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Patricia Aliventi -- February 2000 -- Walt Disney World (FWC, FWH, Offsite)

• 2/18-3/6/2000
  • 2/19-2/26: Canada House Beach Club in Pompano Beach
  • 2/26: Grandma & Grandpa's House
  • WDW 2/27-3/5
    • 2/27-3/2: Ft. Wilderness Cabin
    • 3/2-3/5: Wilderness Lodge
• Cast of Characters:
  • Patti - 34, 5 ½ months pregnant - 8 trips to WDW
  • Marc - 35 - 6 trips to WDW
  • Melinda - 9 - 4 trips to WDW
  • Janine - 4 (will be 5 in April) - 3 trips to WDW

2/18-19

Left New York in a snow/ice/rain storm. What should've taken us about 1 hour took us 2 ½ hours, but we made it! Slow going on NJ Turnpike & through Maryland because of slick conditions. We ate dinner at the Cracker Barrel (my favorite place to stop) at the end of the NJ Turnpike. Marc had driven to that point, I took over from there and drove through Maryland into Virginia, then he took over again for a while. I drove about halfway through North Carolina. When we stopped to get gas & change drivers there, the "check engine" light in the van came on. I just about freaked. We were pretty much in the middle of nowhere at about 3 in the morning, so we needed to find a gas station that had full services and a place to stay - or so I thought. I started reading the owners manual and saw that it had something to do with the emissions system, not the actual running of the van, and there was no need to be towed or anything, just have it checked as soon as possible. Marc figured it was probably the O2 sensor, so we continued on our way, changing drives again in South Carolina near Santee as the sun was coming up. I finally started experiencing "white line fever". I wasn't tired as I had slept fairly well by this point, but my vision kept blurring out, so Marc took over again and ended up driving the rest of the way. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Georgia for breakfast. It was already so mild that we changed out of our sweatshirts & sweatpants & into shorts & t-shirts. We ended up arriving at our timeshare in Pompano Beach at 4:15. Not bad, the whole trip took us about 24 ½ hours. Last time was only 22, but we had perfect weather. The first time took us more than 26 hours but we drove through bad snow conditions in Virginia & ice n North Carolina. Overall, I think we did good.

We bought into this timeshare sight unseen from one of my husband's aunts. We don't own this week, but we exchanged into it, and I really wanted to stay here because we hadn't seen it yet. It's the Canada House Beach Club and we are thrilled! I know they are doing some renovations, so there are some things that are currently being worked on, but overall the place is beautiful. We walked into our room on the 5th floor with a beautiful ocean view. I could sit out here for hours just watching the waves rolling in. We brought up all of the luggage and while I put stuff away, Marc took the girls to the pool. I joined them a little while later. The hot tub is being repaired - I hope we can use it some time this week, we'll see.

We called Grandma & Grandpa (Marc's dad & stepmother) who live only about 10 minutes or so away to let them know we were here & safe. Grandpa was still at work, but they would call us when they were home. We have to store our bicycles there as there is no place to ride them near Canada House. The main reason we brought them was for Ft. Wilderness & the Wilderness Lodge anyway. We went over to their condo at about 7 and ended up going out to eat for Chinese food around 8:30. We were really tired, so we went back to Canada House after eating. Marc took the girls upstairs and I went to Winn-Dixie to get food for breakfast the next day. Since I was alone in the van, I turned off the air conditioning & opened the windows. The "check engine" light went off! I knew then it had to be something in the air intake - possibly the air filter. When I got back I told Marc & then read him the riot act because I had told him in December to get the van checked before we went and he didn't bring it up again until a week before we left. I didn't remind him because if I do, I'm a "nag" so I just shut up. But now he owes me - big time :-) Fell right to sleep after putting away the groceries.

2/20

Kids woke up at 7:30. We had English muffins & bagels & coffee in the room. Marc went to check the van and see if he could find an auto parts store to get a new air filter. $13 later, everything is perfectly fine. I think we would've ended up divorced if we had stopped in North Carolina for the night & then found out that it was just this. Tomorrow he will take it for an oil change, because that was the other thing that should've been done before we left. Melinda & I went to Target to get a few things we didn't bring and some that we intended to buy down here anyway. I bought 5 pairs of maternity shorts (I'm due June 17, so I should get use in May & June out of them in New York), walking sandals & beach sandals for Melinda, beach sandals for me, two bicycle helmets, sand toys, beach towels, and a few other things we needed. It came to $201, but I had $50 in Mypoints certificates, so we saved a lot. When we got back to Canada House, Marc & Janine were in the pool. Melinda & I changed and joined them. We swam for about another hour, then got changed to go to Grandma & Grandpa's. Someone from RCI called to come over and he was showing us all about stuff in the area, then started on a spiel for us to visit this Vacation Villas at Bonaventure near the Sawgrass Mills Mall. He said it was just because they want people to exchange into it, but I knew they wanted you to buy into it. I was willing to go see it, but the only day Grandma & Grandpa aren't off from work is Friday and for whatever reason, they couldn't give us the tour on Friday. He kept pushing, but we stood firm.

We all decided to go to this Italian Festival at a church in Pompano Beach, so away we went. We had to park more than 2 blocks away, and walked back. It cost us about $50 just for the six of us to get stuff to eat (heroes, pizza, hotdogs, sodas) and for the girls to go on a few little dinky rides. Oh well. We were only there a short time. Marc & Grandpa went to get the van while the girls walked across the street to Dairy Queen - yum! We don't have any Dairy Queens in New York (at least not on Long Island) so this, like Cracker Barrel, is a treat for me (I do not have expensive tastes, as you can plainly see).

We then went to an 18-theater movie to see "The Tigger Movie". It was cute. I was disappointed that we didn't get the "Dinosaur" trailer with it. Most of the adults dozed off at one point or another, but the kids were thrilled with it. We went back to Grandma & Grandpa's and cooked up cheeseburgers & hot dogs & macaroni & cheese for dinner. About 9, Marc & I started dozing off while we were watching TV, so it was time to go back. Darn, by the time we got back I had already missed half of the X-Files, but at least I got to see part of it. At 10, it was bedtime.

2/21

Up at 7 AM. Today will be a beach day - we have it right outside our window, better make use of it. We had bagels, English muffins & cereal in the room again. Marc took the van for an oil change & wash while I took the girls in the pool. About 11 we went back to the room to sit for a while, then called Grandma & Grandpa to see if they were still coming over to go to the beach. Marc went around to the deli to get cold cuts for sandwiches.

The breeze that won't die for the rest of the week blew up today. By the afternoon it was very breezy. We went to the beach anyway. The girls played in the sand and waded in at the edge, but it was too rough for using their boogey boards or any sort of swimming. Marc tried snorkeling, but the undertow was strong, so he stopped. I got in up to my waist and that was about it. Too bad. Grandma & Grandpa stopped by for a while, but Grandma's diabetes was kicking up really good, so swimming was out for her. We sat around the pool (where the breeze wasn't as strong) and watched the girls swim. They got cold, so we went up to the room to change. Grandma & Grandpa wanted to check out a new casino that was around (not a child-friendly activity) so they took off. We decided to check out the Sawgrass Mall and headed off. It's about a 20 minute ride from where we are.

Sawgrass has outlet stores, and I made a beeline for Disney Character Premier shop. I talked with one of the CM's and she told me that they get shipments just about every week from the parks. I bought about 3 onesies for boys at 8.99 each, four 2XL t-shirts (for the rest of my pregnancy) that were between 7.99 and 9.99 each. (one of the $7.99 shirts is a ying/yang Mickey shirt which I later saw in the parks for $22) Janine bought a set of four Disneyland Barbies. There is a new area in Sawgrass that wasn't here the last time we visited - the Oasis. It's outside and has a lot of restaurants including Cheesecake Factory, Wolfgang Puck's, and the Hard Rock. It also has a Gameworks, but we didn't want to go in today since it was after 7 and everyone was hungry. We went to the Hard Rock where we were told a 30 - 40 minute wait. Fine, I went to look in the Ron Jon Surf Shop Store and then Ghiradelli's. By the time I got out - not 10 minutes later - they were already seated inside.

We had dinner while watching videos. By the time we finished eating & wandering around, it was after 9 & we didn't get back to Canada House until after 10.

2/22

Today ended up being our throwaway day. I woke up to hear the wind howling, so I knew the breeze from yesterday was still blowing strong. We ate in the room, and I am beginning to feel like a little more than just bagels, muffins & cereal, so I went food shopping for breakfast tomorrow. When I came back I opened the back of the van and out tumbled the eggs. I knew they were gone, and sure enough when I got up to the room, every single one was broken.

We went over to Grandma & Grandpa's. I went with Grandma to the Gateway Country store in Ft. Lauderdale because Grandma wants a computer. We got her one for about $1,300 including 1 year of AOL, a printer, a starter class & shipping. Not bad at all. On the way back we stopped for pizza at a new place where for $3.99 per person they have an all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, salad & dessert bar. Since we were alone, we just got 2 pizzas to go. When we got back, we found out that "the men" had already gotten one pie from Papa John's for themselves & the kids. Ha!

We just hung around watching TV. The girls got bored - not that I blamed them. I was getting a little pissed. If I had known that we weren't going anywhere I would've at least taken them out to a playground for a while. Finally I went to get them some coloring books & crayons so that at least there was something they could do. When Melinda wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner, I pushed the issue that at least we did something they wanted to do. It was the first time we ate at the Olive Garden, and I was surprised at how good it was. We got a child's portion of the fettuccini alfredo for Melinda which she loved. The nearest Olive Garden to us in New York is a half hour away, but I'll have to take her there from time to time.

By the time we were done, it was late & the girls were falling asleep. We dropped off Grandma & Grandpa and went back to Canada House - stopping to get a new dozen eggs on the way :-)

2/23

Woke up early. We had eggs, bacon & muffins for breakfast - yum! The wind was still blowing pretty good and it was actually chilly down by the pool. Today was "maid day" so we sat down by the pool until they were done with the room. The kids played shuffleboard and practiced putting on the couple of golf holes they have. At 10 we called Grandma & Grandpa, but Grandma was still asleep. There was no way we were having another day like yesterday, so we decided to go to Butterfly World and then we'd call them when we got back.

Butterfly World is a fantastic place to visit. Melinda has been bugging me to go since we got down here, and today she was happy. We walked through the area where all the butterflies are and it's so interesting. The girls loved seeing the butterflies up close - even having them land on them. We could see all the different chrysalis' that house the butterfly. There are signs all over the place telling people to stay on the paths, but of course they don't listen. One lady even fell into the bushes, pretty much crushing one of the plants. There is a brand-new area with hummingbirds flying around, plus another hummingbird aviary. We went into another new (since we were last here) area where they keep lorakeets. You can buy nectar for about $1 and feed the lorakeets we did that and were having a great time. They are not the least bit shy and will land right on you. I got a great picture of one sitting on Marc's head. Melinda was feeding them for the second time when she moved the nectar from one hand to the other. The bird she was feeding apparently thought she was taking the food away, and nipped her pretty good. So much for the lorakeets. She was upset, and when I explained that the bird probably thought she was taking the food away, she understood and felt a little better.

Marc & Melinda walked through the butterfly aviary a second time while Janine and I sat in a glider rocker by the lake. We toured the gift shop. I bought a glass butterfly nightlight for my mom. Melinda bought six rocks in a case, and Janine got a beanie baby. The girls all have their own money they saved to spend, and then that's it, so they're pretty careful about what they buy.

We went out onto the playground that's in the park for a short time. By the time the girls were done, it was about 1 and they were hungry, so we went back to Canada House for leftovers from the Olive Garden the night before. We left a message for Grandma & Grandpa that we were back and they could come over whenever they want to. We went swimming for a good part of the afternoon.

Pet peeve: One thing I see here at the timeshare is that the people here (and we're pretty much the youngest people around the pool) put their towels down on chairs early in the day and then consider it "theirs" for the whole day, despite the fact that they disappear. It's a bitch because most of them are near the shallow end where the girls usually stay. I couldn't get a lounge chair at all and sat in a regular chair along the side of the pool.

We sat there until about 5 when Grandma & Grandpa came over, then we went to The Outback for dinner (yeah!). We had about a 45 minute wait and the kids were good. By the time we were done with dinner, it was late again. We sat around about an hour and talked at Canada House, then Grandma & Grandpa left and we all went to bed.

2/24

Today Grandma & Grandpa were back at work so we pretty much had the day to ourselves. We had eggs, bacon & potatoes in the room for breakfast. When we were at Sawgrass the other day, we saw the Gameworks there, so we decided to check it out.

I'll compare it to DisneyQuest later on in the trip, but I was really not impressed with GameWorks. There was virtually nothing for the younger set to do there. We had a $50 card (which gives you what would normally be $75 in play credits) and we spent pretty much all of it on the ticket machines. Melinda did really good on this "power tower" game, hitting the jackpot about 6 - 7 times. Janine could do some of the ones where you had to just press a button to stop it. By the time we used up the credits, they had over 2,100 tickets. They did pretty good on their "loot" getting a crystal ball lamp for their room, jewelry, and a few other tchochkes. The restaurant in GameWorks had a kids eat free program so we ate there instead of Cheesecake Factory (where I really wanted to eat). The food was all right, nothing spectacular.

We were back at Canada House by 1:30 and went swimming for the rest of the afternoon, once again not being able to sit in the lounge chairs. On the plus side, I am almost totally through the Star Trek paperbacks I brought with me. When I can't lay down and rest I read. Time to start looking at my new Dean Koontz book.

Grandma came home at 6. By that time we were upstairs and changed. She had bought a computer desk for her new computer, so we went over to help her get it into the house and put it together. Marc had just gotten it into the house when Grandpa came home, so we went out to eat at Big Louie's. This place was great! We all had super-size servings of good Italian food, with plenty left over for tomorrow (and probably a few days of fettuccini alfredo for Melinda). We went back to the house and the girls fell asleep on the couch while Marc & Grandpa put the computer desk together. It took them almost 3 hours - LOL. At least I got to see "Will & Grace" & "ER". We carried the girls home and were all in bed asleep by 11:30.

2/25

Up about 8 this morning - late for us. I wasn't that hungry so just had a muffin (probably from all of the food the night before). Marc had eggs. We were heading up to Boca Raton to see the International Museum of Cartoon Art this morning, then swimming in the afternoon since this is our last day here. The weather is still way too windy and stormy-looking for the beach. We've been able to look at it all week, but only got a little time on it :-( Oh well, maybe next time.

The Cartoon Art Museum is fantastic and I really recommend this place to anyone who gets down here. It's fairly inexpensive: $6 for an adult, $3 for kids 5-12, under 5 free. They had the Peanuts exhibit still going on, and I don't know how much longer it'll be here, but it was so wonderful to see it. I had tears in the corners of my eyes as we walked around. The only two things that sort of hit me were that I only saw one Calvin & Hobbes strip and no Bloom County at all, despite an exhibit of political cartoons (these are two of my favorites). When we get home to New York, I'm going to write to them and find out why.

We were watching the Charlie Brown Christmas Special when one of the people who work there came and told us that there was a cartoonist drawing in the Create-A-Toon Center. His name is Al Baruch and he has done work for Disney, including on Fantasia 2000. Melinda was fascinated watching him. He was drawing stuff for the kids and he asked them to draw for him, so Melinda did. She drew a cat for him, then he drew a cat cartoon for her complete with "I Melinda" on it. I can't wait to buy a frame for it and put it in her room. Talking to him I found out he does courses at Hofstra on Long Island - right by us! There is an "Early Childhood" course there for 3rd - 5th Graders and I'll have to look into it for Melinda. I also talked to him about possibly doing a cultural arts program at our school, and I'll give his name to the Cultural Arts Chair when we get back.

On the way home I stopped at Heavenly Ham and got a pound of Ham Salad - it's a favorite of me & my sister's and there's none in New York by us. We used to get it over where our Mom lived in New Jersey, but she's in California now. If we were going right home from here, I'd bring her some, but I wouldn't risk transporting this for more than a week.

We ate leftovers, then went swimming for about an hour. It got stormy and cold, so we all went up and took showers and watched TV for a while. This was when the Amadou Diallo verdict came in, and I was very upset. My husband was just relieved that he wasn't working (he's a NYC bus driver). We spent a good part of the early evening watching CNN and I was really disappointed by the whole situation. I kept looking for newspapers and watching to see what was going on - it's tough when something like this happens and you're away from home.

Grandma called a little after 6 and we went over. We ended up eating at Picadilly's Cafeteria this night. The food wasn't so hot and I sort of picked at it. We went back and visited for about an hour before we left for Canada House.

2/26

Waaahhhh! Today we leave Canada House. Of course, this is the first morning the girls slept late. We got up about 8 - still windy and rough !!! It took me about an hour to pack everything, then Marc had to bring it down to the car. This took him about 1 ½ hours. I checked out - only $9 in phone calls, not bad. We went up to Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Our original plan was to leave here about 9 or 10 tonight and stay at the Ramada on 192. Marc really wanted to spend as much time as possible with his Dad, so we canceled the reservation two days ago. I didn't mind since when we did that 2 years ago, we had the close encounter with the tornado. So we are spending the night at Grandma & Grandpa's instead.

When we arrived we found out that the two of them had been sick all night! The only thing they ate that none of us did was an apple pie and Grandma had complained that the apples were really sour. I guess that did them in. We watched TV and the girls played with their toys. They wanted to go swimming, so into the pool they went - this one is not heated! They all got in anyway. Since Grandma still wasn't quite well, we didn't do anything else, but the girls were good.

We ate at Cracker Barrel (yeah!) After Grandpa got home. This meal was great, especially compared to last night. Grandma & Grandpa liked it as well since they hadn't ever eaten here before.

Bedtime was 10 tonight.

Thoughts on first half of trip: This was the first time we've used our timeshare (we bought it from a relative sight unseen) and I really enjoyed it. I liked our "home resort" and hope we'll get to stay there again, though it's chancy since we have to exchange for a one bedroom next year. I wish the weather had been nicer for the beach, but that couldn't be helped and overall it was good enough for swimming in the pool.

2/27

I woke up at 7. I didn't sleep too good because the room was warm to me. I am normally hot when other people aren't, and being pregnant has only exacerbated that. I went to Winn Dixie to get a few things for Disney - burgers, hot dogs, etc. I figure I'll get milk there, even though it'll be more expensive. Back to Grandma & Grandpa's. Marc hasn't even fed the girls yet! Why do I have to be there to make sure everything gets done?

We ate, packed the car, and were on the road by 9:15 thanks to my prodding. It's hard leaving them, I really enjoy them (as opposed to Marc's mother) and I miss them greatly. I wish they lived near us in New York and "she" lived down here - or in Siberia.

We got into Ft. Wilderness about 12:30 with one bathroom break on the turnpike. Pretty good time. They had my cabin request in the computer and the CM who checked us in said that there were other cabins ready, but I really wanted what was in the request so I told him just give us our passes and we'd come back later. Marc & the girls were watching the TV in the Reception Outpost and got to see the Dinosaur trailer twice. I can't wait for this movie!! We debated whether to drive to Magic Kingdom or take the bus down to the marina & the boat over, and finally we decided to drive. On the way out I thought I saw someone walking with and RADP pin, but I couldn't go over as Marc and the girls were already at the van. Whoever you are, I'm sorry :-(

Between getting into the MK parking lot, parking in Daisy all the way at the end of the row away from the tram, waiting for the ferry (which the girls wanted to take) it took us over an hour just to get in the gates. Who says the busses take long? The girls saw Pluto outside the Exposition Center, and Donald and Daisy inside. What a way to start out!

Our first stop was Alien Encounter. I promised Melinda a surprise this trip, and this was it. I figured a few nightmares were all right if I could pa here back for all the "are we there yet"s I had to hear. Well, she LIKED it. I should know better - this is the girl who watched "The Lost Boys" when she was 8 - she likes all the horror stuff.

Marc tried to take Janine on Astro Orbiter while we were on AE, but she wouldn't go near it, so he took her on TTA. We went on line for Buzz Lightyear when we met up. There was about a 20 minute wait - not bad at all. I went on with Melinda, but Janine wanted to go one with me so she started crying when Marc took her on. I can see I'm probably going to have to take her on most of the rides this week. I got the highest score - 194,000. Melinda got 3,600, Marc got 600 & Janine got 1,500. I guess he was paying more attention to Janine than his score, but Melinda was really getting into it.

By now it was almost 3 and we hadn't eaten since this morning, so we headed over to Cosmic Ray's. On the way, we stopped at Space Mountain so Marc & Melinda could get Fastpasses. We kept trying machines & tickets, but we had one hard time getting FP out of the machines. There was one CM there to help the guests and when I told him we were having trouble, he just sort of looked at me with a dumb look and walked away. Finally I think we got one with Melinda's room key/ticket and my AP. They had to be back between 3:45 & 4:45.

Marc & I got burgers at Cosmic Ray's while the girls had the corn dog nuggets. Melinda really liked it while I had to peel all of the "corn" from Janine's "dog" to get her to eat. Janine wanted to ride the "race cars" with Daddy, so we thought they'd do it after Marc & Melinda rode Space Mountain, but the line for the Indy Cars was way too long. That will have to wait for another day.

By now it was 3:45 so Marc & Melinda used the FP and went on SM. I waited with Janine in the arcade. There really wasn't anything for her to do, but I got 4 quarters and tried to win her a keychain on one of the skill games. On the second try I got her a Mickey & Minnie in a car on a keychain! She was thrilled.

When they came off, Marc told me that the guy in front of them tossed his FP as soon as he got into the building and that when he got up to the ride they wouldn't let him on! Don't do this! Hold on to your FP until you are on the ride or the CM takes it from you. He also mentioned the looks they got from the people in the standby line.

The girls really wanted to see the cabin and go for a swim, so we decided to leave before it got dark and/or rained. Just as we're walking through Town Square, Marc turns to me and says "Did you see him?"

"See who?"

"The guy?"

"What guy?"

"You know - the one from RADP. From that thing we went to."

Finally deducing he meant our own Zazu I turned and he pointed him out to me as he disappeared in the crowds down Main Street in his spiffy conductor uniform. Oh well, I'll try to keep my eyes open more this next week. I was not about to run after Zazu in my present condition and in Reebok sandals. Why couldn't Marc have said something when he first saw him?

Our cabin was ready and I inquired about E-Ride nights. Only the ones for Feb. were still in the computer. The last one is the 29th which isn't good for us since we're doing Hoop-Dee-Doo at 5 that night. I'll get the March ones later when I'm online.

Our cabin is #2604 and I'm in heaven! We got exactly what I asked for - really close to both the pool and the bus stop. I walked in and immediately felt at home. I vacationed for the last 34 years at a rugged cabin in New Hampshire and this is so perfect to me! They sold the place we used to go to and they raised the prices, so I doubt we'll go there anymore, but I have a new place - here! The cabin is a little larger than what I thought. I inspected the kitchen quickly, then we just brought in a few things - the bathing suits and some clothes. We changed, grabbed our towels, and went across the street to the pool.

Nice & warm. The girls swam for a long time. I took a quick dip, then went back to the cabin. My friend Laura who lives in Orlando had called already and I wanted to return her call. She was on her way out the door, but we'll hook up at some point this week. I then called my Mom in New York and got all the "dirt" from her. At least my house is still standing - LOL. The girls talked to Nana for a while, then I gave her the number here and the number for WL where we'll be Thursday-Sunday, even though I don't know the room number yet.

Marc brought in the stuff from the car and parked the bikes up on the deck. He broke his just before we left (tried to ride it in the snow - don't ask), so it's just the 3 of them. He'll have to rent one or use mine. I wanted to pick up our tickets for Hoop-Dee-Doo on Tuesday and get milk & charcoal so I said I'd go down to Pioneer Hall & the Settlement Trading Post and Marc could take the girls to the Campfire. I'd catch up to them later. We caught the Chip bus and they got off for the campfire while I took it to Pioneer Hall. I picked up our tickets and just as I was done, it started raining. I hurried into the Trading Post and got the two things I needed. The CM at the checkout commented on my "Battlestar Galactica" shirt. I love wearing this shirt cause I get more attention for it than any of my Disney or other shirts! He said he couldn't wait to get home and email his brother that he had seen this shirt at work - LOL.

By the time I got outside again it had stopped raining. I caught the Dale bus back to the cabin. No one was there, so I figured Marc had stayed through the rain and after dropping off my bundle, I got the Chip bus back around to the Campfire.

Well, I couldn't find them. It was dark, but I looked really god for a real long time - until I was certain they weren't there. It hadn't rained for that long, so I couldn't imagine that they left, but finally I walked back to the bus stop and waited for another Dale bus to take me back. When I got back they were all sitting in the cabin. Marc said there was a big flash of lightning which scared Janine so he thought they were better off coming back. Oh well.

We ate sandwiches and watched cartoons on Toon Disney for a while. The TV in the living room gets this station, but the one in the bedroom doesn't. Marc called the front desk who transferred us to housekeeping - the final answer being that since the TVs in the bedrooms are older they aren't programmed the same and there's pretty much nothing we can do. Oh well.

Janine went in about 9 and Melinda about 9:30. Marc & I stayed up to watch The X-Files, then called in a 6:30 wake up call.

2/28

I was awake around 4:30 - just couldn't sleep. I finally went and got my new Dean Koontz book and read until 6:30 when our wake-up call came in. (Note to Ronnie: Tried all the alarms in the cabin - clock radio, TV, everything actually worked!!) Roused the still-sleeping girls and got them dressed. At 7 we left to get the bus to the marina & onto the MK where we had an 8 AM PS at Cinderella's Royal Table.

The MK opened around 7:30 for EE. We went through fine and headed straight for the castle. By 8:05 we were seated. The girls were positively thrilled to see Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Belle, and Prince Charming. I got pictures with all of them. The breakfast was good. For the four of us it cost about $48.

Melinda wanted to ride Space Mountain again, so she & Marc headed to get Fastpasses (or ride if the line was short enough) and I took Janine on the Carousel. On our way to meet them at the Indy Cars, we passed the Pooh ride. Janine really wanted to ride, so I got on the line despite the 40 minute posted wait. We only waited about 15 minutes, tops. I think the ride is cute and good. I may agree that they have the room to add rides without replacing, but weighing this against Toad, and I'd have to opt for the Pooh ride. I just think the kids know who Pooh is and have no idea who Toad is anymore.

We headed over to the Indy Cars. Marc and Melinda met up with us and they had FP for SM for 15 minutes later. I talked Marc into taking Janine on the Indy Cars even though the line looked horrible. She was really asking to ride the "race cars". Melinda went with them as well and I took a quick trip on the TTA. When I got back to the viewing area, they were almost at the front of the line. Just as they were getting up to the head of the line, one of the cars in the extreme left lane went 101. It just would not budge and they had to call over for help, which left only one lane running, so it took another 10 minutes before they got on the line since they had to switch so many people from one side to the other.

Marc & Janine rode in one car & Melinda got to ride by herself. Janine was thrilled when they came off, but Melinda wasn't crazy about it. She didn't realize that she really didn't have to "steer" it and ended up pretty frustrated. Melinda & Marc went to ride SM while I took Janine on Buzz Lightyear. Janine was much better when she rode with me. She scored 2,500, but I got 999,999!!!!! Woohoo! I'm a Galactic Hero!

When we got off there was no sign of Marc & Melinda so I took Janine in the store where she bought a mini-Toy Story playset. As we came out we caught sight of Marc. Melinda wanted to go to one of the water parks, so we headed back to the cabin. On the way back Marc reminded me to leave a tip for housekeeping. Duh, I asked him to remind me before we left in the morning. I hoped housekeeping hadn't come yet!

On the way over on the launch, we saw that River Country was open, so we decided to try there. We caught the bus up to the cabin, changed, and caught the bus back down. Housekeeping hadn't been to the cabin yet, so I left my tip.

River Country is nice. It must be great on the really hot summer days, but I really didn't appreciate the coolness of the lake today. It was warm - mid to high 70's, but the lake was cool. Janine played for a while in the kiddie area, then I took her over to the pool which is heated. Marc & Melinda were all over the place and I was surprised to see Melinda sliding off the high-slides into the pool. She's becoming quite the daredevil - I'm so proud.

We were there about 2 hours when Janine seemed to be getting tired, so I said I'd take her back to the cabin. I noticed I had a huge blister on my foot - probably from my beach shoes which I had bought at Target a week ago. I had to walk to the Bus Stop barefoot and then put them on just before I got on the bus.

We got back to the cabin and I got Janine changed. By the time I was changed, Marc & Melinda were back. Without us there, Melinda ended up just wanting to come back to the cabin - awww! So we grilled up some hamburgers & hot dogs & I made macaroni & cheese and had a late lunch/early dinner. All we'd need later is some ice cream for a snack. Housekeeping still hadn't come yet, and I was tempted to call down as it was after 3 now, but didn't.

We left for Epcot. We haven't had a real problem with the busses here- it seems pretty much like one is pulling up whenever we get to the stop. At the TTC we took the monorail to Epcot. We asked to sit in the front, but they only had room for 3 more, so I let Marc & the girls sit up front. They had a blast! Melinda was thrilled with the whole thing and was so excited when they got off. I asked if they had gotten copilot's licenses, but they hadn't. If they go on again, I'll make sure they ask.

I noticed TT was down when we went around SE, so we didn't head there. I haven't been on Universe of Energy yet since they changed it, so we took the kids there. It was a nice show - nothing spectacular in my mind. I'm just not a fan of Ellen DeGeneres and I never found her to be particularly funny either before or after she came out, so most of the humor I found lacking. The girls liked all of the dinosaurs, though.

When we got off, TT was running, so Marc went over to see if he could get FP while I took the girls into the Wonders of Life pavilion. They had a good time trying to guess what things were and doing all the hot/cold experiments. When Marc came back he said TT was running now, but they weren't giving out FP any more. A small argument ensued when he insisted that if we had gone there right away upon entering Epcot we would've gotten FP as they only shut the machines down at 3:30. I pointed out, finally, that we were watching General Hospital when we were in the cabin, so there was no way we were at Epcot at 3:30.

Marc took Melinda on Body Wars. I think Janine will handle Star Tours fine, but Body Wars may be a little intense for her. After we went into "The Making of Me". It was great because in one scene they show a 6 month baby and I turned to Melinda and said "That's about what your baby brother looks like now". No questions afterwards - good! Now my job of sex ed is done (just kidding).

On to TT. The line said 90 minutes, but I didn't believe it for a second. I think Disney is inflating the ride times to get people to use FP. I haven't been on any ride with FP in either December or now that was even close to what the posted wait time was. The wait was about a half hour and we were on the ride. Janine got nervous - this wasn't like the race cars she had been on earlier. Afterwards she told me she liked the "fast part", but that was about it. She doesn't want to go on again.

We headed to the Fountainview. I really wanted one of their desserts, but alas, no ice cream there. On to the Land pavilion, which I know has it. Melinda got a hot fudge sundae with chocolate chips, Janine got a Mickey bar, Marc got a vanilla cone, and I got one of the Millennium desserts. It's a thin sponge cake wrapped around chocolate mousse with chocolate shavings and chocolate and (I think) strawberry syrup on it. Not bad, but not something I'd go out of my way for.

By this time it was 7:45 and the kids had just about had it, so we headed back. On the way off of the monorails between Epcot & MK, we noticed a couple who apparently had been "drinking around the world". Sure enough, when we got off of the monorail, they were stumbling down the ramp. The family next to us was laughing at them. So much for not observing "drunken behavior" outside of PI.

Janine fell asleep on Marc's shoulder and Melinda went out on the bus back to the cabin, which was *packed*. They crawled in bed and were out cold in no time. The maid had come and has their animals all lined up on their bed, along with all their Barbies (including the cross-dressing Ken doll) lined up across the double bed in the bedroom. I called my friend Laura and we chatted for a while and made tentative plans to meet on Saturday at MK, since I have no idea what's going on with the meet there. I was in bed around 10.

2/29 BHD (Bad Hormone Day) or how I almost left WDW with a divorce

I woke up about 5:30. My usual insomnia. So I sat up and read some of the email I had downloaded while everyone else was still asleep. We had talked about doing AK today, but we have Hoop-Dee-Doo tonight at 5 so we have to head back early. I don't think we'll cover it all today. I was tempted to say let's do MGM instead, but we ended up staying with the original plan.

The kids woke up about 7 but I kept them busy until 8 in the bedroom watching cartoons so Marc could get some sleep. We had bagels and muffins in the cabin, then got ready to leave. I was having trouble getting the battery back into the camcorder, so I put it down while the kids were getting ready to help them. Marc said he got the battery in, so we took the bus to the Settlement where we changed to the bus for AK.

As soon as we entered AK, the girls were fascinated. They were looking at millipedes, then we saw birds and macaws. Pocahontas was in the garden and the girls stopped to have their picture taken. This is where our day started going downhill.

I walked in, took the picture and we walked out. As we came around Marc met us and told us he couldn't get the camcorder to work. I looked at it, and when he had put the battery in, he apparently had it the wrong way. Did that stop him? No. He simply jammed the battery in and now it was in backwards and we couldn't get it to release.

I lost it, I admit. I don't know how much is because I'm pregnant and how much is just being tired of having to deal with this too much of the time. Back home he does this all the time and broke my "Little Green Machine" the first time he used it jamming the tank back in. This whole vacation has been him barreling through the crowds ahead of me and the girls without paying any attention to us and we're constantly trying to catch up. This has been going on since we went to the Italian festival in Florida. He knew since we left New York that my right leg has been bothering me and it's only gotten worse - occasionally going numb - so I walk really slow. None of this seems to make an impression on him, and the camcorder was just the last straw for me today.

He wanted to head back to the camera center. I had the two kids with me and it was already after 10. I knew we had to leave by 2, so I didn't want to waste time in the camera center. I told him that I didn't care where he went, but the girls and I were going on the Safari. I grabbed their hands and we marched off.

When we got to the Safari, I realized Marc had walked off with all of our passes, my room charge, the room keys - everything. I had nothing with me any more. Standing in line at the Safari I was in tears. The girls knew I was upset, and it affected them somewhat as well. It had a 50 minute posted wait (couldn't get a FP because Marc had everything with him), but we were only in line for 15 minutes before we were on a vehicle.

I'm glad now that we went because we saw soooo many animals and they were thrilled! The rhinos were right up next to the wagon. The hippos were out sunning themselves. We saw the male lion get up and stretch among the rocks. We saw elephants and an ostrich stood in the middle of the road blocking our vehicle. Janine was thrilled to see giraffes. I think we saw just about every animal there was to see. When we got off, the boy behind us said "I think that's the best ride I've ever been on" and we had to agree. The girls were just thrilled.

Janine complained she was thirsty, but there was nothing I could do. I had left my wallet, credit cards and traveler's checks in the room. I had no money on me. I figured he'd be waiting for us when we got off the Safari, since that's where I said I was going, but there was no sign of him. We walked around twice, and finally, about to really break down, I found one of the CM's and told her my story.

Renee was great. She took me over to Baby Services and calmed me down. They took a description of Marc and let me leave a message for him. She told me they would let me into my room as long as I could prove the room was mine, but my license and everything was back in the cabin. She went to walk with me to the camera center to check how long ago he had been there and if he had said anything. We could also call Ft. Wilderness and see what they could do for me. As we walked out of Baby Services, lo and behold, there was Marc. He had gone to look for us in Camp Minnie Mickey (why, I don't know). I think he felt bad, but he didn't apologize or anything. He just said that he had gotten the camcorder fixed.

I was still really upset, so we stopped and had two lemonades. Melinda really wanted to see Conservation Station. It was about 11:45 by now (I wasted about 45 minutes trying to find Marc & figure out what I was going to do) but we figured we had enough time to cover it.

The girls did the scavenger hunt on their way in and both got bookmarks. We talked to the CM there and she told us that originally there was plans for a butterfly aviary in the area (like Butterfly World) but it was scrapped.

On to the Petting area. The girls spent a good half hour chasing the sheep and brushing the goats. They had a grand old time. I bought a Pooh "Is That You Tigger" shirt for the baby (18 month size) and a Mickey "Nice Kitty Kitty" shirt for Janine. Melinda will no longer wear anything with characters on it, so I can't really buy her anything.

We went in to Conservation Station and the girls had their pictures taken with Rafiki. We went into sounds of the rainforest which we all thought was neat. Next, they sat & watched a presentation on Tarantulas. The CM who did it was really good. We looked at the Animal Care area, then had to leave as it was well after 1 and they wanted to grab a snack before we left to hold them over until 5.

We ended up at Pizzafari. The four of us split two pizzas and two lemonades. But he time we left and caught the bus, it was after 2. We were back at the cabin about 3:15 because the bus stopped at Blizzard Beach first, then the Contemporary before going to the Settlement. I started dozing on the bus - I guess with everything going on today I was just beat. The maid had lined up all of the animals and Barbies again and made a flower of sorts out of the face-cloth in the bathroom with the soap on top of it. There was enough time for a swim, so we all changed and went into the pool for about 45 minutes before we went back to the cabin to get ready for Hoop-Dee-Doo.

Melinda was to the show about 4 years ago, but she had no memory of it. She kept asking me what it was about, but I wouldn't tell her. We got our picture taken, but I had no intention of buying it. When we got inside, we were seated at table #23 - right in front just off the stage. I positively *love* the butter they have. I think it's honey butter and we pretty much devoured the bread on the table in no time flat. We went through the first batch of ribs pretty fast, and the second batch had a lot more barbeque sauce on it. Melinda liked the chicken a lot. The last time we were here we got corn on the cob, not a dish of corn. I missed that.

The show was hysterical. I noticed a lot of changes from the last time, but the players were *great*. They seemed to get a real kick out of the audience at this show - I guess we were a good lot. Janine and Melinda really liked it and had a great time.

When we walked out, Melinda wanted to look at the ring carving. She ended up getting "Mindy" on a ring. Janine bought herself one of those light up swords - dreams of being a Jedi. We took the bus down to the Campfire while Marc went back to the cabin to get the marshmallows & sticks. They were showing "Jungle Book" & "George of the Jungle" tonight, but I knew we'd be lucky to get through the first movie. Marc came back and they toasted a whole bunch of marshmallows. I'm surprised Melinda - the pickiest kid on Earth - really likes eating the toasted marshmallows.

Janine got cold & tired first, so I took her (and her lightsaber) back to the cabin. Marc & Melinda came back about a half hour later. I watched "Will & Grace" and "Sports Night" then went to bed.

3/1

Woke up around 7:30. The girls wanted to do a water park, so today was Blizzard Beach day. It didn't open until 10, so we ate breakfast in the room and relaxed for a while watching TV. Finally we all got into our suits and took our towels and were off.

On the bus ride to BB, we had to stand as it was so packed. Behind me I could hear a couple who were also standing with their kids saying something about "the motion of the bus". Well, the 2 year old the father was holding started throwing up just as we were pulling into BB. Not only did the father have it completely down the front of him, but it had also gotten both me & Melinda on our legs. Figuring it was motion sickness, I didn't get too upset. I told him to get off at BB and talk to a CM and they'd help them out. He responded "Yeah, I think he has a stomach virus." I was so ready to go off on this guy. How can you bring a sick kid out among other people who are on their vacations? I'm pregnant, so getting sick is not the best thing for me to begin with, but we're just as entitled to our vacation as they are. What happens if/when we get sick and lose our on a few days of vacation because of him bringing his sick kid out? I was peeved and stomped off when we reached BB without talking to any of the CMs I saw to help him. I'm not usually like that - I usually try to help, but I was pissed.

We got to Blizzard Beach a little after 10. Melinda & I found showers and washed off our legs instead of rubbing it in with a towel. I figured there was less likelihood of getting sick that way. We bought the all you can drink mug for the day. Janine and I went to Tike's Peak and got a couple of chairs there. Marc & Melinda took off for parts unknown. Since I can't ride most of the slides, this worked out really good. At first Janine was apprehensive. We went to the top of the hill and I coaxed her onto one of the "itty-bitty" slides. I knew she'd like it cause she had been on a few slides at Dorney Park. She eventually was going down all four of them with no problem. I then tried to get her on some of the bigger slides in Tike's Peak. There's one that they'll let you slide down with them or next to them, so I did that sitting on the slide next to her. She loved it!

For a while we did this slide, but going up & down the hill was tiring for me. She went back on the "itty-bitty" slides for a while, but she had a taste of the big time. Finally I relented and stood at the bottom and watched her go around by herself. It made me nervous because there's a brief time when she was out of my sight, but she was doing it all by herself.

Marc & Melinda came back and we all went over to the wave pool for a while. I think I like Typhoon Lagoon's pool better, but this was nice. Janine wanted to go back on the slides, so we broke up again for a while.

I got to stand around Tike's Peak till it was about 12:30. Melinda said she was hungry, but I wanted to float around Cross Country Creek before lunch. Hey, it's pretty much the only thing I can do there. Melinda came with me while Marc watched Janine and I went once around the park.

For lunch I had the chicken quesadillas, Marc had the chicken wrap, Melinda had chicken strips, and Janine had a hot dog. The quesadillas were good, but I only ate 2. It was supposed to come with fruit, and Marc's was supposed to come with potato salad, but they messed up and we both got fruit & potato salad. The potato salad wasn't good - too much salad and not enough potato. The fruit was good, and I finished that easily.

After lunch we broke up again. This time, I got Janine on the single slide by promising to be at the bottom. I wasn't fast enough to get down there, but she went down it just fine. The only one she still had to conquer was the tube slide.

After a while she wanted to try the "itty-bitty" slides again. Here she found a friend. I think the girl didn't speak English which was great for Janine who stutters. The two of them ran all over Tike's Peak the rest of the afternoon. I was surprised that no one seemed to be watching this other little girl. Her family was sitting about 2 rows of chairs behind us and were content to let her run all over without having anyone watching her. I was glad Janine had someone to keep her company though.

Marc & Melinda came back about 3. They had covered everything except for the family raft ride and Humunga Cowabunga. I wanted to float around one more time before we left, so Marc stayed with Janine while Melinda & I went off to float around the park. By the time we got back, Janine was starting to complain that she was tired, so we decided to call it a day. She said goodbye to her friend, who immediately went back to her family (probably told them she wanted to leave now that Janine was going LOL).

We haven't had any problems with the buses this trip. The longest wait we had was maybe 10 minutes and most times even with taking 2 buses we've been back at the cabin within a half hour. When we were sitting at the bus stop, we ended up with about a 15 minute wait. This other woman who was waiting started complaining about the buses. Both Marc and I looked at each other cause we really didn't think there was a problem. To each there own.

When we got back to the cabin, the girls got changed and then went out to ride their bicycles. After a while Marc started the grill and we grilled up burgers & hot dogs and I reheated the macaroni & cheese. We ate and then went down to the Settlement Post for ice cream. Their freezer wasn't working right, so the CM went in the back for the ice cream for us. We ate it outside, then went up to the campfire program again.

Marc is *sick* of marshmallows - LOL. Janine likes to flame 'em, but she doesn't like to eat 'em. I don't think he cares if he ever sees another marshmallow again. He's going to have stay-puff nightmares. They watched all of "The Lion King" and then were tired so we went back to the cabin for our last night.

3/2

Today was moving day. We were up about 7:30. Marc made breakfast with whatever was left in the fridge, plus the bagels & muffins. It only took us about an hour to pack up completely, but I don't think I'll do this again. It's hard enough to do this with 2 kids, but packing up 3??? And I end up doing all of the packing - Marc just loads it in the van.

The express check out was on the van. We spent a total of $372 not including the room & the passes. Not bad considering that included the Hoop-Dee-Doo and Cinderella's Breakfast. I can see how just having one or two meals in the cabin really helps.

By 9:30 we were at the Wilderness Lodge. We checked in and what a mess that was. I told the CM at the desk I only needed passes for the girls and I needed them to start tomorrow. Well she messed up and gave us all passes. So I told her that the adults didn't need passes - only the kids. When she went to correct it, I looked at the passes and realized she had started them today and left off the last day!

By now she had to get a supervisor over. She said that she corrected the problem and wrote out on my slip exactly what they had given me so that if I have any more problems, we're safe. I sure hope so!!! I put the slip right in the glove compartment of the car so it wouldn't get lost. Marc parked the van and we got ready to head out to the Studios.

We headed right to Rock & Roller Coaster. There was a 15 minute wait. After a struggle with the machines, we got FP for later and went on the stand-by line. We were doing child-switch, so Marc & Melinda rode first while I waited with Janine. They came off a little while later. Melinda was thrilled! Now it was my turn. We waited together for the front seat. We had to wait 2 extra trips, but it was worth it! Yes, this is definitely my favorite ride! You can certify me now - I rode R&RC at 25 ½ weeks pregnant. Melinda was thrilled with the front seat. We stopped to look at the picture. I was really tempted to buy it, but the ones here are really expensive.

We came off and now it was time for Marc to ride Tower of Terror. He positively *hates* this ride, but since I can't ride it and Melinda really wanted to, he has to take her. They went on the stand-by line. While they were on, our time for the FP I got from R&RC came up, so I knew you could get another FP at that time and I got them 2 for ToT. The CM at R&RC told us that certain passes work better in certain machines which may explain why we usually have trouble with the Annual Passes in the machines.

When they came off we rode R&RC again. First Marc & Melinda, then me & Melinda. So Melinda got to ride it 4 times. I bought a mug, a shot glass, a set of drumsticks for our little drummer (Janine), and a sticker. I had it sent back to the room.

They went to use the FP on ToT, while Janine & I went shopping. The one store here on Sunset Blvd. Is where I found my drawer-pulls in December, but I still need 16 more (we have 36 drawers & cabinets in our kitchen). All of the silver Mickey ones were gone, even though there were plenty of the others. I asked the CM and she went to check, but there were none. I had a dilemma. Do I buy the brass ones and hope it doesn't look too bad? Finally I decided to just because I've waited 6 years to have drawer-pulls and cabinet knobs.

Janine saw an Alice in Wonderland music box that she wanted (and it was on sale too!). We paid for it and I had it all sent to the room. Well, Janine started crying because she thought we were leaving her music box here. Try explaining package delivery to a 4 year old. The security CM even stopped to talk to her, but even trying to tell her that it could be broken didn't get through to her.

Time to ride some rides with Janine - maybe that'll cheer her up. She loves Star Wars, so we headed to Star Tours so we could get all of the bumpy rides out of the way before our 2 PM PS at 50's Prime Time. Finally, a ride she really enjoyed something!!! She was grinning from ear to ear when we got off of it. We strolled through the gift shop. I was looking for something really interesting, but there was nothing that really caught my fancy. Janine love Jar-Jar Binks (kids, go figure) and she found a Jar-Jar cup that she just had to have. This was light enough to take with us.

We ate at the Primetime. The menu had changed since the last time we were there, but it was still good. Our waitress tried getting into the schtick, but it didn't really seem natural. One of the servers kidded Melinda - who always sits on her knees - that she was going to look awful funny when her legs got stuck that way trying to walk. We ordered the onion rings for appetizers. They are really thin-cut, but good, though I like the Bloomin' Onion better. Marc got the steak - which was good. Melinda had chicken strips and Janine had a burger. I had the chicken & biscuits of which I ate about half. When the waitress came back I thought she was going to scold me so I blamed it on the baby. She said "You're supposed to be eating for two and you look like you're eating for half!" The girls got dessert with theirs - just plain ice cream.

We headed over for the character greeting with the Toy Story characters which was starting at 2:40. The two girls got their picture taken with Woody and Jessie. We'll see what it looks like when we leave, but meanwhile I took a couple of my own. We then went to Voyage of the Little Mermaid and just made it in as they were closing the doors. I napped a little in this show, but the kid loved it. I don't know if it was just cause I was napping, but it did seem shorter to me than I remembered it.

We headed for the Backlot Tour. On the way the girls met Tigger, Mary Poppins, and Pooh ans I took their pictures. While waiting to go into the Special Effects Tank area they show a clip from Con Air (great movie for little kids to see, but I digress). Well, Melinda knows that Steve Buscemi is her friend Bobby's cousin so she got excited when she saw him. They liked seeing the effects. A lot of what we see Melinda has a vague memory of seeing before but she's not quite sure. At practically every attraction she's asking "Did we do this before?" We made the kids sit on the left side of the tram so they'd get wet, but it wasn't that bad at all. When we went through the AFI exhibit at the end I was surprised to see the Terminator since it's a USF attraction.

Next was Muppet Vision. That's a "must-see" for me as it's my favorite attraction. This is the first time I think that I managed to see the entire pre-show. Janine got a real kick out of everything, and I hope this attraction stays a real long time. The theater was still pretty crowded.

We were about to head out, but decided to go on The Great Movie Ride just in case the rumors are true. I'd hate to miss it and not get to see it again. The girls love The Wizard of Oz an loved that scene. We had the cowboy side again. Never managed to see it before and now I've seen it twice in the last couple of months!

On the way out I checked out the Woody & Jessie picture that we took with the girls and we decided to buy it. We hopped on the bus back to WL. On the way back it smelled like smoke and I have to wonder if there was a fire in the area. We didn't see anything on the news that night, but the day before there had been some wildfires so I wouldn't be surprised. When we arrived at WL I had to get our room # so I stopped at one of the house phones. I dialed the number and it just rang and rang and rang. No one was picking up! I tried a second time and there was still no answer so I walked to the front desk - no line! I got my room # in less time than I had spent on the phone.

Our room was exactly what I asked for in my fax - on the 5th floor looking out at the Contemporary & MK. I could see the castle through the trees. I don't really understand why this is considered a "room upgrade" because it really didn't seem larger like CRO had told me. Marc brought the van around & the bellman brought up our luggage. The girls wanted to head for the pool, even though it was dark, so they got changed and headed down.

It was cool, but they didn't mind. Melinda loves the slide into the pool and Janine was having a grand old time as well. I told them to stay in the pool since there were no towels and I was waiting for more to come out. As soon as they did I grabbed 4. By the time they got out of the pool it was about 8 PM so we went upstairs and watched the fireworks from our balcony.

Everyone was tired, so we watched a little TV, then went to sleep.

3/3

Woke up around 7:30. I wanted Tonga Toast this morning, so we took the launch to MK and then the monorail to the Poly. Yum! It's just as good as I remember. Janine had Mickey pancakes and Melinda just had cereal. Marc got a breakfast platter with eggs, bacon & potatoes. It was all delicious, but it came to about $32! I really miss those breakfasts at the cabin right about now.

We walked to TTC and took the monorail to Epcot. We rented a stroller as our plan was to cover World Showcase and I didn't know if Janine could handle all that walking. Our first stop was The Living Seas. We were fortunate enough to be there just in time to see the Dolphin Program which was really interesting. There was only one manatee in the manatee tank. I know I heard that the baby had died, but I though there was more - maybe they were hiding. Janine bought a few dolphin clip-on barettes for her hair.

We went to The Land. For the first time we saw Food Rocks. I love this show - I think this will be a new must-see for us! Marc and I couldn't stop laughing. We took the Living with the Land boat ride and it was really interesting to see the new ways they're trying to grow plants. I got some ideas for my garden this summer, especially for the cucumbers. I stopped at the gift shop here and picked up a book on stamp-patch gardening and growing tomato plants hydroponically, plus a miniature citrus tree. Hopefully if the cats don't start chewing on it I can grow my own oranges!

We went to Circle of Life which was also something I hadn't seen before and we all liked it a lot. I think the message it gets across is a good one.

We skipped JIYI as I had no desire to see it again and the girls didn't know any different. Our next stop was Canada and Melinda got a Canadian flag for her collection. We went into Millennium Village. Janine played mini-golf. Melinda had her name written in Arabic. They walked through the seasons of Sweden with Marc. We then picked up about a dozen flags. They didn't give us any little holders, though! Oh well, we'll figure something out.

We went to Great Britain where Melinda got a Union Jack. The CM there was really nice. When I happened to mention that we had gotten a dozen flags in MillVill and no bases, she gave me six bases and told me to ask as we walked around and we should be able to get as many as we needed! Marc had to take the stroller to exchange it because the one he picked out had no canopy and it was a warm day and the sun was bothering Janine. We sat down to watch the British Invasion. The band was good and there were a lot of people sitting around. Melinda went over to the Kid Stop and made a mask, but Janine wasn't interested. Marc came back with the new stroller. We saw then end of the set, then made our way to France where Melinda picked up another flag.

I would've loved to stop here for pastries, but we had a PS at Alfredo's at 3 and I didn't want to spoil my appetite. We didn't see any Morocco flags outside, and the line for pictures with Jafar was outrageous, so we sort of skipped Morocco. I wanted to do the American Adventure but the next show wasn't for a half hour and it would be too close to our PS by then. We stopped and watched the Colonial Fife & Drum corps, then went to Italy where Melinda got another flag. We were still about 15 minutes early for our PS, but decided to try it anyway.

We only had a 5 minute wait. Melinda ordered the fettuccini alfredo, which she loved. Janine had the spaghetti with meatballs which she did pretty well with. I got the lasagna. I was not impressed and only ate about half. The sauce wasn't that great to me. Marc got the veal parmigiana and was happy with it. The service felt rushed to me. We never got any bread at all despite the fact that all the other tables had it, and I didn't ask for it since our meal was out to us so fast. The desserts looked great, but Marc & I skipped it even though the girls had some with their meal.

We went back to see The American Adventure. They had a jazz group performing in the entrance who were really good. I wish there were more places to sit. By now I was really feeling it through my legs - I had been having problems for about a week before we left NY, but now it was finally really getting to me. I was relieved when we went inside and I could sit.

After this was over, we headed around to Germany and got another flag. The bridge was up since they were bringing out the barges for Illuminations fireworks later that night, so we had a wait. Again, my legs were really bothering me and all I was interested in was getting back to WL at this point. We skipped the rest of the flags. Marc & Melinda wanted to do Test Track again, so I took Janine back and returned the stroller, then we hopped the bus back to WL. (I had intended to stop in Mexico and ask if *someone* was working, but I was so miserable at this point I just wanted to get back and put my feel up. I probably should've rented an ECV for the day, but I felt guilty about it.)

Janine and I got change quickly and headed down for the pool. We were all the way on the side of the pool near the bar at first, but there were three boys really rough-housing there near the stairs and the lifeguards said nothing to them about it. Janine kept getting out of the pool because they kept knocking her over. I said something to them a couple of times, but they didn't care and (as I later found out) the father of 2 of them was too busy sitting by the bar drinking to pay any real attention to them. Finally we went around the other side where she stayed by the stairs near the bridge. I couldn't sit really close to her here since the chairs weren't close to this spot, but at least it was quieter for her.

Marc & Melinda came back about a half hour after us. They had gone on the singles line and gotten on TT pretty quickly. Melinda swam for a while as well, then we went back to the room.

The girls wanted to check out Disney Quest and I wanted to get in some shopping, so we changed and hopped on the Downtown Disney bus. I got off at the first stop. Janine had fallen asleep against me, so I picked her up and gave her to Marc. There wasn't a lot I wanted to look at, so I made my trip a short one. The first store I went into was art of Disney. Though I don't buy anything here, I just love to look! Then I went to World of Disney. I spent about $120 here on a few baby outfits and some things for my Random-Act-of-Kindness list on my June2000 babies group. I got my father a "Grumpy" hat as well (that's what we call him - trust me, it fits). Next I stopped in Ghiradelli and got double chocolate coffee and double chocolate decaf (again for Grandpa). I got a peanut butter dream for my Mom and a couple of chocolate bars. I probably would've gotten a milkshake but the line on the other side of the store was so long! Besides, I had asked Marc to bring me back a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory inside DQ. I quickly looked in the gardening store, but I didn't see anything that really intrigued me.

My shopping was done, so I headed back to WL. I half expected them to be on the bus with me, but they weren't. When I got back to the room I was all alone. I had forgotten that this was an E-Ticket night at MK so I got a nice surprise of getting to see the fireworks about a half hour after I got back. The three of them came back about 11. Marc had brought me a cookie-dough cheesecake of which I ate about half - he ate the rest. The girls had two chocolate cupcakes. When they had gotten to DQ, Marc had given them his room-card to pay. They had said that his pass included DQ. He said no, it didn't. When he ran it through the turnstile, it rejected it, so they gave him an override card and he ended up getting in for free. Turns out that since they had messed up with the tickets when I checked in, it still seemed like the UMP should be on our room-cards even though they had taken it off. Oh well, we had been honest about it, it was the CM at DQ that was insistent about it.

Marc had said there really wasn't that much for them to do there, even though they had managed to kill 3 hours. Janine wouldn't do any of the VR stuff. Melinda did a few things, and he kept them away from the stuff that gave out tickets so he wouldn't have to spend the extra $$$$. I think they liked it better than Gameworks, it was just hard with the two of them at different ages. Next time I'll let Marc just take Melinda in and I'll take Janine with me.

3/4

This morning we wanted to relax a while. I am meeting my friend Laura and her father at about 1 at the flagpole in MK. There was supposed to be a meet in MK, but I hadn't been on the newsgroup since I went away and *someone* never responded to me emails :-^ so I had no clue if it was still on or not.

We ate a mediocre breakfast at Roaring Forks which was packed because of the construction they're doing to expand it. Then we spent the next few hours at the pool. The girls wanted to get their hair wrapped, but there were about 4 girls waiting and I wasn't spending all morning waiting for that. I told Melinda that we'd try again tomorrow if there wasn't a wait. Otherwise, forget it. They swam a good long time and really enjoyed themselves. When I was sitting with my legs in the hot tub, an older lady who was walking behind her party seemed to get confused and went off the path, tried to climb over the rocks near the spa, and fell down. She was really bruised on one side. Some other people who were walking behind her stopped to help her up. I was about to go to one of the lifeguards when her friends (who must've walked all the way to the dock before realizing she was no longer with them) came back and they all walked over.

The lifeguards immediately called for the paramedics and brought out ice. She was bruised on her head and her legs. A CM from the lodge came out and was asking them where it happened, and her friends couldn't even tell them the right place. I think they were all a little confused. The other people who had helped her up took the CM over to the spa and showed him where they helped her up. The paramedics came and checked her out, then they all went into the lodge.

About noon we went up to the room and changed, then took the launch over to MK. The biometrics were completely down for the day according to the CM at the entrance - YEAH! She laughed because apparently I was not the first with those sentiments. We met Laura with no problems. She had put her name in at the Plaza Restaurant. I had never known this restaurant was here before, but I'm glad we found it! It's a nice little restaurant. Melinda had the grilled cheese, Janine had the mini hot dog & burger combo, I had the tuna salad and Marc had a burger. We got 20% off because Laura has a Disney Dining card so lunch only cost us about $30. The girls had ice cream with their meal, but Melinda didn't want hers so Laura had her ice cream.

We walked out of the restaurant and who should I see, but Rob! I nearly flipped and Marc couldn't understand what I was so excited about. John, Bruce & Marta were all there having had their meet at Pecos Bill's. Oh well. I introduced Laura to them. They were all headed to Splash Mountain, so we decided to head there too. Only Melinda & I were going to go on, and we went with them. At first they were going to get fastpasses, which the wait would be over an hour and I didn't want to skip out on Laura for that long, so I was about to leave when they changed their mind. The line to *get* fastpasses was about as long as the queue for Splash, so we just entered the queue. I think out wait was about a half hour to get on the ride. I rode in the front with Rob. Melinda & John were behind us with Bruce & Marta bringing up the rear. Melinda ducked despite John's protests that she was supposed to protect him, and somehow Rob & I managed to avoid being splashed by the other boats as they came down - though I think Bruce & Marta got it.

Since I had other people here with me, Melinda & I took off. We met up with Marc & Laura and decided to head to the Haunted Mansion. The line was unbelievable! We went to Fantasyland and were looking at Peter Pan or IASW, but those lines were outrageous as well. Suddenly the park seemed *packed*. Marc took Janine on the carousel. Melinda wanted to go, but she didn't say anything till Marc was already on the line and I didn't want her pushing past all those people to catch up with him.

We went on Snow White which was nice cause all of us could ride together. We were thinking about grabbing fastpasses for Pooh, but the machines were either down or had given out all the passes for the day. The teacups were packed. The line for Space Mountain was probably more than 2 hours as it extended well out into the plaza. We went on TTA which had a line as well, but it was about 10 minutes as opposed to normally being a walk-on.

When we came of CoP was doing it's last show for the day, so we managed to get on. Again, it's something I really wanted to do, just in case the rumors are true. I dozed a little inside, but it was nice to be this comfortable and relax.

We stopped to get drinks at the coke booth here and sat down for a while just to talk about when Laura was living in NY & we worked together & what's happened to all the people we used to work with. After about a half hour, we decided to go on Buzz Lightyear. We had about a 45 minute wait - the longest line all week. The only thing we could figure was the crowds coming over from Bike Week in Daytona. I didn't max out this time, but it was a fun ride.

Laura was ready to call it quits, as she hates the crowds as much as we do. She invited us back to her house, but I really didn't feel like driving anywhere. I just wanted to put my feet up and relax. They were talking about doing AK tomorrow. Melinda & Janine hadn't made up their minds yet what they wanted to do tomorrow, so I told her to call me in the morning.

We went back to WL and Melinda wanted to swim. Janine was beat, and crawled into bed. Marc & Melinda disappeared for about a half hour, then came back up to the room.

3/5

Got up about 7. I checked the bill they left us for express check-out and they had straightened out all of the problems with the passes and billed us correctly. We packed up a little, but not much since we didn't have to be out of here till 11. I didn't want to fight the crowds at Roaring Forks this morning for breakfast, so we went to Whispering Canyon. This is a must for our next trip - I want to have dinner here! We had a lot of fun. Marc & I got the unlimited skillet. Melinda & Janine split the bakery basket as they just wanted pastry & muffins. It's a really fun restaurant as we saw when someone asked for ketchup. They also wanted to buy Marc as a slave since he had a shirt on which said .15 on the front. I was more than willing to sell him, but he ended up leaving with me anyway.

The girls got changed and went down to swim until about 10:30. I packed up everything except for the clothes we were wearing today, then went down to watch them. There was no line for the hair wraps, so if it stayed that way when we left I told them they could get it done then. There were groans when I said it was time to go, but they went up and changed. Marc called for bell services and followed him down to load everything in the van while we went out to check out the hair wraps. There was only one girl ahead of them, so they got it done. They were nervous about doing Janine's hair since it is so fine - it could break or not really stay in - but I said it was better to do it or I'd have a problem if one got it done and the other didn't. I usually cut them out when they start looking grungy anyway. It cost me $51 for two hair wraps - the things we do for kids! Suddenly, having a boy doesn't seem that bad - at least that won't be a third hair-wrap.

Marc hadn't paid attention (so what else is new?) when I said I w as taking the girls to have the hair wraps done and had been walking all over the lodge looking for us. The girls wanted to see AK, so we drove over there. We went to DinoLand first. Marc took Melinda on CTX and I took Janine to the Boneyard. I couldn't walk upstairs on the slides & climbing ropes, so I was watching her. At some point I lost track of her, but she knew exactly what to do and found a CM. I saw them headed for the dig site and followed them over there, catching up as they were headed back to look for me.

Janine played in the dig site for a while, then we went back to the other side and she ran around going down 2 of the slides and going up where she could see me. Marc & Melinda came back about 45 minutes after we had split up. Marc said he really didn't notice a difference with CTX since we rode it in December, so I'm glad I didn't go on this.

Next we took the girls on ITTBAB. They both enjoyed it and neither of them was scared. On my seat the "Stinger" didn't work - for better or worse. When we came off we told them there was only enough time for either the Safari or Kali River Rapids - they couldn't do both. Well they wanted to do the Safari again since they had liked it so much the last time. The fastpass was for 45 minutes later, but the stand-by was only supposed to be 30 minutes so we took the stand-by since there really was nothing else we had time for or wanted to do. Well, we got up to the last turn in the queue, and then the line stopped. Every other time I've been on the Safari, they used one side for fastpass and the other for the stand-by. Today they decided to completely stop the stand-by and let all the fastpass riders go on. It took us a half hour just to get down that last ramp. I was really upset because we had planned on leaving by 3 or 3:30 and we only ended up getting on the Safari at about 3.

Now I have used fastpass an liked it to an extent. I am not one to completely schedule my vacation and I don't want to tell my kids we can't do a ride that we have to do another ride because that's our schedule. I don't want to be forced to make and appointment for every ride. If this is the way Disney is going to end up going, I don't think we'll end up liking it. :-( This was a last minute choice on the part of the girls and I don't think the stand-by queue was handled well.

We saw a lot of animals again this time, though I think the safari we went on earlier in the week was better. The girl (she was from Australia) driving this truck was better, though. She seemed really up on her knowledge of animals and not just reading from a prepared script.

After the safari we quickly ducked into a store to buy a Safari Pooh and a Safari Minnie for our next door neighbor's 2 kids, and Janine bought a Safari Tigger. We walked around to Flame Tree barbecue for a late lunch/dinner. The only kids meals they have here are PB&J, but I wasn't going anywhere else at this point, so that's what they got. I got the barbequed beef sandwich and Marc had the chicken & ribs platter. I really liked this counter restaurant - we'll keep it in mind for next year!

We bid farewell to AK at about 4:30. I just had to stop at guest services and pick up 5 Disney dollars for someone who had asked me to. We had perfect weather the whole ride home. The girls bickered all the way from Orlando to Jacksonville until we finally had enough and threatened to pull over. The bickering ended and they went to sleep. We got home about 10:30 Monday morning.

Summary & Final thoughts:

Ft. Wilderness: We loved it and will be back there next year! I'm probably going to make a reservation as soon as possible.

Wilderness Lodge: We were disappointed. I don't think the level of service at this resort is near to what I'd expect at a deluxe resort. We had better service when we stayed at PO 2 years ago. The view was incredible, and I'm really thankful to the room controller for that, but the level of service at the front desk and the pool was lacking. I know Roaring Forks is undergoing con struction, but they should figure out something in the meantime as it is just way too small and crowded.

Parks: At times I noticed problems and other times I didn't. The first time we rode Buzz, there was a pile of garbage by the Magna-Doodle. I informed the CM about it and I really don't think anyone had told her. There were only 2 CMs there, so she probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it till she went off. I am not crazy about fastpass, but I'll hold off final judgement until they really have time to work all of the kinks out. I just don't like having a scheduled vacation. Most of the time, if I didn't have a fastpass I didn't care, but the last experience at the Safari really left a bad taste in my mouth about the whole thing.

I should've rented an ECV at the parks and I would've probably held up better. Either that, or we should've spent the mornings at the pool and then went to the parks in the afternoons. We didn't get to see any parades or fireworks (except from the balcony at WL) mainly because by 4 PM I couldn't keep walking anymore. Oh well, I'll never have to do WDW pregnant again. The kids didn't care except when Melinda was looking back when we got home she realized that we missed a lot of this stuff. I told her that next year we'd definitely make sure to see them.

Patricia Aliventi

AliventiASylum@att.net

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