We just got back from being at Disney from 10-6-10/14 and I could not wait to post! I have been reading and posting to this board for about a month straight, every day on issues such as-"should I go in this time of crisis", to "what kinds of tv/vcr combos are good" to "I just got Cindy reservations". All of the advice has been invaluable, so I couldn't wait to post my report. I'll divide my report by a "Mood" section and "Crowds/specifics of Parks" section.
MOOD/Emotions of the trip
I have to say that I had thought about cancelling the trip on more than one occasion after the Sept 11 tragedies. As the date got closer, and no action had been taken by the U.S. in retaliation, I really started to get nervous. I thought-"What if War is declared right before we go, or GOD FORBID, while we are there-won't there be other terrorists hits in the U.S. surely then, and isnt Disney a target". I posted on this topic and received confirmation that we should still go. What made it worse, was I knew we would be there on Oct. 8, Columbus Day, and wondered how that would play into things. We decided to move our originally planned Sunday departure to Saturday. For a couple of reasons-one, I had read on the board that Sunday was less crowded at MK, 2- I figured IF by chance anything started on Columbus Day, at least we would have one good day at the park. I also had mixed feelings about leaving early because we would miss a flag football game and mom's meeting. Well, long story short-on Sunday, WAR did start, and yes, MK was very empty on Sunday, and it turned out to be very good that we went early. Once in the Magic Kingdom on Sunday morning, first for Cindy's breakfast, all fear,all trepidation went right out the window. When you walk through those gates, and see that castle, you are in another world. I, who was so fearful about my vacation and how it would be hindered by world events that I emailed or talked to all loved ones and friends before I left, did not give the war a thought that whole day! Once we got to our resort, Cypress Point, and heard the news about the war, again I was brought back to reality. The next day we specifically planned to do Chef Mickey's and other resort activities to keep away from the crowds on Columbus Day. That again, turned out to be a perfect plan.
Once the anthrax reports started coming up, around Monday or Tuesday I believe, thoughts of terrorism crept in my mind again. But I say sincerely, everytime we walked into a Disney property, we just got happy(pixie dust, I guess). As the week wore on, more reports came up, and Florida kept being mentioned as a point of origin for the envelopes. The hotel had limited channels, so we were inundated with the bad news everytime we turned on the tv. On Friday, I thought, maybe we shoudl save our last day of our park hopper and not go back to Magic Kingdom on Saturday. just pack it up and go home to Virginia early. Saturday, we woke up to a beautiful sun filled Florida day, and armed with my FAITH( I took my Bible on the trip and believe me, it got read), we set off for MK. The crowds were waaaaaayyyy diferent from Sunday, and we were a little cranky from the heat, but the pixie dust was at work again, with Spectro Magic being the topper. To be on Thunder Mountain Railroad at 9pm and see the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks overhead while we ascended the first hill was nothing short of a dream experience!I am soooooooooooo happy we went and cant wait to go again!
I'll post specifics on the crowds in my next post!
MOOD/Emotions of the trip
I have to say that I had thought about cancelling the trip on more than one occasion after the Sept 11 tragedies. As the date got closer, and no action had been taken by the U.S. in retaliation, I really started to get nervous. I thought-"What if War is declared right before we go, or GOD FORBID, while we are there-won't there be other terrorists hits in the U.S. surely then, and isnt Disney a target". I posted on this topic and received confirmation that we should still go. What made it worse, was I knew we would be there on Oct. 8, Columbus Day, and wondered how that would play into things. We decided to move our originally planned Sunday departure to Saturday. For a couple of reasons-one, I had read on the board that Sunday was less crowded at MK, 2- I figured IF by chance anything started on Columbus Day, at least we would have one good day at the park. I also had mixed feelings about leaving early because we would miss a flag football game and mom's meeting. Well, long story short-on Sunday, WAR did start, and yes, MK was very empty on Sunday, and it turned out to be very good that we went early. Once in the Magic Kingdom on Sunday morning, first for Cindy's breakfast, all fear,all trepidation went right out the window. When you walk through those gates, and see that castle, you are in another world. I, who was so fearful about my vacation and how it would be hindered by world events that I emailed or talked to all loved ones and friends before I left, did not give the war a thought that whole day! Once we got to our resort, Cypress Point, and heard the news about the war, again I was brought back to reality. The next day we specifically planned to do Chef Mickey's and other resort activities to keep away from the crowds on Columbus Day. That again, turned out to be a perfect plan.
Once the anthrax reports started coming up, around Monday or Tuesday I believe, thoughts of terrorism crept in my mind again. But I say sincerely, everytime we walked into a Disney property, we just got happy(pixie dust, I guess). As the week wore on, more reports came up, and Florida kept being mentioned as a point of origin for the envelopes. The hotel had limited channels, so we were inundated with the bad news everytime we turned on the tv. On Friday, I thought, maybe we shoudl save our last day of our park hopper and not go back to Magic Kingdom on Saturday. just pack it up and go home to Virginia early. Saturday, we woke up to a beautiful sun filled Florida day, and armed with my FAITH( I took my Bible on the trip and believe me, it got read), we set off for MK. The crowds were waaaaaayyyy diferent from Sunday, and we were a little cranky from the heat, but the pixie dust was at work again, with Spectro Magic being the topper. To be on Thunder Mountain Railroad at 9pm and see the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks overhead while we ascended the first hill was nothing short of a dream experience!I am soooooooooooo happy we went and cant wait to go again!
I'll post specifics on the crowds in my next post!
