Ilene Fabisch -- Millennium -- Walt Disney World (ASMuR)

Trip attendees: Mom (me 41yo), Dad (43 yo), Matt (16yo), Michelle (13yo), Family Friends: MomL(42yo), DadL (?yo), Jamie (20yo), Rob (17yo), Michel(13yo).

Well we are back from our long awaited Millennium trip to WDW. We had a great time all in all but the trip itself was plagued by problems almost every inch of the way. Here is just day one. Actually it gets better after this day. Here is a copy of the fax in part that I sent to the AS Music Resort before we began our trip that highlights some of the planning problems we ran into.

Dear Sir or Madam,

My family and another will be arriving at your hotel on December 29th sometime after 1PM. We are arriving from Providence RI into Tampa as we were unable to get airline reservations into Orlando. Our reservation number is xxx . We are staying from the Dec. 29 thru Jan 3, 2000. We have had our reservation for five years and are very excited!

We are two families traveling together and have reserved three rooms. I know that they can¹t all connect but it would be reassuring if we could get the room the kids are in to connect to one of the adult rooms. Or at a minimum that they all be next to each other. I have put in this request previously but just wanted to make sure it reached the right hands. I believe our reservation requests non-smoking rooms in the Calypso building as close as possible to the bus stop.

It seems that after waiting five years to have this wonderful vacation all of our plans are falling apart. We were unable to get a plane into Orlando as previously stated, we couldn't get Fantasia/meal combo tix. as they discontinued this due to the holiday season I suppose, we couldn't get dinner or breakfast ressies for Tony¹s or Crystal Palace for NYE in MK even though I was on the phone at 7am the day they became available. Unfortunately the family we are going with will probably not get a chance to go again and we really wanted to make it special for them. And to top it all off the father in the family we are going with just lost his job...nice Xmas present..so he isn't even sure he will be able to come! The rest of us will go but it just won't be the same.

I realize that you cannot guarantee a location, but anything you could do to honor our request would be most appreciated.

Thanks to Michael Corbo for lending me his fax format for the request. The response was UNBELIEVABLE!

Unfortunately you wouldn't believe the emotional turmoil we had to go through before we actually arrived. When we arrived at the airport ticket counter we were informed that although we had tickets in hand, no reservations had actually been made by the travel agent..HUH? They said we probably would not get on the plane (there were 9 of us!) and all other flights were full.

We panicked like no panic ever seen before. This trip was almost completely paid for we had had the ressies for FIVE YEARS and now they were saying we couldn't go. I already had it in my head that I would just drive if I had to but it is a 24 hour straight thru drive. It probably wouldn't have worked. Next I went to the ticket counter of the other airlines to check availability while my husband did the logical thing and contacted the travel agent. He was much more successful than I. There were basically no flights available to either Tampa or Orlando that day or the next. The one flight I found was $488 EACH WAY! The kids were sitting there just in total shock like this CAN'T be happening! My husband finally had it worked out with the agent and the airlines that indeed we did have ressies but since they were full they would TRY to get us on the flight and if they couldn't they would get us on the next one.

What wound up happening is that seven got on the original flight into Tampa and the two that didn't got on the next flight out which went to Orlando. I hope we get some compensation for pain and suffering! The group that landed in Tampa, rented cars (they tried to get us for more $ than our confirmed rate but at least they had the cars for us!) and headed to AS Music to meet up with the remaining two (my husband and son). They arrived shortly after us (my son left his new palm computer (a Davinci) on the taxi, we still haven't gotten it back) and we proceeded to have an incredibly slow check in (but at least they had the ressies and fax request etc.). This whole catastrophe took from 7am until 4:30pm!

Thanks to the fax request, we got great rooms all next to each other and as close to the bus stop as possible but the kicker is the CM that received this request took it upon himself to make a little Disney magic happen and got us reservations at Tony's for breakfast at 9am (perfect) on Dec. 31 and also for Chef Mickey's for dinner at 6:30! We just couldn't believe it! What a nice arrival gift. Thank goodness for the CM that made those dining ressies for us.. truly a little magic for us after the day we had just been through. We had lost the whole day in travel but we finished on a high note dining at Brown Derby with all of us at one table (a nice surprise as it wasn't guaranteed on my Priority Seating ressies) and then on to Fantasmic!

First full day at WDW. We planned to spend it at Animal Kingdom. We were trying to save a bit of money so since we were staying at AS Music and they have that wonderful food court we took advantage and grabbed just a quick breakfast. We wound up doing this most mornings as the food court has just about anything you could think of and pretty inexpensive as far as disney goes.

The weather was a beautiful 76 or so and sunny but not humid...perfect theme park weather! When we got to AK we went to Tarzan Rocks first as we were just in time for the first show and were advised the subsequent shows get crowded quickly and so there is a long wait time. The show is quite good but Tarzan does take the breath away! I didn't know they made men that perfect! This show has a little for everyone: fun and song for kids, rollerblading for teens, Tarzan for women and Jane for men! Quite good.

We proceeded to CTX we thought to get a fast pass but the wait was so short we just went in. It was GREAT! Nothing like I thought it would be. Very exciting! After this we went to the Safari also with only a short wait so no need for fast pass again.

We took a break for lunch at the BBQ where we all enjoyed ribs and chicken. It's delicious. Then we headed for the lion king show. We had seen this before but our friends hadn't it is still very good even when done as a repeat. After the Lion King show we did some shopping and finished up with A Bugs Life and a long look at the Tree of Life which is just amazing if you take the time to REALLY view it.

We had dinner ressies at the Hoop De Doo review for 7:15 so we headed over about 5 so I could shop the FW gift shop which always has great sales. We got great seats: center front! and of course being close to the front the probability that you get picked for something increases. Well my husband got picked to be the ANGEL in the final scene! It was a riot, the kids didn't let him forget it for the whole trip and he even got recognized the next day by someone while in MK. Don't ask - we were talking about "angel power" the whole trip!

After the dinner we headed over to Downtown Disney to sneak in an hour or so of shopping at World of Disney. As you can see we push a bit too hard and get every last minute out of our time at Disney. It does leave us exhausted and ready for a vacation by the time our vacation ends!

Today is MK day and NYE! We had thought we wouldn't be able to leave the park once we got in but were informed that as long as you were staying on property and got in and got a handstamp you could return to the same park at any time...you could NOT however park hop. This was nice because now we had the option of leaving if we got tired and also of going over to Chef Mickey's at the contemporary for dinner.

We head over for breakfast at Tony's but we leave extra early so we can get a ride on Thunder Mountain in first, plus we were scared of just how crowded it was going to be as we heard all sorts of rumors. The darned pin carts kept catching us too as we fell deeper into the pin collecting fever (and deeper into debt). I had really hoped to get a Last Day / First Day pin here today but it was not to be. Later I heard that it was only at Epcot and people had been lined up since 3AM! I'm not quite that crazy but I was sorry not to be able to get one of the pins :-(

Tony's was delicious as usual. The cinnamon buns they serve prior to your meal are a meal in themselves so we all left stuffed. We had extra servings because we were waiting for the teen boys who chose sleep over early rides and they had a heck of a time getting to us. The lines for the buses were VERY long, you had to add an extra hour to your commuting time but only in the am.

The boys wound up missing the breakfast but I had made ressies for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern and they decided to go a bit early and see if they would honor them. They did and they saw the actor Jack from Boy Meets World there! We didn't go because we had just had breakfast.

We all did rides and such and about 12:30 I decided to take a break from MK and treat my friend to a tour of WL. I had stayed there once before and knew it would be a great place to kick back for awhile. We rested on the beach and then headed back to MK by boat (no lines!) in time to meet up with everyone at our designated 3pm time. More rides etc.

We headed over for a nice dinner buffet at Chef Mickey's. I was a bit disappointed that they upped the prices for this night but it was very good and we got NYE hats too! It also included a glass of champagne for the adults in the group and she brought little stuffed Mickeys (they were ornaments) over for the kids.

We headed back for MK, lines were not too bad. Once in the park the place was about as crowded as I've ever seen it but still not unbearable. We listened to a band near the train station for awhile then headed over to Tomorrowland as they had a stage and DJ there. Too loud and crowded, next stop fantasy land stage/DJ. This music was much better and we found an uncrowded spot near Ariel's Grotto to sit.

The rest of my party was withering and it was only 9pm - YIKES. I was determined to have a good time and ventured by myself to check out the DJ at Adventureland. I came back and still they were all just sitting around waiting for midnight..AAARRRGGG! I just danced by myself and then one of the teens joined me for a bit. A disco song came on and I pulled my husband up and said you ARE dancing to at least one song with me.

My daughter was in tears from being too tired and cold. It wasn't a pleasant evening, I think expectations were too high. My son who had ventured off on his own earlier joined us at 11pm and wanted desperately to go to the front of the castle but the rest of us were afraid of the crowds. He stayed with us but that turned out to be a big mistake as once the fireworks started there was no audio / speakers to that area and we missed everything being said, countdown and all. We did have a good view of the fireworks which were spectacular, the best I'll probably ever see in my lifetime! They lit up the entire perimeter of the kingdom as well as being over the castle in both back and front! Everyone was so tired we were just glad to see the new year in and go back to ASMu. My son was <unhappy> and I'm sure he won't let us forget it for awhile. Anyway the bed felt real good after this LONG day.

Wow three days here and still haven't touched EPCOT! We grab a quick breakfast in that great food court at ASMu and head out a bit late as we slept a longer due to the previous very late night.

BTW transportation out of MK last night was incredible, definitely Disney's specialty (moving people quickly where they need to go). They had hired extra coach buses and basically there were no lines and no waiting (Ok maybe a 5 min wait till one bus loaded and the next pulled up). But you should've seen the wait the poor people that had to get to cars had. They must've had to wait there a good hour or more.

So off to Epcot we go! We figure since so many people had been there the night before chances are this park will be pretty empty today. We were pretty right. I was disappointed by the pin episode the day before but today they had some great new pins and no lines to get them. It is the Happy New Year pin! I should've purchased more than two but they had so many I didn't think this would be one of the more sought out ones. Oh well another mistake :-(

We went to Test Track to get fast passes, the wait was already an hour so this time. Fast pass paid off.

Now off to Millennium Village. My family had already seen it on it's opening day but the family we were with hadn't. We had a better time this time because it wasn't at all crowded. We played the Brazilian "futebol" (soccer) game...lots of fun and then headed to the Israeli motion simulator (short wait). The group couldn't wait to try some of the foods offered in the food court here and we all shared so we could taste many things. I think the coconut cake (Africa?) and the chicken salad sandwich on a sweet bread were hits.

Next we went back to Test Track to make our Fast Pass time. The group then split up with plans to meet at 6pm to take a group shot under the "celebrate the future" sign by the international gateway gift shop. I took in some entertainment. I saw the swing group at the American Theater, watched the "statue" in France and in general took it easy and enjoyed some peaceful shopping. I purchased a ring my daughter had been eyeing in the international gift shop and decided upon not making another CD.

After the group shot we all headed to Morocco for dinner. The food was very good but I still don't like the building and it seemed annoyingly loud inside. Nevertheless we all enjoyed our food (and the belly dancing) and headed out to catch Tapestry of Nations parade. Having seen it before I knew what a treat we were in for. It is just a fabulous parade and the music is powerful. Bought the CD.

We were posted just outside of Morocco which we thought would be a good view for illuminations, turned out not to be the best viewing site but it still was great, saw most of the show but missed a view of the fountains. My family argued with me that that is where we viewed from in Oct when we saw it but I thought we were closer to the American Pavilion myself. Live and learn! Since we were all still very tired (a theme that persists throughout our trip) we headed back to the hotel after Illuminations.

This was left as our "free day". Options included: Typhoon lagoon, Disney Quest, Downtown Disney, water sprites.....you get the idea. Most of us wound up going back to MK to catch a few rides we missed during the crowds. My son slept in and made plans to meet up with us at DQ. The other mom on the trip wanted to go to MGM to see some of the things we missed on our abbreviated first day.

The group going to MK had a great time as this was Sunday and the park is at low attendance due to people coming and leaving on vacation. We walked on to Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain (2x) and then headed for Disney Quest.

I was very apprehensive of this place because although I love computers etc I don't have that much interest that I'm willing to stand in long lines to play. I really wanted to try the rollercoaster software though. It turned out to be a lot of fun but my kids definitely enjoyed it more than I and could spend a LONG time there. I unfortunately began to get sick (I've had this fluey type thing since then!) so I sat out the last half hour waiting for them. The rollercoaster software/ride is great. You make a coaster choosing from various loops, hills, jumps and bends and tell it how fast you want to travel. The computer calculates the difficulty of your coaster (1-5). I built a 3 coaster with my daughter with several upside down loops. Then you go into a simulator and actually get to ride YOUR coaster! Lots of fun!

There are 5 floors in total and the top floor is the Cheesecake factory express which had delicious food! We did a ride where you put on a virtual reality hat and battle comic strip villians, a river raft Jungle cruise where you actually get a bit wet, took an animation course - Donald was the character we worked on and you can buy your work after if you wish, we became pinballs in a pinball game - that was a lot of fun too, we went on a mission to a planet and saved the colonists from the enemy by boarding a "ship" and manning controls working as a team against time, and there are many arcade type games from motorcycles and race cars to pinball etc. There is much to do and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I didn't feel so queesy.

After we left DQ we headed back to Epcot. We had early dinner ressies (5pm) at either Italy or Japan (we couldn't decide). Half of us went to each restaurant. Japan was delicious, the group that went to Italy was disappointed said both service and food were lacking. Too bad because that is usually our favorite restaurants. We met after dinner just in time for the first Tapestry parade so we treated our eyes and ears one more time.

Then we went to pick up the cartouches we had ordered from the Eygpt section of the Millennium Village the previous day. NEXT, we had the first real testy time of the trip. I think everyone was overtired. The adults had planned to visit Pleasure Island and the kids were going to go back to DQ BUT....the dad from the other family was too tired so his wife got <upset>. The daughter from the other family too tired but my daughter didn't want to go without her. The teen boy from the family was indecisive so we wasted a lot of time waiting for him to decide. My son got frustrated with everyone so he left to go to DQ on his own. The other boy finally decided to go back with his dad. The other girl decided she would go with my daughter but only for a short time so she could get back and pack etc. The other mom decided to come with me and my husband anyway. We had a great time at the Comedy Warehouse and then for the first time we tried the Adventurers Club and thought it was great too. My husband can't wait to go back. We left Pleasure Island at 11:30 too tired to do ANOTHER NYE!

We saved some of our family traditions for our last day here. We had our breakfast in Ohana's at the Polynesian. If this was not tradition I don't think we would do it anymore. We don't care for it as much as the buffet style meals. For those that don't know this meal is served family style. They bring out a huge wok type of pan and it has breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, mini mickey waffles and biscuits in it. As you come into the restaurant they take past a bar where you can pick up a couple of trays of peanutbutter/jelly bars and banana bread. I used to love getting the french toast here but now they charge an extra 5.95 for it :-(. We all decided we liked the Crystal Palace buffet better and also Chef Mickey's so I guess that's it for O'hana's for this group.

Then we rented the mouse boats (used to be called water sprites). They are so much fun but I got stuck with a REALLY slow boat and couldn't keep up with the rest of the gang. But, I did get my money back without a fuss.

After a great time on the boats we split again. Most of us went to MGM, some went to Epcot. I went to MGM so you get to hear about that! We went to get fast passes to RnRC but we didn't need them. We went on twice with almost no wait...too COOL! I think this is my new favorite ride! Three people decided they weren't up for it so they hung out on a nearby picnic table and ate ice cream (even though we just finished breakfast!) till we rejoined them. The riders were me (41), my daughter(13), my son (16+ a new coaster rider), his friend (17 also a new coaster rider) and the other family's eldest daughter (21 also a new coaster rider). My daughter and I are in search of the worlds best coaster. We have been to many theme parks and go on all the coasters with a special appreciation for the inverted and upside down ones. Although this coaster only inverts 3 times (once in a upside down loop and the other two times in a corkscrew) it is real FAST! the music is good and the ride is long enough but not too long. In case you can't tell we both really like RnRC. The newly converted coaster riders also really liked it.

Next the group went on TOT. I sat this one out, it's not my favorite ride and the ice cream looked really good :-) After a nice rest we all reunited and went to catch Doug Live. MISTAKE for our group. It was just a little too cutesy. I thought it was cute but not worth it if you have to wait. I guess the best age for that show would've been about 9-11. Unfortunately it's a skit more directed at 12-14 yo but it's just too goofy for that age.

The next thing we did was star tours. Then we caught a quick bite and knew our fun had ended. It was time to go home.

We all sort of go into a mild depression on the last day. Frantic to do just one more thing so calling it quits takes the life out of everyone and we all get kinda quiet. I hate the last day. Especially this trip because for five years we knew when we left that we still held these reservations and that we'd be back again for sure. This time we don't hold any future reservations just an annual pass that doesn't expire until July...!!!!!!

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Ilene Fabisch -- Millennium -- Walt Disney World (ASMuR)

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