bbowers
Dog Mommy
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2003
- Messages
- 641
Me - 40
DH - 50
Oct 30 marked the beginning of a VERY long-awaited trip to US and WDW for my husband and I. We had actually planned 2 trips to Orlando this year, as I had a business trip in June, but my husband fell and pinched his sciatic nerve in April and had to miss the June trip. He is still on pain medication and must use a cane (and we rented a scooter), but he was NOT going to miss this trip!
It was also our first trip "home" after joining the Disney Vacation Club in March, and since we had bought sight unseen, I was looking forward to seeing what our home looks like!
We fly out of South Bend, IN, so have to have connecting flights. And since DH had a horrible experience returning from Orlando back in '93 (by himself - if he wouldn't have had to stay and fish an extra day, he could have been on my wonderful flight instead of his near-accident one), he must be drugged to fly.
So, after getting my Mother-the-Saint settled in with our 9 dogs and 2 cats (she had her little diagram of where all the dog bowls go, and my notes on who sleeps where and who must stay off the bed), we took off and DH took his first 2 Xanax. Forgot I had some nail scissors in my bag with my mole skin - oops, scissors got pitched in security. LAST trip I had ended up with mole skin and nothing to cut it with, and obviously this was going to be a repeat. Dumb, dumb, dumb!
When they called another flight before ours, DH's eyes got really big and he popped his third Xanax. Doctor told him to chew them, so he did. As they were calling our flight, he felt the need to pop his fourth. Once we got on the plane, he demanded his fifth (we had 10 for the whole trip).
So, even though we were on a prop plane, which he hates, he promptly fell asleep and slept through to St. Louis. Got him off the plane and over to a Cinnabon while I ate a sandwich I had packed. We went to wait for our Orlando flight and DH decided he needed some TCBY. He was sure he could do it himself and took off, staggering, to find a TCBY. As I waited, I figured he would either never find his way back, or would end up coming back without his wallet.
Amazingly, he made it back and ate his TCBY without making too much of a mess. He could barely make it onto the plane, however, and looked drunk to the casual observer (and me). On this leg of the trip he managed to spill a full can of pop, then his cup with the rest of the pop, then fell into a fitful sleep in which he kept blurting out unrelated comments. I listened until I realized he was whacko, then I tried to rest (our flight was due into Orlando at 11 pm). I was stressed from worrying about him and couldn't relax enough to sleep.
Got in on time and got our luggage (while the Stoner sat on a bench), then went down to get our Alamo car. I had got an excellent rate using the Disney Card discount plus a DC coupon for one day free. The clerk couldn't get the coupon to work, and I told him it was OK, but he kept on it, got a few other people involved, and managed to get the exact rate I had been quoted on the internet. I thanked them all profusely for trying so hard.
The Stoner and I picked up our car and as I was pulling out I called the Holiday Inn Select and got directions. It's very close to the airport, right on a main road, and we had an excellent rate of $37 from Priceline. Had no problems checking in and were not treated badly because of the Priceline, and even got them to put in my Priority Club number. Had a nice clean room with a king size bed.
At about 2 AM, DH-the-Stoner attempted to leave the room but luckily couldn't figure out the locks. I have no idea what he was thinking of, but I didn't sleep much after that, worrying about him running about the halls in his skivvies. However, he stayed in bed the rest of the night.
Up at 6:30 AM and enjoyed their breakfast buffet (8.95 each). They had french toast, eggs, bacon/sausage, grits, oatmeal, an omelet station, biscuits and gravy, yogurt, cereal, etc.
We finally pulled into RPR at US about 9. (I got lost several times trying to get there - I normally can read maps like a whiz, but the lack of sleep must have done me in.) Called Randy's Mobility and it took about an hour before someone showed up with DH's scooter. Luckily, they had our room ready so we rested there a bit. (We got an excellent Entertainment Card rate ($110) which was remarkable, considering it was Halloween night and the place was sold out. Also, we are Lowe's Club members and did get our milk and cookies and an upgrade - not sure what the upgrade was, but perhaps to a king-size bed.)
Learned how to take the scooter apart, then FINALLY got going to US about 10:30 (we were now 1.5 hours behind schedule, and I was having to deal with the fact that this was probably going to be the case this whole trip - I was an anal planner this time, and worked very hard on getting OVER my twitchiness at our tardiness).
Immediately did Shrek (blew past the line with our Express Pass room keys) (cute, but I have a hard time with 3-D's), then off to Animal Planet (grabbed some hot dogs on the way and blew my scheduled lunch - but that was OK, since these were cheaper), MIB (twice - LOVE those Express Passes!), Earthquake, and Twister. DH's scooter stopped working once and as he called Randy's, he kept fiddling with the speed dial and finally it worked again - good, since Randy's was booked and couldn't get us another until Monday.
Stopped by T2 but it wasn't scheduled for another show until 4. (This was at 3:15.) I wasn't sure how late we could still get into IOA, so we sadly decided to skip T2 and head over to IOA (we had the second day of a 2-day hopper from 4 years ago). I did the Hulk while DH had another Cinnabon, then we both did SpiderMan (I had never been on this before, but I had taken some Bonine and made it through just fine), then I went through both Duelling Dragons (I liked the ride of Fire better, but liked how you seemed more likely to run into the other with Ice).
By then it was about 4:45 and the park was closing in 15 minutes. We headed over to the Enchanted Oak and had dinner (and got the Orlando Magicard discount only because the clerk asked about discounts - here I had cards out the yingyang and had forgotten about them all). Got checked about 3 times as we waited with our HHN tickets as they cleared the park. (How do they do it so quickly???) (And why don't they give you a bracelet once they've checked you the first time???)
Started wandering towards Jurassic Park and found a house open already at 5:30! We went right on it and it was a pretty good one. Left from there and went clockwise and after a short wait, we were first in line for house #2 at 6:00 (Drive-In). I'm sure it was the first-in-line thing that did it, but we LOVED this house! My DH loves it when I get scared, and I did lots of screaming and he did lots of laughing.
Came right out and got in line for house 3 at 6:30. Got out about 7:10 and the crowds were starting, but still managed to go through 2 more houses (only missed one) before leaving. I screwed up and didn't buy the Stay and Scream tickets but instead paid full price, so this was an expensive night ($100 for 2 hours), but it made DH happy, so I was happy. We had planned on some time at City Walk, but it was very crowded (when we were here 4 years ago there were like 6 other people on the whole Walk), so we headed back to the hotel. Showered and crashed by 9.
Next day - off to WDW!
DH - 50
Oct 30 marked the beginning of a VERY long-awaited trip to US and WDW for my husband and I. We had actually planned 2 trips to Orlando this year, as I had a business trip in June, but my husband fell and pinched his sciatic nerve in April and had to miss the June trip. He is still on pain medication and must use a cane (and we rented a scooter), but he was NOT going to miss this trip!
It was also our first trip "home" after joining the Disney Vacation Club in March, and since we had bought sight unseen, I was looking forward to seeing what our home looks like!
We fly out of South Bend, IN, so have to have connecting flights. And since DH had a horrible experience returning from Orlando back in '93 (by himself - if he wouldn't have had to stay and fish an extra day, he could have been on my wonderful flight instead of his near-accident one), he must be drugged to fly.
So, after getting my Mother-the-Saint settled in with our 9 dogs and 2 cats (she had her little diagram of where all the dog bowls go, and my notes on who sleeps where and who must stay off the bed), we took off and DH took his first 2 Xanax. Forgot I had some nail scissors in my bag with my mole skin - oops, scissors got pitched in security. LAST trip I had ended up with mole skin and nothing to cut it with, and obviously this was going to be a repeat. Dumb, dumb, dumb!
When they called another flight before ours, DH's eyes got really big and he popped his third Xanax. Doctor told him to chew them, so he did. As they were calling our flight, he felt the need to pop his fourth. Once we got on the plane, he demanded his fifth (we had 10 for the whole trip).
So, even though we were on a prop plane, which he hates, he promptly fell asleep and slept through to St. Louis. Got him off the plane and over to a Cinnabon while I ate a sandwich I had packed. We went to wait for our Orlando flight and DH decided he needed some TCBY. He was sure he could do it himself and took off, staggering, to find a TCBY. As I waited, I figured he would either never find his way back, or would end up coming back without his wallet.
Amazingly, he made it back and ate his TCBY without making too much of a mess. He could barely make it onto the plane, however, and looked drunk to the casual observer (and me). On this leg of the trip he managed to spill a full can of pop, then his cup with the rest of the pop, then fell into a fitful sleep in which he kept blurting out unrelated comments. I listened until I realized he was whacko, then I tried to rest (our flight was due into Orlando at 11 pm). I was stressed from worrying about him and couldn't relax enough to sleep.
Got in on time and got our luggage (while the Stoner sat on a bench), then went down to get our Alamo car. I had got an excellent rate using the Disney Card discount plus a DC coupon for one day free. The clerk couldn't get the coupon to work, and I told him it was OK, but he kept on it, got a few other people involved, and managed to get the exact rate I had been quoted on the internet. I thanked them all profusely for trying so hard.
The Stoner and I picked up our car and as I was pulling out I called the Holiday Inn Select and got directions. It's very close to the airport, right on a main road, and we had an excellent rate of $37 from Priceline. Had no problems checking in and were not treated badly because of the Priceline, and even got them to put in my Priority Club number. Had a nice clean room with a king size bed.
At about 2 AM, DH-the-Stoner attempted to leave the room but luckily couldn't figure out the locks. I have no idea what he was thinking of, but I didn't sleep much after that, worrying about him running about the halls in his skivvies. However, he stayed in bed the rest of the night.
Up at 6:30 AM and enjoyed their breakfast buffet (8.95 each). They had french toast, eggs, bacon/sausage, grits, oatmeal, an omelet station, biscuits and gravy, yogurt, cereal, etc.
We finally pulled into RPR at US about 9. (I got lost several times trying to get there - I normally can read maps like a whiz, but the lack of sleep must have done me in.) Called Randy's Mobility and it took about an hour before someone showed up with DH's scooter. Luckily, they had our room ready so we rested there a bit. (We got an excellent Entertainment Card rate ($110) which was remarkable, considering it was Halloween night and the place was sold out. Also, we are Lowe's Club members and did get our milk and cookies and an upgrade - not sure what the upgrade was, but perhaps to a king-size bed.)
Learned how to take the scooter apart, then FINALLY got going to US about 10:30 (we were now 1.5 hours behind schedule, and I was having to deal with the fact that this was probably going to be the case this whole trip - I was an anal planner this time, and worked very hard on getting OVER my twitchiness at our tardiness).
Immediately did Shrek (blew past the line with our Express Pass room keys) (cute, but I have a hard time with 3-D's), then off to Animal Planet (grabbed some hot dogs on the way and blew my scheduled lunch - but that was OK, since these were cheaper), MIB (twice - LOVE those Express Passes!), Earthquake, and Twister. DH's scooter stopped working once and as he called Randy's, he kept fiddling with the speed dial and finally it worked again - good, since Randy's was booked and couldn't get us another until Monday.
Stopped by T2 but it wasn't scheduled for another show until 4. (This was at 3:15.) I wasn't sure how late we could still get into IOA, so we sadly decided to skip T2 and head over to IOA (we had the second day of a 2-day hopper from 4 years ago). I did the Hulk while DH had another Cinnabon, then we both did SpiderMan (I had never been on this before, but I had taken some Bonine and made it through just fine), then I went through both Duelling Dragons (I liked the ride of Fire better, but liked how you seemed more likely to run into the other with Ice).
By then it was about 4:45 and the park was closing in 15 minutes. We headed over to the Enchanted Oak and had dinner (and got the Orlando Magicard discount only because the clerk asked about discounts - here I had cards out the yingyang and had forgotten about them all). Got checked about 3 times as we waited with our HHN tickets as they cleared the park. (How do they do it so quickly???) (And why don't they give you a bracelet once they've checked you the first time???)
Started wandering towards Jurassic Park and found a house open already at 5:30! We went right on it and it was a pretty good one. Left from there and went clockwise and after a short wait, we were first in line for house #2 at 6:00 (Drive-In). I'm sure it was the first-in-line thing that did it, but we LOVED this house! My DH loves it when I get scared, and I did lots of screaming and he did lots of laughing.
Came right out and got in line for house 3 at 6:30. Got out about 7:10 and the crowds were starting, but still managed to go through 2 more houses (only missed one) before leaving. I screwed up and didn't buy the Stay and Scream tickets but instead paid full price, so this was an expensive night ($100 for 2 hours), but it made DH happy, so I was happy. We had planned on some time at City Walk, but it was very crowded (when we were here 4 years ago there were like 6 other people on the whole Walk), so we headed back to the hotel. Showered and crashed by 9.
Next day - off to WDW!
Hope you have enough xanax to get home 
