gopherit
I'm not in the book, you know.
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2003
On the Sixth Day of Disney, Mickey gave to me:
Six panting pirates,
Five Prin- cess- essssssssssss!!!!!
Four soggy swimmers,
Third place on Millionaire,
Two rooms at Boardwalk,
And a night in the BCV!
Cast of Characters:
Cindy (thats me, 37 yr old Mom, obsessive-compulsive planner of these trips!)
Rich (DH, 38 yrs young Dad, basically wonderful and easy going, but occasionally known to slip into the less-loved persona, Mr. How Much is This Going to Cost Me?)
Evan (9 yrs old, our deep thinker and comfort seeker)
Ryan (8 yrs old, our tireless spark on an endless thrill quest)
Caroline (4 yrs old and already has the role of drama queen mastered!)
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE SECOND DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE THIRD DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FOURTH DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIFTH DAY!
THE SIXTH DAY
The kids were delighted to find they each had a new friend in their fairy bags this morning Zazu. After all, no pirate is complete without a trusty feathered sidekick! I have now elevated myself to Most Highly Revered Fairy of the Decade. BIL was balking heavily at being left with the baby this morning. SIL and I just looked at him and thought Hmmm, you stayed out all night sans the kids for E-ride, and now were getting up early to get 4 kids fed and dressed, then get them all the way across Disney to their cruise, then bringing them back a good 3-hours-of-solitude-for-you later, and you, in turn, have to sleep in with this ever-so-good-natured baby. Gee, it sucks to be you sometimes, dont it. (Insert a roll-eyes smiley here if you wish )
We left with what we considered to be plenty of time to spare; I figured we could put my nephews car seat in my van and drive on over. Except now there was a hitch in my grand master plan: SIL didnt have a car seat for him, they had simply used one from the limo service. The seat I thought was his was actually the babys seat, and was a bit too small for my nephew. Ugh. Shows how much I know! So we race over to the bus stop. I asked the bus driver if our best shot at getting to the Grand Floridian was via monorail at MK. The driver (who must have been having a really bad day because she had all the charisma of a dirty diaper) stared straight ahead, and without so much as even looking at me, muttered a monosyllabic yes. O-kayyyyy . Well just do what we can here, folks not gonna panic, were gonna make it and laugh about this later, right? Or at least thats what I told the kids. Meanwhile Im tallying up the cost of my 3 pirates for a missed cruise 90 bucks yowch. As we approach MK, SIL has a brain flash and says, Hey what about the boat? By Jove shes on to something. This would at least put us near the marina so we didnt have to hoof it through the GF resort. So we scooped up the kids off the bus and ran like bandits to catch the next boat which of course took off without us. Well double wah now. Im starting to pace at this point and in our desperation, all 6 of us were turning into REAL pirates, ready to accost the next vessel headed to sea! We spy a ship on the horizon but it seemed like it was taking forever to get to us. Ahoy, ye scurvy swabs! Make haste for the dock we gots a pirate cruise to make and 90 dollars of me booty and 30 of me mates all hangs in the balance! Our necks in a noose get ye ship together and MOVE IT, sez I!
Ahem. So we board the ship and take places in the front. A woman overhears me telling the kids that upon docking we must run like the wind towards the marina and take no prisoners! She points out a short-cut for me across the lawn (God bless ye kindly, lady fair!) SIL agrees to bring the young buccaneers with her whilst I sprint for the marina. Argghhh me not used to sprintin but me do my "mudder of 3" best
I dodge the sprinkler heads like Im doing a shiply jig, and arrive quite winded but intact at the check-in desk.
May I help you? says the clerk.
Suppressing a mighty Arrgghh! I instead took a deep breath and exhaled the words, Kirshner, party of six umm, I mean 4. Its now I remember this is an event for the KIDS Im not actually going. (Gee all that work to get here, and now Im gonna get ditched at port. I guess SIL and I will have to live vicariously through them and their tales of the high seas... arggghhhh). I signed the release form and by this time, SIL had arrived with the real pirates, and already had them "tagged" and ear-ed. (To clarify, thats name tags and pirate-bandana Mickey Mouse ears). We went to get life preservers for the kids and instantly wished we had just brought the ones we already had for the 2 smallest pirates. The only ones left at the marina were the type that just go over the head (not the vest-type). Caroline, of course, thought this one was cool because, Look, Mom it comes with its own pillow in back! The boys had vests, so it appeared that the only shortage was in the smaller sizes. They paired up the pirates in twos Evan took Carolines hand and said, You can be my partner while Ryan teamed up with his cousin. They all seemed happy with the deal. Evan felt like he was there to supervise more so than to play I could see that he felt very much like the Big Brother going along with this corny shenanigan for little sisters sake. He is in a difficult age feeling too old for pirates, but still not so old that he doesnt appreciate a tiny umbrella in his drink. Go figure. I just hoped he would allow himself to have fun on the cruise and not feel like he was there to supervise or assist the leaders, or worse, be Captain Superior, Lord of the Pirates and All That He Sees. Funny how hanging out with a bunch of people half your age can suddenly make a child feel all-powerful, whereas with adults, it just makes us feel well, twice as old!
They gave all the parents pagers, delivered some safety instructions to the pirates, and loaded the kids onto the pontoon boat. The leader of the cruise said, We may have to wrestle a croc or two! (To which this one rebel kid on the ship interrupted with a loud, Yeah lets do it!) The leader then said, And if we arent careful, we may run into some enemy ships and have to do battle! (And again this kid yells out, Yeah lets do it!) And the leader then adds, And ye dont want to be a mis-behavin, cause then we may just make ye walk the PLANK! (And so AGAIN, this kid, still feeling unnoticed, I presume, hollers out, YEAH! LETS DO IT!) And it is precisely then I clearly hear my own son (Evan) holler back, SURE how about we send YOU first! And then his distinct "I'm so funny I crack me up" laugh. I cringed. Captain Superior has come aboard, matees.
(Sit back, Evan let the leaders handle that kid, I thought.) With a toot and a goodbye, the cruise set sail while SIL and I waved them out of port. We then sort of wandered through GF aimlessly like 2 lost sailors, finally arriving at the DVC desk inside a GF lobby area. SIL had expressed interest before (this was their second trip with us since we had become members back in 99), so I simply commented, Well, there ya go anything you want to know, heres the place. She and I chatted with the DVC rep for a while about everything from the resorts to the weather. He didnt seem to phased by the reports on Charley, despite the fact it now did seem headed for the near vicinity (Tampa) by the next night. SIL set up a visit date for Sunday at SSR. That was to be our DTD day anyway, so it seemed like good timing. We then decided we deserved a treat for all our huffing and puffing this morning, so we wandered over to the Grand Floridian Café. It was about 9:45 and they were serving breakfast; we were immediately seated by a lovely window-side table. The place looked empty, except for a family next to us. The man at that table had a plate of wonderful looking peppers, onions, and such we believe it was the corned beef hash. As tasty as it looked, however, I wasnt sure I wanted to be chirping that pungent flavor all day long, so I took mercy on my travel mates and got the French Toast instead. SIL got an omelet. Service here was excellent so very swift and considerate, although for the life of me I cannot recall the mans name that waited on us. The food was great, too my French Toast was made with challah bread and I scarfed down every last delicious bite. We chatted about DVC, vacations, the kids, and noted how much our hubbys both seemed to enjoy the Disney life. At about 10:45 we made our way back towards the marina to watch the ship come in, so to speak. Well, actually, we could HEAR it before we saw it. In the distance, but growing ever stronger, echoed the following chant: Yoho, yoho, a pirates life for me - ARGGHHHHH! (with very great emphasis on the Arghh part!) The ship docked and the leader ceremoniously opened up the treasure chest, which was filled with silver paper booty bags one for each pirate. They called each pirate by name to claim his/her treasure. It certainly seemed like they had a good time, all smiles as they exited the boat! Our 4 little brigands eagerly tore into their sacks, which were filled with rubber amphibians, gold coins (dubloons?), jewels, rings, and beads, a treasure chest, some candy (which was so quickly eaten so I cant even recall what kind it was!) and perhaps the biggest hit with our crew large fuzzy spiders. The kids talked excitedly of their adventures. Evan commented that since he was among the biggest and strongest on the crew, according to the leaders of the cruise, he was allowed to bring in the treasure chest. Ah, sounds like they have dealt with other Captain Superiors before and already had a job jussst right for him. I was glad that he had allowed himself to ENJOY the festivities I dread the day he will be too cool for such fantasy play. But for today, he was like a Lost Boy, enjoying the journey he had taken, leaving if for a little while his worldy 4th grade self behind him!
The kids talked about all their ports of call, noting that while on the cruise, a police boat put on its sirens and tracked them down. The police saw their treasure chest and wanted it, but the leaders struck a deal and offered them some of the lunch instead. It was then we discovered that the police should have stuck around a bit longer if they were still hungry, because it appeared there was quite a bit of lunch left in each pirates meal bag. Apparently, none of them cared for Uncrustables PB&J. So we herded our motley ear-wearing crew onto the boat, then the bus, then straight to the room at BWV for some lunch. They were hot from their travels and eager to hit the pool, so DH took them down to Luna Park pool. I joined them a half hour later, but noticing the time, I realized we would all need to head upstairs soon if we were going to make those HoopDeeDoo reservations! Our party size dictated that I get to Pioneer Hall by 4:30 pm to pick up the tickets, so when SIL started heading out of the pool area at 3:10 with the baby, I joined her. We got to the door of the villa and realized hey, our key doesnt work! Turns out we had brought our old keys to the BEACH CLUB. All keys may look the same, but they are NOT created equally, I assure you. So SIL races back down to the pool and grabs BILs key, gets back to the villa and oh no its a BCV key also, as we now could quickly tell just by looking at the date! The keys all had Tinkerbelle on the front (and I swear her smile right at that moment was mocking us, I just know it). So we plodded on down to the front desk, where, in our damp pool attire, though shrouded with towels, we instantly felt very, very out of place. All these convention folks were busy checking out, in their business finery. Surrounded by all these folks, along with the BW lobby of gold, glass and brass, I felt very naked, like showing up for school with only your underwear and a pencil box for cover! I was feeling like a bad scene from the Beverly Hillbillies when we approached the desk. Howdy, Maam me and sis here and the younguns been down at the Cee-ment pond and we done lost our door doohickee (No, I didnt really say that to the lady behind the desk but Ill bet she took one look at us and THOUGHT it.)
Anyway so we finally get some replacement keys and head up to find the rest of the gang now pounding on the doors. I guess they thought we were ignoring them? I must now do the mad dash of getting ready in order to make our ressies. Why oh why does this keep happening today, I wonder, as I throw myself together! Since without tickets there will be no dinner, I decide to ditch the crew and forge out for Fort Wilderness solo. Ill make better time with less frustration, and it buys them an added 10 or 15 minutes. But they dont seem to be moving at the frantic pace Im moving knowing our track record to date, I give very emphatic directions to the crew as I exit HURRY UP! It ALWAYS takes longer than you think! (Or at least, today it sure does!)
I got to the bus stop and amazingly the MK bus pulled right up like it knew I was coming. We went straight to MK, during which time I had a lovely conversation with the bus driver. Got out at MK and I raced over to the boat dock alas, however, the ship had sailed (ah, the sad, sad story of my life.) I did manage to catch the next one, and of course, it had to stop at Wilderness Lodge first, then FW. By now I had the luxury of all of 3 minutes to spare! We docked at FW and I raced up the road to the check-in desk. With tickets in hand, I breathed an immediate large sigh of relief whew. I had reserved this dinner about 14 months ago by golly I wasnt about to lose it now! The CMs were directing the people who had begun to gather for the 5 pm seating towards a photo area. Hmmmm looks like we might miss out on this, if the gang doesnt show soon on the one hand, that was one less expense to worry about, on the other, a momento opportunity missed. I toy briefly with the idea of having them take a shot of just me, as a joke to the group. I could see the photo guy now, bringing the pictures around, and at our table, he presents a photo package of ME, in 3-d sensaround, standing tall at the wagon wheel with nobody else, just my big smilin mug ready for all my fans to purchase will that be cash or credit? I am laughing hard now at the image oops, I did that aloud, didnt I that would explain why people are staring at me back to your lives, citizens, just a crazy lady here whose party hasn't shown up yet. Pity me if you must.
Standing there alone with tickets in hand, and no one to celebrate it with, I did what most any woman would I shopped. I walked down to the little FW store and wandered around a bit, finally selecting some small goodies for the kids. I knew at least one of the kids did not like strawberry shortcake such as the HDDR serves for dessert, and I thought a little goody might be nice for the trip home. I chose some items quickly and got in line. A woman of very limited English was at the head of the line, asking for a roll of quarters and 50 pennies. She and the CM stood there looking for the shiniest ones for a good number of minutes aye yi yi. Everyone behind her in the line was doing the left-foot right foot weight-shifting dance, complete with loud sighs -- they were either all growing impatient, or had to go to the bathroom. When the next persons turn finally came, he jokingly said, Ill take these items, plus TWO rolls of quarters, and about a THOUSAND shiny pennies, all marked with the year 2004 and from the Denver mint only please. He was joking, but honestly, the poor CM didnt get it and started to actually try to fulfill his request! He stopped her and paid for his goods, kinda shaking his head that she didnt get his wild, wacky sense of humor, I guess. I set my 4 Mickey Mouse-shaped Rice Crispy treats on the counter, paid, and promptly left. It is now nearly 5 pm and Im starting to get concerned. Im also starting to get wet. I head for the porch just as the rain starts to pound the very earth I had been standing on. This was a wicked rainstorm, and it made me wonder what tomorrow would bring if any trails or fragments of Charley should wander our way. Im trying to radio Rich on our Motorolas, but funny thing about radios, they dont work if they arent turned on. I suspected that Richs radio was tucked away neatly in his waistpouch, off, of course, to conserve on the batteries. At about 4:55 pm I hear a faint connection on my radio seems they are at Wilderness Lodge and sailing this way. I tried to contact him a few times after that but there was no response. Someone came through on my channel to tell me that he and the guys will be headed over to the bar in 5 minutes hmmm, I have no clue who you are, but could you bring something back for me?
By this time, its 6 pm and they had let everyone into the Pioneer Hall. All that remained on the porch were me and another lady, who seemed to be scanning the horizon for lost souls as well. I radioed again, and a muffled response came back. I tried yet again, but still couldnt make out the response. Third time is the charm they say, so I gave it a shot. This time I got the very audible reply: Cheeseburger and large fries! Haha, very funny. DH was now mocking me, as apparently he too was having reception problems and my messages to him must have rivaled the clarity of a drive-through window. Rich informs me that they had technical difficulties while at WL. The storm really picked up and they had great problems docking. They accidentally left a crew member at the dock, and now had no way to dock the boat at FW (or something to that effect like I said, clarity was iffy at best! Want a Large Pepsi with that?) I inform the desk I am waiting for my group to arrive; a CM then tells me and my fellow lady-in-waiting that he will go meet our parties personally at the dock! Instantly I love this man. He asks for a description of DH I say, Tall blond guy with 4 kids, two adults, and a baby! I went inside to our table very nice and near the front. Probably about as close as any party of 9 would ever get. I immediately do the Mom-thing I slice the bread and pitch a slice to every bread plate, along with a glob of butter on the side. Figured it would save effort later when the troop arrived! When the gang finally showed, DH told me, Hey, the guy that came to get us says, Im looking for a tall blond handsome guy actually come to think of it she only said tall and blond. Sorry, man. Or something to that effect they all thought it was funny. And it appeared that the other missing party of 12 had indeed also shared the boat with them, so now all bodies were accounted for and the food and fun could begin!
This was, without a doubt, the best meal we all shared together. The food wasnt elegant but it was hot, tasty, and plentiful. I love that honey butter yum. The chicken was quite crisp, too. And the show was great. My BIL was chosen when he came here nearly 30 years ago to go up on stage, so it was nostalgic for him! I was secretly glad when no one from our table was chosen, however, because I could only imagine how the unchosen would feel. And they seemed to love to talk to our son Ryan the cast frequently came by to play little tricks on him or just chat. The kids loved the fact Mom and Dad were forced to dance because it had been our anniversary the day before. My dd, meanwhile, was fast developing her first crush! Mommy, she whispered during a song, Do you see that Yellow Guy? Hes so niiiice! She asked me to take Yellow Guys picture for her so she could keep him forever. Thats my daughter, the stalker. The kids thought the character Six Bits was hilarious they still talk about him in the bear suit, calling out, MOTHER! to his next of skin hanging on the wall. I know that sounds morbid it was definitely one of those had-to-be-there kind of things. The server placed 4 shortcakes on our table, and they were quite delicious. Unfortunately, my poor uncultured DH and BIL both thought that the dishes they served those in were intended as a SINGLE servings not. DH turns to me and says, Man, these things are huge! Yes they are -- so be nice and share, please! I didn't see how, given how great this meal was, that the Illuminations Grand Gathering meal was ever going to compare. We were scheduled for that meal on the following night -- back-to-back feasts. Ugh -- I sure couldn't think of eating another thing right now...
We left the hall stuffed to the gills, and werent wholly sure if our bellies hurt from laughing so much or eating. We let the kids romp around the playground a while, with my DH chasing them, before finally getting on the boat back to MK and then grabbing a bus. When we got back to BWV, we paid my sister a visit in her villa. SIL and BIL turned in soon after, but our 3 kids went with their nieces down to the pool for a quick dip. My sister was totally tuned in to the Weather Channel, transfixed on this approaching Hurricane Charley. My sister lived in Miami for 10 years and worked with Florida Power and Light during that time, so she knew the Floridian protocol for approaching storms. Since she was supposed to check out the next day, she was in a quandary as to whether she should go up 95 to her home in S.C. or try 75 instead. Remnants of Bonnie were still falling on S.C. and she didnt relish a drive in the rain. On the other hand, she knew most of the coastal folks around Tampa would probably be heading up 75 for evacuation did she really want to get stuck in that traffic just for sunny skies around Atlanta? I told her to pack up and sleep on it things could change in 6-8 hours. She promised to call us in the a.m. before they checked out. With some hugs all around between aunts, uncle, sisters, and cousins, we then left them to their packing while we retreated to our villa. We got the kids settled down and in the bed, then I crept out and did my fairy duties. As I climbed into bed, DH had the TV tuned to the weather. It certainly did seem like a big storm, and I was very interested in watching it, as I would any big storm. Growing up, my family had a perverse love for the awesomeness of nature. During lightening storms, we would sit in our living room in front of these big picture windows and watch the jagged streaks illuminate the sky the way some folks might view Wishes! I still didnt believe we would really feel much of this storm, so my interest at this point was purely one of concern for my sister and others who might be impacted in this storms path. I honestly did not put myself into that category as I drifted off to sleep. An hour or so later, I realized I had dozed off with the TV still on, so I groped around for the remote, clicked off the TV, and drifted back to my Charley-less dreams.
COMING SOON
Q: What do you get when you cross Friday the 13th with a Hurricane and hundreds of hungry, irate tourists?
A: The 7th Day of Our Disney Vacation!
(Click HERE to read about it!)
Six panting pirates,
Five Prin- cess- essssssssssss!!!!!
Four soggy swimmers,
Third place on Millionaire,
Two rooms at Boardwalk,
And a night in the BCV!
Cast of Characters:
Cindy (thats me, 37 yr old Mom, obsessive-compulsive planner of these trips!)
Rich (DH, 38 yrs young Dad, basically wonderful and easy going, but occasionally known to slip into the less-loved persona, Mr. How Much is This Going to Cost Me?)
Evan (9 yrs old, our deep thinker and comfort seeker)
Ryan (8 yrs old, our tireless spark on an endless thrill quest)
Caroline (4 yrs old and already has the role of drama queen mastered!)
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE SECOND DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE THIRD DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FOURTH DAY!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIFTH DAY!
THE SIXTH DAY
The kids were delighted to find they each had a new friend in their fairy bags this morning Zazu. After all, no pirate is complete without a trusty feathered sidekick! I have now elevated myself to Most Highly Revered Fairy of the Decade. BIL was balking heavily at being left with the baby this morning. SIL and I just looked at him and thought Hmmm, you stayed out all night sans the kids for E-ride, and now were getting up early to get 4 kids fed and dressed, then get them all the way across Disney to their cruise, then bringing them back a good 3-hours-of-solitude-for-you later, and you, in turn, have to sleep in with this ever-so-good-natured baby. Gee, it sucks to be you sometimes, dont it. (Insert a roll-eyes smiley here if you wish )
We left with what we considered to be plenty of time to spare; I figured we could put my nephews car seat in my van and drive on over. Except now there was a hitch in my grand master plan: SIL didnt have a car seat for him, they had simply used one from the limo service. The seat I thought was his was actually the babys seat, and was a bit too small for my nephew. Ugh. Shows how much I know! So we race over to the bus stop. I asked the bus driver if our best shot at getting to the Grand Floridian was via monorail at MK. The driver (who must have been having a really bad day because she had all the charisma of a dirty diaper) stared straight ahead, and without so much as even looking at me, muttered a monosyllabic yes. O-kayyyyy . Well just do what we can here, folks not gonna panic, were gonna make it and laugh about this later, right? Or at least thats what I told the kids. Meanwhile Im tallying up the cost of my 3 pirates for a missed cruise 90 bucks yowch. As we approach MK, SIL has a brain flash and says, Hey what about the boat? By Jove shes on to something. This would at least put us near the marina so we didnt have to hoof it through the GF resort. So we scooped up the kids off the bus and ran like bandits to catch the next boat which of course took off without us. Well double wah now. Im starting to pace at this point and in our desperation, all 6 of us were turning into REAL pirates, ready to accost the next vessel headed to sea! We spy a ship on the horizon but it seemed like it was taking forever to get to us. Ahoy, ye scurvy swabs! Make haste for the dock we gots a pirate cruise to make and 90 dollars of me booty and 30 of me mates all hangs in the balance! Our necks in a noose get ye ship together and MOVE IT, sez I!
Ahem. So we board the ship and take places in the front. A woman overhears me telling the kids that upon docking we must run like the wind towards the marina and take no prisoners! She points out a short-cut for me across the lawn (God bless ye kindly, lady fair!) SIL agrees to bring the young buccaneers with her whilst I sprint for the marina. Argghhh me not used to sprintin but me do my "mudder of 3" best
I dodge the sprinkler heads like Im doing a shiply jig, and arrive quite winded but intact at the check-in desk.
May I help you? says the clerk.
Suppressing a mighty Arrgghh! I instead took a deep breath and exhaled the words, Kirshner, party of six umm, I mean 4. Its now I remember this is an event for the KIDS Im not actually going. (Gee all that work to get here, and now Im gonna get ditched at port. I guess SIL and I will have to live vicariously through them and their tales of the high seas... arggghhhh). I signed the release form and by this time, SIL had arrived with the real pirates, and already had them "tagged" and ear-ed. (To clarify, thats name tags and pirate-bandana Mickey Mouse ears). We went to get life preservers for the kids and instantly wished we had just brought the ones we already had for the 2 smallest pirates. The only ones left at the marina were the type that just go over the head (not the vest-type). Caroline, of course, thought this one was cool because, Look, Mom it comes with its own pillow in back! The boys had vests, so it appeared that the only shortage was in the smaller sizes. They paired up the pirates in twos Evan took Carolines hand and said, You can be my partner while Ryan teamed up with his cousin. They all seemed happy with the deal. Evan felt like he was there to supervise more so than to play I could see that he felt very much like the Big Brother going along with this corny shenanigan for little sisters sake. He is in a difficult age feeling too old for pirates, but still not so old that he doesnt appreciate a tiny umbrella in his drink. Go figure. I just hoped he would allow himself to have fun on the cruise and not feel like he was there to supervise or assist the leaders, or worse, be Captain Superior, Lord of the Pirates and All That He Sees. Funny how hanging out with a bunch of people half your age can suddenly make a child feel all-powerful, whereas with adults, it just makes us feel well, twice as old!
They gave all the parents pagers, delivered some safety instructions to the pirates, and loaded the kids onto the pontoon boat. The leader of the cruise said, We may have to wrestle a croc or two! (To which this one rebel kid on the ship interrupted with a loud, Yeah lets do it!) The leader then said, And if we arent careful, we may run into some enemy ships and have to do battle! (And again this kid yells out, Yeah lets do it!) And the leader then adds, And ye dont want to be a mis-behavin, cause then we may just make ye walk the PLANK! (And so AGAIN, this kid, still feeling unnoticed, I presume, hollers out, YEAH! LETS DO IT!) And it is precisely then I clearly hear my own son (Evan) holler back, SURE how about we send YOU first! And then his distinct "I'm so funny I crack me up" laugh. I cringed. Captain Superior has come aboard, matees.
(Sit back, Evan let the leaders handle that kid, I thought.) With a toot and a goodbye, the cruise set sail while SIL and I waved them out of port. We then sort of wandered through GF aimlessly like 2 lost sailors, finally arriving at the DVC desk inside a GF lobby area. SIL had expressed interest before (this was their second trip with us since we had become members back in 99), so I simply commented, Well, there ya go anything you want to know, heres the place. She and I chatted with the DVC rep for a while about everything from the resorts to the weather. He didnt seem to phased by the reports on Charley, despite the fact it now did seem headed for the near vicinity (Tampa) by the next night. SIL set up a visit date for Sunday at SSR. That was to be our DTD day anyway, so it seemed like good timing. We then decided we deserved a treat for all our huffing and puffing this morning, so we wandered over to the Grand Floridian Café. It was about 9:45 and they were serving breakfast; we were immediately seated by a lovely window-side table. The place looked empty, except for a family next to us. The man at that table had a plate of wonderful looking peppers, onions, and such we believe it was the corned beef hash. As tasty as it looked, however, I wasnt sure I wanted to be chirping that pungent flavor all day long, so I took mercy on my travel mates and got the French Toast instead. SIL got an omelet. Service here was excellent so very swift and considerate, although for the life of me I cannot recall the mans name that waited on us. The food was great, too my French Toast was made with challah bread and I scarfed down every last delicious bite. We chatted about DVC, vacations, the kids, and noted how much our hubbys both seemed to enjoy the Disney life. At about 10:45 we made our way back towards the marina to watch the ship come in, so to speak. Well, actually, we could HEAR it before we saw it. In the distance, but growing ever stronger, echoed the following chant: Yoho, yoho, a pirates life for me - ARGGHHHHH! (with very great emphasis on the Arghh part!) The ship docked and the leader ceremoniously opened up the treasure chest, which was filled with silver paper booty bags one for each pirate. They called each pirate by name to claim his/her treasure. It certainly seemed like they had a good time, all smiles as they exited the boat! Our 4 little brigands eagerly tore into their sacks, which were filled with rubber amphibians, gold coins (dubloons?), jewels, rings, and beads, a treasure chest, some candy (which was so quickly eaten so I cant even recall what kind it was!) and perhaps the biggest hit with our crew large fuzzy spiders. The kids talked excitedly of their adventures. Evan commented that since he was among the biggest and strongest on the crew, according to the leaders of the cruise, he was allowed to bring in the treasure chest. Ah, sounds like they have dealt with other Captain Superiors before and already had a job jussst right for him. I was glad that he had allowed himself to ENJOY the festivities I dread the day he will be too cool for such fantasy play. But for today, he was like a Lost Boy, enjoying the journey he had taken, leaving if for a little while his worldy 4th grade self behind him!
The kids talked about all their ports of call, noting that while on the cruise, a police boat put on its sirens and tracked them down. The police saw their treasure chest and wanted it, but the leaders struck a deal and offered them some of the lunch instead. It was then we discovered that the police should have stuck around a bit longer if they were still hungry, because it appeared there was quite a bit of lunch left in each pirates meal bag. Apparently, none of them cared for Uncrustables PB&J. So we herded our motley ear-wearing crew onto the boat, then the bus, then straight to the room at BWV for some lunch. They were hot from their travels and eager to hit the pool, so DH took them down to Luna Park pool. I joined them a half hour later, but noticing the time, I realized we would all need to head upstairs soon if we were going to make those HoopDeeDoo reservations! Our party size dictated that I get to Pioneer Hall by 4:30 pm to pick up the tickets, so when SIL started heading out of the pool area at 3:10 with the baby, I joined her. We got to the door of the villa and realized hey, our key doesnt work! Turns out we had brought our old keys to the BEACH CLUB. All keys may look the same, but they are NOT created equally, I assure you. So SIL races back down to the pool and grabs BILs key, gets back to the villa and oh no its a BCV key also, as we now could quickly tell just by looking at the date! The keys all had Tinkerbelle on the front (and I swear her smile right at that moment was mocking us, I just know it). So we plodded on down to the front desk, where, in our damp pool attire, though shrouded with towels, we instantly felt very, very out of place. All these convention folks were busy checking out, in their business finery. Surrounded by all these folks, along with the BW lobby of gold, glass and brass, I felt very naked, like showing up for school with only your underwear and a pencil box for cover! I was feeling like a bad scene from the Beverly Hillbillies when we approached the desk. Howdy, Maam me and sis here and the younguns been down at the Cee-ment pond and we done lost our door doohickee (No, I didnt really say that to the lady behind the desk but Ill bet she took one look at us and THOUGHT it.)
Anyway so we finally get some replacement keys and head up to find the rest of the gang now pounding on the doors. I guess they thought we were ignoring them? I must now do the mad dash of getting ready in order to make our ressies. Why oh why does this keep happening today, I wonder, as I throw myself together! Since without tickets there will be no dinner, I decide to ditch the crew and forge out for Fort Wilderness solo. Ill make better time with less frustration, and it buys them an added 10 or 15 minutes. But they dont seem to be moving at the frantic pace Im moving knowing our track record to date, I give very emphatic directions to the crew as I exit HURRY UP! It ALWAYS takes longer than you think! (Or at least, today it sure does!)
I got to the bus stop and amazingly the MK bus pulled right up like it knew I was coming. We went straight to MK, during which time I had a lovely conversation with the bus driver. Got out at MK and I raced over to the boat dock alas, however, the ship had sailed (ah, the sad, sad story of my life.) I did manage to catch the next one, and of course, it had to stop at Wilderness Lodge first, then FW. By now I had the luxury of all of 3 minutes to spare! We docked at FW and I raced up the road to the check-in desk. With tickets in hand, I breathed an immediate large sigh of relief whew. I had reserved this dinner about 14 months ago by golly I wasnt about to lose it now! The CMs were directing the people who had begun to gather for the 5 pm seating towards a photo area. Hmmmm looks like we might miss out on this, if the gang doesnt show soon on the one hand, that was one less expense to worry about, on the other, a momento opportunity missed. I toy briefly with the idea of having them take a shot of just me, as a joke to the group. I could see the photo guy now, bringing the pictures around, and at our table, he presents a photo package of ME, in 3-d sensaround, standing tall at the wagon wheel with nobody else, just my big smilin mug ready for all my fans to purchase will that be cash or credit? I am laughing hard now at the image oops, I did that aloud, didnt I that would explain why people are staring at me back to your lives, citizens, just a crazy lady here whose party hasn't shown up yet. Pity me if you must.
Standing there alone with tickets in hand, and no one to celebrate it with, I did what most any woman would I shopped. I walked down to the little FW store and wandered around a bit, finally selecting some small goodies for the kids. I knew at least one of the kids did not like strawberry shortcake such as the HDDR serves for dessert, and I thought a little goody might be nice for the trip home. I chose some items quickly and got in line. A woman of very limited English was at the head of the line, asking for a roll of quarters and 50 pennies. She and the CM stood there looking for the shiniest ones for a good number of minutes aye yi yi. Everyone behind her in the line was doing the left-foot right foot weight-shifting dance, complete with loud sighs -- they were either all growing impatient, or had to go to the bathroom. When the next persons turn finally came, he jokingly said, Ill take these items, plus TWO rolls of quarters, and about a THOUSAND shiny pennies, all marked with the year 2004 and from the Denver mint only please. He was joking, but honestly, the poor CM didnt get it and started to actually try to fulfill his request! He stopped her and paid for his goods, kinda shaking his head that she didnt get his wild, wacky sense of humor, I guess. I set my 4 Mickey Mouse-shaped Rice Crispy treats on the counter, paid, and promptly left. It is now nearly 5 pm and Im starting to get concerned. Im also starting to get wet. I head for the porch just as the rain starts to pound the very earth I had been standing on. This was a wicked rainstorm, and it made me wonder what tomorrow would bring if any trails or fragments of Charley should wander our way. Im trying to radio Rich on our Motorolas, but funny thing about radios, they dont work if they arent turned on. I suspected that Richs radio was tucked away neatly in his waistpouch, off, of course, to conserve on the batteries. At about 4:55 pm I hear a faint connection on my radio seems they are at Wilderness Lodge and sailing this way. I tried to contact him a few times after that but there was no response. Someone came through on my channel to tell me that he and the guys will be headed over to the bar in 5 minutes hmmm, I have no clue who you are, but could you bring something back for me?
By this time, its 6 pm and they had let everyone into the Pioneer Hall. All that remained on the porch were me and another lady, who seemed to be scanning the horizon for lost souls as well. I radioed again, and a muffled response came back. I tried yet again, but still couldnt make out the response. Third time is the charm they say, so I gave it a shot. This time I got the very audible reply: Cheeseburger and large fries! Haha, very funny. DH was now mocking me, as apparently he too was having reception problems and my messages to him must have rivaled the clarity of a drive-through window. Rich informs me that they had technical difficulties while at WL. The storm really picked up and they had great problems docking. They accidentally left a crew member at the dock, and now had no way to dock the boat at FW (or something to that effect like I said, clarity was iffy at best! Want a Large Pepsi with that?) I inform the desk I am waiting for my group to arrive; a CM then tells me and my fellow lady-in-waiting that he will go meet our parties personally at the dock! Instantly I love this man. He asks for a description of DH I say, Tall blond guy with 4 kids, two adults, and a baby! I went inside to our table very nice and near the front. Probably about as close as any party of 9 would ever get. I immediately do the Mom-thing I slice the bread and pitch a slice to every bread plate, along with a glob of butter on the side. Figured it would save effort later when the troop arrived! When the gang finally showed, DH told me, Hey, the guy that came to get us says, Im looking for a tall blond handsome guy actually come to think of it she only said tall and blond. Sorry, man. Or something to that effect they all thought it was funny. And it appeared that the other missing party of 12 had indeed also shared the boat with them, so now all bodies were accounted for and the food and fun could begin!
This was, without a doubt, the best meal we all shared together. The food wasnt elegant but it was hot, tasty, and plentiful. I love that honey butter yum. The chicken was quite crisp, too. And the show was great. My BIL was chosen when he came here nearly 30 years ago to go up on stage, so it was nostalgic for him! I was secretly glad when no one from our table was chosen, however, because I could only imagine how the unchosen would feel. And they seemed to love to talk to our son Ryan the cast frequently came by to play little tricks on him or just chat. The kids loved the fact Mom and Dad were forced to dance because it had been our anniversary the day before. My dd, meanwhile, was fast developing her first crush! Mommy, she whispered during a song, Do you see that Yellow Guy? Hes so niiiice! She asked me to take Yellow Guys picture for her so she could keep him forever. Thats my daughter, the stalker. The kids thought the character Six Bits was hilarious they still talk about him in the bear suit, calling out, MOTHER! to his next of skin hanging on the wall. I know that sounds morbid it was definitely one of those had-to-be-there kind of things. The server placed 4 shortcakes on our table, and they were quite delicious. Unfortunately, my poor uncultured DH and BIL both thought that the dishes they served those in were intended as a SINGLE servings not. DH turns to me and says, Man, these things are huge! Yes they are -- so be nice and share, please! I didn't see how, given how great this meal was, that the Illuminations Grand Gathering meal was ever going to compare. We were scheduled for that meal on the following night -- back-to-back feasts. Ugh -- I sure couldn't think of eating another thing right now...
We left the hall stuffed to the gills, and werent wholly sure if our bellies hurt from laughing so much or eating. We let the kids romp around the playground a while, with my DH chasing them, before finally getting on the boat back to MK and then grabbing a bus. When we got back to BWV, we paid my sister a visit in her villa. SIL and BIL turned in soon after, but our 3 kids went with their nieces down to the pool for a quick dip. My sister was totally tuned in to the Weather Channel, transfixed on this approaching Hurricane Charley. My sister lived in Miami for 10 years and worked with Florida Power and Light during that time, so she knew the Floridian protocol for approaching storms. Since she was supposed to check out the next day, she was in a quandary as to whether she should go up 95 to her home in S.C. or try 75 instead. Remnants of Bonnie were still falling on S.C. and she didnt relish a drive in the rain. On the other hand, she knew most of the coastal folks around Tampa would probably be heading up 75 for evacuation did she really want to get stuck in that traffic just for sunny skies around Atlanta? I told her to pack up and sleep on it things could change in 6-8 hours. She promised to call us in the a.m. before they checked out. With some hugs all around between aunts, uncle, sisters, and cousins, we then left them to their packing while we retreated to our villa. We got the kids settled down and in the bed, then I crept out and did my fairy duties. As I climbed into bed, DH had the TV tuned to the weather. It certainly did seem like a big storm, and I was very interested in watching it, as I would any big storm. Growing up, my family had a perverse love for the awesomeness of nature. During lightening storms, we would sit in our living room in front of these big picture windows and watch the jagged streaks illuminate the sky the way some folks might view Wishes! I still didnt believe we would really feel much of this storm, so my interest at this point was purely one of concern for my sister and others who might be impacted in this storms path. I honestly did not put myself into that category as I drifted off to sleep. An hour or so later, I realized I had dozed off with the TV still on, so I groped around for the remote, clicked off the TV, and drifted back to my Charley-less dreams.
COMING SOON
Q: What do you get when you cross Friday the 13th with a Hurricane and hundreds of hungry, irate tourists?
A: The 7th Day of Our Disney Vacation!
(Click HERE to read about it!)
