Cast of characters:
Me, mom and Disney nut
DD Jessica, age 10 and in for a big surprise
We find that as the kids get older, it is harder to come up with things to get them for their birthdays and Christmas. My DDs Christmas list includes a video camera, TV, DVD player, and computer for her room. Yeah, right very funny
. So rather than gifts this year, we decided to surprise her with a girls only trip to the World for a long weekend. The closest school holiday to DDs September birthday was Columbus Day, so I booked us into Pop Century for 3 nights. On DDs birthday we gave her a card with a poem inside that said that for her double-digit birthday, she was going to get a big surprise
but she had to wait two weeks for it. For the next two weeks DD agonized over what it could it be, and eventually convinced herself that she was getting a kitten. It was the only thing she asked for that she could understand having to wait two extra weeks for. So basically she was clueless.
On the day of the trip, I told DD she had a dentist appointment and I would be picking her up at 12:30 from school. I even did a really bad thing and lied to her teacher. DDs 5th grade teacher has a thing about sealed envelopes (dont ask). If I sent a note in a sealed envelope with a note on the outside that said it was private, DD would wonder why I had to send a note about a dentist appointment in a sealed envelope. And I was afraid that if I didnt seal it, and I told the truth, DD would read it. And in either case, I was afraid the teacher would say something and blow the surprise. So I wrote a note that said I was picking her up for an appointment. It just happens that the appointment was with me and a plane
Once I got DD on the bus for school, I had to face the hard part telling DS (almost 6) that his sisters big surprise was actually a trip to Disneyworld. Without him. He took it better than I thought he would. He had ice hockey practice and a friends birthday party that weekend that he was looking forward to, and I promised he would be doing some special things with dad while I was away. And of course, I promised that he would get the same thing when he turned 10. I know that sounds like a long time to wait, but I am sure we will go as a family a few time in between as well, and we were just there as a family in May, so the boy is hardly Disney-deprived.
I dropped DS off at kindergarten and ran home to pack. Im not usually a last-minute packer, but I didnt want DD to stumble over anything. At 12:30 I headed off to school to get DD. They paged her down to the office, and as we walked out to the car I told her I didnt really feel like going to the dentist today, so why didnt we go to Disneyworld instead. Thinking I was playing, DD said okay. I told her I was serious. She said okay (still thinking Im kidding). When we got to the car DD found our Pal Mickey and her fanny pack full of her pressed penny book and pin lanyard on her seat, she told me I was taking the joke too far. I told her it wasnt a joke Happy Birthday! I still dont think she believed me until we got on the turnpike. But she had a big smile on her face all the way to the airport!
We tried a new parking service this trip. We were flying out of Philly, and had a reservation at on off-site valet parking place. I booked through an on-line service that gave me one day free. You drive to the lot, and a driver drives you, in your car, back to the airport. The lot is actually part of the Winner Cadillac dealership, so you can have your car serviced and/or washed while you are away. When you return, a driver picks you up at the airport in your car. You can either return the driver to the lot yourself, or for an extra $10, leave straight from the airport (and presumably the driver gets picked up by someone else). Since we were returning rather late on a school night, we went with the straight from the airport service to get home as quickly as possible. We were very pleased with this service. It costs a few dollars more than the official airport long-term parking (especially if you tip the drivers), but it is very quick and convenient. I highly recommend it.
Now back to our story
We did curb side check-in for our one suitcase with AirTran and headed into the airport to find lunch. The security line was very short and we were out to the gate quickly. We got some pizza for lunch. Word of advice never have sausage pizza at an airport. I would pay for it later. Our flight boarded on time. The plane was a Boeing 717, which has 2 by 3 seating, so we were able to get a row of 2 to ourselves. DD wrote in her notebook on the way, and we spent some time figuring out what we wanted to do when we got there.
We arrived on time at MCO and made the long journey to the baggage claim. We got our suitcase and headed over to Dollar rental car. There were probably 20 people in the regular line, but only 1in the Express line. I pull out my Express card and Im being waited on in no time. Why doesnt everybody sign up for these things? Its not like they cost money. I had booked a compact and had a coupon to upgrade to an intermediate. They were out of intermediates, so they gave me a Sebring convertible instead. This sounded good at the time.
We found the car and squeezed the suitcase into the small trunk. I had enough trouble figuring out how to turn the lights on, but couldnt for the life of me figure out how to put the top down. Id never driven a convertible. I drive a minivan at home, and really did not enjoy driving this car. With the top up I felt like I couldnt see a thing. The slit they call a windshield just didnt cut it. Somehow I made it to Pop Century and parked in the check in lot. It was now nearly 7:30 PM and there wasnt a soul in the check-in line. So check-in was very quick, and we were assigned 5448 in the 60s building. Being up high and not facing the pool I hoped would be reasonably quiet. The room was right around the corner from the elevator, and I was very pleased with the location. It was a very short walk to the food court and bus stops.
This was the only night that MNSSHP was going on during our trip, and I had kind of hoped to arrive early enough to buy last minute tickets, but it was just too late and we were too tired. We called home to let DH know we had arrived safely and decided to go shopping instead. We are never too tired to shop. We grabbed a quick dinner (meatball sub and mac n cheese) in the awesome Pop food court. Then we headed to the bus stop and saw a Marketplace bus already there, so we speed-walked over to catch it. We shopped in Once Upon a Toy and the World of Disney store. We did some damage on the Visa card at both stores. Ah, the joys of a girls only trip no impatient boys watching what you are buying!
We wanted to get an early start in the morning, so we called it a night. Once again, we walked up to the bus stop to find a bus already there. In fact, we would be lucky with the buses the entire weekend.
Next up: Day 1 3 parks in one day
Me, mom and Disney nut
DD Jessica, age 10 and in for a big surprise
We find that as the kids get older, it is harder to come up with things to get them for their birthdays and Christmas. My DDs Christmas list includes a video camera, TV, DVD player, and computer for her room. Yeah, right very funny
. So rather than gifts this year, we decided to surprise her with a girls only trip to the World for a long weekend. The closest school holiday to DDs September birthday was Columbus Day, so I booked us into Pop Century for 3 nights. On DDs birthday we gave her a card with a poem inside that said that for her double-digit birthday, she was going to get a big surprise
but she had to wait two weeks for it. For the next two weeks DD agonized over what it could it be, and eventually convinced herself that she was getting a kitten. It was the only thing she asked for that she could understand having to wait two extra weeks for. So basically she was clueless. On the day of the trip, I told DD she had a dentist appointment and I would be picking her up at 12:30 from school. I even did a really bad thing and lied to her teacher. DDs 5th grade teacher has a thing about sealed envelopes (dont ask). If I sent a note in a sealed envelope with a note on the outside that said it was private, DD would wonder why I had to send a note about a dentist appointment in a sealed envelope. And I was afraid that if I didnt seal it, and I told the truth, DD would read it. And in either case, I was afraid the teacher would say something and blow the surprise. So I wrote a note that said I was picking her up for an appointment. It just happens that the appointment was with me and a plane
Once I got DD on the bus for school, I had to face the hard part telling DS (almost 6) that his sisters big surprise was actually a trip to Disneyworld. Without him. He took it better than I thought he would. He had ice hockey practice and a friends birthday party that weekend that he was looking forward to, and I promised he would be doing some special things with dad while I was away. And of course, I promised that he would get the same thing when he turned 10. I know that sounds like a long time to wait, but I am sure we will go as a family a few time in between as well, and we were just there as a family in May, so the boy is hardly Disney-deprived.
I dropped DS off at kindergarten and ran home to pack. Im not usually a last-minute packer, but I didnt want DD to stumble over anything. At 12:30 I headed off to school to get DD. They paged her down to the office, and as we walked out to the car I told her I didnt really feel like going to the dentist today, so why didnt we go to Disneyworld instead. Thinking I was playing, DD said okay. I told her I was serious. She said okay (still thinking Im kidding). When we got to the car DD found our Pal Mickey and her fanny pack full of her pressed penny book and pin lanyard on her seat, she told me I was taking the joke too far. I told her it wasnt a joke Happy Birthday! I still dont think she believed me until we got on the turnpike. But she had a big smile on her face all the way to the airport!
We tried a new parking service this trip. We were flying out of Philly, and had a reservation at on off-site valet parking place. I booked through an on-line service that gave me one day free. You drive to the lot, and a driver drives you, in your car, back to the airport. The lot is actually part of the Winner Cadillac dealership, so you can have your car serviced and/or washed while you are away. When you return, a driver picks you up at the airport in your car. You can either return the driver to the lot yourself, or for an extra $10, leave straight from the airport (and presumably the driver gets picked up by someone else). Since we were returning rather late on a school night, we went with the straight from the airport service to get home as quickly as possible. We were very pleased with this service. It costs a few dollars more than the official airport long-term parking (especially if you tip the drivers), but it is very quick and convenient. I highly recommend it.
Now back to our story
We did curb side check-in for our one suitcase with AirTran and headed into the airport to find lunch. The security line was very short and we were out to the gate quickly. We got some pizza for lunch. Word of advice never have sausage pizza at an airport. I would pay for it later. Our flight boarded on time. The plane was a Boeing 717, which has 2 by 3 seating, so we were able to get a row of 2 to ourselves. DD wrote in her notebook on the way, and we spent some time figuring out what we wanted to do when we got there.
We arrived on time at MCO and made the long journey to the baggage claim. We got our suitcase and headed over to Dollar rental car. There were probably 20 people in the regular line, but only 1in the Express line. I pull out my Express card and Im being waited on in no time. Why doesnt everybody sign up for these things? Its not like they cost money. I had booked a compact and had a coupon to upgrade to an intermediate. They were out of intermediates, so they gave me a Sebring convertible instead. This sounded good at the time.
We found the car and squeezed the suitcase into the small trunk. I had enough trouble figuring out how to turn the lights on, but couldnt for the life of me figure out how to put the top down. Id never driven a convertible. I drive a minivan at home, and really did not enjoy driving this car. With the top up I felt like I couldnt see a thing. The slit they call a windshield just didnt cut it. Somehow I made it to Pop Century and parked in the check in lot. It was now nearly 7:30 PM and there wasnt a soul in the check-in line. So check-in was very quick, and we were assigned 5448 in the 60s building. Being up high and not facing the pool I hoped would be reasonably quiet. The room was right around the corner from the elevator, and I was very pleased with the location. It was a very short walk to the food court and bus stops.
This was the only night that MNSSHP was going on during our trip, and I had kind of hoped to arrive early enough to buy last minute tickets, but it was just too late and we were too tired. We called home to let DH know we had arrived safely and decided to go shopping instead. We are never too tired to shop. We grabbed a quick dinner (meatball sub and mac n cheese) in the awesome Pop food court. Then we headed to the bus stop and saw a Marketplace bus already there, so we speed-walked over to catch it. We shopped in Once Upon a Toy and the World of Disney store. We did some damage on the Visa card at both stores. Ah, the joys of a girls only trip no impatient boys watching what you are buying!
We wanted to get an early start in the morning, so we called it a night. Once again, we walked up to the bus stop to find a bus already there. In fact, we would be lucky with the buses the entire weekend.
Next up: Day 1 3 parks in one day
actually)
