DA sees Magic Kingdom for first time in 34 years

Tuesday.November.29.2005

Today is our actual 19th anniversary, even though we celebrated last night at California Grill. DA remembers to tell us “Happy Anniversary” & we do spend quite a bit of time being goofily happy today.

Breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks: we have our usual homemade breakfast squares + fruit, DA has 2 cinnamon rolls slathered in butter.

Next stop = Magic Kingdom!!

We take the bus & get there early enough for the “good morning” opening – always makes us grin, DA is grinning too & dancing around a little bit.

My notes are a bit skimpy – here’s what we did.

Space Mountain first off, DA opted for the Chicken Exit. I rode in the front (as always, I have a few neck “issues” and riding anywhere else in the pod gives me a raging headache), I whooped and hollered. We both had a great ride & were grinning when we got off <yes, we grin a lot at Walt Disney World>, DA was waiting for us on a bench. She said that the Cast Members had been very friendly & she wasn’t at all uncomfortable with doing the Chicken Exit thing and wasn’t it so nice of Disney World to have something like that so people like her could still get to enjoy things.

Next up, Tomorrowland Transit Authority. All 3 of us rode. I went up the mechanical incline first, DA behind me, Wall-E behind her (we were a bit concerned about her being steady on her feet in new “motion” environments – hey, we love our Dear Aunt & certainly don’t want to see anything happen to her). All enjoyed, she liked being able to see “inside that roller coaster ride”.

Hall of Presidents. This was SO successful. James was the CM on duty & he was fabulous. Knew gobs of history, very engaging. (Oh did I mention that it was drizzly again? We were doing fine staying dry & warm enough.) DA liked all the artifacts spread about and we all enjoyed the show. First time Wall-E and I had seen it since November 2002. DA is retired military & Dear Uncle (passed away in 2001) was career Army. We wanted to highlight some of the more historical and patriotic things at WDW.

Lunch at Columbia Harbor House. As I said, it was drizzly & a bit chilly; so this seemed like the thing to do. All 3 of us ordered the ½ sandwich and chowder. Each got a different sandwich, I remember a tuna salad & a vegetarian (must have been Wall-E and me); all 3 were very good.

Pirates of the Caribbean. This was as close as we got to a roller coaster. All enjoyed. DA remarked that there was a lot to see everywhere we went and in everything we did.

Final attraction at Magic Kingdom = The Enchanted Tiki Room. This is a must do for us & DA enjoyed it too.

Did some shopping on the way out. DA got her “thumbs up” pin. She had seen it at WoD the day before but didn’t get it. She’s very pleased with her pin (a few months later, she lost it, we bought another in February & took it to her).

Monorail to Epcot – just like we had planned. Didn’t get to ride in the front car, but that’s okay.

By this time DA is getting a bit tired, so we head to the POFQ bus at Epcot & go back to the resort. DA takes a rest. We go sit at Mardi Grogs and talk to John the bartender for a while. He hasn’t met DA yet, but has heard about her. We promise that she’ll be down later.

We walked over to POR and went to Fulton’s General Store. The two of them had checked it out while waiting for me to get our rooms yesterday. DA saw a clock that she wanted for her back porch (really a 3 season room) & Wall-E saw a long-sleeved Mickey Mouse Christmas shirt that he thought would be perfect for me. So, we went over and bought these things PLUS a $10 Tinkerbell Christmas watch (happy happy happy).

Walked back to our rooms (Bldg 3, 2nd floor, towards parking lot but on the end very close to the arcade/Jackson Square/lobby/food court area) and got DA.

We all piled into the car and drove over to Yacht Club/Beach Club. We ate at Beaches and Cream (the first time for all of us) – split the following 3 ways – double cheeseburger = GREAT!, chicken Caesar salad = VERY GOOD, and a mudslide = VERY GOOD. Quite enjoyable. We watched 2 brothers (there with their wives and children) attack TWO kitchen sinks. Neither of them finished. I think that they started out too gung ho and the brain-freeze headaches did them in. Both DA and Wall-E believe that if I went without eating that I could finish one (I confess, I am an ice-cream aholic. My first real world, paying job was at Baskin-Robbins); I don’t agree with them – I think that the candy bars & brownies would slow me down.

We walked around YC/BC looking at the decorations. DA liked the carousel (we had seen a lot of the decorations last year; DA doesn’t usually do anything for Christmas – not much into holidays/birthdays/etc and we had mild concerns about taking her there when all the decorations were up, we shouldn’t have been concerned at all, she wants to go see them again) and a lobby CM came over and chatted & helped her find all the hidden Mickeys.

Drove over to Coronado Springs. They have the best moderate Christmas decorations. Beautiful white poinsettias and I really like their gingerbread village – it’s more like homemade instead of “super duper fancy dancy pastry chef”.

Drive over to Wilderness Lodge. We had thought that DA would really like the Christmas decorations here – they were okay (her opinion) but she really liked the resort & thought it was very pretty. Interesting thing @ WL: We saw a group of ladies going out for a “sleigh” ride. DA liked the festive atmosphere but was concerned about that “poor horse” having to pull that heavy sleigh. “Do you think he’s happy?” I said sure he was, everybody & everything likes to be useful, don’t you like to be busy and useful? <grinning>

NOTE: It was very convenient & easy to drive to the resorts & for Wall-E to drop us off while he went to park the car.

Back to POFQ. We sit at Mardi Grogs until 9pm. Talking to each other & John the bartender. Meeting “new” folks. Drinking beer. Remembering what we did today… DA went back to the room about 9:15. We went for a walk & watched some of Illuminations (what we could see). Back to the room, ready for bed, TR notes by 10:00 am.

NOTE: I just know that we ate something somewhere along the line for dinner; but I don’t have any notes and I sure as heck can’t remember what or where. It may be that since we had that huge (for the 3 of us) meal at Beaches & Cream that Wall-E & I grabbed a chicken wrap at Sassagoula Floatworks & DA simply didn’t eat again (she doesn’t eat much anyway).

Long Delayed TR — 2.0 We’re here! Hiya Gang! And 2 great surprises for Dznyknitter!

We get to Port Orleans Riverside (POR) (a little disappointment for Wall-E & Dznyknitter because we 
aren’t at Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ), but put on a happy face). Wall-E & DA go outside 
while I go through the check-in process. They’re back before I’m done 
– but I’m bouncing around like the happy idiot that I am. DA thinks 
something MUST be wrong & sends Wall-E over to check — I tell him 
what’s up (I’ll tell you in a few lines) & he goes back to DA, keeping 
it all a secret, just assuring her that I have everything under control 
because I know what I’m doing (it’s great to be married to someone who 
thinks you’re the bees-knees).

Surprise #1 — 
Jen L at registration at POR is moving us to POFQ!!! And we get to keep 
the AP discount (I had been calling & calling but couldn’t make this 
happen before we got there)!! The rooms they had for us at POR weren’t 
close & we wanted connecting PLUS there were a lot of cheerleader or 
choir groups or something at POR. When Jen told me all of this, I 
crossed my fingers and wished for pixie dust & asked if we could be 
switched over to POFQ — the answer was YES with connecting rooms!! 
Hoorraayyyyy!! Took a while to get everything done in the computers & 
make sure that our deposit etc was transferred. By this point, I’m 
about to pop out of my skin. 

We get back in the car & head over to POFQ. Wall-E & I are very, very 
happy & DA is just happy because we’re happy. 

We head straight to Mardi Grogs, Wall-E takes a few photos of us around the pool area & then heads out to move the car. First, he goes inside & gets us some cold water, we’re going to wait for him at Mardi Grogs. It’s too early for Mardi Grogs to be open but DA has heard about our favorite bar & our favorite bartenders. And lo & behold,

Surprise #2 — 
Shelly the bartender is opening up!! Hugs all around. She & DA are 
tickled to meet each other. We just have a good time visiting & 
catching up. We were able to get our room assignment before lunch & get 
all moved in. 

Head over to Downtown Disney for lunch at Fulton’s. We took the car. Great lunch at Fulton’s (food is always good here, but service can be a bit of a toss up). Started raining after we finished up. Activated our AP’s, did some shopping at World of Disney, had a sundae at Ghiradelli’s, … good afternoon even though it was wet. Got in the 
car, went back to POFQ & spent the afternoon sitting around Mardi Grogs & doing that southern thing called “telling stories & making up lies”. 

Took a cab to dinner at California Grill & Wishes on the balcony. Still raining lightly – but not too bad. Highlights of dinner… Yoshi Sushi Deluxe for us, DA had the 4 cheese flatbread. Beet salad was shared by 
all. We split the fish (tuna?) & DA had the pumpkin ravioli. Fireworks then dessert = something wonderful & butterscotchy and the apple tart. Food was great. Service was great (we are about 50/50 on service at California Grill). We were seated in the wine room & at certain points 
it poured rain. Interesting aside — there was a big honcho from Disney holding court in the wine room at the table next to us — I wasn’t able 
to get any gossip, if I had I’d have shared it long ago — just 
interesting to see how the people at the table interacted w/ someone 
who was clearly very important.

Well, today I did the regular craft chore (at least it’s a regular chore for me) — I cleaned / organized my craft closet. I don’t tackle the entire thing at a go — but about every nine months or so (sometimes more frequently) I either organize the yarn crafts or the needlework crafts (cross-stitch, sewing, quilting & since I haven’t really sewn or quilted anything in years, it’s really just cross-stitch).

Oh yeah, this was all part of the day spent with my new toy — a swiffer wet jet!!

The over-riding discovery — I have a huge stash and a larger pile of WIPs than I thought! I’m embarrassed! I even considered just throwing some of the WIPs in the garbage. I started them SO long ago and my tastes / style has changed! But some of them are so doggoned close to being finished that I can’t stand the thought of tossing them in the garbage. I’ve noticed that no one has started reading this bog yet (oh well)… But if anyone is interested in some nearly completed cross-stitch… give me a buzz

Discovered today – no longer to my taste – the ones I can remember right off the top of my very tired head (remember that I’ve wetjetted every floor in the house and moved a lot of furniture!).

• Lady of the Thread by Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum
• a little sweetheart hardanger embroidery kit, lovely pinks/creams/greens
• a small Thanksgiving doodad with overdyed thread

That’s all for now

Together out on the open road!!!

We arrived at DA’s house on Thanksgiving afternoon. We’d been teasing 
her for months that she’d be waiting on the driveway with her suitcase. 
She wanted to leave immediately – but we convinced her that we’d leave 
on Friday morning & head straight to Pensacola.

Friday.November.25.2005

Long day in the car, everything went fine. Stayed at the Fairfield Inn 
in Pensacola, not great but okay. Had dinner at a nearby restaurant: Los Rancheros — very good food. DA = Chicken Alfredo, Wall-E = Spicy 
Hot Burrito, Dznyknitter = Chiles Rellenos.

BTW: The trip along the panhandle added lots of miles to the trip. We live in N Indiana. DA lives in central Virginia. We went to the extreme 
western tip of the Florida Panhandle. Would have been closer to head 
straight to WDW, but I didn’t argue with the 2 intrepid travelers — 
they were having fun planning that part of the trip & I really enjoy 
seeing them so danged happy.

Saturday.November.26.2005

Dznyknitter & Wall-E

Wall-E had one request for this first weekend of our trip — he wants to eat on the water as much as possible & he wants seafood as much as possible. We get up, grab at snack at the “free breakfast” & hit the road; headed to Destin Florida. We found a place on the water with seafood for breakfast, Harbor Seafood & Grill (actually, DA took a photo there that became our Christmas card for 2005). It was on the water, the sun was shining, and we were in Florida!! Breakfast: DA = eggs, nice crispy bacon, home fries, rye toast, coffee. Wall-E & Dznyknitter both = shrimp omelet w/ tomatoes, wheat toast, coffee. Breakfast was YUM x5. 

DA & Dznyknitter, Destin FL

Drove along the panhandle all day. Stopping here and there, taking photographs, our goal is Perry Florida & the Hampton Inn (this hotel has won lots of Hilton awards & Wall-E picked it out). Stopped for a cocktail at the Miracle Bar in St. Joe Beach. Nice little place, probably not to everyone’s taste, but we liked it. Made it to our Hampton Inn, all tired & getting a bit cranky, need to eat. We walked over to Mama’s Italian Restaurant — in a single word, YUCK. Wall-E sent his food back (very rare) & just didn’t eat. Luckily, the Hampton Inn is spectacular. Walked back over, here are my notes 
made late that night with input from my two intrepid travelers:

• must stay here, if coming anywhere near, stay! 

• Chivas in a real glass (complimentary) 

• fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate (complimentary) 

• great cookies 

• BEST Hampton Inn we’ve ever stayed at 

• lobby food area great layout 

• food was out all evening (meat & cheese platter, crackers, fruit 
platter, veg platter, the aforementioned strawberries & cookies) 

• this really is the #1 Hampton Inn in the world

Sunday.November.27.2005

Breakfast at the Hampton Inn, hit the road. Today’s goal = Siesta Key & Venice. We had a late-ish lunch at Phillipi Creek Oyster Bar (between Sarasota & Siesta Key), Wall-E & I had eaten there many times when fishing in Siesta Key. DA loved it too. DA & Dznyknitter had 1/2 lb shrimp dinners w/ slaw. Wall-E had the shrimp salad. A few house beers, bud lights, & white zinfandels all around. 


Next we took DA to the beach! She hadn’t seen a beach or the Gulf of Mexico in YEARS. Had a great time just walking around taking pictures, digging our feet into that sugar dust sand, & she went out into the water holding her pants legs up high (great photo of that!). Drove around Siesta Key & Long Boat Key, just having a grand time. 


Stopped at the Crescent Club (when we’ve been to Siesta Key before, we 
stayed at the House of the Sun, across the street from the Crescent Club), had to stop in here for old times sake. 


Stayed at the Hampton Inn Venice. Not too great. Stinky, smelly, sewer gas (we had to move a time or two). We were all upgraded to suites (I’m a diamond level Hilton HHonors member) — but there was still some weird plumbing thing going on. Spent the evening hanging out around the 
pool, playing cards, doing laundry, watched a movie in DA’s room — hit 
the hay, went to sleep. 


Notes: DA’s favorite things about today 


• driving & looking 

• BIG bridge 

• walking in sugar sand & sticking my feet in the Gulf of Mexico 

• wine & lunch @ that seafood bar 

Monday.Nov.28.2005

We get to Disney World!! 
They had been teasing me for weeks. Wall-E said he was going to 
get us all up at 3:30 in the morning so that I wouldn’t miss a single 
second at Disney World — well, that didn’t happen, but I have to 
confess that I was a bit out of sorts @ breakfast & anxious to get to 
Mickey’s House!!! 
We made it to POR by about 9:30 or so in the morning… 
 

Late November / Early December 2005

Pre-stroke for DA

Participants:

Dznyknitter – me, 40 yrs old, self-proclaimed Disney World nut

Wall-E – DH, also 40 yrs old, not as much of a WDW nut, but he’s nutty about me

DA – Dear Aunt, 73 yrs old, only been to WDW & gone into parks once in 1971

Original Plan: 
Take DA to WDW with us in November 2004. We started making plans and 
talking about different ideas with DA, we wanted to tailor the experience to 
her interests and her abilities. I bought a 6 day Park Hopper & got 2 rooms at POFQ well in advance. As autumn got into gear, DA decided not to go this year, 2004 (I can’t remember exactly why). Turns out it was 
just as well, about 10 days before our original planned departure, DA ended up in the ER and then intensive care with intestinal bleeding of 
unknown origin. She lost > 70% of her blood — we came very near to 
losing her. In the long-run (long for her, everyone else thought it was 
pretty quick given her age & other health conditions) she was fine. 
NOTE: DA’s health issues — she’s 73 & she gets tired but she doesn’t 
have enough sense to realize it <grin>, she has congestive heart 
failure & has had a couple of spinal repair surgeries in the last few 
years, all in all she’s in good health & does quite well; also, she 
made a promise to God years ago that she’d never ride another roller 
coaster

New Plan: 
Aim for November 2005! And add some driving along the Florida panhandle 
(DA and Wall-E LOVE to drive and ride). DA says “plan it all, I’m 
along for the ride (literally & figuratively)”

List

We made of things we
either REALLY wanted to do and/or things that 
we thought DA would REALLY want
to do…

Magic Kingdom

eating = Cosmic
Ray’s, Tomorrowland Noodle Terrace 


attractions =
Space Mountain (for us), Pirates of Caribbean, Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents,
Haunted Mansion, It’s A Small World, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Wishes!,
Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Carousel of Progress, Timekeeper

photo = Railroad
Station 

MGM-Studios (update: It’s now called “Disney Hollywood Studios”)

eating = Brown
Derby

attractions =
Tower of Terror (for us), Rock’n'RollerCoaster (for us), Great Movie Ride, Car
Stunt show, Muppets 3D, One Man’s Dream, Osborne 
Lights

photos = Donald
Duck and Mickey Mouse in the backlot area

 Epcot: Future World

eating = Sunshine
Food Fair, Fountain View

attractions = Test
Track (later removed from list as possibility), Universe of Energy (also later
removed), Spaceship Earth, Soarin’, Living with the Land, Mission Space (for
us)

photos = Odyssey
area w/ Spaceship Earth & Monorail in background

Epcot: World Showcase

eating = Germany
(DA lived in Germany for many years), Japan, Morocco 


attractions =
China movie, American Adventure, Holiday Storytellers, Illuminations, Chinese
Acrobats, Off Kilter

photos =
Characters on Holiday

Other 


Downtown Disney =
Fulton’s, Earl of Sandwich, World of Disney

Port Orleans Riverside
= butterfly garden

Boardwalk = scotch
@ Belle Vue Room, ice cream @ Dolphin

California Grill =
sunset, Wishes!

Christmas Decorations
= Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk Inn (our top deluxe for
Christmas decorations), Coronado Springs (our top 
moderate for Christmas
decorations)

Monorail = ride it
from MK to Epcot

General: 
I wasn’t able to get us rooms w/ AP discount at
Port Orleans French Quarter (blah!), but got 
rooms with discount at Port
Orleans Riverside (okay). Already have DA’s pass & we’ve had the talks over
and over about getting tired & open communications & all the other
stuff that you need 
for good groundwork when you haven’t taken a trip with
someone…

Well, I’m really super new to blogging. I’ve been reading other’s blogs for quite a few months and decided that I should jump right in.

My goal is to keep this blog focused on my favorite hobbies (Disney World, knitting/crocheting/cross-stitching, and books). I’ll likely throw some food/cooking/baking stuff in here too when the mood hits.

Thanks for checking this out! Hope you stick around

Dznyknitter