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Annony"mouse" -- September 2000 -- Walt Disney World (OKWR, BVR, ASMuR)CAST OF CHARACTERS The FAM.
The Grandparents
HISTORY After our August 1999 trip, I was itching to plan another trip. I can't help it. I love WDW! I held off for a while and enjoyed the video and pictures of our trip. I posted a trip report here and am SO glad I did. I never would have completed it on my own without the "pressure" from Brian to post a trip report. (Editor's Note: I really get irritated when people send me a pre-trip report, then renege on writing and sending the final report after the trip. Fortunately, she didn't do that to me. :)) It was GOOD pressure though. :) I love having that report to read again and again. Details fade and even the "big" stuff is quickly forgotten - at least in MY brain - without a memory trigger. I started working as a consultant with a home demonstration company selling candles and candle accessories to make some "Disney Vacation Money". Eventually, Dad agreed that if I could make the money, we could go again. We decided on September 2000 to get the trip in before our youngest turns three. That way she gets into the parks and eats for free - at least some of the time. We invited my parents to join us again. It was great having them last year, and it would give them another opportunity to see not only us, but also our FL relatives (including the newest of the grandchildren, Dominic). PLANNING I just can't say enough how the Internet has helped in my planning. Before last year's trip, I had found Brian Bennett's site, The DIS, and others. During my heaviest planning stage, I was visiting these sites daily. I printed and read MANY trip reports. This is so valuable. You can read book after book, but you never get the same information, details, ideas, opinions, etc. that you can get from reading it in a trip report. But, you must know that already, because you're reading this...never mind. :) Resort - Plans certainly have a way of changing...after looking into the Fort Wilderness Cabins for a short time, we decided we'd be better off in two rooms at the All-Star resorts. I booked 2 rooms at the MKC rate of $74 a night per room (including tax) for 5 nights. THEN -- I was doing my regular reading of the message boards on the DIS and decided to peek into the DVC board. Dad and I had done the tour of OKW DVC back in August '94 and actually joined the DVC for about 3 days. We really loved the idea, but decided the time was just not right for us. We were looking into buying a house and starting a family. (Both of which happened not too long after that.) I appreciate the fact that Dad was levelheaded enough to put a halt on the purchase, but I was a bit sad. We never really looked into it again until May 2000. On the boards at the DIS, I was reading about re-sales and such and just started asking questions, making calls and before I knew it, we had purchased into the BWV DVC! Wow! I was SO excited. (There goes my motivation to do the home demonstration parties!) I called to cancel my ASMuR reservation and to get my refund. The CM wanted to know if there was anything else she could do instead of canceling...I happily reported that I had just joined the DVC and would be making a reservation with them! Within 24 hours, I was making my first DVC reservation. I had a little trouble getting what we wanted since Sept. was only 4 months away. We wanted to stay at the BW for the entire stay, but ended up with 2 separate reservations: Sept. 19, 20, 21OKW 2 BR Villa (my parents will be staying with us) Sept. 22, 23, 24, 25BWV Studio (just for our family) - my parents will be at the ASMusR Originally this was spilt into three different accommodations, but a wait-list request came through to keep us in the studio for 4 nights. I stayed on a wait-list for the BW for the first 3 nights (also a 2 BR) but it never came through. When the low airfare came through (see below), we decided to add a couple nights in Orlando. I had won "2 free nights" at an Orlando Hotel on Windaily.com back in the spring. It's a bit of a long story that I won't go into, but here's what we added: Sept. 17,18 Quality Inn Lake Cecile Passes - I had purchased an Annual Pass last year to get a discount on our room. I never had to actually activate the pass, so I held onto my voucher. I used the AP for this visit and purchased AP's for Dad and DD4. We're already planning a May 2001 trip, so we'll get good use out of them. Unfortunately, I'll have to get a pass for DD2 then, since she won't be "free" anymore. By the way you can't do what I did with the annual pass any more. They are now activated when you purchase them. The cast member who "activated" mine said it had actually expired according to the new rule - but that she would issue a new one for me -- nothing like changing the rules in the middle of the game. Transportation - We had originally planned to drive for this trip, but how could I pass up a $109 RT airfare?? (Tax included - Total = $436) Well, I couldn't. We flew from Albany, NY on Southwest Airlines. I even earned a RT ticket with their double rewards program. My parents flew from Pittsburgh - via Newark, NJ on Continental. I had been keeping my eyes on the Bestfares site and Travelocity for low fares. My parents were planning to fly if the airfare was low. Well, late one night I saw a fare for $128 offered on the Internet through Continental. We snagged two round-trip tickets for $128 each (including all taxes, etc.). It wasn't a direct flight, but hey, it was the best deal around. We rented a car from National with our Magic Kingdom Club discount and BJ's discount. The price quoted on the internet was about $179. After adding in insurance, etc. the total was $212. Since we had the car, we picked up my parents when they arrived. Disney Dollars and other money - This was the first time I had ever gotten Disney Dollars. DD4 and DD2 used some money they had to get some Disney Dollars. DD4 ended up with $8 and DD2 had $2. (Of course, she couldn't even buy a bottle of water with that at Disney - so we planned to chip in at souvenir buying time.) I also collected some extra money from rebates, and a garage sale that I turned into Disney Dollars. I was also introduced to some Rewards boards on the internet that helped me to collect about $90 in plastic (Mobil gas Go card and a Webcertificates Mastercard). I only started using these rewards sites in July - so I had about 2 1/2 months to earn the $90. I can't wait to see what I can get by my next trip! ITINERARY Here's the Reader's Digest version (detailed plans to follow).
TOURING PLANS AND HOW WE FOLLOWED THEM I made a list of the attractions we really wanted to see this trip - some repeats, some things that we missed last year. In 1999, we never got to do Test Track, Kali River Rapids, Tarzan Rocks, most of World Showcase... those were the biggies. I made a point of doing these especially. Illuminations was a disappointment last year because of our lack of a good view. I had read so many good reports about Fantasmic, so I definitely wanted to give that a shot. My Mom was babysitting for me during the MSEP last year, so I wanted to give her an opportunity to see that. Rock 'n Roller Coaster was a definite repeat. Still relying on the Sehlinger Unofficial Guide for information and tips, I put together a plan. Park Hours:
I know these plans look very commando-like. But, I have to have a plan - especially with my extended family. I can certainly be flexible, but I have to avoid the "What do you want to do today?" routine. The hours listed are basically a reality check for me, so I don't try to cram too much into a day. The plans may seem over crowded at times, but that's okay. I'd rather have too much on the plan and know what else we wanted to see than not have a clue. I e-mailed the tour plan to my parents. They had no complaints, so we were all set. Well - not really. I told you I'm a planning freak. Well, I once again mapped out my plans on small versions of the park maps that you get in the planning packet. (You can also find similar maps on the web). I taped sections of this plan to the maps and used them each day they were also helpful in my note taking. This is how the plans looked on my maps - followed by the text of what we actually did. Sunday, September 17, Day 1
Almost everything was packed by Saturday night, so after church we had just a few things to get together. I packed a cooler with lunch and snacks, and our water bottles. (I would highly recommend getting some insulated bottle holders. We got a four-pack at BJ's Wholesale. We froze about a 1/2 a bottle of water over night and filled it with cold water in the morning. They stayed cold for a longer time that way and saved us a bunch of money. Of course we were not able to do this until we had a refrigerator. Until then, I just bought a large container of refrigerated water in the am and filled all the bottles.) We had a pretty uneventful travel day despite the weather forecast for FL. Hurricane Gordon was supposed to be cutting across the state about the time we were to land, but we had an absolutely beautiful flight with clear skies almost the whole way. Southwest doesn't have a 1st class section, so we were in the first set of seats with 3 seats facing forward and three facing back. They also don't have meals - just snacks which was fine. They had the typical beverages, peanuts and pretzels. We landed early and only found a delay at the National Car Rental desk - nothing major - just a slow moving line. We got to the hotel about 7pm and went next door to eat at 8:00. The hotel front desk clerk had given us a 10% coupon off for Francesco Italiano (where 192 and 535 meet). I really enjoyed the food - I had ravioli and meatballs, Dad and DD4 had spaghetti and meatballs and DD2 had a child's individual pizza. The kids ate well, but we still had leftovers. (Approx. $40 with tax and tip after discount.) I wasn't feeling well - I had a bit of a sore throat and a sinus headache. Some Tylenol Cold Med. got me through the first couple days - and my zinc and vitamin C helped me a few days after that. We got to sleep somewhere around 10 pm. Monday, September 18, Day 2
Because of my cold, we skipped the water park idea and slept in. We woke up without an alarm clock at 8:30 am. It took us a while to get moving - this is vacation, after all. At 10:30 we left the QI and made the right onto 192 and a left almost immediately onto 535. On the right, there's a 7-11 where we bought breakfast. ($7.10 - 1 small coffee, 1 small bottle of orange juice, 4 bagels w/ free toppings - cream cheese, jelly, etc., and one large bottle of water to refill our water bottles.) We drove east on 192 and got to the Animal Kingdom at 11:10 am (parking - $6) and stopped at Guest Relations to purchase annual passes for Dad and DD4. ($634.94 - 1 adult, 1 child) At 12:00 we were finally entering the park. It was hot and the "love bugs" were in the prime of their season. These are the most annoying, but harmless bugs around. They seemed to be attracted to the benches of the tram because of the light color. I think I went though half the day with a casualty smashed on the seat of my pants. This is not a typical start to a day for us, but being off-site and starting off with a cold slowed us down. However, it did not bother me in the least because the annual pass gave us such freedom. We didn't feel like we were "wasting a day" on our passes by only going to the park for a short time. That was the best. I only had one show planned, so we worked around the schedule for Tarzan Rocks. Show time was 1:00, so we went to the Boneyard to let the kids run around for a while. I had no plans to go there, because I pictured the sandy part of it. But we never even got to that. We stayed in the area with the tube slides for about 20 minutes and then left to take the kids to the restroom before the show. We saw a few characters there and got signatures and pictures with Goofy and Donald Duck. We were seated at the show about 12:40 in the "stomp, stomp wee!" section. We enjoyed this show. It's like a combination concert of the movie music with some dancing, roller blading and acrobatics thrown in. It was about 30 minutes long. After that we were ready to head back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel about 2:20 and they were cleaning our room. I knew I forgot something --- to ask for early housekeeping so we could get into the room for naps. We walked the length of their 3 long buildings (having to use our key between buildings) to the front desk area where they had a little store. We bought a yogurt for $1.29 for the girls to share. After a rest in the room, and a snack of cold leftover pizza (it actually was good), we were ready for the pool at 4:00. They have a small but decent pool right next to the lake. The water was a bit cold -colder than the pools we went to later in the trip. We had a short swim and got ready to go back to the parks. We left at 5:05 and took Rt. 535 to 536 instead of 192 - this was a good move. This afternoon, I realized I had left one very important thing at home --- MY BRAIN!! I had forgotten to use my Magic Kingdom Club membership discount for the annual passes we bought at AK. AUGH!! Never fear - we met up with Josh at Guest Relations in Epcot when we returned to the parks. He took pity on me and issued new passes with the refund. ($28.62 for the 1 adult and 1 child pass we had purchased - pass total actually $606.32). During this transaction, the kids were patiently waiting in their strollers. Our favorite cast member of the trip - Christina came out with a little Minnie doll for DD2 (then she realized we had another child and got a Minnie for DD4, too.) These were about 7" tall and had little magnets in the hands and feet so they could be hung around a strap or pole on the stroller. This was an unexpected extra and we really are quite thankful to Christina for brightening up our trip. This is the "other souvenir" I referred to above. Thanks Christina!! We went to the Garden Grill in the Land for the Character dinner at 5:45. I hadn't planned on doing a Char. Dinner- but I decided to use some of my garage sale money on this one as a treat. I enjoyed the meal - but Dad was not impressed. This is an all-you-can eat dinner that included flank steak, grilled chicken and fried catfish, corn on the cob and other vegetables. The kids had chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese. I ate mostly the catfish and vegetables. Dad had the chicken. Neither of us ate the flank steak - it was red. I can't even eat beef if it's pink. Mickey, Chip and Dale visited us in good time and even came back for another visit. The girls really do enjoy the character interaction. It was a fun meal. $60 of my Disney Dollars covered the meal and tip (2 adults, 1 child and 1 child under 3 - free). I love the fountain at Epcot. We caught the show at 7:30 and headed into Innoventions West. We looked around a bit, but didn't really do much. We were just kind of taking it easy. There was next to no one in Future World. We pretty much had the place to ourselves. We took the House of the future tour in Innoventions East next. They have a wheel chair that can do stairs and "stand up" on two wheels. They couldn't do the stair demo. but the standing demo was pretty cool. Dad liked the huge high definition TV and the lawn mower. Next, we did Spaceship Earth with no wait. We were done with that at 8:30 pm and were leaving Epcot by 8:55. I think we got to sleep by about 10:30. Tuesday, September 19, Day 3
We woke up at 8:00 without an alarm or wake up call and left the room by 9:00. I checked out of the QI - Lake Cecile and since I had no charges during our stay, all I had to pay were the room taxes and a "child" fee of $5 per night per child. (2 night stay = $32.44) I almost forgot that I was due a $50 refundable deposit for the "free" hotel stay. (When is my brain going to catch up with me on this vacation??) We had to stop off at the welcome center to get that. No problem - they refunded the $50 in cash. We did a repeat of our 7-11 breakfast with only one change (med. coffee instead of small Total: $7.30). While I was spreading cream cheese on the bagels, I missed the Old Key West sign and we took a little detour. We finally arrived at the Hospitality House at 10:05. Of course, the room was not ready, so we took the "key" cards and a phone number to check back later. I did purchase the E-night tickets for Dad and I at the front desk. (Approx. $20) We took a bus to MGM since the Magic Kingdom bus had just left before we reached the bus stop. This was a strategy I had planned to use when we were in our "flexible" mode. Take the first bus that comes!! :) We caught the 11:15 Doug Live! Show. This was a first for all of us. I thought it was really cute - very bright, colorful, and "cartooney", of course. We don't even watch Doug on TV, but that didn't keep us from enjoying the show. I like how they used the audience volunteers for this show - especially the adults in the Beets group. DD2 got a bit scared during the Quail Man section - but she was fine. Even if you don't have kids who are "Doug" fans, I would recommend this show. From there we walked over to the Backlot Tour (12:30). On the way we saw the Pooh characters with lines for autographs. Pooh was the only one without a line, so we stepped up and got pictures and autographs. The girls did fine at Catastrophe Canyon. DD4 let out a huge laugh and DD2 just cuddled in for reassurance that this was pretend. On the way out, Piglet was available for a picture - no line. We again skipped Tigger and Eeyore because we would have had to wait (maybe 6 or 7 people in line). We had lunch at the ABC Commissary from 1:15 - 1:45. The total was $25.71 (2 kid's lunch boxes with grilled cheese, fries and milk, 2 Caesar Wraps and 1 lg. Coke). The crowds were pretty light so we went to the Great Movie Ride and got on without waiting. We were on the gangster side. Again - DD4 laughed out loud during the fight scene and DD2 snuggled. We were done at 2:10 but had to wait for the OKW bus until about 2:35. We got to the OKW Hospitality House at 2:50. The room was not ready, so we sat down to watch Pinocchio in the lobby. Dad dropped the luggage off with bell services to make room for my parents and their luggage in the rental. He went to the airport to pick up my parents and to do some grocery shopping while the girls and I checked out the Main pool. This was my first opportunity to try out our connecting strollers. I had purchased the Prince Lionheart stroller connectors on the Internet and used them when only one of us was with the girls. We had a huge Graco double stroller with us last year and it was just too much to push around and fold up. I debated the whole stroller question with my self and anyone else who would listen. (The family board at the DIS was a big help here.) I was going to get a side-by-side Instep stroller, but decided to get 2 single Instep umbrella strollers. This was the best! They are sturdy, but are still umbrellas and fold pretty nicely. Okay - enough about that. I wheeled my connected strollers to the locker room and to the pool. We had a nice time swimming for a while. We met a little girl there who said she lived in Disney World. Her mom laughed and said "For 2 days!" It's nice to dream, though, isn't it? Just before 4pm our room was ready. (There's a phone by the hot tub - I called the front desk from there.) The cast member told me the room number - 3316 (actually it was 3315 and 16 since it was a 2-bedroom lock-out). I was told to walk across the bridge and get the bus at Pennisular. Since Pennisular is the first stop on the return from the parks - I could get to Old Turtle Pond without a long trip to a park and back. I somehow managed to get on the bus with both girls, both strollers and our STUFF. Two stops later, I was at Old Turtle Pond with just a short walk over to our room. The rooms were on the first level, at the left end. It had a great view of the pond and the golf course from the french doors. So, at 4:45 I was finally in my room and I called for the bags. They were brought at 5:00 and I got the girls in for naps at 5:15. Meanwhile - Dad had met my parents at the airport and stopped at Publix on the way back to get groceries. They got home at 5:45. I had wanted to have supper in the room, so I started to boil the water for pasta while I was waiting for them to arrive. After several minutes, I realized, the water wasn't boiling and the burner wasn't even warm. I checked all the burners and then called housekeeping. Just about the time someone from housekeeping was at the door, Dad realized that the burner hadn't been hooked up after someone cleaned. Oops. I decided to just do sandwiches and save the pasta for another night since I wanted to get to the MK for E-night. My parents were just going to relax in the room with the girls while we were out. By the way - do whatever you have to do to NOT make long distance calls on the room phones. I made 2 very short calls and spent $12.00!! Eek!! (I had forgotten my calling card in my other wallet at home.) It had rained a bit before we left for MK, but I didn't take my poncho because I thought it was over. Silly me. We left for the MK at 6:30 and it started raining again, so when we got to the MK at about 7pm, we got our wristbands and went to buy some ponchos. After spending $12 for two ponchos - because I was too lazy to carry mine, we walked outside and guess what! It had stopped raining! So much for those ponchos - now I had to carry one anyway. We went to Space Mountain first, then Buzz Lightyear twice, then the Haunted Mansion. We were finished doing Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain by 8:40. We stopped to get a hot chocolate and a coffee at Pecos Bill's - total $2.87. At 9:15 we were doing the Alien. I had to do this one for Dad - since he did Space Mountain for me. I really don't care for this attraction - but the crowd was pretty wild, so that made it bearable. Before the 10pm closing time, we went to Space Mountain and Buzz again. We caught a bus back to OKW at 10:10. E-night was fun, but I still wouldn't go with the girls. There's hardly anything for them to do. It was nice to have the grandparents as babysitters for this night. Wednesday, September 20, Day 4
I knew from looking at the Animal Kingdom map and show schedule that we'd have to change things around today. The Flights of Wonder show didn't start until 11am - and we wanted to leave the park earlier than that. We decided to do the Festival of the Lion King Show instead since it started at 10am. Here's how things worked out: We got a wake up call for 6:30 am. We caught the AK bus at 8:00. On the bus, my Mom realized her park pass was back in her wallet at the room. My dad stayed on the OKW bus to return to get the pass - my mom used his pass for the day. We planned to meet him at the 10am Lion King show. We entered the park around 8:30 and headed for the Pangani Exploration Trail. This was a nice trail with a variety of animals. We particularly enjoyed the hippo in the big water tank and the gorillas, of course. They were having a good time playing around. It only took us about 20-25 minutes to do the whole trail so we were done by 9:00. We hooked the strollers together and my mom took the girls ahead to the Lion King show area - they got to see some characters and got some autographs. Dad and I cut across to Asia to do the Kali River Rapids. There was no wait for this ride -so we were on by 9:15. Dad wore his poncho and I decided to get wet. I got a bucketful down my back that left my collar damp for just about the whole day. Other than that the water felt good. Too bad the ride is so short, though. We met up with my mom and the girls in the line for the Festival of the Lion King. We were a bit early for getting in line. We got there at 9:30 but would have done fine getting there much later. My dad finally did meet up with us just before the show was to start. I overheard a cast member say that they would be closing down the show the following week to install more fans in the audience area. We sat in the Lion section and enjoyed the show. This really is one of the better shows with something for just about everyone. We were at the bus stop at 11:00 to go back to the rooms for our early lunch and rest. We had sandwiches in the room and the girls got a nap - no swim today. We left OKW at 2:00 so we could get the MK for the parade. We ended up in front of the Christmas Shoppe in Liberty square for the Parade. I asked a cast member which way it was going and he said it would start from Frontierland. That's good to know when you're choosing a spot for the parade. It really wasn't too crowded, but by the time the parade route in Liberty Square was 2-3 people deep. We were able to get a front row spot 1/2 before the parade. We had a snack while we waited. We smuggled some oranges into the park...don't tell, okay? Actually we did this several times with fruit and other little snacks. How many french fries can you eat in a week? The kids got into the parade during the Beauty and the Beast section. They helped set the table and then danced in the kick line. Toward the end of the parade, DD4 went out again with the Orangutan from Jungle Book for the finale. That was the fun to see. There really weren't a whole lot of kids, especially older kids around since it's during the school year. My kids seemed to get a lot of attention during the parades and at the character meals. The parade ended just before 3:30. The next show at Hall of Presidents was starting then. (They start on the hour and half hour.) We shot across the street and practically had the door close behind us for the show. It was really a great place to go right after the parade - nice and cool with a place to SIT! I know some people are bored by this show, but I like it. It gives a nice history lesson with music, film and animatronics. We ran into Minnie in her colonial outfit and Chip after the show. More autographs/pictures - but no lines. We had to weave around a bit to find the Pirates of the Caribbean because of the "construction" in Adventureland. We actually had to go through Frontierland to circle around to Pirates. (Jungle Cruise is down now and our "Cruise Capt." said they were working on a roller coaster for that area. - See Thurs. night) We were leaving the park about 4:30 and took the monorail to the TTC and the bus to MGM. I had decided to go with the Fantasmic Dinner package and had made reservations for 5:30 at Hollywood and Vine. We arrived early (about 5:15) and were seated very quickly. This is a buffet with some decent selections. I had some of the flank steak (more thoroughly cooked here) and a bunch of other stuff - including BBQ meatballs from the kids' buffet. We topped of our dinner with the soft-serve ice cream...okay, I had a brownie, too. The dinner for 4 adults and 1 child came to $80. My mom picked up the tab here to cover her part of the groceries. We were finished at about 6:00 so we went to the Hunchback show. Randy the juggler was finishing up his routine and we had decent seats even with our late arrival. They started the show and got to the middle of the Topsy-Turvy song when the sound cut out and the cast disappeared immediately behind the scenes. They made an announcement that they had to cancel the show due to technical difficulties and that was the end. Bummer. It had also just started to rain. Since we had already forked over the money for the dinner to get the late seating, we decided to endure the rain and wait for Fantasmic. We had been told to enter near the "filling station" at the front of the park by 7:15. She said they close the doors promptly at 7:30 and that we wouldn't be allowed in if we were late. My parents bought some ponchos and we hung out in the shops for a while. We went a bit early to the entrance and were sent in. We parked the strollers in the rain and found our "special" section (which isn't really that special - maybe during the busiest times of the year you need the dinner package to get a seat that late - but we would have done fine without it. We sat for a soggy 45 minutes in a light, but annoying rain until going on 8:00 - when it became a heavier and irritating rain. DD2 whined a few times that she wanted to go back to the room. Dad offered to take her back - but she wanted "Mommy". About 8:00 they delayed the show - because of the rain - duh. And DD2 finally agreed to go back to the room with her daddy. They weren't gone a full minute before the lights went out and the show started. They were back almost immediately because DD2 decided to stay since it was starting. I'm glad they stayed, because it is a cool show. A few minutes into the show, the rain stopped. And even though we were wet - we were glad to be seeing Mickey and his dreams. After the show, we somehow managed to get out of the park with the crowd and were able to get to bed by 10:30. Thursday, September 21, Day 5
We had a bit of switching to do for today's schedule because of the AK schedule changes yesterday. Also, we had already done Pirates so we left that out. I arranged a 6:20 wake up call for one of our rooms and a 6:30 wake up call for the other. I wanted to be able to shower, and then get DD4 to answer the 2nd call. She liked hearing Mickey tell her to get up. I thought about trying to get 2 wake-up calls in a regular room, but I never tried it. When we got to the bus stop about 7:25, we had missed a bus to the MK. We got one at7:40 and were at the MK at 7:55. Arriving this late for an early entry isn't ideal, but it was okay. If we had been much later, I would have gone to another park. We skipped the Tommorowland rides and headed to Fantasyland. There was a short wait for Dumbo, but we were on within 5 minutes. We did Peter Pan next - but I somehow didn't hear much if any music during the ride. It seemed strangely quiet. At 8:30 we did Small World then we waited for the rope drop between Fantasyland and Liberty Square. We walked with the cast members and then merged with 2 other rope drop lines heading into Frontierland. Dad and I walked all the way to Splash Mountain with DD4 and got in one of the first several boats. My parents took DD2 to the Country Bear Jamboree since none of them wanted to ride Splash Mountain. DD4 seemed to enjoy her first plunge (the little one at the beginning of the ride). The large plunge put a funny "I'm okay - but that was scary" kind of look on her face. She did say she would want to ride again, though. We actually bought the picture since it was her first ride. ($10.55) Dad had the video camera to his face - but other than that, it's a good picture. Yes - he filmed the drop. It's pretty funny to watch it on video. We all went over to Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin with no wait at 9:30. Then we went for a relaxing ride on The TTA at 9:45. We were leaving the MK at 10:00 and took the Resort Monorail to the Grand Floridian at 10:10. We had a short wait at 1900 Park Fare. Our PS was at 10:30. At the hostess counter I got the bad news that Mary Poppins would not be at the breakfast. This was the whole reason I chose this breakfast. I was disappointed, but the kids were fine. We saw Pinocchio and Geppetto, Alice and the Mad Hatter, and Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). This was the same Aurora that had been at the Cinderella breakfast last year. She saw her autograph in the book and gave it a big lipstick kiss. The girls also had lipstick kisses on their cheeks for most of the morning. DD2 didn't want to see the Mad Hatter, but they liked the other characters. Princess Aurora in now DD4's favorite character. (DD2 says Piglet is her favorite). Total for 4 adults, 1 child,1 free - under 3 = $88 including tip - our part $48. I really like breakfast foods, so I usually enjoy the breakfast buffets. The girls had the Mickey waffles. Then - they discovered the CEREAL. They love cereal and this really made their day. The only problem with the food was the scrambled eggs. They were runny - ick. I could have had a made-to-order omelet, but with the kids, and the pictures and autographs, I just didn't bother with the line. My loss. We were leaving the G.F. at 11:37 and took the Monorail to the TTC to get the bus to AK. . We finally got a bus to AK at 12:00. This is a bit of a hassle. You'd think they'd make it a bit easier to get to MGM and AK for people at the Monorail resorts. We DID get to ride up front in the monorail. This was a highlight for the girls. They were so excited. My parents sacrificed and took the strollers to the main part of the monorail - only four can ride in the front. At Animal Kingdom, we stopped so my mom could purchase a hat. The sun was really beating down on us. While we were waiting - DD2 fell out of her stroller. She must have been reaching for something. I'm to blame for not buckling her in...sorry DD2. She had a bit of a pavement scratch on her forehead. Which reminds me....on one of our first bus rides at OKW, the driver bumped up on to the curb and DD2 went flying out of her seat and with another bump leap-frogged to the other side of the bus and bumped her head on the bottom of the seat. We were sitting in the front where the seats face each other. The driver apologized and checked to see if she was okay. She didn't have a mark on her - amazingly. After that she told me "no more big bumps". We did mention this to someone at the Hospitality House, but I'm not sure what happened after that. Back to AK - We got to the Maharaja Jungle Trek at 12:30. It took us about 20 minutes to go through. It was okay, but I think with the heat, the tigers were just tucked away in the corner where it was shady. There was a bit of a crowd in AK - more than the previous morning. I probably won't bother with this trek again unless I've done just about everything else. We got to the Flights of Wonder show 9 minutes before it started at 1:00. This was a nice show. It had some beautiful birds and a bit of humor. They have the vulture and a couple other birds swoop down over the audience. After this show we were heading out and it was HOT HOT HOT. I was glad to have my ice/water bottle with me. (Bottles of water in the parks are $2.50 - and you will need water. Bring water bottles and do the freezer thing overnight if you can. It really pays.) ((Water, Disney style = 1 bottle a day for each of us (4) times $2.50 times 9 days = $90.00)) We got to the bus stop at 1:45. The bus came at 2:00. The bus went to Blizzard Beach first and then to OKW. I got off at Peninsular to get an envelope that was left at the desk for me. Marcus and Sharon who were joining us for the Illuminations Cruise had dropped off their part of the boat rental fee. I stopped into the Conch Flats General Store to buy some soda, bread and bagels - $10.08 - eek! I got back to the villa at 2:15 and the girls were in for their naps. We didn't get to go swimming, but we had a good rest. Okay, I did laundry and everyone else had a nice rest. Then my mom and I cooked pasta for supper since we didn't get to use it on Tuesday and this would be our last day with the kitchen. I didn't really mind cooking, because it was simple and it's nice to get away from junk food and high prices at the parks. We were back in action at Epcot in time for the 6:30 Tapestry of Nations Parade. I didn't want to be too far from the International Gateway since we'd be going there to get to the Boardwalk, so we found a place along the street in the UK. We didn't wait too long, but we were standing on hot pavement, so by the end of the parade, our feet were pretty hot and swollen. It was an okay parade. I don't really get what the fuss is about. I wouldn't wait around too long for this parade. (More on the TofN later in the report). We caught a bit of the British Invasion after the parade - we were just killing some time in the garden area. I never realized they had a whole stage/audience area back there behind the buildings. We didn't stay because we had to find the restrooms and get over to the boardwalk. We were all looking forward to our Illuminations Cruise! A little after 7:00, we took the boat over to the Boardwalk. We strolled around a while to check things out. This is our DVC home resort - and this was our 1st time seeing it! We fell in love with it right away. I just love the atmosphere and the convenience of everything. I love being able to get to MGM and Epcot on the boats (or walking to Epcot ...and someday to MGM) without folding the strollers!! We saw the DVC display windows. They have an open house area on the far end of the Boardwalk, but even though it was closed at the time, we were able to see the "rooms" through the windows. We met up with the others who were taking the cruise with us at the BW boat dock. Around 8:00 - 8:15. I had met Marcus and Curt on the DIS when I offered to share my cruise with them. We had a bit of a scare when the Cruise Captain didn't have my name on the reservation - then I realized my mom had booked the cruise. I'm the one who usually makes all of the arrangements, so this caught me off-guard. A little background: I wanted the cruise originally for Wed. night but didn't get it when I called 120 days out. So the next time, I recruited my mom to call while I was also trying. She got the Boardwalk cruise and I got the Yacht Club cruise pretty much at the same time. We decided to keep her reservation and again, I hooked up with Robb on the DIS to change the other reservation to his name. There were 12 of us on the boat then, ready for a great evening. It turns out that our Cruise Captain - is Cruise Captain from the DIS (Darrell). He was a great tour guide and had a lot of news and trivia for us on our trip. He first took us over to pick up some lifejackets for the girls at the Luna Park Pool area. Then we went to the MGM to catch the end of Fantasmic from the back of the stage area. We saw Mickey up on the top of the "mountain" and the fireworks. --- a little bonus at no extra cost. :) We then headed back through the waterway to BW and then to Epcot to park under the bridge. Here we had another added bonus (at no extra cost ;) ) Darrell got us some rolls from the "party" next to the bridge. We enjoyed our little bread snack before Illuminations started and met Robb and Deb (whom I also met on the DIS looking to share a cruise). Their families shared the Yacht Club cruise together. Darrell gave us some directions on how to blow out the torches and turn on the lights during Illuminations. I guess after seeing this umpteen times, you get to know it pretty well. Illuminations was wonderful. Everything was right in front of us and over us. The only obstacle was a bit of the curved railing from the party area to the right and in front of us. Maybe the other boats had different views, but I was far to the right looking onto the show. DD2 liked the Earth - especially when it opened up. DD4 let out several loud laughs - her way of showing excitement, I guess. DD2 was a bit scared by the fireworks, but another snuggle was all she needed. (Cruise total $120 plus tax and tip - each person paid $12 and gave their own tip.) After the show, Darrell headed back to the BW, then he realized we had to take the bus back to OKW. So, he took us back over to the International Gateway - wasn't that nice of him. He gave our family (and the others on the cruise) a Magical Millennium Moments Certificate for the cruise - a nice memento. The rest of the group was taken from there to ?? I don't know... I wasn't there. I'm assuming everyone got back to their rooms okay. We were leaving Epcot at 10:20. For some reason they switched the drop off order at OKW and we were last instead of 3rd. I don't think we got in until 10:45. I still had some laundry to finish and some packing to do. This was also our last night with a washer/drying in the villa. We'd be in a studio the next four nights, so I wanted to do as much as I could in the 2 BR. As usual, we watched some of the Olympic coverage before going to sleep. I got to sleep around midnight. Friday, September 22, Day 6
We definitely made some schedule changes today. We were not packed and ready to go until 10:00 this morning. I skipped the wake-up call since we had had a late and full night. We really didn't need an Early Entry for Epcot either at this point since the lines had been very reasonable. At 10:00, we split up and sent the men to check in at the BW and ASMusR. My mom and I took the girls to MGM and planned to meet up with the Dad and my dad there. Check in went fine for them - my parents' room was ready early so they just took my parents' luggage up to the room. Of course, our studio at the BW wasn't ready, so Dad checked in, got a map and the phone number and then checked the bags. He parked at the Boardwalk and took the boat to MGM (first stopping at the Yacht/Beach Club, Swan/Dolphin). The ladies, meanwhile, had arrived at MGM, gotten a couple autographs without a wait and sat down for a while to wait for the next show of The Little Mermaid. There wasn't anyone in line until about 10:30 for the 10:45 show. So we just waited until it was close to show time to stand in line. We had good seats and enjoyed the show. This one was a good one to do while Dad was not with us...he said he didn't really need to see it again this year. We checked up on Dad and my dad before heading to the 11:30 Beauty and the Beast Show. Dad has a cell-phone with National coverage, so we had to use a calling card to call him to find out where he was. We wanted to get some two-way radios before this trip, but decided against it. They wouldn't have worked for this situation anyway, since they only have a 2-mile range. We told Dad we'd meet up with them for the 12:30 Doug Live show if they could make it in time. We got to hear several songs by Four For a Dollar. They're an a cappella group that sings a variety of songs. They're able to please just about everyone in their mixed audience. The Beauty and the Beast show is a bit "canned". I prefer the feel of the Hunchback show. But it's still worth seeing - especially for my little girls. Once again we called Dad and found that they were just entering the park at about 12:15. We met them at the corner by the attraction board and split up again. This time, my parents took the girls to see Doug Live again (my parents weren't with us when we saw it earlier in the week.) and Dad and I went to the Tower of Terror. I picked up fast passes to the Rockin' Rollercoaster on the way (return time 12:55-1:55) Here it is just a little after noon, and you would expect to wait for the Tof T and the Rockin' Rollercoaster, right? Not today. This park was so empty it was GREAT! We walked onto Tower of Terror - even though the cast member said it was a 10-minute wait. Instead of using our fast passes for Rn'R, we just walked right on. We were done at 12:50. Dad didn't feel like going again, so I waited a few minutes, and then went back on my own. I went through the fastpass line, but it was kind of silly since no one was in the line outside. The line inside had gotten a little bit longer, but I still got on within 5 minutes. I sat next to a young girl who was on by herself. She said it was her 7th time on and that her mom was waiting outside for her. We had a good time zipping around the curves, through the loop and the corkscrew. I don't remember the Aerosmith songs that played, but the first time definitely had a better roller coaster feel to the song. There was a crowd kind of starting to form outside of the RnR because Christina Aguilera was supposed to be there at 2:00. We didn't bother sticking around. We planned to meet my parents at the ABC Commissary for lunch at 1:15. We liked the food here the other day and it was close to the Doug Live theatre. We decided to share the Caesar wrap today and the kids had a repeat of their grilled cheese sandwiches and milk. With that and a large diet coke lunch was $19.08 for the four of us. It was 1:50 and the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular was starting at 2:15, so we headed out into a light rain and parked the strollers. It seems that MGM is a pretty good place to be when it rains because of the many indoor attractions. The shows also last a good 20-30 minutes, so you can usually miss out on a rain shower altogether while seeing a show. That's pretty much what happened to us. By the time Indy was over (2:55), it had stopped raining. I hadn't seen the Indy show since '94 and I guess there were some changes, but I couldn't tell you what. This isn't my favorite attraction, but DD4 seemed to enjoy it. The explosives were a bit much for DD2. She stayed pretty calm, but I thought I might have to take her out. The funny thing about the Indy show was that one of the "Beets" made it into the show as an extra. I guess maybe the band has broken up again. Whoever it was - must have been having a fun week playing a part in at least two shows! There was a Hunchback show starting at 3:00, so we decided to do it since the room wasn't ready. This time Matt was the juggler, but we didn't see much of his show since we were late. We got to see the entire performance and I'm not sure, but I think there was a different guy playing Quasimodo. It's hard to tell because of the mask and wig, but I think I could tell from his eyes. Either way, it was a great performance as usual. Some of the guidebooks don't seem to mention this show very much, and it's tucked WAY in the back of the park, so many people might miss it, but you really should make an effort to see it. The performers really do their parts well - and I know that many of them have been doing these same parts for a long time. It's amazing that they can keep it fresh for performance after performance. Now, Dad and I were thinking alike - we both had ice cream on the brain. We stopped for a little treat on our way out of the park. DD2 and I had Mickey bars (vanilla covered with chocolate), Dad had an ice cream sandwich on cookies, and DD4 had a Minnie bar (strawberry??). Total = $9.00. That little snack was nice. :) It was 4:15 when we were leaving the park. I called the front desk at the Boardwalk and got our room number - 3113. Of course, I had no idea where the room was, and the map was no help at all. It doesn't show any room numbers. So, we stopped at the front desk to get directions. A cast member at bell services told me to go to the elevators, go to the third floor, turn right and then look for the number. It sounded so close - but it wasn't. Oh well, I had asked to be close to the elevator - but maybe everyone does. Our walk was long the first time, but after that it didn't seem so bad. We had a room over looking the bus stop (to the left was the entrance to the Boardwalk Villas and Inn, and to the right was the parking lot. This location gave a fairly short walk to the elevator, pool and bus stop. I would take this room again. (We didn't notice until our last night, but this room also had another advantage...you'll have to keep reading.) After being in a 2BR at OKW, you can imagine how small this studio seemed to us. I even tried to switch to a 1 BR, but there were none available. (By the end of our stay, we had adjusted and we are planning 4 nights in a studio/ 5 nights in a 1BR next time.) My parents had gone ahead to Epcot to meet us around 6:30. We had a snack supper in the room and arrived shortly after 6:30. It was raining, but we decided to go for it anyway. When we met up with my parents, they hadn't eaten, so we went into the Electric Umbrella for them to get some supper. DD2 shared some fries with them and DD4 was sleeping in her stroller, so Dad and I went over to Ice Station Cool and left the girls with my parents. Dad was quite brave, taking a big drink of each flavor. I sipped on a few, but avoided the Beverly. I didn't warn him about it - am I bad, or what? He had an expression of disgust on his face. I guess it doesn't taste very good. I'm not a big soda drinker - I don't even like Coke or Pepsi (that's so un-American, isn't it?) I could handle a little of the watermelon one, but that was about it for me. By the way - I don't think Ice Station Cool is the best place to visit on a rainy evening. Burr......... It doesn't look like I took notes this night - probably because of the rain. My goal was to get DD4 in to see Cranium Command. She is very interested in learning about the human body. She has a few books on it and always seems to bring home one or two from the library. I thought she would like this show - and she did. It's in the Wonders of Life building along with Body Wars - but we skipped that one because we preferred keeping our supper IN our bodies. DD4 had lots of questions after (and during) Cranium Command - she wants "to know everything" (as she says). I think this show is fun. I love the celebrities they have playing the different parts (left brain, right brain, heart, etc.). We had some extra time, but didn't want to walk to the World Showcase, so DD2 stayed with my dad while the rest of us went to see Universe of Energy. DD4 said she would be okay with the big dinosaurs - and she was. There were plenty of hands-on museum kinds of things to do for my dad and DD2 at the Wonders of Life building. We had to wait a while for the Energy show to start. There wasn't a big crowd or anything - we just had bad timing. This attraction was -eh. I wouldn't plan to see it again any time soon. I wasn't even planning to see it this time, but it was convenient. I still think the best part about it is the moving theatre sections. The content was lacking and the story seems to take FOREVER. We met up with my dad and DD2 and it was getting close to 9pm. We went back to our rooms from there - my parents took the bus, and we went back through the International Gateway. We made plans to meet at the Winnie the Pooh ride on the next morning at 8:30. I think we watched some more of the Olympics and didn't get to sleep as early as we had hoped. Saturday, September 23, Day 7
I had arranged a 6:30 am wake up call. I put the phone to DD4's ear while she was still sleeping. Later in the day, she wondered if she had a dream that Mickey had called - or if it was real. I haven't been mentioning, but we had cold cereal or bagels almost every morning (just like home! :) ) We got the bus stop at about 8:15. I knew we had just missed a Magic Kingdom bus, because I could see it from window. We didn't get anything in until 8:40 when we met my parents at the Winnie the Pooh ride. (I had hoped to get there early enough for one or two before that - oh well. There was a short wait for Pooh, so we got fast passes for a second ride later and got in line. There is such a wide variety of entertainment at WDW - it's kind of funny. Last night there were dinosaurs breathing down our necks, and now we're bouncing around in a honey pot. Next, we hit Snow White's Scary Adventure since we didn't do it last year. I just warned the kids about the witch and we were on the ride at 8:55. DD2 wanted to do the Carrousel, so we climbed on at 9:02 - and my dad even got on. There were no lines at either of these rides, but I could see a bit of a line at Dumbo - which we skipped today. The Legend of the Lion King started at 9:20 (even on an EE day - this is the first show time) so we killed some time trying on princess hats in one of the shops. We got in line at about 9:15 and waited to be let in for the pre-show (another stand-up or sit on the floor show with a combination of movie clips and a live character presentation). The show is basically a re-telling of the Lion King movie with large puppets. My kids have only seen the Lion King once - I think, so this is a bit unfamiliar to them, but they liked it. At 9:40 when we got out of the Lion King show, we used our fast passes at the Pooh ride. We went to Toontown to do Goofy's Barnstormer for DD2's first Roller coaster ride. There was no wait. She seemed to like it and said she would do it again sometime. We walked through Minnie's House and by then we were ready to leave Toontown. We took the Walt Disney World Railroad to Frontierland. I got some fast passes for Splash Mountain while everyone went ahead to The Enchanted Tiki Room - about 10:45. (Our fastpass return time was 11:15-12:15.) We had a short wait for the show. I actually enjoyed it more this time than last year for some reason. After they made us "disappear", I took the girls into the ladies' room to traumatize them with the automatic flushing toilets. They really hated those things. We checked the times at the Diamond Horseshoe. (I forgot to mention that we decided not to do the breakfast at the Crystal Palace.) They had a show going on with standing room only. Another show was to start at 12:00. We decided to try to fit our fastpass ride in and then see about the 12:00 show. Dad, DD4 and I went to Splash Mountain, and my dad and DD2 watched from the bridge. There was quite a line by now for the ride. I would definitely not have waited in the stand-by line. We got in line about 11:35 and waited about 10 minutes. We got to see my dad and DD2 waving from the bridge. DD4 obviously liked the ride enough to go a second time this week. We were up front, so we knew we'd get wet and we did. By the time we got back to the Diamond Horseshoe, it was standing room only again. So, we decided to skip it and head to Downtown Disney for lunch. We had to take the Monorail to the TTC and the bus to Downtown Disney. We got to the Rainforest Café at 12:50 to put our name on the list. We were given a time that we would be called. I'm pretty sure she said 1:20 - but the ticket said 1:11 (in 20 minutes). I was still looking around the stores (Christmas, and Art of Disney) when we were actually called. My mom heard and got in line for us. We ended up in the elephant room with a nice view of a couple gorillas also. DD2 really liked the animals - but absolutely hated the rain storm. We only had two during our meal - but during the second one her grandpa very nicely took her outside. We had gotten our meals at about 1:50 (a bit of wait, I think). DD4 had grilled cheese, DD2 had the kid's pizza, Dad and my dad had burgers and my mom and I shared some of the "comfort food". I got the meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and she got the chicken fried chicken so we could share some of ours with each other. After trying both, I would have chosen the meatloaf since the chicken was a bit spicy. Since we were a party of 6, the gratuity was added automatically on the bill (17%). So the whole bill was $75.19. I used my Magic Kingdom Club discount (10% off for -$6.70) so that's figured in as well. (They also have an Annual Pass discount here, but only Mon. - Thurs.) I think we were all pretty satisfied after the meal, but it was getting late and I didn't feel like doing much shopping. My mom and dad went in to get a few things for the other grandchildren and we went back to our room - about 3:00. My parents took a bus to the Swan/Dolphin to pick up their rental car from the National counter there. They actually just left the car there, and walked over to the BW to join us for a swim and rest. My mom stayed in the room with DD2 so they both could get naps, and the rest of us went to the pool. Dad and I got to do the slide at the Luna Park pool, but DD4 is too water-shy and not a swimmer yet. The slide was actually better than I thought it would be. After our break, we packed up to go back to the Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade and Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks. I packed a few snacks - but nothing worthy of being called "supper". I knew the park would be crowded since this was the only night this week for these events, so I wanted to get their early enough to get a good spot. I wanted to be able to stay in the same spot after the parade for the fireworks, so I chose a section of curb along the hub on the Tomorrowland side. We were left of the garbage can just facing the castle and the center aisle where they had a handicap viewing area roped off. There were some people already sitting on the benches behind us, so my mom joined a couple there, since she didn't want to sit on the ground or stand. We arrived at this prized spot at about 5:50 - just over two hours before the parade. My plan was to leave the girls with their strollers and an adult or two at our spot and send someone to get supper. My dad went to get supper in Tomorrowland for my mom and himself, and I went to the Main Street Bakery for cookies, milk and Banana bread. Then I stopped at Casey's for some hot dogs and fries. The line at the bakery was long, but it moved at a fairly reasonable pace. Total for 2 cookies, 2 pieces of banana bread and 2 milks = $9.50 - and it was worth every penny. I don't seem to have my receipt from Casey's but I think it was about $9.00 for 2 hot dogs and fries. It's no wonder I lost the receipt. Casey's was a mad house with lines out to Main Street. The lines were incredibly s-l-o-w. I just couldn't imagine what could be so difficult about this - they have a VERY limited menu, they know there's going to be a crowd tonight, what's the deal?? If someone figures it out, let me know. After spilling mustard all over the floor (and cleaning it up) I was finally on our way back to our spot. In the time I was gone - the crowd had grown a LOT. The people were sitting in at least 3 rows back from the curb, with others standing and some on the benches. It was actually fun sitting in the crowd and joking about waiting there for so long. We became quite territorial for each other. More than one group tried to squeeze in front of our section and we were not going to let them do it. There was a guy there who said he was 27 and that this was his first trip to WDW. The lady behind us was actually from a town just south of where we live. The crowd was a bit crazy just before the parade, until they roped off the rode for the parade route. We were able to move DD2 to my lap and fold her stroller so the 27-year-old first-time WDW visitor would have a front row seat. Sorry to babble on about this, but we were there for 2 hours :). The parade started and we all were just having a great time. The smaller "floats" and the characters gave DD4 and DD2 a lot of attention. That is just so special to see them with their eyes all lit up with excitement - or was it all those little light bulbs reflecting?? Anyway, it was worth the wait. One thing that I didn't think about was how the crowd would shift at the end of the parade. There was still about a half and hour before the fireworks and people were trying to get around - either out of the park or to rides, or whatever. The crowd from Main Street followed the parade up to our section and packed in on the street in front of us. Cast Members were trying to make pathways moving in both directions - but it was pretty packed. I had one last piece of banana bread to keep DD2 happy and DD4 was finishing her cookie. We moved the strollers in front of us and held the girls up during the fireworks. That was also worth the wait. I think in situations like this, you just have to be well prepared and have a good attitude. And - as usual, with small children, you have to be ready to bail out if it's necessary. Oh yeah - and if you have any plans to get anywhere quickly after the parade - park yourself VERY close to where you want to go. Otherwise - forget about it. They had extended the park hours to 10pm and added the second parade. We found out on the WDW Railroad announcement early in the day, but there were many others who were surprised by this when they announced it during the time before the 8pm parade. The crowd definitely warranted an additional MSEP, but we were long gone by that time. We had to say good-bye to my parents tonight, because they were leaving in the morning to go to my brother's in W. Palm Beach. They took the bus back to the BW with us and then walked to the Swan/Dolphin to get their rental car. Sunday, September 24, Day 8
Our plans changed a bit because of another late night. We shamefully slept in and missed church. We had breakfast in the room as usual and then left the room at 11:00 to go to Epcot. DD2 and I made the trip first on our own while Dad dealt with some issues back at the room with DD4. We planned to meet somewhere just inside the World Showcase. I got to Epcot by 11:15 and took a few minutes to get the sunscreen on DD2 and myself. We strolled over to France and waited for Dad and DD4 until almost 11:30. Impressions De France was starting soon, so we went in to see the film. This is a beautiful film with wonderful classical music. DD4 and DD2 were quietly pretending to be airplanes because that's the feeling you get from the movement during the film. After the film, I found a printout describing the locations in France that were used in the film and the music that accompanied each scene. It would be nice to have that information during the film - maybe next time I step into the shop first to get a copy. BTW - these films were starting on the hour and half-hour and last 18 minutes. You do sit in the theatre - unlike the circle-vision film in Canada. I had saved most of Epcot for these last few days since we would be so close at the BW. That really paid off, because we were able to come and go as we needed. That way we didn't feel overwhelmed by the size of the WS. We walked through Morocco and Japan on our way to the American Adventure. The next show wasn't starting for a while, and with not much else happening this early in the day, we decided to keep walking and come back later. When we got to the Friendship boat dock -a boat was just pulling in, so we got on for a ride over to Future World. We planned to come back to the WS when the entertainers were out later in the afternoon, or some evening. We picked up fastpasses for Test Track - but really didn't see ourselves sticking around until we would be able to use them (return time: 2:10-3:10). DD4 really wanted to do Test Track by this time and kept asking when we would go to ride. I didn't think she'd be interested - but she kept asking. We went over to the Imagination ride next. There was not much of a line. DD2 did NOT like this one - and DD4 gave it a 3 out of 5 (that's bad for her). Dad said it was a 2 and I have to agree. The only part even half worth seeing is the upside down house. (Dad said the toilet dripped on him.) Too bad this one had to be so bad. The kids didn't even like it - so it's not that it was geared toward their age group. Who was this ride for, anyway? Imageworks was fun. I had read about people being disappointed in it, but I think it's an improvement over the old Imageworks. The music/conducting thing was cool. We had our picture taken and tried to send it as email -it finally arrived a week later, but when we go to the Kodak site, it said it was not available...finally we were able to see it about a week and half after it was sent. We decided to leave Epcot for lunch because we were hungry and tired. We found a boat waiting for us at the dock and took it over to the BW. We ate lunch in the room (We had Rainforest café leftovers, individual chef Boyardee ravioli and PB+J). At 2:40 we were all taking naps. Actually, I think Dad slept while the girls "rested" and kept waking me up. We had a bit of a repeat of this morning where DD2 and I went to Epcot first, and Dad and DD4 and Dad planned to meet us later. At 5:10 we met the Epcot boat at the BW dock and rode over to the International Gateway. We planned to meet at the American Adventure at about 5:30. We stopped briefly to watch the Living Statue in France. The crowd had formed a semi-circle around the statue and kids and adults were taking turns going up to the statue to pose for pictures. The statue would pull pony tails, make funny poses, etc. with the people. For one boy, the statue held out his hands, and the boy put his hands in the statue's hands. The Statue then stood, lifting the boy off the ground. The boy was dangling there a while. I couldn't convince DD2 to go up - but planned to go back, since DD4 would jump at the chance. When we got to the American Adventure, Belle and another character were out signing autographs. I'm not sure why they were in this country, but we stopped for pictures and autographs. DD2 and I got to hear the Voices of Liberty but didn't go into the theatre because Dad and DD4 hadn't arrived in time. I enjoy hearing this a cappella group. If I were to be a cast member, this would be something I'd love to do. I sang in a Madrigal group in high school, and directed one when I taught. These singers were all very talented. One soprano sang so delicately and beautifully higher than most people can vocalize. DD2 and I waited until 6:05 and decided to walk to Test Track. That was the only other place we talked about - so I thought maybe we had misunderstood each other. At Test Track, there was a long line and no more fastpasses being issued. I could tell that the ride had stopped because I couldn't hear the cars zooming around the curve. When we didn't see Dad and DD4, I was really wishing we had those 2-way radios. I started walking back toward the center of the park when I heard the footsteps of someone running behind me. It was DD4 - and Dad was trailing behind. She had a bit of trouble listening to Dad back in the room, so they were delayed. So, they finally made their way from the BW - to the Amer. Adv. to meet us. (Of course they got there 5 minutes after I left.) Then they walked to Test Track. At least we were thinking alike. He also said that that was the only other thing we talked about so that's why he went there. Now it was time to give everyone a choice about what they wanted to do. My dictatorship had ended. DD2 got to choose between the Land and the Sea. She chose to see the fish. We went in to the "hydrolators" at 6:35 after a short wait. The Living Seas is not my favorite - but the kids just had a blast watching the fish in the huge tank. I mostly watched the girls watching the fish. After this, we were getting hungry so we headed to the World Showcase - a good place to eat. We saw the Living Statue again - actually a different one. DD4 took a turn going to the statue, stood in front and the statue took hold of her braids and lifted them up in the air. She got a kick out of that. DD2 eventually decided to go, but couldn't get to the Statue before someone else. After trying twice, she gave up. I read about the Yakitori fast food counter in a trip report - and wanted to go there. Dad wanted to go to Germany for a pretzel. I got a Shogun Combo (steak and chicken) and we all shared it. (Total = $6.89) Dad and the kids shared the pretzel ($3.05). We got to the American Adventure at 8:00, just in time to slip in a bathroom break before the 8:10 show. This show, like the Hall of Presidents, had film and animatronics. But this show's animatronics are more varied and complicated. Even as young as my kids are, they sat well for these shows and enjoyed them. At 8:50 we were leaving Epcot. We walked to the boardwalk considering a snack on the way home. We decided on ice cream at Seashore Sweets. We sat at a table on the edge of the Boardwalk and watched the fireworks from Illuminations over the trees. About 9:15, the Boardwalk Buskers - a group of three comedic jugglers came to do a show. One of them was Randy, the juggler we had seen at the Hunchback show. Each of them did a quick act and then packed it up and left. We went up to the room and got to sleep about 10:15. Monday, September 25, Day 9
We decided to give the Early Entry at the Magic Kingdom this morning. We were taking the BW bus to the MK at about 8:00-8:15. Now it was time for DD4's pick. She chose Snow White's Scary Adventure. We waited under 5 minutes to get on. Next, I gave DD2 a choice between Peter Pan and Small World. She chose Peter Pan. The sign said it was a 10 minute wait, but it wasn't anywhere near that. Once again we were positioned to walk to Frontierland at the 9:00 rope drop. DD4 was ready to do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Dad and I used the baby swap. DD2 and I waited at the exit while Dad and DD4 rode. They were on the second train of the day. When DD4 got off, she said she was scared, but she wanted to ride again. DD4 and I went in the exit, and got into a train right away. She again said it was scary, but she did it without any pressure from us. We wanted to give DD2 another shot at her roller coaster (Barnstormer). On the way, we stopped at the Mad Tea Party (9:28) and Dad bowed out to video tape (he just can't take the spinning rides) while the girls and I rode. Alice and one of the characters rode in the cups with some other guests. I don't think I've been on this since one of my first trips to WDW. I do remember bugging my parents to ride it. It may be a simple ride, but the girls and I giggled the whole time. At 9:40 we were riding the Barnstormer - Dad with DD2 and me with DD4. I told Dad to hold on to DD2 - especially at the end when it stops. I guess he held on pretty tightly, because she said she didn't want to go on again because the ride hurt her "here" (on her rib cage, where Dad was holding her :) ). So, DD4 and I stayed in for a second ride since there was no line. At 10:00 we were leaving the Magic Kingdom for the last time this trip. There were hoards of people entering. We took the monorail to the TTC to take the monorail to Epcot. At 10:30 we arrived at Epcot. We headed straight to Test Track to get fastpasses. DD4 was beginning to wonder when we would actually get to ride. Our fastpass return time was 11:20 - 12:20. We decided to take another "break" and then go to Mexico for the boat ride. We had to wait for the 11:00 rope drop, but it was better than trekking across the park to something else at this point. We did El Rio del Tiempo without waiting - an easy going boat ride. Finally, it was time to ride Test Track. We needed to do the baby swap thing again. Dad was sent to the exit with a special pass. (Anyone can go in this exit and see the displays of the cars, the gift shop and an "non-rider waiting" area with interactive activities and some informational demonstrations. If someone in your group is not riding and they're just going to wait - take advantage of the air-conditioning and the stuff to see.) DD4 and I went through the fast pass line - and it took us a while to weave in and around the "line" - or where a line would be. We were on within 10 minutes, though. There was only one other person in our car from the single line, which left 3 open spaces. Ours was not the only car like this. With a LONG line outside, why does this happen? I usually see much better "people moving and organizing" at the Disney attractions. When I got in the car, I realized the middle seats (in front and back) had only a lap belt. So I had DD4 sit on the outside, and I sat in the middle. We were really getting into the ride, because all three of us on the ride had never ridden before, so we didn't know what was going to happen next. At one point we slowed down and stopped. It took us a minute to realize that we had just "crashed" in slow motion because the ride was down. It took a few minutes before the ride started again. After that it was non-stop, fast and fun. I really liked the ride, and so did DD4. I was not at all disappointed, as I've read some people have been. Of course, riding this with my almost 5-year old made it even more thrilling because it was so neat to watch her reactions. We were finished at 11:45 and met Dad and DD2 in the "showroom" area. DD4 was definitely up for another ride so she and Dad went up to the baby swap return area. On this ride, they said it stopped twice - once right on the fast curve. We decided to put Test Track on the list for Tuesday morning for Early Entry. By 12:20, we had met the BW boat at the International Gateway dock. We had some lunch in the room. There were a few things on our list that we wanted to do either today or tomorrow. Included in that was a trip back to MGM, swimming at Stormalong Bay (DVC pool-hopping), a boat ride for Dad and the girls - one at a time - in a "watermouse" from the Yacht/Beach Club dock, and a surrey bike ride on the Boardwalk. We got on a boat to MGM at the BW dock at about 1:40. We had our swimming stuff with us, thinking we'd hit the pool after a quick trip to MGM. While we were on the boat we became spontaneous. (I know, that's just not like us.) We decided to hop off the boat at the Yacht Club and go on a rental boat together if they had one the right size. They had canopy boats that were fine for us, so we took one for a half-hour. We used our Annual Pass discount here and paid $19.00 for the 1/2 hour. Dad let the girls take turns "driving" the boat while I did combat with the "love bugs". They were UNREAL at the dock - all over the boat, sticking to us and in our faces, but most had either left or been smashed by the time we got to the MGM area and back. We circled the BW area and returned to the Yacht Club dock at 2:30. We were definitely ready for the pool now. We hiked over to Stormalong Bay to swim. We changed in the restroom (no air-conditioning). By the time I got my suit on and the girls' suits on, I felt like I had been in a sauna. I have never been more ready for a swimming pool in my life. And this was the best! (I say that a lot, I know.) Anyway, we used a locker there to stash our valuables and then realized the inner tubes were for rent -and our money was in the locker - so we skipped the tubes. I love this pool and it is reason enough to stay at the Beach Club. It has this cool white crystal-like sand on the bottom and sand in piles and like a "beach" - no kidding - it's the "Beach club" after all. I saw the bottom of the water slide and thought I'd check it out. I had a little trouble finding the entrance, because you have to cross the path to get there. It's at the top of the ship. On the way up I saw the little pool area with a kiddie slide and took that information back to the gang. This slide was definitely wilder than the Luna Park Slide. First of all it starts in a tube, so you have to lie down - no sitting up. Then, the curves come and the water gushes out at you - leaving you a bit disoriented (especially for paranoid contact lens-wearers like myself). It was a blast, though and I did go again later in the afternoon. Dad took his turn down the big slide and then we took the girls over to the kiddie area on the ship. DD2 went down the slide right away. Here, you're allowed to catch your kids at the bottom, or ride together with them. By the third or fourth time down, she didn't even want us to catch her and was shooing us away from the bottom of the slide. She was being brave, but she also had an inner tube thing over her bathing suit. DD4 on the other hand was weary from a dunking she had experienced going down a slide at a lake near our home. She only had water wings and that didn't give her much confidence. After some encouragement and coaxing, she tried a few rides with either Dad or myself, but she just wouldn't go alone. Dad decided to switch the girls' floatie things :) and give DD4 the tube for a while. She did finally decide to go down the slide on her own. This was a major accomplishment for the summer - which really wasn't summer anymore. :( We were having so much fun; we didn't want to leave - who needs a nap? The girls wanted to play in the sand, so we went over to the beach area where the water is shallow from end to end and the beach just goes right into the pool. There were some shovels and pails around, so they did their digging and piling and playing - just enough to say we had done it and to get sand in our bathing suits... We did a couple rounds of the "river" area - which gets deep right off the steps - watch out! Dad helped DD2 around since she only had the water wings on. DD4 was just free floating around in the inner tube "bathing suit". By that time, we were good and "pruney" and ready to head back to the room. At about 5:00 I stopped into the Screen Door General Store to get some water and milk. ($6.45 - 1/2 gallon of milk, 1.5 liters of water) I did one load of laundry while everyone dried out and rested. (Use of the laundry is free for BW guests.) We had supper in the room and were heading to the BW at about 6:50. This was really the perfect time for a surrey bike ride. The sun was just going down while we were on our way around but it was still light enough and the Boardwalk was not terribly crowded. We rented a surrey for two (I think they had them for 2, 4, 6 people peddling -all have a seat for two small children in the front.) The kids rode up front in the little basket seats. This was $16.00 for a half-hour. We energetically peddled - without going crazy - to get around the circle twice. Of course, after all that work, we had to get a snack. We walked over to Epcot to get some funnel cake near the American Adventure. We got a regular one with powdered sugar, one with strawberries and a water. I left the water bottles in the room. (funnel cake $3.50, w/ fruit $4.50, water - $2.50). Dad took DD2 down to Germany to get a pretzel (neither of them were thrilled with the funnel cake). I waited with DD4 on the wall around the flowerbed. The Tapestry of Nations was to start at 8:10 and we were pretty close to the "street" - but there was really no one around us. The parade started while we were finishing our snack, so when it came our way, we walked up to the edge of the street and had a front row spot. The parade seemed better this time, maybe because it was cooler, darker, less crowded - maybe it was the funnel cake?? It was still not as good as some people have said, but the figures did bend to the girls a lot, so they really liked that. When our part of the parade ended, we walked clockwise to get to the International Gateway. While we walked, we caught half of the other parade. The crowds were a little heavier here and there, but we were able to get through without much trouble. (We didn't have the strollers with us this night, so that made it easier.) I picked up our laundry on the way back to the room, and we got back about 9:00. The girls had gotten undressed and ready for a bath, when I noticed the fireworks out the balcony doors. We opened the doors to sit outside - the girls had towels on (most of the time :) ). This was a special treat. This was the first night we realized you could see the fireworks from Illuminations. Our view was pretty good even over the Boardwalk Inn rooftop. It made our last night something to remember. I gave the girls their bath and we watched some of the Olympics and went to bed. Tuesday, September 26, Departure Day
Another tough schedule to follow... :) We actually made plans to go to Test Track again during early entry and then return to the room to finish packing. We got our last wake-up call for 6:30. We had cereal in the room and we were leaving the BW by 8:00. We walked through the International Gateway and went directly to Test Track. The line was already long, so we took fastpasses for an 8:30-9:30 return. I didn't know what was open on Early Entry days...a hole in my planning, I guess. We found out that the only things open were the Wonders of Life, Spaceship Earth and Test Track. We decided to do Spaceship Earth while waiting for our turn on Test Track. There was no wait, but by the time we walked back and forth, etc., it was time for Test Track. Dad and DD4 went in first this time (8:45) while I waited with DD2. At 9:10 DD4 and I were on. We had to wait a while in the swap area because they had trouble with their elevators and had to carry wheel chairs up the stairs. We were finished by 9:25. The ride was better this time without the stop. Dad took some video of DD4 during the ride and she was screaming during a lot of it - in a fun sort of way. She got to do Test Track four times the lucky little squirt. I didn't realize how long Test Track would take, and I had mentioned doing Cranium Command before we left. So, we fit in one more attraction before heading back to the room to check out. I explained a bit more about the different parts to DD4 - since she wasn't satisfied with the quick answers she had gotten the first time. Like she says... she "wants to know everything". We were leaving Epcot by boat at about 10:30, which didn't leave us much time for our final packing. I called bell services to have them come get our luggage while I was stuffing things in right and left. We were packed and out of the room by 11:12. Whew! I had considered a Character Breakfast this morning, but changed my mind and decided to go for lunch at Le Cellier in Canada. We arrived just as they were opening at 11:35. Once again, it was the trip reports that I had read that made me want to eat there. Dad and I had the cheddar cheese soup along with our bread. It was absolutely wonderful. It had just the right cheese and bacon flavor. Definitely not the taste of any other cheese soup I've had. I would definitly visit there again just to order that soup. I had a steak and Dad had a burger. The waiter even told me to cut into it to make sure it was "well". I appreciated that, because I often have to send steak back because it's too pink. He took it back cheerfully and returned it in good time without the pink. I know that a lot of culinary experts are just cringing, but I can't eat red meat unless it's brown...:). We all enjoyed our meal in a relaxing atmosphere - a good choice for our last Disney meal. I almost forgot about dessert. We got the Millenium dessert - with the dark chocolate Spaceship Earth and the "butterfinger mousse". I loved the dark chocolate but the mousse was not my taste. I don't like cream cheese desserts - and I didn't realize this was full of it. It didn't even look appetizing. I won't go into any other details. It just wouldn't be polite :). Our total bill including tip = $58.18. I used my rewards money from Freeride for this meal. After lunch, we went to visit the Millenium Village. We couldn't go away without seeing it. I'm not aware of the future of these exibits, and if they're history next year - then at least I didn't miss it. We didn't spend a lot of time at any of the countries, but we went through the forests of Brazil, listened to the stories at Saudi Arabia, saw the movie on the simulator in Israel (the kids like this), and when through the seasons in Sweden. We only spent an hour at the Millenium Village. I could see spending just a bit more time there, but we needed to get moving. We took our last boat ride over to the BW to get our rental car and our luggage. Dad pulled the car up and Bell Services helped with the bags. (tip - $5). We had to make one stop at Downtown Disney and one stop for gas before heading to the airport. We parked near the World of Disney and looked around. The girls decided that they wanted the character markers like DD4 had gotten last year. We couldn't find them anywhere in World of Disney. If you've been in that store, you know just how remarkable that is... I had seen them earlier in the week at the Art of Disney - so we walked all the way to that end to get the markers. DD4 got the same set as last year - the Princesses, and DD2 got a set with Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, etc. We used our MKC discount for a total of about $20. I just couldn't find anything I was wanted enough to part with my money. I really liked the embroidered shirts but they were way to much. Maybe next time I'll find something. Now for the best ending to a wonderful vacation...a stop at Ghirardelli's Chocolates. As a DVC member (and actually with the Annual Pass) I was able to get a small "gift" with a purchase of more than $10. They were out of whatever this gift usually is, so we got four mini bars. I was really looking forward to a chocolate milkshake all during the week and knew this would be what I'd get. Dad and the girls jumped on the band wagon with shakes as well - chocolate for Dad and vanilla for the girls. (DD4 and DD2 shared a shake and they put it in two separate cups for them.) This was unbelievably delicious. They really know how to make a shake - not to mention the chocolate. At about 4:00, we made a quick gas stop to fill the tank in the rental car. I got a 1.5 liter bottle of water for $1.89 and we went to the airport. I was repacking my check-in luggage with our "day pack" stuff and digging my "plane stuff" out of my luggage. That must have looked pretty amusing to passers by. We had a great flight with a nutty and very funny flight attendant. Among other quips, she reminded us that this was a non-stop, non-smoking, non-whining, non-complaining flight. At the part when they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on and then assist small children - she said told the wives to assist their husbands. She was a trip. We landed VERY early in Albany and made it home without incident. Ah, home sweet home - where we were greeted with night time temperatures in the 40's and pumpkins on display at the local farm market. Good-bye summer. SUMMARY I just need to let you know that my husband thinks I'm totally out of my mind for writing this report. He just wants to make sure that you don't think the whole family is as crazy as I am. Maybe someday he'll learn to appreciate my efforts - or not. :) TIPS
HIGHLIGHTS Mom's
Dad's
DD4's
DD2's
Grandpa's
Grandma's
BIGGEST PROBLEMS and DISAPPOINTMENTS I would have to say that I didn't really have many disappointments at all this trip. We had such wonderful Character Meal experiences last year, but I think they were not as big a highlight this year (I think the runny eggs have a lot to do with that) - not to mention that we missed out on Mary Poppins. I will still do character meals in the future, but I think that I learned that a good meal at Le Cellier is better without characters than a so-so meal is with characters. OLD KEY WEST vs. BOARDWALK VILLAS We were in a higher gear while we were at Old Key West, so I don't know if I can compare it fairly to our experience at the Boardwalk. I would stay there again if I couldn't get a room at the Boardwalk, but I just loved the location of the Boardwalk villas. VISITING W/ THE KIDS I just love seeing the kids react to characters and the attractions. I'm glad we're able to take them at this age. I know many people want to wait until their kids are older - and if you can only do ONE trip - that may be the smart thing to do. But, there's even a difference in reaction from year to year when they're so small. I don't regret at all the extra hassles involved in taking toddlers and pre-schoolers. You really just have to keep an eating/sleeping schedule as close to life at home as possible - maybe adding a little extra rest here and there. VISITING W/ THE GRANDPARENTS This is the second trip we've taken with my parents - and on this trip (as well as the last) we heard comments from another couple about their negative experience traveling with the grandparents. A couple I spoke to said they were not happy traveling with them because they slowed them down and wanted to do everything they did. Once again, I have to say that I enjoyed having my parents there and how great a help they were with the kids. If you're going to go with other friends or family members, you need to have a clear understanding before you go about what everyone wants. For our trip, everyone agreed to follow my plans, so I didn't have to worry about whether or not everyone was doing what they wanted. Also, they all knew they could go off on their own, too. VISITING IN MID-SEPTEMBER This was a great time to visit. The weather was still hot - but nothing like mid-summer, I'm sure. We had highs in the low 90's most days and comfortable nights (you could still wear shorts). The evenings when it rained it was a bit cooler, but I only thought about buying a sweatshirt once, and skipped it. The ponchos keep you plenty warm. The crowds were light to heavy depending on the park, time of day, and day of the week. The heaviest times were late morning in the MK, early afternoon at AK and all day Saturday at the MK. Epcot never really seemed incredibly crowded - except at the Test Track line. MGM was probably where we saw the lightest crowd - even mid-day on Friday. I would definitely visit again during this time. The only thing even slightly negative about it was the early park closings - but Epcot is always open until 9:00 - and there's plenty to do elsewhere. With an earlier closing, we were also able to do some things like the MK parade, fireworks that might have been too late for the little ones during the summer. WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO NEXT TIME Our next trip will be in May. We'll be there for part of a week before and again after Mother's Day weekend. I think we'll use a similar strategy that we did this trip - avoiding the middle of the day at the parks, enjoying a rest or swim back at the room, etc. I probably will schedule just one Character breakfast - maybe at Cindy's again (we did this in 1999). I will plan to do early entry at MK and maybe MGM, but not Epcot except for Test Track, maybe. And someday I'll get to that campfire... FINANCIAL SUMMARY All of the expenses below are for our family of four only - except where noted. For Character meals, DD2 ate for free since she was under 3 years old.
I hope you were able to gain some valuable information from this report - or at least a bit of enjoyment. Mom Mail a Comment to Mom |
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