Saturday, October 27, 2007

Did you miss me?

We're back!

Last Saturday we took our dog to the place where we were boarding her for the week. I got really, really teary-eyed and actually started crying. Which, of course, made the kids cry, because I'm the best mother on the planet. Don't quote me on this, but I believe I might have shrieked something like, "OH MY GOD, SHE'S GOING TO THINK WE DON'T LOVE HER ANYMORE AND THAT WE'VE ABANDONED HER!" Because, you know, clearly my dog is smarter than every other dog on the planet and would actually be able to form a coherent thought in her head enough to realize what day it was and that we, her humans, were not there.
Anyway.

The next morning we got up at the butt crack of dawn to start driving. Okay, that's not really true, it was like 7am. We left the house around 8am.
Traffic was pretty good until we got to Atlanta. Which compels me to ask the following question.

Atlanta? What the hell?

I mean, seriously. I thought traffic in my fair city both sucked and blew until we drove through Atlanta. We were in the carpool lane at one point and there was this two-hundred year old man on a motorcycle who had to be driving approximately six miles an hour and decided that HE wanted to drive in the carpool lane so without even looking he just pulled his motorcycle right in front of us. I seriously thought we would have to have to scrape that little man off our front bumper. Fortunately, the Santa Fe has good brakes.
A good thing I figured out? Atlanta is seriously only like three hours from my house. So any bloggers I might know from Atlanta (HINT HINT) I could probably easily visit.

Anyway, after we got through Atlanta we spent approximately the next thirty years driving through the rest of Georgia. Georgia is lovely, I have to say. I might possibly want to live there, especially based on all the billboards I saw advertising housing at very reasonable prices.

Then, we got on the Florida turnpike. Which compels me to ask the following question.

Drivers in Florida? What the hell?

It began to rain. A light sprinkle. Immediately EVERY SINGLE PERSON in front of us slammed on their brakes. I am seriously not kidding, at all. I might have said something like, "GOOD GOD THERE HAD BETTER BE AN ACCIDENT UP THERE!" I can't be expected to remember everything I say.

The upshot? The portion of our trip which should have taken about two hours took something like four or five.
We all had to pee really badly and I think Jason and I were about to get a divorce by the time we got to the hotel. This was not exactly the magical experience we had hoped for when planning this trip.
Then we got to the hotel. There were about four million people in the hotel and they all wanted to check in. Also? Everyone there hated me and wanted me dead.

The guy who checked us in didn't speak English very well. Which is fine, because whatever his language was? I couldn't speak it at all. He kept saying, "YES! YES! YES!" because he was apparently having a very magical day. Me? Not so much.

We went to our hotel room and by then it was about 8pm. And we? Were starving.

So we had to find someplace to eat and decided that we would go to Downtown Disney and eat at Planet Hollywood.

Have you ever been to Planet Hollywood? I think people go there for the experience more than for the food. Also? Probably for the alcohol because most people there seemed pretty drunk. Or maybe they are just more fun than me, because I didn't think it was fun at all. Jason didn't either. The girl outside offered to take our picture by the sign and we just looked at her like, "Take our picture girlfriend and we will CUT YOU."

The hostess? Bless her heart she was such a bitch.

After about forty minutes they finally took us upstairs so we could be seated. She took the people in front of us and seated them. THEN she took two tables of four BEHIND us and seated them too. Jason said, "Excuse me, we were here before them" and she said, "Your table isn't ready. I'll let you know." Then? She rolled her eyes. And then seated ANOTHER table of four ahead of us.

The food was okay. I wouldn't call it anything special. I had crabcakes, which was probably a mistake looking back on it, because really? Do you want crabcakes from a restaurant that's not a seafood restaurant? Probably not.

Jason had steak. The kids had spaghetti.

It was all pretty random. And so, so loud. Oh my Lord, was it loud. We had to shriek at one another to be heard. Also? They played music videos up on this big screen behind us and I said to Girl Child about two hundred times, "LADIES DO NOT DRESS NOR BEHAVE IN THAT MANNER!"

The upshot? I wouldn't go back. I nearly called Child Protective Services on myself for taking the children there.

We were exhausted when we finally dragged ourselves back to the hotel. We stayed at Pop Century which is one of Disney's value resorts. It really was a good value, I have to say. The room was nice enough and clean and all that. The hotel is centered around Pop Culture from the 1950's- 1990's. We were in the 1980's section.

We collapsed into our beds and pretty much fell asleep immediately. We were so freaking tired.

The next morning, Monday, we were awakened at about 6am when the Satanic brat next door began screaming at the top of his lungs, "GET UP! GET UP! I WANT TO GO! GET UP! GET UP!"

I? Wanted to get up and smack the crap out of him. But I didn't want to lose my testimony.
Eventually we got up. While Jason was in the shower, I took the kids outside so we could get a good look at our hotel in the daylight, since it had been dark when we came in the night before. It? Was pretty cool.


This cell phone was on the outside of our building. The small dots there at the bottom? Boy Child and Girl Child.

This laptop was on the side of the building we were in. And again, the small dots are the kids.
The hotel was pretty cool. I'm a big fan of pop culture, and all the buildings had cool things like Rubix cubes and bowling pins on them.

Then we rode the bus over to Magic Kingdom. Our hotel provided transportation to all of the different parks and Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, Typhoon Lagoon and all the other places in Disney World, which was nice.

Not so nice? I think probably our driver got his license out of a box of Cracker Jacks. We were standing on the bus because there were not enough seats and the driver took the turns like he was in the Indy 500. I was holding on for dear life.

We got there and I was immediately grateful for the fact that my children are nine years old. I didn't have to have a stroller or a bag. We would walk into the entrance that said. "GUESTS WITHOUT BAGS" which was us and like two other people. I could carry everything I had in my pockets. It was cool.

Also? The kids were old enough to do so many things for themselves but yet young enough to really enjoy everything like, "It's a Small World".

Which? I also loved.
It's one of those things from my childhood, you know? I wanted my kids to experience it too.

We also went on the Haunted Mansion ride, which has been updated and was awesome. I got Jason to ride Space Mountain too, and I'm not sure he's forgiven me for that yet. He's not a fan of roller coasters so much as he is a person who totally ralphs when he goes on roller coasters.
Hehe!

We ate lunch at Tony's Town Square Restaurant. The food was wonderful and the service was just fantastic. The tiramisu was to die for.

We saw Mickey's PhilharMagic which is an awesome 3-D show. The kids and I totally rocked the 3-D glasses.


Aren't we hot? Or something?

I insisted that we all visit the Hall of Presidents and the Carousel of Progress. Not that anyone protested or anything. It's funny, I just remember those from when I was a kid and how cool I thought they were. Turns out? Not that cool. But still interesting and worthwhile.

We had a short wait for the Hall of Presidents movie. We sat down and relaxed in the waiting area, and Jason snapped a couple of photos.


As you can see from the people around us, we were the only people under the age of two hundred.



Also? As you can see, Boy Child and I pretty much have the same sense of humor.

Hysterically, at one point I grew tired of sitting and decided to move over to closer to where the door was that would allow us entry into the show. Seriously, I'm totally not kidding about this, every single person in the room got up, followed me over and lined up behind me.
I said to Jason, "I told you. I'm kind of a big deal."

It was so funny.

Girl Child? Waved at all the animatronic characters. And? Seemed a bit miffed that they didn't wave back.


We did tons of stuff that day, so much that I can't remember it all. I do remember the candy store that we visited because it was so hilarious and also smelled so good.


I don't even know what this is, but doesn't it look tasty? Slap a pair of mouse ears on anything and it looks so good.

I was disappointed in myself for not taking more pictures at the Magic Kingdom. Especially given how many pictures I take just on a daily basis. I did manage to get some good shots though.


I have a very hard time getting any pictures of Boy Child without his arm in his face. Granted, they were standing right there in the bright light. You can hardly help it in Florida.




Everything was all decorated for Halloween, which was cool. It certainly didn't feel like October though. We wore shorts every day.

Overall, we had a great first day. If you are looking to go to Disney World, I would highly recommend going in October. The crowds were so light that we were able to get on every ride we wanted to ride with very little waiting. I honestly don't think we waited ten minutes for anything while at the Magic Kingdom.

It? Was awesome.

Tomorrow, I'll tell you about Epcot. I know you are all dying of anticipation! Or whatever!

30 comments:

Unknown said...

She's back!! Yay. So glad you had a great time. We're planning to take Boy Wonder in the spring. We'll be one of those crazy people with strollers. And, when I took Puppy two years ago? I was totally like you. Trying to align what it's really like with what I remembered from childhood. And, I made him do the Presidents, too. And, while he rode Space Mountain 17 times, I rode the train through Tomorrowland continuously. Guy never even made me get off. I'm ralph the way Jason does. And, I was dragged on at 8 & have never fully recovered!

Alpha Dude said...

Wow. You are some seriously fun people.
So glad you had a great time.
Welcome back.

Blessings.

Angie said...

It's so good to have you back home. . . hee hee.

Mark is out in West K., buying an entertainment center and computer hutch at Rooms 2 Go. Pop over and say "hey" to him. He'll be there a while! LOL

Welcome home!!!

Unknown said...

I was ecstatic to see a new post! I'm glad y'all had a fabu trip!

You so had me at 'I? Wanted to get up and smack the crap out of him. But I didn't want to lose my testimony.'

'Bout pee'd my pants laughing.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

I'm so excited you're back I don't know what to say except that I don't know what to say. Yay?!

Anonymous said...

Hurray! You made it back! I thought you would have so much fun that you'd secretly move into Cinderella's castle.

But now I understand. You left the dog behind. You HAD to come back for her.

frannie said...

I'm in Atlanta!!! I'M IN ATLANTA!!!!!

I will pay you to come visit me! it won't be money or anything, but I can pay in food and love!!! and we have tons of cool stuff to do here-- not as cool as Disney, but I won't seat others before you either. Please come! I would love for your hot self to visit me!

can't wait to hear the rest of the trip-- and see pics--Disney looks good on you, girl!

Unknown said...

I've tagged you;). (soo glad you're back. I really did miss your posts immensely!)

Heather {Desperately Seeking Sanity} said...

i can so relate with it's a small world and the hall of presidents... i had the same thought process when we went almost 4 years ago... i'm so jealous!

and next time I go visit my mom, maybe we could meet up... based on your descriptions of your drive to work, and now the talk about how far you are from atlanta, i'm willing to bet that I have to drive right past you to get to mom's...

glad you had a good time.. can't wait to hear about epcot!

LeBlanc said...

The best part of Florida is Epcot. Can't wait for that.

Anonymous said...

It was like reliving our trip from September all over again. I'm so jealous. You got to come home and post your pictures and tell your story. I'm STILL WAITING for my husband to give me all of our pictures that he has stored on his laptop. GRRRR!

P.S. Floridians are crazy.

P.P.S. We were in the 1970s section right by Goofy and the car play water spout fountain thingy.

P.P.P.S. We also went to Planet Hollywood but during the day and our kids are MUCH younger than yours.

Dawn~a~Bon said...

Hey pretty princess, I'm glad you're home and I'm glad you had fun!

Anonymous said...

You're baaaaaaack :)

I? Got sad the one time I boarded my dog, too. Sad to the point that I cried and will NEVER board him again. Ever.

I'm letting you plan my Disney trip, okay?

Unknown said...

Glad to have you back!!

What a neat hotel. Great recap, can't wait for Epcot and the rest of the trip!

Anonymous said...

WELCOME BACK!!! Work has been a lot more boring without your blog to read : )

Anonymous said...

Three hours from Atlanta? Then that would make you a whole TON of hours from Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Bummer. Sigh. Glad you're back. The blogosphere hasn't been the same without you :o)

Emma in Canada said...

Did you know frannie said I could come stay with her in Atlanta? That would be pretty funky to meet up with both of you. Just saying. I'm in mo way trying to scare you away from Atlanta!

Glad you had such a good time.

Denise said...

Yo, yo, yo glad that you are back, made it in one piece, and had a fantabulous time. October huh? sounds good to me. I want to go to Disney land not Disney world, since we are closer to DL. We have never been as a family.

my4kids said...

Glad your back and seem to have had a good time except for that first day with traveling and the restaraunt.

NEVER AGAIN said...

MISSED YOU! I have been home sick since Wednesday and since I have already perused the archives I have been waiting patiently and imagine the pleasant surprise I got today! I am so glad you had a great time, I was worried, as my older son went with his slightly dementiafied grandma and had a horrible time...I now know it was HIM and he could have a crap time at an ice cream festival...

ps you are still gorgeous...hopefully you will soon realize that!

pss we have Planet Hollywood here...tourista trapista....when you plan your trip to Las Vegas I can steer you to all the fun places, my boys can entertain your kiddoes and we can paint the town purple....

my4kids said...

Come on over I left you and award on my blog.

Anonymous said...

I've presented you with an award on my blog. Congratulations!

Oh, and I noticed from the comment you left on my blog the other day, you may just live near me.

Patiently waiting said...

Awesome! I'm glad you guys had a good time and are back home safely. I would love to go there one day as I have never been :-( Can't wait for tomorrow's post!

J said...

I definitaly AM dying of anticipation because you? Are walking me through my childhood again. I remember all those things, too. The Hall of Presidents....how fun! (not)

I am glad you are back! I am happy you had fun. I am glad you are sharing your experience because we are going there after hubby returns from deployment.

But mainly, I am happy you are back!!

Dreamer said...

Yay! You are back.

:-)

I **HATE** Florida traffic. I lived there for 17.5 of my 20 years, and when it sprinkles? Everyone and their brother slams on brakes. Which is aggrivating, because we lived in Florida, ya know? It rained a heck of a lot.

Geez.

Anyways, I love the pictures. Disney World is awesomness on a stick. :-)

PS-- I'm like 3 hours from Atlanta too! How weird! (Only the opposite way, towards the East Coast)

SJINCO said...

Yay! you are back!!! Love all your photos and your re-cap, so glad you guys had a great time.

Amy W said...

WE WERE AT THE SAME PARK THAT DAY!!

I was so hoping to run into you guys!

Rachel (Crazy-Is) said...

Yaay! You're back! I am so glad that you guys had such a great time! Can't wait to hear more.

And, you will drive to Atlanta, but not Memphis! Gah!

Ry said...

My fave part of this post?

"LADIES DO NOT DRESS NOR BEHAVE IN THAT MANNER!"

Hahahaha. Amen, and I know what you are talking about!

Kim said...

Reading your Disney entries makes me want to go back and I was just there! LOL Good thing I live within an hour from the House of Mouse. :)

We stayed at Pop Century and liked it too. I have also stayed at Ft. Wilderness in the cabins which was nice. We had fun taking the monorail to all of the different hotels to check them out. lol