Episode 2: The agony and the ecstasy of the Magical Express
Well here we were, flying the friendly skies and I made a startling revelation- I had no one to entertain! And I had the seat all to myself! Usually we fly with DS as a lap baby, yes I am a bad parent, of course I do not value my child more than the airplane coffee pot, and yes I do think he would make a wonderful airbag- being so soft and squishy. Did I miss any of the usual criticisms of parents of lap children tossed around here on the DIS? If I did, feel free to insert them here
Ok, all set! Anyway, I had not really thought about what I would do on the airplane without DS. Flying with Everett is a full body affair. You need to grow about six extra arms to keep him contained, and you need to be fully mentally engaged to keep him entertained and to head off any potential meltdowns.
Needless to say I have never been bored on a flight since DS came along.
But now, Im settled in, and for a brief moment I have no idea what to do- what do people do on airplanes when they not flying with the baby equivalent of a sack of weasels?
They RELAX! Oh yes, this is what people do! Immediately it all came rushing back and I reclined my seat, got out my book and immersed myself in a juicy historical thriller all the way to MCO.
When you don't have a baby to corral, you've got hands free to take pictures too!
I even got to partake of the complimentary beverage service, who would have ever thought a simple glass of ginger ale would feel so indulgent.
Once the flight was over we headed in the general direction of Magical Express.
first up- the fauxnorail!
Dh looks thrilled
I, on the other hand, am much happier
Now this was a point of contention between DH and I in the days leading up to the vacation. I wanted to take a taxi and he insisted on Magical Express. Normally I dont have a problem at all with Magical Express. In fact it appeals to me because the nerd in me loves to make comparisons between a Disney trip and a traditional rite of passage or pilgrimage. I view the trip from your home to Disney as the liminal phase, when you pass from the profane into the sacred, and I love the imagery of the magical express as being the final phase of the journey, since in incorporates elements of the profane (run by MEARS transportation) and the sacred (Disney imagery on the bus, Disney video playing inside)- bored yet?
However- when my time in the sacred realm is limited to only two days, I would rather eschew all those fun comparisons in favor of a much faster, much more profane, yellow taxi.
DH was not buying this- not because he buys into my crazy theories- but because he is cheap and Magical Express is free. I tried my hardest to convince him, but he would not budge. I decided that if I didnt press the issue, perhaps hed be more easy going with the wads of cash I intended to burn through at the food and wine festival, so Magical Express it was.
on the way to Magical Express we saw this super fun themed baggage claim!
We moved through fairly quickly, since we remembered our packet, and soon we were in about to board the bus.
if you remember your packet, you don't ever have to visit this desk!
As a side note, while we were waiting a trailer for the movie Spooky Buddies was playing on the flat screens, and I took much glee in pointing it out to DH. He has an irrational hatred of puppies dressed up in costumes, and whenever we run across a commercial or advertisement for the film (which seem to be everywhere) always says that he will never watch that movie. Guess what I got DS for Halloween- I am so evil!
The bus pulled up quickly, and we all loaded on. It was a pretty busy morning at ole Magical Express, but everything seemed to be running smoothly, and before long everyone and everything was loaded. Now all there was to do was wait! I was crossing my fingers and praying to the Disney gods that wed be the first stop. This was in direct opposition to our last ME trip where I was praying to be the last stop. I guess the Disney gods dont like me much, because both times I was thwarted.
The driver got on and let us know that wed be going to Caribbean Beach, Pop Century and AKL, in that order. Well, at least I would get to see the whole video, right?
Now I was hoping for a quick and quiet trip to the World, but unfortunately the first item on my list was shot, and I was soon to discover that I was out of luck on the second as well. As soon as we got moving the people behind us started talking, very loudly, about Florida politics.
Now there are lots of things I love about Florida, I love the weather, the beaches, the palm trees, that no one is actually from Florida, that all the roads are straight and flat, etc., but one thing I do not love is Florida politics.
To give you a recent example the Governor of Florida said recently in an interview that the state has enough anthropology majors and that he would like to remove university funding for programs like anthropology and give it to programs like engineering and technology. Well, as someone who holds a masters degree in anthropology from a Florida state university, and who went on to be gainfully employed in her field in the state of Florida, I took some offense. I know that technology and engineering are important and all- but does the Governor not realize how often those jobs are being outsourced! I would like to see someone try outsourcing an archaeological dig to India. That would be one heck of a long shovel!
Anyway- as you can see, the last thing I wanted to hear or think about on my vacation was politics. I tried plugging my ears, but little bits would keep sinking in
.blah, blah, blah,
.straw poll
.blah, blah, blah, re-election campaign
..blah, blah, blah,
ahhhhhh! somebody get me off this bus!!
Luckily I wasn't too distracted to snap this picture!
We pulled up to Caribbean Beach- the politicos remained
We went on to Pop- still on the bus
Now we were at AKL, and all I could think about was escape!
BUT- we still had to go to Kindani Village- and finally my beltway insider friends disembarked, whew!
Now as we pulled into Jambo house I was able to sit back and relax and not worry about anything bursting my vacation bubble. No worries, no outside thoughts, no current events, just Disney!
I was thrilled to be pulling into Jambo house, my home for the next two nights. I have always dreamed of staying at AKL, being a huge animal lover, but my family would never agree. They think it is too far removed from the action, and they are just not as excited about savannah views as I am.
Now most of the DVC rooms at AKL are at Kindani Village, but there are a few at Jambo house and that is where we were staying. When I called member services and found out there was space, the CM I talked to made it sound like Jambo house was the least popular of the two choices, but I actually really liked it. I think if I have the choice in the future I would choose Jambo over Kindani, because I liked being part of the main hotel with that big gorgeous lobby, and I liked having the quick service place, the Mara, right downstairs.
Check in was also really easy at Jambo house, it looks like they were training some new CMs, so the seasoned veteran CM was really going above and beyond, I guess to show the "newbie" CM what excellent customer service looks like.
The duo met us coming off the bus, and walked us right to the check-in desk. They were going above and beyond and it was very nice bit it did border on comical.
Once we were in line they were asking us if there was anything else they could do, tickets, dining reservations, park hours, maps, and I told them that I did need a new annual pass and I thought I could get it over at the concierge desk.
The dynamic duo thought about this for a second, and then said the seasoned veteran had the "newbie" run over to ask if that was indeed possible. When we got the all clear, I thanked them profusely for their help, and they went to find some new people to help.
Once we got up to the check in desk and the process was going smoothly, I left DH to finish up and I went over to get my new AP. The CM at the concierge desk was also super helpful and efficient and while she was getting everything together and my new AP printed out we spent some time chatting about Jacksonville and about a trip she was planning on taking up to Amelia Island.
I was very pleased to see that my new AP was on a hard plastic card, just like a KTTWC. I initially was very excited about this, because I seem to demagnetize my paper ticket at least once a vacation, but what I did not anticipate was confusing the two cards, and spending the majority of the vacation using my room key in fastpass machines, and my park ticket to try and buy mickey bars!
Before I was even finished DH came over to meet me, and with the good news that our room was all ready! We were in the Kudu trail (which was interesting because we didnt see a single kudu) and we had a top floor room. I didnt make any room requests, but both of those sounded pretty great so we were off to drop off the luggage, and take our first glimpses of the savannah!
Up next- who needs the park when you have zebras!
Nothing worse than people who can't manage to put their luggage into an overhead bin or people who think the rules don't apply to them. 
I'm looking forward to the rest of the TR!
That seems like overstepping... I think it makes sense. You know the kid can't do too much you don't know about if they're on your lap, plus there's room for another passenger on the flight. Just seems like it makes sense to me but... moving on...
