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Old 03-31-2001, 02:05 PM   #1
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Michelle\'s Spring Break Trip @ Contemporary

Woohoo! That sums it up. I finally made myself sit down and start my trip report. I am really glad I did. It brings back such nice memories. I'm glad I am documenting my trip while it is fresh in my mind. I hope you enjoying reading it.



------------------
Michelle
Soul-mate of Pooh.


July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Contemporary Resort
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Old 03-31-2001, 02:07 PM   #2
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Re: Michelle\'s Spring Break Trip @ Contemporary

Who? Michelle (single mom, 34) and Todd (her son, 8), Mamaw (Michelle’s mother, 65), and Papaw (Todd’s hero, Michelle’s dad, 66)

Day 1-2 March 9-10, 2001
The Road Trip, or “I’m late, I’m late! For a very important date!”

I took the day off today to frantically begin (yes, folks, I said begin) to pack! I will never, never wait until the last minute again. Scout’s honor. I was determined to have a clean house to come home to, so I cleaned house and packed all day. I was also preparing my dog and cat for our absence. Luckily, I have a wonderful neighbor who agreed to take care of my pets. (That saved me $250 for a kennel!)

Finally, we were ready to go at 4 p.m. However, I would later discover that I left my cameras at home in the rush to go. (I may have subconsciously wanted to leave them, since I dislike carrying cameras and viewing my vacation through a camera lens. But, I love to have pictures…so there’s my dilemma.) My son and I drove to pick up my parents, who live about 6 miles from us. We loaded the van with luggage, walker, cane, and wheelchair! Oh, yes, and passengers, too. My parents are both able to walk, but neither one very well. My dad suffered a major stroke three years ago and my mother has severe arthritis and bursitis in her knees and is overweight- a bad combination.

I am the only person able to drive in our group, so the trip is a long tiring one. I have decided I would like to fly my next trip. The gas for the trip cost about $100.00, plus two hotel nights at about $75.00 each. That’s not bad for 4 people. But when it’s just my son and I, it would cost about $400.00 for both of us to fly. To me, that’s worth the money.

We drove to Shreveport, LA and started looking for a place to stay the night. HINT: Make reservations for hotels ahead of time. We continued to drive and look until we got to Baton Rouge. We stayed somewhere between there and New Orleans. We finally were forced to take a smoking room out of exhaustion! Everywhere we stopped, and we stopped at many places, only had smoking rooms available. At this hotel, after inquiring about a room, the desk clerk informed us that the only rooms available were smoking rooms. I guess she saw the look of disappointment on my face and I hesitated to answer, because she quickly added, “But you don’t have to smoke in it, just because it’s a smoking room!” I can’t believe she said that and was serious. Lol. I reluctantly agreed to take it. We didn’t rest well that night, and I did smell the smoke. But I was so tired I probably would have slept on the ground. We were on the road again around 8 am, which is 9 am Disney time. (We don’t enter Eastern time until Florida.) We passed the time by playing travel games and listening to Harry Potter on tape. We also listened to all of my Disney CD’s along the way. The road from Dallas to WDW is a boring one. There aren’t many sights to see. We managed to get to Tallahassee that night and stopped around 11 pm. That was a long day of driving for me! Again, we had trouble finding a hotel with a room available. We could feel the Disney excitement growing after we crossed into Florida!

------------------
Michelle
Soul-mate of Pooh.


July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Contemporary Resort

[This message has been edited by michnash (edited 03-31-2001).]

[This message has been edited by michnash (edited 03-31-2001).]
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Old 03-31-2001, 02:20 PM   #3
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Re: Michelle\'s Spring Break Trip @ Contemporary

Day 3, March 11, 2001
The Arrival, or “Wow!”

While loading the van the next morning, I met a nice lady from Wisconsin. I, of course, shared my enthusiasm for the PassPorter and I gave her one of the “tickets” from the back of the book. I hope she decides to join us online.

My last trip to WDW was only a couple of months ago, at Christmas. We stopped at the Disney Information Center in Ocala on that trip and we stopped there again this trip, too. There is also a Sam’s Club in the same center and we stopped to get snacks for the trip there. We got to Ocala around lunchtime and stopped for exact directions to the Contemporary. We picked up maps and schedules for shows and hit the road again! We only went across the parking lot to the Sam’s Club. We got snacks and my son a toothbrush. (However, if you know Sam’s Club, you can’t just get a toothbrush. You have to get many toothbrushes!) I really meant to get a package of disposable cameras, but alas, in my excitement I forgot this item. I’ll pay for that mistake later.

We’re on our way again! We’re almost there! By the way, the weather when we left wasn’t wintry, but it was chilly all the way there, in the 50’s. But, when we got close to WDW, the weather magically turned to upper 70’s low 80’s and gorgeous!

We arrived at the Contemporary around 4 pm Eastern time. WOW!! The service was awesome! A nice young man met our car and unloaded all of our luggage, etc. and put it in the holding room and valet parked our van. I tipped him and we proceeded into the lobby. I loved the atmosphere! It reminded me of what we always imagined the future to be when I was a little girl. I almost expected the Jetsons to fly in! I waited in line to check in about 5 minutes. Joey, (the CM), helped me check in and he was very patient and kind. I had requested a balcony with a view of the Castle. (We had a tower room.) We also requested a handicap accessible room. Joey informed us that we would get everything we asked for! (Wow, what a man!) However, we would have to wait for the room to be cleaned. I was more than happy to wait! A Castle view!! I was so excited! We went up to the 15th floor to the observation deck. Wow! What a view! I didn’t realize you could go outside. That was really neat. I was dying to go to the Magic Kingdom! We went back down to the Snack Bar and waited for our room. We all purchased the refillable mugs and snacks.

Finally, our room was ready! Our room was on the 10th floor. We had the last room, which meant it was closest to the Magic Kingdom! Wow! (Did I say that already? I need to come up with another interjection!) Wow! What a room! I love it! It was so big! (I had only stayed at the All Star Movies before this.) The bathroom was large and handicapped accessible, which meant it had bars on the walls and no door separating the toilet from the tub area. We had a large balcony with a breathtaking view of the Magic Kingdom. I adored the “futuristic” décor in the room! Everything was “curvy” and had wild prints.

We called for our luggage. They would bring it up in about 15 minutes. We called for the ECV that my mom rented from Randy’s Mobility. They stopped deliveries at 5:00 pm and it was 5:20 pm. Oh, well, they said they would deliver it first thing in the morning, at 8 am. Todd and I couldn’t wait any longer. We headed out for the Magic Kingdom! My parents were going to stay in to unpack and relax. (Todd and I have AP’s and my parents have 2 days left on a 5-day hopper from December.)

Todd and I went to the monorail on the 4th floor. We asked to sit up front and luckily, we were granted our request! What a magical day it has been. We enjoyed the trip around the other resorts to the Magic Kingdom in the front car of the monorail. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 6:00 pm. We went straight to the Emporium to sign a big farewell card for the Main Street Electrical Parade and pick up our free lithograph. (This was a special promotion for Annual Pass holders only.) I broke down and bought a disposable camera for $20.00. (Lesson: Don’t forget your camera, or you’ll have to pay!) We headed down Main Street. We wanted to get a good viewing location for the MSEP. The street was crowded with people sitting on the curb waiting for the parade. We headed for Liberty Square, where we saw a great location, just past the bridge, right at the rope. We sat and waited here for the MSEP. I was so happy, that I didn’t even mind sitting on the hard ground.

By the time the parade came, my behind was sore and tired. But, nothing could dampen my spirits now! I love the MSEP. I am really going to miss it. As the last float passed, we got up and followed it all the way to the end! It was so fun. We were in the parade! We danced as we walked and waved to the people on the sidelines. At the end of the line, we turned to go to BTMRR! This is Todd’s (and my) favorite ride. The line was practically non-existent. We waited 2 trains, I think, to get on. The ride was awesome. It was faster than I remembered!

After BTMRR, it was time for the Fireworks. We were walking back through Frontierland, and Todd likes to take the bridge walkway. (We call it “the shortcut”, although it’s not really a shortcut.) There were only a few people around on the bridge and this turned out to be an excellent viewing spot for the Fireworks! Of course, from here, it doesn’t look like the fireworks are behind the Castle. If this is important to you, to see them behind the Castle, then you’ll need to be on Main Street for that. After enjoying the fireworks, we headed out of the park. We decided to walk back to the Contemporary. This turned out to be much quicker than waiting for the monorail. Even though I was tired, I’d much rather walk than stand in a line.

We got back to our lovely room and I still had to unpack! Tomorrow, I was planning to get up at 6 am and go to EE morning at MK. I called and asked Mickey to wake me up at 6 am. I got to bed around midnight. I was the last one in bed and I would be the first one getting up in the morning. But, I don’t mind. I want to spend every minute I can awake and enjoying this magical trip!


------------------
Michelle
Soul-mate of Pooh.


July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Contemporary Resort
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Old 04-01-2001, 10:56 AM   #4
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Re: Michelle\'s Spring Break Trip @ Contemporary

WOW! Great trip so far!

Hurry, we want more!
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Old 04-02-2001, 08:52 PM   #5
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Re: Michelle\'s Spring Break Trip @ Contemporary

WOW!! Enjoying the trip, more please.

------------------



Kristen

Sept 2000 Port Orleans
Waiting patiently for my next trip and cruise in 2004.
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Old 04-03-2001, 10:53 PM   #6
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Re: Michelle\'s Spring Break Trip @ Contemporary

Who? Michelle (single mom, 34) and Todd (her son, 8), Mamaw (Michelle’s mother, 65), and Papaw (Todd’s hero, Michelle’s dad, 66)

Day 3, March 11, 2001
Addendum to The Arrival, or “Wow!” (Day 3, Part 2)


“What are your thoughts about our first day here?” I asked everyone.

Mamaw – “My favorite part of today was getting a comfortable bed and a nice big bathroom! And, I really enjoyed seeing the fireworks show from our balcony.”

Papaw – “My favorite part was going to bed.” (He’s easy to please!)

Todd – “I have 4 favorite parts: looking at the room for the first time, seeing the Electric Parade, riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and watching the fireworks!”

My thoughts: “Wow, I love this room! I can’t believe we’re finally here! I loved riding the monorail and seeing Main Street at MK for the first time.” (The first time this trip, that is!)



------------------
Michelle
Soul-mate of Pooh.


July 1976 - off site
May 1984 - off site
June 1987 - off site
May 2000 - All Star Movies
Dec. 2000 - All Star Movies
March 2001 - Contemporary Resort

[This message has been edited by michnash (edited 04-03-2001).]
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