Alpha's 2009 TR - last day, DD
- From: Alpha <notreal@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:03:35 +0000 (UTC)
Saturday, September 5
This was our final day of the vacation, but having booked a flight late
in the day, we had some time for a last bit of WDW fun.
Despite the exhaustion of the previous day, I awoke not long past 7:00
and as in days past, quietly got myself dressed and out the door while
everyone slept. Chip, however, was still sleeping, and well he should
have been, so I didn't get to have my morning buddy with me. Now we
were completely out of all the food we had bought to have in the room,
so I picked up a few things at the food court -- a bagel, a cinnamon
roll, a bottle of chocolate milk, and a Mickey waffle with sausage.
(Total, $14.13) Adding in refillable mugs, it was quite a bit to carry.
When I got back, Chip was awake and a bit disappointed that he didn't
get to go with me, but he understood.
The plans for today were flexible. Although we normally rent a surrey
bike every trip, today was the last possible day for that, and my legs
were tired. We could go to the pool, but we had to spend the morning
getting ourselves out of the room (which, in truth, was not that hard;
we hadn't made time for doing laundry, so nearly every last garment
could be wadded up any old way in the luggage), and I wasn't eager to
carry home wet bathing suits. It didn't seem that anyone had a strong
wish to jump in the pool one more time, so we passed on that.
Dale, though, was very eager to go to Downtown Disney. I had thought
that the earlier brief visit we made on the 22nd would be enough for the
kids, but Dale remembered the alligator at Rainforest Café and really
wanted to see it again. I didn't mind going back and the others were
willing too, so that became our plan.
We brought our luggage to the lobby and checked it all in for Magical
Express. Chip and I remembered seeing people do this on one of our
early morning treks to the food court, and we felt sorry for those
people. Now we were those people!
By the way, checking the luggage at the hotel is just a wonderful thing.
I am so glad they started offering this service! Once we got it to the
lobby, we were done with it until our arrival at Dulles. We brought our
carry-ons to the bell stand (where the bell crew gave each of the kids
an activity booklet with Timon and Pumbaa), then headed over to the bus
stop.
This might have been the longest wait for a bus this trip. I don't know
why everything was backed up, but the bus stop was pretty full.
Eventually a DD bus pulled up, and we were on our way. They had a CM
there as a line handler, talking on his radio and giving everyone all
the information on which bus was where and how long it would take to get
here. He was also chatting it up with people, doing a nice job of
keeping everyone from getting grumpy. Another College Program CM, I
should add.
Once at DD, we spent a little time at the Lego store, then headed over
to see the alligator per Dale's request. On the way we stopped at the
pin shop, giving ourselves a laugh by picking out the exact wrong pins
for each other, like a Hannah Montana pin for Chip and a Jonas pin for
DH.
While they looked at the alligator, I browsed around the Christmas shop
and the Art of Disney. It wasn't long though before we were ready for
lunch, and wouldn't you know, it was just about 11:00. So we headed
over to the Earl of Sandwich. We enjoyed our lunch here a couple of
weeks back, but tried different things this time. DH and I both had the
Mediterranean chicken salad, which I think was far better than the
Earl's cobb. Dale had the kid's pizza sandwich, while Chip had the
meatball sandwich and chips. Chip and I also had chocolate pudding
cups, and Dale had a cookie. (Total with 2 sodas and 2 ice teas,
$39.09). Although we liked the Earl last time, this visit was
definitely better.
The only thing we had left to do was World of Disney. This is typically
a marathon, but we didn't want it to end up that way this time. I went
over to WoD and looked around while the guys went into Once Upon a Toy.
While I was browsing around, I asked to see a CM's lanyard. She
immediately commented on all the Small World pins I have, and it turns
out she collects them too. She admired some of the pins on my lanyard,
saying she had never seen some of them before.
Chip joined up with me at WoD, and when he and I had more or less seen
what we felt like seeing there, we went over to Basin to give all the
interesting soaps a look (and sniff). Then, concerned we might miss DH
and Dale, we went back to WoD, and not long after, they joined us there.
Dale found something he wanted: a Webkinz springer spaniel that he
named Lug. (Why Lug? I have no idea. When I asked him, he said that
it's the most beautiful name ever.)
We finished up and headed back to the bus stop. I was expecting a
longish wait but actually the bus arrived pretty quickly. Once back at
the hotel, we had enough time to let Dale visit the arcade again. Chip
and I stayed in the lobby and watched people arrive. Sniff. A woman
sitting near us, apparently in the same boat with us, said to her
teenaged daughter, "I can't stand leaving. I'm never as happy as I am
here." I wouldn't put it quite that strongly, but I know what she
means.
Finally it was our turn to head out front for Magical Express. This
trip wasn't so magical. The driver opened up the storage area under the
bus, and I thought for a moment about whether just to carry it on the
bus with me or store it. We decided to store it, so I put our stuff
there. The bus driver barked at me, "Well where are you going?" loudly
and rudely, like I was uninvited and unwelcome. I just looked at him
and told him what airline. Then when we were on the bus, he made sure
to tell us all not once, not twice, but three times that tipping is
allowed. Well, after having been treated rudely, you can be sure our
dollar bills stayed in our wallets.
The flight home went smoothly, except that my knee started bothering me
in the Orlando airport.
And thus endeth another great WDW vacation.
Today's Favorites
Me: tasty lunch at Earl of Sandwich
DH: seeing Dale enjoy the alligator at Rainforest Cafe
Chip: picking out the exact wrong pins for each other
Dale: alligator at Rainforest Café, getting Lug
.
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