MouseFest 2006!!!  It’s finally here!  :-)  The fight to Orlando was perfect. We left on time and arrived on time. This was my first time flying on JetBlue and I really enjoyed it. The seats are comfortable and there is plenty of leg room. Each seatback has a built in TV and you can use your own headphones or the ones that Jet Blue provides for free. (not the greatest quality - so use your own if you have them anyway.)

Drinks and snacks are nice as well. A good selection of both and they will bring you your choice. We arrived in Orlando a bit early and I moved on quickly to baggage claim and the bags were there surprisingly quickly. Found the two that belonged to me and I was off to National Rental Car. I LOVE the Emerald Aisle service National provides, and I just walked down the aisle and saw a great choice today. Figuring a large vehicle might be good for giving fellow Taginators a ride here and there I grabbed a Chevy UPLANDER (Geez, Uplander/Pathfinder... The Trip Report police (i.e. BriarRose!) caught me on THAT one!) ;-)   Seats seven, and good luggage room. It was brand new and only had a little over 8 miles! Nice!

I headed out and jumped on 417 South heading for WDW. Since I was headed for Port Orleans French Quarter I got off at exit 3. Total tolls were $2.00 and there was a CVS on the way that I stopped at for some water, a few snacks, etc. Not as bad as Disney prices, but higher than is typical. Since I was fighting off a cold I also picked up a small pharmaceutical army of items. I wasn’t going to let a cold ruin MouseFest. ;-)

After than I soon arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter. I have never stayed at this resort before and was immediately impressed. It is smaller than the other Moderates, and that gives it a more intimate feel. Not so spread out, and a room pretty much anywhere is not going to seem FAR away from the main facilities. The lobby, food court, grounds and buildings are all nicely themed. Very pretty and someplace I’m sure my family would enjoy. I can see us staying here in the future if we need to save a few DVC points.

As I parked the rental car and headed inside to check in - who are the first guests I see? MissB and Frogman! I waited until I got closer and then yelled out something to the affect of "Why, its those FAMOUS Tag makers!!!!" :) It was GREAT seeing them as soon as I arrived. NICE way to start the trip! After our hellos they headed off to the parks and I went into the lobby.

Check in could have gone better, but wasn’t too bad. There was some confusion over my reservation since it listed 4 people. I had tried to fix this before leaving but there was a fear that the new new reservation system might loose my AP rate ($99) or worse - loose the reservation all together! So, I tried to explain it was just a mistake because I was traveling alone this year. You would have THOUGHT I was explaining a calculus problem by the response I got! I think it was almost 10 minutes before I could make her understand I was alone. A L O N E - and YES, I think I know if I’m traveling with others in my room! ;-)

No, wait... Its NOT ready. Well, maybe it is...On the phone to housekeeping. We’ll send a runner right out to check. 10 minutes. Go have a nice drink in the food court. So, off I went and actually had some lunch. The food court was great and there is a nice selection of food. Everything was made to order which made it very good. After finishing my meal I give the number a call to check the room. Nope. Not clean. Well, did the runner report back? We can’t tell you that. BACK to the front desk I go. Wait in line again, and nope. No word from the runner yet. Could take an hour! OKKKKKKKKKKKK... Manager comes over and says that they can’t do anything to check the room and neither can I. Fine. Wasted an hour and then just changed in the SUV. Gotta love tinted windows! :)  Parked the car near the building I was supposed to be in and headed to the park.   

Waited a bit for the bus to Magic Kingdom, but not really too long.  FQ is the first stop, so that was nice, especially when being dropped off! Arrived at the MK and headed into the park. I was caught by the 3pm parade, and watched that before continuing on to Adventureland for my first meet. 

Mike Scopa was hosting a Dole Whip meet that I really wanted to make. Even though I was late, they were all still there and I got to see Mike and a GREAT turnout! I got my Scopa’s Magical Elixir pin and then looked around to see who all was here. Got to talk to some old and new friends and started the fun chore of passing out goodies to members as I saw them.

I was so busy talking and digging through my stuff I forgot to take pictures at this meet. I need to do better! I do remember seeing Photographer, Amymouse, MargaretJ and I think EJ4Disney was here near the end of the meet... MikeS of course, and several others including Lou M. and some of the All Ears crew. Great meet and glad I made it!

Just before 4pm Moley and the Tigernator showed up as well! I came to find out the Tigernator had a MUCH more extensive wardrobe than *I* brought down, and this was just his first of many changes during the trip! Moley had spent her morning helping out Robin and did this several times over her stay. What a great thing to do for a good friend and fellow Taginator! We really missed Robin this year, but look forward to having her back at MouseFest next year!!!!

Moley’s arrival was perfect timing to head on over to the Pirates of the Caribbean meet being hosted by Robb and PaulF from Common Ground. I did this meet two years back and it was a blast! This year was even bigger and better with eye patches and scrolls of all the words to "A Pirates Life for Me". So we could all sing along! It was a lot of fun, and again I spent lots of time chatting to old and new friends. I saw Robb and PaulF of course, and also DarcieF, TrixyA, ceebee, tink*~*~*~, Belle, Beast, Mik and many other Taginators as well! We sang and talked and before we knew it we sailed off on our pirate adventure! It was a great ride as always, and Moley was QUITE taken with the Captain Jack additions. Seems Captain Jack was a bit too real - Had to hold Moley in the boat! ;-)

Afterward we stopped for 4 or 5 HUNDRED photos of the group! ;-) I swear I have ten shots on my camera alone!!! LOL - But it was fun and a great turnout! Thanks Beast for filling up my digital memory card! Who says 1 gig cards aren’t a good idea! :)



 

But I also received a couple very nice goodies!  First, GloriaK came over to present me with a Darth Tater keychain! He is very cool and immediately attached himself to my camera bag! :-) Just a bit later, MissB gave me a Darth Tater Pin!!!  I love this guy, so I found both these gifts to be awesome! Thanks Gloria and MissB!  It was so thoughtful of you both! :-)

It took a bit, but soon we were seated for dinner. We had a great waiter that was very helpful and friendly. Everything was delicious and included salad, turkey, ham, flank steak, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and some wonderful rolls as well. It’s all you care to eat and served family style. Everyone was stuffed, but left some room for dessert which was apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

After dinner we all had various plans, and I decided to head off and do a bit of touring and picture taking. I love the Magic Kingdom at night, especially during the MVMCP. I hit Frontierland, Main Street, Tomorrowland, ToonTown and Fantasyland. I think this is the first time I’ve made it through all the lands during MVMCP. I love seeing all the decorations, and enjoyed seeing the castle forecourt show and taking lots of pictures around the park.

As I came back into Frontierland I ran smack into the first parade. I found a place to watch and take a few pictures. I was a bit too far back to get very good shots, but was actually glad to catch the parade early. I wasn’t feeling my best, and knew I still had to unpack when I got back. Which reminds me.. I called again around 5pm and the room was ready and I got the number. I was in a GREAT spot about 50 feet from the lobby building and even closer to the food court. Ahem - and they couldn’t just CHECK the room after keeping me there an hour!!! Geeezzzzzz... But that room location made up for any bad start. But I’ll get back to that later.

I tried to get around a see everyone, and all too soon Wishes started. It was a great show as always, and I really enjoy the MVMCP version. The ‘wrap around’ fireworks are the best! Since the Christmas tree had been moved back to the front of the park, there was a better view this year. And Tinkerbelle flew almost directly above us!

 

After the fireworks ended it was back to chatting and all too soon it was time to move on. I was getting REALLY tired now and knew it was going to take a while to unpack everything when I got back. So, I decided to head on out of the park and pass on seeing the parade again. I caught the bus back to POFQ and the parking lot where I parked my car was right behind the bus stop. I grabbed my luggage out of the car and headed in to find my room. WHAT a great location. First floor, about 3 doors from the food court. Right across from the Jacuzzi and very close to the pool! Wow!!!!! I’ll have difficulties and some delays with checkin ANYTIME for a room like this.

When I went in, I found the room was handicapped accessible. No problem as I like a walk in shower, and found it to be VERY nice. Clean, roomy with a great King Sized bed. Perfect! I started unpacking and even got my windows decorated. Nothing fancy, and I even forgot to take a picture! No biggee - I’m not entering the window contest anyway, I just wanted a festive window.

I pulled out the clothes I’d need in the morning and packed up the backpack, etc. I knew I’d need to have everything ready so I could sleep in as long as possible. And then I crashed and slept straight through. A great ending to a great first day!!!