Wasting away again... in WDW

[Bdawgsc]

So I normally get bored writing trip reports... but this one was too unusual to not share a little bit.

Picture it... Wednesday night. I'm lounging (as lazy people often do) and working the TiVo over good, I get a weird message from a friend who works for the mouse, and then the phone rings. The conversation leaves me very worried about my friend and so I'm quickly doing laundry, arranging pet-sitters, and canceling Thursday and Friday's appointments. I mean, I'd head to WDW for worse reasons... And I'd do anything for this friend. So I was off.

Thursday - The alarm goes off at 5am. I tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen... oh wait. Wrong thread. Anyway, I made a pot of coffee, finished a project for work, threw my clothes in a bag and was on the road by 8am. Somewhere in there I booked a hotel, too. Mind you, I'm not a morning person, but being a big dork, I knew that if I left at 8, I'd be able to enjoy my favorite shows on Sirius OutQ on the drive down to make the time pass. I pulled into the hotel at 2:30. After much hassle and over an hour of waiting for hotels.com to fix their mistake, I finally checked in, showered (the first of the day) and within an hour, met my friend at the Crossroads for dinner. I dunno why I enjoy the Crossroads. It's not really WDW, but close enough I guess. Then... wait for it... we headed into Orlando to see the one, the only, Mr. Jimmy Buffett. It was a great show, I only had 3 beers spilled on me, and I only spent about $40 on 2 drinks. It sounds bad, but I really do love Jimmy and my friend needed the distraction. I was back in the hotel around 11:30 and was SHOCKED to find the pool full of international mens (and a few ladies). Mind you, it was about 45 deg out... They were having way more fun than me, but I called it an early night and crashed a little after 12.

Here's a pic from our seats...

More to come soon... the fun is just beginning!

 

[OrlandoMike]

Jimmy and Walt all in one weekend? Cant wait to read more!

 

[MonorailMan]

I can't see the picture.

 

[Bdawgsc]

I think I fixed the photo - at least temporarily.

 

[Bdawgsc]

Here's another update!

Friday - My friend had decided to go to work. The Mouse has been laying off quite a few people, so he decided not to tempt fate. How he functioned, I'm not sure, but I slept until almost 10am. That's super late for me - especially when there's a Rock n Roller Coaster in my future. I finally got up when housekeeping came a knockin'. I had the coffee, a snack and headed to DTD to renew my annual pass that had just expired. Somewhere along the way I stopped for lunch and ended up eating with two perfect strangers from Ohio. It was most bizarre, but then again, so were they. Fun times. I got to the marketplace only to find about 25 people ahead of me in line at guest services. I finally got things taken care of and did what I always do... headed right to the Studios for RNR, Tower and Star Tours. It's lame, but it just happens to be tradition... so I do it. I finished up there, did a little ESPN the weekend and headed to Epcot to finish the night. I hadn't been to Epcot with time to kill and alone in a long time, so I stopped and did Impressions de France and a few other things in World Showcase. It was refreshing. Illuminations was a great way to end a surreal night.

 

[OrlandoMike]

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Yep, yep! Keep it comin'!

 

[rosiep]

Well????? We're waiting.

 

[Bdawgsc]

OK, ok! Here's the last part of the report!

Saturday - So maybe I slept in a little again. Hey, it'd been an exhausting couple of days. I went to grab lunch, but my friend called and wanted to meet for lunch. I was pretty much run off I4 on my way there, and the guy that did it gave me the finger. It was a near “TAWANDA” moment. Anyways, we did that and then decided to head to MK. Since I was still in "cheer him up" mode, it made me smile when the cast member working the tram said "I think some of you might need to go back to your car and do what you need to do. mmmmk?" After that, we monorailed over to MK and for whatever reason ended up in Toontown (Blech!) I hadn't been there in years, so we took a look around since I didn't know if I'd see it again before the renovation. We did a few attractions and then I insisted we do the dance party on Main Street. Of course, I'm in cheer him up mode still, so I insisted we dance. My friend was totally humiliated, but I enjoyed it way more than I should have. We did a few other things, caught Spectro, caught Wishes and then finished the night at Cosmic Rays enjoying some chicken strips. MK closed at 9, so I was back in the hotel before 10 (after I got lost in Celebration). More half-naked international pool parties were getting going, but really, not my thing so I just watched some awful TV and crashed.

Sunday – Well, I have a tradition on Sunday’s, too.. I got up nice and early, had my coffee, loaded the car and was sitting in traffic at AK around 9. Literally over 30 min wait JUST TO GET TO THE PARKING LOT. I’m not one to be anywhere for rope drop, so maybe this is typical, but it mostly looked like idiots holding up traffic to me. I finally got in, past all the families that just STOPPED right in the middle of the bridge to Discovery Island and found that I’d just missed the first Festival of the Lion King show. I was bummed, but I took a chance and walked to Asia. Me, and only me, had made that decision. I boarded Everest with ZERO wait and rode with 2 other people on the train. It was great. That experience was what I consider a magical moment. Since that had taken less than 10 minutes, I walked to Dinosaur. Again, no wait. Walked right on and rode. I poked around Dinoland a little, but decided I’d head back to Camp Minnie Mickey to get a good spot for the next Lion King. I made it in, got my seat and the festival of the tumble monkeys began. It was a great way to end the trip. I tried to grab a bite to eat in the park, but the lines were insane. That made me a little sad, but I walked back to the car and was on the road at noon. There was a lot of traffic… a LOT of traffic, but I made it home around 7pm, grabbed dinner and crashed.

What an INSANE weekend. I never just up and leave the house like that. It was a blast, though. I was in total relaxation mode the whole time at the parks and I had no agenda. I’m back for a scheduled trip this weekend. It’s lost some of it’s thunder because of this trip, but I’m still excited.

 

[Bdawgsc]

OH OH OH! I haven't mentioned this because I've been SO busy at work.. but...

I admit I have a cushy job sometimes - ok, most of the time. It does have a lot of stress, but I don't really have anyone looking over my shoulder. Well, like most places, this economy has hit us hard. My particular budget has really suffered. A web developer with a 4-year-old computer is not a happy camper. I was told "Do something to raise money and we'll add some of the profit back to your budget." Not really in those terms, but that was the jest of it.

Soooooo, I'm taking a group of our constituents to WDW for a week in August! I'm probably totally unaware of what I've gotten myself into since I don't have a lot of experience traveling with kids, but it is kinda exciting. And it's a "free" trip. The best part - we're staying in Wilderness Lodge! I've done trips with these people before for other events, but never this level of detail. Of course, a gay man can plan a party, so I'm bringing two others from my office with me to help with all the details. haha.

So far we're working on a campfire on the beach at Fort Wilderness for our welcome reception, an Illuminations desert party and a breakfast in Animal Kingdom before the park opens followed by the first Safari of the day. I don't know how this is going to go over with this crowd, but should be interesting to see.

 

[Cdn Gal]

Very cool- glad you had a great time. A couple of questions- I noticed that you were in SC. We will be going this summer and will be staying with some friends on Kiawah Island in SC, which I think is close to where you live? How long does it take for you to drive to Disney? Thanks! Also- how is your friend? Did they appreciate you coming down? Is Disney laying off alot of people? Take care and hope you have another great weekend!

 

[Bdawgsc]

Very cool- glad you had a great time. A couple of questions- I noticed that you were in SC. We will be going this summer and will be staying with some friends on Kiawah Island in SC, which I think is close to where you live? How long does it take for you to drive to Disney? Thanks! Also- how is your friend? Did they appreciate you coming down? Is Disney laying off alot of people? Take care and hope you have another great weekend!

Yep, Kiawah is here in Charleston. About 30 minutes south on a barrier island. If you've never been, it's GORGEOUS. Really. Such a nice place.

The drive from Kiawah would be about 5 hours, I'd think. You'd miss all of the Charleston traffic, but I'm not sure exactly how you'd get to 95 South from there and how long it'd take.

If you were needing a Disney fix when you're in the area, Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort isn't much more than an hour or so from you as I recall. It's not what I consider "real" Disney, but it's enough to get you over that "hump" sometimes.