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Sue Holland -- May 2000 -- Walt Disney World (Offsite, OKWR, CSR)

Who/When/Where:

• Who: Sue (me - 41), DVC member
• Dates: May 26 - June 9, 2000
• Travel Method: Personal car
• Resort: Best Inn Maingate (1st night), Disney's Old Key West Resort (6nts), Disney's Coronado Springs Resort (5nts), Hampton Inn (2nts)
• Experience: Extremely experienced, approximately 80-100 WDW vacations since 1972, over 50 nights in Disney resorts this year.

INTRODUCTION:

This is the 5th of several Disney trips for 2000 (counting the trip to Disneyland last month), and the 3rd trip that involves a mix of business and vacation time. What started out as 3.5 days of vacation and 3.5 days of business ended up evolving into 9.5 days of vacation and 5.5 days of business! The conference is the annual Florida Sterling Conference, which is a total quality management thing that I attended for the first time last year, along with 7 other people from work. It was hands down the best conference I'd ever attended, and after spending 6 years as Controller with Marriott Hotels where we had many great meetings/banquets, I really thought I'd be difficult to impress (boy, was I wrong). The conference in the past was always held at the Contemporary, but starting this year it's at Coronado Springs. I was hoping to attend again this year, so at the 11 month point I booked the 3 nights prior at OKW since it was a holiday weekend and my annual pass would be expiring on 5/30/00. Also last year we ended up having a statewide financial meeting in Orlando the week after the conference, and with some effort from me and the person who sets up the meeting (who finally got approval to attend the conference also) it was scheduled again for Orlando, the next week. However, rather than scheduling it for Monday/Tuesday like I'd suggested, it was scheduled for Thursday/Friday. That left me with a decision to make. Do I stay in the WDW area an extra 4 nights at my expense, knowing my annual pass has expired (didn't plan to activate the next one until my July trip), ~but~ knowing I'd have more time at the Comedy Warehouse? Or, do I return home on Saturday, work Monday/Tuesday, and then drive back up Wednesday for the meeting? LOL, obviously the Comedy Warehouse was the only real consideration, and I knew I wasn't going to be returning home between the meetings ! Heck, if I did nothing but sit in my hotel room all day long, it would still be worth it in order to see more shows those nights.

I booked a room at the Hampton Inn for 6 nights (Saturday thru Thursday) after checking several places. For a standard room I got a rate of $53, and since the State would pay the last 2 nights while I attended the meeting, it would only cost me a little over $200 if I decided to stay. There was nothing available at the DVC resorts, but I went on the wait list (about 2 months in advance). I was shocked when I returned from my April trip to have a message from DVC - some of my dates had become available, but the Sunday/Monday in the middle of the stay were still not available. I was not about to move out of CS on Sat, into OKW, then out of OKW for Sun/Mon, back into OKW for Tue/Wed, and then out to the Hampton Inn for Thursday - that's way too much moving around! So, I stayed on the wait list hoping for the entire stay....and it came through a couple of weeks later!! Rather than using the higher number of points for a Saturday night stay I checked with CRO to see if Saturday night was available at CS at my annual pass rate, and it was - so I extended that reservation to where I'd be checking out on Sunday. I called DVC and booked the OKW studio for Sunday thru Tuesday nights, and then shortened the Hampton Inn reservation to arrive on Wednesday for just 2 nights. Now the extra stay was only costing me $122 (the cost of the ap rate CS room plus tax). I called Hampton Inn again, and upgraded to a room with a refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, and sitting area for a $62 rate - since the rate at the Adams Mark Hotel was $77, I'm still saving the State money over what they'd be paying if I stayed there with the rest of the folks. I chose the Hampton Inn for a few reasons - I'm comfortable in them, the free continental breakfast is plenty for me, I like the free local calls for my internet access, and it's halfway between the meeting and Comedy Warehouse so it's convenient to my day & night plans. Also, I've attended a meeting here before (but stayed at one of the hotels in Lake Buena Vista to be closer to Comedy Warehouse, lol) and know it's a decent place.

I toyed with the idea of bringing Chris (13 yr old son) up for part of the trip, but he's still in school until June 8th, was not planning to activate his AP until July, and wasn't sure how I'd get him back home if I did bring him up for a weekend. The flights from Orlando to Ft Myers were still running almost $200 one-way, so that ruled out that idea! In April Chris accepted a job at the local baseball stadium, and he would have had to miss work, so that was another factor in the decision. He'll be missing several games when we take our August trip. He loves working (especially getting paid), and although he's only 13, he looks & acts older, and has been doing volunteer work since he was about 10. Anyway, I decided to leave him in Ft Myers. He'll spend a few days with our friends Sheila & Colin (they come on some of our trips with us) while his Dad is away on a camping trip, and then will spend the rest of the time at his Dad's house.

I've gone back and forth trying to decide whether I'd be activating my next annual pass after the conference ends, or whether I'd spend those 5 days without any park access (my Pleasure Island annual pass will be valid). One consideration is that since I'll be staying at OKW as a DVC member, I'll be able to use Stormalong Bay and all the other pools for 4 of those 5 days. It would also mean I could feel free to stay for all the shows at the Comedy Warehouse, since I wouldn't have any reason to get up early the next morning. Since I've been doing trip reports I've never stayed for the 5th show - which can be extremely funny - because leaving PI at 1am, and then having a few hours of stuff to do makes for a very late night. It might not be a big deal if I sleep in until 9am though. On the other hand, there is a special water park offer for AP holders right now. If I buy a single day admission at regular price, I get unlimited access to the water parks thru 6/11 with my ap. I called Disney, and am not convinced the cm had any clue at all, but was told that I'd need to show my valid ap as well as the water park thing - so in order to really get a lot of use out of that I'd need to activate the ap. It's a tough call - I'm leaning towards going "park-less", as much to force myself to do less, but probably won't decide for sure until I'm up there and the time comes! I renewed the ap over the phone, and the voucher came in the mail already. I'll take it with me in case I decide to activate it.

I'm hoping to see the usual friends - Kathy, Linda, Nancy (but haven't figured out specific dates for everyone yet). Also, I should be seeing Bob & Donna on this trip. Bob used to be my boss, before he moved to Orlando last October (he was part of the November 1998 and December 1999 trips). We worked together about 4 years I guess, and we became close friends. When he told me he was leaving my initial reaction was excitement for him - it was a great opportunity, but I didn't realize how much I'd miss him! He has company the first week and won't be attending the conference this year, but hopes to come by for breakfast one morning to see the other staff (there are 7 of us), and I'll have dinner with Bob & Donna and see their new house the weekend after the conference. Perhaps they'll join me at Comedy Warehouse some night that second week also - they've gone with me several times and always enjoy it (lol, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't love that place). About a week before the trip another DVC friend emailed to invite me to join a few of my DVC friends for lunch the day of my arrival. I wasn't planning to get there that early, but it didn't take me long to decide to change my plans so I could spend this time with Dottie - Ilovebskts, Donna - ILUVWDW, and Tina - tlfarmer. I last saw them at the DVC ladies' weekend in early March, and we're all cruising together in August. The three of them are spending a long weekend at the Contemporary, I'm assuming they got a great cast member discount since they all work part time at The Disney Store in their states. Finally, I talked to Nancy on the phone a couple days before the trip, and due to schedule conflicts (I'm free when she isn't and she's free when I'm tied up with business) we won't get to spend much time together until Wednesday of the 2nd week. She suggested I stop by during her dinner hour at work (the Jazz Club at PI), provided I could ever pull myself away from the first show at the Comedy Warehouse (her break is from 7-8; the first comedy show is 7:10), so I told her I'd give it consideration, lol!

Finally, this IS a business trip...at least business is the reason for going up there, even though I've scheduled several vacation days around the conference and subsequent meeting. Since the primary purpose was business, I do plan to keep in touch with the office via email. Our fiscal year ends 6/30 so this is a very hectic time of year and a few of my departments have some staffing issues or big projects that I don't want to let slide while I'm away for so long. I won't be back in the office until June 14th due to yet another meeting (this one in Tallahassee, not Orlando) June 11-13. Believe me, spending time keeping in touch with the office is the least I can do since I've gotten a bonus 2-week trip to WDW! Besides, I enjoy my life - both work & play, and the 2 blend together well without being a problem.

The plans so far...

5/26 - Work, leave by 10 to drive to WDW, check in at Best Inn, meet DVC friends for lunch at LeCellier, spend time at a park

5/27 - Check out of Best Inn, check in to OKW, maybe attempt MK early entry in order to get banana nut bread, possibly head to water park around 10, meet Kathy at Downtown Disney in the afternoon, spend some night hours in a park

5/28 - MK at opening, Blizzard Beach, Comedy Warehouse

5/29 - Animal Kingdom at opening to meet a couple of people from work, water park, Comedy Warehouse

5/30 - Check out of OKW, check in to CS, maybe some park briefly in morning, "Disney Approach to Operational Excellence" seminar 1-5pm, Comedy Warehouse

5/31 - Conference 7-5, Comedy Warehouse

6/01 - Conference 7-5, Comedy Warehouse

6/02 - Conference 7-12:30, Governor's Sterling Banquet at night

6/03 - Any park but MK in morning, possibly visit Belz, relax at CS pool, spend evening with Bob & Donna

6/04 - Check out of CS, check in to OKW, MK for morning, water park, Comedy Warehouse

6/05 - Possible park or water park, Comedy Warehouse

6/06 - Possible park or water park, Comedy Warehouse

6/07 - Check out of OKW, spend day with Nancy at Stormalong Bay, check in to Hampton Inn, Comedy Warehouse

6/08 - Meeting at Adam's Mark 9-5, Comedy Warehouse

6/09 - Check out of Hampton Inn, meeting at Adam's Mark, drive home

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. However, making "plans" so far in advance they may not be very accurate...I really plan to do whatever I feel like doing each day

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2000:

PLAN: 5/26 - Work, leave by 10 to drive to WDW, check in at Best Inn, meet DVC friends for lunch at LeCellier, spend time at a park

ACTUAL: Got up at the usual 5:25 (usual for a work day, at least) and managed to get to work a little early. There was one potential crisis I needed to deal with this morning, but otherwise wasn't planning to do much. Yesterday I-75 near here was closed again due to another brush fire...but it was reopened last night. Hopefully I won't have trouble getting to WDW! I left the office at 10, ran into more traffic than usual but nothing terrible, and passed a few areas of fire damage from last week. Luckily there were no fires today! After 1 stop to buy some overpriced Kissimmee gas I checked in at the Best Inn and was settled in my room before 1pm - so I made great time!

I headed right out to WDW - there's no reason to hang around this cheapo motel. It's strictly a place to sleep tonight, and I couldn't stand it for more than one night. Actually, it's getting hard to take even for one night these days...compared to a WDW resort it's pretty depressing! I parked at Boardwalk, flashing my DVC member card to get waved on in by the security guard. It was incredibly HOT up here today - probably high 90's and with the humidity it was pretty disgusting. It's hard to believe just 2 months ago it was beautiful here, and actually chilly in the mornings & evenings....not anymore! I'm kind of not looking forward to August now - I've got 12 days on either side of the cruise, and we're going to roast - ugh!

I entered Epcot via the International Gateway about 1:30, and since I had 1/2 hour to kill I walked to Mexico and rode the boat because it was indoors and air conditioned! There wasn't any wait, and except for the bozo taking flash pictures in the front row (I was near the back) despite the announcement of "no flash pictures" it was a nice enough ride.

After the ride I headed back to Canada, and found Dottie, Tina & Donna waiting inside LeCellier. The 4 of us (with some of the other DVC ladies) ate here this past March, so we knew we were in for a good lunch. We were seated towards the back, and although our service was pretty slow/inattentive, we think it was a case of our waitress was just too busy with too many tables. It took a long while to get our breadsticks, and some people's glasses were allowed to stay empty too long. The food was great, though. I got my usual - the cheddar cheese soup and a glass of water. It was a delicious yet inexpensive lunch - $4! Donna brought me a gift, and said it was my breakfast for the week - I laughed and saw that it was a piece of banana nut bread from the Main Street Bake Shop at MK! She said after reading my reports she can't go in there without thinking of me, lol. I was thrilled, as I was thinking of going to MK early tomorrow morning to buy some, even though I didn't really want to be at MK on a Saturday. Now, I have my banana nut bread without having to spend all the time going to get it! Thanks again, Donna! We had a good time catching up and talking about stuff - including the new DVC resort that is being built at the Beach Club. There's an article in this week's Eyes & Ears (cm newsletter), which Donna had just picked up today. They even had a picture. Basically, as you're in the parking lot facing the Beach Club front entrance, the DVC portion will be to the left. The picture at first looks like it's just an extension of the existing building, but if you look very closely you'll see that it's a separate building but very close. It will be a green color, rather than blue. It won't have any water view - rooms will see either the front entrance or the Illuminations fireworks. The picture wasn't color, but it looked very nice.

When we left LeCellier we wandered back to Future World. They're doing E-Ride Night at MK tonight and invited me to join them, but since it's 10pm -1am I declined. That's just too late, when I have to drive back offsite, and I don't want to be up until 3am right off so early into the trip, lol! They headed back to the Contemporary to relax at the pool and I went over to Test Track. There was a long line of people in what looked like the FastPass return area, and all the people near me were holding fast passes. I didn't notice people in the Standby line, but I didn't check it out carefully - I went to the single rider line. At first I was concerned because the line was extended outside the building, but then I saw they held the line at the door - there were no single riders inside waiting. From the time I got to the line until I finished the ride and exited the building was about 20 minutes. The crash test demonstration wasn't working, which sort of detracted from the ride. That crash sets the mood for when your car goes racing towards the doors to outside.

I'd realized while driving up here that I'd forgotten to take my jury duty summons with me. I've got federal court jury duty the month of May, and so far each time I've had to call they've not needed any jurors. My last instruction was to call back tonight after 6. Of course, I have no plans to return for jury duty - I've got a conference to attend! I stopped at a pay phone to call home & have Chris read me the phone number, but the line was busy. I wandered around a bit, rode Spaceship Earth (no wait), and then went to call again. The line was still busy - I guess that's what happen when you leave a teen home alone! I ended up having the operator disconnect his call (for a $4 fee) so I could get through. He'd only be there a couple of hours before he was being picked up to spend the weekend at a friend's, so I had to reach him within that time frame and I was getting very irritated that I couldn't get through! The operator came back to tell me the line was clear, so I called him and got the number. He was a little jealous that he wasn't at WDW, but he'll be here in July and August. Right now he's still got school.

Next I went to the Living Seas. It had been several trips since I'd gone in there, mainly because although I enjoy the fish I don't feel like sitting through the boring movie. I'd read they now give you the option to skip it, so I decided to see for myself. Sure enough, after you go inside to the waiting area you have a choice of going left to the hydrolators or right to the briefing room (movie). When I was on the ride one of the dolphins swam right by the window - it was pretty cool to see that! I went upstairs and watched them swimming & playing for a while. We have tons of dolphins near us at home, but since I don't have a boat I don't see them up close.

I decided to check out the Living with the Land boat ride next, and was able to walk right on. The guide spoke very clearly, but at times too quickly and he seemed pretty bored with the whole thing. It was still a decent ride, but I think if it was my first time and I was really interested in all the greenhouse stuff I might have been a little disappointed. When I got off the boat the line was pretty long again, so I must have hit it just right! I noticed the food court stands had changed - they've combined several so there are fewer stands but each is bigger. I guess they save on staffing that way.

At this point I'd seen all I really wanted to at Epcot & decided to go to MK for a little while. There were big crowds leaving Epcot, and the line for the monorail was backed up almost all the way down to the entrance. It looked like everyone was heading for a night at the MK, so I decided I was not going there after all, lol! I turned around and re-entered Epcot instead. At Mouse Gear I stopped to look for the watch I want to buy, but didn't see it. I looked at all the other merchandise too, but didn't see anything I needed. On the way to World Showcase I stopped at the DVC booth to get one of the new DVC balls (soft, squishy, softball size - like a baby or toddler toy) that Donna had shown me at lunch. I asked the cm if I could have one of the new DVC balls, and he said sure. I told him a friend of mine had told me about it, and he asked "those 3 ladies?" and I said yes. He said he remembered them, and laughed. I'm not sure if Donna will put this in her trip report, but I'll put it here, lol! When Donna approached the booth she blurted out to the guy (or guys) working there "Do you have any balls?" - and then realized that her words could have another meaning besides what she meant - LOL! No wonder he remembered her!

After getting my DVC ball I left Epcot via the International Gateway and decided to walk the long way back - past Beach Club, Yacht Club, then over to Boardwalk. I stopped in the shop at BW to check the watch; I'd seen it there in late March, but it was gone now. Crap - that's the only one I liked that wasn't big enough to fit around my upper arm, lol! Hopefully World of Disney will have it, but I'm kind of worried...

I got the car, and drove over to OKW to see if my new camera had arrived. Last weekend I ordered a new APS camera from Home Shopping Network. Then I canceled it when I realized it wouldn't arrive before I left on this trip. Then, I called back to reorder it and had them send it to my OKW home rather than Ft Myers! It's supposed to arrive by 5/31, and I was hoping I'd have time to read the manual tonight. After waiting a loooooong time for my turn at the counter, the cm checked and told me it hadn't arrived yet. I checked on my chances of getting into my studio early tomorrow, but the resort is 99.7% sold out so far tonight, and no studios are empty. Oh well, I thought maybe I'd be able to get my room early in the morning, but I'll survive.

I decided to head to Belz, figuring traffic would be lighter at night than during the day, but evidently I-4 must be congested in the theme parks area 24 hours a day! It wasn't too bad, though, and I went to both of the Character stores. They had a lot of new stuff since March, but I didn't buy anything. There was a nice leather portfolio thing - it holds a pad of lined paper and has places for a pen and some business cards - marked down to $21.99 from $45. I'd never consider it for $45 but might go back for it next week if I still want it.

After leaving Belz I returned to the Best Inn, hitting traffic once again. I was back in the room about 8pm or so, and settled in to check mail and write the trip report. I got an update on the problem at work and responded back on that. I also called the jury duty number....and the recording said to consider myself dismissed! YAY - no having to go to jail and wear a hideous orange jumpsuit and worry about having a cellmate that wants me to be her girlfriend! What a relief, lol! I was a little hungry, but it was late (almost 10) so I just grabbed a handful of Boston Baked Beans (candy coated peanuts) that I'd brought from home since they'd be stale by the time I return.

The day included everything in the plan, plus the added bonus of getting the banana nut bread taken care of (thanks again Donna) and going to Belz.

Total miles walked: 6.65

DAY 2 - SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2000:

PLAN: Check out of Best Inn, check in to OKW, maybe attempt MK early entry in order to get banana nut bread, possibly head to water park around 10, spend some night hours in a park

ACTUAL: My wake up call (no clock in the rooms at the Best Inn) was set for 7, but I was wide awake at 5:45. Why is it that when I don't have to get up early I end up waking before dawn??? I got up about 6 & spent an hour doing email and earning my FreeRide points. FreeRide lets me earn gift certificates (so far Rainforest Cafe and Barnes/Noble), and although it's easy to do it's not worth my time on vacation except maybe when I have an unexpected chunk of time freed up like this morning. Since it's so darn HOT up here, and I've already got my banana nut bread, I decided to skip the parks this morning. Instead, I'll register at OKW and then spend some time at Stormalong Bay before meeting Kathy (dznynut) at 2pm at Downtown Disney. I figure the water parks will be very crowded on a Saturday, and I know what to expect at Stormalong. Perhaps I'll hit a park tonight - in late March it was really nice wandering World Showcase with a glass of wine, but if it's 92 degrees after dark again like it was last night.....ugh! The weather person last night said normal for this time of year is 89, but it hit 97 or 98. No wonder it seemed so awful, lol - but it should get back to normal in another day or 2.

Breakfast was cappuccino (mocha) and about 1/3 of the banana nut bread. It is delicious! I got my stuff organized in a bag to take to Stormalong Bay, knowing my studio wouldn't be available until after I returned from Downtown Disney. I needed to remember stuff I don't normally take there, like my contact lens stuff! After packing up what little stuff I'd brought in last night, I left the room about 8:30 to check out and go register at OKW. While at Belz last night I'd picked up a book with coupons on different motels - a friend coming to our November trip was told by the reservationist at the hotel she's staying at the night she arrives had a coupon in there & she'd asked me to pick one up if I saw it. I'm not sure what I have is the right book, but this one has a coupon for a $32 rate at this Best Inn through the end of July. My next trip up here starts July 22nd at OKW - to meet Larry from Scotland finally, so I checked to see if it was available on July 21st and booked it! This way we'll already be here first thing in the morning on the 22nd rather than losing time driving. After this was done, I drove to OKW. Ah, home at last!

The security guard raised the gate and waved me in without so much as a second glance. I know they don't know me or my car...so I wasn't all that thrilled at the lack of security (not that I feel unsafe, I just prefer cm's do their jobs). Check in went quickly, and the cm ended the process with a cheerful "Welcome Home" (we DVC members are suckers for that). I did get all my requests met (non smoking, top floor, water view) and she told me I'd be in the South Point area. I prefer either that one or Turtle Pond, so this was good news. The studio wasn't ready so I dropped the laptop and camcorder off with bell services and drove over to the Beach Club.

I got to Stormalong Bay about 9:30 and found that the pools don't open until 10. The lifeguards were doing some safety drills and some were cleaning leaves out of the water. I grabbed a lounge chair in a great spot near the lazy river and set up camp. By noon the chairs were all pretty much taken, at least in my area. I never wandered over to the kiddie pool or the end with the water slide. It was very warm (hot) but there was a slight breeze that helped a lot! At 10 I took my fun noodle and floated around the lazy river for a while, sat on one of the benches carved out inside the pool, and then floated some more before returning to my chair. I'd brought a book that my new boss wants all the executive mgt group to read, so I read that for about an hour or so, then returned to the lazy river. It's called Don't Sweat the Small Stuff at Work, and it's pretty easy reading - good for pool side. While reading I ate a piece of kippered beef I'd brought from home. That probably sounds really weird - I'm definitely NOT a beef jerky kind of person, but this stuff is actually not bad. Friends of ours had brought some on one of our trips last year - it's like beef jerky but more beef and less jerky, lol. I bought a package but after Chris broke his front teeth and had veneers put on he can't eat stuff like that, so I brought the last few with me on this trip. It comes in 1-oz packages, and kind of tastes like beef. It was easier than standing in line to get a huge lunch I wasn't really hungry enough for. Back in the lazy river I happened upon a god-like creature floating on one of the rental inner tubes. Boy oh boy, this man was more good looking than any man has a right to be - absolutely incredible (and very married). Of course the DVC men are generally all that good looking too, but this guy was the only one at Stormalong Bay today who attracted attention just by existing! (Nina - we're not talking Tarzan quality here, but perhaps a Tarzan trainee) I laid back on my chair to dry off a little, then about 12:30 went to the rest room to get changed. It was so relaxing here I could have stayed all afternoon, but there's always another day. Seeing Kathy takes precedence over Stormalong Bay (although she probably would have understood if that god-like guy was single and interested, lol).

Back at OKW I check on the studio - it's ready! At 1pm! I didn't have time to go there, lol, but it's nice to know it's waiting for me, lol! I'm in building 45, which is one of the 2 facing the Trumbo Canal - so my view is the canal and the woods across the water. I've stayed in #45 several times, and like the location. I'm mid way between 2 bus stops, so I can get on at one and get off at the other to minimize my travel time.

I'd just missed the Trumbo Ferry, so I wandered around a bit. I found the picture of the DVC ladies' weekend group on the wall in Community Hall. It felt weird to see a picture of myself hanging in a public place - but it's a great picture of everyone. The next ferry came just after I got back to the dock. The driver said it'd be leaving in about 6 minutes but he let us wait on the boat instead of having to stay on the stairs - which I thought was nice. There were 3 of us riding to Downtown Disney. I noticed the boats hold 12 people now (instead of 10). It was a nice ride, as always - so relaxing & comfortable. I saw one of the new Sassagoula River boats that goes to Dixie Landing and Port Orleans, and I'm not sure I like them. They don't look any nicer than the old ones, perhaps slightly larger but not much, and they looked kind of institutional to me. It was more "cattle car" and less "nice pleasant passenger boat" type of thing - not sure if I'm really conveying things very well here, lol! Let's just say I'm glad I'm staying at OKW with the nicer boats & leave it at that.

The Marketplace wasn't too crowded, but World of Disney was mobbed! There were huge long lines at every register - you'd have though everything was 75% off or something (it wasn't)! I went to the watch area and had to wait over 15 minutes or so for anyone to be free to be able to show me the watches, but when I finally did get someone she was very helpful and patient. Of course the watch I'd picked out last trip was nowhere to be found, probably discontinued. They had several more to pick from, but most were either way too big or to me they were ugly! Finally I settled on 1 - it's a gold color bracelet style watch. I can wear it by taking out the removable extra link - it's still big enough to be loose but will definitely stay on my wrist rather than going half way up my arm. It's got an oval face, a second hand, and a full-body character over a white background. The only thing I would have changed is it's not Mickey...it's Twitface (my friend Jan's nickname for Minnie). I guess it's too feminine looking to put Mickey on there. The links are sort of heart-shaped, and I guess it is a girlie watch. I liked it, felt it was priced fairly at $75, and it ended up being the very last one in stock so I got it!

Kathy arrived while I was finishing up at the watch counter, so we went outside to sit in the shade and visit while she was on break from her kids. She'd told them she'd be back in an hour to get them a meal, and left them playing in DisneyQuest. We ended up sitting over by Captain Jack's Margarita Bar and I got a virgin pina colada for my lunch ($3.98 plus $1 tip). It was delicious, but the many ice chips kept clogging the end of the straw until they melted. She had to leave around 3, so we made plans to meet again and I headed back to the marina. Again I just missed the Trumbo Ferry, but another came in what felt like less than 20 minutes. Again there were 3 of us riding back - both times the other 2 people were guests, not members. I wonder just how many of our units are rented out to nonmembers still?

Back at OKW I drove to building 45 and moved most of my stuff into the studio. I'm not sure the roller blades will get used this trip...it's SO dang hot even at 6 or 7 in the morning! Since I'm only here 3 nights I only unpacked clothes for those days and left the rest in the suitcase to save myself time later. It might seem like a bother moving so much, but since I've got business right in the middle of the trip it's something I have to do unless I want to foot the bill for those nights myself (which I definitely do NOT). With DVC there is no hotel bill - I use my points. The State cannot reimburse me for the value or even the cost of those points. If I have no hotel bill they can only give me $29 per night for my lodging...and the points are costing me more than that per night so I'll gladly move over to CS for the next leg of the trip.

I took some pictures of the studio, which turned out pretty well, and downloaded them onto the laptop. They'll end up on photopoint eventually - later this trip. I absolutely LOVE this resort, and think the studios are so pretty (much prettier than the ones at BW and HH, better laid out than Vero). I wish my room at Coronado was going to be this nice, but I guess for half the price you have to give up something! There is plenty of room in this studio for a family of 4 - even if the kids are teens. After updating the report I headed back out around 5pm or so, ready to attempt some park time in this awful heat! I realized I hadn't used the pedometer today, so grabbed that on my way out the door.

I went to the Turtle Pond bus stop and the Epcot bus had just arrived. It took the driver a very long time to load a young boy in a wheelchair but eventually the rest of us were allowed to board. I headed straight to Test Track, where the standby time said 90 minutes and the fast pass distribution was for 8:45-9:45 (they keep this ride running until 10pm). I went to the single rider line, of course. The cm was loudly announcing what the single rider line was about - saying that you will not ride with people you know and if you ask at the loading area to ride with another member of your party then your entire party will be removed and sent back to the regular line. It sounded kind of harsh to be hearing that at Disney, but they need to do it due to the people who get to the loading area and start whining about little Johnny being afraid - asking if they can ride in the same car. This slows down the loading process, which lengthens the wait for all guests. I'd rather they be strict about this rather than eliminate the single rider line all together! Besides, it's kind of nice to see Disney enforce ~anything~ for a change (just a touch of sarcasm here, thinking of their smoking policy in the parks). Anyway, I was in and out of Test Track within 15 minutes by using the single rider line.

It was about 6:15 and I was hungry, so I walked to World Showcase and headed to Morocco. At Tangierine Cafe I ordered the tomato salad ($1.25 for a 4-oz cup of diced tomato, cucumber & onion in a vinaigrette dressing). I knew I liked this, as it's the base of my favorite meal at the full service restaurant here - Oasis Chicken Salad. The tomato salad came with a piece of their bread, but no butter. It was good anyway, and was just the right amount of food. At the pastry shop here I sampled the white Moroccan wine, and recognized the brand as being the one I liked at the Food & Wine Festival last November, so I bought a glass ($4.51 with tax). I sat at a shaded outdoor table to eat my dinner, and some entertainers starting playing music a few minutes later. When they were almost done the 5 minute announcement for Tapestry of Nations came on, so I took my wine and crossed to the other side of the street where pedestrians wouldn't be walking in front of me, and waited for the parade. I passed the time chatting with another woman who was in this spot because one of the guidebooks said Moroccco was the best place to see it. It was a great spot - whether or not there's only 1 "best" spot is something I wouldn't be too sure about though. Tapestry of Nations was great, and I was glad I was in the right place at the right time, and was able to enjoy it without anyone in front of me.

When it ended, I continued around World Showcase with my wine, end ended up seeing the parade again as I walked. It was very pleasant, but if it was about 20 degrees cooler it would have been perfect. I finished World Showcase and exited Epcot through the International Gateway. Walking towards the marina at Yacht Club & Beach Club I passed Cinderella's coach being pulled by the small horses. No guests were on board though - they must have just finished a wedding or something. The boat to MGM was at the dock, and after a stop at Swan/Dolphin I arrived at MGM about 7:45.

The tip board had the Great Movie Ride listed as a 5 minute wait, so I headed there. Once inside though, I saw the entire movie room was jammed full of guests - no way would this be 5 minutes. Had I known, I would have skipped it, but since I was already inside I decided to stay this one time. It was so slow moving I saw the Mary Poppins piece of film 3 times! Many guests left the line and with the help of a cm exited out the side door, tired of waiting. Finally I got on the darn ride, and it was very good (cm did a great job). By now it was almost 8:45, and I wasn't in the mood for any more waiting, or even any rides or attractions. I swung by the candy store and bought a chocolate covered marshmallows on a stick, rolled in m&m's thing ($2) to bring back to OKW. On the way down Hollywood Boulevard I walked through one of the stores and stopped at the watch counter just to take a look. AAAACK!! They have my watch...the one I wanted in the first place but couldn't find anywhere!! The one I gave up on and got a different one! I couldn't believe it - and wished I'd never gone in the store! I like them both, but don't want or need 2 watches. Some people treat watches like any other jewelry or accessory - wearing different ones depending on what else they're wearing, but not me. I want 1 watch, and I'll wear that watch day after day after day. It's a no-brainer for me. I think I like the band on the one I bought better, but like the face on this one better. I don't plan to go back to MGM again, so I'll be happy with my new watch (and should probably stay away from watch displays the rest of the trip ).

I exited the park, and the OKW bus was waiting at the bus stop. It was just me and a very nice family with 2 young kids who were cute but WAY too loud for my taste! I eventually moved away from them. The mother kept trying to quiet them, to no avail. Their volume was just way too high and on a nearly empty bus that noise was bouncing around everywhere. This time I got off at SouthPoint, which is actually the closest stop to my studio. I just love walking home in OKW - it looks and feels nothing like a hotel....it is a neighborhood, and I'm so glad to be one of the people living here. As I got to my building I could see the high fireworks from Illuminations. If my studio was up 1 floor higher I probably could have seen them from my bed

I finished up the report, and did a bunch of online stuff while eating 1/4 of the marshmallow thingy. The day was great, and most of the plan was followed. I didn't have to mess with MK early entry since I already had my banana bread, so that allowed me to have more time in the morning. I opted for Stormalong Bay rather than a water park - partly out of fear of the crowds on a holiday weekend and partly because I knew I'd be leaving early to meet Kathy. Actually the idea of going to the water parks doesn't thrill me...I'm really happy with Stormalong Bay and might opt to just return there instead.

Total miles walked: 4.76 (didn't start it until I headed to Epcot at night)

DAY 3 - SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2000:

PLAN: MK at opening, Blizzard Beach, Comedy Warehouse

ACTUAL: I forgot to mention yesterday - my studio is in perfect condition. Everything is clean, no wear & tear, everything is wonderful as usual. Even the chairs on the porch are clean, which is no easy accomplishment with white chairs! Having a hair dryer in the units is a nice touch, too. The only thing I'm not thrilled with is the clock/radios have a hard time picking up any decent fm station - but if that's the only thing I can complain about then I'm awfully lucky!

I'd set the radio to come on at 6:15, which was probably a little too early since I wasn't planning to get online, but I knew I had some Disney transportation plans this morning and you never know how long that's going to take! Once again though, I woke up 45 minutes early...and got up about 6 & made my bed - the studio looks picture perfect again, just the way I like it. I could care less at my regular home, but in my DVC homes I keep everything looking perfect. After a quick shower I heated the water for my cappuccino (back to the white chocolate raspberry for the rest of the trip) and worked out with the weights I'd brought. It's quicker & easier than trudging over to the exercise room. Once again it's expected to be 97 degrees today - ugh! Hopefully by later this week it will cool off and only be 90-92 each day.

I've decided to change the plan today and skip Blizzard Beach. I've never been, and am sure it's really nice, but I'm not really a slide person and just think I'll enjoy the relative peace at Stormalong Bay more than I'd enjoy a crowded water park during a holiday weekend within a period when they've got a special deal going on for annual pass holders.

I took my cappuccino and more of the banana nut bread out to my porch and had my breakfast outside to see why Darla (iluvDVC) is so crazy about the OKW porches - usually I'm online & don't have time for the porch. Well, it was pleasant, but didn't really do anything for me . There were some birds & ducks down below (No, I did NOT feed them, and nobody else was up that I could tell). Perhaps living in FL it's no big deal to sit on the porch here; I might feel differently if I'd left freezing weather at home and had arrived in warm sunny Florida - then the porch would be a treat.

Since I'd be going to Stormalong Bay after MK this morning, I drove to the Beach Club and took the MK bus from there. If I wasn't planning to use my fun noodle in the lazy river I would have just taken a bus from OKW, then take a bus to BC later, and then come back to OKW by transferring at either MGM or Downtown Disney. I left the room about 7:30 and was parked at the Beach Club by 7:40 - way too early to catch a bus to MK on a non-EE day! I sat at the bus stop for a little while, thinking I might have to consider adding some BC DVC points when they go on sale...not a lot, but enough for 5 nights in a studio.

I decided I didn't feel like sitting at a bus stop doing nothing, so I got up and walked over to the Boardwalk to wait for the bus there. I figured the time it took to walk would be about how long it would take for the buses to start running. The wait was still about 10 minutes after I reached BW, and then an empty bus arrived and took us directly to the MK. I was inside, walking down Main Street at 8:25. Strangely, it brought back memories of Disneyland last month - except stuff was bigger and more spread out. The shops were still closed but the bakery was open so I went in and bought another piece of banana nut bread ($2.11) for later in the week. I also got some ice water and sat at an outside table in the shade to wait for it to be time to stand by the rope near Tomorrowland. The shops weren't going to open until 9 (except the Emporium), which is a shame because I thought checking out the watch store would help pass the time. Forget what I said last night...I was still looking at watches .

The rope dropped at 9am and we all walked over to Space Mountain. Once again, the cm's were NOT letting guests inside, but were having them line up outside the door. What is up with that??? I really feel strongly that when that rope drops & the opening announcement is finished then all attractions should be ready to start boarding immediately! At least the fast pass machines were turned on this time, so I quickly used my 2 passes to get a couple fastpasses (1 was 9:20 and the other 9:25). I walked over to Fantasyland, not wanting to go too far since my fast pass time was coming up soon. The line for the new Pooh ride was completely filled in and extended back out across to where 20,000 Leagues used to be! It must have been a 20-30 minute wait, and the park had only been open less than 10 minutes - I couldn't believe it! I kept on walking, and walked right on Peter Pan's Flight. Captain Hook was riding alone in a car about 4 ahead of me.

I headed back to Tomorrowland, and rode Space Mountain twice - getting the same side and same seat both times. I still like the ride, even though it's not nearly as good as the one in Disneyland. Here I like that the sides of the rockets are lower so you feel like you're sitting up higher and are less protected, and the seats here are more comfortable and don't toss me around so badly. Here I don't like the slower speed, the jerkier ride, and I wish they had the music! A DVC friend is in Disneyland Paris right now...I was glad to have a Space Mountain that doesn't turn me upside down like the one over there (which I'd never ride).

My last stop was to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority - always a relaxing favorite. I was keeping my eyes open for pin carts for someone, but didn't see any on my way out of the park. At the candy store I got one of those chocolate medallions ($.80) and ate it quickly so it didn't melt all over the place. The Yacht Club/Beach Club bus was waiting at the bus stop, so I got on and soon it pulled away. Here's where it gets ugly. The stupid bus pulls into the Polynesian and picks up a bunch of people. One person has a wheelchair, which takes forever to get hooked up right. Then, it turns into the Grand Floridian and more people get on! While we're sitting there waiting for any more I went up and asked the bus driver if this bus was ever going to the Beach Club as advertised - and she said yes, after MGM. I about lost it there - told her there was no sign that this bus was going anywhere other than YC & BC, and although I understand she doesn't determine what routes she has to drive, I blame her for not telling me when I got on the bus that we'd be making an entire unrelated route before going to BC. I would have taken the Swan/Dolphin or BW bus and then walked over to Beach Club. I was really angry - and it took an hour to get back to the Beach Club! Next time I'll park in the Contemporary lot and walk over if I plan to leave the MK in mid-morning...who knows where I'd end up otherwise!

Ok, so finally we're back at Beach Club. I get the fun noodle from the car and head on out to Stormalong Bay. I was happy to find a lounge chair in the area I like, took off my shorts/tank top (swimsuit was worn underneath today) and floated around the lazy river several times to cool off. As usual, I spent some time sitting on the pool bench, did more floating around, then returned to my chair. It was 11:45 by now, and I was hungry! The waitress was nowhere to be seen, so I walked over to Hurricane Hanna's to get a fruit boat and a virgin pina colada. The fruit boat ($4.19) was huge, and full of honey dew, cantaloupe, some grapes & orange slices. It was delicious, but I couldn't finish it all. I wasn't able to get my pina colada because they'd just filled the machine & it wasn't frozen yet....same with the strawberry daiquiri. I was starting to think there was some conspiracy to prevent me from buying a frozen drink here, but after eating the fruit I was glad I didn't also have a frozen drink - no room! After eating I read more of that book for work, then floated some more, read some more, and then decided to leave when some bozo decided it to play catch with his kids. His kids were in the pool. He was on the walkway under cover at the Yacht Club. They were tossing this soggy ball way far over everyone in their chairs and water was spraying on my boss' book. Rather than say something to them (who needs crap like that on vacation) I decided I'd just leave since I was planning to as soon as my bathing suit dried anyway.

Well, the swimsuit wasn't entirely dry, so I decided I'd just put on my shorts and leave it at that - figuring I don't know anyone here & it doesn't matter how I'm dressed. As I'm walking in the Beach Club, almost to the lobby a family is coming from the opposite direction and the wife calls me by name! It was maximouse from aol - evidently she recognized me from some pictures, so we stopped to talk briefly. They'd just arrived for 1 night at the BC mainly for Stormalong Bay before moving to CBR for the rest of their vacation. She was very nice...and it was great to put another face to a name!

I got the car and drove across the street to MGM, wanting to take one last look at that watch. I ended up parking way at the end...as far away as you can get, so I rode the tram in. At the watch store the cm very patiently let me try on both the Mickey and Minnie watches while I tried to decide what I wanted to do. After great struggling with this decision I ended up deciding to just keep the watch I have. Although I like the Mickey face, the band on the watch isn't nearly as nice as the one on Minnie and is almost a little too casual. I know some people would say just get them both, but can you imagine me going through this every day - trying to decide which of the 2 watches to wear???? No thanks! So Jan, I'm sticking with Twitface....you just don't have to ask me what time it is in November, lol!

I left MGM immediately - didn't really want to be in a theme park wearing shorts & a bathing suit top - took the tram back to the car & returned to OKW. I finished the old banana nut bread and put the new one away. It was about 2:45 and I was looking forward to spending a few relaxing hours in my cool beautiful studio, but then I changed my mind.....

For whatever reason, and I'm not sure I'll ever understand it, I decided to go roller blading. Yep, nothing like rollerblading at 3pm when it's 97 degrees and humid outside - I must have left my brain at MGM. I skated from OKW over to Disney Institute on the Conch Flats trail. At DI I skated around all the bungalows and the townhouse area before returning to OKW (against the wind). By the time I got back I was starting to feel dizzy, so I slowed the pace and after putting the roller blades back in the car returned immediately to the air conditioned studio. I'd brought water with me, but it was actually hot in the bottle...just from me carrying it while skating. I took a nice long cool shower, and felt much better.

I updated the trip report, but the skating cut into my online time (skating took about an hour), and eliminated time to get dinner anywhere. I'd brought a couple of microwave popcorn things, so popped one of them about 5:15, figuring what I don't eat will be here waiting for me after PI tonight, and jumped online to take care of the email & message board downloading. Some friends were online, so I chatted a bit also. About 6:45 I drove quickly over to PI and was amazed at how full the parking lot was! I had to park 5-6 double rows back, which is very unusual for this time of night. I could see lots of smoke from a brush fire that flared up this afternoon in Volusia County (Daytona Beach is in Volusia). I actually don't mind the smell at all - it reminds me of having a fireplace, but it's a shame that people are being evacuated and some are losing their homes and property.

I entered PI about 7 and soon got in line at the Comedy Warehouse. Luckily the crowded parking lot didn't carry over here - crowds were pretty normal, maybe slightly busier due to the holiday weekend. I saw the first 3 shows - but by the 3rd one my seat was way towards the back. I counted guests ahead of me and got my favorite seats for the first one, and at the 2nd show I ended up being seated at a single empty seat in the very front row - which was ok. The actors played a new game in the 2nd show - they ask for a single syllable name, and then they make up a song or poem but every line has to end with a word that rhymes with that name, until an actor messes up and then he's out. The rest continue with another name, and so on until only 1 actor is left standing. One name given was Beth - which is pretty tough. I think Christine started that time, and then Mark did a long verse using up a few words that rhymed, so when it got to Layden he just gave up. They can't repeat a word, or they're out. It was a cute game, and worked very well - hope to see them use it more often.

I saw the family from Ft Pierce during the 3rd show, but didn't get to talk to them and they left before I did. On the way out for the night I stopped to say hi to Layden and confirm that he'd be working his normal schedule these next 2 weeks. I drove back to OKW, getting to the studio about 10:40 or so. I recharged the camcorder battery, finished the trip report, and then got online to take care of that stuff.

The day followed the plan as much as I wanted it to, with substituting Stormalong Bay for Blizzard Beach. I'll head back there tomorrow after AK, skipping the water park planned for the day again. A bonus today was going roller blading, despite it really being too hot for that. Maybe it'll be less hot after the conference and I can try it again at the end of the week or some day next week.

Total miles walked: 5

DAY 4 - MONDAY, MAY 29, 2000:

PLAN: Animal Kingdom at opening to meet a couple of people from work, water park, Comedy Warehouse

ACTUAL: I'd set the alarm for 6, but woke up at 5:45 and just decided to get up then. If I wasn't meeting people, I think I could have slept another couple of hours, lol! Last year when I came here for the Sterling Conference one of the people I brought was Joe - our warehouse manager. He's one of my superstars - achieves remarkable results in the warehouse, and is always willing to take on extra unrelated duties. His wife Margaret works in our accounting office, which is another of the departments I'm responsible for. I've known them for years and they've known I go to WDW a lot, but WDW wasn't something that they were interested in...or so they thought! Margaret came up to enjoy the resort during last year's conference (spent days riding the monorail, browsing resorts, but no park access) and one night they had dinner at Chef Mickey's. Well, that was the final thing to push them over the edge into the world of Disney mania, lol! They loved everything they saw at WDW, and during the past year have become seasonal pass holders, have come up and stayed at Coronado Springs (and extended their stay while here), and now for the conference they arrived Saturday at their own expense so they'd have more park time! It's fun to convert new people . Anyway, we agreed to meet outside AK to ride the safari together & do a couple things before going our separate ways. Being relative newbies, they're still in park commando mode, but I'm sure some day they'll slow the pace down, lol!

Did the usual shower/cappuccino/banana nut bread routine. Since I didn't eat any of the marshmallow thingy last night (finished popcorn instead) I ate a little more of that. I've been known to eat solid chocolate for breakfast at 7am - it doesn't bother me what time of day it is when we're talking chocolate, but I realize it's not for everyone.

I'll drive to AK so I can then drive to Stormalong Bay afterwards without any lengthy bus trips. I might as well clarify something from yesterday, since at least 1 person misunderstood something in my report...I doubt the regular readers would jump to the same conclusion, but some people look for the worst. During the hour-long bus ride from MK to BC when it stopped at the Poly and loaded a wheelchair I was NOT begrudging the person in the wheelchair the right to ride that bus. My comment was strictly about the length of time it took the cm to secure the chair - it was the 2nd time this trip that this process took a lot longer than it normally does and I don't know whether it's just inexperienced drivers or if Disney has changed something that is making it take longer now. Period. Anyway, I'm not sure I'll be spending too much time at Stormalong Bay - after 2 days there I'm reaching my "sun" limit and don't need to overdo the tanning or risk a sunburn.

I left the studio about 7:15, knowing I'd be early at AK but when you're meeting park commando people it would be extremely disrespectful of them to be late when you're meeting for park opening, lol! Joe & Margaret arrived just before 8 (coming from CS via bus) and we entered the park. We immediately walked back to Harambe and got fast passes for Kilamanjaro Safari. I'd read that WDW resort keys also work, so we tried it. Our park passes weren't coded on our resort id's, but we still got a fast pass from the machine. We also got one with our park passes, and had about 35 minutes or so to kill until our 8:45 fast pass time so we headed to the Pangani Forest Trail. Joe & Margaret both love this park and spend a lot of time here during their visits, so this morning we just hit a few highlights and didn't worry about trying to see it all. All the gorillas were out on both sides, so we watched them for a while. There were 2 small ones on the family side, and the smallest one kept chasing after one of his parents and hitting him lightly with a stick as if to say "play with me".

By now it was fastpass time, so we did our 2 safari's. Both were great - all the animals were out by now yet it wasn't so warm they'd started to hide. The female lion was only partially visible, but the male was sleeping in full view. Two of the cheetahs were pacing back & forth, but we couldn't tell what they were watching (besides us, lol). By now it was almost 10, so we walked to Dinoland and checked out Dinosaur (formerly Countdown to Extinction - all that's changed is the name since my last trip). The fast pass time was 40 minutes away and the standby line said 30 minutes, so we took our chances with standby and were on within 15-20 minutes. It was a fun ride, as always. Joe mentioned that he'd been given some one-day park passes when he checked in (people at the conference rate arriving by Monday get them), and asked if I could use them since he knew my ap was expiring soon. The free passes expire 6/6, and their seasonal pass is valid through that entire period so they don't need them. I won't get any of my own because I'm not checking into CS on Tuesday, but I'll be glad to use theirs! This way I can get into a park a couple more days (thinking perhaps Saturday & next Tuesday) and not activate my new ap until I come back in July with Chris.

I stopped to call Bob and confirmed that he's going to try to stop by at breakfast time before the conference some day to see the rest of the group (until October Bob worked at our place - he was my boss). Joe & Margaret were staying in AK for a while longer, but it was time for me to leave. It was getting pretty cloudy but I decided to give Stormalong Bay a try anyway. I drove to the Beach Club and found a lounge chair easily (around 11-11:30). I floated in the lazy river, finished the book, updated my notes, and just sat/laid there relaxing. It was so cloudy and breezy it really wasn't hot at all. I ate another of those kippered beef things...one left, and I'll be glad when it's gone, lol! A couple bites is ok, but eating a whole one makes me thirsty - must be salt in it. Eventually the clouds were very dark & completely filled the sky, so I walked over to Hurricane Hanna's and bought another one of the fruit boats ($4.19) to bring back to OKW. I set the tray with the fruit on the empty chair next to me and walked a few yards away to throw some trash away. As soon as I left, 3 or more big birds came down to my tray to see what was there. Luckily the fruit is completely enclosed in a clear plastic container! I gathered up my stuff and headed back to the car to drive back to OKW - arriving about 1pm or so. This was as good a time as any to do the little bit of laundry that had accumulated. There won't be time for stuff like that during the conference. I drove over to the SouthPoint pool - figuring if it started raining I'd rather have the car than be stuck out walking with my laundry! I put the clothes in the washing machine and then relaxed in the pool for a while before returning to my lounge chair to read a magazine. There were about 20 or so people when I arrived, but with the dark skies & increasing wind soon there were only 3 of us left. Plenty of towels were available - self serve. A cm came by and refilled the towel bin and straightened all the chairs. I like this pool - and the one at Turtle Pond. The main pool has absolutely no appeal to me...too big & too crowded.

When my clothes were pretty much dry I returned to the studio. After another shower I updated the trip report and ate most of the fruit - while also watching General Hospital and doing the online stuff. It never did rain, and eventually the sun came back out. There's another brush fire - this one in Hunter's Creek subdivision which is very close to WDW. The Greenway (471 - the fast road from the airport to WDW) is closed due to the fire, and helicopters were dumping water on the area. The wind must be blowing in the other direction though, because I don't smell it outside at OKW. I also worked on the photopoint site - there are a handful of pictures out there now (although I see over 30 of you already went over to take a look) at www.photopoint.com and my albums are listed under WDW1972@aol.com The pics are in the May/Jun '00 WDW Trip album. I'll try to post some more in this weekend. Finally, I ate more of that marshmallow thingy...it won't transport well when I move to Coronado Springs tomorrow morning, lol! If I thought I'd be able to get into my room right away I wouldn't worry, but don't want to be having bell services hold my laptop, camcorder, and a 1/2 eaten marshmallow thingy!

I left the studio just after 5:30 and drove over to Pleasure Island. The thick smoke was still billowing up to the sky - it looked really bad, but I couldn't smell it at all. It's still very warm outside since the sun is back out. With an hour or more to kill, I browsed through the Marketplace and West Side and then found a bench in the shade to sit & people watch before entering Pleasure Island at 7pm. I was shocked to see a very long line at the Comedy Warehouse already, but I joined in and was seated in a single seat left in my favorite row (lucky). The waitress came over and asked "You want your Bye Bye Blue thing?" - lol! She also checked the schedule to let me know which shows Layden was working in tonight (1,3,4). The last game of the first show was the embarrassing story one, and Jennifer asked for a volunteer. When nobody raised their hand, I did, and used Donna's "you got any balls" story except I had to say it was me or they wouldn't have taken it. They won't take a story about another person unless that person is in the club at the time. They made up a song about it - it was pretty funny! After the show I let most of the other guests exit before me, then talked briefly with Leigh (the manager), who recognized me - I hadn't talked to her in a while. Layden came out from backstage, along with Jennifer, who thanked me for telling the story. I'd brought another vcr tape that I'd made with about 90 minutes of what I considered to be some of the best work the cast had done over the past 6 months of my visits. It's fun to do, and gives me a reason to play with the camcorder. I try to make sure to get something from every actor in there (even got Carol Stine the keyboard player this time), so they can all enjoy it and get to watch themselves at work. Anyway, I gave the tape to Layden, we chatted briefly and then I went outside.

The line for show 2 was very short, but I wasn't planning to see that one. Instead, I wandered around the street for a while. It had cooled off and was beautiful outside, and not crowded or smoky (cigarettes) at all! In one of the shops I saw a shirt I'd looked at last year sometime, but didn't buy it because it was a little too big. It's a short white fitted tee with cut out square neckline and the PI logo embroidered on the chest. It was on sale for 1/2 price, and I decided for 1/2 price I could live with less than perfect fit - I didn't have any PI shirts that I still wore, and wanted one. I bought the shirt and a new pin with the PI new year's eve logo, and got my 10% mkc discount. Since I'm changing resorts tomorrow I didn't ask about shipping it back to the resort though.

I then went back outside and sat at a table on the street to update my notes and kill time. It was actually very enjoyable sitting there watching the people & listening to the music. Normally when I skip a Comedy Warehouse show I pass the time in the Adventurer's Club, but I wasn't in the mood for that tonight. It's always freezing in there, and tonight I wasn't dressed warmly enough. About 9 I went up and got in line for show #3 (9:20), and ended up with another good seat, then immediately checked the line for show #4 and since it was still short I joined in and saw that show also. I talked to a group of people from San Francisco who were back at WDW for the first time in 14 years - very nice people. The cast did the game where an actor has to guess a strange saying, and Matt did an excellent job as the actor being tortured. He had to guess "Pop goes the hamster and other fun microwave games" - not very Disney, I guess, but it was funny!

After show 4 I went to the car and in less than 5 minutes I was home....have I mentioned I LOVE the location of OKW?? LOL - it's perfect for me! Back in the studio I was starving, so I finished the fruit and the marshmallow thingy (not exactly a feeding frenzy, but I don't remember having dinner...I'd have to read back up the report). After recharging the camcorder battery, taking care of email, I downloaded the online stuff while finishing the report. The trouble with staying for the 4th show is it means I'm up until at least 1-2 am, and once the conference starts (7am daily) I can't be staying up that late so I'll have to limit myself to nothing later than 3rd show :( Tonight I stayed because I'm not having to be anywhere in the morning.

Today went according to the revised plan, meaning Stormalong Bay was substituted for the water park. I could have done with fewer clouds, but overall it was still a wonderful day. Tomorrow I've got to pack up at OKW, move to CS, register for the conference, and do my Disney seminar (looking forward to that). I might stop by the DVC member breakfast/update thing, to see what they're saying about WL and now Beach Club Villas.

Total miles walked: Pedometer says 4, but I forgot to use it after AK this morning!

DAY 5 - TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2000:

PLAN: Check out of OKW, check in to CS, maybe some park briefly in morning, "Disney Approach to Operational Excellence" seminar 1-5pm, Comedy Warehouse

ACTUAL: After going to bed at 2:30 I ended up waking up at 4:30! Fortunately, I fell back asleep, and got up shortly after 6:30 (the alarm wasn't set until 7:30). I showered, dressed, and headed for the DVC member update at Community Hall. It was a nice walk, and still no smoke smell from the fires. The update wasn't very crowded, which is unusual from my experiences! They gave each member the choice of a beach ball or a DVC license plate. The license plate is the metal one they sell in the store - not the plastic one they mailed to all of us. The big difference is this one doesn't have that $10,000 (or much more for many of us) word...."member", lol! I took the license plate, as did most of the others.

As far as news from DVC - they said they hope to start taking points reservations for WL Villas in September, and to watch the Fall newsletter for information. That resort will open to the public January 1, but they're hoping to do a soft opening before then...no additional details were available. At the new Beach Club Villas, as you're returning from Epcot there's an area full of trees between Epcot and the volleyball court. That's where our wing is going to be built - ground breaking this June, occupancy expected in 2004 or 2005. They said there won't be any more off-site DVC resorts announced until they get Hilton Head or Vero sold out. They talked a lot about the non-DVC places we can use our points, and several of the other members there had tried some of the resorts in the Concierge Collection and enjoyed them very much. Someone asked if we'd be able to use our points for AK Lodge, and the answer is yes. The distinction is if it's better than an All Star level resort we'd be able to use our points (except in cases where there's a DVC section at the resort, like BW and soon WL & BC). We won't be able to use our points at the new Decades (6000 room value resort) place though. They said DVC members in general don't like the All Star level resorts, and definitely are NOT interested in staying in a 6000 room place. Someone spoke up that they'd gone over to eat in All Star Movies and most of the adults in their party kept saying "get me out of here" - it's too crowded, noisy, & "cheap" compared to a DVC resort. For me, the All Stars can serve a purpose, but I'm generally a party of 1. DVC resorts will always be my primary place to stay though...I definitely AM spoiled and am not ashamed to admit it!

After the update ended I stopped at the front desk to have them make a note to call me at Coronado when my new camera arrives (it's supposed to be here by 5/31) so I can come by & pick it up rather than having them just hold it until I come back on Sunday. I walked back to my studio, one last time :::sigh:::, and packed up most of the rest of my stuff. I stayed in the air conditioned room and went online to pass the time until I left about 11 for Coronado Springs. Let me tell you, it's very strange to be wearing a dress, panty hose, and high heels to check in to Coronado Springs (or any WDW resort for that matter)! At least it's a Minnie Mouse jumper, so I'm themed appropriately . I'm really hating having to leave OKW, but also looking forward to starting the conference (assuming it's as great as last year). I'll miss the luxury of having the entire day & night to just do whatever I want, but I'll just remind myself that's the price I'm paying to be up here this time. Thank goodness I've got another OKW stay coming up in 5 days!

Woohoo - the front desk called to let me know my camera had arrived, so I swung by the front desk on the way out of OKW. Arriving at CS I was surprised to be given my choice of rooms that were ready now - at just after 11 am! There was one in Casitas and 1 in Cabanas - so for me it was a very easy choice...Cabanas. They were both about equal distance from the actual convention center, so I went with the much quieter & less congested Cabanas. The cm gave me a room with a water view, too - I overlook the lake, little white sand beach with hammocks, and the Dig Site is off to my right. It's wonderful, and I never expected this for my $109 annual pass rate! I parked over by my building (8B) and moved into my room. I actually like CS a lot, but coming from OKW it's definitely a step down. Everything is clean, fresh & attractive, but is just a tiny bit ~cheaper~ looking & feeling somehow - from the bedspreads, the carpet, the furniture, even the sink. It's perfectly adequate, though, and I'll be happy here. I unpacked part of my stuff and then headed over to the main building and registered for the conference.

We all get an attractive black tote bag, a 3-ring binder with conference materials, and I also got my ticket to today's seminar and Friday night's banquet. On my way to the Pepper Market I ran into Joe and stopped to chat with him before he continued to his room to get cleaned up (he & Margaret had been to MGM this morning) and I got seated for lunch. The waitress took my drink order (just ice water) and I ended up getting the kid's pasta meal. I must have been hungry or something, because I ate the entire meal - don't think I've ever done that before! I had time, so I opened up my camera and used the manual to figure out how to get it set up. It's a Fujifilm Endeavor 350ix zoom APS camera, which I mainly bought for the zoom feature. I'm not sure when I'll really get to try it out, but I'll bring it to the conference with me just in case.

A little before 1pm I went to the room for my seminar - The Disney Approach to Operational Excellence. They had a slide/video show going on, set to music, showing scenes from all the resorts and then all the parks. I would have been happy to just watch that for an hour, lol! The speaker was a guy named Jeff from the Disney Institute, and he explained that this was a 4 hour executive summary of a 4-day program given at DI. He was very knowledgeable and a good speaker. I picked up a bunch of WDW information, and more importantly saw what they are doing as a company to deal with many of the same problems and issues I deal with...and the others in the class deal with also. We had people from health care, hospitality, government, finance, etc - so it was a good group. If you spoke up to answer a question or share a thought you were handed the microphone so everyone would hear you clearly and Jeff would give you a small Disney figurine. I ended up with 3 of them, I think.

Some interesting stuff about WDW - they've got 55,000 cast members. Last year they hired 16,500 new cast members. They've got less than 20% turnover, which is outstanding for their industry - most of their competitors in the area are happy if they run less than 100% turnover. We talked about what operational excellence means, what the 4 main categories are, and what the benefits of each are to the organization and the customer. Later we were each issued a radio ear phone thing to wear and were taken outside to board a Disney Cruise Line bus for some behind the scenes touring! I was surprised...I swear I asked the Sterling people if this was a classroom seminar or a tour, and they told me classroom. I would not have worn high heels if I'd known I'd be walking!! Despite that, though, I was grinning all the way to the bus (oops - motor coach). We were headed to Central Shops, a 298,000 square foot maintenance & manufacturing facility over behind the MK. Getting off the bus we were split into 2 groups and everyone not wearing glasses was issued a pair of safety goggles to wear inside. We saw the paint shop, sheet metal, laser cutting, animatronics, the place where they make all the character heads for every park in the world, and a bunch of other things. We saw some Small World dolls being worked on, ride vehicles from several attractions, animatronics from Jungle Cruise, and horses from the Carousel. Disney pulls everything out of service to be completely refurbished - stripped down and all parts replace, the exterior x-rayed for any stress - on a regular cycle to prevent ride/attraction breakdowns. For example, the rockets on Space Mountain take 2.5 years to complete refurbishing them all. They build their own trams here - we saw them working on some for the Backlot Tour at MGM. In Small World they have so many dolls they can just pull some out to work on and the show is not diminished.

They were doing a lot of work for Tokyo Sea right now, and we saw the ride vehicles for the Superstar Limo ride at the new Disney's California Adventure park. The guide explained that when Eisner came in he insisted that each department operate as it's own business - so when work needs to be done Central Shops puts in a bid to do the job and competes with any outside companies. Sometimes they get the work, sometimes they don't! Evidently they got the winning bid for the Tokyo stuff. The carousel horses are all wood - no screws or nails anywhere in them. Each horse has a more elaborate "show" side and a more plain other side. I'd never noticed that before, and I guess most guests don't - but check it out next time. We saw many character heads, and got to lift an older version and a new version - the old one weighed so much the costume required a back brace, but the new one is very light. They'd experimented with a cooling system years ago, but in the FL humidity it caused the character to emit fog - so that idea was stopped.

It was a really cool tour, and it was also fascinating to see how they track & share their results with the front line workers, and how they get every person focused on the guest, regardless of their job. All the cm's seemed to be happy to be at work, too. After returning to CS we talked more about processes (using Fastpass as the example), partnering (using how at GF the laundry & kitchen people worked together to solve the problem of silverware getting wrapped up in tablecloths and shipped to the laundry), performance, and Disney's version of the continuous improvement cycle. It was a great seminar - and I kind of wish we'd had 4 days to do it all rather than just hitting the highlights so quickly.

We wrapped up at 5, and I rushed back to the room (well ok, with the heels I kind of hobbled painfully back to the room) to update the report and get ready to go out. I wasn't needing dinner after that lunch, but ate a cinnamon bun I'd saved from the member update at OKW, so that would save me some time at least. Linda (elfriar) is meeting me at Comedy Warehouse at 7pm, so I can't be late! Unfortunately, I'd picked up a pin for her on my trip last month, and can't find it! Hopefully it'll turn up later or I'll bring it to her next time. I left the room about 6:30 to head over to PI, knowing it's a longer commute than from OKW .

Once inside PI I sat on the steps of the Adventurer's Club until Linda arrived, then we got in line at the Comedy Warehouse. The Island was very uncrowded tonight - we were seated in the 2nd row on the floor, and the club wasn't even half full. Despite it being the first show, and the audience being so small, the actors did an outstanding job (Layden, Mark, Matt, Mary & Christine)! Sometimes the first show is a little bit slower than the others, but everyone seemed really ~on~ tonight. I was hoping this would carry through to the other shows. We got back in line for show #2, and it included Philip & Jeanette in place of Christine & Matt - but this one was good but not as funny as the first I think due to the particular mix of games that they scheduled for this show. We left after show 2, having planned on skipping show 3. We headed to the Adventurer's Club, which was freezing cold and not much was going on there. After a while we went back outside to wander around, looking in the animation store and then heading to the Jazz Club to see if Nancy was available to say hi (since it wasn't busy). In the Jazz Club Linda went to talk to someone about the band performing (a favorite of her husband's) and I found a manager to go let Nancy know I was here (she works in culinary). It turned out Nancy wasn't busy tonight so we got to chat for quite a while, and then Linda came over to meet her also.

Nancy & I confirmed our plans for next week, and then Linda & I went back outside. We left PI and browsed in the Hoy Poloi gallery/store at the West Side. Some of the stuff was nice, but some was just plain dumb in my opinion. Linda really likes a blue crystal bowl they have there, but at $800 she's living without it, lol! We stopped at the Candy Cauldron to see if they were making the proper marshmallow things, but they were not. I bought a plain chocolate covered pretzel because the chocolate & m&m ones look so good but I'm not sure I like chocolate on pretzel. This way if I hate it I've only thrown away $1 rather than $2.65! At this point it was a little after 10pm. She'd promised her husband she'd be home early, so she was ready to leave. I really wanted to see the 4th comedy show, but it was just too late for me since the conference is starting at 7am! I wouldn't have gotten back to CS until about midnight, and then would have the trip report and online stuff to do...I'll have to wait until the next week to see the later shows. :( Linda's going to meet me at Comedy Warehouse again this Thursday, so we said good bye until then (maybe I can find her pin by then....)

I drove back to CS, and absolutely HATE that you have to insert your resort id into a machine to open the gate to the parking lot. First of all, I have to practically pull on top of the darn machine in order to reach it. Second, I end up having to put my card in repeatedly before it works! It's really aggravating, but I don't think it would bother me quite as much if I was bigger and could reach it more easily! The view of the lights reflecting on the lake outside my room is really pretty - too bad there are no balconies here. I updated the report, got online, and hopefully will be turning out the lights shortly after midnight.

It was a good day, but didn't exactly follow the plan. The DVC member update was a last minute addition, and was enjoyable. I skipped the parks - it wasn't worth getting all hot & risking the transportation nightmares, knowing I'd only have an hour or less in any park. It was much more relaxing just spending the time at ~home~ until it was time to move to CS. The Disney seminar was even better than I'd imagined it would be, and meeting Linda at PI was fun as always - plus seeing Nancy was another bonus.

Total miles walked: 3

DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2000:

PLAN: Conference 7-5, Comedy Warehouse

ACTUAL: To my surprise, I actually liked the chocolate covered pretzel last night! I was afraid it would be salty, but it wasn't - it reminded me more of a chocolate covered biscuit. It looks like I've found another staple for my vacation diet...I'll have to be sure to take trips long enough to fit in the marshmallow thingy and a pretzel or 2, lol.

Today's the first day of the actual Sterling Conference, starting with continental breakfast from 7-8am. I'd set the alarm for 5:30, to give plenty of time to get ready & relax with my cappuccino before walking over (not wearing heals again until Friday night, lol) to meet the rest of my team at the breakfast area. However, I forgot to turn it on :::GASP::: but luckily woke up at 6:15. It was late, but at least I had a chance of getting there before the first speaker started, lol! I showered, dressed quickly, and made a cup of cappuccino - I can eat something when I get over to the conference area. The breakfast wasn't anything spectacular - bagels, danish, whole fruit, juices & coffee/tee. We ate outside, since it wasn't hot yet.

At 8 it was time for the conference to start. The ballroom is huge, and I'd estimate there were 1500-2000 chairs set up in there. They were squeezed in tightly - touching each other and the space between rows was way too small. Even I thought there wasn't enough space, lol, and I can manage fine in an airline seat! I was squeezed behind Joe's shoulder on my left and was right up against some unknown woman on my right. Any group of 3 slightly chubby people had to spread themselves across 4 chairs - it was that tight! They started off with a color guard from some school or academy, and then some kids from the Celebration School recited the pledge of allegiance. Next the Voices of Liberty sang the national anthem and then did a few more of their songs. During the national anthem there were small fireworks coming from the ceiling and floor - a nice touch. We had no marching band like last year, though - I think last year it was a portion of the MK marching band, which doesn't exist anymore.

The first keynote speaker was Dr. Oren Harari, a management expert who's latest book is "Beep! Beep! Competing in the Age of the Road Runner" - not sure why a Warner character would be mentioned on Disney property, lol! Actually, he talked about challenging the traditional business setting and reveal the new rules of the road. From there I attended a workshop on The Nature of Human Nature, and later in the day attend one on Why Quality Fails: What NOT to do in your quality initiative. The final keynote speaker to close today was Phillip Van Hoosier talking about leadership in a changing environment. All the presentations were excellent in terms of content and presentation.

Lunch was a working lunch - they call it Table Topics. Basically at each table for 10 there is a facilitator and you spend lunch talking about a specific topic, sharing ideas with 9 others interested in that same topic. They're not serving dessert in the ballroom this year, but rather serve dessert in the Expo right after the luncheon. My table talked about involving employees in the strategic planning process, and one of the other people there works at one of our mental health institutions and so we chatted briefly afterwards. The lunch itself was ok, but nothing special. They started with a cream of chicken soup that was pretty good. There was a basket of corn muffins on the table, but the one I took was still frozen! I broke off a little piece, ate it, and then was gulping down tea to cool the effects of the jalapeno peppers in the muffin! The rest of the meal was a scoop of pretty good red skinned potato salad, some unusual salad greens & veggies, and a wrap sandwich. The wrap was actually good - due to some sort of flavorful dressing or something in there, and I ate half of it.

The expo is basically an exhibition trade show of quality related products & services, and an opportunity to network. I spent some time with my friend Mike from Tallahassee - the one who puts our financial mgt meetings in Orlando for me - and talked to some other people I hadn't seen yet. The dessert consisted of all the Disney ice cream products they sell at the wagons in the parks - no thrill for me, and I didn't bother with any of them, but most people ate one (or more).

After the final keynote speaker the expo was open again for more networking, and they had a mariachi band and hors d'oevres, but it was tired of meeting stuff by now. I'd been going without a break from 7am until 4:45pm and didn't want to stick around until 6 or 6:30! Instead, I walked quickly back to the room to update the report, take care of email & online stuff, and get ready to go to the Comedy Warehouse.

I left the room about 6:45, entering PI about 7 and immediately getting in line at the Comedy Warehouse. The crowds were light enough that I was able to see the first 3 shows - and was seated in the front row behind the tables for the first 2. All the shows were great, with the 3rd show getting a bit wilder - often as it gets later in the night the actors cut loose more and say stuff that they might not ordinarily say. They asked for an embarrassing story again, and when nobody volunteered I gave the story about my rollerblading accident. Krista took the information, and was laughing and then apologizing for laughing, lol. I guess laughing at someone who fell, somersaulting off the sidewalk and down into a ditch isn't very Disney-like, but I admit it must have looked funny! They made up a song about the incident - I think it might have been a western ballad.

After the show I chatted with Layden for a little while. I wanted to let him know I really liked the new game where they have to rhyme with a one-syllable name (it's set to the music of Do Run Run Run) - and found out that they all love doing it also. It's a great opening to the show - very upbeat & fun, and he pointed out that since they do a lot of rhyming anyway, this was a natural. We also talked about the 1 game that I really don't like at all - and it turns out most of the actors hate doing it also. They're going to keep trying it, though, to see if they can do it better. I told him there'd only been one time that I'd seen it where it was really funny, (one night with him & Philip) and it was mainly because Philip blurted out something really inappropriate and that cracked everyone up including the 2 of them. Otherwise, it's generally a snoozer (the game is called transformations). It's interesting to get a behind the scenes perspective, whether it's a theme park, Central Shops, or the Comedy Warehouse...I love seeing how WDW ~works~.

We said goodnight - and after figuring out which door could be opened, lol, I exited the club and left Pleasure Island. I made a quick stop at the Candy Cauldron to get another of those great chocolate pretzels, and realized I hadn't bought a Mickey truffle this trip - so I got one of each ($1.69). The lady behind me was buying 60 of the white chocolate pretzels - wow! I'd eaten part of the banana nut bread before going out tonight, but no real dinner - I might finish the banana bread tomorrow night. After buying the candy I started driving back to CS, but encountered a serious accident along the way. They had the entire road closed, so I had to turn off on the road to MK. After traveling a while I came across yet another accident or problem - 2 big charter busses were in the median - one of them straddling a fairly wide & deep ditch! Several passengers were standing along the side of the road, and of course traffic was backing up with rubber-neckers! I was able to get to the other side of the road and get to CS, but it took longer than it would have without the accidents.

Coming in to CS tonight a car had opened the gate, and all 4 of us drove on through without the gate coming back down - so I didn't have to mess with putting my card in the machine! I was back in the room just before 11pm. I ate the ears off the Mickey truffle (might want his head tomorrow, lol) and the entire pretzel - I really do like those things! After checking to make sure the alarm is actually set for tomorrow morning, I finished the report and then went online.

Today went exactly according to plan, and was a good day despite it being somewhat tiring. This is a great conference, and I'm enjoying talking to the different people. I might try to take a break during the day tomorrow though, assuming I shut up long enough to do so .

Total miles walked: I've decided to skip the pedometer on non-park days.

DAY 7 - THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2000:

PLAN: Conference 7-5, Comedy Warehouse

ACTUAL: I can't believe it's day 7 already! It's scary somehow, like the trip is going to be over too soon, but the number of days left is still longer than some of the trips I take so I shouldn't be concerned. I've been so busy I haven't wandered around CS or used any of the amenities - heck, I never got around to finishing the unpacking yet!

The alarm was set for 6:35, and I woke up at 6:30 - now that's more like it ! I showered, at the Mickey truffle head, made my cappuccino, and read some of the downloaded message board messages while getting ready for the day. There was a schedule change and the opening speaker won't be starting until 8:30 today - with breakfast/networking from 7-8:30. I don't need networking at 7am, lol - there will be time for that later! I called the office at 8 to talk to the person left in charge about that purchasing problem that was discovered just before I left, and then headed over to the convention center to grab a bagel to eat during the first session. I was mortified to realize as I was walking over there, that my knee-hi's (never worn before) had lost their elasticity and were falling down! I was tempted to stop at a trash can to take them off and throw them away, but each time there were other people around. I managed to get them pulled back up when I got to the convention center (how embarrassing). I found someone I needed to talk to, to get some technical help for my purchasing staff member and had time for about 1/2 the bagel while we were talking.

The opening keynote speaker was Tilak Mandadi from Dell Computer Company talking about "E-Business is your Business. Midway thru the talk I was beeped - so went to call the office to deal with a situation created as a result of the purchasing problem (basically, how to spend $230,000 fast before we lose it at the end of June). I really didn't get anything out of the speech, since I'd missed the whole middle of it, but talking to one of my team members it doesn't sound like this was a particularly great one! From there I attended a seminar called Emotional Intelligence - Optimizing Performance of the Human System, and then lunch was another Table Topics session. Both the morning seminar and the lunch were excellent! For food, we had rolls rather than frozen spicy corn muffins...so we were off to a good start, lol! Next came a salad with some funky types of lettuce, but very tasty. The entree was a delicious chicken breast over white and red linguine, with sautéed yellow squash & pearl onions and a big stalk of broccoli. I ate most of the chicken & pasta - enjoying every bite! I think everyone pretty much cleaned their plate today - it was a popular lunch.

After lunch was more networking and time in the expo, but first I returned to the room for a brief break. On the way those stupid knee hi's fell again, and were flapping around my ankles below the hem line on my pants! I felt like such a dork!!! Back in the room they were immediately put in the trash can, lol! Housekeeping had already come, and each day she's been leaving another whole set of soaps & shampoo - plus more coffee. This is strange & unnecessary because I've not used the coffee that was here when I checked in, and have only opened 1 bar of soap (which is still being used). It seems wasteful for her to be doing this, but whatever! I worked out with the weights, updated the report, and read some of the downloaded messages until I headed to catch a bus back to the convention center.

I got to the expo for the last half hour or so - and they were all out of the dessert (cookies & brownies)! I was kind of ticked off to have missed it, and I got there only 15 minutes after it opened. Either the other conference attendees are a bunch of vultures, or they didn't order enough! Now that I had cookies on my mind, I had to go to the store at the Pepper Market and bought one for $1.86 - ate part of it and saved the rest for later (wasn't hungry after that big lunch, the cookie just sounded good). My afternoon seminar was on the Changing Culture of the Marketplace - and was excellent!

Joe was taking the changing culture seminar also, and I had time to talk to him before it started. I'd been wanting to do something to compensate him for the work he'd done this past year - he took the same intensive class that I did October thru April, and did very well, and is always taking on additional duties. A pay increase is not possible due to some budget issues, and I'd been working with a few of the other executive managers to develop a plan for paying out bonuses to staff, tied to our strategic objectives - but recently the head of our agency put a stop to all of that pending her expensive consultant's recommendations due in April 2001! Talk about discouraging...it's so typical "government". Joe knew about the bonus thing being worked on, so I told him that was not going to happen in the next year, but that I wanted to book a studio at OKW for him (& Margaret) for a couple nights in December (they've never seen the holiday stuff) to show my appreciation for his hard work and excellent results. He was thrilled, but later expressed concern that it shouldn't come out of my pocket - and if we were in the private sector I'd be able to send him on a trip and charge it to the company, but that's not an option for us in government. I explained that the OKW thing was something I ~can~ do, and want to do, so now all I need is their preferred dates so I can call member services.

At this point, 2 days into a 3.5 day conference it's amazing to me that I can spot so many people that I've met and talked to in that short time (out of about 1500 people). In my afternoon seminar of about 80 people there are an awful lot that I've already met earlier in the conference, and some of the others are at least looking familiar!

Our final keynote speaker was Dr. Albert Maringer from Siemens Industrial Services (in Germany) on High Performance: Best Practice Analysis and Sharing - which I found pretty boring (good information, just too dry for late in the day). The expo's open again until 5:30, but I need that time to get ready for my evening so I walked back to my room.

After updating the report I got online to take care of the email and send a few photos to photopoint. I left the room about 6:30 to drive to Pleasure Island and meet Linda outside of the Comedy Warehouse. She ended up not being there, and wasn't there when I got out of show #1, so evidently she wasn't able to make it after all. A couple of regulars were in line and recognized me from several months ago, so I chatted with them briefly. They live just 40 miles away, and it had been a month since they were here (a long time for them).

The first show was great, and I was thrilled to see Steve working! He's in Los Angeles now, but comes back from time to time. He was the first actor I remember seeing when I first came to the club about 10 years ago, and he's very good. One funny thing - after the keyboard player (Carol tonight) plays the intro, 1 of the actors comes thru the center doors onto the stage - fairly quickly. Tonight Carol finished playing, and nothing happened. We waited...still nothing. Finally, Layden opened the doors & stood in the doorway laughing - evidently someone had locked all the doors on stage so they didn't open, lol! The other actors unlocked the other doors, and they referred back to it a couple of times during the show.

I skipped show #2 and just wandered around the street before sitting to relax & people watch. It was definitely busier tonight - due to cast night and also a large influx of the gay day crowd. There were also several more PI security guys wandering around, so I guess they must expect really big crowds later. It got very smoky from the fires nearby - the sky was gray and looking off into the distance you could see the haze from the smoke. It smelled great though - unlike cigarettes - the Island smelled like a fireplace in a mountain cabin somewhere. Still, I hope they get them put out soon!

As far as the other guests, I don't know when I've ever seen more men who obviously work out at least a little bit, wearing tight tank tops...it was like it was the unofficial uniform for the night or something! This may be an unfair generalization, but I wonder why such a larger percentage of gay men take time to stay in shape and with non-gay men a much smaller percentage seems to do this. All those fit men in tight tank tops...what a shame (for women) that they're all gay, lol!

I went back for show #3, and the crowd was much more lively - as was the cast. It was a very funny show, and I love it when they look like they're having so much fun - it carries over to the guests and makes the show that much better. I left after this show, not because I didn't want to see show #4 (I would have loved to), but because tomorrow is another early day.

I stopped at the Candy Cauldron on the West Side and tonight really splurged. Since I won't be back here Friday or Saturday night, I bought 3 of the chocolate covered pretzels (includes 1 for tonight) and also bought one of the fancier ones - with toffee pieces & some colored circus pieces ($5.64). There was nothing else I needed to look for, so I left PI (trying not to laugh when a tall blonde handsome PI security guard said hi to me as I was walking past him - Diana's story has made it impossible for me to interact with these people, lol) and drove back to CS. Luckily there were no accidents or any other problems, and I got back to the room shortly after 10:30.

The toffee pretzel was pretty good - but not really good enough to buy another one, I don't think. I ate just a couple of bites & saved the rest for another day, since I wanted to eat one of the plain chocolate ones. After finishing the report I did the online stuff and hopefully will get to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour.

The day went exactly according to the plan...no surprises, additions, deletions. I could have lived without the purchasing problem stuff, but I can't disappear for 2.5 weeks and not deal with stuff that might come up while I'm gone. Tomorrow's the last day of the conference, including the big banquet tomorrow night...hope it's as wonderful as the one last year!

Total miles walked: No pedometer - not a park day

DAY 8 - FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2000:

PLAN: Conference 7-12:30, Governor's Sterling Banquet at night

ACTUAL: The alarm was set for 6:10, and I double checked it before going to sleep! The fog & fires caused a 30 vehicle series of crashes on I-95 in Brevard County which closed the interstate for 14 miles. They're expecting it to reopen later this morning. I showered, and then made hot chocolate rather than cappuccino - for a change of pace. I'd noticed too late yesterday that they had packets of hot chocolate at the conference, so I put one in my bag for this morning. It's hard to believe the conference is starting to wind down...we've done so much, and the time has passed so quickly!

I headed over about 7:30 and grabbed a bagel to eat before & during the morning keynote address. Dr. Mike Ward from NC Public Schools talked about Lessons Learned: A Govt Agency's Quality Journey. Before I went inside though, Bob arrived, so I spent the time talking with him rather than at the address. Last weekend I'd heard a commercial for a tv special on foster parenting & adoptions, and wondered if he'd be on it, but was busy and didn't get to watch - turns out he was interviewed as part of the show (he's the head of the agency that handles those functions & most other human services for this area of FL). He's had to get used to being recognized when he's out around town - people come up to him and say "you're Bob Morin", lol - because they see him on tv & in the paper. His company is still here, and he suggested he & his wife break away to meet me at PI tomorrow night, but I really didn't want to put up with the crowds there on a Saturday night (especially with the addition of gay day and a special concert performer - Taylor Dayne). We'll try to meet at PI another night - after his company goes back home next week sometime.

I had 2 morning seminars, of 1 hour each - Communication for Leaders, and Leadership Through Strategic and Operational Planning. Not exactly Keys to the Kingdom, lol, but interesting to some people. The first one was done by Valerie Oberle, who spent 26.5 years working for WDW, and was the first female vice president in the company. She was excellent - the time flew by and her examples all referenced WDW and how they communicate with and motivate their cast members. It was great! The second one...can you spell Zzzzzzzz? The topic was actually good, the material relevant, but the speaker was not very exciting. At one point he had us all stand, introduce ourselves to someone next to us, then turn single file & get close, put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them, and massage. There was never any explanation of why, and it never tied into anything he talked about, so we were kind of puzzled. I'm not a massage person anyway - a massage is something I'd NEVER get...I enjoy the tension in my body, lol - and massage just plain hurts! A gentle touch or caress is fine...a massage is not enjoyable.

I called member services to book the studio for Joe - he & Margaret were interested in any days the week of 12/10 or 12/17. The person at ms said the week of 12/17 looked much better, so I booked the Sunday/Monday of that week for them.

The closing keynote address was Michael Huyghue (senior vp) of the Jacksonville Jaguars, talking about A Model for Success. He was also outstanding! I know nothing about football, and don't care to know anything about football itself. However, ~how~ a football team works IS interesting to me...just don't talk about the game of football, lol! His speech ended at 12:30 and I returned to the room. There's a couple of post conference sessions that fill the afternoon, but I think the Dig Site is calling my name more loudly than either seminar.

By 1pm I was laying on a lounge chair over at the Dig Site! The pool wasn't very crowded, but then it's so large that it's never seemed crowded to me. I alternated between my chair, the pool, back to the chair, etc. The water felt cool, and the water being pumped into the pool was cold - I guess they're trying to keep it from getting too warm. Anyone coming here, be careful on the pool deck - with wet feet it's extremely slippery!

A very nice young pool boy came by and took my order for a pina colada. I'd wanted one without the alcohol (fewer calories), but they only have the kind with alcohol so I ordered it anyway. He brought it back promptly, and was very friendly ($6.30 including $1 tip). He waited to see if I didn't like the taste of alcohol, but I assured him it was fine - and it was. I finished my magazine & people watched a while. A cm brought out the basketball game, and a bunch of kids were playing it in a corner of the pool.

Just before 3 I returned to the room to shower & update the report while watching General Hospital and working out with the weights. Housekeeping brought a letter - same as last year. It basically says "...On Sat 6/3, we are expecting a very busy day at the MK. To ensure that everyone has a chance to take full advantage of what our theme parks have to offer, we will open the MK, Epcot, and MGM at 7:30 am exclusively for our Resort Guests." All of AK will also be open at 7:30 that day.

I didn't eat lunch today - but purposely had a cup of hot chocolate around 11 and then with the pina colada I wasn't hungry at all - but might eat some of the toffee pretzel thing later.

Left room about 6:15 for banquet...and decided to take the next bus up to the front of the resort. It felt strange climbing on a bus all dressed up in evening clothes, but with high heels it was much easier than walking! I met up with the rest of my team, and eventually some trumpeters started playing to signal it was time to enter the ballroom. Once inside I decided to get a glass of wine, so I went back outside to the bar. They only took cash there, and I only had my resort id with me. The cm suggested I go to the gift shop and use my card to buy a small bottle of wine & bring it back inside. That was too far to go, with not enough time in my opinion, so I didn't do it. Instead, one of my team lent me the cash and I went back outside - only to find they'd closed up the register and were moving to a corner inside the ballroom. I followed the cm back inside, and had to wait while they brought her a table. I've never had such difficulty getting a glass of wine - it was frustrating ($4.75)! Finally I got my glass of wine and returned to the table.

There were 1100 people at the banquet, and our table was actually in a pretty good location. They used the giant screens on either side of the stage, also. Everybody looked great, and it seemed like people dressed more formally than last year. Several men wore tuxes, and a lot of women had gowns and/or sequins & beads. It's fun to dress up for a change, and be surrounded by others dressed nicely. Except when I'm on a cruise, this doesn't happen much in my life!

I'd reserved a table when I registered us for the conference. All tables seated 10 - we had me, 5 of my team members (Joe, Dawn, Pierre, Beth, & Tom), Margaret (she works in the accounting office & is there because she's Joe's wife), Mike (my friend in Tallahassee who sets up the financial mgt meetings in Orlando for me), Mike's wife Sharon, and somebody from another area who needed a seat (never did get her name - we were across from each other & the table was too big).

Our waiters stopped by to explain what the menu was for tonight, and then the people who are certified as Sterling examiners marched in & were recognized. The trumpeters played some more, and then the Sterling judges marched in. Finally, the group Four For a Dollar (from the Beauty & Beast pre-show at MGM) came out and sang a song that they'd written specifically for us - about Sterling stuff.

Our salads were served - lettuce, cucumber, tomato, hearts of palm, & mandarin orange pieces with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It was good! Joe (the smart alec) used his camera to take a picture of me eating a vegetable (the salad). After the salad Four For a Dollar came back out and did another song adapted for us. Following that, the Sterling Showcase Award winner was announced - Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Jacksonville.

The entree was served - 4 large scallops, small filet mignon with some brown sauce stuff, asparagus, a mini zucchini, and 2 small (but not baby) carrots, and a breaded scoop of mashed potatoes. It looked very nice on the plate - and except for me every single person at the table cleaned their plate. I gave my scallops to one of my team members who loves them, since I don't like seafood. The steak was very good, and so were the potatoes. A band played while we ate - I know they had a harpist, but not sure what other instruments were there. They were in the center of the ballroom and it was hard for me to see them.

Four For a Dollar came out again to do another song, and then several awards were given for excellence in certain areas. Next was more music while we had dessert - mocha chocolate amaretto cake with raspberry sauce drizzled. It was also delicious - not overly sweet and pretty light. I couldn't finish it, but ate more than 1/2. The secretary of our agency - Judge Kathleen Kearney - was at the banquet and was making the rounds of tables of staff from our agency, but she missed us. This was right before dessert, and I knew my team was disappointed. I'd never met her personally (we'd been at the same function once, but didn't really meet), and although it is conceivable I'