kimmar067
TAGS?? It's all about the 'likes' now!
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2001
- Messages
- 154,986
Sunday, August 4 ~~
Well, as you know, all good things must come to an end, and this, too, is true with our fabulous vacation. We awoke extra early, trying to be on time for the 8AM mass at the Poly, while still doing some last-minute packing and checking out. At 7:10AM, however, my ever-diligent DMom-in-L calls us from her room and informs us that the 8AM mass is no longer available. Luckily, there IS an 11:15AM one, so we opt for that. Okay, our plan of action is this: we finish our packing, leaving it for my DSis-in-L, who decided not to attend mass with us, who will then call Bell Services to have our luggage held for us, since our flight to JFK is not leaving until 7:25PM that evening. We'll check out and then head to the bus stop to TTC and catch the next available monorail to the Poly. We followed the signs to the Luau Cove, where mass is held, and, boy, was it crowded! It was an absolutely spectacular morning ~ about 83 degrees and not a nimbus nor cumulus in sight! The mass was pretty brief and pretty basic (it seemed to me that the priest was a little too anxious to leave; he kept looking at his watch!) and there was the schpiel about supporting the shrine, and so on, which I did not care for, but I was glad to receive the Eucharist - especially in such a lovely location.
Mass now over, we headed back to the Great Ceremonial House (aka the lobby and shops) for our return trip to WL. However, this place was really bustling with guests. Guests who had just attended mass, guests who were enjoying breakfast at Kona Cafe and O'Hana's, guests checking in and out of the Poly, and guests heading for MK. The line for the monorail was exceedingly long, and the smell of the Kona coffee beckoned us, so we decided to stop at the walk-up counter to try it out (Boy, I could just kick myself for not bringing home a pound or two of those beans!!
) As luck would have it, my DH's cell phone began to ring, and it turned out to be my DSis-in-L. They (my 2 DS-in-L's and my 2 friends) decided to procure a pontoon boat from WL (remember, we had the $199 family plan for the water vehicles, and it was still valid) and pick us up at the Poly. So, off we headed to the marina, where we met up with our thoughtful family members. However, once back at WL, the gal noticed that there were more people who had arrived in the pontoon than had departed!! She couldn't even imagine how they were successful in docking at the Poly. Apparently, you may only disembark form wherever the original docking site is. Not only that, but all passengers on any marine vehicle must first sign a release form in order to board any particular vessel. And, MOST important, there were 8 passengers on board but only 4 of them had life jackets on and it wasn't us. Well, my poor DSis-in-L, being the "nervous Nellie" that she is, thought she was going to be fined, or have her driver's license taken away, or some other harsh form of punishment. (I joked with her that the "Boat Police" were gonna come and take her away!) I surmise that it wasn't fair of us to leave her there standing at the WL dock being reprimanded by the CM while we fled to the shelter of the WL...
Since we still had a few hours until it was time to return to the airport, we decided on one last stop to DTD. However, my other DSis-in-L wanted to play a little joke on her sister. She quickly hurried to the bus stop to the CM standing there (he had a Palm pocket computer thingie in his hand and was entering items like frequency of the various buses and guests' destinations) and relayed to him what had happened at the marina. Several minutes later, we arrived at the depot with my DSis-in-L (the "criminal") and sat to wait for the DTD bus. Suddenly, the CM yelled out my DSis-in-L's name: " D-- M----, D-- M---. Is there a D-- M--- here?" She raised her hand and stood up to walk towards the CM. He informed her that, because of the "marina incident", he was told by management that she was no longer allowed to use ANY of the WDW transporation, and he was sorry, but the WDW transportation is no longer available for violators of Disney property! The look on her face was priceless!! I don't know HOW he kept a straight face; but, after a good laugh, we let her "off the hook" and told her that it was just in good fun....
Fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves at DTD, amidst the hustle and bustle of the shops. There was a pin event taking place all of that day, so DTD was pretty crowded. Several booths were set up near the new pin station, where you could win rack pins. (they were mostly Disneyland pins, which I thought was pretty cool, because I currently don't have any
[well, NOW I do!]) Another booth was offering free samples of flavored Mickey Iced Teas, as well as flavored coffees. Yummy!! The sun was really intense, and the crowds did not help matters, so, by 3PM, we decided that we'd had enough of DTD for the day.
When we reached WL, I inquired about getting a taxi (van) to the airport, and valet was more than happy to make a call for one for us. So, by 4:30 a van was in front of WL waiting for us to board. We departed WL, but not before snapping a last few snapshots to remember our wonderful vacation. Check-in at MCO was a breeze ~ not another passenger in sight for the JetBlue flight home! I guess, since our flight was leaving at 7:25 PM, we were the only ones who heeded the warning of arriving at the airport at least 2 hours earlier. Armed with our bags of purchases, camera, handbag, and tickets, we decided to browse the Seaworld and Universal Studio shops, before heading for our gate. Once off the monorail, we opted to purchase pizza, since we were now a little hungry and we knew that we would not be served a meal in-flight. However, our flight didn't leave on time; I guess the pilot was listening to last-minute instructions from the control tower - there were the blackest of storm clouds looming just to the north. Upon take-off, he sent our jet straight through the dark mass, and within 5 minutes, we were surrounded by blue-violet skies, and a beautiful golden and red sunset to the west, a glass of juice in one hand and a bag of blue potato chips in the other.....soooo, when can I begin my countdown to my NEXT WDW vacation??!?!?!
Well, as you know, all good things must come to an end, and this, too, is true with our fabulous vacation. We awoke extra early, trying to be on time for the 8AM mass at the Poly, while still doing some last-minute packing and checking out. At 7:10AM, however, my ever-diligent DMom-in-L calls us from her room and informs us that the 8AM mass is no longer available. Luckily, there IS an 11:15AM one, so we opt for that. Okay, our plan of action is this: we finish our packing, leaving it for my DSis-in-L, who decided not to attend mass with us, who will then call Bell Services to have our luggage held for us, since our flight to JFK is not leaving until 7:25PM that evening. We'll check out and then head to the bus stop to TTC and catch the next available monorail to the Poly. We followed the signs to the Luau Cove, where mass is held, and, boy, was it crowded! It was an absolutely spectacular morning ~ about 83 degrees and not a nimbus nor cumulus in sight! The mass was pretty brief and pretty basic (it seemed to me that the priest was a little too anxious to leave; he kept looking at his watch!) and there was the schpiel about supporting the shrine, and so on, which I did not care for, but I was glad to receive the Eucharist - especially in such a lovely location.
Mass now over, we headed back to the Great Ceremonial House (aka the lobby and shops) for our return trip to WL. However, this place was really bustling with guests. Guests who had just attended mass, guests who were enjoying breakfast at Kona Cafe and O'Hana's, guests checking in and out of the Poly, and guests heading for MK. The line for the monorail was exceedingly long, and the smell of the Kona coffee beckoned us, so we decided to stop at the walk-up counter to try it out (Boy, I could just kick myself for not bringing home a pound or two of those beans!!
) As luck would have it, my DH's cell phone began to ring, and it turned out to be my DSis-in-L. They (my 2 DS-in-L's and my 2 friends) decided to procure a pontoon boat from WL (remember, we had the $199 family plan for the water vehicles, and it was still valid) and pick us up at the Poly. So, off we headed to the marina, where we met up with our thoughtful family members. However, once back at WL, the gal noticed that there were more people who had arrived in the pontoon than had departed!! She couldn't even imagine how they were successful in docking at the Poly. Apparently, you may only disembark form wherever the original docking site is. Not only that, but all passengers on any marine vehicle must first sign a release form in order to board any particular vessel. And, MOST important, there were 8 passengers on board but only 4 of them had life jackets on and it wasn't us. Well, my poor DSis-in-L, being the "nervous Nellie" that she is, thought she was going to be fined, or have her driver's license taken away, or some other harsh form of punishment. (I joked with her that the "Boat Police" were gonna come and take her away!) I surmise that it wasn't fair of us to leave her there standing at the WL dock being reprimanded by the CM while we fled to the shelter of the WL...Since we still had a few hours until it was time to return to the airport, we decided on one last stop to DTD. However, my other DSis-in-L wanted to play a little joke on her sister. She quickly hurried to the bus stop to the CM standing there (he had a Palm pocket computer thingie in his hand and was entering items like frequency of the various buses and guests' destinations) and relayed to him what had happened at the marina. Several minutes later, we arrived at the depot with my DSis-in-L (the "criminal") and sat to wait for the DTD bus. Suddenly, the CM yelled out my DSis-in-L's name: " D-- M----, D-- M---. Is there a D-- M--- here?" She raised her hand and stood up to walk towards the CM. He informed her that, because of the "marina incident", he was told by management that she was no longer allowed to use ANY of the WDW transporation, and he was sorry, but the WDW transportation is no longer available for violators of Disney property! The look on her face was priceless!! I don't know HOW he kept a straight face; but, after a good laugh, we let her "off the hook" and told her that it was just in good fun....
Fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves at DTD, amidst the hustle and bustle of the shops. There was a pin event taking place all of that day, so DTD was pretty crowded. Several booths were set up near the new pin station, where you could win rack pins. (they were mostly Disneyland pins, which I thought was pretty cool, because I currently don't have any
[well, NOW I do!]) Another booth was offering free samples of flavored Mickey Iced Teas, as well as flavored coffees. Yummy!! The sun was really intense, and the crowds did not help matters, so, by 3PM, we decided that we'd had enough of DTD for the day.When we reached WL, I inquired about getting a taxi (van) to the airport, and valet was more than happy to make a call for one for us. So, by 4:30 a van was in front of WL waiting for us to board. We departed WL, but not before snapping a last few snapshots to remember our wonderful vacation. Check-in at MCO was a breeze ~ not another passenger in sight for the JetBlue flight home! I guess, since our flight was leaving at 7:25 PM, we were the only ones who heeded the warning of arriving at the airport at least 2 hours earlier. Armed with our bags of purchases, camera, handbag, and tickets, we decided to browse the Seaworld and Universal Studio shops, before heading for our gate. Once off the monorail, we opted to purchase pizza, since we were now a little hungry and we knew that we would not be served a meal in-flight. However, our flight didn't leave on time; I guess the pilot was listening to last-minute instructions from the control tower - there were the blackest of storm clouds looming just to the north. Upon take-off, he sent our jet straight through the dark mass, and within 5 minutes, we were surrounded by blue-violet skies, and a beautiful golden and red sunset to the west, a glass of juice in one hand and a bag of blue potato chips in the other.....soooo, when can I begin my countdown to my NEXT WDW vacation??!?!?!
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LOL @ the CM playing along with the joke about WDW transportation, I would have loved to have seen her face. Poor thing, though, I'll bet her heart was pounding.
