tc
<font color=blue>Miracles are amazing!<br><font co
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2000
- Messages
- 3,191
Cast: Me, Kelli, just turned 40, Disney nut and major planner.
DH, Stephen, also 40, puts up with my Disney obsession, loves it almost as much (just wont admit it.)
Saturday, September 22
We had to do laundry today. Dh kept telling me we could wait, but it's been over a week, and we really need to do laundry. So, off the Burger King in the great city of Starke. We took our food to the towns only laundry mat (at least it's the only one we found). It was an experience. The place was not very clean. I was afraid to put my clothes on the folding table to fold them. Four washers, two dryers, and two hours later, we were on the road towards the Gulf Coast.
We stopped at the Harley dealer in Ocala. Nice place, nice people (as they usually are). Don't believe what you hear about Harley riders, most of them are very nice. I really loved the Ocala area. Dh even said if it came down to it, he could live here. The fields were beautiful. We stopped and looked around at a horse farm (I don't remember the name)
We ate lunch in Inverness at McD's.
From there we drove to Crystal River, saw another HD dealer, and found the coast. It was pretty. For some reason I thought you'd see the other side (LOL). It looks just like the eastern ocean. The beach was a little slimey. We just waded in the water for awhile, took pictures, and headed back inland, byway of a more southern route.
Dh took a wrong turn while I was sleeping, and we ended up on the most amazing lane. I have never seen a completely tree covered lane before (coming from the west, you know), but this was one. With the sun trickling through the leaves, I could have stayed there for years. This was somewhere near a town called Howie in the Hills. Really, that's what it's called. I loved it, but DH said it felt claustrophobic.
Well, we wanted to catch Spectromagic at MK tonight, so we trucked on. We checked into the Marriott at DTD. It was very nice. We followed a couple into a back door, and tried to find our room, but we were in the elevators that went to the tower, and we were just off the lobby. It was a little embarrassing to tell them we had to get off because this elevator didn't go to our floor.
We went to Chevy's eat dinner. I had a $25 GC that I got doing rewards. It was good. We even had dessert, which we never do, because we had extra to spend.
After that we drove to MK, flashed our AP for free parking, and headed in. This was the first time since we'd been there that we had crowds. I'm sure it was because the Friday night Spectro was canceled, so everyone in the World was there. We staked out a place outside the Christmas shop in Liberty Square. We had many great converstations with people while we waited. The parade, as always, was great. I'd show you pictures, but, amazingly, I ran out of film. I was so upset, but by the time I realized it, the parade was upon us.
Here's a little gross-out for you. After the parade was over, we had decided just to stay put until the crowds died down. We sat where we could see the bridge into Liberty Square and saw a dad tell his son to just urinate over the railing. DH and I saw it, along with a number of other families. We were shocked to say the least.
Anyway, after the crowds died down, we headed to the hub to see if they would do the "Kiss Goodnight". While we were sitting there, we saw a group of people to the right of us, all having a great time. It looked like about 8 or 10 people. There was a very tall man, with a camera bag attached to his belt, and a lime green ribbon tied to it. He was taking pictures like crazy. I leaned over to DH and said that I'd bet that was a bunch of DISer's, and the big guy was Dan Murphy. He told me to go say hi, but I was too shy. Come to find out, it was Dan, and a group of DISers, also waiting for the kiss goodnight (which, by the way, never happened). When Dan posted some pictures on the Community Board, DH and I are in one. We actually saw him three times, but I never said hi once. He laughed about it, and said next time to go for it. I definately will.
Anyway, we left at about 10:30 once we realized the kiss wasn't happening, and drove to the Marriott.
Sunday, September 23
Today we slept in because we were going to the House of Blues Gospel Brunch, and it wasn't until 10:30. It was a blast. The group that sang were the Virginionaires. Dh and I even got on stage to dance. The food was excellent. DH was a little concerned because he is a picky eater, but the variety was amazing. I would definately do this again.
From there we checked into the Wilderness Lodge. We only had ressies for two days because we originally were scheduled to leave on Tuesday. Thanks to bin Laden, our trip was shifted, and we left on Friday. We rented DVC points for all our accomodiations, but nothing was available for Tues-Fri at Wilderness Lodge. From here we go to OKW. Anyway, we got the Welcome Home, and our room was ready. Oh my goodness, our room was very far away. The Villas are in a separate building than the main lobby, we knew that, but the room we had was on the 3rd or 4th floor, at the very end of the farthest hall. We were the last door on the left. I didn't really like the location, but I am not one to complain. In addition, the quiet pool was being refurbished (how lucky are we, again) so if we wanted to swim or hot tub, we'd have to trek all the way to the main pool. Needless to say, we never made it. Once I made it to my room, I was not leaving.
After a quick look around we headed to Celebration. I had always wanted to see this town, but never had the time. We had a good time. We toured all the models. They are amazing. They may seem expensive to Floridians, but here in Colorado, those houses would be a lot more expensive. We wandered around town for awhile, then headed back. A very relaxing afternoon.
We took the boat to the TTC, and then the monorail to Epcot. We grabbed a quick dinner in the Land (kids meals for both of us), and then wandered toward World Showcase. We were headed to MGM to catch Fantasmic again. On our way (okay, not really on our way, but we made it that way) DH grabbed a Kaki Gori (cherry is his favorite) to eat on the way. On this walk to MGM, DH finally admitted he was not that thrilled about moving to Florida. I was crushed, but was glad he was being honest. We then discussed that maybe someplace not so far south would be acceptable like N. Carolina or Tennessee. I'm looking in those places now.
It took awhile to walk, but we really enjoy this hike. We arrived at MGM at about 6:30. and, since I didn't have Kaki Gori, I wanted cheese fries. Bad idea. I'd been feeling to good this trip, I wasn't thinking clearly. Normally, I have trouble with food intake, and generally eat very little, and only certain foods. Well, this trip I had been feeling great the whole time. I don't know if Florida just agrees with me, all the walking we did eased my digestion, or it was magic, but I felt great. Normally, I don't eat processed cheese products. I won't tell you what it does to me, but it's not nice. I had mac and cheese in the Land, and cheese fries at MGM. Not a good combination. To make a long story short, once we arrived at Fantasmic, and I ate my fries, it took about 10 minutes for me to rush to the bathroom. 15 minutes later, I feel much better, however, much weaker, and headed back to our seats. I was in serious need of some protein at this point, so DH had to go get me a hot dot (no cheese, please). After eating that, I was fine, and could enjoy the show. We sat in the Mickey section, and I loved it. This is the first time we've sat near the middle, and I think it makes all the difference. We waited for the crowds to clear when it was over, and then headed to the bus.
It was a great day.
DH, Stephen, also 40, puts up with my Disney obsession, loves it almost as much (just wont admit it.)
Saturday, September 22
We had to do laundry today. Dh kept telling me we could wait, but it's been over a week, and we really need to do laundry. So, off the Burger King in the great city of Starke. We took our food to the towns only laundry mat (at least it's the only one we found). It was an experience. The place was not very clean. I was afraid to put my clothes on the folding table to fold them. Four washers, two dryers, and two hours later, we were on the road towards the Gulf Coast.
We stopped at the Harley dealer in Ocala. Nice place, nice people (as they usually are). Don't believe what you hear about Harley riders, most of them are very nice. I really loved the Ocala area. Dh even said if it came down to it, he could live here. The fields were beautiful. We stopped and looked around at a horse farm (I don't remember the name)
We ate lunch in Inverness at McD's.
From there we drove to Crystal River, saw another HD dealer, and found the coast. It was pretty. For some reason I thought you'd see the other side (LOL). It looks just like the eastern ocean. The beach was a little slimey. We just waded in the water for awhile, took pictures, and headed back inland, byway of a more southern route.
Dh took a wrong turn while I was sleeping, and we ended up on the most amazing lane. I have never seen a completely tree covered lane before (coming from the west, you know), but this was one. With the sun trickling through the leaves, I could have stayed there for years. This was somewhere near a town called Howie in the Hills. Really, that's what it's called. I loved it, but DH said it felt claustrophobic.
Well, we wanted to catch Spectromagic at MK tonight, so we trucked on. We checked into the Marriott at DTD. It was very nice. We followed a couple into a back door, and tried to find our room, but we were in the elevators that went to the tower, and we were just off the lobby. It was a little embarrassing to tell them we had to get off because this elevator didn't go to our floor.
We went to Chevy's eat dinner. I had a $25 GC that I got doing rewards. It was good. We even had dessert, which we never do, because we had extra to spend.
After that we drove to MK, flashed our AP for free parking, and headed in. This was the first time since we'd been there that we had crowds. I'm sure it was because the Friday night Spectro was canceled, so everyone in the World was there. We staked out a place outside the Christmas shop in Liberty Square. We had many great converstations with people while we waited. The parade, as always, was great. I'd show you pictures, but, amazingly, I ran out of film. I was so upset, but by the time I realized it, the parade was upon us.
Here's a little gross-out for you. After the parade was over, we had decided just to stay put until the crowds died down. We sat where we could see the bridge into Liberty Square and saw a dad tell his son to just urinate over the railing. DH and I saw it, along with a number of other families. We were shocked to say the least.
Anyway, after the crowds died down, we headed to the hub to see if they would do the "Kiss Goodnight". While we were sitting there, we saw a group of people to the right of us, all having a great time. It looked like about 8 or 10 people. There was a very tall man, with a camera bag attached to his belt, and a lime green ribbon tied to it. He was taking pictures like crazy. I leaned over to DH and said that I'd bet that was a bunch of DISer's, and the big guy was Dan Murphy. He told me to go say hi, but I was too shy. Come to find out, it was Dan, and a group of DISers, also waiting for the kiss goodnight (which, by the way, never happened). When Dan posted some pictures on the Community Board, DH and I are in one. We actually saw him three times, but I never said hi once. He laughed about it, and said next time to go for it. I definately will.
Anyway, we left at about 10:30 once we realized the kiss wasn't happening, and drove to the Marriott.
Sunday, September 23
Today we slept in because we were going to the House of Blues Gospel Brunch, and it wasn't until 10:30. It was a blast. The group that sang were the Virginionaires. Dh and I even got on stage to dance. The food was excellent. DH was a little concerned because he is a picky eater, but the variety was amazing. I would definately do this again.
From there we checked into the Wilderness Lodge. We only had ressies for two days because we originally were scheduled to leave on Tuesday. Thanks to bin Laden, our trip was shifted, and we left on Friday. We rented DVC points for all our accomodiations, but nothing was available for Tues-Fri at Wilderness Lodge. From here we go to OKW. Anyway, we got the Welcome Home, and our room was ready. Oh my goodness, our room was very far away. The Villas are in a separate building than the main lobby, we knew that, but the room we had was on the 3rd or 4th floor, at the very end of the farthest hall. We were the last door on the left. I didn't really like the location, but I am not one to complain. In addition, the quiet pool was being refurbished (how lucky are we, again) so if we wanted to swim or hot tub, we'd have to trek all the way to the main pool. Needless to say, we never made it. Once I made it to my room, I was not leaving.
After a quick look around we headed to Celebration. I had always wanted to see this town, but never had the time. We had a good time. We toured all the models. They are amazing. They may seem expensive to Floridians, but here in Colorado, those houses would be a lot more expensive. We wandered around town for awhile, then headed back. A very relaxing afternoon.
We took the boat to the TTC, and then the monorail to Epcot. We grabbed a quick dinner in the Land (kids meals for both of us), and then wandered toward World Showcase. We were headed to MGM to catch Fantasmic again. On our way (okay, not really on our way, but we made it that way) DH grabbed a Kaki Gori (cherry is his favorite) to eat on the way. On this walk to MGM, DH finally admitted he was not that thrilled about moving to Florida. I was crushed, but was glad he was being honest. We then discussed that maybe someplace not so far south would be acceptable like N. Carolina or Tennessee. I'm looking in those places now.
It took awhile to walk, but we really enjoy this hike. We arrived at MGM at about 6:30. and, since I didn't have Kaki Gori, I wanted cheese fries. Bad idea. I'd been feeling to good this trip, I wasn't thinking clearly. Normally, I have trouble with food intake, and generally eat very little, and only certain foods. Well, this trip I had been feeling great the whole time. I don't know if Florida just agrees with me, all the walking we did eased my digestion, or it was magic, but I felt great. Normally, I don't eat processed cheese products. I won't tell you what it does to me, but it's not nice. I had mac and cheese in the Land, and cheese fries at MGM. Not a good combination. To make a long story short, once we arrived at Fantasmic, and I ate my fries, it took about 10 minutes for me to rush to the bathroom. 15 minutes later, I feel much better, however, much weaker, and headed back to our seats. I was in serious need of some protein at this point, so DH had to go get me a hot dot (no cheese, please). After eating that, I was fine, and could enjoy the show. We sat in the Mickey section, and I loved it. This is the first time we've sat near the middle, and I think it makes all the difference. We waited for the crowds to clear when it was over, and then headed to the bus.
It was a great day.
