Nala and pride the "Are we CRAZY?" trip... the trip home.... About This Page:

[Jillybean]

Wow! Can this trip get any better?!?

I am SO proud of you for getting on that airplane (yeah to the bloody marys too)!

First a limo upgrade and then a room upgrade with a fantastic view! You are living large, lady!!!

Jill

[Caldercup]

Just got caught up and I'm totally impressed by your "flying fortitude"... and think it's totally great that you were rewarded with not "one" but "two" upgrades.

Hope even better things are coming your way on this trip...
Eileen

[ripkensnana]

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I sooo wish I could have been there with you!


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Congrats on the upgrades! Lucky you...

(Ahem) I don't suppose that either you or TheGoof could possibly be at WDW in July, say from the 10th to the 16th??? That would be awesome!

[Nala]

We made a few “hey we made it ok” phone calls and both of us realized it was only 5:00. We still had two and a half hours before our PS ,ADR, or AR at ’Ohana . What to do, what to do? I came up with the novel idea of just kicking back in our room and enjoying the fabulous view from our balcony. Grumpy was keen on the idea and our only challenge was to get Kiara to chill out too. While Grumpy and I enjoyed the view from the balcony and discovered the otter pond below us, Kiara found the cartoon channel on TV and decided the chilling out thing was not so bad. I asked Kiara what she thought of the WL and this was her response:


As I had my camera out snapping away Kiara begged me to try her hand at taking a picture. Grumpy and I posed for her and she got this shot.


Not bad for a first try. It seems we have a budding photographer on our hands. I began to unpack and noticed Grumpy scratching his head. When I asked him what was wrong he told me he wondered what to do to keep the drinks cold. Thanks to the vast wealth of knowledge on the Passporter boards, I had the answer. Call the front desk and ask for a refrigerator. Another piece of information to validate the time I spend here! Within a few minutes our fridge had arrived and Grumpy was impressed with the quick service.

Time passed quickly and we all freshened up for dinner and made our way to the front of the lodge to hail a cab. We just were not in the mood to take the boat and then the monorail after a day of waiting for other transportation. We checked with bell service outside the front doors and since things were slow there one of the CM’s offered to drive us to the Poly! I didn’t even know they did that! We hopped into the back of a SUV with the WL logo on it and were on our way. We chatted with him on the short drive and within minutes we were at the Poly.

We had time before our PS, (I just can’t get used to calling them ADR) so we took time to take a few pictures of the beautiful gardens. This resort may be an oldie but it sure is a goodie.


We made our way up to ‘Ohana where there was a somewhat long line at the check in podium. Kiara got in line with me while Grumpy went to get us all drinks and try to find a place to sit. It was rather crowded in the bar area and I expected for all of us to be standing until our table was ready. Just as he got to the bar area I noticed a couple get up from a table and offer it to him. And it was a window seat. Grumpy waved to me and I waved back to let him know I knew where he was. And I kept thinking our luck had been so good. First the trivia game, then the limo, then the room, then the CM taking us to the Poly and now a nice table with a view. This was shaping up to be a perfect trip. Frankly, I was getting a bit nervous. Grumpy and I seem to be plagued with the kind of luck that makes Murphy’s law look like a cake walk. But at that moment I decided to enjoy all the wonderful things that had happened.

Kiara and I inched to the podium and a very nice lady in front of us started talking to her. When her turn came I heard the CM ask for her PS number and she didn’t have one. He informed her that they were not taking any walk ups that night. Before I could think about it and tell her to call Disney dining to see if she could get a PS, she was gone. We were next and as I gave our name I realized I had not brought our PS number with us. Panic struck me for a moment about that but our name was found and we were set. We were handed our buzzer thingy and went to join Grumpy.

The waitress had already been to our table with our drinks and the three of us kicked back to wait for our table. In about ten minutes our buzzer went off and we were seated. We were given a window seat on the far left side of the restaurant and while it did not offer a view of the MK it was still lovely. And our meal was wonderful. Grumpy and I tore into it like ravenous pigs and we all enjoyed every bite. The shrimp was quite a bit spicier than it had been on our last visit which was fine by me but a bit too much for Kiara. She had no problem eating the rice, won tons, steak , turkey and pork however so we all came away from the table full and happy.

As our meal came to a close we all passed on the deserts we had picked out when we passed the display on the way to our table. Kiara had been making it very clear for the last fifteen minutes what she wanted to do with the evening ahead of us. Buzz Lightyear! Grumpy couldn’t resist his little girl’s charm and pleas and I had no objections to finishing out our evening at the MK. Even if I had an objection, I was out numbered. So off to the MK it was via monorail.


OK, let me take a moment to tell you something about Grumpy. The man is obsessed with the weather channel. His obsession is so bad it rivals mine with WDW. And like my obsession with WDW, his obsession with the weather channel has rubbed off on Kiara. The first thing she does at home when the weather turns bad is yell “Storm Stories” (which is her way of saying a storm is coming) and turns the TV to the weather channel if it is not already there. How he missed what was about to befall us is beyond me.

So off we happily went into the MK. Unprepared with no rain ponchos…………


Up next….. Buzz, the WEDway (as I still call it) the Speedway, Wishes and I wish I had an inflatable raft in my backpack!

[Nala]

Oh, Carol! How I wish. Looks like we will miss each other again. But one of these days......

[DrDolphin]

Great update Nala!!!

[SHEANA1226]

More please!!!

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Nala and wonderful pictures!! Kiara took a wonderful picture too! I'm glad to hear that you like Ohanas, we are trying it for dinner in July!! Sounds like you are having a pretty spectacular trip so far but the next post sound ominous!

[TheGoof]

Ripkensnana,

Unfortunately DS will be in day camp then... However, if you could switch to 6/22 - 6/29, we are going to be there, at least MaxGoof and I will!

Where have you been Carol, haven't seen you in chat in a long time....


Gotta let you know about our impromtu trip!

TheGoof

[Tara O'Hara]

Nala awesome update!! your pictures and especially the one Kiara took!

[elbug10]

Nala!
After reading one of your posts in another forum I found my way over here to read your lovely TR. As others have said, I am SO proud and happy for you that you didn't let your fear of flying get the best of you. You were in my thoughts all last weekend. Glad you made it there and back safely. Your wheels from the airport looked very How much does it cost to take a limo from Sanford? TransMeridian is offering a sale on direct flights from Syracuse to Sanford right now, and I was just curious if I would save any money from landing at MCO and using Mears.

Can't wait to read your next installment. Is it safe to say your sunny sig. pic was NOT taken Friday night?

[Jillybean]

Your own personal chaffeur at WL now!!! Wow! You guys are getting the royal treatment!

So glad that you had a wonderful meal at 'Ohana! Notice that Grumpy didn't have the lapu lapu this time!

Jill

[luvnwdwgal]

Awesome pic Kiara took of you 2! Looking forward to another installment!

[Nala]

We made our way into the MK shortly before 9 PM and were met by a huge crowd lining the street. Spectromagic! Since Kiara was dying to go on Buzz I didn’t feel guilty skipping the parade and making a dash to Tomorrowland. Grumpy and I dodged through the crowds by passing through the shops on Main Street and found our way there quickly. Grumpy and I were surprised to see that the line, while outside the building, was rather short. In fact it was shorter on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend than it was the first Friday of February when we had last stood in it. Our time in line passed quickly and Kiara was filled with joy and about to bust at the seams that she was going to ride her beloved Buzz. I let the two of them man the guns and I controlled the spinning of the car. We all had a blast regardless of their pathetically low scores. And Grumpy swore his gun was malfunctioning. If my score had been that low, I would have used the same excuse.

As we came off the ride Grumpy noticed the TTA cars going by above us and stated that one day he would like to ride it. We had no other plans and I thought there was no better time than that moment. So off we went to TTA and walked on to our car, which we had to ourselves. It became apparent that my biggest fear, that of large crowds, was not going to happen tonight. Grumpy thought this was a very cool ride and couldn’t believe how long it was. Once again, I was fascinated by the model of the city of the future and could only assume that this had been Walt’s original vision of EPCOT.

After we got off the TTA Kiara announced that she really wanted to ride the race cars. Once again the line was even shorter than what it had been on our last trip in the off season, so Grumpy took Kiara to wait. I was left behind to enjoy the area and that was fine by me. As I stood outside the queue area Wishes started. Oh, poor Kiara! We were in very close proximity of the booms!!!! I checked the queue again and found Grumpy carrying Kiara who had both hands firmly planted over her ears. He waved me on and gave me a thumbs up letting me know that she was OK and he had things under control. I then stepped back out from under the queue area and watched as Wishes exploded in the sky. WOW! What a breathtaking display. And like I had done on the balcony of our room, I threw my head back and laughed. It was so surreal for me to be here on a Friday night in May. My mind started thinking about what I would have been doing this night had Grumpy not pushed (however gently) me to fly to WDW. I would have been working on my scrapbook from the last trip or reading post on this board. But instead I was standing in the MK watching Wishes. I smiled from ear to ear as the tears fell down my cheeks. And I couldn’t stop laughing out loud.

When Wishes ended I made my way to the right of the speedway and was able to see Grumpy and Kiara making their way to the loading area of the ride. I love waiting here as it give someone waiting a great view of the riders coming onto the track. Just as they were making their way to the loading area a light rain began to fall. No big deal. It was a sprinkle a best. While I was barely getting wet I found a large pine tree in a planter to tuck myself into. It’s huge branches provided enough cover from the rain. As I saw Grumpy and Kiara make their way into a car the rain started to pick up a tad. It was now making its way through my pine tree umbrella. As they passed me I waved and yelled I would be under the canopy waiting for them. Grumpy acknowledged that he understood and I ran for cover. The rain started to become a bit heavier by the time I found shelter but it was NOTHING compared to what was to come.

I no sooner got under the canopy of the speedway queue and the skies opened up. And I mean dropped rain in buckets! I have never seen so much rain fall in all my life. As I stood there safe and dry I was worried sick about my baby and poor Grumpy. They must be getting drenched. I knew it was a really hard rainfall when I looked up at the canopy and noticed a two foot solid wall of water falling off it. I then looked to the street and noticed that not only the gutters were having troubling keeping up but the storm drains were also. Inches of water were beginning to stand all around. At one point I saw a CM check the drains to make sure they weren’t clogged with debris. They were clear, just overloaded from the rain.

As I watched for Grumpy and Kiara to come down the steps I noticed many mothers and fathers carrying there little ones and running for cover. They were all soaked. I waited for what seemed forever and soon Grumpy came down the steps with Kiara. They were both soaked to the bone! I did the best I could to dry her off with what little I had which was my shirt. It was still not enough. So off we went to Mickey’s Star Traders to find her a sweatshirt and a rain poncho. I found the only sweatshirt in the shop and quickly put it on her to warm her up. I then covered her in the poncho. A little too late but still better than nothing.

As soon as the rain stopped we decided to make our exit from the MK. Both Grumpy and Kiara were cold and wet and ready to call it a night. By the time we made it to the front gate it seems everyone else had the same idea. If only we had all stayed dry we would have had the park to ourselves. But instead we found ourselves joining the sea of people making a mass exodus. I felt like a rat jumping off a sinking ship.

Once we made our way through the crowd of people returning strollers and broke free of the gate we were greeted by a huge line of people with the same idea. Catch a boat to the WL or FtW. The rain had started again and the three of us were still not under the canopy due to the huge crowd ahead of us. We waited for three boats to come and go before we got on one and poor Kiara was walking in her sleep by this time.

Grumpy was kind enough to carry the soggy Kiara to our room when we hit the WL dock. When we got to our room we pulled off her wet clothes and tucked her into bed. Grumpy pulled his wallet out and began to empty its contents. Our annual passes were soaked. His and Kiara’s SS cards were soaked. His photos and other personal effects were soaked. And our cash was soaked. Did you know the ink on new American money runs when it gets wet? Well trust me, it does! And I took this moment to give Grumpy a hard time about missing the storm on the weather channel. I pointed out that I was the WDW freak and everything had gone well and he was the weather freak and look what happened. Since this is a family board I cannot post his reply, but it was all in good fun and gave us both a good laugh.

We had hoped that Kiara would be out quickly after our long day but it seemed the cold rain and the short cat nap on the boat for MK to WL had perked her up. It was well past 12:30 before she fell asleep. And I was thrilled that I wasn’t hearing any noise around us which would hinder me going to sleep too. The WL was very quiet. Other than a few kids making one run down the hall screaming, the only thing we heard was when our balcony door was open. The tree frogs, or whatever lurked in the woods around us, produced the only noise. Their night time serenade was easy to fall asleep listening to.

I know as I drifted off to sleep I had a smile on my face. This had been the most perfect day. And I know in my heart as I look back on this day, there will probably never be another one like it.


Up next…… An early morning swim with a momma and baby ducks and the F&G Festival at EPCOT!

[Nala]

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Notice that Grumpy didn't have the lapu lapu this time!

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Umm..... No. In fact, a few days before we left, I asked him if he was going to have one and he quickly said "NO".