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From: Steve Russo on 1 Feb 2008 18:27
January 19 - 25, 2006

Port Orleans - French Quarter & Beach Club Villas Resort

The Cast

Steve - That would be me. Handsome; dashing; heroic in every way. I do 100%
of the planning, make all the reservations, handle the packing and
schlepping of luggage, take all the pictures and write the trip report. My
sole purpose in life is to support my better half in the manner to which she
plans to become accustomed.

Barb - The woman that walks on the ground I worship.

Friday, January 25, 2008 - Pow, Pow. Magical Express

Today is actually the first real day of vacation because. oh, never mind.
Going home today.

The rain last night was due to another cold front coming through. Today's
high would be only 63 degrees. I guess that's good because I won't have to
worry about working up a sweat before heading to the airport. We were up at
6:44 and completed most of the packing, then headed down to the Captain's
Grille for our last breakfast.

For the first time this week, Dee is not our server. His name is Genesis.
That's pretty interesting. I have the usual eggs over easy but revert back
to the fresh fruit instead of the watery grits. Barb has (gasp) the same
thing.

We took a lap around Crescent Lake taking some photos. It's a bit chilly,
especially in the shade, but it's a beautiful clear, crisp, sunny day. We
stopped and bought some more mints in the Screen Door. Finally, we head
back to the room and complete the packing - including our towel animal. Yes,
they can sue me but I've absconded with two wash cloths in the shape of a
quadrapus. It now sits in my bathroom at home.

We wheeled our luggage down to the lobby but all the sofas were occupied. We
went instead to the Solarium. What a nice place to sit and relax for a
while. They've got a very nice 60" HDTV there but, unfortunately, it was set
to the Disney Channel. Our DME pickup was 11:40 so we only had about 30
minutes to kill. We did some reading and then went outside to wait at the
stop.

One false alarm (just dropping off) and our ride showed up. A Mears bus.
There was an EMT truck out front and they loaded a mom, dad and 2-year old
in the back. I saw no obvious signs of injury and I'm speculating that the
child may have taken a fall and they're going in for some precautionary
work. Just a guess.

Our DME driver was Erving Mayorga. Taped over the front monitor was his
caricature. Under that was a sign that read 'erving_mayorga(a)hotmail.com'.
That sign had been strategically placed below the 'Tips are appreciated for.'
sign. His name covered the words "exceptional service". Erving was a talker.
He wanted us to be "happy, happy, happy". We made stops at the Boardwalk and
Caribbean Beach Resort. Every time we approached an automatic gate, he would
ask us to "say the magic word, abracadabra". When the gate opened, he would
then say "You have the power", make two explosion sounds with his mouth
(Pow, Pow) and say, in a hushed tone "Magical Express". After each stop,
when he boarded the bus, he would close the door and fire his two finger
pistols at it.

Every time he made an announcement on the PA, or stopped the bus, the
automatic soundtrack would stop. It would always restart at the beginning.
Six times, I heard the opening two bars of a song from Tarzan, followed by
the Circle of Life, followed by A Whole New World. Somewhere in the middle
of A Whole New World, we'd get to the next resort and it would start over.
When we left a resort, we'd be barely into Circle of Life when he'd do the
abracadabra thing and we'd start over again. We were hysterical.

At the airport, I retrieve our luggage (tipping Erving for the show) and
look for a Skycap. Where the heck are they? Then it dawns on me that we're
on level 1 and departing flights are up on 3 - so we head up there, walk
outside again and all the way down to Southwest and a very nice Skycap takes
care of us in about 3 minutes.

Back inside where there's a big crowd at Security. It takes us 30-40 minutes
to get through. On the other side, I hit McDonald's for some grease while
Barb finally gets her waffle cone. We then visit the rest rooms. On the way
out, I stop a nice older lady and inform her she's about to enter the Men's
Room. She's very embarrassed, and thankful, and I direct her to the proper
door for the Ladies Room. A guy out front says he's seen that 3 times in the
last 20-minutes.

We make our way down to Gate 106 at 1:45. We board on time. We have a flight
attendant that's auditioning for stand-up comedy. During the safety spiel he
gets off a few good ones. Regarding what to do with the oxygen masks, "If
you're traveling with a child, place your mask on first before helping with
theirs. If you're traveling with more than one child, pick the one with the
most potential."

Our flying time to Albany was 2 hours 30 minutes (see?). We snagged the same
2-seat exit row. The flight was uneventful and I got some reading done. We
landed in Albany and made our way to baggage claim. Here's one more rant
(and you thought you were done). When getting your bags from the carousel,
wouldn't it be easier for all of us if everyone stood back just a bit and
then, we you spot your bag, step forward, grab it, and walk away? Is that
what happens? No. Everybody, and their kids, crowd the edge of the carousel
so that, even when you see your bag, you have to elbow your way through to
grab it. It could be so much easier. OK, rant off.

We grab our bags, make the looong walk to the car and drive out of the
garage. But first. I fish out my EZ-Pass and affix it to the windshield to
cover the parking charge and the toll home. They had the audacity to suspend
it for 2 months for driving too fast through a toll booth. twice. Anyhow, it's
live again as of January 21 so "look out toll booths".

Miles Walked Today - 2.08

Things I Think I Think - I think it was a good trip and I'm already looking
forward to the next one. I think I really like staying at the Beach Club
Villas but. somewhere in the next couple of trips, we have to work in a few
days at the Animal Kingdom Villas. and maybe the Contemporary when it's
ready. I think we'll visit the Brown Derby and the Yachtsman Steakhouse
again. I think some of the DME (Mears) drivers are working too hard at
soliciting tips - and trying too hard to be entertaining.

You can view the rest of the photos at
http://picasaweb.google.com/srusso100/WDWJan200802.

DDE versus DDP
It looks like this trip verified what I already knew. while the Dining Plan
may be a good value for some, it's not for us. During the week, we had a
total of 14 table servings (I've counted Flying Fish and Yachtsman as 2 each
because they each require 2 credits on the DDP). Our 6 nights would have
given us 12 so one meal we would have had to pay for out of pocket.

We had 9 snacks and 9 counter service meals - leaving 3 available for both.
I didn't include our breakfasts in either category because they would have
been out of pocket either way.

The Dining Plan would have cost us $455.88. We spent a total of $481.90
total for food and soft drinks, including tax. However, if I back out the
breakfasts and incidentals (mints, etc.), that drops to $348.68.

The DDE card cost $60 and saved us $97.54. It paid for itself in one trip
and we hope to take two more before it expires. Bottom line? For us, the DDE
card makes much more sense.

If you got this far, I admire your stamina. Thanks for reading.

Steve


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