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Monday, September 22, 2008

The Vacation Diaries - Now it's time to say good-bye, to all our company...


Well, the final day has arrived. I had a crappy night's sleep - too many cramps and too much snoring! I woke up at 7:20 so I missed my quiet time on the beach! Obviously, I'm cranky. So I got up, popped some Advil like it was Pez and went out on to the balcony to call Frank. We all can't wait to see eachother tonight. I came in 15 minutes later and woke up the gang. We ordered room service and ate breakfast in bed. I had two eggs over-easy, bacon, homefries, a biscuit and juice. That same exact breakfast that I order at the Border restaurant next to my house for $2.99 cost me $20! Only in Disney.



Now it's time to shower, dress and pack. We're doing the Hollywood Studios today where I have to get the rest of my souvenirs for the boys and ride the Tower of Terror and Rock n Rollercoaster with Aerosmith. Always a good time. We left the room and were at the bus stop at 9:30. The bus took FOREVER to get there! When we first asked the Floridian guy when the bus was expected he said "5 minutes" but the more time that passed and the more people that complained, suddenly his story changed to there is "construction" and "accidents" all over the place delaying the busses. Funny, when the bus finally did arrive and we drove over to the park, the roads were as clear as can be. Not an orange cone is sight!



So we get to the park and do our last round of group photos on the Photopass - we were nearing 60 at this point - in front of the Sorcerer's Hat and then split up so that Karen and I could go do our thrill rides. We did Rock n Roller coaster first. The sign said 15 minute wait but it was more like 45. This, of course, set the others in our party in to a tizzy because they were planning on meeting us in 60 minutes and now we still had another ride to do. Oh, well. Deal with it, people! Now I have to admit, I usually get great anxiety from this ride but I LOVED it this time. I mean, I'm still not a huge fan of the going upside down part, but it really is a cool ride. I was a little disappointed when it ended. I looked at my sister and said "Was that it?"



We hopped over to Tower of Terror and that was a 30 minute wait but there were a TON of drops. We always just laugh our way through that one. Fun, fun, fun! So we get off the ride and called the group to tell them where we were at and find out that they are all at the first aid station because my cousin fell. So we're walking up the boulevard and a policeman on a stick horse stops us to wish me a Happy Birthday. We get a little closer and he asked when my birthday actually was. So in keeping with the whole 'birthday trip' theme, I tell him it was on Tuesday, so he wrote me a ticket for lying about my birthday! Then he asked where I was from and I said North Carolina and he added another $10 fine to the ticket!! Why the hate?? I took my ticket (which was signed by Officer Duncan Donute) and then we ran over to the Star Wars store to get Michael his Clone Trooper Blaster. He's going to be very excited.



The bus back to the hotel stopped at two other resorts before ours and we got to the hotel at 12:45 for a 1:00 check out. It was pandelerium in the room. I have so much stuff that I bought that it took three of us to pack the darn suitcase and zip it shut! Yikes! The bellman came and took all of our stuff, I said good-bye to Aunt Robyn and Jess who were off to go boating, and then I hopped on the limo-sized golf cart and rode off to the main building so that I could hop the monorail for my final solo-tour of the Magic Kingdom. Yippee!! Mom and Karen decided to hang out by the pool, because God knows they can't do that at their pool at home - and let me go off on my own.



I hopped the monorail over to the park. Alone. All alone. Sigh. I really should have called this trip my solo trip because this is the THIRD DAY IN A ROW that I am off by myself. But honestly, it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. I walked down Main Street to Tomorrowland and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. I don't know why I love it so, but I just do! It was a very relaxing ride and I took lots of pictures. Then I got my picture taken on the bridge between the castle and Tomorrowland. Alone. Next, I walked through the castle in to Fantasyland and did a little shopping at Sir Mickey's and Tink's Treasures. My next stop was to go and see Mickey's Philharmagic because no one would see it with me! It was just as good as I remembered. By the time I got out of there, I knew I had to start heading back to the hotel in order to pick up my luggage and meet the Magical Express bus. But on my way down the castle walkway, I noticed a Disney Photographer by my favorite statue - Parters. So I stopped and got my picture taken again. Hey, if people are going to blow me off, I'm going to hog the
Photopass!!!




Finally, I took my last walk up Main Street and exited the park. A sad moment. Sniff. I took one last monorail ride and them met up with mom and Karen in the Floridian lobby for one last good-bye. Karen treated me to a big pretzel by the pool while mom waited for my luggage. I left her by the pool and re-joined mom by the bus stop.

But anyway, I hopped the bus at 3:25 and was at the airport by 4:10. I checked in, shopped, called Frank, ate dinner and was at the gate by 5:30 for my 6:25 flight. The time went by pretty quick. So all in all, it really was a great trip. It was so not what I planned or expected but there is something very serene and comforting about doing so much alone. I feel like this was a complete mental-therapy kind of thing. I never thought that being alone in such a family-oriented place could be so much fun and therapeutic. I would do it that way again in a heartbeat.



So now I'm home, with just my pictures and memories. If any of you hear of my planning any kind of trip again with anyone other than my sister, you have my permission to slap the you-know-what out of me. But on the plus side, I was NOT the fat sister!

Mission accomplished!


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