Cast of characters, varied with the parts of the trip:
Tink, DW, me, 51, (called that because, well youll see)
Peter, DH, 51 (because, well .any woman will get it)
Gameboy, 10 (because that is all he would do if we let him)
Whistler, DS, 7 (because he does, constantly, makes us nuts)
Gma, my mom, 86 (hostage to us because she is stuck in a wheelchair most of the time)
Angel, my SIL, 53 (because she is, whenever I talk about everyone being mad, she is excluded)
Rack, my DN, 23 (because my kids hang all over him all the time like a coatrack, and bless, him, he tolerates it, also excluded from the anger stuff)
Manchild, my cousin, 57 (because he is)
I promise I will get to the cruise, but thought I'd post this part here, since if I posted this about our first four days on the Parks Trip Reports, I'd scare off all the newbies. I figure if you are taking a Disney Cruise you are at least somewhat familiar with what can go wrong on family vacations at the Parks.
My nod to the great trip report writers of this board, we all know who they are. I cannot write as well, or as cleverly as they. But I will try to inject some humor in the places where we were NOT laughing at all.
But do I always laugh when I watch the idyllic WDW videos of loving, perfect, happy families floating through the parks or the cruise, filmed in super-slow-motion with pixie dust trailing in their wake. This is not us. My DH and I could power through the parks in four days flat, and see everything once-upon-a-time. This trip involved many more players, we are a bit of a parade from Hades. We did five days at WDW, then the seven-day Eastern Magic Cruise, then decompressed for several days at Cocoa Beach. At times it was sublime. But it started pretty ugly. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
January 5th, travel day. . We had had two weeks of two different groups of family visiting over Christmas and New Years, the last of whom had left on the second. We took down all the decorations, then packed for two weeks of vacation. We were exhausted. We woke early, battened down the hatches and headed out for a long day of travel. Long lines at DIA security, too much hand luggage, everyone stripping shoes and whatever-else, just to get through. We had cheap tickets on Delta, which meant a three-hour flight to Atlanta from Denver, then changing planes for the second flight to Orlando. We are dreading this. In the cab on the way to the airport, Peter realizes he has left his jacket hanging in the hall. The jacket he spent the afternoon yesterday racing through every store to buy. Both flights were delayed. And as usual the first flight came in as far as possible from the second, so we trecked across the whole Atlanta airport. . We arrive in Orlando about 9:00 P.M. Rack and Angel were waiting patiently for us at the luggage carousel. We gathered our stuff, Peter went to get the rental car. The van was one of the ones with seats for 8, so it was a real struggle getting the car loaded. We ended up bungeeing the wheelchair to the top and having the first testy disagreements over how to get it all in the van. Sat Gma away from the luggage stacks as one toppling on her could finish off her rickety bones (ladies, take your calcium, trust me this is VERY good advice).
Took off down the back way and arrived at Pop Century. Whistler had fallen asleep in the car, so Gma stayed with him while the rest went in. The lobby was lovely, really nice, since the Christmas decorations were still up. All the trees and wreaths had blue lights, which really enhanced the lobby, was not half as interesting once they came down on our last day. I went to get the mugs while everyone else did the check-in. There was no line to check in, but the reservations were a mess. There were computer problems and it took nearly an hour for them to issue separate keys and park admissions for our rooms. Gameboy, Rack and I had a LOT of time to check out the shops and food-court area. Gma and a now-awake Whistler were wondering what had happened to us. We finally got to the rooms at nearly 10:30. We were in the 50s section with blue-lavender buildings and bowling pins. Not the most attractive color combo, but better than I expected. We had two rooms, one handicapped and a connecter with two double beds. These rooms are better looking than the All Stars, the use of the wood patterns is a real improvement. Angel and Rack were about 10 rooms away, in another wing, the closest they could get. Not much was left open in the food court, so we dined on a bottle of wine and take-out pizza and re-fillable mug drinks. Bed at midnight. Not the most magical start with the computer problems, but at least we are here safely.
Next, day two, well, it started OUT O.K.
Carla
Tink, DW, me, 51, (called that because, well youll see)
Peter, DH, 51 (because, well .any woman will get it)
Gameboy, 10 (because that is all he would do if we let him)
Whistler, DS, 7 (because he does, constantly, makes us nuts)
Gma, my mom, 86 (hostage to us because she is stuck in a wheelchair most of the time)
Angel, my SIL, 53 (because she is, whenever I talk about everyone being mad, she is excluded)
Rack, my DN, 23 (because my kids hang all over him all the time like a coatrack, and bless, him, he tolerates it, also excluded from the anger stuff)
Manchild, my cousin, 57 (because he is)
I promise I will get to the cruise, but thought I'd post this part here, since if I posted this about our first four days on the Parks Trip Reports, I'd scare off all the newbies. I figure if you are taking a Disney Cruise you are at least somewhat familiar with what can go wrong on family vacations at the Parks.
My nod to the great trip report writers of this board, we all know who they are. I cannot write as well, or as cleverly as they. But I will try to inject some humor in the places where we were NOT laughing at all.
But do I always laugh when I watch the idyllic WDW videos of loving, perfect, happy families floating through the parks or the cruise, filmed in super-slow-motion with pixie dust trailing in their wake. This is not us. My DH and I could power through the parks in four days flat, and see everything once-upon-a-time. This trip involved many more players, we are a bit of a parade from Hades. We did five days at WDW, then the seven-day Eastern Magic Cruise, then decompressed for several days at Cocoa Beach. At times it was sublime. But it started pretty ugly. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
January 5th, travel day. . We had had two weeks of two different groups of family visiting over Christmas and New Years, the last of whom had left on the second. We took down all the decorations, then packed for two weeks of vacation. We were exhausted. We woke early, battened down the hatches and headed out for a long day of travel. Long lines at DIA security, too much hand luggage, everyone stripping shoes and whatever-else, just to get through. We had cheap tickets on Delta, which meant a three-hour flight to Atlanta from Denver, then changing planes for the second flight to Orlando. We are dreading this. In the cab on the way to the airport, Peter realizes he has left his jacket hanging in the hall. The jacket he spent the afternoon yesterday racing through every store to buy. Both flights were delayed. And as usual the first flight came in as far as possible from the second, so we trecked across the whole Atlanta airport. . We arrive in Orlando about 9:00 P.M. Rack and Angel were waiting patiently for us at the luggage carousel. We gathered our stuff, Peter went to get the rental car. The van was one of the ones with seats for 8, so it was a real struggle getting the car loaded. We ended up bungeeing the wheelchair to the top and having the first testy disagreements over how to get it all in the van. Sat Gma away from the luggage stacks as one toppling on her could finish off her rickety bones (ladies, take your calcium, trust me this is VERY good advice).
Took off down the back way and arrived at Pop Century. Whistler had fallen asleep in the car, so Gma stayed with him while the rest went in. The lobby was lovely, really nice, since the Christmas decorations were still up. All the trees and wreaths had blue lights, which really enhanced the lobby, was not half as interesting once they came down on our last day. I went to get the mugs while everyone else did the check-in. There was no line to check in, but the reservations were a mess. There were computer problems and it took nearly an hour for them to issue separate keys and park admissions for our rooms. Gameboy, Rack and I had a LOT of time to check out the shops and food-court area. Gma and a now-awake Whistler were wondering what had happened to us. We finally got to the rooms at nearly 10:30. We were in the 50s section with blue-lavender buildings and bowling pins. Not the most attractive color combo, but better than I expected. We had two rooms, one handicapped and a connecter with two double beds. These rooms are better looking than the All Stars, the use of the wood patterns is a real improvement. Angel and Rack were about 10 rooms away, in another wing, the closest they could get. Not much was left open in the food court, so we dined on a bottle of wine and take-out pizza and re-fillable mug drinks. Bed at midnight. Not the most magical start with the computer problems, but at least we are here safely.
Next, day two, well, it started OUT O.K.
Carla
