Grand Duo Birthday Trip: COMPLETE 2/5/09 About This Page:

[DawnDenise]

Hello everyone!! I am back from the Disney bubble (and so wish I wasn't) and am working on sorting through pictures. I took 1440 pictures so there is some sorting to do. I should have an updateTuesday or Wednesday.

[Wendyismyname]

YAY!!! I am so glad you are back Dawn!!

[Meeko]

Welcome back Dawn!! Can't wait for your trip report!

[disneydani]

Welcome back, Dawn! Can't wait to hear the deets, see the pics.

danielle

[Colexis Mom]

Welcome back Dawn!!

[TinkerBelz]

Can't wait - SOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!

[PrincessSharon]

Welcome back, Dawn! Can't wait for the TR!

[chezp]

Welcome back Dawn! I can't wait to hear all about it.

[lexiemom]

Welcome back! Can't wait for the TR to begin!

[goofysdtr]

Welcome back! Looking forward to hear about all the fun you guys had!

[DawnDenise]

Day 0: My Actual Birthday

Originally, this was to a be a relaxing morning, packing up the toiletries, taking Ana to the kennel, and then heading up to Indy. Relaxing it was not meant to be. The night before Chuck called me from the bowling alley to say he needed me to come out to give him a jump as the battery died on his car. I drove out there and he wanted to wait until after his league was over to jump it. This meant that I would waste 3 hours watching him bowl and not packing. We got home around 10:00pm, and I did some of Chuck’s suitcase but was exhausted and went to bed soon after.

After waking up, Chuck took it upon himself to run Ana to the kennel to make up for the previous night and grab some breakfast while I finished up packing. After Chuck got back, he got ready and then took the main suitcases out to the car. I got ready and packed the overnight bag. We ran through the townhome for the last minute checks and hit the road to Indy.


About 5 minutes after hitting I-64.


About another five minutes later crossing the Ohio River into Indiana.


Back home again in Indiana!

The trip up to Indy was uneventful and about 10 minutes outside of Indy, the rain began. Chuck dropped me off at the office and he headed up to his old company to see some friends. He was to pick me up by 4:15pm so we could meet up with my FIL for dinner. Let me tell you, I soooooooooooooooooo do not miss the office environment. Let me say that again, I soooooooooo do not miss it. It was great seeing some of my co-workers, but man, you could cut the tension with a knife. I like being cut off from that in my little home office. Luckily the time went by rather quickly and Chuck texted me to let me know he was outside.

We headed over to my FIL’s apartment and chatted for a bit to let the Friday rush hour traffic die down. We decided to go to On the Border for dinner since I was craving Mexican type food and a margarita! Dinner was great, and it was good to catch up with my FIL. He paid since it was my birthday and we took him back to his place. It was pouring by that point so we said good-bye and headed to the Country Inns and Suites near the airport, our home for the night.

Check-in was a cinch, and we made an appointment for the shuttle the next morning. Before we knew it, we were in our room and chilling for the rest of the evening. Chuck checked his fantasy teams and then passed out. I, on the other hand, was suffering from the “I’m too excited to sleep” syndrome and watched Shrek and Ocean’s 13. I finally fell asleep around 1:30am only to get the ugly wake-up call at 4:30am.

Day 1, Part 1: The new Indy Airport, Our First Purchase, and Our Grand Arrival

So as I mentioned, we had that “OMG, it’s early” wake-up call. We stumbled out of bed and somehow got ready. Chuck ran out to drop off the overnight bag in the car while I watched the suitcases. The van driver arrived and told us to go ahead and get in the van (it was still raining). We were then whisked off to the New Indianapolis International Airport. As we were arriving, it was an impressive sight. Our driver dropped us off on the first level which is new as they were always allowed to drop us off at the check-in area. We heaved our bags across the long walkway to the terminal in the rain. (Are you hearing my sarcastic tone yet?) We took the escalators up to check-in area, and there were no signs directing people to which airline was where. Most airports have all the airline desks horizontal to the eye so you can scan down and see where your airline is. Nope, not Indy. There were eight vertical rows and you had to guess. I guessed wrong the first time and went down to the right. Guess where Airtran was located? Yep, the last row to the left.

As a surprise to Chuck, I upgraded us to Business Class when checking in. I made sure to handle the boarding passes and got the bags checked in easily. The agents at the counter told us we should head directly to the security lines as it was about a mile walk from there. Chuck rolled his eyes and we pressed on. One good thing is that they had the moving walkways to ease the journey to security. So, we made it through security with ease. Chuck made me go through the “Expert” traveler lane. Our next search was for some sort of caffeinated beverage for both of us. Apparently, Starbucks and the Sandwich place didn’t open until 6:30am. So, we found the candy shop that had bottled Mt. Dews. I grabbed a couple and then Chuck had to point out some candy that we could not refuse to buy.

Is it wrong to have liquor flavored chocolate at 6:15am?


Then I had to try my luck at doing a self-portrait. Not bad, not bad!



So they began the boarding process and called for business class. I handed Chuck his boarding pass and I got a huge smile. We were in seats 1A and 1C. We got situated and were asked by the flight attendants if we wanted a drink. I passed and chuck got a ginger ale. Now I have a purse that crosses over my body and on all my flights prior to this one, they have let me keep it on me since it was on my body. As they were closing the doors, the male flight attendant scolded me and took my purse and put it in an overhead bin. Whoops! After that, the flight was fine. I fell asleep as we were taxiing and woke up when we hit a bit of turbulence. Once we hit cruising altitude, Chuck got my purse so I could get my iPod. The pilot made up about 10 minutes in the flight and we arrived a little early in Orlando

After the oh so typical pit stops after a flight, we made our way to DME. While I checked us in, Chuck went for a smoke. Check-in with DME was a breeze in all about 3 minutes. I went to search for Chuck, and we headed to the corrals for the buses.



We were directed to our bus and Chuck and I got the front seats. I was determined to get the one shot I have never been able to get in all my trips since 2005. We had a great bus driver who knew what I was trying to do, and was awesome enough to slow down a bit so I could grab the shot.



We were officially in WDW! The Grand Floridian was the last stop of the four so we just sat back and relaxed. We finally entered the gates to the Grand Floridian and just looked in awe. I still couldn’t believe we were actually staying here. We were welcomed by several CMs and walked through those glorious doors to enter that gorgeous lobby. We were directed to the check-in lines and soon were waved over by Bryan. We handled all the necessary paperwork and were advised that our room wasn’t ready yet. I figured that since it wasn’t even 11:00am yet. He handed over our birthday buttons but we had to get a new one for Chuck as it had his real first name on it which is a no-no. That taken care of, he handed us our packet and we stepped to a nearby couch to put stuff in the backpacks so we could check them with Bell Services. With the bags taken care of, Chuck said he needed something, anything, to eat to tie him over until lunch I have to admit there was a huge rumbling in my tummy as well. We headed over to Gasparilla Grill and found a croissant for me and bagel for Chuck



After filling our bellies, we headed up to catch the monorail to the TTC and then transfer to the monorail to EPCOT. It was an easy transition. We were in a car with another couple on their honeymoon and they asked if we would take their picture. They returned the favor and took a picture of the two of us



We arrived at EPCOT and traveled down the long ramps to the entrance. Once stepping through the bag check lines, we were through the turnstiles a few minutes later. Our first stop was Spaceship Earth.

Coming Up: Some new rides for Chuck, a Minor Shrimp Incident, and our Home for 8 Days

[Wendyismyname]

Awesome update Dawn and I am glad you mentioned the new terminal. Gives me an idea of what to look for in April!!

[KMB733]

Great update Dawn! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. Hurry Back with more!!!!!

[Lemap760]

Great start. Now you have me wondering what Chuck's real first name is.

[CountryTink]

What a great first day so far. I, too, am curious about Chuck's name as well, but I'll bet some secrets are better kept. Love the shot you were able to get of the entrance gate.

More please!