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Ground / Goofy's HUGE!
/ Our trip report, days 1-4: Never, ever again |
Abra Cat
Cast Member
Posts: 159
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 09-26-02 12:44 PM
September 13-21, 2002
Cast of Characters:
Kristi, 29, mom/trip planner/birthday girl; too many trips to count
Ken, 30, dad/computer geek/cute guy; too many trips to count
Grace, 5, new kindergartener/future movie star/Cinderella fan; 2nd trip
Charlie, 2 ½, terrible two-year-old/dinosaur/Momma’s boy; 2nd trip
OUR TRIP TO WALT DISNEY WORLD (aka— NEVER, EVER AGAIN)
Never, ever again! That is, “never, ever again” will we go to Florida in any month other than December or January. Was it hot? YES, it was hot! I grew up in Florida, I lived there until I was 25, but I must be spoiled now for the mountain air because I was absolutely miserable. We all were. But we had some fun, too.
Day 1-
We woke up early, packed the car, buckled kids into their carseats still in their pajamas, and were on our way by 5:10AM. An hour later, somewhere southeast of Spartanburg, SC we had to make our way around a jackknifed semi. Luckily, no one looked hurt, and we passed it before there was any traffic slowdown. Hit a bunch of rain shortly after that, with much more to come. The rain cleared up for a while, so we stopped at a McDonald’s with a playground for a half hour so the kids could get dressed and stretch their legs, then we got back on the road. The plan was to stop in Savannah and have a picnic in Forsyth Park and let the kids play on the playground before continuing, but we hit tons more rain just outside of Savannah, and wound up eating our picnic (fried chicken, grapes and chocolate chip cookies) in the car parked at a gas station. Oh, well. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful outside of the torrential rains. We finally drove out of the rain around the Florida border. Fast forwarding a few hours, we arrived at the Comfort Inn in Port Richey, FL around 5PM. I should mention that this is where I grew up (the town that is, not the Comfort Inn), where my husband and I met in high school, where we still have family, and where we would be spending a long weekend. We checked in and got unpacked, then picked up tons of food (pizza, meatball hero, and calzone) from our favorite pizza place (Leo and Joe’s— mmm…) and pigged out in our hotel room. Had a visit from my cousins, and then we relaxed for the rest of the night.
Day 2-
Got to sleep in this morning, showered, dressed, then girded myself emotionally for a visit with the in-laws. When we got to our car we noticed someone had parked their big-ass truck too close to the passenger side of our car, so I had to gently rest (not slam!) our back door against the truck so I could maneuver enough to buckle Charlie into his carseat. Mr. Monster Truck came out on the balcony to inform me that his truck cost him $30,000. I told him he shouldn’t have parked so close to our car then and that I was buckling my child into his seat. He called me an a$$hole , so I smiled sweetly and told him to have a nice day (no, really I did), then got in the car. Mr. MT then proceeded to tell my husband that he felt sorry for him for being married to me. Ken told him to get over himself. As we were driving away, I told him he should have replied, “Yeah, she’s a #itch, but she’s great in the sack.” Anyway… Spent the morning with family, fun-fun, then went to our favorite Greek diner (Great Subs and More) for a yummy chicken gyro (me), Philly cheesesteak (Ken), and chicken strips and fries (the kids). The plan was to then go to the grove stand for yummy orange juice swirls, but they were closed until later in the month. So, instead we headed to the local mall, where we got cookies and fancy coffees and where we saw my cousin’s daughter working at the body piercing kiosk. Back to the mother-in-law’s, where she came up with the great (but late) idea of us staying in her recently dead mother’s furnished house a block away. So I drove to the hotel to pack up and check us out, losing one night’s rent because it was after checkout time, but still saving one night’s rent, so it worked out okay. Wish she’d thought of that a couple days earlier, though… Got settled in Dead Grandmother’s House (DGH), and then spent the rest of the day doing more boring family stuff. Let me interrupt myself to say that when I say “boring family stuff,” I mean it’d be boring to anyone else. It wasn’t boring to us (much).
Day 3-
Went over to my mother-in-law’s until lunchtime, and then headed to our very favorite BBQ restaurant, Pit Boss BBQ. My husband got the baby back ribs, the kids shared chicken strips and fries (yes, they live on that), and I had my usual shredded pork platter with BBQ beans, fries, and Texas toast. The toast was good. The fries were good. The beans were awesome. The BBQ sauce was… only so-so. This used to be the most fantastic sauce in the world. Normally, I would have eaten my own arm covered in this sauce, but something was different. It was pretty disappointing. Anyway, after lunch we headed to my cousin’s to watch football and have a barbecue (no, we never get tired of barbecue). Grace broke out in hives all over her body either from playing in the heat or from playing with my cousin’s dog. We had a dog when she was little, but we don’t have one now, so I think maybe she’s a little sensitive to them from not being around any dogs, rather than allergic. So I ran out to Eckerd’s for a bottle of Benadryl, and she was soon feeling better. After dinner (BBQ chicken and pork, salad, potatoes, and grilled squash), my cousin surprised me with a birthday cake and a Target gift card (yay!), since she wouldn’t be seeing me on my actual birthday two days later. Shortly after cake, we dropped Grace at my mother-in-law’s for a sleepover (her first… sob) and then crashed at DGH. I went out to the shed to do laundry and saw a giant roach (shudder).
Day 4-
Up early to pack up our stuff. Then we headed to the mother-in-law’s to say our goodbyes and pick up Grace. Left for WDW around 9:30, and stopped at Chevy’s at the Crossroads about 11:30. We had a good lunch there (steak and chicken fajitas for Ken, Chimichanga for me, and quesadillas and fruit for the kids), stopped at our hotel (Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Disney) to check in and store our luggage, then we headed to Downtown Disney. We mostly shopped, just so we could stay in the a/c, and then we let the kids play on the Legoland playground, but that lasted about 3 minutes since the surface of the playground absorbed the heat and then radiated it back at us. Got some iced coffees at Ghirardelli, did a little more shopping, then headed to the hotel. The Courtyard by Marriott in DTD was wonderful! We got the $20.02 rate, and it was worth much, much more. The staff was so helpful, and Grace made friends with one of the woman behind the front desk, and looked for her whenever we passed through the lobby. The room was very clean and large, and we could see Downtown Disney and the fireworks from our balcony. I’ve already written to the hotel’s general manager telling him how impressed we were. We’ll definitely stay there again in the future. After unpacking and relaxing a while, we headed out in search of food. We drove to Publix and loaded up on breakfast foods and cream soda (not mutually exclusive), and then picked up a large pizza at Pizzeria Uno and brought it back to the room. Ken was doubtful that a 12” pizza could feed all four of us, but we had 2 pieces left. Love that thick Chicago pizza! After dinner I organized everything we’d need for the next day so I wouldn’t have to do it in the morning, and then we all were asleep by 9:30.
Soon to come—
Days 5-9: I'M MELTING...
[Edited by Abra Cat]
"A crib is a bed with bars on the side of it. It's kind of like a cage at the zoo. Except with a crib, you can put your hand through the bars. And the baby won't pull you in and kill you."- Junie B. Jones
"There's more than one way to skin a cat. And I happen to know that factually that's true."- Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins, III
"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."- Charlotte Bronte, 1847
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Tink *~*~*
Cast Member
Posts: 1066
Registered: Aug 2002
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Posted 09-27-02 03:02 AM
I love your trip report so far! Looking forward to subsequent installments.
Tink *~*~*
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Abra Cat
Cast Member
Posts: 159
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 09-27-02 12:51 PM
Thanks, Tink. I managed to bang out a few more days this morning, I hope you enjoy them.
"A crib is a bed with bars on the side of it. It's kind of like a cage at the zoo. Except with a crib, you can put your hand through the bars. And the baby won't pull you in and kill you."- Junie B. Jones
"There's more than one way to skin a cat. And I happen to know that factually that's true."- Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins, III
"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."- Charlotte Bronte, 1847
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VanBrujah
Cast Member
Posts: 421
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 09-29-02 01:16 AM
I was there the same week you were, and I would trade take the heat in exchange for the short lines any day!
VanBrujah
I wouldn't F*@k RiRi with HOWIE'S Di@k!
and now, name that quote:
"What the F*@k?
You mean you found out I did it?
You can't post that!
I'M TELLING!!"
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Abra Cat
Cast Member
Posts: 159
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 09-29-02 09:08 AM
quote:
VanBrujah wrote:
I was there the same week you were, and I would trade take the heat in exchange for the short lines any day!
VanBrujah
Yeah, the short lines were great, but even to have to wait in the heat for a few minutes was torture for us. Next time, we're going in December, with short lines AND less heat! ;o)
"A crib is a bed with bars on the side of it. It's kind of like a cage at the zoo. Except with a crib, you can put your hand through the bars. And the baby won't pull you in and kill you."- Junie B. Jones
"There's more than one way to skin a cat. And I happen to know that factually that's true."- Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins, III
"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."- Charlotte Bronte, 1847
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inkydinkydoo
Cast Member
Posts: 112
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 10-05-02 06:28 PM
I love your reports, Abra Cat! You had me laughing outloud in several places, and you've given new meaning to the "D" in DGH. I'll think of your interpretation every time I see DH, DW, DS . . . from now on and chuckle.
Pat
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Abra Cat
Cast Member
Posts: 159
Registered: Sep 2002
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Posted 10-05-02 07:29 PM
quote:
inkydinkydoo wrote:
I love your reports, Abra Cat! You had me laughing outloud in several places, and you've given new meaning to the "D" in DGH. I'll think of your interpretation every time I see DH, DW, DS . . . from now on and chuckle.
Pat
Hee! Thanks Pat, I'm glad you're enjoying them. One of these days I'll finish up the remaining days of our trip report...
"A crib is a bed with bars on the side of it. It's kind of like a cage at the zoo. Except with a crib, you can put your hand through the bars. And the baby won't pull you in and kill you."- Junie B. Jones
"There's more than one way to skin a cat. And I happen to know that factually that's true."- Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins, III
"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last."- Charlotte Bronte, 1847
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Common
Ground / Goofy's HUGE!
/ Our trip report, days 1-4: Never, ever again |
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