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Sue Holland -- December 2001 -- Walt Disney World (Swan, OKWR, CSR)

Note:  As Sue spent a great deal of time at Pleasure Island and in other adult venues,
on this trip, this report has some information that may not be appropriate for young readers.

Who/When/Where:

• Who:
  • Sue (me - 43), DVC member
  • Chris (my son, 15)
• Dates: December 28 - January 6, 2002
• Travel Method: Personal car
• Resort: Swan (2nts), Old Key West (5nts studio), Coronado Springs (2nts)
• Experience: Extremely experienced.

INTRODUCTION:

At last the year-end trip is here! Normally we spend this week at the DVC resort in Hilton Head, but since friends would be visiting WDW from Scotland this year we decided to postpone the Hilton Head trip and come to WDW instead. As often as I have been here, I have never visited during that busy week between Christmas and New Year's, and never would have considered it if not for our friends. Hopefully the parks will not be too terribly crowded, but I will expect the worse and be grateful for anything less than horrible, lol!

This promises to be a very busy trip - and unfortunately the weather forecast is calling for colder temperatures than I would like. Nights in the 40's are just too cold to me, particularly since I spend my evenings at the Comedy Warehouse, which has an outside waiting line. I have lived in Florida since 1986, and wearing any sort of jacket just feels bulky and uncomfortable - sunshine and tee-shirts is much more my style! However, at least there are no predictions of the literally freezing cold we experienced last year at this time!

We are doing a lot of resort hopping this trip. I originally booked a 6 night stay, entirely at OKWR, and then as different plans were made I ended up adding nights at either end, changing resorts, etc. I will not bore anyone with all of that - the end result is the weekend nights are being spent at non-DVC resorts in order to ensure that I do not ever run out of points to be able to make spur of the moment long weekend trips (under the guise of computer repair if necessary <g>) when I feel I need to get back to the Comedy Warehouse between regularly scheduled trips. Also, I will probably spend a good chunk of points on the 7 day cruise with Chris in 2003, and certainly would not do that if I had to limit my number of other trips! This will be our first time staying at the Swan, and we are both looking forward to it. The only negative aspect is I hear they charge per minute for local calls - which seems so ridiculous to me. If this is true, then my internet time will be very limited, just on principle. If no reports post the first couple of days, just assume the Swan has really ticked me off, and I will post once we get to a *real* resort....Old Key West ;-) Our last 2 nights at Coronado Springs will be enjoyed as well. We both like that resort, and only spent 1 night here last September. It will be nice having the weekend this time.

The first few days of the trip we will be joined by friends Larry & Jill Wilmot (& sons Greg & Edward) from Scotland - they are at the end of their 14-day stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge (thanks to the demise of the Pop Century opening). Our mutual friends Tom (Tom & I work for the same State agency, and have been friends for about 13 years now) & Leanne from Gainesville will be returning Friday through Tuesday as well, along with their adult daughter Kim and grandson Chris. They will be using their DVC points to stay at OKWR, but are spending Friday night offsite. Also, Kathy will be back for the beginning and the end of my trip. New Year's Eve we will be seeing the early Hoop Dee Doo Revue with the Wilmots, and I was pleased to hear that Layden is scheduled to perform as Six Bits Slocum in the show that night. Following the show we plan to meet up with Tom's group in the Magic Kingdom (I know, we are insane), and hope we can get in! It will be fun to ring in the new year with friends from different continents!

Later in the week I hope to join a group of DVC friends for an early dinner at Olivia's in OKWR, and another day friends Nancy & Leesa will join us to tackle the volcano dessert at Rainforest Cafe! Nancy will have to work that night (at PI), and Leesa will stick around and accompany me to the Comedy Warehouse. I expect to be at the Comedy Warehouse every night - except for New Year's Eve. The night we arrive (12/28) we will meet my friend Pat (DVC member) and her adult daughter and get their admissions with our PAPs. We have had a couple of Hilton Head trips overlap before, and Pat was at the November 2000 trip, so it will be good to see her again in person. At the end of the trip we are signed up to be voluntEARS with my friend Kathy at the WDW Marathon. Chris just about died when he got his paperwork in the mail and saw he had to report to the Epcot parking lot at 4:15 A.M.!!! Yikes - I am not sure how I will manage Comedy Warehouse the night before - it almost makes sense to just stay up, but since I have to drive home that day that probably is not a very good idea! I guess I will figure something out later. Oh - early in the week we will be attending a holiday party at the house of Nancy & her boyfriend Clinta, which should be a lot of fun. I guess I can leave the hallowed grounds of WDW for them, lol!

So, the trip will be busier than usual, but I am dreading the strong possibility that the parks are just too crowded (for me). I really have nothing I must do, other than Comedy Warehouse at night and spending time with friends. I wish the weather would be warm enough for the water parks, but honestly I do not know when we would fit them in on this trip anyway. The other thing worth mentioning is a problem/situation arose at work shortly before my trip, and I may have to return to work for a couple of days mid-trip. If so, my resort room will sit empty for that night or nights, since there is no refunding DVC nights after check-in, and our quest for the ice cream volcano may have to be postponed a second time.

The plans so far...

Fri 12/28: Work, Check in at Swan, Meet Pat & Julie at PI for Comedy Warehouse Sat 12/29: Meet Wilmots & others, Epcot, Meet Kathy, Comedy Warehouse Sun 12/30: OKWR, Some park with others, Nancy & Clinta's party, Comedy Warehouse later?? Mon 12/31: Some park with others, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Magic Kingdom Tue 1/01: Epcot, lunch @ Le Cellier with others, DisneyQuest, Comedy Warehouse Wed 1/02: Laundry, Olivia's with DVC friends, Comedy Warehouse Thu 1/03: Rainforest Cafe w/Nancy & Leesa, Osbourne Lights?, Comedy Warehouse Fri 1/04: Coronado Springs, Comedy Warehouse Sat 1/05: Comedy Warehouse Sun 1/06: Marathon with Kathy, drive home

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2001:

Plan: Work, Check in at Swan, Meet Pat & Julie at PI for Comedy Warehouse

Actual: We spent the morning at work - Chris has volunteered in our Cafe (one of the departments I am responsible for) since he was around 10 or 11 years old, so he helped out over there and got to spend some time with the staff. Since it was A) cold, B) reportedly mobbed in the parks, and C) check in time was not until 3pm, it made no sense to leave any earlier than about noon. We ended up on the road by 12:30 and arrived at the Swan shortly after 3. There were more cars than usual on the road, but no major traffic.

The Swan self parking lot was fuller than I had ever seen it, and once inside we had to stand in line to check in. After about 5-10 minutes we got taken care of and the check in process was very quick. I asked about the resort fee - for $8/day you get a newspaper, access to the fitness center, in-room coffee, and 60 minutes local phone calls. Any extra local calls are billed at $.10/minute. I asked if the resort fee could be removed if I did not want those services, and the clerk nicely said "of course" (I assume many people request this, lol). She checked my reservation and said that it was free for me (a special rate), and that I should get the 60 minutes of local calls, along with the other perks. Being a suspicious person, I thanked her but did not believe it until I checked for myself <g>. Guests here can check their account on the TV in the room. I got online for a short while, then got offline and checked my account - no phone charge!

Our room is attractive - mostly sea foam green, salmon, pink, and some blue. There are 2 queen beds, desk and couple of straight chairs, a more comfortable cushiony chair, armoire/dresser, and a basic bathroom. There is a coffee maker on the sink, so I will use that to make my own cappuccino. There is no refrigerator, but I brought the rest of our milk from home and transported it in a small cooler - we will just add ice as needed. Our room is right by the elevator, on the 8th floor, and we have a view of the Boardwalk to our left and the Tower of Terror and Fantasmic theater directly in front of us.

We unpacked the weekend bag, and then drove over to Wilderness Lodge so I could take the rest of the pictures I needed for a January MousePlanet article. It felt strange to not have a WDW resort parking thing in my car, but the security guard let me right in when I showed a photo id. We wandered around taking pictures, and shared a magic cookie from Roaring Forks. I hoped to get a picture of the geyser going off, but was not willing to spend another 20 minutes waiting after we had done everything else. The resort was quite busy, and the pool in particular was really crowded - despite the cool weather.

We returned to the Swan and I downloaded the pictures and finished up the article. A DVC friend from Maryland - Pat - had checked in here earlier today and left us a message which I got when we checked in. I tried calling her before we went to WL, but got her voicemail, and she called me back just after I finished the article. We talked on the phone for a while, and finalized our plans for tonight. I spent a short time online and then updated the report before we headed out for the evening. Destination......Comedy Warehouse!

Parking at Downtown Disney was a nightmare, and even PI was already busy - before 7pm! Now they let people in to look in the shops and listen to the band on the West End stage until 9pm - but those people are not allowed into the clubs and cannot buy alcohol unless they come out and buy admission to PI. We met Pat & her adult daughter Julie outside the ticket booth and used our PAPs to get them each a complimentary pass, then went up to join the (long) line at the Comedy Warehouse. To my surprise, Leesa was in line - I did not expect her to be here tonight. She came back and joined us in line and as the 5 of us were talking I saw Larry, Jill, Tom, Leanne & Kim coming over! There were lots of people in line behind us, so I introduced people and the 2 groups of 5 stood on either side of the rope chatting until the line got compressed and we were separated.

My group ended up in the 3rd row, and the others were in the 5th row. I noticed a couple of other regulars down in the row below us, and we exchanged greetings. Jaime was our server, and took my bottle to fill it with Bye Bye Blues without having to be asked. Chris got some mixture of virgin pina colada and raspberry slush - very sweet! Pat bought the drinks, so thank you Pat! Before the show started 2 sign language interpreters came out and sat on the stage. A large group that had some hearing impaired people were seated in long row, and the interpreters did a great job of signing what was being said on stage. Pat thought the female signer was the one she had seen at Candlelight a couple of years ago. It was nice that Disney provides that so the people could enjoy the show, and I did not think it detracted from the show for the rest of us at all.

Todd opened the 7:10 show and was joined by Greg, Jake, Mary & Philip. Mary did a Carol Channing-type host on Up Your Alley (ordinarily I cannot stand Carol Channing but I was ok with Mary's version). Greg did a great job as guest Bill Gates in that game. The topic was paper, and one of the audience questions was "What do you use for toilet paper" and Greg's Bill Gates answered "a Macintosh", lol! He later said when not at home he uses $20 bills, but at home uses the Macintosh. Overall the show was pretty good, and rather crowded for a first show of the night. After the show Mary grabbed me to say her sister Patty was here and took me over to meet her. Patty & I had exchanged a couple of email years ago, but had never met until now - but both remembered who each other was, and Mary remembered we had emailed. I talked to her for a short while, then joined the others. Todd stopped by, and I introduced him to some of the others - he enjoyed talking to Larry and remembered him from a previous show. Todd mentioned his wife was here tonight, and I would probably see her - we had met last Thanksgiving. Eventually time had run out and the next show was about to be seated. Larry went to the Adventurer's Club with Jill, Tom, Leanne & Kim. Chris left for DisneyQuest, Julie went to see a movie, and that left Leesa, Pat & me for the next show. Joe came over to explain that due to large amounts of backdoor people tonight they were having to limit it to 2 shows per person, except Leesa & I (because I am with her) can backdoor as many times as we want. She has standing backdoor privileges due to a medical condition, but does not use it unless necessary - which is why she was in the regular line for first show. We decided to make this a backdoor show, and went up to take seats in long row.

Patty sat next to me, so we got to talk before the show started - I was glad to meet her & really enjoyed her company. The 8:15 show featured Jake, Philip, Krista, Todd & Mary. They did a musical in this show, with Jake as a guy in jail for wearing dirty underwear. Mary was his lawyer, Todd was the judge, and Krista was his mother who claimed it was all her fault - she's watched Oprah and so she knows it's always the mother's fault <g>. They did a good job with it, and the whole show was funny.

We went outside after the show and waited at the back door. Nancy had stopped inside to say hi briefly, then returned to work. Todd, his wife & a friend of theirs came over - Todd introduced their friend and introduced Leesa to his wife. Pat met them all also, and we stood around talking. Todd was off next show, so they were heading off to enjoy PI a bit. The door opened and the 3 of us went back in. This time the big group who needed the sign language interpreters was back, so we moved behind long row so they could sit together, and joined Patty up on tech row. She asked if I would take a picture of her & Mary after the show and send it to her, which I was glad to do. This show was one I was looking forward to - because Peter was back to perform. There used to be twin brothers, Paul & Peter who worked at the Warehouse. Actually, Paul worked there a lot longer, and Peter mostly worked at MGM as a Streetmosphere actor, but he also did some Warehouse. They look very much alike, both heavy, short dark hair, same voice, similar mannerisms, and both absolutely hysterical! I mostly saw Paul before, but enjoyed Peter the few times I saw him. They have both been gone for over a year....possibly more than 2 years.

The 9:20 show was also good - with Greg, Mary, Peter, Jake & Jeanette. They did Story Time, with each actor having to "Die" when they screwed up the storytelling. The story was titled "Married with 2 Step Children". The first couple of deaths were just ok, but then Greg had to die by monkey pajamas. He was a boy attending a sleepover at another kid's (Peter) house, but Peter cannot stand him. Peter's mother (Mary) invited the boy (Greg) over because Greg's parents are always in a drunken stupor and since it is New Year's Eve there is nobody to take care of him...his sister has already been removed by child welfare people. Greg has pajamas made from skins of monkeys, and sleeps in a sleeping bag that is really a big Ziploc bag. The bright light bulb in the lamp causes the plastic to melt onto the monkey skins and it kills him - it might sound kind of gross, but it was actually a very funny death. After the show Pat headed out, Leesa stopped in 8Trax for a minute, I took the picture for Patty & Mary, and then headed outside to wait for Leesa to return. Nancy came out and chatted for a while, then went back to work Mary was done for the night so she & Patty were leaving - but hopefully we will see each other at the Warehouse the rest of the week (Patty is visiting from Hawaii). She mentioned Steve would be back working Saturday & Sunday nights, so that is something to look forward to. Steve was in the very first Comedy Warehouse show I ever saw - over 10 years ago, and is very good (but left a few years ago).

Leesa & I went in for the 10:40 show - the last one for both of us. This show was opened by Philip, and right from the start it was high energy. I swear, he is almost manic on stage most of the time, but that is what I love about him - he is so much fun to watch, even when he is in the background. He really reminds me of Robin Williams - that same frenetic mind wildly racing all over the place just killing you with how funny & off the wall he can be. Anyway, he was joined by Krista, Jeannette, Todd & Peter. Peter did a rap song as a hunter, titled "I Like to Kill Bambi", which again sounds kind of sick but it was really very funny. It really made fun of hunters more than anything else. They also did Cliché this show, with Todd being tortured until figured out the saying "As lost as a fart in a whirlwind". He did a really good job, and had told Leesa once he really enjoys being the one who is tortured in this game. Overall tonight Todd did very well - when we were talking earlier he said it was hard at first, and I believe it! While a few people seem to fit right in immediately (Jen K, Philip), most people take a fairly long while to get really comfortable to where they can relax and just be funny.

We left after the show - Nancy was waiting to drive Leesa home, and I walked out with some of the other regulars who were also leaving PI. I had to hunt for my car, but eventually found it, and drove back to the Swan. It is not as convenient as OKWR, but for only 2 nights it is not bad. Chris was playing on the laptop - he had not found the other boys at DisneyQuest, saying he could not remember what they looked like. He finally redeemed the points he had from those coupon redemption games years ago - he got a black light he plans to mount in his room plus a black light bulb for a regular lamp. Gosh - I remember stuff like that being cool when I was his age, lol!

I downloaded the pictures, and finished up the report before getting online to send/post. Luckily we are not meeting the others until 10:30, so we do not have to get up early. It has been a long day, but the evening was lots of fun! I knew I would get to see Pat, but it was a nice bonus to see Leesa & my other friends as well, plus meeting Patty.

DAY 2 - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2001:

Plan: Meet Wilmots & others, Epcot, Meet Kathy, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: After being up until 2am or so, it was nice to wake up without an alarm clock this morning. I got up around 7:30, and let Chris sleep until 9. I got online and talked to a few friends before getting ready for the day. It looks like it will be warmer than expected, and the warmest day of the trip, so I went to the car and dug the only shorts I had packed out of the suitcase! We ate breakfast in the room - chocolate chip muffin for Chris, cappuccino and frosted cheerios for me.

We left the Swan about 10 and walked into Epcot to meet the others at Test Track. Entering at International Gateway was a breeze - the sole security guard was waiting for us to arrive so he could check my bags - we were the only guests coming in. The others reported that the line to enter at the regular entrance had huge lines, with big bottlenecks at the security tables. They mentioned the line was huge at Spaceship Earth already. We were at Test Track at 10:25, and at that point the standby line was 75 minutes, Fastpasses were being issued for 4:20 pm (5 minutes later it was 5:35 pm), and the single rider line was extended outside of the building and halfway down the walkway. While we were talking about what to do, Test Track broke down and they sent guests away saying they did not know if the attraction would be back up later.

We decided to do Ellen's Energy Adventure, since it can handle a large amount of people at one time. This had a wait also, which is no surprise considering the park was busier than I had ever seen it! There was a rope set up, but no signs saying which side you should enter, so we walked up on the left. The cm at the end of the line told us to go back to the end and come back down the right side. He was holding the rope open and pointed behind us and said "the wheelchair can come in here". Except for the party with the person using the wheelchair, there was nobody else coming, so I do not know why he did not just let us in - it was not an accessible waiting area, and both lines went into the attraction at the same time for the same show. Larry asked him why there were no directional signs to tell us which line to use, and the cm rudely retorted "Well, MOST people seem to be able to figure it out"! I do not think I have ever heard a cm being so blatantly rude to a guest, and almost could not believe what I heard. In fact, later I pulled Larry aside and asked if that cm really said that, lol - and Larry confirmed it. Yikes!

Anyway, we enjoyed the attraction despite the rude guy. It was not filled to capacity, but there were few empty seats. Afterwards we went to Test Track, which was operating again. The single rider line was telling people it had a 30-40 minute wait, but we got in line anyway. My Chris & Leanne skipped the ride, and the rest of us were in our cars within about 15-20 minutes. It ended up that Kim, Chris & I were seated together in the front row of a car, which was unexpected!

When we got out it was after noon, so I called Kathy to see if she had arrived. She had, but Disney had screwed up her reservation and the room would not meet her needs. They were trying to find someplace to put her, but she ended up having to spend hours waiting for them to work something out. In the interim she tried to go see Gus at Animal Kingdom, but there was not a single accessible parking space in the lot (they were all filled), so she went to AKL and figured she would use the bus. I am not sure she ever made it to the park, as finally she got the call that there was a room they wanted her to look at, so she headed back to the Dolphin. She was pissed, I was pissed (at Disney, not at each other), but neither of us had any control over the situation.

While all that was going on, the rest of us went to Canada and met Sheri from radp, and listened to the Canadian version of Santa Claus tell the story of their holiday traditions. By that time everyone was hungry, so we headed to America for basic fast food. The lines were pretty long, and they moved unbearably slowly. We got into different lines, hoping we would get our food around the same time, and that worked out pretty well. I shared some of Chris' bacon double cheeseburger and got him a large coke - for about $9 or $10. The burger was pretty good - or maybe I was just hungry! Kathy beeped while I was waiting for the food to come out, so I called her again and found out she was at the Dolphin waiting to see the room. After we ate, Tom, Leanne & Kim went to check on their OKWR room and the rest of us walked over to the Swan. Kathy had planned to meet us there, but we did not find her in the lobby.

We went up to my room, and I called her again - just as she called me. LOL, having 2 phone lines is pretty handy ;-) She was going to stay at the Dolphin, so Chris went to the car to get his swimsuit and the rest of us walked over to the Dolphin (Chris met us later) to go to Kathy's room. The Dolphin has a beautiful Christmas tree in their lobby, but I found the rooms in the Swan much more attractive. Her whole decor was rather ugly, and the room itself was kind of run down. However, it would work! She got to meet Larry & Jill finally, and we sat around for a while. The boys were so good - sitting quietly while the adults chatted. Eventually Larry & Jill left with the boys so they could go swimming at AKL. Later the boys are going to DisneyQuest, Jill is meeting me at Comedy Warehouse, and Larry is meeting Leanne for Candlelight before joining us at the Warehouse. I stayed and visited with Kathy for the rest of the afternoon, then returned to the Swan to update the report quickly and get dressed more warmly for the evening.

I left the room by 6:30 to make the drive to PI. They had a sign up directing people into the old West Side bus entrance for Downtown Disney parking, but I decided to try my luck closer to PI. The lot in front of the movie theater was completely full, all the way to the far rows. I should have realized after last night that I needed to allow more time, but I forgot! Luckily I finally found a parking spot....down at Cirque du Soleil. I rushed back to PI since I was now late, and once inside went straight to the Comedy Warehouse. Darby was working the line, and there was no sign of Jill. The line was just about the perfect length, so I went in. Eventually the line filled in almost completely inside the chain, but the door did not open until after 7:20 (rather than 7:10). I spotted the manager talking to Darby, so there must have been some problem inside - but whatever it was they got it resolved. Jill showed up around 7:20, after being delayed dropping the boys off at DisneyQuest (coming by Disney bus).

When we were seated I saved a seat for Jill so when she entered she just came down - we were across from long row, in a good spot. Carol was on the keys again tonight. The 7:10 show featured Greg, Krista, Joy, Josh & Steve. This was the first time Jill had seen either Josh or Steve, and I think she enjoyed them both. I was glad to have hit one of Steve's shows, since I knew the crowds would cause it to be an early night for me. They did Schmeopardy, with Steve as the host. One of the occupations was a comedian, so Greg came out as Larry "x" (with "x" being the same last name as Layden - who used to work at the Warehouse). It was pretty funny, because this Larry guy was a horrible comedian...which made the character funny. Josh was a warthog groomer with only 1 arm, since warthogs like to eat human flesh. It was a very good show. When it ended, Larry came in the exit and over to where we were seated - it turns out the line for Candlelight was so long he knew they would not get in so he came to PI early. As we headed out Greg gave me a big hug (he never saw me last night) and I teased him about his Larry character. Evidently Layden was called Larry as a boy - but Greg was quick to say the character was no reflection on him, when I commented that "Larry" was a pretty bad comedian, lol. The actors often will name a character or include a reference to one of the others. The general audience will be unaware, but the cast members and regulars will "get it".

We headed outside, and the line was only up to 110 so we joined it for the next show. We ended up in the 3rd row, thanks to 3 empty seats on the end of the row - we were pleased! Krista opened the 8:15 show and was joined by Greg, Jeanette, Josh & Joy. The first song was about a mammographer in the audience, so of course there were several breast jokes. Krista joked that since the woman works in Las Vegas, she really did not work with much breasts since most of them were all silicone out there <g> and Josh was begging to have her job.

They also did StoryTime - with Josh conducting the story. The story itself was ok, but some of the deaths and the wrap-up were excellent. Krista died a soap opera death, and fortunately Greg joined her. They both do soap opera really well. Greg's death was fantastic - he died an Andrew Lloyd Weber death by wind chimes, and Josh played wind chimes. He was up on the railing with his hands over his head, singing "dingle, dingle, dingle" and even Greg had a hard time keeping his composure it was so funny. Finally Jeanette was the winner, and she wrapped it up with the assistance of Josh doing sign language interpretation for her. He is fabulous at this - I just die laughing, and tonight he did not disappoint. The entire show was excellent!

We left right afterwards, and when we got upstairs saw that the line was entirely filled in, plus they had added extra ropes to create another lane or 2. I decided to just call it a night so I would not be up so late, and Jill & Larry went to get something to eat. I thought about getting something to bring back to the room to eat, but did not want to have to stand in any line, so I just drove back to the Swan. I downloaded some pictures, finished up the report, and packed up a few things in preparation for our move to OKWR tomorrow. From my bed I was able to watch the fireworks from the late Fantasmic, too.

We did everything on the plan, and it ended up being a great day. I was not prepared for the magnitude of the crowds, and cannot see myself ever coming this time of year again unless I was planning a no-parks vacation and could be guaranteed pool weather! We did not do much, but I enjoyed the company of my friends and spending some relaxed time with them.

Plan: OKWR, Some park with others, Nancy & Clinta's party, Comedy Warehouse later??

Actual: I was up early - around 6:30, but let Chris sleep until almost 8. He had brought back one of those big rice krispie treat squares with chocolate on top, so that was his breakfast. I had the usual cappuccino and cereal. We packed up the rest of our stuff and were out of the Swan by 8:30. Coming out of the elevators we ran into Rafiki, Minnie, and some hairy guy (no Kathy - it was not Gus <g>). It was wonderful returning to Old Key West, and Angelo came out from behind the bell services desk to give me a big hug. We chatted with him and Randy for a bit, then went inside and were quickly checked in by Julie. Our studio was not ready, as the resort has been at 100% occupancy the last few nights. We checked in Olivia's to see if our friend John and his son John were still having breakfast, but they were not there.

We drove to MGM Studios, and had to sit through about 3 light changes at the entrance to the park, due to heavy traffic. Once we made the turn the cars were bumper to bumper up to the parking booths. To my surprise, the cm's were both standing outside of their booths waving cars through as quickly as possible - they were not stopping anyone to charge them the parking fee, which I assume was to try to ease the traffic backing up. This was at 9:05 am! We rode the tram up to the entrance and got into the park pretty quickly, after going thru the pointless cursory security checkpoint.

Once inside, we had about 40 minutes before we were due to meet the others, so we decided to do the Great Movie Ride. The tip board was showing 10-15 minute waits everywhere except TOT and Rock N Roller Coaster (both 45-60). On the way we got sidetracked under the big hat playing with the interactive computer things, and when we finished there was not enough time for the ride. We wandered through the shops, and then sat at the meeting place to wait for the others. They all arrived by 10:10 or so, and we decided to get Fastpasses for the Millionaire attraction. People who know me know that I absolutely cannot stand that TV show, and have only watched about 15 minutes of it. I can tolerate the attraction, but am only doing it to see the new version of the pre-show movie (when I saw it before, it was just before Mary went back to reshoot the new version) and because Larry was hoping Leanne could get into the hot seat. Both Larry & Jill got in and made it to the 32,000 point level earlier in their trip.

The Fastpass time was 11:35, but the cm said we could make it into the 10:55 show in the standby line. Oh joy of joys - I get to do the attraction twice, lol! The park was really getting to crowded to do much of anything, so we figured why not...we could visit while we waited in line, so we headed for standby. Larry and I had been discussing how certain combinations of answers come up more frequently, and some do not come up at all, and I decided that on the first question I would just enter a certain pattern of answer. The first question determines who gets into the hot seat, and you have to put the answers A-D in a certain order to answer correctly. The question was read - it was putting 4 continents in order by their population, and I ignored the answers and just entered my pre-determined pattern. Afterwards I realized that just might be the correct answer, and in fact it was! They announced they were showing the top 10 correct answers, and when the numbers appeared I was kind of disappointed to not see my seat number up there, and was thinking to myself that there must be an awful lot of *really* fast people who got the answer right....when they showed one more seat number......I did not realize only 9 were up there and the winner had not been announced yet. When they did, it was ME!! LOL, I about died right there, and later my friends were laughing that the one person who did not want to get to the hot seat was the one who did it!

I went down to the stage and met the host. He asked if I was a fan of the show on TV, and I was not rude or anything but I replied "No", and the audience laughed. He asked if I had ever seen it, and I said I had watched about 15 minutes of it once (I really, really cannot stand the show, not even a little tiny bit) - but I was ready to play. I ended up getting to the 32,000 point level with 1 lifeline left, and used it for the 64,000 question. The lifeline failed me, but since I had no clue what the answer was and I had already won more than I had when I walked into the park, I did not care. It would have been fun to keep winning, but the odds of me getting the remaining 4 questions right to win the million point prize were minuscule! They took me backstage and I got the baseball cap, lanyard, 10 pin set, and polo shirt. The size small was too big to be anything I would ever wear, so I got the XL for Chris instead, hoping he would want it. When we got outside he went to the restroom and changed into it right away, lol!

We got in line for our Fastpass return. At this show the male sign language interpreter was signing over at the side of the short section. The show started, they did the first question, and this time the #1 seat number was Chris! He went down on stage, and the host commented "nice shirt", lol! Chris found it was a lot harder down there than it looked from up in the audience, too. He ended up losing on the 1000 point question, when he did not know that Annapolis was not in Illinois! Argh - he should have made more effort in geography last year <g>. They took him backstage and gave him a button. After this show we were done with Millionaire!

We decided to have lunch at Backlot Express so we headed over there next. The lines were not very bad at all, which surprised me considering how mobbed the park was. Chris & I shared a burger & fries and the others had similar stuff. He & I left after eating, and the others headed to Star Tours. I stopped to call OKWR on the way out, but the studio was not yet ready. We returned to the car and began the drive to Nancy & Clinta's house. After a stop at Publix to pick up some things we found their house with no problems.

They live out in the country, on a large piece of property, with the house built up on top of a hill (yes, there are hills in parts of Florida, lol). Leesa and her boyfriend Connan were already there, and soon many others arrived. Everyone was very friendly, and the party was a good time. One of the guys who used to work at the Comedy Warehouse was there with his wife, and it turned out we recognized each other from me being a guest on the boat she drives from Wilderness Lodge to the Contemporary! If you have a boat driver named Karen, be sure to say hi to her. Chris got Connan playing football for a little while, and had a great time. The food was plentiful, and everything was delicious. Both Clinta and Nancy are excellent cooks - Clinta made jalapeno poppers, beer batter jumbo fried shrimp, grilled shrimp, and one of them made a navy bean soup that even I had to admit was actually pretty good (I hate all beans - but I was ok with this) everyone else raved about how good it was, too. Clinta had made cream puffs as well, half filled with chocolate custard and the other half with vanilla custard. Everyone brought a different appetizer, so there was plenty to pick from. I invited Clinta & Nancy to join us at Vero in July - they enjoyed it this year and their *weekend* from work falls on the exact 2 nights we are booked there with Larry & Jill.

I had called OKWR from their house to get my studio number, so when we left the party we were able to drive directly to our building without having to make a stop at the front desk. We are in building 36, top floor, non-smoking. It should have a water view, but I have not checked yet. We do get bus noise, but since I normally am not going to sleep until after the buses have stopped, it should not be any big deal. We brought our stuff inside and I hurriedly unpacked most of it before heading back out.

As I approached Downtown Disney they had the sign up saying parking was in that distant lot, and after last night I was not about to take my chances finding anything closer! I drove in, and we found a spot way back beyond Cirque, along the water side. Chris went to meet the other boys at DisneyQuest, and I headed to PI as fast as I could get through the crowds. I have never seen the West Side like this - the entire street was filled, shoulder to shoulder for the entire length! Thank goodness I am small and solo, as I was able to quickly move through the gaps in the crowds as people would move around. I entered PI and saw that the line at CW was very long - over 20 minutes before the show. I was number 124, but I figured I would take my chance on a good single seat rather than wait for the later show. Chatting with a nice couple behind me helped pass the time, and when we got inside they were herded to seats on the very top row (yuck), while I got a single seat in the 3rd row (yay).

I knew this would be my only show, since it was far too crowded for me tonight (on a Sunday night - who would believe it???) Deb was my server, but I just got water since I would not be around long enough for a Bye Bye Blues. Carol was on the keys again. Todd opened the show with the phone thing, and I was shocked that the jerk who answered just mumbled some rude comment and then hung up on him! The audience started booing the guy, and the technicians turned the light off him and rang the phone somewhere else. Thank goodness this time they got a normal guy, but when he gave the phone to his wife she was either playing games or was incredibly thick. It threw Todd a bit, and Carol had to remind him with some music that it was time to wrap it up. The song the cast did was very funny, though. The rest of the cast was Jeanette, Philip, Jake & Steve. They did Story Time, with Jeanette conducting. The story was actually more entertaining than the deaths this time, and Philip spent all of 5 seconds on his death. His suggestion was the moon, so he cheated and said something about the air is really thin up here, and then died from lack of oxygen, lol. Jeanette ended it when Jake & Steve would not make any mistakes, and had them wrap up the story together. They did it in unison - speaking the exact same words, which had to be in kind of slow motion so they could both manage to be saying the same word at the same time. It was pretty funny. Overall, the show was excellent, and Todd in particular came up with some really clever & funny things. He has improved quite a bit in the past couple of months.

On the way out I mentioned to Steve that it was good to see him back again, and soon headed out of the club to leave the Island. I did not know it, but Leesa was outside and had been unable to get in to my show - it was so crowded they had her skip being backdoored for that show! She called to me, but I did not hear her, and she was not able to move fast enough to get to me :( I left and walked back along the water to avoid the still-huge crowds in the West Side. For a change, I actually remembered where I left the car and found it without wandering around lost! Back at OKWR I downloaded pictures, wrote the report, and then got online.

We did everything on the plan today, and it was another fun day :-)

DAY 4 - MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2001:

Who: Sue & Chris Larry & Jill sons Greg (almost 14) & Edward (10) Tom & Leanne daughter Kim & her son Chris (12)

Plan: Some park with others, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, Magic Kingdom

Actual: Yesterday the group agreed to meet at 10am in Animal Kingdom. Not meeting until 10 has turned out to be really nice - I am glad the others are not wanting to be in the parks right at 8am, lol! I had set the alarm for 6:45, but changed it to 7:15 after waking up. The buses were already running, and they sounded like they were running right through the studio <g>. Our unit is on the end, right by the rotary where they slow down and turn around. There is no water view, although I think there probably is from some of the other units in this building.

Chris was up around 8:30 and we had cappuccino and cereal for breakfast. Today it is supposed to be cloudy all day, upper 60's during the day but in the 40's at night....brrr! We left OKWR around 9:20 and drove to Animal Kingdom to meet the others at 10. It was a rather chilly tram ride in from the parking lot, lol - but I wanted to drive so I could make my escape quickly later. Entry into the park went surprisingly fast, and soon the others arrived.

We went to the Safari and got Fastpasses (return time 10:45) and then did the Pangani Trail in the interim. It seemed strange starting at the beginning, because when I am with Kathy we are able to use a different entrance. Eventually I went up ahead and told the others to just meet me at the gorillas when they got there. Good thing, because Gus was sitting at the entrance to his cave when I arrived, but eventually tired of all the people staring and went back inside before the others arrived. One of the other bachelors was out, and the 2 youngest ones on the family side were playing in a couple of the trees.

We did our safari at 10:45 and were very pleased to have an excellent driver. There were large sections where no animals were out at all, but it was still enjoyable. When we finished we decided to go to Dinoland and get Fastpasses for Dinosaur. Along the way we left Jill & Ed shopping for a new hat, and when we got to Dinosaur the posted standby time was 10 minutes, and the Fastpass return time was an hour away. We decided to just do standby, but by the time Jill & Ed arrived (in no hurry since they believed we would have Fastpasses for an hour from now <g>) the line had grown considerably. We ended up taking 20 minutes to get to the preshow, and about 30 minutes to get onto the ride. We had our own car, though, and it was a fun ride.

By now it was noon, and people were getting hungry. We tried Flame Tree Barbecue, but it was closed today (Larry said it was open last week when they were here). We decided to try Pizzafari, and were surprised to see short lines in there. It smelled great, too, so everyone split up into different lines while the boys held a couple of tables in a back room. Chris & I shared the kid's pretzel grilled cheese and a cheese pizza, which came to about $9. Kathy & I had tried to see what that kids' meal looked like, but never could find anybody with one when we would go spying over there ;-) Kathy - it is a small soft pretzel, sliced down the middle, American cheese is inserted and then it's heated so the cheese melts. It tasted ok (Chris liked it more than I did) and came with character cookies and a small drink. The pizza was also good. Tom & Leeane shared the Italian sandwich, which looked very good, and Kim got the baked penne pasta. Overall I think everyone was happy with their food.

After lunch I left and brought Chris & Chris back to OKWR with me. I stopped at the main building where they went to play basketball while I picked up an envelope Disney had delivered to me at the resort. As a volunteer at the marathon this Sunday, I needed my credentials to be allowed in, and they had been lost in the mail because Disney entered our zip code incorrectly. As it turns out, they finally arrived the day Disney called me to get this straightened out, so now I have 2 sets - but that's no big deal. After picking up the envelope I returned to the studio call Kathy and then get online and update the report prior to heading out for Hoop later. Kathy was with our friend Barb (Dizyworld), so I got to talk to her, too - a nice surprise! I also set up an album on Ofoto, and it looks like I'll need to send a link to people in order to "share" it. If I can get a link I can post, I will do that to save people from having to email me! Kathy called to let me know MK was closed already & we chatted for a bit before it was time to leave..

Chris & I left the studio at 3:40 to catch the bus to MK to meet Larry & his family at the boat dock to Ft Wilderness. This is so cool to be spending New Year's Eve with friends from a different continent, and to be at WDW seeing my favorite actor performing (now if it were only 15-20 degrees warmer, lol). I was wearing a shirt, sweater, and jacket - far more clothes than I am used to, and I do not like having all that stuff on...I prefer to travel much lighter! Larry & his family were waiting for us at MK and together we rode the boat to Ft Wilderness. Arriving at Pioneer Hall we checked in and had our picture taken (which Larry bought, and gave us one of the refrigerator magnet pictures - thanks, Larry) and then hung around waiting for the 20 minutes or so until it was time to go in.

A nice family from California introduced themselves as being from the dvctalk group, and I enjoyed talking with them for a little while. When I went back to Larry & the others, I saw Steve (actor formerly from Comedy Warehouse - worked there the last 2 nights) coming up. He spotted me, too - and we talked briefly. He was here to see Layden too, for the first time in this role. They were great together when they both were at the Comedy Warehouse.

Finally it was 5pm and the doors opened. We headed down to the right door as instructed, and ran into Steve again. He was behind us in line so we all talked some more. Jill remembered seeing him in the show the other night, but Larry did not know him. Steve is working as a screenwriter now (in Los Angeles), and is currently writing a movie called Lawn & Order. It's a funny movie about lawn ornaments that save the day <g> - sort of like a Toy Story, except with lawn ornaments rather than toys. If Steve's writing it, it has to be very funny! We got to the door and I went in first - following the guy to our table down near the front. When Larry got there he said we could make room at the table and I should go back to Steve because he heard Steve tell the guy to seat him with us, and the cm looked reluctant because we had already gone ahead. I asked him if he wanted to join us - but since Layden had set up his ticket and table and planned to introduce him to the other actors, he needed to be where he was expected. I'm sure he would have had more fun with us rather than being solo, but once the food came out - we barely had room for ourselves at the table, lol! I cannot imagine where we would have put a 7th person.

The food was the usual salad, bbq ribs, fried chicken, corn, baked beans, bread, and strawberry shortcake. Everything was delicious, and there was plenty of it. I think I ate a pair of ribs and a chicken wing, with a few bites of the shortcake. Chris & Greg both ate vast quantities of everything! The show was excellent, with about 1/2 the actors being different people from the ones I saw last July. Layden's character is clearly the star of the show, despite not being the "leading" man, and although I would rather watch him at the Comedy Warehouse I recognize that he is doing a great job here and the audience always loves his portrayal of the character. Because it is the holidays they threw in a few Christmas references, but otherwise it was the regular show.

When it was finished we waved goodbye to Steve (upstairs) and headed for the bus stop. There was no direct bus to MGM, so we had to transfer at the horribly nasty Transportation & Ticket Center. Thankfully, that transfer went very smoothly, and the unruly mobs we expected to encounter were nonexistent. Jill had noticed coming to MK on the bus that the parking booth attendants were turning people away, so perhaps the parks had closed to outsiders during this time period. Entering MGM was also very easy. I walked right up to the security guard to show him my bags, then walked right into the park with no wait at all. It was busy, but not horribly crowded, and never got really bad up until about 11:30.

We were in the park at 7:30, and had plans to meet the others at 8:30 - so we had an hour to kill. We picked up our complimentary plastic hats and noisemakers, and then walked through the Osbourne Lights. I was shocked at how uncrowded that area was - we were able to leisurely stroll through the lights and not be in a crowd at all! We then returned to meet the others and they were waiting for us. Young Chris had gotten some fast passes when they arrived, and he had 2 that were now good for Tower of Terror. Greg spoke up first, so he & Chris headed down there to ride, while the rest of us wandered down to meet them in the exit. The entire Sunset Boulevard area was much more crowded than any other area of the park, in my opinion. We waited and waited and waited...and finally they were done with ToT.

We checked the tip board and it showed a 10 minute wait for the Great Movie Ride, so we did that - getting the gangster side. They really need to give the gangster some sort of microphone to use when doing the piece before she takes over the tram - nobody could hear or understand what she was saying, because the other noise is so loud it drowns her out. Once in the vehicle though, she was fine with the hand-held microphone. They were only sending 2 cars through at a time, rather than all 4, which we had never seen before. The cm's working put 6 people in each seat, even when the people were equivalent to 1.5 or 2 people in terms of butt width! It made for some uncomfortable looking rows when they squeezed 6 adults into a row, particularly if there were some large ones mixed in there. It would have been better for everyone if they had just left it at 5!

After the ride, it was time for young Chris' 2 Fastpasses for Rock N Roller Coaster, so he went off to do that with Ed. The rest of us slowly wandered down Sunset Boulevard and stopped in front of where they sell fruit. We had teased Leanne earlier when she got a healthy fruit snack - a peanut and caramel covered apple ;-) Evidently Tom enjoys a healthy fruit & milk snack - others may call it a banana split, lol! What can I say - we were tired, and it sounded funny at the time <g>. Kim went down to the RnR exit to wait for the boys and the rest of us stayed put. We were there forever, since the stupid ride broke down and there was a pretty good delay. Oh well, we had nothing we really wanted or needed to do....I think many of us were tempted to just say goodnight and leave rather than wait hours for the fireworks, but we all ended up sticking with it until the end.

The park showed Fantasmic 3 times tonight, and had a band or bands playing on a stage in front of the big hat. I have no clue who they were, nor was I interested in finding out. For me, a band is background music as I'm passing by, not an event I go to see & watch. They sounded good, though. The shows all closed up early, since with the cutbacks there is only 1 cast and their union dictates how many shows they can work (the regular schedule). Osbourne Lights closed at 10:30, the last Millionaire show was 9:35 (not that I wanted to sit through that again, lol), so lots of stuff closed up early, leaving not many things to do to pass the time. We ended up sitting on the curb in front of the Celebrity 5 & 10 for just over an hour, and during that time the entire street ended up filling in by about 11:30. The 11:45 Sorcery in the Sky Fireworks began about 11:50 and lasted for 10 minutes. They were very nice, but anyone who has seen them before would probably notice they were shortened. However, then they did a countdown and then shot off many more fireworks in a short period of time. It was really pretty, and that ended the night. We exited as quickly as possible and got on buses to our resorts.

It is highly unlikely I would ever choose to spend New Year's Eve in a theme park in the future. Hopefully next year we will spend it at Hilton Head, but in terms of enjoyment compared to the effort/time expended to be there, I think Kathy had the better idea....staying in the resort!

Overall it was a good day, and the weather was actually a bit warmer than expected at night. We skipped the MK in favor of MGM, and were glad we did. We not only had a shorter trip home at the end of the day, we are pretty sure the crowds we encountered were far less than those at MK! Hoop was great, and seeing it with first-timers who enjoyed it made it that much more fun.

Happy New Year :-)

DAY 5 - TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2002:

Plan: Epcot, lunch @ Le Cellier with others, DisneyQuest, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: I slept in until 8:15, then got up to have some cappuccino and get online. Chris slept until I woke him up at 9:30 or so. Since I was online, unfortunately I missed Kathy's call - the message was there when I got offline but she was already on her way home. I was sending an email apologizing for not calling last night, while she was trying unsuccessfully to reach me here, so sorry about that Kathy. Chris called his dad to wish him a happy birthday - he will be joining us on our trip next month (to AKL concierge) and we will celebrate his birthday with something special on the morning we arrive.....previous AKL concierge guests might know what his birthday surprise is, but since he reads the reports I cannot say what it is now!

We left the studio about 10:30 and drove to Epcot. We got a great parking spot really close to the entrance, and only a few cars down the row! We walked around, I browsed through Mouse Gears while Chris went to Ice Station Cool, and then we went to meet the others at Spaceship Earth. It was only shortly after 11, so we listened to the Jammitors for a little while, then Leanne & I went to the Land while the rest of the group did the Living Seas. We saw the Circle of Life movie, since the wait was shorter there than it was for the boat ride. However, the park was really not crowded at all - particularly compared to last weekend! Larry was miffed when he got out of the Living Seas, saying they had done away with the ride portion and instead had a gift shop. I hope they merely had the ride temporarily not operating and were diverting people directly into the existing shop - I liked that little ride.

It was almost noon, so we went to wait for rope drop and walked into World Showcase towards Canada. We had a 12:00 priority seating for lunch at Le Cellier, and although when I made the reservation they told me they had to book it as a party of 6 and a party of 4, when we were taken right in they had our table for 10 all set up. Larry had brought Christmas Crackers for everyone - I guess this is a British tradition. 2 people pull the opposite ends and when it breaks it causes a snap/spark and the person holding the bigger piece gets the prize inside. For our purposes, we made sure everyone got a prize. Mine was a lovely string of pearls...I am sure they are the real deal <g>. Chris got a bowling set! Each cracker also had a paper crown to wear and a card with a couple of silly jokes. I think our poor waiter was a bit overwhelmed by us at first - we were a bit party, the boys were chattering, Larry was passing out crackers, and then we started having mini explosions as paper and toys landed on the table! The poor guy just wanted to take our drink order, and he got ignored for a minute or 2. We ended up behaving, and being much easier once the crackers were done, though!

I think this was the first time any of the others (except Chris) had eaten hear, and everyone enjoyed the restaurant and their food. I got my usual overpriced wine and the great cheddar cheese soup, and Chris got the steak burger and a coke. Larry & Jill each tried (& loved) the soup and shared a steak. The others got the chicken sandwich, steak burger, or something from the kids menu. Nobody had room for dessert, and after the 20% off for the Disney Dining Card and the automatic 15% gratuity (due to our party size) lunch was only $108 - not bad for 10 people having a really great meal.

After lunch it was time for Tom, Leanne, Kim & Chris to go home, so we bid them farewell. My Chris and Greg left to catch the Downtown Disney bus from the Beach Club to spend the rest of the day at DisneyQuest. I thought Ed was going with them, but instead he had some minor tantrum over something - so the older boys were told they could leave him behind, which they immediately did. They were anxious to get there! I left Jill, Larry & Ed in Canada - I think they were going to wander around a little and then go back to AKL to pack. I found out that last night they had a long commute back to their resort. The rest of us going to OKWR got seats on the first bus to arrive, and I noticed there was no traffic on the roads at all. We were in our villas before 12:30! The Wilmots got on their bus before us, as it was sitting there waiting for them, but did not leave until after us. By then there was a huge traffic jam and they arrived at AKL at 1:30!!! Holy cow - that is awful! They probably ran into some of the traffic leaving Epcot and MK - while we did not have to worry about any of that.

I was going to go back to OKWR to do my laundry, but instead went and rode Test Track. The standby line was 90 minutes, but there was a huge line before you got to the 90 minute sign. Fastpasses were not operating (maybe they were gone??) and using single rider I walked right into the preshow. Afterwards, I left Epcot and went to the Premium Outlets to see if I needed to part with any money. It was pretty busy over there, but I found nothing I really wanted and so returned empty-handed. Back in the studio I got online to upload a few more photos (from Hoop Dee Doo and one from the Comedy Warehouse with Steve in case anyone thinks they know who he is) and update the report. Unfortunately my soap was not on today - due to some football game.

I ended up using Ofoto for the pictures, and tested "sharing" albums by addressing it to myself <g>. Anyone who wants to view them has to sign in, which means they either need to have or start a free ofoto account. I viewed the pictures as a slideshow, and it worked well. The site constantly is ready to take your order for prints, so just ignore that. The link/url is http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?m=86538869203&n=1548320879 I will send the link to the people who get the reports via email, but later in the week when I'm online again.

I left for Downtown Disney around 6-6:30, and was able to park by Planet Hollywood. I wandered through the Marketplace for a while, and bought a wine bottle stopper. A bottle of wine will generally last me a couple of weeks unless I am sharing it with someone, and this one is cute, with a stainless steel Mickey head on the top (got it in Gourmet Pantry). Around 7:30 I headed for PI and got my wristband. As I approached Comedy Warehouse I met up with Larry & Jill, and once enough people were in line ahead of us we joined them. Once inside cm Kelly was doing the seating, and had seated long row before he seated the row down on the floor, which made my count no longer valid! We simply stepped back and let a couple of parties pass us, then rejoined the line. It was nice to see Kelly again, and he remembered me. He works part time, and was one of the cm's not given any hours during the cutbacks. We were seated at the end of long row (4 seats were left, and there were 3 of us), which was perfect!

Jaime took my bottle and confirmed my Bye Bye Blues. Jim Roberts was on the keys tonight. Larry has said repeatedly that he likes Carol because she talks to the people and Jim doesn't. He calls Jim the bored man, saying he looks bored, but admits he plays the keys well. I just kept my mouth shut - until later <g>. The 8:00 show was opened by Mary, who was joined by Josh, Jeanette, Jennifer Br, & Joy. They did an opening poem rather than the phone thing, and then Jennifer & Josh did Fill In The Blank. This game was just ok....barely. The 2 audience volunteers up on stage kept giving serious/logical answers, which pretty much eliminates any chance of comedy/humor. I have been up there, and I know it is very hard to avoid giving a logical answer, assuming you think logically. I found it really helps to just think of an object - any object, and then when you are touched by one of the actors just say that object and let them make sense of it in the scene. As soon as you say your object, immediately think of another one so you are ready. Gosh - that probably sounds like *work* and not fun, lol!

Fortunately after the lacking Fill In The Blank they did Cliché, and tortured Mary with an expression given by Larry - It's bottoms that reserve seats in here, not mouths." She struggled, and it was very funny. She is great as a torture victim, because she can get herself so lost & confused....kind of like a *blonde* moment at times, and it's always funny. Overall it was a good show - saved by the great 2nd half! We left right away and the line for the next show was all the way to the entrance to the chains. However, it did not appear to be packed, and the count was at 155, so I figured we would be behind the people seated in long row. We got in line and tried to stay warm until the next show was seated - a short wait.

Inside Kelly was directing people and he checked to see if there were 3 seats left over in the Alps, but I asked if we could just go downstairs and he said yes. So, we were seated on the stools behind the people in long row, all the way down the end - and the person in front of me was small! It was great, and then I noticed the people in front of us were Leesa & Connan! LOL - Connan was looking at the pictures on the digital camera, and had a picture of me - from the party the other night, I guess. I introduced Connan to Larry & Jill, and we talked while the rest of the people were being seated. Soon Jim Roberts came out from the back room (he had seen me last show but we did not speak), and stood there rubbing my arm to get my attention. Despite being the *bored man who doesn't talk to anyone* <g> we had a very nice conversation, and even did a little joking/teasing back & forth (he has a good sense of humor). When he went to play the keys I told Larry "see - he does talk to people" ;-)

The 9:05 show featured Jeanette, Josh, Joy, Jake & Mary. They did Emotions, where Jake & Joy acted a scene while having to change emotions without disrupting the logic of the scene. Josh and Jeanette called out the different emotions they had to use. It was very funny - they both did a super job, but many of the emotions suggested by the audience lent themselves to a somewhat dirty scene, and that is what we got. It did not go overboard, and was fine for adults and teens. They also did Up Your Alley, hosted by Joy as Molly Cule (molecule). The subject was silver trombones. The questions took a turn to the sexual, particularly when one guy wanted to know when buying a trombone was longer or thicker more important.....and after a few questions like that Joy steered it away from that line of questioning. It was very funny, and Mary in particular had us laughing with her character. Overall the show was excellent! Jill & Larry left to go get their sons out of DisneyQuest after the show, so we said goodbye until July.

Leesa, Connan and I stayed to let the other guests leave, and I guess this is as good a time as any to let everyone know that Connan is a terrific guy - good looking, smart, funny, and would have been a black Chippendales dancer if the other guys did not feel so inferior in his presence. He's also modest, and hopefully pays well for that last paragraph <g>. Mary came over, & we chatted for a while before going outside to wait for the next show.

We used the backdoor and went back to long row for our last show of the night - 10:30. Jake opened, and was joined by Jeanette, Joy, Jen B & Jennifer Br. Leesa & I have said for a long time that if you want to work here, the odds are in your favor if your name begins with the letter J. Even Jim Roberts was working tonight, and Josh was backstage. Mary was the only one messing things up, but her husband's name begins with J, so we decided she would be called Jxxxx's Wife from now on. No, we were not drunk, just silly <g>.

In this show they did Story Time, conducted by Joy. Everyone did really well, and Jen B in particular did an excellent job wrapping up the story in a poem at the end (she was the winner). The embarrassing story was about a lady who's 4 year old son announced loudly on the monorail that she forgot to clean his ears with a Kotex (he meant to say Q-tip) today. Every rhyme ended up being about one feminine hygiene product or another, and even poor Jake as the only male managed to do a great job with it, without getting gross. We left after this show - saying goodnight to Jake on the way out. The 3 of us walked out the main entrance, where Connan & Leesa stopped to do one of those guest survey things while I continued to my car. Back at OKWR Chris was just coming back from DQ, so we met in the parking lot. I finished up the report before going to bed, but saved getting online for later in the morning.

It was a great day - lunch was great, and the evening at Comedy Warehouse was wonderful - good shows, & terrific friends to enjoy it with :-)

DAY 6 - WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2002:

Who: Sue, son Chris

Plan: Laundry, Olivia's with DVC friends, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: In keeping with the theme of late mornings, I did not wake up until after 8:30 this morning! After throwing some clothes on I went to put the laundry in the washing machines, but they were both in use....grrr. Instead, I went back to the studio for my shower, and then tried again. This time 1 washer was empty - an all dryers were busy. I rarely ever find anyone else doing laundry, so this is very strange - but then, I never do laundry in the morning. Later I went back and found all the dryers filled but only 1 still running. I was debating whether it would be ruder to remove the clothes from one than it was to leave them all sitting finished but full - when the owner of the clothes arrived with 2 suitcases and started emptying them. Dilemma resolved <g>. I put my stuff in one dryer, and returned to the studio for a brunch of cappuccino and frosted cheerios. Chris was up by now, and after showering brunched on cereal and mountain dew code red. My soap was on Soap Net from 10-11, so I got to watch most of it - a nice surprise.

The weather is dreary today - completely cloudy and drizzly rain, with heavier rain expected at times. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold and windy - not getting above 52 during the day and an actual freeze at night - yuck! We left the studio about 11:30, to catch a bus to the MK. Granted, I have always said anyone who arrives at the MK around 11 or so has got to be a total idiot.....so perhaps today we fall into that category <g>. If it is truly horrible, we will just leave and go elsewhere.

It started raining more heavily while we were at the bus stop, and by the time we arrived at the MK it was a steady downpour. Entering the park was not too difficult, but our feet were soaked before we hit Main Street. After stopping to buy Chris a poncho we headed to Tomorrowland. I would have gotten Fastpasses for Space Mountain, but the return time was not until 2:30 and I doubted we would still be in the park by then. Standby time was 60 minutes. We stood in line to do the TTA. Why do people go buy hotdogs & drinks and then get in a fast moving line??? Do they think they will be allowed to take a big 'ole hot dog smothered in ketchup onto a moving ride or something??? Do they think it is not a problem when they stand blocking the entrance as they finish their food??? Geesh - I do not understand some people, and wish the cm's would tell them where to go <g> to finish eating *away* from the entrance to the attraction! The TTA was fun, but a little damp. There were still lots of people getting on, so we did not ask if we could stay on a second time.

Chris wanted to ride the Grand Prix thing, and since the line was posted as 15 minutes I waited for him. Some people were riding with umbrellas, lol! Soon he was off the ride, and we continued walking around. Pooh had a 55 minute standby, with a Fastpass return of about 3:30. Even Small World had a 25 minute line...that is a very bad sign! The Haunted Mansion line was back out to Liberty Square. At this point we were pretty wet and decided we would rather be at the resort. We stopped in the candy store on the way out - I got a proper marshmallow thingy (Chris had got one with sprinkles from the West Side earlier in the trip.....YUCK-O, that thing was nasty!) and a chocolate Mickey truffle. On a previous trip I ranted about them taking the price from $.49 to $.79 and it not being worth the money any longer due to the small size. Now they have increased the size, and in my opinion it is worth the $.79 - it was also delicious! Chris got a big box of Sweet Tarts. We had a short wait for the OKWR bus and were back in the studio around 2pm.

Chris decided to try drying his sneakers with the hair dryer - not sure how successful that was, though <g>. He also tried to blow-dry my Teva's to help speed up their drying process. I think the rain is going to continue all day - hopefully it will not interfere with my Comedy Warehouse tonight! I got online and chatted with a few friends. Darla invited Chris over to use Playstation 2 with Steven, and he was off in a flash, lol! She heated up some frozen pizza for the hungry boys. Chris had been thinking about coming to the DVC dinner, but PS2 was definitely more appealing to him.

I drove up to the main building at 4, and soon all the DVC friends arrived. Most of us had met before, but this was my first time meeting Jan (PoohJan) and Mary's husband Frank. Darla offered to take John's son back to her villa to play with Steven & Chris - which was great news to John.....a kid-free meal <g>! We were seated at a big round table, and had an excellent dinner with some great conversation. The group was small enough that conversing was easy. I had the tomato & mozzarella salad, which was wonderful. They put pecans in the greens, and that is a great addition. We posed for a picture outside after we ate, and it is now on Ofoto. Who attended?? Me, Darla (Iluvdvc), Hugh (hughstrom), Arlene (tiggersmy1), Jan (PoohJan), John (JohnBro912), Barb (Dizyworld), Mary (MaryKitch) & hubby Frank. Thanks to Darla's sister Deb for stopping by and taking the picture!

After dinner John & I went back with Darla & Deb to retrieve our offspring. Darla & Deb were heading to MK, John & his son John were going to MGM. I left Chris with Steven, with instructions to be home by 7, then went back to the studio and sent the group photo online. Thank goodness the rain seems to have stopped!

Chris came home a little early, and ate some cereal while I IM'd with Kathy until it was time for Comedy Warehouse! I had left the aol connection up while I was out to dinner, and it never disconnected, so I figured I would leave it again tonight....and see what happens. We left the studio at 7:15 and drove to Downtown Disney. We were inside PI and joining the line outside the Comedy Warehouse by 7:30, since there were already over 40 people ahead of us. Darby was working outside and came over to talk until he had to go open the chain to let people in. He's usually not so talkative, but he's very nice, and has worked in every club on the Island since it opened.

We *just missed* long row, and were at the end of the row next to it. Jim Roberts was on the keys again tonight, and Deb was our server. She got me my usual, and Chris had a virgin pina colada with lots of whipped cream. The 8:00 show featured Jake, Joy, Peter, Jen B, & Mary. Overall it was just ok - not their best, despite a pretty promising cast. Peter & Joy did a cute Fill In The Blank skit (with 2 audience volunteers) in a Super Wal-Mart (I thought of Darla and her vacation trips to Wal-Mart in Kissimmee <g>). Peter then set up for Up Your Alley, but screwed it up by asking for occupations.....the occupations belong to Schmeopardy, lol! Jim corrected him, and Peter claimed he didn't really work here - he is just a guest that got separated from the line. The topic ended up being nose hair, which could have been really funny, but for some reason it just never really went anywhere worthwhile. Joy was the host - Dixie B Cup <g>.

After the show I talked to Jim Roberts for a while - this is the last night I will see him for a long while, as my next several trips are shorter and do not include the nights he works. He may not seem bubbly like Carol, but he is one of the sweetest people out there. Chris & I went up to the line and checked with Joe to see how many were ahead of us. I knew we would be way up top, but figured we could ask to be down on the stools behind the long row people, so we got in line. Once inside, Darby was seating. Sure enough, we would have been in the 2nd row from the top, but he said we could go down to long row (2nd set of stools) or the cushioned bench across from long row. Chris wanted that one, so we went there - and I loved it! I sat at the end, and the people in front of us do not go over that far, so I had an unobstructed view of the stage. Chris is tall enough he was ok next to me. The seat was so comfortable, and I had a cup holder and arm rest....it was great!

The 9:05 show was better - this time we had Peter, Jen B, Joy, Mary & Philip. They did StoryTime, conducted by Jen. It was a funny story about a guy in the desert who thought he saw a Kentucky Fried Chicken but it was really an ant village, then he lost a hand and a tentacle grew out of him because he was really an ant also (to his surprise) and when the ant village began filling with water, the Pope came in Vatican One (his airline...spoof on Air force One) to save the day with his religious artifact. The deaths were just ok, but the story was entertaining enough to make up for that. Mary tried a new method of death. She picked a girl from the audience and had the person position each actor in a position on the stage - unrelated to anyone else's position. For example, Mary was laying on her side with 1 arm over her head and 1 leg pulled up. Philip was against the back wall, nose to the wall, arms up as if he was being frisked. Jen B was put talking on the phone, Joy was near the front of the stage in a leap frog position, and Peter was drinking a milkshake at a soda counter near the crates. Once in position, the lights went out, and the actors performed in the dark - using dialog to explain how they got into each of their positions, and then the lights came up and Mary was dead. It was pretty clever, but I think it is something that will be either very funny or not funny at all, with not much in between <g>.

We left after this show, and I decided to not stay for the 10:30 show, knowing I will be staying tomorrow night. Chris went to DisneyQuest for a while, and I drove back to OKWR. Fox News was outside PI doing some live shots - talking to tourists about the cold weather coming. Must not be a very big news day up here <g>. Back in the studio I finished and posted the report, and caught up on a big bunch of email that came in during the past few hours.....I have some very chatty friends, evidently ;-)

We did everything on the plan today - which really wasn't much <g>. The weather today just plain sucked....if that's an aol violation, I'm sorry, but that's the way it was. However, it cleared up by late afternoon, and the DVC dinner and PI time were definitely fun!

DAY 7 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 2002:

Who: Sue, son Chris friends Nancy & Leesa

Plan: Rainforest Cafe w/Nancy & Leesa, Osbourne Lights?, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: I was up around 8 again - kind of enjoying this *sleeping in* stuff <g>. Is this what retirement is like?? If so, I like it....but not enough to start retirement earlier than planned! I got Chris up around 10. We had cereal/cappuccino again, and I got online to do some stuff. It's supposed to be quite COLD today - with a north wind to make it even worse. I called over to Hank's to see if the Trumbo Ferry would be running this afternoon, and was told definitely NO. Darn, I thought Leesa would enjoy that ride, but I guess not if it only feels like it's 40-something degrees <g>. With her paralysis, cold is a problem, and I certainly do not need to turn her into a Popsicle on the way back to OKWR, so we will use the car.

We were due to meet Nancy & Leesa at 1 outside Rainforest Cafe, and I had agreed to go into DisneyQuest with Chris for a little while before then. Some of the DQ stuff is pretty cool, but I can only stand the noise & crowds in there for very short periods of time. We left the studio around 11 and parked at the Marketplace, then walked to DisneyQuest. That seemed easier than moving the car later. It was freezing at the Marketplace, particularly with the wind blowing off the water!

At DisneyQuest we got there just as it was about to open, and joined the big crowd waiting to get in. It was incredibly slow, and very disorganized...security was checking bags inside but there was no real order to the lines - just a mob pressing forward. Rather than having people from both lines stay on their side of the table, the people on the left had to pass in front of those on the right - which made for a real mess. I was ready to leave before I ever got inside, lol! Finally, after about 15 minutes or so we were past security and were able to bypass the elevators to take the stairs up to the 3rd floor. Chris wanted to do the Buzz Lightyear bumper car thing, but for some reason the cm had let a small number of guests (about 4 cars worth) into the waiting area and held the rest of us back behind the rope. She loaded those guests and it became obvious she was not going to let the rest of us waiting get on this time (we could have all gone in, and there probably still would have been a couple of empty cars), so we left the line. I was getting pissed at the seemingly senseless waiting we were having to endure.

We went up stairs and played Skeeball for a while - it's free now, but there are no tickets dispensed. On the way back downstairs we stopped at Buzz again, and this time were able to do it without waiting an extra turn. It was ok - I drove and Chris shot the cannon. Afterwards decided to do Cyber Space Mountain, and were able to create our coaster with a minimal wait. Unfortunately, the line to actually ride had gotten quite long, and we no longer had enough time to wait - so Chris saved the card so he can ride later, and we left the area. We played some of the simple games for a while, then left DisneyQuest. I was glad to be out of there, lol!

We stopped at the Candy Cauldron and bought a rice krispie treat with m&m's and a couple of chocolate Mickey truffles for later, then continued to the Rainforest Cafe. Nancy & Leesa arrived, and we were seated quickly. We had a super waiter - perhaps I have been lucky, but I have never encountered anything less than great service in any Rainforest Cafe location. We must have seen a dozen Volcano's go by - hard to miss since they yell "Volcano!!" as they go by <g>!

We decided to order some real food first, so we shared a margherita pizza and some fried cheese. Both were great, particularly the pizza. Both Nancy & I agreed it was better than the one at Wolfgang Puck's. We had a nice time sitting and talking, and then the Volcano arrived. It consisted of 3 large & 1 small pieces of brownie, 2 big scoops of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce and caramel sauce. We ate almost all of it - it was very rich and filling. I doubt I will ever order it again, though - once was enough. The brownie was a bit dry, and the ice cream was just ordinary. We saw a family of 4 - parents and 2 young children, and they ordered *each* little kid their own volcano, plus each parent had their own other dessert! It was such a waste, since most of it got thrown away, and I couldn't understand why anyone would buy a $13 dessert for a 5-year old to eat alone, lol!

We settled the check and headed back outside to the frigid weather. Chris headed to DisneyQuest and the rest of us went to my car and drove over to Nancy's car to get the rest of Leesa's stuff. Nancy headed to work, and Leesa & I drove back to OKWR. We hung around the studio while I updated the report and we watched my soap. We talked about doing Osbourne Lights, but with it being so cold, we decided to skip it. We ended up hanging out in the studio, until just before 6:30. I started packing, since we are moving tomorrow, we both checked our mail, talked to a few people, and spent some ordinary non-tourist time.

I parked by Planet Hollywood, and we walked through the cold windy night to the store next to the AMC Theater. It was too cold to wait outside for Chris, so we went inside! I ended up buying another pair of gloves - these are the black knit ones with a gray Mickey head on the back of each hand. They had these heat pack things at the register - they are supposed to keep very warm for 7 hours, so I bought some for us and some for Kathy, figuring we might need them at the marathon Sunday morning! Chris was due to meet us at 6:55, so we went out into the cold just a minute or 2 before then. I was hoping tonight would be a good night despite the weather....little did I know what wonderful surprise was in store for me :-)

As we were waiting for Chris, Patty (Mary's sister) came over - she had originally planned to be leaving town today, so it was a nice surprise to see her. Mary was expecting her at the back door, so we talked for a little while and then caught up with her later. Chris arrived, we entered PI, and then stood around talking with Darby outside the line for Comedy Warehouse. As we were almost done counting, we ran into Kim - another CW friend. She was also counting, lol - and approached at the same time as us. She had emailed saying she would come out tonight, but with the extreme cold I was not sure she would make it. It was nice to see her again - it's always fun seeing shows with her. We were seated in the row across from long row, and since it wasn't crowded Chris sat back on the cushion seats. We talked to different people before the show, then settled down when Jamie came out to play the keyboard.

The 7:10 show featured Todd, Greg, Peter, Mary & Jake. Kim volunteered to be in the Fill In The Blanks, and did a good job giving suggestions to Greg & Peter. Both Greg & Peter are very funny, and this skit was a lot of laughs. Jake & Mary did a short song called "I Have No Idea", which was also cute. They did Up Your Alley about body piercing with Greg as the host Ricky Flame. The funniest contestant was Jake as Leif the Terrible, a Viking who makes armor, and who speaks with a lisp and calls himself a "vicious Viking"....who has never been scared "straight" ;-) Overall it was a good show!

After the show we started to head outside. Mary greeted us & we may have chatted briefly (after 5 shows things run together <g>. Greg approached and told me that Layden would be here tonight. I know he sometimes comes on cast night to watch shows after getting off work himself, but Greg said he would be *working* here 4th & 5th show! I was thrilled at the prospect of getting to watch him perform here again - for the first time since last February! I did not get to ask him why or anything, since we were talking about other things too, and he was getting ready to take off the next show. Around that time Mary's husband came in, and a took a couple of pictures of him with Patty & Mary, to send to each of them. This was the first time we had met, and he seems nice. We stood around outside with him & Patty briefly before being let back in for the next show. Chris had planned to return to DisneyQuest after this first show, but when he heard Layden would be working, he said he was staying here! Layden is his favorite also, although he really likes Peter, Philip & Jen K, too.

We took seats in long row this time, and Carol Stein & her husband sat behind us. Guess word was out about Layden <g>. The 8:15 show featured Peter, Jeanette, Jake, Todd & Mary. An obnoxious guy got the phone, and tried to upstage Peter, but Peter is too experience and talented to put up with much of that <g>. It was annoying, but Peter didn't let the show get ruined. The phone guy was with a lady who castrates hogs for a living....which was the source of humor for some of the verses. The other verses were mainly pointing out what an ass the guy was <g>. Jeanette & Jake did a 1-act play, which was just ok. They also did Forgotten Songs this show, but they were just ok as well (sometimes these can be the highlight of a show, but not tonight). Mary & Peter did "Should Have Said" where an actor rings the bell to make them go back and say what they should have said, and that was very good - easily the funniest part of the show. Except for that, the show would have been pretty weak - so I'm glad they were able to end on a good note! After the show we went outside, but came right back in. I talked to Patty until seating of the regular guests began, and then returned to my seat. I saw Layden come in, but he rushed through the club.

The 9:20 show was opened by Greg, and he was joined by Mary, Jake, Todd, and......Layden! I was all confused now, since this was 3rd show, not 4th! Leesa & I joked that maybe Jeanette was tied up backstage so Layden could come out, and we later learned we were not far from the truth <g>. In this show they did StoryTime, conducted by Jake. The deaths were pretty funny. Mary died by a sponge in a Bath & Body store, and Greg's death was not what you would expect at Disney <g>. It included him relieving himself behind what he thought were 2 mannequins, but they were 2 Disney audio animatronics and the Ben Franklin one *grabbed* him in that area and squeezed too hard, killing him. Greg sarcastically said afterwards that was a "classy" death, lol! Layden was the winner (as he often was in the old days), and got to wrap up the story. Not bad for someone out of practice! The show was very good - lots of laughs. When it had ended, Mary came over to talk about Layden being here, since she knows I'm a fan of his. She explained that he showed up earlier than expected (he worked at Hoop tonight) and wanted to work, and Jeanette offered to sit out so he could do this show <g>. Mary said he would still be doing the next 2 shows, which was good news for us! Kim never stays this late on a work night, but she was sticking around in order to see Layden. Mary was excited to be able to work with him again, since the only times he has been back have been nights that she was off.

We headed down the stairs after most of the crowd had left, and Layden was there. We greeted & hugged, and he remembered Chris from before (as a shorter kid). He had not seen me at Hoop 12/31, but had heard later (most likely from Steve) that I had been there. Larry - he's glad you enjoyed the show <g>. We talked - he was a last minute sub for tonight when Krista called in sick, and although he's enjoying himself at Hoop still, he does miss the Warehouse. It was nice seeing/talking to him again - we talked a while longer, but not about anything trip report-worthy. We stayed inside for the next show, and the other actors from Hoop arrived to watch the next show - along with Jen Br. She subs at Hoop, as the Claire character (the one with the giggly laugh, the striped dress). I'm sure she's a great Claire! We all pretty much filled long row for the next show.

The 10:40 show was opened by Layden, and he was joined by Jeanette, Mary, Greg & Peter. They did Song Cue (the scene is interrupted 3 times for a different style of song based on some comment an actor says) about Madasgar, with Mary & Greg as a couple there on their honeymoon. Layden was the hotelier, and Jeanette was the *other woman* the hotel provides to all couples. It was funny! Next the did Cliché - where they tortured Layden with the phrase A Closed Mouth Gathers No Flies. They all did a great job, and it was very funny! Kim left after this show, and Nancy came to pick up Leesa & take her home. That left Chris & me, and Joe said we could use the backdoor again :-) Patty was leaving, so she came to say goodbye - I hope to run into her here again some trip. We went outside & waited to be let back in....at least it was sheltered from the wind down at the door.

The 12:05 show featured Greg, Layden, Peter, Todd & Jeanette. They did Styles - where Peter & Todd acted a scene where Layden called out different styles of TV, movies, writers, etc - and the actors had to switch to that style. It was hysterical! Todd did a really good job, and of course Peter is consistently funny. They did Schmeopardy, with Todd as host Alex Respect. Greg was an Imagineer called Aladdin Mulan, and was pretty funny. Layden was a Viagra tester named Woody Woodpecker, and well.....you can probably imagine the line of humor he used <g>. He was really funny, without pushing it too far, lol! Although, his question to the answer "parade" was "What's long and hard and always comes at 3pm?" and the audience went wild, lol! It was that kind of a skit <g>. Some of the Hoop actors had left, but a few of them were still there - so after the show we just left, figuring Layden would be talking to his friends, and wanting to get home to start this report!

It was FREEZING out there!!! Up on the hill the wind was whipping up the street - it was unreal! We stopped in Planet Hollywood to get Chris a ski cap he had seen, getting 10% off with his PAP. Out at the car, he was excited to see frost on the top of the car....it does not take much to excite him at times. This is a kid who is thrilled when he can see his breath, lol - I guess because it is not often cold enough to do that in Florida. We drove back to OKWR and ate most of the rice krispie treat, then he went to sleep while I did the report. The memory stick in the camera is almost full, from the Hoop pictures and then all of the pictures taken tonight (82 - yikes!). Some are going to Mary, Greg, etc, so I need to get them downloaded so they can be emailed - plus I need to make room for new pics I might take over the next couple of days. I love digital cameras - no way would I have taken this many pictures using real film!

Today was a mixed day - the weather was horrible, but I had a great time, and having Layden performing at the Warehouse was a rare treat! The weather caused us to skip Osbourne Lights, but if we hadn't skipped it I might not have found out ahead of time that Layden was back - since we would have most likely missed the first show. Neither of us missed the parks at all, and it's not often I do all 5 shows at the Warehouse!

DAY 8 - FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2002:

Who: Sue, son Chris

Plan: Coronado Springs, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: It was almost 5 before I went to bed this morning - which is the worst I've ever done, but I was pumped up after the shows and had a lot to do on the computer. I got up shortly after 8, figuring this would be a *normal* day and hopefully I can sleep later than usual Saturday morning and probably skip sleeping Saturday night. The one benefit is I should be sure to get to sleep at a decent hour Sunday night, in time for work Monday :( rather than still being used to later nights. We had breakfast, finished packing up, and were on the way to Coronado Springs by shortly after 10. Check in went quickly, and to my surprise the room was ready! I think a friend may have pulled some strings, as all the other guests were getting cards with the number to call back to check on their room later <g>.

We are in Casita's - the first time there for us. Our favorite section in terms of appearance & theming is Ranchos, but we usually request Cabanas for a better location. This will be our last time in Casita's, as it is too much like a big motel to me (4 stories tall). However, it'll meet our needs for 2 nights - and it is probably not fair to be rendering an opinion on any moderate after checking out of Old Key West! Our room is in building 1, right next to the main building. The only puzzling thing is our room is on the first floor, but since it was ready now I figured I would just take it rather than asking for top floor. We drove over and brought the small suitcase and laptop into the room. There's a funny odor in here - later I may have to call them. I would swear some completely rude obnoxious person smoked in here at some point, despite the fact that it is designated as a non-smoking room. :-(

We walked to the bus stop - wow, what a long walk, lol! We are much closer to the main bus stop, so we will use that one from now on <g>. We rode the bus to Magic Kingdom, and after getting through security there were huge lines at the turnstiles. Luckily, Chris noticed that at one of them everyone was lined up at the left turnstile and nobody was using the open right one, so we headed right up there and entered the park. Others caught on and moved over behind us, finally!

The park was quite busy, but at least it was not raining! We headed to Space Mountain and I got a Fastpass for 12:50. It was 11:35 now, and the huge standby line had a time of 60 minutes, so I do not understand why so many people were not taking advantage of Fastpass (recognizing that some may already have one and therefore can't get a 2nd just yet). We walked through Fantasyland, and rode Small World with less than a 10 minute wait. All the other attractions had significantly longer waits, and we just will not ride them if we have to wait in line more than 5 minutes. We stopped in Yankee Trader and Chris got a German chocolate cake lollipop there - they have unusual flavors and he has tried many of them over the years. We sat in the rocking chairs on the sunny porch while I updated my notes. The line for Haunted Mansion extended back to the Riverboat in Liberty Square - yuck!

Eventually we started walking again, and just wandered around stopping when we wanted to watch or look at something, but not doing any more attractions until we returned to Tomorrowland after shopping on Main Street. We had to stand in a long line, but rode the TTA - which kept stopping because idiots kept standing up on the ride! They would either slow or completely stop the ride, and repeatedly warned guests to please remain seated at all time...duh, it's not that difficult to figure out! The interruptions were kind of distracting - thank goodness the ride does not follow any particular *show*. When we got off it was about time for my Space Mountain ride, so Chris went to the arcade while I rode. It took about 10 minutes to get into my rocket - much better than the 60 minute standby line! The ride was fun, as always :-) Afterwards I got Chris and we left the park. It was far too busy for our tastes!

We walked over to the Contemporary and then had a fairly long wait for the blue flagged launch to Wilderness Lodge (after a stop at Ft Wilderness). At the Lodge we headed to Whispering Canyon Cafe for lunch. We had not made any priority seating, but only had to wait about 5 minutes for our table. Chris said he was hungry, so I ordered the Little Nutty Chicken Salad (salad with chicken breast on top), and he got the 1/2 pound cheeseburger with steak fries. It was all excellent, and he finished my salad in addition to his burger...as I expected. With the 20% off for DDE, it was under $15 plus tip for lunch.

After lunch we took the boat to the MK and walked over to the bus stop just as the bus to Coronado Springs was arriving. We got off at the main building this time, and were surprised at how much shorter this walk from the bus station was! We really could not be much closer to the main building, and this will be really convenient for breakfast tomorrow. The room still smelled bad, so I called housekeeping to see what they could do. I knew the line at check in was huge...filling the lobby, and no way did I want to have to go back there (I really *hate* the way you are treated like cattle checking in at the value & moderate resorts). They sent a guy over with spray stuff, which he sprayed all over the carpet, and said they could bring some machine over when we left the room later. I usually leave the laptop turned on and left out, and I am not sure I want to do that if someone is going to be in here, so we will see how this spray stuff works first. I should have just called them this morning and told them this room was not acceptable - even if nothing else was available at that time.

I caught the last 10 minutes of my soap and updated the trip report. I was pretty tired - almost fell asleep on the bus, but I do not want to sleep until later tonight after Comedy Warehouse. Chris headed to DisneyQuest around 4:30, and will meet me for the first Warehouse show. Jen K is on the schedule tonight, so he is hoping to see her - as well as Philip, who is also due back tonight. I relaxed in the room, returned a call to work, checked some of the Hoop pictures for quality, and played some computer games to stay awake.

I drove to Downtown Disney at 6:30 and made a quick stop at the Candy Cauldron to buy a few more Mickey truffles - I really like those things, lol! I met Chris and we entered PI to learn that a private party had most of the Island closed until 8pm, including the Comedy Warehouse. Chris was claiming to be hungry again (despite his 1.5 lunches less than 5 hours ago) so we left PI and went to the atrocity at the Marketplace with the golden arches out front. Yes, I actually set foot in a McDonalds on Disney property, and I am not proud of that fact, lol! He got the pepperoni pizza and the yogurt parfait. I got ice water. I was not at all impressed with the facility - it was larger than local McDonald's, but there is no mistaking that's what it is <g>. Surprisingly though, both the pizza and the yogurt parfait were excellent (except the fruit was still frozen.....that was too weird). We do not have pizza at McDonald's in our town, but I think they do sell the yogurt thing. We may have to get that some time, and bring it home to thaw if necessary!

We re-entered PI and sat in the Adventurer's Club for a while to stay warm. I saw a couple of Warehouse regulars sitting downstairs, also staying warm until they could get in line, but did not bother going downstairs to talk to them. We ended up being in line together later, and were seated together for the 8:15 show. When we joined the line we still had a 30 minute wait, and we were a bit farther back than I had counted - due to some people joining their party already in line. We ended up in tech row - the row where the technicians' booth is located, just one row behind long row. I checked the board to see who would be working, and shared that information with the other regulars (Virginia & husband), who knew exactly what I was doing <g>. For 8:15 it was going to be Greg, Todd, Philip, Krista & some Jen. I assumed it would be Jen K, since she was supposed to be working tonight & tomorrow, but it turned out to be Jen Br.

Carol was on the keys tonight, and they did a lot in this show. Besides the phone thing, they did a Should Have Said with Jen ringing the bell for Krista & Philip - they did a good job. Next was Forgotten Songs. Greg & Krista did a song titled Short & Sweet, which was about Greg's lovemaking skills (6 minutes from start to finish) as well as *some* part of his anatomy. They traded barbs back & forth in the song, and it was pretty funny. Jen Br came out as Gary Coleman singing about wanting to be big - Large In Charge. Philip & Todd did a strange song as Star Trek (or Star Wars) characters singing about killing Luke Skywalker....Todd had rabbit ears on and Philip was wearing a robe and could only slither across the floor...not sure if that had some meaning to people who actually like Star Wars or Star Trek. They also had time for Schmeopardy, with Philip as the host. Jen was Phyllis Dilly, a pickle maker. Greg was funny and irreverent as Wittle Chipper Morbid, a gwave (grave) digger who likes to make funerals more fun for people. Todd was Axle F - a vulcanizer, which he played as a guy who puts vulcanized rubber tires on cars. Overall the show moved quickly and was very good.

After the show Greg came out and we talked briefly (I knew he saw me during the show & would be out) before I walked Chris out of PI so he could return to DisneyQuest. I went right back to Comedy Warehouse, and the line was incredibly long. The entire chain area was filled in, and the line outside extended back to the bar at the top of the stairs. I figured I might as well take my chances on a finding a good solo seat, so I got in line. When they seated, they cut the line off 2 people behind me (although it looked like several more would make it in as well once they got us all seated). Sure enough, there was a single seat left - on the cushioned bench! This was fantastic - I was closer than last show, and had the really comfy seat :-)

The 9:20 show featured Krista, Josh, Todd, Christine & Greg. Most of the show was Story Time, conducted by Josh. It was all about a dumb donkey who ended up riding Splash Mountain in the new Disney Desertland park built near the Grand Canyon, and he rode with a pregnant woman wearing high heels who was on her honeymoon. I think the donkey talked, too - it got kind of confusing. Greg was the winner, and wrapped it up with a long but funny poem. The deaths were pretty good - nothing really spectacular. The closing skit was an embarrassing moment about a doctor who was hit in the face with a placenta while delivering a baby in the hospital.

I left PI after this show, and drove back to Coronado Springs. The room still stinks, so I am not particularly happy with myself for not immediately contacting them when I arrived. I will try to remember to have them use that machine thing tomorrow when we head out for the day. I finished up the report and got online....wanting to get good & tired so I can sleep as late as possible tomorrow. It was a good day - not much was planned, but we kept pretty busy.

DAY 9 - SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 2002:

Who: Sue, son Chris

Plan: Comedy Warehouse Actual: Gee, the plan looks pretty simple today - do nothing until it's time for the Comedy Warehouse <g>. In reality though, we will not be spending the whole day in the room. I tried to sleep really late this morning, but woke up at 8 due to all the traffic outside the room. If I thought OKWR was noisy from the buses, that was nothing compared to all the people traffic at a moderate! Perhaps the upper floor would have been quieter. I ended up not getting up until after 10:30 though, and had to wake Chris up an hour later to get him up. The weather is much nicer - bright sunny day without the big wind and warmer temps (50's - going into the 60's). We showered and I had my cappuccino, then I called housekeeping before we left to request they use that machine to get the stench out of this room while we are gone. The door clearly has the no-smoking symbol on there, so I have a real problem with someone who would blatantly ignore that & light up a damn cigarette (don't get me started - I have a problem with smoking *anywhere*, but if someone wants to stink up their own personal home or car, that's their business). Ugh!

I asked last night and there is not supposed to be any private party at the Warehouse that would cancel the first show - that is good news :-) We left the room around noon and walked to the Pepper Market. It felt strange going for lunch rather than breakfast, lol! Chris got the taco salad that he likes ($8.50) and I ended up with the kid's pasta (linguine) with Alfredo sauce ($4.25). Neither of us finished - the portions here are very large, and of course the price tends to reflect that. A cm got our drinks for us, and cleared our table after we were done. I do like this food court, and consider it to be of better quality than the others, but unless I am with someone who wants to eat the same thing as me so we can share, my options here are pretty limited. Also - they had a gingerbread village set up outside the Pepper Market (near Maya Grill), which was a nice surprise since the other resorts for the most part did not participate in the gingerbread displays to the same extent as previous years.

We went to the bus stop at the main building to catch the Epcot bus, but when the bus to Boardwalk came first we got on that one since it is easier to enter Epcot at the International Gateway. The park was almost deserted today - a nice change after the busy week! Chris wanted to do the virtual reality thing called Dream Chasers at the Test Track exit, so I went through the single rider line while he did that. Actually, I was on and off the ride within 10 minutes, but ended up having to wait for Chris, since it took about 45 minutes for him to get on the Dream Chasers thing. He declared it really stupid, too - not worth bothering with. I think I did something just like it last time I was at Disneyland - in Innoventions there.

We walked right onto Spaceship Earth next, and enjoyed the relaxing ride. Afterwards we looked at the tip board - Living With The Land had a 75 minute wait, Test Track 50, and everything else was 10 minutes or less (in Future World). We walked out to World Showcase to check on Maelstrom, but with a posted 25 wait neither of us wanted to bother. We went back to International Gateway and left the park to walk back to Boardwalk. At the bakery I got some chocolate/vanilla pretzels to take home, and Chris left for DisneyQuest. When I got to the bus stop to wait for the Coronado bus I eventually asked the 2nd Downtown Disney bus driver when the CS bus would be coming, and he said that had been discontinued! I do not mind the fact that it could be discontinued, but why on earth would they bus you FROM CS to BW if they would not be taking you back???? That just seems stupid to me.

I ended up walking over to MGM Studios and caught the Coronado bus from there. I got off at the first stop and walked around taking pictures, then returned to the room. Immediately I noticed the disgusting ash tray stench was still there, so I called housekeeping *again*....3rd time in 2 days now. The cm said the guy picked the ozone machine up this morning, and asked if it was in my room - but it was not. He promised to find the guy & call me right back. Soon the ozone machine guy was at the door, and the phone was ringing with the other guy letting me know someone was on their way. Now, yesterday when I called the first time, they told me I could not be in the room when the machine was running....but today they just plugged it in with me sitting there....what's up with that? At this point I am willing to risk growing a 3rd eye or giving birth to an alien if it means the stink will be removed <g>, and I intend to use the room I have paid for while the stupid machine is running (loudly).

I downloaded the pictures, updated the report, and then got online. Yesterday I did not get online until after coming back from PI, and as a result did not see an email from Greg until after I saw him in person....so of course I never acknowledged anything he said in the email. I realized today that since Chris had been hoping to see Jen K work and ended up not being there last night, perhaps I should have emailed her to double check (since the schedule changes fairly often), but I thought of it too late and really did not want to bother her for that anyway. This afternoon I had an email from her, though - but I think it might be one of those virus things that send themselves to everyone in your address book. It's got a downloadable .exe file and the message does not sound like her at all...if she's working tonight I'll have to ask h