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Michael J Faas -- May 2001 -- Walt Disney World (ASMoR)Trip Vitals: Cast of Characters:
Travel info:
And finally, the trip. Here are a couple of pre-cursors. First off, this trip was scheduled because of a need to go home again. I am not a DVC member, but feel at home anywhere in the world. My sister wished to go for her Spring Break, but the money wasn't right then, so she asked me if I would go in May after her semester was over. We had traveled to WDW in August of 1999 on my tab as a HS graduation present to her, so we knew we could travel together. We decided to split the bill, so in February I called to make reservations. We were on a budget, so my Disney Club membership came in quite handy. I booked us 5 nights at the All Star Movies, no Disney Club discount. BUT, the Disney Club discount came into play when I purchased our park tickets. I got a quote on a 6 day Ultimate Park Hopper ticket ($566.10) because I knew we would be going to more than one water park, and we like to frequent Pleasure Island. On the phone, they called it a 5 day Ultimate World Hopper Plus Pass, and told me I could only get it at check-in or at Guest Relations. The title of the pass would pose a problem, but I decided to get the tickets when I got to WDW. It is now that I found out that one of my best friends (Jeff) and his family would be at WDW with their DVC membership for 2 of the same days we were there. We agreed to try to have diner together while we were there. Now, my parents had also wanted to take a much-needed vacation (my dad was in a coma for 3 months and then in physical rehab for 8 months). As a result, he was wheelchair bound. They would need some help on vacation, and my sister mentioned to them that they should go for part of the same time we were there, so they booked their time-share in Orlando for the week. I got them a Disney Club discount on 4-day Park Hopper tickets, and booked their Cirque Du Soleil tickets. I called Amtrak and got them tickets to get from NJ to Orlando, using the disabled person and companion discount. They got a sleeper car, and my sister and I would be picking them up in Orlando. I can be called a mini-travel agent of sorts. Back to us now. After taking care of hotel and deciding on what to do for tickets, I booked us tickets for Universal on the internet (2 day 2 park pass, my folks would use the second day). I then found a great price on a flight to Orlando from Newark (Approx. $176 per person). I got two tickets and gave one to my sister as her birthday present. Then I used my discount through work and booked a rental car through Avis ($197 - $15 coupon). I called and made some Priority Seatings for both my sister and I and my parents, and coordinated to have 2 meals with Jeff and his family on the vacation. Next comes the big surprise. After reading many Trip reports, I decided a great Mother's Day / Father's Day present would be a nice relaxing Fireworks cruise on the night of my parents arrival. I spoke with my sister and we decided to split the cost & tip. I called and booked it. Ahhh, all done except for the wait. Day 1, Tuesday - May 15, 2001 Only Pre-Trip Plans
Actual Day Ugh. Alarm going off at 3:15 AM is not a good sound. I shaved and took a shower, then I woke my sister up (she crashed at my apartment as to not wake my parents up at this ungodly hour). We were all set and on the road to the Gorgeous Newark Airport at 4. Parked the car in the Monorail Lot (remember this for the trip home), and took the Monorail to the Terminal. As usual, the check-in counter was at the opposite end of where the Monorail let out. But we just walked all the way over to USAir, and waited for them to open the counter. Check-in went well, and we just got some breakfast and headed over to our flight. Kim slept on the plane but I could not. We switched planes in Charlotte, with no problem, and got to Orlando right on time. Our bags came out, and we began to walk over to Avis. Here is the first great moment. I am an Avis preferred member, and have never had this royal of a treatment before. I just walked up to the parking deck (no need for the counter line), and the person handed me my key and told me where the car was and to have a good day. I got a free upgrade, without asking for it or expecting it. I had a Chevy Lumina, which is a Full-Size car, not the intermediate I reserved. I was ecstatic over this because we did actually have room to pick up my parents and their luggage now, or so I had thought. The car only had 7 miles on it!!! We then drove over to the World and saw the friendly purple sign. Home, finally. I then went to check-in. Check-in posed a problem. I had faxed a room request to be in Buzz Lightyear (Building 10), on the 3rd floor and near the busses. Well, they told me at check-in that I had gotten all my requests, but that my room was not ready and to call in a couple of hours, ok fine. The problem however was the tickets. The cast member had never heard of the Ultimate Park Hopper Plus. I mentioned the Disney Club and the quoted price. She kept getting everything mixed up, so I decided I would go wait for Guest Relations and talk to them. I was lucky and got a great CM named Barb, from Manalapan, NJ. She commented on NJ because I had a NJ Devils jersey on. She took the price from me, and found out that the price I was given was for the 6-day Ultimate Park Hopper Pass, which granted all of our needs. Thanks for your help Barb! We left the luggage in the car, and after seeing the waiting line for the Magic Kingdom Bus we decided to drive on over. Walking in from the Monorail all we kept saying was how we could not believe that we were even there. A well needed thought. We got a park map for the scrapbook and decided to head through the park counter-clockwise, starting with the Jungle Cruise. Only had a 15-minute wait, and we thought that for that time of the day we got off lucky. Little did we know the rest of the trip would be just as great (regarding waiting)? Next was walking right on Pirates. We then got Fast pass (FP) for Big Thunder Mountain, and decided that we could get some lunch before the ride. Had lunch in the Pinocchio Village Haus. (One thing to remember through the report is both my sister and I are vegetarians.) We both had French fries & a large drink, but I also had cole slaw. Lunch hit the spot. Now, it was time for our FP, but before we got on a CM told us that you could get another FP when the FP window was beginning. (Got that?) So, before we rode Big Thunder, we got a FP for Splash. Then we rode Big Thunder, and it was not yet our window time for Splash, so we waited 5 minutes for the Haunted mansion. Here was one of the prize moments for my sister of this trip. The CM that closes the door at HM's name was Benji. Kim was teasing with him, saying how she could make him laugh, and how much he probably wanted to laugh. Well, after he closed the door right before us, he came out and scared her by opening the door quickly & screaming. She jumped sky-high. Truly a memorable, laughable moment. Now it was time to ride Splash, which we did. Next we just walked through Fantasyland, riding Snow White. We then rode the tea cups before heading over to Tomorrowland, where we immediately got a FP for Space Mountain. We had some time to kill, so we got onboard the Wedway People Mover (TTA) and headed for a nice trek. Surprisingly, afterwards it was the beginning of our window for our FP. We got a FP for Buzz and then boarded Space Mountain. Afterwards, we rode Wedway again, and we were realizing that nobody was in line for it and it was still a good amount of time before our FP for Buzz, so we asked the polite CM if we could ride again, to which he replied that we could. Nice guy and I wish I knew his name. Well, after our second ride our FP window was here, so we decided to go and ride Buzz while getting a FP for Buzz for later. Afterwards, we had time to kill, so we decided to ask a CM if he could call to check on our room. He couldn't, but directed us to a CM who could. That CM took our info and went to call. Came to find out that our room was being "fixed", as they were repairing the vanity. The CM also said the other CM could have easily called for us, and he was just being lazy. I thanked her for calling and not being lazy. We rode Buzz (with only 10 minute wait) then rode Buzz again with our FP. It was now time to head to ASMo to see if our room was ready. We drove over, and I asked the luggage CM if she could check for our room number, with it being 5:00 and we wanted to change in our room before our 7:15 PS. She told me there have been difficulties with the room, and to go to Guest Services because they may have changed our room. My immediate thought was "Oh no. They told me I got all my room requests and now they are taking them away". But, I am happy to say that the CM at Guest Services, Paolo, explained they were re-painting the vanity and unless we wanted to feel "high" from the pain fumes our room would be changed. We were placed in Woody, 3rd floor, very close to the parking lot. 2 out of 3 requests is GREAT!!! I thought I would be in the Love Bug or something. See, Disney Magic even in the face of doubt. That's why I love it there. We got our room, changed, and proceeded to take the bus to Epcot for the PS at Biergarten. Now, I was unsure the location of Germany in World Showcase, so I picked up a map, but it was in French. But, I found out where Germany was and we high-tailed it over there only to be 5 minutes late for our PS with my friend Jeff and his family. I come to find out that they canceled my PS and scheduled theirs for 6 so we would be guaranteed to sit together. Fine by me. (Some side info: Jeff is one of my best friends, and his family has always treated my great. While I was in college, Jeff's family would have all of his friends over for Easter diner. I always will think of them like a second family to me.) So, we all ate and Jeff gave me the great news that he accepted a full-time position as the weekend weatherman for a TV station in Greenville, NC. Well, we had the buffet and enjoyed the great entertainment. My sister and Jeff's family got along great. Kim & I offered to pay our part, and I even handed his father some money, but they refused to take it. They are a great family, and thanks again for diner! After the food, we went outside to steak out a spot for Illuminations. Jeff always cries during this show, and talked very highly about it. I was glad to see it with him and his family. Afterwards, we stayed on a bench to avoid the crowds. My sister's boyfriend called her cell phone to tell her that the Devils lost 4-2 to Pittsburgh. After that depressing news, we left Epcot, said our good-byes, thanked them again, and parted ways. (We were supposed to eat together later in Alfredo's, but they had to cancel because they missed part of the Magic Kingdom.) I am sure I will see tapes of him on TV soon, if not visiting him in NC. I had a nice conversation with a gentleman on the bus who was talking to me about how much he liked learning at Epcot. You never have conversations like these anywhere else, just adds to the magic. We took some funny pictures posing with the Toy Story Characters in our hotel courtyard, then paid for PowerAde (not cheap, I might add) in the vending machine, and got back to the rooms and crashed HARD. Quite a long day. Day 2, Wednesday - May 16, 2001 Only Pre-Trip Plans
Actual Day Today we decided to do one of our rituals, for when we go to WDW. That happens to be swimming with the fishes. I'll explain. We woke up on our own body clocks, which put us awake at 8:15 am or so. We got up, I showered & shaved, and then we went down to the food court for some breakfast. We got the refillable mugs, and after we were done with the food, we left. Our destination: Typhoon Lagoon. Kim & I began this ritual back in 1999 when the two of us came to WDW together for the first time. She really wanted to snorkel back then, and it quickly became something we both love to do. If you were not aware, there is a small section in the back right area of Typhoon Lagoon where you can get snorkel and watch the fish swim below you. They provide the gear and it is great fun. Well, we got to the Lagoon and forgot to even look at what time the place opened. As it turns out, we parked two spaces away from the turnstiles and it was 10 minutes before opening; so we decided to wait. We were only going to spend 2 hours here because we wanted to get back to change for our PS at Tony's. We swam with the fishes twice, then rode the Lazy River and a couple of body slides. It was time to leave and we noticed that the parking lot was PACKED. We didn't notice a lot of lines at all, but if you plan on going to a Water Park at Disney, be sure to go in the early AM. We then got back to our room, and showered & changed to get ready to go to our PS @ Tony's in Magic Kingdom. For pure food, this meal marks as being the BEST of trip. The waitress was most accommodating to our veggie needs, and our food was completely great. The restaurant was completely empty, but that didn't matter, or maybe we got better service because of it. All we know is that we left stuffed and still cannot stop talking about the meal. After the meal, we journeyed around Tomorrowland, and took the back path to Mickey's Toontown Fair. For no apparent reason, just to walk around. We ended up taking the WDW Railroad back from Mickey's Toontown around to the front of Magic Kingdom. We decided to go back to Epcot and to explore it some more since yesterday was in such of a rush. We took the monorail over to Epcot, and I asked the CM if my sister and I would be able to sit up front in the monorail. Much to our delight, he said YES! The only bad part is that the gentleman who was driving the monorail was not a talkative individual. He really wouldn't say a word to us at all. Oh well, I got my photos of the views going to Epcot from the monorail, and a shot of the control panel used to control the monorail. Once we got to Epcot, we immediately got FP's for Test Track, then jumped in the single riders line. If you are not traveling with small children and do not mind being separated, then I highly recommend this. We rode the single riders way twice, then decided to go see a few more attractions before our FP. We did the typical jaunt around Future World, hitting your average rides. Neither of us wanted to ride with the land, so we skipped that. It was during the flower & garden festival, and while we are both not really into that kind of stuff, we did get nice pictures of each of us standing next to flower creations. We decided after our ride on Test Track (from our FP) that we would travel back to ASMo to relax a little bit. We ate diner at ASMo food court, then took the bus over to World of Disney in Downtown Disney to do our souvenir shopping. We got a shot glass, a polo shirt, and a frame for our Grandmother. We had the package sent back to our room (love that feature). We wanted to get at least one good picture of us from this trip to put in the frame to give to her. After shopping, we took in one show at the Comedy Warehouse and then the bus back to ASMo. Had one of the only long waits of our trip for the bus, but nothing to complain about. (Didn't I just complain anyway?) On the way back to ASMo, we decided that we thoroughly enjoyed swimming in the morning and that we were going to go to Blizzard Beach the next morning. I stopped at Guest Services and changed our lunch PS from 12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM, and also got the Fantasmic Diner package for my parents and us on Saturday, at Mama Melrose's. (Bad Decision) Day 3 - May 17th (Thursday) Only Pre-Trip Plans
Actual Day We woke up on our internal clocks again, this time around 8:30 AM. My sister didn't want breakfast, so while I showered & shaved, she went down and got me a drink and a muffin for me to eat on the way to Blizzard Beach. We were again one of the first ones there, but this time we knew what times the gates opened. We put our things down in a nice shaded area, and proceeded to wait 20 min to take the ski lift to the top of the mountain. There we rode the family raft ride with a couple and their child. We took the ski lift back up to the top and went down on Slusher Gusher. We decided we would ride all the types of slides that we could, and sis, all within an hour. We ended up missing one raft ride and the lazy river, but we had a blast just the same. We were getting to our stuff and we saw a nice couple that was looking for a place to lay their belongings, because by this time (11:15 AM or so), the place was packed. We offered them our place, since we were leaving, only if they could take our picture for hopes that it would be good enough to put in the frame for our Grandma. (As it turns out, it was the one we chose!) So, off we went but on our way out I did notice that there was a 40 min or so wait for the ski lift. Damn. We went back to ASMo, showered & changed, then went on our way to Epcot. We parked at Disney's Boardwalk hotel and walked through the international gateway to Italy for our lunch. I had always wanted to walk through that way, and check out what the Boardwalk is all about, since it was inspired by Atlantic City and we are both from NJ. It was gorgeous, and if I ever have enough money I would love to stay there. We did get lost trying to go through the hotel, however by trying to take a short cut and ended up in a convention center with a meeting going on. Embarrassing, but funny nonetheless. We decided that when we were going to leave after lunch & gallivanting around the International Gateway that we were going to take the boat back to the Boardwalk. We just didn't want to walk that again. Anyway, our lunch was the WORST of the entire trip. I think that the waiter we had (an old man, but I have no clue as to the name) thought that we were little kids and decided to show us no respect. The couple next to us looked slightly older but ended up being treated like royalty. There was definitely no Disney Magic here, and we will never eat there again. We decided to get the Fettuccine Alfredo, being that the restaurant was to specialize in it. Maybe the waiter was upset that we were only two people, did not want any liquor or appetizers, maybe because we were not big spenders. But our pasta tasted hard and the sauce was very cold. We did fill out the commend card on the table, with the waiters name. Our check was served with our appetizer, which made us think that they were trying to rush us out to make room for more people. Who knows, but the meal & experience sucked monkey toes. After that bad experience, we walked around the countries stopping to look in Germany (my sister wanted a stein with her name on it but decided to have my parents get it later on in the trip), and stopping to ride the rides in Norway and Mexico. All I can say is that the women of Norway......WOW! Enough said. So, when we were walking from Mexico to Japan, we encountered something strange. My sister had a friend, Denise, who was on the college program working at WDW and we had no clue that we would run into her. She was working a frozen strawberry treat area (they are damn good) and my sister spotted her. They did the typical hug thing, and I took a picture to prove that we saw her. Then they ran off because Denise had to show my sister something (God only knows what), but they soon returned to gab. This made up for the horrible food in Alfredo's. Denise told us that her and some of her friends were getting together at PI that night, and my sister and I made plans to meet up with them at that time. Kristen was also meeting up with Denise then, so my sister would have an opportunity to see her. We went back to the resort, ate again in our lovely food court, and relaxed in the room until it was time for us to meet up with my sister's friends. We drove to PI, because we had to meet my folks the next day and I wanted to be back to ASMo fast so we could get to bed to do Islands of Adventure the next day. When we got there, my sister realized she forgot her ID so we drove back to get it, so after that detour, we returned to PI. Fun fun fun. Once in PI, it took us a while to meet up with Kim's friends, but we found each other. Then we entered two different clubs, some dance club and the Rock n' Roll Beach Club. I found my new favorite place at PI, the RnRBC. The band played cover songs to the crowd's delight, and played them well. We danced there for about an hour, then my sister and I decided it was time to go to bed to rest up for the next day. I was hesitant about meeting up with her friends, but I did have a blast once I was there. We drove back to ASMo, and proceeded to get a wake up call for 7:15 or so. Day 4 - May 18th (Friday) E-Ride Night Only Pre-Trip Plans
Actual Day Today was the big day. We finally were able to give my folks their Mother's & Father's Day presents. Well, we woke up on time and drank our PowerAde's that we had sitting in our room for breakfast. The important thing was to leave on time, which we did because we wanted to get there for the opening. We drove with little traffic, and it actually was quite depressing leaving WDW. But, we knew that we would be coming back. We got to Universal / Islands of Adventure, and parked relatively close (in parking lot terms). The parking lots happen to be quite a ways away from the parks, but we were on one of the lower levels. When we got to the entrance for IoA, we were extremely happy that we bought the tickets early. No wait at those pesky booths, plus a little bit of a savings. We got into IoA just as it opened, and proceeded immediately to Marvel Super Hero Island. WOW. I loved the theming and the RIDES!!! I love coasters, and the hulk rocked. Dr. Doom scared my sister & I because they launch you straight up and you have no clue when they will do it. The rush is the pure anticipation. Spiderman happens to be the most creative ride I have ever been on and I cannot speak enough about it. You have to try it. We proceeded all the way around the Islands, stopping at all the open rides. I guaranteed my sister that Dudley Do-Right's Falls was not a ride where we would get soaked, and I was wrong. Jurassic Park was a great area, and the Dueling Dragons Coasters were among the best. The Cat in the Hat ride is also great, but sure throws you around a lot. We finished the entire park by 1:00 PM, and decided since our tickets were 2 park tickets, that we would go into Universal and only ride the rides we wanted to. We had a great Italian lunch in the Monster Café. We rode the typicals, Jaws, Earthquake, etc. We did use the Universal version of FP, the Express, a couple of times. It works just like FP and allowed us to ride Back to the Future while we waited for Men in Black. Dam was that a great ride. Again, I cannot say enough. I noticed that there is a single riders side for that ride as well, and my sister and I did that for a second ride. Great is all I can say. But there is overall too little in both parks, because we encountered little lines and finished what we wanted to do in both parks in less than 1 day. It was now time for us to go to get my parents at Amtrak, so we drove over there to hear the train was delayed. Naptime then ensued as we took turns sleeping. My folks got off the train, and said that it was a bumpy ride. Dad couldn't sleep, but Mom loved it. I'll mention now that my dad was using a wheelchair on this trip, and we had to accommodate for that as well. We were then off to Enterprise for their rental car. The directions that they gave me were incorrect, because I was supposed to drive down a road that was no longer there (a hospital was in it's place). We got to Enterprise anyway, hoping to get my parents car fast because they had to check in and freshen up a little before the diner, and because we wanted to as well. We had a horrible person at the desk who said the reservation was invalid, (I confirmed it a week before via phone), and then I learned that she did not have a car there and we would have to wait. This made me irate, and a car finally arrived. They cleaned it out, but after speaking with someone else, I learned that the reservation was there and that the check in person handled it wrong. We got their car after much hassle, and headed off to their Time Share (TS). After waiting there for quite a while, we finally got through everything and were ready to head back to WDW to be happy again. (my sister and I had clothes with us and changed and freshened up at my parent's TS) I drove my parents in my rental car at this point, because I was unsure if they would be that awake or have directions to follow. Also, my father cannot see well at night and it would be dark at the end of the evening. We now had what might be the best overall meal of the trip, including atmosphere. The diner at the Whispering Canyon was great, a great food selection and all the yelling and screaming was top of the line. We also got one of those family pictures where the entire staff joins in the shot, but we even got a random guy from the other table to jump in with his ribs. One funny note, they give you a garnish for your meal, which in my case looked like a pine tree. We were told to play with our food if we wanted to, so we put it in butter and uses some broccoli around the bottom as tinsel. It was hilarious. Guess you had to be there. Well, during diner we told my folks that their surprise was not only the diner, but also a Magic Kingdom Fireworks Cruise. One problem we encountered was that I paid cash, and they billed my credit card. Afterwards, I called Disney and they replaced my money and the money I was charged for bouncing 2 checks because of that. They knew their error and helped my in true Disney fashion. Back to the cruise. We had a nice guide, and we had a great view of the fireworks from the water, including Tinkerbell's flight. Afterwards, we went back to the car and I drove my folks back to their TS for a long night's sleep. We agreed for them to pick us up the next day at 10:30 for the next day of fun. It really was a good day with the parents. Day 5 - May 19th (Saturday) Only Pre-Trip Plans
Actual Day We woke up around 8:30 or so, and decided to go and get drinks. When we finished, we went back to the room, and our folks showed up on time, much to our delight. I figured my mom would make them late, but they left early and got there on time. We showed my folks around the hotel, and off we were to MGM. This was to be our first foray into MGM this trip. We all stopped for one of those family pictures when we walked in. We were all a little hungry, so we decided to see if we could move our lunch to an earlier time at the 50's PT Café. Turns out we would be the first ones seated, which was great. I then sprinted to Millionaire to get FP for all 4 of us for after we ate, which ended up being just in time. Our lunch was good, but there were too many anchovies on our Caesar salads, so we did not eat much of them, which made our 'Aunt' have a fit, but it was funny. My mother also didn't clean her plate, so she got it as well. The atmosphere was great at yet another Disney restaurant, which made the meal unforgettable. Off to Millionaire, which we barely made on time, but got disabled seats up close anyway. After we realized that we couldn't get anything right, off we went to Muppets, Great Movie Ride, Drew Carey, Back lot Tour, Indiana Jones & Star Tours. All of these were great, but Drew Carey was lacking something. It was great that my Dad could go on Star Tours. During this stretch, we took some great pictures outside the facades around New York Street. If you ever have extra time, and are not in commando mode, just have fun here. It is always an open area, and you will be sure to laugh at the pictures later. Diner time now arose, and we had a very bad diner at Mama Melrose's. For an Italian restaurant, they did not have many options for vegetarians. They were more than willing to work with us, but gone was the pizza or anything basic from the menu. Anything I likes and asked then to take out the meat they informed me that they used Pork Stock to cook every thing in. They told us they had two kinds of noodles there, and nothing normal. My folks, meat eaters that they are, got things from the menu, but Kim ended up with a pasta and tomato sauce while I had pasta and a cheese sauce. They were great to work with, and wanted to help, but had no options. They need to work on this, and again, we filled out the comment card. Now, my sister and I decided that we wanted to go on Tower of Terror and Rock n' Roller Coaster to cheer up. Well, my folks could not take either of these rides, so they decided to stroll over and shop on Hollywood Blvd to wait for us at the service station while we rode. We rode ToT three times, and RnRC twice. Once, by chance, in the front seat, which blew my mind. As you may remember, my sister made fun of the guy at Haunted Mansion on our first day at WDW. Well, she chose to do the same with a guy who works on ToT. She mentioned him that he must not be good enough for the Haunted Mansion. He laughed, and had a comment back to her. He then took the group of people behind us to their seat numbers before our party, and I asked him why I had to suffer for her stupidity. He then asked me how many in my party, and told me to stand in a row where nobody was. We ended up getting the front seat at the end of the humor. I guess you just had to be there. Try poking fun at either the Haunted Mansion of the Tower of Terror, and see if you have a good time at it. My sister sure did! After we rode the thrill rides, we met our parents at the Service Station. Turns out my mother bought all of us the pictures we had taken when we walked in, which turned out great. At Fantasmic, something that discouraged me severely happened. We were in the disabled seating section and saw several families cut under the ropes to sit there when there were no other seats except for the ends. I had to watch 2 kids in wheelchairs get pushed to the smoking area to view the show instead of sitting there in their section. When I asked a CM about it, he told me they had authorization from another CM and that there was nothing I could do about it. I got frustrated and I think the people who sat there could tell, by the looks I got after asking them what illness or disability that they had. Sorry, I just hate it when people take things that are designated for the handicapped, and seeing those children have to be forced to sit in the spoke irked me. After the show, my folks dropped us off and we arranged a meet time of 11:00 AM for the next morning. We found out it would take my parents quite a long time to get back because of trying new short cuts. We packed up and went to sleep, for the next day we would be leaving. Day 6 - May 20th (Sunday) Only Pre-Trip Plans
Actual Day We woke up kind of early, at 8:00 AM. This was to finish packing, and make a run to the Magic Kingdom for my sister because she wanted to get her (then) boyfriend a shot glass from Pirates of the Caribbean. We got into the park (drove there), and made our way to Pirates and rode it one last time due to the short line. She bought the shooter glass, and we ended up having a nice long wait for the tram to come. We knew this would happen from our first day, but we still thought it would be faster than taking the bus. We ended up meeting my mother as she was walking around the hotel, because they were early. We explained what we did, then we all got into one car and headed over to Animal Kingdom. I love the Eazy check out!!!! I was feeling sick due to not eating at this point, so I reluctantly had my family all eat at 11:00 or so, so that I felt better. Rainforest Café has always been good food, with no exception here. We then decided that we were going to hit as many major rides/attractions/shows as possible, and still try to make the flight home. I desperately wanted my mother to see the Lion King show, being she loves Broadway shows and this was the closest thing to it. Well, both my parents were amazed at the show, which made my sister and I happy for recommending it. Then we did the usual, Dino Land, It's tough to be a bug, Safari, and the River Rapids. We rode the river rapids twice in a row without even having to get off the raft. We got pretty wet, but it was fun. Animal Kingdom wasn't the most fun I had at WDW with my sister or my parents, but the look on my mother's face when she first saw the Tree of Life, was worth the day. Boy, will we miss this place until the next every other year visit, in, 2003. We then left for the airport with no problem checking in our car or checking in our luggage. The layover in Charlotte was uneventful, but boy did we have problems when we landed. The Monorail was not running, and we had to wait for a bus to come get us. All the other busses came about 3 or 4 times before they came for us, and we waited 45 minutes. We ended up getting home at 3:00 AM, with both of us having to work the next day. Michael J Faas Mikefaas@hotmail.com Mail a Comment to Michael J Faas |
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