BroganMc
It's not the age, it's the mileage
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
- Messages
- 2,991
Hello everyone. Since I'm chilling in my room for the next hour, I thought I'd check in and give a brief report what's up with our trip so far.
First some facts. I'm here with my 76 yo (but really a rebellious 10 yo) dad. We own both Marriott and Disney vacation clubs so we split our time between the two. We're here for 3 weeks (pretty much the month of April) so we bring our van, lots of clothes, my mobile office (so I can be available to clients) and all the comforts of home. We've moved in, you could say.
Saturday 4/5: After 2 days of packing and a week of loose ends with work, we set off from Maryland on our drive down. We plan on leaving at 11am but don't get out until 1pm. The weather turns crappy in North Carolina, but we make it to a night time stopover in Florence, SC around 10pm. Thanks to our Marriott ownership our hotel room is free with rewards points. We're exhausted so we head straight to bed.
Sunday 4/6: We continue our drive down to Orlando at 11am. The weather gets progressively warmer all the way south. (Upper 70's is a lot better than the dreary 40-50's we've endured at home.) We stop off in Georgia to pick up some lunch and then have our picnic at the Florida Welcome Center with complimentary orange and grapefuit juice. (I like the mix of juices as it's sweet yet tangy.) We pick up new maps and schedules for Orlando and notice Universal is still having Mardi Gras... 3 weeks after Easter is done. They really need to call it something else. By the time we leave the welcome center the weather takes a nasty turn. We have rain all the way down to Orlando. By the time we hit I-4 in Orlando it has become the world's largest parking lot with accidents at every turn.
Thankfully we arrive safely at our Marriott resort by 8:30pm. Cypress Harbour is a beautiful 400+ room resort a stone's throw from Seaworld. The styling reminds me a lot of OKW with buildings surrounding lakes and golf courses with lots of trees about the place. Each unit is a 2bedroom with a separate (and huge) laundry room, tiny 2nd bedroom and large balcony. Best of all they have free wired internet and a computer desk here. So after a trip to Walmart on Turkey Lake Road for staples, we spent the rest of the night moving in. We'll be here two weeks before heading to SSR.
I wasn't super thrilled with our building choice at first though. I'd asked to be near the activities center and the main resort lake. Instead, they put us across the street facing a smaller lake. The manager blocks a room for later check-in Wednesday but we'll decide to stay put later. The small lake is much more private, has a gazebo and there's tons of handicapped parking outside (unlike the other buildings).
Monday 4/7: Our first full day in Orlando must be celebrated with a trek to the Magic Kingdom Barber shop so my "young again" dad can get his mandatory summer haircut... a mohawk. (More on that later.) Since we're offsite right now, our DVC-discounted AP comes in handy that very first day as it pays for parking ($11 now). But we're shocked to see the line of cars waitng to get into the lot. Even though we park in handicapped, we're still behind some 40 cars. We end up in Minnie lot and worry perhaps April is a crowded time to go.
I made lunch ressies at the Plaza, which I was very happy to do since they were turning people away. As we're waiting the PA system announces that to celebrate YOMD and the 50 yr anniversary of the Thunderbirds, we'll be having a flyover today. We just sit down inside when 5 fighter jets go screaming by over head. I glimpse them but dad misses 'em. He'll do that the next two times they flyover as well. Sandwiches are delicious at the Plaza but leave no room for ice cream. And all the while we're watching the crowds swarm outside. Turns out MK is exceptionally crowded that day. Wait times at Haunted Mansion reach 120 min mid-day.
However, when we head back to the Barber shop it only has a few people in line. I always try to time my dad's visit for the parade as this is when it is least crowded. Plus it makes a great spot to catch the end of the parade before they disappear backstage (contituing to perform all the way, mind you). Dad waits for his favorite barber Penny to return from lunch. She knows him as "Grandpa Mohawk" and gives him a big hug. Everyone has fun with my dad as he is kinda a character there. Penny and I convince him to go a little crazy and color his mohawk this time. He gets Ravens Purple with Disney Pixie Dust sprinkled liberally. From then on, his picture is snapped over 30 times by guests and we lose track of the comments. He even ends up being asked for auographs. "Grandpa Mohawk" is born and set free in Disney.
The crowds do no abate and it is an EMH that night so we alter our touring plan accordingly. We take a ride on the Liberty Belle, see Country Bears, ride the train round trip from Main Street station, IASW, and hop on Winnie the Pooh (after 7pm). I try a Dole Whip in Adventureland (another DIS secret I wanted to try) and we meet a new SSR family from California. They're first timers with two kids and are overwhelmed with the crowds. So we give them some advice to leave then (around 5pm) and rest then return for the fireworks and EMH later. We get no EMH being offsite so we just hang out and do those less crowded attractions until fireworks time.
Even our super secret spot to watch fireworks is crowded that night. (Makes us doubt the big family trip next summer my SILs are so keen on doing.) Fireworks are at 10pm and Spectro is at 11. By the time fireworks end, the park clears out rapidly. We're waiting at our Spectro parade spot (in Liberty Square) for 30 minutes wandering if they forgot to do the parade. Sure enough 10 minutes before the parade starts, the rope lines get laid down, a small crowd gathers, and the CMs start handing out stickers and playing with the crowd. (For EMH'ers, this time is the beginning of their "ride all you want" fiesta. Wait times drop from 80 minutes to 10 throughout the park.) After the parade, we head home and make it to our beds around 1am. We're pooped.
Tuesday, 4/8: Our itinerary calls for a day at Seaworld (my sis gave us APs for that too), but we were up so late the night before we don't even wake up until 10am. So we have breakfast in our room (bacon, eggs, pastry and fruit) and take a long leisurely walk around the resort. The walkways aren't as scenic as SSR, but Cypress Harbour has a beautiful lake and some gorgeous pools. We gt Edy's ice cream at the Marketplace and stroll back to our room. We spend so much time just hanging out, we bag all park visits and decide to hit Pleasure Island instead. I figure with my dad's purple glitter doo, he just has to go to Adventurer's Club.
Our first stop is Raglan Road for dinner. We arrive just as the irish dancer is taken the stage (a big high table in the center of the room... you know it from the staircase leading to its surface). The band plays folk favorites (though they don't know our favorite... Red Rose Cafe by the Fureys) and we devour our pub favorites: Dalkey Duo, Shepherds Pie and a couple Double Berry Tinis. Feeling pretty lively, we head over to the Adventurer's Club using one of the remaining Plus entries on some old PHP passes.
We've been to Adventurer's Club once before but my dad didn't really get it until tonight. It is a 1930's style gentlemen's club with 6-8 play actors who take up roles and interact with the crowd. It's a Disney version of a comedy/night club where the humor gets a bit raunchy but stops just before truly fowl language comes out. You get the idea without being insulted. And the actors just love characters, I mean outrageous guests, to pick on. That night there's "the girl who wouldn't give the ring back", the "drunken Viking" and his "Revenge of the Nerd friend", the "couple whov'e been together for a whole 90 min", but no one mentions my dad's doo. We're a bit disappointed. That is until they awaken the Colonel (an animatronic puppet character) to lead the club in its member introduction song/ceremony. He begins with "grandpa's got a glitter mohawk" and ribs the crowd for not mentioning it. It was a riot and fortunately I have it all immortalized on film. My only regret that night is not getting a picture of my dad with the drunken Viking (who was actually not drunk but very cute and a nice guy celebrating his earlier volleyball victory).
Since we had a PI admission for the night, we stroll through the other dance clubs just to see what they are like. Generally the same discos with strobing lights, loud music and people dancing. I'm not really into those places because I enjoy a nice conversation more than loud music and swaying bodies. But I did find the rotating dance floor in Mannequins intriguing. It's near 2am when we call it quits for the night but we have to drive back to our resort. If we were staying at SSR, we'd just walk back. Driving means we've had to teetotal more.
Wednesday, 4/9: We were out so late the night before that again we sleep in a bit. Our plans don't call for us to be out until mid-afternoon anyway so we hit the pool. Then we go to the Grand Floridian for tea. (They sell some of the teas in take-home tins and I practically lived on mine throughout the winter at home. Returning was a necessity.) We get the Grand Tea which includes 3 courses and champagne. You think it's a light little snack but by the time you finish you're stuffed. The rest of our plans call for dinner at Cali Grill that night and hanging out at the Lagoon resorts. But we're so full we end up getting to the 2nd floor lounge at the Contemporary and napping on the sofas for an hour. I do stop at the 4th floor overlook and check out the construction of the new building. I count 12 stories so far and the pillars for the walkway to the hotel are up. On the downside, everything is so noisy and chilly in the Contemporary I wonder if I'll really be happy staying there. I hope they do a better job with the new building. The Contemporary Tower reminds me too much of an airport.
Dinner at Cali Grill is delicious. I have oak-crusted beef and my dad goes for the spinach ravioli. It's a fancy gourmet sorta meal and our 4th dining out this week. I don't know how the DDP people do it. I don't even want to see food after that. We are in time to see the fireworks from the 15th floor overlook, but it is breezy and downright frigid. Since we arrived the weather has been unseasonably cool, especially at night. I find myself longing for my warm clothes at home.
Thursday, 4/10: Our day starts with lunch at Le Cellier. Another new place for us and a big hit. I can see why this is the hottest reservation to get on property. The dining room is small and intimate. People strike up conversations with each other from table to table. My dad samples the King Salmon (the only reason he came) and loves it. I have the chocolate mousse for dessert. The only downside is that yet again we are sleepy from eating. We wander through EPCOT the rest of the day. Soarin' fastpasses are gone and we don't feel like waiting this time. (Wait time is 80 min.) We ride the Mexico ride (remarking how much they've ruined it with the Donald Duck theming completely supplanting the cultural aspects). We wander into China and the Tomb Warrior exhibit. This is something most people see in passing (as did we the last time), but you get to savor when you're timesharing. The exhibit is based on a 2000 yo find in China of Emperor Qin's tomb. He replicated the entire Chinese Empire in his tomb complete with lifesize 6 ft tall stone soldiers... each entirely unique. I make jokes about this being the great basis for a sci-fi plot... they aren't replicas but real people turned to stone. ::insert Twilight Zone theme here::
After China, we find a spot near Germany overlooking the lake. There are 4 high school marching bands parading through the park as Disney Magical Music Days. We get dessert and settle in for fireworks. A CM from Germany comes by and starts telling the crowd little secrets about the show. Like that it was designed for the millenium celebrations and encapsulates past, present and future. And that there are 19 torches around the lake, each representing one of the 19 centuries, and the 20th is in the show. My dad just enjoys listening to the music before the fireworks and realizes they are different sounds for each country. The CM tells us it is the most requested music but not on CD.
As we drive home (to our resort) we realize how different our vacation style is now. We're not rushing anywhere and we really haven't done a ton of rides. It's almost as if we're waiting for our vacation to begin. It's not that we're bored, just very laid back.
Another sidenote, even thoug we're staying off property this week, we are using the back roads at Disney. From Cypress Harbour that means Palm Parkway to Lake Buena Vista to Vacation Club Way to EPCOT Center Drive. This back route takes roughly the same time but avoids much of the traffic and traffic lights. Yesterday's driving saw accidents on I-4 and every other major road we woulda taken if we didn't know the back routes. All week, our biggest traffic jam was Magic Kingdom parking lot that first day.
First some facts. I'm here with my 76 yo (but really a rebellious 10 yo) dad. We own both Marriott and Disney vacation clubs so we split our time between the two. We're here for 3 weeks (pretty much the month of April) so we bring our van, lots of clothes, my mobile office (so I can be available to clients) and all the comforts of home. We've moved in, you could say.
Saturday 4/5: After 2 days of packing and a week of loose ends with work, we set off from Maryland on our drive down. We plan on leaving at 11am but don't get out until 1pm. The weather turns crappy in North Carolina, but we make it to a night time stopover in Florence, SC around 10pm. Thanks to our Marriott ownership our hotel room is free with rewards points. We're exhausted so we head straight to bed.
Sunday 4/6: We continue our drive down to Orlando at 11am. The weather gets progressively warmer all the way south. (Upper 70's is a lot better than the dreary 40-50's we've endured at home.) We stop off in Georgia to pick up some lunch and then have our picnic at the Florida Welcome Center with complimentary orange and grapefuit juice. (I like the mix of juices as it's sweet yet tangy.) We pick up new maps and schedules for Orlando and notice Universal is still having Mardi Gras... 3 weeks after Easter is done. They really need to call it something else. By the time we leave the welcome center the weather takes a nasty turn. We have rain all the way down to Orlando. By the time we hit I-4 in Orlando it has become the world's largest parking lot with accidents at every turn.
Thankfully we arrive safely at our Marriott resort by 8:30pm. Cypress Harbour is a beautiful 400+ room resort a stone's throw from Seaworld. The styling reminds me a lot of OKW with buildings surrounding lakes and golf courses with lots of trees about the place. Each unit is a 2bedroom with a separate (and huge) laundry room, tiny 2nd bedroom and large balcony. Best of all they have free wired internet and a computer desk here. So after a trip to Walmart on Turkey Lake Road for staples, we spent the rest of the night moving in. We'll be here two weeks before heading to SSR.
I wasn't super thrilled with our building choice at first though. I'd asked to be near the activities center and the main resort lake. Instead, they put us across the street facing a smaller lake. The manager blocks a room for later check-in Wednesday but we'll decide to stay put later. The small lake is much more private, has a gazebo and there's tons of handicapped parking outside (unlike the other buildings).
Monday 4/7: Our first full day in Orlando must be celebrated with a trek to the Magic Kingdom Barber shop so my "young again" dad can get his mandatory summer haircut... a mohawk. (More on that later.) Since we're offsite right now, our DVC-discounted AP comes in handy that very first day as it pays for parking ($11 now). But we're shocked to see the line of cars waitng to get into the lot. Even though we park in handicapped, we're still behind some 40 cars. We end up in Minnie lot and worry perhaps April is a crowded time to go.
I made lunch ressies at the Plaza, which I was very happy to do since they were turning people away. As we're waiting the PA system announces that to celebrate YOMD and the 50 yr anniversary of the Thunderbirds, we'll be having a flyover today. We just sit down inside when 5 fighter jets go screaming by over head. I glimpse them but dad misses 'em. He'll do that the next two times they flyover as well. Sandwiches are delicious at the Plaza but leave no room for ice cream. And all the while we're watching the crowds swarm outside. Turns out MK is exceptionally crowded that day. Wait times at Haunted Mansion reach 120 min mid-day.
However, when we head back to the Barber shop it only has a few people in line. I always try to time my dad's visit for the parade as this is when it is least crowded. Plus it makes a great spot to catch the end of the parade before they disappear backstage (contituing to perform all the way, mind you). Dad waits for his favorite barber Penny to return from lunch. She knows him as "Grandpa Mohawk" and gives him a big hug. Everyone has fun with my dad as he is kinda a character there. Penny and I convince him to go a little crazy and color his mohawk this time. He gets Ravens Purple with Disney Pixie Dust sprinkled liberally. From then on, his picture is snapped over 30 times by guests and we lose track of the comments. He even ends up being asked for auographs. "Grandpa Mohawk" is born and set free in Disney.
The crowds do no abate and it is an EMH that night so we alter our touring plan accordingly. We take a ride on the Liberty Belle, see Country Bears, ride the train round trip from Main Street station, IASW, and hop on Winnie the Pooh (after 7pm). I try a Dole Whip in Adventureland (another DIS secret I wanted to try) and we meet a new SSR family from California. They're first timers with two kids and are overwhelmed with the crowds. So we give them some advice to leave then (around 5pm) and rest then return for the fireworks and EMH later. We get no EMH being offsite so we just hang out and do those less crowded attractions until fireworks time.
Even our super secret spot to watch fireworks is crowded that night. (Makes us doubt the big family trip next summer my SILs are so keen on doing.) Fireworks are at 10pm and Spectro is at 11. By the time fireworks end, the park clears out rapidly. We're waiting at our Spectro parade spot (in Liberty Square) for 30 minutes wandering if they forgot to do the parade. Sure enough 10 minutes before the parade starts, the rope lines get laid down, a small crowd gathers, and the CMs start handing out stickers and playing with the crowd. (For EMH'ers, this time is the beginning of their "ride all you want" fiesta. Wait times drop from 80 minutes to 10 throughout the park.) After the parade, we head home and make it to our beds around 1am. We're pooped.
Tuesday, 4/8: Our itinerary calls for a day at Seaworld (my sis gave us APs for that too), but we were up so late the night before we don't even wake up until 10am. So we have breakfast in our room (bacon, eggs, pastry and fruit) and take a long leisurely walk around the resort. The walkways aren't as scenic as SSR, but Cypress Harbour has a beautiful lake and some gorgeous pools. We gt Edy's ice cream at the Marketplace and stroll back to our room. We spend so much time just hanging out, we bag all park visits and decide to hit Pleasure Island instead. I figure with my dad's purple glitter doo, he just has to go to Adventurer's Club.
Our first stop is Raglan Road for dinner. We arrive just as the irish dancer is taken the stage (a big high table in the center of the room... you know it from the staircase leading to its surface). The band plays folk favorites (though they don't know our favorite... Red Rose Cafe by the Fureys) and we devour our pub favorites: Dalkey Duo, Shepherds Pie and a couple Double Berry Tinis. Feeling pretty lively, we head over to the Adventurer's Club using one of the remaining Plus entries on some old PHP passes.
We've been to Adventurer's Club once before but my dad didn't really get it until tonight. It is a 1930's style gentlemen's club with 6-8 play actors who take up roles and interact with the crowd. It's a Disney version of a comedy/night club where the humor gets a bit raunchy but stops just before truly fowl language comes out. You get the idea without being insulted. And the actors just love characters, I mean outrageous guests, to pick on. That night there's "the girl who wouldn't give the ring back", the "drunken Viking" and his "Revenge of the Nerd friend", the "couple whov'e been together for a whole 90 min", but no one mentions my dad's doo. We're a bit disappointed. That is until they awaken the Colonel (an animatronic puppet character) to lead the club in its member introduction song/ceremony. He begins with "grandpa's got a glitter mohawk" and ribs the crowd for not mentioning it. It was a riot and fortunately I have it all immortalized on film. My only regret that night is not getting a picture of my dad with the drunken Viking (who was actually not drunk but very cute and a nice guy celebrating his earlier volleyball victory).
Since we had a PI admission for the night, we stroll through the other dance clubs just to see what they are like. Generally the same discos with strobing lights, loud music and people dancing. I'm not really into those places because I enjoy a nice conversation more than loud music and swaying bodies. But I did find the rotating dance floor in Mannequins intriguing. It's near 2am when we call it quits for the night but we have to drive back to our resort. If we were staying at SSR, we'd just walk back. Driving means we've had to teetotal more.
Wednesday, 4/9: We were out so late the night before that again we sleep in a bit. Our plans don't call for us to be out until mid-afternoon anyway so we hit the pool. Then we go to the Grand Floridian for tea. (They sell some of the teas in take-home tins and I practically lived on mine throughout the winter at home. Returning was a necessity.) We get the Grand Tea which includes 3 courses and champagne. You think it's a light little snack but by the time you finish you're stuffed. The rest of our plans call for dinner at Cali Grill that night and hanging out at the Lagoon resorts. But we're so full we end up getting to the 2nd floor lounge at the Contemporary and napping on the sofas for an hour. I do stop at the 4th floor overlook and check out the construction of the new building. I count 12 stories so far and the pillars for the walkway to the hotel are up. On the downside, everything is so noisy and chilly in the Contemporary I wonder if I'll really be happy staying there. I hope they do a better job with the new building. The Contemporary Tower reminds me too much of an airport.
Dinner at Cali Grill is delicious. I have oak-crusted beef and my dad goes for the spinach ravioli. It's a fancy gourmet sorta meal and our 4th dining out this week. I don't know how the DDP people do it. I don't even want to see food after that. We are in time to see the fireworks from the 15th floor overlook, but it is breezy and downright frigid. Since we arrived the weather has been unseasonably cool, especially at night. I find myself longing for my warm clothes at home.
Thursday, 4/10: Our day starts with lunch at Le Cellier. Another new place for us and a big hit. I can see why this is the hottest reservation to get on property. The dining room is small and intimate. People strike up conversations with each other from table to table. My dad samples the King Salmon (the only reason he came) and loves it. I have the chocolate mousse for dessert. The only downside is that yet again we are sleepy from eating. We wander through EPCOT the rest of the day. Soarin' fastpasses are gone and we don't feel like waiting this time. (Wait time is 80 min.) We ride the Mexico ride (remarking how much they've ruined it with the Donald Duck theming completely supplanting the cultural aspects). We wander into China and the Tomb Warrior exhibit. This is something most people see in passing (as did we the last time), but you get to savor when you're timesharing. The exhibit is based on a 2000 yo find in China of Emperor Qin's tomb. He replicated the entire Chinese Empire in his tomb complete with lifesize 6 ft tall stone soldiers... each entirely unique. I make jokes about this being the great basis for a sci-fi plot... they aren't replicas but real people turned to stone. ::insert Twilight Zone theme here::
After China, we find a spot near Germany overlooking the lake. There are 4 high school marching bands parading through the park as Disney Magical Music Days. We get dessert and settle in for fireworks. A CM from Germany comes by and starts telling the crowd little secrets about the show. Like that it was designed for the millenium celebrations and encapsulates past, present and future. And that there are 19 torches around the lake, each representing one of the 19 centuries, and the 20th is in the show. My dad just enjoys listening to the music before the fireworks and realizes they are different sounds for each country. The CM tells us it is the most requested music but not on CD.
As we drive home (to our resort) we realize how different our vacation style is now. We're not rushing anywhere and we really haven't done a ton of rides. It's almost as if we're waiting for our vacation to begin. It's not that we're bored, just very laid back.
Another sidenote, even thoug we're staying off property this week, we are using the back roads at Disney. From Cypress Harbour that means Palm Parkway to Lake Buena Vista to Vacation Club Way to EPCOT Center Drive. This back route takes roughly the same time but avoids much of the traffic and traffic lights. Yesterday's driving saw accidents on I-4 and every other major road we woulda taken if we didn't know the back routes. All week, our biggest traffic jam was Magic Kingdom parking lot that first day.
)
)
) dying to know how he's going to top this year's 'do...maybe braids & beads in october? 
(btw, we haven't watched fireworks in MK for years b/c the crowds just get too crazy
).
