Florida Coalcracker Chronicles: Getting Our Money's Worth At Disneysworld After Our Pass Ran Out

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Getting Our Money's Worth At Disneysworld After Our Pass Ran Out

All fresh in the morning - Halloween Disney

The Fantasia Show at Hollywood Studios - water show and fireworks were wonderful.

Elsa and Anna - our granddaughter - and everybody's granddaughter loves this movie.

Last weekend I offered to take Lulu to Atlanta to see Florida State play at Georgia Tech. We never saw a football game there - and after all - it was such a sure victory. Lulu said she would rather go to Disneyworld for 3 days. Last December we took the kids there - and we had some leftover passes that were expiring at the end of the month.

So Tuesday morning - we piled into our non-electric car - and drove 4 hours to that enchanted place of our youth. DisneyWorld opened in 1971 - the same year we married and we have not missed many years in between. In 1974 - we chartered a jet and brought my 150 - 7th graders from Pennsylvania to the park for one day. Legends were made from that trip. It was icing on the cake to take our grandkids there last year. Now we have new memories to re-live.

Lulu booked us into the Pop Century Hotel - one of Disney's new budget places. They give Florida residents rooms for $91 - before taxes.

Wednesday morning it was a rush to have breakfast and hop the bus and get to the Magic Kingdom in time for opening ceremonies at 8:30. We have not done it before - and probably won't again - unless the grandkids want to see it. We had our old Disney pass cards and the new Disney pass bracelets with us. The fun was about to begin.

We marched right up to the bracelet reader - and the sensor rejected us. We got out our cards - the sensor rejected them. We were directed toward the courtesy counter - where they informed us that our passes had expired after 6 months - not 12 months.

I missed Atlanta - paid $200 for hotels - drove 4 hours - and our passes were expired. It turned into an "American Express" moment as we paid $244 total for 2 - one day park hopper passes. I reminded Lulu that the airlines just gave her $1850 in cash for bumping her from her plane home from Kuwait. You just have to give a little back now.

In minutes we were in the park enjoying the sparse crowds - but it looked like rain. We enjoyed many of the indoor adventures as it started to pour. I refused to buy the $10 ponchos that were about as big as a garbage bag. We would wait it out inside. It did not take long - by noon - thousands of people were lugging around their $10 garbage bags. The sky was clear blue for the rest of the day. I swear that Disney can make it rain for an hour a day just to sell those ponchos.

After the Magic Kingdom parade we went to Hollywood Studios. It is a favorite - but I doubt that Hollywood streets were ever that pristine. The Fantasia fireworks and water show is truly astonishing.

We planned to go to until 1 AM to get our moneys worth - but that long walk around the lake in Epcot is really a stamina sucker. We love to visit those countries - but by 11 PM - we were pooped. We sat in the Germany courtyard - all alone - the places were drained of people. We imagined our up and coming spring semester in Berlin. We got excited all over again.

The bus got us quickly back to our hotel. Our iPhones said we walked 8.5 miles in one day.

Thursday morning - after a quick breakfast and a swim at the hotel pool - we headed home. After a slow 5 hour drive home - Lulu was home to teach her 8 PM class.