Meri's Dream Come True - A Birthday Celebration! - A Somewhat Live TR! complete 02/20/2014 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Phew, I'm beat, y'all! I wanted to post a big old update but... yeah. LOL!
Here's what I typed up from earlier:
Wednesday, February 5
The alarm went off at 7:10am, and I don’t think I had moved at all throughout the night. But I awoke and was pretty alert, considering I had not even gotten 6 hours of sleep! Probably the knowledge that it was Disney Day got me through!
I got up and showered, while mom and Meri snoozed, and then we all got up and got dressed. I re-packed the car, and we all drove around to the lobby to enjoy our free breakfast. We were moving slowly, but surely.
The free breakfast was pretty decent for a Quality Inn… waffles, danishes, biscuits and gravy, fruit and cereals, and then of course coffee and apple juice and orange juice. I wasn’t hungry yet (typically I don’t eat until around 930am) so I had coffee and posted a quick update on my TR. Meri had some Froot Loops and apple juice, and mom had a waffle and coffee.
After we ate, we hit the road, departing around 830am, which is what we had hoped for. We stopped for gas, and then got back on the highway, with me driving first. We made great time, with mom reading, Meri watching a DVD, and me just zoning out listening to music and cruising along.
At a little after 11, we decided we were all a little hungry, so after some searching, we found a Chick Fil A and stopped at 11:30am. Mom wanted to dine in – something I absolutely despise (I’m one that likes to get on the road, and just plow through). Since I knew I had to be fair, I agreed, though I admit I was in a very small sulk about it, lol. I don’t like to wait, what can I tell you. But we survived. Finally we finished up, and we hit the road, this time with mom at the wheel.
While mom drove, Meri played with my phone, and I typed up the morning on the laptop while I still had some battery left. Then, out of nowhere, we drove into a deluge! The rain was so heavy we had zero visibility at some points, and we were in the left lane, surrounded by tractor trailers! Yikes! We put the hazard lights on and everyone on the road slowed down from about 75 to about 45.
It was a harrowing 10 minutes, but we decided to press on instead of pulling to the side of the road. The visibility was so bad, we were afraid someone else would decided to pull onto the shoulder right into us, or that a tractor trailer would skid into us, etc. It was much better to keep moving, even with the visibility so bad. As long as everyone had their hazard lights on, we could see if we were getting too close to anyone – though fortunately everyone seemed to be wise and stayed away from everyone else. There weren’t really any idiots who thought they could continue at 75, so that was something at least.
The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. I chatted to Heather via text for a few minutes, arranging to meet at the MK turnstiles around 6:30pm and discussing the weather, and otherwise, I just relaxed and enjoyed the anticipation of being back in the bubble!
Meri and I put our magic bands on somewhere north of the turnpike – we just couldn’t wait any longer! Then I put moms on her, because she couldn’t be left out!
We arrived at WDW at around 2:30pm, and I ran inside to check-in, leaving mom and Meri in the car. I was second in line and was quickly checked in and handed my packet (I had done online check-in. We got a first floor room in Barbados - a great location right near a pool, and also right near the parking lot. We quickly unloaded the car, and then mom crawled right into bed and turned on NCIS (our favorite) while Meri and I changed and headed to the pool for a bit.
There were some teenage girls there (clearly part of a cheer squad) and that's it, so we swam and vegged a bit, and then headed back to the room at around 3:20pm to shower and change, as we needed to leave by 4:15pm to get to the Poly for dinner with Bev.
We drove to the Poly and parked, and shopped a little. Mom and I each bought ourselves a tshirt. Then Bev arrived and we headed up to Kona. The hostess was a bit of a sour-looking older lady who was just not magical at all, but I continued to smile at her even as she frowned. Maybe she was having a bad day. She did sort of smile at me when I thanked her as we were seated.
Our server was Holly, and she was lovely. She's from PA, but she has been in FL for quite some time, and has been working at Kona for 14 years. Amazing!! She was great, and had everything perfectly timed. She was knowledgeable and never less than friendly and helpful.
We started off with water for Meri, Evian for Bev, and mom and I shared Kona Press Pot Coffee (yum!), then I ordered a crab, cream cheese and carrot roll, and we got pot stickers for the table. Then Meri got grilled shrimp, Bev got rice and chicken and broccoli (she has dietary restrictions, so the chef had to come out - a lovely lady whose name I have written down somewhere, but I can't remember - she's from NJ), and mom got some chicken and potato dish with some curry sauce that was delicious! Then we got creme brulee, and Meri got a sundae in a waffle dish that was sitting on a bed of cotton candy, with m&m's underneath! Hello sugar high!
The sushi wasn't my favorite, but everything else was absolutely out of this world good. I stuffed myself silly! We all did! And that bread - holy cow. Meri ate an entire loaf all by herself.
After dinner, we said goodbye to Bev, and then headed down to the boat launch to the MK to see Heather!
We arrived at the MK at around 6:55pm, and after hugs all around, we headed into the MK with Heather. First up was New Fantasyland. We wanted to see the castles, ride Ariel's ride, and see Enchanted Tales with Belle. Ariel's ride was a walk-on, and then we headed over to see the Rapunzel bathrooms, and then hit Small World. Then it was back to Enchanted Tales, which was charming. Meri was Mrs. Potts, and Heather was the wardrobe! It was quite cute! LOL! Heather was a great sport! And oh gosh the little boy that played the Beast... he couldn't have been cuter if he tried!
After that, we headed over to Jungle Cruise but first Meri wanted to dash through the treehouse... and let me tell you, dash through we did! Heather and I gave up trying to keep up. Then we rode Jungle Cruise, and groaned our way through! It was our first time riding at night, and it was neat to do it in the dark. A totally different experience, I must say. After that, Meri was really keen to buy a purse that she'd been promised, but she was waylaid by the carpets. Meri and I rode in the front, and Heather hung out in the back... and we had a really weird experience - at the very end, the carpet jerked straight up and I don't know about Heather, but Meri and I were jerked clear out of our seats! Good thing for that seatbelt (which was apparently a little too loose, because I definitely got some air and came down a little wrong - ouch)! Heather said, "Uh, that wasn't supposed to happen!" So that was an experience!
After Aladdin's Carpets, we headed to Main Street to pick out Meri's purse. Fortunately she was quick about it (Hallelujah) and then it was off to Buzz Lightyear, where I got DECIMATED. Meri had 27,000, Heather had something like 138,000 the last time I looked, I'm sure it was ten times that by the time the ride ended... Mom had 96,800 (or something to that effect, I'd have to look at the photo to be sure) and I had a whopping 2,800. *sigh* Clearly I just suck at that game.
At this point, Meri was done, thank heavens, and so were we. We moseyed out of the park, pausing to trade pins, and then took the lime green monorail to the Poly, saying goodbye to Heather who headed off at the TTC, and headed back to CBR. I stuck Meri in bed immediately, and then I sat down to peck out this quick update.
Now it's off to bed with me, because we have breakfast with Laurie in the morning... and then... the big reveal shortly thereafter!!! I can't wait to see the look on her face! Oh I hope it's good, lol!
I will add photos hopefully tomorrow, but... we'll have to see. Most of you have likely already seen most on FB, so this is probably a little anti-climactic, but whatever
Anyway... I'm straight exhausted, so it's bed for me! Thanks as always for reading along! Bear with me for not doing individual responses just yet, I will definitely do it later!
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Well, it's 4am and I have been awake for the past hour... cannot sleep. I guess I'm just too excited about the Dream!! I'm going to be a zombie today but I'm counting on the adrenaline to get me through.
I'm sitting in the bathroom with the door closed and the light out, lol, uploading photos to Shutterfly. I'm hoping to post a little pictorial in a few!!
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Some of Belle's Enchanted Tales photos may be out of order. Shutterfly uploaded them in a strange order, and I had to sort it out myself while copying and pasting, so bear with me here... you'll get the idea regardless of the order!
Tough drive with that stretch of bad weather. Glad you're here safe and sound, but it sounds like you had a really great night last night. I love all the pics, especially the ones of Meri and you in front of Belle's growth chart! I should try that!
Rain, rain, rain forecast for today. If it follows the pattern of the last few days, that probably means sunshine all day! See you in a couple of hours!
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.
To. Funny you being so excited you can't sleep, while Meri is out cold. If she only knew what was coming!!
Have a great breakfast with Laurie, and have fun with the reveal!!!
Tough drive with that stretch of bad weather. Glad you're here safe and sound, but it sounds like you had a really great night last night. I love all the pics, especially the ones of Meri and you in front of Belle's growth chart! I should try that!
Rain, rain, rain forecast for today. If it follows the pattern of the last few days, that probably means sunshine all day! See you in a couple of hours!
Sunshine would be nice, but I won't be picky!! I'm just excited to not be freezing!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
To. Funny you being so excited you can't sleep, while Meri is out cold. If she only knew what was coming!!
Have a great breakfast with Laurie, and have fun with the reveal!!!
She's still out cold, and I've been up for an hour... ugh. I've got to rouse her here shortly, but I'm trying to wait a little longer. Poor kiddo.
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Two funny things to note - 1) there's a painting of a Disney Cruise Ship in our room at CBR 2) When we were on It's a Small World, at one point (I forget which scene) Meri turned to me and Heather and said, "It looks just like Castaway Cay!" Heather and I just exchanged glances and I laughed.
Yay! I had to catch up quick this morning I was dying to see what's going on and I"m so excited about the live TR!!! Driving through rain is the worst!!! But i'm so glad you guys made it down and sounds like you have had a wonderful time so far I"m so excited for the reveal today!!!!! BTW at least your all night disney bathroom experience was somewhat better than mine LOL hehehehe....but I"m still loving how excited you are...why sleep??? its vacation...you can sleep on castaway cay
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Finally we finished up, and we hit the road, this time with mom at the wheel.
Melanie
PassPorter Guide Author
I saw your photos on Facebook, so knew you'd arrived safely and it sounds like you had a great time!
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