Miranda Danda
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2004
- Messages
- 1,842
Rewind back to August of 1988. That is when this story begins. It was the first day of my educational career, the pinnacle of maturity was about to be bestowed on my shoulders. It was my first day of kindergarten
.. No, wait! Fast forward 17 years as I proudly prance across the stage at the Pensacola Civic Center and receive my degree- a B.A. in Criminal Justice. As I walk down the stage and head back to my seat, the girl sitting next to me asks, So now that you have graduated, what are you going to do next? I replied with the old cliché, IM GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!
About 1 month before my graduation from the University of West Florida, my parents had asked what I would like as a graduation present. The words Hyundai Santa Fe, iPod Mini, and trip to Europe had been tossed around, but I decided that a trip to Disney World with my boyfriend of almost 4 years was the best deal. Mom and I visited our Triple A travel agent, Margy who set me up with a 7 night, 8 day stay at the Pop Century Resort as well as seasonal passes to WDW. Needless to say, I was excited. I had only stayed on the WDW grounds once before and that was in 5th grade when I won a trip to WDW to compete in the Tropicana Public Speaking competition. We were given 2 or 3 nights in the Contemporary for that trip.
Anyways, the time seemed to creep along as I took my final finals (yes, I meant to type that) and then I had to wait for the three hour, monotone graduation speech to finally conclude. After my graduation, my parents threw me a Crime Scene themed party at my house for family and friends. Not to get too off topic (which I have done numerous times already), but it was the coolest party. They put Crime Scene tape all over our back porch, numerous Crime Scene books lying around, and what Crime Scene party would be complete without a chalk-body. Thats right folks; we had our very own chalk-body in the formal living room. Anyways, back to the trip report.
- Watched Friends episodes from seasons 6 and 7 on my DVD player
- Watched Boy Meets World season 2 on my DVD player
- Read interesting facts from the UG to WDW
- Slept
- Looked at and made fun of the notorious We Bare All signs that little the central Florida Interstate. I swear one of those girls on the signs looks just like Jessica Spano from Saved by the Bell.
At about 4:30pm EST we arrived in Orlando and about 1 hour later we arrived at the Pop Century. Thats right folks, my boyfriend, who is usually wonderful with directions, could make nothing of the 3 different versions of direction to the Pop that I had printed out prior to the beginning of our trip. Granted, all of the directions had different starting points, one of them was years old, and another one had been printed backwards. But my boyfriend is in his second year of Physical Therapy school getting his Masters. I guess I just figured he could read hieroglyphics, too.
When we drove up to the Pop, I felt like a VIP because when the lady at the gate asked for my last name, she looked on a list and said, Miranda? I gleamed from ear-to-ear, Yes, maam! I felt like I was on the list of select few celebrities that were allowed to join a super exclusive club. Okay, I didnt feel quite that important, but it was pretty cool. The first thing that POPS (No pun intended. Okay, yes it was.) out at you when you drive up to the Pop Century is all the groovy, bodacious, radical colors and huge displays. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on the exterior of this place that it was going to be a blast. After finding a great parking spot in front of the Classic Hall, my boyfriend (whom I will now begin to refer to by his parent-given name Kevin) and I ventured into the lobby. It was like a zoo in there. For a moment I had thought we accidentally ended up at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the animals had gotten lose into the lobby. Just kidding, but there were kids EVERYWHERE. I know it is Disney World and kids will be kids. I am not complaining by any means. I enjoy being around kids because it makes me feel a lot younger in my ripe old age of 22.5 years old.
The Classic Hall is ingeniously decorated with huge shadow-box style frames that contain various pieces of memorabilia from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. The memorabilia from the 50s, 80s, and 90s caught my attention the most. I know that is an odd combination of years. Of course the 80s and 90s make sense because I was born in the 80s and I grew up in the 90s. But why the 50s, you might ask. I dont know. My parents wonder the same thing. I think I am a child of the 50s at heart. Something about drive in movies, ridiculously fake monster movies, and the magic of a simple little silver dinners intrigue me. I have always been a fan of the 50s. The memorabilia from the 80s and 90s had me and Kevin goggling and saying, I had one of those! Remember that? We probably sounded like a broken record. What I thought was very funny was when a little girl (about 4 years old) and her dad were walking by and the little girl pointed at the 80s box and said, Look, a My Little Pony! I guess it is true that trends to cycle themselves through every some often. I guess thats why I found myself wearing bellbottoms once in high school after I had incessantly and with conviction led a single man rebellion against the hideous pants when I was 5 years old. The boxes contained everything from New Kids on the Block stuff to a hair crimper. Hey, I used to crimp my hair! See, that happens often when you look into those boxes. Back to the story
I figured that with this being a Sunday afternoon, there would be a HUGE check-in line, but there wasnt. Kevin and I went straight up to the front desk. All of the CMs were very friendly and helpful. When I had booked the room through our Triple A travel agent, I had requested the 50s (of course). I was very excited to hear that my request had been granted. My parents had paid for my room in advance so I did not have to do all of the credit card stuff that confuses me so much (can you tell I was a very sheltered child?). After finalizing the check-in and then leaving my room keys at the front desk and having to go back to get them (the story of my life), Kevin and I moved his truck over to the 50s parking lot and unloaded my stuff. The people that saw us walking to my room must have thought I was a lucky girl to be getting to stay at the Pop Century for two months. I will let them think that. I was better than them knowing the truth which is that my luggage for one week looked like luggage for two months. Hey, I might live in Florida, but who knows what the crazy weather in Orlando might do. I might want to wear a spaghetti strap top, but if it was too cold for that, I had to bring plenty of tank tops. Thats how I packed: skirts and spaghetti straps for hot weather and shorts and tanks for warm weather. I am a complicated packer, what can I say?
We finally got to the room, which was #2369 on the third floor of the 50s building with the Jukebox (formerly known as JuiceBox until I was corrected last week) attached to it. The view from my room was awesome!!!! I had a perfect view of the bowling pin shaped pool and I was right around the corner (actually right around 3 corners from the elevator. I unpacked and then got changed into my park clothes. Some of you might wonder why I did not just wear what I traveled in to the park. Other than the fact that I spilled Coke on myself on the way down to Orlando, I did not want to get odd stares because of the content of my shirt. I mean, what would you think of someone wearing a shirt with a mullet (a kind of fish) sitting in a barbershop chair getting his mullet (a unique kind of hair-dont) cut??? Yes, every October in Kevins hometown they have the Mullet festival. I am not ashamed to say that is my favorite food, but I am ashamed to walk around WDW with a shirt with a huge mullet getting his mullet cut. So, I changed and we headed off to my favorite park- MGM.
About 1 month before my graduation from the University of West Florida, my parents had asked what I would like as a graduation present. The words Hyundai Santa Fe, iPod Mini, and trip to Europe had been tossed around, but I decided that a trip to Disney World with my boyfriend of almost 4 years was the best deal. Mom and I visited our Triple A travel agent, Margy who set me up with a 7 night, 8 day stay at the Pop Century Resort as well as seasonal passes to WDW. Needless to say, I was excited. I had only stayed on the WDW grounds once before and that was in 5th grade when I won a trip to WDW to compete in the Tropicana Public Speaking competition. We were given 2 or 3 nights in the Contemporary for that trip.
Anyways, the time seemed to creep along as I took my final finals (yes, I meant to type that) and then I had to wait for the three hour, monotone graduation speech to finally conclude. After my graduation, my parents threw me a Crime Scene themed party at my house for family and friends. Not to get too off topic (which I have done numerous times already), but it was the coolest party. They put Crime Scene tape all over our back porch, numerous Crime Scene books lying around, and what Crime Scene party would be complete without a chalk-body. Thats right folks; we had our very own chalk-body in the formal living room. Anyways, back to the trip report.
Sunday, May 8th, 2005 Approximately 10:00am
A week after graduation, my parents and I piled into my moms luxurious Lincoln town car. My boyfriend (who attends the UCF PT program) lives in Niceville, Florida which is about 1 hour down the Interstate from Pensacola where I live. My parents drove me and all 5000 pounds of my luggage to Niceville where I met up with my boyfriend who was home for my graduation and we transferred my bare necessities into his big pick-up truck. When I say big, I mean the wheels are big, the engine is big, the sound it makes is big, but the area where I was to sit on the 5 hour drive was by no means big. To make a long trip short, this is how I kept myself occupied on the way down there:- Watched Friends episodes from seasons 6 and 7 on my DVD player
- Watched Boy Meets World season 2 on my DVD player
- Read interesting facts from the UG to WDW
- Slept
- Looked at and made fun of the notorious We Bare All signs that little the central Florida Interstate. I swear one of those girls on the signs looks just like Jessica Spano from Saved by the Bell.
At about 4:30pm EST we arrived in Orlando and about 1 hour later we arrived at the Pop Century. Thats right folks, my boyfriend, who is usually wonderful with directions, could make nothing of the 3 different versions of direction to the Pop that I had printed out prior to the beginning of our trip. Granted, all of the directions had different starting points, one of them was years old, and another one had been printed backwards. But my boyfriend is in his second year of Physical Therapy school getting his Masters. I guess I just figured he could read hieroglyphics, too.
When we drove up to the Pop, I felt like a VIP because when the lady at the gate asked for my last name, she looked on a list and said, Miranda? I gleamed from ear-to-ear, Yes, maam! I felt like I was on the list of select few celebrities that were allowed to join a super exclusive club. Okay, I didnt feel quite that important, but it was pretty cool. The first thing that POPS (No pun intended. Okay, yes it was.) out at you when you drive up to the Pop Century is all the groovy, bodacious, radical colors and huge displays. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on the exterior of this place that it was going to be a blast. After finding a great parking spot in front of the Classic Hall, my boyfriend (whom I will now begin to refer to by his parent-given name Kevin) and I ventured into the lobby. It was like a zoo in there. For a moment I had thought we accidentally ended up at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the animals had gotten lose into the lobby. Just kidding, but there were kids EVERYWHERE. I know it is Disney World and kids will be kids. I am not complaining by any means. I enjoy being around kids because it makes me feel a lot younger in my ripe old age of 22.5 years old.
The Classic Hall is ingeniously decorated with huge shadow-box style frames that contain various pieces of memorabilia from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. The memorabilia from the 50s, 80s, and 90s caught my attention the most. I know that is an odd combination of years. Of course the 80s and 90s make sense because I was born in the 80s and I grew up in the 90s. But why the 50s, you might ask. I dont know. My parents wonder the same thing. I think I am a child of the 50s at heart. Something about drive in movies, ridiculously fake monster movies, and the magic of a simple little silver dinners intrigue me. I have always been a fan of the 50s. The memorabilia from the 80s and 90s had me and Kevin goggling and saying, I had one of those! Remember that? We probably sounded like a broken record. What I thought was very funny was when a little girl (about 4 years old) and her dad were walking by and the little girl pointed at the 80s box and said, Look, a My Little Pony! I guess it is true that trends to cycle themselves through every some often. I guess thats why I found myself wearing bellbottoms once in high school after I had incessantly and with conviction led a single man rebellion against the hideous pants when I was 5 years old. The boxes contained everything from New Kids on the Block stuff to a hair crimper. Hey, I used to crimp my hair! See, that happens often when you look into those boxes. Back to the story
I figured that with this being a Sunday afternoon, there would be a HUGE check-in line, but there wasnt. Kevin and I went straight up to the front desk. All of the CMs were very friendly and helpful. When I had booked the room through our Triple A travel agent, I had requested the 50s (of course). I was very excited to hear that my request had been granted. My parents had paid for my room in advance so I did not have to do all of the credit card stuff that confuses me so much (can you tell I was a very sheltered child?). After finalizing the check-in and then leaving my room keys at the front desk and having to go back to get them (the story of my life), Kevin and I moved his truck over to the 50s parking lot and unloaded my stuff. The people that saw us walking to my room must have thought I was a lucky girl to be getting to stay at the Pop Century for two months. I will let them think that. I was better than them knowing the truth which is that my luggage for one week looked like luggage for two months. Hey, I might live in Florida, but who knows what the crazy weather in Orlando might do. I might want to wear a spaghetti strap top, but if it was too cold for that, I had to bring plenty of tank tops. Thats how I packed: skirts and spaghetti straps for hot weather and shorts and tanks for warm weather. I am a complicated packer, what can I say?
We finally got to the room, which was #2369 on the third floor of the 50s building with the Jukebox (formerly known as JuiceBox until I was corrected last week) attached to it. The view from my room was awesome!!!! I had a perfect view of the bowling pin shaped pool and I was right around the corner (actually right around 3 corners from the elevator. I unpacked and then got changed into my park clothes. Some of you might wonder why I did not just wear what I traveled in to the park. Other than the fact that I spilled Coke on myself on the way down to Orlando, I did not want to get odd stares because of the content of my shirt. I mean, what would you think of someone wearing a shirt with a mullet (a kind of fish) sitting in a barbershop chair getting his mullet (a unique kind of hair-dont) cut??? Yes, every October in Kevins hometown they have the Mullet festival. I am not ashamed to say that is my favorite food, but I am ashamed to walk around WDW with a shirt with a huge mullet getting his mullet cut. So, I changed and we headed off to my favorite park- MGM.
Stay tuned. There is more to come!!!!!
Where's the pic of you in the mullet shirt?! 
