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Kim Lucas -- January 2000 -- Walt Disney World (CSR)

Pre Trip report Saturday, January 8 - Monday, January 10 Who: Kim (23, stressed out assistant magazine editor)

This may seem like a very short trip to most of you, but I’m used to them this way- usually 3-4 nights, though. I’ve been to WDW several times, and can usually accomplish everything I want.

This trip came about for a few reasons. I’ve been pretty stressed out, and if I didn’t get away this weekend, it would be a while before I could get away again. I also have some $$ saved up for a trip. And I told myself that if the airfare was there, I’d go. Also, on my last trip, I had bronchitis the entire time, and while I had a blast, it wasn’t everything I hoped it would be. And I was going to go to the December RADP meet, but my best friend was going to Scotland to perform for a month, an I couldn’t resist a week’s free accommodations in Europe. My boss gave me the go-ahead to be out Monday (he’s awesome). On Tuesday, I found a $147 flight out of Newark. It got me thinking this could really happen, but I wasn’t sure. So I decided to wait and see what I could get on Wednesday.

So I woke up super early on Wednesday morning, hoping to get one of those cheap Wednesday morning fares- but there were none to Orlando, and some airlines hadn’t reinstated their Wednesday morning special programs that they had suspended over the holidays. So, I figured I wouldn’t go. I probably had too much to do around here anyway. But when I spoke to my mother, who I thought would sound relieved that I wasn’t taking this spur of the moment trip, she actually sounded disappointed. She said it would be exciting to just take off and go. So, I hopped onto Travelocity, where I had seen a $147 rate the day before, to book it. Uh, oh. Travelocity says that since it’s so close, and because they can’t e-ticket it for some reason, and it’s too late to send a ticket, they can’t ticket it. (Why even bother showing it to me then?) Undaunted, I decided to try Delta’s own site. . . and got it (it’s Delta Express, actually)! I have no idea why it’s so cheap so close, and the next cheapest was like $610! I took it as a sign.

Now I just needed a room. I wanted to spend less than $200. I called several times on Wednesday, and was told that cancellations usually get entered into the computer whenever they’re called in. So, I decided that I’d call at night, figuring most people cancel at night or in the morning after a long family talk (and at this point, less than 5 days before the trip, they’re losing money, so it has to be a big decision.) I called at 9:45 and was able to get, among other things, a king size room at CBR for $159 (with tax) or an MKC rate bungalow at VDI for $181 (with tax). I picked VDI, because I spent 4 teenage days at CBR arguing with my parents, 2 of which I threw up through- so the place doesn’t have good memories for me.

Then, on Thursday morning, I started thinking that, because of my neurosis, I was spending $42 more- for a room that sleeps 5! I bit the bullet, and called back, hoping I could change my reservation- and I could. So, now I’m staying at CBR for $159. I’m going to keep calling a few times a day to see if I can get into PO or DL.

Kim’s Quickie Trip Report - Part I

First, an update to the pre-trip report. I was originally supposed to stay at VDI for an MKC rate of $181 a night for a bungalow. I was then able to get Caribbean Beach for $144. Well, I called on Friday morning and was able to book Coronado Springs for $124. Great! With tax, the two nights would come to less than $300. I wanted the All-Stars, but was happy with what I got. Port Orleans is now the only moderate I haven’t stayed in.

On Friday night I headed to New Jersey to my parent’s house because they were taking me to the airport in the morning. I got to sleep around midnight, after showering and re-packing the stuff from the suitcase I brought home to the suitcase I was bringing with me. I called the airline to confirm my flight and that I was on it, and hit the sack.

I woke up at around 4:30 for my 7 o’clock flight. I knew from calling the night before that my flight was overbooked, and I had no time to spare on this short trip. (Plus, this being Delta Express, I’m not sure there’s any incentive for being bumped.) Strangely, one of my favorite episodes of Taxi was on. This is strange because on my last trip, many of my favorite episodes of TV shows were on in my room. (I’m not usually in my room to watch TV, but I was really sick on my last trip and just couldn’t get up one morning.) Anyway, and this will be the first of many TV references this trip, it was the episode where Reverend Jim comes into some money and buys several television sets with it. And there’s this really funny part where they’re watching a government hearing as to whether people from Delaware should be called Delawarians or Delawarites.

Anyway, we were on the road by 5 and I got to the airport around 5:40. The flight was pretty uneventful, although turbulent. We got to Orlando early, but landed on time because we had to circle the airport. During the flight I read Archie Comics (an airplane tradition of mine from when I was very little). You have to love that Jughead.

After landing, a guy was wondering where he could get transportation from the airport to WDW. I offered to help him get to Mears (neither one of us had to pick up luggage.) After a quick trip to the ATM (I know, fees, but I didn’t have time before I left), we were off to Mears, where I let him use my coupon- and there was no problem with Ceaser (that’s the guy’s name) going to a different hotel and leaving a different day. Ceaser was in town for the marathon, and that’s it. He was going to sit by the pool today, do the marathon tomorrow, and go home tomorrow night. We waited half an hour for the bus, which was sort of annoying, but it isn’t worth it to me to go through Tiffany Towncar, since I’m only one person.

I got to Coronado at around 11am, and there was no line at check in. The smallest thing I had was a $5, but I gave it to the Mears lady anyway because she was having a bad day (one of the luggage doors on the bus was broken) and no one around me seemed to be giving her anything. I checked in, and Tim behind the counter asked me what kind of room I wanted- something I wasn’t expecting. I told him as long as I was close to a bus stop, I’d be fine. He put me in Casitas 4, on the first floor. My room wasn’t ready, of course, so I headed to the AK.

The bus arrived pretty quickly, and while waiting I met a group from the Benjamin Moore convention. Apparently they’re announcing a new paint system (whoo hoo!) and there was a big convention there. One thing I noticed about all the conventioners at CS is that most of them have no clue about WDW- which means, of course, that Disney is making money off of people that would not have come if not for a convention. Anyway, I gave some tips to a family with a little girl with two major ear infections. She’d spent two days in the room, but she couldn’t fly yet, so had 2 extra days added to her vacation. The girl couldn’t go on any rides, so I told the mother about the shows at MGM. Even though they’re loud, apparently loud wasn’t bad; movement was.

I got to the AK before noon and stowed my very heavy bookbag in a locker. I wasn’t totally sure where I wanted to go, so I headed to Countdown to Extinction. The wait was 20 minutes, and I really wanted to try Fast Pass, so I got one and headed to find food. I didn’t see anything I liked, so I headed to the safari (10 minute wait). I saw lots of animals, especially considering how hot it was. They were mostly resting, but the giraffes were very close to the path, just laying around relaxing. The CM sort of threw away the Big Red/Little Red plot, and I don’t blame her. After the safari, I headed to CTE for my fast pass, walking right on. After that, I just walked around for a while, enjoying the atmosphere. I love walking around this park. I went and visited the otters, which I think are just adorable.

I headed to the Rainforest Café for lunch. The wait was 40 minutes, so I sat at the bar. I had a fruit smoothie, which was way too sweet, and vegetable potstickers, which were okay but way too salty. Heading back into the park, my pass didn’t work, (it was a bent 7 day all in one from February 1999 with 3 days on it), so they gave me a new one with the 2000 logo on it.

Back in the park, I did ITTBAB. Once again, I did not like this. Last time, I thought the effects were just bothering me because I was sick, but I really just don’t like it. Too malicious for my tastes. After that, I did the Jungle Trek. I really love looking at those tigers. I could watch them for hours. One thing that REALLY got to me, though, was that people- adult and children- were tapping on the glass to take their picture. One tiger was woken up and scared away, and another was simply scared away. Has the park taught these people nothing about respecting animals? I asked the CM there if this was just allowed, and she said it wasn’t, but people got upset with her if she told them not to. Hello? If it’s your job to tell people not to bug the animals, you do it!

After saying goodbye to the tigers, I called my mother to tell her I was okay and to vent about the tiger lady. She told me it wasn’t my job to run the park, etc.- ugh. After a while we made up, (although I experienced a setback in my relaxing) and I went to do the safari again, but the wait was 40 minutes. I decided I was cranky from being up so long, and headed to the resort, stopping first to buy another piece of Raku pottery (a rhino to keep my hippo company- I’m buying one each trip.) I also stopped to look at the otters again. One woman thought the fish there were audio animatronic! Finally, I filled out a comment card about the tiger thing. I filled it out twice, the second making it seem less one person’s fault. I didn’t want anyone getting in trouble.

I got to the resort, and my room was ready. After about 10 minutes, a guy met me outside with a cart and drove me to my room with my luggage. He told me all about the resort, and we talked about home (he was born in Queens, I live- until March, when, if all goes well, I’m moving- in Queens). My room was really nice. I plopped down on the bed and turned the TV on for a bit. The trend continues- it was the end of one of my favorite episodes of Eight is Enough (for those of you keeping track, it was the one where David writes the song that was used as the theme song for the rest of the series run.) I called my mother again to make sure everything was okay, and started watching The Famous Jett Jackson, which I’d never seen before because I don’t have Disney Channel. I headed to the food court to pick up some dinner to bring back to the room. Since I wasn’t eating there, I didn’t have to pay the 10% Pepper Market fee. I got the half roasted chicken dinner, with baked potatoes and roasted vegetables. The man behind the counter was nice enough to pick out the zuchini and squash, pretty much the only veggies I hate.

Eating in the room was really relaxing. At around 7:30, I headed out to go to the MK, feeling much better than before. I bought a paper at the machine there and read it on the way to the MK. I got there around 8, and had an hour. Since many people were lining up for the parade, or just leaving the park, there weren’t too many lines. I rode Thunder Mountain, then headed to Fantasyland and hit the tea cups. There was almost no line for Space Mountain, so I hit that, too. Finally, I took another ride on the tea cups. As the park was closing, I headed out after that.

Back at the room, I showered and passed out almost right away. Oh, and one of my favorite episodes of M*A*S*H was on! (Again, for anyone who cares, it was Yankee Doodle Doctor, an early episode guest starring Ed Flanders, who went on to play Donald Westphall on St. Elsewhere.) I saw about 12 seconds of it before falling asleep.

I promise the next part won’t be so drawn out. I just got on a roll.

Kim’s Quickie Trip Report - Part II

Well, I slept like a log and woke up to an insanely early phone call from a rodent. But being as I requested it, I can’t complain. The plan was to get up and go, but I just lay in bed for a while, getting some more zzz’s. I finally left the room at about 8:20, and waited about 35 minutes for a bus to the MK because of the marathon. Apparently Disney doesn’t like the idea of driving a bus full of tourists through a crowd of 20,000 runners. I was a little annoyed, because I was told that the marathon would not affect transportation at all, but truth be told that sounded a bit unlikely and I should have left the room earlier. I didn’t think 35 minutes was too much longer than the norm, as long as it didn’t happen again! (I bought the Sunday paper to pass the time, so I was fine. Gotta love Parade Magazine! That silly Howard Huge!) Anyway, we got dropped off at the Ticket and Transportation Center, which was fine with me because I always like to get 1 monorail trip in during my trips.

I got into the park at around 9:15, which meant that despite the problems with transportation I managed to get to the MK pretty close to opening. I headed to Space Mountain, which had an electric sign saying 40 minutes, but apparently it was broken because there was a guy standing there with a sign that said 10 minutes. The wait wound up being about 5 minutes, and only the right side was open. Last night I did the left side, which I don’t recall ever having done, and thought it was a drop milder than the right side. I enjoyed the ride, and left saying to myself, "In the future, packages will be sent to distant worlds through beams of light."

Now it was time to do some Space Rangering. Buzz had no line, so I hopped in a car and was off. Of all the new things at WDW over the past few years, this has to be my favorite. My record for riding the same ride the most times in one day is on Buzz- 6, last year. My wrist felt sort of tight, so I only scored in the 40,000-50,000 range- so of course I had to ride again! Going back on, I felt like Homer Simpson in the "Prohibition" episode. (Homer becomes a bootlegger, and tells his wife that he’s going out, and if he’s not back, to avenge his death. But he does this so often, he winds up telling her simply, "Going out. Not back, avenge death.") I really felt like saying to the guy in front of the ride, "Going to save universe. Not back, avenge death." But, of course, I didn’t. Anyway, my second run was much better, but still not as high as I’ve gotten- it was around 112,000 this time. The coolest thing about the ride, though, was that there was a boy, around 9 years old, in the car behind me with his father. He’d never been to WDW before, and this was obviously one of his first rides. He was totally blown away, and it was great to hear him so excited about it. One of these days, I’ve got to take a WDW vacation with kids. Anyone got any I can borrow? I picked up a fast pass for Pooh, just to say I’d been on it, not expecting much. I’m not a huge Pooh fan. While I waited, I did Snow White and Peter Pan, both with almost no lines. It was the deadest I’ve ever seen the place- and It’s a Small World was closed, too, so you’d think the other rides would be picking up the slack from it! On another note, while I was on line for Snow White, I noticed that the sky ride cables and poles look awful just standing there. Really tacky- something I’d expect from a cheaper theme park. If they’re not reopening it (and I understand they’re not), they should at least get rid of the cables.

After those two rides, I bought a bottled water and just hung out until my fast pass. Oh, and I rode the tea cups. The fp line was about 5-10 minutes long. As I waited, I noticed the Pooh characters riding with some lucky kids. That must be the ultimate. Someday I would like to go to the Hall of Presidents with Gerald Ford by my side. We can all dream.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this ride. Any animosity I had towards Pooh (and it’s not a lot of animosity, I’m just not into the guy) melted immediately. I loved the bouncing. I loved the swaying. And I REALLY loved the Huffalump or Woozle scene. (I happen to love that scene in the movie, too.) I thought the whole thing was really well done, not too sugary sweet, but just a genuine good time.

After Pooh, I headed to Liberty Square to get some food at Columbia Harbour House. I got the clam chowder in a bread bowl and an apple juice (which turned out to be a small juice box). It was very good, and this place remains tops for me for counter service. The Haunted Mansion was next, with no line, again. I really liked the Haunted Mansion beans, and considered getting one, but I’ve sort of sworn myself off of them. They usually sit by my desk for a few months until I get bored of them and are resigned to living in my bottom desk drawer (which looks like the drawer where a teacher keeps all the toys she takes away). I considered riding the Liberty Belle, just because I haven’t in years, and even got on, but then decided it would probably be too boring. I was also considering going to Tom Sawyer island, but ultimately I decided I’d rather be on rides. So, I headed to Adventureland, where, after a veggie egg roll (I know, I just ate lunch, but those things are darn good, and I hadn’t had breakfast!), I hit Pirates, followed by a walk through Frontierland, where the posted wait for Big Thunder was 20 minutes. I didn’t really feel like waiting (the morning had spoiled me), so I took the train to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. I walked around there for a while, and rode the Barnstormer, which I’d never ridden before. I’m glad there was no line, because the ride is so short! I can imagine that this would be the type of ride my parents would hate to stand in line for if it was around when I was little. But for a short little coaster, it does pack a punch!

I don’t remember the total chronology of what I did next, but suffice it to say it involved the Carousel, Carousel of Progress (anyone for pizza?)- which I hope never goes away, Buzz again, Alien Encounter, and Pooh fast passed again. Finally, I decided to schlep back to Adventureland to see the Tiki Birds. On my way over, Captain Hook was following his "helper" over to a stand. The assistant said he was searching the place for crocodiles! Hook stood to the side, while the assistant brought over a small stuffed one. Hook immediately threw it done and refused to look at it. Pretty funny.

I’m into musical theater, so I was surprised that the intro music at the Tiki Birds entrance is actually the march played as the King of Siam’s children are introduced in The King and I! I hadn’t seen the revamped show before, but I liked it. Revamped kitsch.

I headed out of the park, stopping first at some of the stores to look around, and then to help a CM who was trying to juggle some balls that were at her stand. (My boss says he finds it interesting that I sometimes have trouble walking straight, but can juggle three balls perfectly. He has a point. I do trip a lot- over nothing.) The bus back to the resort was practically empty, and I got back to the room a little after 4. I put some football on, and passed out for a few hours. After all, this was relaxation trip, and I hadn’t done much relaxing yet!

I headed out to Epcot at around 6:30, and arrived a little before 7. I headed straight for Test Track, and rode the singles line with virtually no wait. Following that, I did Spaceship Earth, also with no wait. I also learned that, in addition to being plagued with disease and a general sense of apathy, the dark ages smelled a lot like the turkey leg stand.

I had an 8 o’clock ps at Le Cellier, but wanted to see if I could get in any earlier, so I headed over. Not only could I not get in earlier, but they were 1/2 hour behind in seating ps. I asked if signing in early might help, and the CM said it might, and she gave me a beeper with instructions not to go father than France. I’m not sure if that’s a Canadian-French loyalty thing, but I’m guessing it’s a beeper-doesn’t- work-past-France thing.

Anyhoo, Off Kilter was playing, so I watched part of that, and then meandered through a few countries, looking in stores, absorbing atmosphere, etc. I went into the Millennium Village, and looked around for a bit. I was getting really hungry, and it was close to my ps, so I headed to Canada to make sure I was there on time. I went to the Roots store and bought two bags of those marshmellows in mini ice cream cones. I’m not sure that it’s a Canadian delicacy, but these particular ones were made in Canada. One bag will be for my boss, who, like me, enjoys non-chocolate sugar snacks. (Well, he’s allergic to chocolate, I think it blurs the taste of the sugar!) I started eating one bag and went outside, where Tapestry of Nations was starting. From what I saw (I didn’t have a great view), it looked really cool. My beeper went off (I love those things. I think families should have them. I would have loved to have been beeped by my mother when dinner was ready.)

My server, whose name I don’t recall, was super nice. I decided to go with the cheddar cheese soup, because everyone raves about it, and the buffalo, because I’ve had it once before, and don’t often get the chance to eat buffalo. Both were very good, although I had a hard time finishing it all. And those breadsticks were amazing- especially the pretzel one. (Note to self- Don’t eat marshmellows in ice cream cones before eating buffalo.)

I was served pretty quickly, so I got outside only a little bit after 9, and was able to catch a nice chunk of Illuminations- which was incredible. I’m not really into fireworks, but this was great. The accompanying music was good, too. A wonderful end to the day.

I got back to the room at about 9:45, and watched a bit of Millionaire. (One of the answers to a question was, "Smile, you’re on 60 Minutes." It might have been exhaustion, but I thought that was hysterical. I’m not a big fan of the show, but I had ABC on for The Practice.) The Practice was okay, not a great episode, and afterwards I called a friend from home to discuss it and to say "hi." The phone call wound up costing $12, but it was fun, and I was relaxing. I watched the news (I love watching local news in towns that aren’t my own, to see what they’re caught up in. Mostly Elian stuff tonight.) Then I packed up my stuff and called to arrange for my stuff to be picked up, and a wake up call. I fell asleep pretty easily, anticipating one more day of R&R…

Kim’s Quickie Trip Report - Part III- The Prizoner of Azkahban

Today was the last day of my quickie trip (sob). I got up early, before Mickey’s call, and finished putting together my stuff. I showered, and twiddled my thumbs while I waited for my 8 am luggage pickup. At 8:15, the guy still hadn’t come. I suppose I could have schlepped my stuff to the main building, but it was sort of a walk and I didn’t know exactly where I was going. I called, and was told they’d send someone right over. I wasn’t in a terrible rush, but I did want to get to Epcot. Besides, they were about to announce on the Today Show who the father of Melissa Ethridge’s children is. I'm not a huge Ethridge fan, but I was curious. My guess, for no apparent reason, was Art Garfunkel. It turned out to be David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Jacoby, and Meyers. That major mystery of the 20th Century solved, I was happy to see the luggage man show up at around 8:20, and he gave me a ride to the main building, where I almost immediately grabbed a bus to Epcot., arriving about 8:45, after a stop to the ATM to get some cash.

Test Track was closed, surprise, surprise. I felt sort of bad, because a kid was there with his parents, and he had apparently dragged them to Epcot just to ride Test Track. I thought it would make a great absurdist drama, a la Samuel Beckett (not the Quantum Leap guy): Waiting for Test Track. Anyway, I decided to grab some breakfast, even though eating in the morning generally makes me feel icky. I had a thoroughly tasteless egg on an english muffin, and at 9 o’clock some really loud clock went off. I caught a bit of the Jammitors, who were much better than the kid at the subway station with the drum stick and the plastic bucket. Which is not to say that all plastic bucket subway percussionists are bad; it’s just that the kid at the Prince Street station just wasn’t meant to be a drummer. Like Bobby Brady.

I did Body Wars, which was fun, but I wondered something while watching. No, not, "Why hasn’t Tim Matheson won that Oscar yet," but, why isn’t Elizabeth Shue covered in bodily fluids?

After Body Wars, I went over to Imagination. I like Ellen’s Energy Crisis, but just don’t like giving up 45 minutes for it. It’s not that great to me. If I could watch the Jeopardy clip at the beginning and leave, I would.

Now, I know most people totally hate Imagination, but I actually liked it- a lot. I think it really needs work, but I really enjoyed it. It was pretty simple, but fun. It was only me and one other couple in the line of cars. After that was HISTA, but there was 15 minutes until the next show, and the True Colors thing makes me sort of nauseated, so I did Imagination again, this time totally alone! I can see how the total darkness can be scary for kids, and it sort of annoyed me that Disney wouldn't consider this important enough in making the ride. HISTA was good, as always. After that, I did Spaceship Earth, which I enjoyed again, despite a 5 minute line, and Ice Station Cool. I really liked the apple soda and the pink one. I liked the guarana diet, but wish it wasn’t diet. I remember Pepsi used to make a guarana drink (Josta) that gave me quite a buzz, but I don’t think they make it anymore.

I skipped the Land. I’m not sure why; I just really wasn’t into it. Probably because, knowing from experience, I’d be in there for a long, long time.

It was almost 11, so I headed on over to WS, starting with Mexico. I rode El Rio Del Tiempo (Is that it? I got C’s in Spanish). I enjoyed the ride, as usual, especially those little fish on the movie screen pond, and the cliff divers who magically appear back on top of the cliff after their dive.

Next up was Norway. I rode the Maelstrom, which I always find interesting. Maybe I’m just not paying attention, but I think what they’re trying to say is that Norway used to have a lot of trolls, but now they have deep sea oil rigs. Ok!

I moved along from country to country, stopping in German for my wine tasting (they raised the price to $4, but now they give you the shot glass empty, and fill up a larger glass with wine.) I really love this wine; I’ve had it a few times now. I always plan on getting a bottle, but really don’t like the idea of schlepping it to Jersey, and I don’t think they ship it. I ate at Yakitori House, which was pretty good but pretty skimpy- skewers of beef, shrimp, and chicken, with broccoli and rice. I stopped to look at the art exhibit inside Japan, which I never really noticed before- not in years, anyway. Does that ever change, or does it stay the same? Anyway, this was on little boxes that tell stories. There was another exhibit on Toys, where you could make a giant dragon dance. Dance, dragon, dance! I browsed in the Mitsukoshi store. Sometimes I’ll buy some chopsticks, but I liked it better when they had the Mickey Mouse ones. They had candy sushi, which would be perfect for someone to buy for me as a souvenir, but not something I’d get for myself. It was kind of expensive, and the candy looked like it would taste nasty. But the novelty was definitely there.

In the UK, I watched the performance of Holy Grail, which was very funny. One of the female leads reminded me a lot of my best friend, who is an actress/teacher, and she made a Laverne and Shirley reference, which made me very happy. Laverne and Shirley good. (To give you a hint of how popular culture infiltrates my life, I was looking at apartments last week, and we saw a basement place, and I told my mother that I could only live there if I worked at the Schott’s Brewery.) Anyway, if you’re ever in the UK, try to catch one of the shows. I went to Scotland last summer for the Fringe, the biggest theater festival in the world, and I saw a lot of comedy like this, and it really brought me back.

I browsed in some of the other countries, finally landing at the Millennium Village. I didn’t spend too much time here, but it looked nice, if not permanent. I really liked the Sweden seasons, although I didn’t think it looked much different from any other country. The snowman was cool, though. I did the Israel ride, and thought it was one of the tackiest things I’d ever seen. The name "Israel ride" should have been the tip off. I’m not a very religious person, but I just thought it was tacky to be riding through the history of one of the holiest cities in the world- and I didn’t think the film was all that informative, either. I looked at a few more things, and hit the road.

I stopped at Canada for a beaver tail. I don’t remember the name of the one I got, but it had the word "surprise" in it. It was the basic sugar and cinnamon, with lemon squeezed onto it. It was really really good, and I thought it was better than the apple cinnamon one, which is much heavier. On the way out of WS, I gave some pieces to the birds, which I know I’m not supposed to do, but I gave in. One kid was chasing a bird, and the parents just let him. I’ll never understand how people can be so flippant towards animals.

Back in Future World, I decided to check out Test Track, which was up and running. I got a fast pass, as the line was very long, and hit the singles line. There was no line, and when I got to the front, I heard someone call my name! It was someone I grew up with, on her honeymoon! I hadn’t seen her in several months, so after my ride, I waited for her and chatted. I had met her husband once, when I was 15, at a youth group meeting, and now he’s 23, so it was sort of weird to see this kid I remember now married. We visited for a bit, and I headed back to the singles line- 3 more times! I got stuck on two of my trips, once out on the road. I could smell the burning rubber. Pretty scary. After my 4th ride, it was time to go back to the hotel and get ready to leave. I saved my unused fast pass as a souviner.

Back at the hotel, at around 5:00, I decided to have an early dinner at Pepper Market, so that I wouldn’t have to eat later. Bad idea. I wasn’t hungry at all. I got pasta with chicken, and the chicken was really nasty. First of all, they used thigh meat. Second, it looked uncooked! When the manager came by, I told him, and he brought the chef over to assure me that with the lemon juice he uses, it looks pink but it’s cooked. The manager offered to replace it with anything I wanted, but since I wasn’t planning on eating much more, I said it was fine. I just ate some of the pasta, paid my bill, and left. I bought some lollipops and taffy for friends back home. (I think the taffy is pretty gross, but the coworkers seem to like it. I find that bringing a big container of something edible from a vacation is a good way to not have to decide which coworkers to buy for.)

Mears came on time, and I headed for the airport. It seems there was awful weather in the north, and apparently many flights were very delayed. I dreaded getting up in the morning after getting home very late. When I got to the gate, my flight was delayed an hour and 15 minutes, with the possibility that it would be even later :(. But suddenly, it was switched to being on time! I bought a paper and loaded the plane. I wasn’t too happy to see sitting next to me a 7-year-old, and a coughing 2-year-old sitting on her mother’s lap. It felt very cramped, and the mother was not being very nice to her children (although I could see she was clearly stressed.) I introduced myself to the boy, and read him the comics section of the paper (those things aren’t really written for kids, are they? Except that Family Circus. Crazy Jeffy.) As the flight started, I started reading Archie aloud, doing the voices (I do a mean Veronica.) Eventually, I gave the kid the magazines and settled in with my Walkman, listening to the very Disney appropriate South Park soundtrack (hey, it’s animated!) We landed on time, and I spent a lot of money to go back to my parents’ house in a cab. (I figured I’d get up easier the next day at their house than at mine.) The end of another wonderful trip!

In closing, I’d just like to say:

Coronado Springs is a beautiful resort. I’d definitely stay there again (especially if that Benjamin Moore convention is there. Paint people know how to par-tay!)

The first weekend in January is wonderful. I think the values were filled up because of the marathon. Other than that and conventioners, there aren’t too many tourists to contend with. And the marathoners and conventioners have marathons to run and conventions to attend- meaning the parks are empty a lot of the time (although the conventioners do bring family.)

It was very odd, but I came back from this trip less than a week after I even thought of going . If you’re thinking of a last minute trip, check it out. There’s often cheap last minute airfare, (I’ve seen for more than just this week). And by calling many times, I was able to get the a hotel more in the price range I wanted- I saved more than $40 a night over my first call! And I had a wonderful time even though the trip is short. I only did what I wanted to do, and still took breaks so that I could enjoy myself to the fullest. By skipping MGM, I gave myself more time in the other parks. I also learned that if I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t go any further than my own backyard, because if it isn’t there, I haven’t really lost it to begin with. Oh, wait, that was Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz.

And finally, to sum up the vacation: Buffalo is good, chicken thighs are bad, Huffalumps and Woozles are very confusal, and I don’t think David Crosby would be my first choice for the father of my children.

Kim Lucas

KLucas992@yahoo.com

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