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Kim Howe -- February 2000 -- Walt Disney World (Offsite)

January 29 - February 5 at St. Augustine, FL and February 5 - 12, 2000 at WDW

Kim - veteran, mid 30s and trip report writer

Bill - veteran, early 40s and Kim’s husband

Maureen - 2^nd trip, mid 50s and Kim’s mom

Terry - veteran, early 70s and Bill’s mom

Air and rental car

Offsite Condo--Orange Lake Resort and Country Club, 8505 Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway (West Route 192)

Pre-Trip Planning:

Planning for this trip began over a year ago when I confirmed timeshare exchanges for the Beach Club in St. Augustine and Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee. I planned this trip to fall less than one year from the beginning of last year’s trip so we could take advantage of the WDW Annual Passes we purchased last February one more time. As a side note, we slipped in a trip in November 1999, too, since we had the passes and all! Both trip reports are on this site.

Our Metrojet tickets were purchased in September 1999. I had been monitoring the prices on the Metrojet web site for a few months and jumped on these when the price came down from around $350 to $150 round trip, non stop from Albany, NY to Orlando. With our airfare nailed down, I used the Internet, once again, to determine which rental agency would provide the best price using the discount codes from various clubs that we belong to (i.e. Resorts Condominiums International, Orlando Magic Card, Magic Kingdom Club, BJ’s Wholesale, Entertainment Book, Universal Studios Fan Club). I only checked the rental agencies that we could get frequent flyer credit from which were Dollar, Alamo, Avis, and National. The range in prices that I came up with for 15 days with a compact car was amazing. It ranged from a high of $640 from Avis (no discount) to a low of $324 from Avis (with RCI discount) with quotes in the $400s and $500’s in between. I made a reservation over the Internet with Avis for the $324 rate for a compact car and with all the added fees and taxes it came to $384.

It wasn’t until December or January when I made reservations for the Hidden Treasures Tour at Epcot (phone: 407-939-8687). I chose the three-hour tour that covers the whole World Showcase with no lunch. With our AP discount it came to $41.62 per person. There are two shorter tours that only cover half of the WS (either Canada to American Adventure or Mexico to American Adventure) and a longer tour that includes the whole WS and lunch. I’d like to note here that the longer tour with lunch does not require park admission which is reflected in the price. Since we already had APs, this tour would not have been economical for us. However, for someone who didn’t want to use a day say on a hopper pass or purchase a one-day ticket, this would be worthwhile.

I decided to try non-commando touring this year, as opposed to last year (see the report!), and did not make any Priority Seatings or preschedule each day with parks and activities. I would just see what the weather was and what we felt like doing each day and rely on my knowledge of which parks had early entry on what days and not go to that park that day. What we did in the park was determined by what attractions had short or no lines and what Maureen and Terry didn’t see/do last year including the new millennium stuff since last year. The result was more relaxing but we didn’t see or do nearly as much as we did last year. We also ate less since we didn’t have PS and, therefore, didn’t feel obligated to keep the PSs. We did eat at ‘Ohana and I made PS the day before and there were a lot of times available. I chose 6:30 p.m. and when we checked in I asked for and received a table where we could see the grill and the MK fireworks (7 p.m.).

First leg of trip-St. Augustine:

I won’t go into great detail here because I realize readers want to read about WDW and not St. Augustine but I do want to mention a few things Disney related. There is a Belz Outlet Mall at exit 95 (one of the St. Augustine exits) off of I-95 at State Road 16. There is Character Premier store located in center of mall to the left of the food court. It is an official Disney outlet store where you can get WDW ‘stuff’ for usually half the original price. Granted, stock is limited to older styles and not all sizes and colors will be available. I think that stopping at the Belz Mall’s Character Premier would make a great place to stop for a break when driving to or from WDW via I-95. Before we left Orlando and drove to St. Augustine we stopped at the Orlando Belz Mall and visited both the Disney Character Warehouse and Character Premier stores where I picked up the Official WDW Album audio cassette tape for $6 and a 3” ceramic Steamboat Willie figurine for $6, both half off original prices. I felt that the St. Augustine store had more stuff and greater selection. Perhaps this is because it is further away from the parks and the stock doesn’t get picked over as much.

We also visited World Golf Village’s Imax Theater (phone: 904-940-4123) and saw Fantasia 2000. It is located six miles northwest of St. Augustine off I-95 at exit 95A (12 miles south of Jacksonville). Fantasia 2000 will be running through April 30 and I think this is also a great diversion for those driving to WDW via I-95. The shows ran every two hours beginning at 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., tickets were $10 each and there were some Fantasia 2000 souvenirs in the gift shop right outside of the ticketing area. I picked up a Sorcerer Mickey with Fantasia 2000 embroidered on the bottom of his foot for $9.95. Later, while browsing through an Orlando travel guide I thought I read that Fantasia 2000 is also playing in an Imax in the Orlando area.

The Tarzan video went on sale during the week we were in St. Augustine so I picked one up and we watched it. My first reaction was that it was pretty violent, but after watching it again, I like it better. Phil Collins does a great job with the soundtrack. I didn’t realize that Terk was a girl until we saw the Tarzan show at Animal Kingdom. Am I the only one or what?

When we weren’t doing Disney things in St. Augustine we were walking on the beach and touring the many historic sites and learning the history of the oldest city in the US. If anyone has questions about the rest of our visit to St. Augustine, feel free to contact me.

As I already mentioned, I lead the group in non-commando mode. We rose each day without the aid of an alarm clock (about 8 a.m.) and generally went to bed early (9 - 10 p.m.). We ate breakfast each morning in the condo which consisted of coffee, juice, fruit, coffee cake and/or bagel and cream cheese. We generally were out the door between 9 and 10 a.m. each morning. The exception to this routine was when we got up earlier for the Hidden Treasures Tour and left at 8 a.m. Travel time to WDW from Orange Lake Resort varied. Although it is located only five miles west of the WDW Maingate entrance, it could take us anywhere from ten minutes to a half hour to get there depending on the time of day and taking into consideration both the amount of traffic and road construction. Warning: there is big time construction on this section of Route 192 (west of the WDW Maingate entrance). With getting late starts each day and with the parks closing early (MK at 7 p.m., Studios at 7 p.m., AK at 5 p.m.) we stayed at the parks throughout the day and didn’t take an afternoon break and to return to the parks in the evening because except for Epcot they weren’t open late. We would return to the resort at each night sometime between 6 and 10 p.m.

Temperatures were a little on the cool side but we enjoyed bright sunshine every day. It was great for touring, just not good for water rides, pools and water parks. Daytime temps averaged in the 70s with nighttime temps averaging in the 40s with the days getting warmer as the week went on. The warmest day (close to 80 degrees) was, of course, the day we left. The coolest evening (mid 30s degrees) was our first and, unfortunately, the only evening the Main Street Electrical Parade would be held during our trip. I told everyone to wear as much clothes as they could so we bundled up in turtlenecks, sweatshirts and heavy jackets with gloves too. Coming from upstate NY, where it was 5 degrees the morning we left, this wasn’t too extreme for us but Bill’s snowbird mom who is now accustomed to West Palm Beach temperatures and felt chilly. Throughout the week our clothing ranged from turtlenecks and sweatshirts to tee shirts always with pants.

I felt crowds were higher than past trips at this time of year. They were definitely higher than during our trip last November. Perhaps the difference in our getting to the parks an hour or two after the gates opened instead of rope drop made this difference more noticeable to me too. Cheerleading groups were everywhere on WDW property because of a competition being held, I assume, at the Wide World of Sports. They were well behaved and didn’t seem to create any problem. They traveled in large groups all dressed the same and some groups had rollers in their hair! During a previous visit (four years ago, perhaps), however, we encountered cheerleading groups and at that time their competition was held at Disney/MGM Studios in the Indiana Jones stunt show theater. They literally took over the park that day and it was awful being there.

As previously stated, I did not make any PS before I left home and then only made one the day before dinner at ‘Ohana with no problem. We ate whenever we were hungry at both fast food counters and table service restaurants throughout the parks without any problems. Only one time we ran into crowded conditions which was at Restaurantosaurus (AK) but by the time we had our order there were no lines. I attributed this to the possibility of the Tarzan show just letting out and it also being lunchtime. We also ate at Casey’s Corner (MK), ABC Commissary (Studios), Diamond Horseshoe Saloon Revue (MK) and found the selection at these fast food restaurants a nice change from just burgers and the quality very nice. We especially like the toppings bar in Restaurantosaurus. One day we ate at Alfredo’s (Epcot) for lunch at 12 noon with no PS and another at Whispering Canyon Café (WL) around 12:30 p.m. with no PS and were seated right away. Rainforest Café at the Market Place was VERY slow (and loud!). We checked in about 1 p.m. and only had a ten minute or so wait for a table but once we were seated it got slow. When our meals arrived my fries were cold. I told our waitress so and she brought a fresh hot plate out right away. On the good side, we were able to get 10% off with our APs. I still don’t think I’ll try them again too soon. Terry has a light appetite and many times ordered from the children’s menu and was quite pleased with the selection, quality and quantity.

People are more aware of this feature than they were during our November trip. In the Kilamanjaro Safari queue at AK the TVs were even explaining how FPs worked. Sometimes we encountered long waits in the FP return lines, but not as long as the standby lines. We found return times issued to vary greatly from less than an hour to over three hours. For example, at Test Track we got FPs at 2:30 p.m. with a return time between 5:55 and 6:55 p.m. We tried to get FP’s for two attractions at once but the computer is so smart it knows you already have one and tells you cannot get another. A helpful hint: pay attention to the picture on the FP machine and put your pass in the slot the same way. It’s the only way it works.

We used FP to our advantage one afternoon as follows: we got FPs for Countdown to Extinction and then had lunch and by the time we finished lunch we had reached our return time and walked right on. Here is another instance of using FP to our advantage: we got FPs for Rockin Roller Coaster, saw the Beauty and the Beast show and then got in the short stand by line at RRC. After we road, our FP time had arrived and Bill and I rode again using FP and bypassing the now long standby line. However, Maureen chose to sit the second ride out and not use her FP. Since we had tried to get a FP for Tower of Terror while we held the RRC FPs, I asked a CM if she had to wait until the RRC FP end time expired before she could get another one. The CM explained that the FP expires five minutes after the start time. SO, you can get another FP five minutes after the start time of a FP you already hold and then get another one.

This is a timeshare resort affiliated with RCI. We stayed here four years ago and it was very nice. When I was offered this resort again by RCI, I took it. In the back of our minds, though, we were thinking that trying a new resort might be more fun. Those feelings went away, however, once we reached our condo and surrounding area. The resort has expanded since our last stay and continues with a major development plan. Our unit was in the North Village, the newest section of the resort. Therefore, it was like being in a different resort and we were very pleased once again. It was a two bedroom unit (master bedroom with king bed and huge bathroom with whirlpool tub and a guest bedroom with two double beds and a bathroom), with full kitchen with breakfast bar and a dining area, living room with sleep sofa, washer and dryer, screened in patio with table and chairs. Splash Lagoon is North Village’s recreation complex which just opened last November. It includes a free form pool with waterfall, slide, water volleyball and basketball, a kids pool with large fountain, an arcade, gift shop, café and more. There were basketball and tennis court just across from our condo. Another part of the new development includes a new access roadway. Since North Village is at the back of the property, this access road allowed us to bypass driving through the whole resort thus being very convenient. The roadway went right past the Orange Lake Publix Shopping Center and out to Route 192. The resort is located five miles west of WDW on Route 192. Although we don’t golf, this resort must be heaven for golf enthusiasts. It has three golf courses and a putt putt course making at total of 90 holes. The two new courses (Legends Walk and The Legends) were designed by Arnold Palmer. We think it’s a wonderful resort without the golf courses!

As I mentioned earlier, I made reservations about a month before our trip for the 3 ½ hour tour that didn’t include lunch for $41.65 with AP discount. We met our guide at guest services at 8:45 a.m. The tour began at 9 a.m. and we had a large group of about 10-12 people. Our CM guide was a retired schoolteacher and now is an instructor at the Disney Institute. Bill saw her later in the week also giving the Keys to the Kingdom tour in MK. Her husband has been working for Disney Imagineering for quite some time and she has traveled with him while he worked on projects in Paris and Japan. Hidden Treasures is to Epcot what Keys to the Kingdom is to MK. The tour covers only the World Showcase area of the park with stops at each pavilion explaining the architecture, culture, landscaping and gardens of each county. It made us aware of the subtle transitions in such things as the lighting, pavement and benches as you walk from one pavilion to another. More noticeable changes are the music and landscaping. I think we all found some hidden treasures along the way no matter how many times we had visited the park. Here are some highlights/comments from our tour:

Our first stop was Canada where a member of our group spotted a hidden Mickey at the top of the real wood (not Disney wood) totem pole. I don’t think our guide is into hidden Mickeys because her comment was that it’s not hidden if we could see it, now is it. We went backstage to see how the waterfall and rocks were made and how the trees are really planted in huge pots. When they get sick or die they are easily replaced by another potted tree. There are real, big living trees planted behind this to give depth to the view from on stage. We could also see the temporary building that is Millennium Village. It was a very abrupt change going from the mountain and lake atmosphere with the water falling of on stage to back stage’s parking lot, warehouse looking buildings, roadways, etc. Really kills the magic.

United Kingdom’s Rose and Crown Pub represents three types of pubs in one: a city, country and waterfront pub. The other buildings represent various time periods from the 1600s to the 1900s with the interiors of each building matching the theme and time period of the exterior. The hidden treasure here is the ‘knot’ garden recently planted behind the thatched building that sells teas. Oh, by the way we learned that the thatch is Disney thatch not real thatch. Later when we walked through the garden we overhead one guest say to another (in an authoritative tone) that the thatch roof was ‘the real McCoy’. We looked at each other and giggled.

France’s the hidden treasure is the garden behind or to the right of the perfume shop where I have seen Belle and the Beast signing autographs. Our guide explained how the characters appear in the country where their story is set (i.e. Beauty and the Beast characters in France, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in Germany, etc.). Although I had determined this myself, I think it is a nice touch and, perhaps, some people haven’t noticed this. We went backstage here, also, to see how the warehouse type building housing Impressions de France is painted to look like it has windows, etc. along the sidewall since you can see it from the International Gateway. When the Boardwalk was added to the Epcot resort area the back of the building had to be painted this way also since it could be seen from some of the Boardwalk’s rooms. While backstage we could see the Eiffel Tower sitting on the roof of a building.

Morocco’s hidden treasure is a small museum which I had never been in before. I think in order to appreciate this pavilion guests needs to walk into it and not just walk past it from the promenade.

No relation to the hidden treasures tour but our guide mentioned a term during the tour that I had never heard before-second gate. A second gate is second theme park and she said that Disney is planning one near MK Paris with a movie theme. I thought learning some new Disney slang was cool.

We toured Japan next, which also has a museum with changing exhibits in the back of the pavilion. I don’t have any notes for this pavilion. I guess I was off taking photos which I did a lot and sometimes got behind the group and missed some of our guides comments. I just couldn’t help taking advantage of being in the World Showcase while it was empty since it was still closed to other guests until 11 a.m. I noticed so much more detail everywhere and not just from the tour. It was because there weren’t the mobs of people blocking the views.

American Adventure was next were we learned that the building was built to look smaller at three stories when it is actually five. The land is graded up around the first two stories and when guests enter the building from the promenade they are actually entering the third floor. The first floors are for the AA stage props. The paint on the building also helps create the effect of a smaller building by being white at the very bottom but turning darker and creamier toward the top of the building.

Sorry no interesting tidbits from our tour through Italy or Germany-taking pictures. As we approached the China pavilion our guide pointed to a wall and it came to me instantly but I had never noticed it on my own-it looks like a miniature Great Wall. There is a museum here, too, and as we exited it, our guide pointed out that the streets or walkways are very narrow so that when the movie exits into them it gives the effect of China being the very populated and crowded country that it is.

Norway was next where we learned that the houses are painted in bright colors in order to brighten up the bleak dark winters there. The Puffins Roost building is real wood and not Disney wood. Our guide pointed out the real sod roof on the Kringla bakery building which had little patches of white flowers planted in it to represent snow on the rooftop! She had also pointed out in Canada that the flowers were mostly white to represent the winter season-Disney’s representation of snow in Florida. Just neat stuff Disney thinks of but I would guess goes unnoticed to the majority of folks.

Mexico was our last stop and instead of entering the El Rio del Tiempo pavilion through the front up the steps we walked down a short path to the right side past tropical birds, which is the handicapped exit, to a side door. This path represents a jungle and just struck me a being nice quite area. Our tour ended here and every one went on their way.

Our first evening spent at MK in order to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade:

We arrived just as the early parade was beginning so Main Street was mobbed. We got on the Main Street Railroad and got off at Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Since it was parade time, there was hardly anyone around. We had both Mickey and Minnie’s houses practically all to ourselves. We hadn’t visited them in some time so we took our time taking in all the detail that you just can’t normally do with crowds. At Minnie’s we listened to her phone messages, made popcorn, checked out the cheeses in the fridge and the cake baking in the oven-four adults acting like children. An added bonus was that the outside temperature was in the 30s and the houses were heated.

We watched the fireworks next and Tinkerbell flew right over us. Bill said that Tink was looking a little chunky. Before her flight the couple next to us were wondering what the wire was for and I told them that Tinkerbell would be flying on it and that she was a real person too. They were stunned and found it hard to believe but told their kids to watch and sure enough she came out. They were amazed and I was touched by the effect Disney magic has on people-first time guests and repeat guests alike.

Next we did It’s a Small World because Bill and I hadn’t done it since 1986! At that time we decided it wasn’t stimulating enough for us but being more mature now we appreciated it much more and the building was heated too. I remembered it as just lots of dolls but this time I understood the theme--all the different areas in the world, their culture and people represented by dolls dressed in native costumes.

We were hungry by now but most everything was closed as it was approaching the start of the second MSEP and closing. We got hot dogs at Casey’s. The dogs were good but CM Milton is SLOW. We were in his line last November too. He hasn’t improved during the past three months so don’t get in Milton’s line at Casey’s! We sat down and ate our dogs and finished just as the parade was starting. We lucked out big time by being able to stand at the rope where a walkway had been kept open prior to the parade starting. A woman standing next to me was so excited to see the Seven Dwarves in dwarf size. She asked me if they were real people. Then she thought they must be children. I said that they were probably adults. She just was amazed by them and shouted, “Go dorfs go!” or “You go dorfs!” Something to that effect and we were just in stitches laughing. Another Disney magic moment for all!

We repeated these phrases to each other throughout our vacation and enjoyed the moment all over again. It was a fun evening spent doing attractions that we hadn’t done in a long time without a lot of people around. It was also fun watching others get caught up in the magic. Maureen said that there is nothing better than a parade. It was a great beginning to another great WDW vacation.

Sunday morning we went to the 10:15 a.m. mass held at the Luau Cove at the Polynesian. (There is also an 8 a.m. service.) At the resort guard gate, we were issued a parking pass for our car limiting us to three hours. We were told that since the parking lots were being paved space was limited and, therefore, the time limit. We arrived early which allowed for us to wander around the grounds to show them to Maureen since she had never been there before. We arrived at LC 15 minutes early and hardly any one was there. We found this surprising since the last time we attended mass here it was packed. By the time mass started, however, it was quite full and then it became packed and then ushers were seating the cheerleading groups up on the stage.

Mass is conducted by Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine. Terry goes to mass regularly (even weekdays) but we do not. However, this mass was very enjoyable as the priest explained the readings in simple terms and gave examples that everyone could relate to and understand. I found it to be the most meaningful mass I ever attended. It lasted an hour. The LC is outside but under cover. It was very cool this morning (high 30s to low 40s) and the few seats in the sun were taken when we arrived but we were dressed warm enough and comfortable.

The parking limit squashed my plan to visit MK after mass so we walked along the brick sidewalk toward the GF. We walked up to the Wedding Chapel and it was open so we went inside. It is absolutely gorgeous inside and the view from the alter of Cinderella’s castle is spectacular. I never expected it to be so beautiful. I loved everything from the architecture to the color scheme to the landscaping and, of course, the view. The dressing rooms for the brides were also open and we peeked in there too. We took some pictures and continued walking to GF. Later in the week we saw a bride walking through the archway to the chapel. I wonder what that feels like. From the GF we monorailed to the Contemporary then continued on back to the Poly by our 12:30 parking deadline.

They are located on the bridge at the attraction exit. It’s free and we had fun spraying the unsuspecting folks and then waving to them. Bill felt that it was more fun if the people tried escaping the spray as opposed to those who just sat there with their ponchos on. It was cold out and there were big space heaters at the ride exit to help people dry off/warm up.

One afternoon upon entering AK I was solicited by a CM to complete a survey. He used a hand held computer to record my answers and asked questions such as: why I came to AK, would I come again, what did I come to see (Asia, KRR, Tarzan, etc.), if what I came to see wasn’t here would I still have come, etc. He also asked what type of admission I used. He took my name and home phone number. The questions seemed to be geared to finding out if specific attractions (the ones added since the park opened) were the reason why I chose to visit the park or if I would have visited anyway.

If you attend this show try and sit on the right side of the theater as you face the stage. After the show the only exit is behind this section. We were to the far left and it took us quite some to exit.

We found Germany to be a great area to watch IllumiNations. The Earth barge was right in front of us and we could see everything else too.

Memorable Guest Quotes:

After riding RRC we overheard a fellow guest say, “That’s another ride that just took ten years off my life!”

At AK I overheard a woman say to the man she was with referring to the Tree of Life, “Why do I want a picture of an artificial tree?”

At MK a man says to the woman he was with, “Great, you just took another picture of some one walking in front of me!”

Riding the tram from the Studios parking lot to the park entrance the tram announcer was very cool. He first asked us why we were so late (10 a.m.) that the park had been open for hours. Then he gave the remember where you parked your car and the park is open tonight until 7 p.m. speech and adds, “…that’s right kids your parents didn’t bring you to Disney to while and cry!” I realize I didn’t do justice to the humor-it was a ‘you had to be there’ type joke. But it was very funny and I thought to myself that this guy is going to get in trouble from the Disney police!

Although not a memorable quote, from my experience it is just good advice to follow the CM instructions when boarding the parking lot trams. If you’re over 5’ tall DO lower your head when boarding the trams. My mom could stand up and not hit her head on the tram roof. At 5’8” I, however, could not-OUCH!

All parks are now limiting smoking to designated areas only. Yippee! When you walk by one, though, you certainly know it.

Our first Dummy encounter was entering the AK parking lot. The girl was alone in her car and cuts in front of us to get to the left side of a parking attendant booth. Since she did not have a passenger on the side the attendant was, she became flustered and didn’t know whether to reach over and roll down her passenger window or get out of the car. She kept rocking back and forth from the window to her door. The CM attendant finally walked in front of her car to the driver side. THEN she doesn’t give the CM the correct amount and needs change! So the CM has to return to the booth, get change and walk back in front of her car and then back to the booth before we can pull ahead. What a dummy!

Our second Dummy encounter was getting into a Countdown to Extinction vehicle. There were four of us queued to fill five seats. The lady and child in front of us sat in the middle seats instead of moving across the row to the other side and leaving seats for us to sit in. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention so she knew we would also be sitting in her row. She just gave me a look that seemed to say, “What do you want?” Finally, she got the idea and moved over. Jeeesh!

We could see WDW construction trailers near Orange Lake Resort and in the background construction of the AK resort. Near the World Drive/192 interchange we could see the All Star Movies resort behind a hedgerow of trees. It appears that WDW is expanding out to its property boundaries.

This is information that I’ve wanted to know but couldn’t find anywhere so when I found out, I thought I’d share it here. The rental car agencies with counters and cars right at the Orlando Airport terminal are Avis, National, Budget, Dollar and another I wasn’t familiar with-LMS or something like that. You do not need to mess with a shuttle! Repeat--the counters are in the terminal near the baggage claim area and the cars in the airport’s parking garage. We rented from Avis and the information guide/map they gave us suggested when returning the car/flying home to drop our bags with a skycap first and then return the car instead of returning the car first and then heading to the terminal. We did this and it was so simple!! We dropped the bags with the skycap and then got back in the car and drove back around following the well marked signs to the rental car return area in the parking garage. We saved ourselves from lugging our bags from the garage to the terminal. We just had our carry-ons and because we had electronic ticketing we walked straight to the gate. Much better than trying to find the off site rental agencies, unloading the luggage from the car, returning the car, reloading the luggage on the shuttle, unloading the luggage from the shuttle at the airport, dragging the luggage to the ticket counter and then standing in a long line before you get rid of it. Don’t you agree?

We visited Titanic-The Exhibit one afternoon. It is located at The Mercado at 8445 International Drive (phone: 407-248-1166) and admission is $16.95. There are $2 discount coupons in the Orlando travel guides. We all are very intrigued by the story of the Titanic and were looking forward to the exhibit. Unfortunately, we were all disappointed in the tour. Here’s how it went:

You are lead through the exhibit by guides dressed in period costumes (maid, socialite, crewman) who describe each area you walk through. It began with an introduction of the White Star Line and the men involved with financing and designing the ship and its construction. Next you walk through a series of recreated rooms/scenes which begins on the pier where the ship is docked and being loaded. You can view 1st class passengers (mannequins) above boarding the ship as you proceed through a cargo door into the ship. Inside the ship you see recreations of a sitting room in a first class suite, a café, the grand staircase, a hallway in second class, a stairway and locked gate between 2nd class and 3rd class, and the cargo hold. Then you walk out on the deck in the cold starlight night of the accident. Along the way are displays of relics from the wreck either collected floating in the ocean after the wreck or recently brought up from the bottom.

Examples of this stuff includes a deck chair and a life jacket, china, parts of the ship such as a sink and various other mementos such as letters, tickets, and photos which were usually mailed from the ship before it went to sea. These items were displayed in cases with descriptions of each. The end of the tour is a memorial to those who lost their lives with more photos, letters, and stories from the survivors, etc. The name of a passenger or crewmember of the ship is printed on your admission ticket and near the end of the tour you find the name on the list of passengers and crew. The names are in three lists (1st, 2nd and 3rd class) and the names in bold print died and the names in regular print lived (or vice versa). It also lists the percentage of each class that survived. Before you exit you walk through a hallway lined with posters of the various movies made about the Titanic and there is a costume worn by Leonardo de Capprio (sp?) on display from the most recent movie called Titanic. Finally, just like Disney, you exit through a gift shop.

As I mentioned earlier we were disappointed with our experience for the following reasons: the guides were too involved with theatrics instead of presenting information and facts, there phony accents were hard to understand, there wasn’t not enough time to read the descriptions of items on display before they moved to another room or we couldn’t concentrate on the displays above the guides constant chatter. Finally, we were very rushed and there was no need since there were only six (another couple besides us) in our group and as it was in the middle of the day, there wasn’t a crowd waiting to get in behind us. I felt the admission was overpriced and Bill felt the collection of artifacts was weak. The thing I wanted to see most was the recreated grand staircase but when I saw it I wasn’t impressed. On a positive note, I enjoyed seeing the artifacts and thought they were professionally displayed.

GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Memorial Hall in St. Cloud - Here’s a little lesson in Civil War history. Besides enjoying WDW Bill and I enjoy learning about US history, especially the Civil War period, and visiting historical sites (thus the week in St. Augustine). We participate in CW battle reenactments and living histories as well as memorial dedications and ceremonies and also give presentations at local schools. Therefore, we try to find a CW related site wherever we travel. As luck would have it, just before we left for the trip I read an article in Bill’s Civil War Times Illustrated about the city of St. Cloud, FL and how it was established in 1909 as a ‘colony’ for Union veterans of the CW. There is a former GAR (an organization of CW union veterans) Memorial Hall there, originally built in 1914, that is now a museum that offered guided tours for $3 per person. The nearby Mt. Peace Cemetery has a monument to unknown soldiers and many CW veterans are buried there. We visited St. Cloud one afternoon and where quite pleased with the quality and quantity of information that was presented by historian Beverly J. Thomas Groshek during our tour. CW veterans paid $50 for a plot in the colony for a home and also got 5 acres outside of town. This offer was so popular the first 100 plots sold out very quickly. The price was then increased to $100. The post (#34) was named after Lucius L. Mitchell who was the first veteran to die in St. Cloud Colony. It was the second largest GAR post in the nation. For those interested in making this side trip, the location is 1101 Massachusetts Avenue, St. Cloud, FL (phone: 407-892-6146). The museum hours are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

What can I say…everything went extremely well. We were so lucky to not experience some of the problems reported in other trip reports--no travel glitches, no rain, no illnesses, no lodging problems, etc. The non-commando touring style was more relaxing for all. I have found that to do this style of touring you need to give up some good things that come with commando touring. One example is getting up early and to the parks for rope drop. There is just no doubt about it, you see and do more in those first opening hours than in two or three hours time later in the day.

While waiting for our flight home, we overheard first time WDW guests talking to other first time WDW guests about their impressions, experiences and reactions at WDW. Listening to them made me smile. Everything for them was an adventure--fresh and new. Their children were even more fun to listen to.

Our next trip is planned for the end of February 2001. We will be staying at the Vistana Resort with our friends and neighbors and their two children. We visited WDW with them four years ago with their four-year-old daughter, Ashley. Before we even left WDW for home Ashley asked when we could come back so we agreed to do it again when her, then unborn, brother was four. I’ll never forget this moment from that trip. It was after the last float in the Spectromagic parade passed us by and she waved from atop her daddy’s shoulders and said, “Bye Jiminy (sp?) Cricket, I love you!” What a great ending to a great trip!

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