Geeks on a budget - 12/22, complete! Read reflections within....

[MAGICFOR2]

 

[suzannef]

Welcome Home Erica
I can't wait to read all about your trip!!! $30 BELOW budget you are goooood!!!

 

[Tink rules]

Tammy - I love it!

Thank you to everyone for the messages, it makes being back that much more bearable. I have all of my little notes for the TR, and many MANY photos to share. Sadly, I am also in crunch time for a project that is due at the end of the week, so I won't have much time before then to make posts.

But trust me: they are coming.

A little teaser: we managed to stay almost thirty dollars BELOW our budget, could you plotz? I almost did.

TR coming soon. Promise.

You drank OTHER people's DRINKS??????

 

[Buckeye Gal]

You drank OTHER people's DRINKS??????

 

[frdeb1999]

That pic is wonderful! Makes me wish it was next year again already!!

 

[Mr.Monk]

Wecome Home!
Can't wait to hear how you stayed under budget!

If DCL goes to Alaska in 2009.... will you go? Will ya?
We're going to need some great trip reporters!

I'd like to go on the FatherForce, SleepyDog, and Zweihund Alaskan Adventure!

 

[dicar123]

Erica, it's Friday! Is your project done? I totally feel like a creepy internet stalker, but I've read all your stuff and I'm dying to read more.

 

[Tink rules]

Wait.....

It's Friday.....

That means....

Happy Hour!!!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

I don't know about you but I have had a cocktail tonight or a few
in celebration of the fact that in 1 week I will be at MNSSHP!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I don't know about you but I have had a cocktail tonight or a few
in celebration of the fact that in 1 week I will be at MNSSHP!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS!

 

[anewmac]

Well give us something just a lil something to tone down our antisipation LOL

I want your tips for staying UNDER your budget!

You drank OTHER people's DRINKS??????

If this is part of it... Ill be sure to not tell E, shhhh it will be our secret! LOL

 

[zweihund]

OK, the project is FINALLY over - but I was working all weekend. I promise, PROMISE, I will have something up here this week. Hopefully tomorrow.

I uploaded all my pics to the computer, but that is as far as I have managed to get.

More soon!

 

[Tink rules]

Ah.... Erica...

What a tease!!!!

Come on...

Just ONE picture???

 

[anewmac]

Ah.... Erica...

What a tease!!!!

Come on...

Just ONE picture???

Im with Tink.. something to hold us off.. PLEASE!!!!

 

[zweihund]

Im with Tink.. something to hold us off.. PLEASE!!!!

Ok, how about this:

My favorite part of the whole trip:

Uploading pics as we speak. Type. Read.
Whatever.

And? Working on chapter one.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Welcome back! (Being home sucks, huh?)

Can't wait to hear about it!

 

[Tink rules]

Look!!! She's got FEET!!!!! What... no drink?

 

[zweihund]

You know how excited we DISers get, driving to the port at 9 am, feeling like we are a part of this tiny club that knows early is better? Like, we all know this little secret, and while we don’t necessarily HIDE the fact that the terminal is open early enough that you can check in, and then take a nap while classic Disney cartoons play in the background, we certainly don't share it with just any old pleeb who walks down the street? Yes, that is the true mark of a DISer. Early to check in, and wearing something green.

So there we were. Up at the seeming crack of dawn (though in reality, it was 7 am, which is only the crack of dawn if you are Canadian). Tummies full of coffee. Stray remnants of sesame seed bagel clinging to our shirts. Yawning. Driving over the bridge, seeing the Wonder glistening off in the distance, parking in the overpriced ant-ridden lot and finally walking to the terminal where we were greeted by the amazing sight of?

No one in the terminal.

Seriously, there may have been about 50 people in there. Including employees. I looked at my companions, and they back at me. According to my watch, we had actually arrived a whopping 15 minutes later than any self-respecting DISer should. And yet? We were nearly alone.

Figuring they would have booted us out by now if we were too early, I skipped over to the check-in line.
Which didn’t open for an hour.
What kind of twisted parallel universe were we in, anyhow? Toto? Auntie Em? Stitch? Anyone??? I just want to get on the boat!!!

Isn't it eerie? And just a little bit wrong?

Sarah and I wandered over to look at the model, which needs a serious update. ESPN Sports Bar? Come on, now. Now that they finally updated that old Disney Cruise show on the Travel Channel, the least they could do add Aloft and the giant jumbo-tron. Well, at least they had dusted the boat since last I viewed it.

"If I could cram myself into this model, I totally would."

At this point, Lionel could have said about a million things that all add up to the blatent fact that I am aware of: I am an overplanner. There we were, way to early to even check in, before the cartoons were even on the tv screens. And? No KTTW card yet. Which means we can't even be TEMPTED by a coffee and a muffin. So, we wandered out to oggle the boat, and to try and find our room window.

Lionel: is it a big porthole?
Me: no, it's the medium one.
Lionel: so, by medium, do you mean those two little ones?
Me: no, the MEDIUM one.
Lionel: that big one on top?
Me: I married you?

We watched the stray employee straggle in, and contemplated why the sun in Florida must be so bright when we had no pool in which to lounge, when suddenly I saw it:

"You're IN Canaveral, Dudes!"

A sea turtle! He had been loitering a little closer to the dock, but by the time I managed to pull the camera out from underneath the thirty-some-odd other items that were piled into my Baggallini (books, sunscreen, swimsuits, apple juice – don’t ask), he had all but disappeared. By the looks of my watch, the excitement of seeing a live turtle somewhere other than a tank had burned up, oh, about four minutes. *sigh*

Sarah and Lionel started to chide me for waking them up so early, and proceeded to take a nap on the railing:

Wake us up when it's time for Mickey bars....

Suddenly, my DISer sense was tingling. I peeked back into the terminal and noticed that the lines had opened 30 minutes earlier than the sign read!
“Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

Lionel: what? It's not lilke we can board for another hour and a half!
Me: seriously, I married you?

I dragged my travel companions straight up to the counter, because again……no one is in the terminal. Where was everyone? It was 10:30! Was I crazy or something? Don’t answer that.

I bounced a little bit when we got our Keys to the World, which I noticed they had changed since our last cruise. Instead of a little blue card that looked just like the hotel keys, we had Goofy holding a big coconut drink. How fitting! Our check-in attendant paused, scanned us briefly, and just when I thought she was going to take our cards back and say something like "I'm sorry, you have a Canadian with you.....we can't let you on the boat," she smiled and handed us each our Castaway Club lanyards and trading pins. "Welcome back!" she chirped. I snatched Lionel's pins away before he could say "darling, I know you like pins, so I would like to lovingly offer you my own as a token of my gratitude for getting us to the terminal on time."

And so began Sarah’s career as a Castaway Club imposter, because she got a lanyard too! Rice crisy Mickey heads for everyone, wheeeee!

Oh, and did I mention? Boarding card group two!!!!!

I pushed over two little old ladies to get this.

Next up: we play witnesses to a lawsuit waiting to happen, and the hot tub is just as bubbly as we remembered.

 

[Hedy]

Sounds like a fun start!

 

[Tink rules]

GREAT TR!!!!!!!!

So they let you in at the crack of dawn???? Was the ship even docked yet???

Great turtle pic!!! Never seen one outside before!! Cool!!!

Keep the details coming!!! I'm thinking of doing an inpromtu cruise in Dec to hold me over until April...