Joyciemc
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2002
- Messages
- 2,701
Starring:
Mark, 23- College friend, limited Disney experience and up for the adventure.
Joyce, 23- me! Disney crazy, not happy unless a trip is in the works.
Eric, guess! (yup, 23)- my DB. We went to WDW in May 2003, and he's a convert.
Pre-trip (Day T minus 2)
Friday, January 2, 2004
I drove to Mark's house in Pittsfield, MA (~2 1/2 hours from me) and got there at 4 pm. It was snowy and cold, but we were going to Florida! I tried to help him pack, but I wasn't much use. This is how the conversation would go:
Mark:"Ok, so how warm will it be?"
Me: "Um, it can be warm, but can be really cold too."
Mark:"So what should I bring?"
Me:"Everything."
It took a looong time, but it finally got done. Eric showed up at around 8 PM, and a lot of Mario Kart playing ensued. We went to bed late.. but that's okay, we had one more day before the trip even started!
Saturday, January 3, 2004 (Day T minus 1)
We woke up at 10 ish and had some delicious Dunkin Donut goodness in the form of salsa bagels and coffee. We load up my car, and Eric's car (which was exactly 1 week old) and set out for Eric's mom's in CT. This tour of New England served the purpose of saving us almost $100 dollars/ticket flying out of LaGuardia. Plus, it meant that my trip would start 2 days early.
Anyway, we got to CT and Eric finished packing. That conversation I had with Mark about packing? I had it again with Eric and his mom. If you have an upcoming trip, and want my expert advice on what to pack, PM me.
Now comes what at the time was just an innocent conversation, but which affected almost every aspect of the trip.
Eric was packing so Mark and I were talking with his mom about her upcoming trip (to Bonaire). I'll paraphrase, but not by much:
Mark: Where are you going on your trip?
Mary: Somewhere warmer than you. Bonaire.
Mark: Oh, are you excited?
Mary: Eh, I've been before. It's a dive island.
Mark and I just nodded and moved on to a new topic. It wasn't until later that this dialog had its full impact on us.
Eric was FINALLY ready, so we took a trip to Target to pick up some snacks and water shoes for Mark. Except not the water shoes. We asked, and the lady in the shoe department thought we were crazy. "We carry those in the summer", she said. I guess people either don't go on vacations involving water shoes in the winter, OR they should plan ahead and stock up on them in the summer. Now I know.
Done with our errands, we headed to good ol' Flushing, NY. It took about an hour. We arrived at our hotel- it's no secret that Tower of Terror is my favorite attraction. I would LOVE to stay there. Apparently, a cosmic joke was being played on me. This hotel WAS from the Twilight Zone, but from the seedy side of town. I wanted the Hollywood Tower Hotel, and I got the Van Nuys Moter Lodge. First, I saw more prostitutes while checking in than I ever thought I would in my life. Second... it was a freakin hill! The hallway sloped down at an alarming angle. The luggage cart went careening away when Mark let go. I took some pictures, but they didn't capture the wackiness. No matter, it was one night and we were going to Disney World the next day!
Bonus points to Mark for fixing a broken zipper on my suitcase!
Onward!: Day 1
Mark, 23- College friend, limited Disney experience and up for the adventure.
Joyce, 23- me! Disney crazy, not happy unless a trip is in the works.
Eric, guess! (yup, 23)- my DB. We went to WDW in May 2003, and he's a convert.
Pre-trip (Day T minus 2)
Friday, January 2, 2004
I drove to Mark's house in Pittsfield, MA (~2 1/2 hours from me) and got there at 4 pm. It was snowy and cold, but we were going to Florida! I tried to help him pack, but I wasn't much use. This is how the conversation would go:
Mark:"Ok, so how warm will it be?"
Me: "Um, it can be warm, but can be really cold too."
Mark:"So what should I bring?"
Me:"Everything."
It took a looong time, but it finally got done. Eric showed up at around 8 PM, and a lot of Mario Kart playing ensued. We went to bed late.. but that's okay, we had one more day before the trip even started!
Saturday, January 3, 2004 (Day T minus 1)
We woke up at 10 ish and had some delicious Dunkin Donut goodness in the form of salsa bagels and coffee. We load up my car, and Eric's car (which was exactly 1 week old) and set out for Eric's mom's in CT. This tour of New England served the purpose of saving us almost $100 dollars/ticket flying out of LaGuardia. Plus, it meant that my trip would start 2 days early.
Anyway, we got to CT and Eric finished packing. That conversation I had with Mark about packing? I had it again with Eric and his mom. If you have an upcoming trip, and want my expert advice on what to pack, PM me.
Now comes what at the time was just an innocent conversation, but which affected almost every aspect of the trip.
Eric was packing so Mark and I were talking with his mom about her upcoming trip (to Bonaire). I'll paraphrase, but not by much:
Mark: Where are you going on your trip?
Mary: Somewhere warmer than you. Bonaire.
Mark: Oh, are you excited?
Mary: Eh, I've been before. It's a dive island.
Mark and I just nodded and moved on to a new topic. It wasn't until later that this dialog had its full impact on us.
Eric was FINALLY ready, so we took a trip to Target to pick up some snacks and water shoes for Mark. Except not the water shoes. We asked, and the lady in the shoe department thought we were crazy. "We carry those in the summer", she said. I guess people either don't go on vacations involving water shoes in the winter, OR they should plan ahead and stock up on them in the summer. Now I know.
Done with our errands, we headed to good ol' Flushing, NY. It took about an hour. We arrived at our hotel- it's no secret that Tower of Terror is my favorite attraction. I would LOVE to stay there. Apparently, a cosmic joke was being played on me. This hotel WAS from the Twilight Zone, but from the seedy side of town. I wanted the Hollywood Tower Hotel, and I got the Van Nuys Moter Lodge. First, I saw more prostitutes while checking in than I ever thought I would in my life. Second... it was a freakin hill! The hallway sloped down at an alarming angle. The luggage cart went careening away when Mark let go. I took some pictures, but they didn't capture the wackiness. No matter, it was one night and we were going to Disney World the next day!
Bonus points to Mark for fixing a broken zipper on my suitcase!
Onward!: Day 1
