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Jim Pertierra -- April 2001 -- Walt Disney World (PORR)The Cast
Pre-Trip and Planning In 1998 Janet suggested that we move up our bi-annual visits to annual visits. While we were vacationing at the Polynesian in 2000, we decided to go back to Dixie Landings in 2001. Our problem was when. We found that taking the boys out of school was something that we could not do anymore as they were getting into the time of their scholastic life where they cannot afford to miss any school. We had all their work beforehand for the 2000 trip and it was a struggle to get it done. Taking a step back, I don't think it was fair to ask them to do it either. In late April of 2000, I made the reservations for Dixie Landings. We had decided to go on Holy Thursday (beginning of vacation) and extend through Easter Week. We have never been there during Easter Week (several times during Holy Week, leaving on Holy Saturday) but never during the crush of Easter. We knew full well that it would be crowded and it didn't bother us. We would just take our time and avoid lines. With E Nights, we would have access to the big things at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, frankly, never seems to be crowded as it is so big. While making the room reservations, I booked the Hoop De Doo for Janet's birthday on April 16th. Traditions!!!! Once the reservations were made, and knowing that we would be going on the cruise/park combo in February of 2002, I called the Disney Club and ordered Premium Annual Passes for all of us. Janet was skeptical of doing it, but the economics made absolute sense. We got excellent rates from Delta for the trip once we got into the 9 month window. There were direct flights and we got the same flights that we used going in 2000. All that remained was getting to the 120 day mark to make priority seating arrangements. Like before, we gave each of the boys their pick of a restaurant. Mark wanted the clambake at the Cape May Café; Dan wanted O'hana and Matt opted for the Liberty Tree Tavern. Janet wanted to go to the Rose and Crown (we haven't been there in 5 years) and (surprise) I wanted to go back to Alfredo's. We made all those priority seatings as well as Chef Mickey's and for the Crystal Palace. We have purposely not made reservations for every day as we will probably have some Disney Fast Food and might wander over to Universal one day to check out Islands of Adventure. All that remains now is just to go and, as I write this, that is just 32 days away. The Days Before Departure However, since then, lots of things happened before we left. Our flight (which we had booked through Delta 9 months ago) was changed in November. However, Delta waited until January to tell us. We had taken a direct flight to Orlando last year and had booked the same flight for this time. Delta eliminated the direct flight, for their own reasons, and had us re-book transferring in Cincinnati. The biggest change time wise was that we were now leaving at 6 AM and had to be at the airport at 5. Janet, who is forced to get the boys up in the morning during school (I leave for work at 4:30) knew that this was going to be a challenge. I called CRO a week ahead of time and put in a request for building 14 or 15. We wanted to cut the foot commute back and forth from the Cotton Mill to fill up the mugs. Matt had made the JV Baseball team as an 8th grader and he had a game the day before we left and I had Little League practice with Mark and Dan. With all the other things we had to do, I decided to take the 11th off in order to get everything done. It was a wild day as I left the house at 7:30 to take Mark to school and didn't get home until 8:45 that night. We survived, packed the car, and settled down for a short Spring nap. Like 2 years ago, our neighbors, the Martins were also staying at Port Orleans Riverside. They had preceded us down there by a few hours. Our friend, Sue Campbell was picking us up at 4:30 AM to bring us in our van to the airport. God bless her. Thursday, April 12, 2001 Off We Go Janet and I awoke at 3:30 AM. It was half the struggle we normally endured getting the lifeless carcasses out of bed. We said goodbye to our 3 cats, and stepped out into the 25 degree temperature with our shorts on (idiots), jumped into the van and off we went. We got to the airport at 4:55 for our 5 AM check in. Both the Delta and USAirways counters were mobbed as the Northeast area of the United States was getting ready for Spring Break. We managed to get through the line without a problem and went upstairs to our gate. As George Carlin says, have you ever seen a gate at the airport? Matt and I played Spy at the airport also. The flight was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers. I looked at Janet (as it would more than finance another trip down in the fall), but she said not on the way down, on the way home. The flight to Cincinnati was uneventful and very smooth. We landed in Cincinnati and our gate was the next one over so we did not have far to go. As we were sitting there they announced that the flight to Orlando was over booked and were looking for volunteers. I looked at Janet and go the same reaction. Oh well. Dan and I sat together on this leg. It was a 767 and we shared the twosome on one side of the plane. Mark and Janet were another twosome on the opposite side. Matt sat on Janet's side by himself. There was a lot of cloud cover until we broke into Florida and then the sun was absolutely glistening. We were welcomed to Orlando International Airport (always a highlight) and then we split up to get the luggage and car. Mark and I were in charge of the Van. We hurried down to National to pick it up. There was no line. When we got to the clerk, our check in went very smoothly, but there were no vans. I had made the reservation in May of 2000 and somehow expected it. They told Mark and me that there would be a half-hour wait. We made ourselves comfortable and, at the half-hour mark, the van was ready. We got a Chevy Venture (which is the same car that we bought in February). We swung around the airport and headed back to terminal B to pick up Janet, Matt and Dan. They were sitting there wondering what the heck had become of us. Then it was off to Disney. The drive all came back to us and we zipped right into Port Orleans Riverside. The signs had all been changed and any reference to Dixie Landings was now history. (During the week we only spotted one sign that had not been changed.) We pulled up to check in and we laughed as to how far away from building 14 we would actually be. I guided the woman in line in front of me to the Crystal Palace for dinner. They wanted somewhere good as their meals were being paid for and they wanted the Magic Kingdom. I hope they made out all right. We checked in and guess where we were? Building 39. About as far from 14 as you can get. Pertierra luck. It was no big deal as it was right next to building 36, where we stayed in 1999. We liked it over there but were hoping to get closer to the Cotton Mill. We drove over, unpacked and hoofed it over to the Cotton Mill to grab some lunch and get our mugs. The cups and the pizza (boy's) salad (Janet), oatmeal cookie (me) came to $67.51. We filled the mugs, brought them back to the room and headed over to the Magic Kingdom (via the Contemporary). We had seating at the Liberty Tree for dinner at 5:30 and thought we could get in a few rides. Two years ago we had used the Contemporary as our point of attack when going to the Magic Kingdom and the Beach Club for Epcot. We pulled up to the Contemporary and, I swear that I ran into the same guard that hassled Brian Bennett two years ago. After some back and forth, he finally let us into the parking lot. It wasn't the parking lot that we had parked in two years ago, but at least we could park. We went into the Contemporary and headed upstairs to catch the monorail. We were shortly in front of the Magic Kingdom to go to Guest Relations and to activate our premium Annual Passes. In all honesty, this was the moment I had been dreading since we purchased them last May. I figured that they would see them and tell me that they were only good for a year since I purchased them and to shoot me right away. Everything went smoothly. We were activated and, contrary to what I had been told, Disney Quest was now part of the Premium Annual Pass. This was aces with the boys who all love DQ. We had a couple hours before dinner and the Magic Kingdom was filled to the brim. I hadn't seen it that crowded since we were there during pre-Easter week in 1994. We wanted to see what was doing on Splash Mountain so we headed over via Adventureland. As we approached the Pirates, it looked to be pretty quiet, so we took a shot. Remember when Pirates was always crowded? It isn't anymore. It still is pretty enjoyable. I went through a period during the mid 90's where I was bored with the Pirates. Now I just sit back and enjoy it. We came out and moved over towards Splash Mountain. The crowds were really thick at Splash Mountain. We got separated approaching the Fast Pass line and I thought that Mark was right behind me. The stand by line was 180 minutes and Fast Pass was chugging out tickets for an hour after the time we were to sit down for dinner. I looked around and I was alone. I couldn't get a Fast Pass without them, so I waited. The world rushed past me and I found that there were a million 16-year-old girls around. What a time to be a 16 year old boy!!!!!!! Eventually Janet and the boys showed up. They had gone to the Fast Pass line for Big Thunder Mountain by mistake so I went over and got one also. We decided that we were not going to spend a lot of time in the Magic Kingdom tonight. It was too crowded, so we passed on Fast Pass for Splash Mountain. We slowly made our way over to Liberty Square to see if we could get seated earlier. While approaching the Liberty Tree, we came across out neighbors, the Martins, waiting to see if they could get PS for dinner. I went to the podium to confirm my presence and we waited in the lobby. The place was mobbed. Our seating was for 5:30. The Martin's got called in at 5:25 with no priority seating, we got in at 5:50 with. Such is life. The Martins asked Matt if he wanted to hang out with them after dinner, so we made plans to meet at the Partners statue around 8. Dinner was good. Especially good were the potatoes and salad. The characters all made the rounds. I complimented both Chip and Dale on their powdered wigs. They both made a point of patting my balding head to indicate that mine could use one also. Over my dead body! <G> After dinner, all 3 of the boys went to the shooting gallery to test their skills before we went to Thunder Mountain. Hey, Fast Pass is great! We zipped right though and onto the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness. Matt, Dan and I sat together and screamed all the way through. We worked our way to the Hub through Adventureland. Frontierland was teeming with people. We met up on time and hoped to see Matt again before daybreak. The four of us hopped the monorail (after Mark and I got our traditional popcorn at the rail station) over to the Contemporary to get the car. I have to admit that, as much as I love Riverside, I miss staying at the Polynesian. There is something special about that place. Matt came in around 11:30 and left right away to go swimming in the pool. I think I heard him come in at 11:30. I know I didn't when he finished swimming. Another great day in Walt Disney World. Friday, April 13, 2001 Epcot (Rose and Crown Pub) Originally Dan wanted to go fishing over at Old Man Island. We changed what we wanted to do at the last minute. Janet and I went to the Cotton Mill to get drinks and muffins before we all went over to Epcot for early entry. Spaceship Earth was down so we went over to Test Track to get a Fast Pass. It was good for 9:55 so we went to the Wonders of Life to do Body Wars. We all enjoyed it and then went to Cranium Command for the first time ever. It won't be the last time as we all thought it was great. Loved Bobcat Goldthwaite!! I grabbed an orange juice for breakfast and then we exited for Ellen's Energy Adventure. Good as always and we got out in plenty of time for Test Track. We walked right in and were soon sailing our way through. This was the first time in 2 years that we rode it. Matt, Dan and I sat in the front again and we screamed almost the entire run outside. Love that ride!!!!! After getting off, we went back around and got Fast Passes for 7:55 PM. We were eating dinner at 5:30 at the Rose and Crown so we figured if we took our time going counter clockwise, our timing would be good. We stopped at one of the Innoventions (I can never tell them apart) and sent a video eMail to my sister in law Patti. We made a quick visit to Ice Station Cool not to get any Beverly and we took off. The boys wanted to swim and rest. Janet wanted to stay in Epcot. I wanted to stay with her, but we didn't think the boys would be able to handle the bus system. So, we all piled in and went back. We went over to the Cotton Mill where we got some cheese pizza. After all it was Good Friday and even this non-fish eating Catholic wasn't going to have meat today. After lunch, we refilled the mugs and split up. Matt and Mark went to the arcade, Janet went to the pool and I accompanied Dan to the fishing hole. I bought the Orlando Sentinel to keep me company while my best friend fished. He didn't have much luck as the worms kept on coming off as the fish made their strikes. Mark caught up to us and fished using Dan's pole for awhile. We went back to the room and prepared ourselves for a return to Epcot Center. We drove to the Beach Club and the temperatures were in the 90's. Quite a change from home. After parking we cut through the lobby, out the back and over to the International Gateway. My annual pass did not work so they had to scan me in. Our first stop was France and the movie has aged very well. The opulence of the French countryside is always overwhelming. I love the music and am so glad that it is now available on the new Official Album. We walked up to the American Adventure but the show time was at 5:10 and we would never make it back to the Rose and Crown on time. Matt was upset that we were walking all over the place and Mark was tired. Dan, as always, never said a word. We decided to have a kaka gori at Japan. Dan had tangerine and the rest of us had strawberry. Another first time for us and it was very good. We walked over to the Rose and Crown at 5 PM and were seated a half-hour ahead of time. Matt had Prime Rib (and will have to go to confession), Mark had a hot dog (confession), Janet had the fish and chips, Dan the herb crusted salmon and I had two appetizers (fruit and cheese - very good and the Mushroom Medley - excellent.) Our server was Teresa from Southampton England. She is returning home next week after 9 months in Epcot. It will be Epcot's loss. The Martin's were heading into the Rose and Crown as we were coming out. They asked Matt to hang with them again. They made plans to meet us at Test Track after we came out. We went to Canada to see Oh Canada. I have read that the Canadian officials want to update the movie and I, for one, will miss it if they do. Oh Canada has been on my favorite list since I first saw it. With so many of the really nice tunes disappearing from the Epcot playlist (Tomorrow's Child, Listen to the Land, Universe of Energy), I would hate to see this one go. I videotaped it just in case. Janet and Mark were going to ride Maelstrom while Dan, Matt and I were going to the American Adventure. We got to the American Adventure going counter clockwise against the Tapestry of Nations only to find out that the American Adventure was shut down. Oh well, hopefully some other time. We walked over to Norway were we met up with Janet and Mark. We still had time before the Fast Pass, so we went to the other Innoventions to send eMail postcards to my Mother in Law and Sister in Law, my Parents and my Brother in law and Sister in law. That accomplished, we walked right onto Test Track again. It was getting dark (but not totally) as we did the G forces again. What a great ride! Matt met the Martins and Dan, Mark, Janet and I left via the International Gateway (boat) to hit Beaches and Cream for a late snack. We each got a cone and then hopped into the van for the trip back to Riverside. As I type this, it is 10:50 PM and the three of them are fast asleep. Matt is swimming with Adam Martin and I am going to bed. With 90-degree temperatures promised again, it is off to Typhoon Lagoon tomorrow for us. Good night! Another nice day in Walt Disney World! Saturday, April 14, 2001 Typhoon Lagoon/'Ohana/Magic Kingdom Janet was right on the money. The forecast was for pure heat so she suggested that we go to Typhoon Lagoon and stay away from the Magic Kingdom during the day. Traditionally we always go to the Magic Kingdom on Saturdays for early opening. There was no way that we were going to do that with the heat and the crowds so Typhoon Lagoon was an easy choice. We had made arrangements with Adam for him to go with us and to meet at the Cotton Mill at 8 for breakfast. The highlight of the morning was Janet's discovery of the Weather Channel on the TV. It is her favorite channel and has not been available here since the Epcot Poll disappeared when Communicore did in 1993. Made her vacation. We had a light breakfast (bagels/english muffins/breakfast pizzas) and then headed over to Typhoon Lagoon. A lot of other people had the same thought, as the entrance area was full (not packed). Annual Pass didn't work again (everyone else's did) so I was scanned in again. The cast member told me to visit Guest Relations when things died down. We hustled over to our favorite spot in the Whitecap Cove (roughly at 5 o'clock as you are facing the wave pool and we grabbed chaise lounges and chairs for 8. Chris and Paul Martin were meeting us at 11:30 so we wanted to make sure we had enough room. Adam and Matt went to the wave pool; Mark to Castaway Creek and Dan to the Shark Reef. Janet and I relaxed, read, and listened to the surf music. They had changed the tape loop somewhat. We had a wonderful day. It was hot and we took full advantage of the water. I have never seen Typhoon Lagoon more crowded. There were huge masses of people waiting at each entry point into Castaway Creek starting almost at opening. People were shoving, butting and doing everything possible to get a tube and entry into the Creek. Mark, as always, did not take a tube, but rather was our escort and navigator on each trip. We went on the family tube ride, the storm slides and Cowabunga Houmunga and just generally enjoyed ourselves. Lunch was the foot long hot dogs and turkey legs. A turkey leg was only 75 cents more than a hot dog. Either a cheap leg or an expensive dog. The Martins decided to join us for dinner at 'Ohana so we made plans to meet at the Polynesian for our 5:30 seating. We went back to the room where Janet tended to the huge blister I had on the bottom of my left foot. Idiot that I am, I wore sandals the first day and could feel it forming about 1 hour into walking around the Magic Kingdom on Thursday. I toughed it out until the boys pointed out how gross it looked during one of the trips around Castaway Creek. The temperatures were still in the 90's as we jumped into the van and headed over to the Polynesian. We took a look at the new Volcano Pool. Pretty impressive. It looks like they have opened up the site lines looking towards the Magic Kingdom along with the construction of the volcano. They have also added an attractive water "fountain" near Captain Cook's. Nice addition. Check in went smoothly and there was no problem adding 3 to our seating. There were 2 huge tables set up in the restaurant. At one was at least 25 people already dining and there was an empty table for 35 also set up right next to the other. Didn't want to see that dinner tab. The Martins met us and we were seated right away. This was their first visit to 'Ohana and they were very impressed. So was I. We only go there when my sister in law Pat is not with us because she does not like the cuisine and we respect her enough not to subject her. They had made a change in the menu as they had eliminated the sausage and added roast pork to the skewers. All in all, a delightful meal! I know that Paul and Chris will definitely head back there during their next trip. Our server was Katie from Bowling Green, Kentucky. She scored points by pronouncing our least name correctly the first time! The peanut sauce was excellent. I dipped the steak in it and it was really good. We paid our bill and headed over to the monorail to take the quick trip into the Magic Kingdom. Paul wanted to show me an autographed picture of the Yankees victory celebration after their hard fought defeat of the Mets last year. The picture was $3,250 and, while I admired it, it was several notches above too expensive for me. There was a Ted Williams picture (with Babe Ruth) that I really liked (I am a died in the bones Yankee fan going back to 1954, but I love Ted Williams) that I couldn't afford either. Paul got hung up in the shop so Janet, all the boys and myself went over to Buzz Lightyear to get a fast pass for later. It was 6:30 and the Timekeeper was closed (as was the Carousel of Progress). We grabbed Fast Passes and then were going to go on the Extraterrorestial Encounter just for laughs. Mark wanted to go, then didn't, then wanted to again so the boys went over there to go in. Janet stayed behind to wait for Chris and Paul. As we were getting ready to enter the building, Mark changed his mind again and passed. The ride was okay. Once you have seen it once, that's enough. We came out and had missed Chris and Paul. Janet had gotten up to get a soda at one point but they hadn't walked past. Adam went back to look for them and found them in the Buzz line. We decided to brave the 75 minute wait on Space Mountain (doubted the time anyhow) and then use the fast passes for Buzz before going across the Park (before SpectroMagic) to see what the wait time was for Splash Mountain. Everything worked out very well. First off the 75 minute wait was overexaggerated (it was 35 minutes) and we had a great ride on Space Mountain. The girls still felt like dinner hadn't digested so it was just the boys. We then rushed over and zipped through the Buzz Fast Pass line. I had the high score among the Pertierras with 70,700. We cut across the Hub, through Adventureland, and over to Splash Mountain. The posted time was 65 minutes with Fast Passes available from 11 to 12. It was 8:50, so we decided to brave the ride. This would be Chris' first time on Splash Mountain so she was elected to sit up front. Janet sat with her, Mark and I sat in the next seat, then Matt and Adam, followed by Paul and Dan. It took us 30 minutes to go through the line and soon we were on our way, gotta keep moving along. This is my favorite Disney ride (Tower of Terror, Test Track, Space Mountain and Rock n Roller Coaster are just behind). None of us were let down and Chris said that she would do it again. We got it on tape and we will! Main Street was extremely crowded so we took our time on the way out to the monorail and the Polynesian lot for the car. We got back to the room at 11:05, watched Baseball Tonight (Yankees beat Pedro) and to bed. It was another great day in Walt Disney World. Sunday, April 15, 2001 (Easter) Chef Mickey's/Disney Quest/Pool/ Sprites/Cape May/Epcot We slept in, not waking up until 8ish. We had no plans other than Mass and the brunch at Chef Mickeys. We attended mass in the Fantasia Ballroom in the Contemporary Resort and then went up one level for Chef Mickeys. Honestly, it is overpriced unless you can really eat. I used to be able to, but I can't anymore since I lost 35 pounds. I not only can't, but I wouldn't know how to. Janet and I get full very quickly, so the breakfast buffets are lost on us. Matt wasn't feeling well, so he picked. Mark got a little bit of, literally, everything and ate very little. Dan cleaned his plate and took joy in his first soda. He had given it up for Lent and had done very well. After breakfast (with a lot of very friendly characters) I had to look for Goofy. I hadn't seen the Goof since we had been there and, as you know, he is my favorite. I wished him a happy Easter and we left for the Marketplace. The boys were going to Disney Quest and Janet was going to do a little shopping. I decided to accompany the boys and Matt went with Janet. We made plans to meet up at 1 PM. Mark, Dan and I walked through Pleasure Island and into Downtown Disney. I told them stories of how it used to be over there which they sort of believed and we were soon at DQ. We went right to CyberSpace Mountain where we each built a coaster. Mark and Dan had 2's and I had a 4. Dan and I rode both his and mine together. He did a great job on his. I didn't find out until later that you could buy a tape of the Coaster. Wish I had known, as it was a suggestion we made in 1999. They explored and I went to the Wonderland Café to check eMail. It was a bit disappointing, as I could not access AOL. I got there by accident (they said it wasn't available) and even then I could not send mail. I read or deleted 62 messages and looked up to see my beautiful wife heading my way. They had finished shopping and decided to come over. Janet had not been in DQ before and got scared off my Matt's Coaster. We spent another hour there and came back to the room. That's where we are right now as I am about to join my wife by the pool. Tomorrow is her birthday and we are going to the Hoop De Doo. Tonight we are going to the Beach Club for dinner with the Martins and Linda and Mark Campbell and then into Epcot for Illuminations. More later. When we last left you our heroes were.......... We drove over to the Beach Club at about 4:45. The boys were hoping to take out Water Sprites and we were hoping to have time to chat with Linda and Mark before dinner. When we got there, there were no sprites, but there were Campbells. We hadn't seen Mark in 3 years since we went on a Cast Preview Day of the Animal Kingdom in 1998 and he looked great. Linda had managed to catch up with us on each of our trips over the past 4 years and she was the picture of beauty. Linda was in a little bit of a tense time right now with her Disney employment. She had been working for the Company since 1995 and now they were facing layoffs. Nothing but rumors regarding how it was unfolding other than that the targeted group was not taking the buyout so the people below them were sweating. Linda had started in Disney Travel and was now doing booking at Disney's World of Sports. It is hard to logically look at the layoff Vis a Vis the amount of construction going on. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is going to open tomorrow. There is a huge expansion project going on at the Beach Club with villas starting to spring up on the Epcot Center side. Disney's California Adventure opened last month. All I know is we are keeping her in our prayers. The Martins arrived at 5 so we took a chance to see if we could get our seating an hour early. Bingo! The ten of us piled around a table on the hotdog/macaroni and cheese side of the buffet line where Irving, our server awaited us. We have dined at the Cape May 4 years in a row and for 3 of the years our server has been from New York City. We spent 2 hours eating and getting caught up and had a very enjoyable time. Mark and Linda asked us what we were doing Friday night and invited us to dine with them at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Sounded good! We were heading into Epcot and the Campbells decided to walk over to the International Gateway with us. While we were eating, the humidity broke and it was absolutely fabulous outside. Temperatures were in the low 80's with a very nice breeze. We said goodbye to the Campbells and headed into Epcot. Our objective was to see the American Adventure and Illuminations. I hadn't seen Illuminations since 1996 and wanted to tape this new version. The American Adventure show was due to start at 8:10 so it gave us plenty of time to watch that and then get good viewing spots for Illuminations. American Adventure was the American Adventure. I am such a Disney perfectionist at time and am always amazed at how quick they stay on top of things, but I was surprised that they had still not changed the Benjamin Franklin reference to John Steinbeck "here in the 20th Century". Minor I am sure and it did not detract from this great show. There were plenty of spots around the World Showcase Lagoon and I got one between Germany and Italy (with its new false front) that gave me a pretty clear view to videotape from. It was a very impressive show. Can't wait to get back and watch the video. We took a leisurely stroll through the World Showcase and out through the International Gateway and out to the car. It was another great day in Walt Disney World. Monday, April 16, 2001 (Janet's Birthday) Janet and I woke early and went to the Cotton Mill to fill up the mugs and get cinnamon buns and bagels for breakfast. Before we left, we hit the laundry by the quiet pool to drop off a couple loads of wash. Dan wanted to take a paddleboat out, so the five of us walked over to the docks. Dan rented a paddleboat; Janet, Matt and Mark got a 4-person bike for a spin around the Port Orleans complex. I took the opportunity to read the paper for the first time in a week. Not a lot of good news for this Yankee fan as the Red Sox beat them for the 2nd time in 3 tries. Oh well, it is a long season. We decided to drive over to the Magic Kingdom and spend the day there before heading to Fort Wilderness for our annual visit to the Hoop de Doo. Janet and I hadn't parked in the Magic Kingdom parking lot since our 1983 visit. We parked in Donald 64 and grabbed the tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center. For old times sake we walked over to the Polynesian to grab the monorail from there. The boys want to come back to the Polynesian on the next trip. We will be staying back at Port Orleans Riverside after the cruise in February, so it will have to be the trip after that. After a leisurely ride in on the monorail, Matt and I made our way to Frontierland to try to get Fast Passes for Splash Mountain. We would then meet Janet, Dan and Mark at El Pirata y el Perico for lunch. There was a line at least a half hour long just to get Fast Passes for Splash Mountain so Matt and I made a command decision to grab them for Big Thunder instead. We had a very good lunch at El Pirata. Mark, Dan and I had stopped there last year for the first time and found it to be an excellent value. We were going to try Pirates and the Jungle Cruise before getting on Big Thunder. Pirates had been almost empty on Thursday. Not so today. The line wasn't bad as both sides were operating. I got into a nice conversation with the man in front of me who was wearing a University of Oklahoma shirt. He was a football fan so we compared notes on his favorite team. When we went to the Jungle Cruise, it was obvious that we weren't going to have enough time to get on the ride so we headed across the Hub to hit the Timekeeper. I love this ride. Robin Williams throws off so many one liners in here that it is always fresh. Does the actor portraying Jules Verne also play Leonardo DaVinci? There is a resemblance. After Timekeeper, we zipped back across the Hub for Big Thunder. We fast passed it and it was great. I know I heard my lovely wife yelling behind me. Then came the Jungle Cruise. Our guide, Tom, was not very demonstrative. We had some yucks listening to the boat in front of us during the long pauses. The Magical Memories parade was gearing up to start, so we decided to exit the Park and take the boat across to Fort Wilderness. This was a very restful alternative, which plunked us down at the Fort Wilderness dock at 4 PM. We still had an hour before the Hoop De Doo, so the boys rented Water Sprites (Mark and Matt in one; Dan solo in another) and took off to cruise Bay Lake. While renting the sprites, we were in line behind a lovely Englishwoman who was chaperoning her 15-year-old daughter and 2 girl friends on holiday. They certainly caught the eye of Matt. I think that he chased them around the Lake. Janet and I sat on shore and just marveled at our sons. When had they grown up? When Matt first came here he was just shy of 2 and Dan was 7 months old. Now they are seasoned veterans. If you get the idea that I adore my wife and children, you are correct. We talked about coming back in 2003. Originally we hadn't planned on it, but it looks like it will happen. Now we are going to have to check on vacations, Easter, Baseball and Basketball schedules, etc. Matt wants to bring his friend Ryne Luce with us. So we are going to have to figure out where to stay if we have 6. Port Orleans will be out. We checked in at Pioneer Hall and found out that we were going to be on the left side again. I couldn't remember where table 12 was, but I soon found out that it was the exact same table we were at in 1999. Did this mean that Dolly was going to have me Toot Toot for the 4th time? I certainly hoped so. Of course, it was Janet's birthday and a special occasion for us. Our server was Dallas from Jacksonville. He was a very nice guy. He took very good care of us. Dinner was as usual. The ribs disappeared and there was very little chicken left. The Pioneer Hall Players had almost all turned over. The only returnee was Claire De Lune. The new Jim Handy was pretty young, but was excellent. All in all we felt that this was the best cast we had ever had at the Hoop De Doo. Especially so was 6 Bitz, who was just bubbling with energy. I was wondering if it was Sue Holland's friend from the Comedy Club. Well guess what? I got to toot again and get a kiss from Dolly Drew. She was the prettiest Dolly I have seen in 18 years! After the great show, we took the boat back over to the Magic Kingdom where we were going to try one more time to get a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain. No luck again as the Fast Pass time was 10:40 and we would be long gone. We decided instead to Fast Pass the Haunted Mansion and check out Fantasyland. Fantasyland was a zoo. I don't think I have ever seen lines that long in the 28 years I have been coming here. The line for Peter Pan (which has been rerouted for Fast Pass) was heading into territory I had not seen before. Dan didn't want to ride anything in Fantasyland as he was boycotting it as boring. He didn't ride. We stopped to get an ice cream, which we all sat and enjoyed before heading back to the Haunted Mansion. Haunted Mansion was Haunted Mansion. It hasn't lost anything. The Fast Pass line empties into the regular line right at the graveyard. There was no one controlling the line as they had taken the Fast Pass right at the beginning. Janet had originally wanted to watch SpectroMagic, but she was tired (as were we all) so we left. Major discovery here was that parking in the Magic Kingdom lot was not that bad. The trams operated very efficiently and got us to our van in short order. I had a message waiting from Deb Wills (who I had called at the Animal Kingdom Lodge) and another from Linda Campbell confirming dinner on Friday. Deb said that there had been some subtle changes to the Millionaire Meet tomorrow, but were still meeting at the rope drop to get on the first show. We found out that the Yankees had been beaten by the Sox one more time which didn't make sleep any easier. But we did. It was another great day in Walt Disney World. Tuesday, April 17, 2001 (RADP Meet at Millionaire) Janet got us up early. She was going to the Animal Kingdom with Matt and Dan, while Mark and I were going to MGM for the Millionaire Meet. We dropped them off at the Animal Kingdom just before opening and continued over to MGM. We got there at 8:10 and there was quite a crowd gathered already in the entry plaza. I didn't see anyone else with a Passporter Pin so I figured they were in front of us in line. At opening, Mark and I hustled down Hollywood to the rope drop in front of the Brown Derby. There was a cast member giving out fast passes to the Rock N Roller Coaster if you were heading to Millionaire. Not a bad deal! I got into a nice conversation with a family from Maine as we compared notes regarding the parks. Believe it or not, they came down every year and had never stayed on site. While waiting in line I spotted Dave Marx and Jennifer Watson, the authors of the Passporter. Dave made his was through the line to shake hands. They were staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and found it to be very nice. Deb Wills was soon there and I worked my way over to introduce myself. She definitely was Deb Wills and even prettier than her pictures! Deb was accompanied by her friend Linda. Linda was a recent Disney convert and was a delight to talk with also. Age is not helping me sports fans. Forgive me. At rope drop we moved towards Millionaire. While it looked like everyone was heading there, people were pealing off to go to the Little Mermaid, Animation and the Backstage Tour. We all got fast passes for the 10:55 - 11:05 time frame and then walked right in for the first show. During that time we were joined by Gretchen who is journaling her ongoing quest to get a job at Disney while living on the run with her family after a move from Alabama. We were also joined by Zasu and his wife. A Disney genius! If the Millionaire questions were all Disney, he would have won. It is really very exciting. The first show of the day has a fastest finger round to determine who the first person is into the hot seat. During the show (30-35 minutes) each audience member answers the questions along with the person in the hot seat. Whenever that person changes, the next contestant is the person who has accumulated the most points. You accumulate points by being correct and bonus points for speed in getting that correct answer. They rotate studio personnel between directing and hosting and both hosts we had were excellent. The first show was only about half full. They did the fastest finger and Jennifer was number one. She was escorted to the hot seat amid riotous applause from our section. Jen wound up missing a pretty tough question at 32,000 points but she was our hero for sure. They put up the 10 highest point scores to take Jen's place and I was number 3. Bummer. During the next game, time ran out and the next contestant returned for the next show. We left and headed over to Rock N Roller Coaster. Still awesome! I swear that my mouth has never been opened wider than during take off. Wow!!! Then it was back to Millionaire and none of us got lucky this time although Dave and Bruce (Zasu) made the top 10 board. All in all I think this is going to be a long lasting attraction. The next show we saw (4th show) was full and the director and host had changed places. I can't wait to go there tomorrow. We said our good-byes and we left the park to meet up with Janet and the boys back at Port Orleans Riverside. Some impressions... I have been on RADP on and off for the past 4 years and a lot of writing has influenced me Disneywise during that time. I have several people whom I have grown to admire. To watch the progress that Deb Wills' Unofficial Disney has made in the past two years is extraordinary. I get a weekly report in my mailbox that I read religiously. When Janet and I were in need of up to date menus, that is the site we went to. Deb looked at me at one point and asked if we had met before. I thought she was teasing me, but she meant it. Maybe we have Deb! I can only hope this is not the last time we do. Meeting this lovely woman was a great experience. We are in good hands Disney People! A year ago I had no clue what a Passporter was. Now I have two of them and have met the brains behind the operation. The 2002 edition will no doubt be the best yet. Dave spent a great deal of time on the telephone (no doubt doing work) during the morning and it was about "stuff" to continue to improve the Passporter. Jennifer revealed during her time in the hot seat that her favorite attraction was Impressions of France. That, plus the fact that I look like her brother, makes her an ace in my book. That leaves two to meet. Sue Holland, the Queen of Trip Reports and, last but not least, Brian Bennett whose trip reports have given me more pleasure in the past 5 years than anyone. Brian is due down here in a couple weeks and, for all I know, Sue is on the property somewhere. Mark and I stopped at the Cotton Mill for lunch and then headed back to write this report. We decided to take the boat over to the Marketplace. On the way Janet filled me in on their day at the Animal Kingdom. They hit the highlights for sure. They managed to ride Kali River twice, took a safari, did It's Tough To Be a Bug and then the Legend of the Lion King. Those are all Janet's favorites and she was a happy woman. The ride to the Marketplace was splendid. It was another beautiful day and we got a chance to point out to the boys the Fairway Villa that Janet and I stayed with my Brother in Law John, Sister in Law Vicki and nephews Tim and Bret back in 1985. That was a wonderful trip. The boys, of course, saw the Villas and wanted to stay there in our yet unplanned 2003 trip. After taking the boat from Port Orleans, we shopped for a couple hours at the Marketplace. Mark and Dan took out Mouse Sprites for a half-hour while Janet and Matt shopped. It took nearly a half-hour to rent the boat and then another half-hour to return it. Wasted a lot of time there. We also took advantage of some short lines to have our 4th annual picture taken with Mickey. There are some traditions that I cherish. I bought the new Official CD at the World of Disney along with a Walt Disney World Polo Shirt. Janet bought a ton of the shortbread cookies that she, my mother, our friends Terry Flatley and Sue Campbell love. They will be happy. Janet also bought something for the 5 Costello boys (our neighbors) who were tending our 3 cats. We stopped for an ice cream soda at Ghirardelli's and then caught the boat back. There were high winds on the canals, so they dropped us at the French Quarter and we walked back from there. Dinner was pizza at the Cotton Mill, which were good and reasonably priced. Early night tonight as we are doing early entry for the first time this trip at MGM. It was another great day in Walt Disney World. Wednesday, April 18, 2001 Disney-MGM/EPCOT Dan had a bad night. He woke up twice with a bloody nose and wound up on the floor as Matt had fallen asleep diagonally across the bed. Trying to move a prone Matt is next to impossible, so Dan didn't even try. Just as we were getting ready to leave for Early Entry, Dan's nose problems started again. Poor guy. He never complains and he was embarrassed more than anything. Unfortunately that is one of the things that Matt and Dan have inherited from their father! I was notorious. The temperatures were in the 50's and it was windy. So much wind and cool that Janet was wearing a sweatshirt and long pants. She wasn't alone as there were a lot of people covered up at MGM. Mark had a problem with his annual pass, so we made a note to stop at guest services later to fix it. Our objective was to get Janet on both Rock N Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror for the first time. We fast passed the Tower and hit the Roller Coaster. The blastoff got Janet. I don't think she will do either again. She was not impressed. The boys and I enjoyed them both as much as always, but they left Janet cold. To each his own. That's why there is variety in the world. The Coaster was great. I just love that ride. The drops on the Tower seemed slightly shorter than last year. The last drop was downright quick. Quicker still if we dropped from the top of the Tower. Can't be that I am getting used to it! After the Tower, Mark and I went to Guest Relations to fix his card problem while Janet, Matt and Dan were going to meet us at Indiana Jones. There were some subtle differences in Indy since we saw it last in 1999. Some of the effects have been enhanced and other actors have been given speaking roles. They had also changed the queue, but more on that later. We exited Indy and went right over to the Muppets. We grabbed a fast pass for it to enable Janet some time to shop and the boys to explore the New York Street. Matt, Mark and I sat on the curb and watched the rest of the world go by. They have actually opened up some shops on the street and it has increased activity. The Muppets were as entertaining as always. No matter how many times I have seen this show, it never fails to amuse. The pre-show is the best on the property. We had a 12:30 for the Prime Time so we decided to take a walk over to Millionaire to see what the Fast Pass time was. It was for the 4:05 show, so we passed on the fast pass and cut back over to the Prime Time. A note here. We had walked from the Drew Carey side (if you will), past the Great Movie Ride and through the Animation Gate. With the advent of Millionaire, trying to get there past Little Mermaid is almost enough to make you want to leave. People were heading in both directions on both sides and no one was budging. It has become an Animal Kingdom type quagmire at best and that is by no means a compliment. To top it off, we circumnavigated back to the Prime Time (Past Star Tours and Indy) and the new entrance area for Indiana Jones has done the exact same thing. It has just funneled masses and masses of people into a smaller area. My mother raised me to be polite and to let others pass. She said that eventually someone would return that kindness. Not this week they're not. We were seated pretty promptly at the Prime Time. A lot of people had been turned away as walk-ups when they heard there were no openings until 8:45 that night. Wow! The food was okay and I think that the Prime Time is coming off our list. The boys are now getting too big to be amused by the spiel. Dan didn't want to go in the first place because he felt a lot of pressure to keep his elbows off the table. Matt was in a surly mood and gave them a hard time about taking off his baseball hat. This tossed a lot of cold water on dinner. We all cleaned our plates, but were happy to get out. There wasn't much else for us to do but leave, so we did. We came back to the room to grab a little sun by the pool and then head over to Epcot for the evening. I got in a little nap by the pool while Janet read. I am reading Alan Moore's Tom Strong comics. A different twist on superheroes. I read a couple stories before taking the nap. The two were not related. We went back over to Epcot via the Beach Club. We were going to hook up with the Martin's at 5:20 at Canada. Tomorrow is to be their last day so we were hoping to do something together. With our late lunch, we had no desire to eat anything. We walked over to Japan and bought another Kaka Gori, which we ate in the American Ampitheater. It was very enjoyable just to sit in the sun and relax. Temperatures were in the 70's with only 25% humidity, so it was very pleasant. Janet, Dan and Mark were going to do some shopping in Japan, so Matt's and my mission was to get over to Test Track and try getting Fast Passes for later. We were then going to meet Janet, Dan and Mark at Canada. Matt and I hoofed it over to Test Track but the Fast Pass distribution was closed down. Bummer. We walked back to Canada where everyone was awaiting us. We caught up with the Martins, who we hadn't seen since Sunday. We agreed to rendezvous at Beaches and Cream at 8 for a farewell ice cream. Dan and I were going back into Canada to watch O Canada. Janet and Mark were going to Norway to brave the ride and Matt was going to the ESPN Club with the Martins for dinner. Dan and I were going to meet up with Janet and Mark to watch the Festival of Nations parade at Norway. O Canada was wonderful. I have probably seen the movie at least 40 times over 18 years and it never ages. Dan would love to get the Blue Nose song on tape. When we exited, we ran into 4 Canadian cast members (beauties all mind you). I asked them if the rumored change in film was true. They said that the film was going to be updated. Sad news for sure. I am glad I taped it so I can watch it on the small screen. Dan and I ran into Janet and Mark on a bench by Norway right at the beginning of the Parade route. Mark pulled out a deck of cards and we played war. He was winning when they made an announcement that, due to wind conditions, they would not be performing the 6:30 edition of the parade. We were pretty disappointed after staking out such good seats, but it was certainly out of our control. We went to China to watch the Wonders of China, which we don't see often enough. After enjoying that film, Dan bought a wooden dragon with his own money. It was pretty nice. We then headed out and met the Martins and Matt at Beaches and Cream. The ice cream was good, as were the tunes and it was a fitting end to a really nice day. I took the wrong turn heading back to Riverside so we got back about 20 minutes later than we had planned. It was still another wonderful day in Walt Disney World. Thursday, April 19, 2001 Magic Kingdom/EPCOT It was Early Entry Day at the Magic Kingdom, but we weren't going to test it. We had a 4 o'clock at the Crystal Palace and no firm itinerary. We slept late and didn't get to the Magic Kingdom until 9 AM. For a change we took the Richard Irvine over rather than the monorail. It brought back memories of 1985 when I took about 30 pictures on the trip to the dock with my new camera. Mark had trouble again with his annual pass. Main Street wasn't that bad. Our one thing that was a must do today was to ride Splash Mountain. Matt had dared me to videotape the ride and I was up to the challenge. My only worry was getting the camera wet. I had, for all intents and purposes, ruined my first camcorder during the 1994 trip while standing on the Railroad balcony attempting to videotape Fantasy in the Sky. A sudden downpour had erupted and the camera never really worked again. We rode the rails over to Frontierland and got fast passes for Splash Mountain. The machine wouldn't issue one for Mark's card, so it was obvious that we would have to do something quickly or we would be holding up lines all day. The fast pass was for 10, which didn't give us much room. Janet, Matt and Dan decided to try Pirates while Mark and I headed back to guest relations to get his pass straightened out again. Main Street was still pretty empty and we had an easy trip back to City Hall. The cast member checked his card and the card was fine. Mark would need to be rescanned. Since we were down there anyway, we went out to the gate (moving like salmon upstream) and picked the quietest gate. They quickly rescanned Mark and we jumped back on the railroad to Frontierland. We met up with Janet and went to the Fast Pass line. As we approached there was an announcement made that the ride was being shut down and existing fast passes would be honored all day. What to do? Country Bears! Big Al is still the bear! After exiting the Bears, it was apparent that Splash Mountain was up and running again so we hustled right back over there using the interior path near Tom Sawyer's Island. Using Fast Pass makes such a difference on this ride! We breezed through and went right into our log. True to the challenge out came the camcorder. After the first drop (just before you circle in front of the briar patch) I covered the camera until we were out of splash range. Mission accomplished. The rest was easy. Mark and I had decided to do our Jim Varney tribute again so, as we began our final ascent, I positioned the camera on the rail in front of me and struck an unaffected, yawning pose while Mark locked his hands behind his head in a pose of pure relaxation. Down we went and mission accomplished! The splashdown picture was great. We bought 2 copies so that I could hang one up in my office. Again we had nothing really planned other than to get on the Carousel of Progress. We cut across the hub again and did Timekeeper, grabbed a Buzz fastpass and went over to the Carousel. I know I have said this before, but I am really going to miss this one if anything happens to it. I go back to the New York World's Fair in 1964 (when I was about 6 months older than Matt) to the first time I saw it. Heck, the Beatle Invasion had just started. Thank goodness I haven't grown up yet. The Carousel was fine and then, in order to walk as much as we could, we decided to look at Peter Pan. Forget it. Much too crowded to get on before dinner. So, in a rare moment of Pertierra Park harmony, we all got on It's a Small World. Before entering the ride we got an excellent view of the space shuttle disappearing from view after its 2:41 launch. Anyhow I think I vowed never to do It's A Small World back in 1992, but here I was. Dan was going to skip it in keeping with his Fantasyland boycott, but joined us at the last moment. It wasn't as bad as I remembered, but I have renewed my vows. We went over to Buzz to do the fast pass, but detoured onto the TTA instead. I always enjoy this ride around Tomorrowland. We all did Buzz. Mark rode with Dan and just videotaped him playing the game. Should be good. I managed 77,000 points and had a lot of fun doing it. I was the high point person in the family, so it must have been luck, Dan and I decided to hit the Carousel one more time just in case it wasn't here next February. With it only being opened 6 hours a day, the handwriting must be on some wall. After Carousel it was over to the Crystal Palace for dinner. We were seated right away and enjoyed a nice dinner. I love their potatoes. I think that the buffets must be winning by me. Its not that the food is bad, but my appetite has been way down this trip. I can remember doing the Grand Plan in the 80's and eating like a pig. I can't come anywhere near that anymore. I would be happy with a tuna sandwich for lunch and a small dinner most times. This is something I will have to work on during our February cruise/park visit. We shopped a little in the Emporium on the way out. The boys really didn't have much that they wanted to do tonight. I knew that Janet really wanted to see the Tapestry of Nations parade, so I asked her if she wanted to go into Epcot again tonight, stake out a good spot and just take in the Parade. She thought that it would be a good idea and Dan quickly said he wanted to come in also. Matt was tired and just wanted to sit by the pool and read so Mark was going to stay with him and watch Who's Line Is It. As we were heading out the door, Mark changed his mind and came with us. It was an absolutely stunning night. We parked at the Beach Club and headed in the back way. We were in no particular hurry. As we were walking towards the International Gateway we could hear the end of the 6:30 Parade. We took our time walking over towards the American Adventure. If we had time, we were going to take in the show one more time. Janet and the boys wanted to do a little shopping in Japan, so I sat outside and listened to the drummers. First time for that and they were excellent. When they came out, Mark got a Kaka Gori and we found a clear bench on the opposite side of the concourse from the Funnel Cake concession. The sun was starting to go down and the lights were starting to come up all around the Lagoon. It was a beautiful picture. I wish I had brought my video camera. This was my first time seeing Tapestry of Nations and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The melody is very infectious and I thought the performers were amazing. I hope I get a chance to see it again. Illuminations was even better than on Easter Night. We had a fairly unmolested view of the Lagoon and it was just spectacular. The only bad part was that a family started shoving us in from the right side and was sticking their baby's feet and butt right in Janet's face while talking all the time. By the way, according to my wife, the baby needed changing. We had a leisurely walk out and a pleasant drive back to the hotel. The Yankees won for a change and I slept soundly. It was another wonderful day in Walt Disney World. Friday, April 20, 2001 EPCOT/Animal Kingdom Lodge We again decided not to hurry even though we were going to the Early Entry Park of the day, Epcot. Matt accompanied Janet over to the Cotton Mill to get our continental breakfast while Dan, Mark and myself showered. We all piled into the van and drove to the Epcot Lot. Our sole goal was to ride Test Track one more time. After that it was just going to be a smorgasbord as we made our last visit to Epcot this trip. While Janet, Matt and Dan rode Spaceship Earth; Mark and I went over to the Fast Pass line for Test Track. They were already up to 1:45 PM Early Entry at 9:15 AM, so we grabbed them while we could. Today was the opening day of the wonderful Epcot Flower Festival and a lot of women were carrying complimentary bouquets. Janet had missed them by going into Spaceship Earth. Mark and I sat to watch the world go by and just enjoyed ourselves in the lovely weather. When the troops came out, we headed over to the Land side of Future World. We had done nothing on that side, so we thought we would explore. Entering the Land, we went downstairs to get on Living With the Land. Can someone give me a good reason why this ride is a fast pass attraction? It has gone from one of the smoothest flowing lines to a real bottleneck. The ride itself is wonderful, but it is a pain in the you know where to enter. That observation is courtesy of my better half. We then took in the always-entertaining Circle of Life before exiting and heading over to the Living Seas. The wonder of this attraction is lost on me. I love the ocean, but to me this is a waste of real estate. Which is what I can honestly say about our next stop, Journey Into Your Imagination. They have tried to placate those of us who griped by bringing Figment back throughout, but this ride is positively lame. Can anyone actually say that it is an improvement over Journey Into Imagination? Stand up and be counted. I am one of the most positive people you ever want to meet and I am positive this ride is doomed. You just have to stand outside and count the people entering the attraction. I will be watching again when we return next year. I am also positive that Horizons had better numbers without a sponsor than Imagination does with one. On the other hand, Honey I Shrunk the Audience is still a hoot. Given the life cycle of the Kodak 3D movies, I would be that there is another one on the drawing board for the future, but this has been a good one. I found myself sitting in the theater before the start trying to visualize Captain EO. I can still see Magic Journeys in my Mental Future World, but I can't bring back EO. I liked that movie too! Dan had wanted to eat at China the other night, so we had promised him a shot at the Lotus Blossom Café. Janet wanted a hamburger and Matt wanted Mexican. The three of them took off for Mexico and China and we would meet up at the Liberty Inn to eat together. Mark and I had a leisurely stroll counterclockwise around the World Showcase to the American Adventure. I was undecided about what I was going to eat. I sure wish Alfredo's had fast fettuccine. In the end, I opted for the cheeseburger (with plenty of chopped onion and pickles) along with my wife. While Mark and I were standing at the counter waiting to pick up our food, Janet tapped me on the shoulder. Matt had decided to have Chinese also so he and Dan were holding the table out front. It had turned into a fabulous day. The humidity was down, the sun was up and the temperatures were perfect. No complaints about this year's weather. On top of that, it was supposed to be in the 70's the day after we returned. I hope so as I have Babe Ruth tryouts on Sunday and a Little League game on Tuesday. Where does the time go? We had about an hour before our fast passes were to expire so we took a chance and went to watch the American Adventure again. This is one of my favorite attractions in the entire complex, but I wish they would update it with some more audio animatronics past World War 2. The boys are studying the Civil War and, while they love the song Two Brothers, they always ask why the war is glossed over so quickly. I know that the Hall of the Presidents covers it in a little more detail, but that is another park and another time. I also wonder how much the Hall is going to change with the 10-month upgrade. I missed the Presidents! Enough editorializing, but I think that is one of the reasons we write these things. If we just reported about going here and then there, heck, we are all veterans and know that stuff. I remember reading Mike Scoppa's monster report and then Brian's 4 years ago. What always attracted me was that they took the time to explain themselves. I know that I am preaching to the choir for the most part, but if you would rather have a play by play, let me know. Okay, off the soapbox. <G> We whizzed back around to the Test Track, cutting through the Fast Pass Distribution area. It was 2:35 and all the Fast Passes were gone for the day. You've got to get there early to get on. Needless to say, the ride had not gone downhill since we last rode it. The only thing on the Property that can compare to the rush of heading down the straightaway is the blastoff on the Rock N Roller Coaster. They got it right when they did Test Track for sure. I think that this attraction will have the lifespan of Space Mountain. Dan, Matt and Janet rode on Mexico - votes - boring while Mark and I waited for them at Norway. The wait was going to be too long for us to ride, but Mark wanted to make one last purchase of the Chinese Juggling Sticks (not sure what their proper name is) before we went. After that, Dan and I were going to try to view O Canada another last time before we all met up at Spaceship Earth. After making their purchases in China, we split up. Dan and I hustled over to Canada but just missed getting into the show. We sat in the waiting area wondering if we had enough time to see it and do Spaceship Earth. We were supposed to be at the Animal Kingdom Lodge at 6:15 to meet Linda and Mark and we wanted to go back to the room first. Doing the mental math, we decided not to stay and went to Mouse Works (with a stop at Ice Station Cool) to meet Janet. While at Ice Station Cool, I was standing next to a woman who said she really enjoyed that drink from Italy, Beverly. I turned to her and told her that she was the first person I had ever heard say that. Then the aftertaste got her. Mark decided to skip Spaceship Earth, so we made our exit at the end of the ride. Epcot is my favorite park. It is Mark's least favorite, but it is Janet, Dan and my favorite. We all have our own reasons and that's why we are all different. I want to put all my videos on one tape in chronological order just to watch the park grow. I wondered as I was walking out how much that the palm trees just underneath Spaceship Earth have grown. They are getting pretty big! We had just a few moments at the room before driving to the Lodge. It was quite an impressive place and very reminiscent of the Wilderness Lodge. Where the Wilderness Lodge has that wonderful indoor/outdoor stream, the AK Lodge has the Savannah. Both are wonderful Linda and Mark were waiting for us and I wanted to take some video of the hotel. While walking towards the back windows, I ran into Dave Marx. He was waiting for Jennifer. Dave said that they had gone to 5 Millionaire shows on Thursday and that both he and Jennifer had gotten into the hot seat. Jen had walked at 32000 points and Dave got up to the half million-dollar question. I know celebrities We were eating at Boma and soon were walking downstairs to the restaurant. The table we were seated at was pretty unique. All the sections appear to be under Grass roofs. The one we were at was one of the ones with a support pole in the middle of the table. The table was for 8 and surrounded the pole. Mark was looking straight through the poles at me and I could not see Janet or Dan on the other side. The food was served buffet style and, as opposed to last night at the Crystal Palace, I got the best of the restaurant tonight. The food was both standard (prime rib/pork loin) with some African traditional. I tried the 3 bean with sausage gumbo that was out of this world. I tried my best to sample everything and I wasn't disappointed. The food I liked the least was the food I had the most. Mark Campbell was a little disappointed in the fact that there wasn't a lot of American traditional there, but Linda, Matt and I made up for him. An excellent dinner topped off by a Zebra something (watch out Brian Bennett, it has coffee in it) for dessert. It was a bonus to see Mark and Linda twice this time. They are great friends and we will miss them. We stood in the parking lot making plans for Linda and Mark to visit us in August and soon were on the way back to the room for our last night. The saddest night of the vacation for sure. We decided not to pack anything tonight but to wait until morning. The Yankees won again. It was another wonderful day in Walt Disney World. Saturday, April 21, 2001 Magic Kingdom/MCO/Albany It was Early Entry Day at the Magic Kingdom, but we weren't going to test it. We had a 4 o'clock flight so we were going to play catch as catch can today. Packing was actually not as emotional as it usually is. Janet, first up as always, checked the bill that was delivered to the door and it looked fine. We gathered our belongings and got ready to say goodbye to our home for the past 10 days. Soon someone else would be coming in to start their own memories. They would be excited about what would lie ahead and would almost certainly not have to face the crowds in the Magic Kingdom next week. We got everything into the bags and into the car. In spite of doing laundry twice, we still had plenty of clothes to wash when we got back home. The Magic Kingdom was going to be our destination for the final day. Some traditions are just too good to be replaced. We parked at the Polynesian and took the monorail in. Things seemed to be running slowly on the highway in the sky today as two express trains roared through the outer tracks at the Polynesian station before we sited monorail pink heading into the station. We were quickly at the Magic Kingdom station and were heading up Main Street for the final time this trip. I have to admit that this is never an easy thing for me to do. I have always enjoyed walking Main Street, just taking in the sights and sounds. I am going to miss the sidestreet on the Emporium side. I took a lot of pictures there back in 1985 during a Kodak Photo Class my Sister in Law Vicki and I had the pleasure of taking. I realize that it makes good sense to interconnect all the buildings on that side of the street, as the Emporium is always jammed, but that little pastoral setting was very relaxing. We made the turn at Adventureland to head to Splash Mountain for one last try. In spite of early opening, even Frontierland didn't seem to be as crowded as it had been all week. We got the fast passes for a half-hour later and just soaked in the sun and the atmosphere. Splash Mountain was as grand as always. Mark and I are already plotting what we are going to do for one of our pictures next year. I will make it our secret until then. We grabbed a fast pass for Big Thunder for right after lunch and then did the Pecos Bill/ El Pirata y el Perico lunch again. This could become a tradition. The food is very tasty and the service is pretty quick. We sat at Pecos Bill's and the birds were swooping in. I must have looked mean because they left us alone. We hurried over to Big Thunder for our last ride before heading out. We had decided not to leave anything to chance and to leave early for the airport. One more trip on the wildest ride in the wilderness and then one last trip down Main Street. Janet and I stopped at the bakery to get some cookies for the wait at the airport and then Mark and I made our traditional stop at the Popcorn vendor by City Hall for our last box. One thing that we did last year (while staying at the Polynesian) was that Mark and I would hop on the monorail just to go to the Magic Kingdom for popcorn. That was difficult to do from Dixie Landings, so we had to pick our spots. We took the monorail back to the Polynesian, basked in the glow of the lobby one last time and then left. When we got to Terminal B, we were told that we had been put on a direct flight home leaving 10 minutes after our original flight, but getting us in nearly 3 hours sooner bypassing Cincinnati. When we got home we found that Delta had called the house on Thursday to let us know. I wonder what the logic of that was other than they might have thought we could check our messages remotely. Armed with that good news, Mark and I returned the van. They checked it in and handed us a bill for over $900!!!!!!! I pulled our original out from April 12th and compared numbers. The weekly rate had risen over $275 and the daily rate had doubled. I showed the paperwork to the attendant and he directed me back to rental in the airport. After explaining my confusion, the clerk charged us the $335 that we expected. My blood pressure dropped to normal and Mark and I went to our gate. While waiting I wrote up Friday's report, finishing right before we were called to board. The flight home was quiet and uneventful. The weather in Albany was in the 70's and all was right with the world. Monday, April 30, 2001 Some reflections... It is now well over a week since we returned and it Walt Disney World seems like a dream to me now. I have the Splash Mountain picture and the picture with Mickey hanging on the wall in my office to remind me of this wonderful trip. There are few things that misfired this trip. We knew in advance that the lines were going to be massive given when we were going. Knowing that, and planning for it, made the trip a lot easier. We did not follow any specific plans for getting around the parks. We just picked a park and toured. With all the days we have spent in Walt Disney World over the past 4 years, we have seen just about everything and have reached the point in our lives where we won't wait in line unless we absolutely have to. We didn't wait in many long lines this trip, but we did see a lot of them specifically in the Magic Kingdom. Epcot was crowded, but never appeared that way. The park is so huge that the people seem to spread themselves out. I love Walt Disney World. I don't love it the same way I loved it in 1983 and 1985. I don't love it the way I did in 2000. Different things keep me amused now. I enjoy watching people and couldn't help but noticing how most people are more polite than they are in the real world. There is also that certain percentage that just knock you over because they don't look where they are going. They are well in the minority though. I didn't notice a lot of frowns this time. People were genuinely happy and that lit up everyone around them. My greatest pleasure now is watching my family enjoy themselves. To think that Janet and I now have 3 nearly grown sons (and we haven't grown up) is a miracle. These trips are getting more and more expensive for sure, but we can't take it with us (even though we could certainly use it to fix things in the house) unless they have changed the rules. We are booked for a 4-day cruise on Wonder starting February 17, 2002 followed by with 5 or 6 days at Dixie Landings after. We haven't decided yet on 2003. Both Matt and Dan will be in High School then so we have to pick our spots. It would be nice to go down at Christmastime, but we have to negotiate basketball season with Matt and Mark and wrestling with Dan, so who knows. Whenever it next may be, you can count on another report. I thank you all for being so patient and certainly look forward to any comments/critiques. To those of you who are heading to Orlando, I am envious. Enjoy yourselves. Jim Pertierra JPertierra@aol.com Mail a Comment to Jim Pertierra |
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