Disney- We Arrive (Sept. 5)

The trip started early- my alarm went off at 2AM. I was up, showered and dressed in no time and had the boys up soon after that. We headed down to mom and dad's because they were our ride to the airport. I was so nervous that I felt sick to my stomach as I checked the list once, twice, then once more. To make matters worse, I was worried about the gallbladder and what sort of problems that was going to cause me. Thankfully, I have a friend not far from the Kingdom who said she'd take care of us should something unthinkable happen and I land in the hospital. I'll tell you now, all the worry was for nothing. I felt and still feel fine.

Anyway- we took a small plane out of Portland to Washington D.C. where we caught our larger connection to Orlando. We landed in Florida at 11AM, not so bright eyed, not so bushy tailed, but all in one piece. Once there, we waited in what was to be our longest line of the vacation- waiting for the Magical Express to take us to Pop Century.

The bus ride was great and I think I grinned the entire time. I pointed out landmarks to the boys and explained the difference between Palm and Palmetto trees. We looked for alligators (we didn't see any) and I bounced up and down happily when we passed under the gateway to Walt Disney World. The beginning was in sight! I pointed out the Swan and Dolphin and we looked in wonder at the signs advertising the different attractions at the parks. The sign for the Tower of Terror looked like it had real people in it! Disney doesn't do anything half-way.

Pop Century is a really cool place. I describe it as 'The Ultimate in Retro Tacky', which fits me perfectly as most of you will agree. The line was fairly short at the Classic Hall when we arrived and I had already done the online express check in, so I was able to walk directly to the registration clerk and get our room. Oops. First floor- um. Problem. I don't want first floor- I want fourth floor. I was told that there would be no problem but that the room would not be ready for a few hours. I agreed and the boys and I headed off to drop our carry-on at luggage services. We had a huge resort to explore!

The walls of the lobby are lined with Shadowboxes holding memorabilia from the 1950s to the 1990s. It made me feel a little old as I recognized many of the items as things that I had as a child or that I still have (like the Pet Rock and the Tupperware measuring cups). It was a bit unnerving to see the big shouldered jackets and the crimping irons, both of which I had and used with pride when I was in my early 20s. Here's hoping shoulder pads never come back into style!

Pop Century is the only value resort with water views. It may one day be two separate resorts linked together by the Generation Gap Bridge which spans over Hourglass Lake. The boys and I walked to the sitting area at the beginning of the bridge where we looked over at the now abandoned 'Legendary Years' part of the resort. That resort may one day represent 1900-1940 and, if the Classic Years are any indication, it will be a great place to stay. The boys were amazed at the geckos that run around everywhere and Stephen even managed to catch a couple of them, much to my dismay.

By now, we're hungry so we head off to the Pop Century Food Court, a bustling, loud place with several different dining choices. I didn't care what I had for lunch- to me it was all about the dessert: Tye Dyed Cheesecake...

One has to wonder about the people who make up the food for Disney. Who would have thought of swirling bright primary colors together in a cheesecake, pouring it atop a piece of Red Velvet cake and calling it Tie-Dye? Whoever it was, my thanks go out to them. It was delicious! The cake is purple and blue and yellow and red- all swirled together like a Grateful Dead tee shirt. I only dared eat a few bites of it, so Eddie gladly took up the slack for me. Besides, I didn't want to eat too much because of the reservations I'd made for dinner... But that will be for the next post. (coming soon, I promise!)

Our room was soon ready so we went to get our carry-on luggage and I find that my sweatshirt- the green Tigger Hoodie that I bought the last time I was in Disney- was gone. No one had seen it, no one had claimed it.. Well Phooey. No matter, I'm in Disney- I can buy another one!

Our room was in the Love, Peace and Happiness building situated in the middle of the 60s section. We had the top floor and the room was quiet and clean and cool. The elevator was just around the corner and from that viewpoint, we could see down past Baloo and Mowgli to the Hippy-Dippy Pool. Yeah.. that's the name of it. We quickly changed into our swimsuits and went down for a swim, only to find that the pool was closed because of rumors that someone..um.. did something unprintable in it. So it was off to the computer pool in the 90s section. If I can find it, that is.

The afternoon was spent mostly in the water. Florida is hot and humid this time of year, with frequent and sudden thunderstorms cropping up out of nowhere. The boys and I swam in the Computer Pool until the Hippy-Dippy re-opened. At 5 , we headed back to our room to change for dinner. I'd made reservations at 1900 Park Fare and I wanted to be sure to get there early enough. Did I mention that the reservations were for a Cinderella Dinner? No? Don't feel bad. I didn't tell the boys either!