Wonderful World of Disney!

WDW!

Up until last week, we were one of the few in our circle of friends who had never been to Disney World or Disneyland.  That has finally changed.  If I had a Mickey emoji, I'd put it here!


Taking Care of the Homefront
Michael came in for a couple of weeks and stayed with the menagerie while we were gone.  We knew they were in good hands so we were able to relax and enjoy figuring out the world of the mouse.  All the furries were instructed that there would be no trips to the ER Vet prior to us leaving, so to not even try getting us to stay home.


Flight - Could Have Def Been Better
This trip was originally scheduled for February - Mike's big retirement celebration.  When Daisy got sick, we decided to postpone the trip.  I had used 'anytime miles' on American Airlines (for first class don'tcha know!)  so we didn't have change fees and knew we could tweak the flights closer to vacation time.  As the trip neared, we changed our flights by sliding them back one day.

Unfortunately, our reservation wasn't completely changed.  It was explained that it was like a "phantom second page of our reservations" that the computer could see but that doesn't come up in the record locator.  Since we did not show up for the Saturday flight, our Sunday seats were sold and the system required a $2074 change fee to put us back on the flight.   

Ummm....NO......so an up close and personal encounter with a very helpful and friendly AA representative was in order.  I'm not being sarcastic here - she really was great!  We commented afterwards that she was Southwest Airlines material!

Forty-five minutes later - the issue still not totally solved but we were finally issued the last two seats in coach IF we could make it to the plane.

Let the sprinting begin!  

Not in First Class and wearing my reading glasses but at least we're on our way to Disney!

We Don't Have to Rent a Car!
Landed in Orlando on time and made our way to the Magical Express...our first of many highly positive experiences with Disney...and a welcome relief after the American Airlines snafu.  The Disney elves collected our checked bags for us and made them magically appear in our room later that afternoon.  The bus ride was thankfully uneventful, quick and comfortable.


Beach Club Resort......Ahhhhhhh.
After reading several Disney blogs and talking to our friends about locations on the Disney property, I decided to book Beach Club for our home for the week.  The resort is beautiful, smells heavenly and was walking distance to the side entrance to EPCOT -- we enter directly into the World Showcase.  At the time we changed the trip to September, we had no idea that the Food and Wine Festival would be in full swing.  Beach Club was the perfect location for popping over to EPCOT several time during the week....and that's right where we headed once we dropped our carry-ons at our room!


Magic Bands
I had trouble comprehending what these 'bracelets' were all about and what all they were used for until we got to Disney and started using them.  Magic Bands are linked to your Disney account - holding a chip in the center of the band that is held up/scanned at various systems thru the park.....meaning you can unlock your hotel door (no need to carry a key); it's your ticket into each park (no need to carry paper tickets); it's your credit card if you want - so no need to carry a credit card or any money.....use for buying dinner and souvenirs; it's linked to PhotoPass and MemoryMaker so that you'll be able to see pictures taken thru-out your trip and it is your Fast Pass ticket (your opportunity to occasionally skip the line for popular rides!).  The bands are water proof - and sweat proof - so wearing them to the pool means no keys or money to cart around.  Since the bands are linked to your Disney account, they are your check-in for dining and show reservations.  Truly magic.

When we got back, my trip to the grocery store ended with me raising my wrist to scan to make payment.....then remembered I was back in the 'real world' and had to dig out my credit card....well...poop.

Of course I'm totally sure that Disney has recorded every move we made.  There probably isn't a government in the world that can compare to Disney's ability to gather info for their marketing.  Seriously amazing.  


EPCOT
Pretty darn tired after the crazy travel day but of course had to pop over to EPCOT for a couple of rides and to grab dinner....experiencing some of the Food and Wine booths while getting an idea of what was to come for the week.  A great way to end our travel day - watching a storm roll in over the park then a slow stroll back to the room.  Welcome to Disney!    

RGB Beer Flight - as in Red, Green and Blue - and not as good as it didn't look

Storm rolling in over EPCOT