Mykelogan
Long time, no see!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2005
- Messages
- 2,183
Where to begin this report
I could start with the insanity that was my packing, a power outage due to a thunderstorm as I was about to finally start my laundry, and how I then finally got to bed at 3:30am on May 30th, then was up at 6:30am to finish packing and leave for the airport at 8:15am! As it was Memorial Day I was strapped to find a ride to the airport as everyone (friends and family!) was away, so I bit the bullet and took a taxi. Turned out to be a nice thing, a stress free ride in a brand spanking new PT Cruiser. I left extremely early because I was not sure of how reliable the taxi would be, etc. So after arriving I approached the Southwest counter a little nervous about my bright yellow Magic Express tags. Would they take them off to avoid confusion with my flight tags? Would Disney get my luggage? Oy! Though as soon as I put my bags down my fears were assuaged. The ticket agent said, Oooh!! Someones going to see Mickey! I can tell by your tags! What resort are you staying at? There was no line at all, so we spoke for a few minutes about Pop Century as he had just stayed there too. He also spoke of how from what he had heard the Magical Express issues many people had at first had been straightened out. After passing through security and a very fast & wild ride on the electric gate cart, I found myself seated at the gate for my 11:30am flight at about 9:30am, hehe. But I was anxious and excited so sitting at home would have been even more nerve wracking, at least this way I felt my journey had begun.
The gate agent for Southwest was kind enough to let me know that there would be two other flights leaving from my gate before it was my turn. So I did what any good DIS-er would do, and pulled out my Passporter and read some sections I hadnt gotten to yet. A family flying to Philadelphia soon sat beside me and the mother noticed my book. We very quickly began discussing their recent trip to the World and my impending trip. I was glad to share many of the secrets I learned on the board with her and she even took some notes! It made the time pass quickly and before I knew it I was on my direct flight to MCO. In just a few hours I would see Mickey! Yay!!!
The flight was very smooth and the head attendant, Greg, was very helpful and funny. I know many people have issues with Southwests Customer of Size policy and how they require you to buy a second seat but I always find them supportive and friendly. Greg made sure I knew that the flight was not oversold so I could get a seat refund and brought a seatbelt extender right to me without my having to ask. I know this may seem embarrassing to some but believe me, it is obvious that I would need it and he was very discrete. Hehe. My flight arrived at 2:30pm and by 2:45pm I was on my Magical Express Bus!!! I could not believe it! I followed the CMs with the big Mickey Hands and soon found no line at check in. Maria, the CM who assisted me made sure I knew about Star Wars Weekend as it is her favorite event. By 2:55pm, the bus was on its way! At 2:57pm I got the best news of the day, the first stop would be POP and I was the only person getting off there!
The bus was about half full and we were all anxious for the welcome video to start as soon as it, a 4yo boy in the aisle across from me got soo excited! Everytime a new character would show up on the screen he would yell Oh my goodness daddy! Thats Mickey!! (or whoever!) Far from being annoying, his enthusiasm was infectious and soon most of the bus was applauding every time he identified a new character. The welcome video was quite cute and I will admit to getting teary eyed as I realized I was almost THERE! I was also very excited when the piece following the welcome was a behind the scenes look at the new Chronicles of Narnia film Disney was working on. Oh my, it looks like a good one. Just as that ended, we pulled into POP! I was home!
I picked up my ECV from Luggage services right away (love that Walker has it waiting for you!) and since it was past 3pm, I checked in. Room 5122 would be my home for the next 7 days. I made my way past the Hippy Trippy pool knowing I would be in it soon (did I mention it was 90 & SUNNY???!) and found my room right around the corner from Baloo & Mowgli. Close to the action, but not too close to any noise. On the plane I had made the decision to take a quick nap when I arrived knowing I had a 7:30 PS at Le Cellier. Well the Disney adrenaline had kicked in and the nap would not happen. Instead I went for a very refreshing swim and then took a nice shower. I had thought ahead and packed my swimsuit and a change of clothes in my carry on so I would not be waiting for my luggage. I made a quick call home to let everyone know I arrived safely and to rub in the fact that I was in FL! Hehe. Then I made my way to Classic Hall checking out any new merchandise out for the 50th celebration and heading to the bus stop. By 5pm I was on my way to Epcot.
Epcot was relatively crowded but not too bad. I think the heat all day had sent most of the crowded scrambling for cool air and dinner around the time of my arrival. I discovered upon arrival that the wait for Soarin was over an hour and all of the fast passes were gone, so I guess that attraction would wait. I instead made my way to the place where I knew there would not be a crowd, Journey Into Imagination! I was right, I got right on and watched as Disney tried to convince me that this was as good as Figments original journey it didnt work, but I still did enjoy it. I then was able to get into Honey I shrunk The Audience relatively quickly. After that I decided to explore some of the gorgeous greenery as I had never been during the Flower & Garden show before. The topiaries were gorgeous! I took many pictures as I traveled about. I was getting thirsty by now and decided to track down a nice cold Coke, but many of the drink carts were closed temporarily as they were having trouble keeping up with the demand for beverages in the heat. I settled for lemonade and made my way to the World Showcase. Just as I passed Canada, Oft Kilter took the stage so I found a relatively shady spot to enjoy their performance. They were so much fun! The exhausted audience still clapped along and it was a nice way to begin to my trip. It was getting later and I decided to make my way over near Le Cellier. I noticed a woman pointing at something on the grass and when I looked closely I saw a very cute rabbit. Which was neat because the Bambi topiary was right nearby, had Thumpers friend come to see him?? After taking a picture of my new rabbit friend, who was not afraid of people at all, I noticed the flowers across the way moving. There were two more rabbits hiding in the gorgeous garden. It really was fun to just watch them frolic!
As I checked in at Le Cellier and took a seat in the nicely air conditioned waiting area, I discovered by eavesdropping that they were booked solid for the night, that goodness I made my PS!!! The family trying to make a reservation was told their only options at that time were an 8:30pm at China and a 9pm at Marrakesh. Seems like the holiday did indeed affect the crowds! I waited about 10min and was seated. My server was very nice and was helpful as I figured out my first meal on the Dining Plan. I of course had to have the Canadian Cheese Soup, and as I had told my server the pretzel bread was my favorite she brought over a few extra sticks with my soup. It was as delicious as I remembered, creamy with the nice sharp bite of the cheddar and beer. My entrée was again a no-brainer, my favorite, the Mushroom Filet. The steak was cooked perfectly and was the best I had had in ages. It literally melted in my mouth. And the wild mushroom risotto the risotto! Oh my! Lets just say if it was legal to marry a side dish, I would have professed my intentions then and there! hehe. For dessert I had the Open Faced Apple Cobbler with Ice Wine sauce. It was delightful, though I wished I had gotten the Maple Crème Brulee, my usual fave.
I finished my meal just around 8:45, so as I excited Illuminations was beginning. Amazing as usual though I left part way in as I did not want to have to fight the crowd at the bus stop. As I made my way to the stop it began to rain. The rain was cooling for a few minutes, until it stopped and the heat returned. The bus stop was luckily not that crowded as a bus to pop had just left. Another arrived in 5min. No complaints here! Back at Pop I decided I needed a few drinks for my room and then a quick dip in the pool again.
I was in bed by 11pm. Early yes, but I was running on a little over two hours of sleep and tomorrow was Magic Kingdom day starting with Breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh & Friends. What a day! I could hardly fall asleep though, I wanted to see the Castle, I wanted to be on Tower of Terror, I wanted to eat a Turkey leg on the porch of the General Store in Frontierland now! I settled for watching cartoons as I drifted to sleep I should have watched the local weather forecast because then I might have known what to expect tomorrow to be continued
Mike
The gate agent for Southwest was kind enough to let me know that there would be two other flights leaving from my gate before it was my turn. So I did what any good DIS-er would do, and pulled out my Passporter and read some sections I hadnt gotten to yet. A family flying to Philadelphia soon sat beside me and the mother noticed my book. We very quickly began discussing their recent trip to the World and my impending trip. I was glad to share many of the secrets I learned on the board with her and she even took some notes! It made the time pass quickly and before I knew it I was on my direct flight to MCO. In just a few hours I would see Mickey! Yay!!!
The flight was very smooth and the head attendant, Greg, was very helpful and funny. I know many people have issues with Southwests Customer of Size policy and how they require you to buy a second seat but I always find them supportive and friendly. Greg made sure I knew that the flight was not oversold so I could get a seat refund and brought a seatbelt extender right to me without my having to ask. I know this may seem embarrassing to some but believe me, it is obvious that I would need it and he was very discrete. Hehe. My flight arrived at 2:30pm and by 2:45pm I was on my Magical Express Bus!!! I could not believe it! I followed the CMs with the big Mickey Hands and soon found no line at check in. Maria, the CM who assisted me made sure I knew about Star Wars Weekend as it is her favorite event. By 2:55pm, the bus was on its way! At 2:57pm I got the best news of the day, the first stop would be POP and I was the only person getting off there!
The bus was about half full and we were all anxious for the welcome video to start as soon as it, a 4yo boy in the aisle across from me got soo excited! Everytime a new character would show up on the screen he would yell Oh my goodness daddy! Thats Mickey!! (or whoever!) Far from being annoying, his enthusiasm was infectious and soon most of the bus was applauding every time he identified a new character. The welcome video was quite cute and I will admit to getting teary eyed as I realized I was almost THERE! I was also very excited when the piece following the welcome was a behind the scenes look at the new Chronicles of Narnia film Disney was working on. Oh my, it looks like a good one. Just as that ended, we pulled into POP! I was home!
I picked up my ECV from Luggage services right away (love that Walker has it waiting for you!) and since it was past 3pm, I checked in. Room 5122 would be my home for the next 7 days. I made my way past the Hippy Trippy pool knowing I would be in it soon (did I mention it was 90 & SUNNY???!) and found my room right around the corner from Baloo & Mowgli. Close to the action, but not too close to any noise. On the plane I had made the decision to take a quick nap when I arrived knowing I had a 7:30 PS at Le Cellier. Well the Disney adrenaline had kicked in and the nap would not happen. Instead I went for a very refreshing swim and then took a nice shower. I had thought ahead and packed my swimsuit and a change of clothes in my carry on so I would not be waiting for my luggage. I made a quick call home to let everyone know I arrived safely and to rub in the fact that I was in FL! Hehe. Then I made my way to Classic Hall checking out any new merchandise out for the 50th celebration and heading to the bus stop. By 5pm I was on my way to Epcot.
Epcot was relatively crowded but not too bad. I think the heat all day had sent most of the crowded scrambling for cool air and dinner around the time of my arrival. I discovered upon arrival that the wait for Soarin was over an hour and all of the fast passes were gone, so I guess that attraction would wait. I instead made my way to the place where I knew there would not be a crowd, Journey Into Imagination! I was right, I got right on and watched as Disney tried to convince me that this was as good as Figments original journey it didnt work, but I still did enjoy it. I then was able to get into Honey I shrunk The Audience relatively quickly. After that I decided to explore some of the gorgeous greenery as I had never been during the Flower & Garden show before. The topiaries were gorgeous! I took many pictures as I traveled about. I was getting thirsty by now and decided to track down a nice cold Coke, but many of the drink carts were closed temporarily as they were having trouble keeping up with the demand for beverages in the heat. I settled for lemonade and made my way to the World Showcase. Just as I passed Canada, Oft Kilter took the stage so I found a relatively shady spot to enjoy their performance. They were so much fun! The exhausted audience still clapped along and it was a nice way to begin to my trip. It was getting later and I decided to make my way over near Le Cellier. I noticed a woman pointing at something on the grass and when I looked closely I saw a very cute rabbit. Which was neat because the Bambi topiary was right nearby, had Thumpers friend come to see him?? After taking a picture of my new rabbit friend, who was not afraid of people at all, I noticed the flowers across the way moving. There were two more rabbits hiding in the gorgeous garden. It really was fun to just watch them frolic!
As I checked in at Le Cellier and took a seat in the nicely air conditioned waiting area, I discovered by eavesdropping that they were booked solid for the night, that goodness I made my PS!!! The family trying to make a reservation was told their only options at that time were an 8:30pm at China and a 9pm at Marrakesh. Seems like the holiday did indeed affect the crowds! I waited about 10min and was seated. My server was very nice and was helpful as I figured out my first meal on the Dining Plan. I of course had to have the Canadian Cheese Soup, and as I had told my server the pretzel bread was my favorite she brought over a few extra sticks with my soup. It was as delicious as I remembered, creamy with the nice sharp bite of the cheddar and beer. My entrée was again a no-brainer, my favorite, the Mushroom Filet. The steak was cooked perfectly and was the best I had had in ages. It literally melted in my mouth. And the wild mushroom risotto the risotto! Oh my! Lets just say if it was legal to marry a side dish, I would have professed my intentions then and there! hehe. For dessert I had the Open Faced Apple Cobbler with Ice Wine sauce. It was delightful, though I wished I had gotten the Maple Crème Brulee, my usual fave.
I finished my meal just around 8:45, so as I excited Illuminations was beginning. Amazing as usual though I left part way in as I did not want to have to fight the crowd at the bus stop. As I made my way to the stop it began to rain. The rain was cooling for a few minutes, until it stopped and the heat returned. The bus stop was luckily not that crowded as a bus to pop had just left. Another arrived in 5min. No complaints here! Back at Pop I decided I needed a few drinks for my room and then a quick dip in the pool again.
I was in bed by 11pm. Early yes, but I was running on a little over two hours of sleep and tomorrow was Magic Kingdom day starting with Breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh & Friends. What a day! I could hardly fall asleep though, I wanted to see the Castle, I wanted to be on Tower of Terror, I wanted to eat a Turkey leg on the porch of the General Store in Frontierland now! I settled for watching cartoons as I drifted to sleep I should have watched the local weather forecast because then I might have known what to expect tomorrow to be continued
Mike
You have convinced your boss to let you work on them at work, right? 
