tink38
<font color=purple>I have gas. again.<br><font col
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
- Messages
- 2,289
Castof Characters:
Me - 38, DW, AKA Monique - PS Interim Manager and Iternerary Maker.
DH - 40, AKA Dicky - Disney freak and seasoned veteran like myself. Leaves trip planning to me. Known to have his entire day ruined if he is not at the park 30 minutes prior to opening. Cannot go through a trip without his turkey leg.
DS - 10, AKA Richard - He is the thrill seeker of the lot. Rode TOT at 5 and loved it. Hidden Mickey enthusiast and ride strategist. (He got that from Mom and Dad)
DM - Accommodations manager - AKA Grandmother - Not as calm as she looks. Let's just leave it at that. Pulls up plants when she gets angry or upset.
DD - Financeer of this and many previous trips. We love him for this. Says "sparkly" things and willing to go along with just about everything, except Tower of Terror, for his kids and Grandchildren.
DS - 36, AKA Sissy - Loves Disney, but does things a bit different. Will sleep til 10am and stand in lines the rest of the day because all FP's are gone. (WHATEVER)
DBIL - (I don't know how old he is, okay?) - Big guy but a bit whiny at times. Gets off on annoying others. All in all a good guy, though. We like him. We'll keep him. (I DID vote him best BIL at one point in the trip. That was before he annoyed me.)
DN - 10, AKA Bailey - Disney freak trained by Nanny (me). Thrill seeker. Will go on anything. Loves RNRC but cannot tolerate Goofy's Barnstormer. Go figure.
Olivia - about 8, I think - DBIL's daughter - Secretly has a crush on Richard, but don't tell HIM that.
Jake - 11, I think, - DBIL's son - Former picky eater but did VERY well this trip. I was very impressed with how much he'd matured since our last trip 2 years ago. Good kid.
Okay, so now that THAT's out of the way. As you can see, we had a rather large group to begin with. Don't worry, It gets smaller and easier to manage as the days go on, I promise. We left on Saturday, June 10th and drove from Louisiana to Gainesville, FL. It was about an 8 or 9 hour drive. We stayed at the Hampton Inn. I would recommend this place to anyone. The accommodations were great and the price was right (89.00 and breakfast was included).
Day 1
The alarm was set to go off at 5:00am. I was up at 4:18am and in the shower by 4:20. By the time I got out, both DH and DS were up and dressed. The alarm wasn't set to go off for another 10 minutes. DH said DS literally jumped OUT of the bed and threw himself into his clothes. We didn't have to tell him to brush his teeth or take his medicine. Why is it that little boys have such an aversion to good breath, anyway? Anyone???
We were out the door and in the car by 5:00am. The drive was uneventful and we arrived at the Contemporary Resort by 7:30am. This was great. We had planned our 1st day to be at the Animal Kingdom based on the "best days to visit each park" section of the Unofficial Guide. We decided to try an early check in and take the bus over to AK once that was over with.
I have to mention that there was some pre trip drama (with my Mama) concerning the Disney Reservations Center. I'd rather not go into it because I don't want it to taint my report. Let's just say that letters were written and phone calls were made. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we would take what we were given and hope for the best. Stacy checked us in and gave us an upgrade on all three rooms! Instead of standard North Garden Wing rooms, we were upgraded to the 1st floor with a patio. When I saw the upper level room balconies this made me VERY happy. I mean, really...have you SEEN the size of those things? You open the door and your ****s are on the RAIL! Of course we DID have to deal with those ducks, but that's another day. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Our rooms weren't ready and Stacy gave us a card with a number to call after 3pm to check the status of our rooms. She gave us a pass for our car and we were off to AK!. We still had plenty of time to spare and were there by 8:40am This made DH VERY happy.
The turnstyles opened at 8:45am and we were let in up to where the rope is to the rest of the park. We saw Minnie, Goofy and Donald, but no Mickey! DH took out the camera. (We borrowed a digital from my coworker. He was NOT happy with me about this one bit. "I can see it now, Monique - the 1st time you take it out you're goingto drop the damned thing and we'll have to buy a 200 dollar camera. Like we can really afford that. Just great, Monique, just great" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just shut up and pack it already.) This was the beginning of the end with the camera. For the rest of the trip I looked at my DH from the other side of that camera. GREAT. At this point, he is elbowing me, wanting to know where the heck Mickey was. Like I have more eyes than he does? DS was just waiting patiently. He had one thing on his mind -
DINOSAUR. Mickey showed up after the others did their song and dance routine. He was at the Tree of life! I was so moved at this point I had tears in my eyes. It had been 2 years since our last trip, so we were ALL looking forward to this one a little bit more than usual.
The day was great. We were able to ride Dinosaur about 5 times with no Fast Pass and no wait. We did Kali River Rapids and I, of course, was the only person who got wet. No...a better word would be drenched. Luckily I had my baseball cap in the backpack. Air drying wavy hair is NOT a sight I wanted to subject complete strangers to. We finished up the day, having done all the attractions we'd set out to do that day. We had 6:40pm PS for Chef Mickey's and wanted to freshen up. It was 4:00pm at this time. Surely our room was ready by now. We went on our way back to the Contemporary. I was ready for a Mommy beverage.
Before I go any further, I have an interesting story to tell you. We were in the briefing room at Dinosaur. There was a British family in the room, a Grandmother, a Mother, and a boy about 6 or 7 years old. Before the movie even started, he BOLTED for the door. "I am NOT going on that ride! I DO NOT WANT TO GO!" Oh, geez...here we go. Mom and Granny grabbed him by the arm and reeled him back in. Being the nosy person that I am, I listened to the ensuing conversation. It was all I could do to not snort with laughter at what I heard next. "This is NOT a scary ride. You remember the movie, right? there were no scary dinosaurs in it." "What about the T-Rex???" (Nothing was getting by this kid.) "Oh, come on, Johnny....it's not like anything is going to jump OUT at you, for Pete'e sake." (This kid is going to poop his pants.) "I'm TELLING you, I DON'T want to GO!!" (YIKES!) "Oh, stop being such a baby. You'll be fine." And on the ride we went. DH is just as sick as I am. He apparently heard the whole thing, too. He nudged me and said, "I want to be on the ride withTHAT kid!" I stifled a laugh and we boarded the ride vehichle. Johnny was right in front of me. Poor thing. You should have seen his face when he got off. Mom and Granny were a bit shaken as well. They kept asking him if he was allright. He said NOTHING. He just looked at them with eyes narrowed to a thin slit. His face said it all in the picture. He would not be returning to this particular attraction any time soon. Let's just say he'll more than likely have trust issues with women for quite some time now.
Back to the Contemporary we go. The room was still not ready. LOVELY. We hung out in the lobby for about 45 minutes while a CM called Mousekeeping to see what the holdup was. At this point, I'm getting cranky. I'm hot, I have hairspray wet hat hair unbder my cap and it itches, and I want to take my shoes off. Dicky offers to get us a beverage from the bar. GREAT. As soon as he left, the CM is waving at me to let me know the room is ready. I got the map and was ready to go. Now, where is my drink-UH-Husband? Shortly thereafter, Dicky arrives, Mommy beverage in hand. All is right with the world. We head to the room and unpack. We had a view of the playground and the Marina. Very nice. I downed my drink and freshened up for our PS. We headed over to Chef Mickeys where we met up with my parents (Grandmother and Gramps), DS and DN. We waited in the Outer Rim and had another beverage. DBIL and his kids were arriving at 10:30pm that night. They would rent a car and drive to the hotel from the airport. Dinner was fantastic, as usual. This is my favorite Character buffet at the World. There is something for everyone and the food has been great every time we've been. Being a pretty good cook (so I am told) and from New Orleans, I think I know a little about good food. DDvwas speaking when a CM came up to take our drink order. She totally interrupted him. Um, lady - you DO NOT interupt the Financeer, get it?! Geez, what if you UPSET him and he decides not to take us back! BAD THOUGHTS! BAD THOUGHTS! She apparently saw the look of horror on my face and said, Oh, sir, I'm sorry! I can tell you were about to say something very sparkly!" We all thought this was hilarious. Since that moment, there were no magical moments at WDW, onlt sparkly ones.
We'd planned on going to MK that night, but MGM had the EMH. We decided that we'd do both. DH, DS, DN and I were up for the challenge. Sissy did not want to go. She wanted to wait for BIL and the kids, who were supoosed to get in about 11:30 at the hotel. We convinced her to go with us to MK. Dinner was finished about 8:30 and we bid Grandmother and Gramps goodnight. They only had 2 day Park Hoppers since they were leaving to go to Naples on Wednesday. Sissy came with us to MK and we did Stitch. I went into this with an open mind and was hoping it would be better than I'd heard. NOT. IMHO, don't bother. This is a "must skip" in my book. Everyone else shared my opinion. Sissy went back to the room and we headed for MGM, which was VERY crowded. We FP'd TOT and RNRC. We waited 30 minutes for Star Tours and did MV3D. It was a full night and we ewere happy accomplish what we did. We were back to the room and asleep by midnight, ready to receive out 6:30am wakeup call.
Up next: Co-Pilot licenses, EPCOT, MGM, and meltdown at the WCC!
Me - 38, DW, AKA Monique - PS Interim Manager and Iternerary Maker.
DH - 40, AKA Dicky - Disney freak and seasoned veteran like myself. Leaves trip planning to me. Known to have his entire day ruined if he is not at the park 30 minutes prior to opening. Cannot go through a trip without his turkey leg.
DS - 10, AKA Richard - He is the thrill seeker of the lot. Rode TOT at 5 and loved it. Hidden Mickey enthusiast and ride strategist. (He got that from Mom and Dad)
DM - Accommodations manager - AKA Grandmother - Not as calm as she looks. Let's just leave it at that. Pulls up plants when she gets angry or upset.
DD - Financeer of this and many previous trips. We love him for this. Says "sparkly" things and willing to go along with just about everything, except Tower of Terror, for his kids and Grandchildren.
DS - 36, AKA Sissy - Loves Disney, but does things a bit different. Will sleep til 10am and stand in lines the rest of the day because all FP's are gone. (WHATEVER)
DBIL - (I don't know how old he is, okay?) - Big guy but a bit whiny at times. Gets off on annoying others. All in all a good guy, though. We like him. We'll keep him. (I DID vote him best BIL at one point in the trip. That was before he annoyed me.)
DN - 10, AKA Bailey - Disney freak trained by Nanny (me). Thrill seeker. Will go on anything. Loves RNRC but cannot tolerate Goofy's Barnstormer. Go figure.
Olivia - about 8, I think - DBIL's daughter - Secretly has a crush on Richard, but don't tell HIM that.
Jake - 11, I think, - DBIL's son - Former picky eater but did VERY well this trip. I was very impressed with how much he'd matured since our last trip 2 years ago. Good kid.
Okay, so now that THAT's out of the way. As you can see, we had a rather large group to begin with. Don't worry, It gets smaller and easier to manage as the days go on, I promise. We left on Saturday, June 10th and drove from Louisiana to Gainesville, FL. It was about an 8 or 9 hour drive. We stayed at the Hampton Inn. I would recommend this place to anyone. The accommodations were great and the price was right (89.00 and breakfast was included).
Day 1
The alarm was set to go off at 5:00am. I was up at 4:18am and in the shower by 4:20. By the time I got out, both DH and DS were up and dressed. The alarm wasn't set to go off for another 10 minutes. DH said DS literally jumped OUT of the bed and threw himself into his clothes. We didn't have to tell him to brush his teeth or take his medicine. Why is it that little boys have such an aversion to good breath, anyway? Anyone???
We were out the door and in the car by 5:00am. The drive was uneventful and we arrived at the Contemporary Resort by 7:30am. This was great. We had planned our 1st day to be at the Animal Kingdom based on the "best days to visit each park" section of the Unofficial Guide. We decided to try an early check in and take the bus over to AK once that was over with.
I have to mention that there was some pre trip drama (with my Mama) concerning the Disney Reservations Center. I'd rather not go into it because I don't want it to taint my report. Let's just say that letters were written and phone calls were made. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we would take what we were given and hope for the best. Stacy checked us in and gave us an upgrade on all three rooms! Instead of standard North Garden Wing rooms, we were upgraded to the 1st floor with a patio. When I saw the upper level room balconies this made me VERY happy. I mean, really...have you SEEN the size of those things? You open the door and your ****s are on the RAIL! Of course we DID have to deal with those ducks, but that's another day. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Our rooms weren't ready and Stacy gave us a card with a number to call after 3pm to check the status of our rooms. She gave us a pass for our car and we were off to AK!. We still had plenty of time to spare and were there by 8:40am This made DH VERY happy.
The turnstyles opened at 8:45am and we were let in up to where the rope is to the rest of the park. We saw Minnie, Goofy and Donald, but no Mickey! DH took out the camera. (We borrowed a digital from my coworker. He was NOT happy with me about this one bit. "I can see it now, Monique - the 1st time you take it out you're goingto drop the damned thing and we'll have to buy a 200 dollar camera. Like we can really afford that. Just great, Monique, just great" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just shut up and pack it already.) This was the beginning of the end with the camera. For the rest of the trip I looked at my DH from the other side of that camera. GREAT. At this point, he is elbowing me, wanting to know where the heck Mickey was. Like I have more eyes than he does? DS was just waiting patiently. He had one thing on his mind -
DINOSAUR. Mickey showed up after the others did their song and dance routine. He was at the Tree of life! I was so moved at this point I had tears in my eyes. It had been 2 years since our last trip, so we were ALL looking forward to this one a little bit more than usual.
The day was great. We were able to ride Dinosaur about 5 times with no Fast Pass and no wait. We did Kali River Rapids and I, of course, was the only person who got wet. No...a better word would be drenched. Luckily I had my baseball cap in the backpack. Air drying wavy hair is NOT a sight I wanted to subject complete strangers to. We finished up the day, having done all the attractions we'd set out to do that day. We had 6:40pm PS for Chef Mickey's and wanted to freshen up. It was 4:00pm at this time. Surely our room was ready by now. We went on our way back to the Contemporary. I was ready for a Mommy beverage.
Before I go any further, I have an interesting story to tell you. We were in the briefing room at Dinosaur. There was a British family in the room, a Grandmother, a Mother, and a boy about 6 or 7 years old. Before the movie even started, he BOLTED for the door. "I am NOT going on that ride! I DO NOT WANT TO GO!" Oh, geez...here we go. Mom and Granny grabbed him by the arm and reeled him back in. Being the nosy person that I am, I listened to the ensuing conversation. It was all I could do to not snort with laughter at what I heard next. "This is NOT a scary ride. You remember the movie, right? there were no scary dinosaurs in it." "What about the T-Rex???" (Nothing was getting by this kid.) "Oh, come on, Johnny....it's not like anything is going to jump OUT at you, for Pete'e sake." (This kid is going to poop his pants.) "I'm TELLING you, I DON'T want to GO!!" (YIKES!) "Oh, stop being such a baby. You'll be fine." And on the ride we went. DH is just as sick as I am. He apparently heard the whole thing, too. He nudged me and said, "I want to be on the ride withTHAT kid!" I stifled a laugh and we boarded the ride vehichle. Johnny was right in front of me. Poor thing. You should have seen his face when he got off. Mom and Granny were a bit shaken as well. They kept asking him if he was allright. He said NOTHING. He just looked at them with eyes narrowed to a thin slit. His face said it all in the picture. He would not be returning to this particular attraction any time soon. Let's just say he'll more than likely have trust issues with women for quite some time now.
Back to the Contemporary we go. The room was still not ready. LOVELY. We hung out in the lobby for about 45 minutes while a CM called Mousekeeping to see what the holdup was. At this point, I'm getting cranky. I'm hot, I have hairspray wet hat hair unbder my cap and it itches, and I want to take my shoes off. Dicky offers to get us a beverage from the bar. GREAT. As soon as he left, the CM is waving at me to let me know the room is ready. I got the map and was ready to go. Now, where is my drink-UH-Husband? Shortly thereafter, Dicky arrives, Mommy beverage in hand. All is right with the world. We head to the room and unpack. We had a view of the playground and the Marina. Very nice. I downed my drink and freshened up for our PS. We headed over to Chef Mickeys where we met up with my parents (Grandmother and Gramps), DS and DN. We waited in the Outer Rim and had another beverage. DBIL and his kids were arriving at 10:30pm that night. They would rent a car and drive to the hotel from the airport. Dinner was fantastic, as usual. This is my favorite Character buffet at the World. There is something for everyone and the food has been great every time we've been. Being a pretty good cook (so I am told) and from New Orleans, I think I know a little about good food. DDvwas speaking when a CM came up to take our drink order. She totally interrupted him. Um, lady - you DO NOT interupt the Financeer, get it?! Geez, what if you UPSET him and he decides not to take us back! BAD THOUGHTS! BAD THOUGHTS! She apparently saw the look of horror on my face and said, Oh, sir, I'm sorry! I can tell you were about to say something very sparkly!" We all thought this was hilarious. Since that moment, there were no magical moments at WDW, onlt sparkly ones.
We'd planned on going to MK that night, but MGM had the EMH. We decided that we'd do both. DH, DS, DN and I were up for the challenge. Sissy did not want to go. She wanted to wait for BIL and the kids, who were supoosed to get in about 11:30 at the hotel. We convinced her to go with us to MK. Dinner was finished about 8:30 and we bid Grandmother and Gramps goodnight. They only had 2 day Park Hoppers since they were leaving to go to Naples on Wednesday. Sissy came with us to MK and we did Stitch. I went into this with an open mind and was hoping it would be better than I'd heard. NOT. IMHO, don't bother. This is a "must skip" in my book. Everyone else shared my opinion. Sissy went back to the room and we headed for MGM, which was VERY crowded. We FP'd TOT and RNRC. We waited 30 minutes for Star Tours and did MV3D. It was a full night and we ewere happy accomplish what we did. We were back to the room and asleep by midnight, ready to receive out 6:30am wakeup call.
Up next: Co-Pilot licenses, EPCOT, MGM, and meltdown at the WCC!
to you! 
)
) miss one 
Great job, Tink, keep it going... 
