| Day 0, Intro and Cast of Characters
Well, it is almost upon us. The next wonderful WDW trip. In fact, in 9 hours, the airport shuttle is arriving to pick us up. We are staying at WDW 9 days, 3 at CS, and 6 at Old Key West. I haven't been participating in this newsgroup as much as I usually do before a trip. In fact, I haven't had the chance to spend as much time planning as I usually do. We have certainly all been distressed and distracted by the tragedies in September. And this has been an awfully busy few months for us anyway. But, these are even more the reasons we need this trip. We need a break from our schedules, and a chance to relax and enjoy the most fabulous vacation destination there is. |
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So, we'll relax, we'll have fun, and we'll forget our troubles for
a week and a half.
Here’s the cast of characters, and a few details that will make the trip report clearer. I’m Joe, the Disney fanatic. There are people who have the bug worse, especially if you read radp, but I do get obsessive about these trips. Our trips generally only last about a week to ten days (sigh). But, if you immerse yourself in the planning and in the trip reports afterwards, you get to spend many more hours enjoying the magic of Disney, in the anticipation and in the memories. |
| I’m also an engineer by trade, and a computer hobbyist by avocation.
So, I am very geek, and that shows up in the things I like about WDW.
In fact, I had really wanted to spend New Year’s Eve at Epcot, since this is the first time we have ever been at WDW this time of the year. Somehow, the idea of ringing in the new year in this place of the future seemed right to me. Besides, Epcot is my favorite park, for obvious reasons. But, I finally gave in to the nudging of my 9 year old, and we are spending New Year’s Eve at the Magic Kingdom. |
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That nine year old would be Nick Nick is pretty passionate about
Disney himself, of course, and has been looking forward to this trip.
What is so wonderful about going to WDW with your children is that every
year they see the place differently. There may be a few new things
for you, but for them the place is always different, as they are interacting
with it on a different level. They see new things, enjoy different
things, and come away with a unique experience. I especially remember
the first time Nick could read really well at WDW, and was absorbed in
the signs on the walls (especially, for example in Buzz Lightyear), the
street signs, and so many details we take for granted.
So, it will be fun watching Nick on this trip, and seeing what he finds new and different. This will be our first trip using DVC. We bought into DVC during our trip in March, largely at the urgings of my wife Debbie. |
| Debbie is the third member of our traveling band. She pretends
to just tolerate my Disney addiction, but is really more involved in it
then she pretends. DVC was really largely her idea. Perhaps
she just realized we were going back every year anyway, and thought this
was better than a hotel room every year.
I’m still getting the hang of planning with and using DVC. I had some frustration with the reservation system, which is how we ended up with a trip split between two resorts. But, we’ve split between resorts before (e.g. on our cruise trip, where we wanted to come in a little early, but didn’t want the premium room that came with the cruise for another two days), and I don’t anticipate any problem. |
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Then, being at CS is a little ironic. We had to split the trip
because we couldn’t get Old Key West for 9 consecutive days (our home is
actually Wilderness Lodge Villas, but I didn’t make my reservations eleven
months out, which was dumb). But, we signed up the first three days
at PO French Quarter. Then, they closed it, because business was
so far down. So, it’s too busy for us to get into Old Key West, but
not busy enough to keep PO open. Weirdness, huh?
Anyway, we have never been to CS or Old Key West before, and are looking forward to a new experience. We’ve never been on property during the holidays either, and are looking forward to both the decorations at the resorts, and the Osborne lights. And, we are looking forward to being out at the Magic Kingdom till 1 in the morning. |
| But, it should have been Epcot.
We also are traveling for the first time with some new toys. We changed computer OS’s this year, and upgraded ourselves to a couple of Apple laptops, which are very nice. There’s also a Sony handicam along for the first time (we gave up traveling with the VHS dinosaur before we got in the WDW habit). But, the good old Kodak digital still is still along for the trip. So, my trip report may actually get posted in a timely fashion this time! Next installment is day 1, which is the trip down and an evening at MGM (hope to catch those lights!). |
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