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Greg Ferguson -- December 2000 -- Walt Disney World (WL)December 9-16, 2000 The Cast
The history Growing up and living in Southern California, visiting Disneyland was and still is a regular thing for me, but it was not until 1993 that I first experienced WDW. Since then, I have made the cross-country trek to WDW two more times (1997 for the 25th Anniversary celebration and 1998 just because), both times being accompanied by my then girlfriend (now fiancée) Lisa. Our 1998 trip took us to WDW for about 6 1/2 days in early December. And may I say that this time of year is absolutely the best time to go. The crowds and lines were minimal, especially when we compared it to our 1997 trip when we went in late June. The holiday decorations throughout the World were incredible. And the weather was absolutely perfect, in the mid '80's with hardly any humidity and no rain. So, when Lisa and I started talking about going to WDW for the Millennium Celebration, we immediately knew the time of the year that we wanted to go. Trip Planning In 1998, Lisa and I set up our trip through AAA and it was really easy. I am a big believer in one stop shopping. So, for 2000, we went back and set up just about everything through them again: airfare, transportation from the airport and back, lodging on site, passes, and a few added extras. Since we were booking for the holiday season, we decided on the AAA Magical Holiday's package. This package includes (with our choices listed) 6 nights stay at the Wilderness Lodge (woods view), Unlimited Magic Passes for two for 7 days, two tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, a dinner for two voucher at the World (which we will be using at 'Ohana our first night there), a special WDW Holiday lanyard for each of us, a coupon book (which we will not receive until we check in, so I don't know what discounts it actually provides) and Mears Shuttle transportation vouchers to and from WDW and the airport. Departure - We will be leaving San Diego, connecting through Los Angeles, the night of December 8 and red-eyeing it to Orlando. We are scheduled to arrive in Orlando around 5:45am EST. This will be our third red-eye flight to Orlando and I find that if you are one of those people who can actually rest comfortably or even sleep on a plane then this is the best way to go because then you don't waste a travel day during your vacation. But, if you can't sleep on a plane, then get as much rest as you possibly can and trust that you will survive the first day at WDW running on pure adrenaline (and maybe a little caffeine won't hurt either). The Schedule - When it came to planning our daily regimens, Lisa and I made sure that we were prepared with as much information as possible. While I have been checking out all of the wonderful trip reports here on MousePlanet.com, Lisa has been reading a variety of WDW trip books, especially those for adults travelling without children. So, after reading, reading, and more reading, we finally sat down three months before departure day and hashed things out. One of the most important things for us this time around was to make sure that this was a real vacation. What I mean by this is that we need to relax and not worry about making sure that we see and do everything that WDW offers. If we tried to do everything, not only would be burn ourselves out, but we would come back from our vacation needing another vacation. So, given that we have already enjoyed WDW together twice, we have a good idea of what we like to do and what we can avoid. In addition, we have scheduled two "Relax Days," where sleeping in is required and the items on the agenda are only possible things to do and things that can be spread around a entire lazy day and night. We also made a list of small random things that we could do to make the trip a little more special. Some of these ideas included finding the wedding ring embedded in the stone in front of the Haunted Mansion (MK); trail rides or hayrides at Fort Wilderness; dessert at Artist's Point (WL); visit the AAA lounge in Tomorrowland (MK); ride a surrey at Boardwalk; take the Sassagoula River Cruise to or from Dixie Landings, Port Orleans and Downtown Disney; miniature golf at Winter Summerland; or getting fresh caramel corn at Sleepy Hollow (Liberty Square/MK). None of these things are stuff that we have to do, but fun little options that we can seemingly throw in anytime we want and if we don't do it, then no big deal. Sixty days before what would be the final day of our trip, I sat down and called WDW DINE to set up all of our priority seating. We got almost everything that we wanted, including two tickets to the Polynesian Luau at the Polynesian Resort for our final dinner of the trip. The only PS that we did not get was for Cinderella's Royal Table. While checking for availability at CRT, the CM told me that meals here are truly a hot ticket item (i.e. believe what is written in the books that this is one of the most popular places to eat). She went on to say that the best way to get a priority seating for CRT is to call early in the morning exactly 60 days prior to the date that you want, otherwise forget it. My mistake was to wait until 60 days prior to the last day of our trip so that I could take care of all of it in one call. Oh well, I learned and made a PS for the Crystal Palace instead. Itinerary - Saturday, Dec. 9
Sunday, Dec. 10
Monday, Dec. 11
Tuesday, Dec. 12
Wednesday, Dec. 13
Thursday, Dec. 14
Friday, Dec. 15
Saturday, Dec. 16
So that's it. That's our plan. We can't wait!! A little over two weeks and counting....man are the days dragging. I'd appreciate any tips or suggestions that anyone can provide. The Report I decided to write my trip report a little differently from other reports that I have read. Instead of giving you a day by day run down, full of insignificant facts, I will broke down the report into specific sections that should give you an easier and more informative read. General and Resort Information - Our flight landed in Orlando at 6:00am EST. Upon collecting our luggage, we set out to grab a Mears shuttle to WDW. After walking by three empty Mears service desks, we ended up in the shuttle and taxi tunnel. A very nice employee from another shuttle service radioed someone and a few minutes later a Mears employee and van appeared. Forty minutes later we were at the entrance to the Wilderness Lodge ready to get our vacation started! The moral of this story is to not arrive so early in the morning that your shuttle service is not operating yet. What a difference an hour makes. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge for seven nights. Upon checking in, we received our resort passes and information guide, a coupon book (included in our AAA package), and our AAA Diamond card. The coupon book offered 10% off coupons (minimum $50 purchase) for merchandise purchased at each of the four theme parks, one for the water parks, one for the resorts and a variety of other discounts or freebies (with a minimum purchase of course) for small items at specified sites. The AAA Diamond card was free through AAA and gave us 10% discounts at specific sites throughout WDW. We used it primarily at Roaring Forks and the Whispering Canyon Café (both eateries in Wilderness Lodge), but as we were to discover both at RF and later in Pleasure Island, not all of the CM's were fully aware of the policy for using this discount card. Where one CM accepted it without question, another said there was a minimum purchase requirement (even though we received the discount earlier for a purchase of a lesser amount), while yet another had never heard of it at all. Since WL provides a courtesy safe in the rooms, we decided to lock up most of our cash, Disney Dollars, and traveler's checks and charge all of our meals and other purchases to the room. I really liked this option for the following reasons: 1) You don't have be burdened with an excess of change accumulating in your pockets, 2) ease of use; just swipe it, sign, and enjoy, 3) you can go to the Guest Services desk at your resort and pay for the expenses when it is more convenient, using cash, Disney Dollars, etc., and 4) you receive an itemized list of all charges, with the date, location and amount. The last reason proved to be very helpful for us because we were charged twice for a purchase at the MK. Upon discovering the error, I immediately went to Guest Services with my receipt and got the extra charge removed. The CM's were very helpful and rectified the problem very quickly. Which leads me to another recommendation; if you are a resort guest and choose to use your WDW passport for charging, keep all of your receipts. The day before checking out, get a printout of your room charges from the front desk and confirm everything. If you identify any problems, get them resolved before they charge your credit card, because when they do, it is a single charge for the total amount on your room account, not the itemized transactions. By the time you identify a mistake it will be a lot harder to contest it. When we checked in at WL, I requested a room on one of the upper floors with a view of the Magic Kingdom and the Contemporary Resort. We ended up on the seventh floor with a perfect view. It turned out that we were also right above the Whispering Canyon Café smokehouse, which sent wonderful aromas right up into our room. I loved it, but the smell made Lisa nauseous after awhile. At RF, I purchased two WL mugs. In case you are not aware, the resorts sell mugs that allow unlimited refills at the resort for the duration of your stay. The two mugs cost $18.64, which is a bargain as long as you use them; not to mention, they are pretty cool souvenirs. Schedule - As you know, WDW vacation itineraries can easily change during the trip. So, below is a breakdown of what we actually did, not what we originally planned. Day 1 - Saturday, Dec. 9
Day 2 - Sunday, Dec. 10
Day 3 - Monday, Dec. 11
Day 4 - Tuesday, Dec. 12
Day 5 - Wednesday, Dec. 13
Day 6 - Thursday, Dec. 14
Day 7 - Friday, Dec. 15
Day 8 - Saturday, Dec. 16
Theme Parks - In this section, I decided not to give you an attraction-by-attraction breakdown of everything we enjoyed. Instead, I will just give you the highlights, along with some commentary on some of our favorite and not-so-favorite attractions and experiences. Animal Kingdom - When we arrived at AK, we immediately hit "It's Tough to be a Bug." It was here where Lisa and I began our trip long run-ins with guests who, for whatever reason, choose not to listen to warnings about some attractions being a little too intense for smaller children. Believe me, even though many Disney films are made and marketed with children in mind, the attractions that Disney creates to represent these films are not always appropriate for children of all ages. Darkness, loud noises, or in this case 3D wasps trying to sting you and spiders falling from the ceiling can freak out a little kid....and it did! I saw three sets of parents leave the show early, with their crying child clutching to their chests in fear. Later, we rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which, in my opinion, is better earlier in the day since the animals tend to be livelier. In Asia, we walked straight onto Kali River Rapids. When we finished our little, and I mean little (the ride is too short), cruise the CM gave us the opportunity to ride again, but given that Lisa and I were already nicely soaked we passed. Next, we checked out the Maharajah Jungle Trek and saw the bats and the Komodo dragon. We really liked the set designs here. But, the nicest treat of all was seeing the tigers up close. Being from San Diego, we have two incredible animal parks at our disposal, but in all of the times we went to the SD Zoo or Wild Animal Park we have only seen the tigers up close maybe once or twice because they like to hide. We also really liked the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, where we saw lots of animals. Dinosaur is a must, which should be followed by a nice relaxing walk through the Cretaceous Trail. We skipped the Boneyard because we think that is really more fun for kids than adults. But, one of the neatest things to see in AK is the Tree of Life. Lisa and I spent over an hour just walking all around the tree looking at the different animal carvings throughout the trunk. It is incredible! Epcot - Priority #1 for Epcot was Test Track! When Lisa and I came to WDW in '97 and '98, TT was either not done, down, being tested, or only open to CM's and their families. Man, did I ever want to get adopted that day! Now we finally had our chance to ride the sucker! Lisa and I both thought it was really fun, but a little short. Luckily, on our first ride, when our car returned to the loading station there was no one else in line (it was still early in the day), so we got to go again. This made up for the shortness of the ride this time. My recommendation is to ride this attraction at night. It is much better and I think it was a little faster in the speed test section. I also liked the fact that I was not blinded by the sun as we shot out to the exterior track. I enjoyed it much more being able to see what was actually happening around me. In the daytime, it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust and by then almost half of the speed track was done. We checked out both sides of Innoventions, which was neat, but not very exciting. The only exception was the house of the future. In this section, a guide led a tour through a fictional home full of gadgets that seemed futuristic, but in actuality already exist. Some of these things were absolutely incredible! I especially liked the interactive exercise bike, the high definition television, the self-propelled and navigated lawn mower, and the multifunctional wheelchair. Overall, this short tour is really interesting and worth a few minutes of your time. After Innoventions, we visited the Wonders of Life Pavilion. In WoL, we went in Cranium Command, which puts you inside the mind and body of a teenager, while an inexperienced "cranium commando" oversees its general operation. CC is really entertaining and fun. We have never seen a line, and the only wait is in the lobby prior to the pre-show. Also in Future World is the Coca-Cola Ice Station Cool. This place is one of my favorite spots in Epcot! As you wind through a really frigid walkway, watch out for snow, both lying on the ground and falling from above (Lisa got nailed by a burst of snow from above). Finally, you enter a room where you can sample Coca-Cola products from all around the world, but no Coke though. I recommend trying them all, but be careful of the apéritif from Italy. That one will really cleanse (or should I say destroy) your taste buds! According to its description, this beverage is consumed prior to a meal in order to enhance the flavor of whatever you eat afterwards. Well, let me tell you, anything would taste great after that stuff! The World Showcase is without a doubt my most favorite place in all of WDW. It is not known for any E-Ticket rides, but I really enjoy being enveloped by the different scenery and cultures. This year, Lisa and I made a point of experiencing some of the WS attractions that we had skipped in our previous visits. So, in Canada, we viewed "O Canada" and in France we saw "Impressions de France." Both films were surprisingly good, especially IdF, which was accompanied by classical music written by French composers. We even watched the film at the end of the Maelstrom (Norway Pavilion) attraction, which we both really enjoyed. In celebration of the millennium, this year the WS added the Millennium Village to its ranks. For the most part, I thought MV was just ok. We went and did a little putting (yes, golf) through Scottish history, walked through a Brazilian rain forest, experienced the seasons in Sweden, and checked out the world markets. I guess I expected a little more than what was there. Granted, they could not create presentations like those of the main WS pavilions, but I thought MV was a little lacking in general ambiance. I guess my problem was that I never actually felt enveloped in any given section of MV as I do in WS. It was neat, but a little too little and a little too crowded together. For Illuminations, Lisa and I went to the second floor of the Mitsukoshi building (Japan Pavilion) to watch the spectacle. I read in other trip reports that this spot was pretty good, and it did not disappoint. Our view was slightly obstructed by the replica of the Torii (gateway), but it made for really nice photographs when the fireworks went off above it. Illuminations is really a must see! The lights, the music, and the fireworks are worth the wait. Magic Kingdom - On the "Must Ride" list for the Magic Kingdom was the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The main reason for this is that I miss the People Mover at Disneyland. TTA is one of those great rides that never have a line, is really relaxing and enjoyable, and it gets you off of your feet for 15 to 20 minutes. It may not be an official E-Ticket attraction, but it is one of mine. One of my new favorite MK attractions is Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. I love this ride because (I will probably get it for this) I am undefeated against Lisa...and the perfect record is still intact! BLSRS places two guests into the battle against Emperor Zurg! Manned with laser guns and a joystick to maneuver the vehicle, guests fire at targets throughout the ride, accumulating points for every hit that they make. At the end, depending on your point total, you are assigned a Space Ranger rank. This ride is fun for people of all ages and should never be missed! It was in a shop in Liberty Square where we ran into the double bill problem I mentioned earlier. According to the CM at the time, the computers were down and all room charges needed to be done with a manual authorization. The transaction, with a phone call by the CM (who was put on hold twice), took almost 15 minutes to complete and when it was all said and done we got charged twice for the same items. In the end, we got it all straightened out. No harm done. Just do not forget to save your receipts and check everything before checking out. After finishing lunch at Pecos Bills Cafe one afternoon, the Magical Moments parade began right in front of us. Half way through it I was praying for it to end because from where we were standing, we saw different floats and characters come by, but heard the same song over and over and over again. I think I counted hearing the song eight times in a row. It turned out that we were just in a bad spot. The parade stopped at designated places along its route and each float did a production in line with the characters that rode it, pulling guests out of the audience to join in with the fun. The problem was that if you were not in the right spot, then you missed it. Oh well, we missed it, but we all know that parade times are good times to hit the rides, so we did that instead. One of the special extras that we included on this trip was admission to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. For those not familiar with this event, a few nights prior to Christmas the park is open to a limited number of guests from 8pm to 1am. Festivities include a Christmas parade, a number of special stage shows, free hot chocolate and cookies, a special fireworks show and a photograph of you and yours in front of a Christmas background. We hit a lot of rides that night and saw some of the parade while enjoying a cold drink in Pecos Bill's Café. I love the toy soldiers! We arrived at Main Street just in time for the fireworks show. It was incredible! Shots of light and sound rang out from all sides of the MK. In fact, from our vantage point on MS, we really couldn't see all of the fireworks. We didn't realize how big it actually was until we saw the show from our balcony later in the week. Disney-MGM Studios - On our MGM agenda was the Great Movie Ride, Muppets 3D, the Rockin' Roller Coaster, the Tower of Terror, and finally Fantasmic! Before hitting any of the rides, I visited Sid Cahuenga's movie memorabilia shop to find a Tron movie poster. Lo and behold, there it was and the next thing I know I am sending two of them (one for my brother) to our room. Then, we hit the GMR. This is one of those fun and relaxing (that is, except for the Alien part) rides that I really like. Afterwards, we enjoyed Muppets 3D. Man, when I was growing up watching the original Muppet Show on TV, I never realized how violent it really was. This attraction and the GMR can at times be a little too intense for small kids. After M3D, Lisa and I swallowed our fear...ok my fear...and went over to RRC and TOT. Lisa rode RRC while I waited outside, snapping a few pictures. No, I didn't give in to the fear, but my head does not handle going upside down very well. Lisa really had fun on the ride. She said the loops were cool and that I could probably handle it, but she still couldn't talk me into it. She did however get me on TOT. As we approached the building and walked through the various pre-ride rooms, Lisa mentioned that she hoped she did not get the one seat in the car that has only a seat belt (as opposed to the lap bar everyone else gets). Well, she did not, but I did. And since this was our first time on TOT, I was a little freaked. My anxiety grew larger when the woman next to me told her friend not to put her fingers under the lap bar because they would get smashed between the bar and her thighs when we fell. "Can I get off now without looking like a total wimp," I thought to myself. Nope. I realized I had to stick through until we hit bottom. Man, is weightlessness a weird and exciting feeling. TOT is a fun ride, but "unfortunately" we only rode it this once. Later, we joined the animation tour. This was really interesting and informative. I never knew that there was an actual production unit operating out of the DMS. The tour moved at a perfect pace and offered the information in a variety of ways (i.e. a live tour guide, film footage, and even an actual Disney animator) which kept all of us, including most of the kids, interested throughout. After looking through a few shops, we experienced the Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey show. I was skeptical about how good this would be, but I was pleasantly surprised. Essentially, the audience, wearing earphones, experiences a "live" COPS-type broadcast audibly. It is really neat how it messes with you when you are only relying on your sense of hearing. But be warned; a large portion of the show is in complete darkness and it did scare some children. After dinner one evening, we set out for the Fantasmic arena to stake out our place. We arrived 30 minutes before show time and still managed to get decent seats (granted it was not very crowded that day). Two guys warmed up the audience with jokes, music, singing, and a Disney trivia contest. Fantasmic itself was ok, but not great. I guess that I expected it to be bigger and better than it ended up being, especially since it has its own arena and everything. For those of you familiar with the Disneyland production, the two shows are essentially the same, but each has a few unique sections. If I had to choose, I would say that the Disneyland show is better. My two favorite parts of the DL production are the Peter Pan action scene with the Columbia sailing ship, and the finale when all of the "good" characters sail out on the sparkling Mark Twain riverboat. WDW replaced Peter and the Columbia with Pocahontas and a bunch of canoes. But worst of all, the finale had the "good" characters atop a vessel that looked like a shrunken version of the Mark Twain. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Blizzard Beach - Blizzard Beach is the only WDW water park that we have attended. Two of my favorite slides there are the Snow Stormers and Toboggan Racer. Here's a little trick for picking up speed on TR: using the handles, pull up on the front of the toboggan, bringing the front towards your face. You will fly down that slide! But be warned, you may catch a little air on the drops and it may hurt when you hit the slide again. I won every race that I was in, much to the chagrin of Lisa, who I seriously splashed with tons of water as we raced down the hill. After relaxing a bit on Cross Country Creek, we slid down Runoff Rapids about three times. My legs were getting a little tired at this point from climbing up the mountain, but I shouldn't complain because the place was hardly crowded and we were able to slide immediately when we made it to the top. One thing that we really wanted to do at BB was Teamboat Springs. The last time we were here, we were either told or thought that this ride was reserved for families or groups of three or more guests. Since we were not sure, we decided to ask and to our surprise, the CM's let Lisa and I have our own raft! The ride was really fun, even though I rode backwards most of the way down! We ended up riding it twice. Our BB adventure ended with a nice little surprise. As we returned our locker key, the CM offered us a choice of getting two dollars back (from the original $8 rental fee) or a choice of a BB or WDW mug. I chose the BB mug and we were off to WL. Pleasure Island - We have two favorite places in Pleasure Island: the Adventurer's Club and the Comedy Warehouse. AC is a really fun place. The theme, set around the turn of the 20th century, is an eclectic club where members meet to talk about all of their global adventures. The building is decorated throughout with interesting knick-knacks "collected from adventures all around the world." You can spend hours just walking around all of the floors looking at this crazy collection. A cast of characters greets and entertains the guests, who all become official club members, as they repeat the club vows and learn the official greeting, "Kongaloosh!" Unfortunately, we did not have time to stay for any of the three AC shows since we needed to get over to the CW for the last show of the night. While waiting in line outside CW, the clock struck 12:00am, and as is the nightly tradition at PI, we all celebrated the New Year! The show at CW was great! Five comedians, doing nothing but improvisation, kept us all laughing! Taking ideas from the audience, they performed skits, created and acted out crazy tales, and even managed to compose a song about one woman's exploits with her underwear on backwards. Disney Quest - We first visited DQ in 1998 and I could not wait to get back there this time! To me, DQ takes me back to a specific part of my childhood that no other part of WDW can. Growing up in the 1980's, I found myself almost every day shoving either tokens or quarters into what would now be called "vintage" video games, such as Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Burgertime, Tron, etc.. Nowadays, you are lucky if you can find even one or two of these machines in workable condition, but DQ has a bunch of them! One of the DQ highlights this visit was the "Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold." In this attraction, a minimum of two people (but it would be better with more I think) man a pirate ship and battle other pirates, a sea monster, and an evil ghost pirate for treasure. While one person pilots the boat, the other(s) is responsible for firing multiple cannons at your enemies. On our first attempt, Lisa drove while I manned the guns. Unfortunately, the ghost pirate sank us, but we came back with a fury the second time around! You should not miss this one! In addition to this attraction, we rode Buzz Lightyear's Astroblaster and the virtual Jungle Cruise. Both were fun, but not as fun as Pirates. We also wanted to take a whirl on Virtual Space Mountain, but we didn't want to wait 30 minutes for it, so we skipped it. We found that DQ was much more crowded now, than it was in '98. We figured that the reason for this was the fact that admission to DQ was now included in some of the resort packages, which was not the case previously. Disney's Wide World of Sports - If you are a resort guest and do not have a rental car, then getting to Disney's Wide World of Sports can be a timely adventure. From WL, we took the bus to MGM, then grabbed a transfer bus to DWWS. When we arrived at MGM, we missed the connecting bus by about 5 minutes, so we had to wait another 20 or so before it came back because only one bus was running back and forth between the two sites. At DWWS, the only thing that I really wanted to try was the NFL Experience. The Experience is a quick paced 10-minute walk from the DWWS turnstiles. In it, you can try your hand, and even your foot, at a variety of football drills, such as passing, catching, field goal kicking, and an obstacle course. It was really fun! I wish I had more time to play, but we needed to get over to the Polynesian for a PS, so we had to take off. The funny thing was that Lisa and I spent much more time riding or waiting for the buses to get to and from DWWS, then we did actually having fun at the complex. Oh well. Other Resorts - While killing time at the Polynesian Resort before dinner at 'Ohana, we walked towards the Grand Floridian and found the Luau Cove and the Wedding Pavilion. For lovebirds this is a very scenic and romantic stroll. Walking back towards the PR Great Ceremonial House, we stopped and hung out on the white sand beach. I crashed for a few minutes in a hammock, then joined Lisa in a bench swing. With literally no one else around, this was probably one of the most pleasant and relaxing moments of our trip. One afternoon, while over by the International Gateway in Epcot, we walked over to the Boardwalk. While there, we rented a surrey, rode around the Boardwalk and checked out the Yacht and Beach Club resorts. A 30-minute rental took us around the three resorts twice. It was fun. Towards the end of lap one, another surrey came up behind us and the race was on! You all know that California driver's hate being passed. The epic struggle, which reached speeds up to 1 or 2 miles per hour, ended as our competition took the lead near a crowded area of the BW that we could not weave through. Ah, but what fun! One afternoon, we grabbed a boat from WL to Fort Wilderness, in the hopes of renting a canoe to cruise the rivers. After disembarking, we found a site map for the campgrounds and located the rental barn. Before heading for the barn, we visited the petting zoo, where they have some goats, pot-bellied pigs, and horses. My favorite animal was the cow whose side markings are shaped liked Mickey's head. I took a great picture of her. Also, if you visit the petting zoo, be wary of the peacocks in the trees above. There were tons of them and all in the perfect position to leave a little present on top of your head or shoulder. Another guest got hit right before we got there and I saw the evidence. Yuck! Leaving the zoo, we started walking towards the rental barn. Twenty minutes later, we understood why campground guests rent golf carts to get around FW. This place is absolutely huge! So, when we came across a bus stop, we waited for the next transport. When we arrived at the rental barn, we saw very little water in the river system. The CM said that the water level was really low and that all water vehicles were restricted to the small pond in front of the barn. She added that the mud layer was just below the water level and that getting stuck in the mud was a good possibility. Needless to say, we skipped the canoe and grabbed a bus back to the Fort Wilderness boat launch. The Polynesian Luau - We arrived at the Polynesian Resort around 4:30pm and headed over to the Luau Cove. Since we were early, we got a couple of Blue Hawaii's and relaxed. While we waited, two women, in flower print dresses, and a man, painted like a Maori warrior, offered friendship bracelets made from tea leaves, temporary tattoos and face paintings. Lisa got a bracelet while I watched some kids have their faces painted. It was great to see their expressions when they saw their reflections. Right on time, we were escorted to our table. Since we had PS for this event, we had really good seats, center section, and third table back. As we got settled, a group of four adult women and two small children were seated directly behind us. I immediately looked at Lisa with concern, but she said, "Don't worry." Famous last words. As the show began, so did the screaming and crying of the small boy seated behind Lisa. The little guy, probably only 2 years old, was more than a handful for mom and grandma and not interested in the show. Instead, he loved banging his metal utensils against his metal plate. Eventually, mom heard enough of the noise, as she took away the utensils, thus initiating the serious shrieking. Boy, did this kid have a set of lungs and a pretty good arm and leg, as Lisa was about to find out. As we enjoyed the main course, the little boy threw a chicken leg at his grandma, which bounced off of her, hitting Lisa on the knee. One of the women near me apologized and Lisa let it go. After dessert, the show really "kicked" into high gear, as did the kid, but I will get to that in a second. The show was incredible! Nine dancers, in front of a live band, performed dances from a variety of Polynesian islands. My favorite part had to be the fire dance from Togo. It was amazing! If you ever get a chance to see this show it is definitely worth it. Now, back to our little hero. As the show progressed, the boy became more and more upset. Mom pleaded with him to be quiet; telling him that he was ruining the show. Grandma finally grabbed the boy from behind her and tried to sit him on her lap, hoping that if he had a better view of the show he may calm down. As he struggled to break free from her clutches, he squirmed incessantly, and kicked Lisa square in the back. Ouch! Lisa shrugged it off and Grandma said nothing. Not long afterward, another kick hit Lisa in the back and Grandma apologized as Lisa swung around with a "get this kid away from me or I will kill you" look. The boy continued to scream and struggle, resulting in dirty looks from not only myself, but also many others nearby. Finally, the mother and grandmother had enough and left (oh, and yes they did take the kid with them). We all then enjoyed the remainder of the show. Dining -
General Commentary - All I can say is thank the heavens for the WDW package express option. I love being able to buy something and have Disney deliver it to my resort the next day. If you think about it, it is really a savvy moneymaking tactic on the part of Disney. How often do you think people decide not to buy something at an amusement park because they do not want to carry it all day long? So, Disney offers resort guests package express, the inhibition is removed, the credit card comes out, and Disney's profits go up. Clever, eh? I guess my only serious complaint about our experience this time was the absolute failure (at least in my opinion) by Disney to enforce their smoking policy. In case you are not familiar with the policy, smoking is prohibited within the parks, except in designated areas. These areas are identified by signs and are labeled in the guide maps. For the seven and one half days that we enjoyed WDW, we found ourselves constantly trying to out maneuver plumes of exhaled cigarette smoke. And I am not talking about while walking by the designated smoking areas. I mean everywhere, from the general walkways to just outside the entrance of some shops and restaurants. We even had a person smoking behind us while waiting to watch Illuminations (on the exterior second floor of the Mitsukoshi building (Japan in WS)), with lots of children around. As we walked around the parks, we constantly walked by CM's, either walking in our direction or past us, or just standing at their designated work station, but nothing, and I mean nothing, was ever said. Granted, I can only speak to what I saw and heard personally, but it was rampant. The worst had to be when a group of six teenagers lit up and enjoyed their smokes while sitting on the side walk in front of the Rose and Crown Pub in WS. Three cast members who were working at RCP were standing almost right behind them and they did nothing. How they could not see it, nor smell it for that matter, is beyond me. Now, I am not trying to harp on smokers. People are free to smoke if they want. But, they need to understand that there are many people out there who become physically ill when they inhale cigarette smoke and sometimes it does not take much. If you want to smoke, fine, but please try and be considerate of others. And, to Disney, if you are going to have this policy, then please enforce it, otherwise why have it? Ok, I will get off of the soapbox now. So, that is it! That was our December 2000 trip in a nutshell. Overall, we had a terrific time and have lots of great memories! We are now in the planning stages for our next WDW trip...our honeymoon in October 2001. We purchased a Land and Sea package, with a couple added extras, which will give us four days at the parks, staying at the Beach Club Resort, then a four night cruise to the Caribbean on the Disney Cruise Line. If anyone reading this has any recommendations about the Beach Club or the Cruise Line, please feel free to email me. Thank you and have a great 2001! Greg Ferguson gferguson@ucsd.edu Mail a Comment to Greg Ferguson |
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