Disneymom9092 and family-day 1at WDW-updated 9/17/05 About This Page:

[disneymom9092]

Well this is certainly long over due. Better late than never I say.

Travelers: Me-Dianne (disneymom9092) age 47-how did that happen????
DH- Tom age 52 (as of last week and he will kill me as he was 51 on the trip)
DS#1-Andrew age 14 (15 in 3 weeks)
DS#2-Matthew age 13 (12 on the trip)
Resort-Contemporary tower-facing MK-2 weeks
Reason for trip-We needed it!


This was a much needed trip for us. It was a very “bad” year as years go with so many stresses. We usually go twice a year (also go to Spring Training every March at stay at a DVC resort). However this year we didn’t go in March and believe me, DS’s never let me live it down. Andrew was starting high school with all honors classes and two sophomore honors classes as a freshman (Biology and Geometry) and Matt was starting junior high so we felt it best not to take them out of school for a week. We decided to use our DVC points at the Contemporary for 2 weeks as a consolation but a small one.

We left on Friday July 29th after lunch. We were booked on the Auto Train from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL. For those of you who have never heard of this, it is a terrific way to travel. (More on this later) We were planning on driving as far as South Jersey (exit 4 on the Turnpike) and staying overnight and visiting Tom’s dad who lives near there. The weather was warm and sunny and the boys were excited. We had bought them a new DVD player for the trip. The old one had a very small 5 inch screen and this one had 2 screens that are 8 inches each and hook on the back of the head rests. Plus they have headphone jacks so we could have a little quiet. They also brought Game Cube and the screen to play their video games, and their PSP’s so we were all set. I had to bring Matt’s laptop so I could keep up with Passporter while there!

Leaving at this time of day was a first for us and definitely an advantage. We made it through White Plains and over the Tapanzee Bridge with very little traffic and even the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike were not that crowded. We arrived at the Marriot hotel at about 4 pm. Tom and the boys went to workout in the weight room and to take a swim. I stayed in the room and of course took advantage of the free internet! We had plans to just sort of unwind and meet Tom’s dad at the Bob Evans restaurant across the street. This is always a special treat for us as there isn’t any near us. I had printed off the “points” from the Weight Watcher web site so I was all prepared. The food there is always so good. Dinner was terrific as usual and it was so good to see Tom’s father. We will see him on the return trip as well and we will have more time for a visit then. After returning to the room, we watched a movie. We had brought “Vacation” with us and hooked up the DVD player to the TV. That movie is always a “must” for us when we go to WDW. The boys think Chevy Chase is hysterical (Tom I think has a big crush on Beverly D’Angelo), and they love the idea of “Wally World” and Marty Moose!!

After a good night sleep (boy-the mattresses here are so comfortable) we got up at 7 am to get showered and ready. Andrew had been laying on his stomach playing a basketball game on his PSP. He got up to shower and said “Mom-I think I need to have my eyes checked when we get home”. He just had an exam (he wears contacts) and I asked “Why?”. He said “I am seeing double”. GREAT! OK-now the warning bells go off-can’t leave the nurse at home! He laid back down, closed his eyes, but the double vision continued. Now what to do. Do we wait and see what happens? (I really thought it was because he had that darn game so close to his face, but you never know). Do we go to an Emergency Room there before the trip, or do we drive to Virginia (and try to get through the beltway around DC before the traffic gets too unbearable) and see someone there? Being the worrywart that I am, we got ready and drove to the nearest hospital. Andrew’s eyes were improving at this point-only going double after staring at something for a while. We walked to the Emergency Room (no mention of names here folks), and were directed to the triage nurse area. She obviously had NO concept of how to use the computer and was very slowly trying to enter Andrew’s name into the computer all the while talking to herself. She even answered herself too! Now mind you, I talk to myself also but hopefully not when I have a patient! I was beginning to really doubt the decision to come here when a middle-aged gentleman came in and said “My wife needs help-she is going to pass out”. Well, I have enough nursing experience (26 years worth) to know that this woman definitely had something wrong with her. Our nurse yelled into the back very slowly (say the following conversation very slowly to yourself guys to get the full effect here...) “Judith-someone needs a wheelchair” Judith: “Huh?”. Our nurse: “Judith-can you bring out a wheelchair”. Judith: “What?”. Judy then appears in the doorway. Our nurse: “Can you get a wheelchair-someone needs one”. Judy: “I’ll try to find one”. I ran out into the waiting area and pulled up a chair and had the woman sit down before she collapsed. OK-I probably had no right but I couldn’t take it anymore. I looked at Tom and said “Do you feel comfortable here?” He said “Huh?” and I smacked him on the arm. They had an eye chart and I said to our nurse “I think Andrew is OK and you are obviously busy and have someone who needs more help than us” Andrew did the eye test-20/20 and he said no more double vision. I said “Thank you anyway” and off we went! Oh my word!-It would have been comical on a sitcom but very sad in real life. I still wonder if that poor lady was alright.

So Tom was ready for coffee at that point, and we turned into Starbucks for breakfast. I had tea, Tom had a LARGE coffee and the boys had orange juice and muffins. We got on the road about 45 minutes later than we had hoped but certainly not bad considering. We got on the Turnpike, went about ½ mile and then we were at a dead stop. At this area of the Turnpike, the exits are further apart so there wasn’t anywhere to go. Very slowly we inched along and 45 minutes later we discovered why. With many fire trucks, tow trucks and police cars, we say a very large RV totally upside down on the cement barrier that separate northbound and southbound traffic. It was obviously crushed and the truck that must have been pulling it was on one of the tow trucks. Thankfully from what we could tell, no one was hurt as there were people walking around, obviously shaken up but they appeared to fine physically. Boy were they lucky. This must have effected a lot as even the attendant at the Amtrak station had heard about it.

So-now we were on our way finally-even though 1 1/2 hours behind schedule. Oh well-can’t do anything about it. We hit the usual bumper to bumper traffic around Washington DC, but that is always expected. We arrived at the Amtrak Auto Train station with 30 minutes to spare. We
checked in, got our room assignments and waited the 10 minutes until boarding......

Coming up next: The Amtrak Auto Train

[goofy4goofy]

Great start! Love it!!!

Kelly

[DrDolphin]

Wow - what a start!!! I hope things relaxed after you got on the train.

[Tara O'Hara]

Great start, Dianne!! Sorry about Andrew, but glad that he was okay!

[jakenjess]

Exciting start to your trip! I hope everything goes smoothly for you from here.

We always watch "Vacation" before a trip. We've seen it so many times I think DH and I could practically quote the whole movie!!

Looking forward to more!

[SHEANA1226]

Great start Dianne! I can't wait for the rest!!!!

[lauren-roxy]

Great start Dianne!! Hope Andrew's eyes are better. Can't wait for the next installment!!

[luvnwdwgal]

Great start Dianne! So glad that Andrew's eyesight improved. Looking forward to your comments about the CR Tower, as we plan on staying there next year for our 25th wedding annversary.

[Tink and co.]

Great start! Can't wait to hear about the auto train. It sounds so interesting!

[lonereb]

Good TR so far. Looking forward to more.

[Wild4Diz]

Great start. Can't wait to read more.

[storm1]

I'm glad Andrew's eyes are doing better. Hope you guys had a better trip once you got to the train!

[ecmiller]

Wow Dianne, you were in my neck of the woods. I live between exits 2 and 1 of the NJ TPKE. There are always nasty accidents there. I am anxiously waiting for your report on the Auto Train-we are thinking about doing this next year when we go to Disney.
Eileen in South Jersey

[Cam22]

Wonderful report! I can't wait to hear about the Amtrak Auto Train. We have taken 3 Amtrak train trips and loved every one of them.

[Colexis Mom]

Yeah Dianne, I was wondering if you were going to write

I'm sorry your DS had double vision Glad he seems to be okay, and you've caught the train! More please