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Kathy Salvie -- July 2000 -- Walt Disney World (ASMoR, ASSR)

Remember the Magic

With my husband working in Atlanta five days a week, this summer's vacation needed to be one that I could manage with the two boys essentially on my own. Several opportunities presented themselves, and with a bit of luck and 3500 miles of driving, I managed to cobble together a rather fun and varied trip. The opportunities open to us were (1) freedom to use in-laws' second home west of Tampa Bay as a "home base" for several weeks, (2) desire to meet a variety of friends that I had made during LONG hours of Disney chatting while my husband had been traveling, (3) the chance to tie all this together with visits to long-unseen family members in south Georgia and Tampa.

I wrote a GARGANTUAN trip report that covers all of the above: a stop at Paul's "home" and office in Atlanta; a short stay in Moultrie, Georgia where some relatives live; a visit to Tampa where other relatives live; a long stay at the in-laws' home near the beach in Largo, Florida; and finally, two trips to Walt Disney World to tour with the following Disney chat friends: The Wilmot Family from Scotland (Larry), Kevin Scharf (Fifty), the McKenna Family (TigerLily & Kodaly), Rob Olsan (Rob), Kenny Cottrell (Kenny), and last but not least, Kim Fajerski (kimfudge.) But (I can hear the sighs of relief now...) I have no plans to torture you with memories of the seven days leading up to our first Disney day.

You join us on the 8th day of our vacation, Sunday, July 23...

Cast of Characters:

Paul: Relaxed and low-key dad; clueless about our plans and itinerary but happy to pay the bills; insists upon traveling with multiple "Get Out of This Ride Free" cards.

Mark (13): Friendly and outgoing; keeps the family continuously updated on what's "kewl" and what's not.

John (10): Intense; perpetual line leader with a remarkable ability to nose his way toward the best seat in the house or the fastest way onto a ride.

Kathy (me): Trip quarterback; continuously striving to get the "most bang for the buck;" monitor of moods and energy levels.

About 7:45 am, we pulled out of the driveway of the in-laws' Largo house and headed east to Orlando. Utterly and happily shocked at how quick the car trip was, we pulled into the parking lot of the All-Star Movies Resort around 8:15 am! This was our first experience at one of the "value" resorts, and we were very impressed with the facilities and the service. Luggage was dropped off at the luggage service area, and we were quite pleased to learn that our things would be delivered to our room during the day. This contrasted starkly with our Coronado Springs experience last February, where we were told by bellhops that "the hotel would not deliver bags to a room unless the guest was present." Bah to Coronado Springs, and thumbs-up to All-Star Movies!

Check-in was a breeze. Our lovely check-in Cast Member, Demaris, was a native of Spain. She seemed to have very slight difficulty understanding us, and asked us to carefully write out our names and a few other words for her. We did not mind a bit.... she was so obviously professional and pleasant that a slight language difficulty was meaningless. In fact, we applaud WDW for hiring Spanish-speaking CM's, as it was obvious throughout our stay how many Spanish-speaking guests now visit WDW. Our ressies were in order, and Demaris flawlessly handled the sale of several types of admission media. As the boys and I would have two short trips to WDW, we needed four days of park admission and so purchased Four Day Hopper Passes for each of us. Paul would only be joining us for the current WDW trip, and not the one scheduled for the following week. Since he needed only two days of park admission, we bought a 2/1 Unlimited Magic Pass for him. At 8:30 am, Demaris obviously was unable to tell us which room number we would be assigned to. However, she gave us a little business card with numbers to call later to find out which room to return to at the end of the day.

During the check-in process, we were pleasantly surprised to be tapped on the shoulder and greeted by Larry Wilmot, a fellow radper chatter, who we had arranged to meet the next day. Larry and his lovely family from Scotland have much in common with our family, and we had eagerly been awaiting meeting them face-to-face after several months of Internet communication. The Wilmots were off to meet another radper, Sue Holland, for a day of activities, so we smiled a quick hello and said "See ya soon!....or as Larry would put it..."See yer soon."

Grabbed an Epcot schedule and hopped the next bus to our favorite park. On the way, we whipped out the Live Entertainment listing on the schedule to figure out which acts we wanted to see that day, and at what times. Quite perturbed, we saw listings of the performers and their days to perform, but NO TIMES!! This was annoying, and as soon as we entered the park, we headed over to Guest Relations to get another schedule, assuming there was surely just a batch of misprinted ones that we had gotten stuck with at All-Star Movies. The rather embarassed CM who helped us explained that WDW had STOPPED printing performance times about two weeks ago! We asked why, and she said that she was not exactly sure, but that too many guests had "been confused" by the old schedules. Don't see how... unless the acts were not beginning promptly, which I can't imagine. Whatever the real reason, the helpful CM WAS able to give us exact performance times for the acts that we inquired about .... unfortunately, it would have taken a VERY long time to get the show times for ALL 27 Epcot performers, so we did not ask about any new acts, just some of our favorites from previous visits. Thumbs down on this change, Disney.

At 9:25 am, we were done jotting down performance times, and hoofed it over to Test Track to pick up Fastpasses. At that point, return times were 9:55 - 10:55 am, which we thought was not bad at all! Next, we zipped over to the Wonders of Life pavilion, where we went to see Body Wars. Greeting guests as they came through the turnstile was a cast member who I thought I knew through the newsgroup chat room. I mentioned her online nickname to see if she was indeed the right acquaintance from chat, and was thrilled to see that it WAS her! She said I was only the third Disney chatter she had met at the park (the others were the two famous Debs), and we were able to say hi very quickly during a lull before the ride loaded.

As usual, Body Wars thrilled my two boys (13 and 10) and disturbed my husband, who unfortunately does NOT like jarring or jerky rides. After Body Wars, we enjoyed some of the interactive kiosks and displays while we waited for the next showing of Cranium Command.

Maybe it was a funky-mom-kind-of-mood that carried over from my boys' bickering the day before, but some of the one-liners from Cranium Command really struck a funny nerve with me..... Lines from Cranium Command that I might steal and use some day soon include:

- "Don't talk when I'm shouting at you!" ...screamed in best possible drill sergeant imitation.

- "Blink, blink...Breathe, breathe...Never a thank you... Never a job well done.".... spoken in bitter resignation by the hypothalamus. (Or an overworked mom!)

- And upon exiting, the announcement, "Oh, Madame, you forgot your child. Oh, I'm terribly sorry... that's your husband, you say?!"

At this point, it was time for us to return to Test Track, and the Fastpass line and loading process was the fastest we had ever experienced. This is a very fun ride, and the three male car and speed aficionados in my family can't get enough of that outside high-speed loop.

Next, the boys requested that we wait by the rope to be ready for the opening of World Showcase, as they wanted to ride Maelstrom without waiting in line. Promptly at 11 am, the rope was dropped and we walked quickly to Norway , where we were surprised to see a nice little "Welcome to Norway" ceremony. Many of the Norwegian CM's were lined up out front waving Norwegian flags as some music played. The first child to approach the country was given a Viking hat, while the first cluster of guests to arrive were offered samples of some of the pastries from Kringla Bakeri. We rode Maelstrom, which is an unusual and intriguing little ride. As we exited the ride, my John spotted John Crossen, a friend and another fellow chatter who I had planned to meet at the Adventurer's Club that night along with some other rapders! It was a funny shock to run into him, and really quite a coincidence, when you consider how vast the WDW property is.... what are the odds that you will run in to a friend without pre-arranging the time and place? Kudos to my John for being eagle-eyed and spotting our friend!

After Maelstrom, we went to Akershus for the buffet lunch. This place is becoming a traditional Epcot stop for our family, as all four of us enjoy the food so much. When our server, Line (pronounced Leena), asked what we wanted, the boys chose kid's meals ($4.99 each): baked pasta and cheese for John, baked chicken, corn and potatoes for Mark. Paul and I had the fantastic buffet, of course, and went back for taste after taste of the more than 20 items to select from. The cold buffet has all sorts of salads that will appeal to anyone who likes Northern European specialties: Cucumber Salad, Beet Salad, Shrimp Salad, Ham & Cabbage Salad, Tomato Salad, and three different kinds of Herring Salads. Also served were Smoked Herring, Smoked Salmon, Cold Scrambled Eggs with Chives, a cheese selection, and an amazingly varied bread basket. Next to the breads were hot soups, which we did not sample due to the hot weather! The hot selections included Steamed Whitefish, Lamb and Cabbage Stew, Braised Ribs with Rice, Boiled Potatoes, a hot vegetable medley of some sort, Red Cabbage, Mashed Rutabagas and Pasta with Cheeses. If this type of food appeals to you, the selection and quality will just amaze you! The buffet costs only $11.95 at lunch, and was my one and only meal for the day. After lunch, Mark ordered a Paint Your Own Troll Cookie... a big sugar cookie with pink cotton candy hair that comes with edible paints and a paintbrush. Very cute!

We strolled toward Mexico after leaving Norway and ducked into a little tropical side path to say hi to our friends Captain Hook and Georgette, who happen to be two amusing macaws. CM Bobby was on hand to answer guests' questions about the birds.

Around the lagoon and to the left, and we were soon at our next destination, Millennium Village. Mark and John enjoy some of the interactive games in here, so we stopped in for a few minutes. They first darted through the Brazilian hallway filled with boxing bag boppers. This is hard to describe, but there are large, cushioney columns almost like boxing bags suspended from the ceiling in clusters. Bumping into them or boxing them triggers various sound effects, so the boys wound their way through the forest of bopper bags, pushing them, punching them, and kickboxing them. Perfect energy release for pre-teen boys!

Next, we stopped at Saudia Arabia's Rise and Fall of the Kingdom and at the domed maze game. The maze game is very fun, and requires a team of people to move around a circular maze, shifting their weight in order to move the ball in the maze from one direction to another. The goal is to sink the ball twice as quickly as possible. We were congratulated on our time of 2 minutes, 28 seconds, and told that it was the best time so far that day!

It was almost 1:15 pm, so we headed over to France where we wanted to see the World Showcase Players perform Cyranose de Bergerac. The three performers began drawing a crowd with yelled promises to passing guests that there was about to be a free show, a REALLY STUPID free show!! That didn't do the trick, so they asked the small cluster of guests already waiting to lure some more people with applause, which DID work. A lady from New Jersey was chosen to be Roxanne (ooh la la) and Paul was chosen to play Cyrano, and promptly dressed in a floppy hat and a VERY long false nose. It's hard to describe all the silliness...Paul was asked to help create an original poem for Roxanne by filling in blanks at the end of poetry lines. He got the World Showcase Players tickled, because he used the word "kumquat" in a line of poetry where the word "rose" was obviously intended. The performers' improv skills were great, because they were able to keep the show flowing even with a "kumquat" now used where a rose was intended! Paul had to duel twice: once with a fake sword, and once with his long nose! Very fun performance by the World Showcase Players! Afterwards, Paul was given a special certificate thanking him for his participation in a "Disney Magical Millennium Moment."

Next stop was Morocco, where Paul tried a Moorish Coffee and we peeked in some of the shops and the Art and History Museum. At 2 pm. we sat in the shade near the central fountain and watched the flexible, contortionist acrobatic moves of Morocco's Houzali Troupe. On to China at 2:30, where we saw an even more amazing act, the Dragon Legend Acrobats. Young girls impressed us with their ability to balance on one arm and hop (on one hand!) up a stair-step contraption! Three girls performed a very unusual act with three hollow tubes, which they balanced on, slid through, sat in, etc. Really hard to describe, but we all laughed in amazement from start to finish at these girls' antics...go see this act!

As we left China, we swung back towards America, where The Best of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance would soon begun. Little bit of luck, because we had seen hordes of people lined up to get in here on our way to China, and when we came back, there were only a VERY few back row seats left. Well.....it started to rain pretty hard, and much of the amphitheatre was not covered. We whipped out our cheapo ponchos from Eckerd's and put them on, and continued moving forward to fill in empty seats as the unprepared masses gave up in the rain and left. In no time at all, we were on the second row of unreserved seats. In front of us was another section which was covered with seats reserved through some special dinner reservation program (didn't get the details on it.) The stage was of course covered, so the show began at 3 pm. Lord of the Dance had some solo segments, small ensembles, large line and circle dance ensembles, two fiddlers, a few fireworks, a few moments with flames... good music, interesting dance. I think I might call it Lord of the Costume Change, though, because the dancers must have changed costumes five or six times during the 30 minute show!

After Lord of the Dance, we went to France to see a Living Statue. For the first time, we saw a statue that appeared to be a man. He/she was quite good, and mesmerized the crowd with his ability to freeze and then move in very funny ways. Nothing in particular that we were eager to do in World Showcase at that point, so the boys voted to go back to Test Track and see if any Fastpasses were left. Test Track Fastpasses were unfortunately all gone, so the boys decided they wanted to explore Innoventions. Paul and the boys LOVE all the futuristic electronic gadgetry, but it doesn't really appeal to me.

Since Paul had been traveling so much for work, and I had been doing the solo mom thing for six months, I had asked for some time on my own in the parks. Since Paul had been away from the kids so much, he was of course happy to agree. Since I had no desire to see Innoventions, we split at this point and I headed back to All-Star Movies. I relaxed for a while, then drove to Pleasure Island to explore the Adventurer's Club for the first time. I also scouted all of the other clubs/venues on Pleasure Island in sort of an advance reconnaissance move for an all-girl trip that I'll be taking with friends this coming October. The atmosphere at the PI Jazz Company was oh-so-mellow, and I could easily have spent many hours there. Country-western line dance lessons were in progress at the Wildhorse Saloon, and the other clubs looked like they could be fun as well, with the right group of friends.

I spent most of the evening at the Adventurer's Club, which was very unique and quite funny. I won't go into all the details, but was very impressed with the red-headed CM who played Samantha Sterling... she was hysterical! The CM who played Emil ad-libbed a very funny bit about "mad cow disease" and the CM who played Fletcher Hodges was quite good as well. I met up with various radpers at several times throughout the evening, which of course made it all the more fun. In fact, three of us skipped the 11:45 pm New Year's Eve Celebration, preferring to stay inside the AC and visit. Called it a night at 12:30 am, and having the car was quite convenient, as I zipped right back to the All-Star Movies without having to wait for a bus. Returned to three snoozing Salvies in the room, and lights were out by 1 am.

Monday, July 24.

Day Spent with Wilmot Family and Morning Hello from John Crossen Disney-MGM Studios, Epcot and Pool at All-Star Movies

Up at 7 am with plans to meet the Wilmot Family and John Crossen at about 8:30 am at Disney-MGM Studios. These are friends we had made online through the radp chat room, and we were all looking forward to riding Rock'n'Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror together for the first time!

I was a little late getting out to the All-Star Movies bus stop, as I could not find my antibiotics. Finally remembered I'd left the bottle in the car! Boys huffed in exasperation as I arrived at the bus stop and learned that an MGM bus had JUST pulled away. Nae bother, as my friends from Scotland might say, as the delay put us on the next bus WITH our friends from Scotland, who ran up, breakfast fruit cups in hand, just as as the bus was loading! Actually, it was only two of the four Wilmots, Larry and son Greg. Jill and son Ed were sleeping in after the late night before.

Larry presented each of us with little lapel pins with the Scottish and American flags... VERY nice gesture, much appreciated! As we got off the bus at MGM, we were stunned to see MASSIVE lines at the turnstiles. Clever Larry pointed out that it might pay to stand up toward the front at one of the turnstiles marked "Closed - Character Breakfast Only" so we headed up that direction. We spotted John Crossen already in line and he soon joined us. Sure enough, Larry's cunning brilliance paid off, and CM's opened the turnstiles that had previously been marked closed. We were now about ten back in line, rather than 300 back. Zipped through the turnstiles, and headed to Sunset Blvd., where we encountered a rope. We all ('cept Paul, of course) wanted to ride RRC first, so went over to the far left side of the rope, right up front and waited. Thanks to Larry's strategies, we were right at the rope when they dropped it at 9 am. We had to walk behind a CM all the way to RRC, but were soon there. Paul peeled off to hang out on a bench, as he HATES the wild rides. He doesn't mind the bench hangout scene, as he sips a coffee and watches the crowds go by.

My John, who has collected pins in a minor way since 1997, was the very lucky recipient of a gift from John Crossen: a Disneyland 45th anniversary pin, which John C had bought on his recent trip to Disneyland. Needless to say, my John was QUITE happy and grateful!

Three Salvies, two Wilmots and one Crossen were on the first RRC limo of the day, and had a blast riding together! John Salvie and Greg Wilmot were thrilled to be on the first limo row. As soon as we exited, we saw ASTOUNDING lines, and were so glad that we had been at the front when the rope dropped. We zipped over to the Fastpass machines and got several Fastpasses for an hour or so later. Next, we headed over to Tower of Terror, everyone's favorite ride. There was already a long line for this, but it seemed to move pretty rapidly, and it's not bad standing in long lines when you have fun people to visit with! As we went through the lobby and into the pre-show room, Larry spotted a little glass case that held a sign listing announcements for hotel events. At the bottom of the glass case were some fallen letters: in ever-perfect Disney detail, the fallen letters spelled out "EVIL TOWER U R DOOMED."

As we waited to board our elevator, we were entertained by a hilarious bellhop who somewhat resembled John Cleese in looks and mannerisms... this CM was quite good with the announcements and banter with the crowd. The three boys sat on row 1 with the three adults right behind them. John C has ridden Tower of Terror more than 50 times, and Kathy has ridden about 10 times. This ride, however, would prove to be our best yet, due to fantastic airtime compliments of Larry. He employed a little trick using his hotel drink mug and the lap bar... the rest shall remain unsaid. Suffice it to say that this trick alone would justify the drink mug purchase, according to John C!

After Tower of Terror, we had a bit of time to kill before our RRC Fastpasses could be used. The men stood around and talked, the boys went to the Villains store to buy some magic tricks and I went over to the Beauty and the Beast theater to ask about performance times for Four for a Dollar, the regular pre-show. I was SO disappointed to learn that Monday is one of their days off.... Back to RRC, where we each had two more rides. I think my favorite Aerosmith track for this ride is Sweet Emotion.

It was now 10:50 am, and Larry had told his wife Jill that he would meet her in front of The Great Movie Ride at 11 am. John C needed to head off to work, so we told him goodbye. Jill and Edward were at The Great Movie Ride promptly at 11 am, and after a quick conference, we decided we'd all like to see Voyage of the Little Mermaid later that day. Larry and Paul dashed off to get us some Fastpasses, which were for an 11:50 am - noon return time. Perfect! That gave us just the amount of time we needed to enjoy The Great Movie Ride. Having ridden this twice on the "gangster" side, the Salvies were eager to try the "cowboy" side. Once again, Larry's park expertise came in handy. When I expressed the hope that we get to ride on the "cowboy" side, Larry told us that we were in the wrong section of the queue, and told us to duck under the railing after the next group of guests passed. We obediently followed his directions, and .... sure enough.... we ended up on the "cowboy" side! Way to go, Larry!

Upon exiting this ride, we strolled over to wait at several benches in the vicinity of Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Mark was chomping at the bit to get in, but Larry warned us that there was no point in going in early, because: 1) the wait was in a cramped and confined room, and 2) there was no urgency to get a good seat, as the BEST seats with full view of all lasers and special effects were from the BACK row! Mark ignored these tips, grabbed his Fastpass and went on in. The rest of us waited per Larry's recommendations, and were amply rewarded by minimal stand-and-wait time and great back row, center seats! This was a very nice show: great mix of live singing, cool special effects (including clouds and mist), puppetry and all the best songs from the movie.

Upon exiting, we were were all ravenous, and so headed toward Backlot Express. Along the way, Mark, Paul and Ed expressed interest in seeing the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, and got Fastpasses for the 2 pm show. We all went in to Backlot Express... the kids grabbed a big table and saved eight seats while the grown-ups stood in line for the food. After waiting for about ten minutes, we finally got up to the CM who would take our order.

Jill and Larry ordered first and tried to pay with their resort charge card, but it did not work! Next, they tried American Express, and that also did not go through! The CM finally confessed a "problem" with her register, and asked Larry and Jill to pay in cash. Well, when you are in the parks and expecting to charge everything to your room, you don't CARRY much cash! They had enough, but it would have diminished their cash supply enough that they would need to get a bit more before returning to Scotland the next day. Well, as anyone who as ever instigated a small foreign exchange transaction can tell you, the fees on a small exchange are a ridiculously high percentage of the withdrawal amount! The Wilmots did not WANT to pay in cash, and had two normally acceptable payment choices which the CM was saying would not work. The CM was decidedly unhelpful, even bordering on surly.... wisely, Larry asked to either speak to a manager or be given a customer complaint form to fill out. This garnered the CORRECT guest recovery reaction... namely, a free lunch offer for the Wilmots, and a decision by the CM running the register to CLOSE the one and only register that was not accepting charge cards. Paul and Kathy dashed over to another line to order their food. Food here was pretty basic: burgers, chicken nuggets, and a tuna sub were all that we tried. It was a tad on the pricey side, but portions were huge. I think two adults with average appetites could easily split one burger basket.

After lunch, Mark and the other three boys amused themselves trying to "trick" passersby with one of those dollar snatcher toys that Mark had purchased at the Villains store. Basically, a person passing by sees a dollar bill lying on the ground (which, unbeknownst to them, is attached to an invisible thread.) When the person reaches down to pick up the "found" dollar, the villain/trickster quickly snatches it back by pushing a button on the snatcher mechanism, which snaps the dollar back instantly. Imagine four boys, aged 13 and under, and BIG crowds of people to trick.... and you get a general idea of how much fun they got from the meager investment of 2 bucks.

After lunch, the downpour began, and once again the Salvies were thankful for their ponchos. The Wilmots also had ponchos, but they were unfortunately back at the hotel! Luckily, the Indy Jones Stunt Show was covered, so Mark, Paul and Ed dashed through the rain and into the amphitheater. The rest of us decided to go see the Doug Live! show.

I got a bit of a surprise here! As we entered the auditorium, a warm-up comedian was working the crowd, and Larry led our group down to the second row. Next thing I knew, Larry was telling us to jump and scream and volunteer to be a "Beet." Well.... I have never seen the Doug cartoon, and had no idea what a Beet was, but Larry had not steered us wrong yet so I complied with his jumping and screaming instructions. Next thing I knew, I had been selected to perform in Doug Live as Wendy, the lead singer in The Beets band! Three men and I were told to come onstage, where our audition was "finalized" with an onstage dance tryout in front of an audience of about 800. Aaaaargggggh!

Next thing I knew, I was escorted backstage for costume and makeup, and then transformed with about 15 garment pieces into a bald-headed female rock singer in a blue velvet dress! The three guy audience volunteers and I had our 37 seconds of fame onstage, performing with somewhat-wild abandon as The Beets! It was rather interesting seeing the intricacies of the backstage operation of a live show, and we received a certificate of thanks and a limited edition "Doug" postcard for our efforts/ stupidity.

Quick pow-wow after Doug Live! and Indy ended, and our two families decided that seven of us would take the boat over to Epcot "whilst" (note the Brit phrasing) Larry went back to the hotel for his family's ponchos. Four Salvies and three Wilmots rode one of the Friendship boats over to Epcot in the drizzle. When we arrived in Epcot, the kiddos wanted Kaki Goris, so Paul bravely volunteered to take the four boys for snacks. Meanwhile, Jill and I ducked in to the Rose and Crown Pub, where we were lucky enough to snag a back corner table for eight almost immediately. We ordered Irish Coffees, and were soon happily sipping, talking, and watching the rain fall outside.

Before long, the boys appeared, but with funnel cakes, not Kaki Goris (the stand closed in the rain.) Funnel cakes were more appropriate for the dreary weather, and soon all seven were awaiting the arrival of Jon Armstrong, master illusionist. Sure enough, at 4:20 pm sharp, he appeared, and I pounced on him and asked him to join our party for a bit. Opening a brand-new cellophane-wrapped deck of blue Bicycle playing cards, Jon Armstrong soon had the four boys slack-jawed in amazement. Our John kept an eagle eye trained on Jon to see any tricky moves, slight of hand, etc..... to no avail. We were utterly duped, tricked, taken in, and dumb-founded by Jon's card tricks. We learned that he is able to perform for five hours NON-STOP with one deck of cards and without repeating a single trick! Our John asked about Jon's little gold lapel pin, curious if it might be available for CM trades... alas, it was not. We learned that the little gold lapel pin was the equivalent of the Academy Award for the world of magic, and that only three are awarded annually. Our party of eight was quite happy and honored to have Jon all to ourselves for nearly two hours. What a deal! Oh.... if you are a Jon Armstrong fan, or think you might become one, September 30 would be a good date to show up at the Rose and Crown. Some sort of honoring ceremony, I believe...........

Next, loosy-goosey people that we are, the Wilmots and Salvies scattered between China, Japan and Morocco to procure food for the evening meal. We settled at a table outside the Tangierine Cafe... some played near the fountains in Morocco, some ate, and some watched Tapestry of Nations both emerge from and end the parade through the Moroccan gate. Tapestry of Nations never fails to make me smile.... it is such a joy to see the CM operate the puppets with characteristic spirit and enthusiasm. Wonderful parade!

After Tapestry of Nations, we split forces once again. Six of our group went to Millennium Village, while Greg Wilmot and I went to ride Spaceship Earth and then sent a few cyber-postcards from Innoventions in our spare time. Greg and I met up with the others in front of the tombstones... ooops, I mean Leave a Legacy monuments.... promptly at 8 pm, and we all caught the next bus back to All-Star Movies. After letting the kids change into swimsuits, we headed to the pool. I had brought a padded thermos container with two bottles to celebrate the meeting of the Wilmots and Salvies: a bottle of single-malt Scotch for the men, and a bottle of champagne for the ladies. Subtly opened (if you don't count the rocketing champagne cork that nearly blinded me) and poured poolside into plastic cups at the Fantasia pool, we toasted one another as well as a fine day spent together in the parks.

Two of the kids swam for a VERY long while, while the other two went arcading for a bit. The four adults had a great time talking and swapping stories until about 10:30 pm. At that point, my John scraped his back rather badly on the side of the pool, requiring a big bandage. So... I said goodnight to my chat buddy and his family, thankful for the time we were able to spend together. Toodle pip to the Wilmots, with hopes we meet again soon.

Tuesday, July 25, day 10 of our vacation....

With NO plans to enter a park on Tuesday, I told my clan that they could sleep as LATE as they wished. What a Disney novelty! Alas.... Mark was awake before 7 am, and John was soon behind him. Next thing I knew, they were out our door to go visit the arcade. Before I could say "Jiminy Cricket" however, they were back, glumly informing me that arcades do NOT open until 8 am. Mom's plans to sleep late?! Dashed into hopeless oblivion...........

By 9ish, we had showered, eaten, loaded the car, and checked out, and were soon on our way for our "Grand Tour of Disney Deluxe Properties." Having only stayed at moderate and value resorts, I was curious to see how the "upper crust" lived when touring Disney. First stop: Wildnerness Lodge.

Wow, oh wow.........WHAT a property!!! Having stayed at some of the ORIGINAL National Park Lodges upon which Wilderness Lodge was modeled (most notably, El Tovar at the Grand Canyon), I was expecting some marginal imitations. Well, this was a case of art exceeding real life..........

Details abounded, flowed, oozed from every nook and cranny of the property, and the 9:30 am tour of the lodge (free) only made us admire the architects and designers even more.......... Imagine, a $100 million dollar investment: $65 million for the building and a cool $35 million for the furnishings and accessories. Then, imagine how creative Imagineering architects might get with that kind of budget...........

Absolutely darling CM Darlene gave us a superb 1.5 hour tour of the property, which I HIGHLY recommend for all Disney afficionados, whether staying at the WL or not. I will mention only three of the MANY tidbits she shared with us. The grand lobby of the WL is flanked on either side by two massive totem poles, carved by a master artist at the rate of $1,000 per linear foot. In perfect Disney political correctness, the totem poles reflect not a singular Indian culture, but rather an amalgam of Indian tribal symbols. In another gesture of extravagance, an artist was commissioned to sculpt various wild animals in bronze. These were placed in a most unusual spot.... at toddler eye-level underneath the check-in counters. Why? To engage and distract the very young as their parents were checking in to this fabulous property.... many of the animals are polished by tiny children's hands, not maintenance workers. Finally, the rugs in the lobby are hand-woven in 100% wool by different Native American tribes on a continuing basis. The rugs (average cost=$72,000) wear out about every year and a half, so new ones are commissioned as soon as fresh ones are installed in the lobby.

Interested in Florida ecology? Native landscaping? Florida aquifer and sinkhole statistics? History of the Western US? Understanding of Mission and Stickley furnishings? Native American beadwork, cradleboards, rug-making, elk-tooth robes? Reproductions of geysers? Perfect blending of pools and natural lake waters? Then, you must GO to WL and attend this wonderful tour. Thank you, Darlene! Near the end of the tour, the boys and Paul peeled off to go witness the 11 am geyser eruption. I continued with the tour almost until the end, at which point I peeled off to go to the restroom and to catch up with the Salvie boys. We evidently kept circling one another without catching up to one another.... and near-disaster struck. I did not see the actual unfolding of the following event, but merely relate what I was told.....

John...aged ten, mischievous, smart but sometimes lacking in common sense............. was seated in the lobby with Paul and other son Mark, waiting for me to reappear. From his fanny pack, in a bit of boredom, he pulled a tiny suction cup toy, and pressed it with full force on to a piece of the expensive WL furnishings. Well, this suction cup toy soon dislodged and LAUNCHED itself directly at Paul's face. In an effort to deflect the quickly-approaching suction toy missile, Paul flung his arms above his head, and in the process knocked over a massive Mission-style lamp on the sofa table behind him. The lamp hit the table with a gunshot-loud crash, and poor Paul reached over his shoulders in a crazy backwards-lunge movement to prevent the lamp from hitting the FLOOR. Meanwhile, John watched the whole sad scene unfold, utterly appalled at the horrific chain reaction he had created with his stupid suction cup toy.

As Paul attempted to upright the lamp, in what must have appeared to be a near-epileptic fit, a WL manager came racing over to Paul, inquiring "SIR?!?!?!?! Are you all right?!?!?!?!?!" Oh-so-quiet Paul was COMPLETELY humiliated by the all-eyes-on-him attention, and chose not to go into detail about the flying suction cup reason for knocking and crashing into the table lamp........... John, meanwhile, went into a near-comatose condition. I caught up with them within five minutes, mystified at finding Paul looking as white as a sheet and the children utterly silent. A quick explanation soon filled me in........

Adios to the fabulous Wilderness Lodge, and on to the Contemporary Resort. John skinned his knee as he raced and tripped up the monorail escalators, but was soon distracted by the WONDERFUL candy and gift assortment at the B-V-G store on one of the Contemporary's upper levels. I splurged on candy-coated Mickey pretzels and Disney-shaped truffles, and also purchased my FIRST piece of Disney attire. Mark and I were laughing at four choices for tank tops: Princess (pink), Grumpy (black), Dopey (grey) and Wicked (blue). The three men in my family voted by process of elimination... all IMMEDIATELY said I was NOT Dopey, so that was out. The boys said I was too old to be a Princess, so that was soon eliminated as well. That left Grumpy and Wicked, and the three Salvie men felt I was grumpy more often than I was wicked. Having an innate preference for black attire as opposed to blue, I happily accepted the vote for a "Grumpy" tank top.

Next, we headed up one more escalator flight to catch the monorail. We rode past the Polynesian, and then disembarked at the Grand Floridian. Too fancy, too restrained, too ..... self-consciously elite for us. I went through the property, procuring menus as part of my scouting mission for my October girls' trip. Looking over the menus for both Citrico's and Victoria and Albert's, I quickly determined that THIS food scene did not particularly appeal to me... very odd menu offerings, rather dull atmosphere in both of the restaurants. The boys were ready for lunch, so we decided to go down by the marina and try Gasparilla's Grill. This was a very small counter service fast food place. I did not like the atmosphere, because the arcade was IN the restaurant - - too noisy for me. The boys chose hamburger kid's meals, which were interesting. Rather than one burger, the meals came with two mini-burgers slightly larger than White Castle burgers. The meals also came with a small bag of chips, a small package of cookies and a soda with a Mickey-ears straw. Paul tried the hot dog combo, and I got a baked potato and was MOST impressed with the toppings bar, which included all the standards plus things like fresh guacamole and pico de gallo.

Said bye to the Grand Floridian and hopped on the monorail again, passing the Magic Kingdom en route to the Contemporary. We got off at the Contemporary, returned to our car and then drove over to the Polynesian, where we changed into swimsuits to rent water mice. We all loved the overall feel and atmosphere of the Poly.... very friendly, festive yet relaxing mood throughout the lobby. A CM approached the boys with a smile and asked if they would like to play with some Hawaiian toys, and we were "aloha-ed" right and left. Heading out the back door, we took a left near the pool and went over to a thatched tropical hut near the marina to rent two water mice for a half hour. We were disappointed to learn that John was not old enough to drive one on his own. Not surprisingly, John requested that Daddy drive his boat. That left me with Mark, and I was looking forward to being his passenger for a fun boat ride. Paul and John loaded into their boat first and zipped off. Mark and I climbed into ours, but the boat seemed a bit sluggish so we quickly turned around to ask a CM why.... She explained that some of the boats were older and just not as powerful as the newer ones. To give Mark some extra speed, I hopped out, figuring that less weight would mean a faster ride for him.

While Paul and the boys rode around the lake, I went to explore the Poly beach and was happy to discover a two-person Hatteras hammock suspended between two palm trees on the far edge of the beach. There was a perfect view of Cinderella's castle across the water, so I imagine this would be a great place to view the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Never passing up an opportunity to stretch out in a hammock, I relaxed for about 15 minutes until walking back to the marina to await the boys' return. The boys returned with ear-to-ear grins, and we all thought the water mice were a worthwhile splurge ($20 per boat per half hour.) We explored the Poly some more and smiled at many nice touches: Hawaiian music playing underwater in the pool, giant flaming cooking pit/grill in 'Ohana, a CM making leis in the lobby. We all decided we would love to return here to stay some day.

Continuing with our deluxe property tour, we went over to The Boardwalk, where it began raining rather heavily. The Boardwalk area looked like a GHOST TOWN. Paul and the boys went to the ESPN Club to have a drink and watch TV for a bit, while I continued on my scouting mission and peeked in all the restaurants and clubs along the Boardwalk. Menus from Flying Fish and Spoodles made me drool, the Big River Brewery had an extremely friendly manager and pleasant atmosphere, and I decided that both the Atlantic Dance Club and Jellyrolls looked like they would be fun to visit. The rain began falling even harder, I retrieved Paul and the boys, and we walked through the Boardwalk lobby. Very elegant but warmer in mood than the Grand Floridian, the Boardwalk lobby had some beautiful touches. The boys especially liked a glass-encased model of a white wooden roller coaster, lights and all. When the rain stopped enough for us to make a dash to the car, we left and drove around to the Beach Club Resort.

After touring the other deluxe properties, the Beach Club struck us as pretty but not particularly distinctive in terms of personality. It did have one ultra-luxurious touch that amazed us, however.... the restrooms had baskets heaped with individual fresh white cotton towels for drying one's hands... no paper towels in sight!

We decided to give Beaches and Cream a try for dinner, and thought the food was absolutely scrumptious! An old-timey looking soda fountain nestled between the Yacht Club and the Beach Club, Beaches and Cream had a very simple menu consisting of burgers, sandwiches and ice cream concoctions. John ordered a BLT (hold the T), Mark tried a cheeseburger with bacon and grilled onions, Paul got a double cheeseburger, and I made a mistake. I was about to order the turkey burger ($4.25, I think) when our server mentioned that the restaurant also had a grilled chicken sandwich. That sounded perfect to me, so I ordered one. Imagine how shocked I was when we got the bill and discovered that this grilled chicken sandwich was priced at $9.45!!! Big lesson: never assume prices.

The chicken sandwich was an unintentional splurge, but we allowed each boy to get an ice cream sundae for dessert. Sundae does not aptly describe these concoctions...think MASSIVE, JUMBO, HUMONGOUS serving goblets filled with scoop after scoop of ice cream and smothered in toppings and whipped cream. Mark ordered the Milky Way while John tried the No Way Jose (both $5.95) Four people attempted to eat the two sundaes but were unsuccessful. I think one of these could easily be shared by a family of four.

It was now 6:15 pm, and we needed to return to Tampa so that Paul could catch his 8:30-ish flight to Atlanta. The drive was very easy. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, and the boys and I were back at the Largo house by 8 pm.

Monday, July 31

With my husband busy working in Atlanta, only my two boys and I went to Orlando from July 31 to August 3. We had made arrangements ahead of time to meet a variety of chat friends, and I was looking forward to the adult company. You join us on the 16th day of our vacation, Monday, July 31, for a nine person RADP meet at Islands of Adventure in Orlando.

We had been staying at a house in Largo, Florida, west of Tampa Bay. With plans to meet Rob Olsan and possibly Kevin Scharf at Islands of Adventure at 8:30 am in Orlando, I set the alarm for 5:40 am. Unfortunately, the alarm was in radio mode, and I was so comatose that I did not hear the music until 5:55 am, at which time I woke, panicked, and went into serious overdrive. Just before we were ready to leave, I reminded the boys to brush their teeth, and discovered that Mark had accidentally sent his toothbrush to Atlanta in his dad's shaving kit!! (uhhhh, wonder why he couldn't have told me that the night before, when he should have brushed his teeth before bed.....) We got out the door at 6:50 am, made a quick toothbrush stop at a convenience store and then hit all sorts of traffic. When we FINALLY hit some open road, I seriously gunned it trying to make it to Orlando in time.

Heart racing and palms sweaty, I parked in Universal's parking garage about 8:40 am, and the boys and I power-walked to Margaritaville, where we were supposed to meet Rob. There he was, looking rather mellow and happy, sipping his java in a tropical-motif Adirondack chair. Good morning, Mr. Olsan!

Rob told us that the McKennas has decided to join us for the day, and would be bringing Kevin, so we waited a bit longer for them, and they soon arrived. It was great to meet Kevin for the first time, and to hug the McKennas hello. (We already knew Rob and the McKennas, having met them at the Texas RADP meet in June.) Holly was looking very tan and perky... obvious that she had been having a great summer! Rob used his AP to allow the McKennas and our family to get a small discount on our day passes.... thanks, Rob! We were soon through the turnstile, and very eager to explore this park.

First stop: the Incredible Hulk Coaster. It was interesting to see a free locker storage system where people had to put all their loose articles, fanny packs and water bottles before boarding this ride. After riding, I know why! Climbing up the launch hill, riders are suddenly CATAPULTED into major twists, turns and inversions. I am normally not the slightest bit queasy on coasters, but the intensity of this ride made me VERY glad I had eaten a light breakfast.

On to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which must be the most ambitious theme park attraction of all time. A combination of 3-D movie, track ride, and free fall "drop," filled with all sorts of special effects and even real fire, Spider-Man gives new meaning to the term "thrill ride." The queue area was particularly detailed... we all got a kick out of reading the funny labels on the newsroom file cabinets (Human Torch - Human Wino, an entire file drawer for Pinky the Wonder Turtle....)

One slight problem... the queue was sort of long for Spider-Man when we got there, and as we were waiting, Andrea remembered that we had been supposed to meet Kenny at the IOA entry fountain at 9:15 am!! (It was then 9:45.) BIG OOOOOPS all around, as Rob, Kevin and Andrea re-hashed who had told Kenny what and when..... We debated getting out of line to go meet Kenny right then, but wondered if he would have waited 30 minutes for us. So..... we finished waiting, rode Spider-Man, and then raced to the front entrance hoping to see him. Unfortunately.... no Kenny.

Feeling a bit guilty and worried, we headed over to Seuss Landing. Lo and behold, as we crossed the bridge, who should stroll up but Mr. Cottrell himself. Whew! He was EXTREMELY nice and easy-going about the mix-up, which made a very good first impression on me.

We spent some leisurely time at If I Ran the Zoo, an interactive play area for kids that Holly really enjoyed. My kids, thrill ride buffs that they are, were chomping at the bit to move on, but had to learn that when touring with a big group, one must remain relaxed and flexible. I immediately took a liking to Kevin, because he could sense the boys' impatience and spoke to them about it in a very friendly, easy to understand way. I promised Mark and John that we WOULD get to ride everything that day, and urged them to relax.

After Seuss Landing, we zipped over to The Cat in the Hat, a very cute ride based on the book. Next, Caro-Seussel, a carousel with Seuss characters to ride, and then a refreshing stop at the Moose Juice / Goose Juice stand. Rob and Kenny warned Mark to avoid the shockingly green apple version, but he tried it anyway and liked it. Everyone else chose the orange version.

On to The Lost Continent, where we first visited Poseidon's Fury, where we were amazed to walk through a spinning tunnel of actual water! Then our group rode... the absolute best.... Dueling Dragons. We began on Ice, and were completely awed by the fun and excitement of this coaster. But then we went on Fire, and waited for the front row.... finest coaster moment of my life, and I have had more than a few.

Funny moment that demonstrates just how pumped and preoccupied people get after riding Dueling Dragons...we went over to the lockers to retrieve our things, Kevin put on his sunglasses and then continued talking in the most ENTHUSED way possible... until I said... "Uh, Kevin? You are missing one of the lenses in your sunglasses." There he stood, making quite the fashion statement, with a tinted lens shielding the left eye and NO lens on the right eye! He had not noticed.....

As we left Dueling Dragons, we looked at some of the interesting shops in the Lost Continent area, and then came across The Mystic Fountain. Toss a coin or two in, and the genie(?) or spirit of the fountain (?) will strike up a conversation with YOU! Kevin and the fountain carried on a fine conversation, and the fountain squirted him and others in the area with water to keep everyone on their toes.

Kenny led us to Thunder Falls Restaurant in Jurassic Park for lunch, grabbing some River Adventure Fast Track passes along the way. Rob and Kevin were pumped about eating at Thunder Falls: REAL silverware and REAL china, they promised! Alas, cutbacks had evidently eliminated this luxury, and so we ate off of paper. The food was very good though. John had a Kid's Meal (chicken nuggets, fries and a drink) for a pricey $5.99, while Mark had been snacking throughout the morning and just wanted a fruit salad ($2.99.) I tried a tossed salad (quite good, $3.25), black beans and yellow rice ($1.25 each.) Healthy, very tasty and reasonably priced food hit the spot! Poor Kevin, his mischievous glasses plopped right into my black beans... oops!

After lunch, we wandered over to Camp Jurassic, a SUPER-FUN playground with tunnels, giant water guns, slides, amber mines, dinosaur nets, and more. Mark and John had particular fun because Rob and Kevin led them and followed them throughout the play structures.... they didn't know GROWNUPS could have so much fun on a kids' playground! Rob sneakily went up a level, aiming to douse us with water from the water guns above, but to his dismay found the guns broken. Aw, shucks!

An interesting ride flying over and through Camp Jurassic was Pteranodon Flyers, which are open-seat flying swings limited to children 36-56 inches tall. Anyone taller than 56 inches MUST be accompanied by a child....cute, huh?

When our Fast Track time came up for the Jurassic Park River Adventure, we headed that way. Unlike with Fastpass at WDW, the Fast Track line was rather GRIM, and involved a long wait. Granted it was shorter than the standby line would have been, but a shock after seeing how WDW Fastpass holders are quickly ushered through the queues. River Adventure was a raft ride through dino habitats, ending with an "attack" by a T-Rex and a plunge down a flume. Andrea and I did not want to get wet, so wore our plastic ponchos..... talk about a sauna effect! I think I worked up more wetness under the plastic tent than I would have experienced from the splash of the ride!

After River Adventure, the nine of us headed over to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls in Toon Lagoon. We stood in line just long enough to observe several women in way-too-skimpy bikini tops, then decided the line was too long for the ride. At that point, we realized we had done most of the major rides together, and decided to split off for minor rides or repeats of our favorites of the day. Kevin wanted to try the Men in Black ride at Universal, and since both Rob and Kenny have Universal season passes, the three of them headed to that park. The McKennas and Salvies decided to ride Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, and endured a really hot, grueling wait for the privilege. Actually, it was a fantastically fun raft ride, and put Kali River Rapids to shame.

Drenched... did I say we got DRENCHED?!....so much so that Holly needed to go change clothes after the ride. We agreed to meet at the Storm Force Accelerator back near Hulk in about 10-15 minutes. As I should have predicted, when my boys got back to the vicinity of Hulk, they had NO desire to ride Storm Force Accelerator, so I let them get in line for Hulk on their own while I waited for the McKennas. Storm Force Accelerator was a twirling cup ride along the lines of Mad Hatter's Tea Party at the MK... with lots of spinning, compliments of Paul and Holly.

After Storm Force, the McKennas headed back to Seussland, while the boys and I continued with coasters. One more ride on Hulk for the three of us and two more spins on Dueling Dragons were great... and put us in the mood for a bit of shade and refreshment. We zipped across into the Alchemy Bar near Dueling Dragons, which had a very cozy, medieval atmosphere. Strolling minstrels, a Merlin look-alike, and great decor made us feel like we'd gone WAY back in time until..... we spied some 20th century compatriots!!

WHO should be at a table quaffing beer and sodas but the Three Musketeers (i.e. Rob, Kenny and Kevin).... We quickly descended on them, at which point Kenny made some crack about not being able to hide from that Salvie crew! (Luckily, I have thick skin.....) Anyway, we joined them for about 15 minutes, then headed back outdoors to ride the Flying Unicorn, a smaller coaster also in The Lost Continent. Turning around, the three of us strolled back to the theater where we could see The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad. As we passed the Alchemy Bar, the Three Musketeers were just emerging, so we were now accused of "stalking" them. (In their dreams....)

The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad was a terribly tacky, violent and pun-filled stunt show. Think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle level theater in Aladdin-style costumes.... seriously BAD. We'd had all the walking, heat and fun we could stand for one day, so walked back to the front of the park (churro stop along the way), and exited along Citywalk. As we were on the walkway to the parking garage, guess who we caught up with? You guessed it.....

I loved the parking garage at IOA... our car was hot, but NOTHING like you'd endure after 11 hours parked in an asphalt desert. Rest of evening was in maintenance/shut-down mode: checked in to All-Star Sports (disappointed to NOT get the building I had requested), verified days left on our assortment of Park Hopper passes, and took ice chest with sandwiches and fruit up to our room for dinner. The boys ate and watched Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves while I unpacked. Long day, but very nice, filled with the best coasters of our lives (exception being the Texas Giant) AND some very fun friends.

You join us on the 17th day of our vacation, Tuesday, August 1. We spent most of the day with Kevin Scharf and the McKenna family.

Uh.... Are you sick of this long trip report? I am. Forget the narrative... I'm shifting to daily "highlights."

1) 6 am wakeup....made me boo-hoo inside, because when John answered the phone, he hung right up again rather than listen to Mickey say "Up and at 'em, pal!"... could it be the childhood magic is gone from Mickey's voice?

2) Blow dryer blitzed out... called Housekeeping at about 6:50 am to beg to borrow one...and amazingly, a Housekeeper showed up with one right at 7 as we were headed out to meet Kevin for breakfast! Quick!

3) Breakfast, bus and then rope drop at Animal Kingdom. Tried the sneaky back way in via the Rainforest Cafe gift shop, and while I don't believe it was any faster, it was DEFINITELY more comfortable and less congested waiting with a group of ten or so instead of hundreds.

4)Thoughts on attractions: Kilimanjaro Safaris (many animals, great guide from Zimbabwe); Dinosaur (seemed darker and faster than before, but Kevin and I miss the old name); Tree of Life (entered queue so alone you would have thought we were the only ones in the park, but we were soon swarmed and consumed by a Brazilian tour group); It's Tough to Be a Bug (the sun'll come out, TOMORROW, bet your bottom dollar...that Kevin and I had fun singing the signature song from "Auntie"); Flights of Wonder (nothing earth-shattering, but a pleasant, amusing bird show presented by a CM named Cassie); Kali River Rapids (boys and Kevin WISELY stored shoes in the covered bin, so at least did not have to squishily walk through the rest of the day; this ride is boring compared to the Popeye raft ride at IOA); Maharajah Jungle Trek (did you know that Kimodo dragons kill their prey by bacteria in their saliva??? Three days, and you're a goner....); tried to go see Tarzan show, but line was bad and we were afraid we wouldn't get to Epcot in time, so we said goodbye to the Animal Kingdom.

5) Interesting scenes in the crowd: two mated-for-life gibbons, blasting the crowd and each other with the loudest screeching sounds you ever heard!.... a woman exiting Kali and YELLING joyfully, "Oh MY GAWD!!!!!! Look! LOOOOOK! They have frozen BANANAS!!!!!!!(cost $2.50, very refreshing.)

6) Bus to Yacht and Beach Club at 11:40 am; cruised through these resorts and Stormalong Bay, scoping things out for my October girls' trip; sweet-talked our group's way past the CM checking resort IDs at Stormalong Bay :) Funny what a smile and convincing attitude can accomplish....

7) Dopey Disney: Who knows WHY, but Epcot's schedules no longer list performance times for the live entertainment acts. I specifically wanted to see Miyuki and American Vybe, and had to waste precious time getting a CM in Guest Relations at the International Gateway entrance to find those times for me. Annoying!!!!

8) Lunch at Rose and Crown with Kevin and the McKennas: Snafu on the part of the check-in crew resulted in us sitting outside in the heat... thank goodness for the breeze!; darling server was named Mez (short for Mary Claire, but you knew that, didn't you?), food was outstanding, and we all tried different things: Cottage Pie, Bangers and Mash, Fish and Chips, Seasonal Salad with Walnut Stilton Dressing, Scottish Smoked Salmon with Marinated Asparagus, Sherry Trifle, and Lemon Posset (lemon cream topped with berries); special requests for a recipe and for an extra piece of fish were handled quickly and graciously... a VERY nice meal, with excellent service.

9) Afternoon fun: American Vybe performance in the foyer of The American Adventure; watching Miyuki make candy animals for the three kiddos (unicorn for Holly, yellow dragon for John, green snake for Mark); Kevin, Paul, Andrea and Kathy doing Irish jigs and Michael Flatley imitations on the street in front of The American Adventure, as Irish dance music blared from the Lord of the Dance stage.

10) Funny but sick remark: Upon seeing a melted stream of red drink or Kaki Gori near the Lord of the Dance theater, Andrea commented......"Oh no! Those poor Michael Flatley performers have just danced their feet to bloody nubs!"

11) Kevin and McKennas were going to do E-Ride Night from 11 pm - 2 am, so they wanted to go back to the room and get some rest. The boys and I headed over via monorail to the Magic Kingdom and did our best to avoid the mega-crowds. Rode the jitney bus down Main Street, Carousel of Progress, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Alien Encounter and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (using Fastpass.) Mom high-fived self for getting the highest Buzz score by far, as boys watched in amazement.

12) Strolled over to Cosmic Ray's for dinner, where we had a SUPER surprise! Sitting in the very front of the restaurant, near an Audio-Animatronic piano playing creature, we were startled to see HIM descend and vanish, and a group emerge from the floor below... rising on a moving stage. It was the fabulous Disney All-Collegiate Band! Swing-style Disney favorites were played by a group of about 20 college kids, who had been selected by audition from a pool of about 2,000. Go hear them.. they are GREAT!

13) Tried to catch the train, but it was packed, so we walked back to the MK front gates and left the park, where we caught a bus to the Boardwalk. Disney Adventure Magazine was sponsoring many special events that week for kids, and the boys had a ball watching kiddie quiz show, building a model rocket, and gathering freebies and goodie bags to bring home.

14) Trudged (no other word will do... we were getting tired) into Epcot to watch Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Got there late, so did not have the best possible viewing spot, and were jostled and squished by the crowds. Watching the fireworks lost some of the sparkle as I felt sweat literally pour down my back, but we were nevertheless glad we saw the show again. Grueling, mob-fighting exit out the front entrance to catch a bus home to All-Star Sports (side note... bus service from the All Stars was very good throughout the trip.) Lights out at 10:15 pm.

Gosh, Even That Last Attempt at Trip Report Brevity Failed.....

Top Ten Magical Moments from Wednesday, August 2

Blizzard Beach, Disney-MGM Studios, Epcot, Disney Quest and Pleasure Island

Magical Moment #1) The three Salvies being first through the gates at Blizzard Beach, and zooming down Summit Plummet, the 120-ft. vertical free fall body slide. Wedgie alert.

Magical Moment #2) Flipping and sliding and twisting in the big family raft through the runs of Teamboat Springs.

Magical Moment #3) Being "caught" and held captive in my inner tube by my boys under an ICE-COLD waterfall during our float around Cross Country Creek.

Magical Moment #4) Arriving at the Studios at 2 pm to meet Kevin at Rock'n'Roller Coaster to discover that he had gotten there earlier to get us all Fastpasses, good for a 2:05 entry! He is a sweetheart! Hey... major coincidence... who should we run into in the RRC line but the McKennas!!

Magical Moment #5) Bit the bullet and bought $2.50 water bottles, because I had accidentally left ours in the room.... then watched Four for a Dollar perform the pre-show for Beauty and the Beast... love their voices and music!

Magical Moment #6) Took boat to Epcot, and miserably wandered for a while hoping to avoid lines. Kevin and I had NEVER seen Future World so crowded in the afternoon of a non-Early Entry day! Finally gave up, and went to hang out in Ice Station Cool, where we amused ourselves encouraging people to try Beverly, and then watching their reactions. Rude, but entertaining. :)

Magical Moment #7) I took Mark, John and Holly to the Rose and Crown Pub to watch Jon Armstrong perform his card tricks... he never fails to astonish us.

Magical Moment #8) Dinner with McKennas, Kevin and Kenny at the Teppanyaki Grill was entertaining and very tasty. We can all recommend any of the grilled meats or seafoods (the Shogun, the Fujiyama or the Musashi combo plates), along with sides of salad with Ginger Dressing, grilled fresh vegetables, Udon noodles and steamed rice. Bowing low, we thank Paul for sharing his 20% CM discount with us. Dom arigato!

Magical Moment #9) Rain did not dampen our sprits. Kevin and the Salvies said sayonara to Kenny and the McKennas, caught a bus back to the All-Star Sports, and drove over to Downtown Disney. Mark and John went to Disney Quest (crowded, due to the rain) and enjoyed the video and virtual reality games.

Magical Moment #10) Pleasure Island pleasures: very funny act at Comedy Warehouse, with improv group performing pantomime in order to help one of their group guess the saying, "Whaddya want?! Egg in yer beer?!;" getting called Gap Girl at the Adventurer's Club, only to point out that my clothes had come from WAL-MART, thank you very much!; seeing MY tab-worthiness get vouched for at the AC by waitress Ramona, who knew I must be okay since I was accompanied by KEVIN, who she remembered from last DECEMBER!

Thursday, August 3

Visits with Kevin Scharf and Kim Fajerski

Magic Kingdom, All-Star Sports, Disney-MGM Studios, Pleasure Island

Despite staying out until 12:30 am the night before, the boys and I hopped up at 6 am to make the Magic Kingdom early entry. We were a bit slow, and did not make it for rope drop, but still were able to get in Space Mountain, the Pooh ride, and Peter Pan from 7:30 - 8:40 am. At that time, we went and hung out at the rope between Liberty Square and Fantasyland, waiting for entry into Frontierland. We were on the heels of the CM who led the way, and proceeded to Splash Mountain, where we got a bunch of Fastpasses for Kevin and ourselves. Quickly turned toward Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, where we found Kevin waiting for us on the big boulder at 9 am, exactly as promised. (Dependable guy!) Stood in line at BTMRR for a short while, but it went 101, so we strolled over along the water to the Haunted Mansion. Headed back to Splash Mountain, where we rode a few times using Fastpasses, then caught the railroad for a spin around the MK and back to the front gate, where we waved goodbye to the castle.

Caught a bus back to All-Star Sports, where we checked out, loaded the van and had some lunch. The boys played in the arcade a bit, while I wrapped up some loose ends.

Hopped in the van and drove over to the Studios, where we met Kevin and Kim outside Tower of Terror! It was SOOO good to see Kim, who we last spent time with in Dallas at the Texas meet in June. Kevin, swell guy, had gotten us all Fastpasses for Tower of Terror, and we pretty much walked right on. After TofT, we headed over to MuppetVision 4D .... 'twas nice to sit in comfy, air-conditioned surroundings, and we all howled as usual at the Muppets' capers. Needing some caffeine for my drive back to Tampa, we all popped in to The Writer's Stop, a bookstore with coffee and frozen specialty drinks. Got a frozen cappucino and sipped in ease (and A/C) while talking... this is a nice beat-the-heat hideaway. Peeked in at the folks eating at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, and have NEVER seen a Disney eating establishment so .... quiet. The movies were playing, and people were gazing at the screen and eating in total silence.... perhaps a good thing for hot and worn-out children.

All five of us drove over to Pleasure Island on a search for an Adventurer's Club pin. Alas.... AC merchandise is no longer made and could not be found. Learned that AC pins could only be obtained by trading... and it was too late in our trip to begin looking at lanyards. Kim VERY generously gave each boy a McDonald's Disney pin, which they used to "trade up" for a better pin. Thanks, Kim!

Hugs goodbye to Kevin and Kim, and the boys and I headed west, back "home" to Tampa. Bye, WDW! On to the Tampa Airport to pick up Paul, as he flew in from Atlanta .....

This has been a Disney-filled year for the boys and me, but I think the best is yet to come. In October, seven girlfriends and I will be sharing two rooms at The Beach Club during the Food & Wine Festival. That will be a rather upscale trip, as the trip organizer talked us into buying the "ultimate" package, which provides two flex features a day. Options to choose from include a full meal at any of the park or resort restaurants, tours, even Cirque du Soleil! With no kids along, we will focus little on rides and attractions and more on the gourmet and entertainment aspects of WDW. I am VERY much looking forward to that.

Adios for now.....

Kathy Salvie

salvie@gte.net

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