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

Cast of Characters

As mentioned previously, eleven participants and four staff are taking the trip in less than two weeks time!

The cast of characters are, in no particular order:

Tammy, first experience on a plane as well as to a Disney Theme Park! No roller coasters please!

Sherry, roller coaster queen! Bring on the adventure!

George, mild mannered, well traveled individual who is up for all adventures.

Lori, excited about her trip. Looking forward to relaxing times by the pool, warm weather, and playing UNO with friends.

Ed, he's up for anything!

Oriana, would like to meet some characters and is looking forward to making great memories.

Karen, looking forward to seeing her parents who recently moved to Florida. Is really hoping the Jonas Brothers will be in the Magic Kingdom the same time as she is!

Nancy wants to soak up the sun and relax by the pool.

Larry is looking forward to seeing Disney World again to bring back some memories.

Karrie is not afraid of any attractions and is ready for some coaster fun!

Jim has visited once before and enjoys the planning and anticipation almost as much as the vacation itself. He's looking forward to seeing the Mouse himself.

Supporting cast members:

Jessica, fabulous manager, lover of all things Disney, can walk around the Magic Kingdom blind folded.

Lisa, also a Disney World veteran, and chaperone of all attractions labeled "not for the faint at heart."

Genese, first time Disney goer, newest member of our management team.

Yours truly.

We're Going to Disney!

Over the last couple of months, we've had two meetings at work with all of the program participants who are going to Disney. There are 11 participants and 4 paid folks planning on going for a Spring Break Vacation on March 27th!

At the meeting, it was decided we would blog about our adventures. This blog will be used as the 'home' site for letting friends and loved ones know about our trip. The permission slips are signed, packing lists distributed and plans made!

Itinerary

Slight changes on departure times.

• Friday March 27, 2009 – Meet at the Vantage Group, Inc. day program at 11:30am.
~Tie each piece of luggage with ribbon for easy identification
• Leave day program by 12:00pm
• 1:00pm: Robin: Arrive at Executive Valet Parking to drop off cars. Others will get Get ride to airport. 1353 South St. (RT. 75) Suffield, CT 06078
• 1:30pm: Arrive at Bradley Airport in Hartford
• Delta flight 1409 at 2:40pm
• 5:45pm: Arrive at Orlando International Airport
• Collect luggage
• Pick up car rentals at Budget
• 7pm: Drive to Villas at 2520 Call Lilly Cove, Crescent Lakes, Kissimmee, Florida. Telephone numbers of villas: 407 944 9681 and 407 931 1056.
• Arrange rooms
• Grocery Shopping. We have placed an order to be delivered after 7pm.
• Supper/Swim & bed early

• Saturday March 28, 2009
Disney’s Animal Kingdom / Epcot in evening

• Sunday March 29, 2009
Disney MGM/Hollywood Studios

• Monday March 30, 2009
Downtown Disney for shopping/souvenirs

• Tuesday March 31, 2009
Magic Kingdom

• Wednesday April 1, 2009
Celebration Town/

• Thursday April 2, 2009
Epcot/ Repeat Favorites

• Friday April 3, 2009
• Depart villas at 8:45am for 10:45am flight out of Orlando

Slideshow of Disney Christmas Trip

Christmas 2008 in Disney

Guess where we are going?