Airplane there, smooooth….bus ride from airport to resort was hi-larious . . . driver had some flavor of an accent I could not identify . . . she stood at the front of the bus and called out, “OK, how many ol’ jews ah going to thee Shree-bear-sigh?” . . . crickets . . . “SHREE-BEAR-SIGH! SHREE-BEAR-SIGH!” . . . could she be saying, “Riverside?” . . . slowly, tentatively, the Riverside-bound among us put up our hands, glancing around . . . then she called out “And how many ol’ jews ah going to thee Bitch Club?!” … that one was a little easier, the Beach Club-bound raised their hands, giggling . . . and later when she pulled in to the parking lots, she too-enthusiastically shouted out a welcome: “HWELCON TO THEE BITCH CLUB!” heehee, so everytime someone behaved irritably the rest of the week, I thought “HWELCON TO THEE BITCH CLUB!” . . .room not as expected; more motel than hotel, but we’ll deal…weather nice, 60s-70s, not sun-bathing weather but great for walking around parks … omg, I could LIVE on SOARIN’ ride . . . FastPass is the way to go, and with a BIRTHDAY FastPass, there was NO WAIT AT ALL in any line on LG’s actual b’day . . . WTF was not much of a factor at all, the first 4 days . . . the last 3 were a struggle, pain, tears, etc. . . very thankful for 4 good days — even better than I’d hoped . . . meal plan totally confused me; at one point (Wednesday), I thought we couldn’t eat again until Saturday . . . but we could, and did . . . loved Artist Point, Hollywood Brown Derby, Coral Reef and Sci-Fi Theatre restaurants . . . restaurants where I’d made reservations and mentioned LG’s b’day gave her cards signed by staff or even printed birthday wishes on a special menu for us! . . . Magic Kingdom my least favorite park (I know, it’s unAmerican to say that), and the other three are all my favorite . . . parades were great, and I don’t like parades . . . discovered I like to be stirred, not shaken, on rides . . . liked Space Mountain better 30 years ago . . . I was the only one to get wet on the Kali River Rapids ride, and I loved it . . . no, I did not do Expedition Everest (didn’t want to), but Jif and LG did . . . didn’t do Tower of Terror (they did, I wanted to, but WTF wouldn’t permit that day) . . . we got to ride almost everything we wanted to, and never waited more than 25 minutes . . . if this is the “slow” time of year there, I NEVER want to go at the busy time; it was plenty crowded for me . . . LG met Prince Caspian who thought we were the Royal Family of Baltimore (possibly because I told him we were) . . . she was mortified/horrified . . . her BFF’s family coincidentally was also on vacay there at the end of the week, so they met up a couple of times . . . the Lion King show was fantastic . . . got Jif singing “Hakuna Matata” all the time, which annoyed and embarrassed LG no end . . . among my favorite parts of the trip — and truly, my favorite parts of any ordinary day — were the meaningful interactions with strangers: like the lady from Texas, via New Orleans, who explained to me about the whole Disney Pin trading phenomenon, and then asked, “Hey, do you know anyone named Laura?” and as a matter of fact, I know a very dear young lady named Laura, so the kind stranger gave me a Disney pin with “Laura” on it to give to her; she had seen it in a thrift store and bought it in the hope that she’d meet someone with a Laura; and the very large man on the even larger mechanized scooter, who couldn’t fit into the store aisle where the OTC meds were, and politely asked me if I could find him some motion sickness pills . . . at first I said they had none, but then I found them! and he was very thankful and so was I . . . great 13th b’day trip . . . plane home among the bumpiest ever for both Jif and me, but we’re here . . . I did seem to bring back the Mouse Flu — hit me the next day, still with chills, fever, aches, etc. . . and I am SO thankful to have it after I got home and not while we were there . . . all good.
Disney Stream of Consciousness Recap
March 4, 2009 by Susie
Yay! I’m so happy to read this, and even more so that you and the family made such wonderful memories around the occasion! I’m with you on The Magic Kingdom… bleh. Not really into hanging out with 75,000 of my closest friends in an amusement park. Hope you feel better soon — I hear the secret to kicking the Mouse Flu is to hit it right between its ears.
Just reading this makes me tired.
Whoa….sounds awesome. Can’t wait to go with my kids someday.
Wait a minute…you are the Royal Family of Baltimore? Now I can say I know royalty.
I am glad you had a nice trip.
Oh, oh, oh, I love Disney! (I’m confused. Did you stay at the Riverside or the “Bitch Club”?) We like many of the same restaurants, you and I. My birthday kid did not want his birthday acknowledged. Now that I find out what happens when you do the birthday thing, I am very disappointed.
So glad you had good days. I whole-heartedly agree w/ you about Magic Kingdom. Would love to hear more about what you thought of World Showcase!
Glad you are back home safe!
Wasn’t “Soarin'” the best? I could have ridden it over and over too! Thank God JP and Sharkey were there with us–I was lost on the whole meal plan thing too. Then on the last day, we redeemed the rest of our “snack” points and netted about 15 billion Mickey Rice Krispie Heads. That got thrown away when we got home. So glad to hear you felt good for the majority of the time, and that you waited till you got home to be sick. Nothing like being sick away from home, or worse yet, on the plane. Sounds like many happy memories were made!
Welcome home. Now go to sleep. 🙂
Will be in Maryland around 4/10-4/17 if you’re free!
Wow…so different from my horrible experience in California last year (which had more to do with the company than the theme park, but never mind that).
As Grand Poobah of the Northern Virginia Bitch Club, I’m glad to hear the Florida chapter is doing well.
Sounds like a lovely time overall, and I’m sure LG will look back on it as one of the best memories of her life!
Hope you feel better soon.
So where does the Royal Family of Baltimore stay when in Orlando? *grin*
Hakuna Matata and all things sweet in your memories, and now you need to kick some mouse flu butt!
Welcome back, Susie!
I’m so glad that you were able to have four good days. I’m sorry about the others and the flu. You also get lots of points from me for posting so soon after returning from vacation, especially when you’re sick. It took me five months to finish my vacation posts. 🙂
Four good days, wow! Sorry about the bad ones, but sounds like you made the most of the good ones. AND, if you have to have the flu bugs now, wouldn’t it be nice if they take their friends the WTF bugs along with them when they leave?
What a memorable vacation. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds wonderful. Glad you’re home safe. More glad that you had those lovely 4 days. Happy Birthday LG.
Oh thank goodness–I can breathe now! I don’t think there was a period in that whole post, and I was getting out of breath reading it to myself! 😛
So glad you had some good days! It sounds like you had a great time. So glad! I thought of you guys often last week. I hope you’re feeling better soon.
And seriously? An all-day fast pass on your birthday? We’re going to be in FL for my 40th at the end of the month. Of course, JP wants to go to WDW since we’ll be in the vicinity. I don’t mind going for a day, but that is so NOT how I want to spend my birthday. However, I think the cheapskate in me may win out. Because why pay for two tickets on any other day? I think the fast pass may tip the scales in favor of it. But shhhhhh . . . don’t tell JP. I don’t want to give in to him any sooner than I have to! 🙂
I’m sorry that the hotel wasn’t what you expected. We had that letdown a bit the first time we stayed in a “moderate” resort. But trust me – it’s a nice upgrade from the “value” resorts. But I’m very glad that you had some good days there and that LG had a great birthday! Sounds like you ate at some of our favorite restaurants. I can’t wait to go – 17 more days! I love meeting people there, too. Sometimes I’ll just pick a sunny bench and people watch for a little while, or play photographer and offer to take group photos for people. I hope that you are feeling better SOON!
Sharkey… unfortunately you can choose free admission OR the fast pass – not both. 😦 (I’m pretty sure you can get free admission at any of the Disney parks that day – not just the Magic Kingdom) We’re going to be there 3/22-29 – let me know if you’re going to be there. We could ride Splash Mountain or something. 🙂
Mouse flu? Hon, what did I tell you about unprotected rodent sex? Didn’t I warn you not to fall for his “But I’m a legend!” routine? *sigh*
Whew. I’m worn out, just reading about it. But so glad you all had a good time.
Love. Hugs. Prayers.
P.S. Incidentally, we’re moving back home. Hubby got a transfer. This is a Very Good Thing, indeed. Love you.
Well… as long as there wasn’t any “protein spills” right?
Hope the mouse flu…or is it fl-eew! goes back into its hole ASAP!
xxoo
Laughing big time at Bucky. Glad you all had a good time.
Disney is one of my favorite places ever, and I *adore* Magic Kingdom, I always feel like I’m 10 years old again when I go there.
Years ago Cherry and Ira were stuck in the Small World and nearly went crazy hearing that song over and over . . .