I'm getting to the Disney stuff I promise!
So, we had finally landed at MCO and of course my Mom and Matt were literally the last two people off the plane. They had chosen to sit in the back because apparently on the first flight my Mom had the unfortunate luck to be sitting behind a child who kept screaming and kicking her seat the entire time. We finally got ourselves together and headed to baggage claim to retrieve our luggage. We also saw the signs for the Magical Express which my sister and her bf would be taking when they arrived om Tuesday. I made sure to text her to let her know where they were located. Then it was on to find the shuttle for our rental car location.
For this trip we had booked our rental car through a company called Sixt and it was actually accidental. We needed a mini van since that's what my Mom drives anyway and the fact that when Steph and Steve came down we would be 6 people. My Dad had this crazy idea in his head that since he had used the Priceline Negotiator tool to snag a $20 a day rental (for a small car) when he and my Mom had previously gone to visit me while I was living in NC, he could do the same to get a mini van in Orlando in the summer. He was shocked to find that he couldn't find much under $100 a day from any of the larger rental car companies. The lowest quote he got from Priceline was I think $77 a day. So stupid me clicks on the deal because it didn't show which company the deal was for. Well, apparently by clicking the deal I had somehow accidentally booked the reservation. (Oops!) So now we had a reservation with this company called Sixt that I had never heard of before. After doing some research I found out that they were located about 5 minutes from MCO, but had some mixed reviews. The positive reviews were very positive, so we decided to be adventurous and take the chance.
Apparently Sixt is a fairly new rental car company and we were pretty well pleased with their service. We found the shuttle fairly easily and even though the shuttle was only a 18 passenger van versus a bus, my family was the only ones being picked up at the time so we had plenty of room. The driver was pleasant and made small talk with us about the weather during the short drive. We even came to find out that he had lived on Long Island earlier in his life, but more out East than us. The ride was short and before long we had arrived at our first destination.
My Mom and I went to the front desk to check in while Matt and my Dad stayed with our bags. The girl who helped us was very friendly and courteous. They even had free bottled water which my Mom and I took advantage of. My only complaint is the place was very dimly lit with from weird orange back lighting that reminded me of Halloween. I guess it was supposed to make the place seem trendy, but it was really strange. I wish I'd taken a picture of it, but I didn't think of it at the time.
Pretty soon they brought out our new car for the next few days. My Mom was delighted to have a Town and Country. She drives the Dodge Caravan which is apparently very similar to the Town and Country (it's the upscale model of the Caravan) and we had rented one on our last Florida trip. This Town and Country was also fully loaded which was nice. It had satellite radio, a DVD player in the back, a back up cam, and black leather seats.... Not the nicest luxury in the hot Florida sun. I was already picturing how badly the backs of my legs were going to be burnt after a long, hot, afternoon in the parks! Again I probably should have snapped a picture for you guys, but I was just too excited to just get to Disney already!
But first we needed to take a detour to Wal-Mart. We wanted to pick up a case of bottled water for the room and parks and my sister had asked us to pick her up some body wash, so she wouldn't have to pack it. So I punched in the directions to Wal-Mart in Kissimmee and we were on our way.
Once we got to Wal-Mart we first stopped in the personal care aisle to get Steph her body wash. Then we stopped by the grocery section to get the water. While I was there I decided to take a look down the chip aisle and I was so excited I think I almost started dancing right in the middle of Wal-Mart. They carried Lays Dill Pickle Chips! To those who don't understand my obsession, a friend of mine turned me onto them and for a while you could buy them in NY. You may still be able to get them upstate, but for some reason they stopped carrying them near us. When I moved to NC I was very happy to see they sold them down there and used to buy them all the time. Now that I'm back in NY though I can't seem to find pickle flavored potato chips. So needless to say they went in the cart.
We were just about to check out when we decided to browse the Disney section. There is a whole entire section of the store dedicated to Disney merchandise which can be a great place to stock up on some Disney gear at a much lower price. In previous years we had always bought the spray bottle fans when we went in August since it's so hot, but they had gotten lost throughout the years. My Mom had thought about getting replacements, but couldn't find any with a shoulder strap, so she didn't bother. Well lo and behold they had the spray bottles with shoulder straps for $12.95 when they retail over $20 in the park so we got two.
By the time we checked out I was getting pretty hungry (and a little tired). It was near 9pm and we STILL had not reached Disney property! We loaded up the car and finally headed to our final destination which was Disney's All Star Movies Resort. As we got closer to the Disney gates we received our first bit of Disney magic. We could see the Star Wars fireworks (or what I assume were the Star Wars fireworks) being shot off in the distance. It was definitely cool to arrive to and got us super excited. I should have snapped a picture, but I was using my phone to navigate.
I also missed the first shot of us entering the Disney gates. (Oops!) I was pretty useless with taking pics by this time of night. After what seemed like forever, we finally pulled into All Star Movies and headed into Cinema Hall to check in. I didn't get a picture of our first look into the lobby, but I did make Matt take this picture of me on the red carpet. Ignore the messy look. I'd been traveling all day...
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While my parents checked in for the night, Matt and I did what any mature adults of our age do. We ran to the gift shop to check out what kind of merchandise we could blow our money on. I'm a bit of an avid pin collector (although I only collect on my trips) so I was anxious to check out the new pins. (Spoiler alert: I actually only bought two pins this whole trip vs the 15 or so I purchased on my last trip in 2008. Well, okay two pins and one mystery pack containing two pins. I traded a few of my older ones that I felt I could part with for newer pins.) I didn't wind up buying any pins, but I did wind up picking up some cubic zirconia stud earrings shaped like Mickey ears to wear in the parks each day.
By the time I was done in the gift shop, my parents were done checking in. They said the CM they dealt with was extremely nice and helpful. We had requested adjourning rooms on the ground level for our stay. We were prepared for the possibility of having to move rooms the next morning, but the CM said it wasn't necessary. The room we were staying in would also be ours for the rest of our stay and tomorrow we would have the adjourning room next door. He even unofficially promised us (he literally said I'm not supposed to tell you this is a guarantee) that when Steph and Steve arrived their room would be right next to ours. So we were very happy with our rooms. We were placed in the Mighty Ducks building 3 which was a bit far away from the main building, but right near the Duck Pond pool. The walk wasn't too bad really.
By now we were starving, so we headed to the food court to have a late dinner. Since our vacation package didn't officially start until the next day our dining plan was not in effect yet, so we just paid out of pocket for the meal.My Mom and I had the Bacon cheeseburger with fries (sorry no pics), Matt had the chicken nuggets and fries, and my Dad had the chili dog and fries. I was so hungry I devoured my burger. It really hit the spot!
Then we headed back to our car and drove towards Mighty Ducks building 3. We found our rooms very easily and here is where the fun begins. I had forgotten just how small the All Star rooms really were. On our last visit we stayed at Pop Century and I don't know if the rooms were slightly bigger there or it just really has been so long that I've forgotten. Normally it doesn't bother me because we usually get at least 2 rooms, but the idea of cramming 4 full size adults in there was going to be a little tight. Thankfully it was only for one night!
We started to settle in and get ready for bed. Our plans were to be up at 6 so we could go and check in to our other room as early as possible and get our meal plan and tickets activated, so we could get going as soon as possible. You would think with all the traveling we had done that day we would be exhausted and we were, but fate had other plans.
So let me back up and explain that my Dad snores. And I don't just mean snore. I mean like a freight train going through. I often joke with my Mom that the only reason she probably hasn't divorced him over his snoring is the fact he works overnights so he's not home much to share a room with her. He has sleep apnea and has one of those masks that make him sound like Darth Vader (but cut out his snoring) only he decided for some reason not to bring it because he didn't want the hassle of having to carry it. So picture this: In one bed we have Matt (who is already a big guy) and my Dad, and in the other its my Mom and me. We finally shut the lights out and after only maybe ten minutes the snoring starts. We try to ignore it at first, but then it gets out of control. We have no choice to wake him to tell him to cut it out. He says okay and then drifts back to sleep... Five minutes later the cycle starts up again.
After going through this about 15 times, we all start to give up. Poor Matt decides he'd be better off on the floor and tries to get some sleep down there. I literally have two pillows pressed tightly over my ears and I can STILL hear him. At this point, I'm thinking of taking my pillows and a blanket and sleeping in the bathtub just to get some peace and quiet. I manage to doze off for maybe an hour, but again I'm woken up by his snoring. I toss and turn and try to tell him to stop snoring a few times, but he always starts back up again. Finally around 4am, I get my phone and ear buds and try putting Pandora on to help me sleep, but I can't get comfortable with the ear buds in my ear. I don't know if it's the excitement or the snoring, but I give up on sleep and start thinking about Mickey waffles....
That's it for tonight! Hopefully I'll find time tomorrow to start our first day in the parks and tell you all about how my poor parents drove me crazy that first morning! I'm warning you now... We definitely put the "fun" in dysfunctional!