As Promised...Trip Report

[Thumper03]

Departure Day Friday 12/26 (and the night before) Queen’s bad Mojo.
We had a nice Christmas with family and that evening planned to go pick up the rental car…we drove this trip. We were going to leave right from BrerFan's Dad's house, but we forgot to grab the credit card, so we had to make quick trip back home first. While we were there, I was outside for some reason…I can’t remember…and it was icy and only getting worse….you see where this is going…I fell in the driveway. I landed on my right side, managed to bruise and otherwise make sore, my right arm and shoulder, hip, and knee. I didn’t know at that time how long the soreness would last.
We got the rental car picked up without too much problem, though it had been smoked in, so we left the windows down to air it out…brrrrrr.
Friday morning brought terrible black ice. Some roads and interstate ramps were closed down, but we weren’t stopping. We got the car packed and I was just walking around the table, to a chair, to put my shoes on. In full stride, I rammed my little toe into a large immovable oak cabinet in our dining room…I went to a corner and spoke in “tongues” for a few minutes. It was bad, I knew it when it happened, but put my shoe on anyway. We didn’t get an hour down the road and I had to get my shoe off because of the swelling. My little toe was turning the most remarkable colors and was quite deformed. Once out of shoes, I couldn’t get my foot back in shoes, even my sandals. The pain was bad too. Oh, by the way it was my RIGHT foot, to go along with my other injuries from the fall.
With the ice, we didn’t exceed 20 mph until we got to the interstate, by which time it was warming up and melting off somewhat. Parking lots and side roads were still terrible.
I called our sport’s medicine doctor to ask his opinion about the toe…nothing to do but keep it elevated, not an easy thing in a car…ice it, also not easy to do in a car…and IF I have to walk on it, tape it to the toe next to it. IF?…IF?...I’m going to Disney World during the busiest time of year! Walking is going to be necessary. I could hardly hobble to the bathroom when we stop on the road, so I was feeling a bit discouraged on the trip down.
Bad mojo not quite done yet….so I make some remark about “at least I haven’t hurt anything on the right side of my head”…bad to tempt fate at this point. Somehow, I do not know how, while I was handing a bag of Doritos back to the kids, I hit myself in the RIGHT eye with the corner of the bag, scratching it and causing a huge red splotch in the white of my eye. Okay, I need to be knocked out for the rest of the trip for my own safety and perhaps the safety of others.
Actually, once I was fully injured, from literally head to toe, the bad mojo seemed to be satisfied and I had no further incidents.
The trip was uneventful until just west of Chattanooga where we got stopped on the interstate for miles, and once moving were then detoured without signs. We had NeverLost GPS Navigation in the rental and were exceedingly thankful for that. It was dark and rainy on the border of Tennessee and Georgia, and we couldn’t figure out what happened to cause the problem. Both States troopers were rerouting traffic from both directions and all we could see were a lot of emergency vehicles, fire, ambulance and police. We were trying to make Atlanta by around 8PM, it ended up being 9:30PM due to that long delay. Once in Atlanta, we stopped at a Best Western near the airport for the night. It was nice, clean and relatively quiet except for the proximity to the airport. But once asleep, it didn’t matter.
Up next…Atlanta to Orlando.

[Thumper03]

We got up, cleaned up and went down for the complimentary breakfast. Again, it was clean and quiet, and the coffee was pretty good. We had a 5:30PM ADR at Cape May Café that night, so we needed to get on the road.
We didn’t run into any other traffic problems until the Fla Turnpike…then OMG!!! That was some REALLY, REALLY slow traffic. There were a number of factors in play; just the time of year, people going to WDW like us, or those other parks, plus we saw all manner of caravans and RV’s for the variety of college teams coming in for Bowl games that week. We had planned to make a stop at the Disney outlet store we’ve heard so much about. Time was getting short, but we did it. My foot was quite a hindrance, and the crowds at that outlet mall were unreal. We did manage to find some nice inexpensive pins for trading and picked up a few shirts for under $10 that were 2-3 times that much in the parks. It was getting close to ADR time though and the traffic was still very heavy, so we didn’t spend a lot of time there.
Our GPS system was a Magellan…we affectionately named her Maggie. Maggie helped get us to Beach Club in short order with plenty of time left to check-in. I called my Mom to let her know we were there safe, and also told her about my foot. She suggested I buy some Crocs. I’ve always avoided these shoes for two reasons…they’re ugly, the comfort level looked questionable, and they’re ugly…that’s sort of three reasons. But since I was out of shoe options, I tried them. I bought a size bigger than normal to accommodate the swelling and the awkwardness of taped toes. They were AWESOME!! I was shocked! I didn’t/couldn’t wear any shoe the rest of the vacation. I still stand by the ugly thing, but they did the trick. I even spent extra to get the Mickey one’s instead of the regular Crocs…I needed all the Magic I could get. We picked those up at the Beach Club gift shop.
Dinner at Cape May was outstanding as always. That has turned into a regular stop for us. We checked in and were seated within minutes. We got there early enough to miss the crowd and absolutely ate too much…ahhhh off to a good start. They had the usual Clam Bake items, plus roasted chicken, ribs, prime rib, mashed potatoes, lots of veggie and side pasta dish options, the chowder…we hit everything but the salad section LOL!

We were staying at Old Key West Resort, a one bedroom, so we had a full kitchen. We actually hadn’t stayed in any DVC room other than a Studio yet, so this was a first. Maggie got us to the resort with ease, and check-in was no problem at all. We needed to go to a Walgreen’s to get athletic tape for my toe, and an ice pack, among other things. Concierge gave us a map and we headed off for another first for us…wandering around off property. (Actually Chescat and Figgie gave us a taste of that freedom at the Intercot Meet in October ’07…has it really been that long?) We had never made use of a car as much as we did this trip, and with an occasional exception, I don’t think we’ll use Disney transportation much ever again. We really loved the flexibility of having the car, once we got used to getting around.
We picked up our supplies at Walgreen’s and got back to the room to settle in for the night. The next day was going to be a marathon MK day, with EMH that night. Mercifully, they put us in a ground floor room that was actually set-up as HC Accessible. It was perfect for Queen Gimp.

[JPL]

Ouch not a fun way to start a trip

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

OUCH!!! What a way to start a vacation, but I must say that your descriptions had my DH and I laughing hard.

[the other micki]

You poor thing! It just wouldn't end, would it? Glad the ugly crocs came in handy. Hope the rest of the trip was injury free!

[wizardmickey]

WOW ! ! ! ! !

And I thought I was clumsy!!!!! Hope this story gets better for ya!

[JPL]

Actually that may have been some pre-karma for the later torturous text messages you sent me

[trackbarroness]

Hopefully being at WDW turned things around for ya. But if what Cookie says about the texts is true, doesn't sound like it. Oh boy
Hugs all around

[terri.m]

I have lots of bubble wrap if you need it for your next trip.

Can't wait to hear the rest and hope you don't end up in a wheelchair by the end.

[Patricia]

Ouch! I thought I was a klutz! Hope your feeling better.


Looks like I just missed seeing you, by day, in Orlando.

[betteratmk]

We got up, cleaned up and went down for the complimentary breakfast. Again, it was clean and quiet, and the coffee was pretty good. We had a 5:30PM ADR at Cape May Café that night, so we needed to get on the road.
We didn’t run into any other traffic problems until the Fla Turnpike…then OMG!!! That was some REALLY, REALLY slow traffic. There were a number of factors in play; just the time of year, people going to WDW like us, or those other parks, plus we saw all manner of caravans and RV’s for the variety of college teams coming in for Bowl games that week. We had planned to make a stop at the Disney outlet store we’ve heard so much about. Time was getting short, but we did it. My foot was quite a hindrance, and the crowds at that outlet mall were unreal. We did manage to find some nice inexpensive pins for trading and picked up a few shirts for under $10 that were 2-3 times that much in the parks. It was getting close to ADR time though and the traffic was still very heavy, so we didn’t spend a lot of time there.
Our GPS system was a Magellan…we affectionately named her Maggie. Maggie helped get us to Beach Club in short order with plenty of time left to check-in. I called my Mom to let her know we were there safe, and also told her about my foot. She suggested I buy some Crocs. I’ve always avoided these shoes for two reasons…they’re ugly, the comfort level looked questionable, and they’re ugly…that’s sort of three reasons. But since I was out of shoe options, I tried them. I bought a size bigger than normal to accommodate the swelling and the awkwardness of taped toes. They were AWESOME!! I was shocked! I didn’t/couldn’t wear any shoe the rest of the vacation. I still stand by the ugly thing, but they did the trick. I even spent extra to get the Mickey one’s instead of the regular Crocs…I needed all the Magic I could get. We picked those up at the Beach Club gift shop.
Dinner at Cape May was outstanding as always. That has turned into a regular stop for us. We checked in and were seated within minutes. We got there early enough to miss the crowd and absolutely ate too much…ahhhh off to a good start. They had the usual Clam Bake items, plus roasted chicken, ribs, prime rib, mashed potatoes, lots of veggie and side pasta dish options, the chowder…we hit everything but the salad section LOL!

We were staying at Old Key West Resort, a one bedroom, so we had a full kitchen. We actually hadn’t stayed in any DVC room other than a Studio yet, so this was a first. Maggie got us to the resort with ease, and check-in was no problem at all. We needed to go to a Walgreen’s to get athletic tape for my toe, and an ice pack, among other things. Concierge gave us a map and we headed off for another first for us…wandering around off property. (Actually Chescat and Figgie gave us a taste of that freedom at the Intercot Meet in October ’07…has it really been that long?) We had never made use of a car as much as we did this trip, and with an occasional exception, I don’t think we’ll use Disney transportation much ever again. We really loved the flexibility of having the car, once we got used to getting around.
We picked up our supplies at Walgreen’s and got back to the room to settle in for the night. The next day was going to be a marathon MK day, with EMH that night. Mercifully, they put us in a ground floor room that was actually set-up as HC Accessible. It was perfect for Queen Gimp.

Crocs are ugly but they save the day!! I broke my big toe two weeks before my daughters wedding and I wore them for the two weeks prior to the wedding this August. If I could have worn them to the wedding I would have I still have problems with my foot and will most likely wear them in March when we go.

[JPL]

Ouch! I thought I was a klutz!

Actually I had to double check the name at the top of the report I thought it might be a Patti Trip Report

[Chescat]

Poor Queen! I think it was great you were torturing Figgie with text messages.

You are right, last year was the first time (Oct 2007) that we didn't get our car the 2nd week. It was so much easier going around with all you guys and having Figgie show us the Outlet Malls.

Can't wait to hear the rest.

[trackbarroness]

note to self have figgie show where the outlet malls are.
But then again can't wait for the 31rst of August to roll around again. Can anyone tell me why?

[yjgirl32]

Sorry to hear about the rough start, but glad to hear it's getting better. I agree with you about the crocs- but they are so comfotable. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to read more.

[Thumper03]

Poor Queen! I think it was great you were torturing Figgie with text messages.

You are right, last year was the first time (Oct 2007) that we didn't get our car the 2nd week. It was so much easier going around with all you guys and having Figgie show us the Outlet Malls.

Can't wait to hear the rest.

It looks like it's becoming a tradition for us to torture each other with pictures of the fried wonton dessert It's soooooo yummy.
More trip report is coming. This past week was just nuts...working and coming home exhausted. Not much fun.

[JPL]

And everyone yells at me for taking along time with my reports

[Thumper03]

Okay…finally back to reporting…Sunday, 12/28 we hit the ground running…well three of us did, one softly touched the ground and gimped behind…SLOW DOWN!!!!

This was planned to be a long MK day with EMH on both ends, potentially 15 hours! We didn’t quite make it for park opening. We drove in for the first time ever, and got parked at TTC lot. Trams come around frequently, it was very convenient. We decided to take the boat to MK, another first for us…since we’re Monorail addicts. It wasn’t crowded at all, we were pleasantly surprised. Upon arrival, LilBrerGirl and I went straight to Pixie Hollow, while BrerFan and LilBrerFan went to Space Mountain for a ride and fast passes for all of us. We expected long lines at both and neither location was too bad. We were in to see the fairies in about 30 minutes. Pixie Hollow is very cute, and the fairies were great. LilBrerGirl took a poster in for them to sign and then found herself a bit dumb-struck and forgot completely. She LOVES the fairies. We had Iridessa, Tink, and Rosetta. Timing was great. BrerFan texted that they were just off Space Mountain as we were going in to see the Fairies. They met us at Toontown Fair.

We went back up to Main Street Bakery for some much needed breakfast; bacon, egg and cheese croissants all around. To accommodate “Gimp”, we made great and frequent use of the train. First stop was Frontierland to ride SM and get FP’s for BTMRR. When we got there the time on the Space Mountain FP’s were just up, and so we were able to get some for BTMRR as well. The machine wasn’t working, so a Cast member gave them to us…key here is that our ticket wasn’t used to identify that we had them. This actually happened quite a bit on this trip! So we rode Splash first…that wait time was quite a bit longer than the posted time. I don’t think we had ever waited that long. Wait time when we hit the line said 40 minutes, and it was probably 1 ½ hours in the queue. But Splash was great as always…the pace of the line was something I could keep up with! Then we rode the train back to Toontown for short walk/awkward limp to Space Mntn (got FP’s again), then back on the train to BTMRR. The crowds now were getting pretty intense.

It was now Advil time! Get me drink and chair now. We walked very slowly from BTMRR back to the Crystal Palace, and found a bench (appropriately) at the First Aid station. BrerFan went to Casey’s for drinks and I took a whole bench to get my foot elevated.

This was the last Sunday of the NFL regular season. Now BrerFan was getting constant text messages about Green Bay ensuring Detroit’s “perfect” season. The Bears were losing in Houston, the Vikings (we’re fans) were still trailing the Giants. We found ourselves giving football updates to every body sitting near us…especially the Dad’s who were slightly lamenting where they were on this given Sunday.

We had an ADR at Crystal Palace for a late lunch. We sat at First Aid until it was time. We were seated quickly. The hostess asked me if there were any Birthdays or Anniversaries, and I just said not until tomorrow. She asked who…well it was ME!...and she said that’s close enough. We got the Mickey glitter confetti on the table and I got a Birthday card signed by all Pooh characters with a cupcake. It was cute! We had never had lunch at Crystal Palace before, always breakfast. We thought the lunch fare was outstanding…stuffed ourselves yet again…and I STILL ate my cupcake. It had to be full of Magic and Pixie Dust, so it was medicinal for me, right?

BrerFan receives a text…Vikings are attempting a 50+ yard field goal for the win…oh the drama, the anxiety, BrerFan can’t function until the next text message. Beep-Beep-Beep…congratulations the Vikings are the NFC North Champs!!! Woot!!! More Disney Magic. Now we can play.

We headed towards Pirates, but the ride was closed down for some reason. Then we got caught on that side of the park by the parade, so we worked our way through Pecos Bills and ducked into Country Bears…sitting! We started polling the family for what to try next. The crowds had not let up at all, it was something to behold. We wanted to ride Haunted Mansion but the wait time was insane, and trying to gimp through those crowds was quite tiring. LilBrerGirl wanted to go to Tom Sawyer Island. We saw a decent opening in the crowds at the ferry so we took advantage of it and actually spent close to 2 hours there until they closed the island down at dark. It was good for the kids, and really good for me. BrerFan got caught up with his brother on all the football of the day and then chased the kids around. I held down the wall at the Windmill.

We took the last ferry back, and still no let up with the crowd. We cut through the opening between Frontierland and Adventureland, shopped a bit, and then went for some Dole Whips. Pirates was back open, and the wait time wasn’t too bad at all considering. After Pirates we took the train back to Toontown for a Tomorrowland visit. We used those FP’s we got earlier in the day for Space Mountain, then to Buzz…the wait time wasn’t bad there either. It was time for a sit down again, so TTA seemed a good choice. It was interesting due to a couple of things. One was the drunk couple sitting in the car behind us (or sometimes standing). They were obnoxious to say the least, and kept doing things that thought were going to get them hurt. Thankfully they didn’t. Also, Space Mountain was down and the lights were on when we went through. That was REALLY COOL! It was time for food again. Cosmic Rays always a good choice…chicken for us, burgers for the kids. We sure are glad that LilBrerFan is old enough to get food and charge to the room.

Time for Holiday Wishes. With the crowds, we just had to find a spot and sit there. We parked just up the sidewalk from where we watched with the InterCot group. The castle with the ice was really beautiful. My camera wasn’t working of course, but we took some pictures with our phones. Fireworks were excellent as always. Moving after the fireworks was NOT fun. That was unnerving to me. We were literally smashed, shoulder to shoulder in a mass that wasn’t moving…we found out because some group decided the bridge to Liberty Square was a good place to stop and have a conversation. We should have pushed them off! I have issues being in crowds and feeling trapped like that.
Once the traffic started to break up we worked our way to Haunted Mansion. Not much wait there.
After HM, we found an open bench at Liberty Square available for Spectro Magic. Besides a family that squeezed behind us on the retaining wall and crunching corn chips in our ear, it was fun. Crunching, crunching, bag rattling, corn chip breath on my neck, BrerFan’s neck. Finally we offered to put their corn chip eating youngster in front of us where he could see the parade better…yeah that’s it! Magic!

After the parade, we found ourselves dragging. We took our first steps of the day into Fantasyland, but didn’t have the energy to stand in more lines. I was in pain, LilBrerGirl’s feet hurt…it was time to go. We didn’t close it down, but it was almost Midnight by the time we left the park. Monorail back to TTC and tram to car. We were back at the resort quickly. Before sleep was allowed, BrerFan had to have ESPN time to catch all the Viking’s highlights so he could have Magical Dreams. All in all a good day, but the crowds were quite an experience. That’s not a way I would want to spend a whole week. Glad we didn’t.

Studios and AK up for tomorrow…Queen’s Birthday!!!!

[JPL]

Sounds like a great but rather "gimpy" day

Can't wait to read more


Are you sure you aren't related to Patricia