The Mac Family: Days 1&2: Georgia, Barry and Arriving in Disney
Cast
Gary (a.k.a dpamac)
Chris (his long-suffering wife)
Matilda (11 going on 40, name changed to protect the innocent)
Gertrude (She’d want to make sure you know that she’s 5 and a half. Not just 5. Name also changed to protect the innocent.)
Yeah, it took a while to get these posted. I’m still not even done writing them. The reports are taking longer than the actual trip . . . Stupid work. If someone could arrange for me not to do that , that would be great. It’s seriously cutting into my sitting around thinking about Disney time.
Warning. I’m verbose, so these will get long. Also, I took over 600 photos of the whole trip. I’m happy to share my Flickr page with anyone who wants to PM me because I can’t post the links here. I tend to get loose with my language off the boards. I’m not saying I drop any of the big ones, but my goofy comments wouldn’t pass the “would you want your five-year-old repeating it” rule we try to keep here. If you want to see them, drop me a line.
Anyway . . .
Days 1&2: Georgia, Barry and Arriving in Disney
We set off early Friday morning. As I watched my bike fading into the horizon and realizing I wouldn’t get to ride for 11 days, I nearly cried. Because, you see, I’ve become attached to that goofy piece of aluminum and carbon.
But, that’s the least of the story. We drove for roughly 8 hours before we hit Georgia. Once we crossed the border and hit I-75 it was traffic and construction for the rest of the day. Oddly, I’m not sure they were actually doing construction on the highway. As far as I could tell they were just moving traffic barriers around for fun.
Somehow, despite all of my planning, we ended up hitting Atlanta right at rush hour. What seemed like four days later we finally hit our hotel, roughly 20 miles south of the city. We had a nice dinner with some friends we met online years ago (a physicist/cyclist and his knitting wife . . . hmmm that sounds familiar). We had a great time talking about cycling, knitting and science.
We set off early again Saturday morning, completing the drive from Georgia to Orlando. We were expecting wildfires, instead we met Barry.
From roughly twenty miles out through Ocala we drove through the rain bands of Tropical Storm Barry. Bad for us, but Georgia and Florida certainly needed that rain. So, it was a mixed blessing.
Luckily, by the time we hit Florida’s Turnpike, Barry was making his way out of there and the sun was shining through. When we passed under the Disney gate the girls let out a squeal that nearly shattered the windows. For the rest of the drive they bounced off the walls in the back seat.
We were staying at Coronado Springs Resort. Taking the Western Way is a must if you drive. Not only did we fly down a nearly deserted road, but it let us out practically in the hotel parking lot. Awesome. The only problem was that our GPS unit was pretty sure we were driving through a cow pasture. At one point I think it finally said, “Fine, if you’re not going to listen to me you’re digging your own grave.”
We checked in, wandered the grounds and then hit the bus system to go to the Magic Kingdom, ride the monorail for a while and then have dinner with a certain TiggTigg5 at Whispering Canyon Cafe. To say the girls loved the monorail would be an understatement. Matilda has ridden it before, and has ridden Disneyland’s monorail, but even she was thrilled. Gert stood the whole way, filled with some sort of strange thrill-seeking based on her ability to stand while in motion.
After cruising around the resort loop, we hit the bus to the Wilderness Lodge (and, let me tell you, the kids really didn’t care it was the hotel we stayed at for our honeymoon). We found Ed (TiggTigg5) sitting in the lobby doing his best not to get in trouble. It was a struggle because his wife had to work, so he was on his own. You could see the devil and angel on each of his shoulders.
We ate. A lot. And had a great time. Gertrude took part in the horse race during dinner and made the mistake of asking for ketchup. Watching the girls give the ketchup to the next victim was pretty darn funny. Matilda’s eyes popped out when dessert arrived. Based on the twinkle in her eye when she saw that cake, I knew she became a staunch proponent of the Disney Dining Plan.
We wandered the lobby and gift shop a bit, then had to bid Ed a fond farewell because he had an early morning and was heading of to Disneyland a few days later.
To close out the evening we hit the EPCOT monorail and waited for copilot status. Had a great conversation with the pilot and not only did he give the kids a license, but he gave me one too. Now that’s a cast member.
Coming up: Disney/MGM Studios for my first geekfest of Star Wars Weekend.
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Originally Posted by dpamac
)
I can't wait for October, actually!! 
But that's a topic for another day.
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