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/ Mary's Holiday Adventure, Part One |
Mary
Cast Member
Posts: 465
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 01-02-03 04:05 PM
Preparation and Arrival
Cast:
Mary, First Mate and Keeper of the Ship's Log
David, my best friend and vacation buddy (that's what happens when two single friends like to travel to the same places)
Dale, David's brother. Kind of a lost soul that David would have felt guilty about leaving alone for the holidays so we brought him along. Between the two of us, we covered all his expenses and the sit down meals.
Pre-trip: For those of you who caught some of my posts on 12/23, I spent most of the day finishing the laundry, packing, and playing around here. David was going to Milwaukee to pick up Dale after dropping his dog off at the designated caretakers. David planned to leave around noon and be back to pick me up late afternoon. I was to spend the night at David's because the limo was picking us up at 4:15 am. It was actually about 10:30 pm before David & Dale arrived here. They called about 20 minutes away from my house so I could start warming up the leftovers from my family party the day before for dinner. We ate, loaded my stuff into the car and went to David's. David had one last errand to run so he left and did not return home until 2 am (I didn't ask!). I had gone to bed about 12:30 but was unable to sleep so I got up when David came in. He finished his packing while we talked of our plans for the trip. About 3 am we decided to head to the cash station and get coffee. I also picked up some water for the plane. I have bad sinuses and was only a few days recovered from those awful cold and stomach viruses going around. My doctor wanted me to stay hydrated to prevent picking up another bug on the plane.
Christmas Eve, 12/24
Limo picks us up on time, we arrive at Chicago Midway Airport with plenty of time. Use curbside check-in and are on our way to find some coffee and something to eat. I had a banana and a second bottle of water. Flight leaves just a few minutes late. We are stranded behind 3 people who throw their seats ALL the way back. David, at 6'3" got the worst of it since the girl in front of him was constantly going up and back the whole flight. I was surprised his legs weren't covered in bruises! I would really rather that all airlines just do away with the reclining seats so everyone is just as comfortable/uncomfortable as everyone else. Arrive at MCO just about on time and make our way to find our Tiffany Town Car driver, Sid. I suggest Kash N Karry for our grocery stop, Sid says Publix is better. Publix was pretty crowded but we managed to stock up on cereal, milk, some late night snack items and non-alcoholic beer for Dale. I did not realize this was so important to Dale so Publix was probably the better option since I don't recall seeing this at Kash N Karry in May.
Anyway, off to Port Orleans-Riverside. Short line for check-in but alas, our rooms are not ready. I had really hoped for a nap before meeting John & John the Smaller for dinner but would now only have time for a shower. Picked up lunch and refillable mugs at the food court. To further the refillable mug debate, the sign does say 'for the length of your stay.' I still take that to mean current stay but I think Dis should add that to the sign. Did see old Dixie Landings mugs in use, but paid little attention to other mugs. Stopped to shop in Fulton's. Seems I was the only one who actually brought Christmas presents with me to wrap (brought wrapping paper too). Oh well, it meant I got Disney items so that saved a few souvenir dollars. After that, I stopped at Guest Services and inquired about Parker. They said he was leaving the next day so I did not bother to call him about the 12/30 meet. I would have called just to leave a 'Hello' message but got kind of busy as the CM told me my rooms were ready now. We got connecting rooms in Bldg 14 in Alligator Bayou (1419 and 1420). I snatched up the corner room (1420) with its two windows for myself. 1419 had some bad stains on the carpet near the bathroom (looked like blood). I had called housekeeping for an iron & board and to remind them that I had requested they not use the air freshener at all in our rooms (the bad sinuses really hate that stuff) but they had. They did bring some doorstops so we could keep the doors open and ceiling fan on while we unpacked to air the rooms out. They did not use the air freshener for the rest of our trip. While they were there, they checked the carpet stain. Seems they were aware of it and had requested that the room not be assigned until the carpet was replaced. They told us they were going to give me a credit on our bill, which was done right away. I didn't ask for it, they offered. David only wanted to be assured that the stain was not harmful. So, no schmoozing or entitlement mentality was necessary. It was nice of them but we did not expect it.
We unpacked, showered and rushed to make our way to the Poly to meet John & John for dinner and MK fireworks cruise. Rushed was definitely a theme for this trip. Dale (I was warned) takes forever to get moving and ready. We knew that early mornings were not going to happen but I felt like I was dealing with a child who had to be told each night what time he was expected to be ready in the morning. We usually left about 1/2 hour after the appointed departure time. Since I had 4 days at the MK last month and was able to get my fill on all those rides, and was really more interested in seeing holiday decorations, this really ended up not being so bad. The only exception was EMH at MGM for the RnR Coaster/ToT marathon. So, PS was for 5:40 and we wanted to use Disney transportation to have a look around so we told Dale to be ready at 4:30. We ended up racing to the bus stop at 5, waited a few minutes for a MK bus, caught a monorail as soon as we got there and got to 'Ohana right at 5:40. The CM at the podium said that John had already inquired about us so I walked around the lounge area looking for him. Found him at the opposite stairway and by the time we got back near the podium our pager was flashing/vibrating. We were seated in the back (behind the grill and not able to see the kiddie activities). This has happened 3 of the 4 times I have been there. Do I have to ask to be seated out front?
John the Smaller did participate in the coconut race and hula hoop contest. The 4 adults discussed CG/BFC/RiRi. I was a little concerned how David and Dale would react to this since I gave them very little background information. Since both John and David are schoolteachers I figured that the conversation could steer that way if necessary. They were troopers though and came away with the opinion that RiRi is crazy. David has since asked to be shown some of the best of the rantings. He may find his way here once he catches up. After dinner, we strolled a bit. David and Dale headed up to the lounge while John, John and I tried to find out the status of the cruise and sat on the dock chatting as the weather (as John put it) started getting rough. The boats seemed to be really struggling to make it into the dock. Then it looked like they were being pushed on their way back to MK. John suggested we head back in but I thought that since it wasn't actually raining we would be OK and have enough time to make it back inside. WRONG! At least they had their ponchos. I looked at mine while packing and decided not to bring it so I was destined to get wet. And wet I got. Soaked completely from head to toe. John went to get the car, we all squeezed in and he brought us back to Riverside. We waded through large, deep puddles on the way back to our rooms. I took a hot shower, made my way to Fultons for ponchos and went to bed.
Highlights: Believe it or not, the rain. John squared and I were all laughing as we ran from the dock. And we dripped all over the lines of people waiting for the luau who I heard asking 'Is it raining?'
It was fun meeting on-line friends for the first time. I like John's quiet sense of humor. As you heard, John the Smaller now has a Northwestern shirt for when he decides not to wear Texas A & M. I haven't checked my e-mail yet but I am hoping I see a picture of him wearing it.
Tomorrow: Christmas at Epcot.
Mary
First Mate, Good Ship Stickey Mickey and Keeper of the Ships Log
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Ahnalira
Cast Member
Posts: 433
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 01-02-03 04:16 PM
Welcome home,
Mary
Ahnalira
Grace finds beauty everywhere. Grace is my best friend.
Meet The Our Laughing Place Travel Pixies
Everybody's got a Laughing Place... we'll help you find yours!
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jobro912
Cast Member
Posts: 76
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 01-02-03 09:04 PM
Mary,
You are way, way, way too fast with your report. LOL, I just got lazy when Smaller started getting cranky. Alas, I guess I need to finish Friday and Saturday. Not real sure what all we did those days though.
John
John
Mr. Darling
DVC 94
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Mary
Cast Member
Posts: 465
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 01-03-03 12:23 PM
Thanks Ahnalira! You will be getting an e-mail from me some time today, I think.
And John, if I didn't do it right away it would not have been done at all. I didn't take any notes and the entire trip would have been lost in my brain forever!
I must get working on the pictures now, so I'm off.
Mary
First Mate, Good Ship Stickey Mickey and Keeper of the Ships Log
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inkydinkydoo
Cast Member
Posts: 112
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 01-04-03 03:59 PM
Ooooo, you've been a busy gal, Mary, and we are the lucky recipients! Looking forward to reading the rest of your reports.
Pat
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Common
Ground / Goofy's HUGE!
/ Mary's Holiday Adventure, Part One |
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