Let the Magic Find You - Our October 2011 F&WF TR - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Who: Me and DH
What: 11th Anniversary Trip
Where: Boardwalk Inn
When: October 5-9
Why: Why not?
Let’s start at the beginning, a very good place to start! Being the big procrastinator that I am, I left wayyyy too much ‘til the last minute. I was running around like crazy on Tuesday with laundry, cleaning, volunteer commitments at DD’s school oh and not to mention packing. By 4 p.m. or so it seemed I had things under control so I dashed out to get a much needed pedicure. I thought a really deep purple (that almost black shade) would be cool and Halloween-y for my toes. Well as the nail tech. started to put it on I realized it was actually bright blue so I stopped her. She seemed quite annoyed but let me hobble back up front (with tissue between my toes) to pick another shade. I got one that looked even more purple but came out sort of royal blue. I figured I’d better keep my mouth shut and just stick with it. Didn’t really achieve the look I was going for but they looked okay. Next we moved on to the manicure and she was working at crazy warp speed and next thing you know she nicks my cuticle. OWWW, it bled and bled. She couldn’t get it to stop so she put something on it to stop the bleeding but as she was wiping it up my cuticle looked brown and I started worrying that there was dirt in there (the manager later explained that it oxidized the blood and thus the color change). They finally got me some anti-bacterial cream and a Band-Aid so we could finish up. Yikes, not the relaxing experience I was going for and now I was having visions of winding up with an infected finger on the trip.
Once I was all dried I headed home and my parents had arrived. We visited a bit and I went over DD’s schedule with them before we headed out for dinner. After dinner I wrapped up some packing odds and ends then we settled in to watch some TV. Around 11 p.m. we decided to go to bed – DH and I were sleeping downstairs on the Aerobed since my parents stay in our room. Between not being in my own room/bed and pre-trip jitters I couldn’t get to sleep. I finally headed to the couch and dozed off there and next thing I knew the alarm was going off at 4:15 a.m. We got ready and were on the road as scheduled at 5:30 a.m. Our trip to White Plains was uneventful and we found the new park and fly lot with no problems. The campus was quite dead at that hour and I was a little afraid that no one would be there but as soon as we pulled in someone came out of the office and got us checked in and off we went in the van. We checked our bags and got in the security line, which was surprisingly long (there were several 7:30 a.m. flights). I was glad we had allowed extra time as I would’ve been worrying the whole time if we were cutting it too close. By 7 a.m. we were settled in the waiting area and I pulled out some Special K bars to munch on. Boarding started around 7:30 and we made ourselves comfortable in our seats.
The flight pulled back from the gate a little early so I had a good feeling that we might be landing ahead of schedule. We were on Jetblue, which has the in-flight TVs that make the time pass so quickly and helped me forget about the loudtalker with a toddler "kicker" behind me. We ordered a couple of snack boxes (the “Shape Up”- almonds, hummus and pita chips, raisins, dried pears and snack mix). Before I knew it we were preparing for our final descent and we were on the ground a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule! This was probably the longest taxi I can recall – I think Jetblue changed terminals since last time we flew them to MCO – the monorail to baggage looked different.
After a quick bio break we were on our way to DME. As we got in the BWI line we realized that the rope was down for folks to proceed to the bus. SCORE! We never have that timing – this was the first of many little magical/lucky moments that we experienced on this trip. We walked right on the bus and I snapped this picture at 10:37 – a whole two minutes before we were even supposed to even land!
The bus was quite full so we pulled out right away. Most of the bus must've been going to Port Orleans because only one family got off at YC, two people at BC and a handful of us at BWI (including the couple who sat across the row from us on the plane both coming and going!). DH took a little snooze on the bus and I watched the scenery. Next thing I knew I saw this happy sight:
We made stops at BC and YC then it was our turn! DH waited for the luggage while I headed inside to see if there was a line to check-in. I snapped this shot at 11:30 a.m. so you can see we made good time!
Up next: checking in, will we get our room request?
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Great Start to your TR! Glad you got there earlier and made great time to your resort. Can't wait to find out if you got your room request. Keep the updates coming! LOL
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WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
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Yay – I have readers!!! Thanks for following along everyone.
Day 1, Part 2
When I got inside the lobby I saw that there was hardly anyone waiting to check-in. In fact, there was a manager directing people over to the lobby concierge desk so no one had to wait even behind one person. The CM that checked us in wasn’t particularly high energy but she was efficient and that’s what matters. And she said those wonderful words, “your room is ready”!!! Back in the summer I had called and asked to have a room request noted on our reservation – high floor, facing Epcot. I was hoping that we’d get somewhere in the vicinity of our room last year (5278), which had a nice Epcot view and wasn’t too far from the elevators. As the CM started to write our room number on the key sleeve, I first saw a 5, so I knew we got the high floor part, then 300 – so 5300, right near where we were last year. YAY!
We headed to the elevator and took a left (instead of a right like last year) and we were about 10 rooms down from our old room. I opened the door and saw this:
(can you see the Eifel Tower?)
I started woohooo’ing pretty loudly!!! If any of our neighbors were home I’m sure they were wondering what was going on.
I was ready to drop my bags and go but DH needed to change into shorts (he wore jeans on the plane while I wore capris). At this point it was 11:37 (in case you’re wondering I know this by checking the time stamp on my photos – I don’t keep that good of notes!) and now it was becoming a mission to get into Epcot at the same time we did last year, in spite of the change in flight time from 6:30 to 8.
While DH changed I snapped some photos of the room.
Before long we were on the Boardwalk making our way to Epcot. We were through the gate just after noon – right on par with last year!
First order of business was to load this little beauty with $100:
Then it was off to The Land to get Soarin’ FPs. Along the way I noticed the scrim over the main building in Canada.
We made it to the FP machine and scored a 4:18 – 5:18 return time. On the way back to WS we stopped to check out the cranberry bog. I had read about this before we left and I wasn’t sure what to think but it was actually really cool. We didn’t stop long enough to hear the CM explaining the whole process, but it was pretty to look at and looked neat with SE in the background. There was a booth to the side of the plaza where they were giving out 100 calorie packs of craisins, which we got later in the trip and saved for the plane ride home.
Up next: Hitting the booths!
Last edited by WeRDisneyFanatics; 10-11-2011 at 09:19 AM..
Reason: fix picture
Love your room and your view! You made good time into Epcot. I really like you little F&WF gift card, it is cuter than ours was last year. The cranberry bog looked interesting and all I can think about is those oceanspray commercials. Hehe Good time on the Soarin' fastpasses! Okay enough of that now, bring on the food photos !!!!!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I just had to Woo Hoo for you. So glad you had great timing. I am loving all the photos. I look forward to reading and seeing more pics. Our family is thinking of staying at the Boardwalk next time and look forward to hearing about your experience.
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The basics:
. By 4 p.m. or so it seemed I had things under control so I dashed out to get a much needed pedicure. I thought a really deep purple (that almost black shade) would be cool and Halloween-y for my toes. Well as the nail tech. started to put it on I realized it was actually bright blue so I stopped her. She seemed quite annoyed but let me hobble back up front (with tissue between my toes) to pick another shade. I got one that looked even more purple but came out sort of royal blue. I figured I’d better keep my mouth shut and just stick with it. Didn’t really achieve the look I was going for but they looked okay
. Next we moved on to the manicure and she was working at crazy warp speed and next thing you know she nicks my cuticle. OWWW, it bled and bled. 
She couldn’t get it to stop so she put something on it to stop the bleeding but as she was wiping it up my cuticle looked brown and I started worrying that there was dirt in there (the manager later explained that it oxidized the blood and thus the color change). They finally got me some anti-bacterial cream and a Band-Aid so we could finish up. Yikes, not the relaxing experience I was going for and now I was having visions of winding up with an infected finger on the trip.
. We ordered a couple of snack boxes (the “Shape Up”- almonds, hummus and pita chips, raisins, dried pears and snack mix). Before I knew it we were preparing for our final descent and we were on the ground a full 30 minutes ahead of schedule! This was probably the longest taxi I can recall – I think Jetblue changed terminals since last time we flew them to MCO – the monorail to baggage looked different.
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Katie's graduation
You made good time into Epcot. I really like you little F&WF gift card, it is cuter than ours was last year. 
The cranberry bog looked interesting and all I can think about is those oceanspray commercials. Hehe Good time on the Soarin' fastpasses! 
Susan
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