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Sue Holland -- January 2000 -- Walt Disney World (ASMoR)Who/When/Where:
INTRODUCTION: This is the first of several Disney trips for 2000, with 51 nights booked at various Disney resorts between now and the end of the year, in addition to 4 nights on a Disney cruise ship and a few days at Disneyland in California. This trip was just planned a week or 2 ago - originally my first visit this year wasn’t going to be until March, but luckily that all changed! I knew an important meeting was being scheduled, and I’d told the person that anytime in late January, early February would be fine with me - EXCEPT for the 26th-28th, and I’d prefer Orlando over Tampa. What happened next??? The meeting was scheduled for the 27th & 28th - in Tampa! Of course I made a phone call, but the most senior person attending the meeting (the “one” in charge of it all) was only available those dates, and his family lives outside Tampa (he’s working in Tallahassee, hours away), so I wasn’t able to get things changed to suit my preferences. My biggest problem was with the dates - they conflicted with a class I’m taking at work, and I was so busy between the class and several projects that the idea of meeting in Tampa had a certain appeal since it would mean less time away from work. I was able to get the instructor to switch the order of the remaining classes, so I’ll miss the one that’s least necessary for me to attend. So, I was set to drive to Tampa Wednesday afternoon, spend 2 nights there, and be home Friday afternoon. Then, I heard from the guy making the meeting arrangements. Due to conventions in Tampa, he was having trouble finding a hotel for us...just maybe we’d be in Orlando anyway! LOL, sure enough, that’s what happened. To make it convenient for people flying in, he booked it at the Hilton out by the airport, and got a group rate of $85/night (normally $99). There’s no way I’m staying way out by the airport and commuting to the Comedy Warehouse each night, so I quickly called Disney reservations. I first tried dvc member services, but at such short notice there was nothing available at either Old Key West or Boardwalk, and really I don’t want to use my dvc points for a business trip! The concern about minimizing the amount of time away from work flew right out the window, too (guess I came to my senses). Now the meeting was starting Thursday morning, wrapping up Friday mid day. My logic went something like this....gee, if I have to be there Thursday morning I’ll have to drive up Wednesday, and if I have to leave early to drive up Wednesday I might as well just leave early in the morning & have part of the day at wdw, and if I’m going to miss the whole day at work anyway I might as well leave the night before and that way BE there all day on Wednesday, but I don’t want to drive at night, so I’ll leave at lunch time and arrive around check in time. Whew! Luckily I stopped there or I would have arrived a week ago for my upcoming meeting! I also decided that since the meeting was ending mid day on Friday I might as well stay that night too, and get one more night at the Comedy Warehouse plus another morning in the parks. I sound like an addict sometime, but I’m having fun! Anyway, I called Disney reservations, and was surprised to find that All Star Movies was available for all 4 nights (Tu,W,Th,F). The rate? $74. I inquired about any discounts, and the cm said if I had any codes he’d check them, but I didn’t remember any of the codes I’d seen on the boards. I did mention I am an AP holder, so he switched it to the AP rate of $64. An hour later I saw a post with the code for the FL resident rate, so I called back and got it switched to $59. The meeting is 17 miles away, but even paying for my mileage & tolls it’s cheaper for me to stay at WDW! I’ll be sure to include a review of the Hilton, in case anyone’s looking for an airport location hotel. The day by day plan is listed at the end of this section. This trip will be very short, I was just here for 9 nights last month, and will be back again in early March, so I don’t have any “must do” things except for seeing shows at the Comedy Warehouse and finding a good smooth path for roller blading. A friend just bought the same pair I have, and we’re talking about bringing our skates on the March trip. I thought I’d check out the bike path connecting Old Key West with the Disney Institute to see if it was good enough for skating. I was very happy to hear that a couple of good friends were available and wanted to meet, so I put that in the schedule. Kathy (dznynut) is one of my favorite people to hang out with - lots of fun & a great sense of humor, so we’ll spend Tuesday afternoon together at the MK. Nancy (cm at Pleasure Island) is another favorite person, and we’re returning to Canada for lunch like we did last month. Linda (elfriar) is a local now, and frequently visits Pleasure Island with me, since her husband doesn’t really care for it. We plan to hit the Comedy Warehouse one night, and possibly a park another afternoon. Those of you who always travel to wdw with your families possibly can’t understand just how wonderful it is to have good friends at wdw separate from your friends at home. I absolutely LOVE taking my solo trips, and being able to meet up with wdw friends on these trips. It would be difficult to do that if I was traveling with a spouse and a young kids, I would think. One last thing. I admire all the trip report writers who have pictures to go along with their reports. I consider myself a novice when it comes to anything but the extreme basics when using the computer, but I did buy an inexpensive digital camera. I know some day I’ll want a nice fancy one with zoom & a huge memory, but right now I just wanted something to do the basics with until I figure out what I want. It’s an RCA, only holds 16-32 images at a time, but it’ll get me started. I tried building a web page...with very limited success. Some day I’ll have the links working and then will post the reports there, with pics for each day, and links connecting the days just like a “real” site. For this trip, though, I don’t expect to be ready (can’t get the darn linking to work, and I won’t have time to work on it before I leave). I think I will be able to set up a page with just pictures, and either post the URL or put the link at the bottom of each day’s report when I post to the boards/onelist/newsgroup. Keep your fingers crossed, and wish me luck. If it proves to be too much or it means I’d have to skip the few hours of sleep I usually get at wdw, I might have to wait until I get home - but at least it’s a short trip, lol. The plans so far... 1/25 - Meeting at work, be on road by 11, meet Kathy (dznynut) at All Star Movies at 2, buy banana bread & marshmallow thing at MK, Comedy Warehouse at night 1/26 - MK in morning, lunch w/Nancy at LeCellier at 2:30, Comedy Warehouse at night 1/27 - Meeting 8:30-5, Comedy Warehouse at night with Linda 1/28 - Meeting until no later than 1:30, AK or Epcot possibly with Linda, Comedy Warehouse at 9 (opening late) 1/29 - MGM or Epcot, drive home afternoon As I’ve seen others do in their trip reports, I’ll try to remember to mention the “plan” each day and then we can see how close the actual came to that plan. DAY 1 - TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2000: Sue (me - 41), DVC member PLAN: Meeting at work, be on road by 11, meet Kathy (dznynut) at All Star Movies at 2, buy banana bread & marshmallow thing at MK, Comedy Warehouse at night ACTUAL: Holy cow, is it ever cold this morning! It looks like Florida, but it feels more like New England - even though the tv says it’s 50 degrees it feels much colder. I went to work, had my meeting, and was on the road right at 11am. For lunch I ate a banana Fruit Full Square (new product by Kellogg's), which I almost didn’t buy when I saw that each one was 190 calories! However, I figure I each chocolate mickey truffles without worrying about it, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and buy the box of these things. They’re not bad - a mixture of oatmeal and banana, but they’re pretty small and not something I’d buy again for the taste. I might buy them to substitute for a snack/meal when traveling, though. With 1 stop for gas I pulled into All Star Movies at 1:45 - which was excellent time. I was somewhat surprised to not see Kathy, as she’s usually early, but got in the slow moving line to check in while keeping an eye out for her. I got checked in by 2pm, but the room was not ready. I asked if any room was ready, but the cm said no. I sat in the lobby, wandered through the food court, sat in the lobby, went in the shop, sat in the lobby, etc. I was REALLY surprised Kathy wasn’t here, as it’s totally unlike her to be late, and I hoped nothing had happened to her. I used Chris’ All Star mug & got some hot chocolate to drink while I waited. Finally about 2:30 I checked on the room again - still not ready - and sat around the lobby some more. At 3 the room was ready, in the Dalmatian section, but still no Kathy! I called the operator to see if I had any message from her, but there weren’t any messages for me. At this point I decided to move my stuff into the room, hoping that if she arrived she’d wait for me or at least check at the desk & try calling the room. My room was in the absolute most perfect location! I’d requested non smoking, top floor, near the bus stop. I got non smoking, top floor, and the room was on the corner of the Dalmatian building as close to the bus stop as you can possibly be. Right around the corner I simply climb down the stairs in the big yellow fire hydrant and I’m right there close to bus stop, food court, and Fantasia pool. After dropping my stuff in the room I quickly got online to see if there was an email from Kathy...but there wasn’t. I downloaded the messages real quick, and then headed back to the lobby. Still no sign of her, so I wandered around a bit and then finally figured perhaps she wasn’t coming and went out front - not sure if I’d actually get on a bus or still wait for her. Just then I spotted her coming across the parking lot, waving at me. She’d been at All Star MUSIC waiting for me since before 2pm, LOL! She at first figured I’d run into traffic, then started thinking I must have had an accident, and was a nervous wreck that I wasn’t there! The cm’s weren’t able to give her any information on whether or not I was due in, had arrived, etc - but FINALLY after almost 2 hours they relented, found me in the system, and called my room at All Star Movies so Kathy could leave me a message (just after I left the room, of course). So, we were greatly relieved that neither of us had come to any harm, laughed at the craziness of the situation, and hopped on the bus to MK. While Kathy was waiting for me, she watched the entire Bambi movie, including the closing credits! The MK was not too busy. The cm’s were cleaning up after the parade, and we headed straight to Space Mountain to try for a fastpass. The fastpass machines must have been out of paper, as we each used a different one and didn’t get a ticket - so the cm there handed us a preprinted fastpass with a time of 4:40-5:40 (it was now 4:05). We walked around talking, and ended up circling the entire park without stopping at any attractions. Sorry this is so boring to all the readers who are parks people...as I’ve said before the parks are NOT the main attraction for me at wdw. Sure, they’re great parks, but for me the Comedy Warehouse, the resorts, and spending time with good friends are higher on my list than the parks. Anyway, we ended up back at Tomorrowland and decided to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority - which we talked thru except in the parts where the narration was too loud (we didn’t disturb any other guests, though). By the time we got off TTA it was into our fastpass time, so we walked into Space Mountain. It’s so great bypassing that long line, although the standby wait was listed at only 20 minutes. We were seated in the last 2 seats, with Kathy taking the very last one. We laughed & screamed our way through the ride, and I rode with my arms up in the air for most of it - until that biggest drop near the end caused me to slide around too much. It was a lot of fun! I still can’t believe I’m finally brave enough to ride this ride, since I’m such a wimp on rides. We headed to Main Street and stopped in the bake shop but there was no banana nut bread so we left the line. We stopped in the candy store so I could buy my marshmallow thing and I also got a chocolate mickey truffle to eat then, as all I’d had since my ½ bagel at 6:30 am was that Fruit Full Square in the car around noon. For some reason, at wdw there’s just no time to eat - unless it’s a meal planned as a reason to meet a friend, it seems. Anyway, my snacks cost just under $2 for the 2 items, and I joked to Kathy that it’s awfully cheap considering it might be 3 meals for me, lol! She laughed, but she knows it’s true. We took a crowded bus back to All Star Movies (we got a seat, but others had to stand) and went to my room to look at some picture’s of past trips I’d brought up, and chat some more. Eventually she had to get home for dinner with her family, and I needed to get ready for Pleasure Island. I hadn’t realized just how far out the All Stars are located...I ended up arriving at PI not long before 7pm. As usual, I parked in the Planet Hollywood/AMC Theater area, and entered PI. It was deserted outside the Comedy Warehouse, and I noticed the West End Stage was still closed for rehab - so there’d be no band performing there this week. I saw that the new pictures of the cast were posted outside the Comedy Warehouse, so I went over to check them out. On a previous trip (I think December) Layden had told me that he’d taken it upon himself to talk to the guy who does the magazine cover pictures down near Wildhorse Saloon about doing the cast’s pictures for the club - and the guy agreed. It wasn’t quite what I expected - I would have preferred a more serious picture of each actor, but considering it’s a comedy club I guess funny pictures are appropriate. As an example, the 2 male keyboard players (Jim & Jamie) were a couple of bare-chested body builders, Layden & Matt were 2 voluptuous blondes in evening gowns, and I forget the others. It’s basically a photograph of the person’s face superimposed on a fake body - and some were pretty funny. At this point I noticed they had new show times posted - rather than the first show being 7:10, it was 7:45! Also, the Adventurer’s Club was closed until 9 due to a private party, and it was REALLY, REALLY cold outside! I was NOT thrilled, to say the least. Had I known of the show time change, I would have stayed in the room and spent ½ hour working on the trip report & staying warm, lol! Instead, I wandered through a couple of shops, stopped in the Wildhorse Saloon for about 90 seconds (I cannot stand country western music) and then went back up the hill. I talked to cm Jamie, and found out the show time change was only for tonight, thank goodness. She thought she had the actors show schedule for tonight, and went inside to check, but it turns out she didn’t. So, I stayed & chatted with her & cm Jose until it was time to get in line for the 1st show. I ended up being seated in the very front row - which really is not my favorite. I call it the dental row, as I can count the number of fillings each actor has in their upper teeth! Layden, Mary, Mark, Jake & Jennifer were working, and it was a great show. They did the scripted piece, which I taped again - or tried to, since I was so close. Unfortunately there were times when I could not get all of them in the shot at the same time because I was so close. But, I’d taped this skit last month but was not happy with the performance and didn’t want to include it on the current tape I’m making for them. Tonight’s performance was definitely better. Jim the keyboard player was working tonight, and recognized me, which was nice. I left right after the first show, and headed back up to the line area. By now Jamie had the schedule, so we looked it over & I decided to skip show 2 & come back for show 3 at 9:45. It was almost time for the Adventurer’s Club to open, but I decided to head to the Jazz Club for a few minutes. It was almost empty, and not smoky, so I went inside & sat down. I asked a waitress to tell Nancy that I was here, and she came out to chat for a few minutes before having to get back to work. We’ll have more time at lunch tomorrow. I listened to the band - Mambo Brothers, who were very good, and updated my notes. When the band finished, a couple people lit up cigarettes so I got out of there in a hurry and headed to the Adventurer’s Club. Once inside, I realized my jacket was stinking of smoke - how disgusting! The big mask on the wall - Babylonia was doing her spiel, so I stood upstairs and watched what was going on. There was a young man seated near where I was standing, and we started talking, and then I sat down across to talk to him some more. Talk about a vacation from hell - he’d come down from Pennsylvania with a friend, planning to hit a lot of local clubs for the week. On the first night here, his friend met some guy in the club, and has had nothing to do with him since! So, he was on his own and hated being alone at wdw (his so-called friend had the car evidently). His name was Dale and he had a great sense of humor, so I invited him to the next Comedy Warehouse show and we headed over there about 9:30. It was his first time in there, and he absolutely loved it! He had tears coming from his eyes during part of it, from laughing so hard. We were seated on the first row of bar stools, which gave us a perfect up-close view without being able to gather dental information on the actors . This show featured Layden, Matt, Krista, Mary, & Jake. They did the Story game, where 1 actor leads the other 4 in telling a story, and as each one messes up the audience yells DIE (such Disney fun) and then he/she has to improvise a death. Matt did an excellent job, even though he was the first to die. Layden asked to die...would that be suicide, lol? When the show was over I told Dale I was going to wait to see one of the actors and if he wanted, I’d introduce him, so he waited with me. We stood there talking while the other guests left. Jim (keyboard player) came over to say hi and ask how I’ve been. I told him I saw his picture outside - the muscle one, lol! Layden came out and said hi, and stood by the door to thank the guests as they were leaving. Once the guests were pretty much gone, I brought Dale over and introduced them. Dale was very complimentary about the show, which I’m sure was very nice to hear. It was obvious he loved what he saw - he couldn’t say enough good things about it. I’d brought Layden something he’d asked for last month - a compilation of some comments about him and the Comedy Whse in general that I’d pulled from message boards/newsgroups on the internet - mostly stuff people had posted as a result of reading my many trip reports. I also asked if he was interested in another videotape - which he said he was. He said the cast really enjoyed the last one, and they never get to see their work, but need to see it, and that my filming skills were wonderful (ha!). Maybe I should have shot some upper teeth dental scenes, and see if he can be complimentary about that, lol! I did spend a lot of time on the tape, picking out just the stuff I thought was really good, and trying to make what I put together look as good as possible - so I’m glad it’s appreciated. It’s fun to do, and not a problem at all, since I can do it at my own speed, as I have time to do it. In December I shot 4 hours of tape - and ended up keeping 45 minutes of it for his tape. The rest gets taped over by new stuff on subsequent trips. We chatted a little while, and then Dale & I left. I was headed back to the resort, and Dale was going to find some food - perhaps at Planet Hollywood. I took a couple of pictures with the digital camera, we exchanged email addresses, and said our good-byes. I drove back to All Star Movies, arriving just after 11pm. It took a little while, but I figured out how to view the pictures I’d taken today on the tv. I didn’t take very many - I just don’t think of it I guess. I recharged the camcorder batter, downloaded the pics to the laptop (very fast - just a couple seconds), and attached the Dale pics to his email. I tried copying 3 pics to a webpage...we’ll see if it works. The url is http://members.aol.com/wdw1972/0100day1.html It took until about 1am to write up the trip report...I can’t let it wait until after PI like this anymore! Around midnight I went to the food court for another hot chocolate. I’m hungry but don’t really have the time to start my marshmallow thing. How did the day go compared to the plan? The only thing I missed was the banana bread - but I’ll just eat breakfast in the food court and then pick up a piece at MK tomorrow morning to eat the next couple of breakfasts. Total miles walked: 5.16 DAY 2 - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2000: Sue (me - 41), DVC member PLAN: MK in morning, lunch w/Nancy at LeCellier at 2:30, Comedy Warehouse at night ACTUAL: It was lights out about 2:45, with the alarm set for 6:30...not too bad, but not great either. I’d been up from 5:25 am Tuesday until 2:45 am Wednesday - about 20 hours. I forgot to mention that last night when I returned to All Star Movies the amount of steam coming from the Fantasia pool was incredible due to the cold air temperature - and people were in there swimming! I had my warm jacket all zipped up, and gloves on! I slept well, and woke up right on time when the radio came on. I should describe the room, since I didn’t take the time yesterday. Of course, the room is tiny, but that’s no surprise to anyone. When you’re standing outside and you open the door you pretty much enter right into the first bed! There is a benefit to this though, as I was able to put down the stuff in my arms without having to walk into the room (put it right on the bed) and then pick up the rest from the ground & move it in. I don’t think I’d want to sleep in that bed - I’d feel like I was practically out on the walkway. Otherwise, the room is attractive, with several nice touches. I’m not sure where anyone would put a porta-crib in here, the only space is right by the window and the heat/air conditioning unit. The carpet is blue/purple tones, full of stars, and looks good for the theming. The bedspreads are pretty bright, and would look good in a boy’s bedroom - they’ve got drawings from each of the different ASMov themes. Above each bed is a light - framed with a big star. Above the small table & 2 chairs is a light that looks like a box of popcorn when it’s not turned on. There’s the usual drawer set up, the 19 inch tv, closet bar, single sink, and small bathroom with toilet/tub. There is no ceiling fan in these rooms...not that I needed one this trip! The walls are white, or creamy white, and there’s an attractive 101 Dalmations wallpaper border running along the top of the wall. The lights on the mirror over the sink are like the ones you’d see in a dressing room. The bathroom is black & white - the wallpaper is all stars, the floor is tile in a checkered pattern, and there’s a cheap plastic shower curtain with stars on it. Overall, it’s about the size of any offsite cheap motel room, but it’s much cleaner, quieter (no window a/c unit), and more comfortable. I did notice there are no glasses - just tacky plastic cups wrapped in plastic wrap - ick! Also, no Mickey shampoo, which didn’t break my heart. Although the little Mickey bottles are cute, over the years that shampoo has deteriorated into absolute crap, and I purposely brought my own stuff after suffering thru Mickey shampoo on recent trips! I also brought my own shower stuff, so I didn’t have to smell like a “Kimberly Clark nightmare” the way Buddy did on his recent trip, lol! I showered, and realized I was hungry...unusual for me first thing in the morning, but not surprising considering how buy yesterday was. So, I make a big mug of white chocolate raspberry cappuccino to drink as I got ready for the day. I buy it at Publix, the brand name is Caffe D’Vita, it’s 99.7% caffeine free, only 60 calories in a regular size serving, and is delicious! If you see it in your store, give it consideration if you like instant cappuccino - a 12 serving can runs about $3. The weather was on - by 7:45 it had climbed all the way up to 36 degrees! The high today will be 51, and they’re warning everyone of a hard freeze tonight (coldest night of the season so far) with temps in the 20’s in many areas. I am so unprepared for cold weather - all my clothes are appropriate for “cool” 65-70 degree days, not 25-30 degree nights! Thank goodness I bought the jacket in Hilton Head (Dale loved it because it’s Chip & Dale, lol) - but I’m not used to wearing such bulky stuff & feel strange with all that extra bulk. It beats freezing, though. I heard one kid go running by on the walkway, but otherwise it’s been silent this morning. I always request top floor specifically to cut down on the noise from people passing by. I did some biceps curls (using weights I’d brought - some internet friends & I have started exercising more regularly - “daring” each other to do a certain number of leg lifts, or sit ups, etc) and finished getting ready, leaving the room about 8:15. The food court was very busy, with lines at all the registers and no empty tables to be seen. I thought about just skipping it, but figured I should probably eat some real food (as opposed to going back to the room to start the marshmallow thing) since lunch wasn’t until 3pm, so I ordered the child’s breakfast platter. For $3.49 it was a scoop of dry scrambled eggs, 2 small hash browns, 2 strips of bacon or sausage, and a biscuit. Luckily I spotted an empty table next to a trash can, so I grabbed it! There seemed to be a lot of people with large groups - perhaps school groups - but they were all well behaved. It was ok, but nothing great. I ate most of the eggs, a few bites of the hash brown/bacon, and the whole biscuit. I couldn’t find butter on the beverage station (must be back in the store area), so I tried using just strawberry jam on the biscuit and was surprised at how good that was. After eating I took a couple of outdoor pictures of the resort (happy to see the housekeeping cart outside my room already) and then went to the bus stop and climbed aboard the waiting MK bus. We went next to All Star Music, which surprised me because there were very few empty seats, and I thought each All Star would have their own bus running at this time of day. We picked up 1 family, and then went straight to the MK, arriving just as the opening announcement was starting. It was really cold...and very windy. When the wind would die down it would almost be comfortable in the sun with a light jacket & gloves, but when that wind started blowing it was just awful! It was funny to see all the outdoor MK cm’s wearing their long heavy wool coats, gloves, hats, scarf around their face - they looked cold! I didn’t see any tourists in shorts & tank tops today, for a change! I walked through the shops, keeping warm for as long as possible, and spotted the banana nut bread in the bake shop (I’ll stop later to buy a piece). My first stop was Space Mountain, which was closed due to technical difficulties. Fast Pass was working and giving tickets with a 9:40-10:40 time, so I got a couple of them (used my AP pass and also my PI pass - they both worked) and headed over towards Fantasyland. The plan was to ride the indoor stuff! On the way I ran into Goofy, and stopped to shake his hand briefly, then walked right onto the Pooh ride. It was so nice & warm inside that when it ended and I saw nobody was in line I just stayed on to ride again. This time, the ride shut down as I was in the room where Pooh dreams. The lights all came on, the sound shut off, and there were frequent announcements - we were still for about 10 minutes. Then, it started up and went about 10-20 feet when it stopped again, but only for about 2 minutes this time. We had 1 more minor delay after that, and when I got off I noticed they were holding the line and not loading any new guests. I went to Peter Pan next, again walking right on. It was also nice & warm in there! I decided to try Space Mountain again, but when I got there I saw it was still closed. The cm said he didn’t know when it would open, but that my fast pass would be honored all day. So, I headed back to Fantasyland and rode Snow White and then went to the Haunted Mansion. There couldn’t have been more than 20 of us who went in, and this was the first time I’d seen them not make us walk all the way to the end of the chain and then walk back to board the doom buggies. As I was walking towards Frontierland I decided I might as well ride Big Thunder if the line’s not long, despite the cold weather. I was shocked to be able to walk right down to the loading area at 10:15 with no wait at all. They were only running 1 train, and had just filled one up, so I happily waited for the next one (I would have asked to wait anyway, so I could get the last seat). The ride was pretty cold, but lots of fun, and I’m glad I didn’t skip it this trip. I rode Pirates of the Caribbean next, again walking right onto a boat. By now it was 10:40 so I decided to see the 10:45 show at the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon, and took a seat at the counter upstairs along the railing. They used to have tables up there, but I think the counter works much better. The show was great - the main guy was Dr. Bill Y’Later, along with a singing cowboy, a funny magician, piano player & the can can dancing girls. They do a lot of audience interaction, and it was really a lot of fun - something I’ll have to do more often. There was humor directed towards the adults too - not just all family stuff. One guy they pulled out of the audience to participate by playing the triangle during the dancing girl’s can can dance was given the triangle and told “my, that’s a tiny instrument for such a big strapping man, but don’t worry just hold it up high where we can all see it”. The audience was laughing, and the poor guy was blushing, lol! The show was just over 45 minutes long, and I think each show is different throughout the day, so next time I’ll try a different show time (10:45, 12:00, 1:15, 3:30, 4:45). By now I’d seen everything I was interested in at the MK, so I made one last trip to Space Mountain....and it was open! I used the 2 fast passes, riding first on the right side and then on the left, and got the front seat the 2nd time. On this ride I like the front seat, because at times it looks like the track just disappears in front of you and it makes it a little scarier. After Space Mountain I headed back to Main Street Bake Shop, bought the banana nut bread ($2.11) and left the park. Once again the AS Movies bus was waiting for me, so I got right on. Back at the resort I dropped my stuff off in the room, grabbed Chris’ mug, and went to get hot chocolate. I’m really liking this convenient room location! I updated the trip report, got all caught up there, and watched the weather channel. At 1pm it’s still only 45 degrees here, but after I leave it’s supposed to warm right up. While on the bus I noticed Disney has started covering their plants. There were large areas where the flowers are already covered up with a big white fabric. About 1:30 I left the room and drove over to the Boardwalk. Last month when we Nancy & I met for lunch at LeCellier I ended up parking at Beach Club & she parked at Boardwalk. I’m hoping she’ll be at BW again, so after lunch we can walk out together. The self park lot was full, so I drove up and gave the car to valet - a much better idea than self parking on such a chilly day! I walked quickly and entered Epcot via the International Gateway. This park wasn’t very busy either, so I decided to try Test Track. On the way I passed Off Kilter playing, so I stopped to take their picture. They were wearing leather jackets to keep warm, but still had their bare legs - and a large crowd watching/listening to them. At Test Track I was shocked to see no line outside the building at all! The fast pass time was 2:40-3:40, and it was currently just after 2pm. I skipped the fast pass and got in the single rider line, which only had 4 other people. It was a fun ride, and I was back outside about 10 minutes after I got in line! I browsed indoors at Mouse Gears, but didn’t find anything I had to buy. I did notice in Canada that the outdoor cart that used to sell the cheese soup is nowhere to be found. Perhaps it’s just a seasonal thing, when the park is busy, but I don’t know for sure. About 2:45 I walked back to Canada, caught the end of Off Kilter, and then went to wait inside Millennium Village until 3pm. I played with the computers just inside the door - nothing too exciting, but it was nice & warm in there. As I came out I saw Nancy go by, so I caught up with her outside LeCellier and we went right in to be seated. Shavonne from British Columbia was our server, and she was really nice. It turns out she recently attended a wedding in Nancy’s small home town near Rochester, NY - small world. Nancy bought lunch today, and everything was wonderful as always. I had the cheddar cheese soup and a glass of white zinfandel; she got the soup, a strawberry milkshake (they make them small here - not like at Prime Time or Sci Fi) and the rueben. We had fun catching up on stuff, and left the restaurant around 4 - the last guests to leave. I took her pic so everyone can see what she looks like, and we walked back out of the International Gateway. Remember how I’d parked at BW figuring that way we’d end up at the same place? She had the same idea, so she parked at Beach Club figuring that’s where I’d be! We had a good laugh over that (ok, so I amuse easily) and I decided to walk her back to the Beach Club and then continue around over to BW. She had to get to work, I had time to walk. It took just a minute to retrieve my car from the valet, and I drove back to All Star Movies, parking in the same spot again. I think I’ve been in the same spot every time I’ve come back here this trip. On the way to BW I noticed they have a nice smooth sidewalk that runs from All Stars to Coronado Springs. It looks to be about 2-3 miles each way, and if it’s not raining on Friday I’d like to roller blade it after my meeting. I returned to the room, looked at the digital pictures using the tv, but then wasn’t able to get them downloaded to the laptop. I kept getting an error message telling me to make sure the camera was turned on (it was) and the pc cable was plugged in (it was). I tried repeatedly, looked for different “help” screens, and finally gave up completely frustrated about 30-45 minutes later! I absolutely HATE crap like this - stuff that I don’t fully understand so I can’t just “fix it”! I’ll try one more time before I leave for PI - and hopefully I’ll resist the urge to toss the darn laptop and camera over the 3rd story railing ! If there’s no url or link to pics later tonight, you’ll know why...and I would NOT advise anyone give me any grief about it....because I won’t be responsible for any unDisney-like reply I might send back ;-) Good news on the weather - now they’re saying showers Friday night & into Saturday morning...that might make the roller blading possible Friday afternoon. I ended up leaving the room at 6:20, and drove over to PI. I had a little time, so I walked over to the Marketplace to pick up a free chocolate sample at Ghiradelli’s. Some of the stuff I bought there in December isn’t gone yet, so I didn’t buy any more tonight. I browsed through World of Disney briefly, mainly looking to see what was new since last month, and then headed to PI just as the 7pm announcement was starting. There were very few people on the island at all, and even fewer up by the Comedy Warehouse, so the first show ended up being canceled. I stood around chatting with cm’s Tammy, Jamie & Jose for a while, and then went to the Adventurer’s Club to warm up. This club was busier than normal for so early in the evening, but it was just that nobody wanted to be outside. The actors didn’t start anything until after 7:30, and when they encouraged everyone to go into the Mask Room for a show shortly before 8pm I headed back outside to get in line for the Comedy Warehouse. The cm’s had the schedule by now, and Layden wasn’t going to be in show #2 but I decided to watch it anyway, in case there was something worth taping. Also, I didn’t want to be out very late since I had things to do in the room, and need to be sharp at my meetings tomorrow. Show #2 was very good (Krista, Jake, Mary, Heather, Mark), and I immediately left afterwards to get in line for show #3, which was also excellent (Layden, Mark, Matt, Mary, Philip). This was my last show, so I stopped & chatted with Layden on the way out. Almost all of the actors had come out to thank guests for coming, which was nice to see. It doesn’t take very much of their time, and it’s a really nice gesture on their part. I thanked Layden for his Hilton Head restaurant recommendation he’d made on a previous trip, and he was glad to hear we liked the Big Bamboo Cafe. I’m sure it will be on the list of places we eat in HH for all of our future trips - it’s a great place, and one I probably never would have found on my own. It was a very cold walk back to the car - the wind had picked up again, and it was very unlike Florida! One of the cm’s told me someone had done an unofficial count and counted approximately 900 guests on all of Pleasure Island - normally there’d be 3000-4000 tonight, but the weather was keeping people away. The tv news was at Church Street Station doing a story on how the cold weather was killing business in downtown Orlando - there are lots of weather related news stories since temperatures this low are so rare here (thank goodness). When I got back to the resort I went straight to the room, and tried downloading the pictures again - and this time everything worked fine. I must have been doing something wrong earlier, but have no idea what that could have been...it’s a very simple process! In any event, you should find today’s pictures (10 of them, I think) at http://members.aol.com/wdw1972/0100day2.html I’ll put a link at the end, also. The trip report was finished up around 11:30. I ate some of the marshmallow thing, as time is flying by and I need to start eating it so I don’t have to throw it away. Perhaps I shouldn’t have gotten one this trip, but habits are hard to break! I’ll get online to download stuff, post the report, pick up email, but hopefully will turn in relatively early. Except for changing the time of lunch with Nancy to 3pm, the day went exactly according to the plan. Total miles walked: 7.65 DAY 3 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2000: Sue (me - 41), DVC member PLAN: Meeting 8:30-5, Comedy Warehouse at night with Linda ACTUAL: I stayed up until after 1am, unfortunately. Barb (dizyworld) had posted her report from her 20-day millennium trip to Old Key West and Vero Beach, and it was too good to pass up! So, if I appear out of it at the meeting later I’ll blame it on Barb . Got up at 6, made cappuccino and ate ½ of the banana nut bread for breakfast in the room. Dress for our meetings is always casual, so I dressed as if I was spending the day in the parks. I’d used Mapquest to print out door to door directions getting me from All Star Movies to the Hilton Garden Inn, and they worked perfectly. It was 25 miles from here to there - and it took about 45 minutes. The Hilton is right outside the airport, along with several other hotels to choose from. While I would NEVER recommend staying here for a wdw vacation (even if the room was free - it’s just too far away), I would recommend it for someone looking for a place to spend 1 night when flying in really late. I arrived early enough to take some notes on exactly which hotels were in this area, but when I walked inside I saw some people I know and went to talk with them instead. I do recall a Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Marriott, but I’m not sure what else. When I got to the meeting room the people who are my closest friends were already there, so we started off the day with hugs (awwwww). Most of you are familiar with my friend Tom, and longtime readers might remember Ed from the March 1998 trip. Anyway, we spent the morning discussing how best to spend the approximately $150 million we’re responsible for each year - it sounds like a lot, but it’s really not enough to do the job completely. I guess dealing with large numbers like this makes it easier for me to deal with Disney prices, lol! One funny thing - we determined that we need another meeting as soon as possible, involving a very high-level group to be included, and the person who sets up the meetings practically apologized (looking at me) because that meeting would have to be in Tallahassee, but that the other meetings with just our group we could have in other locations (like Orlando). It’s nice that he thinks of me - I don’t think anyone else cares where we meet, but I’m always the first to say “Orlando would be good for me”. Plus, he works in Tallahassee, so any meetings not held there means he gets to travel too. For lunch about 14 of us went to Chili’s. We had to wait about 10 minutes, but they seated us in 4 booths right near each other. Service was very slow, despite them not really being that busy. We must have been in there over 1.5 hours, I think. Tom & I shared the chicken caesar pita, which came with french fries - for $5.99 plus tax & tip. We usually share a meal when we go out to eat, which means he gets 2/3 or ¾ and I take the rest, which is just the right amount for each of us. Our afternoon meeting was more philosophical, long range planning stuff, and I was getting really exhausted. The room was getting very warm, and the last person presenting was soooooooooo hard to stay interested in. Thank goodness we broke up around 4:15 - everyone was losing it, basically getting really stupid/silly, so we knew there was no point in continuing. Coming back to wdw it felt like I drove forever once I got back on property...I didn’t get lost, but I certainly didn’t choose a very direct route! I got back to the room just before 5, and updated the trip report while watching the news and eating more of the marshmallow thing (can’t remember the name of it). I also worked out with the weights...since I’d gone to the trouble of bringing them. It looks like it was a beautiful day - sunny and warmer. Hopefully it will be warmer tomorrow, and still sunny when I get back from the meeting so I can go roller blading. There was a letter in my room - due to the Indy races this weekend, they’re asking guests to NOT drive to MK because of heavy traffic on today, tomorrow, or Saturday. I know one year they closed the MK parking lot to everyone but race guests, which was a major pain for people staying off site & driving in. They redirected those guests to Epcot to park, and then bused or monorailed them back to the TTC, which was a big inconvenience. So, anyone coming here this weekend should make appropriate plans. Tonight I’m meeting Linda (elfriar) at Comedy Warehouse. Just so there’s no confusion, she is not the Linda who stayed with me during part of the December trip - the one who will NEVER be invited on another trip, and who now is referred to as “evil Linda” to avoid confusion with this Linda (called dvc Linda in the Dec report). I left the room about 6:15, drove to Downtown Disney and parked by Planet Hollywood. Since I had time, I wandered through the Marketplace, looking in the handful of stores that I always enjoy going into. Ghiradelli was giving away sample nonpareils, which are always good (have some at home). The Gourmet Pantry had some Christmas candy 50% off, so I bought a small bag of foil wrapped chocolate balls for $.99 plus tax. The Marketplace wasn’t very busy at all, which was a little surprising since it wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been the past 2 nights. Perhaps everyone was in the parks still. At World of Disney they had a few nice clothing items in the children’s department, but I really don’t need any more clothes right now so I figured there’s no point in buying them if they’re not on sale . If I ever see them in Character Premiere or Character Warehouse I’ll buy them then, but if not I won’t worry about it. Usually the stuff in the children’s department looks way too young - the sizes fit, but I’m not about to walk around with a “princess” shirt on at my age! I entered Pleasure Island about 10 minutes before 7, and was surprised to see a fairly long line already formed at the Comedy Warehouse! I got in line, and Linda joined me about 7pm. We talked to a nice group of people in line ahead of us - 4 people from British Columbia, Canada. While we were quite chilly, they thought it was nice & warm, and had gone swimming today, lol! We got great seats for the show - front row of the seats with a counter. I found out cm Jose also goes by the name Joe, and Joe is what he prefers. I felt someone tugging on my jacket sleeve - and it was him - saying hi while he was seating people. I think Layden started this show, and was joined by Matt, Heather, Philip & Jake. I’m still getting used to Heather - but really like the other men, especially Matt & Philip. Lately (past several months) Matt had been consistently outstanding, and Linda commented on that also. We got in line for the 2nd show, and when I asked the cm outside if the schedule was up yet, he asked Joe and Joe went inside & brought me out a copy. He said to just keep it, so Linda & I looked it over trying to figure out all the codes. I can read who’s working in which show, and know what some of the stuff stands for, but it was fun guessing the rest (they code it for which game/skit they’ll be doing, who will lead it off, stuff like that). This time we were one row back from the 1st show, which were also great seats. This time the actors were Layden, Matt, Krista, Jen & Christine. The show was very good, but got off to a slow start. Two of the women were doing a fill in the blank scene, and when they’d pause the audience kept forgetting they’re supposed to yell out a suggestion - even I did at first. But, I paid more attention & gave the first few suggestions & people started to get with the program! I’d never seen that happen before. Linda & I were skipping the 3rd show, so we went into the Adventurer’s Club. She’d only been in there briefly before, so I suggested we sit in the main salon until it was time for Samantha’s show in the library. The Colonel was doing his spiel, talking to guests (he’s the puppet in the balcony thing on the wall), and when he finished he said something about being Security. Later on Samantha Sterling (one of the characters) came through, and when she saw me she said “you’ve been here before” and I said yes. She then told people that usually I was three sheets to the wind by this time of night, and I replied that I was off to a slow start but would make up for lost time later! She mentioned that they usually had to call security to assist with me, and Linda asked if it was the Colonel that they called. Samantha said “oh no, she’s petite but it takes a couple big burly security guys to control her”! We did the new member induction ceremony (first time for Linda), and then went into the library for the show. This is the only show that I bother with here. This club does the same shows night after night, but this one is mostly singing and some audience teasing, so it’s a little more interesting to see more than once. After the show we sat upstairs and ate some of the chocolate balls (which turned out to be crispy chocolate, oh well) until it was time for show 4 at the Comedy Warehouse. This show was also excellent, and we were seated right behind the tables on the floor. The audience must have been full of cast members, and they were a pretty rowdy bunch, but fun. I forget who worked this show - I know it included Layden, Jen, Matt - but I forget who the other 2 were - probably Heather & Jake. We left after this show - by now it was almost 11:45. We made plans to meet late tomorrow afternoon for some time at the Studios and then more Comedy Warehouse! I drove back to All Star Movies and went straight back to the room to do the pictures & trip report. It’s fun, but time consuming. I was hungry, so I finished up the marshmallow thing. The meeting starts again at 8:30 tomorrow morning, so I’ll leave the alarm set for 6 so I’ve got time to drive over there. Hopefully I’ll get to bed by around 2, but I’m not sure that’s going to be possible. The day matched up with the plan, except for the meeting ending about 45 minutes early - which was a VERY good thing, lol! I love my job & all, but it really felt like too much of my day was spent away from wdw. I sure hope tomorrow finishes up early enough that I don’t feel that way, but I guess I shouldn’t complain because if it wasn’t for the meetings I wouldn’t have been up here at all this week! Today’s pictures should be at http://members.aol.com/wdw1972/0100day3.html Total miles walked (starting at 6:15pm): 2.25 DAY 4 - FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2000: Sue (me - 41), DVC member PLAN: Meeting until no later than 1:30, AK or Epcot possibly with Linda, Comedy Warehouse at 9 (opening late) ACTUAL: This week, whenever I mentioned that I’d read that the Comedy Warehouse wasn’t opening until 9pm tonight, the cast members didn’t know what I was talking about (I’d read it in the Time & Information brochure, and possibly in the Mickey Monitor). Last night before one of the shows I ran in cm Joe up near the bar, and asked him what he knew. He hadn’t heard anything, but said he’d call the bar manager to find out for me. The manager said there wasn’t any reason for the club to be opening late, so I guess they must have had something booked that later got canceled. I’m glad to find this out, as now I won’t miss 2 hours of Comedy Warehouse on my last night in town. I missed the bedtime goal of 2am by about 30 minutes, but might sleep in a little on Saturday if it’s still supposed to be raining. I got up at 6, had cappuccino and the rest of the banana nut bread for breakfast, and was on the road by 7:30. The meeting ended at noon, and I was sad to see that it was already raining! I was very disappointed, since after sitting in meetings for the past day and a half I was really looking forward to some physical activity (roller blading). Since those plans were ruined, I figured I might as well stop at Belz on the way back to the resort. As usual, I was only interested in Character Premiere and Character Warehouse. Character Premiere was missing - but I found it on the map - it had moved to the opposite section of the mall. The new location is a little smaller, and they had lots of nice merchandise but nothing for me. Character Warehouse is still in it’s location, and there was quite a bit of different merchandise in this store, but I didn’t get anything. Traffic wasn’t too bad, for a change! I kept hoping the sun would come out, but of course it’s not going to until after I go home probably. The rain was more of an off and on drizzle, but with the sidewalk all wet I didn’t think it was safe to be skating. Back at the resort I stopped in the food court to see what the soup selections were, but they were all kinds I didn’t like (either had seafood or vegetables in it). I asked at the pasta place if they had a child’s portion, and they did (not on the menu). I ordered a child’s portion of pasta tubes with alfredo sauce ($3.99) and also bought a piece of delicious-looking chocolate cake ($3.39). You might wonder how I went from craving physical activity to buying alfredo sauce and chocolate cake - I know it confused me! Rather than sit in the food court I got the food to go and went back to the room. I actually ate most of the pasta, and then was too stuffed to eat more than a few bites of the cake - but it will be good later tonight or for tomorrow’s breakfast. While I ate I watched & documented what was on a couple of the tapes I’d shot at the Comedy Warehouse the past 2 nights. With it being drizzly & damp outside I wasn’t anxious to get to a park early, so I’d decided to spend a couple hours in the room. So, I caught up the trip report, read today’s email to save time later tonight, watched my soap, and then headed out about 4:15. Luckily I was able to drive to MGM, park, ride the tram, and enter the park by 4:30 so I wasn’t late to meet Linda! Linda had been in the parks since 9am hunting for pins - she’s been an avid pin collector since her adult children were little kids, and she’s got more pins than anyone I know! We walked right on to the Great Movie Ride, and since they were only using the back 2 cars we got the gangster scene. I’ve read the rumor that this attraction will be shut down and redone with a Disney villain theme - but don’t know when that’s supposed to happen. Although this was the signature attraction when the Studios first opened, since the movies shown belong to MGM and there’s no longer the association between Disney & MGM, I guess it makes sense that they’d change the attraction. Assuming the rumor is true, this attraction will be missed by both of us! We rode Star Tours next, which not only had no wait, but they’d shut off the fast pass machines as well. Our last attractions was Muppet Vision, which was cute as always, and not even half full. By now it was almost 6pm, we were both tired (I almost fell asleep in Muppet Vision) and Linda was hungry. I was still overstuffed from the pasta at lunch, so we went to the Commissary and I sat with Linda while she had soup/salad for dinner. Afterwards, it was time for me to head to Comedy Warehouse. Originally Linda had planned to come, but she was just too tired. I was exhausted too, but there’s no way I’d miss my Comedy Warehouse...especially since it’ll be 5 weeks before I’m back at wdw! We said our good-bye's (until March) and headed out separate ways. I rode the tram back to my car and drove to Downtown Disney and parked in the usual area. I had time to walk around the West Side, browsing in the DisneyQuest and Cirque du Soleil stores, before entering Pleasure Island. Once in line at the Comedy Warehouse another couple were behind me, and said I looked familiar. They live 40 miles away, and come about once a week, so most likely they’ve seen me here. We chatted until the show started - mostly about different members of the cast here & at the Adventurer’s Club. We were seated together, in the front row of seats with the counter (perfect). I asked our waitress (not sure of her name) if after she’d taken care of her drink orders would she check the schedule & tell me which shows Layden would be in. She brought me my drink and their copy of the schedule, so I not only could see that he was working shows 1,2,3&5, but I could see who else was working, what games/skits would be done in each of the 5 shows, and which actor would be leading or participating in each one. I ended up seeing all of the first 3 shows, and all of them were excellent! I got great seats, too, being a solo guest. The people in line with me were seated half way back, but I’d get moved right down front because there was usually 1 seat empty! Before the 3rd show I was seated between a couple who’d recently gotten engaged on a cruise, and a man who was leaving on the Magic soon - so we talked about cruising. After the show I stopped to chat & say good bye to Layden, since I wasn’t planning to stick around for the 5th show at 12:05 am! I was back to All Star Movies around 10:30 or so. One good thing - it stopped raining by 6pm or so. I’m hoping that it will clear by morning, and the sidewalk will dry. If so, I’ll still get to roller blade - I can do that instead of a park in the morning. I’ll keep my fingers crossed & hope for the best. I packed up most of my stuff, downloaded the few pictures taken, and finished the trip report for today. I made ½ cup of cappuccino, and forced myself to eat some of the cake so it didn’t go to waste (I know, that’s stupid). The day sort of followed the plan...I did go to the meeting, but the park was MGM and Comedy Warehouse opened at regular time rather than 9pm. This was great, as I got to attend the 7:10 and 8:15 shows - which originally I’d figured I’d miss! The pictures should be at http://members.aol.com/wdw1972/0100day4.html There’s only a handful, though - I took a pic of my friend Ed (he tries to keep these meetings in Orlando for me, and he was on the 3/98 trip with his family), another shot of Tom, 1 at MGM, and a couple inside Comedy Warehouse. I really wasn’t out at wdw much today to take more pictures! Total miles walked (starting at 4:15): 2.89 I don’t know when I’ve ever had such a low reading! DAY 5 - SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 2000: Sue (me - 41), DVC member PLAN: MGM or Epcot, drive home afternoon ACTUAL: Last night I went to bed shortly after 1am - the earliest night yet. I also set the alarm for 7:30, which is late by wdw standards, so I actually got more than a nap! Checking outside, I was happy to see it was not raining, but there is very dense fog and the pavement looks wet. By the time I got out of the shower it looked like the sun was starting to shine, so hopefully the ground will dry briefly before the rain expected later arrives! They say the fog should lift in an hour, which works into my plan. I made a tiny bit of cappuccino and finished the chocolate cake. Actually the cake looked better than it was - it was very good, but it wasn’t incredible. If you’re watching what you spend your calories on, I’d suggest opting for cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory in DisneyQuest - now THAT’S INCREDIBLE! (No, I didn’t go to DQ this trip, but a couple weeks ago I did drive 250 miles round trip to visit the Cheesecake Factory in Ft Lauderdale to buy a few pieces of their cheesecake) I left the room about 8:30, put a few things in the car, and put on my roller blades. The ground was still wet, but surprisingly the skates weren’t slippery at all. I skated on the beautiful smooth sidewalk down to Coronado Springs and back, which was 5 miles round trip. I passed a couple of joggers, but otherwise I had the path to myself. The entire trip, including changing in and out of the skates took almost an hour. Afterwards I changed into Tevas and went to get the rest of my stuff out of the room, and make one last cup of cappuccino to carry with me. The exercise felt GREAT - it was just what I needed! It was the best I’d felt all week, and I wish it was cool enough to do this all year long in Florida. I took a couple of last pictures around the resort, put my stuff in the car, and went to the AK bus stop. There were several people wearing sweatshirts and long pants - despite it being sunny & warm today. I was fine in my Disney tee shirt, shorts and sandals (the dvc friends favorite attire, lol) and didn’t understand how these people can start the day without at least checking the weather! I talked to a family who were headed to AK for their first visit, and they asked me what was worth seeing. I basically named everything, and the few things that I don’t like I made sure I explained why so they could decide if those same reasons would exist for them before deciding to skip something. We got to AK about 10:30, which is unheard of for me to be arriving so late in the morning. I’d figured on getting a fast pass for the Safari, and if the park was mobbed I’d just wander around. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the park wasn’t very busy at all, and the longest wait for anything per the tip board was 10 minutes! I headed to Kilamanjaro Safari and got my fast pass, and then walked the Pangani Forest Trail. I stopped in the gorilla area to check on Kathy’s hairy friend. He was there looking for her, but eventually just turned his back on the crowd. On the family side the baby and older brother were playing - running around, doing somersaults, swinging from trees, rough housing, etc. They were so cute, and I watched them for quite a while. On the bachelor side only the big silver back and one of the other ones was out - both sitting off by them selves not doing anything. I went to Asia next, and did the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I was really only interested in the Tigers, and several were out. One pair were awake and looking around, and another one climbed up a tree and jumped back down! They are so cute - but I’m partial to cats over any other type of animal. If I didn’t travel so much I’d have a pet cat, but I love my wdw trips more! By now it was time to return to Africa for my safari. We saw just about everything - including the sleeping lions - and the driver did an excellent job of pointing them out. By now it was almost noon, so I decided to leave the park. I took the bus back to All Star Movies, picked up my car, and drove to Old Key West. It felt great to be returning to my home away from home...although I enjoyed my stay at All Star Movies, OKW is where I belong. I parked at building #55 because that’s right by the entrance to the bike path to Disney Institute. I needed to see if it was smooth enough for roller blading before my March trip, so I put on the skates and headed onto the path. At first it was kind of rough, skatable but far from ideal, but then once I got past the Treehouse Villas the path had been redone and was perfect (wide, smooth)! I skated down to Disney Institute, through the Bungalows and around that lake before returning to OKW. On the way back I beat the canopy boat motoring down the river/canal. I’d estimate the distance was 3-3.5 miles, but I could easily have skated a lot longer through the rest of Disney Institute if I had more time. So, Darla (iluvdvc) - bring those roller blades in March! I put the skates back in the trunk and drove up to the Hospitality House and wandered around Conch Flats while I waited for the Trumbo Ferry to arrive. It was about 1:30 by now, and since all I’d had today was some chocolate cake this morning, I was getting hungry. It’s so great being here - the sights, sounds, smells - I just love it! For those who don’t know, the Trumbo Ferry is how OKW guests can go to Downtown Disney Marketplace if they don’t want to ride the bus. However, it’s not a big boat with uncomfortable wooden seats like the thing from Dixie Landings and Port Orleans. We have a nice comfortable pontoon boat, with real cushioned seats, and a maximum of 10 guests at a time. There was about a 10 minute wait, which wasn’t bad at all. Besides me, there was a couple from Philadelphia on the boat, so the 3 of us chatted on the way to the Marketplace. I shopped first, and then went to Wolfgang Puck Express. It wasn’t busy at all, which was great! I ordered the child’s macaroni & cheese ($4.19 including tax), which was a very large portion. I ate about ½ of it and took the rest home (ate it while working on the trip report). For whatever reason, I just cannot/will not continue to eat when I’m no longer hungry. People think I don’t eat much, but actually I eat all that I need. The macaroni & cheese was very good, but not outstanding to the point where I’d continue eating beyond what I “needed” (that usually only happens with chocolate or other desserts, lol). It was a beautiful afternoon to be sitting outside eating lunch and watching people go by. Finally, it was time to head back, and the Trumbo Ferry was sitting at the dock so I got onboard for the ride to OKW. This time it was me and 1 other person - almost like having my own boat! I noticed they’re redoing the Fairway Villas in the Disney Institute - changing the colors to a green with gold trim. It might sound funky, but it was really attractive. After one last stroll through Conch Flats and the shop there, I returned to the car for the drive home. It was so sad to be leaving.....that’s always the hardest part :( Anyway, I left just before 3pm and got home about 3 hours later. Today didn’t match the plan, but it was a WONDERFUL day. The pictures from today should be at http://members.aol.com/wdw1972/0100day5.html Total miles walked: 6.53 Total miles skated: 8 or 8.5 Maybe it’s good that I vacation solo... SUMMARY: Saying “What a wonderful trip” sounds so lame, but I don’t know what else to say. The trip was wonderful, even if it was way too short. I shouldn’t complain though, as I wasn’t supposed to be here at all, but thanks to sitting thru 1.5 days of meetings (something I would have done anyway) I was able to get 4 nights at the Comedy Warehouse, 2.5 days in the parks, and got to see my wdw-area friends! The parks were very uncrowded, which enabled me to cover a lot of territory in a short period of time. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate - 2 freezing cold nights, a couple cold days, a day of rain - not very much like Florida. But, it gave me the chance to wear long pants for a change! Since I wasn’t staying at a dvc resort I wasn’t able to pool hop, so I guess not having warm weather wasn’t the end of the world. My next trip will be starting in 33 days. It’ll be another short trip (5 days), unfortunately, but I’m sure it will be packed with fun & memories! There are 12-14 of us dvc members who decided to vacation without our families for a long weekend in early March, after having had fun doing this last March. Besides seeing so many of my friends, eating out more, and doing a fireworks cruise, I’m looking forward to more time at the Comedy Warehouse and more rollerblading. DISAPPOINTMENTS:
THE MAGICAL MOMENTS :
Thanks for reading, and as always - if you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me! Sue Holland wdw1972@aol.com Mail a Comment to Sue Holland |
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