Hi!! This is my first post on these boards... But I have been reading them regularly lately. I recently returned from a WONDERFULL trip to WDW, and wanted to share with you all the details.....
CAST OF CHARACHTERS:
Me- Noa, 4th time to disney, never stayed on site.
Emiro- My boyfriend of 4 years, NEVER been to WDW.
PLANNING-
I was never expecting to take a vacation..... But when I was informed at work a couple of weeks ago that I do not have work on the 19th of Febuary (presidents day) I said "what the heck!! Might as well get away from from cold,ugly New Jersey for a long weekend". So on the spur of the moment I decided we will go to sunny Florida- and I will be able to show my sweetie WDW for the first time. We are in bad need of vacation and some "alone time" since we both work full time and go to college full time, so between finals papers and work, we barely see each other-let alone spent quality time together. The timing seemed perfect- we would be right after a round of exams when we go, so I went ahead and began planning. Mind you, I had only a week and a half to plan- so I had to hurry up. First I called WDW reservations line- I had my heart set on staying at the Contemporary. Ever since I was a child and my parents took us to WDW, I would look with awe at that big hotel, standing proud and tall before the magic kingdom.... Seeing the monorail whoosh through it..... I ALWAYS wanted to stay there, and now was my chance. I had to call WDW reservations line ten times a day,every day for the whole week, before I was able to snag any availblity. Even then, I was only able to recieve the last 2 nights. Back-up plan-stay the first night off site. After reserving and paying for our plane tickets, came the problems. My sweetie's 202 Biology lab exam was pushed to the day after we return. Then TWO of my exams were pushed also to the day after we return....... Disappointed, I toyed with the thought of aborting this beautifull plan.... But sweetie came up to me and convinced me that if we bring our books with us, and set aside a couple of hours every day for studying- we should be allright. I knew that will spoil the fun a bit, but I was detirmened to make the most of it.
Friday the 16th-
Today we are leaving for Floriday right after work- I was caught up with so many things to do at the office that we left late and got stuck in all of the holiday weekend traffic going down the NJ turnpike.Half way to the airport I realized that I left my tennis shoes at work- and the only shoes I had were the heels I was currently wearing. Mad at myself, I figured out I will buy a new pair in Florida. We arrived the airport 30 minutes prior to the original flight departure time. Emphasise on "original"- of course the flight was delayed. And delayed. And then delayed once again. And once we got on board (the last row, right next to the bathroom, and with ALL of the engine noise) we circled around the runway for another 45 minutes. But who cares, right??? We are on our way to Florida!!! Both of us whipped out our books, and tried to study through-out the flight (mental note, next time bring ear plugs!!!!) The occasional smells drifting from the bathroom or the screaming child in the row across us could not get our spirits down. Once we landed, we REALLY couldnt contain our excitment. We called Days Inn to have a shuttle come over and pick us up, and we sprawled out on the bench in the pick up area. Coats?? Gloves?? Layers?? All a thing of the past!!! Even though it was 10pm, the weather was beautifull, warm and mildly humid. Chattering about how different Florida is from New Jersey, our van picked us up and took us to Days Inn. Let me tell you, I have never seen such a run down Days Inn in my life. The room smelled like its never been aired, musty and dusty and just plain....funky..... The room tempurture was about 10 below, so I opened the door and tried to get some fresh air in. The phone didnt work, the bathroom looked like its been a while since its been cleaned, and the TV was from the 50's. I never bothered opening it, but I have a good guess that it was black and white....... Again, even this couldnt spoil our good mood. We studied a bit, and then went to sleep, looking foward to the naxt day.
Saturday the 17th-
Since the phone didnt ork and I couldnt order a wake up call, I left the blinds partialy open so the sun will "naturaly" wake me up. I was hoping for 7am, instead woke up at 8. Me and sweetie hurriedly packed up and headed for the lobby, where we waited for a taxi. The taxi driver was nice enough to stop at a Target along the way, where I ran in and bought the first pair of comfortable looking tennis shoes I could find. From there we continued to..... The contemporary!! Since my sweetie has never been to WDW, I keenly watched his face while we were passing all of the "Welcome to Disney World" signs.... And when we finally saw our resort in the distance, I knew he was impressed. I was absolutly jumping up and down with joy. It was my first time going inside the resort also, and we were both impressed with the big lobby and the "out there " design. The check in wait was less then 10 minutes, and lo behold, at 10 am our room is already ready!!!! We joyfully walk to our room, in the north wing #7177. We were VERY happy with it- clean, bright, airy and HUGE. The bold blue and yellow paterns shouted out "disney-fun!!", the bathroom was very big and the separate toilet room is pure genious. We also had a big patio which overlooked the monorail and the Castle itself!!! I was hoping for a lake view, but was not disappointed. Seeing the monorail passing by only build up more excitment. We were so happy with the room we didnt want to leave- but the magic kingdom awaits!!! So we ventured to the lobby and found our way to the 4th floor, where you board the monorail. Getting on the monorail brought back so many memories.......I was very happy to be there with my sweetie, but there was a little ache in my heart for not having my family there. I have always come to WDW with my parents,my two sisters, and recently with my my baby brother.... I braved the tears away (I am not from the USA....I am living in the states alone with my sweetie but have no family here) and told myself that I will come again soon with the entire family again. Once in the magic kingdom, I handed my camera-illiterate sweetie the camera, and told him he better get over his camera shyness- and fast. He was awed by the park- loving everything about it. We first hurried over to Alien Ancounter. The wait was minimal (about 15 minutes) so we got in line. He loved it!!! It was, and will be, one of his (many) favorites of WDW. From there we walked around tomorrowland, picked up fast passes for Space mountain, and continued through the park. Since we had 5pm PS for the Concourse steakhouse at the contemporary, we tried to do all of my favorite rides. We had the ablity to on whatever rides we wanted to (which usualy isnt an option when you travel with children) so I guided him through the more "adult oriented" rides. The rides with the long lines we left for later on that night, and we did the ones that were minimal wait.Let me tell you, the park was FULL of people, just like in the middle of July, and lines in certain rides were up to over 60 minutes. We did Tiki room, Jungle Cruise,Small world,Carousal of progress etc.... At 4:45 we hopped on the monorail,and were whisked off to our splendid hotel. I felt so proud, staying there... I must have had this stupid grin on my face, but I couldnt help it. The hotel is just striking, it has this energy surrounding it that I find hard to put into words. Our meal at the steakhouse was wonderfull-our waiter was fabulous. Very attentive and down to earth. Once we were done, we went to our room to refresh (and bring a light sweater) and at about 7pm we headed back to the MK. Oh,the pleasures of being on a monorail resort!! Sailing to the parks was a...breeze!!! We arrived at the park, watched some of the electric parade, and then did everything we missed before- Space mountain, Pirates, haunted mansion etc.... We headed out of the park at 10pm and went to the California Grill on the 15th floor of the resort. The changing colors of the castle was breathtaking!! We settled down with a bottle of wine (which we proceeded to finish!!) and had some appetizers... We were feeling good!! Cant feel more "on vacation" then that.... I can vividly remember the happ,relaxed look on my sweeties face.... He was experiencing disney magic for the first time, and boy did he like it.
Sunday the 18th-
Plan was to wake up early,study, and then head out to animal kingdom for half a day. The wake up call was ringing but we just slept right through it (no more wine for us!!LOL) we finally opened our eyes around 9am. Sweetie took a shower and began his reading while I walked to the food court. What a beautifull day!!! I couldnt believe it was snowing in NJ. I tried to soak up every ounce of the atmosphere...The birds chirping in the trees, the gentl breeze, the warm sun...... At the food court I grabbed some disposable cereal bowls and a couple of spoons. Back at the room we opened a box of cereal that I brought and some milk, and had breakfast outside on the patio. It was so relaxing yet exilirating (sp?) at the same time, especialy when we watched the monorail whoosh by. We arrived animal kingdom at about 11am (the bus transportation was wonderfull, the driver so nice!!) and walked around the park. The first thing we did was Disanour- one of my favorite rides!!! It always gives me a chill down my spine, especialy when the T-rex flies above you right before the end..... From there on to Kali rivers. Now, I did this ride last july, and I didnt even get wet, so I talked sweetie into going on it with me (he HATES water rides) telling him we will only get sprinkled. He raised his eyebrows, but I willfully dragged him along. Oh, what a mistake. Not only was there a techincal difficulty in the middle of the ride and we got stuck right where all the fire is, but when we went down that waterfall we got SOAKED!!!!!! And I mean SOAKED!!!!! A huge wave embrassed us, we were wet all the way from our undies to our shoes..... He was furious!!!!! I was just laughing, but he obviously does not enjoy walking around wet.... And I had no clue we will get this soaked. He went to the bathroom in hope to dry himself out with the handdryers, but I guess they have none in the park.... The next hour was hell.... Ever had a sulky man wine about his wet clothes like there is no tomorrow?? I was just on the verge of getting pissed off when we went to see flights of wonder. He enjoyed the show so much that we was just in a good mood again afterwords!! We were 98% dry by then, but do not worry- he will not let me forget about this for the rest of the trip....... Since our time in animal kingdom was limited, we skipped some parts and did bug life, safari, the treks and some more, and then headed back to the resort. At the resort I fell asleep for about an hour (while he studied some more! Bummer!) and at about 7pm we headed to my all time fave park....Epcot!!!! We went straight to spaceship earth and he fell in love with the ride....Then we did Ellens universe of energy (loves the look on his face the seats began moving!!!), the making of me and some more rides. Since it was getting late, I decided it was a time to get some good seats for reflections on earth..... The show was amazing!!!! Always dazzles me what a magnificant show they put on. To avoid the crowds on the way out, we stepped in line for test track. We waited for about 30 minutes, but both of us werent too impressed with the ride. We took the monorail back to the contemporary, ordered room service, and enjoyed the castle changing colors from the patio. We could not believe that this is our last night of our vacation!!!!!! Time was flying by.........
CAST OF CHARACHTERS:
Me- Noa, 4th time to disney, never stayed on site.
Emiro- My boyfriend of 4 years, NEVER been to WDW.
PLANNING-
I was never expecting to take a vacation..... But when I was informed at work a couple of weeks ago that I do not have work on the 19th of Febuary (presidents day) I said "what the heck!! Might as well get away from from cold,ugly New Jersey for a long weekend". So on the spur of the moment I decided we will go to sunny Florida- and I will be able to show my sweetie WDW for the first time. We are in bad need of vacation and some "alone time" since we both work full time and go to college full time, so between finals papers and work, we barely see each other-let alone spent quality time together. The timing seemed perfect- we would be right after a round of exams when we go, so I went ahead and began planning. Mind you, I had only a week and a half to plan- so I had to hurry up. First I called WDW reservations line- I had my heart set on staying at the Contemporary. Ever since I was a child and my parents took us to WDW, I would look with awe at that big hotel, standing proud and tall before the magic kingdom.... Seeing the monorail whoosh through it..... I ALWAYS wanted to stay there, and now was my chance. I had to call WDW reservations line ten times a day,every day for the whole week, before I was able to snag any availblity. Even then, I was only able to recieve the last 2 nights. Back-up plan-stay the first night off site. After reserving and paying for our plane tickets, came the problems. My sweetie's 202 Biology lab exam was pushed to the day after we return. Then TWO of my exams were pushed also to the day after we return....... Disappointed, I toyed with the thought of aborting this beautifull plan.... But sweetie came up to me and convinced me that if we bring our books with us, and set aside a couple of hours every day for studying- we should be allright. I knew that will spoil the fun a bit, but I was detirmened to make the most of it.
Friday the 16th-
Today we are leaving for Floriday right after work- I was caught up with so many things to do at the office that we left late and got stuck in all of the holiday weekend traffic going down the NJ turnpike.Half way to the airport I realized that I left my tennis shoes at work- and the only shoes I had were the heels I was currently wearing. Mad at myself, I figured out I will buy a new pair in Florida. We arrived the airport 30 minutes prior to the original flight departure time. Emphasise on "original"- of course the flight was delayed. And delayed. And then delayed once again. And once we got on board (the last row, right next to the bathroom, and with ALL of the engine noise) we circled around the runway for another 45 minutes. But who cares, right??? We are on our way to Florida!!! Both of us whipped out our books, and tried to study through-out the flight (mental note, next time bring ear plugs!!!!) The occasional smells drifting from the bathroom or the screaming child in the row across us could not get our spirits down. Once we landed, we REALLY couldnt contain our excitment. We called Days Inn to have a shuttle come over and pick us up, and we sprawled out on the bench in the pick up area. Coats?? Gloves?? Layers?? All a thing of the past!!! Even though it was 10pm, the weather was beautifull, warm and mildly humid. Chattering about how different Florida is from New Jersey, our van picked us up and took us to Days Inn. Let me tell you, I have never seen such a run down Days Inn in my life. The room smelled like its never been aired, musty and dusty and just plain....funky..... The room tempurture was about 10 below, so I opened the door and tried to get some fresh air in. The phone didnt work, the bathroom looked like its been a while since its been cleaned, and the TV was from the 50's. I never bothered opening it, but I have a good guess that it was black and white....... Again, even this couldnt spoil our good mood. We studied a bit, and then went to sleep, looking foward to the naxt day.
Saturday the 17th-
Since the phone didnt ork and I couldnt order a wake up call, I left the blinds partialy open so the sun will "naturaly" wake me up. I was hoping for 7am, instead woke up at 8. Me and sweetie hurriedly packed up and headed for the lobby, where we waited for a taxi. The taxi driver was nice enough to stop at a Target along the way, where I ran in and bought the first pair of comfortable looking tennis shoes I could find. From there we continued to..... The contemporary!! Since my sweetie has never been to WDW, I keenly watched his face while we were passing all of the "Welcome to Disney World" signs.... And when we finally saw our resort in the distance, I knew he was impressed. I was absolutly jumping up and down with joy. It was my first time going inside the resort also, and we were both impressed with the big lobby and the "out there " design. The check in wait was less then 10 minutes, and lo behold, at 10 am our room is already ready!!!! We joyfully walk to our room, in the north wing #7177. We were VERY happy with it- clean, bright, airy and HUGE. The bold blue and yellow paterns shouted out "disney-fun!!", the bathroom was very big and the separate toilet room is pure genious. We also had a big patio which overlooked the monorail and the Castle itself!!! I was hoping for a lake view, but was not disappointed. Seeing the monorail passing by only build up more excitment. We were so happy with the room we didnt want to leave- but the magic kingdom awaits!!! So we ventured to the lobby and found our way to the 4th floor, where you board the monorail. Getting on the monorail brought back so many memories.......I was very happy to be there with my sweetie, but there was a little ache in my heart for not having my family there. I have always come to WDW with my parents,my two sisters, and recently with my my baby brother.... I braved the tears away (I am not from the USA....I am living in the states alone with my sweetie but have no family here) and told myself that I will come again soon with the entire family again. Once in the magic kingdom, I handed my camera-illiterate sweetie the camera, and told him he better get over his camera shyness- and fast. He was awed by the park- loving everything about it. We first hurried over to Alien Ancounter. The wait was minimal (about 15 minutes) so we got in line. He loved it!!! It was, and will be, one of his (many) favorites of WDW. From there we walked around tomorrowland, picked up fast passes for Space mountain, and continued through the park. Since we had 5pm PS for the Concourse steakhouse at the contemporary, we tried to do all of my favorite rides. We had the ablity to on whatever rides we wanted to (which usualy isnt an option when you travel with children) so I guided him through the more "adult oriented" rides. The rides with the long lines we left for later on that night, and we did the ones that were minimal wait.Let me tell you, the park was FULL of people, just like in the middle of July, and lines in certain rides were up to over 60 minutes. We did Tiki room, Jungle Cruise,Small world,Carousal of progress etc.... At 4:45 we hopped on the monorail,and were whisked off to our splendid hotel. I felt so proud, staying there... I must have had this stupid grin on my face, but I couldnt help it. The hotel is just striking, it has this energy surrounding it that I find hard to put into words. Our meal at the steakhouse was wonderfull-our waiter was fabulous. Very attentive and down to earth. Once we were done, we went to our room to refresh (and bring a light sweater) and at about 7pm we headed back to the MK. Oh,the pleasures of being on a monorail resort!! Sailing to the parks was a...breeze!!! We arrived at the park, watched some of the electric parade, and then did everything we missed before- Space mountain, Pirates, haunted mansion etc.... We headed out of the park at 10pm and went to the California Grill on the 15th floor of the resort. The changing colors of the castle was breathtaking!! We settled down with a bottle of wine (which we proceeded to finish!!) and had some appetizers... We were feeling good!! Cant feel more "on vacation" then that.... I can vividly remember the happ,relaxed look on my sweeties face.... He was experiencing disney magic for the first time, and boy did he like it.
Sunday the 18th-
Plan was to wake up early,study, and then head out to animal kingdom for half a day. The wake up call was ringing but we just slept right through it (no more wine for us!!LOL) we finally opened our eyes around 9am. Sweetie took a shower and began his reading while I walked to the food court. What a beautifull day!!! I couldnt believe it was snowing in NJ. I tried to soak up every ounce of the atmosphere...The birds chirping in the trees, the gentl breeze, the warm sun...... At the food court I grabbed some disposable cereal bowls and a couple of spoons. Back at the room we opened a box of cereal that I brought and some milk, and had breakfast outside on the patio. It was so relaxing yet exilirating (sp?) at the same time, especialy when we watched the monorail whoosh by. We arrived animal kingdom at about 11am (the bus transportation was wonderfull, the driver so nice!!) and walked around the park. The first thing we did was Disanour- one of my favorite rides!!! It always gives me a chill down my spine, especialy when the T-rex flies above you right before the end..... From there on to Kali rivers. Now, I did this ride last july, and I didnt even get wet, so I talked sweetie into going on it with me (he HATES water rides) telling him we will only get sprinkled. He raised his eyebrows, but I willfully dragged him along. Oh, what a mistake. Not only was there a techincal difficulty in the middle of the ride and we got stuck right where all the fire is, but when we went down that waterfall we got SOAKED!!!!!! And I mean SOAKED!!!!! A huge wave embrassed us, we were wet all the way from our undies to our shoes..... He was furious!!!!! I was just laughing, but he obviously does not enjoy walking around wet.... And I had no clue we will get this soaked. He went to the bathroom in hope to dry himself out with the handdryers, but I guess they have none in the park.... The next hour was hell.... Ever had a sulky man wine about his wet clothes like there is no tomorrow?? I was just on the verge of getting pissed off when we went to see flights of wonder. He enjoyed the show so much that we was just in a good mood again afterwords!! We were 98% dry by then, but do not worry- he will not let me forget about this for the rest of the trip....... Since our time in animal kingdom was limited, we skipped some parts and did bug life, safari, the treks and some more, and then headed back to the resort. At the resort I fell asleep for about an hour (while he studied some more! Bummer!) and at about 7pm we headed to my all time fave park....Epcot!!!! We went straight to spaceship earth and he fell in love with the ride....Then we did Ellens universe of energy (loves the look on his face the seats began moving!!!), the making of me and some more rides. Since it was getting late, I decided it was a time to get some good seats for reflections on earth..... The show was amazing!!!! Always dazzles me what a magnificant show they put on. To avoid the crowds on the way out, we stepped in line for test track. We waited for about 30 minutes, but both of us werent too impressed with the ride. We took the monorail back to the contemporary, ordered room service, and enjoyed the castle changing colors from the patio. We could not believe that this is our last night of our vacation!!!!!! Time was flying by.........
