Day 1b: Phoenix to Orlando

So when last we left, the plane was descending into Phoenix, where we would disembark, find our way across the airport our new terminal, sit around for an hour and then resume our trek to Orlando.

I hate disembarking from planes. I always feel like I am some sort of freak who can't handle the 6 inch plane aisle and always feel like I'm hitting people in the head with my assorted bags. Personally I prefer to let the majority of people escape before I waltz out with my seemingly elephantine presence. Is it so much to ask that they widen the lane a bit more so that I don't club the people around me? However, I do suppose that after being squeezed next to an individual who decides that deodorant would be an extravagance and spends the trip drooling all over me, this is certainly a passive-aggressive way to get the revenge that I so deeply desire.

Well, after knocking several innocent people about the head, we were in Phoenix' Sky Harbor airport. I love the name "Sky Harbor." It seems like something out of TaleSpin or some sort of futuristic society. The airport sort of delivers on that futuristic promise, what with the moving sidewalks. That is an idea that I can get behind. Just stand there and let the sidewalk do the moving for you. I hate when people shove past and actually force themselves to walk on these things. Ungrateful jerks. Here the wise folks in Phoenix offer a luxury and they insist on effectively spitting in the faces of the wise and benevolent airport founding fathers. It disgusts me.

Well, we found our way to the new terminal and got two seats right next to each other for our hour-long wait. I opened up the Men's Journal that I had purchased earlier and proceeded to read it cover to cover, including a really disturbing article on the slaughter of whales in Japan. Lauren proceeded to fall asleep on my shoulder for the duration. 

We were in one of the earliest boarding group, so we got two seats together again and again, it was a completely full flight, which does not allow for the most comfortable trip. We got honey roasted peanuts, however, in addition to the SouthWest snack pack, which I was upset to learn, had discontinued the wedge of Laughing Cow cheese from its contents. I love Laughing Cow cheese. In fact, I was thoroughly looking forward to it, especially since I would have gotten Lauren's as well. This now made the only thing that I would eat in the whole box the bag of 100 calorie Chips Ahoy. Cookies are supposed to have calories. They should not be a health food. 

To be fair, that was the only slight problem on the whole flight and we arrived in Orlando unscathed and no worse for the wear. Trying to find the location for the Disney's Magical Express was no small feat. Disney's Magical Express is a way to ensure that you spend all of your time and money within the resort by eliminating the need for a rental car or car service. Whatever. It was a free ride to the resort and a chance to endure some corporate brainwashing. The best part of the video was when Captain Hook and Mr. Smee ended up booking a cabin together on the Disney Cruise Line. It may have been the sleep deprevation, but this was hilarious to me. 

After what seemed like a very quick bus trip, we were pulling into the driveway at the BoardWalk Villas. There are few things that are more happy to me than pulling up to the front entrance of the place where I am going to be living for the next week, while visiting the wonder that it Walt Disney World.

We grabbed our bags, checked in and found our way to the room...or more appropriately, villa. It was a little bit of a hike from the main elevator, but, as such, it was nice and quiet. We had a great view of the Luna Park pool, which was, unfortunately, closed for the duration of our stay. We may not have been able to swim, but we were graced with its creepy presence any time we looked out the window.

Lauren was absolutely amazed at the villa, and proceeded to spend at least the next 30 minutes taking pictures of everything and anything she could find. This included the creepy towel creature that had been left for us.

It was right around this point that we realized that the last things that we had eaten were those subpar snack boxes on the plane and decided to head down to the Boardwalk and grab a bite to eat.

Day 1: Airplane!

Let me preface this by saying that I hate waking up. Good way to avoid the unpleasantness of waking up? Not going to sleep. This was the logic that informed our decision to not sleep the night prior to leaving. In all honesty, it DID make sense; after all, the flight left at six something in the morning, so, with the supposedly necessary two hour window to get through security and have time to make it to the arrival gate, we would have needed to arrive at the airport at no later than four thirty. Which would mean leaving the house at the ungodly hour of three thirty. So, maybe finishing our packing and getting every last little detail ready for the trip and then sleeping on the plane wasn't a bad idea.

Fast forward to four o'clock. We are all showered and clean and on our way down to John Wayne Airport. It all seems simple enough. 

1. There are road signs to indicate an airport.
2. We are intelligent adults.
3. We should be able to follow aforementioned signs and find the airport, drop off the car and get to our plane in an orderly manner.

This was not the case. The signs decided to stop all of a sudden leaving us in the middle of nowhere. There are no planes in the air to guide us, being four am and all, but we were able to put together a bit of faith, hope and pixie dust and found the airport, and after only one quick loop of the facility, we had the car parked in the long term lot. 

The long term lot at John Wayne is located a few miles from the actual airport and a shuttle is required to take you to the terminals. We, of course, are standing at the stop, alone, and bundled in coats and layers when the majestic coach arrives. We climb onboard and I find myself sitting next to a puppy. I want a puppy. Therefore, the short jaunt to the actual airport sticks out in my head as PUPPY. As far as I am concerned, that was all that happened. It's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, we arrived at the terminal that housed the Southwest flights and disembark (Goodbye, puppy!). We then follow a labyrinth of poles and ropes and find ourselves right behind the only other person that seems to be haunting the airport at that particular hour of the morning. Turns out, security wasn't even open yet, so we had to wait.  And wait we did. I think Lauren ventured off to take random pictures of the airport for our photographic record and I stood there, talking football with the other guy in line.

Finally, security opened and we got through with no trouble, bags still intact and shoes back on the feet. We went over to the Southwest area and, again, were the first ones there. We sat around for at least forty five minutes and then ventured our way over to the newsstand. I grabbed a few magazines and a candy bar, and Lauren made me buy a horribly tacky postcard featuring John Wayne to eventually mail to her brother and we trudged over to the treat that was a McDonald's breakfast. 

I love McDonald's breakfast. Give me a sausage biscuit and a Hi-C orange soda and I am happy as a pig in slop. Ironic? Probably. I had a few of those and Lauren had the standard "Egg" McMuffin. We headed over to Southwest again, and staked out a spot on the floor. We were in one of the first boarding groups, so sitting together was not a real issue. The flight to Phoenix was only an hour or so and that zoomed by, with us "shopping" through SkyMall and listening to iPods. 

Pre-planning for our Wild Adventure to the Land of Gators and Hurricanes

Pre-planning.

Players in the adventure:

Lauren: The girlfriend. Disneyland Cast Member. Has never been to Florida, let alone Walt Disneyworld before.

Me: Intrepid explorer. Also, a Disneyland Cast Member. Has been to the 'World 4 times prior; which of course makes me the ultimate authority on everything Disneyworld...or not...

This all begins a few months ago when, for some insane reason, I decided that Lauren and I needed to venture down south to the good ol' little brother to our own home of Disneyland, and visit Walt Disney World. Where this idea came from escapes me, but it seemed like a good one at the time. After all, being Cast Members, we had free admission to the four parks, as well as our discounts on the merchandise and food--which didn't mean that we came home with any more money than we would have as day guests, just that we were able to gorge ourselves more on food and goodies. In addition, my parents were members of the DVC and holders of several unused frequent flyer miles that they were generous enough to donate to the cause. All of a sudden, my pipe dream was starting to look reasonably likely. We officially got the notice at Christmas, but that doesn't mean that we had not already gotten the time off from work and the ADRs in. We then proceeded to go into ultra-planning mode, (OK mostly me...Lauren didn't want to ruin any of the surprises that awaited her), spending most of our free time on the inter-webs looking up any sort of tips or minutia that might help us to get the most out of our trip. This brings us to Day 1. 

Sunrise, Sunset

This morning for breakfast, I had an omelette. For lunch, chicken fingers. I guess it is that whole "Circle of Life" thing that everyone is always talking about.