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View Full Version : The Good the Bad and the Magical :) Day 1



Mackflava99
06-24-2008, 08:13 AM
Day 1-
Today we left for the airport at 6am- i got us a car because parking at the airport for 10 days is way more expensive.
Anyway , we got to the airport and for a Friday am, it was empty- at Newark airport? we breezed through security and baggage, everything went smooth. we got on the plane, and also had alot of overhead, again rare... so we sat down, but noticed that while the plane was filled, we had not moved for a while..
So then we heard the BAD news- the flight crew was "illegal? " they had logged too many hours- so we had to wait 35 min for a new crew- so basically we had at least an hour delay...oh well.
So when everything got settled, the flight was uneventful, the kids played their psps and we landed in Orlando.
We had never used Magical Express so were unsure how it would go-
The check-in was FAST and efficient, the process was great, no baggage to gather..
we hopped on the bus and i was surprised by the nice seats etc- this is a great process..
ok there was one slight issue....
as we drove towards Wilderness lodge, the driver went right past- i figured he was dropping off the Contemporary people first, but no he drove on...
He shouted "anyone for the GF?" noone said a word,
then he stopped at the Poly
"Ok, everyone for the Poly, please get off here..." noone moved.
Is there anyone for the poly or GF"?
everyone was silent...
We then told him the bus was supposed to be WL and CR...he read us his note-
" THis route is GF and PR, please make sure that the GF is the mandatory first stop in any situation where you have GF guests...GF guests get priority"
He wanted us to see it wasnt his fault...
(**But i was troubled abopu the "GF guests get special treatment" line- i didnt think he meant to tell us that)
So anyway, after he did whatever he needed to he finally drove us to the WL-
We go there, had a very vary smooth check in, and got a terrific room, overlooking the water but in a very quiet section.
We had groceries delivered from wegoshop(Marge) and they came quickly, She did a wonderful job and is a nice person. Then we went to Roaring forks for lunch - i love their salad with chicken and apple vinergrette- its awesome... by then our bagage was delivered and while my wife unpacked, i took the kids to the pool.. The pool is great, the setting in beautiful, we had a great time. Then we rented bikes and drove down to FW and back, we saw some deer, an armadillo and some cool looking birds on the way.
We went to Whispering Canyon for dinner- we love that place, its got so much flavor with the yelling and the great waiters,. One of my daughters needed ketchup, but she knew it from past visits, so she was cautious....no way- when she asked she got about 27 bottles..delivered to her. i was laughing my butt off..
THe food is great, we had the skillet, all you can eat ribs, chicken and pulled pork, plus the
cinnamon apple desert was extra good.
We had a great waitress and the meal got an high mark.

After dinner, we actually went swimming in the other pool, ( near the villas) it was pretty empty so we had a good time. the only issue was that one of my daughter's lost her necklace,

I did try to access the interet, but the connection wasnt working. It was late so i figured i would try the next day.

Either way- Today's result-
The Good- Almost everything, we got a great room, the meals were great and the fact we are here is so so good.
The bad- the driver's messup, the flight delay
The Magical - walking into the WL, hearing the song from Bonanza and seeing that wonderful lobby,, its just a tremendous place,

It was a long day and we settled in for a well deserved sleep

castlelady36
06-24-2008, 09:00 AM
I love the WL!! Stayed there the fist time last year. It does have a great feeling and very relaxed. Sounds like a great start so far!!

RaRaRoundTheWorld
06-24-2008, 09:14 AM
After all the planning and excitement, I'm sorry that you had a few glitches on your trip into the world. That driver was tacky and inconsiderate. Instead of wasting everyone's time, he should have asked up front who's going where. Or maybe they have to stop everywhere for picks-ups too? I don't remember.

Thanks for sharing the details of your tasty meals. I'm surprised that you're not hitting a lot of crowds. That's great! I hope it stays that way!!

Enjoy your trip!!

gauvin4
06-24-2008, 09:30 AM
Sorry to hear about your flight delay and the mix up with magical express. But other than that it sounds like a great start to your vacation. I look forward to reading more. :mickey:

KylesMom
06-24-2008, 10:01 AM
For the most part, not a bad start to your trip. I agree, walking into WL is magical. We've never gone swimming in the Villas pool before - perhaps something we should remedy!

Can't wait to read more! :mickey:

ibelieveindisneymagic
06-24-2008, 10:10 AM
I'm glad you had a (mostly) good first day.

The bus mix-up is a little funny, and very un-Disney like :confused:

pdrlkr
06-24-2008, 11:00 AM
Thanks for the report! :smickey:

dolphinmickey9170
06-24-2008, 03:11 PM
Other than the bus, it sounds like a great start!! Thanks for sharing. We'll be trying WL Villas in 46 days, I can't wait.:mickey:

mouseketeer mom
06-24-2008, 06:44 PM
Bryan!
I'm so excited to read your "live" trip report! This is awesome! I will live thru you and your families trip until we get there ourselves in 50 days!! Tell more!!

#1disneyfan
06-24-2008, 08:36 PM
Sorry about your not so good start, but it seems it was all great in the end!

I liked the way your family started the vacation. We have a habit of diving right in, but I have to say that your start sounded very enjoyable!

Piglet822
06-25-2008, 09:24 AM
Sounds like a great start to your vacation :)

As a former DME driver I do want to point out that it is mandatory to drop the Grand Floridian guests off first. This is per Disney, the drivers have no choice. The driver should check when leaving the airport who he has on board though - I used to do this all the time because there were occassions that staff would check off a hotel on my paperwork that I actually didn't have on board.

tinkerbell04
06-25-2008, 04:53 PM
It sounds like your vacation is off to a great start, sorry about the delay, but it doesn't sound like it really impacted your day too much. Im looking forward to hearing more!

faline
06-25-2008, 07:15 PM
After a bit of a shaky start, Disney magic certainly kicked in and you had a wonderful first Disney day! :mickey:

MauiMouse
06-25-2008, 07:23 PM
I can vouch what Jeanne said about DME going to Grand Floridian first, as this happened to me about 2 years ago. I was staying at the Contemporary and it was the last stop. Glad that you made it to your resort safe and sound. :mickey:

scuttle66
06-27-2008, 07:57 PM
Sounds like a good trip so far. Don't you LOVE that salad? We stumbled across it last trip and had it twice. Can't wait to read more! :mickey:

daparish
06-29-2008, 08:35 AM
Sounds like you had a rough start but a great day after all. :mickey:

ChipnDaleGal
06-30-2008, 08:07 AM
At least you had your transportation problems early in the day and once you were on property it was :thumbsup: all the way! Sounds like you did a lot of fun things at WL and had a couple of great meals. Thanks for reporting. :mickey:

DizNee143
07-01-2008, 10:38 AM
sounds like a pretty good start to your vacation..not to many bad things happened...sorry to hear about your daughters necklace, that stinks..
dinner sounded like fun..i have yet to go there..but i love hearing about everyones experiecnes there..always seems like a good time!! :mickey: