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| Christa Grant's
Trip Report August / September 05 |
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Day 11 - Part 2 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Our
plan was to go for a swim this afternoon. However, the rain didn’t
look like it was going to cooperate anytime soon. We had arranged
for the Magical Express bus to pick us up around 10pm tonight.
From the airport, we would take an airport shuttle back to the
La Quinta Airport West. We weren’t flying out until tomorrow
morning. However, Goofy Guy suggested we get the Magical Express
to pick us up earlier.
Thud
I hit the floor pretty fast. He quickly explained his logic for
fear I’d
faint again. We couldn’t go swimming like we had originally planned,
and he was just too tired to go back to a theme park. If we arrived at the
La Quinta in good time tonight, we could relax a bit and not be overtired for
our early flight tomorrow.
I couldn’t deny his logic. I hated him for that.
With a heavy heart, I watched him as he rescheduled our Magical Express pick-up
for 7pm instead of 10pm. I was a broken woman.
I wanted to make the most of the time we had left, so what’s a girl to
do? Shop! I noticed a charm bracelet with all the major Disney characters.
I remembered from a year ago, that a friend of mine had asked me to bring a
charm bracelet home for her daughter the next time we were in Disney. I never
found such a bracelet until today. We decided to buy it.
The bracelet looked lonely, so I bought one for myself too.
The sacrifices I make really are endless. Just as we were about to pay, a man
and his son asked the cast member at the cash register if they could see her
pins. I must confess to all you pin trading experts, that I know absolutely
nothing about the subject. I couldn’t tell the difference between these
trading pins and a bowling pin. I was fascinated with this father & son
team and how they intently examined the CM’s lanyard. They must have
noticed a particularly special pin because they pleaded with the CM to trade
with them. It didn’t look like the CM was budging. She didn’t want
to part with this particular pin.
The man wasn’t easily defeated and pulled out the big guns. He asked
the CM if she liked pizza. With a quizzical look on her face, she replied with
a cautious “yes”. The man then explained that he owns a Gourmet
Pizza Shop in New York and he was willing to mail her a frozen pizza as soon
as he gets home if she would only trade with him today. He promised that his
pizza was the best ever and she wouldn’t regret it. She just may want
to move to New York to be closer to the pizza.
The CM looked over at me, as if to ask if this guy was for real, but I was
just as bewildered as she. I was also trying to figure out how to get in on
this pizza deal.
She really took her time making her decision. I didn’t know if it was
against the rules to accept bribes or not. We paid for our bracelets while
she was making her decision. I’ve often wondered what ended up happening.
I wish we had stayed to see the situation resolved, but we suddenly had a hankering
for some pizza.
We grabbed a pizza in the food court. After eating it, I wished we had gotten
in on the gourmet pizza deal in New York instead. We didn’t care for
this pizza at all. The dessert made up for it yet again however. The serving
sizes were a little smaller today, which suited us just fine. I didn’t
think my shorts would stretch anymore anyway.
Just before finishing our dinner, a pleasant Cast Member came over to our table
to say hello and wish us a great vacation. We sadly explained that we were
heading home shortly, but it had been a trip of a lifetime. She chatted good-naturedly
for a while and said she looks forward to seeing us again soon.
I wished I could see her again tomorrow.
We had a few more minutes to spare, so we decided to spend the rest of our
snack credits. We stocked up on Mickey Ears for Fanlover and Crackerjacks for
Dapper Dad (and maybe a Rice Crispy treat or two for me). Goofy Guy noticed
the red Mickey Mouse straws and decided to buy some for the boys. The straws
that we had gotten for the boys last week had melted in the hot car. We were
excited to have one more Disney surprise to share with the boys. I was determined
not to let the trip end completely – not yet.
Our last stop was the arcade. I didn’t even know there was an arcade!
Goofy Guy’s eye was drawn to a boxing game where you put on actual gloves
and pretend to punch the guy on the screen. He just had to play. While he played,
three teenage boys came over to watch and were absolutely mesmerized. I wasn’t
impressed. Does anyone else see anything wrong with punching someone’s
lights out while in Walt Disney World?
What would Snow White say?
At any rate, the time had come to pick up our luggage and catch our Magical
Express bus. I was hoping the bus driver would forget about us, but there he
was, right on time. Why did he have to pick today to be so prompt? I turned
around and looked one last time at the lobby and with a tear in my eye, we
boarded the bus. Umm, there was no one else here. This is strange. Maybe this
bus wasn’t really taking us to the airport. Maybe the driver was actually
surprising us with an extra vacation and was taking us over to the Polynesian.
We asked the driver if he was making any other stops to pick other people up,
and he said “no – next stop is the airport”. Drat! We were
the only people aboard for this trip. I felt slightly guilty being the only
two people on this big beautiful bus, but I quickly got over it.
Ice Age was playing on the TV, which is one of the only Disney movies I’ve
only seen once. I actually wished the drive to the airport was a bit longer
because a funny part was coming up next. The only thing that could have made the
shuttle service better, was if we were headed in the other direction.
We arrived at the airport without incident and proceeded to phone the La Quinta
to request a shuttle pick-up. I was definitely sad to have left Disney, but
I did manage to find some solace in watching OTHER people actually catch their
flights home while we were leaving for our hotel…never mind that we
were flying home tomorrow.
See how my crazy mind works?
The shuttle arrived within minutes and the driver proceeded to tell us her
life story as we drove to the hotel. It was exciting to meet yet another person
who rivals myself in the Drama Queen department. We should teach a class together.
Upon our return to Canada, the taxi driver who drove us home did much the same
thing. I hope our driver conquered his fear of flying and decided to take his
girlfriend to Hawaii as she had always dreamed.
See, I told you we had gotten close.
Are we Drama Queen magnets? Our flight home was a good one – I think.
I must admit that my mind was still in Florida. Our flight could have been
full of skunks and I wouldn’t have noticed. Before I knew it, we were
home. The post-Disney blues were ready to set in, but thankfully, I had a diversion
planned. Let the trip report writing begin!
Random Thoughts:
It was a trip of a lifetime. Together we learned that our family may be slightly
crazy, but in a fun sort of way. All of our worries and concerns were unwarranted
and since we’re a family of Drama Queens, we had plenty of worries to
go around.
I learned that our family members had been hiding some of their hidden talents
from each other:
1) ToT sis revealed to us her acrobatic ability by defying physics and opening
her mouth wider than the actual size of her head. She then outdid herself by
showing off her impressive tongue. It suddenly makes sense that we’re
related.
2) Cocoa bil’s mild manner is all a façade. Inside him, there’s
an actor just dying to run wild and now we have the pictures to prove it. It
only took the Hoop Dee Doo to bring that out, and there’s no turning
back now. If only Hee Haw was still in production.
3) Dapper Dad showed us that quartets are better with 5 people. Who else can
sing a song with the Dapper Dans that they had never heard before and come
out on top? Look for him this winter in the Magic Kingdom. He’ll be the
one with the tuba.
4) Fanlover revealed to us her mastermind. I dare say no one else could come
up with the idea to create an air-conditioned segway. Her cheque is in the
mail. Until that time, she receives the award for most consecutive hours using
the misty fan without drowning.
5) Splashboy dazzled us with how he conquered his fears. With Crush ‘N
Gusher, Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain under his belt – Mount Everest
is the logical next step. He also became the Hidden Mickey King, putting his
poor aunt to shame.
6) Boomer amazed us with his determination. Nothing was going to get in the
way of him riding Thunder Mountain and watching fast motorcycles. Sorry ToT
sis, but you may have a stunt driver for a son in your future. Just ask the
stranger who sat behind him at the Stunt Show.
7) Goofy Guy reinforced to me his everlasting patience. We think he should
have been a marathon sprinter considering the number of times he collected
fast passes for our crew. He also rivals Cocoa bil in his ability to eat 100
ribs per sitting.
8) Goofy Gal, me, proved that it is possible to use 6 boxes of Kleenex in 10
days without even having a cold.
Tips/Suggestions
1) The free dining plan was a dream. What a treat it was to be able to eat
at any restaurant without the worry of overspending. Our only worry was overeating.
We highly recommend you make some Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR’s)
prior to your trip. No need to plan all your meals (so you can be more flexible),
but by booking your must-do restaurants, you don’t need to worry about
being turned away. Would we use the dining plan if it hadn’t been free?
Honestly, we’re not sure. We never, ever eat that much food so it would
be hard to break even. I can see how it would be beneficial for some people
however.
2) Sunscreen is your friend.
3) Bodyglide, bodyglide, bodyglide!! Did I mention bodyglide? My feet have
never felt so good in all my trips to Disney. Combine the bodyglide with my
teva sandals, and my feet were deliriously happy. I’ll never go to Disney
without both items again.
4) We really enjoyed the All Star Movies Resort. Although each of us has a
preference for other hotels, we all agreed that the All Star Movies Resort,
particularly the Toy Story section, was perfect for the boys. We wouldn’t
have changed a thing.
5) We all really appreciated having a rough itinerary prior to the trip. ToT
sis mentioned that she liked not having to sit around each night discussing
what to do the next day. It saved on time. We didn’t stick to the itinerary
completely, but it was a great guide.
6) If given the chance to do it again, I think we’d prefer not to go
in late August. It was quite hot and humid, even for us Disney fanatics.
7) In a word: FAST PASS! We never waited in a line for more than 20 minutes
thanks to planning our day wisely and utilizing fast pass.
Since coming home, ToT sis and Cocoa bil had the family over for dinner in
order to thank us for all of our trip planning and financial support (Goofy
Guy and I did the planning and Dapper Dad and Fanlover provided the financial
support). Like it could be the reverse! They made us a fabulous dinner and Splashboy made
nametags for each person. He even cut out a Disney picture for each nametag
that was relevant to that particular person. For some reason ToT sis’ nametag
sported a picture of Tower of Terror.
The night ended with a slideshow of all of our pictures put together. Our goal
was for the boys to remember the trip with fond memories. It appeared that
we had met our goal. Both boys’ eyes were dancing as they recalled funny
stories or incidents. We all agreed that our trip could not have been better.
The Disney magic is alive and thriving. A big thank you goes out to Dapper
Dad and Fanlover for making this trip financially possible in the first place. Another
thank you goes out to ToT sis, Cocoa bil, Goofy Guy, Splashboy & Boomer
for making this trip so unbelievably magical. Each one of you played
your own special role.
Ever since our return home, I’ve constantly joked about wanting to go
back right away or make this an annual event. It would be fun to all go back
together; but I’m realistic to know that we’d never recapture all
the “firsts” and the wide-eyed looks of the boys. We’ll always
have these firsts in our memories, our pictures and of course my ridiculously
longwinded trip report.
Of
course, I’m always willing to give it a try however.
Thanks so much for sticking with me through this month long journey.
I’m
happy to answer any questions you may have. You may now return to your regularly
scheduled lives.
It’s amazing to me that this whole Family Magical Gathering began with
a single phone call to Disney, 2yrs ago when we booked the Hoop Dee Doo.
If y’all excuse me, I’ve got a phone call to make.
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