jsmla
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 4,498
This is a trip report from a rather strange visit to WDW. I've been many, many times with my children but this would be the first trip alone with my dear spouse since we were first married. Visits with the kids tended to proceed at a rather frantic, loud and lively pace and required intense planning to include everyone's favorites, which, given the nature of siblings worldover, were never the same. I was the original Disney commando-mom, complete with minute by minute schedule. This trip, at the request of my much, much better half, would be a loose, spur of the moment affair: no itineraries, no 6 am wake-up calls from Mickey, and no (and I quote DH here) "trudging around the Magic Kingdom". I've been planning detailed trips for over 15 years now and the whole idea of a "laid back" version left me with an uneasy feeling. All the preparation I was allowed was a few PS and reservations at the CBR. We're going to be free spirits, going hither and yon as our fancy takes us. It's scarey.
This was going to be tough. For, believe it or not, my otherwise utterly lovely hubby does not like WDW. He's a campin', hikin', whitewater sort of guy and sees Disney as a manifestation of all that is wrong with corporate America. And I've camped, hiked and skiied (sort of, if 5 minutes of sliding down the bunny slopes on your backside followed by many hours of pouting in the lodge can be called skiing) along side of him for nearly 24 years. (I refuse to kayak. If I want to die I'll just OD on chocolate covered strawberries and Veuve Clicquot, thank you.) So, it's his turn to suffer. We have an anniversary trip to WDW planned for January and therefore purchased annual passes last summer. For an October break we were supposed to spend a few relaxing days at Orange Beach. Well, the hurricane took care of that trip and I proposed Disney as a cheap (?) alternative after I found a decent airfare on Southwest. To my surprise DH agreed, subject to the restrictions listed above. So off we went, just the two of us:
Scott (48, DH of almost 24 years): Outdoorsy, nature-loving, cowboy type. Loves horses, mountains and the American Southwest. Only memories of WDW involve heat, crowds and quarrelsome children. Wants to retire to ranch in Wyoming.
Me (44, resident Disney fanatic): Indoorsy, city girl. In addition to WDW, loves NYC, San Francisco, theater, museums and air conditioning. Wants to retire to Art Deco condo in Miami. (ain't love grand?)
Travel Day
I don't fly to WDW. Usually I make the twelve hour drive, kids in tow. DH, when he deigns to join us, usually flies. He's not being selfish. Flying lets him have those two extra days at work instead of in the car. And after all it's his hard work that pays for all of this. I don't fly much period. Usually just to dance conventions when I'm chaperoning DD's dance team. I was really looking forward to swanning aboard a plane like a movie star and arriving a mere 1 1/2 hours later fresh as a daisy. HA!!!!!!!!! What with driving to New Orleans, getting to the airport 1 1/2 hours early and acquiring the rental car we were over 7 hours door to door. The flight part was actually okay. The plane was half-empty and we had plenty of room to spread out. The rental car was a nightmare. It seems that when we arrived at MCO at midnight National was out of rental cars. They'd all been given to insurance agents in due to the hurricane. This may sound insensitive but I don't think an insurance adjuster without even a reservation should be given my pre-paid (Priceline) car. I protested. The counter agent implied that it was the moral equivalent of looting for me to expect either a car or my $137 back. I've lived through many much worse hurricanes, including Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992), and I would never expect anyone to make an involuntary financial contribution to the National Rental Car Corporation because of it. I did what I usually do in these situations and lost my temper. Not a good way to begin my wifely promise of a Zen Disney vacation. Fortunately, Scott is much better with this sort of thing and sent me off to watch the bags while he sorted things out. He really is all that I'm not. Patient, outgoing and likeable. Of course there was a car for HIM. A very, very small car with a tempermental trunk latch but a car none the less. It carried us to the All Star Music beautifully where we took whatever room they gave us and fell thankfully into bed around 2:30 am. I'll behave better tomorrow. I promise.
Jennifer
This was going to be tough. For, believe it or not, my otherwise utterly lovely hubby does not like WDW. He's a campin', hikin', whitewater sort of guy and sees Disney as a manifestation of all that is wrong with corporate America. And I've camped, hiked and skiied (sort of, if 5 minutes of sliding down the bunny slopes on your backside followed by many hours of pouting in the lodge can be called skiing) along side of him for nearly 24 years. (I refuse to kayak. If I want to die I'll just OD on chocolate covered strawberries and Veuve Clicquot, thank you.) So, it's his turn to suffer. We have an anniversary trip to WDW planned for January and therefore purchased annual passes last summer. For an October break we were supposed to spend a few relaxing days at Orange Beach. Well, the hurricane took care of that trip and I proposed Disney as a cheap (?) alternative after I found a decent airfare on Southwest. To my surprise DH agreed, subject to the restrictions listed above. So off we went, just the two of us:
Scott (48, DH of almost 24 years): Outdoorsy, nature-loving, cowboy type. Loves horses, mountains and the American Southwest. Only memories of WDW involve heat, crowds and quarrelsome children. Wants to retire to ranch in Wyoming.
Me (44, resident Disney fanatic): Indoorsy, city girl. In addition to WDW, loves NYC, San Francisco, theater, museums and air conditioning. Wants to retire to Art Deco condo in Miami. (ain't love grand?)
Travel Day
I don't fly to WDW. Usually I make the twelve hour drive, kids in tow. DH, when he deigns to join us, usually flies. He's not being selfish. Flying lets him have those two extra days at work instead of in the car. And after all it's his hard work that pays for all of this. I don't fly much period. Usually just to dance conventions when I'm chaperoning DD's dance team. I was really looking forward to swanning aboard a plane like a movie star and arriving a mere 1 1/2 hours later fresh as a daisy. HA!!!!!!!!! What with driving to New Orleans, getting to the airport 1 1/2 hours early and acquiring the rental car we were over 7 hours door to door. The flight part was actually okay. The plane was half-empty and we had plenty of room to spread out. The rental car was a nightmare. It seems that when we arrived at MCO at midnight National was out of rental cars. They'd all been given to insurance agents in due to the hurricane. This may sound insensitive but I don't think an insurance adjuster without even a reservation should be given my pre-paid (Priceline) car. I protested. The counter agent implied that it was the moral equivalent of looting for me to expect either a car or my $137 back. I've lived through many much worse hurricanes, including Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992), and I would never expect anyone to make an involuntary financial contribution to the National Rental Car Corporation because of it. I did what I usually do in these situations and lost my temper. Not a good way to begin my wifely promise of a Zen Disney vacation. Fortunately, Scott is much better with this sort of thing and sent me off to watch the bags while he sorted things out. He really is all that I'm not. Patient, outgoing and likeable. Of course there was a car for HIM. A very, very small car with a tempermental trunk latch but a car none the less. It carried us to the All Star Music beautifully where we took whatever room they gave us and fell thankfully into bed around 2:30 am. I'll behave better tomorrow. I promise.
Jennifer
