House Hunting, Disney World
and All That Jazz!
by Roberta - September 2001

Sunday, September 23rd. Day 1.

This will be a story of my journey to Florida. Not a vacation, not a trip but a journey through grief, despair, anger and pride that all Americans have taken over the past 12 days. As the bus leaves Braintree, I put on my CD player. God Bless the USA is playing and I observe the familiar landscape with a loving affection I have never felt before. The fog is lifting. It will be a splendid day to fly. I feel airborne already as the sun rises over the low hanging clouds. Geese are flying south. Wait for me!

Boston appears. I note guards at the large gas tanks in Dorchester. Planes are taking off. Boston is my hometown. Flags on cranes, flags on buildings, flags on cars. The sleeping giant has awakened.

The bus reaches Delta Express and I exit. Logan is a ghost town. The lines I expected are nowhere to be found and I walk right up to the counter. Laughing I ask the gentleman behind the counter where the lines are. I tell him my flight isn't until 10:40 a.m. It is now 7:20. He says how would you like to be on the 7:55 flight. Yes! Yes!! YES!!! Off I go to gate 27. Police are everywhere and security is very tight. They are boarding and I am even able to get an exit row seat.

The plane is about 2/3's full. Children, adults, young and old. Everyone is talking to everyone else. I am sitting next to a couple that is going to WDW for the first time in 3 years. They are very nice. The captain talks to us several times during the trip and tells us we can expect to be in Orlando by 10:50 a.m.

I watch the overcast below us, listen to music, chat with my fellow passengers and rest. The flight is uneventful with only some very minor air turbulence. When I feel us making our descent, I get up to visit the bathroom so I don't have to worry about that when we get to the airport. My mind is still thinking that Orlando's airport will be crowded. When I come back, the woman next to me (who admitted she didn't like to fly) looks pale. She tells me I missed it. I ask what? An Air force jet pulled along side of the plane. I said wow, was it close? She replies that she could see the pilot's eyes. Life has changed.

We land at MCO just after 11 a.m. It is hot and humid. Happy Days! There are no love bugs! I take the monorail to the luggage area and go out side to find a smoker. At Logan all lighters and matches were confiscated. Not so at other airports. I find the lack of coordination by the different airports very disturbing. After waiting 20 minutes or so, I am on a Mears Shuttle and off to the Courtyard at DTD. Check in is very quick and my room is ready. I sit for a few minutes trying to find enough energy to get me to EPCOT. It's a hard thing to find. I've been awake since 3:45 a.m. but I go anyway.

Then Spaceship Earth appears releasing enough adrenalin in my system for at least a short stay. Now is the moment I've been waiting for. I go to the line at guest services and wait for a few minutes. Then with $480 in Disney Dollars and my Disney Club card I purchase a Premium Annual Pass. Total cost $475.97. The CM is so impressed, she asks for some info on how I was able to get all the Disney Money for free. I give her the MyCoupons website address. I also check a pass we purchased in 1998 and it still has 2 days on it. My husband will have his time at Disney for free. Then I enter EPCOT!

My first stop as always is the Fountain and the Electric Umbrella restaurant. I get my food (chicken sandwich with fries, regular size Sprite and a piece of yummy chocolate pie - $10) and head out to the veranda to watch MY fountain. The waters are electric. The rehab has done a wonderful job and the waters soar into the sky!

To back track a moment, when I entered EPCOT the song from the original JII (One Little Spark) was playing. Just the music but, because we now know that they are closing LOI (Lack of Imagination), I took that as a good sign. Maybe Figment and the Dreamfinder will return to their rightful place.

I debate whether to do the Test Track or send E postcards. Because TT always gives me a terminal bad hair day, I head over to Innovations West and send several cards. Then it's over to Innovations East to send a close friend a video. 10 seconds to speak with several strangers watching. I suspect I sounded like an idiot.

Energy and my back are fading fast. I walk over to the TT and use the single rider line. After waiting about 10 minutes we are in the pre show. I share the car with a family who have never ridden it before. Off we go! The ride is wonderful. Next I spend a moment checking out Space. When I close my eyes I can still see Horizons there and I still miss it.

My back is now screaming at me. I must leave or face spending the rest of the vacation in bed. The buses for the Courtyard leave at quarter past and quarter of the hour. It's 3:15 so I decide to do SE before I go. It is cool and dark inside and it gets me off my feet. The ride stops for about 5 minutes just as we are going up the first incline. An interesting sensation. It is pitch black. Finally we begin moving again and I exit the ride with 10 minutes until the bus is due to leave. Somehow I make it in time. I ask the driver if the Courtyard can transport wheelchairs or scooters? He says yes but you have to make a reservation and call the night before. This is similar to what happens when I go to US or SW and use Mears. I decide to wait and get my scooter as planned when I get to the ASMusic. Tomorrow I will be going to TL instead of MGM. Less walking and the weather is not cooperating with my original plan. Tomorrow may be the last really hot day for the week. Finally I am back at the hotel. Let's just say the pain in my back and legs isn't as bad as the last stage of labor but it's not as much fun as dinner at Chef Mickey's. I prop myself up on the bed and turn on the TV. There is a memorial on at Yankee stadium. For the next 2 hours I watch. These tears will never end!

Finally I sleep for about an hour. For the first time in any of my trips, I know I will not be going back to EPCOT on the first night to see the fireworks. I can barely walk and added on to that we are having one heck of a thunderstorm. The rain is pelting down. I go downstairs and get a small pizza and a cookie for supper. Cost $7. Because of the lack of guests, the hotel restaurant is closed and only the snack bar is serving food. I wait for nearly 45 minutes for the pizza. During that time I stop in the on site Disney store and purchase a 100 Years Rain Poncho ($6). Maybe it will act as a talisman against the rain. When the pizza is finally done, I find out that they sent out for it and Pizza Hut delivered it.

Lights out at 10 p.m. with the hope that tomorrow will be hot and sunny.

Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11