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Sue Holland -- September 2001 -- Walt Disney World (CSR, BWR)


Who/When/Where:

Who:

  • Sue (me - 42), DVC member
  • Kathy, my friend and fellow DVC member

Dates: Sept 28 - October 1, 2001

Travel Method: Personal car

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2001:

Plan: Drive to WDW, c/in ASMusic, MK, AK, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: Unfortunately yesterday when I left work to pick up Chris from his after-school class, I realized I forgot to take the papers with the information about next week's business meeting. I did not have time to turn around and get them then, so this morning I had to leave earlier in order to make the side trip to pick the stuff up. My friend Tom will be in Tallahassee with me, and we will commute to the meeting together each day, but I did not want to risk him not bringing anything because he figured I would have it, lol! He is my counter-part in Gainesville, and a fellow DVC member who has appeared in several of my trip reports with his wife Leanne, and has visited the famous Larry in Scotland twice at Larry's home.

This morning I set the alarm for 4:25, but when I woke up at 6:50 I realized the alarm was mistakenly set on P.M.!! I rushed though, and got out of the house by 8am. The detour was a pain, but only added about 30 minutes to the trip (grrrr)... yet I still arrived shortly after 11. I had called Kathy on my way out of the house, and let her know I was running late, so she did not show up at our original meeting time!

When I arrived, I had to show my driver's license and give them the name on the reservation (I did not have the reservation slip), but they let me right in after recording my information. Once I parked & entered the lobby I saw a huge long line in the queue area - I ducked under and joined Kathy, who had been in line about 15 minutes at that point. It was unbelievable! Every station was open, but it was very busy. We were regretting having *cheaped out* by staying at the All Stars, and those regrets were felt repeatedly as the trip progressed. They say you get what you pay for, and at All Stars we sure do not get what we're used to! The crowds, the lines, the waits, the crowded buses... yuck! We finally got to the counter, and the cm had 3 sets of rooms for us - and none were ready. We had requested connecting rooms, 1 handicapped accessible and 1 not, and I guess they only have a certain number of that combination. We got our resort ID's, a single parking pass (she forgot the 2nd one and we did not think of it until later and NO WAY were going to get back in a long line to ask for it), and headed out. I left my bag (with the laptop) with bell services, and Kathy left some of her medical equipment and the banana nut bread & some heavenly hash stuff she had brought for me. Our other stuff we left in the vehicles. The bell services girl asked if I wanted them to deliver the stuff to the room when it was ready, and I said yes - not expecting it to actually happen, but I figured what the heck!

We walked out front and the MK bus pulled up immediately. The check-in process took 45 minutes with all the waiting :( Ridiculous! I noticed lots of love bugs flying around, but this was the only place I saw them today. We arrived MK and saw that all the entrances on the right side (by the resort bus stops) were roped off, and guests have to walk down by the boats and back up on the monorail side to use those entrances. Before you get there, you pass through a security area - they gave a very cursory glance at the stuff in our bags. A couple of Kathy's cm friends (she used to work at the MK) came over when they saw her, and it was interesting to hear them talking about "busting" people. Seems many people try scams to get into the parks without paying, and they enjoy catching them and calling security to get them tossed out! I was glad to hear it <g>. I guess the latest scam involves the tour groups - the guide brings a group of 8-9 people in, then goes back out with their passes to try to get another group in an hour later. Duh... it shows up on the computer screen, so they're not too bright.

We headed backstage, around to an entry behind Main Street and took the elevator down to the utilidor and picked up a copy of the latest Eyes & Ears (cm newsletter). Kathy had her id in her hand in case we were questioned. I had been down there before on the Keys to the Kingdom tour, so it was no big deal for me. It is just like any work area - nothing special. We headed back up and entered Main Street from behind Casey's and took a quick peak in the Bake Shop to see if it was the same banana bread as last time (it was).

From there we headed into Tomorrowland and went to Space Mountain. The cm's had said the park was much busier today, but we both thought it was still quite a bit less crowded than normal. We entered the Fastpass entrance, and at the end Kathy rode through to the exit while I went through the short queue area to board a rocket. It was a fun ride - but once was enough since it takes so long to get out and back into the ride. We left Tomorrowland and headed to Fantasyland. Here is where the crowds were, lol! It was not as bad as it will be on Saturday, but it was definitely crowded!

At the Pooh ride I asked the cm at the Fastpass entrance if they had cars that would accommodate Kathy's wheelchair, and we were surprised when he said yes! We decided to ride - at last something we can both ride together - and entered through the Fastpass entrance to the loading area. We had to wait a few cars for a special one to arrive, and were taken care of by a cm who I think had been snorting the pixie dust <g>. When the accessible honey pot came out, he began jumping up & down and waving us to come on over to him. He was calling out to us - telling us "You're our special friend" and "Pooh loves you", and all kinds of things like that. I just kept quiet, figuring this must be someone Kathy worked with, and he is just happy to see her again. After we got in the honey pot he kept wishing us a special day, a wonderful time, and said they were going to make sure we had a special good day, lol! He kept telling us to give him a high-five, both hands, and really carrying on. He said he hoped we had a special sticky ride... HUH????? He said there was lots of honey in the ride - guess that is where the *sticky* reference came from. As we moved away from him, I asked Kathy if she knew him, and she said NO, lol! It was so bizarre - she thought maybe he thought she was retarded or something, since his whole voice & manner of speaking was like you'd see towards a toddler, lol! Oh well - the guy loves his job... When we came out he asked if we wanted to ride through again, and we said sure... nobody was needing our honey pot, so why not.

We got off after the 2nd ride, giggling like crazy over that encounter <g>. We stopped at the pretzel cart in Fantasyland and I got one of those big soft pretzels without salt. Kathy said I would never eat it - I would end up bringing it to Tallahassee with me, lol, but I bet it will be gone before Monday! I ate about a third of it, and saved the rest for later. There was a long line of people entering Haunted Mansion as we walked by. We decided to try Big Thunder, so we headed over there and went in the exit. Kathy waited in there while I rode once - in my favorite back row. This is such a fun ride :-)

We decided to leave the MK, but first looked for those Mickey & Flag pins near the Hall of Presidents. The shop there did not have any, so we walked around outside. We asked a cm outside the Liberty Tree Tavern, and were directed to a shop in Frontierland. We went there, saw none, and asked the cm there. They tried to send us to a cart at Splash Mountain, but we were having no part of being shuffled from one end of the MK to another when we were 99% certain it would be a wild goose chase. I would rather they just say they do not know... or they are all out! We stopped in the Emporium on the way out, and a cm there told us those pins were sold out. Thank you!

It was now 2pm, so we got on the bus to All Star Music, and from the bus called to see if the rooms were ready. They were not, so when we got there we transferred to an AK bus. The driver was a bit of a pain. First he had to move the bus because he did not pull in close enough to lower the ramp (he blamed it on the people who designed the bus stop), then he argued with Kathy over how she loaded the chair on the bus (forward vs. backward), then he argued with her over the seatbelts. Finally he went back to his seat and sat for a long while before finally starting to drive. He pulled out and turned left, and a guest yelled - Hey, what about Movies?? LOL, the driver forgot where he was going, so he had to turn back into Music, drive through, and then make his stop at Movies before taking us to AK.

At the park we went through the cursory security check, then entered the park. We got back to the bridge leading to Harambe and then got stuck - the new Mickey's Jammin' Jungle thing parade was coming, and access to Harambe is completely eliminated because there is nowhere to walk next to the parade! Kathy was pissed... she had gotten trapped by this parade yesterday and we were rushing to try to beat it this time. We wanted to get to the gorillas, but were forced to sit there for a 20 minute parade! The parade is cute - it has some puppet things similar to Tapestry of Nations, and the floats with the characters are cute. However, it is way too LOUD!!! The guests riding on the floats are all given earplugs, and I can understand why. Chip or Dale came over to shake Kathy's hand - and I gushed to her that she was so *special*... thinking of our cm friend at Pooh, lol!

Finally the parade ended and we rushed against traffic to get back to the gorillas. Gus was not out at first, so we were watching Spike - the youngest of the bachelors. When Kathy started talking to him after a while, Gus heard her voice and popped his head up from inside the cave where he had been resting/hiding. LOL - he rumbled at her to let her know he was there, and later would rumble to let her know he was laying back down but would still be there. Some of the really young gorillas on the family side were playing in the big tree there, and Spike was sitting up on a rock watching them. We talked to some of Kathy's cm friends who work there, and I left about 4:15 to get started on the trip report while she stayed until 5. We had called, and the rooms were finally ready.

I left the park and had a short wait for an All Star bus. The bus goes to all 3 resorts, which is a pain. They are mobbed, also. My bus was full to capacity and the driver started playing music and people started to sing along... I know this is Disney & all, but it was a bit much for me, lol! The traffic was backed up a long way at the entrance to the All Stars. We sat in the road for a very long time, so it made for a very long commute. After stopping at Sports, I got off at Music. I got Kathy her parking pass, then checked to see if my bag was still in bell services. I was surprised, but pleased, to learn it was already in the room! I got my other bag out of the car and went to the room. We are in Jazz, building 2. Following the sign on the building, it took me all the way around the building which was long and out of the way! Finally I saw our rooms, and knew the first one was the accessible one because the peephole was down low. I tried my key, but it did not work. I tried the other one, and it did work. I went inside - no luggage. The connecting doors were not open, so I opened my side, but the other door was locked from the other side. Now I was pissed!

I called the front desk and explained my problem... they explained that the rooms had separate keys because they were on separate screens (not what Kathy had expected or wanted), but they said they would send somebody over to get into the other room. Once the cm arrived, we got my suitcase and opened the other connecting door. I set up the laptop and started work on the report, until Kathy arrived. She also had a bus trip from hell, and spent 30 minutes sitting in traffic at the entrance to the resort. We checked out the 2 rooms and then she went to get settled while I continued with the report. I ate part of one of the heavenly hash things she had brought me - it is delicious, but then what's not to like about chocolate cake, marshmallow, and chocolate frosting, lol!

We left the room around 6:30, and stopped first to put Kathy's parking permit in her van. She had moved to the parking lot near our building, but there were only 1 or 2 handicapped parking spaces in the entire lot, and none were empty. She had to park diagonally across 2 spaces so she would have room for the lift to come out. It seems so strange for them to have so few spaces here. At the bus stop we had a short wait for the Downtown Disney bus, and once it arrived the driver gave us a hassle over the wheelchair. It is not entirely his fault - they are trained to have guests load a certain way, and to strap the chair in a certain way - and those ways do not work with Kathy's particular chair. She uses her own seatbelt while in the chair, and does not want the bus seatbelt extending across her body where she has the feeding tube and other life support equipment. This driver had to call his supervisor before he would drive with her on the bus, and while all this was going on the huge line of guests had to stand outside waiting. Eventually another bus pulled in behind us, and I saw most of the people in line go running to the other bus (like ants scattering, lol). The driver must have gotten the ok to drive, because he let the remaining guests board (filled the bus, but everyone was seated) and started on his way.

We knew at this point we would not make it in time for the 7:10 show, so we decided to just get off at the Marketplace. We checked in World of Disney for the Mickey & flag pin, and the cm told me they were all out property-wide and would have more in next week. We continued around to PI, where they had 1 ticket window open at the main entrance! The line moved pretty quickly though - we got Kathy a complimentary ticket (using my PAP on a Friday night) and entered. The Island looked pretty quiet, although cm Joe at the Comedy Warehouse said they had a big crowd inside for 1st show. I let him know we'd be seeing 2nd show, then wandered around for a little while.

When we went to wait at the back door, Bill (Major Woody from radp) spotted me and came downstairs to say hi. We had emailed but not met in person, and had his cell phone number with me but had not gotten around to calling yet. It was great meeting him, and we chatted for a while before he went off to find his wife. When the 1st show ended and the guests came out I recognized a couple who are also regulars and talked to them for a while until it was time to go in. I had let cm Lisa know we would need a certain 2 barstools removed so we could use the outlet, and when we went in it was all set up for us. Kathy backed into the spot, I plugged in the ventilator and ordered my Bye Bye Blues, and we were ready for the show. I had forgotten my refillable Comedy Warehouse bottle, so my drink came in a regular plastic cup and had a cherry floating on the top. I do not like those, and the *regular* couple were seated in the row behind us, so I offered it to them... he was happy to take it, and then Kathy & I made jokes about me giving away my cherry in a Disney club at my age <g>. She had already had a beer in the room... I had no excuse, lol!

The cast for 2nd show was Todd, Jeanette, Jen B, Greg & Krista. Jamie was on the keys tonight. This was my first time seeing Krista since she had her baby 2 months ago, and she looks great. For Krista fans, she is back to being blonde again, which is what most people seem to prefer. The show was ok - not bad, but not great either. A couple of spots kind of dragged. When it was over, we went outside and waited for the next one. We saw Bill & his wife leaving out a different door, and then he came down to talk to us outside while his wife went to the restroom. After he left to find her some other guy started talking to us, and at first I thought he was just friendly but quickly realized he was drunk. Ugh - we sort of cut that conversation off and I moved over to the other side to create more distance between him and us.

When the door opened we took our usual spot - I had told Deb (our waitress) that we were coming back in. Before the show Dee (another waitress) stopped by, and I wished her a happy birthday from Adie & Lisa. She was telling us she had to cancel her vacation - it got rescinded when Disney stopped using part-timers because they needed her to cover some extra shifts that the part timers used to work. There was a big group of very rowdy, very obnoxious loud people towards the back. They were screaming and trying to get *the wave* going, and once the show started they kind of settled down some but were still disruptive. The cast for 3rd show was Jeanette, Greg, Jen K, Phillip & Todd. Bill was also back - we had 1 empty stool on the other side of Kathy, he decided to come see the show while his wife watched the band outside, and he got that seat! This show was better, even despite the loud drunks. At one point Jen K stopped what she was doing and really yelled at them to "Shut up or I'll come out there and rip off your tiny little heads". Both she and other actors had made repeated comments to them prior to that. PI Security arrived towards the end of the show, and as soon as it ended he was up the stairs towards them. I assume they were politely uninvited from any further shows in the club that night.

We left and waited outside for one more show - 4th show at 10:40. We were both getting pretty tired by now, but we were glad we stuck around. This show featured Jen B, Jen K, Krista, Phillip, and Jeanette - and it was wonderful! The audience gave good suggestions (the previous show almost everything given was dirty) and the cast all did an excellent job. After this show we headed back to the bus stop, dreading the commute back to the All Stars.

Disney has designated bus stop 8 (the farthest one away) for Pop Century, so now All Stars is stop 7... which is the 2nd farthest away, lol! It also has the biggest crowd since there are almost 6000 rooms, but Pop Century will be the same (yuck). Since we have the wheelchair, we are first on, and I get a seat <g>. This driver was really nice, and did not hassle Kathy when we explained what was needed. The bus was standing room only by the time everyone boarded, and it still picked up more people at the West Side. The drive back to ASMuR feels like it takes forever when you are used to OKWR or BW - thank goodness this is the only night I will have to make this trip!

When we got back to the resort we wanted to get Kathy some hot chocolate from the food court, but it was already closed. The cm's were cleaning & closing the drink machines, and told us we were too late, basically. As we were leaving a young guy working asked if he could help us, and we replied that we were just hoping to get some hot chocolate (I was cold, Kathy was freezing). He saw that all the machines were shut off, so he said to wait & he went in back and brought out 2 envelopes of hot cocoa mix and turned on the hot water machine so we could fill her mug. We thanked him and headed back to the rooms.

Kathy mixed her hot chocolate, but I did not want any. I had eaten a granola bar on the bus ride back, so I was not hungry and did not want anything with caffeine. We chatted for a while, then she went to get ready for bed and I finished up the report and downloaded the pictures taken today (if any go to photopoint I will mention it when I send them... I might send a couple of them). Oh - Kathy turned the heat on in her room, and cranked it up to 85 degrees trying to warm up. I could smell the stink from when heat first comes on after not being used all season - we laughed about being in Florida and it is 73 degrees outside and she has the heat on, lol!

I finished up the report by 1:30 and decided to NOT get online in favor of getting to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour. I spent another 30 minutes downloading and saving the pictures, then headed to bed... after setting the alarm for 7 AM... not pm, lol!

It was a good day despite the late start, and we did everything on the plan. The weather really cooperated - not a drop of rain, low humidity, and it was not too hot. We could have done with fewer bus driver hassles, but as long as they are trained the way they are, those hassles will continue - they just do not understand Kathy's needs and are reluctant to risk that she really knows what she is doing and will not get hurt on their bus.

Miles Walked: 6.2

DAY 2 - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2001:

Plan: Parks, Spectromagic

Actual: I ended up going to bed at 2:15, but I got all the pictures that were going to specific people set up for outgoing mail. I woke up around 6:30, but did not get up until 7 - then quickly showered and got online for a while. We had planned to head out at 9, so I kept fairly quiet so I wouldn't wake Kathy if she was still sleeping. I heated water for my cappuccino (English toffee), and used the handle of my spoon to cut a piece of the banana nut bread. The knife I had taken from the food court last night was in Kathy's room, but the spoon worked fine. The banana nut bread was sooooooo good! It was made with REAL bananas, not just banana flavoring, and I think it is every bit as good as the original Main Street version! This stuff was unreal :-)

Kathy went to the food court to get some oatmeal around 8:30, and brought it back to the room. By watering it down somewhat, she was able to feed it through her tube and was able to turn off the pump for the usual nutrition stuff. We hung around chatting, and did not leave the room until after 9:30. We got to the bus stop just as the Epcot bus arrived, and this driver was very nice. We entered Epcot around 10:15 (after a stop at Blizzard Beach despite the cool & cloudy weather). Security here waved her right through, and opened my backpack but not my camera bag. It does not really delay the process much at all, but honestly we do not see what the benefit is. It is more an act for show - but perhaps that is just my (our) opinion. I certainly do not want to start any flame wars over the security at the parks issue, because frankly I do not care enough about the issue one way or another - there are other topics more interesting to debate <g>.

We headed to the Land first and noticed the park was pretty empty. The Land pavilion was very chilly inside, so Kathy put on her jacket - I had not brought one, but I was ok. At Living With the Land we enter through the Fastpass line and the next boat to arrive was wheelchair accessible. Kathy is able to board and ride sideways rather than facing forward, but that worked out fine. I was able to sit on the front bench next to her, so we could still talk quietly during the ride - after all, we are *special friends* ::::sigh, gush, gush from the Pooh guy::: The cm Sandy did an excellent job speaking clearly and like she cared about what she was doing - some mumble or speak with such a monotone you know their minds are elsewhere!

We left Future World and made a stop at First Aid to fix a problem on our way to wander around World Showcase. We stopped backstage at Company D, the cm store and then returned to World Showcase. I noticed Test Track had broken down - some poor people were stuck slanted sideways on the curve, lol! When we came back out of the store though, it was running again. Kathy had asked earlier if I wanted to go to Le Cellier for lunch, but I figured since I am the only one who can eat I would just grab something somewhere or eat the piece of yesterday's pretzel in my camera bag. As we were walking around though, I figured I probably should eat some real food, since yesterday had pretty much been a day of junk... so we went to Le Cellier after all. We were seated right away, and they had no problem with Kathy not ordering anything. The food was excellent, but the server was pretty slow - too slow.

I had the usual favorite wine and the cheese soup, which after the 20% off for DDE was $8.44 plus tip. The server brought out this smaller champagne-style glass and poured my wine in that, and removed the regular wine glass. It seemed like a smaller portion, which did not thrill me, and I will ask specifically about that next time. The type of glass used did not seem appropriate, either - although I admit I am not a wine expert. The pretzel breadstick was great - and I added the 1/2 I did not eat to the leftover from the MK yesterday - lol, I have more food than I know what to do with, thanks to Kathy's baking and my pretzel buying <g>. The sourdough breadstick was hard as a rock - I tapped the table with it, and it was like a drumstick! We made some crude jokes about it, and then turned it into a breadstick man by using some of the chives in my soup to create 2 eyes and a nose, then using a piece of the pretzel to make a big mouth - what can I say, we are easily amused! Do not ask us to supervise your children or they will likely come home doing inappropriate things <g>! After a much too long wait for the check, we finally got out of there - it was 75 minutes or longer for a glass of wine and a cup of soup!

We were a little concerned about Kathy's wheelchair battery, as she got home too late last night for it to fully charge before we headed out today - even with not leaving until later. We skipped plans to walk around the BW resorts, which considering the weather was crappy made sense anyway. We headed out through the International Gateway to use the boat to the BW, but just missed it and did not feel like sitting for 15 minutes for the next one, so we walked to the BC and waited for a bus there. The AK bus was the next one to arrive, but this bus did not have a lift. The driver was apologetic, and said this was one of the few buses left without a lift, and he called to make sure another was being sent. It ended up arriving about 10 minutes later, which was not bad, but we were a bit bothered at first. This bus serves 6 resorts - so nobody in a wheelchair from those resorts can get on the bus. During such a slow time of year, you would think they would only put the accessible buses in operation, and let this one sit idle.

Finally we were on our way, and entered AK with minimal fuss at security. It was not too long after 2pm, so we had plenty of time to get back to the gorillas before the parade cut off access to that area. The younger 3 males were very active - running around, chasing each other, climbing in the trees, etc. The family side was pretty active also, at least the babies were busy playing. Perhaps the cool weather was something they like! Gus was hiding down in his cave, but rumbled when he heard Kathy's voice to let her know he was there. Eventually we left to go see what the 3 boys were up to, and the keeper on the bridge told us he came out for about 5 minutes after we were gone. He was keeping an eye on those boys - a natural behavior since he is the dominant male. He made a sound I had never heard before - a loud barking sound directed towards the boys as they were getting rambunctious and beating their chests. He was keeping them in his sight for the most part - the boss! When we came back to Gus he popped his head up but still kept his eye on the boys while giving Kathy the occasional rumble.

It started to rain, and when it did not let up Kathy headed for the covered area by the glass and I followed. Gino - the father of the family troop was laying on his back at the glass, as relaxed as can be. Kathy found her equipment cover (plastic) and I covered up her ventilator so we could head back out. It was about 3:30 by now, so I decided to head back to the resort and update the report. She stuck around for another hour with Gus. The bus ride back was your typical All Stars ordeal. It was packed - standing room only. The one bright side is the driver was Robert - perhaps the funniest, most entertaining bus driver on property. The All Star traffic was backed up to McDonald's in both lanes, so it was another long commute. We saw nothing like this at other resorts, I guess because nowhere else has 6000 rooms of guests entering at the same place. After this 1 night here on the next trip, I think we will be finished with All Star Resorts - this crap is not worth the money saved.

I went back to the room and made a cup of cappuccino to warm up. Bus driver Robert announced the MK had extended their hours back to 10pm tonight, and added the 2nd Spectromagic - so they would do it at 8 & 10, with the fireworks at 9. We plan to see the early parade, most likely from backstage so we do not have to sit and wait an hour or longer to see it. I am sure it will be a nightmare getting back to All Stars from the MK!! It has gotten pretty windy today, with a cold wind, so we will dress more warmly - not that I brought any really warm stuff, but at least I can wear capris instead of shorts and a long sleeve shirt over my t-shirt!

Kathy came back about 5 - after having left AK just after me since she was cold. She had another 90-minute commute from hell! With her wheelchair she cannot call a cab, so she was stuck with the buses. The first one had a lift that did not work, yet the driver insisted on trying to yank her up on it several times before calling for another bus. It took a while for that one to come, and then it sat for a full 30 minutes before departing - filled to capacity. Then the drivers changed and the outgoing one did not tell the new one Kathy was on the bus, and with all the people standing she could not see her. So, the driver did not let Kathy off at Music and started to drive away. Kathy got her attention, but she was not able to back up, so she had to drive back out to the road and turn around to come back in to let Kathy off. She did not like that Kathy's wheelchair was so long, and was nervous about letting her on the lift. She asked Kathy to go to guest services and complain about the buses, saying there were some special buses with a longer lift that were available on demand. Kathy stopped at guest services, and the cm there had never heard of such a bus, but took her information down. It is ridiculous the amount of time she ends up wasting on Disney transportation, which is something she is paying for in her room rate. We hung out for a while, then she went to get changed and recharged while I finished up the report so far today and got dressed more warmly. We headed out at 6pm and of course the line for the MK bus was huge! We went to the wheelchair area - there was one other guest in a wheelchair, so that would probably be it for the first bus. When it arrived, it was one of the new buses and the driver came back and apologized, saying he did not have a key to operate the lift, so he could not take us on his bus!

Kathy was fuming, and rightfully so. This was bus disaster #3 for today for her, and it was looking as if we might not make it to MK in time to see the 8pm Spectromagic. We went back to Guest Services to talk to the manager (the same one she talked to earlier), and he was sorry to hear she had yet another problem with transportation. He said it was unacceptable, and arranged for a company vehicle to take us directly to the MK. At this point Kathy was afraid waiting for another bus might result in another broken lift or bus without a lift, so she accepted his offer. He rounded up a front desk cm to go get the brand new lift van, and had it brought around to the front door. We were the first passengers - it was so new the front desk cm did not even know it was there. We got Kathy's chair loaded in the back, and the cm drove us to the MK. He was really nice - he is from the town Kathy lives in now, and used to work as a monorail pilot. At the MK there were no ramps along the sidewalk area, so he dropped us off at an empty bus stop, and we thanked him and were on our way.

The entrance to the park was very busy - and they had both sides open tonight. Security was stationed at each turnstile, and they did a little more thorough job than at other locations. The park was very busy, and lots of people were already seated waiting for Spectromagic. Normally I do not bother with the night time park stuff like this, but I enjoy this parade and when Kathy said she wanted to see it again it sounded like a good thing to do tonight. Last time she saw it she was in the wheelchair seating area, and a large family with kids was in there with their grandmother - and one of the kids was playing with her equipment. Dumbo Dad did not stop them, and Kathy was a nervous wreck because she could not see what they were doing back there. If they accidentally dislodge something and she cannot get someone to fix it - especially if she is unable to tell them what to do so they understand, then she will die right then and there. It was enough of a scare that she did not want to be in that situation, particularly on such a crowded night. So, we received special permission to watch the parade from backstage. Normally they are very strict about absolutely no non-cast members back there, but made the exception for medical reasons.

We had some time to kill, so we wandered around the park for a while, checking out menus of restaurants we will probably never eat at - just for the heck of it. It was too crowded to consider riding anything - even the Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride had a big crowed, and that is usually a fairly easy thing to get on quickly. When it was about 20 minutes before Spectromagic, we headed backstage.

We stayed back where the parade comes out onto Main Street by the Fire House, over the line on the pavement that indicates where guests can see. I had seen the parade floats during the day without their lights before, so it was no surprise to see them like that tonight. The very first float with the trumpets did not light up until after it passed us, but the others were lit (they all came on at the same time). The cm's waved to us just as if we were out in the park, which was nice. The parade is as beautiful as ever, and although we did not have the pretty background for it, I thought it was kind of fun seeing how they staged and managed the parade behind the scenes. When it was over we waited for the big gates to close, which was the signal it was safe to cross the road without being seen from the park, and walked to the entry into the MK nearest to the exit. We got over to the bus stop quickly, and had to wait about 20 minutes for an All Star Music bus to arrive!

The 2nd bus was already at Sports, but both Music & Movies were waiting - with enough guests at each place to fill at least 2-3 buses. It was a nightmare. Finally a bus came to our stop, but it was a Disney Cruise Line bus - which has no lift. Only 5 of the DCL buses have a lift - most do not, so now we were stuck waiting again. They finally got it loaded and out of there, (with another DCL bus at Movies), and a cm with a 2-way radio came over and told us he would be radioing for a bus with a lift for us. He later came back and told us he was sending another DCL (no lift) bus over, but would then get us a lift bus. It had been about 35 minutes since we had arrived at this point, and we told him we were not happy. We could have just taken the Sports bus and walked to Music if we would have known they were sending multiple buses with no lift to our stop... by now we had 2 other parties in wheelchairs behind us, so they were creating a big problem.

The cm went back and found a driver to get in a bus parked off to the side, and sent that bus over to our stop. He then sent the DCL bus in next to us, so while our driver loaded the first 2 wheelchairs the guests standing in line could board the DCL bus and get out of there. The third wheelchair user was able to get up and walk onto the bus, so everyone got on. Another DCL bus pulled up next to us, so guests loaded and filled both our bus and that one - and we had to sit there until the DCL bus pulled away. I lost track of how much time it all took - but it was a very long wait to finally get back to the resort! Just before we got on the bus, Lisa from the Fortress board saw us and came over to say hi. She & her family are spending tonight at Movies & were at that bus stop - tomorrow they move to BW for their first DVC stay!

We were talking on the ride back, and decided Kathy will be calling to change our reservation later this month - even though it is only 1 night we are not willing to put up with this crap again. She spent over 4 hours waiting for buses due to lift problems and other accessibility-related delays - that is half a work day! Transportation problems can happen anywhere, but we sure seemed to have more of them this weekend than ever before, and combined with the constantly overcrowded buses and the feeling of being herded like cattle at the All Stars, neither of us want to risk more of the same when we are back next month.

Back at the resort we stopped in the store to buy a bottle of rum - it had been that kind of a night, lol! Kathy got some yogurt at the food court, but I did not see anything I wanted. We filled her mug with hot chocolate, and headed back to the rooms. She created a special dinner for herself - which she named the Bus Blues, lol! It was hot chocolate, strawberry yogurt, and rum, all mixed together. Since she doesn't eat through her mouth it does not have to taste good - the yogurt was the nutritious part, the hot chocolate helped to kind of melt it, and the rum was to take care of the bus stress! She asked me to taste it - YUCK... it looked like a delicious mudslide but tasted really bad, lol! I decided to stick with water and a few bites of Le Cellier pretzel, then ate some of the heavenly hash stuff later. We sat around talking and being silly until about 10:30, then I headed into my room to finish the report and settle down for the night.

Today we did what was on the plan - pretty easy since the plan did not say much, lol! We visited 3 of the 4 parks, saw Spectromagic and had a nice lunch at Le Cellier. The only bad thing (besides the bus troubles) was the weather was crappy - cold, drizzly at times, and rather windy at times. Towards the end of Spectromagic it got very gusty - those poor white ostrich or whatever they are (cannot remember the word) looked funny with their fur/feathers blown around so hard! We had fun, and lots of laughs, and that's what's most important!

DAY 3 - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2001:

Plan: Move to OKWR, Park and/or Water Park, Comedy Warehouse

Actual: I was up at 6, showered & got ready while doing some online stuff. I decided to skip making the cappuccino in the room - we were meeting Lisa at the food court so I can just bring the cup with the instant powder and add hot water there. I ate some of the heavenly hash stuff - not very nutritious, but I want it to be gone before I go to Tallahassee, lol! It is delicious, and I guess there really is no bad time for chocolate, lol! I called OKWR around 7:30 and they have studios available, so I should be able to get my room right away. I wish I had gotten up earlier - I could have moved over and been back before Kathy was ready to go. I went over to check on Kathy, and she was needing to lay down for a while - turns out the oatmeal and yogurt yesterday were a bit much, so she needed to get some of her regular nutrition in.

I called Lisa's room, but nobody was there. It was 15-20 minutes before we were due to meet, and since the message said nobody was in the room I figured they had already headed over. I left a message for them, then walked over to see if I could find them. I did not see them, so I drove over to OKWR & checked in - chatted briefly with Angelo at bell services, and then got my key to my studio (it was ready). I saw that I am in building 38, in a room that is too close to the main road outside the resort for my taste, but since I am only here for 1 night and I wanted to get back to ASMuR to try to find Lisa I decided to just take it. Changing would have wasted time. I threw my stuff in the studio and then drove back to ASMusic. This time I was able to use my resort id to enter through the automatic gate, but later this gate will be shut off so they have 2 lanes of traffic being checked by security cm's. I ran to our rooms to see if Lisa had called, but she had not. Kathy was fine - feeling better with something in her stomach, so I ran over to the food court to look for Lisa again. I thought perhaps she and her family would be eating, since it was only 8:30 but I did not see them in there or out at the bus stops, so I headed back and hung out with Kathy in the room for a while.

The housekeeper knocked on the door, so I opened it - she was seeing if the room was empty yet or not. She then went next door and knocked, so I went over and opened that door, lol. I ended up locking the connecting doors so housekeeping could clean my room right away if they wanted to. Kathy finished her breakfast and called her son. She was planning on leaving this morning to take him to his baseball game because she had missed several of them recently and would miss more since she is starting back to work this week. As it turned out though, he was *tired* and said he did not want to go! Woohoo!!! She was heartbroken (yeah, right <g>) and told him if he did not want to go, then she was not coming home... he said ok. It was 9:30-10 by now so she told him to call her back if he changed his mind, but to call by 11. We decided I would go back to OKWR to work on the report and finish up something for the Fortress people, while she waited for his call.

Kathy called about 10:40 - tired of waiting, and said she was coming over to get me. Since I am on the 3rd floor she cannot come to the studio - had I known our plans would change I would have gotten a ground floor unit so she could get in here. Today we were going to skip the buses - she really cannot handle another day of that, and I do not want to see her subjected to that frustration!

Being at OKWR, by the way - is WONDERFUL!!!! My gosh - it is so nice to be *home*, and the atmosphere here is so different from at the All Stars. We did enjoy our rooms at ASMuR, but the overall atmosphere is in a different league than a DVC resort, and we did not like all the hassles. At OKWR when I returned with my parking pass I was waved right in - there is no line to get in the gate, no crowds at check in, it's just really nice. I love parking at my door rather than having to hike from the parking lot. The studio looks huge compared to my other room, lol, and I like having a real closet, the microwave, fridge, toaster, coffee pot, and a bigger bathroom. I cannot say enough about how much I love and prefer being here :-)

Kathy arrived a little before 11, and we headed to AK. The handicapped parking is pretty good here, and we were able to park not too far away. The lines for the turnstiles were huge - I think because a tram must have dropped off a full load of people. Rather than wait in the long line we decided to head for the pay phones and call CRO about changing our next reservation to not stay at the All Stars again. We were on hold for 20 minutes before finally giving up on them. We entered the park now that the line was almost gone, and went to guest services but they are not able to make room reservations or connect us with CRO. The best the cm could do was suggest we try calling again at a less busy time.

The park was very busy - which I guess is not surprising considering it was an absolutely gorgeous day! We headed to Dinoland and went to Dinosaur. We used to enjoy riding this together, but it is no longer accessible for Kathy. The stand by time was posted as 20 minutes, but we entered through the Fastpass entrance and literally walked right into the pre-show movie. When that was over, we followed the other guests out of the movie room, down the hall and into the room where you come to the stairs. The poor cm working there saw Kathy and just about freaked when she thought Kathy was going to head down the stairs or try to ride with the wheelchair and equipment <g>. She looked very relieved when Kathy assured her she did not plan to ride, lol! The cm had us both ride the elevator down, and they boarded me from the exit side of the vehicle. There was a family of 3 with a wheelchair, so we made a full row. I sat next to their young daughter, who loves this ride and was a really nice kid to ride with. We were back to the exit in no time, and Kathy & I rode the elevator back upstairs and exited the building despite having people who do not watch where they are going walk right into her! It is one thing to have a clueless moment and stop paying attention to your surroundings, but at least people should apologize when they walk into a non-moving target. Just who is the idiot in that case??? <g>

We went to call CRO again, this time getting through in 4 minutes. Our reservation is now officially canceled - we never have to set foot in that place again, thank goodness! Instead, we will be staying at Wilderness Lodge. That worked out well for me - I am staying at the Villas at WL over Thanksgiving, but thought I would never stay at the original resort. This will be fun to see how the rooms differ between the 2 sides :-) It is only for 1 night, before we go *home* to OKWR, but even 1 night is too long to put up with the All Star hassles.

As we were walking towards Asia I heard someone from behind call my name, and when I turned I saw it was Lisa (not the one from this morning, another DVC Lisa, lol) and her fiancé Luke and her 3 kids. I forget Lisa's Fortress name - it has something to do with being a Disney bride... she & Luke are having their Fairytale wedding here on Tuesday! It was so great to run into her like this, and Luke seems really nice. We stood around talking to them for a while, then headed our separate ways. The weather forecast looks good - they should have a gorgeous wedding day, and what a great place to get married!

Kathy & I went to Asia and did the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I got some good pictures of one of the tigers, including a big yawn with her fangs bared. Some of the others were running around in another section - it was nice to see them so active for a change. On the way out we stopped to look at the gibbons and checked out more food at places we expect to never eat at - just being nosy. We continued to Harambe and went to see the gorillas. The family was out and it looked like food had recently been put out for them. They were fun to watch, and it is not that often I get to see all of them out together where they are visible from the same area. Gus was not out, but we found Spike over by the waterfall at the exit to the Safari Ride. He was lounging on the ledge enjoying the day. On our way out of the park we stopped to look at the menu in Pizzafari. Kathy had mentioned they have a grilled cheese pretzel on the kids' menu, and we were curious what exactly that was. Unfortunately this place does not have a display case with samples of the menu items and we did not see anyone walk by with one on their tray. We did not want to be walking around spying on people's lunch, so we left.

We were done in AK, so we headed out of the park. We went to the resort bus stops ride to the Swan, and of course this was the only bus stop with a bunch of people waiting. It seemed like a fairly long wait, but just as we were about to give up and just drive the van, the bus arrived. The driver was really nice, but very nervous about Kathy's life support equipment and wanting to strap her in. He asked if I would stand next to her, and Kathy told him she wanted me to sit - that her chair would be fine. The chair would not tip over, but *if* it did, there is no way I could stop it - it is far too heavy (which is why it will not go anywhere... the weight is all on the bottom). We did not give him a hard time - we just reassured him that she would be fine, and he went to drive the bus. He wanted me to sit behind her, also, to keep an eye on the equipment so nobody would mess with her hoses or anything, and I assured him that if anyone went back there I would get up and make sure they did not touch anything. Since the bus was not full, he stood back there with us and that encouraged the other guests to sit forward of us. LOL - he was very sweet... just a tad nervous, but that's ok.

We got off at the Swan and walked over to the Yacht Club. Kathy was sticking to her prescription nutrition today, but I got a Stormalong (Kahlua, amaretto, Bailey's & pina colada mix) at Hurricane Hanna's and we went and sat under an umbrella at a table along the walkway. It was so relaxing and pleasant - a perfect day :-) Eventually we started moving again, continuing around to the Boardwalk. A couple was walking from the Boardwalk and called out to us, and it turned out to be Dick & Nan from the DVC boards. This was my first time meeting them, and we stopped to talk about our trips and what we were doing. They had arrived Friday night and spent 1 night at All Star Movies before moving to OKWR, and Nan said never again unless they were absolutely desperate and it was only for a night. LOL, we understood her completely. They said many of the same things I felt when I moved into OKWR today - I guess OKWR owners really love their resort!

We said goodbye to Dick & Nan, and then stopped in the Boardwalk Bakery for Kathy to get a couple of those chocolate/vanilla pretzels for her sons. I still have 2 of the 3 I bought on my last day of last trip - they are safe in the freezer and I keep forgetting about them! With the other stuff I already have, I did not get another one this trip. We went to the BW bus stop and waited for our buses. It must have been around 4pm or so by now. My bus arrived first, so we said goodbye and I rode over to the Downtown Disney Marketplace. Kathy was waiting for the AK bus to get her van and drive home. At the Marketplace I went to Wolfgang Puck Express to get a Caprese Salad but they had none. In fact, the cooler area was pretty sparse. I walked all the way to the West Side and tried the location there, and they also had no Caprese Salad. I asked the guy working there, and he said he did not have any mozzarella today. Hmmmphf!

I started to head to the West Side bus stop, and then turned around and walked back to the Marketplace. I just missed the boat to OKWR so I browsed in a couple of shops and came back just as the next one was arriving. Riding that boat on a gorgeous sunny fall afternoon is the perfect way to travel. Only 1 other family shared the boat with me, so it was really nice. Back at OKWR I decided to check the Olivia's To Go menu at Good's to see if they had the Mozzarella Salad there, but it was not on the menu. I asked in Olivia's and they said I could order it from Good's since it was not very busy right now. I poked through the shop and then went back to Good's and asked the cm if I could order the Mozzarella Salad and she said "of course you can". Yay - I got it after all. As it turned out, this version is more expensive ($8.79), but is MUCH better. The balsamic vinaigrette dressing and the pecans mixed in the field greens really make a difference! I was talking with the cm and she asked if I wanted some rolls to go with that, and went back and got me some butter and a roll fresh out of the oven. Mmmmmm! I walked back to the Peninsular bus stop and decided to wait for the next bus and ride back to Old Turtle Pond.

Once in the studio I ate the roll - nothing like fresh hot bread & butter <g> and tried the salad. I was not hungry really, but the salad will keep well in the refrigerator, and I might be hungry after Comedy Warehouse tonight. If not, I guess I will have a very early lunch before leaving at 11am tomorrow. I updated the report, read some of the messages I had downloaded this weekend, and updated a chart for my meeting with some figures one of my staff had emailed on Friday.

From this studio I do hear traffic noise without the TV. For one night it is no big deal, and the traffic should be quiet by the time I am ready to go to bed. I left for PI at 7:20, since parking is sometimes a pain on Sunday at this time. Tonight however, I found a really good parking spot very easily - go figure! It was getting darker, and it was quite cool, but not so cold it was uncomfortable with just a light jacket.

I entered Pleasure Island, and hardly anyone was there. I wandered around on the street for a little while, then went briefly into the Adventurer's Club. There were only 10-15 people in there at 7:30. I decided to sit outside on a bench that was somewhat sheltered from the wind, and listened to the music. Warehouse regular David was out with his girlfriend and we talked briefly before they went to the Adventurer's Club. Other than him, I did not see any familiar faces at any of the shows. Eventually I got into line for the 8:00pm show, further back than I would have liked.

I ended up being in the row behind the technician's booth - so it was about 1/2 way up. The cast was Greg, Phillip, Jen B, Josh & Joy. The show started off very slowly, and did not start to pick up until the very end. The audience was not much help, but overall it just was not working well, despite some terrific actors working. Deb was my server, and she wanted to know where my cup was, lol! I will try not to forget it next time. When the show ended I left immediately to get in line for the next one. While in line the girl behind me was wearing a sweatshirt and I noticed it still had that security tag with permanent ink or dye attached behind the neck. I figured she probably had not shoplifted the shirt, so I asked her if she realized it was still attached. She had no idea, but said it was her fault because she put the shirt on and wore it out of the store, so she went back to the store to get it removed while her boyfriend/husband stayed in line.

The 9:05 show was seated, and I got the row of bar stools on the floor - where I sit when Kathy & I see the shows. The cast was Jen B, Phillip, Joy, Josh, and Todd. This show was excellent - very funny! They tortured Josh with Cliché, making him guess Freezer burn will make you sick. The actors did it so he had all the sounds, but not the words, and Josh had to then put different things together to make those words - it made it more interesting, and funnier. I left again immediately after this show to check the line for the next one.

There were only about 2 people in line, so I looked in a couple of shops (to stay warm), then hung around at the bottom of the steps near the restrooms behind the West End Stage because the wind was not blowing down there. After a while I went upstairs and saw that there were enough people in line for me to join now. This time it worked out perfectly - I had the very 1st seat in long row (not on the aisle - the other end). This has to be the single best seat in the house, because you have a direct center view of the stage, plus if anyone you know is standing outside of the break/locker room you get to at least say hi. Tonight there were 2 Orange County Sheriff's deputies standing there, but later Jen B came out to watch part of the show and she waved when I saw her. I noticed more security around in general tonight - perhaps with the bigger crowd they were less obvious on Friday night.

The 10:30 show featured Todd, Jen K, Joy, Josh & Greg. They did the Conducted Story, but without the deaths. The story was funny, and Greg was the winner & did an excellent job wrapping it up, but I like the deaths because they are brief and usually very funny. I should have asked why the did it like that, but did not think of it while I was there. They also did Emotions, where the audience suggests a list of first positive and then negative emotions, then 2 actors start a scene while 2 other actors call out emotions for them to be acting the scene in. It changes rapidly, and generally is very funny. They need lots of emotions, and the crowd tonight was really lackluster in coming up with some. LOL - it was like pulling teeth at times. Usually I do not make many suggestions because I am there so often, but this time I did, to keep it moving. Overall though, it was a very good show! The embarrassing story was told by this kind of scary looking guy with a whole bunch of tattoos all over his body (except his face), and he turned out to be a NJ cop! After the show several people went over and shook his hand.

When the show was done I waited for most of the guests to leave so I could see Jen K for a minute - she & Greg had come out from backstage and were by the exit. As I approached they were talking with a couple of people so I was going to wait, but Greg saw me and said hi - he took my hand & thanked me for helping out with Emotions, lol! He was the one asking for the emotions, so I guess I read him right that he felt like he was pulling teeth. Jen K said she emailed me today, but it must have been after I was online last so I will get it when I post this report. She has lost 70 pounds and is looking great. I told her some friends in Ft Lauderdale wanted to send me some pictures of her at work so I could send them to her, and she is looking forward to seeing them. She's really sweet - and Greg is, too.

I headed out at this point, and left PI to make the short drive back to OKWR. My goodness, this is SO much easier and nicer than dealing with a bus back to All Stars, lol! I ate some of the mozzarella salad - boy, is that GREAT!! Tomorrow I do not have to be up early, since I plan to just relax in the studio until 11am, so I can pack in the morning without being rushed.

The day went better than planned, thanks to Kathy being able to stay longer. The weather was perfect, we ran into some DVC friends a couple of times, and it was just a nice relaxing day... finished up with some good Comedy Warehouse shows :-)

DAY 4 - MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2001:

Plan: Relax around resort, drive to Tampa airport for business trip to Tallahassee

Actual: Last night I posted 4 pictures to photopoint (the Disney Sept 2001 album) - 2 of the tigers, 1 of Spike and 1 from the Comedy Warehouse. I added them to an existing album since there were so few and both trips were during the same month.

I slept in until almost 8am - which felt great. As usual, sleeping at OKWR is so comfortable. I do not think I have any neighbors in the connecting 1br unit, which was great! After showering I made some cappuccino in the microwave because the coffee maker would not work (I will leave a note for housekeeping) and micro waved some of the MK pretzel. I got online, and then things got busy - my secretary called because Chris' dad had called to say the high school was questioning his missing phone number on the parent information - which only I could fix (I had left off his number since he was planning to move in September). My boss' secretary called - they were faxing me information to look at. Ugh! I checked with the front desk just as it arrived, then drove over to pick it up. Thankfully it was information only - no action required. I called my boss and talked to her for a while, making sure she was as calm as possible <g>. I really need to be away from the office without this kind of thing happening, or she will never be fully comfortable with me being gone - and my next trip is 2 full weeks, with the 2nd week being on the ship where I can't be reached without it costing a fortune. Hopefully my friend Tom in Gainesville can help out if anything really important comes up. Florida is going through some very difficult times right now - and we badly need the tourism dollars, so please come enjoy your WDW vacations!

I IM'd with Kathy for a while, then left for Tampa just before 11am. I know some people use this airport when coming to WDW, which is the only reason I am continuing the report through this segment. It was an easy drive - just over an hour, although on the other side of I-4 it was a parking lot between exits 7 & 10, which I assume was due to an accident since there is not any construction still going on there. I was glad to be headed in the other direction!

Normally I love Tampa Airport - much better than Orlando, because it is so easy to get into and out of. However, they still have their short term parking closed, so now long term parking is pretty full. I had to park on the roof, which is a pain because I prefer to park in a covered area, but at least I was not planning on leaving anything in the car that would be damaged by the heat. I was careful to write down my location, since I usually just go heading off and then later realize I have no idea where I left the car, lol! They have a nice monorail that makes the rounds to all the parking areas and then makes a few stops in the terminal. This was my first time going to the baggage check-in area, since normally I just take my stuff to the gate and leave it under the wing of the plane and staff load it onto the plane from there (outside - on business I fly the small planes). However, with all the security stuff going on I figured it was easier to check the big piece of luggage rather than risk them having to hand search it at the security check point. There were perhaps 2 people in line ahead of me, so it was just a minute or so before I was called up. I had to show my driver's license and answer the usual questions, and was on my way.

To get to the monorails to the gates I had to show my ticket and my id once more. Once at the gate area they had the usual security setup - staffed by regular retirees. They had me put the laptop in a plastic box by itself (out of the bag), but they did not need me to turn it on or prove that any of my electronics (beeper, cell phone, digital camera, laptop) were *real*. It took a while to unpack it all to send through the machine, and then put it back away, but otherwise it was no different than before the terrorist stuff. From there I headed to my gate, and finished up the report. They have these banks of pay phones with a seat and laptop shelf (with electrical outlet), so it was very convenient.

This ends the official trip report - reporting on 4 more days of life in Tallahassee on business would be cruel and unusual punishment, lol!

SUMMARY:

I had a wonderful time on this trip, despite it being so short! We had some frustrations with transportation, a day of lousy weather, and realize that All Stars are not in our future, but since we are here so often and the only real purpose of the trip was to spend time together it wasn't that big of a deal. If I had saved for 2 years to make this trip and ended up with unusual crowds, weather, bus trouble, etc, then it would have bothered me, but I am ready to come back again... in 25 days this time!

My next trip will begin 10/26 with a night at the Comedy Warehouse, and end 11/10 disembarking the 7 day Magic cruise. In between I will spend time with Kathy (we'll meet up with the wild Darla & Chris - another DVC member - for a day of food, wine and most likely some wild antics <g>), see some of my other WDW-local friends, and then be joined by Sheila for the cruise. I have spent my birthday at WDW for several years now, but this year we will be at sea on the cruise ship - not a bad substitute, in my opinion :-)

DISAPPOINTMENTS:

  • Bus transportation from All Stars. Even if we did not have the wheelchair issue, the buses were still way more crowded, and less frequent than I remember from years ago when I used to tell people the transportation from here was very good.
  • Waiting in line 45 minutes to check in... give me a break! It took Kathy longer to check in than it took her to drive over from her house!

MAGICAL MOMENTS:

  • The weather on the non-rainy day was wonderful - it finally felt comfortable in Florida, and this is earlier than normal for that.
  • The All Star resort manager sending the van to take us to the MK, and being permitted to watch Spectromagic where we did not have to worry about anyone accidentally or intentionally disturbing Kathy's equipment was great.
  • That mozzarella salad at Olivia's was really good - I will be back for that on future trips for sure.
  • OKWR in general - I cannot say enough good things about that resort... it is my favorite by far!

Thanks for reading, and until next time... 

Sue Holland

WDW1972@aol.com


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