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Billie Medoff -- July 2001 -- Walt Disney World (OKWR)
Background: This trip was primarily the result of me not being able to stand waiting 15 months between trips to WDW. We were there in January 2001 and weren't planning to go back until March 2002, but that was far too long and we had annual passes burning holes in our pockets. I had to find enough time to drive down, spend some time at the parks and not eat up a lot of vacation days. Fourth of July weekend seemed to fit the bill. The plan was to leave early to mid afternoon on the 3rd, drive 8 or 9 hours, sleep, and drive the rest of the way the morning of the 4th, arriving mid day. Going back, we would leave mid to late afternoon on the 7th, drive, sleep and get home on the 8th, in time to go to work Monday. In between driving, we would go to a couple of parks, have a couple of good meals and just sort of take it easy. Day 1 - July 3rd. Not much to report. We left Ashburn at 1PM, drove to St. George, SC, stopping a couple of times to walk around and once for dinner at Crackle Barrel. It started raining after dinner, so that shortened our driving time. Still we went about 500 miles, which was a pretty good stretch. Day 2 - July 4th. Left St. George at about 7:20. Stopped in Walterboro, SC for breakfast and were back on the road at about 8:45. This was a tougher drive only because I had hurt my back 5 or 6 days earlier and sitting in the car for multiple hours was beginning to take its toll. Still we made into OKW at about 2:30 in the afternoon. Checked in with no problem. Our room was ready, but we took a couple of minutes to check out the Hospitality House and surroundings. There was a 4th of July party thing going on so it was a little crowded, but still very nice. Found our room. It was very nice, but we decided next time we stay at OKW, we are going to ask for a room closer to the Hospitality House. This was a little too far away. Marshall unpacked while I stretched out for a couple of minutes. Once everything was unpacked and we had relaxed for a couple of minutes, Marshall called the front desk to get directions to the nearest Publix. Needed to pick up milk, juice and breakfast supplies. Got directions and headed out. The directions were fine except for the last turn. Went the wrong way, but eventually figured it out. Spent $20 on supplies and headed back to the room. I need to see fireworks on the 4th, but I knew better than to try to get into MK. So I had made a PS for 'Ohana at the Polynesian, figuring we would go to the Polynesian Beach for the fireworks. Had a 7:10 PS and checked in at 7:00. The place was a mad house and we didn't get seated until almost 8:00, but that worked out well. Had a great meal (gotta love those dumplings and the steak was REALLY good that night) and were ready to find a place to watch the fireworks at about 8:50. We had overheard some people at another table saying the beach was crazy - wall to wall people. I had read that the beach by the Luau Cove was an alternative so we headed out in that direction. We actually ended up out on the boat dock and that was fabulous. There were a few people, but the fireworks were high enough that no one blocked our view. The fireworks were great. We are used to seeing the fireworks on the National Mall here in Washington, and the MK fireworks were substantially shorter than the Mall fireworks (only about 10 minutes.) but they were very good and intense. We loved them. After they were over, Marshall suggested we wait a couple of minutes to let the crowds move on. It was a good thing. Shortly after the fireworks were over, the Electrical Water Parade started. It was really nice and Kelsey loved it. Not as much noise as the fireworks and fun to look at. Once that was over, we headed to the parking lot. It was about 9:40 when we were pulling out of our parking space. At that point, Marshall made the comment that it would be 10:30 before we were back to the room. He's always the pessimist, thinking traffic was going to be horrible. Well, we were back at the room at OKW before 10:00. I'm not sure he had any congestion at all!! Asked Mickey to give us a call at 6:05 the next morning and it was sleep time. Day 3 - July 5th Mickey called at 6:05. Spent some time waking up and then got up and ready to go. Despite all the breakfast food in the room, nobody was really hungry for breakfast, so we skipped it and headed out the door to Early Entry at the Magic Kingdom. Made it to MK at about 7:40 and Fantasyland was already open. We headed straight to Dumbo. Waited five minutes maybe, then we were in the air. Kelsey wasn't sure about the up and down part, but other than that it was fine. From there we went to one of my favorite rides, Winnie the Pooh. Next was Small World and then Peter Pan. Back to Winnie the Pooh. All were walk-ons. At this point it was about 8:45 and we had done everything in Fantasyland that we wanted to do. Next stop was the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. We had to wait a few minutes for rope drop, but at 9:00 we found our way to Aladdin and walked on. Cool ride - we even got "spit" on. Headed over to Jungle Cruise. Kelsey and I missed this one in January and actually I don't think I had been on it since 1997. We had a "cruise director" that was an absolute riot!! I have to remember to do that ride more often. Walked onto the Pirates of the Caribbean. We then went in search of the Haunted Mansion - with a slight detour for a Mickey bar to share. Neither Marshall nor I had done the Haunted Mansion before. We decided maybe it wasn't appropriate for a 19 month old so I went first and then Marshall went. It was lots of fun. We did decide though that our other daughter Taylor (9 years old and with Grandma for a couple of weeks of summer vacation) would not like this. She is afraid of lots of different things - she'll have a major meltdown just reading about Tower of Terror. It was about 11 am and time for more substantial food. Headed into Pecos Bill's. We discovered this place in January. It has the best hamburgers. Marshall and I both had cheeseburgers and fries and Kelsey had the kid's hot dog meal, which she devoured. After a great lunch and a diaper change, we were off. We wanted to head over to Tomorrowland to do Buzz Lightyear, but it started raining and then pouring as we were leaving Pecos Bill. Found shelter right next to the Dole Whip stand - how convenient. We all shared a vanilla and pineapple Dole Whip - yumm! Well, the rain lightened up so we headed for Tomorrowland. Picked up a Fastpass for Buzz, which was about an hour out. As we tried to decide what to do next, the rain started again. At this point, we decided to bag Buzz and head back to the hotel for a rest. We stopped at a couple of shops on Main Street looking for a hat for Marshall. He doesn't have much natural sun protection on the top of his head and the only hat he brought was black. Not very comfortable in the July Florida sun. He finally found a light colored had he liked in the Chapeau shop. It was approaching stroller gridlock in the shop so I headed into the DVC shop next to the Chapeau shop. We bought DVC last summer. Our ownership is at Vero Beach and I keep thinking that I would love to own at WDW itself. I spoke the DVC rep about the Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Primarily I just wanted to see the rooms to see if they looked better than they did in the web pictures I saw. The DVC rep said all we had to do was go over to VWL and ask to the see the rooms. Someone is there from 10 to 6 everyday to show rooms to DVC members. After a couple of stickers and a baby DVC soccer ball for Kelsey, we were off to find Marshall. It started pouring just as we hit the train station. Hung out there for a bit waiting for the rain to lighten. It didn't. We finally decided to make a run for the car, which was in the first row because we had gotten to the park so early. Kelsey fell asleep in the car on the way back to the room. This was not a good thing. Although she needed a couple of hours of sleep, the 15 minute power nap she got in the car kept her from sleeping when we got back to the room. We tried for about 45 minutes to get her to go back to sleep - no luck. You've never seen a kid who fights sleep like this one - from the moment she was born. Finally decided to check out the pool. Once we got to the pool we looked at the sky and decided we didn't have very much time. It was getting pretty gray out there. I think we were in the pool for less than five minutes. What I couldn't understand was why others weren't getting out. You could hear the thunder. Well we headed back to the room and watched it pour for about 2 hours. We had a 5:30 PS at Boma for dinner and I wanted to stop by the Villas at Wilderness Lodge before that. We headed out of the room at about 4:30 and made it to WVL a couple of minutes later. We saw a studio and a one bedroom. These rooms are connected so you could also say we saw a two bedroom. It was very nice. Marshall and I both agreed we need to find a way to be able to do a one bedroom whenever possible. It is just so nice to have so much room, especially when all four of us go. We decided we are going to try to get a 1 bedroom at VWL next summer. Off to Boma for dinner. We checked in about 5:30 and had a 5 or 10 minute wait. Then it began. Boma was wonderful. We weren't always sure what we were eating, but it was all wonderful. I really don't like fish, but even the mahi-mahi was good. It's a couple of weeks later as I write this so I can't remember the specifics of what we ate, but I do remember it was all delicious, which is probably the better memory. I do remember the desserts. I was very disappointed when the server said the Zebra Dome had coffee flavor in it, because I REALLY don't like coffee. Even the smell turns my stomach. I had heard enough about them though, that I figured I had to give them a try. I can't say they were my favorite, because I could taste the coffee, but it wasn't stomach turning either. My favorite dessert was a sort of chocolate mousse crisp. That was delicious. Stuffed to the gills, we headed out to explore the resort a little. We had promised Taylor we would bring her back an AKL pin and maybe something else. Well, of course, something else turned into a tee shirt, a necklace and a figurine for Marshall. Next we went to explore the animal viewing locations. WOW!! We saw zebras, wildebeests and a few other things that I can't remember now. Marshall and I decided we had to find a way to stay there sometime. Taylor is huge animal fan (as long as they don't get to close - the distance between her and the Animal Planet channel is about the right distance - LOL) so we figured we would try to swing a few days next spring as a surprise for her. We won't have to buy her any park passes, we'll just leave her on the room balcony for the time we are there. She'll be in heaven. From AKL we headed back to MK, planning to watch the parade and fireworks. About an hour before the parade started we found a spot just at the end the bridge going into Liberty Square. It was crowded and waiting an hour with my back (and Kelsey) acting up was tough, but we made. We had seen Spectromagic in 1997 and MSEP in 1999 (I think) and 2000. I have to say I like MSEP better, but Spectromagic was still fun. We decided to bag the fireworks and let me go back to the resort and rest my incredibly aching back. All in all a wonderful day! Day 4 - Friday, July 6th I'm now writing this two months later so I have forgotten minor details like what time we got up and all that. I know I tried to use the toaster in our studio for some of the English muffins I had bought on Wednesday, but discovered the toaster wasn't working. Off in search of food. We didn't want a full breakfast, so we had bagels at Good's at the Hospitality House. Probably should have had the untoasted English muffins. Oh well, off for the day. We went to Animal Kingdom and I seem to remember arriving just after opening so probably around 8:30 or so. We went straight to the Safari and had a minimal - 5 to 10 minute - wait. There were a fair number of animals about and I remember something, maybe a giraffe, crossing the road right behind us. We were in the back seat, so it was pretty close. From there we went to the Kali River Rapids. I love this ride. We had to do baby swap, so I went first while Marshall waited. I didn't get too wet, but I did forget to put my feet up on the rail, so my shoes got a little wet. I got off and let Marshall go. Guess who got absolutely soaked!! It was a riot, but it was also very hot that day, so I don't think he really minded that much. Marshall really wanted to see Tarzan so off we headed in that direction. It was almost performance time so we didn't have to wait and walked right into the show area. That was nice, because I have stood in line waiting for that show and it gets hot. While we were waiting for the show to start, I went and bought us two frozen lemonades. Very nice on a hot July day. Kelsey sure loved it. Tarzan was great as usual. It took Kelsey a few minutes to get accustomed to the volume, but she eventually settled down. I always have to spend the first minute or two reminding myself the performer is not Phil Collins so it's going to sound different, but it is still good. After Tarzan, it was getting pretty hot. We decided we would find the Annual Passholders lounge and rest while we figured out what we wanted to do next. It took a little bit to find the lounge but it was very nice. I wish they would set one up in every park. Eventually, we decided we would find a resort food court to have lunch and then go in search of the different Disney outlet stores in the area. The plan for the late afternoon evening was to go to Epcot, "nosh around the world" and see Illuminations. We decided to head over to Port Orleans Riverside for lunch. I love the theme of that resort and I remembered they had a pretty good food court. I think Marshall had fried chicken and I had a taco salad. Kelsey had a little of Marshall's chicken, but not much. Both were okay, but nothing special. I wouldn't make the trip over there again just for food. Off we went in search of outlets. I remembered driving past the Belz outlet on our way in on Wednesday, but I couldn't remember exactly how far down I-4 it was. It took a little driving around and exploring of some of Orlando's tackier tourist areas, but we finally found it. Then we had to find the store itself. That took even more work. Eventually we found it. I have to admit I was disappointed. I guess like most outlets it is hit or miss. I know Marshall bought something (can't remember what) and I bought an Epcot polo shirt but that was it. We also hit the other character store and didn't find anything there. A quick browse through the Pfaltzcraft store (always have to hit that when I find it) and we were off. Kelsey needed to nap and fell asleep in the car. We figured it we stopped someplace, she would wake up and that would be end of any nap so we decided to drive around. We headed for Celebration. We had both heard about it and figured it would be a good drive. It is a very pretty town and I loved some of the houses, but I imagine they are expensive for the area. Also, it just seemed a little too perfect. As much I would love to be, I am not a student of Martha Stewart. I don't have the time or the creative sense. I think to live in Celebration, you sort of have to have a little Martha Stewart in you. The yards and flower gardens are perfect and you just get the feeling that all the houses are probably perfectly decorated. Anyway, it was nice to see and maybe after I hit the lottery, I'll think about moving down there. Kelsey had been sleeping for about an hour and half now so we figured we could head someplace and get out. Off to Epcot. Marshall has to go on Spaceship Earth every time he goes to Epcot, so that was our first ride. In the past riding down backwards has always made me a little nervous. This time it didn't bother me as much because I could see the steps next to the track. I guess I knew I wouldn't get stuck. From there it was time to feed Kelsey. She hadn't eaten much all day so she was getting pretty cranky. We went into the Land and found her a tuna sub, chips and water. She ate very well and Marshall finished up for her. It was off to the World Showcase. For some reason, we always end up short changing the World Showcase. Last August it was incredibly hot and our 2am arrival time caught up with us just as we hit the World Showcase. In January, Taylor came down with a bad virus the day we were at Epcot, so we walked around the WS a little bit while she slept in a double stroller. We really wanted to do it right this time. I'm not sure we completely succeeded but we did better than we have done in the past. Our objective was to "nosh around the World" and catch some of the attractions we hadn't seen in the past. We started near England and caught some of the British Invasion performance. They are really good and I love Beatles music. Unfortunately, I couldn't stand in one place very long, so while they were performing I also wandered around some of the shops in the area. We started our "nosh" at Rose & Crown counter service by sharing fish and chips. As I mentioned earlier, I don't particularly fish, but this was pretty good. We agreed we would get PS for Rose & Crown when we come in March. Taylor really wants to try the fish & chips. That finished, we headed toward France. My husband's whole family, including us, is going to Paris for a week in August. Although my in-laws go frequently, it will be the first time for our family. Given that, we figured we had better see the Impressions of France movie. We had a very short wait and then went into the theatre. The movie was very pretty, but the flying through the air effect makes me a little a queasy. I have the same problem in the Canada movie. I did decide I really want to see Versailles though when we go to Paris. (Author's note: We didn't make it - all the tours were booked the only day we had available to go.) After exiting the theatre, we checked out the French bakery as we continued our "noshing". To my husband's incredible shock, I didn't see anything that interested me. Marshall went in to check and he didn't find anything either. Next we came upon the Blast performance. We didn't sit down, just stood in the back with the stroller. After reading various trip reports and message boards, I have decided I am the only person who didn't think this was fabulous. It was okay, but both Marshall and I were very glad we didn't spend the money on the dinner package. It just didn't do anything for us. Next stop on the "nosh around the World" was the Tangerine Café. Here we split a chicken sandwich with hummus. It was very good. I really liked the hummus and bread. Wandering continued. Just watched people and talked. It was very nice and very relaxing. The next stop was café in Germany. In January we had shared a Bratwurst and sauerkraut and it was wonderful, so we ordered the same. Again very good, although I think Marshall ate more than I did. Somehow we found room to split a raspberry cheesecake from the bakery in Norway - had to have some sweet. It was good, but nothing amazing. People were beginning to line up for Tapestry of Nations. I love this parade. In January, we had a great corner spot and the puppets interacted a lot with Taylor. With the stroller, we stood back a little bit, so we didn't get any interaction, but it is still a wonderful parade. Marshall also decided he wanted the CD. We put that on the shopping list for Saturday. After the parade, we found a little nearby spot to sit and wait for Illuminations. The view was slightly blocked, but not enough to ruin the performance. Illuminations is really wonderful. We meandered our way out of Epcot and back to the car. Stopped at OKW store and picked up a couple of Mickey bars for a late evening snack, did some laundry and then it was into bed. Another great day!! Day 5 - July 7th Again, I don't remember what time we got up, but we did and then we packed the car as we were leaving that afternoon. Check out was a breeze seeing as we didn't have any charges. We stopped at the OKW store and picked a pin and tee shirt for Taylor and ice for the cooler. Next was breakfast at Boma. After the fantastic dinner we had the other night, I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, neither Marshall nor I thought it was anything special. We had a 9am PS so we weren't coming in at slow time, but it seemed the food had been sitting a bit. I don't know what it was, but I much prefer the breakfasts we've had at Crystal Palace and Kona Café in the past. Oh well - time to shop. Downtown Disney was our final stop and we were one something of a mission. Although it is still four years away, we have decided on the theme for Taylor's Bat Mitzvah - Disney Movies. Anyone who knows Taylor will not be surprised at all. She loves watching Disney videos. Her all time favorite is the Lion King. Anyway, I've started thinking about how we are going to implement this theme. Our mission was to look for things to help us implement. The first thing I wanted to look for was cake forms. I want each table to have it's own cake. The only form we could find is the Mickey form, but that will work. We are going to try to have different flavors for different tables. They may all look the same, but they won't taste the same. We found that at the Gourmet Pantry. I also picked up some AK animal crackers and Mickey Pasta to take to France. Something to feed the kids that they will eat. We also went into Disney At Home and found Mickey bathmats. Now you are asking - How will these be used at the Bat Mitzvah? Well, they won't. We've just been looking for bathmats for our master bath for a while and Marshall liked these. The big thing we were looking for was movie poster prints. Preferably smaller, like 10"x17" to use as table identifiers. We started in Art of Disney. They didn't have anything, but they did have the Tapestry of Nations/Illuminations CD. Also a Lion King Learn to Type program that we wanted for Taylor. As we went to check out though, we discovered Art of Disney doesn't take Disney Club discounts. Back they went and we decided we would look for them in World of Disney, which does take DC. After all that we walked through Pooh Corner, Toys Fantastic and Team Mickey on the way to World of Disney. What can I say, World of Disney is a fantasy come true. I love this store and always spend a substantial amount of time (and money) in it. We found a Princess nightgown for Taylor and the ToN and Learn to Type CDs we were looking for. Still no movie posters though. Finally I asked the CM at Customer Service if she knew of anything. They didn't have big movie posters but they do have trading card versions of movie posters and, even better, we could buy the complete set of trading cards, rather than buying lots of packets and hoping for a small number of duplicates. So we will us the trading cards for place cards and either keep looking for posters or scan in the trading cards and try to make larger posters ourselves. It was a great find. We did head over to Suspended Animation and Reel Films in Pleasure Island just to see whether they had posters. They had full size ones, but not smaller ones that could be used in centerpiece arrangements. It was now close to lunchtime so we picked up a Happy Meal for Kelsey at the McDonald's and Marshall and I shared something chocolate and decadent at Ghiradelli. It was very good. After that it was time to hit the road. We put gas in the car and headed east on I-4. Unfortunately, there was a big race scheduled that evening at Daytona. It took forever to get to I-95. We finally ended up stopping someplace in South Carolina for the evening and drove the rest of the way home on Sunday. A long drive, but worth it for 2 full and 2 half days at Disney. Next trip - March 23 - 29, 2002 I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enjoyed living it. Feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments. I love talking Disney. Take care. Billie Medoff BAMedoff@aol.com Mail a Comment to Billie Medoff |
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