QuickGold
Studios Superman
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2002
- Messages
- 3,187
Da Crew: Me, 20 year old college student attending Pace University in New York City, but originally from Connecituct. I'm a Disney Nut(or as my parents call me, Disney Nazi).
Allon "Spock" Moore: Fraternity Brother who is coming with me down there. It took some doing, but I got him to go.
Gary "Gumby" McKiever: Another fraternity brother who I got to go somehow.
For pretrip information on how the trip got planned as well as some other details, read the previous TR ]pre-trip details.[/URL]
3/11
Let me start off with some supplemental information that occurred before this day that was not in the previous TR. Gumby pulled out of the trip for some reason that I still did not completely understand. He had volunteered to do something during the week we were in Florida and had to pull out. Leaving only a few days before the trip, I tried to fill the spot with someone but in the end, could not. I was perfectly happy going with just me and Spock. Anyway, back to 3/11....
I woke up that morning at around 9:30am when Spock called and told me he'd be there in an hour. I quickly got dressed and organized. As I waited, time went by. 10:30....11:30....finally, at 12:30, he shows up. Spock had a little "gift" for me as well. Because of his employment at a certain nationwide electronics chain, he had been able to get me the Sony TRV608 HandyCam for a decent price. We wanted to get a camcorder so we could document the trip. The Sony 608 was good because it had a good recording format(Hi8) and had the ability to download to my computer, along with a dozen other gizmos. It is very snazzy
Our flight wasn't until 6PM, so we had time to burn. To get from my apartment in Brooklyn to the airport in Queens, we first took a 20 minute subway ride uptown to 125th street in Manhattan(Harlem) and then transfered to a bus to LaGuardia airport. The ride up there, was......interesting to say the least.
We got to the Spirit airlines ticket counter at about 3pm(that was after misreading the bus' route information and getting off 300yds too early). There was about 3 people in waiting in line and we quickly got to the front of the line and to a counter. The woman there was without a doubt one of the nicest airline employees I've ever met. Now, I've flown alot before, on alot of airlines(Delta, TWA, El Al, Tower Air, etc) and Spirit's employees blew me away. The woman, who reminded me of a CM more than anything, was great. She made jokes with us, gave us exit row seats(Exit rows = foot room city!) and got us in and out VERY quickly. Also, she took our ticket for Gumby(which for those who were sleeping or just forgot what was happeneing, Gumby couldn't make the trip and the tickets for the flight were non-refundable) by placing it on "Temporary Cancel" which means I have 1 year to use those tickets before losing it. I guess I'll just have to take another trip to Florida soon
We went to the gate and got through security without a hitch. Now, if I may, let me point out something about airport security as I've seen it. Throughout our trip, in the airport in New York & Orlando, as well as WDW, myself and Spock, two very White people, walked through the security areas like we owned the place while anyone who's skin pigment was slightly darker than us was stopped and searched a dozen times. Clearly there is racial profiling going on, but I suppose it's what has to be done to ensure our safety. Anywho, back to the story....
We got to the gate, wasted some time and eventually it was time to board the plane. Before we could board, we had to show ID and most darker skinned individuals were searched once more. We breezed through and got to our seats. The flight was generally uneventful. I thought due to our evening departure time, we might be able to see the World Trade Center lights they were turning on that night, but we left when there was still a good deal of day light left. Once again, Kudos to Spirit airlines for being tremendously nice. Spock asked for additional bags of pretzels from the flight attendent as they passed snacks around and she said, "Let me see what we've got" and came back in about 5 minutes with 3 or 4 bags! The plane was new and clean and was worth the money we spent.
We landed 2 hours and 20 minutes later(That's fast!) and got our luggage with no problem. Due to the 9/11 events, drivers could no longer meet us at baggage claim. At first I thought our driver had not shown up and called the company. They told me if he wasnt there yet, that he would be in a few minutes and to meet him down a level in the taxi area. We got our bags and sure enough, there he was with a sign that had my name on it. Dessi, was our driver, and was very nice indeed. The more he talked to us, the more I thought about it and realized he had been my driver 2 years earlier when I came to WDW with my friends. There's actually a funny story related to him and since your allready this far down the TR, why not read it? Two years ago, he drove us to our resort and on the way, he asked some questions about us(The usual, like, where we're from, how the flight was, etc). Well, my friend Charli, told him she was from a big 60 acre(I dont recall the exact number, but it was large) ranch in upstate New York that her parents owned. Dessi turned around and said in a strong Caribbean accent, "Who you are?!" Im not sure how funny that came off here, but it was hysterical for us. Anyway, back to the TR....
We got to the Ramada East Gate very quickly, paid Dessi for a roundtrip, tipped, and went to the front desk. Before my trip, I had read up on Ramada East Gate. I had gotten the hotel through Hotwire.com and after recieving it, read some horrible reviews. Let me tell you, Ramada East Gate is a great hotel, assuming you get a good rate(like we did). The service was very nice. It had a great pool, hottub, elevators, clean rooms and halls, free tram to WDW and great housekeeping. Reading the literature the hotel provided, it said that the room would be made every 3 days. Well, they cleaned it every day and no matter how messy it was, they put it back in prestine condition. I would recommend the Ramada East Gate to anyone who wants to stay off-site and save lots of $$$$$.
Well, go take a break from reading this as it's getting mighty long right now. Stretch your necks, crack your knuckles, do whatever you do to relax. Ready? Okay. Let's go.
We put our bags down in the room and and decided to go get some food and explore the hotel. We ate at Perkins, which is in essence, a clone of any Denny's or Shoneys. The food was decent, but portions did not fill my stomach(The last thing I ate was at 4pm in the airport back in New York and it was after 10 now). We went to the local 7-11 and picked up some snacks and went to the room. I grabbed the yellow pages and called a few cab companies about picking us up tomorrow to go to MK. I found one that had a good rate and claimed it would cost between $13-15 to get us there. Sounded good to me, so I arranged to have them pick us up at 7:45am.
Things I learned:
Spirit Air Rules: Unparalled service and great fares make this a great airline. If you want to go to WDW on a cheap fare and not worry about the plane falling apart or shotty service, look no further than Spirit. I was really amazed at their great service. Super Kudos!
Airport Security: Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was quick and painless and I'm glad to see they are taking better steps. I remember times I would put my bag in the scanner, walk through the metal detector and notice the person who was supposed to be watching the bag scanner, dozing off or chatting with friends. Now its all business. Kudos!
Day 2 will be up tomorrow!
Allon "Spock" Moore: Fraternity Brother who is coming with me down there. It took some doing, but I got him to go.
Gary "Gumby" McKiever: Another fraternity brother who I got to go somehow.
For pretrip information on how the trip got planned as well as some other details, read the previous TR ]pre-trip details.[/URL]
3/11
Let me start off with some supplemental information that occurred before this day that was not in the previous TR. Gumby pulled out of the trip for some reason that I still did not completely understand. He had volunteered to do something during the week we were in Florida and had to pull out. Leaving only a few days before the trip, I tried to fill the spot with someone but in the end, could not. I was perfectly happy going with just me and Spock. Anyway, back to 3/11....
I woke up that morning at around 9:30am when Spock called and told me he'd be there in an hour. I quickly got dressed and organized. As I waited, time went by. 10:30....11:30....finally, at 12:30, he shows up. Spock had a little "gift" for me as well. Because of his employment at a certain nationwide electronics chain, he had been able to get me the Sony TRV608 HandyCam for a decent price. We wanted to get a camcorder so we could document the trip. The Sony 608 was good because it had a good recording format(Hi8) and had the ability to download to my computer, along with a dozen other gizmos. It is very snazzy
Our flight wasn't until 6PM, so we had time to burn. To get from my apartment in Brooklyn to the airport in Queens, we first took a 20 minute subway ride uptown to 125th street in Manhattan(Harlem) and then transfered to a bus to LaGuardia airport. The ride up there, was......interesting to say the least.
We got to the Spirit airlines ticket counter at about 3pm(that was after misreading the bus' route information and getting off 300yds too early). There was about 3 people in waiting in line and we quickly got to the front of the line and to a counter. The woman there was without a doubt one of the nicest airline employees I've ever met. Now, I've flown alot before, on alot of airlines(Delta, TWA, El Al, Tower Air, etc) and Spirit's employees blew me away. The woman, who reminded me of a CM more than anything, was great. She made jokes with us, gave us exit row seats(Exit rows = foot room city!) and got us in and out VERY quickly. Also, she took our ticket for Gumby(which for those who were sleeping or just forgot what was happeneing, Gumby couldn't make the trip and the tickets for the flight were non-refundable) by placing it on "Temporary Cancel" which means I have 1 year to use those tickets before losing it. I guess I'll just have to take another trip to Florida soon
We went to the gate and got through security without a hitch. Now, if I may, let me point out something about airport security as I've seen it. Throughout our trip, in the airport in New York & Orlando, as well as WDW, myself and Spock, two very White people, walked through the security areas like we owned the place while anyone who's skin pigment was slightly darker than us was stopped and searched a dozen times. Clearly there is racial profiling going on, but I suppose it's what has to be done to ensure our safety. Anywho, back to the story....We got to the gate, wasted some time and eventually it was time to board the plane. Before we could board, we had to show ID and most darker skinned individuals were searched once more. We breezed through and got to our seats. The flight was generally uneventful. I thought due to our evening departure time, we might be able to see the World Trade Center lights they were turning on that night, but we left when there was still a good deal of day light left. Once again, Kudos to Spirit airlines for being tremendously nice. Spock asked for additional bags of pretzels from the flight attendent as they passed snacks around and she said, "Let me see what we've got" and came back in about 5 minutes with 3 or 4 bags! The plane was new and clean and was worth the money we spent.
We landed 2 hours and 20 minutes later(That's fast!) and got our luggage with no problem. Due to the 9/11 events, drivers could no longer meet us at baggage claim. At first I thought our driver had not shown up and called the company. They told me if he wasnt there yet, that he would be in a few minutes and to meet him down a level in the taxi area. We got our bags and sure enough, there he was with a sign that had my name on it. Dessi, was our driver, and was very nice indeed. The more he talked to us, the more I thought about it and realized he had been my driver 2 years earlier when I came to WDW with my friends. There's actually a funny story related to him and since your allready this far down the TR, why not read it?
Two years ago, he drove us to our resort and on the way, he asked some questions about us(The usual, like, where we're from, how the flight was, etc). Well, my friend Charli, told him she was from a big 60 acre(I dont recall the exact number, but it was large) ranch in upstate New York that her parents owned. Dessi turned around and said in a strong Caribbean accent, "Who you are?!" Im not sure how funny that came off here, but it was hysterical for us. Anyway, back to the TR....We got to the Ramada East Gate very quickly, paid Dessi for a roundtrip, tipped, and went to the front desk. Before my trip, I had read up on Ramada East Gate. I had gotten the hotel through Hotwire.com and after recieving it, read some horrible reviews. Let me tell you, Ramada East Gate is a great hotel, assuming you get a good rate(like we did). The service was very nice. It had a great pool, hottub, elevators, clean rooms and halls, free tram to WDW and great housekeeping. Reading the literature the hotel provided, it said that the room would be made every 3 days. Well, they cleaned it every day and no matter how messy it was, they put it back in prestine condition. I would recommend the Ramada East Gate to anyone who wants to stay off-site and save lots of $$$$$.
Well, go take a break from reading this as it's getting mighty long right now. Stretch your necks, crack your knuckles, do whatever you do to relax. Ready? Okay. Let's go.
We put our bags down in the room and and decided to go get some food and explore the hotel. We ate at Perkins, which is in essence, a clone of any Denny's or Shoneys. The food was decent, but portions did not fill my stomach(The last thing I ate was at 4pm in the airport back in New York and it was after 10 now). We went to the local 7-11 and picked up some snacks and went to the room. I grabbed the yellow pages and called a few cab companies about picking us up tomorrow to go to MK. I found one that had a good rate and claimed it would cost between $13-15 to get us there. Sounded good to me, so I arranged to have them pick us up at 7:45am.
Things I learned:
Spirit Air Rules: Unparalled service and great fares make this a great airline. If you want to go to WDW on a cheap fare and not worry about the plane falling apart or shotty service, look no further than Spirit. I was really amazed at their great service. Super Kudos!
Airport Security: Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was quick and painless and I'm glad to see they are taking better steps. I remember times I would put my bag in the scanner, walk through the metal detector and notice the person who was supposed to be watching the bag scanner, dozing off or chatting with friends. Now its all business. Kudos!
Day 2 will be up tomorrow!
