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Sue Holland -- July 2000 -- Walt Disney World (Offsite, OKWR)
INTRODUCTION: This is another very short trip - 3 nights/4 days, and like the trip to Vero earlier this month, this trip was not part of the original plan for 2000. Over a year ago I'd gotten an email from Larry Wilmot (look for his wonderful & funny July 1999 trip report on Brian Bennett's site) in Scotland, and we started corresponding. He & his wife Jill have 2 sons who are pretty close to Chris' age. I wasn't sure we'd ever meet in person since I have no plans to head for Scotland...unless Disney builds a park there maybe . Larry had originally planned to skip WDW in 2000, but eventually he couldn't stand the thought of skipping a year, and he sent me an email with his dates & plans. Unfortunately, they didn't align with my summer trip (August) due to his sons' school schedules. It didn't feel right to sit here, 3 hours away, and not go up to meet him so once again I was on the phone to member services and booked a studio at OKW for Thursday & Friday nights 7/20 & 21. The only things Larry said he definitely wanted to do was for Chris to take his sons to DisneyQuest and for me to take him & Jill to Comedy Warehouse to see Layden in a show there. Ok, that sounds simple enough - we figured Friday the boys could do DQ and that night I'd take the adults to Comedy Warehouse. Later other friends (Tom & Leanne - they've been in previous trip reports) decided to book the same nights - they're also DVC members. Tom & Leanne recently returned from a trip to Scotland, and they'd actually met Larry & his family during that trip (they refused to buy me a ticket & take me along) - Larry had helped them with their trip planning. In March I was at the Comedy Warehouse and told Layden about Larry coming over from Scotland to see a show - and Layden mentioned that his new days off now included Friday! I called member services the next day, and was surprised that I was able to switch my dates to Saturday & Sunday 7/22 & 23! With the new dates I'll only have to take 1 day off from work instead of 2 (but then I later added the Friday night offsite so I'm taking that day off after all). Tom & Leanne aren't PI people, so now the boys will do DQ on Sunday and Sunday night I'll take Larry/Jill to Comedy Warehouse (Layden should be working). Sunday is a much better night for PI than Friday anyway - MUCH less crowded! I later decided to add Friday night since Chris is out of school for the summer, and this way we'll already be at WDW first thing Saturday morning to meet up with everyone. I'll probably take him to PI for a couple hours on Friday night, since I can get him in for free with my PI annual pass. He's almost 14, is very mature, and looks more like 16. I used to take him many years ago, before I decided that since I really didn't like seeing other people's kids at PI it was hypocritical to be bringing my own in. I don't have a problem with teens (as long as they stay with their parents), but I don't think elementary school aged kids (or younger) have any business there - just my personal opinion. However, Chris had gone to the Comedy Warehouse & Adventurer's Club about 5 years ago - at least a few times, and he's been wanting to go back. He specifically wants to see Layden - about a year or more ago he was talking about some really specific characters that Layden had created during some of the shows he'd seen (Layden is his favorite, too, and I think that's probably what got me to notice him). When I told him Layden probably wouldn't be there on Friday he was disappointed, but I'm sure he'll enjoy the shows anyway. Originally when I added Friday night to the trip, I'd figured on working a half day....yeah, right! Who was I trying to kid? I soon changed my plans to skip work entirely, but then an important meeting was scheduled from 9-12, so I was back to leaving in the afternoon. Luckily, at the last minute that meeting got postponed until Monday (I'll end up missing it after all), so that cleared the way for us to not lose 1/2 the day to work! We'll get to meet everyone a day earlier this way :-) Finally, I'd asked Chris was time he wanted to leave in the morning (he's not an early riser). At first he said 6am, but then changed it to 5:15 figuring that way we'd get thru Tampa before any rush hour. I don't look forward to such a long day, but it will be nice to have the whole day up there. His dad (my ex-hubby) called & left a message on the machine announcing that the news reported the heat index at WDW was 114 degrees. Now, I could have lived without that little tidbit, lol - I'll be glad when I don't have to visit WDW in the summer anymore. Here's the plan: Friday 7/21 - Drive early, meet others at 9am in MGM, check in to Best Inn Maingate, buy DisneyQuest AP's, take Chris to Comedy Warehouse Saturday 7/22 - Check out Best Inn, check in to OKW (yay), meet others at Epcot, spend time at Stormalong Bay, return to parks later. Tom, Leanne & Christopher leave this day :( Sunday 7/23 - Kids to DisneyQuest, adults to parks, meet kids for dinner at DQ, adults to Pleasure Island (Comedy Warehouse mainly) while kids stay at DQ Monday 7/24 - Check out of OKW, possibly meet Larry & family at a park, drive home afternoon DAY 1 - FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2000: Plan: Drive early, meet others at 9am in MGM, check in to Best Inn Maingate, buy DisneyQuest AP's, take Chris to Comedy Warehouse Actual: I'd set the alarm for 3:30am (that sounds waaaaaaay to early to be getting up, lol), and got up right away. My personal stalker (WDWmaria) was online due to insomnia and IM'd to see what I was doing, lol! I got Chris up around 4:30, and we were out the door about 5:15 (as planned). We arrived on WDW property by 8am and parked at the Boardwalk. After dropping off the laptop and camcorder with bell services, we walked to the Swan and took the boat to MGM. We stood in a short line at guest services to activate our AP's. Directly in front of us was a man with 3 dogs on leashes - and boy did they ~smell~ like dogs! In front of him was a crying toddler. Each time a tram from the parking lot would come up, the dogs would get scared & start barking, which only bothered the toddler more. I was glad when a cm saw the guy & told him where to go (to the kennel, lol) and the toddler left with her family. The cm activated our renewal AP's and informed us that they would expire one year from today but next year's renewal would be active immediately. Chris' renewal was purchased December 1998, and mine was purchased late May 2000. Once the AP's were set we entered MGM and found Tom, Leanne & Christopher waiting for us. Leanne had foot surgery July 7th, and had rented an ECV from Care Medical for the trip. She did great with it, and it had a lot of speed. She kept leaving us in her dust, lol! We stood around chatting until Larry & his family arrived. It was so cool to finally meet him in person, after all this time. They'd brought us each a pin - mine says Scotland and Chris' is 2 flags (US and Scotland) - very nice! I gave them some Star Trek stuff (they're Trekkie's) I'd picked up in Las Vegas. Soon we were off - all 9 of us. It took about 2 minutes for the boys to warm up to each other. It was really funny to see the 3 smaller boys hanging all over Chris - literally. He'd have one hanging from each arm, or he'd be carrying one on his back. They took pleasure in poking him with their finger, to get a reaction out of him! Chris is a lot taller than all of them, so it reminded me of 3 flies buzzing around an elephant, lol! We headed down Sunset Boulevard and got enough fast passes at both Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster for the 5 people who were going to ride. The return times were between 10:20 and 11:25, so we went and rode the Great Movie Ride as a group. With the ECV we were taken right down front, but the room wasn't even half full, so we would have gotten on even without it. We were seated in the last 2 rows of the 2nd car (gangser side), which is not the best, but it made exiting very easy. Everyone except for Tom & Leanne rode Star Tours next - once again we got the back row. I do wish they'd change the movie...I can't believe many of the guests haven't seen it repeatedly by now. Next Larry, Jill, Greg, Ed & Christopher (not my Chris, lol) went to use their fast passes. Tom, Leanne, Chris & I wandered around. Leanne & I shopped along Hollywood Boulevard while the guys waited outside for us, and then it was time to meet the others at the RnR exit. We really didn't have time for any other attractions before our priority seating at 50's Prime Time Cafe, so we went over there and they were able to seat us right away. We were put in a back room, which we filled up except for 2 other small tables. Auntie Gayle was our server, and she was lots of fun. She gave us all names - Tom was Spanky, Christopher was Skippy, Jill & Larry were Peggy Sue and Biff, Chris was Sparky, Ed was Scooter and Greg was Buddy. Everyone laughed at their names, but she skipped me. I asked for a name, and she thought a few minutes and declared me "Princess" - lol! We got lots of admonishments for elbows on the table, being tattle tales, and Leanne got the airplane treatment for her green beans. Chris & I shared a chicken caesar salad and a chocolate shake - and I actually earned a Clean Plate Club sticker - who'd ever believe they'd see that day?? LOL - With Chris around, it's very possible. He was too full for dessert, but the others got stuff. I used my Disney Dining Experience card, which brought the check from $125 down to $103 including tax & tip. Everything was delicious, and we had a lot of fun! The most memorable comment for the day was Tom telling Auntie Gayle "Spanky is a GOOD boy" - we were all ROFL over that! We saw lots of tour groups from Brazil in the park today (identified by their matching yellow, green or orange tee shirts that said "Brasil" on them), but no bad experiences with cutting lines or excessive rowdiness. We went to the Indiana Jones show next, and got right in. With the scooter, we were put in the back row, but that was ok. I didn't see anything different about the show since it was rehabbed...I was as bored as I always am. The boys wanted to see it, otherwise I wouldn't have been in there. At least being in the back row we were able to get out of there quickly - we just ran after the speeding Leanne (we felt the draft as she drove by). I was pretty tired, and the others were wearing out as well. It was only 1:30, but we decided to split up into 4 groups. Chris & I took the boat back to the Swan and walked back to the Boardwalk to retrieve the stuff from bell services. Subj: Trip Report - 2 of 4 Date: 7/25/00 9:13:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time From: WDW1972 To: DVClubber We drove over to the Best Inn Maingate and checked in, getting there about 2:30. The clerk said the room wasn't ready, and I had her double check with housekeeping, but we were told to try after 3pm. It was starting to rain, the construction has made the road a mess, and there was nowhere I really wanted to go, so we just went and got some gas and drove along the side street briefly. I saw Westgate Villas (timeshare) - which did not impress me at all. It's certainly better than the Best Inn (just about everything is) but it just looked like a cheap condo complex. We also saw Silver Lake (another timeshare) and thought it was a bit nicer than Westgate, but still not someplace I'd want to be. I'll stick with my DVC. We went back to Best Inn, and the lobby was getting crowded. We stood in line and just after 3 the room was ready. I think my days of spending the first night off site at the Best Inn are coming to an end. I just can't stand these cheapo motels, and don't care to put myself thru this anymore. Plus, tomorrow I'll end up being without a room until late in the afternoon, since I'm checking in to OKW. In the future I think I'll either suck it up and spend the points at DVC or at least stay in a nicer place! In the lovely room I watched General Hospital and updated the report. Then Chris watched some tv before we got ready to head back to WDW. By 4:30 he was saying he was hungry again...I hadn't planned on eating dinner, but I guess we'll get him something at least. I realized about 2 hours into the drive today that I'd forgotten my Comedy Warehouse refillable bottle - so no Bye Bye Blues for me this trip. It wouldn't be the same in a regular cup, lol! We left for WDW just before 5, and parked at Pleasure Island. We went straight to DisneyQuest, and luckily there was no line at all outside. We walked right up to 1 of the 2 open ticket windows, and the cm there said they could only print the AP's inside - so we went inside the lobby to buy the passes. There are 2 versions of annual pass. One is just for DisneyQuest, and costs $73 something including tax (age 10 & up) or $69.49 if you've got Magic Kingdom Club. The AP that has DQ plus the water parks is $136.74 or $129.91 with mkc. There is no DVC, Florida resident, AP, or any other discounts other than mkc on these passes, and there are no blackout dates. I bought 2 of them. Chris will get good use out of his, because he loves DQ. I'll end up using mine mostly to buy what will now be very expensive cheesecake . DisneyQuest was pretty crowded, which is exactly what I fear it will be like all the time now that they're selling annual passes. There were long lines at all the major attractions, and even the ordinary little games were all in use & many had people waiting to use them - and this was at dinner time! We went upstairs to find Chris some dinner, and ended up with today's special - a cheese quesadilla for $4.73 after the 10% DVC discount. It was excellent - I ate the smallest piece, and he ate the other 3. Unfortunately, he was too full for cheesecake, so we didn't get any tonight. We played air hockey and then did a few other games before leaving around 6:15. We went to the Marketplace because I wanted to find a license tag frame Pat Mc23 had mentioned in her recent trip report. I found it easily in the World of Disney, but it wasn't what I'd hoped it would be. It was made of cheap plastic, and was a blue color that would look really horrible on my dark green car. I showed it to Chris, who gave me one of those raised eyebrow looks that said "have you lost your mind?" - lol! So, I didn't buy it and will continue to hope they someday come out with a DVC one, and make it a higher quality. Back at Pleasure Island I was able to get Chris in for free with my AP (Friday ap holders can bring a guest for free before 9pm). We waited around the Jazz Club thinking it opened at 7, but gave up after about 10 minutes. The line at Comedy Warehouse was starting to get long, so we got in line with just a few minutes until the doors opened. Chris got a virgin strawberry dacquiri which he thought tasted funny (it was very sweet) & I got a glass of wine ($9). This show had a terrific cast - all actors I really like (Mark, Matt, Philip, Jake, & the heavier Jen) - but although it started out really funny, it kind of lost steam towards the end. On the way out I talked to one of the cm's about the new schedule. For those who aren't aware, they're currently ~testing~ only having 4 shows on Sunday through Wednesday nights. They'll continue to have 5 shows Thursday through Saturday. I'm NOT happy with the change, and hope it doesn't become permanent (the cm I spoke with thinks they'll go back to 5 shows). If I can find the time, I'll have to write a letter to the PI manager to let him know my opinion. We went to the Jazz Club and Nancy came out to say hi & meet Chris. It turns out the club doesn't open until 8, and we should have just come on in to see her at 7 anyway....live and learn. After she returned to work Chris & I went to the Adventurer's Club. We got there just as everyone was going into the library for the radio broadcast show. As usual, this show was "ok" at best. I only went because Chris hadn't seen it (at least not for 5 years or so), but he wasn't impressed either. When it was over we left the club and walked around outside. Those clubs and shops at PI are freezing cold - not sure what they've got the air conditioning set at! We got back in line for the 3rd Comedy Warehouse show, and it filled up. It was the same cast, except Greg replaced Philip - and this time the show was absolutely hysterical!! They did the conducted story game, which took up most of the show, but it was one of the best examples of that game I'd seen. Chris loved it, too. After the show we stopped at D'Zerts to get 2 of the chocolate covered pretzels for tonight and a chocolate crunch cookie to share for breakfast tomorrow ($4.65), then went to the car and drove back to Best Inn. Thank goodness I stayed on Disney property as long as I could, because the traffic out on 192 was at a standstill. It was a bumper to bumper sea of brake lights for as far as we could see. There is no way I can stand doing this offsite crap any longer....even if they gave me the room for free, it's still not worth it! We can't wait to get back to a WDW resort where we belong. We got back to Best Inn about 11, to the inferior room. The blankets on the beds are so nasty & cheap compared to WDW resorts, and mine has many long pieces of hair on it. Yuck! We ate our pretzels - it was the first time for Chris, and he loved it. He went to sleep pretty much right away, and I stayed up doing the report and online stuff. I set a wake up call for 7. We've decided to scrap the plan to visit a park in the morning, so we don't have to get quite so early a start. We probably won't leave here until about 9. Today went according to the plan, and except for being at the Best Inn it was a great day! Miles walked today: 7.8 DAY 2 - SATURDAY, JULY 22, 2000: Plan: Check out Best Inn, check in to OKW (yay), meet others at Epcot, spend time at Stormalong Bay, return to parks later. Tom, Leanne & Christopher leave this day :( Actual: The 7:00 wakeup call never came, but since I woke up around 6:30 on my own it wasn't a problem. I checked the automated wakeup call system, and it was still in there for 7, so I'm not sure what the problem was. I showered & got online, letting Chris sleep in until after 8. Breakfast was english toffee cappuccino and half of the chocolate crunch cookie for me; a couple pop tarts & the rest of the cookie for Chris. It's pretty overcast today, and showers (possibly heavy) are expected. Hope we don't get rained out at Stormalong Bay. The new plan for today is for us to check in at okw and meet Tom/Leanne there. They're checking out today, don't have park access, and don't have a clue where Stormalong Bay is (they're still learning about all these perks - as relatively new DVC members). Larry & Jill don't have a car, so Tom/Leanne will follow me to All Star Movies to pick up the Wilmot family, then we'll drive to Beach Club and go to Stormalong Bay together. On the news last night they mentioned that lightning hit the building where Disney's got some CRO offices, sending about 6 cm's to the hospital. Nobody was killed, and this sort of thing could happen anywhere. Down in SW Florida we've had kids getting hit by lightning while sitting in their living room playing Nintendo during a storm. I called OKW to see if they had a studio available now. They did - but I'd have to take smoking optional (no way in hell - I'd sleep in the car first) or a handicapped accessible unit (did that last time - never again). She did confirm that I'd gotten all of my requests met in the studio I was assigned to, so we'll just wait for that one even if it means we're homeless for most of the day! This morning I showed Chris how to earn our FreeRide points, so he did that on both of our accounts while I finished getting ready and put stuff in the car. We use the FreeRide points to get free gift certificates at restaurants (like Rainforest Cafe) and it's also paying for out 2 nights at a new Fairfield Inn (at the new outlets across from WDW) this coming Easter weekend on our way to Hilton Head. I just traded in most of his points for $50 in gift certificates to JC Penney, where he saw some clothes he liked - back to school shopping! We left the lovely (not) Best Inn around 9:15. Tom & Leanne were already waiting for us, so we checked in and then gave the laptop & camcorder to bell services. The cm asked for my name to record on the tag, and when I gave it to him he looked up and said "you're here alot" or something like that. I just agreed with him. Tom & Leanne followed us over to All Star Movies to pick up the others. Larry's family was just arriving, so we put 2 of them in my car and 2 in Tom's van - then Tom followed me to the Beach Club. They've got a section of the parking lot blocked off, but I'm not sure why. I don't think it has anything to do with the construction of the new DVC villas there, and didn't go all the way to the other end to see if the construction had even started yet. We got to Stormalong Bay a little after 10 and it was already open (in June it didn't open until 10:30) - and was busier than I expected for such a cloudy day. It wasn't crowded, but I kind of expected it to be deserted. We were greeted by a cm who gave us all the towels we needed, and then selected a group of chairs near some trees. It was so cloudy that pretty much all the chairs were shaded today. The boys went directly into the pool - Ed was so excited he forgot to take off his shorts & shirt....so he came back later when he realized what he'd done, lol! I'd brought 3 of the fun noodles from home, so they used them for a while in the lazy river and then returned them to me when they went to the slide for a while. The adults alternated between the pool and the chairs - mostly chairs. It was nice having peace & quiet to just enjoy talking with friends - I don't see Leanne that often, Jill was really nice & I enjoyed getting to know her better. Larry & I also had a nice long chat while laying on our lounge chairs - it's nice to talk to him without having to type, lol! He's every bit as witty & friendly as he comes across on RADP in his posts & trip report. Jill had brought Leanne & I each one of her favorite chocolate bars from England - Galaxy chocolate. Larry had filled a bag with ice, and put the ice bag and chocolate bar in a plastic container to help keep it from melting, which worked great. I'm not sure it would have done much good if it was sunny, but today was perfect for the chocolate. I pointed out to Leanne that the wrapper doesn't mention any calories - they measure the units of "energy", which sounds so much better, lol! We all need "energy" but hate "calories". At noon it was time for Tom, Leanne & Christopher to leave - much to Christopher's dismay. He left with a sad look on his face, but I'm sure he'll be back. Leanne mentioned that last night Tom had called his mother, and Chris had spoken to her to talk about his trip. Evidently he said he'd met Ed & Greg & played with them, but the highlight was he'd met my Chris, and "Chris is SO cool"! LOL - my Chris hasn't done anything...I think younger kids are so enthralled with him because he's the size of an adult yet he can still relate to them as a kid (because he is still a kid). The cm's at Stormalong Bay organized some sort of activity involving a slippery watermelon over in the kiddie section. All the boys had fun with that, but Larry & I were talking & didn't go over to see what it was about. It was close to 1pm when Chris started thinking about lunch, so we all headed to Hurricane Hanna's. I got the fruit boat, and Chris ate the Cape Cod Wrap (tortilla with turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, 1000 island dressing) along with some of my fruit ($9.76). After eating the boys went back in the pool while the adults sat around talking. We heard thunder & I noticed the sky behind the Boardwalk was very dark & threatening. We cleaned up our stuff & went back to our chairs to get ready to leave and decide on a plan for the rest of the day. We made the boys get out of the pool, as the wind had picked up and was blowing the storm towards us. I didn't want to get caught in another downpour like at Vero a couple weeks ago, lol! The boys were most interested in going to DisneyQuest, I wanted to spend part of the evening at Epcot, and Larry/Jill agreed on Epcot. The difficult part was coordinating how to get everyone to their right place since we're coming from 2 resorts, their kids don't know their way around well enough to go alone, and they have no car. We ended up with Chris taking the boys from Beach Club directly to DisneyQuest. Larry & Jill took a bus from BC to AK and would then switch to the All Stars bus & have a few hours to spend ~alone~ as a couple - something Jill had mentioned was lacking when you vacation for 2 weeks in a single room with 2 children, lol! I drove back to OKW to kill time until my studio would be ready - and we planned to meet at International Gateway at 6pm. The next hurdle was figuring out how Chris would know where to go when he got back to OKW. We don't know our room # yet. I ended up giving him my beeper, and when the studio's ready I'll beep him to give him the room #. I'll also alert the front desk to give him the # in case something goes wrong. He's got instructions to leave DQ at 10pm to come home. Back at OKW my studio was not ready, so I got changed in the restroom and then sat in the lobby to update the trip report and read the messages downloaded this morning. There's an electrical outlet right next to the big table there, and it's very convenient for me. Since it's a Saturday, there's not nearly as many people hanging around waiting for a room as there is on Sunday - it's actually peaceful with the Key West style music playing and not having the tv blaring some Disney cartoon at a bunch of kids! My studio was finally ready at 4pm - and it was absolutely perfect! I got all my requests of non smoking, top floor, water view. It's in the Old Turtle Pond area, and is the exact same room I had in June 1998 - loved it then and love it now. Back then I moved in alone and was cursing the fact that I'd let Chris & Colin go off to Epcot & leave me to move everything in the hot weather. Today it wasn't as hot, and I guess I'm stronger now, because I moved everything up to the 3rd floor in 1 trip (1 suitcase, laptop, camcorder, backpack, DVC tote bag of stuff, bag of groceries & bag of drinks). I'm definitely stronger than I look, lol (thank goodness)! I got unpacked, quickly handled the email, and then aol hung up while I was tryiing to download. I really hate when that happens, especially when I'm paying for the damn call! However, I just shut the stupid thing off and didn't deal with it...grrrrr. I called the beeper service to beep Chris with the room number and bus stop name, so he'd know where to come tonight. At a little before 5 I debated on whether to take the bus or drive to Epcot, and decided to take the car. If it was the middle of the day and was sunny & 95 degrees I definitely would have taken the bus, but since it's cloudy now and will be dark when I return, the car will be faster & more convenient. I drove back to the Beach Club and walked to Epcot from there. To me it's much nicer to take a leisurely stroll from a beautiful resort into the park than to go to a big ugly parking lot and deal with the crowds coming and going on the trams. I'm not a big fan of the trams anyway - they're very efficient, but I feel like cattle being herded onto them. After entering via International Gateway I headed to Future World. On a lark I decided to see if Test Track had any fast passes left, figuring I'd get 3 of them for us incase we decided to use them - but they were all gone for the day. I browsed through Mouse Gear, and then sat outside on a bench and watched the fountain show. It was time to start heading back to meet Larry & Jill, but first I checked out the 2 shops at the entrance to Future World. Back at International Gateway I sat on a bench listening to the British Invasion until Larry & Jill arrived right on time at 6pm. We headed for dinner at the Tangierine Cafe in Morrocco - since Leanne wasn't with us, lol! Leanne has eaten at the full service restaurant with me once, and at Tangierine with me once, and absolutely hates the food in both places. The other day as Tom, Leanne, Larry, Jill and the kids were walking around World Showcase, as they came to Morrocco Larry or Jill suggested they stop for lunch and they claim Leanne put her ECV into overdrive and sped away quickly, lol! I got my usual - the cucumber/tomato salad ($1.33) and a glass of white wine ($4.51). Larry shared a chicken sandwich with Jill, claiming I was rubbing off on him, causing him to eat 1/2 meals at WDW. I'm sure there's no truth to the rumor of a man from Scotland raiding the snack bar at All Star Movies late at night though . We enjoyed our dinners, and had a table that was in the breeze, so it was comfortable. Eventually we decided to continue walking (I'd finish my wine while walking around), so we headed to dump our trash in the trash can. As we did, a woman called out my name and I looked to see if she was talking to me. She was, and it turned out to be MacFlash88 from the boards. It was so funny (almost spooky) because she was able to tell me what I'd eaten, she identified Larry even though she'd never seen him, knew we'd be at the Comedy Warehouse tomorrow, and knew a bunch of other stuff from the reports. I think she said she'd just been telling her family that the tomato cucumber salad they had in front of them was what I always ate, along with a glass of white wine... and then I go ahead and walk past their table with my empty tomato cucumber salad cup and my glass of white wine, lol! We met her 2 daughters and later her husband - they'd just arrived and have another week to enjoy WDW. She took some pictures of us, and I posted the digital one in the "friends" album on www.photopoint.com in my albums (WDW1972@aol.com) if anyone wants to see Larry & Jill. I put in a pic of the kids and one of Tom & Leanne also. We chatted with Mac for a while, and it was really great meeting her - she's so friendly & outgoing (a real Disney-type) and I was glad she stopped me to say hi. Larry, Jill & I continued our walk around World Showcase, seeing the 3 separate Tapestry of Nations parades in the process. That was pretty cool to see all 3 of them! We went back to Future World to do the single rider line on Test Track - which took about 20 minutes or so to get on the ride. The cm's must have messed up at some point and didn't take enough single riders in fast enough, because we saw several cars with 1 or 2 empty seats coming back in to unload. It was a fun ride, and for the first time noticed a difference in the top speed. Larry was in the car ahead of us and his registered 64.6 mph. Jill & I filled out the next car, and ours said 64.7 mph. I'd always assumed it was a "fake" reading since I'd always gotten 64.8 in the past. We left Epcot after Test Track, walking back to the Beach Club through International Gateway. They were going to Downtown Disney to retrieve their sons, so I decided to drive them over and go with them into Disney Quest to make sure Chris got the beep with our room number. As we got to the West Side bus stop entrance there were signs out saying the Marketplace/PI lots were full, and cars were being directed in here! I've never seen that back lot behind Cirque so full! Many people on the internet say they always drive to DD because the buses can be a pain, but I've always believed you're better off taking the buses because parking is a bigger pain! I do drive when I go to Pleasure Island but I get there early when parking is easy, and would rather get back & work on the trip report than wait for a bus late at night. We luckily found a very good parking space, and went into a very crowded DisneyQuest. We found the boys almost immediately - they were playing air hockey. They'd already eaten dinner, and they swore the smoothies they'd bought were the best ones ever (Ed & Greg each bought 2 of them - I think Larry's putting them on a budget for tomorrow, since he only got $2 in change from the $20 he gave them for dinner). Chris eats twice what they do, and spent less. We decided to check out the new virtual reality Pirates of the Caribbean attraction while we were there. The rest of them had already done it, but it was my first time. The posted wait was 30 minutes (ugh) but we got in line anyway. It was a long wait, but I have to admit it was a lot of fun! They broke us into 2 groups, so we die the kids in one and the parents in another. Basically, you're on the front of a pirate ship, and you wear a virtual reality thing on your head & over your eyes. One of your team is the captain, and drives the boat. The other people operate the cannons (there are 6) and you have to shoot & sink other ships to get their gold. We got pretty far before we died - not sure exactly how we died, or what happened exactly, but my arms were tired from firing the cannons so I didn't mind! There was a ghost ship that we were trying to kill also, so maybe the ghost won or something. I'd definitely do it again, although I'd try to pick a time with a much shorter wait. We agreed on a meeting time/place in the MK for tomorrow and then left DisneyQuest. They headed to the All Star bus stop and Chris & I went to the Candy Cauldron to get 2 of the chocolate covered pretzels to take back to our studio. The West Side was mobbed, so we walked along the sidewalk behind the restaurants (along the water) and out to the car. Driving home was a breeze - just a short ride around the corner and we were there (unlike last night). I did notice 2 problems with my studio earlier. The first was the toilet paper roll was hung backwards (oh, the horror of it all, lol) so I easily fixed that. The second was a couple of wet spots on the carpet - 1 in the kitchen and 1 between the beds. It looked like they'd cleaned spots or something in the carpet & it hadn't fully dried, so I blotted it with a few paper towels and it was fine when we got back tonight. It's funny I never experienced that at the Best Inn......I'm sure they clean their carpets the instant they notice any spots . It was a great day today, and pretty much went according to plan except for doing Epcot later rather than in the morning. I would have liked sunshine at Stormalong Bay, but I think the clouds were better for everyone else. I really enjoyed the time spent with Larry & Jill, and the boys had a great time together as well. It's too bad Tom & Leanne (& Christopher) weren't here the entire day - but then I wouldn't have gone to Morrocco & would have missed meeting Mac. Total miles walked: No pedometer today - I wore a dress that had no place to clip it on. DAY 3 - SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2000: Who: Sue (me - 41), DVC member Chris (13), my son Larry from Scotland (larry@waltdworld.freeserve.co.uk) of RADP fame Larry's wife Jill, their sons Ed & Greg (9&12) Plan: Kids to DisneyQuest, adults to parks, meet kids for dinner at DQ, adults to Pleasure Island (Comedy Warehouse mainly) while kids stay at DQ Actual: The alarm went off just before 6:30, and it was WONDERFUL waking up here! Disney beds are so comfortable, and the rooms are nice & quiet. We didn't hear any noise from our neighbors in the connecting 1br unit - not sure if anyone is over there or not. I can hear the buses, but it's a quiet background noise & not at all distracting. Thankfully the brakes aren't squealing. The weather looks kind of crappy again today - chance of rain at any time, and lots of clouds. I got Chris up after 7:30, with the offer to make his bed for him if he got up NOW, lol! It worked! For breakfast I made some cappuccino (couldn't figure out how to pour from the thermal coffee pot here, so I ended up taking the top off) and Team Cheerios. By the time we left the room (about 8:15 the sun had come out, and it ended up staying out until it clouded up around 2-3 pm. We must have just missed the MK bus, because it was a good 20 minutes before one came. We arrived at MK just as it was opening, and saw Jill and the kids in line at the turnstile just ahead of us. Larry had forgotten something and had to go back to their room, so he joined us later. Once inside we headed straight for Space Mountain. The boys went to ride Buzz Lightyear while Jill & I stood in line and got the fast passes (for 9:50). Space Mountain was not operating...a bad sign. We all met up at the bench nearby just before 9:25 and at Larry's suggestion we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, where Chris claims Larry was reciting the entire narration during the ride, lol! Space Mountain was operating while we were on the TTA. After getting off we returned to Space Mountain, and it was broken again. The cm said she had no idea how long it would be - only that it would be "a while". Chris had already gone off to drive the race car, so we walked over there to wait for him to get through with that. There wasn't anything else anyone wanted to do in the MK, so we headed out. Ed & Greg stopped in Tomorrowland to buy some souvenir, so Chris & I went ahead to the Main Street Bake Shop to get my banana nut bread. While in line there was a group of young (20's) people speaking a foreign language (not sure which one). They kept trying to push ahead of me, and when they got a tray and put it on the counter the guy kept sliding over to where it was hitting my hand. Finally I gave it a shove back towards him. They looked at me, kind of puzzled, and I told them to quit pushing and to back off please. I gestured also, which they seemed to understand better than my words. I know in some cultures they're used to pushing & shoving, but I'm not going to put up with it. Larry & the others arrived, I paid for my banana nut bread, we found some people to give our fast passes to, and we headed to the candy store. They wanted to see the marshmallow thingy, so I pointed them out. They each bought one, and I got one that I ate the top marshmallow and Chris finished. We took a picture of the group of us with our marshmallow thingies - it should be in the "Friends" album on photopoint. Finally, we left the MK. Since Larry & Jill had not seen Dixie Landings or Port Orleans before, we took the waiting but to DxL and walked around there a little bit. We took the Sassagoula River Cruise to Downtown Disney, so they got to see a little of Port Orleans as we sailed past. The cm driving the boat stopped at the West Side for the boys to get off for DisneyQuest, and then took the rest of the passengers to the Marketplace. We had about 30 minutes to kill before the OKW boat service started, so we wandered around a bit. At 12:15 we took the Trumbo Ferry back to OKW. They both enjoyed this ride, just as I always do. We looked around Conch Flats a bit, and then walked back to my studio so they could see what it looks like in person. Larry will probably deny it, but he did admit OKW was very nice - nicer than the BW unit he saw last year (studio). We cooled off a bit, then I drove us over to the new Premium Outlet Center to shop at Character Premiere. They got a bunch of shirts at very reduced prices. I got a kid's heavy denim jacket with great embroidery on the front & back (for me - adult sizes in that stuff are way too big), a little tee shirt, and a flannel night shirt. After that, I dropped them off at All Stars and then returned to OKW to update the report & relax a while before we meet up for dinner later. I was hungry, so I had a bowl of cereal while I did the online stuff. Around 5pm I drove over to Downtown Disney and parked at Pleasure Island before walking to DisneyQuest. I found the boys, then went and played Qbert until we met for dinner at 5:30. Larry & Jill had eaten a late lunch at All Star Movies, so they just each got a piece of cheesecake. Chris got the spaghetti with marinara sauce ($6.31 after discount) which was so big Greg helped him eat it. I got a piece of Brownie Sundae Cheesecake (brownie topped with plain cheesecake topped with fudge coated in chocolate sauce and mountains of whipped cream) for us to share, yet we were unable to finish it. It was delicious, but very filling. I ate about half of it, and felt awful...but it sure tasted great! Larry read some of my trip report on one of the internet computers - good thing I didn't say anything bad about him. In fact, he said I was very "polite". He'll never see the "real" report, lol! We played some games with the boys, and Ed beat Jill and then beat me at air hockey - he was thrilled! At 7 the adults left DisneyQuest and walked over to Pleasure Island. After getting our wrist bands we headed to the Comedy Warehouse. I asked the cm outside if the schedule was done yet, and it was obvious she had no interest in doing anything to check or help us...she was decidedly un-Disneylike. She did say it wasn't up yet - but should be later, so we wandered around until "later". Eventually I went back and asked her to please go inside and check the schedule, and she did. She radioed out to one of the other cm's to tell me that Layden was still on vacation. That was disappointing since Larry specifically wanted to see him. I'll be back in less than 2 weeks, but tonight was the last opportunity for Larry. We got in line for the first show, and it started to rain. It kind of irritated us that the cm's left the line standing out in the rain outside of the chains (we weren't even allowed up against the side of the building) while they went and stood inside the building! It started really raining hard, so they should have either let us in early or let us up against the wall of the building - and they should have been OUTSIDE with us, to answer any questions of the guests! We ended up running over to the Adventurer's Club and sat upstairs until 8pm when the Comedy Warehouse doors were due to open. By then the rain had let up. The cast working this show were Jennifer (the slimmer one), Mary, Mark, Philip & Greg and they did a great job. It was unusual for a first show, but the main focus of one game was condoms, and other suggestions included proctologist & some suggestive stuff. The suggestion of "hooker" was not accepted, due to the number of idiots who'd brought their young children to the show (hope they enjoyed the condom song/poem). We got back in line for the 2nd show, which included the other Jennifer replacing Jen from the first show, and Matt was in for Mark. This show was funnier than the first - but both were very good. Jill & I both got a Bye Bye Blues, and she liked it. After this show it would have been a 30 minute wait for the next one so we decided to visit the Adventurer's Club for a while. It was freezing in there, as usual. We checked the schedule for the library shows and the next one was the Balderdash Cup Competition - which none of us wanted to see (thank goodness). They'd seen it the other night and weren't overly impressed with it. I've seen it several times over the past 10 years and if I never see it again that's fine by me. We sat in the main salon and soon met a couple of other RADPers - Kathy Salvie and a man named John (sorry I didn't get the screen names). We all moved into the Mask Room to chat, and then there was a brief show in there. We talked a little longer, then Larry, Jill & I left to get the boys. Jill confessed that she enjoyed the Comedy Warehouse better than Adventurer's Club - and I certainly agree. At the risk of having RADPers throwing flames at me, the Adventurer's Club bores me. The shows are the same old thing night after night after night, and even the limited bit of improv that occurs in the main salon is too repetitive and not as creative as what happens at CW. That's just my opinion, of course...certainly anyone who hasn't been there should check it out and form their own opinion. Back at DisneyQuest we found the boys easily, and Chris was ready to leave. We said goodbye to Larry & his family - hopefully we'll do this again next time they come to WDW! Chris & I decided to pick up a snack before leaving so we went upstairs to the Cheesecake Factory stuff. I really wanted just a cup of chocolate mousse, but we ended up getting a piece of Linda's Fudge Cake since it was big enough to share. Well, that cake is HUGE and so rich we barely made a dent in it later! We left DQ and had to walk back to the car that was parked over at PI, then drove back to OKW - arriving close to midnight. I cut off half of the cake for Chris, and then half of the other half for me, but neither of us could eat our parts. It was delicious, but we just couldn't do it! We put it back in the container & we'll eat that for breakfast tomorrow rather than our Team Cheerios. He went to sleep around 12:30, while I stayed up to finish the report and email. Tomorrow morning the express checkout should be on our door, and we'll probably sleep in a bit. I might be totally radical and NOT set the alarm at all. I've left the drapes at the porch door open slightly, so we'll get daylight in the room in the morning, so I'll let that wake me up & then we'll decide exactly what we'll be doing. Total miles walked: 7.3 DAY 4 - MONDAY, JULY 24, 2000: Who: Sue (me - 41), DVC member Chris (13), my son Plan: Check out of OKW, possibly meet Larry & family at a park, drive home afternoon Actual: I got up around 7:30, and at 8:30 Chris was still sound asleep. We'd decided not to meet anywhere this morning - sleep sounded better than getting to a park early, and Larry's family was meeting with Kathy Salvie's family for lunch. There really wasn't any park Chris & I needed to do, but I didn't feel like going back to DisneyQuest and since I had a coupon at Rainforest Cafe I decided we'd spend a little time in AK and then eat at that location. I ate part of the fudge cake for breakfast, but left a lot of it for Chris. I love chocolate, but this is really too much chocolate so early in the day . I also made my cappuccino and Chris finished the milk with his cake when he woke up (I don't like milk). After this I don't think I'll be wanting any chocolate for a while, lol! We left the room about 9:20 (VERY late for us) and drove to the Hospitality House to drop off the laptop & camcorder. We must have just missed the AK bus, as all 4 of the others came by quickly. After about 10 minutes or so I could see the AK bus turn down Millers Road, and then saw it come back from down there but it didn't come to the HH - instead it drove out of OKW! Perhaps it was full, because otherwise it made no sense. I was very irritated having seen our bus disappear like that! Eventually more buses came - Epcot, Downtown Disney, MGM, another DD, MK...but no freakin' AK! After we'd waited almost 30 minutes I stomped off to drive the car, muttering UN-masked vulgarities under my breath! I have no patience, I guess, but since this was going to be a short day anyway, the last thing I intended to do was spend half of it at a bus stop. We drove to AK and entered the park around 10am and went directly to Rainforest Cafe to get a priority seating for lunch. The earliest they had was 1:45, which was too late for us - so I asked the girl if my Safari Club card did anything for us. She said with that we don't need a ps, and that we should just show up whenever we feel like eating. Sounds good to me ! We went to Kilimanjaro Safari first, to get a fastpass (11:05-12:05) and then walked to Dinoland to check out Dinosaur. The standby line said 10 minutes so I decided to do that, and ended up walking directly into the preshow movie before they cut it off behind me. After Dinosaur we walked back to Asia and watched the people on Kali River Rapids, and Chris sprayed some of them with the elephant fountains. He didn't want to get wet today, but said he wanted to ride this next time. When our fastpass time began we walked back to Harambe and went to the safari. The standby line was very crowded and barely moving, but we were able to walk right up to the front. The cm was holding up all the standby people until the few fast pass guests came thru, then he let some standby through until more fast passers arrived. We were on our jeep in less than 10 minutes, I'd estimate. Despite it being late July and being almost noon, most of the animals were out and active. We saw the cheetahs in the shade, and both lions sleeping. About all we didn't see were the rhinos, mandrill baboons, & warthogs. After the safari we walked the Pangani Forest Trail quickly, just to see the gorillas. The family was relaxing under some trees and 4 of the bachelors were out walking around or eating. I didn't see Kathy's favorite - the big silverback...guess he was staying in a cool cave! We watched them for a while, and then decided it was time for lunch. Back at Rainforest Cafe I showed my Safari Card to the person at the elephant, and we were seated within 2 minutes...it was great! The Safari Club costs $10 to join, but they give you an immediate $10 voucher and mail a 2nd $10 voucher that can be used at RFC restaurants or retail shops. I'd joined while in Las Vegas last April and used the 1st voucher for a t-shirt. They'd also mailed out a coupon good for a free Awesome Appetizer ($12.99 value), so that's what we were using today. Our server was Robert, and he was absolutely wonderful. He was friendly, efficient, and he was not at all bothered when he found out we were only eating the free stuff - no big check or anything. I did let Chris order a non-alcoholic version of one of their frozen drinks. It was some thing with frozen yogurt, bananas & chocolate. The total check was $4.23 - so I left $7 to cover the tip on the value of the meal and we were out of there within 35 minutes of arriving. We won't order the awesome appetizer again, because some of the items were not things we'd choose to order. When we came out, the sky was completely black and the wind was picking up. It was obvious a big storm was coming, so we decided our WDW trip had come to an end. It rained a little on the tram ride out to the parking lot, but we got to OKW and retrieved the laptop/camcorder before the downpour started. We made 1 stop on the way home (to get Chris' new backpack for school) and were home before 5. Total miles walked: 4.9 SUMMARY: We had a great time on this too-short trip. For me the best part spending a few days with Larry & Jill, and seeing Tom & Leanne at WDW again. For Chris he'd probably say getting an annual pass at DisneyQuest was the best part, lol! The crowds weren't as awful as I'd feared, and the heat wasn't as bad either. There were MANY large tour groups, but we did so few park attractions we never encountered them there. Larry said many of them were staying at All Star Movies and it was difficult in the food court at times, so I guess I'll have to deal with that in a couple weeks when I'm staying there. I don't have long to wait for my next trip - we're back to WDW starting August 3rd (just 9 days away). We'll do 3 nights at All Star Movies so Chris can experience it for his first time, then the 4 night Wonder cruise, and then 2 nights at Old Key West. Originally it was 8 nights at OKW, but I canceled the last 6 when I decided to do the 7 night Magic cruise in September. 2000 is turning out to be a terrific year for trips! DISAPPOINTMENTS:
MAGICAL MOMENTS:
Thanks for reading, and until next time - Sue Holland Sue Holland wdw1972@aol.com Mail a Comment to Sue Holland |
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