No cats to herd this time! It's just the two of us!UPDATED 11/24-DIS Meet & Departure

[kaysmommie]

Welcome home Nichole! It was so nice meeting you as well! I feel the same way about the husbands - I was glad Shawn was able to meet some of you too! I'm so sorry you guys had all that rain - I was thinking of you guys the whole week and wondering how cold it must have felt. Were the parks pretty empty though? Did you get to really experience a "resort" trip? I hope you managed to have fun, but I'm sure you want to throw your ponchos in the trash!

Sara

Yes it was cold rain and we were inside way more than I would have liked. We did manage to have fun still, how can you not have fun at Disney. The parks were still busy and if the rain let up then it seemed like they were mobbed. The good part is maybe well get back sooner .

So glad you started your TR. I don't like flying either it will be driving for us from now on. Nothing wrong with coloring on the plane . Wondering how you liked ME and looking forward to your Poly pics.

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Sounds like your off to a good start. We fly out of Newport News too. Where are you guys from?

 

[mom2mek]

Yay for your first installment! Can't wait to hear about your Magical Express experience. And I had to laugh when I read about stopping at Chik-Fil-A!

OMG Jill! I totally forgot about that when I was writing this up! How funny!!

Can't wait to hear all about the Poly....Kathy

Seriously Kathy, what is with men and not letting us know of the stuff they need before a trip? I mean this was the MORNING of departure....sigh Hoping to get to the Poly - have to see how far I can get with only my pics as Shawn hasn't taken his pics off his laptop yet for me to upload.

Woo Hoo - you started! Shawn does look relaxed in that first picture! And I was cracking up at the pictures you two took of each other "working"! Can't wait to see how you liked Magical Express!

LOL Michelle! I couldn't believe he got his laptop out and started working at the airport.

Magical Express coming right up....

You know you've arrived when you see your first palm tree.
Can't wait to see that beautiful Polynesian Resort coming up!

I will confess, we always buy new socks and undies, too, even if we have plenty at home. It's just a habit we've gotten into, so it just feels like what we're supposed to do now after so many times.

Well, I'm the same way about small size toiletries! Always feels like vacation when you have those little bottles going across the checkout conveyor belt!

Enjoying the trip so far, glad to hear you two are silly too! We (myself & my husband Shawn) are a bit silly too! It is great - it keeps our life together fun.

My Husband always buys new socks & undies too! I always buy new shirts, guess we are like that but I usually need the shirts.

I also get scared on airplanes and I get motion sickness.

Can't wait to hear more! Tina

Well, I admit...I did go shopping for some new shirts before the trip. Had capris and jeans, but all my shirts looked too blah for a vacation at the Poly!

We definitely do try to have fun together!

Yes it was cold rain and we were inside way more than I would have liked. We did manage to have fun still, how can you not have fun at Disney. The parks were still busy and if the rain let up then it seemed like they were mobbed. The good part is maybe well get back sooner .

So glad you started your TR. I don't like flying either it will be driving for us from now on. Nothing wrong with coloring on the plane . Wondering how you liked ME and looking forward to your Poly pics.

Ooo...Oooo...SOONER? Cool!
Can't wait to read about your trip!

ME up next....

Sounds like your off to a good start. We fly out of Newport News too. Where are you guys from?

We love flying out of Newport News - the place is so convenient and small, you never have to go far and it never takes long to get off the plane, in your car, and on the way back home! They could use a decent spot to eat/drink...for a while they just had that one giftshop that also doubled as a Burger King! Now at least they have that separate gift shop and food stand, but still...it's pretty lacking in offerings!

We live right on the southside of the Monitor Merrimac Tunnel. So it's about the same distance for us to go to Newport News as it is to go to Norfolk, but we flew out of Norfolk for our October trip since we flew Southwest.

You don't have long until your trip!!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Day 1 - Wednesday, May 13th

Part 1 - A Magical Journey!

We found the way to Magical Express fairly easy waaayyyy at the end of the terminal and saw virtually NO ONE around other than about 10 different CMs.

There was one party that had just come in from the bus and they were asking questions about getting TO the plane gate, but other than that, no one else was there. We walked right up to the first person standing there, she told us where to go next, so off we went to the next person, who scribbled something on our little vouchers, told us "line 4, please....and have a magical day!" Okey dokey...we will!

We walked up to our line and we were first in line! Woo-hoo! Did we get a fastpass for the magical express without my knowledge? LOL! Of course, it dawned on me at that point that having NO line probably meant that we had JUST missed a bus for our set of resorts. Drat. Wonder how long that will take?

No worries, we were feeling pretty happy!

Shawn was really digging this whole "not worrying about our luggage" thing....it was truly making this a vacation for him. I have heard many things about the ME, both good and bad, but so far, it was all good for Sara and Shawn! I snapped this quick picture of the "line" behind us!

Shawn apparently wanted to remind me where we were staying....

I have to mention how freakin' excited I was that everything was going so smoothly! I mean, Disney is MY happy place, don't get me wrong....Shawn likes it too, but well...you know how it is.... I just wanted everything to work well so that someday, possibly, he might love it just as much as me. I really wanted this first onsite trip to work seamlessly, without any problems so that going back sooner rather than later wouldn't be a problem.


So we stood and waited.


And stood.



And waited.




Uh-oh.


They let the line to the right of us get on their bus. Then the line to the left of us got on their bus. Slowly but surely I started getting worried that maybe the Magic Kingdom resorts were just not that well booked and that maybe we would be standing there a while.

Well, I was wrong. We waited in total about 15 minutes. Not too shabby. Shawn seemed pleased. I don't know why I was worried. Trip planner pressure, I suppose!

My first Magical Express.... The bus is so cute!

We got on the bus, and picked a second row of seats behind the driver. I had the Chick-Fil-A in my carry-on bag and I didn't want to be munching down right behind the driver. But I wanted to be as close to the front as possible, so that we could be one of the first ones off! We sat back in our lovely seats and broke out the grub. I had some nuggets and a Diet Coke, and Shawn got a sandwich combo. I realized after eating the first nugget, that I had forgotten to put the Purell on my hands. Ahhh!!! Shawn said I should put some on my tongue!

After we were properly sanitized, we basically scarfed down our food before the bus driver got back on the bus! So I'm thinking another 10 minutes or so must have gone by before we actually left the airport. We were eating very fast!

I made a call home to let my Mom know we had made it to Orlando safe and sound and were on the bus ready to go. I was so happy to be there!! A sense of relaxation actually hit me....something I have never felt upon arrival at the airport with our usual "herd". Hmmm....there's something to these couples trips! Might have to make this a more regular thing!

A family of four got on and the mother sat in front of us, the dad next to us, and the two kids sat in front of him. Don't ask me why the parents didn't sit together....IDK....but they kind of made me a little sad, because they didn't look like they were just getting ready to START a vacation...they looked a little tired and frazzled already. I hope that improved. The kids of course, were raring to go and were talking REALLY LOUDLY about when the movie was going to start, when they were going to be there, where the bus driver was, blah blah blah....

Eventually our driver, Joe, climbed aboard, listed the resorts we were headed to, and asked if there were any newlyweds on board. No one responded, so Shawn yelled out that we were a couple of "oldieweds"! LOL! Then we started off on our journey! The driver had a cute little Winnie the Pooh hanging in the corner right above him, just looking over all of us - he was cute. The driver attempted some humor and Shawn and I found it very endearing!

So far, this Magical Express thing was proving to be very magical indeed!

But why, oh why, does it feel that the bus is going about 3 miles per hour for the first 15 minutes of the trip? I know we weren't....but those big machines feel like they are going SO SLOW!!!

Eventually, about 5 minutes after leaving the airport, the movie started.

I loved it! I thought it was adorable. Of course it didn't dawn on me to videotape some of it until it was almost over....so here is all I got:


(yes, that would be us laughing at our stupid selves, for not realizing that it was almost over when it dawned on us to take a little video...)

The other thing that got me laughing was just as we were getting to the "sign" shot....the driver pulled the blind! I'm all about the safety when driving and of course I want him to not be blinded by the sunlight...but come on, man!! A few more seconds wouldn't have killed you, would it?

I still managed to get this:

Woo-hoo! We're here! We're here!

Shawn enjoyed our first "ride" of the trip, his only question was "will there be a giftshop when we get off the ride"? I mean, that's what Disney does, right? Exit right into the very appropriately placed giftshop?

Not too long after that, we were seeing the Magic Kingdom sign!

And then the resort sign:

So, who will be first? We were headed to the Poly, the Contemporary, and the Grand Floridian....(no WL folks on the bus)....so which resort would be lucky number 1?

Sara

 

[KathyRN137]

..."Oldieweds"...

So glad your hubby's feelin' the magic already!

(I would've completely forgotton about taping the movie, too!")


Kathy

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Sounds like you "oldieweds" are off to a great start!

I'm so glad Magical Express worked fro you guys! Can't wait for your Polynesian arrival!

 

[kaysmommie]

You sure lucked out with ME! Sounds like you had a magical experience. I wish I had taken a picture of our line and wait . Leanne will be able to tell you since we arrived on the same flight. The airport and ME is totally different on a Saturday morning I guess. Sad about the family with the DW and DH sitting in different seats. Looking forward to your arrival at the Poly .

 

[DisneyJo]

So pleased you arrived safely and didn't upgrade yourself

It must feel so good to be on that ME bus headed to the Poly, I hope you're number 1

 

[mom2mek]

..."Oldieweds"...

So glad your hubby's feelin' the magic already!

(I would've completely forgotton about taping the movie, too!")


Kathy

Yeah Kathy, in that picture of Shawn he sure does look like he is indeed "feeling" the magic...LOL! I forgot to mention that he had a bloody mary on the plane!

I couldn't believe that I forgot to tape at least SOME of that dang movie - I was really looking forward to it and I guess I just plum forgot!

Sounds like you "oldieweds" are off to a great start!

I'm so glad Magical Express worked fro you guys! Can't wait for your Polynesian arrival!

It was a big success for us this trip!

You sure lucked out with ME! Sounds like you had a magical experience. I wish I had taken a picture of our line and wait . Leanne will be able to tell you since we arrived on the same flight. The airport and ME is totally different on a Saturday morning I guess. Sad about the family with the DW and DH sitting in different seats. Looking forward to your arrival at the Poly .

Yes, I think that arriving on a Wednesday afternoon probably did have something to do with the low crowds! I can imagine that a Saturday afternoon is pretty busy!

Yeah, I kinda felt bad for them that they didn't seem to be having that good a time - I mean it was the START of their vacation - they couldn't have been THAT annoyed with the kids or eachother yet, right?

So pleased you arrived safely and didn't upgrade yourself

It must feel so good to be on that ME bus headed to the Poly, I hope you're number 1

Woo-hoo! It did feel good to be on that bus, Jo! It was a big selling point to Shawn for staying onsite!

Sara

 

[mrsksomeday]

I am loving this TR!! We love ME, it always gets us excited for the adventures that lay ahead. I have been in a funk about life lately, but you are helping me with all this Poly talk. I can't wait to see what pictures you got when you got to the resort!

 

[MeMom]

One of my former students and his family left for WDW this morning. One of the things I have pictured today is them on the Magical Express watching the movie and getting all excited. Your ride helped me envision them even more, so I'm glad I checked in to read and see this.

So far, it looks like the mom and dad only trip is worthy of one of these - !

 

[mom2mek]

I am loving this TR!! We love ME, it always gets us excited for the adventures that lay ahead. I have been in a funk about life lately, but you are helping me with all this Poly talk. I can't wait to see what pictures you got when you got to the resort!

Thanks Tracy! Magical Express could not have gone more smoothly for us! I was so happy!

I hope you can get out of your funk.....I think you will love the Poly! It truly did feel like 2 vacations - one at Disney, and one in a Hawaiian getaway!!

One of my former students and his family left for WDW this morning. One of the things I have pictured today is them on the Magical Express watching the movie and getting all excited. Your ride helped me envision them even more, so I'm glad I checked in to read and see this.

So far, it looks like the mom and dad only trip is worthy of one of these - !

SO, it must have been my REALLY GOOD video that made you envision all of that, huh? I hope your friend's experience was as nice as ours!

Mom and Dad trip = happy

Sara

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Hi Sara!

I decided to head over and read your report....but I need to start at the beginning so I'll be back later to comment!

Off to catch up!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I'm still only on page 2, but I wanted to comment about a couple of things.

First...your children are entirely too cute! What a blessed mommy you are!

Second....the picture above is absolutely priceless! It looks like they are sharing a private joke. I love it! (I so needed a girl so I could have a princess! Oh well!)

Third....I too drank the Kool-Aid and drank it long and good! I understand the feeling of having to censor Disney-speak in front of non-believers. This board is a total gift to those of us who "get it"!

Last...I think I am going to try to convince DH (Jeff) that we should go back to Disney for our 20th anniversary in 2012. It's a long way off, but I think we are going to try to do a major remodel/addition on the house, so that may put a damper on Disney funds for a few years. 2012 should be perfect and I am looking forward to hearing about your romantic trip! Are your kids upset that you are going without them? Mine will be 17, 15, and 12 by then so I'm sure they'll get over it!


Great report...awesome pics...glad I came over! Back to page 3!

 

[mom2mek]

Hi Sara!

I decided to head over and read your report....but I need to start at the beginning so I'll be back later to comment!

Off to catch up!

Hi Missy! Great to have you over!

I'm still only on page 2, but I wanted to comment about a couple of things.

First...your children are entirely too cute! What a blessed mommy you are!

Second....the picture above is absolutely priceless! It looks like they are sharing a private joke. I love it! (I so needed a girl so I could have a princess! Oh well!)

Third....I too drank the Kool-Aid and drank it long and good! I understand the feeling of having to censor Disney-speak in front of non-believers. This board is a total gift to those of us who "get it"!

Last...I think I am going to try to convince DH (Jeff) that we should go back to Disney for our 20th anniversary in 2012. It's a long way off, but I think we are going to try to do a major remodel/addition on the house, so that may put a damper on Disney funds for a few years. 2012 should be perfect and I am looking forward to hearing about your romantic trip! Are your kids upset that you are going without them? Mine will be 17, 15, and 12 by then so I'm sure they'll get over it!

Great report...awesome pics...glad I came over! Back to page 3!

Thanks Missy! I do feel very blessed...each and every day (even these last few days dealing with this dang stomach bug that is running through each of them...)

That is one of my favorite pics too! I can't remember what she said to him, but he really started laughing, and then she got all shy! So cute!

Yes, the DIS is certainly a gift for those of us who love it and need to talk about it....people just look at me funny when I notice hidden mickeys in chicken nuggets at Wendy's...silly non-disney people!

Couples trips are great - I highly recommend it if you can do it! My kids only know I went to Florida, not necessarily that it was a DISNEY trip....however, they all asked me if I rode any rides... so maybe they just relate Florida to Disney, and made that assumption all on their own. They seemed fine as they got to stay at Grandmommy and Pop Pop's house - that was like a vacation for them!

Thanks for reading....I hope to have the next part up soon!

Sara

 

[kaysmommie]

That is and adorable picture of Emily . Are the kids feeling better? it's just awful when they are sick and we can't take it away. Kaylee started having some tummy trouble yesterday too. I think from the pool party she went to on Saturday. No throwing up though so far. Thomas now has a bit of a cold, no fever. Well they were healthy when we got back. I'm patiently awaiting your Poly update and pics .

 

[lovebuzzandwoody]

I'm here! I'm here!
Fashionably late?

Can't wait to see your Poly pics!

 

[mom2mek]

That is and adorable picture of Emily . Are the kids feeling better? it's just awful when they are sick and we can't take it away. Kaylee started having some tummy trouble yesterday too. I think from the pool party she went to on Saturday. No throwing up though so far. Thomas now has a bit of a cold, no fever. Well they were healthy when we got back. I'm patiently awaiting your Poly update and pics .

Hi Nichole! Well, I thought they were better, but Emily got sick this morning around 2 AM! Walked in the bathroom and the sweet little thing is holding her own hair back! I hope Kaylee's isn't anything serious and yucky like this. I'm certainly glad they didn't get sick when we were out of town, I was already feeling really guilty by the end of the trip! That would have made it even worse.

I'm here! I'm here!
Fashionably late?

Can't wait to see your Poly pics!

Yay! Hi Nicole! SO glad you popped over!!

I hope to get Shawn to give me his Poly pics, because the ones I took with my camera aren't that great. I hate to continue on without his pics, but I might just have to.... He just doesn't understand the urgency of my trip-reporter self! (yes, I'll blame my tardiness on him....that's how I roll...)

Sara

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I'm all caught up and ready to go!

We have used ME for both of our trips and we LOVE it. It has always been magical! Glad it was for you too!

I am so excited to hear about your stay at the Poly. We ate at 'Ohana and it looks like an absolutely gorgeous resort. Perfect for a romantic trip!

Keep the installments coming! Tell Shawn we are not patient people! LOL!

 

[mom2mek]

I'm all caught up and ready to go!

We have used ME for both of our trips and we LOVE it. It has always been magical! Glad it was for you too!

I am so excited to hear about your stay at the Poly. We ate at 'Ohana and it looks like an absolutely gorgeous resort. Perfect for a romantic trip!

Keep the installments coming! Tell Shawn we are not patient people! LOL!

Yes, we were very pleased with Magical Express - I don't think it could have gone any more smoothly...bad thing about that is we have very high expectations for next time....

The Poly was fabulous!

Eating at Ohana and Kona on our trip in October is what "sold" us on the idea of wanting to stay there!

Update coming up shortly...

Sara