Bill From PA
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That
- Joined
- Nov 8, 1999
- Messages
- 3,217
This is the first installment of our March 1 - March 12, 2006 WDW trip. This time it was just the two of us for the first 3 days after which
our daughter, SIL and two grandchildren joined us. During our 10 days 'In the World', we met several other DIS Board members, rode the
newest Disney attractions, hit PI and Jellyrolls several times each and fell in love with Raglan Road. Featured in these reports will be the
fabulous Miss Devine:
www.eduremote.com/devine.jpg
Cinderella's Breakfast:
www.eduremote.com/cindy.jpg
my granddaughter's first Marguerita:
www.eduremote.com/first.jpg
yours truely as Romeo in a World Showcase Pruduction:
www.eduremote.com/Romeo.jpg
and the joys of Drinking Around the World:
www.eduremote.com/DARTW.jpg
All that and much more! Our trip began on the afternoon of Wed., March 1 when my indulgent boss let me go at 2 pm to get a jump on
traffic heading down the PA Turnpike to PHL. We had a reservation at the Ramada featuring up to 14 days of secure parking and a
shuttle to PHL. Some board members here had some negative experiences with this hotel in the past, so I was a little leery of booking
a stay. My thinking was that we could put up with anything for one night, the board members did say good things about the shuttle
and parking and parking alone at PHL would have cost more than this whole package, so I chanced it. The room itself was seriously old,
but clean, and we got good service at the lounge where we had a light dinner and some drinks. The parking was in a secured lot adjacent
to the hotel. Philly weather was calling for an ice storm the next morning so we set an early wakeup call and got the first shuttle to arrive after
we got to the pick-up point. It looked like it would take at least 2 more shuttle trips to get everyone there to PHL, so being up early saved
some anxiety. My only fear when planning a trip anywhere involving flight is missing the plane. When I'm at the gate ahead of the
flight, my vacation starts. We were able to get a hot breakfast near gate C-27 while we watched the drizzle outside. If there was any
ice, we didn't see it and it didn't delay our departure. We got off the ground a little late due to a traffic backup but the pilot made
up the time going down, so we arrived at MCO at 10:36.
Sam, our Tiffany driver, met us at the baggage claim area. We got on the road in good time and learned that Sam's wife is a Disney CM,
working in the IT help desk department. I'll have to look into that for my post retirement days. After a quick grocery stop at Publix,
bottled water and bagels, we arrived at Swan, checked in with no waiting, and our room was ready. We were at the Rose&Crown by one,
only to learn that we'd be getting no Tennant's that week. Carl, the bartender, told me that the problem was that the source of Tennant's
by the keg demanded that Disney take a full load of the brew weekly but that the R&C usually only moved half that amount. I told him I'd be back
the same week next year and I'd personally make up the shortfall, but he wasn't buying it. So it was Stella Artios for the next 10 days, with the
occasional Boddington's thrown in. After our liquid lunch, we went to FW and I rode Mission Space while wifey watched the Jammitors
after which we both did Soarin'. We returned to the R&C, grabbed a traveler and strolled WS for a while. We returned to Swan to freshen
up for a Happy Hour at Raglan Road. We got there probably about 6 - 6:30, had a couple more Stellas along with some Pub Grub. Mary had the soup
and I had a crabmeat croissant sort of thing, the name of which escapes me. Both very good. So, up the hill to the Comedy Warehouse we went.
We had enough plusses left over from past trips to get us into PI 3 times and our daughter and SIL once each, so that was good. The show
was good for an early one, the CW shows tend to improve as the blood alcohol of the audience rises, so later ones are the best. After
that we hopped over to the Adventurer's Club to renew our membership. There were some old, welcome faces among the CMs
there, along with a new Hathaway Brown we'd never seen before. Tall, dark haired with a slight British accent, he was quite
good. One surprise was that the talking Yakoose on the wall was gone. As usual, George chose Mary to demonstrate the decending
bar stool. She must have a 'Kick Me' sign on her back that only the AC bartenders can see because she always gets the treatment.
We cut the evening a little short as it was a long day. In all, it was a great start. The Ramada in Philly worked out for us, we
got to MCO on time, the pick-up was prompt, we got our room well before 3 pm and occupied the seats seen below by 1. In a few days
I'll take up with day 2 which features a meeing at the R&C of some DIS board folks (don't worry, guys, I don't have any pics and as
promised, what goes on in WDW, stays in WDW).
Bill From PA
our daughter, SIL and two grandchildren joined us. During our 10 days 'In the World', we met several other DIS Board members, rode the
newest Disney attractions, hit PI and Jellyrolls several times each and fell in love with Raglan Road. Featured in these reports will be the
fabulous Miss Devine:
www.eduremote.com/devine.jpg
Cinderella's Breakfast:
www.eduremote.com/cindy.jpg
my granddaughter's first Marguerita:
www.eduremote.com/first.jpg
yours truely as Romeo in a World Showcase Pruduction:
www.eduremote.com/Romeo.jpg
and the joys of Drinking Around the World:
www.eduremote.com/DARTW.jpg
All that and much more! Our trip began on the afternoon of Wed., March 1 when my indulgent boss let me go at 2 pm to get a jump on
traffic heading down the PA Turnpike to PHL. We had a reservation at the Ramada featuring up to 14 days of secure parking and a
shuttle to PHL. Some board members here had some negative experiences with this hotel in the past, so I was a little leery of booking
a stay. My thinking was that we could put up with anything for one night, the board members did say good things about the shuttle
and parking and parking alone at PHL would have cost more than this whole package, so I chanced it. The room itself was seriously old,
but clean, and we got good service at the lounge where we had a light dinner and some drinks. The parking was in a secured lot adjacent
to the hotel. Philly weather was calling for an ice storm the next morning so we set an early wakeup call and got the first shuttle to arrive after
we got to the pick-up point. It looked like it would take at least 2 more shuttle trips to get everyone there to PHL, so being up early saved
some anxiety. My only fear when planning a trip anywhere involving flight is missing the plane. When I'm at the gate ahead of the
flight, my vacation starts. We were able to get a hot breakfast near gate C-27 while we watched the drizzle outside. If there was any
ice, we didn't see it and it didn't delay our departure. We got off the ground a little late due to a traffic backup but the pilot made
up the time going down, so we arrived at MCO at 10:36.
Sam, our Tiffany driver, met us at the baggage claim area. We got on the road in good time and learned that Sam's wife is a Disney CM,
working in the IT help desk department. I'll have to look into that for my post retirement days. After a quick grocery stop at Publix,
bottled water and bagels, we arrived at Swan, checked in with no waiting, and our room was ready. We were at the Rose&Crown by one,
only to learn that we'd be getting no Tennant's that week. Carl, the bartender, told me that the problem was that the source of Tennant's
by the keg demanded that Disney take a full load of the brew weekly but that the R&C usually only moved half that amount. I told him I'd be back
the same week next year and I'd personally make up the shortfall, but he wasn't buying it. So it was Stella Artios for the next 10 days, with the
occasional Boddington's thrown in. After our liquid lunch, we went to FW and I rode Mission Space while wifey watched the Jammitors
after which we both did Soarin'. We returned to the R&C, grabbed a traveler and strolled WS for a while. We returned to Swan to freshen
up for a Happy Hour at Raglan Road. We got there probably about 6 - 6:30, had a couple more Stellas along with some Pub Grub. Mary had the soup
and I had a crabmeat croissant sort of thing, the name of which escapes me. Both very good. So, up the hill to the Comedy Warehouse we went.
We had enough plusses left over from past trips to get us into PI 3 times and our daughter and SIL once each, so that was good. The show
was good for an early one, the CW shows tend to improve as the blood alcohol of the audience rises, so later ones are the best. After
that we hopped over to the Adventurer's Club to renew our membership. There were some old, welcome faces among the CMs
there, along with a new Hathaway Brown we'd never seen before. Tall, dark haired with a slight British accent, he was quite
good. One surprise was that the talking Yakoose on the wall was gone. As usual, George chose Mary to demonstrate the decending
bar stool. She must have a 'Kick Me' sign on her back that only the AC bartenders can see because she always gets the treatment.
We cut the evening a little short as it was a long day. In all, it was a great start. The Ramada in Philly worked out for us, we
got to MCO on time, the pick-up was prompt, we got our room well before 3 pm and occupied the seats seen below by 1. In a few days
I'll take up with day 2 which features a meeing at the R&C of some DIS board folks (don't worry, guys, I don't have any pics and as
promised, what goes on in WDW, stays in WDW).
Bill From PA
