The Pixie Dusted Pathway to Paradise TR - **Updated 7/28 with Final Thoughts** COMPLETE About This Page:

[DyanKJ130]

back!! Glad you had a great time! Can't wait to hear all about it

[mcc0313]

Well I finally am sitting down to start this TR...the past few days since our return have been a bit crazy but I want to start since everything is still fresh in my head. I was thinking of changing the name of this TR to 1000 Brazilians and A Dozen Hats (as you will begin to understand as you read this) but decided to stay with it's original name as this trip was definitely Pixie Dusted and lead us straight to a week in Paradise and with that here we go.....

Thursday, June 26th - Traveling Day

When I first changed our trip to June I had planned on leaving on a 7 am flight on Thursday, June 26th and had us returning July 3rd....then wouldn't you know it I needed gall baldder surgery so I had to use some of my PTO time so I changed our flight to Thursday night at 9:20. I figured I could work the day and we could get a fresh start for Friday. Then as I was checking the Jet Blue rates (as I do daily even after I book my flights) I realized that I could save almost $300 if we returned late of the 2nd...since we normally do DTD on the last day I figured I would just fit that in on another day and would go with the savings....I mean that $300 would be nice to have in my pocket at DTD wouldn't it?

So by changing our return date I ended up saving the $300 from the flights and the additional money from the extra night at the resort and the dining plan....all was good wasn't it? I worked our schedule around and found a nice evening on our 4th day that would be perfect for DTD and all was set (remember this now as this report progresses).

My boss was on vacation my last week so it had been pretty quiet until Thursday when I was planning on working through lunch and leaving at 4:30 since my father needed to pick us up for the airport at 6 since he had a rehersal (he does community theater). Of course my other boss who was working from home since she had surgery needed to get a proposal out, which of course took hours since she sent me a bunch of additions that were all in PDF so I had to convert, reformat....then I got another project that needed to be done before I left....so you all get the picture right?

Finally I made it out the door at 4:45, bolted to the subway to only sit for 15 minutes on the bridge as someone had been bored so they decided to pull the emergency brake...I made it home with 5 minutes to change, grab the bags and the kids and get downstairs to meet my dad.

We made it to the airport in decent time, said our goodbyes and made our way to the bag drop off since I had checked in online....ok so did half the world and the line was huge. It moved pretty fast and the kids were hungry so after getting though security without any problems (yes for the first time in years we were not chosen for the "selected" search) guess that online check in was the key....we headed to the food court.

I am not one of those people who like the food court at JFK...so after browsing the long lines and nothing really calling out to us, and the fact that we had almost two hours until boarding I decided to go to the only sit down restaurant in the area the Sports Bar and Grill. We grabbed some seats, ordered our drinks and placed our order...and we waited, and waited, and watched as three tables that came in after us got their food, ate and left and finally when I was about to get up and just leave...(yes I was fully annoyed by now, especially since the waitress had told us numerous times that our food was on it's way) her she came with our food. Now I still ownder why it took almost an hour for a plate of chicken fingers, a pressata and a wrap but we were starved by now....

We were about to get into our meal when Princess Jasmine looks at me and says "mom, there is a bite in my food". I look over and she was right, there was a chunk of her wrap that had been taken out by what looked like a bite....it was not a straight knife cut but it was a bite....as I started to call over the waitress I noticed that one of my pressata pieces had a bite in it too....

There was no time for them to replace the food and I did not want to eat anything there anyway by now so we left...I did not even bother to wait tohear the managers "explanation". By this time we needed to get to our gate....so we grabbed some snacks from the newstand and figured that blue chips and animal crackers added to the snacks that we had purchased would do the trick...

Our flight was scheduled to board at 8:50, I was looking forward to sitting in our "extra legroom seats" thanks to the Jet Blue seating mistake and ready to just make our way to MCO....guess this day was just not working in my favor as we did not even start to board until our scheduled departure of 9:20. Then we slowly moved along the tarmac and stopped, and moved again and stopped. After a few more stops the captain expalined that there was some traffic and that we were like 7th in line....

The girls had decided that they wanted to sit together (as we had the middle seat and aisle seat on one side and the aisle seat on the other side) which was fine with me except that every five minutes I had to pull out my earphones as Tinkerbell, ny 7yo had to ask me another question....(ok this is why I had wanted to sit next to her). Anyhoo we finally were told that it was our time to take to the sky and within a few minutes we were up....

I was worried about Princess Jasmine as she has always had such terrible pressure pain in her head during takeoff and landing but I had given her a Benedryl Sinus pill before hand thinking it might reduce any pressure in her sinuses and give her some relief...and it did. She was fine...the rest of the plane ride was uneventful...all I know is that for some reason we had gotten the pay per view movies for free (maybe it is included in the extra legroom seats) so Tinkerbell was pefectly happy with Horton Hears a Who and I got to watch Vantage Point which I had been dying to see...

We landed about 45 minutes late and the airport was empty. After a restroom break we made our way to the empty DME desk....we were told that they had a bus coming and we took a seat to wait. a short time after a group of woman came over to wait as well (this must have been their first time traveling the DME as they were totally confused and as the ride progressed equally complaining....about everything).

Not too eavesdeop but there I was listening to one woman tell the other how she thinks that they should take a cab back as why should they waste their whole last day at the airport as the DME was going to pick them up at 1 pm for their 8 pm flight...so I found it necessary to tell her that her DME pickup would be about 3 hours before her flight...she thanked me for this tidbit and went on to tell her friend that 3 hours would not be so bad....

Then as we waited (we waited for about 15 minutes total for a bus and that was from the time I sat down, the four ladies came about 5 minutes later) how maybe they should take a cab becuase this service was supposed to be a help and why should they have to wait for a bus....

You could all imagine what was going through my head...I wanted to say "hey lady you have been sitting here for 5 minutes, patience is a virtue". Ok it soounded like they had been traveling for a long time but a few minutes wait instead of paying $60 for a cab sounds great to me....but I digress.

The bus came and we boarded, and we waited as a few more families were due to come on board. At this point the kids were relaxed, the bus felt nice and cool and all I cared about was that we were about 40 minutes away from WDW....

Then they quartet came and two of the woman (I think it must have been their daughters or neices) went to sit in the back while the two older woman sat in front of me...and then it started....it is so hot, why aren't we leaving yet, what kind of service is this, why did those people go get their suitcases they are holding us up....

This went on for the whole 10 minutes that we waited....I tried to ignore their conversation for the rest of the trip but it was hard to ignore as I listened to their plans which I could only guess would garner a whole more dozen complaints as I could only tell you that their idea of a leisurely breakfast at 10 to then go and jump on the 10 minute line for Soarin was not going to work all I knew was that I was happy that I was not going to be traveling with them...

They proceded to quiet down until we got to AKL (our 1st stop) - I guess they felt that the bus would bypass all other stops and take them to theirs first (I think the were staying at CBR or CS). When the bus made their way to the All Star Resorts second all I can say was that I was so happy we were getting off that bus...

The girls were tired but excited as we grabbed our carry-ons and made our way into the ASMo. Their was one other family that came in after me but it was dead quiet as I had to kind of call out to get someone to come out....

I am not sure if it was just that they shut down the computers at night or if they were having a problem but the computers were down and while they had our room cards waiting for us I would have to first come down in the morning to link my credit card to my Key card....

I have to say I was not too happy with the service, and by the looks of it neither was the other family. The CM was nice enough but seemed clueless. All I cared about was getting to my room. I inquired about the refigerator that I needed for the medication and the CM said that they would be up no longer than 30 minutes....

Ok I thought to myself, by the time I get the girls settled and unpacked a bit they would be there with the fridge and I could finally lay down (it was 3 am by now).

We walked to our room in the Dalmation #4 Building (the one I requested ) and made our way to the 2nd floor. We found our room easily and I put the card in the door....ok red flash, let me try again, red flash again....I took a deep breath and tried the girl's cards... it was not going to work.

I was tired and about this time I started muttering to myself that I would never ever stay at a value resort again and what kind of fool would give me a key that does not work and it was 3 am and just as I started walking back to the front desk with two tired girls who looked like they were ready to drop along comes the CM who was working alongside the CM who checked me in....

They gave me the wrong room....yes I am lucky that whoever was alseep in the room that I had just tried to break into did not come out with a shoe in order to protect their family from the intruder who was trying to get into their room in the middle of the night...

However, I was gracious, smiled and thanked him (as I know he must have heard my muttering to myself) and once again inquired about the fridge as we made our way back to the elevator as not only did the CM give me the wrong room but also the wrong floor. Once again he said that they would be up in about 20 minutes...

We find our room...our key worked this time and I smiled as we saw this...



Ok so that kind of put a smile on my face and we dropped our bags, Tinkerbell and I went to fetch some ice and sodas and we made our way back to the room. The girls were asleep within five minutes and I started to unpack a few things as I waited for the fridge delivery....

I had packed a bag with bathing suits and two outfits each so I out those away, I organized the girls medication and added more ice to the cooler that held the medication that needed to be refridgerated....by this time I was falling off my feet but I needed to wait becuase I knew that once I fell asleep that would be it so I climbed into bed....turned on the TV and waited, and waited....after another 30 minutes I called the front desk....no answer (and this was a normal thing as throughout the whole trip no one ever answered the front desk, even when they left me a message to call the front desk).

By 5 am I added more ice and gave up...I needed to sleep. I think my eyes must have closed before I hit the pillow becuase the next thing I remember is hearing the knock at the door....

Up Next: So what time did the fridge finally show up?

[chezp]

Oh my goodness, that was quite a travel day down you had! It seemed like, if it could wrong, then it did. I tell you, I'll be avoiding that restaurant when we fly out of JFK in October....

[Colexis Mom]

What a nightmare of a start Meg I hope it gets better from here on out

[Princess_Wantabe]

Not a good start! I hope things got better

[MyRapunzal]

Great start! We stayed in a Herbie room in ASMo and loved it. What made you chose Dalmatians as a request? I have a soft spot in my heart for Dalmatians since my family had one for 14 years! We didn't make a request when we were there and just winged it but I am always curious why people chose what they do!

Anyways, I am so excited to get to the theme park updates so hurry back!!

[mcc0313]

Originally Posted by chezp

Oh my goodness, that was quite a travel day down you had! It seemed like, if it could wrong, then it did. I tell you, I'll be avoiding that restaurant when we fly out of JFK in October....

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

What a nightmare of a start Meg I hope it gets better from here on out

Originally Posted by Princess_Wantabe

Not a good start! I hope things got better

It definitely did. I guess the bad start was needed in order for the rest of the week to be so wonderful, which is just how it turned out.

Originally Posted by MyRapunzal

Great start! We stayed in a Herbie room in ASMo and loved it. What made you chose Dalmatians as a request? I have a soft spot in my heart for Dalmatians since my family had one for 14 years! We didn't make a request when we were there and just winged it but I am always curious why people chose what they do!

Anyways, I am so excited to get to the theme park updates so hurry back!!

Since this was Tinkerbell's birthday celebration trip I let her make the request, she has always loved the Dalmations and Princess Jasmine has a soft spot for them as we had one when she was younger so it won out for both of them and I was so happy that our request was filled as they were both happy which put a smile on my face.


Plus it was such a perfect location, one path led to the Fantasmic pool and the other right to the main building so it worked out perfectly...

[ArielsMomto2]

So sorry about the rough start. Can't wait to hear how good it got for you. Hurry back with more.

[RobDVC]

What a travel day!
Great beginning to your report, can't wait to read more!

[amandal]

Glad you found the time to update, Meg!!! Well, I wish I could say "so far so good", but it definitely hasn't been good for you so far . . . . Can't wait for a "good" update JFK is not my favorite airport, either, which is why I've only flown there once in my entire life and probably won't ever again

[mcc0313]

Originally Posted by amandal

Glad you found the time to update, Meg!!! Well, I wish I could say "so far so good", but it definitely hasn't been good for you so far . . . . Can't wait for a "good" update JFK is not my favorite airport, either, which is why I've only flown there once in my entire life and probably won't ever again

It is the closest one to my house, about a 20 minute drive without traffic (ok there is always traffic but you get an idea to the proximity) however, the more we fly out of there the more I hate it. They are supposed to be finishing up on a new Jet Blue terminal for the Fall of 08, I am hoping it is open for our December trip as maybe it will be better but I have to tell you that we had such a nice time in the Orlando airport and when we finally arrived back at JFK it is just such a difference...(just another reason to never want to come back )

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Just read your entire report (I like to wait until there's lots to read; I don't have the patience to wait! ) Can't wait to read all about your trip!

[Ciavobella]

3 AM I'm sure it will get better. Can't wait for more.

[disneydani]

Alrighty...I know is going to get better since she said it was such a magical trip....we'll just imagine the trip starts at the ~next~ update! Sorry for all the travel day mishagoss.

danielle

[mcc0313]

I am going to try to get a big portion of the TR done by next week as my classes start on the 15th and then as much as I want to sit on the boards, it is just does not happen so as much as I would love to drag this out (I know I am selfish to the core, here you all are waiting to read all about the trip and I am trying to savor each last memory), I will probably try to post an update a day so I can be mostly finished by the time I get my first homework assignment....

So I left off, with my head hitting the pillow like a ton of rocks, still no fridge but the body was just not going to wait any longer. So sleep finally came until....

Friday, June 27th - Day 1, Part 1

I wasn't sure what time it was when I heard Princess Jasmine say "mom, someone is at the door". I know I mumbled something as I turned towards the clock...8:03 am. Figuring it was the fridge finally I jumped up to greet....OUR LUGGAGE.

While I was more than happy to have our luggage bright and early, I needed a fridge. Realizing that the three hours was all I was going to get I told Princess Jaz to take her shower (as once she is up she is up) and that I was going to go down to the front desk as they still do not answer the phone.

I also figured that I could set up my credit card to our KTTW card at the same time and grab a refillable cup. Now you should know that I was planning to go cold trukey on this trip and give up the two remaining cigerettes that I have yet to give up (the early morning and the late evening) but given my mood at this moment I decided that it was not going to happen...

Grabbing the emergency pack that I took just in case I threw on some clothes and made my way towards the main building. I had really wanted to start taking photos the minute we got off the plane but I was too tired, and at this point I was just plain annoyed so the pictures don't start until we hit the park.

I made my way to the front desk and told the CM my situation, she was not a very happy CM and she said "well it's noted". Ok, well they told me 30 minutes and that was at 3 am and it is now 8 and I really need to get some medication in there before we head off. I then asked her can she call someone..."It's noted, they will get there" she replied....

Ok I was going to start yelling becuase I am now sleep deprived, angry and her attitude was just not what I needed to start off my morning but instead I thought to myself "you are at Disney, this is the trip you have been waiting for" and as I glanced down at her name badge that said she came from New York I smiled and said, "another NYer, you are the third one I have met since we landed"...

Well my friendly attitude sure changed hers as she looked up at me finally and said "what part are you from?" This turned into a great conversation about how her aunt lived a few minutes from where I grew up and where she went to school and the next thing I knew I had a manager on the phone with housekeeping and another manager apologizing for my inconvenince and was there anything else I needed....

Now this was the Disney spirit I was looking for....I thanked them for their help, told them all I needed was the fridge, grabbed the baskets from Betsy that I had forgotten to take the night before, linked my charge to my card and left.

After buying my refillable cup, filling it up with some caffine I headed to the smoking area for my morning cigerette that I as you can tell decided not to give up on this day. And finally I felt like I was on vacation.....I was relaxed, the weather was beautiful (especially since the forecast was cloudy and showers for the 1st 4 days of my trip) and a smile appeared on my face...

I made my way back to the room expecting to find Tinkerbell still asleep (my little one loves to sleep when she finally lets herself lay down) yet imagine my surprise as they were both up and showered and ready to go.

I gave them their baskets (Princess Jaz's was from Mickey and Minnie and Tinkerbell's was from Belle - who at the moment is her favorite) and as they opened then I jumped into the shower.

We had a 9:50 ADR at the Storybook Breakfast in Norway and we were running a bit late so I decided that we would just jump in a cab and get this day started.

We arrived at Epcot and did a fast walk through Future World over to Norway - I love the WS when it is still closed and empty. There is something so peaceful about it....and it was very peaceful until we made our way to the front of the restuarant and there was a mob scene.

I checked us in and we had maybe a 5 minute wait until they called us in and we got in line for our pictures with Belle. There were two families in front of us and before she knew it Tinkerbell was all smiles and it was her turn to go and meet Belle....in her basket she had a birthday button and a Princess autograph book and she was so exicted that Belle would be her first autograph of the day....

Then when our seater saw that she had a birthday button on he whistled Happy Birthday as he took her hand and escorted her to our table....she was blushing so hard it was so cute...



Princess Jasmine is not much of a breakfast eater, she will eat cereal or a bagel but that is usually it but she loved the food here and gave it a . The girls went back twice for more of the fruit and cheese buffet, I enjoyed the fruit and the biscuits (I biscuits) and they brought us our tray of goodies. I am very picky about my eggs but these were nice and fluffy, I asked for the bacon to be crisp and it was. Tinkerbell enjoyed some mini Mickey waffles and the potatoes were out of this world (and I do not like cheese so that really is a good review ).

All in all this was a great way to start off the trip (after the rocky start at our arrival) and I was really glad I changed our initial plans and fit this in on our first day. The character interaction was also really great. Besides Belle there was Snow White, Mulan, Aurora and Jasmine.

Here are some other shots of the girls and the pricesses...