The Hilton’s Do the World – Dec. 27, 2006 – Jan. 3, 2007

[StanH]

I've read so many clever trip reports that I am hesitant to try a report myself...

Where to start, where to start?

Pre-trip is as good a place as any, I guess.

Who are we? Our group consists of;
Me, (45, dashingly handsome, suave, and quite humble (is it opposite day today? ))
My beautiful, energetic DW (40, devastatingly beautiful , full of energy (she is our fastpass volunteer!), wonderful mother (obviously, it is not opposite day! ))
My DD13 (smart, pretty, shy, daring, finicky eater, wonderful person )
And
My DS11 (outgoing, handsome, not so daring, eats everything (expensive taste!), wonderful person )

We live in the Denver metro area. Have you seen or heard any mention of Denver or Colorado on the news lately? No??? Well, let me fill you in. It has been snowing out here lately. A lot. More than I have ever seen. Ever. I’m talking blizzards every week for the last 5 weeks in a row, but in terms of our trip – the first blizzard, days before we are to leave for The World.

The airport is shut down . People are stranded. For days. Not 1 day, not 2 days, but, 3 days or more. Holy crap! Will the airport and airlines be back on schedule by the time we leave??? We watch the news nightly to see what the latest update is.

We pack. We watch Disney specials on the Food channel, the Travel channel, and anywhere else they appear. We talk, we plan, we hope, we laugh, we charge batteries. John Pinnette!!! Did I mention John Pinnette??? He is a comedian - a very funny comedian who does some bits about Disney World. He cracks us up . We listen to him in preparation of our trip. I recommend him, but be careful – he does drop a bomb once in a while.

We hear that they have bussed people from the airport to downtown hotels. Oh joy.

Two days before we are to leave and we hear the news! The airport is clear, the stranded folks have all left, flights are back on schedule!!!

We finish packing. And by “we”, I mean my wife. I just “neatly” set everything I wanted to wear on the bed, she put it in the suitcase. Please understand, it is not due to my laziness, it is just that I am afflicted with a gene that prevents me from being able to fold clothes in a neat enough manner to pass my wife’s inspection and to prevent wrinkles. It is a curse that I must live with.

To be continued…

 

[StanH]

Part II

Our flight is at 7:30am on a Wednesday morning. We must go to bed early because we have to be up by 4:00am. At least that is what I told my wife and kids. We really could have slept in until 4:30, but hey….I knew how hard it was going to be to get my DD up, my wife ready, and all of the final, last minute packing done. It turned out to be a stress free morning for me! Not once did I say “Hurry up, we are going to be late” and actually mean it!

We leave right on time, get to the airport parking and the shuttle to the airport is sitting there just waiting or us to park and climb in! Man – it is cold outside! The parking lot is an ice skating rink. Chivalrous me, I hold my wife’s hand and walk her to the shuttle bus, then go back for the 4 suitcases. Holy smokes!!! What did my wife pack? These things are heavy! We better not get charged for being over weight! We climb into the bus and we are off!

I was smart enough to remember to check in for our flight the day before on the internet. Pshaw…Who am I kidding? I was obsessed with this trip and looking forward to it as much, if not way more, than anyone else in our family. I could not wait for the 24 hours before we leave so I could check in. Anyway, we checked our baggage at curbside check in, with no mention of the anvils my wife put in each suitcase and no extra charges!

We head for security and are amazed that the lines are as long as they were at 5:15am. Fortunately they are moving quickly.

Off we go to our gate. Our plane pulls up and disappointment hits the kids a little bit. There is an eagle on the tail instead of an otter, rabbit, bear, fox, or any of the other animals that are prevalent on the commercials. I am happy though. I figure an eagle is good karma since those birds can fly with the best of them!

We board and leave on time! Rock on, the trip is off to a great start! We land a little early and are vibrating with the excitement of being in Orlando!

We are taking advantage of Disney’s Magical Express again, so off we go to find the helpful Cast Member who direct us to the buses. Woops! First things first. Pit stop at the restroom!

We look and look for the cast member but can’t seem to find him/her. We ask at the information booth and are met with a look that says “Stupid tourist!” as the guy looks 10 feet to his left and says “She is here to answer those questions”.

Ok, so I feel a little sheepish because I did not notice the lady wearing the Disney vest and name badge, standing 10 feet to my right, but in my defense, SHE DID NOT HAVE THE BIG WHITE MICKEY HAND ON! Last time, they were wearing the Mickey hands!

I approach this nice lady with a smile on my face. As far as I am concerned, I am in Orlando. Orlando equals Disney World. I am already in Disney World and I am happy! Simple logic. A+B=C.

She politely tells us where to go, and we are off!

It is pure genius how they chose the location of the Magical Express check in and buses. Pure genius! I can hear them in the board room discussing it. Strategizing. “We will put it at the very furthest point in the airport. This will loosen our guests up for the Epcot Death March. Consider it training for their stay. Brilliant!”

It was almost like an attraction at a carnival. No matter how long you walked, you never got any closer to the end. It is so amazing how anticipation and excitement plays with your perception of reality.

We get to the check in area and are corralled by the cast member whose job it is, is to make sure only one person in each party gets in line to check in. That would be me. A few minutes later I know which line to get in for the bus. We walk into line and within 30 seconds they start loading us! Who said you have to wait in line at Disney World?

The bus ride is fun, except the video system is down. The bus driver entertains us by picking on tourists and trying to get a lady to sing It’s a Small World on the PA system.

Suddenly, the driver jolts me back to reality by saying, “The Magic Kingdom is closed right now, due to reaching its capacity. They are turning people away from the park and this has caused a big traffic jam. Have no fear though! I will drive around the traffic jam!”

I think to myself, ”Closed? Reached capacity? It is December 27th! What are we in for?”
In case you did not know – I have a gift. This gift is the ability to put things I don’t like, out of my mind and not think about them. What a perfect time to put my gift into play.

The driver skirts the traffic, and apparently they have re-opened MK while we were en route.

First stop for the bus is………(Drum roll!) The Wilderness Lodge!!! Where are we staying???? The Wilderness Lodge!!! Who is first off of the bus??? We are!!!

We get off the bus and I think to myself, “Dang. It’s hot here! Humid too!”. Then, just as quickly I think, “But it sure isn’t as bad when we were here in the summer time!!!”. We walk towards the entrance to this beautiful lodge and are greeted by a cast member who says, “Welcome home!”. We thank him and our smiles grow.

We enter through the doors and are taken aback by the beauty. Oh, we’ve seen pictures. We’ve read about it. Reality and in person is so much better. The Christmas decorations were beautiful! We walk over to the check in area and are the only ones there! The nice CM checks us in, telling us that our room isn’t ready yet, but...Hold on just a minute, ah, here’s a room!

She gives us room 2006, tells us how to get there, and off we go! We walk through the beautiful lobby, taking in the sites. Oh! There’s the Whispering Canyon Café! That’s where we are eating dinner on New Year’s Eve everybody! Look, Artist Point. We won’t be eating there (this trip at least). We walk down (literally) a hallway, turn the corner and there is Roaring Forks. I think this placed turned out to by my picky eater daughter’s favorite place to eat. People were there. Why are you people here? It’s the middle of the day! Get to a park! Oh, wait. They’re probably taking a break. Duh.

We walk past Roaring Fork and find the elevator. It is waiting for us! Still no waiting at Disney World! We zoom up to the 2nd floor and find our room down the hall.

The room is very nice, with a queen bed and a bunk bed (thank God). No 13 year old girl wants to share a bed with her 11 year old brother. No parent really wants to have to sleep with their son or daughter for 7 nights in a row to make the daughter happy and to avoid the battles that would follow. The bathroom is nice and “big”. Meaning bigger than I expected, with 2 sinks, shelving, etc. It was nice.

The balcony was nice too. It had chairs and a little table. We had a great view of the forest, especially since it started about 30 feet from the balcony. Off to the left was a pond! Oh look, there are ducks on the pond. My son and daughter were thrilled by this fact for some reason.

Hey! Would you look at that! The ducks are getting out of the water. They are waddling towards us. I’ll be….Trained ducks. I look at the balcony railing and I see something engraved in it. “Pavlov slept here”….Just kidding. Obviously these ducks are used to getting fed by the guests. They were cute. It was even cuter when another duck came from the opposite direction of the pond, leading her ducklings along in single file. Major cooing from the wife and kids.

Ok, enough with the ducks. We are at DISNEY WORLD! First things first. Let’s go get some refillable mugs! (Wow).

Too be continued...I hope!

 

[swillis]

Great start! My kids are about the same ages as yours, and I gave serious consideration to the bunk bed rooms at WL. In the end I decided to go with Fort Wilderness Cabins for the extra space.

I'm excited to hear more about your trip!