Laralyn
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2004
- Messages
- 509
The start of what I hope will become an annual trip to Walt Disney World!
The plan: Nine nights' stay at Disney's Port Orleads: Riverside, from Nov. 10-19, 2004.
The cast:
Laralyn, a 39 year old video game designer. I'm a long-time Disney park fan who always wanted to be an Imagineer.
Charlie, my 28 year old boyfriend, a graphic designer. He's not a big Disney fan although he loves animation and art. He also hates crowds, especially when they involve screaming kids and harried stroller-wielding parents.
So here we were, starting our trip by sitting on the curb because I locked my keys in the trunk of my car. I don't think it gave Charlie any warm fuzzy feelings about our upcoming vacation.
The AAA locksmith came and fished open the door, and we were on our way. Charlie fretted about being late, but we arrived, parked, and made it to our gate with an hour before boarding. I guess his need to leave early for flights paid off! At least this time--it will rear its ugly head again later on.
The flight was easy and short, and we landed in Orlando at around 5:30 PM. There was no line at the rental counter (Alamo, through Priceline), and the drive to POR was easy to make. Allears has great directions from the airport to each resort--check them out if you haven't already!
We passed under the Walk Disney World arched gate, and I couldn't believe I was really there. It felt like some kind of weird dream. Then we got to Port Orleans: Riverside, and it was beautiful! The Christmas decorations were already up, which really surprised me.
Here is a shot of Charlie in the decorated lobby. That expression on his face is because he was nervous about leaving the car parked in the circle drive while we checked in. He hasn't traveled much, and this is one of the times it showed that he hasn't been on vacation before. I tried to reassure him we were fine, but he was worried the whole time that the car would be towed!
We had a quick check-in (no king beds available, unfortunately), and I asked the CM to print out our PS list. She paused and said, "Wow. You have a lot!" She had to go get a manager to show her how to print all 16 of our PS! How did having 16 PS for 9 days work out? I'll let you know as we go.
We had some trouble finding the room before we figured out it was on the second floor. By this time, between the car keys, air travel, finding the resort, worrying about the car, and getting lost finding the room, Charlie and I were pretty crabby. The room itself was lovely--a corner room.
We freshened up, then took the boat to Downtown Disney for a 9:00 PS for Planet Hollywood. I planned to activate our APs, and buy a Pal Mickey before dinner. It worked out well--the boat ride was pleasant, and although Downtown Disney was crowded, it was a lot of fun and we both relaxed. I did get that uneasy feeling of "Where did all these people come from? This is supposed to be the uncrowded season!" that would return throughout our trip.
My review of Planet Hollywood is here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7017458#post7017458
Some images from that first night:
We returned to the resort on the last boat of the night (11:00 PM), and headed to bed to get ready for our first day at the parks, and Disney-MGM Studios!
The plan: Nine nights' stay at Disney's Port Orleads: Riverside, from Nov. 10-19, 2004.
The cast:
Laralyn, a 39 year old video game designer. I'm a long-time Disney park fan who always wanted to be an Imagineer.
Charlie, my 28 year old boyfriend, a graphic designer. He's not a big Disney fan although he loves animation and art. He also hates crowds, especially when they involve screaming kids and harried stroller-wielding parents.
So here we were, starting our trip by sitting on the curb because I locked my keys in the trunk of my car. I don't think it gave Charlie any warm fuzzy feelings about our upcoming vacation.
The AAA locksmith came and fished open the door, and we were on our way. Charlie fretted about being late, but we arrived, parked, and made it to our gate with an hour before boarding. I guess his need to leave early for flights paid off! At least this time--it will rear its ugly head again later on.
The flight was easy and short, and we landed in Orlando at around 5:30 PM. There was no line at the rental counter (Alamo, through Priceline), and the drive to POR was easy to make. Allears has great directions from the airport to each resort--check them out if you haven't already!
We passed under the Walk Disney World arched gate, and I couldn't believe I was really there. It felt like some kind of weird dream. Then we got to Port Orleans: Riverside, and it was beautiful! The Christmas decorations were already up, which really surprised me.
Here is a shot of Charlie in the decorated lobby. That expression on his face is because he was nervous about leaving the car parked in the circle drive while we checked in. He hasn't traveled much, and this is one of the times it showed that he hasn't been on vacation before. I tried to reassure him we were fine, but he was worried the whole time that the car would be towed!
We had a quick check-in (no king beds available, unfortunately), and I asked the CM to print out our PS list. She paused and said, "Wow. You have a lot!" She had to go get a manager to show her how to print all 16 of our PS! How did having 16 PS for 9 days work out? I'll let you know as we go.
We had some trouble finding the room before we figured out it was on the second floor. By this time, between the car keys, air travel, finding the resort, worrying about the car, and getting lost finding the room, Charlie and I were pretty crabby. The room itself was lovely--a corner room.
We freshened up, then took the boat to Downtown Disney for a 9:00 PS for Planet Hollywood. I planned to activate our APs, and buy a Pal Mickey before dinner. It worked out well--the boat ride was pleasant, and although Downtown Disney was crowded, it was a lot of fun and we both relaxed. I did get that uneasy feeling of "Where did all these people come from? This is supposed to be the uncrowded season!" that would return throughout our trip.
My review of Planet Hollywood is here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=7017458#post7017458
Some images from that first night:
We returned to the resort on the last boat of the night (11:00 PM), and headed to bed to get ready for our first day at the parks, and Disney-MGM Studios!
