MKFan-PR
Certified MK Freak! Work is what I do for Vacation
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2002
- Messages
- 495
THE CAST:
MKFan-PR: Me, 34. Disney nut since my parents took me when I was 5. This is my 10th trip overall, number 6 with my DW and number 2 with my DD.
Carmen: DW, 38. Her 7th trip (6 with me). Knows a little English but enjoys Disney a lot.
Larissa: DD, 3.5. This is actually her 2nd trip, but this is the first that she will actually have memories of. Has been excited about the trip ever since she saw the vacation video.
We live in Puerto Rico, so a trip to Disney involves quite some planning and investment; it is very difficult to go more than once a year. With Larissa starting school this will be the first time that our family will NOT be going off-season, and who knows when we'll be able to return, so this trip is extra-special for my DW and me.
Day 2-'Mommy, take a look!' plus the unexpected
I woke up at about 7:30. Carmen and Larissa were sound asleep so I let them sleep some more. Before I go on I'll tell you that when we are not 'park commandos'. Not that I wouldn't like to do it that way. It's just that my job is filled with deadlines and time crunches that when I go on vacation I take it in a very relaxed pace: I get up at about 9:00 and then I proceed to take it very easy. We do plan where we'll go and more or less how we'll do it, but we're very flexible and if we miss sone things, that's ok. For us just being there is magical. That being said, I would love to do it 'commando' style for a day or two in the future (then again, I always say that every trip...
)
Anyway, I looked under the front door and found the Orlando Sentinel. I went to the balcony and read there for a while, enjoying my lovely view of...a Southwest plane. (It's an airport hotel, what did you expect? LOL!). I've loved watching planes since I was a little kid. I watched a few landings and take-offs (including that Southwest plane). Carmen and Larissa than woke up at about 9:30. They started to get dressed while I went downstairs to the airport food court to get breakfast (the only time of the year I actually eat breakfast is when I'm on vacation). I felt weird walking around the airport in sandals and not carrying any bags! Got some egg &ham croissan'wiches and some French Toast Sticks at the BK counter (you will see that we also take a vacation from 'healthy' eating while in Orlando).
Went up to the room and found out the ladies we're almost ready but I wasn't! I finished breakfast, finished getting ready, then went downstairs to check out. We always get a calling card to use when calling home to check messages and in case of emergencies. My wife called her mother when we arrived (it's a family thing...my mother-in-law won't sleep at all if she doesn't). I forgot to get a calling card for this trip. The hotel bill quickly reminded me of that. It was just a 5-minute call! Ouch.
After checking out, we went to the Dollar counter to get my compact. We waited in line with about 3 or 4 more people. Of the 4 clerks working the Dollar counter 2 seemed nice and 2 seemed grumpy. The couple in front of us (from New Jersey I think) started joking about which clerk they would get and which we would get. They hit the jackpot. We lost badly. My clerk barely looked at me. She handled my reservation well and I got everything I requested. But a machine could do the same thing (the clerk with the New Jersey couple was the complete opposite). I didn't mind too much, since I got a great code with Mousesavers and wound up saving a lot.
We hauled ourselves, our luggage, the stroller and now the Car Seat (which they gave me at the counter) to the Dollar parking lot, where the nice lady gives me the keys to my brand new...Neon! (I told you...it was a compact!
). I don't mind the size at all. It fits the three of us perfectly and I'd rather spend the money on other things.
We finally are on our way to WDW. I ignore all sings to take the South Exit and rt. 417 and take to North Exit and rt. 528 to I-4. Somehow I like this route better when going to WDW from the airport (I take 417 when I'm going TO the airport for the flight home). It's a matter of choice and although the 417 is more quiet, I like this route better because of all the signs and the sight of the hotels and all the other stuff. I don't know, I think it just reminds me that I'm on vacation. Larissa loved this choice anyway, she was so amazed with all the signs (she didn't miss one because WE were pointing them out!...so I guess we were amazed too! LOL!)
While driving there I noticed that the Exit numbers had changed! It totally confused me at first. The Exit numbers are now 64-67 I think, while the numbers were like 25AB to 27. Later I saw a small sign on top that showed the previous number, but what I did was to get to the Magic Kingdom exit, since I figured that once inside Disney property, I would follow the signs to the hotel (I was right
).
We all went 'woo-hoo' when we saw the entrance sign (another tradition). We then followed the signs to CBR. We went right in and parked at the Custom House for check-in. We went inside and I was reminded of how much Carmen and I liked the place when we came for the first time together in '94. The check-in line was long, but I didn't mind (I would see some lines later, so I might as well get used to it!). Larissa and Carmen sat in front of the TV watching some Disney movies.
Once my turn came, the lady at the counter was very helpful. I got a great rate with UPH's included through Disney Club. I put a request through Disney Club (WDW Travel) for a Non-Smoking close to OPR. The lady at the counter first tried to get me a room that was ready and actually found one...in Trinidad South! We stayed there the first time we came. We didn't mind then and normally I wouldn't mind), but with Larissa we needed to be closer to the food court and also it would be very hard on us to be the last Bus Stop. She offered me the room, since my original request was not ready. I told her that we could wait and then she showed me my building: Martinique! Yes! (I would later realize it was even closer to OPR than I expected!). She told us it was on Building 25 and gave a us a number to call to find out if it was ready. She gave us all the information papers, the parking permit paper and the room keys/park passes. Since we expected the room to not be ready, we did what we planned to do: we drove to our Martinique building, parked there, took out the stroller and headed for the Bus Stop.
Even though we almost always rent a car, I don't drive to the parks. Again it's a matter of choice, and I know it could be faster, but to me its a hassle at the end ofthe day to follow the throngs to the trams then endure the traffic. I like the convenience of the buses.
We arrive at the MK, get through Security and finally cross the gate at exactly 1:00 PM. As we enter Main Street and Larissa looks at the Castle live for the first time she says (in English...remember, we speak Spanish): 'Mommy! Take a look!' She was referring to the song in the 2001 vacation video ('Take a look...at a world where dreams come true...'). It totally blew us away!
After wiping the tears from our eyes
, we head out to Fantasyland. We have a 2:00 PM PS for lunch at CRT, so we figured we could do maybe a couple rides before lunch. We caught the end of the show in front of the castle. We used the new (to me at least) pathways that link Fantasyland to the bridge to Liberty Square. They are actually quite nice. Since these were new to us and we usually entered Fantasyland through the Castle or from Liberty Square, when we got to Fantayland I was completely disoriented: Why is the Carousel here? Dumbo wasn't that close! We finally got our bearings and headed to It's a Small World. With so much stuff at this point Larissa was at first a little apprehensive, but the ride's slow pace and colorful dolls eased it for her, and she finally realaxed. After that we got a FP for PPF, then did Snow White's. It was now 2:00 so we headed for CRT. While I waited in line at the podium, Carmen and Larissa wandered off to a nearby store. There Larissa found some Mickey sunglasses (we forgot to bring hers, and since we were wearing sunglasses, she wanted some too). When Carmen looked and the price they were just $4.00! She expected a lot more! She was so proud of her DD! A born shopper, just like her mommy! LOL!
We finally go in to the waiting area and...hey Cinderella is here! She was a little distant with with the people in front of us (they were a little loud), but as soon as it was Larissa's turn (she was actually the first child in line) she totally changed: she was so nice!
We go up to the restaurant and had a very nice lunch. Carmen had the Prime Rib and I had a Beef soup and a great HUGE sandwich. Kid's meals are still a little big for Larissa, so we usually share with her. Great lunch!
After that we did Dumbo, used our FP for PPF, then went on the Mad Tea Party. Since we had just had lunch, I went easy on them.
We then headed to Tomorrowland, had a relaxing ride with no wait on TTA. Thought about getting a FP for Buzz but decided to cross over to Adventureland. We did POC with no wait, Aladdin's with 5 min. wait (the crowds were much better than I expected, and the FP is a great equalizer). We crossed through the new pathway to Frontierland and caught the CBJ at about 2 minutes before opening the doors. What a difference a lively audience makes. They were clapping and whooping, and that made the show very enjoyable.
When we headed out we realized we had missed (by a lot; it was now about 5) the afternoon parade. We headed out to the HM just as it started to pour. We got our FP, then took cover in Columbia Harbour House. We shared some chicken strips, cookies and Lemonade while we waited for the rain to stop. Larissa eventually fell asleep. The rain wouldn't stop, so I went to a nearby store and got ourselves some yellow ponchos. The rain still wouldn't stop and Larissa was asleep, so when the FP time came I went by myself then switched with Carmen. It was now about 8.
We got a FP for Jungle Cruise, then headed to Pecos Bill's for our 'official' dinner. We ate relaxedly and when we exited we realized that Spectro had started, so we saw it in Frontierland. Larissa was totally amazed, and waved to all the floats. She even waved at the guys at the end (the ones that carry the ropes)! It was time for our FP in JC. We actually got the last boat for the night. It's a totally different experience at night. Although I know the almost all the skipper's spiel by heart now, I still love it. To me it's all in the personality and our skipper was a pro!
We then headed to Main Street. We got Larissa a Mickey/Minnie balloon (a silver one; she liked those better) and parked ourselves in the Town Square, near the flag, for FITS. I called and found out our room number, #2534, and that it was ready. We then enjoyed FITS. All we could say was 'Wow!' It was a great way to top off our first park day.
We got in the bus and.. this is where the unexpected happened...
We were standing in the back of the Bus. Camen had just passed me Larissa. We had stopped at a red light. When the bus started moving again it made a small, sudden stop. Nothing big. The driver had done a few of these and we were merely a little annoyed. He continued, but then he hot the brakes really hard. We thought we hit something (it turned out that there had been an accident in front and the cars in front were moving out of the lane. The driver did not realize what was happening until he was too close and had only two options: brake slowly and hit the cars or slam the brakes. He chose number two). As the bus braked suddenly all of us that were standing toppled like a stack of dominoes. At first I tried to hold on to something, but I couldn't so I just concentrated on holding Larissa and protecting her. She was Ok, but as I fell, my head snapped backwards and I hit Carmen on the cheek, below the eye. She was Ok. Later in the week a mark would appear, but it was nothing bad and she covered it with makeup.
As we got up, everyone was checking with each other to see if they were ok. Somenoe else was hurt: she was holding her ribs and her chest and someone said she told the paramedics it hurt when she breathed in. I hope she's fine. A LOT of Disney people arrived, got the names and addresses of everyone in the bus. Paramedics attended Carmen. She said she was fine and didn't need a hospital. They gave her an ice pack and told us to call them through 911 if we needed them. The other hurt woman I think left with the paramedics to a hospital.
If someone who was on that bus reads this, I want to thank you all for your help and kindness: a woman immediately got ice from her cup and put it on Carmen; another family gave us their seats, and so on. Everyone was so wonderful to each other and I thank you all very, very much.
After everything was sorted out and all the names were taken (about 30-40 min.), we were transferred to another bus and finally arrived at our room at about 11:30PM. We put Larissa to sleep and unpacked. Then a shower and we hit the sack at about 1:00 AM.
In spite of everything, a great day...
Tomorrow - Disney/MGM Studios and the sun...
MKFan-PR: Me, 34. Disney nut since my parents took me when I was 5. This is my 10th trip overall, number 6 with my DW and number 2 with my DD.
Carmen: DW, 38. Her 7th trip (6 with me). Knows a little English but enjoys Disney a lot.
Larissa: DD, 3.5. This is actually her 2nd trip, but this is the first that she will actually have memories of. Has been excited about the trip ever since she saw the vacation video.
We live in Puerto Rico, so a trip to Disney involves quite some planning and investment; it is very difficult to go more than once a year. With Larissa starting school this will be the first time that our family will NOT be going off-season, and who knows when we'll be able to return, so this trip is extra-special for my DW and me.
Day 2-'Mommy, take a look!' plus the unexpected
I woke up at about 7:30. Carmen and Larissa were sound asleep so I let them sleep some more. Before I go on I'll tell you that when we are not 'park commandos'. Not that I wouldn't like to do it that way. It's just that my job is filled with deadlines and time crunches that when I go on vacation I take it in a very relaxed pace: I get up at about 9:00 and then I proceed to take it very easy. We do plan where we'll go and more or less how we'll do it, but we're very flexible and if we miss sone things, that's ok. For us just being there is magical. That being said, I would love to do it 'commando' style for a day or two in the future (then again, I always say that every trip...
)Anyway, I looked under the front door and found the Orlando Sentinel. I went to the balcony and read there for a while, enjoying my lovely view of...a Southwest plane. (It's an airport hotel, what did you expect? LOL!). I've loved watching planes since I was a little kid. I watched a few landings and take-offs (including that Southwest plane). Carmen and Larissa than woke up at about 9:30. They started to get dressed while I went downstairs to the airport food court to get breakfast (the only time of the year I actually eat breakfast is when I'm on vacation). I felt weird walking around the airport in sandals and not carrying any bags! Got some egg &ham croissan'wiches and some French Toast Sticks at the BK counter (you will see that we also take a vacation from 'healthy' eating while in Orlando).
Went up to the room and found out the ladies we're almost ready but I wasn't! I finished breakfast, finished getting ready, then went downstairs to check out. We always get a calling card to use when calling home to check messages and in case of emergencies. My wife called her mother when we arrived (it's a family thing...my mother-in-law won't sleep at all if she doesn't). I forgot to get a calling card for this trip. The hotel bill quickly reminded me of that. It was just a 5-minute call! Ouch.
After checking out, we went to the Dollar counter to get my compact. We waited in line with about 3 or 4 more people. Of the 4 clerks working the Dollar counter 2 seemed nice and 2 seemed grumpy. The couple in front of us (from New Jersey I think) started joking about which clerk they would get and which we would get. They hit the jackpot. We lost badly. My clerk barely looked at me. She handled my reservation well and I got everything I requested. But a machine could do the same thing (the clerk with the New Jersey couple was the complete opposite). I didn't mind too much, since I got a great code with Mousesavers and wound up saving a lot.
We hauled ourselves, our luggage, the stroller and now the Car Seat (which they gave me at the counter) to the Dollar parking lot, where the nice lady gives me the keys to my brand new...Neon! (I told you...it was a compact!
). I don't mind the size at all. It fits the three of us perfectly and I'd rather spend the money on other things.We finally are on our way to WDW. I ignore all sings to take the South Exit and rt. 417 and take to North Exit and rt. 528 to I-4. Somehow I like this route better when going to WDW from the airport (I take 417 when I'm going TO the airport for the flight home). It's a matter of choice and although the 417 is more quiet, I like this route better because of all the signs and the sight of the hotels and all the other stuff. I don't know, I think it just reminds me that I'm on vacation. Larissa loved this choice anyway, she was so amazed with all the signs (she didn't miss one because WE were pointing them out!...so I guess we were amazed too! LOL!)
While driving there I noticed that the Exit numbers had changed! It totally confused me at first. The Exit numbers are now 64-67 I think, while the numbers were like 25AB to 27. Later I saw a small sign on top that showed the previous number, but what I did was to get to the Magic Kingdom exit, since I figured that once inside Disney property, I would follow the signs to the hotel (I was right
). We all went 'woo-hoo' when we saw the entrance sign (another tradition). We then followed the signs to CBR. We went right in and parked at the Custom House for check-in. We went inside and I was reminded of how much Carmen and I liked the place when we came for the first time together in '94. The check-in line was long, but I didn't mind (I would see some lines later, so I might as well get used to it!). Larissa and Carmen sat in front of the TV watching some Disney movies.
Once my turn came, the lady at the counter was very helpful. I got a great rate with UPH's included through Disney Club. I put a request through Disney Club (WDW Travel) for a Non-Smoking close to OPR. The lady at the counter first tried to get me a room that was ready and actually found one...in Trinidad South! We stayed there the first time we came. We didn't mind then and normally I wouldn't mind), but with Larissa we needed to be closer to the food court and also it would be very hard on us to be the last Bus Stop. She offered me the room, since my original request was not ready. I told her that we could wait and then she showed me my building: Martinique! Yes! (I would later realize it was even closer to OPR than I expected!). She told us it was on Building 25 and gave a us a number to call to find out if it was ready. She gave us all the information papers, the parking permit paper and the room keys/park passes. Since we expected the room to not be ready, we did what we planned to do: we drove to our Martinique building, parked there, took out the stroller and headed for the Bus Stop.
Even though we almost always rent a car, I don't drive to the parks. Again it's a matter of choice, and I know it could be faster, but to me its a hassle at the end ofthe day to follow the throngs to the trams then endure the traffic. I like the convenience of the buses.
We arrive at the MK, get through Security and finally cross the gate at exactly 1:00 PM. As we enter Main Street and Larissa looks at the Castle live for the first time she says (in English...remember, we speak Spanish): 'Mommy! Take a look!' She was referring to the song in the 2001 vacation video ('Take a look...at a world where dreams come true...'). It totally blew us away!
After wiping the tears from our eyes
, we head out to Fantasyland. We have a 2:00 PM PS for lunch at CRT, so we figured we could do maybe a couple rides before lunch. We caught the end of the show in front of the castle. We used the new (to me at least) pathways that link Fantasyland to the bridge to Liberty Square. They are actually quite nice. Since these were new to us and we usually entered Fantasyland through the Castle or from Liberty Square, when we got to Fantayland I was completely disoriented: Why is the Carousel here? Dumbo wasn't that close! We finally got our bearings and headed to It's a Small World. With so much stuff at this point Larissa was at first a little apprehensive, but the ride's slow pace and colorful dolls eased it for her, and she finally realaxed. After that we got a FP for PPF, then did Snow White's. It was now 2:00 so we headed for CRT. While I waited in line at the podium, Carmen and Larissa wandered off to a nearby store. There Larissa found some Mickey sunglasses (we forgot to bring hers, and since we were wearing sunglasses, she wanted some too). When Carmen looked and the price they were just $4.00! She expected a lot more! She was so proud of her DD! A born shopper, just like her mommy! LOL!We finally go in to the waiting area and...hey Cinderella is here! She was a little distant with with the people in front of us (they were a little loud), but as soon as it was Larissa's turn (she was actually the first child in line) she totally changed: she was so nice!
We go up to the restaurant and had a very nice lunch. Carmen had the Prime Rib and I had a Beef soup and a great HUGE sandwich. Kid's meals are still a little big for Larissa, so we usually share with her. Great lunch!
After that we did Dumbo, used our FP for PPF, then went on the Mad Tea Party. Since we had just had lunch, I went easy on them.
We then headed to Tomorrowland, had a relaxing ride with no wait on TTA. Thought about getting a FP for Buzz but decided to cross over to Adventureland. We did POC with no wait, Aladdin's with 5 min. wait (the crowds were much better than I expected, and the FP is a great equalizer). We crossed through the new pathway to Frontierland and caught the CBJ at about 2 minutes before opening the doors. What a difference a lively audience makes. They were clapping and whooping, and that made the show very enjoyable.
When we headed out we realized we had missed (by a lot; it was now about 5) the afternoon parade. We headed out to the HM just as it started to pour. We got our FP, then took cover in Columbia Harbour House. We shared some chicken strips, cookies and Lemonade while we waited for the rain to stop. Larissa eventually fell asleep. The rain wouldn't stop, so I went to a nearby store and got ourselves some yellow ponchos. The rain still wouldn't stop and Larissa was asleep, so when the FP time came I went by myself then switched with Carmen. It was now about 8.
We got a FP for Jungle Cruise, then headed to Pecos Bill's for our 'official' dinner. We ate relaxedly and when we exited we realized that Spectro had started, so we saw it in Frontierland. Larissa was totally amazed, and waved to all the floats. She even waved at the guys at the end (the ones that carry the ropes)! It was time for our FP in JC. We actually got the last boat for the night. It's a totally different experience at night. Although I know the almost all the skipper's spiel by heart now, I still love it. To me it's all in the personality and our skipper was a pro!
We then headed to Main Street. We got Larissa a Mickey/Minnie balloon (a silver one; she liked those better) and parked ourselves in the Town Square, near the flag, for FITS. I called and found out our room number, #2534, and that it was ready. We then enjoyed FITS. All we could say was 'Wow!' It was a great way to top off our first park day.
We got in the bus and.. this is where the unexpected happened...
We were standing in the back of the Bus. Camen had just passed me Larissa. We had stopped at a red light. When the bus started moving again it made a small, sudden stop. Nothing big. The driver had done a few of these and we were merely a little annoyed. He continued, but then he hot the brakes really hard. We thought we hit something (it turned out that there had been an accident in front and the cars in front were moving out of the lane. The driver did not realize what was happening until he was too close and had only two options: brake slowly and hit the cars or slam the brakes. He chose number two). As the bus braked suddenly all of us that were standing toppled like a stack of dominoes. At first I tried to hold on to something, but I couldn't so I just concentrated on holding Larissa and protecting her. She was Ok, but as I fell, my head snapped backwards and I hit Carmen on the cheek, below the eye. She was Ok. Later in the week a mark would appear, but it was nothing bad and she covered it with makeup.
As we got up, everyone was checking with each other to see if they were ok. Somenoe else was hurt: she was holding her ribs and her chest and someone said she told the paramedics it hurt when she breathed in. I hope she's fine. A LOT of Disney people arrived, got the names and addresses of everyone in the bus. Paramedics attended Carmen. She said she was fine and didn't need a hospital. They gave her an ice pack and told us to call them through 911 if we needed them. The other hurt woman I think left with the paramedics to a hospital.
If someone who was on that bus reads this, I want to thank you all for your help and kindness: a woman immediately got ice from her cup and put it on Carmen; another family gave us their seats, and so on. Everyone was so wonderful to each other and I thank you all very, very much.
After everything was sorted out and all the names were taken (about 30-40 min.), we were transferred to another bus and finally arrived at our room at about 11:30PM. We put Larissa to sleep and unpacked. Then a shower and we hit the sack at about 1:00 AM.
In spite of everything, a great day...
Tomorrow - Disney/MGM Studios and the sun...
Krissy
