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I was lucky enough to have a convention scheduled in Orlando for October 23-27 for the Chapel where I work. They paid for us to get
there and the convention. A friend & I planned to go early for 2 magical Disney days!
We drove from North Carolina to WDW in 1 day. I had printed out directions directly to the Contemporary (so I thought) from Yahoo
maps. It had us going a weird way. We appeared to be lost for 30 minutes in the middle of no where. I was about to turn around when I
saw the road the map said we needed, Cast Road. The map had taken us to the cast entrance!!! I turned around and decided to ask the guy
at the gate for directions. I told him that we used yahoo maps & this was where it sent us, instead of the Cont. where we had
reservations. He made me wait for a second and was going to have another guy give us directions. Then, he changed his mind and said,
follow this road and its on your left. We got to see where they work on the monorail and several other buildings along the way. My dh
asked later if I had taken pictures or had my friend take them and I said no, we were lost and didnt think of it. He was shocked since I
am a picture taking nut! lol
We checked into the room and Charity was amazed at how close we were to everything. We had an amazing dinner at Chef Mickey's. We walked
up at 5:30 to see if they had a table available. It was just a 5 minute wait. I can't believe I forgot my camera! Oh well, I have my
pictures from when we were there in March for my daughter's birthday. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip & Dale all came to our table.
The 3 other tables around us were celebrating a birthday. It seemed their entire family was there. It must be awesome to do that. I hope
to do that one day, you know a family reunion at Disney. We left Chef Mickeys and headed to the gift shops. I got a Buzz Lightyear
lanyard with pins to trade for my son while we were there. I of course, picked up a few other pins not for trade. That night, we
rested up and mapped out our adventure at Magic Kingdom the next day.
We got up on Tuesday and headed up to the Shades of Green office to buy our tickets. I had no idea they had discounted 1 day passes
there. Here at home, on base, they only offer 4 & 5 day passes & the discount is not much, if anything. We walked over to Magic Kingdom
and waited around for it to open. I noticed there were several CM s talking as if they were planning something. I told Charity I bet
there were picking guests for a show or tour or something. Turns out, they were choosing families for the Good Morning show. That
show was awesome! I wish I had gotten there early enough with my family for them to see it last time. I will know for future
reference to arrive early to see shows. lol
When they opened the gates, we strolled down Main Street enjoying everything. We decided to try the "head left" theory for everything
during our trip. It worked! There were hardly any people around! She took a picture of me in fron of Pirates of the Carribean and there
were absolutly no people around. It was like it was deserted. WAY COOL! We rode everything without a wait longer than 5 minutes. On a
few rides, it was just us and maybe 4 other people. By the time we got to Tomorrowland, there were more people but not tons. What a
difference since Easter/Spring Break. From now on, my kiddos will miss school for Disney trips. lol Space Mountain was far jerkier (if
thats a word) than I remember. Then again, the last time I rode it, I was in high school 13 years ago. lol Splash Mountain was cool!
Gotta make my kids ride it next time. We left the park around 4 so we could beat the dinner rush.
We cleaned up a bit at the room and then hopped on the bus to Downtown Disney. It started to rain while we were going there. By
the time the buss stopped, it was POURING!! It was a cold rain too! Everyone was huddled under the buss stop. I told her we were getting
wet anyway so why not make a dash for the stores! We ran & got soaked! It was such run though. Just like being a kid again, who
doesnt care if you get wet! The first store we went into was the Christmas one. The CM doing the personalizing on the ornaments let
us use her towel to dry off. We were dripping water everywhere. lol The rain ended by the time we finished looking at that store. We
wandered around & then decided to eat at Wolfgang's Express. I got the Rosemary Chicken which was recommended to me by a lady who said
the guy at her hotel said it was awesome. Charity got the bbq chicken quesadilla. Hers was WAY better than mine. My food was dried
out and disappointing. We made sure to stop by for some ice cream at Ghiradelli's and scrapbook supplies at the R store. Forget the name
at the moment. I really wanted the Mickey Waffle maker and a Mickey Teapot but decided to wait. It would be so cool to have a Mickey
kitchen! I got a hair wrap before we left. Its pretty cool even though dh doesnt like it. For what I spent on it, its staying in
until it starts to fall apart! lol
We got back to the room exhausted but ready to plan our next days adventures at EPCOT.
Wedsnesday was EE for resort guests at EPCOT. It was funny to see the peoples faces as we were allowed in but they weren't. We started
off with Spaceship Earth. When we got to Test Track, there was hardly a line. We got in line only to hear an announcement made that
there was a problem and there would be a 45 minute wait. We decided not to wait. We had to be at our convention that evening and didnt
have all day to spend at the park. We went to everything else, also with little wait. We were there during the wine & food thing which
was pretty cool. Our first stop was Mexico for the watermelon water (AWESOME) and the chicken quesadilla. We shared everything we tried
so our $$ would go farther. Charity can't have alot of spices due to acid reflux so we skipped a few things I would have like to tried. I
could have gotten them anyway but decided not too. All the food was pretty good. Some was disappointing but it was fun to try it all. We
had to head back to the ATM at the front of the World Showcase since the ATM near USA was broken. The machines didnt seem to be working
to accept credit or debit cards at the food booths either. Everything was down over there for the moment. We rode the boat
across the lagoon. We sat at the very back of the boat & it was very noisy. We got the $$ and then started our food adventure again. The
Shrimp on the Barbie was good from Australia. The Maple Walnut fudge from Canada was VERY sweet but good. Again, we had pouring down
rain. We leaned against a booth to try to stay out of the rain. Our backsides were soaked. The rain lightened up a bit so we decided it
was fine to walk in the rain. We had to wring all the water out of our shirts by the time it was over. We rode the Norway troll ride
and saw everything in the world showcase. We worked our way back to Mexico for more watermelon water. We went to Test Track for a fast
pass but it was for around 6pm. We had to be at our other hotel then so we sadly ended our WDW trip.
We had already packed the car & checked out of the Contemporary before we went to the park. We said goodby to the parks and hotel
and headed to the Holiday Inn on International drive. Its where our convention was. I had looked it up online and it said it was a 13
acre resort. WHAT A JOKE!! The room we got was not in the tower they picture online. We were in a stinky, small, 2 story building. It
loked as if they had bought a few hotels and painted them the same and called it a resort. The ac only worked when it felt like it.
There was a dried up frog on the bathroom floor so we know the maid did not clean the floor. Our chapel was paying $109 a night for this
convention and our room and I would not have paid more than $20 for this room. Too bad they wouldnt have let us stay at the Contemporary
& just drive back & forth to participate in the convention! We were too exhausted after the first nights meeting & the day at EPCOT to
do anything about it that night. The next day, I called my boss & chaplain. He said to check out and go elsewhere. Charity went to the
first class of the day while I packed the car. When I went to the front desk to check out, they asked if I had a fmaily emergency. I
told them what I thought about their room & that I was going someplace nicer. They offered to let us stay in the room while
everything being fixed or go to another room, one in the tower. Umm, hello, all of us from the convention were supposed to be in the
tower to begin with! I told her only if I could look at the room first. The tower room was MUCH nicer, larger & smelled so clean. The
best thing, no dried frog on the floor & the A/C worked! lol So, we stayed. I would not reccomend the hotel though, not even the tower
for what they charge. The advertise it as a resort but its not.
So, thats pretty much my trip. We made it safely home from Florida on Sunday. That night dh's mom called and said his grandmother was
not doing well. We decided to go to West Virginia and see her. We got in a wreck 30 minutes from home on our way there on Tuesday. We
are all ok. You can see pics of the wreck here http://www.beansnmore.com/car.html I had the digital camera with me.
We are all fine & only had bruises & soreness. DS did have an abrasion on his cheek from a toy he was playing with. My film from
Disney should be back on Tuesday since Monday is a holiday.
I can't wait to start planning our next trip. Hopefully, it will be a cruise! We keep going back & forth between a cruise or a really
long stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Smiles,
Michelle
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