Although we usually travel Carry On Only (COO), we checked luggage this trip because it was going to be more than a few days and we needed that much stuff.
Since we were staying at a hotel with mini fridges in the rooms, I left my big rolling cooler at home. I used a small soft sided cooler with a shoulder strap to carry our lunch meats down. Yes, my first and biggest Disney tip is - Bring You Own food. We checked three bags, one of which contained juice pouches, bagels (for sandwiches), cereal, snacks, chips etc. I weighed the suitcase at 40 pounds but keep in mind that included two boxes of juice pouches. The soft sided carry on cooler had lunch meats, cheese and a packet of cream cheese. After going through security, I asked one of the restaurants to fill me ziplock bag of ice for the cooler.
We had our usual excruciatingly early flight. The flight was somewhere around 7:AM but we have to get to the airport two hours early to get on the standby list and then add an hour drive from home to the airport and we have to leave the house at 4:AM. We got on our first choice of flights with no problem and arrived in Disney bright and early. We use the Magical Express bus service from the airport to the hotel (free for those staying in Disney hotels) When checking in, I asked the cast member at the front desk if I could have an upgrade to one of the buildings facing the pool/close to dining/close to the bus stop. These rooms are usually available for a $15 per night up charge but he gave it to me for the regular room rate. And, bonus...even though it was 9:30 AM and check in isn’t until 4:PM, our room was ready so we could ditch our carry on bags right away. Our vacation was off to a good start and it got even better when my husband found out that he had a shift change which resulted in five consecutive days off! He would be able to join us for the second half of our trip and fly home with us.
Despite the fact that we were in Disney at the very beginning of the busy season, the crowds were still relatively light. Of course, the kids are spoiled by our usual off peak travel so they lollygagged in the room while the crowds in the park grew. They quickly figured out why I kept telling them to get their behinds going each morning. But, one of the great things about going to Disney so often is there is no pressure to see and do everything. If something has a line for twenty minutes or more, we skip it. After all, we have ridden it before and will ride it again on another trip. So, this vacation saw a lot of pool time with a little bit of park time.
We stuck to our budget and ate the food we had brought. We were ahead financially until… (queue the music. Dum Dum Dum).
After my husband joined us, we decided to splurge on a day at Typhoon Lagoon. We arrived just before opening and found a nice spot to leave our stuff. Then, off to the water slides before the lines got long. After about two hours of playing, my husband and I returned to our beach chairs to discover that my duffel bag was gone! I immediately felt the bile in my stomach. My change of clothes was in the bag, the kids clothes were in the bag and…my beloved smart phone. And, my beloved camera. And all my pictures (hence no photos on this blog entry). Gone, gone, gone. We reported the theft to the nearest cast member who called security who, upon my request, called the police. The bag was soon recovered sans valuables, of course. And I was not the only victim. We discovered three other victims during our search for my bag. There may have been more for all I know. I was devastated. Not only did they steal my phone and camera, they stole my magic. Gone was the feeling of safety and innocence which I always felt in Disney. See, being a retired police officer, I usually live in a world where bad things can happen at any time. But Disney was my one place where I refused to believe that anything could happen.
I will admit that I was incredibly stupid to leave my valuables (all to save the $15 for a locker rental) but if this is the case, then, I was only the second stupidest person there that day. One of the other victims lost his cell phone, camera and $600 cash. If I had $600 cash, I would have sprung for a locker. He also temporarily lost his driver’s license, car keys and passport but luckily, they were recovered.
The cast members were great. They were appropriately sympathetic and watched the kids while I dealt with the police report. They even gave me a locker key so that I could lock up what little possessions I had left. (BTW: for the record, my husband also had his smart phone with him but was a tiny bit more clever in hiding it in his shorts pocket).
We made the best of is for the kids sake and went back to having fun in the park. There was a long downpour and the water areas were closed until the lightening passed but after that was over, we practically had the park to ourselves. We ended up having a great time.
When it was time to leave, my husband turned in the locker key and they handed him ‘back’ a $5 key deposit. He took it, we shrugged and said “Six hundred dollars lost, five dollars back, only $595 to go to be even”.
To be continued.
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