How'd we miss that before ? A Half Marathon trip of Disney firsts.

[solfan68]

Just back from my very first Marathon Weekend trip. It was a great experience, as Disney always has been. This trip was basically a year in the making, though my folks have gone the last several years so Dad could run the Half. Basically, by sister and Brother In Law thought they'd like to run this year as well. Me ? I didn't need an excuse to escape the frosty northeast to go and spend several days in Disney.

To get right down to it, the players included yours truly - Doug - a fortysomething geek, husband, and dad. The Boy - my eight year old paleontologist-in-the-making. My half-marathonning sister, Brother in Law, and their two kiddos. And finally, my parents - who first took us to Disney back in the days of the E-ticket booklets. The trip was filled with firsts, which started before we even rolled under the welcome arch. My first experience with Southwest was awesome, thanks to the crew of flight 1500, PHL to MCO. It was a smooth ride with a personable flight crew who just really got us off on the right foot. A quick and easy transfer on to Magical Express got us to Wilderness Lodge after a few other steps. My crew certainly didn't mind. We had left the snow behind and exchanged it for several days of spring-like weather in Orlando.

Check-in at the Wilderness Lodge was smooth as silk. Rebecca was extremely welcoming and made sure we were up to speed on the lodge, the dining plan, and the unusual circumstances that surround the Marathon period. Our room wasn't ready quite yet, but she got all of the details and said that a text would follow along with the room number so we didn't have to stop back, "Not that we don't want you to stop back anytime you like !" Thanks Rebecca.

After stowing luggage and winter coats in sister's room(which was ready) on the fourth floor, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Roaring Forks. I was truly surprised how small their counter service was - especially after previous trips to CBR and POR. Had a tasty enough meal, and the kids were given cookies to decorate while we were finishing up. A few minutes later we strolled out the back door and hopped a launch to the Magic Kingdom. This MAY have been one of the most magical moments of the vacation. Motoring across the waters in short sleeves and a refreshing spring breeze, knowing full well that the weather was struggling to climb into the thirties back in Pennsylvania, was the best 'welcome home' I could have asked for. DSis, BiL, their two and my one spent the afternoon in the magic kingdom riding the TTA, Buzz, the Mansion, Big Thunder and several others that are escaping me at the moment. But as evening came on, it was time to head out for our ADRs.

One monorail and a bus later, we found ourselves at the Hollywood Studios. Now, frankly, I don't care what the popular consensus is... we love this place. Our server Michael(aka Rosco) was amazing and funny. He made helpful menu suggestions, pointed out his favorite moments in the movie loop, and really set the bar for the rest of our dining experiences. That night we all treked back to the lodge after our long travel day, capping the night with a dockside viewing of the Electric Water Pagaent.

 

[solfan68]

Thanks to all of the lurkers who have popped in to have a peek. Hope to have Day two and some additional pictures up soon !

 

[apecharge]

I am glad to hear your trip was off to a great start!

 

[solfan68]

So I know I neglected to mention it last time out, but when we arrived on Wednesday, The Wilderness Lodge was still decked out for the holiday. The four story Christmas tree took center stage and I was sure to snap off a few pictures. After all, I didn't know how long all of the mistletoe and holly would be around for us to enjoy. Sure enough, as we made our way back to the room on Wednesday night, we saw a crew of about ten guys wander in with safety vests and day-glow hard hats. I whispered to the kiddo, 'Better say goodbye to the Christmas tree, my friend. Its going to be gone in the morning.' Pretty amazing how they manage to pull that stuff off. Sure enough, that massive tower of needles and ornaments was spirited away in the middle of the night. We were really glad we had a chance to see it.

On Thursday, our first full day in the parks, my son and I met up with my sister and her family to bus over to the studios. We had an ADR for later in the day and wanted to grab Toy Story fast passes. After we secured a return time, we went our separate ways. My sister's crew stayed at the studios, and my son and I took a Friendship to spend part of the day at Epcot. After a relaxing ride, and some of my first up-close looks at the Swolphin and Boardwalk areas, we arrived at International Gateway. Had a great morning and afternoon riding Mission Space, Test Track, and taking in Captain EO. Our first experience with Mission Space was great. Green Team was a walk-on and we would return to fly the X-2 several more times. We also had a light lunch at The Land since we were headed for Mama Melrose and an early supper. We made our way back and did some shopping at the studios before hooking back up with my parents and sister's family. They had already checked in, so we stood chatting by the Kermit statue for a while and relating our highlights of the day. After about thirty minutes, my brother in law decided to get an update on our ADR. Well, the CM acted as if we hadn't checked in and said it would be a while, my BiL assured him that we HAD checked in and been patiently waiting for our name to be called. They assured us they could seat out party in about ten to fifteen minutes. Long story short, we were seated at Mama Melrose more than an hour after our scheduled ADR time. Two words - Bad show. Our waitress Claudia was decent enough and she really had to work hard to make up for her fellow castmates. The reason we went to Mama Melrose was to participate in the Fantasmic package. And since my son and I had picked up the Toy Story Fastpasses earlier in the day, we had just enough time to ride TSM, then meet up with the family for the 6:30 seating. The last time I saw the show, my son was on my shoulders in the standing room only section for the entire show. So despite the fact that the package seating is off to the side, I enjoyed being able to scoot in - relatively close to showtime - and enjoy a relaxed experience at seeing the studios' nighttime spectacular.

It was still early in the evening when the show concluded and my son and I had plans to hop to Downtown Disney. This year he has become completely enamored with dinosaurs. In fact, he has announced that he plans to be a paleontologist when he grows up. Knowing this, I had tried to get reservations at the T-Rex Cafe using the online system without any luck. So I prepared the kiddo that we might not get in, but rolled the dice and got in line for the podium. Fifteen minutes later, we had a table right next to the ice cave. The food at T-Rex is good, if overpriced. We had previously eaten at a Rainforest, and knew to expect the volume and distractions that fill the dining room. The Boy really enjoyed the stone-age animatronics a great deal, pointing out his favorite carnivores and having a few laughs with dad. Grandma had given each of the three kids some fun money to pick out a souvenir on our Disney vacation. He took his cash to the Build A Dino after dinner. We had not done any of the Build A Bear experiences, so this was fun to try. After checking out all of the dinos, he chose a sabertooth tiger. We also opted for a roar(because what's a tiger without a roar, right ?). We went through the whole ceremony before placing the heart into "Leo" and filling him up with good soft stuff. Before leaving, we strolled through the Lego store and the pin station. I was amazed that I could only find one Tron Legacy pin, which I picked up along with a Phineas and Ferb pin and a great Epcot pin featuring Spaceship Earth and the monorail. Some fun additions to my collection. It had been a full rich day, so we cruised back to The Lodge and collapsed for the night.