|
Cast of Characters: Me (37) DD (7)
Trip Dates: (Nov 27 - Dec 3)
Day 1 - Saturday, November 27, 2004
The day has finally arrived for our departure to THE WORLD! This has been a much anticipated trip, since it seems there were several
things we didn't get to do on our 2003 trip - (crowds were larger than I expected in Oct.)
I got up at 5:30 (uugghhh! Like going to work). Packing was already done, except for the things needed in the morning. DD got up
surprisingly well! We left the house a bit before 7 am. Dropped the car off at the parking service, near the airport, rode the shuttle to
the airport, arriving around 7:40 am.
The flight leaves at 8:50, so we got there in plenty of time. I was a bit concerned, this being the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but it
was not crowded (Nashville, TN) although it apparently was on Thursday and Sunday!
Arrived in Orlando at 11:30 and retrieved our luggage (all suitcases look alike!). Our driver from SunRay Transportation was waiting for
us and we immediately went to Pop Century. We checked in at 12:30 and our room was ready! I love this resort. It is so fun and
cheery. Busses were timely, the pool was fun.
After dropping our luggage in the room, we headed to Everything Pop for lunch and refillable mugs. Then we checked out the gift shop,
bought some scrapbooking items, leaving them at package pick up, to retrieve later and headed to Downtown Disney at 3.
My plans for this trip included touring all (or most) of the hotels to see their Christmas decorations, but that takes more time than you
think. So, we saw what we could, but by no means did a "tour". DD's main interest is the rides, anyway, so . . . . I wanted to avoid the
parks this day, thinking they would be packed - especially MK, since it was open late. Last year we were pretty tired by the time we made
it to DTD, so I was anxious to see it while I was fresh.
By 5, I am hearing "my feet hurt, my feet hurt" over and over and over. Especially since DTD isn't thrilling to my 7yo, unless we are
buying, buying, buying - which we are not! The little clearance shop, where everything is under $10 is a definite hit! We loved the
grab bags and ended up buying 3. Very cool stuff! We had a 7:00 PS at Chef Mickeys and since it was starting to rain, we hopped on a bus
to the Contemporary a little after 5.
This trip, DD was getting autographs on a T-shirt, so we checked out the gift shops (and Christmas decorations) before checking in at Chef
Mickey's. This is the best character meal! The food is excellent! I can't wait to eat here again! We saw Donald, Mickey, Chip and Dale
and got their autographs on the T-shirt. By the way, the shirt turned out very neat and I highly recommend this idea, especially if
you already have a set of autographs in a book.
Just as we were leaving DTD, it really started to rain. There was a huge clap of thunder, too. People on the monorail were soaked and
many wore ponchos - apparently there had been a huge downpour. Lucky for us we were inside at Chef Mickey's! This is all of the rain
during our whole trip, so I would have to say very near perfect weather!!
After the meal, we rode the monorail to TTC, then got on the Epcot monorail, which circles Future World. This is the first time I've
ridden this monorail - very neat. We then caught a bus back to POP, picked up our earlier purchases, got a coke and back to the room by
10:00.
Best thing today: We are HERE! Missed the rain! Chef Mickey's was wonderful!
Worst thing today: Hearing "my feet hurt" already! On day 1!
Part One, Two, Three, Four
|
