The Gregg Girl Getaway - Dec 7 cruise

[Disney Woman]

Cast:

Courtney, 24 Disney Addict and Planner Extraordinaire
Heather, 24 Along for the ride, because I needed someone to go with me

(Disclaimer: Heather is not a big whiny poopyhead, I just might portray her as such. She and I had a great time)


"Courtney, now that you've got a great job that pays a billion dollars a week, what are you going to do?"

"I'M GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!!!!"

In March, I began thinking about a trip to the fabled Mecca of all Disney freaks, er, I mean enthusiasts; WALT DISNEY WORLD! I was originally going to take Whitney, but with her going off to college (sniff, sniff, my baby's all grown up), she could not plan that far in advance. So Heather started pointing out ever so delicately that I never took her anywhere, seeing as how I had gone on 3 trips to Disneyland and had taken and paid for Whitney.

Well, that started it. In March, I made tentative reservations for an 8-day stay at All Star Movies. Then, thinking about it, and the fact that I would probably not be in Florida again anytime soon, I added a 3-day cruise on the Disney Wonder! I was taking Heather, my twin sister, since Whitney (my little sister) had accompanied me all the times to Disneyland previously.

Wow, a total of 12 vacation days! I have never been on a vacation for that long in my life! And I was planning it all by myself! Heather is not the Disney freak that I am (I don't think anyone is), so it was up to me to find out all I could about this trip. Seeing as this would cost approximately half of Heather's annual salary, I wanted to make sure I got my money's worth!

So, here is the report for this 12-day odyssey! (The cruise trip report can be found on that respective board.)


We had the strangest TTC driver. Mike Gibson looked like he should driving the Sopranos in NY, not tourists in Florida. Also, he talked the entire way about the huge tips he's gotten, from all sorts of characters! Let's see, from my calculations, he had made more than my sister made all year from just 3 tips! We decided he was not familiar with the land of reality, and gave him $10 for a tip.

We arrived at the All Star Movies on 12-10 at around 9:15am. The bags go straight from the town car to the Luggage Services, to be delivered directly to our room when it is determined. I waited in line to check in, while Heather went and watched the Disney movie playing in the mini-theater in the lobby. This will form a pattern, as I am the one who handles all problems, reservations, inquiries, while H goes and sits on a bench. Hey, let the fat kid sit down once in a while!

We are in the Toy Story Section, on the 3rd floor, not near the elevators, but by the stairs (grumble), but it could have been worse; we could have been in The Love Bug Section! Our room will be ready by 4, and to call from any phone around 2:30pm to get the room #.

We brought a backpack to pack with all the park essentials, soda, snacks, ponchos, maps, etc. We never even opened that backpack. Heather had her bag that she bought in Nassau, slung across her body, and I had my survival waist pack, with 2 big pouches, 2 mesh smaller pockets, a water bottle holder, and 2 small side pockets. That was enough for everything I needed, except for extra soda.

So, after checking in, we head off to Animal Kingdom. We arrive around 10, and did the Safari (great), Jungle Trek (ok), TTBAB (awesome - love the tree of life!), and Kali River Rapids (disappointing). Had lunch at Rainforest Café with a portion of the $125 in Gift Certificates I earned online at Freeride and MyPoints.

We look around the store after lunch, but don't see anything we like yet. It's about 2:30, and we're pretty much done with AK (not knowing we missed Dinosaur), so we head back to see if our room is ready. Hooray, it is! Room 0956 in Toy Story bldg is a great spot; the only improvement is if it had been on the first floor instead of the 3rd. Oh, well, great view into Andy's Room at the end of the building.

We hit the sack for a few hours, and then wake up around 6 to go to Downtown Disney. We kind of skipped dinner, as we were still full from the large portions at Rainforest. We shopped in the Marketplace, getting some small things here and there, until we found the big'un, the shrine to Disney consumerism - THE WORLD OF DISNEY!! I was in heaven! We were lost in there for a good 2 hours, me grabbing everything in sight, Herher with her pencil and postcard. We finally go to the cash register, and I have everything shipped home. That, along with my 10% MKC discount, is actually $15 cheaper than paying sales tax for it.

Well, we ran into a little problem. Heather had just bought $40 of stuff, and put it on our KTTW (Key to the World). My total was about $700, and when they tried to ring it through, it came up as rejected. Well, after about ½ hour of confusion, they tell us that there is a $500 limit on our charge privileges on the room charge card. Smart me, my actual credit card with the $2,000 limit is locked up in the safe in the room. We have to pay cash to get it under $450 (my charge + Heather's $40). We find out later that every time our room charges total $500, we have to call the resort to have them post the balance to my credit card. Make sense? They don't want people running up huge room charges, and then have no means of paying. A good idea, but rather inconvenient for me, the shopaholic.

So, we finally get back to the room, $750 lighter, but with nothing to show for it. When we got back to the room, there were bunches of balloons with autographed photos of the characters waiting for each of us! I told them when we checked in that Heather and I were celebrating our birthday. Hey, I didn't say it WAS our birthday, I just said we were celebrating it! We went to bed at 11, and got ready for our next fun filled day at Magic Kingdom!

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

We get up around 9:30, thus blowing one of my many early entry plans, and arrived at the park around 10:15. We did Small World first, then Haunted Mansion, Tiki Room, Pirates, and Fastpassed Pooh. Somewhere in there we also did the Country Bear Christmas Jamboree. We then headed over to our PS for Cindy's Royal Table lunch in the castle. It was pretty good, both having the Major Domo's meat pie thing. I got an Orange Cream Smoothie, in a souvenir glass mug, which I returned to pick up later. We then headed over to Tomorrowland, where we first went on the nostalgic TTA (Peoplemover for all you West Coasters), then finished with Space Mountain. It was raining lightly when we left MK, but not enough to worry about. When we arrived at ASMo, though, I thought we were going to get washed away! It was raining so hard that we watched it from the safety of our balcony. That's a whole lot of rain, Uncle Ed! (Homage to a Little Caesar's Pizza commercial). So, after seeing Noah's ark float by, we decided that it was a good night to stay in. It was fun

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

We had plans, and we actually stuck to them! We arrived at MGM Studios around opening, and headed directly to the Hollywood & Vine Character Breakfast @ 9am. It was cute, the food was passable, but what made it really good was 2 things: 1, Goofy was wearing a zoot suit, and 2, we had frozen yogurt for breakfast! Let me elaborate on the yogurt part. I saw a young girl about 7, sitting next to us with her granddad. Apparently, since she was with Gramps, anything goes for breakfast! She had a bowl filled with Fruit Loops, then covered in chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt, then topped with every topping they had, from Oreo crumbs to Red Hots. Heather and I were laughing so hard, imagining the conversation:

"Grandpa, can I have ANYTHING for breakfast?"

"Sure, honey, you go right ahead!"

"Ok, I'm just going to put EVERYTHING in this bowl, then I'll get sick all over you later, is that a plan or what?!"

"Sure, pumpkin, you know Grandpa will give you anything!"

We called it her "Bowl of Sick". After seeing her consume the entire bowl with no ill effects, we became jealous. Here we were, in radius of a sweet smorgasbord, no parental supervision (We don't count, we're not grownups, never gonna be!)and we were having eggs and toast for breakfast??? Ok, so we made our own "Bag of Sick"! Yes, everything that little girl had in that bowl (minus the yogurt), we put in a snack size Ziploc. It's portable too! Oh, lord, we ate out of that thing for the next 6 days, and still couldn't eat what that little girl had eaten in ONE SITTING! She was a pro, we were out of practice.

So, after breakfast, we headed over to Rock n' Roller Coaster. I know, great idea, huh? We got Fastpasses for that, and headed right next door to the Tower of Terror. We must be brainiacs, huh? Well, we loved them both! We must have gone on them 3 times each, with no more than a 5-minute wait. It started to rain, so we ducked into Beauty and the Beast show. Well, maybe it was because I was still on a high from the fast rides, but we left about halfway through (don't worry, we were in the back anyway, so we didn't block anyone's view). It just didn't appeal to me.

Ok, it's really raining now, so Heather pulls out her umbrella from the Dollar Store (hey, don't laugh, it worked really well!), and I pulled out my 99 cent poncho, which also worked quite well. We headed to the Great Movie Ride, which, at 15 minutes, had the longest wait so far. No problem, lots of movies to watch while waiting. It was ok, but nothing to repeat over and over.

We weren't hungry for our PS at 50's Prime Time at 1, so we skipped it, and walked in with no wait at 2:30. Our waitress was a hoot, it was the first time Heather really showed signs of liking the Disney Magic. Did Mermaid, and other rides, and tried to get into Osborne lights, but we just got sick of waiting for the preshow to end. Headed over to Fantasmic, but by the time we got up to the top of that long walk, it was standing room only. We (me, mostly) were not in the mood to sardine ourselves in, stand for 30 minutes on feet that were already too painful to stand on, and then try to squeeze out with 8,000 other people. So, I said we would try back another night, but we never made it back. I've seen it in California, but Heather hadn't. Sorry, Heather! Hey, that's a great excuse to take her to DL!

Got home early again, and went to Downtown Disney to make a very special purchase - a huge Winnie the Pooh for Heather! She was very excited about her purchase, and slept with him the rest of the trip. We also stopped at Disney Quest, but by the time we got there, the Cheesecake Factory had closed, thus negating the reason we wanted to stop there - to eat with our free GC's earned online! But, the coffee / dessert counter was open, so we had a healthy dinner of Tiramisu and some sort of other dessert.

We then went to Cyber Space Mountain, and designed a level 4 coaster. The Cast Member was very nice, and as we were talking, we boarded the simulator. He explained about the seats, made for NASA astronauts to practice in. As he was strapping us in, we encountered a problem. Heather, being petite, had no problem getting strapped in. I, on the other hand, was having a problem getting the over-shoulder restraint to lock. It seemed as though my chest area was, um, er, too big to fit under, over or through the "U" shaped restraint. I remarked to my sister what the problem was, in rather frank language, and she replied, "Can't you shmoosh them in there?" I told her I already was trying, and the CM almost fell into the simulator with us, he was laughing so hard! Heather is always giving me a hard time about this particular fact, but hey, she shouldn't be talking! Needless to say, I got out and watched on a monitor the ride Heather was taking, along with a shot of her face from inside the simulator. She had a blast, so I would recommend it to everyone, except those who are, um, have a very motherly bosom. (was that PG enough?) We went home, with Pooh, and collapsed into bed around 12.

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

Wow, today's a big day! We have a lot of plans today that can't be skipped, as they are already paid for! We started at the only water park open, Blizzard Beach around 10:30am. We marveled at the size of the refillable mug there (huge), opted not to get it (I had used mine at the resort a total of 1 time the entire stay), grabbed some chairs, and headed to the top, to do the second biggest slide. We both decided the tallest slide, which propels you at 60 miles an hour down 165 feet, was, um, uh, reserved for.. visiting seals! Yeah, that's it, that's why we didn't go on that one. Not because we were scared, no way!

We did the 2nd biggest, and that one mega-wedgie was plenty for me. We floated around the park once, then jumped on the family raft. Now, that was fun! As Heather did the wedgie slide again, I went on the twisty mat slide. Ok, ok, so the other riders were 5, but I thought it was just my speed! We went in the wave pool, but Herher didn't like it, she said it was boring. So she laid out (the pinnacle of thrill), and I drifted around the park some more.

We had lunch at the water park (ok, nothing special, but boy, was it expensive!), and hung out for a little while.

Around this time, we realized we needed to get going for our 3:30pm reservation for water-skiing at the Contemporary Resort. Well, after my banana boat ride on Castaway Cay (see cruise trip report), and my realization that I am afraid of open water, I didn't think I was going to participate. I had originally booked this for Heather anyways, because she had gone to Mexico previously, and fell in love with it. So, this was her treat from me anyway. She started teasing me a little too much about not going (a common occurrence) and I had to tell her, "Hey, this means YOU can have the whole hour to yourself, OK?!!" Well, she chilled on the pressure after that, and we went out to the bus stop at Blizzard Beach around 2:15.

Boy, the one time we actually need to be somewhere at a specific time is the one time it takes the busses FOREVER to show up! We got to the dock of the Contemporary with 2 minutes to spare. Now, the only reason I was stressing about making this was that the reservation had a credit card deposit on it. If we didn't get there, we'd be charged anyway. But, it worked out ok.

We had 2 guys driving our small, fast boat. One was training the other. They gave me a little ribbing about being scared, but after my look, they quit. We went our fast, and I was loving the boat ride. Heather started getting ready for her skiing, and casually asked about any alligators in the lake. Well, the look the guys gave her was almost enough for her to jump out of the water!

"Um, normally, at this time of year, we don't have much of a problem with them. They are out here, though."

They weren't kidding, either. She really didn't like the idea of a gator biting her in the bum, but she REALLY wanted to go, so she put it out of her mind. The water was ok, and she made it up on the first try, and had beautiful form for about 15 minutes. Then, after getting back to the boat, she told us she needed to rest. Water-skiing is very taxing on the muscles, and we weren't doing so hot by this time, from all the walking around the parks.

Captain Cute suggested an inner tube-type thing, and she agreed she wanted to try it. It was almost like a raft, about 4 feet wide, and 4 feet long, with a rounded edge and handles embedded all around the leading edge. Her instructions? Hold on anywhere.

For the next ½ hour, I don't think she stopped laughing once. That thing could do anything, go in and out of the wake, go airborne, turn around backwards, and Heather held on like it was the last pair of shoes at a Payless sale. She almost wet over, but pulled herself back on from the side. Skipper Saucy admitted they were trying to knock her off, but to no avail. They would do this trick, slow down and circle the boat around her. Then they would straighten out and gun it, making Heather literally go flying. The little raft would get pulled sideways through the wake, launching it at least 3 feet in the air. And still, Heather hung on!

I finally decided I wanted to try this. We had about 10 minutes left, and I left them with very specific instructions:

"Go straight and slow, no turns, and no funny stuff, or I will hurl all over you upon my return to the boat!"

They agreed, with small smirks on their faces. They kept their word, and it was the most fun I had had in a long time! We pulled back in, and thanked them profusely. Even if one person goes water-skiing, the boat is small enough and maneuverable enough, that the ride itself is quite exciting!

We took the monorail around 1.5 times to the MK, and noticed a peculiar horse manure smell. Later on different monos, and also on the Epcot line, the smell was still there. We made sure it wasn't us, then were really perplexed! It was a definite manure smell, either horse or cow. Having worked in a stable for a summer, I am intimately familiar with that smell. We just ignored it after a while.

We entered MK around 4:30, and stake out a spot in the hub. We found a great spot, a bench on the Tomorrowland side, with a perfect view of Tinkerbell's wire. So, I go get Heather an ice cream (she was very tired), and I go shopping, exploring, until about 5:20. We hang out until the Main Street Electrical Parade at 6:15, where we had a great view. After the parade, the family sharing the bench with us was leaving, so I prepare to scoot over to the end, so a nice Australian family with about 200 kids would share with us for the fireworks. As I'm sliding over, a man sits, literally SITS on me, trying to get the bench for himself and his wife. While he is straining to push me over, I say "Excuse me, we were sitting here, and you are now sitting ON me!". He replies, "What, you're sitting on me!" An impossibility, since my behind had never left the bench. Short shuffle ensues, and I, probably outweighing him by a pound or 2, move to the end of the bench, thus ensuring the family who had been waiting for almost 2 hours could sit with us. A few distinctly Un-Disney words escape his mouth, regarding myself and the resemblance to a large milk-bearing animal. When, exasperated, return the compliment to his wife (who had called me similar names, and was similar to me in build), he posturing like he's going to hit me. Wow! It's a bench! I end the conversation with the thought, "Hey, I can lose weight, what can you do?" I admit, I could have had more of a Disney attitude, but we were tired, and it had been a long wait. He had just walked up after the parade, and expected to get a seat. <Large inhale, exhale> Whew, I'm okay now.

That was the only confrontation the whole trip, with one exception. In Epcot, there were 3 boys playing football in a store, and when one of them collided into me and their mother did nothing, I remarked, "No, it's okay, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Overall, people were very polite, exchanging apologies for bumps and squishes. There were a lot of tour groups consisting of teenage girls chanting CONSTANTLY. That's so annoying!

Ok, so after the MSEP, we head back to the room to get ready for the Hoop De Doo Revue. We took a cab over, and got there about 9. I had forgotten my MKC card, but the lady was nice enough to check my hotel account and see that I had used it on there as well. We got our tickets, and waited around for 9:30. I told Heather I didn't know where we would be seated, as they seat people depending on when the reservation was made. When I told her that you can make them a few years in advance, and I had only made them about 90 days ago, we thought we would be in the way back.

Well, we're let in, and they walk us up the side, going farther forward, and farther, and farther. We are in the first row, in the dead center! WOW!! We start on our salad, which is quite good, and the show starts. Not only were the performers directly in front of us, they also came down and danced directly behind us as well!

The show was ok in the beginning, and hilarious at the end. The food was overall really good, with the exception of the corn. They had mixed peppers and onions in it! Yech! A good show, but I'm not sure if it's worth the money.

We head home, via a direct bus waiting outside. We crash around 12.

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

Slept in till 11! Heather and I are so sore from the water sports, she can't lift her arms above her waist. We headed over to Epcot around 11:45, and started with Spaceship Earth. Lame. We then headed over to the World Showcase, and started eating our way around the world. Starting in Mexico, we each had a kid's meal of a burrito, horrible chips, and a churro, which Heather promptly took from me. That girl had a churro habit! Went on the El Rio De Tiempo, and declared we had just been through a Mexican Small World! Headed over to Norway (which Heather kept calling Sweden), where we walked through the church (Heather didn't know we could!) and stopped in the bakery for a Cloudberry Horn (Very Good, but what's a cloudberry?). On to the Maelstrom, which was a Norwegian Pirates of the Caribbean. Too funny. On to China, and had some Americanized Egg Rolls, and skipped the movie. We were doing enough walking without standing for a movie. Germany offered no food that Heather would eat, but we did get a great gift for someone. I can't say who or what, as she'll read this!

Italy found us breezing through, on to the American Adventure, where I had an adventure of my own. While walking through the square, a bird flew overhead, and did his business on my forehead! I stopped, praying it was an acorn, or a splash of water from some unseen (and unknown) ride, and asked Heather to turn around and see what's on my head. At first, she was concerned, hoping I wouldn't be upset and cry. But when I busted out laughing, she almost fell over with hysterics. She grabbed my camera, poised to take a pic of Spaceship Earth from across the lagoon, and took what is probably the best pic of the trip. After the humiliation was done, she helped me clean up. I don't think I've laughed that hard in years! It didn't hurt anything, didn't get on my clothes, and cleaned up easily. So, Heather now announces that was the best part of the trip. Great, so next time, I'll save a few grand by standing in the backyard and get some random bird to do his business!

Well, on to Japan, where we tried in vain to find anything fast food, preferably tempura. No luck, so we go shopping, where Heather gets a gorgeous paper lantern for $10.

On to Morocco, where we find a yummy marzipan treat, and cute boys flirting with Heather, trying to entice her to join their weekly soccer game. We also learn that Disney goes to these countries and recruits the people working in them. Very interesting!

France found us in heaven, with the best bakery items we had ever seen. A heavy custard was layered with flaky pastry to create the yummiest cake thing, and Heather had a cup of light custard with fruit flavors in it. They were exquisite.

We ended up in the UK just in time for the Tapestry of Nations parade, and we had great seats. After that, we skipped the UK, knowing we'll be back for our 7:40 ressies for Rose & Crown. On to Canada, where we split a beavertail (like a flat churro type thing) with apples and cinnamon on it. I think I would have liked it better with no topping.

We went into the Millennium Village, which was a big disappointment. Our longest wait for any ride was for the Israel ride, which was a big waste of time. It would have been good, if we hadn't waited 50 minutes for it. We tried lamb from the Middle East section of the food area, then hightailed it out of there.

On to Future World, where we did Honey, I shrunk the audience. Heather and I had done this in CA, but her effects didn't work, so this time SHE got all the effects, while I got NONE! Whatever. On to Journey into your imagination, and having never seen the original, I would have to say..IT SUCKED! I have seen clips of Figment with the Dreamfinder (?), and I had been looking forward to seeing them. Knowing that Figment's role had been cut, I didn't realize that there was no sign of him, except a star outline, and his voice. LAME!!

We stopped by Ice Station Cool, and I got Heather to try the Beverly. Hee Hee! (To those reading who are unfamiliar with it, it is a selection of free Coke samples from around the world, from a lemon flavor in Israel, to the bitter Beverly in Italy)

Back to UK, where we checked in for our 7:40 ressies at 7, and requested an outside table. Looking around, we got beeped right at 7:40, and we got it! We were on the second tier, not waterside, but up against the wall of the restaurant. Hey, we're outside! Our waiter was Scottish, not English, but that's ok. They're connected. We both had cocktails, Guinness for H, and a Welch Dragon for me. Appetizers were the Beef Barley soup (excellent!), and ??? for me. We couldn't decide on what to have, so we both ended up having fish and chips. Yum! Dessert was the Millennium Dessert for me (ok), and a chocolate cake for Herher, with a chocolate imprint of Alice in Wonderland on the plate.

Illuminations starts, and we have a great seat for the water lever stuff, but we can't see anything in the air. Oh, well. I wasn't that impressed with it, but that may have been because of our limited sightline.

Leaving Epcot, along with the entire population of a small Argentinean country, I was amazed at how easily that mass of people got out, and then immediately onto many waiting busses.

Hit the sack, planning on going back to Downtown Disney and Disney Quest tomorrow - no parks.

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

Slept in till noon, then we headed out. We went to Marketplace first, doing some light shopping, and then worked our way to the West Side. The boat that goes from Marketplace to West Side was not running until 10. We shopped in Planet Hollywood with our free GC's from online. House of Blues was cool, and so was the pin station technically on the west side. It honored the MKC card, so I bought a lot there! Got into Disney Quest, and did all the main rides. We were disappointed with all the rides, probably spoiled by our computer games here in the Silicon Valley. Pirates was ok, though.

We ate at the Cheesecake Factory Express with our free GC's, but the food was pretty bad. Feeling bored, we took off for the boat to Marketplace. There, while waiting for the boat to come back, we met the "Dumpy Chicks". Now, yes, they were of higher than average body mass, but that's not why we were calling them that. (Hey, I'm Pooh sized as well). They were also working at a lower than average mental capacity. Yikes. Heather was about to push them off the boat. We shopped for presents in the Rainforest Café, since we weren't hungry, and we had to spend our GC's. We spent more money, then headed home. We are really running low on energy and foot power.

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

We slept in again, then headed to Epcot to finish up Future World. We did all the rides, Body Wars, Cranium Command (Very dated), Living Seas, Living with the Land, Circle of Life. We were disappointed with them, with maybe the exception being Living with the Land, that was really interesting. It seemed the other attractions could have been in a mall somewhere. We also did the video email in Innoventions (which hasn't arrived yet.

Next, we hopped on the Monorail to the TTC, to transfer to the MK mono for our Villains Dinner at 5:15. The same horse manure was evident in this mono, but we were used to it by now. They had to use HORSEpower to move, didn't they?? (Ha ha snort Ha ha) Sorry about that.

The grand Floridian is gorgeous! I got one of the last pressed pennies I needed there (I have a huge collection, also a huge collection of pins), then we checked out the gingerbread house. I got my flex feature here, along with some other things, and had them ship it home.

We checked in around 5, then waited for them to open the dining room at exactly 5:15. We got a table right next to the buffet, which seemed small, but had plenty of choices. This was the best buffet we had the whole trip, highlights being the Caesar salad and mac n cheese from the kids buffet.. The villains we saw were Captain Hook, Governor Radcliff, Prince John, and the Queen of Hearts in the lobby. Queeny was sitting down in the lobby on a small kids chair, and when she got up to greet us, it got caught under her massive skirt. She ended up dragging it a few feet before kicking it free. We tried not to laugh at her Highness.

Back home, as we were really tired, and needed to finish packing. I also had to find a box and pack up a separate box of purchases that I had no room to pack in the luggage. It was a hassle trying to find a box, as the front desk does not supply them, but I went into the gift shop, and they got one out of the back. I was afraid it may be quite expensive, but for a box measuring approximately 3H x 2W x 2L and at least 30 pounds, the charge was $21, to be received on the 22nd. That's tomorrow, and I hope it shows up!

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Disney Woman]

We had set up Luggage Services last night, and they had picked up all our luggage by 11. We had also called Mears for a 2:30 pick-up for our 4:50 flight. We went back to MK to finish up Tomorrowland. We did the Timekeeper (really cool!), Carousel of Progress (Aww, Walt!), Buzz Lightyear with a Fastpass, and ending with a 60-minute line for ExtraTERRORestrial. That one is worth a 10-minute wait, no more.

We headed back to All Star Movies one last time, and went to Luggage Services. They met us at the Mears Stop, and all our luggage was there, waiting for the Mears guy to deal with it. Throughout the entire trip, the only time we had to deal with the luggage was going home, there was no curb check in where Mears dropped us, and at our home airport. All other times, it was handled by others for tips. And, boy, was that money well spent! Heather always thought I over tipped, but I think $1 a bag is normal. Luggage Services had even packed up all the stuff we were leaving behind (Sodas, trial sizes, extra souvenir bags, the trash was full), and had that in a bag for us. Thanks for being thorough, but we didn't want this stuff! S'ok, easy enough to throw away down there. The Mears guy was right on time, and at first, we had the whole bus to ourselves. Hey, this is better than Tiffany Town Car! But, then we stopped at All Star Sports and Music, so another 10 people joined us in a bus that seats 60. All right!

Since we have an extra bag to check, we find the curb-side service, and check in with no problem. I'm glad they give you that 2-hour time frame, we didn't get to our gate until 30 minutes before our departure. Then, we find out the tickets have the wrong gate on them! We have to jam to get there on time. Cool deal, we get the same 3 seat area that we got on the way down for the 2 of us. We land 15 minutes early, after a VERY turbulent flight (I had to change my pants after that!) at 10:15, and my dear Mom is waiting right outside of Baggage Claim. So, as the bags pop out, we throw them in the car. Once we get to her house (I have to pick up my car), I already have a box of WDW stuff that I sent waiting for me! Yahoo!

This was a long trip, and overall, I think we did well. Shipping stuff home was convenient, and I've gotten 2 boxes already. I just hope they don't lose any!

Whew, this trip report took almost as long to write as the trip itself!

Any questions?








Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[Lucky4me]

Courtney, You're a genius! Putting the entire trip report on one post is so much easier to read. You made a lazy person (Me) very happy this morning.

You are too funny, you get along so well with your sister, your Mom must be proud! I'm glad you had a great time and thanks for the laugh this morning!

 

[Disney Woman]

The last thing my mom said to us as we were going to the airport:

"Now, girls, I don't want to have to fly down there and separate you two!"

As she was saying this, Heather was trying to close the window on my hair, and I was slapping her leg. So, point taken!

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[CherylA]

I enjoyed reading your report. I wish I had a twin. (Does everyone say this or what?) Sounds like you had a wonderful time!

 

[glo]

courtneygregg great trip report. I to like the way you did it all in one post! I am glad you had a good time!

CherylA - bite your tongue. Careful what you wish for. I have 4 year old twin girls and a 10 year old(lost her twin during preg) and I'm NEVER having another child! I love them to death and are great now, but I don't ever want to go through infancy again with a multiple!

<font size=3><font color=red>
<marquee> Co-Captain & Charter Member of the Swan/Dolphin Cheerleading Team!!</font></font></marquee>
<font size=4><font color=green>HAPPY <font color=red>HOLIDAYS<font color=red>!
<font color=red>15 times to Disney 3 on-site
<font color=green>Next visit Dec. 2001 to the Swan</font><center

 

[Disney Woman]

Being a twin, it's great, now. Growing up, it was ok, but we were never treated as 2 individuals, we were "the twins", "the girls", etc. It would have been fun if we were identical, we could have played a lot more pranks. But, it's nice having a built-in friend.

I'm sure it was easier to BE a twin, than to HAVE twins for my mom, especially since she had 3 other kids!

Courtney

(Who, at 24 is having a 2nd childhood...at this rate I'll probably have a 3rd, 4th, 5th and maybe even 6th!)

 

[casmanuel]

Thanks for the trip report and thanks again for sending me one of the hundres of planning sheets you sent out. Any comments on your packing list?

BTW...I had to laugh about your "motherly bosom" reference. Some of us have another word for it: Lucky!

 

[kathymc]

thanks for posting - sounds like you had a great time. I liked the way you posted all in one message. My Father In Law was also blessed by a bird and it was one of the funniest things that happened (oops - I forgot to even mention that in my trip report)

thanks again

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[Marla Hellwig]

You both had a great Disney trip. Thanks for posting!

 

[Kallison]

I want to party with you girlfriend! Seriously, my DH will only take so many Disney trips in his lifetime, can I tag along in about 10 years or so?