Chicago526
<font color=red>Any dream will do...<br><font colo
- Joined
- May 6, 2003
- Messages
- 11,024
Cast of Characters: My parents, my brother John and his wife Mary along with their two boys, Allen age 3 and Edward age 10 months. Also my other brother Joe, and of course, me. (All names have been changed.)
Day One: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
My parents, living in Phoenix, had booked their travel to connect in Chicago so my brothers and I could meet them on the connecting flight to Orlando. However, John goofed that up by booking an early 9 AM departure. Joe and I decided that we would then like to go earlier too, but had already booked the 1:45 PM departure that met up with my parents, so we had to go stand by.
The 9 AM left from the gate on time, but had no room for us. The 10 AM flight did, however, and we not only cleared the stand by list but also upgraded to first class using some upgrade coupons I had. Unfortunately, the 10 AM flight was delayed. And delayed. Then delayed some more due to some nasty storms somewhere between Chicago and Orlando. We didnt leave until about 12:30.
Once we took off, the flight was fine, although a bit longer than normal, as we still had to fly around some of those storms. We first class passengers received lunch; I had a terrific chicken Caesar salad and my brother had a very nice deli style sandwich, along with all the cocktails and wine we cared for. Those back in steerage, err, coach received the usual soda and a bag of party mix. Since we were taking the long way around, the flight attendant showed the movie instead of the short feature, which was a nice touch. One quick note, the United employees, both at the airport and on the flight, were the most courteous and competent Ive encountered in a very long time, my hats off to them!
Once we (finally!) made it to Orlando, we hopped on the electric tram that took us to the main terminal to pick up our bus to Disney. A short 20 minute wait in the lounge area for the shuttle and then we were on our way!
Our hotel was the Wilderness Lodge. Since there were eight of us total, we decided to book one of their two bedroom villas. Joe and I checked at the front desk to see what room number John and Mary were given, and headed up.
The villa was amazing! Basically, it was a two bed, two bath apartment. You enter in the main room, which has a small kitchen and the living area with a sleeper sofa, dinning table and breakfast bar, entertainment center, and a small balcony. The master suite had a king size bed, TV, its own balcony, and a whirlpool tub with a dressing area complete with a sink and vanity. It also had two small closets, one of which had a full size iron and board. The master bathroom, which also served as the main bath, had a huge shower stall, sink and vanity, and a separate toilet with a door, so someone could use that while another person used the sink. This arrangement allowed up to three people to use the bathroom while maintaining privacy. The second bedroom had two double beds, a TV, a huge walk in closet, and a full bathroom. John, Mary and the kids took this room. They set up the crib in the walk in closet to give Edward his own little bedroom (it was that big!) so he and Allen wouldnt disturb each other as they sometimes had different nap schedules. Our parents took the master suite, with Joe and I sharing the living room. He took the couch and I had brought an inflatable mattress along, I had plenty of space on the floor and just asked for a few extra blankets and pillows from house keeping.
Upon arriving at the room, we discovered that although John and Mary's flight had left the gate on time, their flight wound up sitting on the tarmac for about two hour before being cleared for take off due to the storms. Turns out Joe and I were lucky not to make that flight after all! They had only beat us to the hotel by about 45 minutes. Shortly after Joe and I arrived, we decided to take Allen down to the lobby to look around and wait to meet up with Mom and Dad. Our walk down provided one of the funniest moments of the trip. The villas are in a separate building next to the Lodge itself, and is connected by a covered walkway. Joe was carrying Allen on his shoulders, and some of the crossbeams were low enough that Allen might have bumped his head. Joe warned him to duck if the beams came too close. Allen thought about this for a second, and then replied But I dont see any ducks! We laughed the rest of the walk to the lobby.
Once there, we looked around the gift shop, which also had a section in the back with light grocery selections for those with kitchens. Although the prices were inflated ($3 for a half gallon of milk!) it still helped to save us money by allowing us to eat breakfast and light meals in the room. Allen and I looked around for a few minutes and then I took him out to the lobby to look for my parents. Turns out they had just gotten to the front desk, so we meet up them and showed them to the room.
After letting them look around and settle in a bit, we decided to head to MK for dinner and maybe a ride or two before the fireworks show. We headed for the docks to take the boat over to MK and had dinner at one of the food courts off of Main Street. By the time we were done it was almost time for the fireworks. Allen decided that he was scared of the fireworks and was getting upset, so Mom, John, Mary, and the kids went back to the home-tel (as Allen calls all hotels, quite apt in this case!). Joe, Dad and I stayed for the fireworks. A great show followed by about ten thousand people all trying to leave at the same time. We waited about 30 minutes in line for a boat back. That ended our first day.
Day Two: Of Mice and Swimming Pools
Our first full day at Disney was Mothers Day, and we celebrated by going to a character breakfast at the Contemporary Hotel, across the lake and next to MK and Epcot. We took the boat to MK and hopped on the Monorail to the Contemporary. Breakfast was a huge (and very good) buffet, although rather expensive at $20 a head for adults and $10 for the kids. But we had a chance to meet with Mickey himself and a few of his friends while dinning, and we got some great pictures. Allen's birthday had been the week before, so we were celebrating that as well, the cast members gathered around while singing happy birthday and gave him a cupcake (yep, at 9 AM) with a candle for him to blow out.
After breakfast, we got on the monorail again and went to MK for the morning. John, Mary, and Allen rode the tea cups, Dumbo, Small World and a few other rides while Joe and I hit Splash Mountain and Thunder Railroad. We met back at the hotel about 1 for naps and swims. The villas have its own small quiet pool and hot tub, and we could also use the main pool at the lodge which had a slide, kiddy pool and two hot tubs. All the facilities were fantastic!
Since it was Mothers Day, I had prearranged some flowers to be sent to the room for Mom, and they were just gorgeous! Two of the biggest, freshest red roses Ive ever seen surrounded by daisies and carnations in a Winnie-the-Pooh mug. The flowers were still as fresh by the end of the week when we regrettably had to leave them behind when we went home. They were in the room upon our return from the park, and Mom just loved them.
We had dinner in the restaurant at the Lodge, located just off the lobby. A very kid friendly place, it was the type that kids could be loud without really bothering the adults, and the cast members were just fantastic. A western themed place, the waitress spoke in a western accent and the menu was heavy on the barbecue. After dinner, John, Mary and the kids headed back to the room for bedtime and Mom, Dad, Joe and I went to Epcot for Illuminations. Dad liked the music so much he bought the sound track at the park. And that ended our second day.
Day One: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
My parents, living in Phoenix, had booked their travel to connect in Chicago so my brothers and I could meet them on the connecting flight to Orlando. However, John goofed that up by booking an early 9 AM departure. Joe and I decided that we would then like to go earlier too, but had already booked the 1:45 PM departure that met up with my parents, so we had to go stand by.
The 9 AM left from the gate on time, but had no room for us. The 10 AM flight did, however, and we not only cleared the stand by list but also upgraded to first class using some upgrade coupons I had. Unfortunately, the 10 AM flight was delayed. And delayed. Then delayed some more due to some nasty storms somewhere between Chicago and Orlando. We didnt leave until about 12:30.
Once we took off, the flight was fine, although a bit longer than normal, as we still had to fly around some of those storms. We first class passengers received lunch; I had a terrific chicken Caesar salad and my brother had a very nice deli style sandwich, along with all the cocktails and wine we cared for. Those back in steerage, err, coach received the usual soda and a bag of party mix. Since we were taking the long way around, the flight attendant showed the movie instead of the short feature, which was a nice touch. One quick note, the United employees, both at the airport and on the flight, were the most courteous and competent Ive encountered in a very long time, my hats off to them!
Once we (finally!) made it to Orlando, we hopped on the electric tram that took us to the main terminal to pick up our bus to Disney. A short 20 minute wait in the lounge area for the shuttle and then we were on our way!
Our hotel was the Wilderness Lodge. Since there were eight of us total, we decided to book one of their two bedroom villas. Joe and I checked at the front desk to see what room number John and Mary were given, and headed up.
The villa was amazing! Basically, it was a two bed, two bath apartment. You enter in the main room, which has a small kitchen and the living area with a sleeper sofa, dinning table and breakfast bar, entertainment center, and a small balcony. The master suite had a king size bed, TV, its own balcony, and a whirlpool tub with a dressing area complete with a sink and vanity. It also had two small closets, one of which had a full size iron and board. The master bathroom, which also served as the main bath, had a huge shower stall, sink and vanity, and a separate toilet with a door, so someone could use that while another person used the sink. This arrangement allowed up to three people to use the bathroom while maintaining privacy. The second bedroom had two double beds, a TV, a huge walk in closet, and a full bathroom. John, Mary and the kids took this room. They set up the crib in the walk in closet to give Edward his own little bedroom (it was that big!) so he and Allen wouldnt disturb each other as they sometimes had different nap schedules. Our parents took the master suite, with Joe and I sharing the living room. He took the couch and I had brought an inflatable mattress along, I had plenty of space on the floor and just asked for a few extra blankets and pillows from house keeping.
Upon arriving at the room, we discovered that although John and Mary's flight had left the gate on time, their flight wound up sitting on the tarmac for about two hour before being cleared for take off due to the storms. Turns out Joe and I were lucky not to make that flight after all! They had only beat us to the hotel by about 45 minutes. Shortly after Joe and I arrived, we decided to take Allen down to the lobby to look around and wait to meet up with Mom and Dad. Our walk down provided one of the funniest moments of the trip. The villas are in a separate building next to the Lodge itself, and is connected by a covered walkway. Joe was carrying Allen on his shoulders, and some of the crossbeams were low enough that Allen might have bumped his head. Joe warned him to duck if the beams came too close. Allen thought about this for a second, and then replied But I dont see any ducks! We laughed the rest of the walk to the lobby.
Once there, we looked around the gift shop, which also had a section in the back with light grocery selections for those with kitchens. Although the prices were inflated ($3 for a half gallon of milk!) it still helped to save us money by allowing us to eat breakfast and light meals in the room. Allen and I looked around for a few minutes and then I took him out to the lobby to look for my parents. Turns out they had just gotten to the front desk, so we meet up them and showed them to the room.
After letting them look around and settle in a bit, we decided to head to MK for dinner and maybe a ride or two before the fireworks show. We headed for the docks to take the boat over to MK and had dinner at one of the food courts off of Main Street. By the time we were done it was almost time for the fireworks. Allen decided that he was scared of the fireworks and was getting upset, so Mom, John, Mary, and the kids went back to the home-tel (as Allen calls all hotels, quite apt in this case!). Joe, Dad and I stayed for the fireworks. A great show followed by about ten thousand people all trying to leave at the same time. We waited about 30 minutes in line for a boat back. That ended our first day.
Day Two: Of Mice and Swimming Pools
Our first full day at Disney was Mothers Day, and we celebrated by going to a character breakfast at the Contemporary Hotel, across the lake and next to MK and Epcot. We took the boat to MK and hopped on the Monorail to the Contemporary. Breakfast was a huge (and very good) buffet, although rather expensive at $20 a head for adults and $10 for the kids. But we had a chance to meet with Mickey himself and a few of his friends while dinning, and we got some great pictures. Allen's birthday had been the week before, so we were celebrating that as well, the cast members gathered around while singing happy birthday and gave him a cupcake (yep, at 9 AM) with a candle for him to blow out.
After breakfast, we got on the monorail again and went to MK for the morning. John, Mary, and Allen rode the tea cups, Dumbo, Small World and a few other rides while Joe and I hit Splash Mountain and Thunder Railroad. We met back at the hotel about 1 for naps and swims. The villas have its own small quiet pool and hot tub, and we could also use the main pool at the lodge which had a slide, kiddy pool and two hot tubs. All the facilities were fantastic!
Since it was Mothers Day, I had prearranged some flowers to be sent to the room for Mom, and they were just gorgeous! Two of the biggest, freshest red roses Ive ever seen surrounded by daisies and carnations in a Winnie-the-Pooh mug. The flowers were still as fresh by the end of the week when we regrettably had to leave them behind when we went home. They were in the room upon our return from the park, and Mom just loved them.
We had dinner in the restaurant at the Lodge, located just off the lobby. A very kid friendly place, it was the type that kids could be loud without really bothering the adults, and the cast members were just fantastic. A western themed place, the waitress spoke in a western accent and the menu was heavy on the barbecue. After dinner, John, Mary and the kids headed back to the room for bedtime and Mom, Dad, Joe and I went to Epcot for Illuminations. Dad liked the music so much he bought the sound track at the park. And that ended our second day.
