Blondie
~*~*~*~<br><font color=blue>This TF always enjoys
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
<font color=blue>This whole trip came about when I found out in July that DH could attend a seminar in Orlando for the last week in January. When that seminar became available onsite where he works, some fast rearranging was necessary, and he found another that he could attend, a week later.
After our last little adventure in April 2001, (we drove down,) I got the flu on day two, DS#2 got poison ivy a week before we left, then got sick again (stomach virus) while we were there, I felt totally cheated out of that trip, and was in serious planning mode as soon as we got home!
All the pieces fell nicely into place to make this trip one of our best ones yet!
Cast:
Me-41 year old serious WDW fanatic and trip planner
DH-45 year old Disney lover
DS#1 12 years old
DS#2 11 years old
2/1/02: Had a 7:50am flight out of BWI on Airtran. That particular airport is a 1 1/2 hours drive from where we live in Virginia, but it was a cheap flight ($110.00 per person) and it was a non-stop flight to Orlando. I hadn't flown since April 1998, and normally, I'm not the nervous type. But after September 11th, it kind of put things into a different perspective. Driving that 1 1/2 hours gave me lots of time to let the anxiety simmer. Once we boarded, and took off, I was fine! DS#2 had some problems of his own as we were boarding, and broke down into tears. He was majorly frightened, poor little guy.
We arrived around 10:00am and had the whole day ahead of us! We are not used to arriving so early in the day. Driving usually puts us in Orlando anywhere from 6:30pm on! We immediately grabbed our luggage, and took the Hertz shuttle to pick up DH's rental car, a Mazda 626. A car I ended up being in only twice, driving to the Dolphin, and leaving going back to the airport.
We were all starving, Airtran only provided drinks and 2 little cookies, so after we got closer to WDW, we stopped at TGI Fridays at the Crossroads Shopping Center. Lunch here, before tip cost us $39.67 and consisted of basic lunch items and sodas (no alcohol--though I could've used it!)
From here it was on to Goodings. This was the first grocery store I've been in that had carpeted aisles! What is up with that? The store was basically deserted, and we got in and out rather quickly, spending close to $60.00 on everthing from bottled water to Cheez-its!
I was concerned that our room wouldn't be ready when we arrived around 12:45 but it was!
Check in was quick and efficient, and at the recommendation of the CM, we accepted the key to the mini bar to chill our drinks. Without having it emptied, it held 3-4 bottles, which was perfect for us!
We had a balcony room on the East side of the wing closest to the Boardwalk, with a picture perfect view of Epcot and the Boardwalk, room # 6-025. *~*Thank you Mr. Swan/Dolphin*~* You are an angel in disguise! Here are a few photos, taken early in the AM before the overcast had a chance to burn off!
We requested non-smoking, and got a true non-smoking room. No faint smell of stale cigarette smoke. We've had that problem at both the Polynesian and Coronado Springs, and both times, we had to relocate to another room.
The room appeared to be freshly wallpapered. There were no stains or pulls in the carpeting and the drapery looked brand new. The furniture (night stand, table and chair, armoire) was in excellent condition and free from knicks or missing paint/varnish.
I had wanted to head over to the MK after unpacking, but the boys really wanted to hit the Grotto pool, so that was our first stop! One observation I made was on this day (Friday) the resort seemed empty! There were only a few others at the pool, and there were very few people walking around the grounds, including the lobby.
We spent a glorious afternoon there, and I think the temps were right around 80 degrees--or felt like it anyway!
After they dried off and changed, we boarded the bus for the MK!
Here is DH and sons waiting at the Dolphin bus stop(in the background is one of the lap pools):
First stop was Space Mountain, followed by the Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
We were still full from lunch, and just grabbed some big pretzels and Mickey Premium bars for dinner!
We were all exhausted, having gotten up at 3:45 in the AM to hit the road for the 1 1/2 hour drive, and to find our way around the parking garage, as this was our first time we've ever flown out of Baltimore, and didn't know our way around too well. So we called it a day, and went back to the beautiful Dolphin around 6:30pm. We settled in, took nice hot showers, checked out the Dolphin resort channel, and waited for the fireworks from Epcot's Illuminations. What a beautiful show, and all from the comforts of our balcony! What a wonderful ending to a great day!
We were in bed by 9:30!</font>
**edited for typos!**
After our last little adventure in April 2001, (we drove down,) I got the flu on day two, DS#2 got poison ivy a week before we left, then got sick again (stomach virus) while we were there, I felt totally cheated out of that trip, and was in serious planning mode as soon as we got home!
All the pieces fell nicely into place to make this trip one of our best ones yet!
Cast:
Me-41 year old serious WDW fanatic and trip planner
DH-45 year old Disney lover
DS#1 12 years old
DS#2 11 years old
2/1/02: Had a 7:50am flight out of BWI on Airtran. That particular airport is a 1 1/2 hours drive from where we live in Virginia, but it was a cheap flight ($110.00 per person) and it was a non-stop flight to Orlando. I hadn't flown since April 1998, and normally, I'm not the nervous type. But after September 11th, it kind of put things into a different perspective. Driving that 1 1/2 hours gave me lots of time to let the anxiety simmer. Once we boarded, and took off, I was fine! DS#2 had some problems of his own as we were boarding, and broke down into tears. He was majorly frightened, poor little guy.
We arrived around 10:00am and had the whole day ahead of us! We are not used to arriving so early in the day. Driving usually puts us in Orlando anywhere from 6:30pm on! We immediately grabbed our luggage, and took the Hertz shuttle to pick up DH's rental car, a Mazda 626. A car I ended up being in only twice, driving to the Dolphin, and leaving going back to the airport.
We were all starving, Airtran only provided drinks and 2 little cookies, so after we got closer to WDW, we stopped at TGI Fridays at the Crossroads Shopping Center. Lunch here, before tip cost us $39.67 and consisted of basic lunch items and sodas (no alcohol--though I could've used it!)
From here it was on to Goodings. This was the first grocery store I've been in that had carpeted aisles! What is up with that? The store was basically deserted, and we got in and out rather quickly, spending close to $60.00 on everthing from bottled water to Cheez-its!
I was concerned that our room wouldn't be ready when we arrived around 12:45 but it was!
Check in was quick and efficient, and at the recommendation of the CM, we accepted the key to the mini bar to chill our drinks. Without having it emptied, it held 3-4 bottles, which was perfect for us!
We had a balcony room on the East side of the wing closest to the Boardwalk, with a picture perfect view of Epcot and the Boardwalk, room # 6-025. *~*Thank you Mr. Swan/Dolphin*~* You are an angel in disguise! Here are a few photos, taken early in the AM before the overcast had a chance to burn off!
We requested non-smoking, and got a true non-smoking room. No faint smell of stale cigarette smoke. We've had that problem at both the Polynesian and Coronado Springs, and both times, we had to relocate to another room.
The room appeared to be freshly wallpapered. There were no stains or pulls in the carpeting and the drapery looked brand new. The furniture (night stand, table and chair, armoire) was in excellent condition and free from knicks or missing paint/varnish.
I had wanted to head over to the MK after unpacking, but the boys really wanted to hit the Grotto pool, so that was our first stop! One observation I made was on this day (Friday) the resort seemed empty! There were only a few others at the pool, and there were very few people walking around the grounds, including the lobby.
We spent a glorious afternoon there, and I think the temps were right around 80 degrees--or felt like it anyway!
After they dried off and changed, we boarded the bus for the MK!
Here is DH and sons waiting at the Dolphin bus stop(in the background is one of the lap pools):
First stop was Space Mountain, followed by the Haunted Mansion, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
We were still full from lunch, and just grabbed some big pretzels and Mickey Premium bars for dinner!
We were all exhausted, having gotten up at 3:45 in the AM to hit the road for the 1 1/2 hour drive, and to find our way around the parking garage, as this was our first time we've ever flown out of Baltimore, and didn't know our way around too well. So we called it a day, and went back to the beautiful Dolphin around 6:30pm. We settled in, took nice hot showers, checked out the Dolphin resort channel, and waited for the fireworks from Epcot's Illuminations. What a beautiful show, and all from the comforts of our balcony! What a wonderful ending to a great day!
We were in bed by 9:30!</font>
**edited for typos!**
Looking forward to reading the rest!
inkbounc
