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Ellen Gerstein -- December 2000 -- Walt Disney World (Dolphin)12/15-12/18 Cast:
In December of 2000, my husband, daughter and I decided to go down to Florida for a family wedding. We were fussing around with the dates a bit (no need to go into detail here), but in planning we found out that my in laws (who we would be staying with for the wedding) were planning on going to Disney Dec 15-18th. Well! My my. That set off the bells in my head, and lo and behold we were heading there also. First, hotel planning. They were staying at the Dolphin, and having stayed at the Swan earlier in the year, I agreed that there were few places I would have preferred more. So, I asked my FIL what his rate was. $177 with the Entertainment book (www.entertainment.com - you use your Entertainment card to book the rate. The card can come with any book (mine was from NY) not just the Florida ones). When I called, I was able to get a rate of $147 (which was the 50% off Entertainment rate). The In laws booked a room with a balcony, I wanted the cheapest rate. I hold Gold level with Starwood, who runs the Swan and Dolphin, and I am often lucky enough to be upgraded (and I was for this trip). We arrived in Florida the night of Dec 8th, Newark to West Palm Beach. The 8th - 14 were spent doing family stuff that is just not of interest here, so let me move to the 15th. Early the morning of the 15th, we set out. Took Florida's Turnpike all the way into Orlando, then the Bee Line to I4. Not my preferred route, but I was following FIL's car. With my daughter, we thought it best to take two cars, for space purposes. FRIDAY - We left at 730a and arrived at 10:00. My room was ready, a beautiful corner room with two balconies, although I was only able to open one of them. Definitely an upgrade, as I now had the balcony and a water view. In Law's room was not ready, but they stowed their luggage and headed with us to Epcot. We went straight to Millenium Village. Can I say how annoying it is that you cannot take a stroller in there? There is a lot to do, and it's a long way to carry a child. If your child is young enough, I suggest getting a Bjorn or other carrier ready for this place. We stopped here for lunch. Had the BBQ beef sandwich (daughter ate from that) and the Mediteranian sample plate. Yummy, but pricey. Hint for parents - Parmalat milk in the "juice box" shelf stable containers is great to bring to the park for young kids. I got it for 1/2 the price of milk in the park, plus it didn't need to be refrigerated until you open it. Anyhow, my daughter was getting cranky, so I put the family into the Canada film (my fave, but Mom's duty comes first). A sweet guy working in the kiosks outside the pavilion gave her a Mickey cowboy pin. Disney magic at work. She soon fell asleep, and my husband and I headed for Innoventions (where else can you go with a sleeping baby in a stroller?) and the in laws headed for some attractions in future world. Innoventions is OK, but I do computer trade shows, and it's a little too much like a busman's holiday for my tastes. After Sarah woke up, we went to Spaceship Earth, then Imagination, then back to the boat for the hotel. Showers, and rest followed. Then we met up with the In laws for dinner en France. I was skeptical, but I have to say it was a great meal. Atmosphere, wonderful service, and great food and wine - who could ask for more. The waiter was great - he knew to bring Sarah's meal with our appetizers (more about that later) and made great suggestions. I highly recommend it - if you think you cannot afford it, think about sharing entrees, or splitting appetizers, as the portions are all well sized. After dinner we went to the France film, where the people working there allowed us to take Sarah in to the movie in her stroller (not Disney policy, but it was sooo nice of them!). After the movie, we headed home to bed, as we were all tired. SATURDAY - plan to go to MGM, and then MK in the evening We all set off for the boat to MGM, with my bossy and exacting plan guiding us. Park opening - head to Starring Rolls for breakfast. Rope drop - I go get fastpass for TOT and Rocking Roller Coaster, family gets into line at Little Mermaid, I meet them there. After Mermaid, in laws go to Beauty and the Beast, rest go to Bear in the Big Blue House. Then we go to TOT and RRC, meet in laws after Beauty. Well, it would have worked, except the "Bear" was sick (no joke!) and they couldn't get a sub for the first show so it had to be cancelled. We later caught Bear, so all was all right. Everything was on schedule up to Bear (Sarah clapped her hands and squealed all through "Under the Sea" -priceless!). So we walked down Hollywood Boulevard to TOT and RRC, and my daughter fell asleep. Instead of baby swapping, I rode both, while husband who is not keen on these things anyhow, watched her. After, we meet up with the in laws again and headed to Great Movie Ride, while I stayed outside with Sarah. I got Fast passes for Mike and I to Star Tours, and as soon as they came off TGMR, we did ST. Coming out of ST, we got FastPass for Muppet Movie (are you seeing a trend here?) Then it was time for our meal at Mama Melrose, which is rapidly becoming one of my MGM traditions. We had three entrees (so we could get the AP discount of 2 desserts and one kids meal!) and they were all yummy. The Amaretto cheesecake is probably one of the best desserts I have ever had! After lunch, it was time for the Muppet Movie, cute as always. At that point, we decided to head back to the hotel, via the water launch. We rested (well, as much as you can rest with a one year old running around the room) and then headed out to MK. MK was open till 10p that night, and boy was it packed. We got to ride all of four rides (Buzz, thanks to FastPass, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Small World, and Haunted Mansion.) BUT, we got to see the Electrial Parade, which truly makes me feel like a giddy kid again. Dinner was at Cosmic Rays, and was pretty good. As the fireworks were going off, we were heading to the bus back to the Dolphin. SUNDAY - Character Breakfast day at Animal Kingdom! Sarah is sometimes scared of characters, so I thought this might be a good one. And it was. She was a little scared of Mickey, and terrified of Goofy, but really dug Pluto and Donald. This is a nice breakfast - not too crowded, good food, and no screaming wild kids like at Chef Mick's and Crystal Palace. After, we did Dinosaur, and then headed to the Bug movie to get FastPass, then to Festival of the Lion King to watch it. My daughter, well, let's just say she needed a diaper change just before the show began. We were in the Warthog section, so I gathered her up and took her out the exit to the bathroom. Well, what a site I saw. Pooh, Pluto and a bunch of other characters, just hanging out waiting for kids. CHARACTERS, and NO LINES. Wow! Gotta remember that. Anyhow, FOTLK was great, as always. Bug Movie, was next, which is Mike's favorite. Then we headed for the Safaris to get Fastpass, then to the Asia animal walking tour thingy, then back to the Safari, by which time Sarah was sleeping. I was going to stay off the ride and sit with her anyhow, so this worked out well. We wanted to see Flights of Wonder, but it was lunchtime and I wanted to get to Epcot in time for the 4pm parade, so we ate at Tusker House and then left. After an all too short rest in the room, it was back to Epcot to queue up for a space at the Nations Parade. Did the winds bother me? Did the lack of people putting up ropes and laying down tape affect me? It should have, because the parade was cancelled. What a bummer. I hope they run it next year! We couldn't got to the 6:10 parade because we had dinner reservations. Albeit, at a restaurant I really had no interest in going to, Alfredo's. You see, we had, and may very well still have an Alfredo's here in NY, so it's really no big deal. And my in laws kept saying, the place is good, if you stick to the Fettuccine Alfredo. Well, I could go to other places and have other things, Fettuccine is not a big draw for me. But FIL seemed to want to go, so we went. The place is LOUD, the service was awful (forgot to tell waiter to bring kids meal with salads, and the entrees took a LONG time to come out - Sarah was totally losing it). Place is cramped, and food was only OK. Not recommended. After dinner, we headed out to see the American Adventure. Sarah was not cooperative, and we only made it to 1900 before we had to leave. We then headed for Future World to try and do Test Track (not operating) and then went to Ellen's Energy Adventure, where Sarah fell asleep. At that point, we just headed back to the Dolphin to call it a night. MONDAY - our departure day <sob, sob> Packed up the car, and headed for Epcot. All week, the crowds had been pretty light. But today, let peak season begin! The buses to MK and AK had a line around the block. And the boats were taking standing room to Epcot and MGM. Luckily, Epcot is big enough that you don't feel crammed. Our first stop was Test Track where we rode on the single rider line (what a great invention - we got right on, avoiding a 45 minute wait! And we ended up in the same car, at least my husband and I did). Then we went to Wonders of Life for breakfast (waffles...mmmmm). In laws did Cranium Command, and I watched Sarah run around. Then we headed for Mexico and Norway for their boat rides, Germany for a quick bite for lunch at Sommerfest, France for pastries for the flight (French pastries...mmmm) and then it was outta there. Things I loved:
Things I did not love:
Hope you enjoy! Ellen Gerstein Ellengerstein@yahoo.com Mail a Comment to Ellen Gerstein |
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