"There's nothing in the world worth fighting this crowd!"
Monday, 20 November 2000
Once again, we had high hopes of early entry success. We took the bus to MK from the Swan and arrived a little later than I had planned. We rode Buzz's ride and the Tommorrowland Transit Authority before heading to Fantasyland. We rode the teacups, then lined up at the rope drop for Toon Town. We visited with Mickey, then rode the train around to the front of the park.
I had intended to grab a muffin at the Main Street Bakery, but the park was already filling up with people, and the line was unbelievably long.
We left MK and caught the boat to the Grand Floridian. My daughter was scheduled to participate in the Pirates' Cruise. When I booked it MONTHS ago, I never imagined that the day would be so cold. I hoped that the pirates wouldn't freeze!
We ate breakfast at Gasparilla Grill before sending the pirates on their way. My husband agreed to wait around for Chicken Girl; I planned to return to the Swan, then go to MGM ALONE. (Alone is sometimes very good.) After catching the monorail, I realized that I had forgotten to give my husband his and Chicken Girl's passes, so I had to ride back around to the GF to drop them off. (As it turned out, they didn't even go to a park. AAARRRGGGHHH!)
Eventually, I caught the bus back to the Swan, then the boat to MGM. I was on a mission: My sister and my cousin had requested specific Christmas ornaments, so I checked out the "It's a Wonderful Shop" store at the Studios. Success!
I ate a pizza from Pizza Planet for a late lunch, then returned to the Swan. (The sheer volume of people at both MK and MGM discouraged me!) Chicken Girl and her dad had eaten at the Dolphin Fountain, and they were getting ready to walk over to the BoardWalk and rent a surrey bike. Against my better judgment, I forfeited "alone" time and joined them.
Renting a surrey bike might SOUND like a simple thing to do. Au contraire! One must sign about a zillion forms, pay the fee, leave a room key, listen to instructions, yadda, yadda, yadda, before being entrusted with a bike.
Chicken Girl was insulted that she had to ride in the basket, but she wanted to participate so badly that she didn't cause too much of a fuss.
We set out for our ride around the Epcot resorts area. Surrey bike riding is WAY harder than it looks--particularly when one encounters a hill! At one point, I was pedalling as hard as I could, but we didn't seem to be making much progress. Finally, I noticed that not only was my husband NOT pedalling, but that he was also applying the brake. He was very much amused. I was not.
After one loop around, I opted to go check out the Christmas decorations at the BoardWalk, and left Chicken Girl and her dad to their fun.
We joined my friend and her son later in the evening. We took the bus from the Swan to the MK, then walked over to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey's. (Contrary to urban legend, I did NOT go to MNR in Orlando on this evening.)
Chef Mickey's is a tradition with my family. We ALWAYS go there. Chicken Girl loves to wave her napkin!
My husband pointed out, after watching other people deal with their children, that the famous "three-count" (You know what I mean! "Hey, I said to cut it out! Ooo--one. Two--oo-oo. Three.") works in a variety of languages. We heard it in French, Spanish, and German on this trip!
Got to love a classic!
Chicken Girl selected an assortment of chocolate delicacies for her dessert, thus ensuring hyperactivity, and we all headed back to the Swan to admire IllumiNations from our room.
What a view!
Then, after midnight, the "high adventure" began. Chicken Girl had been rather quiet earlier, and she began to cough. I was afraid that she might be getting sick, so I told my husband that I wanted to fill the prescription our doctor had given me. I called a number in my Swan guest directory and got an assistant manager named Antonio. He told my husband to come downstairs, that he would arrange for a town car to take him to an all-night pharmacy that he knew about on International Drive. When my husband returned around 1:45 A. M., he reported that Antonio called the town car service, had the car waiting, and gave my husband vouchers so that he didn't have to pay for the trip. What great customer service! Yeah for Antonio and for the Swan!
[This message was edited by Chelley on 11-26-00 at 10:47 PM.]
Monday, 20 November 2000
Once again, we had high hopes of early entry success. We took the bus to MK from the Swan and arrived a little later than I had planned. We rode Buzz's ride and the Tommorrowland Transit Authority before heading to Fantasyland. We rode the teacups, then lined up at the rope drop for Toon Town. We visited with Mickey, then rode the train around to the front of the park.
I had intended to grab a muffin at the Main Street Bakery, but the park was already filling up with people, and the line was unbelievably long.
We left MK and caught the boat to the Grand Floridian. My daughter was scheduled to participate in the Pirates' Cruise. When I booked it MONTHS ago, I never imagined that the day would be so cold. I hoped that the pirates wouldn't freeze!
We ate breakfast at Gasparilla Grill before sending the pirates on their way. My husband agreed to wait around for Chicken Girl; I planned to return to the Swan, then go to MGM ALONE. (Alone is sometimes very good.) After catching the monorail, I realized that I had forgotten to give my husband his and Chicken Girl's passes, so I had to ride back around to the GF to drop them off. (As it turned out, they didn't even go to a park. AAARRRGGGHHH!)
Eventually, I caught the bus back to the Swan, then the boat to MGM. I was on a mission: My sister and my cousin had requested specific Christmas ornaments, so I checked out the "It's a Wonderful Shop" store at the Studios. Success!
I ate a pizza from Pizza Planet for a late lunch, then returned to the Swan. (The sheer volume of people at both MK and MGM discouraged me!) Chicken Girl and her dad had eaten at the Dolphin Fountain, and they were getting ready to walk over to the BoardWalk and rent a surrey bike. Against my better judgment, I forfeited "alone" time and joined them.
Renting a surrey bike might SOUND like a simple thing to do. Au contraire! One must sign about a zillion forms, pay the fee, leave a room key, listen to instructions, yadda, yadda, yadda, before being entrusted with a bike.
Chicken Girl was insulted that she had to ride in the basket, but she wanted to participate so badly that she didn't cause too much of a fuss.
We set out for our ride around the Epcot resorts area. Surrey bike riding is WAY harder than it looks--particularly when one encounters a hill! At one point, I was pedalling as hard as I could, but we didn't seem to be making much progress. Finally, I noticed that not only was my husband NOT pedalling, but that he was also applying the brake. He was very much amused. I was not.
After one loop around, I opted to go check out the Christmas decorations at the BoardWalk, and left Chicken Girl and her dad to their fun.
We joined my friend and her son later in the evening. We took the bus from the Swan to the MK, then walked over to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey's. (Contrary to urban legend, I did NOT go to MNR in Orlando on this evening.)
Chef Mickey's is a tradition with my family. We ALWAYS go there. Chicken Girl loves to wave her napkin!
My husband pointed out, after watching other people deal with their children, that the famous "three-count" (You know what I mean! "Hey, I said to cut it out! Ooo--one. Two--oo-oo. Three.") works in a variety of languages. We heard it in French, Spanish, and German on this trip!
Got to love a classic!Chicken Girl selected an assortment of chocolate delicacies for her dessert, thus ensuring hyperactivity, and we all headed back to the Swan to admire IllumiNations from our room.
What a view!
Then, after midnight, the "high adventure" began. Chicken Girl had been rather quiet earlier, and she began to cough. I was afraid that she might be getting sick, so I told my husband that I wanted to fill the prescription our doctor had given me. I called a number in my Swan guest directory and got an assistant manager named Antonio. He told my husband to come downstairs, that he would arrange for a town car to take him to an all-night pharmacy that he knew about on International Drive. When my husband returned around 1:45 A. M., he reported that Antonio called the town car service, had the car waiting, and gave my husband vouchers so that he didn't have to pay for the trip. What great customer service! Yeah for Antonio and for the Swan!
[This message was edited by Chelley on 11-26-00 at 10:47 PM.]
