:
Myself; K-bug; age 25
Funnyman; my fiancé; age 26
Screamer; Jennifer48 here on the disboards; age 25
BurgerGuy; age 33
It cant possibly be 5am already. Why are we getting up at 5am when our flight isnt until 9, again? Oh, yeah. I made everyone.
After literally pushing FunnyMan out of bed, I get in the shower. Thankfully, I finished packing last night, because I sure did need a long shower this morning.
At 6am we are heading out to the car with all our luggage in the rain. (Of course it is raining. It has been raining for the past 10 days, why would today be any different!). FunnyMan stands guard with all our stuff while I bring my little red Beetle to front door of our apartment building. I arrive to frantic waving of arms. Rolling down my window, I ask What the heck is wrong with you? Your phone is ringing. Okay, so why dont you answer it then?
Its Screamer, and he hands the phone to me. Screamer and BurgerGuy are already at To-Be Sister in Laws (TBSIL) house. Within 5 minutes, we are too.We pack up all the luggage in TBSILs lovely station wagon and then pile in. Luckily we all fit, and off we go. Down 93S, on our way to the Zakim Bridge and new tunnel which will easily get us to Logan International Airport. As we near Boston, panic sets in. There is an obscene amount of traffic for 6:30am on a Saturday morning, and we are slowing down by the second. Then, our worst nightmare hits. Huge traffic signs Detour: Storrow Drive last exit. WHAT?! You cant do this to us. As we inch along in almost dead stop traffic I think to myself Good thing I talked you all into getting up so early.
Not one of us has any clue how to get to the airport from Storrow Drive. I commute through the city everyday to work, but I rarely get off the highway! And then the magic happens. Disney has sent Tink up to help us! We pass by an officer following a highway crew truck. They are picking up the cones! We are free to continue on with our regular scheduled programming!
We are dropped off, checked in, and having breakfast by our gate before we know it. We board, and the flight is kind of rough. Very bumpy. And the worst part is we are on our way to Cincinnati!
We land, and have plenty of time to get to our next gate. So we stop for some treats. Carvel Ice Cream for me, and Cinnabun/Cinnasticks for everyone else. The girl at the counter absolutely loves her job. She was so bright and happy and excited to serve us (please note the distinct sarcasm). I cant wait to get to Disney World. Our gate was right next to the one leaving for Hawaii. They had a steel drum band and leis and free gifts. It almost made me want to hop on the plan to Hawaii. Especially when they gave us leis and gifts too!
But I knew Mickey was in my future. The flight from Cincinnati to Orlando was pleasantly uneventful. We werent lucky enough to all sit together, but the flight was much smoother. I was almost bursting when we landed at MCO. The sun was out (Is that what the sun looks like?). We retrieved out luggage with no issues; although it was still wet from Boston (The rain is taunting us all the way down here!). And head out to pick up the rental.
We had reserved a Trailblazer . . . but we received an Explorer. Apparently, this is better than a Trailblazer. Its all the same to me, as long as the luggage fits. On the road to the hotel, we make the obligatory calls to tell everyone we are safe. I call my folks; they are already checked in at the Radisson and are having drinks at the bar by the pool while they wait for us.
Screamer and I head into the lobby to check in, since the rooms are in our names, while the guys wait in the car. Check in goes smoothly with one exception, Screamer needs internet while we are here. Internet is only available in the South Tower. There are no rooms in the South Tower right now. Dont worry. There should be some later, and the girl at the desk will call up and let Screamer know later. If only this ended up being the worst of our room issues.
We head outside with our keys to our rooms. I am very excited to check in and go see my parents. Funnyman does not look happy. He has broken the filter on the camera. I had put the camera strap on the week before and used the camera for the entire weekend. The strap worked just fine. However, when Funnyman took the camera out to take photos of the hotel, the strap slipped out, the camera fell, and smash. No more filter. He was not a happy camper (not that I can blame him really: the last time we were in Orlando the camera was stolen, so it is kind of a touchy subject).
We head to the North Tower (the one without internet) and to our rooms. Before Funnyman and I can even put the keycard in the door, and employee comes out of our room. There is a lovely wet spot in front of the bathroom door. The employee calls down to the desk and sends up a bellboy to move us. This is disappointing since we have adjacent rooms to BurgerGuy and Screamer. But what choice do we have . . . so we move.
We check out our new room and find one good point- it has a view of the Tree of Life and Expedition Everest! As we are unpacking I realize that I have forgotten an important item: our Spider-Mickey antennae topper! How will we find the car now?!? Brushing this off, we contact Mom and Dad, and decide that it is about time for all of us to head over to Bomas for our dinner reservation. We all hop in the Explorer and off we go.
The Animal Kingdom Lodge is beautiful. There are no words to actually describe it. We spent a lot of time after dinner enjoying the lobby and the area outside. It is such a site to see. I would love to stay there. There are so many amazing details in the lobby that just leave you astonished.
We head downstairs to check into Bomas and the scent of all the delicious food hits us on the way down. Boy, are we hungry. We are seated within 10 minutes of checking in. The woman who seats us asks if someone is celebrating a birthday. After deciphering what she is saying (her accent was quite thick), we all point to Dad, who is celebrating his 50th birthday. She hands him a card and he opens it. She begins to explain that the card is signed by several cast members and all in their native African languages. We all marvel at the wonder that is Disney magic, but then Dad follows it up with Thank you, I will cherish this card that you got me from total strangers. Oh, Dad, I dont think you understand the magic like I do, but I love you anyway.
Kea, our server comes over and explains the buffet to us, reminding us to keep room for dessert. After Dad gets up to start loading his plate, I remind Kea that I ordered a specialty cake for Dads 50th.
We all loved the buffet. There were plenty of choices, and we found that even picky eaters could enjoy a lot of the food, although Screamer and I could not resist trying the Mac and Cheese! Dessert rolls around, and Kea brings out the cake. Dad is surprised, but looks relieved when Kea doesnt sing. However, Mom, Screamer, BurgerGuy, Funnyman and I manage a pathetic rendition of Happy Birthday. We all stuff a piece of delicious zebra decorated cake into our bellies, while I secretly think how yummy this cake will be for breakfast tomorrow morning.
After checking out some more of the hotel, and spending a few dollars in the gift shop for a new antennae topper (the golden Mickey ear one), we head to 7-11 to pick up a few things (sodas, snacks, breakfast stuff) to keep in our rooms. Of course, there was this crazy lady outside of 7-11 trying to solicit people into going to some meeting in the morning, with the promise of cash as payment. She would not leave us alone, so we went in quickly and got the heck out of there.
On the way back we decide to take a dip in the pool/hot tub before turning in for the night. So we all part ways with plans to meet up in a few minutes downstairs. Before we could even put away the snacks, there is a knock at our door. It is Screamer and BurgerGuy. They cant get into their room. They are going down to the front desk to see what is going on. We promise not to leave for the pool until we hear back from them. And we finally did hear back, about a half an hour later!
When they went to the front desk it turns out that the girl had checked them out of their current room to put them into another room in the elusive South Tower. However, all their stuff was still in the original room. So the bellboy had to walk them up to their old room so they could get their stuff, and then walk them to the new room at the other side of the hotel. When they got the new room, the keycard didnt work there either!! Screamer and BurgerGuy had to wait in the hall for the bellboy to go down and get the key fixed. Needless to say, by the time they actually got into their room, they werent too keen on swimming and just turned in for the night.
Funnyman and I met Mom and Dad downstairs and enjoyed the hot tub and pool for a bit, before planning to meet up at 8:30am the next morning. Then it was off to bed . . . for the best kind of sleep . . . Disney sleep!
