jaineparr
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 7, 2008
Hokay, here we go! First off, who's who?
In a nutshell, there are five Florida residents and one former resident who between them have perhaps 100 visits to the WDW parks under their belts. Then there is me, who has never before been.
Me, I love Eeyore, but I'm also the planner, the computer geek, the researcher and a high energy type. I'm a morning person and I like it that way. To make things worse, I'm a morning person and I don't do caffeine, it's all natural. I work part time as a personal trainer. Physical fitness is my job. I have never before been to WDW and it's been 40 years since I spent one day at Disney Land at age 6. Excited does not even begin to describe me. I was born and raised in the Washington, DC area.
Wonderful Hubby, or Wonderful Husband, he answers to either. He's a former Florida Boy of 25 years standing. He only moved up to VA about three years ago. He's planning on going Cold Turkey to end a nicotiene habit of many years standing during this vacation. You read it right, he's going Cold Turkey while on vacation. We are newlyweds and all mushy with each other. Wonderful Hubby isn't quite into Disney, but he will admit to liking Sully and Beast. You won't catch him clapping his hands when Peter Pan asks.
Junior, my stepson. He's 19, a senior in high school and will be going into the USMC this month if all goes well. He's being picky about his MOS. He's named after his father, so I call him Junior. Being a moody teen, I have no idea what his fave character is.
Best Man was the best man at our wedding. He likes Pooh, but he's very much a Tigger type, except for the actual bouncing bit. Best man is Pooh sized and losing, but he has bad knees and gout. He can find the bright side in any disaster, has a great sense of humor and can be counted on to participate in any and all jokes and teasing.
Best Man's Wife likes Pooh best but sometimes acts like Piglet, worrying over things that will be fine. At some times, she will Not Care At All and will not make a decision, state an opinion or anything mildly resembling a preference, like, dislike or distaste. At other times, she's got an opinion and is not afraid to share it. Best Man's Wife has had multiple back surgeries and not all were successful. She must take prescription pain killers to function each day. But she functions and she functions very well.
Junior the Second is Best Man and Wife's son. He is also named after his father. Junior the Second is gainfully employed and over 21, but still lives at home. His mom likes it that way. He's not so sure. Usually quiet, he adores his girlfriend and does what he can to make her happy and the relationship work. I believe he claims Stitch as the character for him.
Junior the Second's Girlfriend. Greatly approved of by Best Man and Wife. A caring, sweet individual who is organized and supportive, but young. She's still learning about Life, the Universe and Everything, but she's no slouch of a student! Adores Junior the Second, but they aren't as openly mushy as Wonderful Hubby and I can be.
So now that you know who's who, you need to know where we are staying. Best Man loves to stay at the Wilderness Cabins. He made ressies for 3 days in May and invited us to stay with them. I suggested (it was my idea, I take the blame!) that we extend for two more days and we'd pay for the other two nights. It is agreed that we will be in Disney for 5 nights and we divvy up the room so that Best Man and Wife pay for the first three nights and we pay for the last two. Wonderful Hubby is aware that the rates will go up for our two nights. He tells me that we'll pay as much for our two nights as they will pay for their three nights. Remember this, it will return to haunt me later...
Best Man says that a golf cart is necessary when at the campgrounds and since he's stayed there many times, I can't disagree. Information on the Dis boards supports his statements. We will split the cost equally.
I've got a pre-trip that covers much of this, but I know how folks are when reading a thread.
So there are seven of us staying for five nights in a cabin in the Wilderness Campground. Can anyone else see what I saw and worried over? Those cabins sleep six adults and all of us are adults. It wasn't until two days before we left for Orlando that it was completely explained to me. Junior the Second and his girlfriend would leave on Thursday, during the day. Junior was to arrive on either Thursday or Friday. Pay attention to this, too. It also returns to haunt us.
I went into a frenzy of research and planning. I was reading the boards, reading the Disney website, reading tour books and making ADRs and contacting DME. If I hadn't done this, I'm not sure we'd have had much to eat the first two days at the parks and we would have had trouble getting to the cabin from the airport. The Floridians looked at me in awe. Some of the stuff I was talking about, they had never heard of and they are worried that it would all cost an arm and a leg. I passed out estimated costs and they calmed down. All of my plans were for Monday and Tuesday. The Florida contingent made plans for Wednesday dinner and that's as far as they planned. We would be leaving on Saturday.
I'm quietly twitching, but I know that one person cannot make plans for seven adults without their agreement and I don't have that. I must be content with planning two days. This is a group vacation, not My Vacation.
Wonderful Husband is pretty good at finding rates on-line when he sets his mind to it. He found us a cheap airfare and forwarded the confirmation e-mail to me. I shopped around and found decent Magic Your Way Tickets. They probably weren't the best price possible, but they were slightly discounted. We will have seven day park hoppers with no expiration, because we are planning on a short return trip. And thereby hangs a tale, but that tale is for later.
The night before we are to leave, I am so excited that I can't sleep. I spend most of the night reading the Dis and possibly slept for two hours. I've got lists, I've got plans, I ordered detailed maps but they haven't arrived yet. The taxi arrives on time, the flight leaves on time. Several times during the flight, as Wonderful Hubby was looking out the window, I nudged him and asked, "Are we there yet?" We arrived in Orlando before Best Man and family drove through Orlando from Jacksonville, where they all live. We know this because we called when we landed and they were on the road.
Magical Express worked smoothly and we are even sang on the bus. At the end of the first song, I had to ask, "Are we there yet?" The bus driver knew to the minute how long the average trip took, broken down into sections. He told me exactly how long it would be before we got there.
I got the lady sitting across the aisle to snap a photo with Wonderful Hubby's camera.
Once at the Wilderness Campground Best Man and his wife were waiting for us at the bus shelter. Hugs all around and Best Man had News. "The room rate isn't right." he said. "I had to get them to call reservations central and get it straightened out. Ask for Carrie when you check in." I have no idea to whom he spoke, but there wasn't a Carrie on duty when we checked in, only minutes after Best Man.
The room rate was some $200 more than we'd thought it would be. The cast member checked with Central Reservations and there were not changes. Had we a printed copy of the room reservation with a different rate? If we had such an object, she could make adjustments, but without documentation on our part, she could do nothing. Wonderful Husband works as a parts guy and he can remember long, complicated alphanumerics like they were the alphabet. If he says the room rate is wrong, I'm gonna believe him.
After much to-ing and fro-ing and fussing and loud phrases of complaint by everyone in the group except me, I finally step forward and we reach a calm, quiet agreement. We will go look through our e-mail records and get the reservation up on screen on my laptop. That will have to suffice, as we have no printer. Management is fine with this. Much to my surprise, Wonderful Hubby hadn't remembered the number correctly.
We pay the bill, which after tax is a whole lot more than we'd been expecting and I determine that will be the end of it. It won't come up again and I plan to squash it firmly if anyone tries. I make a mental note to keep much closer track of future reservations and costs. After that, we upgrade to no expiration, which we hadn't been able to get when we purchased our tickets and my poor credit card is tucked away, smoking hot. The numbers aren't melted off yet, though.
The next step is to get the golf cart. Wife and I are dropped at the Trading Post, where browsing is the order of the day. The Men go off to handle transportation. I have no intention of buying anything before I know what is available. I look at pins, but tell myself that I'm not getting any now. And I don't get anything. The golf cart is quickly obtained with no waiting in line at all and our men arrive at the Trading Post. I plop a pink Minnie Mouse bill cap on Wonderful Husband's head, but nobody captures a photo of it and he escapes the indignity. Then Best Man, Wonderful Hubby, and I ride in the cart in front of Wife in the car back to the cabin. The car is parked.
After a brief stop at the cabin to put away my laptop, we hop in the cart and drive down roads and trails mysterious and confusing to me to get to the marina. We are to take a boat to get to Epcot? I didn't think we would take a boat. I haven't been doing research on transportation, I've been focusing on the parks themselves. The CM on the ferry notices Wonderful Hubby's pale, bald head and hands him sunblock. I am impressed. That's service. Our sunblock exceeds the 3 ounce TSA rule and is in a bag that hasn't arrived yet. Aha! A Transportation Center! I can understand this! And we take another ferry to Epcot. Here's a picture of us on the ferry.
I know there was security and I know I had my bags searched, but I have no memory of that.
For some reason, using my ticket for the first time and putting my finger to the scanner at Epcot didn't feel like I was entering 'Disney World'. I tried, but the deep down excitement just wasn't there. What hit me most specifically was the ergonomics for retrieving your pass from the reader are really bad. It's an awkward reach and not easy to see. I think the scanners are too high and should be lower.
Epcot gets both worse and better. It ends well, though and I'm very happy that I worked out the plans for the day.
In a nutshell, there are five Florida residents and one former resident who between them have perhaps 100 visits to the WDW parks under their belts. Then there is me, who has never before been.
Me, I love Eeyore, but I'm also the planner, the computer geek, the researcher and a high energy type. I'm a morning person and I like it that way. To make things worse, I'm a morning person and I don't do caffeine, it's all natural. I work part time as a personal trainer. Physical fitness is my job. I have never before been to WDW and it's been 40 years since I spent one day at Disney Land at age 6. Excited does not even begin to describe me. I was born and raised in the Washington, DC area.
Wonderful Hubby, or Wonderful Husband, he answers to either. He's a former Florida Boy of 25 years standing. He only moved up to VA about three years ago. He's planning on going Cold Turkey to end a nicotiene habit of many years standing during this vacation. You read it right, he's going Cold Turkey while on vacation. We are newlyweds and all mushy with each other. Wonderful Hubby isn't quite into Disney, but he will admit to liking Sully and Beast. You won't catch him clapping his hands when Peter Pan asks.
Junior, my stepson. He's 19, a senior in high school and will be going into the USMC this month if all goes well. He's being picky about his MOS. He's named after his father, so I call him Junior. Being a moody teen, I have no idea what his fave character is.
Best Man was the best man at our wedding. He likes Pooh, but he's very much a Tigger type, except for the actual bouncing bit. Best man is Pooh sized and losing, but he has bad knees and gout. He can find the bright side in any disaster, has a great sense of humor and can be counted on to participate in any and all jokes and teasing.
Best Man's Wife likes Pooh best but sometimes acts like Piglet, worrying over things that will be fine. At some times, she will Not Care At All and will not make a decision, state an opinion or anything mildly resembling a preference, like, dislike or distaste. At other times, she's got an opinion and is not afraid to share it. Best Man's Wife has had multiple back surgeries and not all were successful. She must take prescription pain killers to function each day. But she functions and she functions very well.
Junior the Second is Best Man and Wife's son. He is also named after his father. Junior the Second is gainfully employed and over 21, but still lives at home. His mom likes it that way. He's not so sure. Usually quiet, he adores his girlfriend and does what he can to make her happy and the relationship work. I believe he claims Stitch as the character for him.
Junior the Second's Girlfriend. Greatly approved of by Best Man and Wife. A caring, sweet individual who is organized and supportive, but young. She's still learning about Life, the Universe and Everything, but she's no slouch of a student! Adores Junior the Second, but they aren't as openly mushy as Wonderful Hubby and I can be.
So now that you know who's who, you need to know where we are staying. Best Man loves to stay at the Wilderness Cabins. He made ressies for 3 days in May and invited us to stay with them. I suggested (it was my idea, I take the blame!) that we extend for two more days and we'd pay for the other two nights. It is agreed that we will be in Disney for 5 nights and we divvy up the room so that Best Man and Wife pay for the first three nights and we pay for the last two. Wonderful Hubby is aware that the rates will go up for our two nights. He tells me that we'll pay as much for our two nights as they will pay for their three nights. Remember this, it will return to haunt me later...
Best Man says that a golf cart is necessary when at the campgrounds and since he's stayed there many times, I can't disagree. Information on the Dis boards supports his statements. We will split the cost equally.
I've got a pre-trip that covers much of this, but I know how folks are when reading a thread.
So there are seven of us staying for five nights in a cabin in the Wilderness Campground. Can anyone else see what I saw and worried over? Those cabins sleep six adults and all of us are adults. It wasn't until two days before we left for Orlando that it was completely explained to me. Junior the Second and his girlfriend would leave on Thursday, during the day. Junior was to arrive on either Thursday or Friday. Pay attention to this, too. It also returns to haunt us.
I went into a frenzy of research and planning. I was reading the boards, reading the Disney website, reading tour books and making ADRs and contacting DME. If I hadn't done this, I'm not sure we'd have had much to eat the first two days at the parks and we would have had trouble getting to the cabin from the airport. The Floridians looked at me in awe. Some of the stuff I was talking about, they had never heard of and they are worried that it would all cost an arm and a leg. I passed out estimated costs and they calmed down. All of my plans were for Monday and Tuesday. The Florida contingent made plans for Wednesday dinner and that's as far as they planned. We would be leaving on Saturday.
I'm quietly twitching, but I know that one person cannot make plans for seven adults without their agreement and I don't have that. I must be content with planning two days. This is a group vacation, not My Vacation.
Wonderful Husband is pretty good at finding rates on-line when he sets his mind to it. He found us a cheap airfare and forwarded the confirmation e-mail to me. I shopped around and found decent Magic Your Way Tickets. They probably weren't the best price possible, but they were slightly discounted. We will have seven day park hoppers with no expiration, because we are planning on a short return trip. And thereby hangs a tale, but that tale is for later.
The night before we are to leave, I am so excited that I can't sleep. I spend most of the night reading the Dis and possibly slept for two hours. I've got lists, I've got plans, I ordered detailed maps but they haven't arrived yet. The taxi arrives on time, the flight leaves on time. Several times during the flight, as Wonderful Hubby was looking out the window, I nudged him and asked, "Are we there yet?" We arrived in Orlando before Best Man and family drove through Orlando from Jacksonville, where they all live. We know this because we called when we landed and they were on the road.
Magical Express worked smoothly and we are even sang on the bus. At the end of the first song, I had to ask, "Are we there yet?" The bus driver knew to the minute how long the average trip took, broken down into sections. He told me exactly how long it would be before we got there.
I got the lady sitting across the aisle to snap a photo with Wonderful Hubby's camera. Once at the Wilderness Campground Best Man and his wife were waiting for us at the bus shelter. Hugs all around and Best Man had News. "The room rate isn't right." he said. "I had to get them to call reservations central and get it straightened out. Ask for Carrie when you check in." I have no idea to whom he spoke, but there wasn't a Carrie on duty when we checked in, only minutes after Best Man.
The room rate was some $200 more than we'd thought it would be. The cast member checked with Central Reservations and there were not changes. Had we a printed copy of the room reservation with a different rate? If we had such an object, she could make adjustments, but without documentation on our part, she could do nothing. Wonderful Husband works as a parts guy and he can remember long, complicated alphanumerics like they were the alphabet. If he says the room rate is wrong, I'm gonna believe him.
After much to-ing and fro-ing and fussing and loud phrases of complaint by everyone in the group except me, I finally step forward and we reach a calm, quiet agreement. We will go look through our e-mail records and get the reservation up on screen on my laptop. That will have to suffice, as we have no printer. Management is fine with this. Much to my surprise, Wonderful Hubby hadn't remembered the number correctly.
We pay the bill, which after tax is a whole lot more than we'd been expecting and I determine that will be the end of it. It won't come up again and I plan to squash it firmly if anyone tries. I make a mental note to keep much closer track of future reservations and costs. After that, we upgrade to no expiration, which we hadn't been able to get when we purchased our tickets and my poor credit card is tucked away, smoking hot. The numbers aren't melted off yet, though.
The next step is to get the golf cart. Wife and I are dropped at the Trading Post, where browsing is the order of the day. The Men go off to handle transportation. I have no intention of buying anything before I know what is available. I look at pins, but tell myself that I'm not getting any now. And I don't get anything. The golf cart is quickly obtained with no waiting in line at all and our men arrive at the Trading Post. I plop a pink Minnie Mouse bill cap on Wonderful Husband's head, but nobody captures a photo of it and he escapes the indignity. Then Best Man, Wonderful Hubby, and I ride in the cart in front of Wife in the car back to the cabin. The car is parked.
After a brief stop at the cabin to put away my laptop, we hop in the cart and drive down roads and trails mysterious and confusing to me to get to the marina. We are to take a boat to get to Epcot? I didn't think we would take a boat. I haven't been doing research on transportation, I've been focusing on the parks themselves. The CM on the ferry notices Wonderful Hubby's pale, bald head and hands him sunblock. I am impressed. That's service. Our sunblock exceeds the 3 ounce TSA rule and is in a bag that hasn't arrived yet. Aha! A Transportation Center! I can understand this! And we take another ferry to Epcot. Here's a picture of us on the ferry.
I know there was security and I know I had my bags searched, but I have no memory of that.
For some reason, using my ticket for the first time and putting my finger to the scanner at Epcot didn't feel like I was entering 'Disney World'. I tried, but the deep down excitement just wasn't there. What hit me most specifically was the ergonomics for retrieving your pass from the reader are really bad. It's an awkward reach and not easy to see. I think the scanners are too high and should be lower.
Epcot gets both worse and better. It ends well, though and I'm very happy that I worked out the plans for the day.
I look for hidden Mickeys and find none. I am that out of it. I know there are some, but my hidden Mickey reference book is in the suitcase that hadnt been delivered to the cabin yet. All I can find is an amazing (to me) amount of dust on the wrenches that have been spread out on top of the toolbox. Worse, I dont even pay attention to what brand of tool they are. Wonderful Husband likes Snap On and Im a Facom girl. Did I mention that Ive done a four-day Bob Bondurant class and have actually driven a formula car on a race track? Some of the videos are interesting and we hold up the line briefly to catch a particular part of the loop again. I cant help but think that Im too short to see the displays and I know Im taller than the average female by 3 inches. I wonder what kids and shorter women do? 
