13 Magical Days in May 5/15-5/28 Update 6/06 Day 6 About This Page:

[vsonnier]

Saturday, May 15 – Traveling to WDW and Check in at All Star Music.



Dates - May 15-28

Cast - Valerie (21) and DH Todd (30)



This trip was originally scheduled for May 10th and was suppose to last just over a week. After battling with teachers over the finals schedule which happened to be right in the middle of our trip, we gave in and pushed it to a week later. I was, of course, devastated. I had been counting down the days for this trip since last June and couldn't bear the thought of adding a single day. Luckily, DH knows how to handle me and pointed out that this way, we would be just getting to Disney when we would be getting ready to leave with our other plan. That was all I needed to hear! As the next few months went by we slowly begin to add days to our trip. Our trip went from 8 days, to 10 days, to 11, then finally, after I *accidentally* gave DFIL the wrong date for him to schedule our flight, we had 13 days! I couldn't have possibly been happier! (Well..ok, so maybe a month at the parks would be a little better but I don't think DH would have a job when we came home.)



We had originally planned on driving but at the last minute DFIL booked us a flight with his points so we couldn't pass it up. Our flight from Houston Intercontinental to MCO did not take off until 6P but I was awake by 7A ready to go. I somehow resisted the urge to wake DH up and spent some time playing with my puppy who was going to be staying with her granny (DMIL) for the next two weeks.



By 12P we were all dressed and packing the car for the two hour trip from Orange to Houston. DH was very paranoid about missing the plane or having problems with our bags, which didn't bother me at all because it meant us getting to the airport about three hours early. Unfortunately, DFIL had volunteered to drive us to the airport. He is just plain scary on the road! I finally breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the ticketing area for Continental. At that exact moment, DFIL swerved in front of someone nearly wrecking the car and sufficiently freaked me out.



Check in went very smoothly minus the fact that I checked the wrong bag and ended up having to carry on a bag that was full of personal supplies like blades for the razor and finger nail files and all kinds of things that would require a complete search of our carry on luggage. I am somewhat freaky about people digging through my bags so I had a hard time just standing there but I kept reminding myself that it was just for my safety and it was my own fault for not paying attention to what I checked.



We made it to the gate with over two hours to spare and spent a bit of time reading the books we had brought with us. DH was very into a new Steve Martin book called Pleasure of my Company. I couldn't get into my book and time passed painfully slow.



The plain ride was uneventful and took a little over 2 hours. By the time we had our bags and made it to the rental car area, it was around 11P.



Todd had a nightmare of a time with Dollar rent-a-car. They kept trying to convince him that we needed to upgrade to an SUV. We were perfectly happy with a compact car since it would just be us traveling but the guy would not give up. When DH finally convinced him that we were absolutely not interested, he started in with the insurance which would only cost 25 dollars A DAY. We figured we would take our chances (which ended up being a bit of a mistake.) We were on our way to AS Music by midnight in red Dodge Neon that was just fine for the price - 253 for 13 days.



The line for check in at ASMu was surprisingly long for after midnight. We stood in line for about 15 minutes before finally being called to the desk. After entering all the information, the clerk informed me that I still owed almost $600. My bedtime is usually around 9P so by Midnight I was VERY easily agitated and getting ready to throw a fit. I showed her our confirmation letter that said we were paid in full and she took a calculator and the letter and disappeared in a back room for a few minutes. The more time passed, the more irritated I got. DH kept reminding me that this was Disney and that everything would work out and that there was absolutely no reason to be upset, but as I said, it was well past my bedtime and I was not in the mood for listening. Luckily the lady came back and told us it was just a mistake on their part and got our keys ready.



I had heard a lot of bad things about Calypso - mainly that it was very noisy - so I was really disappointed when we were told we would be staying in Calypso 10. I asked if we could be moved to another building but nothing was available. Looking back, I'm glad we were stuck in that building.



Calypso ended up being just fine. We were on the second floor on a side facing a wooded/parking lot area so we didn't have to deal with the noise from the pool. We managed to get two weeks worth of clothes upstairs in just one trip, which was a huge relief for me since I was ready to head straight to bed. Our room was nice. We were put in a handicap room (I assume just because it had a king bed), which ended up being wonderful. We called to make sure the front desk was aware that we were placed in a handicap room but they didn't move us. From what I have heard, in other rooms you have to pay for a refrigerator - we had our own fridge. The only downside (and it wasn't so much a downside as it was just plain strange) was the shower. Since it was a handicap room there was no bathtub and the shower was a walk-in with no barrier between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. I had never seen anything like that so it was a little strange. The fold down seat ended up being a real blessing on mornings when I was just too tired to stand up and shower :P



After getting the luggage in and changing clothes, I climbed right into our very hard bed and was out within minutes.



Up next - I finally get that churro I have been dreaming of!

[statelady01]

Woo Hoo! I have been waiting on this one from you!! Glad your room was ok and really sort of goes to show its good to make up one's own mind- even though you may not hear great things about a particular room or resort.

Great start- thank you!

[Annabel]

Great start, can't wait to read more.

Annabel

[MickeyMAC]

So glad you started your trip report. I've been waiting to hear about your adventure.

[2princessmom]

Great start and am anxious to read more! Especially about the rental car insurance.

[AngelOn9]

[ QUOTE ]
The fold down seat ended up being a real blessing on mornings when I was just too tired to stand up and shower :P


[/ QUOTE ]

lol, you sound like me. There are mornings that I'm just...so...dead that sitting while showering is all that will do.

Loving your report so far, can't wait for more!

[Jennifer2003]

YAY! Great start! Can't wait for more!

[vsonnier]

Sunday, May 16th....Our first day at the most wonderful place in the ENTIRE world!

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that DH and I always make surprises for each other when we go on trip. My surprise to him was a series of surprise cards with goofy little poems in them that had a very small present with it. While we were on the plane I gave DH his first surprise. The card said: "Tomorrow is the big day, We want to be there in the worst way! Take this, close your eyes and think of Tink - Morning will be here in a wink!" The surprise that went along with it was two sleeping pills of course.

My surprise from Todd was a scrapbook he had made by himself. The theme behind it was that my Fairy Godmother had been kidnapped and to get her back I had to complete a series of tasks. As I completed each set of tasks, I would receive a different prize until my Fairy Godmother was freed. It was so wonderful!

Our wakeup call from Mickey came at 7:20A which was entirely too early after the night before. I expected to leap out of bed with excitement, but I was just too tired! I finally managed to drag myself out of bed and into our spiffy shower so DH could get a little extra sleep.

While DH showered I opened my first set of tasks labeled for the Magic Kingdom. The card inside said:

"Find the spot where chocolate treats zoon through outer space,
Then the proof that Mr. Toad gave Pooh and friends his place,
Listen for the dance and music lessons on Main Street,
Spot the shop rooftop through which a bumbling giant peeks.
Replace one task by finding three Hidden Mickeys."

I knew that the place where chocolate threats zoom was Space Mountain, and that the giant could be found at Sir Mickey's but I had to ask for help with the other two.

After memorizing the tasks I had to complete for the day, two of us were dressed and heading out the door by 8:15. We had only budgeted $200 per day so we decided to stop at McDonald's for a cheap breakfast on the way to the park. It amazes me how even the McDonalds are so well themed at WDW! I noticed the drive through workers were even wearing lanyards - how exciting!

Breakfast definitely woke me up and I was thrilled by the time we pulled into our parking place in Pluto. The tram ride was wonderful and I had to fight back tears I was so happy. There was a little girl in our monorail car who started screaming and jumping up and down because she could see the castle. I felt like doing the exact same thing but decided to stand still because I'm still a little nervous about the monorail only having one rail : We pulled into the train station just in time for the opening ceremony. It was exactly like I remembered it! I love watching Mickey pull up in the train and the family step out and open the parks with pixie dust! It's just so magical!

As soon as we got in we headed straight for Splash Mountain to get a Fastpass. The line was short so we walked right on after getting a Fastpass for later. I felt like I was in a dream on the ride. I kept thinking that there was no way it could possibly be real - it was just too perfect! We of course walked over the BTMRR after Splash Mountain and walked right on with almost no wait. I always love the big dip on that ride where my butt comes completely off the seat – woohoo!

We walked over to Fantasyland to check on the lines for Philharmagic after we got off BTMRR. There was only a 10 minute wait so we walked on in. I had heard a lot of mixed reactions about this attraction so I didn’t quite know what to think. When I smelled the apple pie I immediately thought of the Home Sweet Home candle that everyone on the boards had said smelled exactly like it. Unfortunately since I smelled the candle before I saw the film, I thought the pie smelled like the candle instead of thinking the candle smelled like the pie! Overall, I thought it was fun but I was a little disappointed – I thought it was a little too much like the Muppets 4D at MGM. DH loved it and thought it was very well done.

We walked straight out of Philharmagic to Winnie the Pooh. The last time we were at WDW Winnie the Pooh was closed for rehab so it was my first time to ride it. DH had told me that I could find the answer to my second task on this ride. Sure enough when we passed through Owl’s house I saw a framed picture of Mr. Toad handing over the deed to Owl – what a great touch! I loved bouncing along with Tigger during parts of the ride!

By the time we left Winnie the Pooh, the lines in Fantasyland were starting to build up so we headed over to Liberty Square to ride one of mine and Todd’s favorite rides – the Haunted Mansion! DH and I both felt like the ride was much darker than it was on our last trip. On our last trip, the strings holding the instruments in the séance room were clearly visible but this time we had to really strain to see them.

When we walked out of Haunted Mansion we walked over to the kiosk near Country Bear Jamboree to get me a churro. For some reason during the last year, every dream I have had of being at the Magic Kingdom involved me eating a churro and walking through Frontierland. It was so exciting to finally be able to do it! The churro was fresh and still kinda gooey in the middle – YUM!

I ate my churro on the way to Splash Mountain where we waited for our Fastpass time. Our second ride was even more enjoyable than the first!

After we got off Splash Mountain we headed to Tomorrowland to get a Fastpass for Space Mountain. Our return time was about an hour and a half later so we decided to ride Carousel of Progress. COP was closed during our last trip so it was mine and Todd’s first time to ride it. I really enjoyed it. I think the concept of moving the audience around the stage is just brilliant. The fact that the little boy only aged 15 years over a century was really funny to me, but overall, I really enjoyed it!

DH suggested we do TTA after COP. There was next to no one on it so we hopped on and took a spin around Tomorrowland. It quickly became my favorite ride. It was so nice to be away from the crowds and my feet really appreciated the break. The view of Tomorrowland and the castle is beautiful. It was by far my favorite out of the rides I tried for the first time on this trip!

By the time we finished with TTA it was time for us to ride Space Mountain. While standing in the loading area I saw the meteors that are supposedly chocolate chip cookies projected on the ceiling. This took care of another task and I seriously thought about backing out. My first experience on Space Mountain was not a good one (it involved my screaming a long list of obscenities at the top of my lungs) but I decided to give it another try. It was MUCH more enjoyable this time. DH says I have become much more of a thrill seeker since our last trip and I guess I won’t argue

After riding Space Mountain we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest. On the way out, we stopped by the Expositional Hall so I could pick up a pin lanyard since I had managed to bring all of my pins but no lanyard. I also decided to buy two AP pins since I am so proud of the fact that DH and I have annual passes :P

By the time we made it back to the hotel it was about 2P. We grabbed lunch at the hotel (quesadillas and a cheeseburger which were both very good) and took a quick nap.

Up next: An Extra Special night at Epcot!

[mom2my4dwarfs]

Great start! Can't wait to read more.

[BritDisFan]

This is a great start to your report, you sound so happy to be there, I'm looking forward to more.

Karen

[karmic]

Valerie ,you are very speedy getting all this posted so soon. Great start to your adventures. Thanks

[buckysmom]

Wow, so much in your first day!
Sorry about the rocky trip day but sounds like you made up for it quickly.
Thanks for starting your TR so soon, can't wait to hear more!

[wdwlovers]

Great start Valerie! Glad to hear you got the rental car, but am looking forward to hearing about the adventures with it. Looks like a great day at MK! Can't wait to read more!

[DrDolphin]

Great start Valerie!! I can't wait to read more.

[Joy J]

Valerie, I'm totally loving your trip report! And I love the little tasks your DH has planned for you while on your trip - what a fun and magical idea! I can hardly wait for your next installment.

Joy