My day started before 6 when the darling dogs woke me up to go out. Guess (as usual lately!), I don’t need my alarm today! I did crawl back into bed for a bit, but I didn’t go back to sleep. I started checking out stuff on my phone, and very quickly discovered my flight was delayed by nearly an hour and a half. UGH.
A little after 7, I got up when Nick did, got ready and threw the last couple items in the luggage. When Nick left for work at 8, I went for a quick walk, because not arriving in FL until mid-late afternoon meant my step count for today was going to be much lower than a typical Disney trip.
Once my walk was done, I hopped in the car and drove to my mom’s. I got there about 9, and already, the delay had been shortened by about 15 minutes. We decided to just head for the airport. We very quickly transferred my luggage to her car, and we were on our way.
The ride to the airport was uneventful, and pretty soon I was listening to mom’s “have fun, be careful, and CALL me once in awhile” spiel, as we pulled up to the curb.
After explaining to mom, as I do every trip, why I was headed inside instead of checking my luggage at the curb, I said goodbye, and headed inside. I walked straight up to a bag check kiosk, tagged my bag, and within about a minute and a half, I was on an escalator up to security, where I found no line for pre-check. YAY!
I’ve smartened up, and pulled the food out of my carry on bag for security, so security was a breeze, and I was gateside within 7 minutes of pulling up to the curb. LOVE Manchester Airport!
By the time I reached my gate, I found another alert, that the delay had been shortened again. New estimated departure was 12:00, just 50 minutes late. That’s definite progress! I settled in for a bit to charge my phone, swap my watch for my Magic Band, and listen to the lady a few seats over talk about her park touring strategy, based on current wait times...you know...like 5 hours before any of us could possibly enter a park! Plus I spammed Facebook a bit!
Eventually, I went in food, disappointed more than usual in the available options. I can usually get a basic sandwich at MHT, but this day my go-to for that was closed. That left Dunkins, Burger King, and a sit-down place (that was still serving breakfast) as my options. I’ll spare you the reasoning, but I ended up with a bagel toasted with butter, and hashbrowns from Dunks for food. Boy I hope those non-peanut snacks they’re serving on the flight are good!
While I was eating, the gate agents were running in circles, trying to reschedule people whose connections had been canceled in Chicago (they were going out of the gate next to mine), and even one who was impacted by our delay. The summer of weather hell continues!
About 11:30, our plane pulled up to the gate. Boarding announcements were started, and they got us lined up so that they could turn the plane as quickly as possible. I was on board by 11:45, in about the 5th row, by the window, despite my horrendous B10 boarding position (and yes, I paid for Early Bird…). It was a completely full flight, but one of the quickest boarding I’ve ever seen. And while the flight attendants were unpacking snack boxes, the gate agents boarded the plane to close up overhead bins, to expedite our departure. There’s a reason MHT keeps winning Southwests’s ground/gate crew awards!
We pushed back by noon, and Captain Leadfoot shared that the winds were in our favor today. Despite leaving 50 minutes late, we should anticipate landing around 2:40, just 30 minutes late. YAY!
The flight was uneventful, and despite the wild summer weather, the view was clear, and the ride was smooth for the vast majority of the trip. Captain Leadfoot’s faithful sidekick even gave us a guided tour down the east coast, pointing out different landmarks, such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. And it was so clear that it was very easy (and interesting) to see it, despite flying at 38,000 feet. I will admit that this one was particularly remarkable for me, because we were just talking a few weeks ago at a family gathering about how my great uncle was involved in crane operations when they built this tunnel.
Captain Leadfoot was true to his word, and we touched down in Orlando about 2:39. As seems to be my usual upon arrival, we came in to the very last gate at the end of the terminal. But hey, I see palm trees! And is that REAL air conditioning?!
Yes, folks, one of the most exciting things about this trip was the prospect of consistent air conditioning. It’s been a hot, rainy, humid summer at home. My house has exactly 2 air conditioning units: a window unit that’s more temperamental than I would like, and a portable thing that looks like Wall-E. Central air is not a widespread thing in NH. But it is in FL!
I booked it down to the DME counter, you know...a couple miles from my gate, texting people about my arrival while I walked. There was no line to scan my band, and pretty soon, I was in line to board a bus.
Probably less than 15 minutes after stepping into the bus line, I was on a Disney Cruise Line bus, excitedly thinking about the fact that I’ll be on one of those buses on my way to a Disney Cruise in 254 days (but who’s counting…). It was at this time, well after 3 PM, that I got my room ready text from Disney. I’d be in the Mighty Ducks section, in room 3803.
Pretty soon, the bus was full enough, and the driver boarded. She meant business! It was an uneventful bus ride, but staying at Movies meant that I was the 4th (of 4) bus stops. I did a lot of texting! And even a little picture taking...
I made it to my hotel about 4:20. Less than an hour and a half from touch down to arrival at the hotel. Not bad, especially since I was the 4th bus stop! Since I finally had my room number, I headed straight there. It was a pretty straightforward walk, and really not that long, to my building, building 3. My room was on the second floor.
When I got into my room, I quickly discovered that I’d been put in a handicap accessible room with a roll-in shower. While I’m glad these rooms exist for those who need them, I can’t say I was excited about the prospects of flooding the bathroom everytime I tried to shower.
Room explored, I put together a park bag, and headed back to the main building. It was WAY past time for dinner! That single bag of veggie wheat thin chips on the plane didn’t quite cut it after the bagel and hashbrowns at MHT!
After exploring the food court a bit, I settled on a chicken parm sandwich. And after a brief battle with the soda machine that was apparently out of Powerade (always pre-hydrate for the parks!), I settled down to eat shortly after 5. I just about inhaled the sandwich, even though it had WAY too much chunky sauce on it.
Once I’d eaten dinner, I refilled my new refillable mug with Powerade, and headed for the buses. I don’t think I had to wait very long before a Hollywood Studios bus came along.
I think it was a relatively quick ride to the turn for Hollywood Studios. From that point, to the parking lot, however, was another story. Because of the gondola construction, about a week before my trip, they moved the bus stops around, plus relocated part of the walkway to the Epcot area resorts. The result was a total mess, and a pretty accurate representation of what the park looks like right now in general. We were dropped off pretty close to the gate, though.
The walk to security was quick. Security? Not so much. I thought Disney’s bag checkers couldn’t get more thorough after this spring’s trips. I was wrong…
Once I made it into the park, I started wandering, trying to get the lay of the land a bit. Plus I did some store browsing, since I still had awhile before my fastpass. My wandering led me to One Man’s Dream.
Granted, One Man’s Dream hasn’t really changed (with the exception of adding character greets, and swapping out some of the models on display), but it’s amazing how much smaller it seemed this trip. Last summer, Nick and I went to the Disney Family Museum while we were in San Francisco during our honeymoon. One Man’s Dream pales in comparison.
Next, I decided to find the entrance to Toy Story Land to take some pictures. Now, logic should have told me to look at the park map, but I’m a New Englander. What’s a map?! So, while I was actually basically right next to the entrance, I ended up over near Muppets before I actually looked at the map. OOPS!
Since I was near Muppets and a bit warm, I walked into the next show. Literally...I waited about 1 minute in the holding tank before they opened the doors into the theater. The show was pretty full. It was good air conditioning. I enjoyed it, as usual.
Once the theater had been blasted, I returned to the park, and actually found Toy Story Land. I did a bunch of picture taking, because it wasn’t quite time for my fastpass for Slinky Dog yet. I absolutely loved the theming of this land.
At 7:25, right when it was time for my fastpass, I headed for the fastpass line. I was on Slinky Dog in less than 10 minutes. I have to say, for a ride that’s advertised as a family roller coaster, this one is actually really impressive. I really enjoyed it, and it will be a must fastpass for all future trips. Everest is still my favorite Disney coaster, but this is a good one.
After Slinky Dog, it was time for Epcot. I started walking, and couldn’t help but notice some green army men, and also some really cool kiddie measurers.
When I finally finished taking pictures in Toy Story Land, I really did head for the park exit. As I was walking, it became clear it was going to storm, however, the clouds seemed to be building primarily over Hollywood Studios, so I decided to still make the trek to Epcot and see what happened.
The beginning of the walkway is pretty meh right now, because of all of the construction. Thankfully, it does eventually join the regular walkway, and the construction materials do disappear.
Along the trek to Epcot, the wind picked up, and by the time I was cruising past Stormalong Bay, it became very evident that nature was going to put on its own fireworks show tonight, and I would not be seeing Illuminations.
From here on out, it was basically a race against time. Thankfully, International Gateway security seemed to understand that concept as well, and moved the line quickly there. I walked straight through Epcot, working my way toward the bus stop.
As I was moving as quickly as my short legs can carry me past Spaceship Earth, a heart stopping lightning bolt lit the sky. No exaggeration, there was a collective “woah” from about 90% of the people around me, and we all picked up the pace exiting the park, as all the little ones started melting down, terrified of the storm.
I made it to the bus stop just before the deluge. And that was really all that mattered. It was a surprisingly long wait to get on a bus, as I will, for this one, give Disney the benefit of the doubt that they were planning a mass exodus about 45 minutes later than it actually happened. But, by the time a bus showed up, the rain had slowed to a drizzle, and I’d been waiting under cover, so it was all good.
When I got back to Movies, I filled my mug with more Powerade and got myself a Pineapple Swirl cupcake, to be known from here out as the Dole Whip cupcake.
Since it was just sprinkling, but threatening to rain much harder, I took my cupcake back to my room to eat. The cake itself was kinda boring, but the cupcake as a whole was REALLY good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And yes, that’s a flavor injector. I poured the pineapple syrup all over the top of the cupcake.
Cupcake destroyed, I quickly showered (flooding the bathroom as expected, despite trying to take a quick shower), and crawled into bed. It was closing in on 11 before I went to sleep, which was going to make for a short night!
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