Day 2 Saturday 7/7/01 We are off to Florida
In the tradition of other Trip Reports, here are our players:
Me - Now referred to as Spanky thanks to Cousin Dave at 50's Prime Time. 3rd trip.
Michelle - My lovely wife who has had to endure all the changes that I've thrown at her concerning this trip. Is now starting to understand my Disney obsession. 6th trip.
Devon - An eating machine. Just turned 15 but still my baby. 3rd trip.
Jordan - Loves to have things his way. Just turned 12. 3rd trip.
Camryn - A true princess. 3 almost 4 going on 25. Now also referred to as Sugar Booger. Also thanks to Cousin Dave. Willing to try anything once. 1st trip. She is so excited.
Not only does the alarm clock work but so does the wake-up call. They both executed in perfect harmony and synchronization. Everybody hops right up and is ready to go. We had packed one bag that had the clothes that we were going to wear today. Put all of our dirty clothes back in this bag and I threw it in the van. No reason to take a bunch of dirty clothes with us on the airplane just to haul them back home again. At 6:00 we load onto the hotel shuttle and head for the airport. We arrive in just a few minutes, check our bags with a skycap and head toward our gate. We get our boarding cards and set off in search of some breakfast. The only place close to our gate that has anything to eat is a Kentucky Fried Chicken place. For breakfast? They have biscuits with your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham. I and the kids opt for sausage while my wife chooses the bacon. These are the most tasteless things that I have ever eaten. You take a bite and there is absolutely no flavor. Did they have to work at this. How can something not actually have a taste? Grand total of $17.50 for five people.
It's now time to get on the plane. If you have never flown Southwest, you will not understand their boarding process or how they arrange their seats. We mistakenly get in line for the card numbers that we are holding (1 - 30) thinking that we will be the first ones on the plane and get our choice of seats. Since there are five of us, I figured we would grab one of the "lounge" areas where they have six seats that face each other. Then the pre-boarding starts. Now my daughter is only three but I didn't figure they would pre-board since every single other family on this plane had kids, but I was wrong. So instead of first we were way down the list. When our turn did finally come we did manage to get the "lounge" area all the way at the back of the plane. This was actually good for us as it turned out. Close to the restrooms and the galley. The flight attendants were very personable and made sure that we had everything that we could want. We had a stop in Nashville, and to our surprise, most of the people got off the plane. But it soon filled up again with a plane full of people heading to WDW like us. During this brief period where we were about the only ones left on the plane, the flight attendant gave us two huge bags of snacks to take with us. Each bag probably had around 50 packages of peanuts and raisins. These would come in mighty handy throughout the week. All the flights were on time and we had great flying weather all the way down.
We arrive at baggage claim and Daniel from Tiffany Towncar is there waiting for us. We grab all six of our suitcases plus numerous carryon bags. I had tied brightly colored yarn to the handles of all of our luggage so that we could identify them quickly. It worked great. (This was a hint folks!) Daniel got us loaded up and we were on our way. Daniel said that we would stop by the Publix market if that was ok with us. We stopped at the store that was close to SeaWorld. Couldn't tell you exactly how to get there because I was totally lost. We got a case of Diet Coke and Pepsi, a bunch of water bottles, fresh fruit, crackers, cheese, juice boxes, candy, etc A lot of good snacks. It was around noon on Saturday and they were also having samples at various places throughout the store. Samples of Steak and Cheesecake. That's tough to beat. This made it easier for us to hold off eating for awhile longer. We had a cart full of items and the grand total came out to $50.33. We used a few coupons and I thought we got out of the relatively cheaply. Daniel helped us load the groceries in the trunk and we were off to the Dolphin.
The bellhops at the Dolphin helped to load our luggage on one of the carts and we were off to checkin. The entrance was very impressive. Make sure and look at the ceiling when you first enter the hotel and watch for the shooting stars. They come in different colors if you watch closely. We had reserved a standard room at the teachers rate of $99.00. I had done my homework and had a Starwoods Card. Upon checkin I inquired if they had my number on file. She indicated that they did. Then she asked if we would like to have a better room. She showed us a picture of both rooms and said that we could have the larger room for the same price. I said that if I had to, I would (joke, please laugh here). Of course I accepted. She also gave each of the kids a card with which they needed to go to different places in the hotel to get a stamp. If they got five stamps they got a free ice cream at the Dolphin Fountain. If they got it completely filled out they also got sprinkles. I made sure that they had me down for a refrigerator at the 25 dollar rate and not the 12 dollar a day rate. They said they did and we were off to Room 7099.
Well it turns out that we have been upgraded to a suite. Murphy bed, foldout couch, rollaway, sitting areas, wet bar, two closets .. Look out the window and we have a great view of the Swan and the waterways towards the Boardwalk. Check the sign on the back of the door and the Rack Rate for this room is $1275.00 a night! I'm not spending that much for the next nine nights! We unpack and just snack on some of the items that we bought at the store. Cheese and Crackers and some fresh fruit will tide us over nicely until dinner. The refrigerator is not huge, but it stores all of the items that we need to refrigerate. Also a small freezer area that holds two water bottles (16 oz variety) and will freeze them solid overnight.
Everyone changes into their bathing suits and we are off to the Grotto. We stop off at the Cabana by the pool and pick up some towels and a life vest for the Princess. The water felt great. If you stand under the waterfall it gives you a great back massage. A few times down the waterslide and yes we are now definitely on vacation. As we head back in, we stop off to get our passes at the Disney Desk. I had decided that I wanted the convenience of the Ultimate Hopper passes. I opted to leave off the first and last day since our flight was leaving in the afternoon on our departure day.
Now with everyone rested and changed, it's time to head to Chef Mickeys for dinner. We take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and head for the monorail station. I asked if the kids can ride in front and the guy at the turnstiles said sure. The monorail comes and I join them in the front while my wife sits in the regular cars of the monorail. Sorry hun, I'll make it up to you later. They only allow four people up front at a time. After a short ride we are at the Contemporary. Checkin at Mickey's place and are given one of those beepers that vibrate and flash. We head for the gift shops and about fifteen minutes later our pager is going off. We have never done a character meal before and are all rookies. Now I had read about what to expect but until you get there you can't appreciate the effort that the characters make during these meals. As soon as my daughter saw Donald she was gone. No sooner had she reached him and she saw Goofy. Now she's running the other direction. It's amazing how fast a three year old can dash in and out of people to get to where they want to go. After we finally get her corralled and get to our table it is time to eat. We finally get her convinced that the character will come to her. Tonight Mickey, Minnie, Chip, and Dale are making the rounds. My daughter is in awe. She and I have been talking about this moment for months. Donald and Goofy are in the lobby to greet guests and pose for pictures. The food is very good. I especially like the chicken and pasta dish with little pieces of mushroom. During one of the times when the characters come dancing around the room and people are suppose to twirl their napkins, one of those magical moments happen that will stay with you forever. Michelle is really getting into her napkin twirling. After the moment has passed, we look down and there is cocktail sauce everywhere. She has somehow gotten cocktail sauce sprayed all over herself and who knows where else. Of course she is wearing white shorts and a white tank top. Luckily I had packed several Shout wipes and she is able to get most of the sauce out. She also had a cover up with her and when she is done, no one could tell what had just happened. I think I may have it on videotape though. I still need to copy off our tapes and check. Total comes to $104 with tip.
After dinner it is time to take a cruise around the rest of the loop on the monorail and then head back to the Dolphin. Tomorrow will be an early day as we have a date with the Princesses for breakfast.
In the tradition of other Trip Reports, here are our players:
Me - Now referred to as Spanky thanks to Cousin Dave at 50's Prime Time. 3rd trip.
Michelle - My lovely wife who has had to endure all the changes that I've thrown at her concerning this trip. Is now starting to understand my Disney obsession. 6th trip.
Devon - An eating machine. Just turned 15 but still my baby. 3rd trip.
Jordan - Loves to have things his way. Just turned 12. 3rd trip.
Camryn - A true princess. 3 almost 4 going on 25. Now also referred to as Sugar Booger. Also thanks to Cousin Dave. Willing to try anything once. 1st trip. She is so excited.
Not only does the alarm clock work but so does the wake-up call. They both executed in perfect harmony and synchronization. Everybody hops right up and is ready to go. We had packed one bag that had the clothes that we were going to wear today. Put all of our dirty clothes back in this bag and I threw it in the van. No reason to take a bunch of dirty clothes with us on the airplane just to haul them back home again. At 6:00 we load onto the hotel shuttle and head for the airport. We arrive in just a few minutes, check our bags with a skycap and head toward our gate. We get our boarding cards and set off in search of some breakfast. The only place close to our gate that has anything to eat is a Kentucky Fried Chicken place. For breakfast? They have biscuits with your choice of bacon, sausage, or ham. I and the kids opt for sausage while my wife chooses the bacon. These are the most tasteless things that I have ever eaten. You take a bite and there is absolutely no flavor. Did they have to work at this. How can something not actually have a taste? Grand total of $17.50 for five people.
It's now time to get on the plane. If you have never flown Southwest, you will not understand their boarding process or how they arrange their seats. We mistakenly get in line for the card numbers that we are holding (1 - 30) thinking that we will be the first ones on the plane and get our choice of seats. Since there are five of us, I figured we would grab one of the "lounge" areas where they have six seats that face each other. Then the pre-boarding starts. Now my daughter is only three but I didn't figure they would pre-board since every single other family on this plane had kids, but I was wrong. So instead of first we were way down the list. When our turn did finally come we did manage to get the "lounge" area all the way at the back of the plane. This was actually good for us as it turned out. Close to the restrooms and the galley. The flight attendants were very personable and made sure that we had everything that we could want. We had a stop in Nashville, and to our surprise, most of the people got off the plane. But it soon filled up again with a plane full of people heading to WDW like us. During this brief period where we were about the only ones left on the plane, the flight attendant gave us two huge bags of snacks to take with us. Each bag probably had around 50 packages of peanuts and raisins. These would come in mighty handy throughout the week. All the flights were on time and we had great flying weather all the way down.
We arrive at baggage claim and Daniel from Tiffany Towncar is there waiting for us. We grab all six of our suitcases plus numerous carryon bags. I had tied brightly colored yarn to the handles of all of our luggage so that we could identify them quickly. It worked great. (This was a hint folks!) Daniel got us loaded up and we were on our way. Daniel said that we would stop by the Publix market if that was ok with us. We stopped at the store that was close to SeaWorld. Couldn't tell you exactly how to get there because I was totally lost. We got a case of Diet Coke and Pepsi, a bunch of water bottles, fresh fruit, crackers, cheese, juice boxes, candy, etc A lot of good snacks. It was around noon on Saturday and they were also having samples at various places throughout the store. Samples of Steak and Cheesecake. That's tough to beat. This made it easier for us to hold off eating for awhile longer. We had a cart full of items and the grand total came out to $50.33. We used a few coupons and I thought we got out of the relatively cheaply. Daniel helped us load the groceries in the trunk and we were off to the Dolphin.
The bellhops at the Dolphin helped to load our luggage on one of the carts and we were off to checkin. The entrance was very impressive. Make sure and look at the ceiling when you first enter the hotel and watch for the shooting stars. They come in different colors if you watch closely. We had reserved a standard room at the teachers rate of $99.00. I had done my homework and had a Starwoods Card. Upon checkin I inquired if they had my number on file. She indicated that they did. Then she asked if we would like to have a better room. She showed us a picture of both rooms and said that we could have the larger room for the same price. I said that if I had to, I would (joke, please laugh here). Of course I accepted. She also gave each of the kids a card with which they needed to go to different places in the hotel to get a stamp. If they got five stamps they got a free ice cream at the Dolphin Fountain. If they got it completely filled out they also got sprinkles. I made sure that they had me down for a refrigerator at the 25 dollar rate and not the 12 dollar a day rate. They said they did and we were off to Room 7099.
Well it turns out that we have been upgraded to a suite. Murphy bed, foldout couch, rollaway, sitting areas, wet bar, two closets .. Look out the window and we have a great view of the Swan and the waterways towards the Boardwalk. Check the sign on the back of the door and the Rack Rate for this room is $1275.00 a night! I'm not spending that much for the next nine nights! We unpack and just snack on some of the items that we bought at the store. Cheese and Crackers and some fresh fruit will tide us over nicely until dinner. The refrigerator is not huge, but it stores all of the items that we need to refrigerate. Also a small freezer area that holds two water bottles (16 oz variety) and will freeze them solid overnight.
Everyone changes into their bathing suits and we are off to the Grotto. We stop off at the Cabana by the pool and pick up some towels and a life vest for the Princess. The water felt great. If you stand under the waterfall it gives you a great back massage. A few times down the waterslide and yes we are now definitely on vacation. As we head back in, we stop off to get our passes at the Disney Desk. I had decided that I wanted the convenience of the Ultimate Hopper passes. I opted to leave off the first and last day since our flight was leaving in the afternoon on our departure day.
Now with everyone rested and changed, it's time to head to Chef Mickeys for dinner. We take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and head for the monorail station. I asked if the kids can ride in front and the guy at the turnstiles said sure. The monorail comes and I join them in the front while my wife sits in the regular cars of the monorail. Sorry hun, I'll make it up to you later. They only allow four people up front at a time. After a short ride we are at the Contemporary. Checkin at Mickey's place and are given one of those beepers that vibrate and flash. We head for the gift shops and about fifteen minutes later our pager is going off. We have never done a character meal before and are all rookies. Now I had read about what to expect but until you get there you can't appreciate the effort that the characters make during these meals. As soon as my daughter saw Donald she was gone. No sooner had she reached him and she saw Goofy. Now she's running the other direction. It's amazing how fast a three year old can dash in and out of people to get to where they want to go. After we finally get her corralled and get to our table it is time to eat. We finally get her convinced that the character will come to her. Tonight Mickey, Minnie, Chip, and Dale are making the rounds. My daughter is in awe. She and I have been talking about this moment for months. Donald and Goofy are in the lobby to greet guests and pose for pictures. The food is very good. I especially like the chicken and pasta dish with little pieces of mushroom. During one of the times when the characters come dancing around the room and people are suppose to twirl their napkins, one of those magical moments happen that will stay with you forever. Michelle is really getting into her napkin twirling. After the moment has passed, we look down and there is cocktail sauce everywhere. She has somehow gotten cocktail sauce sprayed all over herself and who knows where else. Of course she is wearing white shorts and a white tank top. Luckily I had packed several Shout wipes and she is able to get most of the sauce out. She also had a cover up with her and when she is done, no one could tell what had just happened. I think I may have it on videotape though. I still need to copy off our tapes and check. Total comes to $104 with tip.
After dinner it is time to take a cruise around the rest of the loop on the monorail and then head back to the Dolphin. Tomorrow will be an early day as we have a date with the Princesses for breakfast.
that's quite an upgrade!! On to 3
