Well, after months of planning, it’s finally here – the day I head to Orlando and meet my favorite Aunt at the Happiest Place on Earth. Yep, I’m going to Disneyworld!
First, I have to thank Christopher and Mary for getting married next weekend. You see, their wedding is in Palm Beach, which is only a 2 hour drive from Orlando. Oh, darn, go to the wedding and be that close to the mouse house – gotta visit Mickey and friends. Yippee.
An Early Start
When you fly from California to Florida, it’s an all day affair. I decided to fly out early – 6:00 am., which puts me in Orlando at 4:00 p.m. Not a bad time to arrive.
But, that meant getting picked up by SuperShuttle at 0 dark o’clock. Aero thought I was nuts when the alarm clock started buzzing at 2:30 and I hopped out of bed to take a shower. Yep, did the whole routine, including blow drier and curling iron. I was dressed, coiffed and packed by 3:35. Took the dog out for a walk, then waited for the shuttle. The reservation time was 3:55 a.m., with a 15 minute window of arrival. Promptly at 3:50, I turned on the front porch light and moved my bags onto the front porch so that I’d be ready when the van got there. At 4:10, I kissed Aero goodbye (he’s waiting for my friend Angela to come by later and pick him up) and started waiting on the curb for the van. Of course, they never seem to be able to find my house even though I give them explicit instructions AND live on a corner…. 4:15, no shuttle, but my cell phone rings. Yep, automated message from SuperShuttle saying the driver will be there in 10 minutes. Great. I’m freezing my tootsies off while hiding between 2 cars from the crazy homeless guy who’s wandering the neighborhood screaming at the trees….
At 4:25, I spot headlights coming up the street going very slowly – has to be SuperShuttle – so I step out into the middle of the street to flag him down. Now, I’m not hard to miss, even at 4:30 in the morning. When he finally spotted me, he gunned the engine and nearly ran me over. I had a bad feeling about the upcoming ride.
I was right. This guy drove like a maniac! On the circular entrance to the freeway, he hit the top of the curve at about 45mph and I thought for sure the van was going to flip. The rest of the trip (less than 10 minutes) I just kept telling myself that this was like being on the Tower of Terror, only not as safe.
At the Airport
After a safe arrival, SFO was pretty uneventful. I checked my bags curbside, then proceeded to the dreaded security line. I must have gotten there right at the right time – there were only about 10 people in line behind me with 1 security line open. They were slow as molasses! It took 30 minutes to get through the checkpoint, and the line behind me kept growing and growing. I was thankful to be at the front part of that line.
I’m flying US Airways down to Orlando. This is my first experience with them. As a matter of fact, I’m composing this at 37,000 feet, being wedged between the window and a nice lady who’s returning home from a visit with her daughter in Arizona. My first flight was GREAT! For the first time in a long time, I had a row of seats all to myself! It was so nice not to have to squeeze in and share space. Too bad the flight was only 90 minutes.
This flight is 4-1/2 hours long and is packed. My guess is that every flight to Orlando, no matter what day or time, is packed with Mouseketeers like me. This particular flight has 3 cheerleading squads on it I guess this week is the national cheerleading championship at WDW. Oh boy, happy, hyper smiling cheerleaders all week. It could be worse.
So, with less than 2 hours to go, I’m looking forward to landing. I can’t get up – the lady next to me had leg surgery and is still recovering, so I’d feel bad asking her to get up. I don’t use the bathroom on the plane anyway, but after a Starbuck’s at the airport, a bottle of water and a Diet Coke, my bladder is rebelling a bit. I hope I can hold it……
More to come from the Happiest Place on Earth!
Kel
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