 |  |
| Discussion Boards | Reviews | News | Trip Planning | Shop | Travel | Site Map |
| Disney Trip Report Archive An archive of reader-submitted trip reports | |
| Alex Stroup, editor | Search just the Trip Report Archive. |
|
Sherry Scoggins -- November 2000 -- Walt Disney World (Plaza Hotel)
Day 1: Departure I decided to go ahead and teach today since my plane didn't leave until 4:45. My conference period is the last period of the day, so I was able to leave by 2:30. I was so hyper that I'm not sure how effective I was at teaching, but the kids certainly didn't mind My plane left Abilene on time and arrived in Dallas around 5:45. This gave me just enough time to change terminals to catch my connecting flight to Orlando. My brother was going to meet me at the departure gate with Subways (who wants airport food? Yuk!) to munch on the plane. I was glad I was able to arrange for us to be on the same flights to and from Orlando. (Note: My hubby had decided that the week-long trip in July was enough for one year, so he opted out on this trip. This meant I had to find someone to keep me company. Fortunately, my brother and I get along famously and he was also able to take off work for a few days.) Our flight to Orlando was very eventful! We were over Mississippi when the gentleman in front of me passed out. His wife tried to revive him and when she realized he wasn't asleep, called the flight attendant. Very fortunately, the man sitting next to me was an ER doctor and was able to help the gentleman. Actually, there were four doctors on the plane! Well, regulations being what they are, we were forced to make an emergency landing in Jackson, MS. The paramedics came on board with their machines and such. I had a "front row seat" so to speak, and was able to watch as they took his pulse, monitored his heart rate, etc. He seemed okay, but his pulse rate was what the paramedic called "a little low" so they decided to deplane in Jackson to get the gentleman checked out at a hospital. I felt really sorry for the couple. I'm sure this was NOT the way they had planned their flight. It was nice to know, however, that in the event of an emergency, the crew can have you on the ground in less than 30 minutes. After an hour or so, we finally took off for Orlando. We were delayed because we had to refuel, file a new flight plan, etc. We wound up not getting to Orlando until nearly midnight. Ugh. Our driver from Tiffany Towncar was waiting patiently for us at baggage claim. We were grateful. After getting our luggage, it was off to Downtown Disney. I've never stayed off-site before, and I never will again. The hotel itself was fine, and the room was a bit larger than the rooms at the Caribbean Beach. The transportation, however, was horrible. More about that later though. After checking in and making all the appropriate phone calls home, we finally crashed at 2:00. We were very glad we had no plans for an early morning! Day 2: Magic Kingdom and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party We managed to wake up around 9:00. After leisurely getting dressed, we figured out that we had missed the bus. Apparently at Downtown Disney hotels the busses only run once an hour after 9:00. So, we hoofed it to Downtown Disney to catch an "official" bus. We had watched the forecast and had packed what we thought would be appropriate clothes. Orlando weather isn't that different from Abilene weather most of the time. We were wrong. Our first stop at DD was World of Disney so we could buy short-sleeved shirts. I think it got up into the seventies that day. Anyway, we jumped on a bus and made it to the MK by 11:30. We rented a locker to stow our sweatshirts and jackets and wandered over to Tony's Town Square to see if we could get in. The hostess said they would open at noon and we would be seated right away. I went to the connecting shop and lo and behold, there were characters signing autographs! It was all seven dwarfs. Unfortunately, I had left my autograph book in the hotel room and my brother was sitting in the waiting area. I had a cast member take my photo with Dopey and then went back to the waiting area. Some kids overheard me tell Scott about it so they scrammed back there to see the dwarfs. Promptly at noon we were seated. The first thing our server asked us was if we were on our honeymoon. This was not to be the only time we were asked that. We gave him a funny look and a "Ewww! Gross!" and placed our order. Scott had one of the chicken pasta dishes (I forget the name) and I had the calzone of the day. It was stuffed with five cheeses, spinach, and Italian sausage. Very nummy. After lunch we decided to tour the park clockwise, and began with the Jungle Cruise. We only waited inline for about two minutes. Throughout the entire trip, we never waited in line more than ten minutes for anything. It was great! Next we hit Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Christmas Country Bear Jamboree, and the Haunted Mansion. Scott likes to try to make the cast members crack up at HM. He usually tries to stare them down. He also usually loses. We decided he wouldn't be a good HM cast member. From Liberty Square we went to Fantasyland where I got brave enough to ride the Tea Cups. I made Scott promise not to make me puke. Calzone going down is fine; coming up is another story altogether. I must admit it was a lot of fun and I didn't get queasy at all. From there we sauntered through Toon Town, then took the back path to Tomorrowland. There was no line for Alien Encounter, so we did that first. It has to be one of my favorite attractions at MK. We looked at the wait times for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and the wait was 40 minutes for each. So, off we went to see the show in front of the castle. While we were sitting there, the couple next to us asked if we planned on going on Splash Mountain then offered us their Fast Passes! The passes were for 4:10 - 5:10, and it was 4:30. Perfect timing! Off to Splash Mountain. Side note: we decided we were hexed. Every single time we went over the walkway to get to Splash Mountain, water hit us from the ride. It got to be funny before it was all said and done. We rode Splash and didn't get too wet, which we were glad of. We had a 5:30 PS for Liberty Tree Tavern, but decided to see if we could get in a little early. Again, no wait. I thought the food was just okay, but then again, I was still full from lunch. We had a hoot with the characters. Since I didn 't have my autograph book, I had them sign the back of my menu with the waitress's pen. The part that was most fun was when Chip sneaked up on Scott and really spooked him (Scott was distracted by a child who was crying because Pluto scared her). Chip and I had a good laugh over it. From there we went to Main Street and watched the fireworks. We decided to sit for a while and let the crowd leave before we got in line for MVMCP. I had never been to this, and after reading about it on RADP and WDWIG, I was really excited about it. It seemed to take forever to get the park cleared out, but they finally let us all back in around 7:30. Since we had toured clockwise in the afternoon, we toured counter-clockwise this evening. First we had the obligatory photo made, then hit Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain. Next we finished up Fantasyland with Snow White's Scary Adventure, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight, and It's a Small World. Then it was off to the HM and BTMR. From there we went back to Adventureland to finish up with PoC and the Jungle Cruise. The only horrid part was when Scott stepped in vomit in the queue for PoC. It was really gross! Oh, and we were just coming out of the ride when the fireworks were going off so we only saw the end of them. What we saw was fantastic, though. By now it was time to stake out a spot for the parade, so we grabbed a complimentary hot cocoa and a cookie and found a great spot just at the castle end of Main Street. We waited about 45 minutes and the parade began. All I can say is "Wow!" I thought it was great. Our heinies were a little frozen after sitting on cement for so long, so we went to the cocoa place in Tomorrowland to warm up. We drank our cocoa, munched our cookies, and watched the throng of people file out. By now it was after midnight, and we were pooped. We went to the TTC and caught a bus back to the hotel. Sleep was not far behind. Day 3: MGM Studios and Fantasmic Once again we managed to wake up late. We decided that room service wouldn't be any more expensive than park food, so we ordered in. Again, we missed the bus so we decided to grab a cab. $17.00 plus tip to get from Downtown Disney to MGM. Sheeze! At least it was faster than the bus (as we would later discover). Our first stop was at Guest Services to book a Fantasmic dinner package. We were able to get a PS for Hollywood and Vine for 5:30 and seats the 8:00 Fantasmic. This was something we both enjoyed when we were there in July, so we were glad to get to do it again without having to endure the crowded wait. Scott decided the clockwise pattern for touring worked well, so we started doing the same thing here. Just as we were about to go to Sounds Dangerous, they announced that Jon Secada would be putting his handprints in cement in front of The Great Movie Ride. We walked over and got a couple of snapshots of him and then went back to Sounds Dangerous. This is one of our favorite "shows" at MGM. Next it was off to the behind the scenes tour (I forget the name; not the backlot tour, but the other one). We thought about Bear in the Big Blue House, but the show didn't start for quite a while. The Tower of Terror had virtually no line, so we did that and then got Fast Passes for Rock-n-Roller Coaster. After grabbing a soda, we decided that we had time to go back to the hotel for a break. We found our bus and it wasn't too crowded. After about 90 minutes at the hotel, we headed down to get the 5:00 bus. Big mistake. It made a total of six stops at six hotels before heading to MGM. On top of that, it was an Epcot/MGM bus, so it stopped at Epcot first! We didn't get to MGM until 5:45. Since it was getting dark the lines to get in were horrendous (Osborne Light spectators). I went up to the exit and told the cast member our PS was for 5:30 and she looked at our tickets, checked our hand stamps, and let us in. Fortunately the restaurant was running behind so they hadn't noticed we were late. The food here was okay, but I definitely like the breakfast there better. After dinner we went back to look at the Osborne Lights, but the crowd was so bad that we didn't get past the front entrance. From there we went to the side entrance for Fantasmic. We waited about 30 minutes before we were seated, and our seats were on the third row. Just close enough to get wet (thankfully it wasn't cold out). FYI, the man sitting behind us was a cast member who said that the reservations systems were going to expand to include foreign language operators. He had just passed his test in German and would be working the reservation system when they got it up and running. Once Fantasmic was over we went to catch the bus. It was just driving off as we walked up. We ended up waiting nearly 40 minutes for it to come back. Once it got back it was standing room only. It took forever to get back to the hotel. Scott said he remembered that we were the second stop, so I suggested we get off at the Hilton and just walk. I thought it would be nice to make room for the other riders. Huge mistake. We actually got off at the Wyndham. For those not familiar with the DD hotels, the Wyndham is on the other side of a large pond, near Lake Buena Vista golf course and the Disney Institute. We started traipsing thru the Disney Institute heading in the direction of the lights of Downtown Disney. Fortunately, a cast member in a golf court drove up after we'd been walking for about ten minutes and she gave us a lift to DD. From there we walked on to the Marriot. We vowed to never get off the bus early again. Of course, it gave us a good laugh once we were safely tucked in our room. I decided to crash, and Scott headed down to Pleasure Island to check out 8-Trax and the Wildhorse Saloon. He complained that all they did was line dance and box-step at the saloon. Guess he missed Texas two-stepping. Day 4: Epcot and the Candlelight Processional We woke up late yet again, and decided to forego breakfast and just eat brunch at Epcot. At least the bus stopped at Epcot first, so we didn't have such a long ride this time. Our first stop was to pick up our badges for the 8:15 Candlelight Processional. This took quite a while. They should have some sort of Fast Pass line for those who already have their reservations and just need to pick up their badges. Anyway, once inside the park we went to the Land to eat brunch. I HAD to see Food Rocks, as this is one of my favorite shows at Epcot. I guess it is the 1980s in me. From the Land we went to Journey into Your Imagination, followed by Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Again, no wait for either of these. Scott wanted to buy a hat so we went to Mouseworks where he found a Tigger hat. We decided to head around World Showcase starting with Canada. We caught the last half of Off-Kilter, then shopped for a bit in most of the pavilions. We had made our way to Norway when it was time for Tapestry of Nations. We found a great spot by the Stave church and watched the parade. That music really is infectious! It gets stuck in your head (but in a good way). We then hit Test Track and chose the single riders line. That is really the best way to do that ride, in my opinion. We waited all of five minutes. By this time it was getting close to our PS time at Marrakesh, so we began the trek around the lagoon. Since our meal was one price (because of the Candlelight Processional package) we were able to indulge in an appetizer, entree, and dessert. I had the salmon and asked them to substitute couscous for the rice. It was wonderful. This is one restaurant we have to eat at every time we come. We were able to catch the first part of the floor show before we decided to leave. When we walked out it had gotten quite cold. We hadn't brought our jackets with us, so we hurried back to Mouseworks to get sweatshirts. I was glad we got that extra CP discount! It was time to go back to the other side of the lagoon to line up for CP. The previous show was just letting out, and we didn't really know where to line up at, so we walked down to the front and asked a CM where to go. He said we could just go ahead and pick a seat! We chose seats on the edge of the third row, right next to the stage. We had perfect seats! I was glad we had done the dinner package because #1 we didn't have to wait in line, and #2 we were so close to the stage that we were partially sheltered from the north wind. Anyway, before long the show started. MAGNIFICENT! James Avery ("Fresh Prince of Bel Aire") narrated it. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. I wished for my video camera on more than one occasion. (If anyone has a copy of his narration at the CP, please let me know). After CP was over we walked over to the Future World side of the lagoon to watch Illuminations. I think it is nicely done, but the "earth" part is a bit long. Once Illuminations was over, we joined the mass exodus and left the park. I had picked up a bunch of souvenirs for some of my students and had them sent to package pick-up, so we stopped by there on the way out. The line for the bus was horrible and it was so cold out that we decided to take a cab. Well-spent money. We thought about hitting Pleasure Island, but we were so toasty in our room that we decided to call it a night. We got our bags packed for the journey home and went to bed. Day 5: Disney Quest and departure We set our alarm for the first time of the trip. 9:00am. The front desk had commented that we were "sleeping in" when I requested the wake up call. I didn't tell her that this was earlier than we had been up all weekend! We debated on going to Animal Kingdom or Disney Quest. DQ won. I had to go to Downtown Disney to get some hats embroidered, so it made sense to do DQ. We had never done it before, so it sounded appealing. It was great. We could have spent several more hours there. As it was, we stayed from 10:30 - 1:30. Even here we didn't have to wait long. I think I waited ten minutes to do the Cyber Space Mountain. For those unfamiliar with it, you design your own roller coaster on the computer and then get to "ride" it in a simulator. I made mine rather tame as I didn't know what to expect. If I'd had more time, I would have re-done it and added a few more twists and turns. It was time to head back to the hotel, so we stopped by to pick up all the freshly embroidered hats and walked back to the hotel. Our driver was waiting for us. We got our luggage out of storage (we had checked out before going to DQ) and headed for the airport. We got there with a couple of hours to spare, so I bought the new Rosamund Pilcher book and a Dr. Pepper (egads I miss Dr. Pepper when I'm at Disney World!) and patiently waited for our flight. The flight to Dallas was smooth, and I alternated between reading and sleeping. I said goodbye to Scott at the airport (he lives in Dallas), and caught the shuttle to another terminal. My flight home was full of servicemen fresh from Saudi. They were enthusiastic about coming home, to say the least. It was interesting to see everyone waiting for them with flowers and balloons and signs at the gate in Abilene. I was glad to be home with my hubby, but sad about leaving WDW. I'm already planning my return trip for next December! Overall, it was a great trip, and I can't wait to get back. Sherry Scoggins mizdiz2@home.com Mail a Comment to Sherry Scoggins |
|