Zero, Grumpy, and Her Majesty Meet the Mouse (and everyone else, too!)

[ZeroMyHero]

Hello readers! Zero here. I've been lurking on these boards since 2002 when I helped to plan a budget WDW trip. DH and I joined another married couple we knew from college and drove from IL to WDW. We camped at FW and the weather was a bit rainy and chilly, so DH decided that it would be his first and last WDW trip: he'd seen it and had fun, but didn't have any desire to return.

Fast forward to the present: DH and I are the proud parents of DD4. We hadn't been on vacation since that 2003 journey to the World and it was wearing on us (DH and me, that is). One day this January, I suggested a vacation and DH agreed. I then tentatively suggested a Disney trip and DH agreed again. Hooray! Let the planning begin! I started reading and posting on the boards frequently but I never even considered writing a pre-trip report. I didn't think I'd have time and I didn't have the first clue as to how to write one. Now that we're home I have new confidence in myself, so I'll just dive in and go straight to the trip report. My first ever - yikes!

First, our players:

DH (hereafter known as Grumpy): He's a kid at heart, but pressures at work and a 1-hour commute each way every day through Chicago rush-hour traffic buries that kid pretty deep sometimes. His major flaws are a short temper and almost no patience. The combination of these two traits and a visit to Disney World could be disasterous. Would this trip harm Grumpy more than help him?

Yours Truly (hereafter known as Zero): I'm the worrier of the group. I worry about everything, and often they are things I can't control. I already have a permanent worry crease in the center of my forehead. Travel to any destination causes worry. But going to Disney? Talk about stress and worry! Thankfully, I am also a kid at heart as long as I can let go of all that worrying. I'm not sure I'd be able to do that though. After all, a Disney vacation is a major undertaking. Would I allow myself to have fun?

DD (hereafter known as Her Majesty or HM): HM is my fat little bundle baby who turned into a lanky beauty of a 4 year-old seemingly overnight. We used to call her 'Moose-olini, the Benevolent Dictator' since she ruled our lives with an incredibly chubby and cute fist, but time has taken away her baby bulges so that title doesn't fit anymore. As she is a girly girl and fond of dress-up, especially princess attire, Her Majesty seems appropriate. HM is a very happy little girl and *very* talkative, but the grumpies are strong in her, and once they rear their nasty little heads HM can be very unpleasant indeed. Would major meltdowns put a serious damper on HM's first trip to Disney World?

Only the trip report will tell!

Coming soon - Installment #1: Bienvenidos, Amigos!

 

[ZeroMyHero]

4:30 am comes painfully early when you've only had four hours of sleep. My alarm went off and for a split second I wanted to chuck my alarm clock clear across the room. But then I remembered: we're going to Disney World! I crawled out of bed, shook Grumpy and told him it was time to get up (that man slept through a tornado when he was a teenager - yes, honestly, he slept through an actual tornado) and dragged my tired self into the shower. After I was dressed and ready at about 5:30 am, I woke up Her Majesty. She was already mostly awake. Good thing, because she inherited the Not-A-Morning-Person gene from both me and her dad and can be a beast. I got her dressed and her hair fixed, did a quick inventory of our luggage (six bags: three to check and three to carry), and suddenly it was 6:00 and the car was there to take us to the airport. And as luck (magic?) would have it, it was a stretch limousine. Oh, wasn't Her Majesty excited! Grumpy strapped her car seat into the back of the limo and she climbed in, sat down ever-so-regally, and breathed, "Mommy, this car is ginormous!" Grumpy and I took our seats and buckled up. We waved goodbye to the house (and our poor scaredy-cat Madi, who hates the doorbell and suitcases) and we were on our way to the airport! I worried that I'd forgotten something but it was too late to turn back. Who would want to anyway?

Thankfully, we only hit two spots of bad traffic and we knew we'd get to Midway with plenty of time to get through security and find our gate. I was worried about flying AirTran. It was our first experience with the airline and I knew they didn't have a great track record for on-time flights to Orlando. I tried to drown my worry in the chai latte and doughnut Grumpy had thoughtfully purchased for me from Starbucks earlier in the morning. It was the first of many unhealthy breakfasts to come, but hang it all, we were on vacation! Bring on the doughnuts! HM requested a bite or two of my breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She'd munch on doughnut and look around the limo, quipping, "Mommy, I just love this taxi - it's so *cool*!" I told her it was the coolest "taxi" she'd ever ride in, and she gave me a big grin and the squinchy shoulders. You know, that thing that little kids do with their shoulders when they're excited? Even Grumpy had the squinchy shoulders going. Good thing he had that tall latte to keep him going - that man is nearly useless until about 8:00 am when he finally has a pulse!

At the airport, we skycapped our bags and proceeded to security. I had printed out our boarding passes the day before so we were good to go. We breezed through security (with only small protests from Her Majesty as she didn't want to remove her shoes) and found our gate. I set off for the bookstore to find reading material for myself and surprised Grumpy with a book of Sudoku puzzles. Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane. We had a decent zone, 4, but I had paid extra for assigned seats for us. Good thing, too, as there was a family behind us who was separated. The dad was seated behind his two young daughters and hoped that whoever was in the seat next to them would switch. I'm glad we weren't in that situation. (Happily, the dad was able to make the switch.) Anyway, Grumpy strapped down the car seat, we got Her Majesty buckled in, and then we settled down ourselves for the flight ahead. Now it was time for me to worry about taking off. (Do you sense a theme here?) But, as usual, my worry was for nothing. We took off and climbed into the sky with no problems.

Our flight was uneventful. We snacked on pretzels and I had my traditional glass of ginger ale (flying can make me a little queasy). After coloring with HM and helping her draw some letters on her Leapster, it was time to land, and time to worry a little bit again. Of course, we landed safely (though a little bumpier than I like) and hooray! We were in Orlando! We gathered our things, got off the plane, and looked around for our gate-checked stroller. Um, stroller? Where are you? We asked an agent near the jetway. She asked for a description and we said it was in a big, red drawstring bag. She told us since it was in a bag, the baggage handlers wouldn't have known it was a gate check so we'd find it at baggage claim. Hmm, do you think maybe the huge white letters that said "GATE CHECK" on the outside of the bag might have been a clue?? Grumpy looked grumpy, but what was done was done. We caught a shuttle and waited at baggage claim. And waited. And waited. Did I mention we had to wait? A long time? Because we did. UGH. Disney World was so close, Magical Express was just on the other end of the terminal, and here we were stuck at an empty baggage carousel waiting for something that we were supposed to get right off the plane! Good thing Her Majesty wasn't a baby, because I would have raised a major stink. Finally, the carousel began to move and our stroller appeared. A quick check told us it wasn't broken (WHEW!) and we hurried over to get checked in for Magical Express. The wait to get checked in was pretty short, but the wait to get on an actual bus was a bit longer, enough that Grumpy and I began referring to it as Magical Not-So-Express. Looking back, the wait really wasn't that long. We were just excited to get the show on the road! Vacation awaited!

At long last our ME bus arrived to take us to Coronado Springs Resort. We got the seats at the back that are three across and settled in to watch the movie. Soon there were hotels galore out the window and then the gates to WDW. We were almost there! We dropped off a few passengers at Pop Century (which Her Majesty loved the look of and was sad to leave) and headed for our resort. Finally, we stepped off the bus into the heat and beauty of Coronado Springs. What a change from home! We gathered up our stroller and car seat, tipped the driver for his help with our gear, and headed to El Centro to check in. We stood in line with conventioneers complete with nametags until we were finally directed to an available Cast Member. I walked up fully prepared, paperwork in hand, eager to get us checked in, just as the CM turned away and left. I assumed he'd be back quickly so I waited. And waited. Um, hello? Anybody? I could feel Grumpy getting grumpy again, and Her Majesty was tired of standing in line and started to whine. I must tell you how much whining grates on me, and I could feel the grumpies taking hold of me, too. I squashed them down, though, and told Grumpy to NICELY talk to the CM who had directed us here in the first place. And Grumpy listened to me, and nicely asked if someone could help us. Well, before you could blink, a manager was behind the empty desk in front of me and began checking our paperwork. She asked how long I was waiting and I pleasantly said it was maybe 5 minutes, but that I had the time because I was on vacation. She paused and looked at her screen for a moment and said, "Oh, I have something for you from Mickey. Will you excuse me so I can get it?" She disappeared into the back and returned with a signed photo addressed to us of Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto! We had been chosen as the Familia del Dia, or Family of the Day! We got a Magical Moment certificate commemorating this grand occasion and Her Majesty got a CSR chile pepper balloon. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we dropped off our things with Bell Services (where HM got a small Mickey figure, too) and headed off to Pepper Market for lunch. Wow, barely into our stay and we had already received some pixie dust! What lay ahead?

Next up - Installment #2: Filling our Bellies and a Box (or, If a CM Offers to Help, Say Yes!)

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I love that first day of vacation excitment. Like you I feel any time waiting at the airport while disney is soooo very close feels too long. I think the magical express should consist of a plastic tubing made into slides that you immediatly get swooshed off to your resort in. Now that would be magical.