Our Platinum Adventure - Prologue About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great updates ladies [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] What a hoot [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Have a great trip [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/bye.gif[/img] Can't wait to hear all about it when you return [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[DrDolphin]

Great installment ladies - sounds like quite the trip. Can't wait to read more.

[Eeyoresmom]

Have a wonderful time girls. I can't wait to read about your trip when you get back. And if you're foodies, your going to [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] V&A. Just remember, it's a very long filling meal - you may not be up for much more after that. But - depening on the timing that you finish dinner, there's a great spot near the dock of the GF that's great for viewing Wishes!

[VictoriaM]

Thanks to all of you for the good luck. Mom's right, all of your input really changed the way that we planned, and looked at the World in general. Thank you....a million times over.[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/thanx.gif[/img]

Update: today, we ummmm, slept. Actually we went to the grocery store and bought a whole bunch of noodles (...noodlehead) [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/yuma.gif[/img] Why? I ate all the food in the house...cept the one bag of salad *which I just ate* and mom's cherries.... :lollypop: muahahaha! Ok, so yeah, then we watched some Deadwood special-features. Which is when mom and I just passed out. I slept for three hours [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/snore.gif[/img]!!! I never sleep in the middle of the day...

Now I'm writing this post (really?) and Mom's reading it, one of the few times she's allowed over my shoulder-ever. Next we're gonna eat some more (mom told you we were foodies, she wasn't kidding!) and then finish packing. Somewhere in there-just for the kick of it-we're gonna play one last game of "Disney's Magic Kindom Game".

I can't wait to go...6 hours, 16 minutes, and 48 seconds...YAY!

Victoria :rockon:

[larissamorn]

Since I was already standing over my daughter's shoulder (which she does indeed hate!), she was gracious enough to let me use some of her internet time to write one last post before we leave.

Today was a very early morning after a very late night. We went to mass (one for the road, kind of!), stopped at the bank for travelers checks (this is her first time having some of her own, cool!), swung by our community office to sign some papers, then back home by 9:45. I could barely keep my eyes open during mass and both our tummies were a-growlin. Well we get to the kitchen and open the fridge and all of a sudden I'm channeling Jack Sparrow saying, "The food is gone! But why is the food gone?!" So much for all that careful food shopping I did last week. But all of you with teenagers know that nothing, not careful planning, not exhaustion, not dates or finals or concerts or ANYTHING stands between a hungry teen and whatever food they can find. She stayed home yesterday while I was at work and cleaned out almost the entire fridge and freezer. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I was so tired and just wanted to go back to bed, I would have cried if it hadn't been so funny.

We headed back out to the grocery store and purchased about two days worth of food just so we wouldn't have to go back out again in case V got really hungry. I'm glad we did. She's in the kitchen again making another package of noodles. This will be the fourth time she's eaten today!!! It's a darn good thing we get a ton of food on our plan. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

When we got back from the market there was a message on our answering machine. Who called me?! I'm on vacation. (grumble grumble) Well it was someone from Victoria & Albert's calling to confirm our reservation. I called back right away (don't you dare give our table away!!!) and spoke with a lovely woman. She wanted to confirm the spelling of our names (I'm assuming for the menus) and also asked for some detail about what we meant when we requested vegetarian menus. I felt like an idiot because I couldn't really articulate the specifics so I ended up busting out with, "We'll eat anything that wasn't formerly alive, but eggs and dairy are okee-dokee." Seriously. That's what I said. Verbatim. To the reservationist at Victoria & Albert's. I am sooooo classy. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/foreheadslap.gif[/img] When I got off the phone V asked why they were calling to confirm. I told her they wanted to make sure we were going to actually show up AND that they wanted details about what we would and wouldn't eat because the chef would be going shopping tomorrow for the groceries for our dinner. This huge smile slowly spread across her face as her eyebrows went up and she said, "Really??" So cool.

Okay, so fed and drowsy we hit the sofa and the floor to watch a dvd and both of us were out in less than 15 minutes. And V wasn't kidding. Not only doesn't she sleep during the day, she usually won't go to sleep until the sun is all the way down. Good thing there's not school during summer. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I got in the last three episodes of WDW Today and the last episode of MouseTunes, got our toenails painted and transferred the stuff from our purses to the bags we're carrying for our trip. Everything is done except for our final showers and packing up the last of the toiletries.

V's just asked if we can watch the entire WDW trip planning video one last time. I can't say no. Those people crack me up. I love [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] Dave. Sitting at a table at the Studios drinking a bottle of water, when asked what he's doing replies, "Uhhh, hello, I'm working." That's my kind of Disney trip! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Whoops, one of V's friends just called. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/phone.gif[/img] Oh wow! She's telling him she can't stay on the phone long because she's about to watch the video with her mom. My sweet girl! Ooh, apparently he's going to call her back on his land line because she couldn't hear him on his cell. I asked her why since she just told him she wasn't going to talk for long. She says, "Oh, well it'll only take five minutes. He just wants me to describe the video to him cuz he says it sounds totally cool!" Hee hee hee.

Kay, so we're off in six more hours! You'll be in our thoughts and if you see us in the parks be sure and say hello!!!

--L

[luvnwdwgal]

What an awesome time you two are going to have!! Can't wait to read all about it!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[VictoriaM]

Day One (Tuesday, July 11, 2006) :

Day one was finally here! Mom and I woke up really early (3am here, 6am there) and took showers and dressed. After that we went to church one last time, since we didn’t have that chance the Sunday before. When we got home we realized that there was absolutely no food whatsoever in the house for us to eat. So, being extremely hungry mom and I went to the Raley’s up the street and bought a whole bunch of noodles. We came home with noodles, chips, and a couple of sodas. Yum, such healthy food for a pre-trip day. Oh well. We ate most of the noodles and watched the last episode of The X-Files--which put us both to sleep. We slept for about 3 hours total, and then got up, finished packing and then left. YAY! Ok, so you knew all that already so now on to the exciting part. There was hardly any traffic to our airport, Sac. Int. (SMF), so getting there was a breeze. We got there the now-typical 2 hours in advance. What a waste of time, well, no, not really, but all the shops were closed at 9 at night, and there was one food place open. At this food place, mom got a bagel, and I got a ham sandwich, both were really good. Since mom and I were bored we raced across the terminal that we were in. Literally. We practically ran around the terminal with our carry-on’s behind us. I’m guessing it was pretty funny to watch since we’d run and then I’d stop and press myself up against a dark window, seeing what was going on outside, and then continue running at top speed across the terminal. Finally, our first plane was boarding. We were in Boarding group 6, meaning, that we were the last people to get on. I can’t go into any huge detail about the flight, because I was asleep for it. We arrive in Dallas on time and race up and down the terminal trying to find a sandwich place mom loved. We finally found it, along with the one that was right in front of our own terminal. Ha ha, I still laugh at that. The second plane, the one to Orlando, boarded not 5 minutes after we sat down. We were in group six again, the same seats we had been for the first flight. We sat down and I was asleep within 10 minutes. The coolest thing about that flight is that I think I actually saw WDW before we landed!!! We were really close to the ground so, it was a possibility. We landed for a last time, and then piled ourselves and our bags into the Tiffany Town Car that mom had sent for transportation to and from WDW. I was so excited to finally get to WDW, and I thought that the street sign was cool, the one that says “Welcome to Walt Disney World”. Mom and I were chatting the whole way there, in fact we didn’t even stop talking when we got there. We got our bags “checked-in” and went up to the Concierges level to check ourselves in. We’d be staying on floor 5, we just didn’t know where. Since our room wasn’t quite ready yet we went to Disney’s M-G-M Studios. We got on the bus and as soon as we got on, the sky opened up and it started POURING. Mom and I got soaked, because she had forgotten to bring the ponchos. First purchase at WDW?? Two Adult sized ponchos. Of course, by the time we had bought the ponchos, and gotten outside, the rain had stopped.

Here are my First reactions to Disney’s MGM Studios: Really nice park, with lots to do, especially if you like movies. It’s very similar to Disney’s California Adventure’s “Hollywood Pictures Backlot”. Nice and small, and almost every bit of space is used for something.

We spent about 2 hours in MGM and then went to our first reservation….La Nuba! This show was MIND BLOWING. I loved every part of it, and it defiantly satisfied my “Music tooth” The stunts were amazing, the music was amazing, the way that the show was laid out was amazing, everything was amazing!!! I gave this show a 10/10 on my scale. So, after the show what makes a perfect eveing? A perfect dinner. I love fish, and the Boardwalk was pretty close by, so, do you get my drift. Our first dinner was at the Flying Fish Café, a truly wonderful dinner of crab cakes and red snapper for me, and some salad for my mom. When we were finally done, we tumbled into our hotel, tired-as-all-get-out, into our stunning room. It was stunning in all senses of the word. STUNNING! The beds were a dream to sleep on, the showers had 3 different settings, the vanity was huge, and the best part was: There was a special made gift basket from Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, right on our table. After we took showers, we crawled into bed for a 3 hour nap before we had to wake up. Yep, we finally crawled into bed at 1:30, and we had to be up by 5:30. It seems like more sleep, but it wasn’t.

to be continued...

[Eeyoresmom]

Great update Victoria! What was in your gift basket?
LaNubia sounds wonderful. When you're older, go to Las Vegas . . . they have several Circ shows there.

[mickeycrazy]

Great start! More please!!!

[SharonK0527]

Great start ladies! Glad you made it safely and had a great first day. La Nouba really is amazing, isn't it? We did the Platinum Plan a few years ago and even though it was expensive to pay for, we really took advantage of all it had to offer so we got a lot of bang for our buck. The Concierge service for Platinum Plan guests was a nice touch.

I hope you were able to find the magic in WDW. It is very different from DL. I can relate to Larissa's comparing everything saying "It's not DL". When I went to DL I was walking around saying "I like WDW so much more". It's tough when you're used to something. Being a WDW girl, I hated Sleeping Beauty's castle. I am so used to the grandiose Cinderella castle that I actually laughed the first time I saw SB castle at DL. I kept saying "That's it??" But once I stopped myself from constantly comparing the two parks, I really started soaking up the magic of DL and appreciating the differences between the parks rather than resenting them.

I hope you ladies have a wonderful trip and I can't wait to read your next installment.

[luvnwdwgal]

What a great start!! Can't wait for more!!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[debsta922]

Great first day! WL is my favorite hotel, Flying Fish is my favorite restaurant and La Nouba is the best thing that I have ever done at WDW, and you managed all of them in just one day!

[angiek1024]

Great first day!!! I hope you ladies are having a magical trip! Can't wait to hear more!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great first day Victoria [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Glad you enjoyed La Nouba! More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Grammy Grumpy]

Thanks for the update Victoria, sounds like things started off with some great Disney magic. Can't wait to hear more!