Jae's WDW Trip
February 2003

Trip Report - Day 1

Cast of Characters:
Me - twentysomething little girl, otherwise known as Princess
DH - thirtysomething big kid, otherwise known as Flower the Skunk

I woke at 5 AM on Monday, February 10th, too excited to sleep any more. I crawled out of bed and found DH in the office, working away at his computer. When I asked him what he was doing up, he said he had been so excited he hadn't been able to sleep all night! I went back in the bedroom and tried to get some more sleep - but it was no use. I was too excited too. We were going to Disneyworld!

We finally called a car to take us to the airport around 8:15. The sky was overcast and the weather report was calling for snow. In Washington, Ohio and Chicago, flights were already delayed and the weather channel said there was severe thunderstorms in Orlando. I had my fingers crossed - we had been looking forward to this vacation for so long I was terrified something would go wrong.

We did curbside check in, which was a breeze and made our way through security. DH got searched by hand and we both had to take off shoes, sweatshirts, belts jewelry - we were practically getting undressed in the middle of the airport LOL! As we made it to the waiting area, CNN announced the reason why. The terror alert level had been raised to orange. We got to our waiting area, and found out more bad news. Because of the weather, our flight was delayed for over an hour already and they didn't know when the plane would arrive.

Just as it began to snow, our plane landed. I have never seen such a fast turn around! The plane was refueled, loaded and ready to leave in about 20 minutes. Snow was falling thick and fast by now - but we still took off and got settled in for a very bumpy ride. The flight crew informed us that because of their haste to leave, they had forgotten to load the meals on the plane, so by the time we landed in beautiful, sunny, cloudless Florida, I was starving! We got off the plane and headed straight to Burger King (do not pass go, do not collect $200). I was so hungry that I inhaled my entire meal in the time it took for us to wait for the tram to baggage LOL. We collected our bags without a problem and went to find the Mears shuttle.

Here things got a little sticky. Mears couldn't find my reservation and said my e-mail confirmation wasn't valid. I said I didn't care - book me a new reservation and get me to the hotel. I will have to check my credit card bill when I get it, but all I wanted was to be at Disney. Finally, I got our tickets and we settled down for a very, very, very long wait. I can't believe I let DH talk me into taking the shuttle - from now on it is a town car or nothing. After about 45 minutes, we got on a bus and then made more stops within the airport!. We stopped at both Port Orleans, and then finally we arrived at the Wilderness Lodge.

We checked in and received a sixth floor room with a courtyard view. It was one of the rooms with an enclosed balcony, which would be bad for people with young kids but perfect for us! It gave us a lot of privacy but we still had an amazing view of Bay Lake, the pool, Silver Creek Falls and the geyser. Also, one little part of the room ceiling was slanted, which made it feel even more like a real lodge. (sigh) I love this hotel,

We had bought the Dream Maker package with UPH tickets for all 7 days of our stay. This was actually cheaper than buying park hoppers, because of the booking discounts we received, but because of all the delays, it was after 5:30 by the time we arrived at the hotel. So instead of going to the MK, like I had wanted, we showered and set off for the Polynesian. We had 7:40 PS for Ohana and wanted to explore the hotel.

We had never seen the Polynesian before and were very impressed. I love the lobby, the little stream, the tropical foliage, the stone flooring - well, everything. DH wanted to stop and shop but I dragged him out back - I really wanted to see the volcano pool. Just as we approached it, they started playing music through the speakers. I started to say "we have better music at our hotel" and then the bit about Tinkerbell flying over the MK came on. I screamed "fireworks!" (I said I'm really a small girl LOL) and DH and I ran down to the beach. We stood at the edge of the water, held hands and watched the fireworks over the castle - something we ended up doing a lot that week LOL. I realized at the end of it that I had a big stupid grin on my face and so did DH. Just being at the world was making all the troubles (and there had been a lot!) of the year before just disappear.

After the fireworks, we explored all the shops and restaurants. One had mini orange trees for sale and I bought one. I love souvenirs like this because they last forever, and I've now repotted it and it sits on my desk at home. Then we checked in for our PS. Ohana was mobbed. We decided to wait until we could get a more secluded table, but in no time we were seated in a little corner away from the main mess and our 'cousin' was getting us drinks. I had been talking about blender drinks every time I got stressed all day ("this will all be better tonight when I have a blender drink") so I ordered something called a Trade Winds. It arrived in a glass bigger than my head, with an umbrella and a straw with a tinsel top - more little girl treasures. Don't let the fruit punch taste fool you - by the time we were done, I was a little bit tipsy and DH wasn't much better, since he was downing Sam Adams along with peanut sauce and chicken wings. We were also stuffed to the gills, and slowly made our way back to the hotel, via a monorail to the Contemporary and a boat from there. On the boat, we spent some time visiting with a very nice family from our area, who were also staying at the WL for the week.

Now, even though we were in Florida, it had still gone down to 40 degrees. We were bundled up in our fleeces and as we walked by the pool, we saw kids swimming!!! The water was warmer than the air - but still! DH said they must be Canadians, and I said, no, Minnesotans, referring to an old New Yorker cartoon. We lovingly referred to the late night and early morning swimmers as Minnesotans for the rest of the week.

High points: Blender drinks, the beautiful room, the volcano pool, meeting a nice family
Low points: Mears shuttle, turbulence, no food on the plane

Day: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7