It’s a “Wonder” I survived Trip Report: Day 0 – Travel day & first night - The DIS Discussion Forums

Pinky166 · 10-09-2009, 04:00 PM

The cast:

Me – Disney obsessed, Shopaholic & extremely clumsy (more on that later).
Lee (DH) – aka the Mad Hatter….you’ll soon see why.

7th September 2009 = Day 0

I was amazed when I woke up and glanced at the clock it was 6am! I thought I had slept quite well until Lee moaned about how much I had been tossing and turning during the night.

We had no reason to rush this morning as our flight wasn’t until 12.45pm, so we stayed in bed half watching tv and half snoozing until 8am. We got showered, collected all our belongings and went back to the Garden restaurant for breakfast which was included in the price of the room. It was a buffet breakfast and was ok (well tbh it couldn’t have got much worse from dinner last night). I don’t normally eat much for breakfast so I just had an egg and two slices of bacon, Lee had eggs, bacon, sausages & beans, we both had a cup of tea.

After breakfast we walked over to the Terminal & went through security. We looked around the shops where I bought some perfume and Lee got some aftershave. I called my mum again to check the dogs had been ok during the night (they had) & to say goodbye, then I got a ham and cheese baguette and some crisps to take on the plane (I don’t like any of the food they serve and don’t even bother trying it anymore) along with a handful of magazines from WHSmith. We walked over to our gate (13) and sat reading for a short while before they began boarding.

We took off at 1.05pm, the flight was ok. I can’t remember what the films were other than the new Star Trek film, the rest were all pretty naff so I just listened to my ipod & read. Lee however loves the Star Trek film and watched it twice on the plane….more of that to come!
Lee had a seafood tagliatelle for dinner whilst I munched on my baguette – he was pretty annoyed at himself for turning down my repeated suggestions that he should get a sandwich at the airport as his dinner was horrid. Mind you he made up for it eating all the chocolate he bought at the airport. I can’t remember what was served later on (probably the usual selection of sandwiches) as neither of us had whatever it was.

I decided to feed my shopping habit and bought a watch from the inflight magazine

Gradually time ticked by and we eventually came into land, I think we were about 20 mins ahead of schedule at approx 5pm local time. We were off the plane fast and the first ones in the line for immigration, the guy we had was hilarious he was taking the mickey (no pun intended) out of me calling me bossy etc, between him and Lee they both teased me and I was bright red by the time we headed into the baggage area.

All three cases appeared very quick and we were soon headed to the Magical Express. We were directed straight out onto the bus, the only down side of getting through the airport so quick was we had to sit and wait for ages on the bus. It was here that we discovered my dopey husband had left his itouch on the plane!

I could have strangled him as I had asked him when we put our belongings back into the flight bag if he had packed his ipod away to which he replied “Yes dear”.

After about 30 minutes we were on our way, although there was only 17 people on the bus the driver informed us we were stopping at five resorts!!! Luckily it turned out that Old Key West was second.

We checked in and were given Studio number 1620, which was on the 2nd floor and about a 6/7 minute walk to Hospitality House, we were taken along with our luggage in a golf buggy. To be honest we weren’t overly impressed with the room, the layout was strange – it was a triangular shaped room (which doesn’t really show in the photos below) and it was just really grubby and old. The bathroom was really dirty and the carpet had a horrible sticky feel to it so we ended up using our crocs as slippers. The food options were very limited too, although not too much of a problem as you can jump on the boat (approx 20 min ride) to Downtown Disney. I liked the hotel grounds they were very pretty but it just didn’t feel like Disney at all. In hindsight when booking last year I should have chosen Saratoga Springs over the two but made a quick decision without researching it and booked immediately before hubby could change his mind. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t ruin our holiday or anything like that but we just wouldn’t go back. The only thing that drove me crazy for the 13 nights we were there was Lee’s constant complaining that they didn’t have a Hot Chocolate machine, he would moan about it every time we used our refillable mugs at the counter service place.

Anyway we decided to unpack before going to get some food. Luckily I had remembered the way the golf buggy had taken us so we headed towards Hospitality House when a not so magical moment happened……I slipped on the edge of the pathway and fell smack down face first on the concrete pavement. OUCH! Boy did it hurt!! For those of you that haven’t closely inspected the paths at OKW it is like poured concrete with hundreds of bits of broken shells poked into it – so as you can imagine it was very rough. Thankfully I still had my jeans on that I had travelled in, however I still cut both of my knees, quite badly on my left one, also both of my palms where I had attempted to stop myself. I was extremely lucky as although my face hit the floor I had broken my fall enough that I didn’t cut my chin and mouth. I was so embarrassed but luckily no one else was around, Lee helped me sit up and gave me a big cuddle as I was a big crying shaking mess. We sat there for a good five minutes as looking back now I was badly shaken up. Lee was making me laugh (after he knew I was ok) he said I looked like a break dancer doing the move they call the “worm”….so as you can imagine for the next three weeks, actually to this day he still chants "

Do the worm, Do the worm

”.

Anyway eventually Lee helped me up and although he wanted to take me back to the room I wanted something to eat – I was starving as I hadn’t eaten much at all since dinner the night before. I sat down at the garden (pub style) benches - as the counter service really is just that a counter outside with no seating other than approx five benches. Lee went over and ordered the food, we both had a cheeseburger with fries, coke and chocolate cake – we used 2 x counter service credits. The cheeseburger was just ok but neither of us liked the fries or chocolate cake so they all ended up in the bin. On the way back we popped in the shop as it would be rude not to.

I spent $150 on pins, magnets and a resort Christmas decoration…..good times! It was medicinal i'll have you know.

We hobbled back to the room and put some Savlon on my cuts. We were surprised that we had managed to stay awake until gone 11pm, normally we are crashed out by about 9pm at the latest. I was absolutely knackered but so excited to have arrived!

Coming soon – Day 1: Hollywood Studios, lunch at ESPN and “Dude, where’s my car????”

natalielongstaff · 10-10-2009, 01:58 AM

ouch

im glad you were ok, naught Lee for taking the mick !!!

jjk · 10-10-2009, 02:42 AM

ouch Claire, that sounded painful

glad you managed to fit in some retail therapy though x

jockey · 10-10-2009, 03:16 AM

Glad you were ok after your fall

saratogagirl · 10-10-2009, 03:52 AM

Ouch Claire!! I bet the retail therapy made you feel so much better x

jamjar84 · 10-10-2009, 04:15 AM

Ouch @ the fall.

Nice watch that you got on the flight.

Did you get the ipod back?

craigs bride · 10-10-2009, 04:24 AM

glad you were ok .the shopping must have helped lol.

CustardTart · 10-10-2009, 05:21 AM

Awww, Claire!

What a horrid start to your trip!!! Did Lee ever get his iPod touch back? The wait on the ME isn't much fun either - esp when you're the last resort on the list...

Sorry OKW was a disappointment - I hope it didn't detract from the rest of your hols, hun... As for falling over - thank goodness you were wearing jeans!!! Glad the trip to the shop helped...

suzycute · 10-10-2009, 06:03 AM

Your fall sounded painful - glad you were OK - shopping is always a good medicine!

Pinky166 · 10-10-2009, 06:17 AM

Thanks for reading everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamjar84

Ouch @ the fall.

Nice watch that you got on the flight.

Did you get the ipod back?

Nope!

We rang Virgin and after about 10 minutes of being put through to different people we ended up at baggage claim as that is apparently where the stuff ends up. They however hadn't had anything handed in but have sent me an email to confirm so i've got to do an insurance claim.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CustardTart

Awww, Claire!

What a horrid start to your trip!!! Did Lee ever get his iPod touch back? The wait on the ME isn't much fun either - esp when you're the last resort on the list...

Sorry OKW was a disappointment - I hope it didn't detract from the rest of your hols, hun... As for falling over - thank goodness you were wearing jeans!!! Glad the trip to the shop helped...

OKW didn't detract from the holiday but we would never stay at that resort again.

I was so pleased that I kept my jeans on as I almost changed into shorts as I was hot but thankfully I couldn't be bothered.

mandymouse · 10-10-2009, 06:45 AM

Lovely watch Claire, it's just the kind of one that I would choose. We felt the same way about the Caribbean Beach Resort last Summer when we got the free dining, it just didn't feel Disneyfied (that's why I'm always very happy to go back to the Pop Century

)

Sorry to hear about your fall, but I'm sure your retail therapy took your mind off it

I look forward to your next installment

Pinky166 · 10-10-2009, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandymouse

Lovely watch Claire, it's just the kind of one that I would choose. We felt the same way about the Caribbean Beach Resort last Summer when we got the free dining, it just didn't feel Disneyfied (that's why I'm always very happy to go back to the Pop Century

)

Sorry to hear about your fall, but I'm sure your retail therapy took your mind off it

I look forward to your next installment

Thanks hun, the watch is called Hidden Hearts if you look at the pattern of the strap it is intertwined hearts.

A bit of shopping always helps doesn't it.

buzz for boys · 10-10-2009, 07:31 AM

your fall sounds painful !! Cant believe noone handed in your Ipod
Looking forward to the next installment x

irongirlof12 · 10-10-2009, 11:10 AM

oh you poor thing, that fall sounds quite nasty ( but anyway ...do the worm do the worm

)

Pegasus928 · 10-10-2009, 12:37 PM

Glad you never fell on your face or that would have been extra painful.

Looking forward to the next report

10-09-2009, 04:00 PM	#1
Pinky166 a little on the OCD side very impulsive, which doesn’t bode well for our credit cards! They don't call me "Clever Claire" for nothing! Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Herts, England Posts: 13,893	It’s a “Wonder” I survived Trip Report: Day 0 – Travel day & first night The cast: Me – Disney obsessed, Shopaholic & extremely clumsy (more on that later). Lee (DH) – aka the Mad Hatter….you’ll soon see why. 7th September 2009 = Day 0 I was amazed when I woke up and glanced at the clock it was 6am! I thought I had slept quite well until Lee moaned about how much I had been tossing and turning during the night. We had no reason to rush this morning as our flight wasn’t until 12.45pm, so we stayed in bed half watching tv and half snoozing until 8am. We got showered, collected all our belongings and went back to the Garden restaurant for breakfast which was included in the price of the room. It was a buffet breakfast and was ok (well tbh it couldn’t have got much worse from dinner last night). I don’t normally eat much for breakfast so I just had an egg and two slices of bacon, Lee had eggs, bacon, sausages & beans, we both had a cup of tea. After breakfast we walked over to the Terminal & went through security. We looked around the shops where I bought some perfume and Lee got some aftershave. I called my mum again to check the dogs had been ok during the night (they had) & to say goodbye, then I got a ham and cheese baguette and some crisps to take on the plane (I don’t like any of the food they serve and don’t even bother trying it anymore) along with a handful of magazines from WHSmith. We walked over to our gate (13) and sat reading for a short while before they began boarding. We took off at 1.05pm, the flight was ok. I can’t remember what the films were other than the new Star Trek film, the rest were all pretty naff so I just listened to my ipod & read. Lee however loves the Star Trek film and watched it twice on the plane….more of that to come! Lee had a seafood tagliatelle for dinner whilst I munched on my baguette – he was pretty annoyed at himself for turning down my repeated suggestions that he should get a sandwich at the airport as his dinner was horrid. Mind you he made up for it eating all the chocolate he bought at the airport. I can’t remember what was served later on (probably the usual selection of sandwiches) as neither of us had whatever it was. I decided to feed my shopping habit and bought a watch from the inflight magazine Gradually time ticked by and we eventually came into land, I think we were about 20 mins ahead of schedule at approx 5pm local time. We were off the plane fast and the first ones in the line for immigration, the guy we had was hilarious he was taking the mickey (no pun intended) out of me calling me bossy etc, between him and Lee they both teased me and I was bright red by the time we headed into the baggage area. All three cases appeared very quick and we were soon headed to the Magical Express. We were directed straight out onto the bus, the only down side of getting through the airport so quick was we had to sit and wait for ages on the bus. It was here that we discovered my dopey husband had left his itouch on the plane! I could have strangled him as I had asked him when we put our belongings back into the flight bag if he had packed his ipod away to which he replied “Yes dear”. After about 30 minutes we were on our way, although there was only 17 people on the bus the driver informed us we were stopping at five resorts!!! Luckily it turned out that Old Key West was second. We checked in and were given Studio number 1620, which was on the 2nd floor and about a 6/7 minute walk to Hospitality House, we were taken along with our luggage in a golf buggy. To be honest we weren’t overly impressed with the room, the layout was strange – it was a triangular shaped room (which doesn’t really show in the photos below) and it was just really grubby and old. The bathroom was really dirty and the carpet had a horrible sticky feel to it so we ended up using our crocs as slippers. The food options were very limited too, although not too much of a problem as you can jump on the boat (approx 20 min ride) to Downtown Disney. I liked the hotel grounds they were very pretty but it just didn’t feel like Disney at all. In hindsight when booking last year I should have chosen Saratoga Springs over the two but made a quick decision without researching it and booked immediately before hubby could change his mind. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t ruin our holiday or anything like that but we just wouldn’t go back. The only thing that drove me crazy for the 13 nights we were there was Lee’s constant complaining that they didn’t have a Hot Chocolate machine, he would moan about it every time we used our refillable mugs at the counter service place. Anyway we decided to unpack before going to get some food. Luckily I had remembered the way the golf buggy had taken us so we headed towards Hospitality House when a not so magical moment happened……I slipped on the edge of the pathway and fell smack down face first on the concrete pavement. OUCH! Boy did it hurt!! For those of you that haven’t closely inspected the paths at OKW it is like poured concrete with hundreds of bits of broken shells poked into it – so as you can imagine it was very rough. Thankfully I still had my jeans on that I had travelled in, however I still cut both of my knees, quite badly on my left one, also both of my palms where I had attempted to stop myself. I was extremely lucky as although my face hit the floor I had broken my fall enough that I didn’t cut my chin and mouth. I was so embarrassed but luckily no one else was around, Lee helped me sit up and gave me a big cuddle as I was a big crying shaking mess. We sat there for a good five minutes as looking back now I was badly shaken up. Lee was making me laugh (after he knew I was ok) he said I looked like a break dancer doing the move they call the “worm”….so as you can imagine for the next three weeks, actually to this day he still chants " Do the worm, Do the worm ”. Anyway eventually Lee helped me up and although he wanted to take me back to the room I wanted something to eat – I was starving as I hadn’t eaten much at all since dinner the night before. I sat down at the garden (pub style) benches - as the counter service really is just that a counter outside with no seating other than approx five benches. Lee went over and ordered the food, we both had a cheeseburger with fries, coke and chocolate cake – we used 2 x counter service credits. The cheeseburger was just ok but neither of us liked the fries or chocolate cake so they all ended up in the bin. On the way back we popped in the shop as it would be rude not to. I spent $150 on pins, magnets and a resort Christmas decoration…..good times! It was medicinal i'll have you know. We hobbled back to the room and put some Savlon on my cuts. We were surprised that we had managed to stay awake until gone 11pm, normally we are crashed out by about 9pm at the latest. I was absolutely knackered but so excited to have arrived! Coming soon – Day 1: Hollywood Studios, lunch at ESPN and “Dude, where’s my car????” __________________ Claire Sept 2000 - I-Drive, Sept 2002 - Kissimmee, Sept 2003 - AKL, Sept/Oct 2006 - Univ PBR, June 2008 - DLRP, Hotel NY, Dec 2008 - Univ HRH, WL & YC, Sept 2009 - OKW, 4n Wonder & Poly, June 2010 - BLT, Nov 2010 - DLRP, Sequoia Lodge, Jan 2011 - Univ RPR, Dream Maiden Voyage & AKV, Sept 2011 - WBTA & BLT, Oct 2012 - Paris & DLRP, June 2013 - 7n Med Cruise, Oct 2013 - Univ RPR, SSR, & Fantasy, May 2014 - EBTA, Sept 2014 - WBTA Last edited by Pinky166; 10-10-2009 at 01:50 AM.

10-10-2009, 01:58 AM	#2
natalielongstaff I need a cup of tea and a big bar of free chocolate now Was born with my dancing shoes at the ready I will be back later to stalk some more Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: leicestershire,england Posts: 80,413	ouch im glad you were ok, naught Lee for taking the mick !!! __________________ April 2003 DLRP, November 2004 WDW and Barbados, September 2005 WDW, September 2007 WDW,October 2009 WDW

10-10-2009, 02:42 AM	#3
jjk Pete and I wait and watch some lovely baby lizards I have always booked myself "Play Up Pompey" Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading UK Posts: 21,326	ouch Claire, that sounded painful glad you managed to fit in some retail therapy though x __________________ Rachel "Play up Pompey, Pompey Play up" Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter 2000 Disneyland paris 2003 Ramada inn 2004 Quality inn plaza2005 Cumbrian lakes2006 Emerald Island July and December2007 Emerald Island May and July2008 Emerald Island and Contemporary Resort2009 Saratoga Springs 2010 Animal Kingdom lodge2011HRH Animal KingdomLodge 2012Holiday inn Miami ocean front /Animal Kingdom lodge

10-10-2009, 03:52 AM	#5
saratogagirl I need books, and wine and Ian in order to survive I couldnt wipe bottoms of strangers I am strangely refreshed this morning ... and I am off to the butchers soon Join Date: May 2006 Location: south wales Posts: 6,358	Ouch Claire!! I bet the retail therapy made you feel so much better x __________________

10-10-2009, 04:24 AM	#7
craigs bride DIS Veteran Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eastleigh/Southampton Posts: 1,159	glad you were ok .the shopping must have helped lol. __________________ I can be your tinkerbell and you can be my peter pan and we can run away together off to never never land2009

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10-10-2009, 03:16 AM	#4
jockey Repeat after me....I LOVE CROC's, I LOVE CROC's, I LOVE CROC's!!!!!! Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: N.Ireland Posts: 7,267	Glad you were ok after your fall

10-10-2009, 04:15 AM	#6
jamjar84 DIS Veteran Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 706	Ouch @ the fall. Nice watch that you got on the flight. Did you get the ipod back?

10-10-2009, 05:21 AM	#8
CustardTart I am sooo proud, happy, relieved and impressed - it's a great day... Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: South West London... Posts: 15,478	Awww, Claire! What a horrid start to your trip!!! Did Lee ever get his iPod touch back? The wait on the ME isn't much fun either - esp when you're the last resort on the list... Sorry OKW was a disappointment - I hope it didn't detract from the rest of your hols, hun... As for falling over - thank goodness you were wearing jeans!!! Glad the trip to the shop helped... __________________ Grand Floridian Resort & Spa - Christmas 1998 * Dolphin/Vero Beach - Easter 2000 * Polynesian - August 2001 * Grand Floridian Resort & Spa - August 2004 * Beach Club/DCL Wonder - May 2005 * Grand Californian Hotel - NYE 2005 * Polynesian - August 2006 * DCL Magic Western Caribbean - September 2007 * Yacht Club - October 2007 * Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa - December 2007 * Villas at Wilderness Lodge/DCL Wonder Double Dip - May 2008 * DCL Magic Mexican Riviera/Disneyland Hotel - August 2008 * Boardwalk Villas - October 2008 * Animal Kingdom Villas/Hard Rock Hotel Club - Easter 2009 * Bay Lake Tower/DCL Magic Eastern Caribbean & Tortola/Villas at Wilderness Lodge - September 2009 * Bay Lake Tower - June 2010 * DCL Magic Westbound Transatlantic - September 2010 * Old Key West - October 2010 * Sequoia Lodge/Paris - November 2010 * Boardwalk Villas/DCL Dream Inaugural Cruise - January 2011 * Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa/Villas at Wilderness Lodge - November 2011 * Animal Kingdom Villas/DCL Fantasy Western Caribbean - November 2012...

10-10-2009, 06:03 AM	#9
suzycute DIS Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: England Posts: 1,429	Your fall sounded painful - glad you were OK - shopping is always a good medicine! __________________

10-10-2009, 06:45 AM	#11
mandymouse If It's Not A Bahama Mama Then I'm Not Interested Can I put my Christmas Tree up yet ? Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Nuneaton U.K. Posts: 71,911	Lovely watch Claire, it's just the kind of one that I would choose. We felt the same way about the Caribbean Beach Resort last Summer when we got the free dining, it just didn't feel Disneyfied (that's why I'm always very happy to go back to the Pop Century ) Sorry to hear about your fall, but I'm sure your retail therapy took your mind off it I look forward to your next installment __________________ Mandy xx

10-10-2009, 07:31 AM	#13
buzz for boys Certified Serious Stitch Stalker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: midlands UK Posts: 2,484	your fall sounds painful !! Cant believe noone handed in your Ipod Looking forward to the next installment x __________________ Our trip report march 2009 here 3 weeks Nov/Dec 2010 Here

10-10-2009, 11:10 AM	#14
irongirlof12 Am I the only one who loves Quorn Sausages? I would love to be at Ghiradelli's ice cream parlour with a massive choc sundae Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK. Posts: 5,497	oh you poor thing, that fall sounds quite nasty ( but anyway ...do the worm do the worm ) __________________ Andrea xxx 1994:Grosvenor 1996:POFQ 2002: Comfort Inn LBV 2007: CSR 2009:OKW 2011:POFQ&Dream HNY DLP 2012

10-10-2009, 12:37 PM	#15
Pegasus928 DIS Veteran Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Grimsby, Lincolnshire Posts: 4,303	Glad you never fell on your face or that would have been extra painful. Looking forward to the next report __________________ Check out our 2009 music video HERE Our 2005 Florida Music Video HERE Our Halloween 2009 Trip Report with lots of pictures HERE

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