faline
06-09-2007, 05:26 PM
Short Cast of Characters:
Me
Dear Husband
When: May 31 – June 4
May 31, 2007: After a restless night, the alarm sounds promptly at 3:45 a.m. Just after I drag myself out of bed, the phone rings with the requested wake-up call. By 4:45 a.m., we’re ready for the hotel shuttle to ferry us to the Southwest terminal.
We check one bag – the toiletries we’re not allowed to take with us. Everything else is in our carry-on luggage. Coffee and bagels from Dunkin’ Donuts. This is such a small airport, it takes no time at all to get through security. Several people are already in Southwest’s “A” corral so we join them.
I had forgotten to add our rewards information to the reservation ahead of time so take care of this while we’re waiting for our flight. I’m told I got the first 2 boarding passes issued for this flight. Boarding passes 1 and 2 – not that it gets us anything beyond the “A” designation!
Only 60 people are scheduled – the flight is not full. In fact, we don’t have any “C” passengers at all! It only takes 10 minutes for everyone to board and we have a whole row to ourselves. Our flight is relatively smooth. Just a few hours later, we locate the Magical Express counter at Orlando airport and are quickly loaded on a mostly full bus. The bus is backing out of its spot almost as soon as we’re seated. It’s 9:45 a.m.
There will be 4 stops for this bus with Old Key West scheduled to be the third stop after Riverside and the French Quarter but before Saratoga Springs. The driver attempts to start the video but it’s not running right so he pulls over on the side of the highway to get it going. While we’re stopped, love bugs swarm around the bus. I hope this is not an indication of things to come!
By 10:30 a.m., we’ve been dropped off at Old Key West. By 11:15 a.m., we’ve checked in, dropped our bags in our second floor corner studio and are waiting for the arrival of a Magic Kingdom bus. We’ve already seen MGM, Epcot, and Downtown Disney buses.
Our room is right on the corner – directly across from the bus stop. I’m a little concerned about how noisy this location might be.
The day is overcast and not as warm as I might expect for this time of year.
The bus arrives after about a 20 minute wait and we are on our way. This is our first experience with the taped recordings and music in the bus. In my opinion, it increases the cacophony on board and I wouldn’t be sorry if they discontinued this!
I’m surprised to see that they are still working on the Magic Kingdom bus station as they were in the midst of work in this location back in January. I thought they might be done by now.
It’s quite crowded in the Magic Kingdom on this day. Once inside the park, we make a beeline for Casey’s where we each order a hot dog, fries and a Sprite. DH adds a brownie to his order.
After lunch, we head towards Adventureland. The Jungle Cruise has a 40 minute standby line as does Pirates. No matter. I’m just glad to be here and will take it as it goes.
We get fast passes for Splash which won’t be good until 2:35 p.m. so we walk back and join the standby line for Pirates. This is a new experience for us as the line snakes back and forth throughout the entire plaza. In all the years, I’ve been coming to Disney, I’ve always walked directly through the plaza before the line begins. And, we’ve not always been here during slow periods as previous trips have included Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas, among other busy times! All in all, despite the posted times, I think we actually waited 20-25 minutes.
Next up, the Haunted Mansion. Again, we run into a new line experience. In the area under the canopy, the line was separated into three sections and you needed to snake back and forth. I’ve never been in line for the Haunted Mansion before where I faced away from the Mansion while in line! Despite this, it only takes 15-20 minutes before we’re inside. Plus, I’m happy to experience the ride again before it goes down for refurbishment!
Peter Pan has a 45 minute standby line and we’re not yet eligible to get another set of fast passes so we join the line for It’s a Small World instead. This also requires standing in line for 15 – 20 minutes before our ride.
We head back towards Splash to turn in our fast passes. Folks are staking out parade spots as we walk through Frontierland. We stop first at Big Thunder Mountain to get fast passes for that ride and then take on Splash.
There’s quite a line for Splash – even in the fast pass lane. It probably takes 10-15 minutes to get through the fast pass line before being rewarded with a thorough soaking.
The parade has started but we do not linger. Rather, we take the waterside walkway through Frontierland and re-enter Fantasyland. Peter Pan still has a 45 minutes stand-by line and we can’t get any more fast passes for another ½ hour.
Instead, we visit with the seven dwarves and, of course Snow White, in Snow White’s Scary Adventure. Pooh’s standby line is quite extensive so we opt, instead, for a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
(To be Continued)
Me
Dear Husband
When: May 31 – June 4
May 31, 2007: After a restless night, the alarm sounds promptly at 3:45 a.m. Just after I drag myself out of bed, the phone rings with the requested wake-up call. By 4:45 a.m., we’re ready for the hotel shuttle to ferry us to the Southwest terminal.
We check one bag – the toiletries we’re not allowed to take with us. Everything else is in our carry-on luggage. Coffee and bagels from Dunkin’ Donuts. This is such a small airport, it takes no time at all to get through security. Several people are already in Southwest’s “A” corral so we join them.
I had forgotten to add our rewards information to the reservation ahead of time so take care of this while we’re waiting for our flight. I’m told I got the first 2 boarding passes issued for this flight. Boarding passes 1 and 2 – not that it gets us anything beyond the “A” designation!
Only 60 people are scheduled – the flight is not full. In fact, we don’t have any “C” passengers at all! It only takes 10 minutes for everyone to board and we have a whole row to ourselves. Our flight is relatively smooth. Just a few hours later, we locate the Magical Express counter at Orlando airport and are quickly loaded on a mostly full bus. The bus is backing out of its spot almost as soon as we’re seated. It’s 9:45 a.m.
There will be 4 stops for this bus with Old Key West scheduled to be the third stop after Riverside and the French Quarter but before Saratoga Springs. The driver attempts to start the video but it’s not running right so he pulls over on the side of the highway to get it going. While we’re stopped, love bugs swarm around the bus. I hope this is not an indication of things to come!
By 10:30 a.m., we’ve been dropped off at Old Key West. By 11:15 a.m., we’ve checked in, dropped our bags in our second floor corner studio and are waiting for the arrival of a Magic Kingdom bus. We’ve already seen MGM, Epcot, and Downtown Disney buses.
Our room is right on the corner – directly across from the bus stop. I’m a little concerned about how noisy this location might be.
The day is overcast and not as warm as I might expect for this time of year.
The bus arrives after about a 20 minute wait and we are on our way. This is our first experience with the taped recordings and music in the bus. In my opinion, it increases the cacophony on board and I wouldn’t be sorry if they discontinued this!
I’m surprised to see that they are still working on the Magic Kingdom bus station as they were in the midst of work in this location back in January. I thought they might be done by now.
It’s quite crowded in the Magic Kingdom on this day. Once inside the park, we make a beeline for Casey’s where we each order a hot dog, fries and a Sprite. DH adds a brownie to his order.
After lunch, we head towards Adventureland. The Jungle Cruise has a 40 minute standby line as does Pirates. No matter. I’m just glad to be here and will take it as it goes.
We get fast passes for Splash which won’t be good until 2:35 p.m. so we walk back and join the standby line for Pirates. This is a new experience for us as the line snakes back and forth throughout the entire plaza. In all the years, I’ve been coming to Disney, I’ve always walked directly through the plaza before the line begins. And, we’ve not always been here during slow periods as previous trips have included Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas, among other busy times! All in all, despite the posted times, I think we actually waited 20-25 minutes.
Next up, the Haunted Mansion. Again, we run into a new line experience. In the area under the canopy, the line was separated into three sections and you needed to snake back and forth. I’ve never been in line for the Haunted Mansion before where I faced away from the Mansion while in line! Despite this, it only takes 15-20 minutes before we’re inside. Plus, I’m happy to experience the ride again before it goes down for refurbishment!
Peter Pan has a 45 minute standby line and we’re not yet eligible to get another set of fast passes so we join the line for It’s a Small World instead. This also requires standing in line for 15 – 20 minutes before our ride.
We head back towards Splash to turn in our fast passes. Folks are staking out parade spots as we walk through Frontierland. We stop first at Big Thunder Mountain to get fast passes for that ride and then take on Splash.
There’s quite a line for Splash – even in the fast pass lane. It probably takes 10-15 minutes to get through the fast pass line before being rewarded with a thorough soaking.
The parade has started but we do not linger. Rather, we take the waterside walkway through Frontierland and re-enter Fantasyland. Peter Pan still has a 45 minutes stand-by line and we can’t get any more fast passes for another ½ hour.
Instead, we visit with the seven dwarves and, of course Snow White, in Snow White’s Scary Adventure. Pooh’s standby line is quite extensive so we opt, instead, for a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
(To be Continued)