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Rebecca Vaughn -- January 2000 -- Walt Disney World (SOG)The Disney Babes Take on the World!
Our trip really began a few weeks after my previous trip to WDW. I was feeling those post-WDW vacation blues and knowing that we couldn't afford another trip soon, when I got the idea that, while all of us couldn't go soon, one of us might be able to swing it. Of course, since I am the Disneyophile, I was the first one I thought of! We had taken our previous trip with our good friends, Ron and Misako, and she was as smitten with the World as I was so I thought that she and I might could make a vacation of it. I called Misako with my heart beating faster as I dialed. When I told her my plan she said, "You're joking." After I assured her this was no joking matter she told me that it made her heart beat faster just to think about it! I knew then we would try our best to pull it off. I sold my husband and daughter on the idea (my daughter agreed because she got to go to Disneyland with friends in the summer and my husband agreed because I told him I would pay for it myself!) then we thought about inviting some more of our friends. We ended up inviting most every woman we knew and at the end of it all we had a group of 8 ready for a January 2000 trip. Our husbands were all dears about it and loved to tease us. One of them started calling us the Disney Babes and that is the name that stuck. It might not have been very accurate but did we ever enjoy it! We had our first planning meeting in August at which I cooked dinner from around the World - a cottage pie from the Rose and Crown, Vegetable salad from the Contemporary, a shrimp appetizer from the Polynesian and Cheese Bread from The Land. We took pictures and planned to make a scrapbook together when we returned home. That first meeting lasted 6 hours! It was great fun and we found that we were very compatible because 4 of us liked a cold hotel room and 4 liked a hot one! We made our reservations at the Shades of Green and started looking for flights. Unfortunately, health problems caused one of our number to have to drop out. She was very disappointed but knew it would not be much fun to be sick at WDW. Well, we bought our 7 tickets ($214 from Seattle) and got down to the business of planning our schedule. Since I am the official Disney nut, I brought tons of information to them, much of it from this site, and loaned them all my Disney guidebooks and my WDW Explorer. Then we all met again and came up with a list of our "must sees". Our plans were for a 6 night stay at the Shades of Green, an Illuminations Cruise and several nice dinners at the parks. When it was time to make reservations for the cruise, Disney changed their policy to 90 days in advance instead of 60. When I read that on this site, I panicked, called right away and got them for the day I wanted! We had our final planning meeting right before Christmas. We planned a party at a tea room so we could relax before the holidays and finish up our planning. I made a huge cookie decorated like Mickey Mouse and they served it at the end of a wonderful tea. Then we found out that we were losing another member of our group. We were all disappointed but she was able to get a credit on her ticket so at least she didn't lose her money. We were down to 6 but it still would work out as far as the rooms went. Day 1 - Jan 25 Well, it was finally time to leave and were we ever ready! I hadn't slept for several nights due to a combination of excitement and illness. About 3 weeks before we left, I caught a cold and it turned into bronchitis. Then, 6 days before we left, I sneezed and tore some cartilage in my back. I couldn't even move for about 48 hours. I was determined to recover before we left so I took off from work and concentrated on getting better. We all met on Tuesday morning at the airport (except for Carolyn - she lives in Alabama and would meet us in Orlando). Our flight left at 7:00am. We had a great flight and actually arrived early at about 4:45pm. We saw Gerard, our driver from Tiffany Town Car, as soon as we got to the baggage claim. Then we saw Carolyn right behind him. So far, so good. Gerard had a 14 passenger van which was a good thing with all the luggage we brought. He stopped by Publix for us and we bought up all the Aquafina in the store. That Florida water taste has never grown on us so we all bought 24 bottles of water to drink at the hotel and in the parks. Just as we drove in the gates of the Magic Kingdom, the fireworks began. It was as if they had planned it just for us and it was a magical start to our stay. When we got to the hotel, we checked in and found out that we had gotten all of our requests - adjoining rooms, refrigerators, and rooms close to the front desk. Last year our rooms were in the very back and more walking after the parks didn't appeal to us. We all got unpacked and it turned out that everyone in the cold room was a neat freak and everyone in the hot room was...not! Perfect! We had dinner in the hotel restaurant. The buffet included flank steak, Florentine soup, chicken cashmere, baked grouper, grilled pork loin, chicken with artichokes and mushrooms and assorted vegetables. It was great, especially the soup and the price was only $11.95. We were all exhausted after our travels so it was lights out by 11:00pm. Day 2 - Jan 26 We wanted to arrive when Epcot opened at 9:00am so we were up by 6:30 this morning. We had the breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant and were on the bus by 8:30. It was extremely cold and we were the second group to arrive at the monorail. I asked if we could sit up front and the attendant said, "Sure. Just wait right there. I'll remember you." Even though he was busy, he did remember and 4 of us rode into Epcot with Spaceship Earth looming over us. Misako and I had ridden up front last time so the other 4 got the pleasure on this trip. While they were riding, the driver looked over our itinerary and approved. As we were approaching Epcot I was looking to see how crowded it was and I couldn't see a line at all. When we got to the gate we found out there wasn't a line! It was so cold nobody was there. We walked right into the line for Test Track when one of us said, "I need to find a bathroom." Then we walked right out of the line for Test Track. Actually, it worked out for the best because Test Track broke down for about 5 minutes and when we reentered we walked right into the preshow area! It was a great ride but I expected more thrills. After that we visited the Wonders of Life pavilion, Universe of Energy and Spaceship Earth. All of those had 0 waits. We also went through the Ice Station Cool exhibit because I hadn't got to visit last time. I tricked everybody else into trying Beverly, so I had to try it also when I finished laughing at them. My favorite was the one from Israel. Next stop was the Land pavilion for lunch. We all really enjoyed this stop. We sampled the vegetable wrap sandwiches, the vegetable soup and vegetable lasagna. We waited about 5 minutes for the boat ride - our longest wait so far. Then we went to Journey into Your Imagination and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. When we came out we knew we would need more clothes when the sun went down so we all bought sweatshirts and gloves. My sweatshirt is gray with the Walt Disney World 2000 logo in raised embroidery and I love it. We took the boat to Germany and spent about 45 minutes touring each country. We did Germany, Italy, America and Japan before everyone began to get hungry. We decided to just stop at whichever restaurant looked good and began to roam the streets. We looked at the menu at Chefs de France but somebody said fish and chips sounded good so we went to the United Kingdom. The only tables they had open were on the patio so we started to leave. They called us back and said they had put heaters out there and there was plastic blocking the open railing. We checked it out and it was fine so we stayed. That was the most fun meal we had our whole trip. We had a delightful server named Simon who knew just how to play our table (and all the other tables, too!) and the food was great. We had lamb stew, fish and chips, salmon pie, mushroom puff pastry and salad. For dessert we all shared one of the millennium specials which was a big chocolate Spaceship Earth with white chocolate mousse inside and berries around the outside. It was almost too gorgeous to eat but we managed! When we left the restaurant, we saw Captain Hook, the Queen of Hearts, Mr. Smee and Friar Tuck. I had brought my daughter's autograph book so we stopped for autographs and pictures. Then we continued to the Yacht Club for our Illuminations cruise. By this time it was very, very cold and we were having second thoughts about going out on the water but decided to go ahead. Captain Ron was waiting for us and had big fluffy blankets on the boat. He was very nice and cheerful and took us for a tour before parking under the bridge for the show. It was so great! We had such a good spot to watch it, it looked like we were center stage. That was definitely a highlight of our trip and I will always book the cruise from now on. We took a taxi from the Yacht Club and drank hot tea to warm up before bed. Day 3 - Jan 27 This was our Magic Kingdom day and I had planned to go in for early entry. I knew everybody would be tired from our late night so I didn't expect to have any company. But these ladies had had a taste of the magic and weren't going to miss a thing. We all were up by 5:00am and walked up to the gate at the TTC as they were doing the countdown. As soon as we arrived we headed for the castle (Carolyn cried when she saw it) to see if a breakfast reservation had magically appeared. One server said there was nothing available and her manager told her to take it anyway. We were seated in less than 5 minutes! We saw Jasmine, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland at breakfast and the Fairy Godmother was in the downstairs waiting area. More autographs and the breakfast was delicious. We enjoy being waited on and called My Lady! We left the castle and rode Peter Pan and Snow White with no wait. Winnie the Pooh had about a 10 minute wait. It was very cute. Then we went to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear and Alien Encounter. Next to Critter Country where it was too cold for Splash Mt. but just right for Big Thunder Mt. This is the only time, at Disneyland or Disneyworld, that I have ever walked right on to that ride. It was great! Then we did the Haunted Mansion and the rest of my party did the Country Bear Jamboree. I really can't stand that show! 4 of us rode the riverboat while 2 of us rested on the rockers in front of the shops then we went in to lunch at the Diamond Horseshoe. We had a table front and center of the stage because I wanted the ladies to be part of the show. Of course, it backfired but they all got to laugh at me. Then we lined up at the bridge outside the Hall of Presidents for the Magical Moments Parade. Well, remember the bronchitis I had just gotten over? It was back with a vengeance so I had to leave after the parade to go to the doctor. The healthcare service came to the hotel to pick me up, took me to Walgreens for medicine and then took me back to the hotel. And the best part was my insurance paid for it. Anyway, the other ladies did some shopping and then went back to Epcot. They saw the Tapestry of Nations parade and watched Illuminations again then it was back to the hotel. Day 4 - Jan 28 Well, as they say at Disney - Another day, another park. Today was Animal Kingdom. We were up early again to be there at the 8:00 opening. We caught the 7:00 bus so we were among the first 50 people at the gates. They had a cute little opening ceremony and we entered the park. We decided to ride the Safari first and on the way over we realized we had forgotten about breakfast. We rode the ride and saw elephants, lions, giraffe, black rhinos, white rhinos, alligators and lots of things that I don't remember the name of. After the ride we took the exploration trail and headed to Harambe for breakfast. Tamie stopped to get her face painted while the rest of us bought breakfast. The face painting was so elaborate and beautiful. She chose a butterfly and looked really cute. Then we headed for Countdown to Extinction and back to the Tree of Life for It's Tough to Be A Bug. We did the show once and then met with another member of our party who had been sick and didn't want to get out early. She wanted to see the show too so we did it again. I really enjoyed the second time around because I was able to focus on the people around me. Everybody seems to love that show! We shopped for a while afterwards and then went to the Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. Just as we were sitting down it started to rain. We had a leisurely lunch hoping that it would stop but it didn't. We all donned our ponchos and set out for the Lion King show. We had not seen this show last year and we were all awed. It was really high energy and colorful. While we were waiting to see it we got cookies which were fresh baked and very tasty. It rained the rest of the day but we were wiped out by that time anyway. We went back to the hotel and rested then went to O'hana for dinner. That was one of our favorite dinners last year and we all loved watching the fireworks from O'hana's dining room. By this time, 3 of us were sick and the other 3 were very tired so we headed back to the hotel for an early night. Day 5 - Jan 29 Today we had planned to sleep in and then go to Typhoon Lagoon. Well, the weather had other plans! It was too cold to swim, especially since some of us were sick, so we decided to shop instead. We slept late, had the breakfast buffet at the hotel and headed for Downtown Disney. We shopped until lunch time then ate at Fulton's Crab House. We sampled blue crab, seafood salad, seafood pasta, a seafood sandwich and the milk chocolate creme brulee. It was all very good. Just a note here for other Pacific Northwesterners - the concept of really good mochas, lattes, etc. has not made it this far south yet! We were disappointed consistently with the specialty coffees but none of us were really hooked so it was okay. Now, this next part sounds like things took a turn for the worse but it really worked out okay, you just have to finish reading my report! While we were shopping we asked to have our purchases shipped to our homes. The cast members in two different stores told us that we could have everything shipped back to our hotel then combine all our Disney purchases in one box and the hotel would ship it all for $13.95 each. (Not that we could all put our purchases together but each of us would have one box.) Since the Shades of Green is on WDW but still not one of the WDW hotels, I asked if they also had that service. We were assured twice that they did. So 6 women shopped like there was no tomorrow and had it all shipped back to the hotel. More on that story later. We then left Downtown Disney and headed for our priority seating at the Plaza restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. This time if we had been riding rides our wait times would have been much longer. It was pretty crowded. We had a nice dinner and a very nice waitress. We tried the vegetable sandwich, the chicken and strawberry salad, the reuben sandwich and the dessert sampler. We left at 7:20 so we could see Tinkerbell fly at 7:30. Our plan was to watch the flight then, when the fireworks started, move over to the curb to get a spot for the 2nd Main Street Electrical Parade. We managed not only to get a curb but to get a lovely spot to see the fireworks, too. The parade was great - the last time I had seen it had been its farewell year in Disneyland. When it was over the park closed but there was still time for some more shopping. We all bought Mickey ears with our names on them and wore them home that night. Our kids would have been so embarrassed! When we got back to the hotel we had a message that we had a package at the front desk. Carolyn went to pick it up and came back with two huge bags in her arms. After her, came the bellman with four huge bags. He then went back into the hall and made about 5 more trips in. They had had to bring a luggage cart to get it all to us! I think we were famous in the hotel after that because sometimes they would ask one of us if we were one of the ladies in 289 and 290. I guess you have to get your 15 minutes of fame for something! Tomorrow - MGM Day 6 - Jan 30 Today we were up at 6:30 so that we could attend church for the morning service. We went out on the balcony and saw that we would get to wear our shorts for the first time! The weather was beautiful. I had made reservations with Budget car rental to have a minivan for the day. They told me to call back on January 24th and arrange for someone to come and pick up the member of our party that was driving. I did that and then they told me that I didn't need to call back that soon. I could call the morning we needed the van and they would have someone run over to get us. Could I call at 7:30? Sure, no problem. Warning bells went off but I cheerfully ignored them and called at 7:30 Sunday morning. Guess what? They don't open till 8:00 and the soonest we could be picked up was 9:00. But there would only be 5 of us going since 1 was too sick to get out so we arranged for a car instead of a minivan. When our driver finally got there they apologized for the problems and told her we would be much more comfortable in an Excursion and it cost less than a minivan. By the time she got back to pick us all up we were going to be late for church but we thought we might just make it if we hurried. I had printed directions from Mapquest and we only got a little lost. Anyway, we came in after the service started and were ushered to the very front row! Kinda embarrassing, especially since I had to wear my T-shirt that says, "Mickey loves Rebecca". But it was a good service and we enjoyed meeting lots of new friends. We had all brought clothes to change into so we drove directly to MGM. We ate pizza and hamburgers at Rosie's and went to get a fastpass at the Rock 'N Roller Coaster. This was the only time we ever got to use the fastpass system and it worked out great. We had time to ride the Tower of Terror and shop for a few minutes and it was time to go back and ride. We all loved it except for Cathy. Her head and neck got banged around a little too much. After that first 3 seconds it was pure fun. Then we went to the Great Movie Ride, the Sounds Dangerous show, Star Tours and Muppets 3-D. After that it was time to line up for Fantasmic. Last year they had us line up in a queue and stand until about 15 minutes before the show. This time we walked right in and chose our seats. We bought popcorn and Tinkerbell flashlights and watched the comedians doing stunts at the front of the arena. They really made the time go faster and the show was just great. I forget how extravagant it is each time I see it. When it was over, we let the crowds go ahead of us and then meandered back to Hollywood Blvd. We did some more shopping (I found a Mickey antenna ball for my car!) and just people watched for a while. We were one of the last vehicles in the parking lot which made our vehicle very easy to find. We popped in the new Millennium CD and headed back to the hotel. We enjoyed the Prime Rib buffet for dinner and went back to the room to pack. We had found out earlier that Shades of Green didn't ship packages after all so I had called Guest Relations at Downtown Disney and explained our problem. They told me to take our purchases to any of the other resorts and they would ship them for us. Cathy took all our packages to the Polynesian and told them the story. They said they had never heard of that policy and couldn't do it. So she came back to Shades of Green where they were very sympathetic and helped her wrap and pack all our souvenirs. We were going to have to check them on the plane and hope the airlines didn't charge us. Oh well! On to our last day. Day 7 - Jan 31 We were up at 6:00 this morning to do Early Entry into the Magic Kingdom. (We had considered going back to MGM to ride the coaster but we felt we just had to be in the Magic Kingdom for that last day) We checked out of the hotel and left our bags with the bellman. Rain had not been forecast but we realized as soon as we got to the monorail that we would have to buy those yellow Mickey ponchos. Everybody suited up and we were off to play. We rode Space Mt., Cinderella's Carousel and shopped a little more then we caught the monorail to the Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickeys. Cathy had returned the Excursion that morning and met us there. We had a great breakfast but the atmosphere was a little rushed. We even had to ask our server to get Mickey back to our table because he posed for one picture with one person and then left. On the way out the door we got our pictures made with Goofy, did a little shopping and got on the monorail for the MK. As we were putting on our ponchos, Misako got hers backwards so that it covered her face. We all had a big laugh as did the young man in the seat behind us. We started talking with him and found out that he had been the Goofy at our breakfast! He was very friendly and posed for pictures with all of us. We couldn't help but think it was pretty bad when Goofy was laughing at us! We got back to the Magic Kingdom and rode Pirates of the Caribbean. We decided we couldn't leave without riding Splash Mt. no matter how wet we got. There definitely wasn't a line for this ride and we got soaked. The picture came out great as most of us held our arms up for the drop. We rode Big Thunder Mt. then It's A Small World. That one had just opened from refurbishing so we were glad we got the chance to have that song stuck in our heads! We pressed on to Toon Town and rode the Barnstormer and toured Minnie's house. We were all sad when we caught the train to Main Street for some final shopping and atmosphere before we left. In the Emporium, I thought I would ask one of the cast members about the policy for shipping at the resorts just to see if we were told the same thing. Well, I think her name was Rachel and she told us the same story so I told her about what had happened with us. She told us to wait there while she got her manager. He came back with a driver, told us how sorry he was for the inconvenience and asked which one of us wanted to go with him to pick up our packages so that he could ship them! We were all just overwhelmed and it certainly reconfirmed our belief in Disney magic. Cathy went with the driver and the rest of us headed for dessert at the Main Street Bake shop. We sampled a variety but the clear winner was the lemon layer cake. We boxed up our leftovers for Cathy and headed out the gate. (Just between us, some of us cried!) By the time we had changed clothes, Gerard was there to pick us up. None of us wanted to leave but as soon as we got on the plane we started thinking about our families and how much we missed them. Our husbands had gotten together several times while we were gone (once they ate off of pink Sleeping Beauty plates!) and we really appreciated them for enjoying this trip for us. When we got off the plane in Seattle (wearing our Mickey ears and skipping up to the gate) they met us with roses and my daughter had made a sign saying, "Welcome home Disney Babes" and that was the perfect end to a perfect vacation. Rebecca Vaughn mickeydreamer@cs.com Mail a Comment to Rebecca Vaughn |
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