Our Crash Course in Disney 101 - Trip Report - COMPLETE 10/1 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
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Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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Our Crash Course in Disney 101 - Trip Report - COMPLETE 10/1
It’s hard to believe we’re back home again, after this much-anticipated first trip to WDW – but here we are. And now that I’ve had a few days to integrated and muse over our experience, I think I’m ready to write up this trip report. And yes, it truly was a crash course in Disney 101!!!
CAST OF CHARACTERS:
ME : Cathy, age 45, Disney Planner and Creator-in-Training. Most looking forward to The Haunted Mansion and dining at Raglan Road…and seeing the look on my girls’ faces when they behold Cinderella’s castle for the first time (so I can say ‘told ya so!’)
DH : Kevin, age 52, Amazing Musician, IT Genius and Martial Artist Extraordinaire. Can throw a double spin jump sidekick but cannot ride the Teacups without yakking. Can mix it up grappling with the guys but thinks roller coasters are too rough and hurt his head. (Why is he on this trip?) Most looking forward to getting away from work for awhile!
DD1: Alexa, age 17, Indie-Rock-Girl and Talented Artist. Has her own band “Rock Paper Scissors” (when they become famous, remember you heard it here first!) Most looking forward to ToT and RnRC (sorry ‘bout that one) and terrorizing her sisters on ITTBAB. (She’s been to WDW before – nyah nyah!)
DD2: Kelley, age 9, Little Angel and Former Princess. Quiet, sensitive and takes things to heart easily, but rarely shows her true feelings. Most looking forward to ‘everything’ and seeing if there are Hello Kitties at the Japanese pavilion.
DD3: Cory, age ALMOST 8, Chief Mischief-Maker and Ballerina. Clone of big sister Alexa (we call them Dr. Evil and Mini Me.) Most looking forward to Dinosaur and swimming at the resort. Will wear a “It’s My Birthday” button at the parks.
Not appearing in this production are:
DS: Tyler, age 19, at his dad’s getting ready to depart for basic training (Marine Corps) in a few months. Most looking forward to staying at Shades of Green in a few years!
DDog: Duncan, age 2, Velcro Dog and Lassie-Lookalike. Most looking forward to us returning home – he’s never been away from us so long before!
And now…on with the show!
Now, the first thing to keep in mind is that I had this vacation all planned out. I read, I researched, I asked questions, and more questions and felt, for a newby, I had a pretty good handle on knowing what was up at WDW. I had a rough itinerary down, and thanks to TourGuideMike, a more detailed itinerary. Listening to the seasoned advice of others, I left plenty of room to rearrange plans and tried to add in times for relaxing and soaking up the ambience. I had family meetings where I explained the game plan and tried to give each family member a chance for input so that everyone could do the things that were most important to them. I felt prepared!
Monday morning the alarm went off at 5:00am – it seemed so surreal after all these months of planning (and more planning) to finally jump out of bed and run to the girls’ room to wake them with a “Time to get up and go to Disney World!” They shot up like rockets, ready to get dressed and eat breakfast and jump in the van.
However, my plans of leaving early (6:00am) didn’t materialize. DH Kevin (who is usually the one waiting for us to finish getting ready) took his time that morning, making sandwiches for the trip and doing last-minute packing. We have a tradition of eating sandwiches on the road while driving to our vacation destinations – we’re so anxious to get there, we don’t like to waste time stopping to eat. At last we made it out the door and on the highway at 7:17am – and estimated a 10 hr. drive from Nashville to WDW.
The drive down was smooth and easy; we ate lunch in the van – and only stopped twice for gas and bathroom breaks. Everybody’s spirits were high – we were excited to finally be realizing our dreams. As we crossed over the Florida state line, the weather began to get cloudy and it looked like rain. Sure enough, the raindrops began to splatter on the windshield as we approached the Fl Turnpike. And then… the sun appeared through a break in the clouds as Alexa shouted, “Hey look everyone – a rainbow!” Sure enough, right in the general direction of The World, a rainbow had appeared, sending us a magical welcome. How cool is that?
Alexa had created a Disney music CD for us and we played Disney music for the rest of the way to get us in the mood. We used the ‘back door’ entrance to Disney (many thanks to Susan for giving me the directions! ) and were able to navigate the maze of roads that make up the Disney complex very easily thanks to all the directional signs. And ohhh – the look on the girls’ faces when we crossed under the arch that announced “Welcome to Walt Disney World!!!”
We made one quick stop at a Hess gas station (TIP – definitely the best prices around) and then drove on to Port Orleans Riverside. Driving time was exactly 10 hours!
Check-in was a breeze – the girls sat down to watch a Disney movie in the lobby as we completed the paperwork, got our Keys to the World cards and buttons for “My First Visit” and “Happy Birthday” for Cory (who finally decided it was okay to ‘pretend’ her birthday was that week instead of the first week in October!!)
Alligator Bayou was our home for the next four days, right next to one of the quiet pools. The theme of the room was excellent – very rustic and warm. We had a corner room with two windows which really added to the charm. I had high hopes ( and had planned) that we would have arrived sooner so we could have played a round of mini-golf or gone on a carriage ride that evening. But it was getting late and we were getting tired, so as soon as all our luggage and stuff was carried in, we took a stroll through the grounds back to the lobby and the Riverside Mill food court to have dinner. Ahh, the Dining Plan!! What a wonderful concept! How divine to order anything you want without worrying about a budget!! The food court was quite tasty, and offered each of us a variety of food items to choose from. I have no idea what everyone else had, but I headed straight for the Carving Board and ordered roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, carrots and corn bread!
After we ate, we visited Fulton’s General Store and then walked back to our room via Ol’ Man Island pool. Swimming at the resort pools was a Big Thing for the girls, something they were really looking forward to doing. Back at the room, the little girls jumped in the shower and we tried to get to sleep for an early day on Tuesday. But then came The Trundle Bed Situation…
Neither little girl would sleep on the trundle bed. No way.
In their defense, it was a bit scary, pulled out right in front of the door and with a big space between the top of the trundle and the bottom of the bed frame. Who knows what scary thing might be lurking underneath the bed at night – ready to pounce as soon as the lights were out?!?
All the girls decided to sleep in one of the full beds. Kelley fell asleep immediately but Cory and Alexa had a couple rounds of pushing and poking at each other until after about an hour or so, poor Alexa had enough and headed down for the trundle bed. Kevin, in the meantime, was fuming – he’s one of those extremely light sleepers who can be awakened by a pin drop.
I think we all tossed and turned the entire night – too excited by the coming day – and when the wake-up call came at 6:00am (The Big Cheese Himself calling), we felt as though we hadn’t slept a wink.
Alexa's Notes: Let me tell you, one adult-sized person and two (almost, ha!) adult-sized kids trying to sleep in a full bed does not work... I'm glad I got a good nap in on the trip down. However, if anyone (adult or child) finds themselves sleeping on a trundle bed at POR, it may help to sooth your unease by sticking a few pillows or stuffed animals in the gap between the trundle bed and the bed frame. I would say it definitely helped me sleep easier, and I'm not afraid to admit that even at 17 I still get those monster-under-the-bed jitters!
That being said, I very much enjoyed the atmosphere at the resort -- I wish we would have had more time to spend just looking around. I think I could have entertained myself for an entire day just exploring the different trails that connect all of the "mansions". The Cast Members working at the Riverside Cafeteria looked adorable in their old-time-y dresses and hats... it added to the charm! (And the food was good, too!)
For anyone interested in creating their own Disney Mix for the trip down, dogpile.com is a nice resource to find obscure Disney songs that are hard to find on CD. I had a fun time creating the cover of our Disney Mix in photoshop, and listening to and arranging all the songs made me super excited for the trip!
Up next……how NOT to get ready in the morning and Entering the Magic Kingdom!
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I had a rough itinerary down, and thanks to TourGuideMike, a more detailed itinerary. Listening to the seasoned advice of others, I left plenty of room to rearrange plans and tried to add in times for relaxing and soaking up the ambience. I had family meetings where I explained the game plan and tried to give each family member a chance for input so that everyone could do the things that were most important to them. I felt prepared!
) and were able to navigate the maze of roads that make up the Disney complex very easily thanks to all the directional signs. And ohhh – the look on the girls’ faces when we crossed under the arch that announced “Welcome to Walt Disney World!!!” 
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