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Casey Morizio -- August 2000 -- Walt Disney World (CBR, OKWR)August 6-14, 2000 The Cast: The Morizios (DVC members)
When: August 6-14, 2000 Where: First four nights at the Caribbean Beach Resort; second four nights at the Old Key West Resort (2-Bedroom) Introduction OK, before I begin, I think a bit of a warning is in order. Caution: this is definitely not your ordinary trip report. First of all, I am a fifteen-year-old girl, so you can expect a report written from a "child's" point of view rather than from a parent's. Second, during this trip I participated in Disney's Magic Music Days program along with the rest of my dance competition team. So not only will you be provided with a backstage glimpse of Disney World, but, since about 15 other families from our dance team also traveled down to WDW, you will probably be bombarded with names that you will never remember. =) I'll try to keep the confusion to a minimum, however, and I'll even give you a rundown of our friends. (Aren't I nice?) Fellow Dance Families (or The Supporting Players)
All in all, 65 people from our dance studio came down to WDW. I know, it's a lot to remember, but just keep this list handy and you won't have a problem. =) Planning the Trip Magic Music Days So, what is Disney's Magic Music Days Program, you ask? Well, every year from around April until October, dance groups, high school choirs and bands, orchestras, and other groups come to WDW to perform in the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, or Downtown Disney. My dance studio, A Touch of Dance, from Matawan, New Jersey, got involved by calling Disney and asking for information. Disney sent us a few brochures, and we eventually registered. After sending in the required photograph of the dancers in costume, and a videotape of us performing our dances, we got the news in late June that we would be dancing in the Magic Kingdom on Monday, August 7, on a stage in Tomorrowland near Space Mountain. (We thought this meant the Galaxy Palace Theater; we would later find out that we were wrong.) In addition, we signed up for an exclusive Disney dance workshop on the following Tuesday, for a fee of $18 a person. And so we began our Disney rehearsals, even choreographing a special all-team Millennium Disney Dance to Will Smith's Wil2K. Trip Planning (or "the boring part") Meanwhile, my family began planning the actual trip. This was my eighth trip to Disney World, and my parents' eleventh. Now, normally, we would have stayed at Old Key West, but our entire studio was staying at the Caribbean Beach Resort. We didn't want to be separated, so we booked our room there for the first four nights. After that, most people would be leaving WDW, so we booked our last four nights at OKW. Because I was a dancer, I received a discounted 5-Day Park Hopper Plus pass, which all of the dancers automatically purchased. My mother was also able to get a discounted pass, because she had basically been the whole dance studio's travel agent, making all the arrangements for everyone. So we had five days at Disney (if we didn't choose to upgrade). We decided to spend a couple of days at Universal Studios, since we had last been there about seven years before, and we wanted to see Islands of Adventure, too. We got a referral from one of my mother's friends for a great limo service at a good price - $110 round trip. Not bad, considering that it would have been around $90 to park our car at the airport garage. We got our airline tickets from Delta at $229 per person. Our flight on Sunday was at 9:15 AM, and our departing flight eight days later was at 8:15 PM. Furthermore, we've always found that having a rental car is a must for us - it makes everything easier. So we booked a car with Dollar Rental through DVC, and got a great deal. Several weeks before our trip, we made Priority Seatings for breakfast at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom on Thursday, August 10, and for dinner at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Resort on Sunday, August 13. Also, the senior team (me, Laura, Nicole, Cathy, Leigh Ann, Adrienne, and Melissa) wanted to go out all together one night. We chose Tuesday night since we would all be available. The seven of us decided on dinner at House of Blues, and also to buy passes for E-Ride Night. This is a special event on select nights during which the Magic Kingdom is open from 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM for only 5000 resort guests who pay a $10 fee to get in. The lines are supposed to be really short, enabling you to go on the 9 most popular rides again and again. My mother also tried to book a Fantasmic dinner package PS at the Hollywood Brown Derby on Thursday night, but found that we couldn't do that until we got there. In addition, my father and I booked two spots for the Keys to the Kingdom tour, a backstage walking tour of the Magic Kingdom, for Thursday morning after breakfast. Finally, my family, the Marinos, the Grimaldis, and the Cuevases all booked two boats for the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks cruise and dinner beforehand at the Whispering Canyon Cafˇ at Wilderness Lodge on Wednesday night. Enough of the boring part. On with the mayhem and madness! =P
The Trip Day One, Sunday, August 6, 2000 (Ok, for me, Day 1 was actually the day before, Packing Day, cuz packing is just so fun!! But hey, we'll go mainstream here. =) I awoke at the atrocious hour of 5:45 AM, got ready, and packed the rest of my stuff. By quarter to seven we had our bags out on the front porch and stood waiting for the limo driver. He pulled up at around 6:55, and we were on our way to Newark International Airport. We arrived and checked our bags, and got settled near our gate. Soon the Marinos, who were on our flight too, arrived, and we all waited for our fifteen minute late flight. (which really is pretty good) The plane pulled in, we took off, and two and a half hours later...we were in Orlando! Once we got our luggage from baggage claim, my parents trekked to the Dollar Rental counter while I baby-sat our bags. They returned in about ten minutes. However, I noticed that the Marinos, who were going with National Car Rental, were still waiting for Ralph to return. We passed him on our way out and saw that while there was no line at Dollar, National had a huge line. We got to the garage, and my father walked up to the counter and received our keys. We found our car to be a black Dodge Intrepid - very roomy, but for some reason also kind of smelly. =( Another downside - its child safety locks were activated, and we couldn't find any way to de-activate them. So, for the remainder of our trip, my door always had to be unlocked before I could get out. But, all in all, the car was alright and the huge trunk was just what we needed. We drove to the Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR) and parked in front of the Customs House at around 1:00, just about the same time as the Marinos. The Caribbean Beach Resort is comprised of about 65 buildings divided into different sections, or "countries." Each building also has quite a few rooms, bringing the number of rooms to over 2000 and making CBR one of the largest hotels in the country. Anyway, the Customs House is the "lobby"/ "front desk" building. Upon entering, the first thing all of us noticed was the line - a huge amount of people were waiting to check in. My parents and Ralph got on, and me and the rest of the Marinos found places to sit and wait (and wait and wait and wait). While we were having an incredible amount of fun sitting on our butts, we spotted Leigh Ann and her family, Melissa and hers, and our teachers Lisa and Michael. Needless to say, it was immensely surreal to see all our friends here in Disney World. I felt like I was in Saved by the Bell Goes Hawaiian. <g> A little over an hour later, my parents approached one of the counters. We had a lovely Cast Member named Christine who was cheerful (but not annoyingly cheerful) and extremely helpful. We even chatted a bit about where she used to work at Disney and so on. She informed us that the people who were checking out of our room had late check-out, so they wouldn't be out until 3:00. And this probably meant that we shouldn't count on our room being ready until 4:30 or 5:00. She apologized since she knew that it was a hassle, but we understood that she had no part in it. Also, before we left, we asked for a property map. If you have a car at Disney World, this is an extremely important item to possess. It's a map of all the roads in Disney, and it's useful because even though Disney provides you with road signs, they're usually not perfect (talk about an understatement), and you can get pretty lost if you have absolutely no clue where you're going. We (the whole entire group, that is) were all in building 45 of Jamaica. We drove over and were pleased with our location. First, there was a quiet pool very close, and the bridge that leads to Old Port Royale, the food court/gift shop/arcade/main pool was also nearby. Second, all of the rooms from our dance studio were in one semi-circle positioned around a small courtyard with three or four tables in the middle - absolutely perfect! Once we finished exploring our building, we all decided to cross the bridge to Old Port Royale and get some food. It's a short walk, about 5 minutes at a normal pace. We walked past the feature pool, styled after an old Caribbean fort, and into the food court, which looks like a lively street market. We found a large table got up to get our meals. My father had heard some fairly bad reviews of the CBR food court, but we were extremely pleased with it! The decoration is bright, pretty, and cheerful, but not tacky or childish, and the seating space is perfect - lots of room, but no table is too far away. It has great variety - there are about six different counters, including deli, pasta, pizza, bakery, burger, and roast chicken/ beef stations. In the morning, each one also has a special breakfast menu. All the food that we ate there was quite tasty, and the prices are reasonable. The portions are fairly large, and you can probably eat quite a few meals there without ever eating the same thing twice. Compared to, say, the Colonel's Cotton Mill at Dixie Landings, I would say that the CBR food court has a more attractive and better designed dining area, better selection, and food just as good. At this point I was in serious need of a hot meal, so I decided to go with a classic burger. I realized that I would probably be eating counter service junk, so I was pleasantly surprised when my burger was above average. In fact, everyone seemed to be very pleased with their food. When we finished, Laura and I decided to peruse the gift shop on our way out, and everyone else sat outside at a table by the pool. I bought a few postcards (which I never did mail out =P ) at $.40 each, and Laura saw a very cute pink sundress...that I thought was very cute too. <g> We went outside and sat at the table for a while. My father got up to get coffee, and my mom told him to buy a refillable mug - each resort sells its own plastic souvenir mug for $7.99. It can be filled with anything from the food court's soda machine, including coffee and other drinks. It's definitely worth it if you plan on using the food court several times during your stay, but we were only going to be at CBR for four days, so my dad didn't think it was worth the money. However, my mother insisted, and so my dad came back with one CBR mug. At this time it was around 4:15, and the Marinos' room was ready. My mom went into Centertown (the name of the building that houses the food court, arcade, gift shop, etc.) to use the house phone and see if ours was ready too. The CM told her again that the people before us had late check out, and that they could check out as late as 5:00. My mother told the CM that this was unacceptable; at Old Key West, late check out had been eliminated because it was unfair to the people waiting to check in. The CM briskly told her that the matter was being looked into, and that she could call back in about 15 minutes to see if anything had opened up. The Marinos offered to let my mom use the phone in their room, and so we all walked back to our building. While my mother shifted into battle mode and called the front desk, my father and I hung out in the courtyard with several other families. About fifteen minutes later, my mother came out. The CM had given us a room, but it was in a totally different place from the rest of the group. So she told them that they couldn't do that, because we had been promised before we left home that we would be in the same place as everyone else. The CM kept looking, and found a room right between the Rochas and Miss Lisa. (I guess he really looked hard the first time, huh?) The CM arranged to have someone meet us in the courtyard and give us our keys. Now we were all kind of bored, so the girls wanted to go down to the pool. My bathing suit, of course, was still in the car, so we walked to the parking lot, came back, and I got changed. We walked to the quiet pool where about half of our dance studio was swimming, and we stayed in the water for about 45 minutes. Then most everyone left, and Laura, Nicole, Melissa and I remained. The Caribbean Beach has a huge lake in the middle (hence the bridge to Old Port Royale) that has very pretty white sand beaches with hammocks and small playgrounds on them. The four of us walked along a section of beach for a few minutes and watched some ducks, and then decided to head to the big pool. At this point Nicole left to have dinner with her family (it was about 6:15). And then there were three. We skipped happily down the bridge to Old Port Royale, and swam for about half an hour. Melissa and Laura then wanted to go in the hot tub, but I wanted to unpack and get settled since we had an 8:00 dance team meeting about our performance tomorrow. So I went back to the room and unpacked. By the time I finished and got dressed, it was 7:53, and there was a huge crowd outside in the courtyard. Once everyone arrived, we had a bit of a photo shoot since the whole team was there at once. We then discussed all the last - minute plans for tomorrow. We were scheduled to dance at 11:00 AM, and we were supposed to meet our group coordinator, Sari, backstage at 9:30. We decided to take four cars and stuff dancers, complete with dance bags and garment bags, into each. We would all meet in the courtyard at 9:00, and follow the top-secret directions to the backstage CM entrance which I now know the location of and all of you can't. =D The meeting ended, and the seven seniors decided that now would be the best time to buy the E-ride tickets for Tuesday night. The tickets can only be purchased in WDW, and all ticket-buyers must be present to buy their own pass. Leigh Ann had already gotten hers, so the six of us piled into two cars and my dad and Ralph drove us to the Customs House. Unfortunately for us, the Customs House looks exactly the same in the front as it does in the back. So both cars pulled up to what we thought was the front of the building, and as Melissa, Adrienne and I got out of our car, we watched as a CM told something to Ralph, and he pulled away out of sight. At this point my father had already driven away, so the three of us sat for some time and wondered just where everyone had gone! Finally the other girls popped out the door and waved us in, and we realized that they had driven around to the front, and we had sat in the back for ten minutes. We got on the short line that surprisingly was about 20 minutes long even though there were about four people ahead of us. It seems that at 9:30, CMs feel free to work as slowly as possible and leave their windows whenever they like. =( Anyway, we finally bought our tickets and drove back to the building. We and the Marinos hadn't eaten in nearly seven hours, so now was dinnertime. We had hoped to go out for dinner to Downtown Disney or the Boardwalk, but since it was almost 10:00 and we had a performance tomorrow, it was the food court again. I went to the pasta shop and had a fairly good chicken and broccoli alfredo. It was a huge portion, and it came with bread and a salad - I didn't make a dent in it. My mom had lasagna, and we both compared our entrees to a frozen Russell Stouffer's meal: certainly not gourmet food, but all around pretty good. We went back to our room, and I turned on the TV for a little while. The room is pretty, but in need of a little work. There was some water damage on the carpet by the front door. In fact, all of the carpeting was looking a little shabby. The comforters were a bit old and dirty looking, even though they were clean. I didn't mind the room as much as my parents did, though - they were pretty disappointed in the way it looked. It is an attractive room, however; it just needs some rehab. I turned off the TV and was in bed at 11:15.
Day Two, Monday, August 7 We had set a wake-up call for 6:45, but woke up around 6:30. (And the only reason I did wake up that early was because my parents are noisy <g>) We got dressed and left to get breakfast at the food court. There were some really tasty looking breakfast meals, but unfortunately I couldn't have any of them. I can't dance on anything really heavy or greasy, so it was Raisin Bran for me while I watched my parents have potatoes and eggs and bacon - which, said by a few people, was some of the best bacon they've ever had in a restaurant. Once we got back to the room I did my hair and makeup and packed my garment bag. By 9:10 everyone was in the courtyard, and we piled into our cars. After making a wrong turn on the way, we reached the backstage area behind Splash Mountain. We approached a guard, and once we told him who we were, he got on a walkie-talkie and said, "They're comin' your way." - Disney was so perfectly organized that even the guards were expecting us! We drove further down the road, passing a spare Splash Mountain log flume, and about ten parade floats under a canopy. We then spotted Sari. Disney had provided us with our own personal group coordinator (that would be Sari) who would answer any questions, solve any problems, and generally be in charge of anything regarding the Magic Music Days program. We parked the cars, and Sari led us to a trailer. We entered a small, air conditioned (yay!) dance studio complete with garment racks and stereo equipment. Sari explained that until 10:30 (it was now about 9:40), we had full use of the studio. We could warm up, rehearse our dances, use the stereo; whatever we wanted. We all put on our jazz shoes, and Michael, one of our teachers, warmed us up for about fifteen minutes. We then stretched out a little more, and began to run through our dances. When we had finished, everyone touched up their hair and makeup, finished putting on their costumes, and then it was time to go. Sari came in and gave us directions to another backstage area next to Tomorrowland. We drove over, and she led us through the gate and to our stage. We paraded from youngest to oldest, in full costume, past several hundred people waiting in lines for Buzz Lightyear, Alien Encounter, And Space Mountain. We reached the stage, which was next to Space Mountain and pretty much looked temporary, threw down our bags backstage, and got ready to dance. Everyone was both a little bit nervous and incredibly excited. The senior group was performing the opening number, and so we lined up in the wings and prepared to make our entrance. As we stood on the side, a booming announcement took over Tomorrowland: "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls," said the official voice of Disney, Kevin Miles, "Magic Music Days at Walt Disney World is pleased to present the Bravo Dance Ensemble from Matawan, New Jersey, under the direction of Lisa M. Schneider. Please welcome the Bravo Dance Ensemble!" We danced pretty well - but definitely not our best. The heat was just an overpowering factor, and none of us were really prepared for it. Of course we knew it would be hot, but we didn't realize how difficult it would be to dance under the circumstances. Imagine you're at the Magic Kingdom, touring the parks on one of the hottest days of the year, and it's right before you're mid-day break, so you're ready to collapse. Now imagine that instead of going on rides, you're running laps around the park. And now imagine that, while running, someone has a portable hair dryer and is blowing hot air onto you. That's pretty much what it was like. =) And I'm not exaggerating all that much. (Note: Disney did have a lovely water cooler with cup dispenser backstage, though.) At one point I even started coughing backstage, and I know everyone had a hard time keeping their energy up. Despite how difficult the performance was, however, we all had an amazing time. We got a huge thrill as people started to gather around the stage, stopping their busy schedules to watch us. It was a once in a lifetime performance, and we all had a lot of fun. And when we watched the video tape, we found that we did a pretty good job of hiding our fatigue. We danced well and were proud of ourselves. Once we had finished our dances, we got changed into our normal clothes in back of the stage - a prime location for people on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, who could see all of us from their vantage point. But Disney had told us that no one could strip down at any time, so everyone was prepared for the on-lookers. We exited the same way we came (except of course that on our way out we had our tongues hanging out, panting), and we got into our cars and drove back to the hotel. In the room, I took a lovely long shower, relaxed for a little bit, and got ready to go out. We and the Marinos were going back to the Magic Kingdom for a while, and then everyone (yes, all 65 people) was going to meet at MGM at 4:00. Nicole and Cathy really wanted to go to the Magic Kingdom too, but their families had other things planned. So the two of them also came with us. It was around 12:30 when we left, so we didn't plan on doing very much before heading to the Studios. We hopped on a bus and entered the Magic Kingdom. I have this thing with starting there - the first park we visit absolutely has to be the Magic Kingdom. I have no idea why; it just seems wrong to me if we go anywhere else first. Nicole had last been there when she was about three years old, so everything was brand new to her. It is so awesome to walk down Main Street with a person who's never seen it before! Nicole was like a little kid in Toys R Us. The group headed into Adventureland, and we made the Enchanted Tiki Room our first stop. I had forgotten how much I loved the new show! I really enjoyed myself, much more, I think, than I had when we had come two years before. We crossed over to Pirates of the Caribbean, which had a long but quick moving line. Once we stepped off, everyone felt that it was time for lunch, so we decided on the Pecos Bill Cafˇ. On line, we spotted an odd looking machine. It turned out to be an express order machine that was being tested in Pecos Bill's. You ordered though a touch - sensitive computer and then paid using your WDW room key ( it's for resort guests only.) There was no wait to order this way, and you could be sure that your order came out correctly. We all found that this way of ordering was easy and efficient, and really hope that Disney puts these machines in all of the counter service restaurants. Nearly everyone had the very tasty chicken wrap, and everyone was pleased with the quality of the food. When we finished it was around 3:00, so we headed to the monorail and went to the TTC. We waited nearly 20 minutes for an MGM bus, and then met everyone at the entrance. Somehow, it was decided that we would first watch the Mulan Parade and then go to the Tower of Terror. However, an announcement stated that the parade would be a bit late, so a bunch of us went into Mickey's of Hollywood for a little while. We came out, settled into our parade spots, and waited for the stupid thing to start. OK, I had never even seen the movie, and I'm not a big fan of the Studios parades anyway. Add on to that the fact that everyone was hot and tired and, with 65 people, I felt like a member of a Brazilian tour group, and I think you can see why I was not excited to wait for Mulan. Besides, I always take advantage of the short parade lines, and now I was one of the suckers sitting there on the curb and missing out on the good lines. Needless to say, I thought the parade was a huge waste of time. Of course, so did most everyone else. It was pretty boring, and I figured that now we were about to get on a huge Tower of Terror line because the parade was over. But the line, much to my surprise, was only about 15 minutes long! After a fantastic thirteen story fall (ok, about 5 1/2 thirteen story falls), and scaring my friends, who were first-time riders, everyone walked across the park to the Hunchback show. Upon arriving, we saw that the show didn't start for another 40 minutes. None of the kids wanted to wait in line that long, so Laura and I decided to go check out Star Tours and see if we could get on in time for the show. Now, I hadn't been to WDW in two years. And although I had been there seven times before, I only remembered...okay, four trips, so there's no reason why I should have gotten lost. Really, I usually have a very good sense of direction! But, I'm just not so good at that side of the Studios - I know my way around the Sunset Boulevard side much better! <g> So, Laura and I walked up past Pizza Planet, and past the Christmas shop, except that instead of telling her to turn right, we kept on walking. So we ended up going onto New York Street and returning to the theater. <sheepish grin> When we got back, we decided to just take everyone with us - that would be about 16 kids and 1 parent (Mr. Grimaldi). Once at Star Tours, we saw that the standby line was 40 minutes long. But no one thought it would actually take that long, since Star Tours moves pretty quickly, so we hopped on. About 27 minutes later we were on board. We had a good ride and got back to the theater during the opening number. Most of us took seats on the side wall and met everyone afterward. I thought that Hunchback was good, and I did really enjoy it, but I definitely wouldn't call it the best show in WDW. After some indecision (and about fifteen minutes of standing around and baking in the sun), we all decided to head to Indiana Jones. A few of us wanted to go get drinks while we waited on line, but as soon as we went, the theater opened up. So in we went, hot, and thirsty, and as you can expect, just a wee bit cranky. After the show, which bored me to death, as usual, we stood around again for several minutes. Most people wanted to split up at this point, because traveling in such a huge group was *not* working (and most of us realized it would happen). The senior group decided to head to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The standby line was pretty good at about 45 minutes. We decided to meet our parents at 9:30 in front of Fantasmic, giving us just enough time to ride, and we got on just when we thought we would. Everyone absolutely loved it! It's a really fun coaster. We exited at about 9:25. When we got to our meeting point, only Adrienne's parents were there. It didn't really matter, though, because the CM was announcing that he wasn't lining anyone up yet, and telling people to go ride Tower of Terror because it was empty. We didn't really believe him, especially because now that he was telling everyone to go it was probably filled up. But when we got there, the line was about 6 feet around the corner of the entrance! So we had another ride, and then returned to the front of Fantasmic. Our parents were there this time, but the CM told everyone he wasn't opening up until 10:30. It was now around 9:45, so we all decided to go to the Great Movie Ride. There was no wait, and we even met up with Miss Lisa and Michael. We all sat in the second car (therefore getting the gangster scene), and I even got a special "How you doin'?" from our gangster. When we got off it was around 10:15, and we headed back to Fantasmic. We got on the huge mob of a line, and once we sat, everyone wanted food and drinks. In all fairness, though, our parents had eaten dinner, but we hadn't had anything since lunch, and it was now 11:00. I bought a pretzel, but I didn't really eat much and I gave most of it to Erika and Dana, who are two skinny little toothpicks and probably needed it much more than I did. =) I loved the show, along with everyone else, but we had one huge problem with it - there was no Cinderella!! Was it just our show, or is there never a Cinderella? All the other characters came out, but not her. (I think her dress might have caught on fire <g>) We left the theater sloooowly, and made our way to the exit. Fantasmic prompted several discussions on Disney movies on the way out. For example, we tried to think of all the movies that had no love interests. We came up with Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Winnie the Pooh. Anyone have any more? When we got home I cleaned up my junk a little (yes, I had already managed to get the room messy) and went to bed at-yipes - 1:00.
Day Three, Tuesday, August 8 Our Disney Dancin' workshop was scheduled for 9:00 at Epcot. I woke up at 7:00...but I didn't actually get up until 8. <g> I got ready quickly and met everyone outside at 8:30. We all went to the bus stop, where there was already an Epcot bus loading people. It looked pretty full, so I thought we'd all better wait for the next one. But the bus driver was very aggressive, and when my mother told him that there were about twenty-five more from our party, he gruffly said, "I can fit 'em." (And when I say 'gruffly said,' I mean 'barked out loud.') So my parents, two little girls, Katie and Antoinette, and I stepped onto the bus. Well, by the time we got on there were already no seats left. So I headed to the front of the bus to get off and wait with everyone else. But no, I wasn't allowed. The bus driver said, "No, I can fit you." He then proceeded to let about twenty more people on who were clearly not from our party - he couldn't have been mistaken; we were all wearing dance clothes and Bravo Dance Ensemble T-shirts! I headed defeatedly to the back of the bus, where I found a spot to grip onto the handle for dear life. Antoinette and Katie could have had seats, but gave them to a mother and her son, and they squished themselves between seats and the stairwell, a place where I'm sure people aren't meant to be. Finally, the bus pulled out, and I watched as 80% of our dance team remained at the bus stop. But this was not the end of my troubles! (Come on, that would have made things easy!) I had situated myself right at the top of the stairs, holding onto the railing next to me. I know perfectly well that you're not allowed to stand in the stairwell. But I was still scolded. The bus driver went on the intercom and stated, "Now to all our passengers, you may not stand in the stairwell. If you do I will not hesitate to open these doors while we're driving and let you fly out into the road." I didn't move. I wasn't standing in the stairwell. "Please move out of the stairwell, or I will have to stop this bus." He couldn't mean me! "You are not out of the stairwell." I finally grabbed my purse, which was behind my back, and pulled it across my chest. "Thank you!" Ugh. I bet that he only thought I was in the stairwell because I looked so short - I'm only 4'10"! I *hate* being corrected in front of a crowd. We got off and sat on a bench near the Caribbean Beach bus drop-off. The bus driver put me in a bad mood - what a great way to start the day. Once the rest of the group arrived, we headed to the First Aid Station, located in the Odyssey Center, where we would meet Sari. However, we were missing Melissa, and so we all sat, bleary-eyed, and waited until around 9:15 for her. Once she showed up, Sari led us into the World Showcase and around to Italy. There, we went through a CM door and stepped backstage. Now, none of us were terribly excited for the workshop. Everyone was kind of groggy, and wanted to go tour the parks, not be stuck in a little room for three and a half hours. I think we all expected it to stink and be a waste of time. We were so wrong. Our dance teachers had explained to us that we would first have a mock audition. We entered the large studio and wrote out our names on numbered nametags while "Livin la Vida Mickey" played in the background. The CM in charge of the workshop was David Houde, a wonderful guy who was fantastic to be around, and had performed with the Kids of the Kingdom and Voices of Liberty, and was now in Doug Live!. The first thing we did was learn a combination to a Zip a dee Doo Dah remix, normally performed as the Kids of the Kingdom's opening number. We then had our mock audition. About five people auditioned at a time, and David and Sari described the audition process. Sari jotted things down while we danced, and when each person had finished, David asked questions like, "Do you have any ballet experience?", "Do you tumble at all?", and "Have you ever rollerbladed?" Lol When everyone had finished dancing, we sat and ran through the essentials of auditioning: what to wear, what to bring, how to behave, what to say. Then we had call-backs. The four people called back were Michael (our teacher) Rick, Nicole, and Lauren. This call-back was unusual, however; instead of dancing, they had to lip sync! We all cracked up as they used imaginary microphones. We then learned the finale combination of the Festival of the Lion King. When we had learned the whole thing, we had to lip sync while we danced. Afterward David discussed the importance of expression while performing - adopting a Southern drawl, he imitated an average Disney family: "You know, no one's going to watch your performance and say, 'Marge, these girls have horrible technique. Let's go ride Space Mountain.' " Then we prepared for our "final performance." Here was the scenario: a bunch of business men are having a convention at Coronado Springs, and they have asked Disney to supply some entertainment during a dinner. So, we are hired to perform. David taught us a short little finale combination to a lively swing song. We put all our dances together and rehearsed our program. When we had it down, David announced, "Ok, it's time for you dress rehearsal! Now what do we need for a dress rehearsal?" he asked. "Costumes?" I suggested. "Absolutely! Your costumes!" He walked over to the side of the room and pulled out a huge box. He and Sari proceeded to hand out our exclusive Disney Magic Music Days T-shirts, which were, as David put it, "One size fits nobody." They were all size XXL, and came down to the little ones' shins. But no one really cared; we were having too good a time. We rehearsed the set once more, and then got ready to do our dances for the last time. We lined up on the sides of the room, prepared to make our entrance. The music started, and just as we came out onto the floor, someone burst through the door - Goofy! Goofy came and danced with us (he knew the combinations! =), and the cassette tape even had Goofy's voice on it while he talked to us. Everyone was beaming. We finished our set with Goofy, and all gathered around him for a group hug. We then posed for a group picture. David crouched on the side, and Goofy literally slid to the ground on his side and propped himself up with his elbow. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous workshop. We received a special millennium Magic Music Days plaque for our dance studio, thanked David and Sari profusely, and said goodbye. Sari opened up a separate studio for us to get changed in, and we gathered outside under a canopy that covered the small complex. We stood, gushing about the last 3 1/2 hours. Really, no one expected to have that much fun. And we even learned a lot - the whole thing was just filled with tips on auditions and performances. If anyone ever signs up for a Magic Music Days program, I would without a doubt recommend registering for the workshop. It was definitely the most well-done workshop I've ever attended. We had a fantastic time, and David was just the best. We left the backstage area at a little after 12:30, and walked out to the front of Italy to meet our parents. It was, of course, blazing hot, and although there had been a lovely water fountain under the canopy backstage, I was pretty thirsty after dancing. We took another group shot on the bridge across the street, and then I got a very yummy frozen strawberry drink. Everyone split up, and several families (the Marinos, the Rochas, the Pisanos and us) took the boat across the lagoon. Our parents had gotten us Fast Passes for Test Track while we were dancing, so we walked over to the pavilion and were right on time. We waited for only about 7 minutes, and I had my first ride on it. I think it's my mother's new favorite! She doesn't do thrill rides, but she really enjoyed herself, and so did my father and I. Afterward, a few of us walked through MouseGear. My parents and I decided to just go back to the hotel and have some lunch at the food court. We took the bus back, and I flopped on my bed for a few minutes before getting changed into my bathing suit. We walked to the food court, and since my dinner PS was at 5:30, I decided on a light chicken salad sandwich. It turned out to be much to mayonnaise-y for my liking, though, so I didn't really eat anything. But that was alright with me, because I'd just have a big dinner later. Afterward, we wanted to swim, but since we couldn't really find any chairs, we headed to the quiet pool. But, wouldn't you know it, when we got there literally every chair was taken. At this point, Dad and I went back to the big pool but Mom decided to bag it. She went back to the room, and we walked back across the bridge and found a small chair. I saw all my friends, who had already been in the pool for about half an hour. So I went in, swam for about 37 seconds, and then everyone left, so I went back to get ready to go out. At about quarter of 5, Cathy called my room in a distressed voice. She had left Epcot an hour and a half ago, and had just gotten back then. She said she'd get ready as fast as she could, and by the time she came out it was only 5:15. So we all took the bus to Downtown Disney's West Side and I checked in at House of Blues. We were seated right away. The place wasn't really empty, but I could see it gets much more packed later at night. The decor is very lively and colorful, with art from galleries all over the place, and a ceiling made of blue carved silhouettes of legendary musicians. There was a small platform with musical equipment on it, obviously for the band that plays live every night. We had really wanted to go late enough to hear them, but we just had so much we wanted to do that we couldn't fit it. The menu was interesting but not too strange. In fact, several things looked good to me. Nicole, Adrienne, Cathy and I all had the same thing - a mushroom chicken pasta dish. When it first came I worried that it would be really spicy, but it wasn't; it was delicious. I devoured it! Everyone liked their food, and the service was excellent too (aside from the fact that the waitress spilled some lemonade on Cathy. That wasn't as excellent.). But that was probably because it was so early. <g> The bill was $127.85 with gratuity. Cathy didn't feel well, so she took the bus home and agreed to meet us in front of Mexico at 9:00. The rest of us went next door into House of Blues' pricey souvenir shop, and when we finished browsing we took the bus to the Beach Club. We had planned on walking to Epcot, catching the 8:10 parade, and then meeting our parents, who were eating in Mexico, for Illuminations. We walked through the lobby, and then I became insane. Ok, I don't know what I was thinking, but somehow I had it in my head that we were supposed to turn right at the back of the Beach Club and walk toward the Swan and Dolphin. Never mind that I saw no sign of Epcot that way; I was certain that we were going in the right direction. Well, it would have helped things if some people weren't horribly slow and walking 15 feet behind the rest of us (Nicole and Laura! Nicole and Laura!). So we walked all the way to the Boardwalk entrance before turning back. I decided to give it up, walk to the marina and just take the boat. And then I saw the bridge. (And a little light went on in my head and I thought, "Oh yeah..." =P ). Leigh Ann was relieved - she doesn't like boats. Everyone griped a little (I was supposed to be their Disney expert, after all), but they shut up quickly and we entered Epcot. At about 8:00 we found a spot next to Morocco that was totally empty, and we sat on the curb as the parade began. I had heard that Tapestry of Nations was fantastic and not to be missed. We didn't think so. I was so disappointed! The parade was so monotonous, and the puppets weren't anything special. Sure, they were interesting, but they shouldn't have been the high point of the parade! I really thought it was going to be better. Once the parade was over, we had about 15 minutes to walk from Morocco to Mexico and get a spot for Illuminations. We practically ran, mostly because we had to meet Cathy. Once we arrived in Mexico, Cathy joined us as we searched for some half-decent spots. Once we had some staked out, Laura, Adrienne and I went into the San Angel Inn and met our parents. They were still eating, so we told them we'd be across the street. We watched Illuminations, which I thought was awesome but got a little boring when the projections on the globe kept going on and on. I was pleased with it, though. Once the show was over, everyone joined in the mad dash to the exit. We took the monorail to the TTC and then to the Magic Kingdom, and we watched the fireworks ending as we pulled up. On E-Ticket Night, guests exchange their passes for wristbands at a counter next to City Hall, so the seven of us got on the line, which was about ten minutes long. When we finished it was about 10:20, and we decided to go on a ride that wouldn't be open later on. Nicole had this whole childhood memory thing with It's a Small World ( "I think I actually might remember it!"). Leigh Ann went off with her family, who had also purchased E-Ticket passes, and would meet us later, and the six of us booked it to Fantasyland. We went on and Nicole sat with a silly smile on her face the whole time, pointing at things and saying, "Oh! Look at the clowns! The penguins! I remember them!" It was a lovely ride. When we got off, we admired the castle for a bit and took some photos, and then searched for a spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade. We found some good seats on the street to the side of the castle, took off our shoes and sat. We were all kind of run-down, especially because today was probably the hottest day yet, but we really wanted to keep going. I offered to make a run for drinks, but just as I did, of course, the parade started. Everyone loved the electrical parade! It was so cheerful and fun. We headed to Alien Encounter when it was over and met up with Leigh Ann. The ride was closed until E-Ride Night officially started, so we waited for five minutes and then went on. We all came out very happy for some reason, and walked to Space Mountain. The line was very long and wasn't moving at all, so we sent Nicole and Laura across to the Lunching Pad for drinks. Well, as soon as they left, the ride, which had apparently been closed, suddenly opened. The line started moving, and we stood next to the entrance of the building and waited. We stood there for a bit over 15 minutes. I don't know what we were thinking, because we couldn't bring drinks inside, but we kept waiting. So Nicole and Laura finally returned, and we got on the line. We got up to the entrance where we had been waiting (don't ask me why we hadn't just stepped off the line), and the CM reminded us that we couldn't bring the drinks in. Sigh. We decided to go to Frontierland, the only other land open, and finish our drinks on the way. The line for Splash Mountain was only 15 minutes, so we stepped on. After the first-timers kept getting faked out by mini-drops, we got off and walked over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The wait time posted was 10 minutes, but it actually took close to 20 to get on. When we came off, it was already 1:05, and the park was closing in less than an hour! We pretty much ran to Tomorrowland and hopped on the Space Mountain line, which was 15 minutes long. Once the ride ended, everyone got back on line and rode again. It was exactly 2:00 AM when we stepped off the second time, everything was closed, so we headed out and took the packed bus back. We all said goodbye for the night (glad to be away from each other for a while =) , and I went to sleep at 3:30.
Day Four, Wednesday, August 9 I was awakened at 8:30 by a phone call from Nicole. Today was water park day, and several families were planning on going to Typhoon Lagoon. Nicole said that everyone was going to meet in the courtyard at 9:30, so I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed. At 9:00, Dad went to the food court to get breakfast, and Mom and I met him in the courtyard when we finished getting ready. He got me an absolutely scrumptious apple cinnamon muffin which I ate as everyone wandered outside. Only the Marinos, half the Rochas (Nancy, Nicole, and Lauren) and our family were going, so we took 2 cars to Typhoon Lagoon. Once at the park, we found six regular (non-lounge) chairs, slathered on sunscreen and went to the wave pool. Nicole, Laura and I wandered past everyone else. When the tidal waves were about to begin, Laura wanted to swim all the way out, but Nicole and I hesitated. Ok, let me clarify something: Laura is a fish. Literally. She's a tiny little goldfish that the Marinos carry around in a small container. (They won her at a carnival last summer, and she's been dancing with us ever since.) =D Anyway, Nicole and I began to follow her, but we don't have the will to tread water for fifteen minutes straight. So we turned around, went back to where we were, and watched Laura the Fish from afar. After a few huge waves, everyone got out, and we made our way to Gangplank Falls, one of the family raft rides. The line was huge (about 40 minutes long), and once we got on we had a good ride, but it is incredibly short! It's a little disappointing. Afterward, we rode the Storm Slides - my favorite at Typhoon Lagoon. I enjoy them because they're fun water slides minus the wedgies. We then walked right next door to Humunga Kowabunga. As Nicole, Laura and I stepped on line, we spotted Melissa, who also saw us and got on line. She was there with her family, but everyone else was at the wave pool. After a naturally long wait, we went down the 50 foot drop (with the bonus wedgies this time). We joined our families, who were waiting at the viewing bleachers. By now we were all pretty hungry, but we had to pass the raft rides to get food anyway, so everyone decided to stop and do one more ride before lunch. We got on line for Keelhaul Falls. I wasn't really impressed with it, possibly because I was in such bad need of a break. We headed over to Leaning Palms for lunch, and the moms went looking for tables large enough for us. I ordered the Deli sandwich combo, which most people had overlooked. It was comprised of deli meats and cheeses (turkey, provolone, and two other things), tomatoes, lettuce, and some sort of salad dressing on focaccia bread - extremely tasty, and a huge portion - I only finished half. Of course, the table space wasn't quite so generous; we were all squished (but then again there were ten people in our party!). During lunch my father had told everyone else about Shark Reef, so we decided to go. Only Laura, Nicole, Steven, Lauren, and I chose to go snorkeling, though. We got on line for equipment, and the CM, for some reason, handed me the small, child - sized green vest. Nicole and Laura both received the larger, young adult, purple ones. I don't know why he thought it would fit; I'm only a couple inches shorter than them and not any smaller otherwise. The thing didn't zip up, and when I handed it back to him, he asked me, shocked, "It doesn't *fit*? Gosh, who would have thought? =) I got my purple vest, picked up a mask, and walked with everyone around to the pool entrance. And then I kinda freaked out. I tried on the mask, and, having never snorkeled before, wasn't used to having my nose plugged up. On top of that, the pipe thingy that stays out of the water kept flipping backward, so that if I went underwater, my lungs would have flooded nicely. >=( So I got a bit discouraged, and I chickened out. Mainly I was just scared of snorkeling and cold water. I went back around to return my stuff. The only cleaning that the equipment gets between use is a dunking into a vat of something that looks like plain water, but hopefully is a germ-killing liquid. =) I scrubbed my stuff in the water, returned it at the counter, and walked to the bridge over the pool, where all the parents were. I was really bummed out and disappointed, because it would have been a pretty cool experience, but I was just freaked out at the thought of snorkeling with out really knowing how to. I didn't feel like watching the girls float and watch fish, so my parents and I walked to the wave pool, where everyone would meet us later. I sat against the side of one of those fake rocks at the front of the pool and sulked. Just a little. I wasn't really feeling well (I was exhausted from the night before), so sulking at a shady spot in shallow water was just what I needed. In about 20 minutes everyone returned, and I joined Laura and Nicole in the wave pool. Mrs. Rocha joined us as the tidal waves came, and Laura went all the way out again. We stayed in the pool for about a half an hour, and then packed up and left. When we got to our room, I changed into my coziest clothes - an XL Old Navy T-shirt and huge cotton pants. I crashed on my bed and decided to watch some TV. We had received a message the previous night that from 12:30 - 2:30 in the afternoon the electricity would be turned off for technical reasons. Fine with us, we would be out. But when I switched our TV on, it was set at channel 2 and wouldn't move up or down, even when using the buttons on the set itself. So I watched Judge Joe Brown for a while. None of us cared enough to report it, as we would be checking out the next morning. Tonight was our dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafˇ and fireworks cruise. Our PS was for 6:30. It had originally been for 7:20, but when the Westerkamps decided to join in, our group had 20 people in it, so we had to make it earlier. This turned out to be a *very* good move. We left at 5:55 to drive to Wilderness Lodge. Everyone had arrived by 6:20, but our hostess informed us that she wouldn't have tables ready for about 20 minutes. No one really minded waiting in the lobby, and our tables were ready at 6:35. There were three tables for all of us: one seated 5, so Cathy, Dana, Laura, Adrienne, and I sat there; another had just enough space for all the boys plus Mr. and Mrs. Cuevas; and the rest of the parents sat at the last. Our waiter was Charlie Horse, the loudest waiter there. I made him a special folded thingy out of my straw wrapper, and he wore it in his hat all night. I ordered the Rosemary chicken, which was so-so. It came with cinnamon apples that tasted very much like applesauce, which I have never liked, and home fry hash brown thingies. The food was okay, but not as good as I have remembered it in the past. Where the food was lacking, though, the entertainment made up for it. We sang "You Are My Sunshine" to a girl who was saying goodbye to her roommates, scolded a family for being late to their PS, and, of course, donated ketchup to a needy table. Now, it just so happened that it was Dana's twelfth birthday, so as Charlie Horse came around to clear our dishes, Laura said (practically yelled, I mean) "By the way, Dana, Happy Birthday!" Our waiter's ears perked up, and he came over as Dana glared at us. "Is today your birthday?" he asked. She nodded reluctantly. Dana ended up having to ride a wooden horse around the restaurant while we (the entire restaurant) sang Happy Birthday. She even got her own little dessert (but she wasn't hungry, and then she felt bad for wasting it so she ate two bites and then mushed it with her fork so it would look eaten). After dinner, which lasted until 9:00, everyone made some restroom stops. Cathy and I walked over, and as we passed payphones, one started ringing! Well, no one was around to answer it, so I took it upon myself to pick up the phone. It was a lovely conversation (hehe): "Hello, Wilderness Lodge!" I sang. "Hi, can I have Kim Johnson's room, please?" "I'm sorry, you need to call the front desk. This is just a payphone." "Oh! Ok, sorry. Bye." "Bye! Have a nice day!" <giggles> When everyone was done, we said goodbye to the Westerkamps, since they wouldn't be joining in for the boat ride. We walked out past the pool and arrived at the marina at exactly 9:30. We were taking two boats, but only one driver was there so we waited a bit for the other. My family took the boat with the Grimaldis, and our CM was Captain Chris. Chris took us into Bay Lake and made a circle around the perimeter, so that we passed the former Discovery Island (which he said will probably be made into an island of honeymoon suites), River Country, and the Contemporary. We rode back into the Seven Seas Lagoon, going past the Polynesian and then stopping to watch the Electrical Water Pageant. Afterward, we pulled in front of the Magic Kingdom, and about 2 minutes later, the fireworks began. It was a beautiful night, and also a cool one because it had rained while we were eating. Captain Chris was full of information (as any self-respecting captain should be =), and told us that the next theme park built will most likely be a thrill ride-type park. (Which I don't think is breaking news... I hadn't heard of it, but is anyone already familiar with this?) When we docked back at Wilderness Lodge, Cathy, Adrienne, Laura, and I decided to look around in the lobby gift shop instead of standing around and watching the pool like everyone else. (I mean, it's not like the pool was really busy. We were pretty much staring at three families like stalkers.) We walked in, and noticed a couple of mannequins in the entrance - with shrubs for heads! Maybe we were just tired, but Laura and I saw this and started cackling like maniacs. A few people even turned and stared. But it was funny! The shrubs even came off! lol We browsed for a few minutes, and then sat in the lobby as the others came back inside. Everyone chatted for a while, and then we called it a night. Once at the hotel, we said goodbye to everyone in sight, because 1) a lot of people were leaving in the next couple of days, and 2) my parents and I were moving into Old Key West the next morning. So I hugged everyone twice (yes, we see each other 5 times a week at home. What's your point? It's Saved by the Bell Goes Hawaiian, remember? And no, I've never seen Saved by the Bell Goes Hawaiian. Stop asking questions, you're going to make me cry!). I packed all my stuff, and went to bed.
Day 5, Thursday, August 10 Today was breakfast at the Crystal Palace, and the Keys to the Kingdom tour for Dad and I. We were also going to do a Fantasmic dinner package at the Brown Derby, but decided to bag it since we saw Fantasmic on Monday. I woke up around 6:00 and got ready. At 7:00 we took our bags to the car, and then drove to the Polynesian to take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. It was an early entry day, so we walked leisurely to the Crystal Palace, taking in the beautiful, empty morning scenery. We got in line at the Crystal Palace and gave our name. We sat a bench for about five minutes, and then our name was called and we went inside. Our server, Shilo, seated us and brought us some OJ, and told us that the characters would be over soon so we should go get our food. Everything was delicious! My favorites were the au gratin potatoes, the puffed French toast (so good it didn't even need syrup), and the fritatta. There was tons of fresh fruit, and my Dad had a carrot muffin that was "the best muffin I've ever had in my life." He ate three of them. Piglet and Pooh came around to give me hugs, and when Eeyore arrived, he wanted a picture very badly, so we posed for a very sweet photo. We left at around 8:15, and since we didn't have to report to City Hall for the tour until 9:45, we decided to head to Fantasyland and see what we could get on. Pooh already had a huge line, but the Fast Pass time was for 9:05 so we got them and then walked to Snow White. The wait there was listed for ten minutes, but we waited less than five. Afterward, we went on It's a Small World, which really looks great since its recent rehab. When we came off it was exactly 9:07, so we headed to Winnie the Pooh and had our first ride ever on it. I absolutely loved it! I thought the theming was great, and it was a huge improvement over Mr. Toad. When we got off, we still had about 25 minutes before the tour. Peter Pan's line was way too long, so we strolled down Main Street, took some photos and killed time. Mom and I stopped in some shops, while Dad went to City Hall to check us in. When we met him there at 9:45, he gave me my name tag, and we said goodbye to Mom. While we were on the tour, her plan was to hang out at Old Key West and check in, and we would meet her somewhere around Turtle Crawl at 2:30, since the tour would be ending at 2:00 (or so we thought.) I won't spoil the Keys to the Kingdom tour for anyone, but I'll give you an overview. We were in each of the lands at some point, except for Mickey's Toontown Fair, and everywhere we went, Jerry, our tour guide, had something to say about what we were looking at. For example, the dragon topiary toward the entrance of Tomorrowland is the only topiary that still remains from opening day. We got to go into the Utilidors and look around a lot, which was probably my favorite part - it was nice to see things from a CM's point of view. We saw some parade floats backstage, and even got to ride the Haunted Mansion, entering through the service exit. I learned one of the most interesting facts in Liberty Square - the Liberty Bell there is an exact replica, and was made from precisely the same mold that the original was made in. All they did was put in a crack by hand. And the really cool part: Jerry said to us, "Anyone want to know what the Liberty Bell sounds like?" And he rang it. Now how many people can say that they know what the Liberty Bell's ring sounds like? The tour was very informative, but had a huge downside - it ended at 3:30 (we ran half an hour late, but I think that can be expected), making it 5 1/2 hours long. And it is definitely a strenuous tour. We took two breaks, but it wasn't enough to help. The tour is all walking all the time, and we stopped many times out in the sun to discuss something. It's very different from just walking around and going on rides, because instead of sitting down in the air conditioning for five minutes at a time, we just kept going. It was absolutely exhausting. That having been said, the tour was also a great source of information. Of course, I thought some parts were a bit boring, but for the most part everything was interesting and I learned a lot. Everywhere we went I was bombarded with information. Right now, if you plopped me into the Magic Kingdom and pointed at anything at all, I could tell you something about it. I guarantee it. Even the pavement. (Yup, we learned stuff about the pavement! Hehe) The tour was $41 per person (with a DVC discount), and I though it was worth it. But if you do decide to go on it, be prepared for the walking - it's much worse than a normal touring of the parks. I would even recommend carrying a water bottle, which I don't regularly do. And now you get to hear the cutest part of the tour: In the Utilidors, a few of us were waiting for the elevator, and Tweedle Dee stepped off. He was still wearing his head, probably because he thought I was too young to see the CMs backstage. Well, we started chatting with him (he just gestured), and Jerry said to him, "You know, Casey here just had her birthday, and she's the youngest person on our Keys to the Kingdom tour today." So Tweedle Dee waddled over to me and gave me a big Disney character hug. Then he said, "Oh, so I can talk in front of her?" He lifted of his head to reveal a very attractive twenty-something, and said to me in a serious voice, "Enjoy your stay at Walt Disney World." And he turned and walked out the door. =) So, when the tour ended it was a bit after 3:30, and my father and I figured that my mom must have been completely confused and worried. We had cell phones with us, but they didn't work when we tried to call her. So we booked it to the front of the park, where the afternoon parade was still going on, and crossed in front of some sea creatures who were dancing with people from the audience. We caught the OKW bus, and it took us until after 4:00 to reach the Hospitality House. She wasn't there, so we searched the whole pool and boardwalk. When we didn't find her, we went back to the Hospitality House, and my dad got on line to see if she had left any messages. We weren't in there 5 minutes before she came in, looking horribly flustered, hot, and aggravated. Just as she came over to us, a woman approached us with our "new keys." Mom explained that they had given us a horrible building that was all the way in the back of the resort and wasn't within walking distance of anything. She had driven over there to check it out, and upon seeing it, called back and asked for a different location. Our new keys were for building 12, which was right across the street from Turtle Crawl. Since each of us was hot and yucky, we stopped into the General Store for a couple of drinks, and then parked the car in front of the building. After we brought up the luggage, we all flopped onto the couch and thought of a plan for tonight. We hadn't done anything in Epcot except Test Track (well, my parents had done stuff while I was at the workshop, but we'll ignore them. =), so we decided to head over there, get a snack since no one was hungry enough for dinner yet, and have dinner after we left. Afterward, we would get some groceries at Goodings in the Crossroads shopping center. I got ready to go out again, and we drove to Epcot at around 6:00. We decided to send Dad over to Test Track on the off chance that there were any FPs left, but we didn't have much hope. Mom and I walked to the Fountainview Cafˇ, a family favorite (my father can sit and watch that fountain all day long, and the hot chocolate here is awesome), and in doing so, we got caught in the rain for the first time. Luckily, both of my parents carried a mini-umbrella, which are wonderful because I like to point and laugh at all the people in ponchos. (lol just kidding) Once inside, Mom and I got on line and oohed and ahhed at the desserts in the display case. I ordered the Snickers cheesecake, which was good but a little too nutty-tasting. Dad rejoined us without FPs as we were ordering, and we all sat and ate our snacks. Dad and I both had the lemonade, and, upon my first sip, I found that it tasted like dirty foot water. My father, on the other hand, thought it was fine. (But I think he'll just drink anything. =) I took the drink to the girl at the counter, who didn't think it looked right either, and gave me a Sprite instead. When we finished, we decided to head to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. When we got there, though, they had just let everyone in, so we decided to get FPs, which were for 8:05. We walked over to Journey Into Your Imagination and got on. Ugh. See, I don't think it would have been that bad, if only they were trying to be cute, like the old show, and not cool and high-tech - like. But they tried to make it hip and clever or something, and it turned out horribly. Another thing I hated - at the part where the constellations form, they're still going when you can't see them anymore. At least that part was a little interesting, and they don't let you see all of it! When we got off, it was 8:01, and when we got to Honey I Shrunk the Audience, it was 8:03. The elderly CM let us in anyway. During the show, my "mice" didn't work, and I didn't really enjoy it. In fact, on the contrary to MuppetVision 3D, each time I see Honey I like it less, while I keep loving Muppets more and more. Afterward, we were going to go to the World Showcase and do El Rio del Tiempo, Maelstrom, and the Millennium Village, but I wasn't feeling well again. I felt very tired and weak, so we decided to just stay in Future World. I don't really think my parents wanted to do the World Showcase anyway, as we were all felling pretty beat. So we went to the Wonders of Life Pavilion and waited 5 minutes for Body Wars. We then were on our way out, but Mom decided to go to the entrance for a restroom break, so Dad and I decided to go to Ice Station cool. My parents had gone already on Tuesday morning, so I just wanted to check it out quickly. I tried the Chinese watermelon one, but it kind of reminded me of a medicine I used to take when I was younger. I liked the Mexican apple soda, though. And then, I decided to lick the Beverly. I wanted to taste it just to see how horrible it really was, so instead of actually drinking any, I licked the inside of my cup. Yeah, it's gross. I was expecting that. We left Ice Station Cool, and my father decided to sit down on a curb/ planter thingy and watch the fountain. However, my mother was waiting and I wanted to leave, so I finally dragged him up, and we caught up with my mom at Spaceship Earth. Seeing Spaceship Earth, I decided to just do one more thing, especially because it's dark and quiet in there. (hehe) So we walked right on, and I half-slept through the ride. We left and drove back to OKW, where we decided on dinner at Olivia's. We were all so tired that we just barely enjoyed our meal. Our lack of sleep had really caught up with us today, so when we finished eating our meals (which were great, as usual - I even took home my pasta), we chose to just go to the General Store for some things for breakfast, and to go to Goodings tomorrow. We bought some orange juice and English muffins and then headed home, where I took a long bath in my own private bathroom (my favorite feature of the OKW 2 - bedroom) before heading to bed.
Day Six, Friday, August 11 Today was one of our two Universal Studios Days. The Marinos hadn't left yet and were going to Islands of Adventure, and they had called the night before so we could get together. We were going to meet in front of Spiderman at 8:30. We left OKW a little late at 8:00 and drove to Universal. We opted to pay the additional $10 for "preferred parking" at the garage, and even though it was much closer than the other parking lots, it was still a bit if a hike to the entrance. I already knew of City Walk, the shopping and dining complex that Universal forces you to walk through before reaching the entrances. City Walk is stupid and annoying. Just wanted to say that. We headed into Islands of Adventure, and, since we had Multi-Day Escape Passes, we received our Express Pass at the gate. Universal offers all guests with multiple day passes a card that works basically like a Fast Pass, but only from 7-10 AM. Islands of Adventure is divided into 6 "Islands" - Port of Entry, Marvel Superhero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, the Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing - situated around a lake. We went clockwise, starting with Superhero Island. By the time we got to Spiderman, it was 8:45, and the Marinos were nowhere in sight. We sat down on a curb and watched as the ride was "temporarily shut down." At 8:50 it was back up, so we decided that either the Marinos were on line while it had broken down, or they had just gone on some other ride. So we went on. For some reason there wasn't anyone taking our Express Passes, so we just went onto the normal line. After about 20 minutes on the line, we saw the Marinos about 150 people in front of us. The line went on for 10 more minutes, and then we stepped on. This ride is definitely awesome, but I don't give Universal credit for creating any new technology. They just took various forms of technology and put them together, forming a moving 3D simulator with special effects. Amazing and entertaining, yes, but we've seen all these elements before, just not all together. I also thought that it still lacked that Disney touch of really putting together a story and having you experience that story, even though there was a plot. But it's still a fabulous ride and we all had fun. Once we got off, we met up with the Marinos. Since neither of my parents go on roller coasters (non-Disney roller coasters, that is), today was my only day to try out the ones at Islands of Adventure. We headed to the Hulk, and Ralph, Laura and I got on line, while everyone else lingered around that area. Using our Express Passes, we walked all the way up to the loading dock without one single person in front of us, and stepped right on. This is a great roller coaster - it shoots you out at a high speed, goes right into a corkscrew, has huge loops - awesome for coaster fans. When we got off, we all went to Toon Lagoon and walked to Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, a river rapids ride. The Express Pass attendant directed us to go in through the exit to cut all the lines - pretty cool! The ride was lots of fun, and much longer, I understand, than Kali River Rapids. Since we were all completely drenched anyway, we went to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (or Fake Splash Mountain =). It was 10:00 on the nose, but the guy wouldn't let us in. Grrr.... We got on the huge line, and got on in about 40 minutes. Ripsaw Falls is just horrible. Ok, the drop is more intense than Splash Mountain's. And then everything goes downhill (no pun intended... hee hee hee Gosh I'm funny =P ). The Audio - Animatronics were a joke. A good portion of the ride was cardboard standup figures whose arms waved, set against the backdrop of steel walls and a wooden platform. The quality of this ride was totally non-existent. There wasn't really anything else to do in Toon Lagoon, so we walked into Jurassic Park. We were very wet, so we went on Jurassic Park River Adventure to get even wetter. Steven doesn't like drops, so Ralph stayed with him outside while the rest of us went on. The wait was only about ten minutes, and we all were put into the front row. The ride is pretty cute, but the dinosaurs aren't great. I thought they could look much, much better. When we got off, Laura went on again with her father. I sat drying out in the sun, and my mom and I shared a ginger ale while my dad took some videotape. In fact, he videotaped Jurassic Park River Adventure just as Laura and Ralph came down the drop! Once the two of them met us, we all headed to Triceratops Encounter. Laura and I didn't really want to wait on line to see an Animatronic dinosaur, so we went to the Lost Continent and decided on Dueling Dragons. We found the entrance to the roller coasters, and walked to the end of the line. We walked through caves, walked past skeletons, walked on a couple of bridges. And we kept on walking. It took - get this - literally seven minutes to get to the point where the line began! 7 minutes! I honestly have never seen a queue area that big before. I seriously doubt that Universal ever fills it. Dueling Dragons is two roller coasters - Fire and Ice. We got on line for Ice while Laura clipped her sandals to her shorts, because this is a suspended roller coaster, which leaves your feet hanging in the air. I took a picture of her. =) (You can see this picture and many, many more from our vacation, including the previously mentioned photo of Eeyore and I, at our album on Photopoint. The address is at the end of the report. I'd make a good advertiser, wouldn't I? <g>) We had a fun ride, and really liked the point at which the 2 coasters miss each other by only 2 feet or so. There's an exit right after the ride that allows you to step onto the end of the line again, so we got back on line. It moves pretty quickly up until the point where you step onto the line for a certain row. Laura and I decided to wait for the front row. The wait time for it was posted at nearly half an hour, but we wanted to go for it. So we got in line, and five minutes later, the ride broke down. We couldn't keep everyone waiting, so we got off (so did everyone else, so we were pretty mad that we couldn't stay on) and looked for everyone outside. I have to say that Islands of Adventure is really a beautiful park. Each island is themed very well and is quite detailed. The landscaping is wonderful - it's a pretty park to wander around in. I really think that the atmosphere is up to Disney standards (although certainly not everything is). We didn't see anyone, so we looked around in a shop for a few minutes to get out of the sun. We spotted our families ten minutes later. Everyone was really hungry (and hot and tired, yada yada yada), and we walked into Seuss Landing for some lunch. We checked out the Green Eggs and Ham Cafˇ, but the seating was outdoors and no one wanted to bake. Luckily, though, there was another restaurant nearby - Circus McGurkus Cafˇ Stoo-pendous. So once we figured out the name <g>, we headed into the air conditioning. It was a cafeteria-style restaurant, decorated in a silly, bright, and zany manner. The railings forming the queues were curvy, going up and down, and the condiment stands were crooked. There were colorful, contrasting patterns everywhere, and all of the tables were made to look strangely shaped. Toward one side there was a huge circus-type platform, and about every half hour a guy would come out and sing a song or two. The place was pretty cute looking. We found a huge table and got on line. Pretty much all they offered was pizzas, pasta, chicken, and salads. I decided on lasagna, which I was pleased with. During lunch, I suggested to my parents that tonight we have a quiet, relaxing sit - down dinner. Even though we had gone to Olivia's the night before, we had been too tired to enjoy it. After lunch (and a scrumptious oatmeal cookie for dessert), we went back into the Lost Continent. My father had heard that Poseidon's Fury was really good, and it was sort of like Fantasmic, but inside a theater. We approached the front, where an employee told us that the wait would be 40 minutes long. It was a pain, but everyone wanted to see it before we left, so we hopped on the line. Well, first of all it was absolutely freezing inside. I had an extra T-shirt with me in case my shirt got wet on water rides, but hadn't used it because I had worn my bathing suit top on those rides. So I wrapped that around me so tight I think I stretched it. Well, the theater opened up in about 10-15 minutes. 40 minute wait?? As we approached the doors, Rae read a sign: "Poseidon's Fury. An amazing walk - through adventure of..." We had all thought it was a theater... the kind with seats! Well, Poseidon's Fury turned out to be an incredibly stupid show (if you can even call it that) in which you walk through three rooms, stopping at each one to watch a part of it. The whole point is basically that Poseidon wants to kill us all because, well, he's a jerk, and then Zeus, his brother, comes to stop him. Meanwhile, all that happens is this: "I don't like you!" says Poseidon, "So I'm going to splash lots of water in front of you. Splash, splash! Mist Mist Mist. Splash!" "No! You're eeeevil!" says Zeus, " So I will make fire! Flame flame flame! Flame!" And then the audience proceeds to rub their hands together in front of the fire, which is quite welcome because the theater is a refrigerator. The end! =P So after we exited this fabulous example of quality entertainment, we looked out the doors of the exit to see that it was pouring. We waited in the dim hallway for about ten minutes, but then got bored, so we went outside into an alcove beside the theater. During these fifteen minutes, Laura and I started to get giggly, so when we shared an umbrella and went outside once the rain had lightened up, we were laughing crazily at silly things. We had all decided to ride The Cat in the Hat, so we trotted through Seuss Landing again and reached the ride. The wait was only about ten minutes long. This ride is incredibly cute! It's a fun ride through the story, complete with great scenery and vehicles that make a few spins along the way. When we all got off the ride, we headed to the exit. The Marinos were going to check out City Walk for some restaurants for later, so we said goodbye and went back to OKW. Since our only plans for tonight were dinner and Goodings, I decided that later on I'd stop in Hank's Rent 'n' Return and get a movie...I was really in the mood for some Disney cartoons. =) When we got home, I changed into my cozy clothes again, and fell asleep on the couch. We all napped for 3 hours! I woke up around 6:30, and finally dragged myself up at 6:45. My parents got up a couple minutes later. I got dressed again, and then we had to choose where to go for dinner. We thought about going to hotel restaurants, but ultimately decided to go to the Crossroads, where my dad remembered hearing about "someplace good" on RADP. We got in the car and stopped by Hank's. I rented The Little Mermaid and Toy Story - I couldn't decide between them. Hehe. Afterward, we drove to the Crossroads and found the "good" place, which was a restaurant called Pebbles. We walked in and were seated immediately into a comfortable U-shaped booth, just big enough for three or four people. The place was perfectly busy - not too crowded, but not empty. The decor reminded me of a cozy but contemporary living room. There were plants, a couple of small fountains, and lamps scattered about. It was very pretty in a brick-like granite wall covering, and there was a divider with a small window separating the other part of the dining room from us. Overhead were ceiling fans, giving the place a comfy and sleek look. The service was outstanding. Our waitress, Joanna, was friendly and outgoing, gave us tips on the food, and never let our drinks become empty. The food was just as good - I had an incredible cream of broccoli soup and rosemary-lemon pasta. Apparently, all of their soups are excellent. My father had a black bean soup that he raved about for days. The prices were non-Disney, but everything else was up to par. And my favorite part? They had - ready? - black straws! Lol! For some reason I just fell in love with them. I told Joanna how cute I thought they were, and she came back with a cup filled with them! I also loved that my leftovers came in a Chinese take out box, and Joanna told me that my pasta tasted really good cold. We had a wonderful dinner. Pebbles is our new family favorite! I can't recommend this place enough. It's just across the street from Disney property, is a bit cheaper than most restaurants on property, and has fabulous food and service. Go here! While we were eating, we decided on a schedule for the last few days: Saturday - Animal Kingdom in the morning Epcot at night Sunday - Universal Studios Escape - morning Downtown Disney-night Pool time if we could fit it in 'Ohana PS at 9:00 Monday - Finish Magic Kingdom - morning MGM - afternoon leave for airport by 6:30 for 8:15 flight When we finished having dinner, we drove across the parking lot to Goodings. We spent about an hour and $50 on cereal, milk, OJ, veggies and dip, fruit, snacks, a new toothbrush (mine had gotten mildewy in the travel case - ewwwww), and some Blister pads from Band-Aid that worked wonders on my toes. I don't usually get blisters from walking around WDW, but I have a couple recurring-blister spots from pointe class, so they were starting to form. The thingies I bought were really cool, and stay on for days, even in the shower or pool. At home, my parents loaded the fridge while I watched the Little Mermaid, and went to bed at around 11:30.
Day Seven, Saturday, August 12 We woke up at around 7:00, had some cereal and fruit, returned the movies to Hank's, and were off to the Animal Kingdom at a bit after 8:00. There wasn't a whole lot we really wanted to do, so we planned to tour the Animal Kingdom the way it was meant to be toured and take our time, walking leisurely, and being sure to take in all of the scenery and animals. Once we entered, Dad took our passes and went ahead to Kilimanjaro Safaris for FPs. Mom and I found a spot around the Tree of Life in front of a pond with flamingoes and ducks, and saw some kangaroos in the back. We watched them and took some pictures until my dad came back. Our FPs were for 9:20, so we wandered through the It's Tough to be a Bug! entrance. I've always loved the movie posters for bugs in the waiting area, so I made my father take video of them until we went into the theater. After the show, it was around 9:15, so we made our way to the Safari. We had some good photo opportunities, but nothing really special. We really wanted to see Tarzan Rocks!, so afterward we headed into Dinoland. By now it was already blazing hot, so my parents bought a couple of frozen lemonades. I was thirsty too, but I really wanted a Sprite, and the vendors were only selling them in the souvenir cups. Since I didn't envision myself plodding along in the Animal Kingdom with a ridiculous one-foot-tall plastic cup, I passed and hoped that I could find something later. We got on line for the 10:30 show. The theater opened up in fifteen minutes, and we got very nice seats in the center, but not in the way of the rollerbladers. There were CMs selling drinks up and down the aisles, but no Sprite - only Coke and water. We all loved the show! I thought the singing was awesome, the trapeze artists were outstanding, and the whole show was really entertaining. I liked it much better than Hunchback. When Tarzan was over, the three of us walked over to Dinosaur. The wait time was half an hour, which wasn't bad, but the FPs were only for about an hour later, so we went ahead and got them. We went across the street to Restaurantosaurus to take a short break. By now, Mom was feeling kinda beat, but Dad and I really wanted to do the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We had found a quiet table, so Mom just stayed at the restaurant and we decided to meet her back there after we finished. Dad and I headed into Asia and made our way to the entrance of the trail. We looked for the Komodo Dragon. He was only peeking out his head a little, but I still had a pretty good view. We walked past the tapir, but it was pretty well-hidden, and all there was to see was a little bit of its torso, so we went on to the bats. They were really interesting - there were so many! They kept spreading their wings out, too, which made for a few good photos. Once we were finished gazing at the bats, my dad and I walked over to the tiger section. The main reason I wanted to do the Maharajah trail was for the tigers, so I was disappointed that I could only see one, and there were huge crowds at every viewing point. We waited a minute, and then had a stroke of luck - it began to rain. Not very hard, but just enough for a lot of people to filter out. On top of that, all the tigers began to move around! We went over to a spot that was level with the tigers and had windows. One tiger picked itself up and settled against a side of the building opposite from us. Another lay on top of the ruins, looking like it was posing for pictures. There was another sitting in the grass, and one more running around! It even ran right in front of the window, literally less than one foot away. We got some great photos and were thankful for the rain, which also cooled things down. After the tigers, Dad and I walked through the bird section. I really liked the landscaping throughout the whole thing, and the bird section looked especially pretty and well-done. And now here's an example of one of those appalling people that seem to love WDW: There was a large bird running around on the ground amidst the crowd, just peacefully moving about people. Suddenly a very large boy of about ten walked toward it and said, "Gosh, you're a pritty bird. I'm gonna pit you!" The boy proceeded to chase the poor thing around, finally grabbing at some tail feathers before it disappeared into a bush. Then, a couple minutes later my father and I were exiting the bird section, and the boy was right ahead of us. The doorway consists of hanging plastic chains, and he gathered them up in his arms and proclaimed," I'm gonna take all these all the way out." So he kept walking until he couldn't hold them anymore, and let them swing back into our faces. And here's the best part: After they hit us, my dad sarcastically said to me "Thanks." The boy heard him, and told us proudly, "You're welcome." =P The two of us walked back to Dinoland. It was still raining, and it started raining a bit harder on the way. My dad had his umbrella, but refused to share it with me because he said it was too much of a hassle and he didn't mind getting wet. So we met my mother at Restaurantosaurus, and after sitting for a minute, went across to Dinosaur. The FP line had no wait, and we sat in the front row (my usual preference =) . I do like Dinosaur, but I think just a bit too much of it is in the dark. Other than that I think it's pretty good. When we got off, we walked over to Camp Minnie-Mickey to get in line for the 1:15 show of Festival of the Lion King. We decided then that Lion King would be our last attraction. We had kind of wanted to go on Kali River Rapids, but no one really wanted to get wet. I think the ride was closed because of the rain, anyway. We stood on line in the rain, and, though we had our umbrellas, we still got wet due to people bumping into us left and right in their soaking wet ponchos. It was about 1:05, and they still weren't letting people in. Finally, very nearly ten minutes later, they opened up the doors. I still consider this to be the single best show in WDW. The singing is fantastic, and the Tumble Monkeys are just incredible. I take acrobatics myself, and the stuff they do is just awesome. Then there's the dancing, the fire-juggler, the music, the costumes, the aerial ballet...this show has it all! And it's just so much fun to watch. An added feature to this performance was that I knew the finale combination, which was pretty darn cool. After the show, we had contemplated going to Harambe for lunch, but I thought it definitely was not worth it to walk all the way back just for a counter service meal. So my dad came up with the perfect place for what we wanted - The Pepper Market at Coronado Springs. We had gone on our last trip and thought that not only was it a great food court, but it was a unique one. So we hopped back into the car (Ok, we didn't hop. We kind of plopped. =), and drove back to OKW. We hung out for about half an hour so we could get our energy back, freshened up, and drove to Coronado Springs. The Pepper Market wasn't very busy, and we were seated in a couple of minutes. After perusing the stations a bit, I chose one of the day's specials - a Barbecue chicken sandwich with BBQ sauce, cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, served with fries. It could have just been that I was so hungry, but it was mouthwatering! lol Once we had all stuffed ourselves and gotten a chance to relax and cool down, we got back into the car and went to Epcot. Now, everyone had loved Test Track so much, I really wanted to get on it one last time. So as soon as we got through the turnstiles, I took my parents' passes and ran. Well, I didn't run... I would have looked pretty strange =) . But I walked so fast my legs burned! And I was glad I did, because the FPs were for 8:40. It was still a bit later than we had hoped because we had wanted to beat the Illuminations traffic, but what the heck, we were on. I got the FPs and met my parents out in front, and we walked to the World Showcase. Mexico was our first stop. We rode El Rio Del Tiempo, and then looked around the market. I've always loved the Mexico Pavilion; it's so beautiful and realistically done - I wish I had gotten to eat here, too! (but Melissa doesn't eat Mexican food, lol) I stepped into the silver shop and looked for a necklace. I saw a few very pretty ones, but none that would match any of my clothes. So it was off to Norway, where we waited on line for Maelstrom for 25 minutes. We walked past China, Germany, and Italy. Once at The American Adventure, it started to rain again. Now, Mom and I would have been perfectly happy going over to France, getting a pastry, and watching the movie. But, while the two of us can always pass up on the American Adventure, it's one of my dad's favorites. So we schlepped with him into the exit (the entrance was being used by some private party) and sat down. It was about 5:25, and the next show wasn't until 5:40. The Voices of Liberty were over in the entrance, so the wait was pretty boring. But once we got inside the theater, my mom had a nice nap, lol, and I scribbled some trip report notes (pocket flashlights are good things) while I half-watched the show. Afterward, we went to Japan. I browsed the department store for a little bit, but a large portion of it is now just Hello Kitty and Pokemon merchandise (overpriced merchandise, no doubt). So I met my parents outside. Just as we started walking to France, however, the 6:30 parade started. We were able to pass behind the crowds until we got to a bench right before France, and then we were stuck. It was still drizzling and the crowds were at a minimum, so we had a whole bench to ourselves with a perfect view. But we still wanted to get out of there, so we waited until a break in the parade and ran across the street. (I hate doing that!) We walked to the Boulangerie Patisserie to get some pastries. My dad got an apple turnover, my mom got a fruit tart, and I got a chocolate eclair. My eclair was good, but I really wasn't in the mood for it, so I switched with my mother and *loved* the fruit tart. When we finished it was 7:10, and my dad saw a sign that listed a Living Statues performance starting right then. So we walked over to a spot where a crowd was forming, and watched for about fifteen minutes. Oh my goodness, those guys are good! It doesn't even look like their eyes are open. We headed over to the UK, and my dad heard the last minute or two of the British Invasion. He dashed into the courtyard, and arrived just as a CM was saying, "Let's hear it for the British Invasion!" =( Oh well. The three of us decided to check out the Millennium Village. All we really did was look around for a while, and then went on the Israel ride, which I thought was very cute. I didn't think anything else was really interesting, but it was worth looking around for a few minutes. Afterward, we walked back to Future World. Our mission tonight was to see the Innoventions Fountain at night, something my dad had always wanted to do but never got to. We went to the Fountainview Cafˇ, got a table right on the edge, and bought some hot chocolate. It was about 8:10, and we watched 1 1/2 shows. It was very pretty and relaxing - a wonderful break. It's a great spot if you ever have a couple minutes to kill. We finished at about 8:35 and walked over to Test Track. The FP return line was about 35 minutes long - I think the ride had broken down earlier. We finally got on for our last ride, but then got caught in the exodus on our way out of the park. We drove back to OKW, and I pigged out on veggies and leftover pasta before bed.
Day Eight, Sunday, August 13 My parents woke up at about 7:15 and had breakfast. I, however, slept late, and I skipped breakfast because I wanted to get to the park. Today was our second Universal Day, and we planned on doing the Studios Escape side. We drove over and got the preferred parking again, and walked the seemingly endless route to the park entrance. When we got inside, we decided to head to Men in Black Alien Attack first before the lines got too huge. We walked over, and there were a couple of employees at the front directing people to go to the side and put their belongings in complimentary lockers. I thought this was rather strange, because you can even take bags on roller coasters, but the girl said that she recommended it. So we walked over, got a couple of lockers using a very cool computerized system (I don't know if Disney has computerized lockers too - I've never used any), and went inside. There was no wait, and we all had an awesome time. This ride is Universal's new headliner, and it definitely lives up to its title. It's very detailed, and the alien Animatronics are great. Unlike Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, the guns have telephone-like cords connecting them to the console, so you can pick them up and aim them easily. It's a lot of fun, and is very well done. We even bought the picture of the three of us looking very secret-agent like, looking for aliens. =) As for the necessity of the lockers, there were small mesh bags on the backs of the seats, but since the ride spins, I guess peoples' belongings fell out and Universal got complaints. We wanted to ride again, but the line was already huge, and you can only use Express Passes once per ride. So we walked over to Back to the Future, and waited about 5 minutes. Now, I hadn't been to Universal in years and didn't remember much of anything. So when I saw the huge IMAX screen, I thought to myself, "Why doesn't Disney have anything like this?" I found out once we stepped off - my dad explained that it was a theater full of individual motion simulators, and we were just lucky to be front and center. Otherwise, we would have seen the other cars, spoiling the effect. Oh. =) My dad had a craving for popcorn, so he bought some before we walked across the bridge to Jaws. The three of us sat down on a bench while he finished - but before he could, he dropped it. He's very smooth. lol We walked onto Jaws, and sat in a boat with only one other family. Jaws is really horrible, complete with bad Animatronic sharks and a corny plot line. Of course, Jungle Cruise is the same way - the difference is (and this is what makes one so much better than the other) that Jungle Cruise makes fun of itself, and Jaws takes itself seriously. I think it's time for the guys at Universal to come up with some one-liners for the boat drivers! I felt bad for ours, though; he was really working hard for a very small audience, and he did a pretty good job. We stopped at a pastry shop across the way because I was really hungry. I had a so-so apple pie, and then we walked to Earthquake - the Big One. (Gotta love that name =) It was a long line, and we got on it, but decided that we really didn't care enough to wait. So we went over to Kongfrontation, and got on the 15 minute line. (It was after ten by now, so we couldn't use our Express Passes.) I thought the ride was cute enough, but our star of the show certainly wasn't King Kong - it was an unreal ride operator. Niko, the guy narrating the ride, was an absolute nutcase. He was so hyper that when he first began to talk, my father said, "Wow. What did he have for breakfast?" He introduced King Kong as (to the tune of Sisqo's Thong Song, if you're familiar with it) "The Kong-k-Kong Kong Kong." The kid talked so fast that we barely paid attention to the ride! Stepping off, the general sentiment was: "Woahh. What was that?" Lol. Niko was a lot of fun though, but it was a pretty crazy experience. Afterward we walked over to Twister...Ride It Out. The name is very misleading, because you don't ride a single thing. After waiting on the 20 minute line, we saw the preshow (pretty much a recap of the movie), and walked past a few props to a viewing area, much like the one that you first enter on the Disney-MGM Studios Backlot Tour. Then we watched an artificial tornado come along and destroy the set. It's nice, but it's not a ride. They should have just called it Twister. Then we went over to the Terminator 2 3D show. Ralph had told us that this was absolutely awesome; even better than Disney's 3D shows, because it had live actors. So we waited on the half hour line, and entered the pre-show area. It starts out okay, as a business presentation - kind of like the one in Alien Encounter. Things go haywire, and you enter the theater, where the presentation is about to take place. The show's good up until then. But then the rebel people show up to stop the presentation, and it just turns into a plain old 3D action movie until the very end. It was not a lot of fun, especially for someone who holds no interest in watching Arnold Schwartzanegger ride on a motorcycle and shoot things. Suffice it to say we were pretty disappointed. I guess I'm just a Muppet person! =) We were done for the most part, but we walked over to the E.T. ride to see if the wait was short. It was about 25 minutes, so we passed on it. We walked toward the exit, stopping to pick up our Men in Black picture. I bought some popcorn on the way out, and we drove back to OKW. We had a lot of time before we were going to go back out, so we changed into our bathing suits and went to the pool. I swam for a while, lounged around, and went in the hot tub. We all began to get hungry, but we had a very large dinner ahead of us, so we went to Goods for lunch. It began to drizzle, and we found a picnic table under an umbrella and ate sandwiches. When we were done, we went back and got ready to go out. We drove to Downtown Disney, parking in front of World of Disney. It was now that I began my great doll search. Ok, I've always loved the Mattel Disney princess dolls, and I wanted to find a nice doll before we left. So I was very disappointed to find that apparently, Mattel no longer makes Disney dolls. They're made by some no-name company specifically for Disney. I wouldn't really have cared who they were made by if it weren't for this: They were hideous. Alice looked like she had been smoking something (something heavy), and Belle looked a bit too much like the Beast. They were just plain ugly dolls. What a horrible thing! Little girls can no longer have pretty dolls of their favorite Disney princesses. I mean, they didn't even look remotely similar to their characters. If you took Belle out of her yellow dress, you wouldn't have had a clue what she was supposed to be. It's really a shame that the dolls are so poor. I walked around World of Disney for a few more minutes, and then we went outside to walk around a little bit. It was at that time that my mother and I saw the pin station. We hadn't planned on buying any pins or getting into the whole mess... but we had no will of our own. =) Of course, we loved almost each and every pin, and we had a horrible time deciding what to get. After about 15 minutes of trying to pick a few, I gave up and walked away, knowing that we'd have to pass it on our way out - lol. It began to pour, so we ducked into the closest store - a men's clothing shop. The rain wasn't letting up, and we couldn't shop in there, so we pulled out our umbrellas and ran to the Christmas shop. We spent a long time in there (my parents are big Christmas fans). We ended up buying the Walt Disney World Miniature Railroad set for my dad, which we had shipped to our house. When we finished, it was only drizzling. My mother and I looked around in Disney at Home for a little bit (or, as I call it, Linens 'n' Things goes Disney =), and met my dad outside afterward. We went back to the pin station. Though it took a few more minutes, my mom and I finally narrowed it down to ten pins (!) : the monorail, the Tower of Terror with Mickey on it, the Haunted Mansion, MuppetVision, Tinkerbell, Ariel, Skippy, Splash Mountain, the Earful Tower, and the 2000 Spaceship Earth. We started to walk back to our car, stopped in the Ghirardelli shop for a couple of chocolate bars for my parents, and left. When we had sat down at the Festival of the Lion King the day before, my father had discovered that both his video camera eyepiece and the lens cap for his digital camera were missing. So my mom called and asked where to go to pick up lost and found items the day after they're lost. The CM told us to go to the Kennel Club next to the TTC, so we drove over there after we left Downtown Disney. But when we got there around 7:15, the Lost and Found counter was closed. A CM working at the Kennel Club desk told us it had closed it at 7:00. Grrr... no one had told us that! We decided we would come back tomorrow, and we drove to the Polynesian. We always love to do the monorail route once on our trip, so we had left more than enough time to visit the three hotels before dinner. We went into the Polynesian's front lobby, where I took a picture of my mom and dad in front of the tropical garden. It was cute, because they always used to take pictures of my brother and me when we were little. (Yes, my brother. I'm not an only child. <g> Nick, 21, attends Drexel University in Philadelphia, and 1. had classes, and 2. didn't really want to come anyway.) We then got on the monorail and went to the Grand Floridian. A few years before, I was looking all over the place for a Wendy doll, and finally found a beautiful one (made by Mattel, of course) in the Grand Floridian's gift shop, when I couldn't find it anywhere else. So I was really, really hoping that I would find a nice doll there - nope. We gazed at the gorgeous lobby for a couple minutes, and then hopped back on the monorail. The Contemporary has about four shops on its bottom level, and I scoured each one of them without any luck. (I did find some hot pink wigs, though, if anyone's interested. <g>) We walked around, and went back to the Poly. We found a lounge right in front of 'Ohana that was very cozy and pretty. I decided that since I couldn't get a doll, I really wanted that cute sundress I'd seen earlier in the week. So my mom and I went downstairs to the house phone, and called CBR to have them hold a size small for us. We went back up, and my dad gave our name for our 9:00 PS. We requested a good window view for the fireworks, and our name was called in a couple of minutes. The hostess started by giving us a short tour of the restaurant, taking us past the bar and the firepit, where all the meat is prepared. She handed me a steel tray of bread, and escorted us to a perfect table for 3 right up against a window. We enjoyed our bread, which was incredible, by the way, and soon a waiter came with water. There is no dinner menu at 'Ohana; it's just a family-style dinner, all you can eat, for about $21 per adult. The waiter described the upcoming appetizers: 'Ohana greens, a salad with honey-lime dressing and four types of lettuce; spring rolls; and pork dumplings. He took our drink order: a virgin daiquiri for me, virgin pina colada for mom, and lemonade for dad. A couple minutes later, he came back with our appetizers, and 3 dipping sauces for them - mango/pineapple, honey mustard, and peanut sauce. My dad's lemonade came with a whole extra carafe, and me and my mom's drinks came with little paper parasols. After a little while, another waiter brought our next course: lo mein noodles, stir-fry vegetables, and smoked salmon. He left everything on the table in case we wanted more, and told us to feel free to ask for seconds of anything. We barely had enough time to start eating, when the meat came out. The waiters bring peel-and-eat shrimp, smoked turkey, pork sausage, and beef sirloin on skewers, and push one of each onto your plate. The food was just unbelievable. The salad was literally the best I've ever had, anywhere. I just kept eating it and eating it. My mother and I now crave it when we're at home! The pork dumplings tasted soo good, and the spring rolls were perfect. I loved the lo mein and veggies, but I don't eat fish so I didn't try the salmon. My mother thought it was good, though. And the meat? My dad is still talking about the sausage and the turkey! I really enjoyed the sirloin too - seasoned to perfection. We were very nearly stuffed, but I asked for another serving of spring rolls. By the time we finished those courses, it was about 9:56. Two minutes later, the waiter brought out dessert. It's a whole, cut-up pineapple served fresh, with the best warm caramel sauce I've ever had for dipping. They call it a palette cleanser. Ha! It was scrumptious. And just as we began to eat it, the Magic Kingdom fireworks started. 'Ohana plugged in the music and announcements, and we had a perfect view. And before we left, our waiter presented us with leis for each of us (and not the garbage bag plastic ones. The ones with *real* fake flowers! lol) What an evening! Not only is the food at 'Ohana superb, but so is the atmosphere. A waiter strummed on a ukulele and sang occasionally, walking around the whole restaurant. Also, there was a woman visiting from Saudi Arabia who was celebrating her birthday. We sang to her, yes, but on top of that, one of the waiters was also from Saudi Arabia, so he taught everyone how to say "Happy Birthday" to her! Now, I have to tell you that my father wasn't very excited about the fact that we were eating at 'Ohana. We had been there once before, and he said that he didn't remember it as being all that great. Boy, has he changed his tune! He's already making plans to go again, this time during the day. We had a fabulous dinner, and really, we thought that the price was reasonable. For an all you can eat meal, including the dessert, $21 isn't that bad, especially when you take into consideration the entertainment and atmosphere. We were extremely pleased with the restaurant. After we left, we drove down to CBR to quickly get my sundress. Upon arriving, there was some confusion as to where the dress was. It turned out that no one had held it for us. But luckily, the cashier came with me, and we found the dress in a size small. We bought it, along with a Donald magnet for one of my dad's coworkers and we drove home. I began to pack, but was too tired, and decided to finish in the morning.
Day Nine, Sunday, August 14 Sigh. Our last day. I woke up at 6:30 and finished packing frantically. We loaded the luggage into the car, and drove to the Polynesian to take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. The park was nice and fairly empty, and we decided to head to Buzz Lightyear for our first ride on it. I guess it wasn't a good idea to have gone on Men in Black first. After |