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Mary Virsila -- October 2001 -- Walt Disney World (ASSR, AKL)

October 22-30, 2001

Cast of characters: Frank Virsila, 47, infrequent visitor; Mary Virsila, 42, veteran ; Chuck Hammill, 49, Mary Jo Hammill, 46, veterans

Planning the trip:

My name is Mary Virsila and this was my 7th trip to WDW. In all of my past trips, my children have been my traveling companions. As they have gotten older, their enthusiasm has diminished. For me, my first trip was back in 1992, and my love for WDW has grown with each trip. So, initially my plan for this year's trip was for my daughter and I to go the week of Thanksgiving when my husband would be deer hunting. I made reservations for the Animal Kingdom Lodge and booked a savannah view room. Periodically I would check on airfare, but because this was a holiday week, there were no bargains to be found. This turned out to be a blessing, because the plans changed dramatically.

Our friends, Chuck and Mary Jo Hammill were possibly thinking about a trip themselves, because they had annual passes from last year. We discussed a trip together, but the trick would be for my husband, Frank, to agree to it, since he is not a Disney nut like we are. SO we got together for dinner, and they laid the plans on him. After some arm twisting and promises of how much fun we would have, he agreed to go. So without hesitation we got online to check on airfare. This was the middle of August, about a month before the September 11 tragedy. We found airfare round trip from Detroit to Orlando for $98.00 in September, and $148.00 in October. After some discussion, we decided to pay a little more and go in late October. This sure turned out for the best, because September 11 was one of the dates we tossed around for a departure date. With the 100 years celebration not starting until October 1, and the weather being a little cooler, we opted for October 22-30. We booked our airfare through Travelocity to fly on Northwest, which has direct flights to Orlando. We would fly out on Monday October 22 at 5:30 p.m. which would be one day less to take off from work, and we would return on Tuesday October 30 on a 5:00 p.m. flight. This would give us 7 1/2 glorious days at Disney.

Since Chuck and Mary Jo had annual passes they booked the hotel rooms in their name so we could get the annual passholder discount on both rooms. We secured a rate of $55.00 with tax for the All Star Sports, $187.00 for the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and $176.00 for the Wilderness Lodge. The plans were to spend 6 nights at the All Star, 1 night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and our last night at the WL. I have stayed at the WL my last two trips, but I am very excited about the new Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have such high hopes for the animal viewing. Chuck and Mary Jo were both hesitant about staying at the All Star because it is a value resort and lacks many amenities. I have stayed there once, so I assured them it is not bad, especially for the price we snagged up. Staying there the first few nights afforded us the other nights in luxury. We got together many times over the next two months planning out an itinerary. Since Chuck, Mary Jo, and I have been there several times we like eating at our favorite restaurants, so we tried working them all in. My husband has only ever been to the MK, so he is unfamiliar with the rest of WDW. He will be at our mercy, but if nothing else, he will be eating good. So, now we wait for October 22 to come.

The trip: Day 1, October 22. Monday.

Here it is October 22, finally. It is a very busy day for Frank and I at work, so the time flies. We are leaving for the

airport at 2:00 and the Hammill's will be picking us up. We needed to allow enough time to park, check in, and get though security. With what happened on Sept.11th, we do not know how strict security will be and how long it will take. Everything went without a hitch, and we had a very smooth flight where we witnessed the most amazing sunset over the horizon. Also on the plane Mary Jo gave me a wonderful surprise, A Disney Diary that she put together in a folder, which was just like the WDW PassPorter. When we get through the airport our driver Marcello from Tiffany Town Car service was waiting for us. We gathered up all of our very heavy luggage and we were on our way. We made a quick stop at Publix for some goodies and beverages.

We arrived to the All Star around 9:00p.m. Check in went very smooth. Frank and I purchased 7 day park hopper plus passes for $616.98 with my Disney Club discount. I have one day left from a previous park hopper pass, so I figure I should end the trip with 2 days left on the 7 day pass, plus 2 water park passes, which will never expire. It is always cheaper to buy the most pass you can get at the time of purchase. By the time we finished at the counter, bell services already had our luggage in our room. We had requested adjoining rooms in the Touchdown section which is near the bus stop and food court. We were in building 10 facing a lot of pine trees which blocked the road and bus stop, and on the 2nd floor. We were a short walk from the food court, which we visited as soon as we did some unpacking.

We had eaten at Detroit Metro, but since that had been a few hours earlier we were now hungry. I decided on an individual size pizza with all the toppings, and Frank got a sausage sandwich. Chuck and Mary Jo got chicken fingers with fries. They had to wait a few extra minutes, so the cook gave them extra. Not what you might expect at a value resort. It hit the spot. I had brought my Wilderness Lodge mug and Chuck and Mary Jo brought three Dixie Landing mugs so we each had one. We used them many times over the next week. It was time to call it a night because tomorrow we will be putting in a full day at Epcot.

Day 2, October 23. Tuesday.

Waking up to Mickey's wake up call is the best way to start your Disney vacation. I ran down to the food court to fill up our mugs with coffee. We were planning on arriving to Epcot for 9:00 opening, but last week they bumped the opening until 10:00. One of the many cutbacks, but not too many really affected our plans. So we arrived to Epcot around 9:30 or so because we planned on having coffee and something good from the FountainView Bakery. Well, they had the rope across the entrance near the lockers, and they did not drop it until 10:00. We made our way to the bakery and while we were deciding on our selections, they sure lined up behind us. I got a chocolate filled croissant and Frank got a Boston crème cake. Chuck got a blueberry muffin and Mary Jo got a cream cheese Danish and a fruit cup. All of it was delicious. What a way to start the day sitting on the terrace of the bakery next to the fountain, listening to that wonderful Epcot music and watching the fountain dance high in the sky. One thing we noticed was that the fountain was very misty and foggy, which we had never seen it like that before.

As we made our way over to Test Track we had a Disney caveman walk by. We snagged him up for some pictures and he played it up but good. Well, Test Track had a long line and no Fastpass at this time. We opted for Universe of Energy instead. When we got over there, our caveman was walking around being funny. He spotted us and came behind us. He grabbed Mary Jo's long ponytail and kept saying "handle". He just held onto it and kept following us. He let go as we entered the building. It was a very funny moment. We enjoyed the ride back into dinosaur time. We browsed around in MouseGear and Mary Jo and I each bought a light up magical moments pin. We can't wait to see how it interacts with the shows and parades. It was getting close to noon and we had lunch reservations at Le Cellier, so we headed in that direction. They even had the rope across the entrance to World Showcase plaza which opens at noon.

We waited for just a couple of minutes and proceeded to Canada for lunch. We were the first ones seated in the restaurant. It was so peaceful and quiet. We had a nice relaxing lunch. I had the cheese soup and field greens salad, and Frank had a chicken sandwich with fries. Chuck had the Reuben and Mary Jo had the steak sandwich, and they split a bowl of soup. I love the variety of breadsticks they bring you and the cheese soup is soooo good. Now it is time to venture around World showcase and walk off lunch. When we got over to the United Kingdom we stopped to look at a pin cart. I wasn't wearing any of mine at the time, they were on a denim vest I was planning on wearing later in the week. On my 1999 trip, the pin trading had just started and I ended up buying and trading for quite a few pins. It is a lot of fun and it is easy to get carried away. I planned on only purchasing the light up pin, and an Animal Kingdom Lodge logo pin, but I was still going to keep my eyes open for any good pins I could trade for. Well, I spotted a pretty good looking pin on the lanyard of the cast member manning the cart. It is a 100 years Mickey pin. I asked about availability of this pin, and was told it was not available for purchase anywhere. These are the kinds of pins I like to trade for, so I did not waste any time to purchase a pin, and make my trade. I was delighted to start my vacation trading for a great memento pin of the 100 years celebration. Chuck is on the lookout for a 2001 pin like the 2000 pin he has, but so far we haven't seen one.

We wandered through France and took my husband to see the wonderful things in the bakery there. Even though we were too full to get anything, I just wanted him to see it. When we got over to Morocco there was some interesting entertainment going on. These girls in big hoop dresses were gliding around. Then they would stop and dance. The dresses were very colorful and glittery. One of the girls kept making evil eyes at our husbands. As we made our way around the countries, we sampled some wines from the Food and Wine Festival. Frank and Mary Jo split a cannolli from Italy. We took in a show at the American Adventure, and after recent world events, it was very emotional and patriotic. We browsed through some of the shops as we made our way through. When we got to Norway we went for a ride on the Maelstrom. I love this ride, I just wish it lasted longer. We skipped the travel movie, and went into the Mexico pavilion. We took the boat ride there and rested our weary feet. Our MM pins went crazy during this ride, especially when the fireworks go off.

We left World Showcase and made our way to Test Track. The line was around 30 minutes, so we waited. They are redesigning the area where you wait, that is why there was no Fastpass. The line moved pretty fast and we were soon in a car. I knew Frank would love this ride, since he is a mechanic and works once a year at the GM proving grounds in Michigan. We had a great ride and we still had time to go see Honey I shrunk the Audience before dinner. Frank has never been to one of these 3Dmovies with the special effects, so I couldn't wait to see his reaction. We snagged seats in the front row. I have sat in the front row many times, so I led our group to it. The special effects seem to stand out more. Chuck and Mary Jo couldn't get over the difference. Well, he about leaped out of his seat more than once through the movie. We laughed at his reaction, as he didn't think it was too funny. We had a little fun at the leapfrog fountains outside. Chuck and Mary Jo went to get our jackets out of the locker in case we need them for evening, even though it has been quite warm and humid today.

Frank and I made our way to the Rose and Crown, where we have dinner reservations. It pays to get there early and hope for the best in getting an outside table for dinner and Illuminations. We checked in and I pleaded for an outside table. We were given our pager and we waited for Chuck and Mary Jo. Just after they showed up, we were seated. We got an outside table along the wall next to the lagoon. I knew Frank would love this place because he loves fish and chips, and they have the best . After looking at the menu I decided on a fisherman's basket which had the fish, plus giant prawns, and crab cake. I thought it sounded fabulous, and Frank ordered the fish and chips, plus a pint of Bass. Chuck and Mary Jo also ordered the fish, plus a side salad. Even Chuck ordered a bass. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, my fisherman's basket was one of the best dinners I have ever had at WDW. Frank enjoyed his Bass so much, he ordered a 2nd one. He was enjoying the Disney experience much more than he thought he would. What can you say about Illuminations, except WOW every time you see them. Frank was so impressed he even said he would come back to WDW again. That was amazing. By the time we left the Rose and Crown, most of the crowds had thinned out, and we had a leisurely walk out of the park to take the bus back to the All Star. During Illuminations and now walking out , our pins are lighting up and going crazy. It was after 10:30 when we got back to our rooms, and we were tired. We put in a full day and we have to rest up for tomorrow.

Day 3, October 24. Wednesday.

Another warm and sunny day to wake up to. Today we go to Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney this evening. We are having breakfast at the All Star food court and eating outside in the courtyard. Frank and I are not big eaters in the morning, so he has a turnover and I have a Danish. Normally I only have coffee in the morning at work and not eat until lunchtime, but we need stamina for the slides and all those stairs to climb. Chuck and Mary Jo love big breakfasts, so they get the works.

We arrive to Typhoon Lagoon around 10:30 and there is a long line stretching down the sidewalk. It is the inspection process of all bags going into the park. Mary Jo goes ahead to snag a locker, while we wait to get through. I have a small six pack cooler with cans of pop for lunch. They are not allowing coolers now, so they put it in a store room until I leave the park. I am allowed to bring in the pop, just not the cooler. They are making no exceptions. We get in and find Mary Jo. We put our gear into the locker and go to find some chairs to put our towels and such. There are no chaise lounges to be had, so we snag a picnic table under a small pavilion. We figure it will be nice and shady to eat lunch under, boy does this come in handy later on.

So we are on to do some slides before the lines get long. We do Humunga Kowabunga first, and this is Frank's first ever experience on a water slide. We are gearing him up for the plunge down Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach later in the week, so Chuck tells him this slide is a baby. We do the storm slides next, and since there are no lines we do them 3-4 times. Now we make our way around the wave pool and over to the tube slides. We do each one with very little wait. Now, Frank has yet to get a look at how big the wave is in the pool. We go get in the pool and after a few minutes the wave comes crashing towards us. Frank cannot believe how big the wave is. We get repositioned before another one comes. Mary Jo and I each have cameras, so we take some shots with the wave coming behind us. Frank and Chuck go out to the deep water to ride the wave in. Mary Jo and I stay in waist deep water. When we are water logged and exhausted we leave the pool for dry ground.

We are hungry so we go over to Leaning Palms for some lunch. I get the chicken Caesar salad, and they get the foot long chili dog. Since I brought cans of pop for lunch, Chuck gets us a milkshake for dessert. We were glad to have the picnic table for eating lunch. By the time we were finishing up, a rainstorm hit. We were really glad to be underneath this little pavilion, and people were running for cover. By the time the rain stopped, we decided to head back to the hotel and rest up for Downtown Disney. It seemed more humid after the rain stopped, and the sun was quite hot waiting for the bus to come.

Back at the All Star we settled in for some rest and relaxation. We are planning on leaving for DD at 5:30. Everyone but me took a snooze. I am not a napper, and especially down here, there is so much to do.. After a nice long shower, I strolled around the All Star and browsed their gift shop. We are off to Downtown Disney, and it is a warm, balmy evening. With winter fast approaching us, we have to savor every moment down here. We get off at the West Side bus stop, so we can start from one end and work our way across to the far end at the marketplace. We browse some shops and then go to Planet Hollywood for dinner. I have a $50.00 gift certificate which I redeemed off Milesource.com. This should cover the majority of the bill for the four of us for dinner. After about a 30 minute wait we were seated along the railing on the 2nd level. These was a great table with a good view looking down and we had a nice, friendly waitress. I have always liked eating at Planet Hollywood, but it is quite noisy in the evening. It is less busy and quieter at lunchtime. I have always wanted to try the Texas Tostadas so I order those with a side of fries, and Frank orders a chicken sandwich. Chuck ordered the mushroom Swiss burger and Mary Jo got the fajitas. We enjoyed the food very much, the Texas Tostadas were awesome. We got 10% off the bill with our Disney Club discount, so with the tip, and minus the gift cert. it was only $9.00. Not bad for the four of us.

Now it was time to do some shopping at the World of Disney store where we can get our club discount on shopping. I found a couple of shirts for me, earrings, the Animal Kingdom Lodge pin I wanted, and a 2001 Christmas ornament. There were some super pin traders there with book of pins. If I had been wearing my pins I would have had them look at them just to see if I have anything good. I have a couple of pins that the Disney cast members always comment on, but as far as their trading value, I have never checked on them. We stopped in at Ghiradelli's and bought some gifts to take home. We were going to get a cappuccino, but they didn't have any flavored ones, so we passed on it. At the Rainforest Café I bought tiger print pj's for my daughter, and we browsed a couple of other shops before we called it a night and made our way to the bus stop. By this time it was around 11:00 and we have an early jam packed day for tomorrow.

Day 4, October 25, Thursday.

We have reservations for breakfast at the Animal Kingdom Rainforest Café for 8:00a.m. this morning, but they called and changed them to 8:30 because they changed the opening of the park from 8:00 to 9:00. This really didn't affect our plans. By the time we would finish eating, the park would be open anyways. The All Star is just a short bus ride from AK, so we arrived around 8:30. We were seated immediately, the place is never busy at breakfast. I ordered the children's portion of the tonga toast, which is pretty big. Frank was on a food hangover from all of our big meals, so he just had coffee. Chuck and Mary Jo got a regular order of tonga toast and some kind of egg breakfast platter. They changed the way they make the tonga toast, it is more like regular French toast now, but it is still really good. We left with full stomachs, and we were able to obtain a 10% discount off of our bill with the Disney Club card. It always pays to ask if there is a discount available.

We stroll through the park and make our way back to Africa. The photographers are out on the bridge so we have a group picture taken with the tree of life behind us. I am in my safari wear for the occasion. We get to Harambe and we get Fastpasses for the safari ride. We use our wait time to stroll through the Pangani Forest Trail. I love how lush the landscaping is, it totally puts you in another world. We made our way through and with some time to still use up we decided to go to the tree of life and do" It's tough to be a bug". Frank was amazed at all of the animals carved into the tree as we made our way around to get into the theater. He was a little more prepared for the special effects, but a couple still caught him off guard and made him jump. Now it was time to go on a Safari. We made our way to the front of the line and we boarded a jeep in no time. We saw quite a few animals out and about. Frank really liked the Safari, he has never been on anything like it. It is another very warm and humid day, but we hear it is supposed to cool off tonight.

We make our way over to Safari Village and browse through some of the shops. We then head back to Dinosaur, one of my favorite rides. I love the wild ride you get. Frank didn't like it too well, and it made Mary Jo a little queasy. Usually Amanda and I ride it 2 or 3 times. So, now we make our way over to Asia to ride Kali River Rapids. There is only a 20 minute wait, so we get in line. Mary Jo opted for some shopping instead. As we made our way through the line we took off our shoes and socks so they wouldn't get wet and put them into shopping bags. It was hot, so we knew the water would feel pretty good. Now we are on a raft and floating up the river. Chuck goes right under a waterfall and gets soaked, while we get splashed pretty good. Ahhhh, it does cool us off. I love this ride, just wish it was longer. At least our shoes and socks are dry. We will dry off in no time in this hot sun. We find Mary Jo and make our way out of Asia, but we decide to see Flights of Wonder, since a show is about to begin. This is one show I had not seen, and we enjoyed it, even though we were off to the side and didn't have any birds zoom over us. By this time it was around 1:30 so we made our way over to Camp Minnie Mickey for the 2:00 Lion King show. As always, it was a great show, so much fun. Now we are getting hungry, so we make our way to Tusker House for lunch. We are able to obtain a 20% annual Passholder discount. We order two crispy chicken dinners and two rotisserie chicken dinners. I like the crispy the best. Anyways, the food is great, and I think a good value for $7.99 per dinner before a discount.

We are ready to leave the park to go to Magic Kingdom. On our way out we stop to view our group photo, it looks good, so I purchase it and have it sent back to the hotel. We have to take a bus to the TTC and then transfer to the monorail to get to the MK. It is not busy so we ask to sit with the driver. We indeed get to sit up front. The view is amazing up there, since the window surrounds you. It was a short, but fun ride. We enter MK, throw our stuff into a locker, and proceed to Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear. Well, we mainly came for the Spectromagic parade and fireworks, and the Fastpass time would interfere with snagging a good spot for the parade, so we decided to wait until we come back on Monday when we will have the whole afternoon. We make our way back to Main Street and Frank wants ice cream. He is a huge ice cream lover and he hasn't had any yet this vacation. We go into the Main St. Ice cream parlour and everybody but me gets ice cream. Now, I am not a huge ice cream fan, but I have read about the tollhouse cookie ice cream sandwiches, so I go next door to the bakery to get one. I pick chocolate chip for my cookies and he puts two big scoops of ice cream between them and starts to put a third, and I tell him NO, that's enough. This thing is huge. It is very good, but messy. Even the chocolate chips melt in the heat. We make our way through Adventureland to take a look at the new Aladdin ride. It looks pretty cool, but we are not interested in riding. We go on to Pirates of the Caribbean. After about a 15 minute wait, we ride. It is a nice relaxing ride and a chance to cool off. We proceed back to Frontierland and Chuck and Frank ride Big Thunder Mountain, while us girls shop a little. I usually ride Big Thunder because Amanda loves this ride, so this time I didn't have to.. We had a chance to sit and relax while we waited for them.

Now it was time to snag a spot for the parade. Near the Liberty Tree Tavern there was a sitting area near the rope, so we grabbed it. The guys were tired, so they held our spots, while Mary Jo and I browsed through the Liberty Square shops. Mary Jo was looking for a navy blue tote bag with Mickey and the flag on it. So far we haven't had any luck finding it. It has been a popular item since Sept. 11. We wander into the Christmas shop and after some looking around I find a 2002 ornament I like. I get it because I won't be here at WDW next year. By the time we get back to our husbands we only have a 1/2 hour or so before Spectromagic starts. It feels good to sit and rest our weary feet. Before we can blink an eye we hear the music and pretty soon we see lights. I have seen this parade many times over the years, and it still makes me cry when it ends. Now it is time to pick a spot for the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks. The last time I was down here, I was over near Tomorrowland and I could see Tinkerbell very clearly as she flew through the sky. We make our way over to that general area and there are lots of people already waiting. We find a spot on the bridge between main street and the Tomorrowland entrance and proceed to sit and wait. The castle is always so beautiful at night all lit up. The show starts and Tinkerbell flies right over our heads. WDW has the most magnificent fireworks in the world. Night after night they are always perfect, and I love the way they burst and fall in the sky, so magical.

After hitting the restrooms, I suggest we get coffee at the bakery so we can relax and let the crowds clear out. Once we get in the bakery and see all the wonderful baked goods, we decide to get something for tomorrow's breakfast. The coffee hits the spot and by the time we are done, most of the crowds are gone. We make our way out to the bus stop to get our All Star bus. We discuss taking a swim when we get back, which is something we have not done yet. It's around 10:00 when we arrive back to the All Star but everyone is feeling too tired for the swim. We decide to call it a night so we can rest up for Blizzard Beach tomorrow.

Day 5, October 26, Friday.

I decided to get up early to do one load of laundry so I would not be hauling dirty laundry over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge I let Frank sleep and I sneak quietly out of the room. I go over to the laundry facility near the pool and get my load in. Then I take my mug over to the food court and get some coffee and a croissant. It is a nice morning, except it did cool off a bit. I sit and relax by the pool with a magazine until my laundry is done. With the cooler weather, I go into the store and purchase a nice 100 Years of Magic sweatshirt for Frank to wear. When we return home, it will be mine. I return to the room and get Frank up. It's around 9:00 and we are leaving for Blizzard Beach at 10:00. I trot over to the food court to get Frank some coffee and when I return Mary Jo calls to tell me she is not feeling well, and that we should go to BB without them. We are having dinner at the Grand Floridian tonight, so we set up a meeting time in the lobby. Frank has his coffee and carrot cake from the MK Bakery, which he said was delicious.

We go down to the bus stop to catch a bus over to BB. The air is a little chilly, but I can live with it. Now, all week we have been teasing Frank about Summit Plummet, and Chuck won't be here to see him do it. Since it is early and chilly, there are no crowds anywhere. We take the chair lift up to ride the raft ride down the mountain. This is one of my favorites. Frank keeps eyeing Summit Plummet, but keeps putting it off. We wander around the wave pool and then do the Downhill Double Dipper. I love the way you fly on the tube for this slide and get airborne from the dips. Frank's hat flew off and he had to retrieve it. He waited and I went down for a 2nd run, since there were no lines. Last time I was here I waited 45 minutes for this slide. He is complaining that it is too cold for BB today. I get him to do the raft ride one more time, and then we can leave. He won't do Summit Plummet for anything, even with threats of Chuck never letting him live it down. If Chuck had been here, he would not have let him off so easy. We browse through the shop before we leave and they have the tote bag that Mary Jo wants. Unfortunately I don't have enough money with me to buy it. I only brought the bare essentials. They have a few of them so I figure we can stop and get one tomorrow. We head back to the All Star to change and decide what to do for the afternoon. I tell Frank to pick what park to go to, but he doesn't decide. I mull over a couple of ideas in my head and the best one is to go see the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a sneak peek preview, since we will be staying there in 2 days. Since it just opened in April, I have only seen it in pictures. Frank agrees with my game plan, so we are off.

We bus over to the AK park, then get on an Animal Kingdom Lodge bus. The lodge is so close, it is just around the corner from the park. From the minute we get off the bus, Frank notices all the deluxe features. The lodge is beautiful and spectacular, and Frank was in awe walking into the lobby. This is his first time ever being in a Disney deluxe resort, and boy he can tell the difference from the All Star. We make our way out of the lobby to the savannah overlook, but are disappointed there are no animals out. Once we stay there I find out they are back at the barns in the middle of the day for care and feeding. So we go back through the lobby and follow the signs for Mara and the pool. We are hungry for some lunch. We find Mara and I order the sugar cane chicken and Frank gets a chicken sandwich. We go out by the pool to eat. The sugar cane chicken is different, it is chunks of chicken on a stick of sugar cane with a spicy sweet sauce. It comes with some vegetables and some pap. It was good and I am glad I tried something African off the menu. Now we stroll around the pool area and end up looking out on the back savannah. We can see some giraffes in the distance, and some other animals. I am really looking forward to staying here and waking up early to see the animals from the balcony. We make our way back to the lobby and browse through the Zawadi Marketplace. I definitely want to get an Animal Kingdom Lodge logo shirt when we come back. By this time it is around 2:30 and we are not meeting Hammill's until 5:30, so we go back to AK it use up our time. Then we can take a direct bus over to the Grand Floridian.

We enter AK and figure on taking a safari. When we are entering Safari Village, a woman approaches me and gives me two Fastpass tickets for the Safari ride that she will not be using. I thank her and put them in my pocket. When we get back to the entrance, stand by wait time is 70 minutes. I would hug that lady if she was here right now. We use the Fastpasses and proceed up to the loading area. What I love about the safari ride is it is always different. This safari turned out fabulous. We saw lots of animals up close. This is one of Frank's favorite attractions. We enter back into Harambe just before the Jammin' Jungle Parade starts, so we stop to get a peek at it. It is very lively and colorful. We then head over to Asia to walk through the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which we didn't have time for yesterday. Frank is amazed by the giant fruit bats. When we get to the temple ruins, the tigers are all out and pacing around. This is my first time ever seeing them awake, they sleep 18-20 hours a day. After talking to the guide, we find out it is close to feeding time for them. We watch them for awhile until it is time to go.

We walk to the bus stop and in no time we are on our way to the Grand Floridian. Wait until Frank sees this place, he won't believe how beautiful it is. He is speechless as we make our way to the lobby. Chuck and Mary Jo are not here yet, so we make ourselves comfortable on a very cushy couch. There is a small orchestra playing music. After a few minutes, I happen to look up and there is Chuck and Mary Jo looking down on us. They just got off the monorail. They make there way down to the lobby to where we are sitting. After they tell us about their day of a little shopping and taking it easy, I tell them about our trip to see the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Frank at this point, is referring to it as the Taj Mahal, and is going on and on about all of the fine details. Mary Jo says, "why don't we go there a day early and stay 2 nights." We discuss it a little bit and then go out to see the courtyard and grounds before dinner at 1900 Park Fair.

We have 6:30 priority seating, so our wait is minimal. This is a Prime Rib buffet and all of the Pooh characters go around and visit the tables. This will be Frank's first interaction with a character. We are seated, and before we know it, we are filling our plates with all of the scrumptious food they have. When Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore stop by Frank has to grin and bear it, because there is nowhere to run. We did get some great pictures, hopefully. By the time we are done, we are very full. We had told Frank ahead of time, this would be one of the best dinners of the week, and he now agrees. As we walk back into the Grand Floridian lobby we talk more about the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Frank agrees to pay the difference and go a day early, but this hinges on whether they have a room available. Mary Jo calls reservations, and in no time at all we are booked at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for 2 nights, starting tomorrow. We are so excited we can hardly wait. That will mean packing up everything tonight, but first we are going over to the Boardwalk resort to stroll around.

From the Grand Floridian we bus over to MGM, and then take the water taxi over to the Boardwalk. I always enjoy this boat ride, but this is a first for the others. The lights from the different Epcot resorts provide such a nice ambience as you make your way down the canal. We arrive to the Boardwalk and take a look inside first. We then walk over to the bridge facing Epcot to watch a view of Illuminations. Not as close as the other night, but still great. We walk back along the boardwalk and go into the Bakery to get some goodies to go. My favorite is this chocolate vanilla cookie pretzel for $2.00. It is one of the best treats at WDW and it is huge. It will be breakfast tomorrow morning. We leave the bakery and find a crowd forming around an entertainer named Carlo breathing fire. He is very funny and pretty amazing. By this time we are getting tired, and we still have packing to do, so it is time to leave for the All Star. We get to the bus stop and an Epcot bus comes along. We ask if we can go to Epcot, so we can catch an All Star bus from there. We get on and we have the whole bus to ourselves. As we get going, the driver talks on the radio and gets permission to take us directly to the All Star. This is wonderful, as it will save us time. Once in awhile you can get lucky like that. We thank him as we exit, and we make our way to the rooms to pack. We decide to leave around 8:30 in the morning, but before we say good night we have a glass of wine to toast our impending move to the Taj Mahal tomorrow.

Day 6, October 27, Saturday

We are up and ready to go fairly early. Most of the packing got done last night, with just a couple of things left for this morning. I run to the food court to fetch our last mugs of coffee from the All Star, and we eat our Boardwalk bakery cookie pretzels with it. We have enjoyed having adjoining rooms, so when we want to hang out we just open the connecting doors. A little after 8:30 bell services sends someone to retrieve our luggage. Now, we had been told that our luggage would stay with us during the transfer. After some more phone calls, we find out that the luggage must be transferred separately. So away it goes on the cart and we wait just a couple of minutes before a nice All Star cast member shows up to drive us over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I can't wait for Chuck and Mary Jo to see how beautiful it is. We will be going at a slower pace during our stay here to fully enjoy everything the resort has to offer. I plan on getting up at the crack of dawn to hopefully, see animals outside our balcony. An added bonus is today is Daylight savings Time, and we turn the clocks back one hour. Yippee!!! Every extra hour counts. We enter the lobby and get checked in. We had requested our room location to be facing the Arusha Rock on the middle savannah, and that is what we got. Our rooms are next to each other, but not adjoining this time. They are on the 2nd floor. The rooms are not ready, but we are going to MGM Studios for the day anyhow, and we will get settled tonight when we come back here.

We arrive to MGM around 10:30, so we have one hour before lunch at the Sci Fi. We figure on getting our Fastpass for Millionaire Play It, but when we get over there the time to return will cut our lunch short, so we decide to wait until after lunch. We head down Sunset Blvd to check on Rock n Roller coaster, but decide to wait until later for that too. By this time it is around 11:15, so we make our way over to the Sci Fi. We are seated immediately. Since it is early they are not to busy yet. I have been studying all of the menus from WDWIG, so I pretty much have picked out what I will eat. I order the ham sandwich on a pretzel roll and Frank orders the same. Chuck orders one too, and Mary Jo orders the walnut chicken salad in a pita. We all order something new off the menu. The sandwiches are huge and very tasty. There is a cognac Dijon mustard-mayo which gives the ham sandwich great flavor. Mary Jo discovers onions in the chicken salad, and since she doesn't like them Chuck trades with her. Our very nice waiter stops by our car to check on things, and offers to bring another dish out, but Chuck declines. So we finish up so we can get going.

We go get a Fastpass for Millionaire, then we use up our wait time by doing the Great Movie Ride. By the time we make our way through the line, and do the ride, it is time to do Millionaire. We enter through the Fastpass entrance and get into the studio to get our seats. None of us make it into the top 10, but we have fun trying. I think Millionaire is a wonderful addition to MGM, it is fast paced and very interactive. We now head back down Sunset Blvd. and get Fastpasses for Rock n Roller Coaster. Then we head on over to the Tower of Terror, where there is just a short wait. I have been excited for Frank to do these two great rides, now we will find out how he likes them. Mary Jo has never been on the TOT before either. We enter the library and Frank like the effects. We make our way through the boiler room and I request the seat belt seat in the elevator. The last time I was here, my daughter sat in it and loved it. So, now I want to try it for myself. I could have been mean and put my poor unsuspecting husband in it, but I didn't. He ends up in the back corner, then Mary Jo, Chuck, and I in the seat belt seat which is in the middle of the back row. All I can say is WOW, what a difference in the lift that you get. Every time we dropped, my body would levitate as far as the belt would go. It was a blast, and made for a new experience. Frank on the other hand did not like the elevator drop and now refers to it as the Terror Tower. Mary Jo didn't like it either, but at least she tried it. We leave the hotel and stop by some shops down Sunset.

Hollywood is filling up with people staking out parade spots, so we get ours right at the corner of Hollywood and Sunset along the curb. Mary Jo holds our spots, while we go do Rock n Roller Coaster. It shouldn't take too long since we have Fastpasses. We are in the recording studio in a flash, and when we enter the loading area, my husband's jaw drops when he sees the blast off. He has never seen or rode anything like it. I think he might have chickened out if it had not been for Chuck riding. As we get secured in our seats, Chuck tells him to just lean his head back and enjoy the music. When the ride is over and we exit through the store, Frank looks like he has been hit by a truck. I guess he can no longer tolerate such an intense ride with upside down loops. I am using ginger this trip to ward off any motion sickness I may get from going upside down. So far it has worked. We get back to Mary Jo, and she has had a hard time saving 4 spots along the curb with her petite body, but she did it. Her good deed for the day while we did our coaster ride. Chuck makes a trip to the locker for a roll of film and almost becomes part of the street entertainer's act. We have looked forward to all of the new parades for the 100 Years of Magic Celebration, they are such a festive part of being at WDW. The Stars and Motorcars parade is a lot of fun. It has been a bright, sunny day, but down in the 60's. Today is the coolest, and it is supposed to warm back up again. A good day for Disney Sweatshirts. Chuck and Mary Jo found a nice sweatshirt with all of the park's logos and Mickey, with even a quote from Walt, so they got matching shirts. After seeing the logo on this shirt, I had to have one for myself, so I purchase one and have it sent back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We have time for one more attraction before dinner and Fantasmic. We are near Indiana Jones and the next show is about to start. Frank likes stunts and stuff, so this is a great choice. Plus the Prime Time Café is across the street. We relax and enjoy the show. We get into the waiting area of the Prime Time, and Mary Jo and I go to use the rest room. When we come out, our husbands are nowhere to be found. We ask a hostess about them, and low and behold they are right in front of us hiding behind the menus and laughing up a storm. We did get lucky though and get a table with a TV. We are hungry, but not starving. I suggest to Frank that we split a chicken dinner, since they give you ample portions, and finish off the meal with a fabulous strawberry milkshake. I also decide to order a bowl of clam chowder, and Frank gets a side salad. Chuck orders the roast beef, and Mary Jo gets the fried chicken, and they split a side salad. Our waitress is very funny and entertaining. After dinner, Mary Jo wanted a little brownie dessert, so she gets one, but it is not so little. After a few bites, she gets it to go so we can get seats for the Fantasmic show.

We get over into the stadium and are seated in the Pocahontas section. Overall we have been very pleased with the crowd levels. I have never gone in October before, but have always liked the November crowd levels. I can tell that Sept. 11th has had a huge impact because when we arrived to Orlando airport, it was practically empty. By the time Fantasmic starts the stadium is pretty full. It is a cool, clear night, down in the 40's. We love the Fantasmic show, even Frank was impressed with it. My favorite part is when Mickey shows up at the top of the mountain, then poof, he is at the bottom. This show also made our MM pins light up and blink. We wait until the crowds have thinned out before we make our way out of the stadium. It is more relaxing and enjoyable not to walk out in a huge mass of people. We are excited because it will be our first night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we can't wait to get in the spa. We have been looking forward to it all week. We get back to the Lodge, and the ambience at night with all of the lanterns lit up makes for such a peaceful environment, just like the Wilderness Lodge. We get our room keys from the front desk and stop in at bell services to have our luggage sent to the rooms. We have rooms 2027 and 2029. They are absolutely stunning with the beautiful African tapestries and carved woodwork. The tile in the bathroom is gorgeous.

I go out on the balcony and use the binoculars to look for animals. So far I don't see any yet. Our luggage arrives and we get unpacked before we go for our spa and swim. I have been saving all week some special beverages to take down to the spa. We get ready and head down there about 10:00. There are just a couple of people there, so we climb into the hot soothing water. Disney always has the best spas, they are nice and hot, and have powerful jets. It is so relaxing, and well worth waiting for. You definitely get what you pay for when you stay at a Disney resort. The All Star was nice and clean, and the room was well worth what we paid for it. Now that we are at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, we are going to live it up and make the most out of our stay here. You just can't beat the atmosphere and the amenities that go with the deluxe resorts at Disney. It really does add so much to the vacation experience. After we are good and hot, we venture over to the pool and take a dip. The water feels pretty good. After a little swimming, it's back to the spa to warm up again since the air is so chilly. This time we have the spa all to ourselves. For being such a big resort, there hasn't been hardly any people around. It makes for a more peaceful environment, so I'm not complaining.

We go back to our rooms and change into dry clothes. This time I can see some animals out in the distance with the binoculars. I can't wait until morning. We meet Chuck and Mary Jo and decide to go explore the lobby and find a good spot to sit and relax. The indoor fire pit is crowded, but by accident we discover the library alcove with its own viewing balcony of the Sunset Savannah. We see a herd of bongos up close and the animal keepers are feeding them. The next day we discover that 10:00p.m. is one of the savannah feeding times every day. We learn a lot over the next couple of days. So, for now we are seated in this library, just off the lobby, all cozied up in comfortable chairs and having a glass of wine. It can't get much better that that. When we get to the point that we are about to fall asleep where we sit, we decide to call it a night at around 1:00a.m. But wait, we get to turn the clocks back, so its only midnight. Yeah ! I am planning an early wake up call for tomorrow morning, so its time to hit the sack.

Day 7, October 28, Sunday.

I wake up before the wake up call comes and I jump out of bed to see what's outside. I can see some animals grazing, and some giraffes in the distance. It is chilly, so I grab the nice velux blanket off the extra bed and go out on the balcony and wrap up to keep warm. I have to keep pinching myself to believe I am finally here. Ever since I first heard about this resort some years back, I have anxiously waited to experience it for myself. I have always loved going to the zoo, but to wake up and be able to watch the animals roam around freely from the privacy of your balcony, is the ultimate vacation. Finally when the urge for coffee exceeds the pleasure of watching the animals, I tear myself away and venture down to Mara. I do a little exploring on the way there and back, so I feel like I have been on a safari. I will take many safari's over the next couple of days, each one being a little different. After getting back to the room and relaxing with my coffee, Frank finally wakes up. Now, its back to Mara for his mug of coffee, and a refill for me.

We are having breakfast at Boma this morning, so we are going to meet outside of our rooms at 9:45. When we get to Boma, there are a lot of people waiting. We have a priority seating, so we only have to wait a few minutes. We are seated at a lovely table next to the window. It is a beautiful sunny day and the landscaping outside is so lush and green, it really adds to the ambience of the restaurant. I have read many rave reviews about Boma, so we have really looked forward to this meal. I especially cannot wait to try the Frunch, which is the African juice they have. If nothing else, I know Frank will be in pastry heaven. Our waitress brings juice and coffee, and we go up to the buffet to start digging in. Some of the little strudel pastries are still warm from the oven, so I sample a few and get some delicious looking fresh fruit. Now on to the hot foods. The selection just goes on and on, and before you know it your plate is heaping full. Everything is so delicious. I especially like the rotisserie pork loin, the apple raisin sausage, and the potato casserole with peppers and onions. Even though I am getting full, I go back for some more of my favorites. I am disappointed that the pork loin is all gone, and because it is getting close to breakfast being done, there will not be anymore brought out. We are stuffed to the gills, and I didn't even eat my pastries and fruit. I kindly ask our waitress if I can take them in a little box so they won't go to waste. She brings me one, and since Frank loved the pastries so much, we get some extra. Looks like we will have a nice little breakfast for tomorrow morning.

We decide to walk around the resort and try to digest breakfast. Since Frank and I came for the sneak peek, we lead Chuck and Mary Jo on the tour. Everything looks so different in the daylight, they can really appreciate now how beautifully landscaped everything is. Chuck has the video camera, so he tries to capture everything. When we get back into the lobby, we explore the upper floors. I like the rope bridge that stretches across the lobby on the 5th floor. It is all of these special touches which make this resort so special and unique. I highly recommend visiting this resort if you cannot stay there, you will feel like you are in another world. We go back to our rooms for a little rest before we leave to spend the afternoon at Animal Kingdom. We are planning on going at a nice leisurely pace, another safari, and see the Jammin' Jungle Parade.

We arrive and as we approach the bridge the photographers are out. Chuck and Mary Jo get some cozy shots of just the two of them, and they will have to wait and see if they like them. We get to the safari entrance and the wait time is 40 minutes. The Fastpass return time is around the time we will be getting parade spots, so we wait to get a Fastpass for after the parade. To stay close by, we browse through the shops in Harambe. We keep checking the Fastpass return time, waiting for it to be around 4:30. I even ask a cast member about it, and he tells me we can get one up to 4:45. So we patiently wait. I do find a nice pair of Mickey safari earrings while we shop. Now when we check on Fastpass, they have shut it down for the day. We are bummed, and the stand by time is now 70 minutes, so we decide to skip the safari. In hindsight, we should have just waited in stand by when the wait was minimal, but Fastpass spoils you from waiting in line at all. We still have over an hour before the parade starts, and since Chuck and Mary Jo haven't seen the tigers, we go to Maharajah Jungle Trek. Since it is later in the afternoon we are hoping the tigers are awake again. When we get to the temple ruins, there they are, all four of them pacing back and forth. One of them even gets in the water. They are so amazing to watch. I feel lucky that I have been able to see them twice this trip being active. They are much more interesting when they are not sleeping. We finish up our trek, and it is time to snag up some seats for the parade. Frank and I go on ahead, so Chuck and Mary Jo can join us a few minutes later. We arrive back in Harambe, and there is a section available on the round seating area. We hold down that area for the four of us. When Chuck and Mary Jo join us, I decide to get a spot on the curb, so I can get some better pictures of the parade. We really enjoyed this parade. I would love to be one of the guests who gets to ride in one of the rickshaws, it looks like it would be a blast.

We have a priority seating for dinner at the Rainforest Café, so we decide to arrive earlier. We stop at the photo pick up so Chuck and Mary Jo can view their pictures. They turn out really nice, so they purchase them. Since we will be going back to the Lodge after dinner, they just take them to go. I am still waiting for my AK picture from Thursday to arrive. Since we switched hotels a day early, the picture got a little lost, and they are in the process of tracking it down. I have all the faith in the world in Disney, so I am not worried. We go into the Rainforest Café and get seated for dinner. They are always much busier at dinnertime. I have a $25.00 gift certificate, so it should cover most of dinner for the two of us, plus we get a 10% discount again. We are pretty hungry, it has been hours since our Boma feast. I order the appetizer sampler, but I ask for extra chicken fingers instead of the calamari, Frank orders a pizza, Chuck and Mary Jo split a sirloin steak dinner and a smoothie. Rainforest Café have fantastic smoothies. Our food arrives, and as usual the portions are huge. Instead of extra chicken fingers, they substitute mozzarella sticks. It is ok with me, but our waiter stops by and insists on ordering the extra chicken fingers I was supposed to get. In a few minutes a server from the kitchen bring out an entire order of chicken fingers. He looks at my plate and questions why I was getting the extra chicken fingers. He says they always substitute the mozzarella sticks, but because our waiter told us different, we get the extra chicken fingers. The appetizer sampler is already more than one person can eat, so with the extra chicken fingers, there is no way any of us can finish it. It is a whole meal to go , so hopefully we will feel hungry later and have it for a midnight snack.

By this time it is around 6:00 and our waiter assures us that we will be able to get a bus back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We head out to the bus stop and sure enough there is a lodge bus waiting. We get back to the hotel and everyone wants to take a little rest before we go for our spa and swim. We decide to get together in a couple of hours. I am not sleepy, so while my husband takes a little snooze, I go on a safari by myself around the hotel. First I go out to the fire pit and listen to some storytelling, and then go out on Arusha Rock. I have the binoculars with me and I can see lots of animals out in the distance past the trees. Next I stop by the pay phone and make a couple of calls to my family. Then I go in the store to check if any packages had been delivered, but so far none had. I take a leisurely stroll around the hotel, exploring different areas. When I return to the room my husband is sleeping, but he wakes up when he hears me rustling around. We head out for a little safari together. I have been getting tips from the Cast members, and one of them is to go the end of the room wings, and go out on the outside stairwells. We make our way down to the end of Zebra Trail and go outside. We can see lots of animals in the darkness, and lots more movement through the trees. We are on the 2nd floor, so we move up to the 3rd. All of a sudden we hear voices and low and behold it is Chuck and Mary Jo. It is so funny to be running into them at this particular time and place.

We do a little more animal viewing, then head back to the rooms to change into spa wear. Mary Jo had retrieved a couple of packages from the store, so she had my sweatshirt that I had bought at MGM yesterday. Also she was finally able to get the tote bag she had wanted. When we arrive down to the spa and pool, there is hardly anyone around. The spa is empty, so we immerse ourselves into the luxuriously hot, bubbly water. When we are good and hot, we decide to cool off in the pool. Last night the pool was great, but tonight it is much cooler, so we jump back into the spa and stay in there until we are so relaxed we might fall asleep. We go back to the rooms to change so we can have our nightcap. I bring our Rainforest Café goodies to snack on. We pick a comfortable seating area in the middle of the lobby which has a large coffee table. We discuss how much we are enjoying our stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and how we hate to leave. At this point, we decide to extend our stay one more night, and forget going to the Wilderness Lodge. This resort is so peaceful and relaxing, it truly makes for a wonderful vacation experience. Mary Jo will check with the front desk in the morning, but we can't foresee any problems. We wind down the evening over some wine and manage to eat up most of the food from Rainforest Café. It is getting late so we call it a night.

Day 8, October 29, Monday.

Chuck and Mary Jo are having room service deliver breakfast to their room, and having a relaxing morning. I am taking Frank on a tour of the Wilderness Lodge, so we will be stopping at MGM first. I get up very early again, and I am rewarded with bongos, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, and cattle with large horns grazing right outside the room. The giraffes like to stay back in the trees to eat. This resort is so amazing, and such a tranquil environment, it is really hard to describe without experiencing it firsthand. I make my way down to Mara for some coffee and decide to check out the back savannah. I can't believe my eyes, right in front of me about 20 feet are 4 giraffes eating out of a treat box in a tree. It is such a riot to watch them chew their food and look around, then stick their heads in for more. After what seems like hours, I go back to the room. My husband is up and we enjoy our Boma pastries with coffee. I talk to Mary Jo and we are all set for staying here one more night. We decide to meet at 1:00 in front of Splash Mountain at MK.

Frank and I get ready and leave for MGM. We arrive to MGM around 9:45 and make our way to the Terror Tower as my husband calls it. I get a Fastpass, and we are off to go see 'One Man's Dream." We enter the exhibit, and look at the memorabilia as we walk through. We wait just a few minutes, then proceed into the theater to see the movie about Walt's life. I get emotional through the movie, and I can't stop the tears. I hope I don't ruin my makeup for the day. I stop in a restroom and things look ok. I am so glad we were able to do this, since we had read good reviews about this exhibit, and it is only here for the 100 years celebration. We go back to the Tower of Terror, and Frank is happy to wait on a bench while I go on my last elevator drop for this trip. I request the seatbelt seat again but it is not available. I do however get the front row in the elevator for the first time ever and it is pretty cool. I enjoy my morning thrill and now we can leave MGM and go to the Wilderness Lodge.

We get on a bus and are there in no time. I want Frank to see the WL and all of the log features because we are going to be building a log home on our lake lot and it is my vision for it to be our Wilderness Lodge. We have even found almost the exact same outdoor lanterns that are hanging everywhere, and because they had been discontinued at Lowe's, we got them for next to nothing, which is why I was able to snag up a whole bunch of them. I take Frank in to see the WL Villas first. He seems impressed. At least everything is real wood and logs, so he appreciates that. Next we make our way up the sidewalk through the side entrance. I point out many nifty features along the way. We enter into the grand lobby and we start our little tour. I show him all of the special places I have discovered while I have stayed there. What I like about the WL is many little nooks and sitting areas. I have discovered the Animal Kingdom Lodge is very similar, but then it is the same architect who designed both resorts. After seeing everything inside, we head on outside. We follow the sidewalk along the stream, go past the waterfall, and then arrive by the pool. I would like for Frank to see the geyser erupt, but we don't want to stick around and wait for a 1/2 hour. We head for the boat docks, and just make the boat leaving for MK. I always love going by boat from the WL to MK, it is so relaxing, and it gives Frank a chance to see another part of the World he hasn't experienced before. After seeing the WL, he says he still likes Animal Kingdom Lodge better.

We arrive to MK and it is around noon. We have an hour before we meet up with Hammill's. Our original plan was to have lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern before the parade, so I suggest to Frank that we go there since we are getting hungry. They are not too busy yet, so there is no problem with arriving 2 hours ahead of our priority seating. This is one restaurant that I have never eaten at, so it will be a first for both of us. I have always read great reviews, though. I decide on the roast beef with a burgundy wine sauce and Frank gets a cheeseburger with fries. Our waiter brings a basket of really great rolls to start. I really like the colonial theme, it seems really authentic. Our food arrives pretty fast and the portions are very big. Everything is very delicious and I will definitely eat here again. The prices are not much more than counter service, and you get a nice lunch in a very relaxed atmosphere. We get done just before 1:00, and it's a good thing we are only a short ways from Splash Mountain. We get back there and Chuck and Mary Jo are waiting for us. Stand by is a short wait, so we get in line. It only take a couple of minutes, then we are in a log. Frank and I take the front seat, Chuck and Mary Jo take the middle, and we are off. We all love this ride, it is so much fun, and I love all of the little dips before you get to the big one. After we dropped down the big hill, we got much more than splashed, we got pretty soaked. We have never got that wet before on other previous rides. It was hot out, so we dried off pretty fast.

Since we are going to Epcot later, we discuss how nice it would be to end the trip with dinner at the Rose and Crown again. Mary Jo calls reservations, and gets us a priority seating for 7:30. Pretty good for short notice. As we were leaving Frontierland, Chuck got his favorite turkey leg to munch on. We made our way to Tomorrowland to do Buzz Lightyear and other things. As we got to Main St. the photographers are out and Mary Jo wants us to get a group shot. We do and she and Chuck also get one by themselves. We get to Buzz and it is a short wait. I know Frank will love this ride, and he does. Chuck and Frank are like little kids, shooting and scoring all kinds of points. I shoot too, but cannot get the big scores like they do. Mary Jo is snapping pictures of us as we ride. We want to do space mountain next, so Mary Jo goes off to browse through some shops while we ride. We find her afterwards and decide to get our spot for the afternoon parade. We get back to Main Street. and we get a spot in front of the castle. Mary Jo is hungry so she gets some lunch and I get some ice cream for Frank. The new parade with the snow globes is a lot of fun and has nice music. It also has a a lot of special touches I won't give away.

We go back to Tomorrowland afterwards and do Alien Encounter. I love the creepy feeling this attraction gives you. It is now close to 4:30 and we are still going to Epcot. We stop by to see the pictures and Mary Jo gets them. We are going to make copies of them when we get home. The monorail is having mechanical problems, so we board the big ferry to the TTC. I haven't been on that for a long time. We go to the Epcot monorail, and we have to wait a couple of minutes for the next one. We ask to sit with the driver, and we get lucky again. This was so enjoyable, since it is a nice long ride to Epcot. I can't get over the view from the front. We arrive to Epcot and take Frank for a ride in Spaceship Earth. He really likes this one. We want to see Tapestry of Dreams, so we make our way to World Showcase, but we make a quick stop into Ice Station Cool for a coke sample. I trick Frank into trying Beverly, and he makes some funny faces. Last time I was able to trick my daughter. See, they should read trip reports, so they would know these tidbits of information. We get back to Morocco, and arrive just in time for the start of the parade. I love the music and the puppets. By the time the parade gets done, it is time to go to the Rose and Crown.

We arrive and put in our request for an outside table. We sit and wait on a bench when we start to hear music. It is Off Kilter starting up. Frank, Chuck, and Mary Jo talk a walk over to the stage so they can see them. I wait on the bench in case our beeper goes off. We wait and wait and finally around 7:50 the beeper does go off. We are unfortunately seated inside the restaurant. This is our first time ever sitting inside, so we decide to make the best of it. I often wonder how it is decided who gets to sit outside, and I think the reservations that are made in advance get first priority. Anyways, we are still going to have a good dinner for our last night. None of us are starving hungry, so Frank and I, and Chuck and Mary Jo, decide to each split a fish and chips dinner. I also order a bowl of the lamb barley soup which is very good, and Mary Jo orders a side salad. We finish dinner just in time to go outside and watch Illuminations. Chuck and Mary Jo decide to go to MouseGear and finish up some shopping and will meet back up with us at the Animal Kingdom Lodge later. Frank and I stay to watch Illuminations, then slowly make our way out of the park.

We arrive back to the Lodge by 9:40. Frank is tired, so he decides to watch a little TV. I go on my nightly safari. I go out on Arusha Rock and since the animals are fed nightly starting at 10:00, I talk to the animal guide while I wait. They have night vision goggles available for use and these make for an experience. After a little while, the animal keepers come in their jeep, putting out lots of different treats. It is a lot of fun to watch how the animals react to this, they go right up to the jeep and follow it when it drives away. I test the guide's knowledge and ask him many questions. They know a lot, plus they rotate also being out on the jeep. They seem to know each animal by name and personality. I decide to leave and go explore other savannah viewing areas. Not much happening back by the pool, but coming down zebra trail I stay to watch the giraffes for awhile. Then I go to the sunset savannah overlook off the lobby and they have just finished putting out the treats. There are some bongos up close. I decide to go back to the room and see what time it is, and if there is any word from Chuck and Mary Jo. I quietly creep into our room and Frank is sound asleep. I go out on the balcony for a little while and it is now after 11:00 and I am feeling rather tired. The bed looks inviting, so I give in and climb in. As I was just starting to doze off the phone rings and it is Mary Jo. They shopped up a storm before they left Epcot, and so now they were ready to go to the spa. I was just too comfortable in bed to get up. It was a tough decision, knowing it is our last night here, but I know they will still enjoy themselves. I called it a night and drifted back to sleep.

Day 8, October 30, Tuesday.

I managed to be up at 6:30 again and now regret not getting up last night to go spa with the Hammill's, but my body was just too tired. You have to remember, I was the one always running around doing something when the rest of them took naps and rested. It always catches up to you eventually. So, on to our last few hours here at WDW. After watching the animals from the balcony for awhile, I went on my morning safari. Just after I left our room and passed by the large viewing windows looking out on the Sunset Savannah, there were the giraffes. I turned around and went down another wing to go outside on the stairwell. I could see them really well from there, so I stayed awhile and tried to savor every moment. Next I made my way to Mara for some coffee and went back by the pool. No giraffes there this morning, but one of the keepers was in the Flamingo area and said there would be feeding at 10:30. I slowly made my way back to our room and Frank was up. After eating at Boma the other morning and loving it, we had decided to go back. So we have a priority seating for 9:30, but Frank doesn't really want to go. He loved the food, it's just that he is full of food from the whole week and he knows he will stuff himself if we go there. I wait until we meet with Chuck and Mary Jo to tell them, because they can still go themselves. While waiting to meet, I get some packing done. I leave the swimsuits out because we are taking a last spa and swim after breakfast, before we have to totally pack up and vacate the rooms.

We meet with Chuck and Mary Jo and give them the news. They decide to look at the menu at Mara before making their decision. After looking it over and not wanting to stuff themselves either, we all decide to get something here at Mara and eat out by the pool. Frank orders a Belgian waffle, and I order the French toast. We both splurge on smoothies, since we have had enough coffee already. Chuck and Mary Jo order big breakfasts, and get some goodies to go. We sit at a nice umbrella table outside. The sun is shining and it has warmed up each day since the weekend. The French toast is delicious, it is deep fried and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. It turns out to be a good breakfast and we are full. Chuck and Mary Jo have to take care of some things at the front desk, so Frank and I head over to the flamingo area to watch the 10:30 feeding. It is quite interesting, and the animal keeper narrates the whole time, so you learn a lot. We start back to the room and run into the Hammill's. It turns out I am the only one who is going to spa so I go back to the room to change.

I get back to the pool area and I have the whole spa to myself. Chuck is looking out on the savannah, Frank and Mary Jo lay out on the chaise lounges. By the time I get out of the spa, it looks like they are sleeping. I go take a dip in the pool, knowing winter will be arriving to Michigan, and it will be a few months before I will be thinking about swimming. I then take a last dip back in the spa before I dry off. I was able to snap a picture of the snoozers, before they woke up. Won't they be surprised. All morning we have been patiently waiting for the animals to come in close, since the treats have been put out. We could see the giraffes in the distance, but finally a herd of bongos came in to eat. Pretty soon a bunch of kudus came in and chased away the bongos. It was pretty funny to watch the interaction. After what seemed like an eternity, one giraffe slowly came our way. He stopped when he saw the kudus, then proceeded very cautiously. He gets over to the tree and digs in to the treats. This is the spot where you are very close. We got some great pictures with him by himself, and with each of us. It was worth waiting for. Unfortunately it was time to go back to the rooms and do our final packing up before vacating them. At least I had very little left to do , and when we were ready, Chuck called for bell services to come and get our luggage. It is around 12:30 and we have until 2:00, when Marcello will be arriving to take us to the airport.

We browse through Zawadi Marketplace for the last time. We check on our packages that never arrived and even though they seem to be a little lost, we know they will be sent home when they are found.. I get an Animal Kingdom Lodge logo T Shirt and a pair of Mickey socks for my last purchase. As we are paying for our purchase, I notice a nice little pin on the cast member's lanyard. I ask her about it, and she tells me it is from a set of three and it is no longer available. It is the water tower from MGM. This really nice cast member gives me the pin as a going away present. What a Magical Moment to end the trip. We go out to the lobby and make ourselves comfortable. It is always sad when you are counting minutes until it is time to leave. Marcello shows up and after we get everything loaded, away we go. We arrive back to Orlando Airport, get checked in, and get something to eat. Frank and I get Pizza Hut, and Chuck and Mary Jo get Burger King. After we get to the gate and it is close to the boarding time, they discover mechanical problems with the plane. Now we will have to wait for another plane. After about a 90 minute delay, we finally board and have a good flight home.

It seems that no matter how much time you have at Disney, it flies by. I was glad to have had 9 days of vacation, but it went by so fast. We are looking forward to maybe another trip together, a couple of years down the road, so until then good bye and to all things DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feel free to email any comments or questions.

Mary Virsila

mvirsila@monroe.lib.mi.us

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