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Day 1 - Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Mike and I flew out of Logan (Boston) on JetBlue at 6:30am. What a great airline! Leather comfy seats, enough legroom from my tall hubby, and DirecTV at
every seat. Each passenger has their own headset, blanket, and pillow plus drinks and snacks.
Just before 9:30, we land at MCO, find our luggage immediately, and jumped on a shuttle to pick up our car at Thrifty. On our shuttle with us was another
softball player that we knew from New England, and we all had a nice ride together. ***sigh*** Then it was all downhill.
When we had reserved our car, Mike asked if a credit card was required at pickup. We used my brother's credit card to reserve the car, and wanted to make
sure there wouldn't be any problems. The girl had reassured us that the card we used would be adequate and we could pay in cash. Apparently, she lied. We were
at Thrifty for over an hour, Mike arguing and me crying because we did indeed need a card. And no, we couldn't call someone and use their credit card. Thrifty
needed a signature. And no, we can't have someone fax their signature over. We are now stranded in Orlando with no car. Yay.
We jump back on the shuttle to MCO, check other car rental places and decide to take Mears to our resort. At the resort Mike checks in while I sit in the
corner of the lobby feeling quite ill. Our room was *perfect*. It was Rm 1227 in the 50s building and was centered between 3 staircases- 1 to the pool and
laundry room, 1 to the parking lot and 1 to the Classic Hall. Second floor, facing trees, so it was very quiet. Mike grabbed the phone book while I unpacked
and "moved in".
Determined to get a car, Mike made a bunch of phone calls and made a plan. He would take a cab to Celebration (where there was a Bank of America), deposit
money into his business debit account, come back to the resort, take Mears to MCO, take the shuttle back to Thrifty and get a car. This plan made me cry
again- I was so overwhelmed! While Mike went to Celebration, I opted to stay at the resort and walk around snapping pics. I also picked up a few souvenirs- 2
refillable mugs for us, our free lanyards and pins and a pressed penny book. I also got some pressed pennies from the machines in my resort.
I got back to the room and Mike was waiting for me. I went with him back on Mears to MCO. Now, *his* plan was to go back to Thrifty, but I did not want to.
We checked out the prices at a couple rentals at the airport, and at my urging, Mike agreed to go with Budget. The guy quoted the price as $159 plus $54 in
taxes and fees, but when Mike went to sign, the price was $270! This was my second crying session of the day. Mike told him, "No way". The guy told us he
had already processed the payment. Mike told him to refund the money back to the debit card. We had to go upstairs and find an ATM- the money was gone. We went
up and down a couple times, alternating Mike yelling at the guy and checking our balance in the account. It took Budget a couple of seconds to take our money but
it would take 24 hours to give it back! Nice, huh?
So now, we don't have enough money on the debit card to get a car- again. So we get a cab to take us to the closest Bank of America. More wasted money. This
bank happened to be on Semoran Dr(?) St(?) Ave(?) whatever, just past Thrifty. So tot he bank, Mike puts in double what we will need to secure a car, and we
have the cabbie drop us off at Thrifty. The guy at the counter does all his computer stuff, my knees are knocking, I realize it is now after 6pm and we have
not eaten all day. the guy asks if a Neon is ok. Relieved I say, "Now that we've just gotten a car, we're going to DisneyWorld!" Everyone laughs, and I go to use
the ladies' room. I was so happy! Ahhh...
I walk back into the lobby and hear Mike yelling again. *sigh* Thrifty ran our debit card through a credit check and it was denied. I used to work for a
bank, and I'm not sure why a debit card would be "credit checked". It's NOT credit... it's DEBIT. The money is THERE. UGH! So, you guessed it, I cry again.
Mike storms out, I'm crying and following him. We notice there is a Hertz next door, so we go in, Within 5 minutes, we have a car for less than we had
planned on spending. I said to the woman, "Heather, you are the nicest person I have met ALL DAY!"
We get in the car, went back to Pop, and had our first meal of the day at 7pm. After we ate, Mike played in the arcade a while to calm down, and I walked
around talking to people. Then we went to the pool and sat with our feet in the water and said, "Our vacation starts NOW."
Day 1 was so AWFUL! I cried 4 times. I was ready to bring my ticket to JetBlue and see if they would let me fly home. I kept saying "I hate Florida. I hate
Orlando. I hate Disney. I wish we never came. I'll never do this again.", along with some "choice" words that I will not repeat here. Mike was LIVID! I have
never seen him so infuriated.
So here was my schedule:
3am- wake up and get ready
630am- flight
930am- arrive MCO
10am-630pm- trying to get a car
7pm- finally eat and relax
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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