cynderella
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2006
- Messages
- 1,261
1. Introduction (this post)
2. We arrive!
3. A Magic Kingdom morning and a brief evening foray into Epcot
4. DDs Disney Birthday
5. Part II of DDs Disney Birthday
6. Epcot!
7. Around the World in about 4 hours
8. All that and we havent even left Canada yet!
9. We wait a little longer in Japan than DH would like. Deal with it, buddy!
10. The sky gets darker as we head into Italy!
11. Dissed by Mulan and her entourage, and fastpasses for Maelstrom (not!)
12. An MGM morning
13. At the Boardwalk, it's Toetoe against Chuby (or Ruck)
14. A really good visit to AK, where I finally meet another DISer!
15. Divide and Conquer, Part II
16. The End: The Next People and Home Sweet Home
***************************************************************************
Im sitting here on my bed with all of the residual stuff from our vacation spread out before me. The sheer amount of paper generated by a weeks trip to WDW is fairly mind-boggling, isnt it? Here are several copies of the maps to all the parks, there are the photos taken at CRT and WTP and on EE, over there are the Magical Moments Certificates we collected along the way. On this side is a stack of twenty-eight used park hopper passes, along with the three FastPass Key Cards from the day in AK when our hoppers didnt originally work on EE. Up there on the right is our lunch menu from LeCellier and the birthday card DD7 received there as a belated wish, below them are the coasters from the dinner DD and I had at our girls only meal at Big River Grill, and here, just under my left knee, are all four of our now-useless Keys to the World. In another stack are the calendars for OKWs resort activities and the OKW newsletter. My coverlet is littered with resort parking permits, stickers, stamps, pressed pennies, pin lanyards, an Epcot Passport. Over here on the left are a few receipts. I pick one of them up: Victoria Falls, 08/01, one Bloody Mary and a Pina Lava Colada. What a memory our first night in the World, all of us exhausted after being up since 2:30 a.m. PDT to catch our morning flight out of LAX ("too excited to sleep" on the plane!), waiting forever to be seated at Boma, and I just had to head to the bar to try the drink Anc96 suggested before I left home. Smiling at what a memory a seemingly insignificant little receipt can conjure, I suddenly realize with horror: I THREW AWAY almost all the other receipts! What was I THINKING!!!???
Im not a scrapbooker, and Im not much of a packrat, either, but looking at all this memorabilia before me, I kind of wish I were. These miscellaneous remnants and paper memories of our seven days at WDW tell such a story, even without the now-lamented missing receipts. When I think back to the moment almost four months ago when we decided for sure to spend our vacation money on WDW this year, it was hard to guess how wonderfully the memories would have turned out in the end.
All good trip reports provide a little background, and I would be remiss if I didnt do so here before continuing on. Why did we decide to go to WDW instead of somewhere else? Frankly, and initially, because for us it was going to be relatively cheap (and I hear that disbelieving laughter as I place WDW and cheap into the same sentence). You see, my DH is a cast member at DLR who sees the mouse and all the rest of the gang five to six days a week. So, while he first suggested WDW as a vacation spot, he also didnt really want to go. In his mind, WDW was going to be just a gigantic version of what he sees everyday, and if you try to imagine getting excited about going on vacation to see what you already see at work about 275 days a year no matter how much you enjoy your job its not going to seem terribly inspiring. He was willing mostly because of his discounts and because he wanted to see Orlando again, as he lived there until he was about 7 years old (just before Walt started developing all that land) and has some good memories. Hes also a good husband and father who wants his family to have fun even if he thinks hes not really going to, so he told me to go ahead and make the plans and he, by his very existence as a DLR CM, would make it possible. It was immediately made clear, though: this would be a once in a lifetime trip, so wed better enjoy it while we could.
And who are we? Well, you know my DH already, the reluctant CM. He does behind-the-scenes stage work for many of your favorite DLR shows, and if Tinkerbell needed any help besides pixie dust (which, of course, she doesnt!) to fly over Sleeping Beautys Castle during Remember Dreams Come True? Well, hed be the guy to lend a hand. Me, Im his English professor wife who spends so much time being serious and adult at work all school year that a vacation to WDW (or even a too-frequent visit to DLR) sounds heavenly. I desperately need fun! Being the academic I am, I always insist on educating myself to the fullest about anything I undertake, and thats how I got hooked on the DISboards (and the secret green club) while planning this trip. Our DS16, who is usually too cool for anything liked by anyone younger than 15.5, is a good boy who gets good grades and hasnt had any really big vacations yet in his lifetime. Our drama-queen DD, who is actually quite a sweet girl at heart, turned 7 while we were in the World.
In making initial reservations, first we chose the Beach Club standard room, two queen size beds. It only took a couple of weeks of real thought about this plan to decide it was not going to work: we love each other, yes. But a whole week in ONE ROOM is just more togetherness than any of us can handle, so we regrouped and readjusted our ressies to stay in a 1 br. villa at OKW instead, which turned out to be an astoundingly good decision. Over the next 3.5 months, I planned meticulously (with the help of the DISboards) what to bring and what to do in our short time in the World. The following trip report is a chronicle of our experiences: the reluctant cast member, the starved-for-fun wife/mother/teacher (who, incidentally, broke her middle left toe exactly 8 days before the trip - hence, the "Toetoe" in this TR's title - haha! The first of what surely will be many bad jokes), the too-cool teenager, and the 7 year old drama-queen diva from So Cal. Mission: one week at WDW to make memories to last a lifetime.
Next up: Day One - We arrive!
2. We arrive!
3. A Magic Kingdom morning and a brief evening foray into Epcot
4. DDs Disney Birthday
5. Part II of DDs Disney Birthday
6. Epcot!
7. Around the World in about 4 hours
8. All that and we havent even left Canada yet!
9. We wait a little longer in Japan than DH would like. Deal with it, buddy!
10. The sky gets darker as we head into Italy!
11. Dissed by Mulan and her entourage, and fastpasses for Maelstrom (not!)
12. An MGM morning
13. At the Boardwalk, it's Toetoe against Chuby (or Ruck)
14. A really good visit to AK, where I finally meet another DISer!
15. Divide and Conquer, Part II
16. The End: The Next People and Home Sweet Home
***************************************************************************
Im sitting here on my bed with all of the residual stuff from our vacation spread out before me. The sheer amount of paper generated by a weeks trip to WDW is fairly mind-boggling, isnt it? Here are several copies of the maps to all the parks, there are the photos taken at CRT and WTP and on EE, over there are the Magical Moments Certificates we collected along the way. On this side is a stack of twenty-eight used park hopper passes, along with the three FastPass Key Cards from the day in AK when our hoppers didnt originally work on EE. Up there on the right is our lunch menu from LeCellier and the birthday card DD7 received there as a belated wish, below them are the coasters from the dinner DD and I had at our girls only meal at Big River Grill, and here, just under my left knee, are all four of our now-useless Keys to the World. In another stack are the calendars for OKWs resort activities and the OKW newsletter. My coverlet is littered with resort parking permits, stickers, stamps, pressed pennies, pin lanyards, an Epcot Passport. Over here on the left are a few receipts. I pick one of them up: Victoria Falls, 08/01, one Bloody Mary and a Pina Lava Colada. What a memory our first night in the World, all of us exhausted after being up since 2:30 a.m. PDT to catch our morning flight out of LAX ("too excited to sleep" on the plane!), waiting forever to be seated at Boma, and I just had to head to the bar to try the drink Anc96 suggested before I left home. Smiling at what a memory a seemingly insignificant little receipt can conjure, I suddenly realize with horror: I THREW AWAY almost all the other receipts! What was I THINKING!!!???
Im not a scrapbooker, and Im not much of a packrat, either, but looking at all this memorabilia before me, I kind of wish I were. These miscellaneous remnants and paper memories of our seven days at WDW tell such a story, even without the now-lamented missing receipts. When I think back to the moment almost four months ago when we decided for sure to spend our vacation money on WDW this year, it was hard to guess how wonderfully the memories would have turned out in the end.
All good trip reports provide a little background, and I would be remiss if I didnt do so here before continuing on. Why did we decide to go to WDW instead of somewhere else? Frankly, and initially, because for us it was going to be relatively cheap (and I hear that disbelieving laughter as I place WDW and cheap into the same sentence). You see, my DH is a cast member at DLR who sees the mouse and all the rest of the gang five to six days a week. So, while he first suggested WDW as a vacation spot, he also didnt really want to go. In his mind, WDW was going to be just a gigantic version of what he sees everyday, and if you try to imagine getting excited about going on vacation to see what you already see at work about 275 days a year no matter how much you enjoy your job its not going to seem terribly inspiring. He was willing mostly because of his discounts and because he wanted to see Orlando again, as he lived there until he was about 7 years old (just before Walt started developing all that land) and has some good memories. Hes also a good husband and father who wants his family to have fun even if he thinks hes not really going to, so he told me to go ahead and make the plans and he, by his very existence as a DLR CM, would make it possible. It was immediately made clear, though: this would be a once in a lifetime trip, so wed better enjoy it while we could.
And who are we? Well, you know my DH already, the reluctant CM. He does behind-the-scenes stage work for many of your favorite DLR shows, and if Tinkerbell needed any help besides pixie dust (which, of course, she doesnt!) to fly over Sleeping Beautys Castle during Remember Dreams Come True? Well, hed be the guy to lend a hand. Me, Im his English professor wife who spends so much time being serious and adult at work all school year that a vacation to WDW (or even a too-frequent visit to DLR) sounds heavenly. I desperately need fun! Being the academic I am, I always insist on educating myself to the fullest about anything I undertake, and thats how I got hooked on the DISboards (and the secret green club) while planning this trip. Our DS16, who is usually too cool for anything liked by anyone younger than 15.5, is a good boy who gets good grades and hasnt had any really big vacations yet in his lifetime. Our drama-queen DD, who is actually quite a sweet girl at heart, turned 7 while we were in the World.
In making initial reservations, first we chose the Beach Club standard room, two queen size beds. It only took a couple of weeks of real thought about this plan to decide it was not going to work: we love each other, yes. But a whole week in ONE ROOM is just more togetherness than any of us can handle, so we regrouped and readjusted our ressies to stay in a 1 br. villa at OKW instead, which turned out to be an astoundingly good decision. Over the next 3.5 months, I planned meticulously (with the help of the DISboards) what to bring and what to do in our short time in the World. The following trip report is a chronicle of our experiences: the reluctant cast member, the starved-for-fun wife/mother/teacher (who, incidentally, broke her middle left toe exactly 8 days before the trip - hence, the "Toetoe" in this TR's title - haha! The first of what surely will be many bad jokes), the too-cool teenager, and the 7 year old drama-queen diva from So Cal. Mission: one week at WDW to make memories to last a lifetime.
Next up: Day One - We arrive!
: we waited forEVER for our luggage at the luggage carousel. This was the first moment we second-guessed our decision to rent a car and do everything ourselves instead of using DME to transport us and our luggage to the resort. Why didnt we do this? Well, DH wanted the car to get around to the resorts, the grocery store, and other places the busses take a long time to get to, and in theory, it was a good idea. Really, getting the car was very easy for DH, who went to fetch it from Emerald Aisle while the rest of us waited for luggage, but
we still had to wait for the luggage. A LONG TIME.
I held onto EVERYTHING...for reference sake in a WDW shopping bag.
Nice family picture-- miss the lime though. 
