DexLabDeeDee
Hollywood, 1939. Amidst the glitz and glitter...
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2008
Day 1 Part 2 – Swantastic
We finally landed in Orlando and got to take what I consider the first ride of the trip.
The mini-monorail!
Just love it.
We went down the escalators to baggage claim to pick up our luggage. We rented a car and Mom’s carry-on was sent through.
Our checked bags came fairly quickly but Mom’s carry on took some time. And when she pulled it off the belt, it kind of fell apart. It was one of those one’s that is like a backpack but also has an option to pull out a handle and roll it like luggage. The entire plastic luggage portion was ripped from the backpack portion and broken. Even the handle was in pieces.
Mom was really upset. It was something that she had bought in Hawaii and we weren’t sure we’d be able to replace it. We immediately went over to the Delta baggage center and I waited outside while Mom and Dad talked to the woman there. She brought out a blue hard-sided carry-on case which Mom took and then switched all her stuff from the destroyed one to the new one.
When they got back they explained that the really nice woman said that it was best to just get a new piece of luggage from them instead of trying to file a claim because it would take longer and she’d still be out a carry-on to use. She was right; we would need the carry-on since we just started our vacation. It still felt bad, though. The kicker of it was that there was plenty of overhead bin space – we could have easily brought it on the plane.
Oh well. We have a Disney vacation to enjoy!
We went to Budget to get our rental car. And we passed by the Magical Express on the way! I love that we get to see the buses even if we aren’t riding in them. And I love that there are palm trees on the way into the parking garage. It feels so tropical and vacation-y!
Since we were RapidRez members, we just went to the kiosk in the garage to get our car slot number. When we found it, we saw that we had a Chevy Cruz. And it was black…maybe. Or dark blue. Or black. It was really hard to tell. Depending on the light, it was either color.
What color is this???? (I just realized that I did not get a pic of our car the entire stay.
)
Well, whatever color it was as long as we could find it at the end of the day, it didn’t matter.
Now, to get my very large luggage bag, Mom's medium luggage bag, and Dad's medium/small luggage bag in the car. Which shouldn't be a problem right?
Wellllll...
My luggage bag is really large. My family jokes about not wanting to be seen with me with my bag. You know those different sized luggage sets - mine is the biggest one from that kind of set. When I first got it, my 5'4" 30-something sister was able to fit in it AND we were able to zip it shut! WITHOUT opening up the extender zipper. So yeah. My bag is big.
When it comes to packing, I mean business, yo.
That meant that we had to do some creative tetris-ing to get everything to fit in the trunk. At one point, my dad got frustrated and actually turned to go back to the kiosk to ask for a bigger car! My mom and I were shocked. And thought it hysterical. We're going to go and get a WHOLE new car and probably pay a lot extra just to fit our luggage for the short drive to the Swan?? When we haven't even explored the options for putting bags in the back seat?
We finally convinced my dad that we could get it all in - we just had to put one of the back seats down. We were even able to fit some of our carry-ons in the back too!
Everything finally settled, we were on our way!
To Publix!
Sorry! We'll get there soon!
We stopped to get some snacks since we just weren't sure what would be available for my mom and I to eat. Plus, we just like snacks. My dad also wanted some beer to enjoy. There were some good IPA choices so he was happy. It was also here that we got some utensils. Which, apparently, was a big deal. To my dad. He made sure that we got a little bit larger one that we needed so that he could give me some to pack away in my luggage so I would have it when I needed it next.
Obviously, my dad had no idea about my packing woes...well, he did but he must not have really gotten it if he was thinking that putting more things in my bag to begin with was a good idea! I practically had a coronary in the picnic aisle. Do you REALIZE what I've BEEN through?? I tried to nicely, gently decline but Dad was having none of it. We were getting the bigger box and I was putting extras in my luggage and that was that!
Hahahaha. My mom made a face at me and I rolled my eyes which my dad kind of caught so I blinked rapidly and pretended that a large waft of something got into my eyes. I may have over done it. My dad definitely thought something was up but he was ready to get out of there so he didn't call me on it. My dad may be a big grumpy and a bit gruff at times but, like lots of men, he's a softie on the inside and his feelings can actually get hurt pretty easily if we're not careful.
Finally, finally, we were on our way to Disney World and the Swan!
(And I am a terrible Diser but I didn't get a pic of the sign! I got video but I forgot to load it on to the computer...so maybe later....but for now, here is some random person's pic from Google Images. (Thank you, random person.) Enjoy.)
We didn't exactly know where to park to check-in when we got to the Swan. There really is no check-in parking - you either go up to the front door and valet or you go through the gate, taking a ticket (that you hand over to the front desk person) and park there. But that's kind of a ways away. You can unload in the front and Bell Services will help you. You just have to tip. We didn't know what the situation would be so we parked past the front door in front of what I later learned was the convention center.
Inside the Swan lobby was utter pandemonium. It was definitely check-in time and packed with people waiting and sitting everywhere. This was going to take a long time.
Or was it...
Dad and Mom are Starwood members which is why we were staying at the Swan - we used points. And Starwood members have their own line! Which had one other person in it. So we waited just a little while and were soon next. Our room wasn't ready yet - she checked with what we had reserved and originally we had reserved through Starwood members and got a balcony with a lake view. She said that there wasn't any category type like that but she would see what was available. And that took a long time. She said that there was a room ready now but wasn't the best. However, if we wanted to wait a better one would open up soon - she just didn't know when. We decided to wait and left our cell number.
We went back to Mom who was sitting in the car, roasting. I don't know why she didn't come in. She was quite bummed to learn that our room wasn't ready since she was more dressed for MN than for FL. (Why she didn't dress in layers, I don't know. She crazy. And oh lord, was it HOOOOOOT. HOOOOOOOT.) We left our bags with Bell Services and decided to explore the Swan!
The Swan has a central lobby that you walk through to a small rotunda with a Swan fountain. From there, in spokes, are the walkways to the two different elevator banks, the convention center, the restaurants, and the back doors leading to the walkway that connects the Swan with the Dolphin. In the rotunda, we saw that there was a ballroom dance competition going on that week. Which would probably explain the complete chaos in the lobby. Throughout the week, we saw a lot of people dressed REALLY fancy with LOADS of makeup.
We decided to check out the Dolphin, eat there, and on the way back, check out the pool area, which looked really cool.
(Isn't that cool? It was totally by accident. I had no idea she was standing there! Zoomed in, you can see her parents in the blue and orange holding out their hands to her.)
If you look closely, you'll see CHILDREN IN THE WATER!!! They look next to the water but they were actually in it.
My mom and I stood there in horrified shock. I mean, they were probably okay but would you want to risk it??? In other locations around WDW, they've put up rocks and rope fences but not at the Swan and Dolphin. And of course, there is a lovely inviting sandy beach. I don't know why they didn't decide to do anything. The children eventually left the water and we continued on our way. After that fright, we were hungry!
We didn't really know where to go and we wandered a bit before we found that Picabu was still open. It's kind of their food court. We walked in and asked someone what was gluten free and dairy free. Another employee down the way shouted 'BURRITO BOWLS!" He was really enthusiastic. He started really selling it. And no one offered up any other choices so burrito bowls it was. I think we made his day.
And the best part - COKE FREESTYLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Coke Freestyle. My favorite is Coke with orange. Mmmmmmm. This is the only way I can get it unless a place imports Mezzo Mix from Germany.
Coooookkke Freeeeestyyyyle.....uhhhhhhn
The bummer is that we only bought one drink to share (before I discovered it was Freestyle) and my parents refuse to drink my orange coke! So we got root beer. Which I like but seriously? We get to mix all sorts of flavors together and you choose root beer?? The same one you can get anywhere???
Ugh.
Plebeians.
My day ruined, we sat down to eat. My dad and I got steak burrito bowls and my mom decided to just get chips and guacamole. She doesn't really like to eat much. She has terrible acid reflux so smaller meals are better for her.
CONTINUED ON NEXT POST
We finally landed in Orlando and got to take what I consider the first ride of the trip.
The mini-monorail!
Just love it.
We went down the escalators to baggage claim to pick up our luggage. We rented a car and Mom’s carry-on was sent through.
Our checked bags came fairly quickly but Mom’s carry on took some time. And when she pulled it off the belt, it kind of fell apart. It was one of those one’s that is like a backpack but also has an option to pull out a handle and roll it like luggage. The entire plastic luggage portion was ripped from the backpack portion and broken. Even the handle was in pieces.
Mom was really upset. It was something that she had bought in Hawaii and we weren’t sure we’d be able to replace it. We immediately went over to the Delta baggage center and I waited outside while Mom and Dad talked to the woman there. She brought out a blue hard-sided carry-on case which Mom took and then switched all her stuff from the destroyed one to the new one.
When they got back they explained that the really nice woman said that it was best to just get a new piece of luggage from them instead of trying to file a claim because it would take longer and she’d still be out a carry-on to use. She was right; we would need the carry-on since we just started our vacation. It still felt bad, though. The kicker of it was that there was plenty of overhead bin space – we could have easily brought it on the plane.
Oh well. We have a Disney vacation to enjoy!
We went to Budget to get our rental car. And we passed by the Magical Express on the way! I love that we get to see the buses even if we aren’t riding in them. And I love that there are palm trees on the way into the parking garage. It feels so tropical and vacation-y!
Since we were RapidRez members, we just went to the kiosk in the garage to get our car slot number. When we found it, we saw that we had a Chevy Cruz. And it was black…maybe. Or dark blue. Or black. It was really hard to tell. Depending on the light, it was either color.
What color is this???? (I just realized that I did not get a pic of our car the entire stay.
)Well, whatever color it was as long as we could find it at the end of the day, it didn’t matter.
Now, to get my very large luggage bag, Mom's medium luggage bag, and Dad's medium/small luggage bag in the car. Which shouldn't be a problem right?
Wellllll...
My luggage bag is really large. My family jokes about not wanting to be seen with me with my bag. You know those different sized luggage sets - mine is the biggest one from that kind of set. When I first got it, my 5'4" 30-something sister was able to fit in it AND we were able to zip it shut! WITHOUT opening up the extender zipper. So yeah. My bag is big.
When it comes to packing, I mean business, yo.
That meant that we had to do some creative tetris-ing to get everything to fit in the trunk. At one point, my dad got frustrated and actually turned to go back to the kiosk to ask for a bigger car! My mom and I were shocked. And thought it hysterical. We're going to go and get a WHOLE new car and probably pay a lot extra just to fit our luggage for the short drive to the Swan?? When we haven't even explored the options for putting bags in the back seat?
We finally convinced my dad that we could get it all in - we just had to put one of the back seats down. We were even able to fit some of our carry-ons in the back too!
Everything finally settled, we were on our way!
To Publix!
Sorry! We'll get there soon!
We stopped to get some snacks since we just weren't sure what would be available for my mom and I to eat. Plus, we just like snacks. My dad also wanted some beer to enjoy. There were some good IPA choices so he was happy. It was also here that we got some utensils. Which, apparently, was a big deal. To my dad. He made sure that we got a little bit larger one that we needed so that he could give me some to pack away in my luggage so I would have it when I needed it next.
Obviously, my dad had no idea about my packing woes...well, he did but he must not have really gotten it if he was thinking that putting more things in my bag to begin with was a good idea! I practically had a coronary in the picnic aisle. Do you REALIZE what I've BEEN through?? I tried to nicely, gently decline but Dad was having none of it. We were getting the bigger box and I was putting extras in my luggage and that was that!
Hahahaha. My mom made a face at me and I rolled my eyes which my dad kind of caught so I blinked rapidly and pretended that a large waft of something got into my eyes. I may have over done it. My dad definitely thought something was up but he was ready to get out of there so he didn't call me on it. My dad may be a big grumpy and a bit gruff at times but, like lots of men, he's a softie on the inside and his feelings can actually get hurt pretty easily if we're not careful.
Finally, finally, we were on our way to Disney World and the Swan!
(And I am a terrible Diser but I didn't get a pic of the sign! I got video but I forgot to load it on to the computer...so maybe later....but for now, here is some random person's pic from Google Images. (Thank you, random person.) Enjoy.)
We didn't exactly know where to park to check-in when we got to the Swan. There really is no check-in parking - you either go up to the front door and valet or you go through the gate, taking a ticket (that you hand over to the front desk person) and park there. But that's kind of a ways away. You can unload in the front and Bell Services will help you. You just have to tip. We didn't know what the situation would be so we parked past the front door in front of what I later learned was the convention center.
Inside the Swan lobby was utter pandemonium. It was definitely check-in time and packed with people waiting and sitting everywhere. This was going to take a long time.
Or was it...
Dad and Mom are Starwood members which is why we were staying at the Swan - we used points. And Starwood members have their own line! Which had one other person in it. So we waited just a little while and were soon next. Our room wasn't ready yet - she checked with what we had reserved and originally we had reserved through Starwood members and got a balcony with a lake view. She said that there wasn't any category type like that but she would see what was available. And that took a long time. She said that there was a room ready now but wasn't the best. However, if we wanted to wait a better one would open up soon - she just didn't know when. We decided to wait and left our cell number.
We went back to Mom who was sitting in the car, roasting. I don't know why she didn't come in. She was quite bummed to learn that our room wasn't ready since she was more dressed for MN than for FL. (Why she didn't dress in layers, I don't know. She crazy. And oh lord, was it HOOOOOOT. HOOOOOOOT.) We left our bags with Bell Services and decided to explore the Swan!
The Swan has a central lobby that you walk through to a small rotunda with a Swan fountain. From there, in spokes, are the walkways to the two different elevator banks, the convention center, the restaurants, and the back doors leading to the walkway that connects the Swan with the Dolphin. In the rotunda, we saw that there was a ballroom dance competition going on that week. Which would probably explain the complete chaos in the lobby. Throughout the week, we saw a lot of people dressed REALLY fancy with LOADS of makeup.
We decided to check out the Dolphin, eat there, and on the way back, check out the pool area, which looked really cool.
(Isn't that cool? It was totally by accident. I had no idea she was standing there! Zoomed in, you can see her parents in the blue and orange holding out their hands to her.)
If you look closely, you'll see CHILDREN IN THE WATER!!! They look next to the water but they were actually in it.
My mom and I stood there in horrified shock. I mean, they were probably okay but would you want to risk it??? In other locations around WDW, they've put up rocks and rope fences but not at the Swan and Dolphin. And of course, there is a lovely inviting sandy beach. I don't know why they didn't decide to do anything. The children eventually left the water and we continued on our way. After that fright, we were hungry!
We didn't really know where to go and we wandered a bit before we found that Picabu was still open. It's kind of their food court. We walked in and asked someone what was gluten free and dairy free. Another employee down the way shouted 'BURRITO BOWLS!" He was really enthusiastic. He started really selling it. And no one offered up any other choices so burrito bowls it was. I think we made his day.
And the best part - COKE FREESTYLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Coke Freestyle. My favorite is Coke with orange. Mmmmmmm. This is the only way I can get it unless a place imports Mezzo Mix from Germany.
Coooookkke Freeeeestyyyyle.....uhhhhhhn
The bummer is that we only bought one drink to share (before I discovered it was Freestyle) and my parents refuse to drink my orange coke! So we got root beer. Which I like but seriously? We get to mix all sorts of flavors together and you choose root beer?? The same one you can get anywhere???
Ugh.
Plebeians.
My day ruined, we sat down to eat. My dad and I got steak burrito bowls and my mom decided to just get chips and guacamole. She doesn't really like to eat much. She has terrible acid reflux so smaller meals are better for her.
CONTINUED ON NEXT POST
We took an Uber there and I was in the backseat. I didn't think the guy would appreciate me trying to lean into the front seat to take a picture.
That GIF is perfect.
and Thank you!
and thank you!
Holy mother of pearl! WHY?!?!?!
