Wednesday

We planned on sleeping in a bit today. I heard some of the folks up at 6am but everyone seemed to return to bed until 7am. Pancakes for breakfast and a leisurely morning. The pace feels very brisk to me, but I'm not sure if it feels that way to the residents. At the beginning of the week several folks asked why I had 'only' booked one week while others wanted to move here. I am getting the feeling now some are ready to go home. They are talking about the plane ride back and who is working this weekend. My daughter is ready for me to come home too. I had to venture out after 8am to get the delivery at the post office. The slip left on the door said they would re-deliver, but when Genese called they indicated they would not.

Sherry and George came for the ride. I love my GPS. I hardly pay attention to how to get home because I just follow the pre-programmed address I put into it. I had downloaded a file from mousesavers.com so all of the Disney Parks were already in the GPS system. George and Sherry got a kick out of me asking the woman at the post office where it said they would not redeliver. She said they stopped doing that six months ago. Why wasn't the card information they leave on the door updated? She said the card does say it and could not point it out to me after I asked her to show me. After she found out we were on vacation she said they don't even normally deliver to vacation homes. Sheesh.

We got back to the house and everyone was up and well fed. We had a pool tournament in the garage. None of us are very good so one game lasted at least an hour. It was the hottest day we've had, and we decided to skip on the miniature golfing due to heat sensitivities.

The residents are trying to hold on to all of their reciepts and they bring me crumpled up slips of paper at the end of each day. Everyone has done really well with their money and spending.

After lunch we split up into two shopping groups: Downtown Disney and Disney Outlet/Coffee shop groups. We went back to the outlet store. Jim wanted another shirt (his third) and dismissed any shirts with modest/small sized Mickey Mouse emblems on them. He wanted a BIG Mickey across his chest,nothing else would do. After making our purchases, we headed across the parking lot to the coffee shop. Folks had lattes and cinnamon buns. We picked up a couple of things to go with dinner and were home by 4:30pm. Most people napped for an hour and a half. Genese played a pretty good April Fools joke on me and Bill. I can't believe we fell for it.

We spotted some vultures outside of the lanai and when we took a peek at them we saw an aligator in the pond. He slipped around the lake for most of the late afternoon, never showing more than his head. Karen was dropped off just before 6pm. Dinner was grilled meats and some salads. After dinner everyone watched American Idol.

Tomorrow is Epcot. A couple of us are concerned about it holding everyones' interest. We are adding a wheelchair for one individual so he does not injure himself reacting to the hot sun. It's fun to listen to the folks talk at the end of the day about their experiences. Each person treasures different moments. I was listening to Lori explain how exciting the Tikki Room was with all of the colorful birds. I was glad to hear it because she avoided many major attractions. She told me a story about how she was tricked onto a rollercoaster when she was younger and that was why she did not want to do any of them. She does have an appreciation for the colors and costumes of Disney World. Splash Mountain was a big hit with the people who rode it. Pirates of the Carribean was also favored by many.

Tomorrow is our last day then we do everything we did a week ago ... backwards!

Magic Kingdom

We wanted to get an earlier start to the day. We planned on leaving at 8:15am. Karen was meeting her mother in the park and had two bags to carry into the park and planned on putting them in a locker. One member of the party did not get up early, and we lost a ticket. We got on the road later than we wanted to and arrived to the park at 9:30am.

We had copies of the tickets we purchaed and we were able to get another ticket without payment. We took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, went through the bag check and I spoke with Karen's mother. She was on her way and was ten minutes out. We waited for her in the park and moved on with our day after meeting up. Unfortunately we missed our morning edge to the rides. Larry and Karrie wanted to do the rollercoasters. We got fastpasses for Splash Mountain and waited 20 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Larry was 'hee hawing' and yelling 'yahoo' all through the ride.

After getting throughly soaked at Splash Mountain, we decided to walk across the park to get a fastpass for Space Mountain. It was 12 o'clock and pretty hungry so we decided to get lunch after. When we got to the fast pass distribution, we discovered the return time was fifteen minutes before we were supposed to meet. We waited for 40 minutes for the 90 second ride. Karrie and Larry seemed to love it, but it gave me a headache.

We had lunch at Pecos Bills at `1pm. We went to the Enchanted Tikki Room and the Country Bear Jamboree. We saw part of the afternoon parade and met up with our group at 3pm. We had a bit of a snag when one person fell on the way to the monorail. He was not hurt though there was a bit of a scene. We made it home and everyone enjoyed a 2 hour break. Marinated chicken, rice and veggies for dinner. Evening routine wrapped up with an American Idol viewing.

Tomorrow is a down day with some shopping and miniature golf planned.

Hollywood Studios

We were determined to stick to our schedule. My house got up by 7am, and ate a bacon and scrambled egg breakfast. We picked up the rest of the group at the other house and left by 8:30am. Bill's group left a bit later. We arrived at Hollywood Studios at 9am. Handicapped parking is great at this park, it's right outside of the front gate.

We stayed in our separate groups today and we all agreed we moved much quicker through the park. My group did Toy Story Mania, the Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, the Walt Disney Exhibition, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and the High School Musical Show. Jessica's group did Indiana Jones and the Backlot tour during the day. Genese's group did a mix of the rest. We had registered Karrie for her birthday celebration and her group received a fast pass for each attraction for the day. They had a good time.

Today's park touring went very smoothly. This was a great park for the residents because there were a lot of shows, shade and sitting. I loved the looks on the faces of George, Sherry and Oriana while we watched Beauty and the Beast. George was so funny after doing Star Tours. It was more thrilling than he expected. The picture of Tammy clinging to Bill on Tower of Terror is hysterical.

We arrived back at the houses at 3:30pm. We had missed a delivery of a package, thinking it would be left. We are hoping it will be left tomorrow. The signed paper is stuck to the front door with a band aid.

We all took a 2 hour rest from each other. It worked out well because people were pretty crabby when we got home. Everyone was refreshed and friendly at 6pm. We grilled hamburgers and made salad for dinner. Bill bought an ice cream cake for Karrie's birthday and everyone celebrated. Showers, medications and evening routines ended by 9:30pm.

A couple of the residents keep asking why we only booked a week. Jim is ready to live in Florida. I expected him to enjoy the anticipation more than the trip but he really loves this house/group setting. It's been nice getting to know Ed better. He wants to buy a Mickey shirt. He didn't go shopping with us the other day because he saw the movie. He is definitely looking forward to the roller coasters in the Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

Karen plans on meeting her mother in the Magic Kingdom tomorrow around 10am. She's packed up her things and will spend the night with her parents. She'll return Wednesday night.

Sunday

At 4pm I heard thunder. It was a pretty constant rumbling. When I got up just after 6, I saw it was also raining outside. The house was quiet. We had agreed to meet and discuss the day at 8am. Folks rolled out of bed around 7:30am. Yogurt, fruit and half a bagel for breakfast along with juice and coffee. Some of the folks did not want to go out in the rain. Bill made bacon and eggs at the other house. People may start defecting from my house.

We received some sad news about Larry and Karrie's friend losing her mom. We did some telephone coordinating and sent condolences via the phone.

We agreed to switch days and do shopping. Bill offered the movies to folks and the group split. George, Ed, Karen, Nancy and Larry planned to see Aliens and Monsters in 3D at the Downtown Disney theater at 2:30pm. The rest of the group planned to do some shopping. For the rest of the morning folks played pool, the Wii and air hockey.

We had a quick lunch at 12 and the shopping group headed out by 1pm. We made reservations at Bahama Breeze at 4:30pm. I took my group to Character Corner Outlet store in the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Center. The residents seemed to enjoy going there. I picked up some good stuff for Victoria. Tammy got a backpack she seemed especially happy with and Jim got a Mickey Mouse shirt. We headed over to Downtown Disney and helped Karrie get her neice and nephew embroidered Mickey ears. Jim announced he wanted a black Mickey shirt so we went to the World of Disney store and got him one there. We met at 3:45pm to go to the restaurant.

I had written down addresses for Bill for his GPS. I am starting to lose it with the details because I wrote down an Anaheim California address for the movies. Sheesh. We all met for dinner. Most folks ordered cheeseburgers but some tried other things like jerked chicken, seafood and other goodies. Hey, if all it takes is a cheesebuger to make you happy, we're doing well. Ed sat at my table and he always has a pleasant look on his face. He said the movie was not scary and indicated he was having a good time. He's really a pleasure to take along.

Larry gives constant positive reinforcement to everyone. He's pretty good about bringing harmony to a group. He knows when to change the subject and when to facilitate compromise. It's coming in quite handy.

After dinner we headed back to the houses and did an evening routine. People in my house headed to bed by 8:30pm. Genese went over to have ice cream Bill picked up when he took Jim and George out.

Our plan is to leave by 8:30am for Disney Studios. Larry, Karrie and Tammy are with Bill and they plan to celebrate Karrie's birthday at a special lunch. I think we're getting better with the routines and groups.

Animal Kingdom - Day 2

After the late night we had on arrival day, plans for an early morning leave were gone. We agreed to leave in the late morning for Animal Kingdom. My whistle was a big hit with the residents, it worked better than an alarm clock! Lori made me promise not to use it again. We had eggs and cheese on english muffins and spent the better part of the morning setting up medications. We found we did not have enough for one person and made arrangements for it to be delivered.

We got the tickets and money all organized, which took longer than we thought, and we followed my GPS to the Animal Kingdom. My GPS took me to a toll, requring 75 cents. I had put change in my car just in case, and I tried to read if the cars behind me needed some change. The cars we rented are equipped for speedpass, but I had not realized it. It didn't really matter, because it did not work on that toll, as we figured out when they didn't pay and the light never turned green. Ooops!

We parked in the handicapped area which is convenient when you have to carry a wheelchair, but does require more walking than if you used a tram to take you to the end of your parking row. We met up inside the park and broke up into groups. I was excited to take my group to the Festival of the Lion King. It's a great show, with music, audience participation, costumes and fire! Jim loves fire.

After hiking over to the theater, I kept promising folks the walk was worth it! We had great seats, right in front where the handicapped seating is! An unobstructed view! YAY! We worked on the hand jive motions during the pre show and we were really ready! The actors came out and announced themselves, and the audience was split into four animal sections. We were giraffes. Jim was giggling, Lori's hands were clasped together in anticipation, and Nancy kept telling me she was having a good time.

Just as the show was announced and the fog came on, a voice came over the speaker the show was cancelled, and please come back for the 1pm show. We were so disappointed. It was after 12pm and the folks wanted lunch. We headed over for some pork sandwiches, fruit plate and other goodies.As we ate lunch outside, in a beautiful wooded surrounding, and a duck came over for a bite to eat from us, everyone seemed happy. I seemed to be the only one disappointed about the show. After a good lunch, we headed over to It's Tough to Be a Bug! There was some confusion about putting on the Bug Glasses, but when the show started everyone realized they really needed those 3D glasses to see everything. We laughed at all of the special effects! Great fun!

Next we headed over to the Jungle and did the walking tour to see bats, tigers and all sort of other animals but we spent the most time at the bats and tigers. We watched a few street shows, and did some dancing. The other folks got really wet on the Kali River Rapid Ride and bounced around a lot in the Safari Ride. My group bought some ice cream and called it a day. One person in the other group had a bit of a fall while waiting for the tram to leave the park and hit his head. He went to the hospital and had some tests. All ended up fine but it took the better part of the late afternoon and evening. Everyone else carried on but was worried about their friend. He seemed in good spirits when he got home.

We got back to the houses for afternoon medications and took a dip in the pool. It was COLD! We made some dinner and ate together as a large group. Genese did a great job of taking pictures, but I haven't been doing so well.

Showers and in bed at a much earlier hour with plans for an early start the next day!

Day of Departure

On Friday, everyone arrived at the office earlier than planned. Everyone was excited and ready to go!

We split up the groups, decided to get lunch at the airport and left the office at around 11:30am.

My group drove to a park ride and fly spot to leave my car. We got to the airport with no problems, where the rest of our group already arrived. When we tried to check in curbside, I was told I had to pay fifteen dollars. I disagreed and explained I had purchased the tickets before the new rule went into effect (for at least half the group). Then he told me someone had already checked in a bag and I would have to go inside. We dragged our bags inside and took a few minutes to straighten everyone out. The party of 15 people with my name linked caused some confusion when we did not all arrive at the same time.

We gathered as a group and we discussed the next step of going through security and what would be required. Everyone nodded their head as if they understood and we went to the security area. One person in my group did not want to remove her shoes and simply refused to do so. After a minute, she took off her shoes and threw them towards the belt. A bit more noise and we made it through without being thrown to the ground and accused of being terrorists. Apologies and regrouping happened soon after. Apparently we were not as loud as it seemed to me because the other people in our party were not aware of the scene.

Fifteen sandwiches and fifteen bottles of water later, we were ready to board the plane. Just when it was time, one person had to use the rest room. We all got on the plane and waited for the last two members of our party to arrive. The flight was pretty cloudy conditions, with a pretty steady bumpy ride. Everyone did fine and we landed on time at 5:30pm.

It was easier than I thought to grab fifteen pieces of luggage. Having the ribbons and luggage tags helped a lot. Taking fifteen people with fifteen bags of luggage through elevators is a lot of fun! We got our rental cars within short time and packed up the vehicles. We left the airport just after 7pm. Orlando International Airport is so big it takes so much time go get around. We flew into Sanford last Christmas and had our luggage and rental car within 30 minutes of landing, no lie! The GPS took us on back roads and we arrived at the same time as our groceries, around 8pm. I was so glad we ordered those ahead of time. We were too tired to go shopping.

We got into the home and folks chose bedrooms. The people who typically rely on overnight staff are in one house, the rest in the other house. We did this so we would be able to staff one house constantly. We split up the groceries and Bill went out to get pizza. He went to a spot called the Godfather, but it was pretty close to Pizza Hut in taste. Everyone ate and jumped in the shower. We went to bed pretty late, after 11pm.

Tomorrow, Animal Kingdom! We decided to leave a bit later in the morning due to the hour we went to bed.

Boarding Passes and a Surprise

An email confirmation arrived this afternoon with a link to the boarding passes. The first group who booked airline tickets was allowed one bag at no charge. The tickets purchased after November 6th had to pay 15 dollars extra to bring a bag. 120 dollars more for people to fly tomorrow. Surprise!

One day left until we leave!

Slight Adjustment to our Cast of Characters

Bill will be joining us rather than Lisa!

All groups remain the same. We may make a slight change to our plans. We just learned it's Karrie's birthday on the 30th so she might want to choose that day's plans for her group.

Adjustment on Air Times

We are leaving later and arriving back home earlier. Already an hour has been shaved off the vacation.


Hartford, CT (BDL)
2:40pm
27 Mar 2009 Orlando, FL (MCO) 5:44pm


Delta 1406
Orlando, FL (MCO)
Gate: N/A
10:25am
3 Apr 2009 Hartford, CT (BDL)
Gate: N/A
1:07pm

Details Details

http://www.floridalakevillas.com/index.asp


As discussed at our meeting:

Departure

Lisa’s group will meet at 11am and depart by 11:30am

Karrie

Larry

George



Bill/Jessica will meet at 11:30am and depart by 12 noon

Jim

Lori

Sherry

Oriana



Robin/Genese group will meet at 11:30am and depart by 12 noon

Karen

Nancy

Tammy

Ed






House 1 (Villa 2)

Lisa and Jessica

Jim

Ed

Karen

Nancy

Tammy



House 2 (Villa 3)

Robin and Genese

Larry & Karrie

Lori

Oriana

Sherry

George