jsmla
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Messages
- 4,498
Thank you Fairy Godmother
Jennifer
In case you just got here:
I'm Jennifer, trying to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary with Scott, my usually lubberly DH (aka Prince Charming, aka The Raving Lunatic). Trying is the key word here. So far my trip has been marred by an on-going drama surrounding the Capital One Bowl. (For those of you fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with the Capital One Bowl, it is a football game.) When I last posted LSU had just gone down in ignominious defeat and my romantic second honeymoon was in the toilet.
After a suitable peroid of mourning the Raving Lunatic finally departs. In his place I get my Brave Little Soldier. His head is bloodied but unbowed. He'd much rather stay in the hotel room and pout but he puts on a brave face (though not his LSU cap) and agrees to rejoin this cruel, cruel world once again. That's how much he loves me.
Our recent sad turn of events and this afternoon's crowds at DTD have convinced me that a trip to a theme park is not the wisest venture at this point. After all we have 5 more days and the Magic Kingdom isn't going anywhere. Besides, my Brave Little Soldier needs cheering up. He needs comfort, he needs understanding, he needs beer.
I've always wanted to do a tour of the monorail resorts, escpecially a Christmas tour. Scott doesn't hate the idea so off we go. It's an easy trip from DTD to the Grand Floridian, our first stop. All I can say is WOW! I don't know how much Disney hits you up for a night here but I'm pretty sure that we don't have it. This place is georgeous! The huge Christmas tree, the gingerbread house (Is that thing real?), everything is absolutely over the top fancy. We ride up in the glass elevator just so I can sweep down the grand staircase like Scarlett O'Hara. It's kinda hard to sweep in a t-shirt and capri pants but I have a good imagination. Now, where's the bar? Let me tell you this friends, the Grand Floridian does not have a bar. It has a LOUNGE, a fancy lounge with a classy little quartet playing cool jazz Christmas music. There's people in suits in there. People in suits drinking scotch. We beat a quick retreat.
Scott's still beerless, a condition which cannot be allowed to continue. He comes up with a solution of his own.
Scott: Let's get a couple of beers from the gift shop.
Me: The gift shop?
Scott: Yeah, like at that other place we stayed.
Me: Hon, this isn't the All Star Music. This is The Grand Floridian. This is Disney's fanciest hotel. I don't think they sell beers like a Circle K.
Scott: Of course they do. Rich people drink too.
Rich people may drink, but I don't think they buy their beer at the Grand Floridian gift shop. They must buy $50 dollar golf shirts because that's all we could find. We had to settle for drinking in the view from an upstairs veranda. It was absolutely stunning.
Off to our next destination, the Polynesian. In the queue for the monorail I am struck with an acute case of social inferiority complex. Are moderate people like us allowed to use the Resorts Monorail? Do we fit in? I wish I was wearing something nicer than a t-shirt and old capri pants from Target. Boy, that monorail sure is taking its time. Scott, always equal to any occasion, is unruffled. Any place that refuses to vend MillerLite in its gift shop is obviously not up to scratch in his book.
Monorail Mango finally pulls into the station and I can breath again. The Polynesian is not so grand but also not so intimidating. The Polynesian has a comfy lounge full of comfy-looking people wearing shorts and holding glasses of beer. Much better. Too bad it's jam-packed with people. Not a seat to be had. That's okay. The gift shop at the Polynesian sells beer.
By the bottle. Plastic bottles that you can take down to the beach. The beach at the Polynesian has these hammocks where you can cuddle while you drink your beer and watch the lights of the Magic Kindom twinkle on the surface of Bay Lake. 
My Brave Little Soldier disappears. Prince Charming returns. This is way better than a bar. We spend quite a bit of time here, drink quite a few beers. Probably too many, but, hey, we're on vacation.
Time to move on. This time the monorail is waiting for us. That's it. I officially change my fantasy. I'll win the lottery, Scott can retire, we'll pay off the bills and spend a week at the Polynesian.
Neither one of us is feeling the Contemporary. We've been there lots on trips to Chef Mickey's. We may not be rich but I know value when I see it. You can fork over a hundred bucks to Chef Mickey and he will feed the bottomless pit that is your 8-year-old son while your 5 year-old daughter is struck breathless with delight by a kiss from Minnie. You can take all the pictures you won't and nobody will mind. And you won't have to stand in a single line. Yes, we know the Contemporary well. So, full of beery bravado, we decide to hit the Magic Kingdom instead.
The Magic Kingdom wasn't closed to new arrivals but it sure should have been. I've never seen it so crowded. It's almost an attraction in itself. We grab a couple of hot dogs at Casey's (The Magic Kingdom doesn't sell beer.
) and just walk through the park, jaws agape. The line for Pirates of the Carribean extends beyond the catacombs and into the covered entry area. I have never, in 20 + trips to Disneyworld seen this. Fantasyland is completely log jammed. It's stroller gridlock. Everywhere kids are crying. Nobody looks very happy. After one circuit of the park we're more than ready to go. I can't even imagine what it would be like to try to actually do anything in there.
We have to get to a resort to catch our bus so we take the ferry over to the Wilderness Lodge. We've been here before. I can proudly say that we've actually stayed here before. (They sell beer in their gift shop, by the way.) I've never seen it at Christmas though. It's really pretty. Probably would have been more impressive if I hadn't already seen the Grand Floridian. I'm really looking forward to having dinner here later in the week.
It's not all that late but the beer's wearing off and we're both tired from our long and tension-fraught day. We have an early start tomorrow. What we really need is a good night's sleep. So, I'm afraid that the fist day of our Best Second Honeymoon Ever ends with us riding quietly home and tamely going to sleep. That's okay. Tomorrow's going to be a great day!
Jennifer
Jennifer
In case you just got here:
I'm Jennifer, trying to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary with Scott, my usually lubberly DH (aka Prince Charming, aka The Raving Lunatic). Trying is the key word here. So far my trip has been marred by an on-going drama surrounding the Capital One Bowl. (For those of you fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with the Capital One Bowl, it is a football game.) When I last posted LSU had just gone down in ignominious defeat and my romantic second honeymoon was in the toilet.
After a suitable peroid of mourning the Raving Lunatic finally departs. In his place I get my Brave Little Soldier. His head is bloodied but unbowed. He'd much rather stay in the hotel room and pout but he puts on a brave face (though not his LSU cap) and agrees to rejoin this cruel, cruel world once again. That's how much he loves me.
Our recent sad turn of events and this afternoon's crowds at DTD have convinced me that a trip to a theme park is not the wisest venture at this point. After all we have 5 more days and the Magic Kingdom isn't going anywhere. Besides, my Brave Little Soldier needs cheering up. He needs comfort, he needs understanding, he needs beer.
I've always wanted to do a tour of the monorail resorts, escpecially a Christmas tour. Scott doesn't hate the idea so off we go. It's an easy trip from DTD to the Grand Floridian, our first stop. All I can say is WOW! I don't know how much Disney hits you up for a night here but I'm pretty sure that we don't have it. This place is georgeous! The huge Christmas tree, the gingerbread house (Is that thing real?), everything is absolutely over the top fancy. We ride up in the glass elevator just so I can sweep down the grand staircase like Scarlett O'Hara. It's kinda hard to sweep in a t-shirt and capri pants but I have a good imagination. Now, where's the bar? Let me tell you this friends, the Grand Floridian does not have a bar. It has a LOUNGE, a fancy lounge with a classy little quartet playing cool jazz Christmas music. There's people in suits in there. People in suits drinking scotch. We beat a quick retreat.
Scott's still beerless, a condition which cannot be allowed to continue. He comes up with a solution of his own.
Scott: Let's get a couple of beers from the gift shop.
Me: The gift shop?
Scott: Yeah, like at that other place we stayed.
Me: Hon, this isn't the All Star Music. This is The Grand Floridian. This is Disney's fanciest hotel. I don't think they sell beers like a Circle K.
Scott: Of course they do. Rich people drink too.
Rich people may drink, but I don't think they buy their beer at the Grand Floridian gift shop. They must buy $50 dollar golf shirts because that's all we could find. We had to settle for drinking in the view from an upstairs veranda. It was absolutely stunning.
Off to our next destination, the Polynesian. In the queue for the monorail I am struck with an acute case of social inferiority complex. Are moderate people like us allowed to use the Resorts Monorail? Do we fit in? I wish I was wearing something nicer than a t-shirt and old capri pants from Target. Boy, that monorail sure is taking its time. Scott, always equal to any occasion, is unruffled. Any place that refuses to vend MillerLite in its gift shop is obviously not up to scratch in his book.
Monorail Mango finally pulls into the station and I can breath again. The Polynesian is not so grand but also not so intimidating. The Polynesian has a comfy lounge full of comfy-looking people wearing shorts and holding glasses of beer. Much better. Too bad it's jam-packed with people. Not a seat to be had. That's okay. The gift shop at the Polynesian sells beer.
By the bottle. Plastic bottles that you can take down to the beach. The beach at the Polynesian has these hammocks where you can cuddle while you drink your beer and watch the lights of the Magic Kindom twinkle on the surface of Bay Lake. My Brave Little Soldier disappears. Prince Charming returns. This is way better than a bar. We spend quite a bit of time here, drink quite a few beers. Probably too many, but, hey, we're on vacation. Time to move on. This time the monorail is waiting for us. That's it. I officially change my fantasy. I'll win the lottery, Scott can retire, we'll pay off the bills and spend a week at the Polynesian.
Neither one of us is feeling the Contemporary. We've been there lots on trips to Chef Mickey's. We may not be rich but I know value when I see it. You can fork over a hundred bucks to Chef Mickey and he will feed the bottomless pit that is your 8-year-old son while your 5 year-old daughter is struck breathless with delight by a kiss from Minnie. You can take all the pictures you won't and nobody will mind. And you won't have to stand in a single line. Yes, we know the Contemporary well. So, full of beery bravado, we decide to hit the Magic Kingdom instead.
The Magic Kingdom wasn't closed to new arrivals but it sure should have been. I've never seen it so crowded. It's almost an attraction in itself. We grab a couple of hot dogs at Casey's (The Magic Kingdom doesn't sell beer.
) and just walk through the park, jaws agape. The line for Pirates of the Carribean extends beyond the catacombs and into the covered entry area. I have never, in 20 + trips to Disneyworld seen this. Fantasyland is completely log jammed. It's stroller gridlock. Everywhere kids are crying. Nobody looks very happy. After one circuit of the park we're more than ready to go. I can't even imagine what it would be like to try to actually do anything in there.We have to get to a resort to catch our bus so we take the ferry over to the Wilderness Lodge. We've been here before. I can proudly say that we've actually stayed here before. (They sell beer in their gift shop, by the way.) I've never seen it at Christmas though. It's really pretty. Probably would have been more impressive if I hadn't already seen the Grand Floridian. I'm really looking forward to having dinner here later in the week.
It's not all that late but the beer's wearing off and we're both tired from our long and tension-fraught day. We have an early start tomorrow. What we really need is a good night's sleep. So, I'm afraid that the fist day of our Best Second Honeymoon Ever ends with us riding quietly home and tamely going to sleep. That's okay. Tomorrow's going to be a great day!
Jennifer
