Ups and Downs of Escalators and other excitement aboard the Disney Magic 3/6-3/13

[GoHerd1028]

This is going to be my first ever attempt at a trip report so be gentle .

To get things started off let me introduce the cast of characters for this journey. I am the Dad...Steve and DW is Shari DS is our 5 year old son Ethan and DD is our 3 year old Princess Lauren.

March 5th had finally arrive. This was the day that we were going to leave for Disney World and stay at the All Star Sports Resort the night before our cruise. Our flight was due to leave Cincinnati at 2:10pm and land in Orlando at 4:30. It is nearly a 3 hour drive to Cincy from our house so that meant we had to leave around 830 or 9 to get to airport 2 hours prior to our scheduled flight time.

Ethan has been ready to go for weeks and has been packed and qheeling his suitcase from room to room with him. Even parking it by his bed at night while he slept. Do you think h was excited? He wanted to help pack the car the only thing was the he was only concerned about his bags getting in the car.

Fed the above picture of the van is for you!! You need to break down and get one and make things easier on yourself

Finally things were packed in the car and we were ready to pull out. We got about a half mile from the house and Lauren announces that she has to poop! I asked her why she did not do that before we left and she said she did not have to then...oh well...I pulled into McDonalds and let her take care of business and also get us all a bite to eat real quick.

We were back on the road in no time heading from Huntington, WV to Cincinnati on the AA Highway through Kentucky. WE got to the airport found a good parking spot and unloaded the bags. We checked in and headed for security. Once through security we had to down a set of escalators. This would be the first to two escalator mishaps during this trip. Ethan and I got on first thinking the girls were behind us. Well, they were sort of.....Shari and Lauren got on and then Lauren got scared and got off. Shari did not see it until she was half way down herself. I am standing at the bottom of the escalator trying to coax her to get on line. She was standing at the top with her arms crossed saying she was not going to get on because she was scared. The TSA guy saw our struggle and tried to help her on but she would not let he take her hand good girl! So, I had an idea I would climb the down escalator. Let me say this......it seemed as thought it would be easier than it actually was!!! by the time I reached her at the top I was huffing and puffing and showing just how out of shape I actually am. I scooped her up into my arms and then got back on for the ride down.

The Flight was pretty uneventful except for Ethan holind his arms up on take off and landing like he was on a roller coaster!!! Once we arrived in Orlando Shari and I both had the same thought. We could already feel the magic in the air. We both said that we just love Florida and Orlando. Once we got our luggage we headed over to the Magical Express and I was so impressed at how smooth of an operation that was. We were at the All Star Sports Resort in no time.

Upong Arrival at the All Star Sports we got checked in and head to our room which was in the basketball section of the resort. This is the first time in years that we have stayed on site. We have a hilton Time Share and stay there usually. Staying onsite even for jsut onenight added a little bit of excitement to things. However, I think the resort we were staying at must have been overtaken by cheerleading and dance squads during this time. I had no idea there would be this many school groups here. Once we got to our room this was the first site we saw.

Seeing the Mickey made out of towels was a nice site to see. I guess they must do that at all the resorts, but it is something that was new to us.

We were all hungry again and decided to get a bit to eat. I suggested Earl of Sandwich at downtown Disney. This was going to be our first experience relying on the Disney trasport system to get us from point A to point B. WE got to the bus stop and after a little wait our bus came. Shari and the kids were able to get a seat and I stood beside them. I was so surprised to see how many men idly sit by and let women stand and not even offer them their seat. I did not matter if they were holding a baby or if they were elderly or anything. They did not get up....No cool guys!

We got to Earl of Sandwich and the place was packed. It must have been all the cheerleading groups and Dance Troups again!
I got the Hawaiian Sandwich and Shari got the Earls Club. We split them so we could taste them both. I liked mine better They also have the best tomato soup. I am sure it has to be from a can but it tastes good to me anyway. Ethan got a pizza Sandwich (he will turn into a pizza or french fry one day I am sure) and Lauren got a grilled cheese that she did not like so I shared with her and she was a much happier princess

We decided to head back to the hotel right after we ate and get things situated and ready for the next morning. It took us about 45 minutes to get back once we got on the bus. I know the transportation system there is good, but it makes me happier to have my own car or a rental to come and go at my own pace I guess...Must be a control thing

Once back to All Star Sports we got everyone ready for bed and turned in to rest for the excitment that was coming tomorrow!!!


Hope I am not boring you to death....like I said before...this is a first attempt. More chapters to follopw!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hey Steve,

Good start! Your son is obviously destined to be famous. He already has the paparazzi pose down pat!

Good call on the Hawaiian barbecue! That's a great sandwich.

Our family loves staying on-site. I think our kids would much rather ride the buses, boats and monorails than our boring ol' minivan...

 

[DisneyDadC]

Good Start Got me in I love cruises so cant wait to here more.I will be here waiting for more. Please don't let some of the past performances of TR's influence your finishingooppps did I go there?

 

[katie395]

Looking forward to hear more!

 

[Emma's Dad]

All right!! Another DIS Dad TR Very nice start, Steve! Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

I am in! And I'm impressed that you started your TR before I started mine. Can you believe I'm actually working at work today? I should be sorting out my pictures and polishing my yak stories (and I don't mean a long haired relative of the bovine, either!)
One thing's for sure - we'll both finish before Don.
Can't wait for more!

 

[dvczerfs]

im in!!! nice start steve! first off, nice shine on the van, mini van pride!!!! thanks for the tip, never run up the down, ill keep that in mind.that last time we stayed at asm was 2 months before my dw forced me to buy into dvc. 3:30am the first night we were there, trying to fit into a double bed, 4 buss' pulled in from mass. carrying a hs band!!! and the cheerleaders were cheering in the food court!!!! good job!!

 

[GoHerd1028]

Hey Steve,

Good start! Your son is obviously destined to be famous. He already has the paparazzi pose down pat!

Good call on the Hawaiian barbecue! That's a great sandwich.

Our family loves staying on-site. I think our kids would much rather ride the buses, boats and monorails than our boring ol' minivan...

It must be a genetic thing that he can assume the paparazzi pose His biological mother was a broadway actress before she became pregnant and put him up for adoption...yay for me!

Good Start Got me in I love cruises so cant wait to here more.I will be here waiting for more. Please don't let some of the past performances of TR's influence your finishingooppps did I go there?

Poor Don

Looking forward to hear more!

Glad you have joined in with us here...hope I don't bore you too much

All right!! Another DIS Dad TR Very nice start, Steve! Looking forward to the next installment.

I am trying to get my notes together so I can make sure and get things in the right order.

I am in! And I'm impressed that you started your TR before I started mine. Can you believe I'm actually working at work today? I should be sorting out my pictures and polishing my yak stories (and I don't mean a long haired relative of the bovine, either!)
One thing's for sure - we'll both finish before Don.
Can't wait for more!

I had to call in sick to work today because of whatever bug I caught on board (discussed in future installment) so I decided to go ahead and get started on things

im in!!! nice start steve! first off, nice shine on the van, mini van pride!!!! thanks for the tip, never run up the down, ill keep that in mind.that last time we stayed at asm was 2 months before my dw forced me to buy into dvc. 3:30am the first night we were there, trying to fit into a double bed, 4 buss' pulled in from mass. carrying a hs band!!! and the cheerleaders were cheering in the food court!!!! good job!!

I never go on a trip without the van looking like it has had a spit shine!!! I think I would have died with high school bands in the mix too!!! Next time I will stay someplace different and maybe it wont be an issue!

 

[GoHerd1028]

The morning of March 6 had finally arrived. The temperatures in Orlando were still a bit cool even for a buckeye. However, that did not stop the cheerleaders and dance squads from getting in the pool! There were also several of them in the center areas practicing. We got everyone up and dressed and headed to breakfast at the food court. They had a live for all different types of breakfast food items you wanted. Lauren and Ethan settled for grapes and yogurts...not bad choices at all. Shari and I went with the normal scrambled eggs with sausage and hash brown. It was not bad and since our choices were limited it hit the spot

After breakfsat we still had some time to kill so we decided to take some pictures around the resort. All kinds of photo ops here.

When we got to the Tennis section the kids saw there favorite Donald Duck and his nephews! I still dont understand why they thought they had to ride them like horses!

Check out time was at 11am from All Star Resorts and the "Boat Bus" as Ethan called it was due to pick us up at 12:15. We ended up sitting in the lobby watching the Disney Cartoons passing the time until at last the lady in the cruise jacket shows up looking for us and a few others who are on our cruise. She told us that the bus was at All Star Music and that we were the next stop. Woohoo! It is getting closer... ooops was that me yelling or the kids?? The "Boat Bus" finally arrives and we board and have our choice of seats. The kids automaticly gravitate to the back. Once borded the driver told us that he had to stop at Coronado Springs and pick up passengers before we could head to the port. Once everyone from all resorts were on...we hit the highway for the port...

The video that they show you on the way to the port is a good distraction and also has some good information in it to help you to get boarded easily. I could tell we were getting close because I was able to look out the window and see the Kennedy Space center...then all of a sudden as we topped the bridge over the intercoastal waterway there she was!! The Disey Magic in all of her beauty!!!It was already close to 2pm so we were among the last passengers to board that day so there was no crowd at all in the terminal. We cleared security and there was an escalator there...uh oh...well I knew what had happened in Cincy so I scooped Lauren up and was determined that there would be no more escalator incidents this trip...Little did I know I was wrong...but that will come in a future update!

We got checked in and all of our documents cleared and it was time to pass through the Mckey Ears..Unfortunatley the batteries in the camera had died and the spare was ...you guessed it...in the checked bags not to be seen again until later. So, there are not many pictures of this first day at all. Anyway, we went through the ears and they announced us as arriving and we got a round of applause...it was like royalty coming aboard. We were all dying to see our room...and to use the bathroom so up to cabin 6053 we go! Once there we met our neighbors across the hall where are also Disers ..they said that they heard us announced and knew that we were finally aboard. Very nice family! We met our stateroom steward Pichet..he said to just call him "P". When we walked into the room the kids were able to see the baskets that we had ordered from Shirley at "Perfect Gift". Ethans was a tote with a fireman Mickey in it and a Pirates of the Carribean Towel, a mickey refillable mug, sunglasses, among so much other stuff. To top it off it had a card with a message from Captain Jack Sparrow welcoming him aboard. He was pumped. Lauren's tote had a Pirate Minnie in it as well as Princess towel, sunglasses, mickey mug, and all sorts of assorted snack items like Ethans did. This is when I really wish I had put that spare batter in my backpack. Thankfully Shari did manage to get some shots with the video camera and save some of the magic of that moment for us to enjoy over and over again. Lauren's card was a message from Cinderella! Her favorite. When I ordered the baskets/totes I told Shirley to just make them nice and surprise me with what she put in them...well...she outdid herself and I recomend her services to anyone that might be thinking of using her at some time!

By this time it was nearly time for the Dis Meet in the Promonade Lounge which was scheduled for 3pm. The kids had not had lunch yet and I knew that Topsiders was going to close soon for the sail away party so I told Shari we could make a fast stop at the meet and then gete some lunchfor the kids. When we got there there were a few people, but I did not know if they were with us or not. Until one nice lady BNAlexander introduced herself. Very nice lady...then we met LovesEeyore, Rasmus, DisneyRunningmom, Leahtx, DMMarla. The handed out updated information for the Fish Extender giveaway I politley excused us so the kids could eat.

We went to Topsiders and got lunch and sat outside on the deck overlooking the water. It was great! I was anxious to eat there again just because of the atmosphere. After lunch we hurried back to the room to get ready for the muster drill to the life boats. The kids both got into their life jackets and when the alarm sounded we went to our muster station and crammed in there with everyone else assigned to our boat. they really do a good job making sure that each cabin is there and accounted for. When the drill was over the funcould officially begin and we took our lifejackets back to the room.

Now it was time for the Sail Away Party...agian no pictures . They were handing out little red, gold, and blue pom pom looking things...of course Ethan and Lauren had one and was shaking them like no ones business! The party was great I had no idea what to expect. It was a very upbeat party with lots of dancing. We watched it from Deck 10 since by the tiem e arrived after lunch Deck 9 was alrady full and I knew that the kids would not be able to see anything from there. It's all about the kids right??!!!

When the party was over we went back to the cabin to get all ofour magnets on the door. We must have gone overboard (no pun intended) on magnets because I could hear people all week long commenting on our door and how festive it was! I will post a picture in a future installment. Got to have something to make you want to keep coming back dont I?

Dinner the first night was in Lumieres and we had not received our luggage yet so we had to go in the outfits that we boarded the ship in. I was worried about that and affraid that we woul dnot be let in but there were a lot of others in the same situation we were in . In fact I saw some people who wore them all week long. Our Servers were Joyce and Gusti. They were fantastic!! During the week the kids warmed up to them and they became like part of the family. That is their job I guess...to become part of your family and make you feel like you are home. Lauren told Joyce that both of her Nanna's were named Joyce and that one of her baby dolls was named Joyce also so there was an instant bond there.

After dinner we walked around and got the kids signed up for the oceaneers club and they put a writ band on them both so that they could be easily checked in and out by computer. We will come to find later in this journey that those wristband will have another feature that we did not know about at the time!! By now it was showtime so we headed to the theater and watched the All Aboard show and it was pretty good...both Ethan and Lauren sat there mesmerized. Shari and I were worried that they might get bored in the shows but that proved to be not an issue at all. Our Cruise Director Peter also introduced a few acts that would be shown during the week. One was a hypnotist and the other was a magician. I liked the previews of both and looked forward to their shows.

We decided that if our luggage was at the room now we would call it a night and then try to unpack somewhat and get things stwoed away best we could. When we arrived back the luggage was outside the door and when we entered we found that P had already turned down the beds and left us a towel sculpture.

The kids were excited to see this and the fact that he had left candy . You can alwasy bribe a kid with candy! We got the kids changed into their pj's and tucked into bed...Ethan got the top bunk and Lauren got the bottom one, but she wanted the top one too! As luck would have it ...you should always be careful what you wish for because you just might get it!!! As we will see in future episodes she will become queen of the top bunk.

This will conclude the second installment of the report...hope you enjoy and come back for more!

 

[DisneyDadC]

I am still here I am going nowhere soon I know the talk about the food is coming up Great job so far

 

[Señor DonDuck]

I'm in. Great start and I will definitely be back for more.

 

[dvczerfs]

good job steve!! ethan looks tired. im glad the weather was good.

 

[tutter99]

Great start Steve! Can't wait for next installment. No pressure, but this report could be the tipping point to get DW to agree to a cruise. I'm counting on you buddy!

 

[trennr]

Just popping in to Subscribe... looking forward to it Steve.

 

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Nice start to your TR. We stayed at All stars our first year there and we liked the resort. Our kids loved running up and down that same football field. I cant wait to here about the cruise, its something we have been talking about, but have not yet commited to. i am ready to give it a whirl but my wife is not sold yet.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I love the picture of Ethan on the Donald-playing-tennis statue. With their facial expressions, they look like twins!

On our cruise, we were surprised at the amount of selections available in the buffet. It's great eating out on the deck, isn't it?

 

[DisneyDadC]

more,more,more We want more

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Sure is quiet in here.

 

[that's nice]

arrrrrgggggg... dems look like pirates out yonder!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sure is quiet in here.

Yeah...too quiet.

Hmm...I guess that's more of a generic movie cliche than an actual quote.