GrandCalifornian
Can't Wait To Go Back
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2012
- Messages
- 3,842
As we left off we had just landed and got our room number. This time it was 3107, which was close to the lobby, but only on the third floor. It was a new room for us though, which is always fun. Before getting to see it, we had to get off the plane and gather our bags.
It was a great spot even though you would have preferred a higher floor I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. It was a nice quiet spot with neighbors on only one side.
We hopped on the first ride of the trip with no wait! The famous fauxnorail.
There's just something so neat about arriving at MCO. We happily made our way down to baggage claim, and our bags were among the first to come out. Then it was a short walt to the rental cars. I had trouble holding two bags and my phone trying to get pictures as we walked, but I did better than Marshall.
Poor kid did a header over the carry on, I’m still not sure how that happened. He hopped right back up though and everyone got situated as we headed to the Alamo pick up spot. We highly recommend renting from Alamo, they are far and away our favorite.
After so many trips to WDW without rental cars, this was our third year in a row renting a car. We pre-book through Costco with Alamo, which means we can re-book if rates improve over the time before the trip. This time our Premium SUV was $360 for the trip. We had a choice between a GMC Yukon and a Ford Expedition, so we went with familiarity and chose the white Expedition, just a longer version of Melissa's daily driver at home.
It worked out perfectly. The AC was cold and there was plenty of room for our luggage.
Our first stop on the way to the bubble was Target. We needed water, breakfasty things, deodorant, and some coffee creamer.
As we got to the same Super Target that we went to last year (by going the route South of the airport) we saw quite a few Orange County Sheriffs there.
Our shopping trip was quick and efficient, and it turned out we bought the perfect amount of stuff to keep in the room. One case of water and some breakfast stuff was about all we needed.
After Target we headed straight towards Disney because the kids were not having dinner anywhere but Roarin’ Fork. I can’t really blame them.
We all wanted to be in the Disney bubble, so we celebrated crossing under the sign.
We followed the purple road signs to WL, where we arrived at 7:25.
I dropped Melissa and the kids off at the front then went and parked the car.
We loaded everything on a bell cart and hung out just outside the front door. We wanted to wait for you so we could all go inside together. I was standing kind of by the bushes and ended up getting bit a couple of times by a yellow fly. This is the second time I’ve gotten bit by these nasty flies. Thank goodness neither of the kids got bit but I had three big bites on my ankle to deal with the entire week.
Yuck, you can still see the bites on your ankle now. I appreciate you waiting for me though.
We all entered the greatest lobby in my world, and were able to go straight to the room. We rode the lobby elevator up one floor and then went around the corner to the fiorst room on the left. Unfortunately my phone would not unlock it, but the kids Magic Bands did work.
My phone worked though, it was a strange glitch but not one that we bothered fixing. Your magic band worked for the rest of the trip.
We dumped off the bags, put the groceries in the fridge, and ordered extra sheets, blankets, and pillows before heading down for dinner. I love using the Hey Disney device to do this, it’s the only time we used it but it works perfect for ordering the extra stuff you need without having to talk to someone on the phone.
It really works out great, and the items were there by the time we got back from dinner. We headed down to Roaring Fork for what reallyis a great traditional first meal of the trip. I agreed to split the BBQ Plate and a grilled cheese and soup with Allie so we both got to try everything. We also got our refillable mugs, which we filled literally hundreds of times throughout the trip. (Since my early morning walks are usually fueled by Diet Coke).
We used to question whether or not the kids would get value out of the refillable mugs but they definitely do now. Do you think it was hundreds though? That may be an exaggeration. You did fill it a lot. Something new, maybe?, this trip the cast member that sold us the mugs said if we want a paper cup for coffee just to ask so that we don’t taint our plastic mug with coffee. I really appreciated this, coffee tends to really seep into the plastic and stay there.
I ordered the BBQ plate as well and it was very good as per usual, and Marshall ordered one as well and he ate it all.
The grilled cheese was fairly plain, but when you paired it with that tomato basil soup it was really a great combination.
It was a great meal to kick off the trip. We then followed it up with our first shopping trip to the Mercantile.
I was excited to see the new merch. I was even more excited to see the castle Lug bag I was hoping would be available when we went.
We also picked up a neoprene glasses case to try out for our new sunglasses that we each got shortly before the trip. Being neoprene instead of metal we figured it would be security friendly, and it worked great. We bought the Lug bag too, and it became a star of the trip as well. It is super cute too.
Then we headed back up to the room and finished unpacking. While we were there we heard the MK fireworks, so Marshall and I went out to catch them from Geyser Point. The view of them was blocked from our room by the other wing of the hotel, but that's ok, Geyser Point was a short walk away.
The timing was great because Marshall was starting to get a little homesick, which he sometimes does early in the Disney trips, so the timing was perfect.
Yeah our guy does get homesick and really thrives in routine. Disney definitely takes him out of his routine but we are as accommodating as we can be and try to make things as familiar as we can.
This worked so great though, I went with him wherever he wanted to go, and after the fireworks the EWP boat parade started so we headed over to the transportation boat dock to watch it from there.
After the boat parade, Marshall wanted to check out the arcade so we walked up there. He LOVED it this time, and I bought a $20 card of credits that we used many times during the trip. Air hockey is a great deal, costing just 30 credits which was one of the cheapest games in the arcade and offered a lot of fun. We would be back multiple times. Then we went up to the room to get ready for bed.
While the boys were gone Allie FaceTimed her boyfriend Eli, and I unpacked and set up Marshall’s bed. We use a kid size air mattress in front of the closet for him. It fits perfect and that way the kids don’t have to share the pull out couch. At this point I think they’d kill each other if they had to share a bed. Everyone gets more sleep this way.
Marshall wanted to watch Safety Smarts before heading to bed. These short cartoons are one of the things the kids have watched every single trip.
It is a good dose of nostalgia, almost as good as the Must Do's with Stacy, which we still find ourselves looking for.
We were all in bed by 11PM, wrapping up a great arrival day.
It was a great spot even though you would have preferred a higher floor I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. It was a nice quiet spot with neighbors on only one side.
We hopped on the first ride of the trip with no wait! The famous fauxnorail.
There's just something so neat about arriving at MCO. We happily made our way down to baggage claim, and our bags were among the first to come out. Then it was a short walt to the rental cars. I had trouble holding two bags and my phone trying to get pictures as we walked, but I did better than Marshall.
Poor kid did a header over the carry on, I’m still not sure how that happened. He hopped right back up though and everyone got situated as we headed to the Alamo pick up spot. We highly recommend renting from Alamo, they are far and away our favorite.
After so many trips to WDW without rental cars, this was our third year in a row renting a car. We pre-book through Costco with Alamo, which means we can re-book if rates improve over the time before the trip. This time our Premium SUV was $360 for the trip. We had a choice between a GMC Yukon and a Ford Expedition, so we went with familiarity and chose the white Expedition, just a longer version of Melissa's daily driver at home.
It worked out perfectly. The AC was cold and there was plenty of room for our luggage.
Our first stop on the way to the bubble was Target. We needed water, breakfasty things, deodorant, and some coffee creamer.
As we got to the same Super Target that we went to last year (by going the route South of the airport) we saw quite a few Orange County Sheriffs there.
Our shopping trip was quick and efficient, and it turned out we bought the perfect amount of stuff to keep in the room. One case of water and some breakfast stuff was about all we needed.
After Target we headed straight towards Disney because the kids were not having dinner anywhere but Roarin’ Fork. I can’t really blame them.
We all wanted to be in the Disney bubble, so we celebrated crossing under the sign.
We followed the purple road signs to WL, where we arrived at 7:25.
I dropped Melissa and the kids off at the front then went and parked the car.
We loaded everything on a bell cart and hung out just outside the front door. We wanted to wait for you so we could all go inside together. I was standing kind of by the bushes and ended up getting bit a couple of times by a yellow fly. This is the second time I’ve gotten bit by these nasty flies. Thank goodness neither of the kids got bit but I had three big bites on my ankle to deal with the entire week.
Yuck, you can still see the bites on your ankle now. I appreciate you waiting for me though.
We all entered the greatest lobby in my world, and were able to go straight to the room. We rode the lobby elevator up one floor and then went around the corner to the fiorst room on the left. Unfortunately my phone would not unlock it, but the kids Magic Bands did work.
My phone worked though, it was a strange glitch but not one that we bothered fixing. Your magic band worked for the rest of the trip.
We dumped off the bags, put the groceries in the fridge, and ordered extra sheets, blankets, and pillows before heading down for dinner. I love using the Hey Disney device to do this, it’s the only time we used it but it works perfect for ordering the extra stuff you need without having to talk to someone on the phone.
It really works out great, and the items were there by the time we got back from dinner. We headed down to Roaring Fork for what reallyis a great traditional first meal of the trip. I agreed to split the BBQ Plate and a grilled cheese and soup with Allie so we both got to try everything. We also got our refillable mugs, which we filled literally hundreds of times throughout the trip. (Since my early morning walks are usually fueled by Diet Coke).
We used to question whether or not the kids would get value out of the refillable mugs but they definitely do now. Do you think it was hundreds though? That may be an exaggeration. You did fill it a lot. Something new, maybe?, this trip the cast member that sold us the mugs said if we want a paper cup for coffee just to ask so that we don’t taint our plastic mug with coffee. I really appreciated this, coffee tends to really seep into the plastic and stay there.
I ordered the BBQ plate as well and it was very good as per usual, and Marshall ordered one as well and he ate it all.
The grilled cheese was fairly plain, but when you paired it with that tomato basil soup it was really a great combination.
It was a great meal to kick off the trip. We then followed it up with our first shopping trip to the Mercantile.
I was excited to see the new merch. I was even more excited to see the castle Lug bag I was hoping would be available when we went.
We also picked up a neoprene glasses case to try out for our new sunglasses that we each got shortly before the trip. Being neoprene instead of metal we figured it would be security friendly, and it worked great. We bought the Lug bag too, and it became a star of the trip as well. It is super cute too.
Then we headed back up to the room and finished unpacking. While we were there we heard the MK fireworks, so Marshall and I went out to catch them from Geyser Point. The view of them was blocked from our room by the other wing of the hotel, but that's ok, Geyser Point was a short walk away.
The timing was great because Marshall was starting to get a little homesick, which he sometimes does early in the Disney trips, so the timing was perfect.
Yeah our guy does get homesick and really thrives in routine. Disney definitely takes him out of his routine but we are as accommodating as we can be and try to make things as familiar as we can.
This worked so great though, I went with him wherever he wanted to go, and after the fireworks the EWP boat parade started so we headed over to the transportation boat dock to watch it from there.
After the boat parade, Marshall wanted to check out the arcade so we walked up there. He LOVED it this time, and I bought a $20 card of credits that we used many times during the trip. Air hockey is a great deal, costing just 30 credits which was one of the cheapest games in the arcade and offered a lot of fun. We would be back multiple times. Then we went up to the room to get ready for bed.
While the boys were gone Allie FaceTimed her boyfriend Eli, and I unpacked and set up Marshall’s bed. We use a kid size air mattress in front of the closet for him. It fits perfect and that way the kids don’t have to share the pull out couch. At this point I think they’d kill each other if they had to share a bed. Everyone gets more sleep this way.
Marshall wanted to watch Safety Smarts before heading to bed. These short cartoons are one of the things the kids have watched every single trip.
It is a good dose of nostalgia, almost as good as the Must Do's with Stacy, which we still find ourselves looking for.
We were all in bed by 11PM, wrapping up a great arrival day.
.
