My VERY FIRST PTR--Oh my!

[mindyd]

Hi,

Your trip plans sound great I hope you have a great time and I am very jealous that you leave so soon I am also from PA and we drive down also.

 

[melmlantz]

So, we couldn't sleep.... so instead of 11pm we are leaving NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Take care!!

 

[melmlantz]

I'm back unfortunately lol, I got back on the 13th... but I started classes on the 14th, I've been sick lol! So I'm hoping this weekend I can write the TR

 

[melmlantz]

Hello all! It's finally the weekend, and DH needs to do some work for online classes.. so I have (some) time. Hooray!

Un-hooray though: I'm not in Florida anymore. As evidenced by the single digit temperatures and constant threats from the weatherpeople of the S words.

BUT, mouse was indeed fantastic! So, Trip Report!

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008
I couldn't sleep... big surprise!! So we finally gave up around 6 or 7p.m., packed the car and left at 8 p.m.! EEEEE on our way to mouse!!!

Friday, January 4th, 2008

And so we drove, and we drove, and we drove.... determined in our pilgrimage to make it to the promised land by early Friday evening. DH and I were both sick, but we were prepared to fight the evils of illness with Halls, Kleenex, Dayquil, Nose Sprays, Benadryl..... and so forth. I drove for a very long time, and DH was unable to sleep for some reason (even despite the benadryl). We eventually did switch off for a little while until I took the wheel back, and I couldn't sleep, either. We did not stop for food the entire trip--I had packed Subway sandwiches and snacks. All we needed to stop for was gas and hydration.

When we were almost there, we stopped for our first time at the Disney's Character Premiere in St. Augustine (I love St. Augustine). We purchased a few things (pins) and then continued our journey.

And so, we arrived!

Having gotten on the PA Turnpike at 8:30 PM Thursday night, we arrived at the Royal Plaza Hotel in DTD just before 2:00 PM on Friday (how cool is that!?!?!)

We had never driven straight through before, and so both of us felt reeealllly wobbly. Needless to say, we chose not to partake in any alcoholic drinks that day.

I'm a Disney Resort person myself, but our room at the Royal Plaza was BEAUTIFUL. We were on the 15th story, and the view was AMAZING... but I'm terrified of heights. (We will revisit this issue when discussing California Grill.) I was fine with looking out the balcony door (the doors were unable to be opened anyway)... but fun fact about the Royal Plaza:

For the upper-level floors, there is a glass elevator that is actually on the OUTSIDE of the building (and is fast), for "enjoying" the view of DTD.

While DH parked the car, I went up this elevator... refusing to look anywhere but at the door and gripping the front wall for dear life.
When we went outside and I realized the elevator was outside, and that I had indeed ridden in it... I nearly died. If I would have looked while in the elevator, "anxiety attack" would not have described what I would have experienced. So I used the regular elevator from there on in.

We trolled around DTD, and I bought a BUNCH of pins... (eee! you'll notice a trend throughout). I bought so many during our trip however, that I do not really remember which ones I bought that afternoon.

We ate dinner at around 4:00 PM at Raglan Road. I was a little hesitant, because I have been reading some really awful reviews of RR lately. DH and I have during previous trips gone there many, many times to sit at the bar however, and have always wanted to eat dinner. When we went, there was literally nobody there but us and the staff. They seated us promptly; the service was a little slow (uncanny, considering we were THE only customers) but still good. I wish I had pictures of that food... it was incredible! We shared:
Heaven on Earth - baby back ribs in a Guinness and honey glace
which really were Heaven on Earth. They were SO GOOD! And then we each ordered
Keen Eye for the Sheperds Pie - We give the traditional Shepherd's Pie (prime beef and lamb) a much-needed makeover with our contemporary twist to this favorite dish $16.95
Which was amazing. It was like an initiation for our tastebuds: "You've made it, you're in WDW!" I couldn't finish it, but was trying with all of my might.

After that, we walked around West Side for a little bit (and had to deal with some Bank of America issues.... note: it's not enough that you tell BoA that your family is going on vacation. Every member of the family who is going and has their own card must individually present themselves at the branch and tell them they are going on vacation. !!)

We bought a bath bomb at Basin (which I now love), and retreated back to our room to enjoy our jacuzzi, continue being sick and get some sleep.

DH tried to get some photos of our view, sorry they're a little blurry...it was overlooking I-4--we could have overlooked DTD, but that cost more (and BTW, we got a GREAT rate by booking through the Downtown Disney website):

Saturday, January 5th, 2008--Let the Fun Begin!

Since we were sick, I guess we slept a little later than we had planned. I slept like I was unconscious, but I guess we had some rowdy neighbors at the Royal Plaza that kept DH up. We packed up, I tried to get dressed up for our photo session, and we headed excitedly!! to WL.

Our first glimpse of WL:

So we checked in, but they did not have a room available for us yet. I had requested 5032 or something close, but that was not going to happen I believe we were 5085. We left all of our things with bell services and went to eat breakfast. We did not make it to WCC as we had planned (we were short on time), but ate at Roaring Forks.. I had the children's breakfast, which was PLENTY for me. I forget what DH had.
Then we headed to the dock to take the boat to the Magic Kingdom.

I'm easily amused and I LOVE LOVE LOVE water.... so I really enjoyed the boats. It was my first time on a boat at WDW, and really, I was just so.... peaceful! on the boats.

We got to the Magic Kingdom as planned, solely because I was on a mission: to find MVMCP pins!!!! A Dis-er told me to check the pin shop in Frontierland, which made perfect sense to me, because I remember during MNSSHP that is where you could buy the event pins if you presented your wristband. GREAT TIP! I received the last of the Jumbos (I bought 2) and the last of the 4-pin boxed set (I was spending enough.. I only bought 1). There was also a MNSSHP pin, the last of that one... I purchased that one, and I purchased some mystery pins. It was a very expensive stop but VERY WORTH IT! I was ECSTATIC. I also began trading heavily that day.. I had traded a little at DTD, but I was out full-force beginning Saturday. The CMs at that shop were just fantastic, so helpful and friendly.

And so, with our new treasures in hand, we took the boat to the Grand Floridian for our pictures!

It was our first time at the GF and it was simply beautiful (although again with the glass elevators... oy). They were ready for us, and the very nice camera guy took us around the resort for some beautiful pictures. I'll try to set up a place where everyone can look at all of our photos, the photopass ones and the ones we took... but I'll post some samples:

They weren't busy so they really took their time. We looked over the photos there, which looked great, and then we headed to EPCOT for our Nine Dragons ressie.

We got to EPCOT really early and had some time to kill... I remember we still really weren't feeling well, especially me, so I wasn't exactly up for Test Track. We killed some time walking around shops (and pin trading, and pin buying..) and then went to our 2 P.M. ressie. It was our first time at Nine Dragons, and it was really good....

Our Entrees:
DH ordered Sichuan Kung Bao Chicken--Very spicy, he says, but very good.

I ordered the Honey Sesame chicken, which I thought was just amazing.

I remember that right before lunch and during lunch, the feeling crappy reached its peak (at least for me). Erik took a few photos of me during lunch with my "this sucks, I feel crappy at Disney World" face. After lunch, we kept calling and calling WL to ask about our room, which wound up not being ready until the 4p.m. "no later than" time (and we had been told it would probably be done early!) So we killed time in World Showcase, and then headed back to the resort to put our stuff away.

Our room was really nice... I was a little disappointed that the "Woods View" contained a lot of parking lot, but I could also see the Contemporary and, at night, part of Wishes.. so that was nice. I was happy to be "home." In normal hotel rooms, I feel anxious, uncomfortable, and I often can't sleep (Royal Plaza included. Yes, I have issues.) This never happens at WDW...and I immediately felt at home in our room. Loving the flat screen TV!

After we settled in, we headed to MGM to see the Spectacle of Lights. I was really, really feeling crappy at this point. I changed out of my dress and sandals thank goodness, and so I was at least more comfortable. It had started to rain a little bit, but nothing major.

MGM (and the MK) were still decorated for the holidays, so that was nice. We headed straight for the Spectacle of Lights display, which was our first time seeing it... it was AMAZING, but because of the "rain," the lights were not going to dance! I hate to admit it, but I was very upset :-( It was our only chance to see them. But, it was very pretty.

We got a bunch of photopass pictures, rode the Great Movie Ride, I briefly hunted SoL pins (to no avail), and we headed back to the resort instead of seeing Fantasmic because I felt like death at this point and was sure I would not make it to the bus stop before my final breath.

When we got back to the resort, I grabbed a hot chocolate and from the dock at WL we watched the Electrical Water Pageant for the first time! It was cute.

And I believe we headed off to bed!! I will start the next day on a separate reply,because I don't know how long of a post I can make at one time.