PaDisneyCouple
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2006
1/8/2020- getting there is half the fun
We were up early, and it was cold. Plus, we had the remains of Tuesday's snow to contend with. The roads were in the worst shape of our (mostly snowless) winter, until we got to the highway. That was not without its stress, as the check oil light came on in the car. We pulled into a parking lot, and power cycled the car, which didn't fix it. So I pulled under the gas pump canopy (not yet open) to check the oil. Hard to see at like 0530, even with the station's lights. I told DW to prepare for a return home and stat change to my car, and turned the key to start the car. And the light turned off! We debated returning to base for a moment, and decided to press on. Our thoughts were: the cold and being parked slightly downhill in the morning were the cause.
Epilogue: the light didn't come on again during the trip down or back from the airport. It did come back on a couple weeks later, and did require me to add some oil.
The trip to BWI was uneventful, and we parked in our favorite lot. With our membership in their frequent parker club (really like once a year) we get their lowest rate, plus I redeemed some points for a day of free parking! SWA check-in was pretty smooth, until your humble scribe threw the baggage ticket receipt into the trash. We couldn't remember which one it was, but the nice agent was able to easily reprint a copy for us to have. I was tracking where our plane was coming from, and good news- it arrived early! Unlike 2018 Dark Side's flight to MCO, we had no technical issues, though I was ready for another round of SWA stuck on the ground trivia just in case. I got a nice photo of our plane's shadow on the snow below as we took off. I'll have to get the photos from my phone to pc and then here.
By 12:30, we landed in sunny Orlando. Large crowd in line for DME check-in, many wearing their best "shirt game" entry. We chose left, when most chose right, and it paid off when an iPad-armed CM started coming down the line asking if everyone had their Magic Bands ready. When I said yes, he held out his iPad, scanned mine, and told us to enter line 5 (I think). There were 15-20 ahead of us at the head of the line, so I started incessantly checking to see if our Boardwalk room was ready. Nope. Then I noticed our route was YC, BC, and BWI. In recent years, we've usually had a value, moderate, and deluxe. We're usually the last stop, no matter what the resort permutation has been.
We were boarded by 1:30pm, and departing by 1:40. At 1:46 (I just checked the text time stamp) I got news our room was ready! This meant we could drop our stuff, eat, and get to the expo bus as per our "master plan". Next thing we knew, we were seeing the Disney Skyliner for the first time. For me, the "Skyliner" will always be a ride at the former Roseland Amusement Park in Canandaigua New York. What's this??? We're the first stop! For this trip, we booked a club level room at the Boardwalk. Not knowing how to get there, I went to Guest Services in the lobby. A very nice gentleman scanned my MB and said he would assist us in getting upstairs to get checked in.
Our room was on outside the club level door, but it was very quiet. I know there were runners around us, as I saw them coming and going for the races all weekend. We grabbed a quick snack in the lounge, and headed to the expo bus stop, where we walked on a bus and were almost immediately on our way...
We were up early, and it was cold. Plus, we had the remains of Tuesday's snow to contend with. The roads were in the worst shape of our (mostly snowless) winter, until we got to the highway. That was not without its stress, as the check oil light came on in the car. We pulled into a parking lot, and power cycled the car, which didn't fix it. So I pulled under the gas pump canopy (not yet open) to check the oil. Hard to see at like 0530, even with the station's lights. I told DW to prepare for a return home and stat change to my car, and turned the key to start the car. And the light turned off! We debated returning to base for a moment, and decided to press on. Our thoughts were: the cold and being parked slightly downhill in the morning were the cause.
Epilogue: the light didn't come on again during the trip down or back from the airport. It did come back on a couple weeks later, and did require me to add some oil.
The trip to BWI was uneventful, and we parked in our favorite lot. With our membership in their frequent parker club (really like once a year) we get their lowest rate, plus I redeemed some points for a day of free parking! SWA check-in was pretty smooth, until your humble scribe threw the baggage ticket receipt into the trash. We couldn't remember which one it was, but the nice agent was able to easily reprint a copy for us to have. I was tracking where our plane was coming from, and good news- it arrived early! Unlike 2018 Dark Side's flight to MCO, we had no technical issues, though I was ready for another round of SWA stuck on the ground trivia just in case. I got a nice photo of our plane's shadow on the snow below as we took off. I'll have to get the photos from my phone to pc and then here.
By 12:30, we landed in sunny Orlando. Large crowd in line for DME check-in, many wearing their best "shirt game" entry. We chose left, when most chose right, and it paid off when an iPad-armed CM started coming down the line asking if everyone had their Magic Bands ready. When I said yes, he held out his iPad, scanned mine, and told us to enter line 5 (I think). There were 15-20 ahead of us at the head of the line, so I started incessantly checking to see if our Boardwalk room was ready. Nope. Then I noticed our route was YC, BC, and BWI. In recent years, we've usually had a value, moderate, and deluxe. We're usually the last stop, no matter what the resort permutation has been.
We were boarded by 1:30pm, and departing by 1:40. At 1:46 (I just checked the text time stamp) I got news our room was ready! This meant we could drop our stuff, eat, and get to the expo bus as per our "master plan". Next thing we knew, we were seeing the Disney Skyliner for the first time. For me, the "Skyliner" will always be a ride at the former Roseland Amusement Park in Canandaigua New York. What's this??? We're the first stop! For this trip, we booked a club level room at the Boardwalk. Not knowing how to get there, I went to Guest Services in the lobby. A very nice gentleman scanned my MB and said he would assist us in getting upstairs to get checked in.
Our room was on outside the club level door, but it was very quiet. I know there were runners around us, as I saw them coming and going for the races all weekend. We grabbed a quick snack in the lounge, and headed to the expo bus stop, where we walked on a bus and were almost immediately on our way...