[KarenWDWCP]

Hi all,

So I have been away from DC since just before I left for my trip at the end of September. This is because upon returning from our WDW trip on October 1, we discovered that our house had been broken into while we were away and along with many other things, our computer was stolen. As a result, I have been out of touch with DC since October. I am pleased to report though that I am back up and running with the internet!

I figured the best way to get back into the DC action was to post my trip report, so here goes! I hope you all enjoy it!


Karen

[Andrea]

Oh, how awful! What a thing to come home to!

Still, your thread title is funny.

[queensmama]

Goodness what an awful end to your vacation! It is good to see that you are making your way back to us again. I cant wait to hear the part of the report from before you got home.

[Erin]

I can't wait to read about the many ways you gorged yourself! :c)

I'm glad you're back, and sorry about your horrible situation :c(

[KarenWDWCP]

September 26 - October 1
Port Orleans Riverside/Magnolia Terrace
Stay, Play and Dine Promotion (aka FREE FOOD!)
Cast - Me (Karen, former CP, WDW veteran, this was my 9th trip plus the 5 months I spent as a CM)
Mom and Dad - Both pretty much Disney veterans as well

This trip was kind of a last minute decision and was precipitated by the Stay, Play and Dine Promotion being offered, combined with cheap airfares from Boston to Orlando for the time we wanted to go. We just couldn't resist free food! We planned the trip to coincide with the first days of the Food and Wine Festival since my parents had never done that before and I knew they would really enjoy it. We booked in early August so we had very little time between booking and going, which was really great!!

Unfortunately, about a week and a half before our trip, I fell while getting on a bus on my way home from work and severely sprained my ankle. By the time of our trip, most of the swelling had gone down and I was able to walk but the bruising was still quite bad and I was worried about aggravating it with all the walking I would have to do in WDW. As you will see throughout the trip report, I was really reluctant to rent a wheelchair since I was able to walk, it was just painful after a while but eventually I relented and ending up using a wheelchair for part of the trip. I also brought ice packs from home to ice the ankle at night and when we took breaks from the parks and we definitely kept up a much slower pace than I usually do on my WDW trips (something my parents were actually glad about!).

The real focus of our trip was FOOD, thanks to the Stay, Play and Dine Promotion. We were determined to eat well and eat at good restaurants. Some we had tried before and some were new to us, but we were really excited about trying it all!!

We decided to stay at Port Orleans Riverside because we knew we wanted to stay at a Moderate and we had stayed there before ( I had stayed there twice) and loved it. We have also stayed at CBR and POFQ in the past but POR is definitely our favorite of those three moderates.

We flew two different airlines - Delta/Song on the way down and JetBlue on the way back, just because that was the cheapest scenario (about $150 roundtrip each). We had no problems with either airline or with using Magical Express with two different airlines.

Ok, so that pretty much covers the planning aspect, next up Day 1!!

[queensmama]

Sprained ankle to! Hopefully this trip starts to look up.

We were that at the same time as you... Sept 23 -Oct 1 for us.

[KarenWDWCP]

The break in was definitely a bummer. Nothing like opening your door with all your luggage and realizing that someone has been in your house. Fortunately, our insurance covered everything that was taken so it was more of a hassle to replace everything and repair the broken doors more than anything else. Aside from the feeling of violation you get from having your house broken into. We didn't let it spoil all the fun we had on our trip though! There is almost nothing that could ruin that Disney magic!!

The sprained ankle also added a nice twist. Queensmama, you may have unknowingly seen me being pushed around WDW with my swollen ankle since we were there at the same time!

[Andrea]

Did you have any difficulties at all with insurance? Because I've always imagined they'd argue with you over every little thing: "Did you REALLY have a digital camera?" "Did you REALLY have a nice TV?"

[KarenWDWCP]

We took a cab to the airport and ate breakfast in the new Delta terminal at Logan. Our Song flight left on time around 11 and seemed to go by really quickly with the tv sets at each seat (I LOVED this because I hate to fly and the tv kept my mind off the flying). We landed just before 3pm and headed over to check in at Magical Express. We checked in and waited about 15 minutes or so for a bus. It was about half full and since we were all going to POR, we didn't have to stop anywhere else. We arrived at POR around 4 and checked in.

I had called a few days in advance to see if we could get a room request close to the food court, etc since I didn't want to walk too far on my bad foot. I was pleased at check in to discover that they had accomodated my request and put us in a first floor room in Magnolia Terrace.

The refurbished room at POR was great (my last stay was in Nov 2003 before the refurbishment). The room looked brand new and the in room refrigerator was a big plus too. We hung out in the room for a bit, freshened up and then changed for dinner. We had ADRs at California Grill and we packed a change of clothes in our carry-ons since we figured the luggage that ME picked up would not be in our room until much later. As it turned out, our bags were delivered to our room just before we left for dinner.

We took the boat from POR to DTD and caught a bus from there to the Contemporary. I had made the ADR for 6:20 because when i was planning the trip Wishes was scheduled for 8 pm. However the times guide we received when we checked in said Wishes would be at 9 that night. Adding to the confusion, when the bus drove through the MK parking gate, the sign said "Wishes will be at 8pm tonight." Needless to say, I was very confused. At Cali Grill, they confirmed that the fireworks were at 9 so we opted to wait for a window table, since we wanted to be sure we saw the fireworks. We hung out in the lounge for about 45 minutes or so and then were seated at the PERFECT table for watching Wishes.

Our server was excellent and the food was delicious, we totally stuffed ourselves with flatbreads, goat cheese ravioli, filet mignon, veal tornedos, salmon and then dessert - I don't even remember what we got, I think mine involved chocolate and berries, my mom's had blueberries and my dad's was some kind of mango mereinge. YUM! Our dessert came just as Wishes started which was perfect. I did notice, however, that though they piped in the Wishes music, they did not lower the lights in the restaurant the way they did when I was there in Nov 2003.

After Wishes and dessert we headed out and took a bus back to DTD and then a bus back to POR. We were pretty tired after our day of travel so we went to bed, after I iced my ankle which had swelled up again. Ugh!

Day 1 Highlight - Dinner and Wishes at the California Grill (Well worth the 2 meals we needed to redeem from our dining plan!)

Day 2 Lowlight - The ominous look of my ankle at the end of the day ( I will try to attach pictures once my scanner is back up and running)

[KarenWDWCP]

Andrea, we were really lucky with our insurance company. I thought they would give us a lot of trouble, but they didn't. We provided whatever receipts we happened to still have and estimated values on the rest. They of course, had to subtract some value for depreciation but overall we got the value of what we lost which was a relief!

[Maria]

Sorry about your house getting broken into, glad your insurance co. did not give you problems. Loving the TR so far keep it coming!

[Dana]

Karen -
I am so sorry you had to come home to that...I can't imagine how that feels...so violated. I am glad, however,. that the insurance covered your stolen stuff.

Your ankle must have been a major bummer, but somtimes being forced to take it slower isn't a total bad thing. You get to see things you never seen before because you usually rush past to get to the next attraction.

I can't wait to read more of your report. Welcome home to Dc. GLad you are up and running again.

[kizzmitt]

I'm glad to hear that you were able to enjoy yourself eventhough you had a hurt ankle. I'm sorry to hear about your house. Thats horrible! Did the police have any suspects?

We got to go to WDW with the free dining also, wasn't it great! I can't wait to read the rest of your TR.

[DisneyTeacher]

What a thing to come home to, I can't even imagine what you were feeling. This is a great trip report, I can't wait to read more.

[mickaholic4077]

A great start to your trip report. Keep it coming!!!