KylesMom
07-03-2007, 09:12 AM
Cast of Characters:
Me, 41 (Favorite Character Mickey)
DH, 41 (Favorite Character Grumpy)
DS, 9 (Loves Both Mickey & Stitch)
This is our eighth annual trip!
Pre-Travel Day & Day 1 – Friday Night, June 8 & Saturday, June 9, 2007
We’ve celebrated my birthday with Pizza, presents and an Oreo cake – a perfect celebration for both my birthday and our night-before Disney party. :cloud9: Our bags are packed and the alarm is set for 3 am – and for once, we’re to bed early for a decent nights’ sleep before our departure. You know about the best laid plans . . . first, none of us can fall asleep – we ARE the classic Disney commercial come to life. Then, our waterbed decided to spring a leak at 1:00 am. :( Ugh, can you believe it? We get it patched, throw the bedding in the washer and go back to sleep for an hour or so on the couch. Yeah, I use the word sleep loosely! All of us are up before three (yes, a.m.) singing along to Disney attraction music playing on the CD player, packing some last minute items, giving my Mom last minute instructions on taking care of the house and making sure our cat has enough attention to last him for 15 days. In fact, DS is jumping around like he has springs on his feet, he is so ready to go. His love of Disney World is so evident, even at this ridiculous hour.
We leave for O’hare promptly at 4:20 am with my Mom in tow so she can take our van back home – she’ll return to pick us up on the 23rd - and check in via curbside without incident. Our flight leaves a few minutes late due to the specific aircraft not having seats in the galley area where people have been ticketed to sit – we find them in our seats - but the oversight is soon cleared up and we arrive in sunny Orlando at around 10:30 am. The Star Wars Weekends billboards we see on the way down to baggage claim are fabulous!!! :darth: This is the first time we have flown American, so we’re a bit confused on where to go for National’s Emerald Aisle, but we finally find it across the street & up the elevator. We choose a beautiful blue Monte Carlo for our transportation for the week (think YoaMD blue) and we’re off! For those wondering, the car cost us $24.50 per day with all fees included. I can’t tell you how glad we were to have the car for the duration of our stay.
Getting to Wilderness Lodge is a breeze via 417, and before you know it we’re being welcomed home! No lines for check-in, but wait – our CM calls someone on the phone to say there’s no standard view rooms available at this time, and what should she do? (She had a tag on that said she was earning her ears.) She works on the computer for a few moments and tells us they have a room ready for us. YAY! We inquire about being the Flag Family, :flag: and we snag June 22nd, the first available date and a day before our departure. Pixie Dust!!! We had such a memorable time last year that we were hoping a day would be open. Hey, things are starting out right – our room is ready AND we get to be Flag Family! With that, we hit the elevator to find out where we’ll be staying for the next 15 days.
When we get to the room, it is evident we’ve been upgraded to a 3rd floor woods view – a prime spot overlooking the DVC units and pool! Funny that the CM didn’t mention this to us, as we would have thanked her profusely! :thumbsup: Bell Services delivers our luggage promptly, and when they find out we’ve forgotten to pick up our box which was delivered via FedEx, they run back down to get it with a smile. Ding – extra tip deserved! We all take time to put items in the safe, DS and I ready our cameras and we’re ready for our first day at Disney. Let’s GOOOOOO!
We’re deviating from our tradition by hitting MGM on our first day for Star Wars Weekends. My hope was to be on our way by 12:30, and we are! Our first stop is Guest Relations for a Birthday Button for me, hit our first Photopass photographer and then we’re off to check FPs for Rock-N-Rollercoaster. Needless to say, we realized we wouldn’t be hanging out with the band this afternoon, so we head over to Mickey Avenue to see “The Dark Side” and check out the SWW merchandise. When we first attended Star Wars weekends in 2001, the merchandise lines were the longest we’d endure for our entire vacation (in Tattoine Traders) at about two and a half hours. Now, with a whole building being dedicated to merchandise, we choose our purchases ($179 worth!) and we’re out of there in no time. A sampling of our purchases include the gold overlay collector coin, a Mickey Jedi Limited Edition Laser Cel, a few pins (only one limited edition), shirts for DS and I, a few magnets and a mini-light up Sith lightsaber keychain. As we peruse the area, we note that what character lines there are have long waits, so we decide to bypass for now & just enjoy the atmosphere, catching a few characters including a Storm Trooper and Aura Singh roaming the streets. We peek into Tattoine Traders, which is a veritable zoo, and find a few matching matted lithographs for DS’ room which match his current ones. Shopping for the moment is complete, so we head over to Mama Melrose for our 3:00 ADR. We haven’t eaten anything today, so this is just what we needed. DH has the Pepperoni Flatbread, as does DS off the kids’ menu, and I request the Butcher Tender Steak for my birthday, along with a sangria. Even though it is not on the luncheon menu, they are happy to accommodate my request. The food & drinks are wonderful, followed by a terrific tiramisu which suffices as my birthday cake. Service by Emily was superior. We saved $11.33 on the DDE.
During lunch we discuss plans for the remainder of the day. Since we’ve had a taste of SWW, we make the decision to come back bright & early tomorrow to partake of more activities & character meet-and-greets – which was our plan. In the meantime, we’re all longing to hit the MK, so we head back to WL, freshen up & unpack a few things and go down to the dock to catch the boat. After a short wait, we’re on our way to the Magic Kingdom! By this time it’s about 5:30.
You all know that feeling when you walk under the train station and Main Street unfolds in front of you. It finally hits me . . . we’re here. :mickey: All of our daily planning which started last November around the dining room table has led up to this – and here we are. MGM & SWW was fun, but it wasn’t “official”. What incredible joy! :yay: I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but a few tears leak out anyway. Quick to hide them from the guys (even though I know they would understand), we stroll hand-in-hand down Main Street, catching a Photopass person and moving into Tomorrowland to Space Mountain, where the FP return was for 7:10. Gleefully grabbing three fast passes, we wandered around taking in the TTA, the Speedway (which had an UNBELIEVABLY short line), PotC, and a few other attractions. Realizing that it’s Saturday night, we aren’t really expecting to do too much. Although I’ve worn a birthday button before, I couldn’t believe all of the well wishes I received in the span of a few hours of having it on. It was truly a slice of heaven just being at the MK. Anyway, after our turn on Space Mountain which was absolutely the best, considering we didn’t think we’d even BE at the MK this evening, we decided it was time to call it a day. We’d been up since 2 am, and although I’m used to living on little sleep, the guys are not. We had a big morning scheduled at the Studios on Sunday, and I wanted everyone to be well rested and ready to do battle with the Dark Side! Whisked back to WL, we purchased our refillable mugs, a few Mickey Ice Cream bars/sandwiches, strolled around the resort for a few minutes, perused the Mercantile and headed up to shower & unpack. We crashed about 10:30, with a wakeup call scheduled for 7:00 am. What a glorious first day it’s been – even if we didn’t visit too many attractions! :blush:
Up Next: Jedi Mania, Rock-N-Rollercoaster and a Downtown Disney Expedition!
Me, 41 (Favorite Character Mickey)
DH, 41 (Favorite Character Grumpy)
DS, 9 (Loves Both Mickey & Stitch)
This is our eighth annual trip!
Pre-Travel Day & Day 1 – Friday Night, June 8 & Saturday, June 9, 2007
We’ve celebrated my birthday with Pizza, presents and an Oreo cake – a perfect celebration for both my birthday and our night-before Disney party. :cloud9: Our bags are packed and the alarm is set for 3 am – and for once, we’re to bed early for a decent nights’ sleep before our departure. You know about the best laid plans . . . first, none of us can fall asleep – we ARE the classic Disney commercial come to life. Then, our waterbed decided to spring a leak at 1:00 am. :( Ugh, can you believe it? We get it patched, throw the bedding in the washer and go back to sleep for an hour or so on the couch. Yeah, I use the word sleep loosely! All of us are up before three (yes, a.m.) singing along to Disney attraction music playing on the CD player, packing some last minute items, giving my Mom last minute instructions on taking care of the house and making sure our cat has enough attention to last him for 15 days. In fact, DS is jumping around like he has springs on his feet, he is so ready to go. His love of Disney World is so evident, even at this ridiculous hour.
We leave for O’hare promptly at 4:20 am with my Mom in tow so she can take our van back home – she’ll return to pick us up on the 23rd - and check in via curbside without incident. Our flight leaves a few minutes late due to the specific aircraft not having seats in the galley area where people have been ticketed to sit – we find them in our seats - but the oversight is soon cleared up and we arrive in sunny Orlando at around 10:30 am. The Star Wars Weekends billboards we see on the way down to baggage claim are fabulous!!! :darth: This is the first time we have flown American, so we’re a bit confused on where to go for National’s Emerald Aisle, but we finally find it across the street & up the elevator. We choose a beautiful blue Monte Carlo for our transportation for the week (think YoaMD blue) and we’re off! For those wondering, the car cost us $24.50 per day with all fees included. I can’t tell you how glad we were to have the car for the duration of our stay.
Getting to Wilderness Lodge is a breeze via 417, and before you know it we’re being welcomed home! No lines for check-in, but wait – our CM calls someone on the phone to say there’s no standard view rooms available at this time, and what should she do? (She had a tag on that said she was earning her ears.) She works on the computer for a few moments and tells us they have a room ready for us. YAY! We inquire about being the Flag Family, :flag: and we snag June 22nd, the first available date and a day before our departure. Pixie Dust!!! We had such a memorable time last year that we were hoping a day would be open. Hey, things are starting out right – our room is ready AND we get to be Flag Family! With that, we hit the elevator to find out where we’ll be staying for the next 15 days.
When we get to the room, it is evident we’ve been upgraded to a 3rd floor woods view – a prime spot overlooking the DVC units and pool! Funny that the CM didn’t mention this to us, as we would have thanked her profusely! :thumbsup: Bell Services delivers our luggage promptly, and when they find out we’ve forgotten to pick up our box which was delivered via FedEx, they run back down to get it with a smile. Ding – extra tip deserved! We all take time to put items in the safe, DS and I ready our cameras and we’re ready for our first day at Disney. Let’s GOOOOOO!
We’re deviating from our tradition by hitting MGM on our first day for Star Wars Weekends. My hope was to be on our way by 12:30, and we are! Our first stop is Guest Relations for a Birthday Button for me, hit our first Photopass photographer and then we’re off to check FPs for Rock-N-Rollercoaster. Needless to say, we realized we wouldn’t be hanging out with the band this afternoon, so we head over to Mickey Avenue to see “The Dark Side” and check out the SWW merchandise. When we first attended Star Wars weekends in 2001, the merchandise lines were the longest we’d endure for our entire vacation (in Tattoine Traders) at about two and a half hours. Now, with a whole building being dedicated to merchandise, we choose our purchases ($179 worth!) and we’re out of there in no time. A sampling of our purchases include the gold overlay collector coin, a Mickey Jedi Limited Edition Laser Cel, a few pins (only one limited edition), shirts for DS and I, a few magnets and a mini-light up Sith lightsaber keychain. As we peruse the area, we note that what character lines there are have long waits, so we decide to bypass for now & just enjoy the atmosphere, catching a few characters including a Storm Trooper and Aura Singh roaming the streets. We peek into Tattoine Traders, which is a veritable zoo, and find a few matching matted lithographs for DS’ room which match his current ones. Shopping for the moment is complete, so we head over to Mama Melrose for our 3:00 ADR. We haven’t eaten anything today, so this is just what we needed. DH has the Pepperoni Flatbread, as does DS off the kids’ menu, and I request the Butcher Tender Steak for my birthday, along with a sangria. Even though it is not on the luncheon menu, they are happy to accommodate my request. The food & drinks are wonderful, followed by a terrific tiramisu which suffices as my birthday cake. Service by Emily was superior. We saved $11.33 on the DDE.
During lunch we discuss plans for the remainder of the day. Since we’ve had a taste of SWW, we make the decision to come back bright & early tomorrow to partake of more activities & character meet-and-greets – which was our plan. In the meantime, we’re all longing to hit the MK, so we head back to WL, freshen up & unpack a few things and go down to the dock to catch the boat. After a short wait, we’re on our way to the Magic Kingdom! By this time it’s about 5:30.
You all know that feeling when you walk under the train station and Main Street unfolds in front of you. It finally hits me . . . we’re here. :mickey: All of our daily planning which started last November around the dining room table has led up to this – and here we are. MGM & SWW was fun, but it wasn’t “official”. What incredible joy! :yay: I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but a few tears leak out anyway. Quick to hide them from the guys (even though I know they would understand), we stroll hand-in-hand down Main Street, catching a Photopass person and moving into Tomorrowland to Space Mountain, where the FP return was for 7:10. Gleefully grabbing three fast passes, we wandered around taking in the TTA, the Speedway (which had an UNBELIEVABLY short line), PotC, and a few other attractions. Realizing that it’s Saturday night, we aren’t really expecting to do too much. Although I’ve worn a birthday button before, I couldn’t believe all of the well wishes I received in the span of a few hours of having it on. It was truly a slice of heaven just being at the MK. Anyway, after our turn on Space Mountain which was absolutely the best, considering we didn’t think we’d even BE at the MK this evening, we decided it was time to call it a day. We’d been up since 2 am, and although I’m used to living on little sleep, the guys are not. We had a big morning scheduled at the Studios on Sunday, and I wanted everyone to be well rested and ready to do battle with the Dark Side! Whisked back to WL, we purchased our refillable mugs, a few Mickey Ice Cream bars/sandwiches, strolled around the resort for a few minutes, perused the Mercantile and headed up to shower & unpack. We crashed about 10:30, with a wakeup call scheduled for 7:00 am. What a glorious first day it’s been – even if we didn’t visit too many attractions! :blush:
Up Next: Jedi Mania, Rock-N-Rollercoaster and a Downtown Disney Expedition!