The SMURF'S Enchanted Voyage - Updated 3/5 - Chip & Dales and the Great Meltdown

[nextidiot]

Day 1 - Travel

We woke up Thanksgiving morning with visions of giant rodents and oversize space rangers dancing in our heads.

Still dizzy from partially loading the car Wednesday night--not to mention our early Thanksgiving dinner of turkey and those tasty crescent rolls---I stumble from my comfy bed and head to the window. A dramatic change in the weather is in the air...

The wife and I decided long ago that we wanted to go to Disney World during the holidays. Not only are the halls decked to the gills, but the whether is temperate compared to a West Virginia winter. This year, however, the temperature in Huntington was in the high 50's to low 60's up until Thanksgiving Day, where the weather finally turned cold and snow was in the air.

No bother.

It doesn't snow in Florida. It doesn't snow at Disney World.

If I had to get a broom out and sweep the runway myself, that plane was taking off.

Period.

Oh... and did I mention that this was our first flight... ever!

After a full can of Diet Dew, which I understand is not sold at Disney World (Mickey and I would have to have a talk about that), DW and I decided to roll the kids out of bed and head to Cracker Barrel for some breakfast. Now, meet the cast:

DS6, we'll call him Brainy Smurf, or Brainy for short, is a child prodigy if you ask his mother. He is very smart, tells it like it is, and can be an absolute pain in the Smurf... just like his mother, by the way. He is the happy and hyper 24/7. He never stops.

DS2, we'll call him Grumpy Smurf, or Grumpy for short. Holy cow, is this kid Grumpy. If he is unhappy, the rest of us are miserable and he is unhappy most of the time just because he is cantankerous. For Grumpy, it's his way or the highway. He is notorious for his total dislike of having his picture taken. Seriously. He refused to cooperate and you can forget getting him to smile. Including our Photopass pics, we must have close to 1,000 pictures. He isn't smiling in any of them.

DW, let's call her Smurfette. Since Smurfette is the only female Smurf, it is only fitting. Smurfette, while very excited to be going to Disney, refuses to really prepare for the trip by learning a little about the theme parks, transportation, hotels, etc. She knows approximate dates and locations but leaves the planning up to me.

ME, since Grumpy Smurf is taken, we'll call me Jokey Smurf, or me, for short. If you have forgotten your Smurffing trivia, Jokey is the one who is always handing out presents that blow up in your Smurffing face. That's me. I am always finding new and insidious ways to annoy Smurfette. I became addicted to Disney in 2004 when Smurfette, Brainy, and I, took on a 7 night land/sea vacation. While I had a general idea, I felt totally unprepared for that trip and as a result, we had some miscues. Vowing to avoid such debauchery this trip, I became a lurker on every message board I could find and subscribed to TGM for some much needed advice. We will see if it pays off.

Up next: Traveling with hungry Smurfs...

 

[MJAJmom]

OK count me in for the Smurf adventure. Cute little boys. Mine are 6 and 3. Looking forward to hearing what you did with your boys on this trip.

 

[heaven2dc]

Well this should be fun! Will prove an interesting trip so count me on board! (my son use to live in Parkersburg and we lived in Wheeling so hello from a former neighbor! Moved to VA 6 1/2 yrs ago - not much different here - just more jobs lol)

 

[nextidiot]

OK count me in for the Smurf adventure. Cute little boys. Mine are 6 and 3. Looking forward to hearing what you did with your boys on this trip.

Welcome! There are plenty of surprises. I could write a book just on Grumpy!

Well this should be fun! Will prove an interesting trip so count me on board! (my son use to live in Parkersburg and we lived in Wheeling so hello from a former neighbor! Moved to VA 6 1/2 yrs ago - not much different here - just more jobs lol)

Howdy neighbor!

One of my colleagues lives in Parkersburg and loves it. I am green and white so I stay closer to Huntington, if ya know what I mean.

I have been through Wheeling once. I was a band nerd and we played a football game in Weirton my senior year of high school.

 

[nextidiot]

Here's the gory details of our itinerary----for those who are following along in your journals.

Thursday, November 22 (Thanksgiving Day) - Huntington to Sanford, FL, via Allegiant Air. Rental through Dollar (I signed up for Dollar Express, through I have no idea why). Nickelodeon Family Suites for three nights/Coronado Springs Resort for 7 beginning Sunday.

Friday – Nov 23 – Sea World

Saturday – Nov 24 – Kennedy Space Center

Sunday – Nov 25 – Check into CSR early. MK Day

Monday – Nov 26 – Epcot

Tuesday – Nov 27 – MVMCP (Mickey's Very Merry... you get it).

Wednesday – Nov 28 – MK

Thursday – Nov 29 – Epcot (LeCellier & Candle Light Processional)

Friday – Nov 30 – MGM (Fantasmic & Osborne Lights)

Saturday – Dec 1 – AK

Sunday – DTD & Home

Back to departure day...

I was surprised to find one of the few restaurants open on Thanksgiving to be devoid of patrons. Normally, the breakfast places are mobbed every Saturday, Sunday, and Federal holiday. Of course, it was about 8 AM. Most sane people are still at home determining their Black Friday shopping strategy for the 3 Wii's that will be available at Wal-Mart tomorrow morning. Notice I said “sane” people. My reasoning for this is because Santa already bought a Wii for my children from some gouger on eBay. Santa paid nearly $400. Santa is not sane.

Idiot UNdorsement: Gougers and the eBay cartel.

After breakfast, we returned home, turned on one of the many Travel Channel specials that I had recorded over the past year, and finished packing, loading, unloading, reloading it this way, unloading, reloading it that way, and making a mental note to rent a U-Haul for the next Disney Trip.

The kids were excited but I don't believe the full grasp of the events that were to unfold over the next 10 days had quite reached them yet. Grumpy was his usual Grumpy self... not giving a Smurf whether or not we were going to see Mickey. All he was concerned about was which car we were taking to the airport. Brainy was subdued and constantly challenging me to a game of Mario Kart on his DS. He will never learn. His dad beats him every time... . Who knew a 6 year-old could drive a cartoon go cart so well?

I managed to get the car loaded after consolidating several bags into bigger bags, ditching some stuff that I felt unimportant, such as Smurfette's hair dryer and began to watch the clock incessantly. I must have literally seen every minute tick by. Time can be brutal when you are waiting to meet the Mouse.

Next up: The Flight

 

[Diamondintheruff]

You hooked me with the smuf title. Better late than never my Mom always said.

 

[nextidiot]

The Flight

Our flight was to leave Tri-State Airport at 6:05 PM. The Allegiant Air flights from Huntington to Sanford, FL, are extremely popular and most sell out. Since we had not paid the extra $8/per ticket to pick our seats, I knew we had better arrive early or we would be assigned to the port-a-potties. I think Brainy was secretly hoping to ride in the jumper seat! woohoo

We arrived at 3:45 PM to find a reasonably manageable line at check-in. Our flight was the only flight scheduled for that time of day so the airport was otherwise deserted. After receiving our boarding passes, our intentions were to eat before the flight. We skipped lunch because we had a big breakfast and we figured we needed something to do between check-in and passing through security. Little did we know the airport lunch bucket would be closed for the holiday. Welcome to Small Town, America.

By the time we went through security, the Smurfs were cranky. Smurfette packed some snack bags (a tip from the DIS) and they haply munched on crackers, fruit snacks, and the like. I walk over to the three vending machines only to find all three empty. Drained. Devoid of all beverages. Someone seriously missed an enterprising opportunity here. I could have sold 6 oz. cokes for $2.39 just like Disney... captive audience.

As I mentioned before, this is our first time on an airplane. Until Allegiant, we were never able to find it economical to fly to any place we traveled. Smurfette was anxious but nervous. I was anxious and hungry. As a result, when the aircraft from Sanford landed and pulled to the “gate,” I was trying to film out the window but I was shaking so much from the nerves and hunger, I seriously doubted the video would be watchable.

It was nearly 100 degrees inside the “gate,” which is more like a doctor's office waiting room than a passenger gate. With over a hundred people, several of which were young children who's patience ran out hours ago, packed into this tiny “gate”, we were all ready to board the airplane just to get some elbow room.

The plane unloads another hoard of 100 or so pissed off, inbound travelers from Sanford. I say pissed off because when they took off from Sanford, it was sunny and 75. When they landed in Huntington, it was raining and about 40. Suckers! They should have known better than to come home.

Then the announcement.... Boarding would now begin.

Notice Grumpy's little stuffed teddy bear/back pack/leash? This is the only time it would be out of the bag the whole week. As you will later see, this becomes problematic.

Up next: Why won't this key work?

 

[Diamondintheruff]

We too have fallen into the we'll eat at the airport but then there is nothing to eat at the airport trap. Hence we all travel with powerbars in our carryon. They are the only brand that makes a flavor we all like.

 

[heaven2dc]

Oh this TR is going to be riot! I flew into Huntington 6 1/2 years ago (my daughter went to Marshall for her last 2 years of college) and I remember that airport vividly. Hope you guys had a safe unbumpy flight! How far of a drive is Sanford Airport to WDW?

 

[nextidiot]

We too have fallen into the we'll eat at the airport but then there is nothing to eat at the airport trap.

Someone is seriously missing a golden opportunity to make some serious cash selling sandwiches. I bet I could have set up a table with a bunch of dollar pb&j sandwiches and that would have easily paid for my trip.

Oh this TR is going to be riot! I flew into Huntington 6 1/2 years ago (my daughter went to Marshall for her last 2 years of college) and I remember that airport vividly. Hope you guys had a safe unbumpy flight! How far of a drive is Sanford Airport to WDW?

Welcome! I am a Marshall grad, too!

Huntington and Charleston, WV, airports are the same in that they both have mountain top runways. I love it when my bosses fly into Charleston. They all say the same thing... "we were just looking out the window when all of a sudden, a runway appeared and we landed."

It is unnerving the first time.

BTW, Sanford to WDW is about 40 minutes down the Greenway. It is a much easier airport to get in and out of than MCO, IMO.

 

[nextidiot]

In my rush to get going on this trippie, I failed to mention the underlying reasons for this trip. For one, Smurfette and I quit smoking about 6 months prior to this trip. This trip was kind of a reward for doing so. The most important reason, however, is that this trip is to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Our actual anniversary isn't until late December, but since Smurfette wasn't able to take the week of our anniversary, we decided to move the celebration up. As a result, I am carrying some extra cargo that I must keep hidden until the "reveal" later in the trip.

Here's another tease... the evening I planned to give her the gift was a disaster... an evening filled with tired but overstimulated Smurfs... and there was rock throwing involved.

Stay tuned!

Day 1 - "Why Won't This Key Work?"

We were among the final group of passengers on the plane. Even though I had a laptop bag, backpack, and Smurfette's carry on, we had no real trouble finding enough room for our stuff---either at our feet, in the overhead, or in my neighbor's lap.

Being our fist flight, I was surprised by the size of the plane, an MD-80 or 83. I was expecting worse. I dunno. I just hear all the horror stories about leg room, elbow room, isle space, and such. Other than the flight attendants parking their cart of expensive liquor in the isle blocking access to the restrooms, space really wasn't a concern.

Smurfette, Grumpy, and Brainy was in the row directly in front of me, I shared a row with an older couple who never really spoke to each other the whole flight. They just sat and sipped expensive liquor from the expensive liquor cart.

Smurfette and I held hands as the aircraft shot down the runway, easily achieving the desired speed for a mountaintop take off and we were airborne. Next stop, Sanford, Florida.

--------------------

After an uneventful, very smooth first flight...

Idiot ENdorsement: Allegiant Air

...we disembarked the flying machine and my thoughts immediately turned to getting the rental car.

I was able to get a good rate from Dollar on a mid-sized sedan that should suite our needs. From the passenger gate, the Dollar desk is a pretty long haul across the road to an adjacent building. So Smurfette and I gathered the kids and the bus full of luggage and headed out the front door in search of a place where she could watch the bags and the Smurfs while I ran to get the renal car.

I arrive at the Dollar desk to find it nearly abandoned. Thrifty and Dollar are side-by-side in this building and both desks were deserted, save one very nice Dollar agent who took excellent care of me. I kindly asked her if they had any upgrades available because “it is our 10th Wedding Anniversary,” A few clicks of the keyboard indicated she had a very nice vehicle with a DVD player. I said “Great! I’ll take it!” After what seemed like an eternity, she produced the keys to a Chrysler T&C. Would you believe it is Smurf blue??? I am NOT making this up. Here's the proof!

Very nice van!

I also bought into the “unlimited tolls” package, which I believe was about $25 for the 10 days. This turned out to be a real bargain because of all the “toll road” driving we would be doing. In addition, I can't tell you how many times I got off at the wrong exit. This would have been a small fortune in quarters had it not been for the $25 investment. Also, you can't beat blasting through a toll plaza at 65 MPH while everyone else has to stop.

Idiot ENdorsement: Dollar & The Unlimited Tolls Upgrade

I have driven various vehicles over my driving career. I am no expert on cars but I though I had seen it all. But I had never seen the bizarre key/ignition combo that is installed on newer vehicles. I drive a little old 2006 model… this 2008 technology was remarkable. I was so dumbfounded by trying to start the van with the actual key (the one for the door), that I gave up and returned to the desk with a look of utter disgust on my face. Fortunately, one of the other Dollar employees had just returned from a break and pegged me for the dipstick I am and showed me how it worked. Apparently, the plastic “remote” is the ignition key. Who knew?

See the Panic button? This is the part of the remote that you actually insert into the ignition switch. It is actually genius... but this should have been on the tutorial, or in the Unofficial Guide, or something!

Back to the trippie...

I am just guessing at this point. I really don’t know for sure. Looking up at the moon, I would ascertain that I had been gone about 20 to 30 minutes. In reality, it was more like 45. Forty-five minutes getting a rental car in a deserted airport, on Thanksgiving night, with a gaggle of hungry Smurfs waiting by the luggage. Uh oh.

I pull out of the parking place at a fairly rapid pace in an effort to rescue my Smurfs before scurvy took hold and wiped the Smurf population. I pulled up and Smurfette wasn’t thrilled but happy to have a freely upgraded 2008 Chrysler T&C, decked out with touch screen DVD, and a kickin’ sustantivo. In case you are wondering, sustantivo is Spanish for stereo. The aggravating thing was stuck in Spanish. 2008 technology, indeed.

After Smurfette dragged the manual out of the gloveless box and mastered the Spanish language, we finally found the obra (Spanish for PLAY) button. Now, we need food.

Up Next: The Great Hunt for Sustenance

 

[Diamondintheruff]

That whole "key" thing would have totally tripped me up too. There is no way I would have known that.

I think 45 minutes is a pretty quick amount of time to get that figured out. And Kudo's to smurfette for learning how to work the stereo/DVD system!

 

[nextidiot]

Day 1 - The Great Hunt for Sustenance

Our planned route took us south along the Greenway to the Nickelodeon Family Suites, where our Smurfs would nest for the first three nights of our trip. At this point, it was nearly 10 PM. We made a quick stop for provisions including Diet Mountain Dew, milk, and Smurf feed, and continued toward the hotel. We were sure we would stumble upon an open restaurant somewhere along the way...

Keep in mind, neither Smurfette nor myself had eaten since 8 AM. It is now 10 PM. We were hungry and scurvy was definitely knocking on the door. On top of that, it is Thanksgiving and most places are closed.

We pulled into a Ponderosa at 9:45 and could see that they were clearly about to close. We marched on.

We pulled into a Bennigans. Surely a liquor establishment such as Bennigans would be open late...

We marched on.

We pulled into another steak house... closed.

We marched on.

Finally, we reached the hotel and decided we would just have to order in or something..

Fortunately, the Pizza Hut at the Nick Suites Mall was open until 11 PM. While I paid $40 for two medium pizzas and three bread sticks (not 3 orders of bread sticks... but literally, three bread sticks), we were thankful to be eating $40 Pizza Hut pizza, believe me. This is what we had to be Thankful for? $40 Pizza Hut pizza.... you bet! Among other things, of course.

The Nickelodeon Family Suites a very unique. Here, you get a very large room with a living room, bed room, kitchenette, and a separate kids room, complete with bunk beds, Playstation, and other fun stuff. In addition to being a great room, each room is decked out in Nick stuff... our room was Fairy Odd Parents. Others include Sponge Bob and Jimmy Neutron.

Here's a room layout in case you haven't seen it...

Grumpy and Brainy approved. Brainy declared it Smuffing awesome. Smurfette was also impressed and I was just tired. A wigwam would have sufficed for this tired Smurf.

Smurfette waved her magic wand and Grumpy and Brainy was sound asleep.... Smurfette and I followed very shortly thereafter.

This wraps a pretty long travel day---although we had only being traveling since about 3 PM.

Up Next: Sea World

 

[MJAJmom]

Bunk Beds!!!! How fun. My DS6 is dying to get bunk beds in his room. The only reason I'm considering AKL for a future trip is that they have bunk beds and I know my boys would love them!! The room looks like a great place for your boys.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

We've been to the Great Wolf lodge a few times and the kids go ape over the bunk beds. I can't figure out why when we have them at home and at the cottage?

The more I read about the Nick hotel, the more I think if I have to venture off Disney property than that is where I would go.

 

[nextidiot]

Bunk Beds!!!! How fun. The room looks like a great place for your boys.

Bunk beds are always fun. My DM bought some for Brainy and Grumpy. I honestly thought they would be more trouble than they were worth but in all honesty, I don't know what we would do (space wise) without them.

The room was awesome. If only the Nick Suites had Disney transportation...

The more I read about the Nick hotel, the more I think if I have to venture off Disney property than that is where I would go.

I highly recommend it. The water parks alone make it worth while---not to mention the awesome suite.

 

[nextidiot]

Day 2 – Sea World

Since we were able to book such inexpensive flights, the days we had planned to spend driving to Florida could now be allocated to theme parks... As a result, this trip, we decided that Sea World would be a must see. In addition, we would also hit Kennedy Space Center, since we had driven right by KSC twice before, we decided that this would be a must see as well. KSC is tomorrow.

Applying the same principals to Sea World as I insist we do to Disney World, we arrive at the rope drop. We had some time to kill before the first show of the day so we took some picture in front of their amazing tree (we hadn't made it to Disney World to see their trees yet so we classified Sea World's tree as amazing even through it is a mere Charlie Brown when compared to Mickey's trees).

Notice Grumpy's total lack of cooperation. This would be the theme of the trip, as far as pictures were concerned

First up... Clyde and Seamore

There are many... many tools available to help you plan a trip to Walt Disney World. I have, at one point or another, read them all. However, two stand out in my mind as the “must haves” for planning your Orlando vacation. Bob Sehlinger's and Len Testa's Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, or UG for short; and Tour Guide Mike, a web portal with a plethora of interactive maps, itineraries, and amazing advice right down to where you can use the restroom and wash up before your character meal at the Crystal Palace. Both are a wealth of information and I have found both to be 100% accurate.

I bring this up because they point out things that one could very easily miss. In this case, both guides advised NOT to arrive late to Clyde and Seamore.

I wrote them both thank you notes for that advice alone.

Idiot ENdorsement: Tour Guide Mike & Unofficial Guide

We arrived very early and were among the first into the stadium. As a result, we were not subjected to the ridicule and banter that befell our poor, fellow Sea World guests.

That silly mime. Words can not describe how good this guy is. His improvisational skills are second to none and aside from the amazing animals, this guy is the best performer at Sea World, IMO.

Here is a good YouTube clip of his harassing antics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP9YNHlHFfQ

I must say, this was an amazing start to our first trip as a complete family. I just marveled at my two boys laughing hysterically at the mime, the animals, and the actors. The Clyde and Seamore show was very well done and is a must see (as are most attractions at Sea World).

Up next... Pets Ahoy & Grumpy's Ejection!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Idiot ENdorsement: Tour Guide Mike & Unofficial Guide

Totally agree!

I booked a special tour when we went to Seaworld and so had to give up the Clyde and Seamore show. In hindsight, although patting a penguin was cool I should have saved the money and caught that show instead.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Thanks for the TR. It's great so far.

Isn't the mime fantastic? He's been there for years and years.

 

[nextidiot]

Thanks for the TR. It's great so far.

Isn't the mime fantastic? He's been there for years and years.

Welcome!

The mime was the highlight of a day filled with highlights.

I love Sea World and would love to go back next trip. I believe we may skip AK entirely next trip and Universal as well as a return trip to Sea World... or dare I say Discovery Cove.