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View Full Version : Sixty-five hours in Florida--going home and final thoughts



O'MalleytheAlleyCat
05-13-2007, 10:52 PM
We slept in a bit today after 2 very long days. We were up by 8:30 to get ready to go. We had received a letter from ME the day before stating our bus would be leaving at 10:15 (we had a 1:10 flight). We knew we could check in and get our boarding passes at the hotel, so I went to stand in line to do that. There were about 4 groups ahead of me, but only one girl checking people in and she seemed to have a couple of major problems with those ahead of me so it took close to 45 minutes for me to get to the head of the line. When I got there I was informed that I could not check in for both my husband and I, but she needed to see both ID’s. Now, I told myself that I should have known that, but in my defense, on the information I received from the hotel, it states that guests traveling with families can have one person come to check in for the entire family. The girl at the desk told me that was true ONLY for families, not for couples. Hmmm….doesn’t make sense to me, but oh well. Having wasted a lot of time, I had to hustle back to the room and finish packing up. We were at the designated spot in plenty of time and the bus was a bit late anyway. It all worked out just fine, because since we had no luggage to check, we were able to print boarding passes from a kiosk at the airport. Our flights were on time all the way around and we were back in Iowa by 5:00, ready to collect our kids and dog and resume our everyday lives.

Final thoughts:

On our first trip with no kids: I had a great time and am very glad we were able to do this. Will I do it again? Probably not as long as my kids are living at home (or at least under the age of 18!). I kept wishing they were there to have fun with us.

On using only Disney transportation: I thought this worked very well and although we’ll definitely rent a car again for our trip this summer, we’ll consider using the busses on certain days or for certain parks. We just like to do too many things apart from the major parks that would be more difficult to navigate with the busses.

On the parks: They were less crowded than I imagined and very clean. The CM’s were all very helpful and friendly. I noticed several new play areas for small children that were not there last summer. Yeah for Disney for providing tots and parents some more places to take a break!

On the people: Folks were very polite during this trip. Most seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. We saw a few frustrated parents and frustrated kids, but not as many as when we go during the hot summer! I will say on a personal note that there are lots of women out there who really shouldn’t be wearing spaghetti strap tops or tube tops. Now don’t flame me….I certainly fall into this category myself and it’s just my observation. I also noticed that a sizeable percent of the population seem to have tattoos. I don’t have strong feelings one way or another about tattoos, again it’s just an observation that there a lot of them out there!

So…..I am looking forward to a 9 day trip with the kids in July. I think we’ll try to do some different things such as resort hopping, Boardwalk strolling, miniature golf, DTD and maybe even a tour or two along with swimming and relaxing. Only 72 more days!!

mrsgaribaldi
05-14-2007, 12:12 AM
I think it's nice that you missed your kids. We don't have any yet but I always think it would be nice to have some young kids with us to share their excitement:mickey: You really did alot in such a short time.
I know what you mean about your observations too;) I myself have 4 tatoos but only one or two would be visable to anyone in the parks:blush:
Thanks for sharing. Your days continued after ours, we were there Sun, Mon Tues and left Wed. It was like reading the rest of the week. We had the same light crowds too.
I'm looking forward to your trip reports in July:D

faline
05-14-2007, 01:41 PM
It really does feel different to travel without the children, doesn't it?!

crazypoohbear
05-14-2007, 08:30 PM
I totally agree with you about the "lack of supportive clothing" a co-worker refers to this as DWI - Dressing without instructions:blush:

Bethis26fan
05-14-2007, 08:42 PM
Thanks for sharing.

pogo
05-14-2007, 10:17 PM
I've really enjoyed reading your trip report and I'm sad they are finished.:(

Thank you for sharing your vacation with us. :D

Bethanymouse
05-15-2007, 07:11 AM
I am glad that you got home safetly and had a good time! Thanks for taking us along on your trip reports!:cool:

ChipnDaleGal
05-15-2007, 09:15 AM
I am glad that you two were able to have such a nice little trip sans children. A Disney vacation is certainly very different when the kids are not along. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I enjoyed reading your reports. :mickey:

January-2007
05-15-2007, 10:48 AM
it states that guests traveling with families can have one person come to check in for the entire family. The girl at the desk told me that was true ONLY for families, not for couples. Hmmm….doesn’t make sense to me

What the heck? If you're married, you're a family! How odd for them not to recognize that!

Glad you enjoyed your quick trip and have an extended vacation coming up to enjoy with your kids to look forward to, always makes the trip home easier when you know you'll be back! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us! :mickey:

irish1967
05-15-2007, 01:08 PM
DH and I did WDW for 4 days w/out the kids for your 10 year anniversary...

It is great to do it once. We did quite a few things that we wouldn't normally do but once was enough. But, like you, I did think about the kids quite a bit during the trip.

Thinking about a Disney Cruise for our 15th (with the kids!)

Looking forward to the rest of your reports since I seem to have started at the end!

sleepingbooty
05-15-2007, 04:17 PM
I enjoyed reading your reports, glad you had a good time!

pdrlkr
05-19-2007, 09:19 PM
Thanks for the report! :smickey:

Tinkerfreak
05-20-2007, 08:00 AM
We just did a Mommy and Daddy only trip last month and we felt the same way. We were glad we did it once but would not do it again because we missed having the kids there with us. Im glad you had a nice trip.

TKDisneylover
05-20-2007, 08:56 AM
What a nice trip for you & DH. If you get a chance check out Fantasia Gardens for mini-golf, it's a nice little course. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!:thumbsup:

DizNee143
05-24-2007, 04:10 PM
im glad you and your hubby had a nice quick stay in Disney!! i dont have any kids myself yet..but im sure it had to be a bit weird not having yoru kids with you..but then again kinda nice with it just being you and your hubby again... at least thats how my parents felt..and to think they only went last year and they felt really bad for leaving me and my sister home..and me and her are 24 and 28...lol so i dont think the feeling will ever go away!!..but again glad you had a good time..and im really jealous you get to go back so soon again!!! cant wait to hear all about that trip next!! :mickey:

MinnieMommie
05-28-2007, 07:29 AM
Thanks for sharing your trip highlights. You and your husband really know how to navigate the parks. DH and I went one time without our kids for a short trip. We had a good time but did miss them. I look forward to reading about your July travels. :mickey: