Day 1 Continued:
As we pulled up to the guard house at POR, I could feel my excitement beginning to build. For lots of folks, the pivotal change from normal people to People On Vacation (POV) begins as they pass under the Disney archway. For others, it’s that first step off the airplane at MCO. And still others feel it kick in as they board their Magical Express coach. For me, it’s that first hotel encounter. And, it’s been known to make or break my Disney mood.
Only pixie-dust for me that day!
A warm “Welcome!” followed by a quick look at the check-in list and it was “Have a magical day!” for us.
WOO HOO, I was officially a POV!
Something I neglected to mention – in addition to being sleep-deprived, Gramma had a cold. Not too awful, but she was clearly wiped out and really wanted to just rest. Knowing my Disney luck, the fact that we could really
use a room right away meant that there would be no room available until 5pm. I entered the lobby knowing this as certainly as I knew I’d receive a room with a parking lot view.
Four things happened in succession that day that altered my Disney view so profoundly as to be epiphanous.
(It’s okay, MS Word doesn’t think this is a real word, either, but Dictionary.com does!)
First, two ME busses pulled up to the lobby entrance just as I was parking my car. As I strode purposefully across the drive, I already had a back-up plan in place to check in later, after all these ME people were out of my way. BUT. Guess who got into that line first? Within seconds, a line 30+ deep had formed behind ME (not ME as in Magical Express, but ME as in V!!)
Second, my room requests were not only actually on file, they were about to be honored. “Welcome PrincessV! We have you in an Alligator Bayou room, guaranteed non-smoking, and we have that room available for you now!” WHA….???? Really?? I’ll take it!
CM: “And is this Leo’s first trip to WDW?”
I thought about fibbing, correctly assuming something Magical would happen if it were his first time, but I just couldn’t.
Me: “No, we live nearby so we’re here quite a bit, but it is his first stay at POR.”
CM: “Oh, well that’s good enough! Here’s a pin for him to wear that will get him a little special attention in the parks, and an activity book for him to enjoy while you settle in!
Me: “Wow, thanks! And have a Magical day!”
Third, as we looked at the map, we found we were situated in Building 36, waaay at the back of the property. Hmmmm. I was hoping for something near the food and themed pool. But, as we entered the parking lot, I realized we were practically being showered with pixie dust that day. There were plenty of parking spaces AND the one I selected happened to be THE closest to THE closest flight of stairs to our room! See, I’m
that person: always picks the slowest line, never finds clothes on sale, and always parks as far away from the hotel room as possible.
Fourth, the room was perfect! This was our view:
And this was our room:
To me, this was the upgrade I’ve never before received! Technically, it was exactly the room I reserved: standard view. But, until that momentous day, I’ve never had a standard room that didn’t look out at a parking lot. This was B I G, people! Plus, I’d heard so many poor reviews regarding housekeeping at POR, I was prepared for the worst. But this room was immaculate. The cleanest, newest, freshest I’ve ever stayed in at WDW. We were happy POV’s!!
We took some time to settle in. Gramma carried her own darn suitcase up those stairs, and Leo held the door for us. He also “tested” the bed springs and christened the potty.
ASIDE: Only a few weeks prior to our trip did Leo FINALLY get around to peeing standing up. He’s been potty trained since May, but insisted on pulling off all of his clothes to go to the bathroom. I did get him to only take off the bottom half somewhere along the line, but he still insisted on sitting for all bathroom activities. I started to dread going through this routine in the public toilets at WDW. One day, I suggested for the 1001st time that he try standing up to do his thing and he was willing, though nervous. As things got “moving”, he looked up at me all aglow and exclaimed “Mommy, it’s like shooting!!” And he’s been standing up ever since. Score one for the NRA and I’ll shuffle my gun-control self back to the corner.
Have I mentioned the temperature yet? It was WARM. Almost hot. For Floridians, anyway. I think it hit 82 that day. Maybe, just maybe the pool would feel good. Leo and I walked over to the quiet pool and stuck our toes in. Oooo, that’s nice!
BUT.
Leo knew. He knew Disney keeps a way-cool-totally-awesome-radical pool at every resort. And he knew this was NOT it. He was adamant that we find the “big pool”. It wasn’t worth the argument, so we all changed into bathing suits (even Gramma) and consulted the map.
We were at the back of the property, but it was a quick and very pretty walk to Ol’ Man Island. More pixie dust!
Unfortunately, two things would spell the demise of our pool plan:
1. I forgot to pack Leo’s water wings. If you read my Sept. report, you’re already shaking your head. If you didn’t, allow me to say this: my child sinks like a stone. There is no swimming or sliding without a flotation device. And no one wanted to hike over to the marina to get a vest for 30 minutes of swimming.
B. The water here was COLD. Bone-chilling cold. Arctic cold. Leo and I floated around for 1.36 minutes before calling it quits and heading for the kiddie pool, where he could reach the bottom and it was er… “self-heated”.
Gramma took over supervision, and I sidled up to the bar for my first adult-beverage of the trip. Hey, I’m a POV! “Have a Magical day!”
ASIDE: WOW, this is getting long. And we’ve only been on this trip for, what, 2 hours? At this rate, I’ll be planning my next trip before this TR is done. Hey, not a bad idea…
When we’d all had enough of Ol’ Man Island, we went back to the room, cleaned up a bit and headed out for our dinner ADR at Boatwright’s.
Leo and I ate here in Sept. and I was pleasantly surprised with the food, so I thought it would make a good start to this trip. I was right! After a very short wait, we were seated, at the same table Leo and I were at in Sept. This time I was prepared, thanks to the DIS, and ordered Leo a blackberry soda with a glow cube.
Ah, the glow cube. You know how kids often become attached to the most unlikely things? Leo LOVED the glow cube. Did you know it can do three things? It glows steadily, flashes rhythmically, or flashes intermittently. It can also be turned off, but Leo’s glow cube only did one of the first three things. For 3 days. More on this later.
Gramma and I each had a glass of white wine. She ordered the penne pasta with shrimp, I ordered the salmon and we shared. Both were delicious! Leo tried out the new and improved(?) kids’ menu, selecting the pita pizza sans chicken. Let me clue you in: don’t worry about the “pita” in the description. It looked and tasted exactly like a Celeste Pizza For One from your grocer’s freezer. Leo was happy and I breathed a sigh of relief after stressing for weeks about the kids’ menu changes. I shouldn’t have gotten so comfortable so soon. You’ll see.
A quick trip to the gift shop for milk, a pressed penny, and a hello to the horses getting ready for their carriage rides, then we headed back to the room. Leo lit the way with his glow cube and proudly showed it off to every person we encountered enroute. He really, really loved his glow cube.
We got to the room and… Surprise! Look what was waiting for Leo…
He was very excited about the tree.
He loved his new book.
He had a great time looking through his stocking.
He was a little confussled by the pin lanyard, but thought it looked interesting.
But.
He HATED Pal Mickey. HATED him. Made me pack Pal in a suitcase and lock it that night while we slept. Sorry Pal. We’ll try to smooth things over tomorrow. ‘Night.
We all got ready for bed lickity split ‘cause this was a Thursday, and Thurs. is
Survivor night! Leo chose me for his bed-sharing partner this evening and I got him all settled in. As Leo started to doze off, I asked what he liked best about our trip so far. Can you guess what he said?
“My glow cube.”
Best $4 I’ve ever spent.
He fell asleep, face reflecting absolute bliss in the blue glow of his favorite item.
My favorite part of the day was, obviously, the entire POR check-in and room experience.
Gramma said she was too tired to have a favorite, but she’d try again tomorrow.
It really was a Magical day. But could our luck hold out? Next on the agenda: Friday at the Magic Kingdom.
I can't wait to hear about your latest WDW adventure! I hope the bumps/boulders weren't too big! 
Guess I should have had that LGMH headpiece. 
Loved that you got a pixie dustin at the POR check in. 
Dont be too impressed Im neglecting and avoiding many other tasks in the name of DIS. Just talk to my professors! 
Maybe then Leo could use the money from Pal Mickey, and buy himself something that will bring him enjoyment. 
