Evil Step Sisters trip to the World (Day Two Part Two) About This Page:

[Geri Alexander]

I leave tomorrow to embark on my annual Disney Halloween trip. I joined the DVC a few years back, which has been awesome, because it allows me the opportunity to visit for MNSSHP every single year. Believe it or not, the main problem I have is finding someone who can go with me ever year. I’m not married, and I don’t have kids, so sometimes, finding a traveling partner can be difficult.

Somehow, for this trip, I talked my sister into going with me. She is actually my step sister, but my Dad and her Mom have been married for over twenty years, so she’s pretty much my sister. (Parents who are blending families, have hope! While we didn’t like each other right off, and are COMPLETELY different, we have grown to be very close). Her birthday is October 20th, so I volunteered to take her for her birthday. I would pay for her plane ride, and DVC covered the hotel, so all she had to do was get her park tickets.

She was a bit hesitant, because she and I were supposed to take my niece when she turns five (which is next year), so I think it was a tough decision for her—to go without my niece. BUT, it was practically a free trip, so she couldn’t pass it up. She did decide to not tell my niece until she returns with presents. My niece knows that Aunt Geri is taking Kristin for her birthday, but she does not know where.

I leave out of Springfield tomorrow at 3, and Kristin leaves out of OKC tomorrow around 4. We will meet in Dallas and fly from there. We are staying at Saratoga Springs through Sunday. Kristin will then leave, and I will move over to Old Key West to stay for an extra night. Yes, I will be there a whole day solo! I don’t think I’m buying a park ticket for that day, but I am taking the Divequest tour at Epcot. And I want to catch a flick at Downtown Disney’s AMC as it is something I have always wanted to do, but never wanted to miss park time for.

I got our tickets for MNSSHP for October 19th. I will be Dorothy, and she will be Alice. I really wanted us to be something that correlated to one another, but I didn’t have time to sew costumes this year.  She has not been to Disney since her honeymoon, ten years ago, and has never been to AK or MNSSHP. On top of that, she and I have never been on vacation just the two of us! We’ve always been with our parents!

I can’t wait to introduce her to AK and the party, and I can’t wait for Dole Whips and to ride Expedition Everest! And how could I forget Food and Wine Festival? We are hitting all four parks in the three days, so it is going to be fast paced, but I know we will have a fabulous time. Who doesn’t have a good time at Disney?

I have my fingers crossed that my sister doesn’t feel guilty for not taking her daughter, and that she isn’t sad a lot of the time. Other than that, here’s hoping for good weather, on time flights, and short lines! Oh, and maybe getting one of those golden fast passes for Year of a Million Dreams!

[Grammy Grumpy]

Sounds like fun. DH and I will be at OKW from 10/20-10/31. Maybe we'll see you there!

[Colexis Mom]

Have a great time Geri [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] Can't wait to hear all about it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[disneydani]

Have a wonderful trip. What a great present for your sister! If you ever need a travel partner, I am sure my kids would love to go with you!!!!

[DyanKJ130]

Have a fabulous time with your sister!!

[Joy J]

Your plans sound wonderful. Have a truly magical vacation!

Joy

[Minnie Lor]

Have a super magical time. BTW, I'm just down 44 from you. We may have to meet up for a mini-passporter meet. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

[Geri Alexander]

You are right down the way from me! I wonder how many other "passporter" fans there are in our neighborhood?

[PrincessSharon]

Sounds like fun! Have a magical trip [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img]

[jimmymac]

Very nice present. Have a great trip

[Princess_Wantabe]

What a great present for your sister's birthday! Looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img]

[Geri Alexander]

Day One:
We got in around 11:30 from our flight and hopped on DME to get to Saratoga Springs. The flight was delayed out of Dallas, so it was later than we had anticipated, and we were anxious to get to sleep, as we were headed to AK first thing in the morning, and we wanted to make sure we had an early start. We had to get through all of AK by around 3, because our tickets for MNSSHP were for that night. And since Kristin had never been there, we had to do everything!

Unfortunately, we wouldn’t get our luggage until around 2 AM, so we decided to just have them deliver it in the morning, which meant an even earlier rise than planned. Cranky and tired, we pulled up to SS, and made it to the front desk. This was to be my first unpleasant encounter with a CM at the hotels. I asked her if we could put our tickets onto our cards, and she informed me that she no longer sold tickets. Instead of telling me where I could get my tickets, as in, “We know longer do that here, but you can get them at the concierge in the morning. They open at 7 AM, “she instead tells me nothing, and I had to ask. She provided no information as the conversation continued, with me having to ask her every time to pry information out of her—how can we get our tickets? What time does the concierge open? How do we get our luggage? It was extremely frustrating, and not the type of service I usually receive upon arrival. C’est la vie! We were doing Disney tomorrow, so I let it roll off my back.

Up bright and shiny at 6:30, we checked the weather, and we called for our luggage. It was brought promptly, thank goodness, and we changed into the day’s clothes. Weather report: 95 degrees, possibly a record high, and 100% humidity. ACK! I had only packed one pair of shorts, one pair of capri pants, and the rest were jeans. It is not typically this warm in October, as I go every year, and even though the weather report said 95, I had forgotten what 95 felt like, since it has been a few months since Springfield has seen weather this warm.

We went and got our tickets, got a pastry at Saratoga, got out refillable mugs, and sat and waited on the bus. I made my sister pin on her homemade button “It’s my 30th birthday!” (she’s really 34, so that’s a lie) and I pinned on, “It’s my sister’s birthday!” I always make homemade pins, even though they hand them out at the parks. It’s much more fun, and it gets us lots of attention. We sat on the bench, ate our food, and waited for the bus.

I don’t know about other bus service, but I LOVE service out of Saratoga. We rarely wait more than 5-10 minutes, and the bus never seems crowded. It is awesome! I used to always rent a car, but the great bus service has changed my mind. Now I NEVER rent, and even when we drive down, I park my car and leave it.

We caught the opening show right in front of the tree of life, and we ran immediately to Expedition Everest. Growing up, my sister would not ride roller coasters. She was terrified of them. I think she hated both the heights and the speed. Once, my parents forced her onto the ferris wheel, and she sang Menudo (anybody remember them?) songs at the top of her lungs to calm herself. Yes, it was terribly embarrassing for me. The point is, she was now willing to go on EE. Now, THAT is Disney magic. The ride hadn’t been fully tested for the day, so we debated getting FP and getting over to the safari, but we ended up waiting.

Now, the queue is awesome, which I had heard. It is very detailed, and had we had to wait, I just KNOW I could have found some Hidden Mickeys in there. But as it was, we breezed through, and were on the very first coaster out. I had also heard that this ride was lame, but I LOVED it. I am a roller coaster junkie, and I have been on tons all over the US. I thought this one was great, and that yeti, he was scary! It was a great ride to be our very first of the trip. Normally I do Tower of Terror as tradition, but since it was Kristin’s trip, I didn’t force her on this one first.

From there, we did everything else—Kilimanjaro Safari, Primeval Whirl (which is another favorite), and Dinosaur. My niece LOVES the dinosaurs, so we had to take our picture with each of them on the path, and we found her a three horn (triceratops) that was stuffed for Kristin to bring home as bribery. My only other must dos were It’s Tough to be a Bug and Festival of the Lion King (which is so much nicer now that it is in an indoor place with air conditioning—made me want to take a nap). Kristin was traumatized I did not tell her about the stingers or the termite spray or the stink bug. Of course, I thought that would have totally ruined all the fun. Her surprise and hearing her scream loudly when she was stung was hilarious. Even the people around us were laughing at her.

We left around 3 so we could take a nap and get our costumes together and make sure we were at the park by the start of the party. A short nap in the middle of the day always does wonders for me. When I woke up, I was ready to get going! I donned my Dorothy costume, and Kristin donned her Alice, and we were off. I didn’t have much of a plan for this night, one of the only times I don’t do a detailed itinerary. I have to see the parade. I have to do the Alice in Wonderland treat trail. And I have to ride the Haunted Mansion. Other than that, I try to get as much candy as possible, and I try to ride as many rides as possible. The treat lines this year were fairly manageable, and the lines were pretty much non-existent. We did lots of the big stuff that would typically take much more time. POTC (thank goodness we did this one, as it was closed the day we were back in MK) with a keen eye out for the hottest pirate alive, Johnny Depp, The Jungle Cruise (best at night), the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (also best at night)—we got through all of these. The longest lines? Photographs with the characters! We hardly stopped to get any of these, except for Alice in Wonderland. Kristin wanted as many of those possible since she was dressed as Alice. I felt a little weird not being a Disney character. Last year I was Tweedle Dee and my best friend was Tweedle Dum, and the year before that I was Snow White. It seemed a sacrilege to go as a non-Disney character!

We made sure to see Hallowishes, which was not nearly as impressive as last year’s fireworks. I did not like some of the new renditions of the songs, preferring the originals. By the second parade, our feet were killing us, so we got a good seat in front of the saloon and anxiously awaited The Headless Horseman. I must say this year’s parade was FABULOUS! The Haunted Mansion float and the grave diggers were my favorite.

By the end of the night, we were walking out, candy bags and shoes in hand. We shopped some on Main Street before calling it a night, and I of course had to stop at the final treat stop (the coffin in front of the park) before making my final exit. We rode the bus home, and passed out. The next day was Kristin’s official birthday, and we planned to go to MGM for the early part of the day and finish off with Food and Wine Festival that evening. I was even going to let her sleep in, since she doesn’t much get to at home.

[mattnkatsmum]

Great start.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your CM, but it seems like you had a lovely first day.

And your sister makes a fab Alice!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Geri [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] I'm glad your luck turned better after the awful start with the CM at check-in [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Love the pictures too [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[momtolexi]

Great start to your vacation. Love the Halloween costumes too!!