"What's a little engine failure in the face of a Disney trip?"
Tuesday, 14 November 2000
Cast:
Chelley (a. k. a. "She who must be obeyed")
Chelley's husband (a. k. a. "Sir Grouch-a-lot")
Chelley's 5-year-old daughter (a. k. a. "Chicken Girl")
We woke up at 3:45 A. M.--as we had to leave for the airport at 4:30/4:45ish to catch a 6:15 flight. For one of the few times in my life, I was actually ready to get up at 3:45 A. M.! (I had stayed up till after 1:00, so I had hardly slept at all.)
Everything seemed to be fine; we boarded the aircraft at the appropriate time. I must admit that I HATE the small planes that fly out of our local airport. We were all buckled in and ready to go when we heard the most gosh-awful sound. As if that weren't bad enough, we then heard the pilot (who didn't realize that we could hear her) say, "Wow! That's never happened to me before!"
Don't get me wrong: I like to fly. I HATE long road trips. I'm an airplane kind of girl. However, I'm fascinated by stories of people who "sense" that something is wrong, and I'm always certain that I'm missing a major clue!
Well, we soon learned that one engine had stopped working and that the pilot had called for maintenance. Like idiots, none of us on the plane seriously considered making a run for the exits. (I had to get to Disney World!) Finally, everything checked out and we headed for Memphis, where we transferred to a larger aircraft for the second leg of the trip.
The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful. Every time I dozed off, my daughter elbowed me. This action was not amusing after the fourth or fifth time. My husband did hiss at me at one point during the flight, "The next time we go on vacation, you get some sleep first. You are being a shrew simply because you are tired!" He was right, so (for once), I didn't argue! Ah, the joys of traveling with my family.
I was dismayed to see rain when we landed in Orlando, but I was delighted to see Mohammed (from Tiffany Town Car service) waiting for us at baggage claim. I told him that he's famous on the DIS Transportation board, and he laughed about his star status.
We went directly to the Swan (without the optional grocery store stop--our choice) and arrived around 12:45. I was nervous when I realized that the young woman at the front desk was "in training," but she was very friendly and quite competent. I was amazed to learn that our room was ready! We went right up and were delighted with our accommodations, a junior suite on the seventh floor with a balcony. We admired the views of the resort and of the Epcot area while waiting for the bellman to bring up our luggage.
We decided to head over to the Dolphin for lunch at the Dolphin Fountain. The food was okay, but the service was rather slow.
After lunch, my husband and my daughter went back to the room to nap, and DISer "SwanDolphin" took me on a quick tour of the resorts. (For those of you who read the DIS Resorts Board, you may feel a sense of deja-vu, since "SD" posted a minute-by-minute account of my travel schedule--without telling me for the first couple of days! Relax, everyone. He and I are friends, so I'm allowed to harass him!)
The WDW Swan and Dolphin are incredible resorts. The theming is interesting, and there are lots of great details (such as the shooting star on the ceiling of the main entrance area at the Dolphin, for which DISer EngineerEd is responsible, I believe!).
I returned to the room to learn that DISer "dt" had called to confirm our evening plans. I returned her call, and my husband watched in amazement as I carried on a LONG conversation with a person I had never seen before in my life!
We got ready for dinner and walked over to the BoardWalk. We met "dt" and her husband at the Flying Fish Cafe around 5:30 for an early dinner. My daughter was THRILLED because dt had brought her a bag full of goodies. You would not believe all the wonderful treats! The biggest hit was a small lock and a set of two keys (for a diary). "dt" and her husband were amused that my daughter was so fascinated with a set of keys.
The Flying Fish Cafe was wonderful. I had mahi-mahi with a mushroom risotto (if memory serves me correctly). We enjoyed visiting with our new friends, and everyone seemed really comfortable with each other. Dessert at the Flying Fish is incredible; I had the Bananas Napoleon.
After dinner we walked over to the Yacht Club to admire dt's room, which overlooked the weddding gazebo. Then, we headed to the dock for the IllumiNations cruise.
Our driver told us that she intended to give us our money's worth, and she did. She drove us over to Epcot so that we could see Tapestry of Nations. Then, she took us on a short spin around the Epcot resorts area and over to MGM. Then, she returned to Epcot for IllumiNations.
The experience was incredible! It was so nice to enjoy the show without having to be in the middle of a crowd. I was particularly grateful to dt for bringing along some bubbles for my daughter. They kept her entertained!
After IllumiNations, dt and her hubby joined us at the Swan for a visit. We were delighted to realize that we had turndown service at the hotel! We were also happy to see that we had a nice view of Spaceship Earth. We all walked over to the Dolphin to admire that resort before calling it a night.
My husband and daughter went right to bed, but I stayed up for quite some time, writing postcards and admiring the beautiful view.
A perfect first day!
[This message was edited by Chelley on 11-26-00 at 07:29 PM.]
Tuesday, 14 November 2000
Cast:
Chelley (a. k. a. "She who must be obeyed")
Chelley's husband (a. k. a. "Sir Grouch-a-lot")
Chelley's 5-year-old daughter (a. k. a. "Chicken Girl")
We woke up at 3:45 A. M.--as we had to leave for the airport at 4:30/4:45ish to catch a 6:15 flight. For one of the few times in my life, I was actually ready to get up at 3:45 A. M.! (I had stayed up till after 1:00, so I had hardly slept at all.)
Everything seemed to be fine; we boarded the aircraft at the appropriate time. I must admit that I HATE the small planes that fly out of our local airport. We were all buckled in and ready to go when we heard the most gosh-awful sound. As if that weren't bad enough, we then heard the pilot (who didn't realize that we could hear her) say, "Wow! That's never happened to me before!"
Don't get me wrong: I like to fly. I HATE long road trips. I'm an airplane kind of girl. However, I'm fascinated by stories of people who "sense" that something is wrong, and I'm always certain that I'm missing a major clue!
Well, we soon learned that one engine had stopped working and that the pilot had called for maintenance. Like idiots, none of us on the plane seriously considered making a run for the exits. (I had to get to Disney World!) Finally, everything checked out and we headed for Memphis, where we transferred to a larger aircraft for the second leg of the trip.
The rest of the journey was relatively uneventful. Every time I dozed off, my daughter elbowed me. This action was not amusing after the fourth or fifth time. My husband did hiss at me at one point during the flight, "The next time we go on vacation, you get some sleep first. You are being a shrew simply because you are tired!" He was right, so (for once), I didn't argue! Ah, the joys of traveling with my family.
I was dismayed to see rain when we landed in Orlando, but I was delighted to see Mohammed (from Tiffany Town Car service) waiting for us at baggage claim. I told him that he's famous on the DIS Transportation board, and he laughed about his star status.
We went directly to the Swan (without the optional grocery store stop--our choice) and arrived around 12:45. I was nervous when I realized that the young woman at the front desk was "in training," but she was very friendly and quite competent. I was amazed to learn that our room was ready! We went right up and were delighted with our accommodations, a junior suite on the seventh floor with a balcony. We admired the views of the resort and of the Epcot area while waiting for the bellman to bring up our luggage.
We decided to head over to the Dolphin for lunch at the Dolphin Fountain. The food was okay, but the service was rather slow.
After lunch, my husband and my daughter went back to the room to nap, and DISer "SwanDolphin" took me on a quick tour of the resorts. (For those of you who read the DIS Resorts Board, you may feel a sense of deja-vu, since "SD" posted a minute-by-minute account of my travel schedule--without telling me for the first couple of days! Relax, everyone. He and I are friends, so I'm allowed to harass him!)
The WDW Swan and Dolphin are incredible resorts. The theming is interesting, and there are lots of great details (such as the shooting star on the ceiling of the main entrance area at the Dolphin, for which DISer EngineerEd is responsible, I believe!).
I returned to the room to learn that DISer "dt" had called to confirm our evening plans. I returned her call, and my husband watched in amazement as I carried on a LONG conversation with a person I had never seen before in my life!
We got ready for dinner and walked over to the BoardWalk. We met "dt" and her husband at the Flying Fish Cafe around 5:30 for an early dinner. My daughter was THRILLED because dt had brought her a bag full of goodies. You would not believe all the wonderful treats! The biggest hit was a small lock and a set of two keys (for a diary). "dt" and her husband were amused that my daughter was so fascinated with a set of keys.
The Flying Fish Cafe was wonderful. I had mahi-mahi with a mushroom risotto (if memory serves me correctly). We enjoyed visiting with our new friends, and everyone seemed really comfortable with each other. Dessert at the Flying Fish is incredible; I had the Bananas Napoleon.
After dinner we walked over to the Yacht Club to admire dt's room, which overlooked the weddding gazebo. Then, we headed to the dock for the IllumiNations cruise.
Our driver told us that she intended to give us our money's worth, and she did. She drove us over to Epcot so that we could see Tapestry of Nations. Then, she took us on a short spin around the Epcot resorts area and over to MGM. Then, she returned to Epcot for IllumiNations.
The experience was incredible! It was so nice to enjoy the show without having to be in the middle of a crowd. I was particularly grateful to dt for bringing along some bubbles for my daughter. They kept her entertained!
After IllumiNations, dt and her hubby joined us at the Swan for a visit. We were delighted to realize that we had turndown service at the hotel! We were also happy to see that we had a nice view of Spaceship Earth. We all walked over to the Dolphin to admire that resort before calling it a night.
My husband and daughter went right to bed, but I stayed up for quite some time, writing postcards and admiring the beautiful view.
A perfect first day!
[This message was edited by Chelley on 11-26-00 at 07:29 PM.]
Your day and the Illuminations cruise sounded wonderful. Every Dis person that I've met has been just like an old friend.
