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Brian Wahl -- December 2001 -- Walt Disney World (ASSR)December 15-22, 2001 Cast of Characters:
This was our first trip to Disney World. For over a year, Amy and I saved up our hard-earned money for the vacation of a lifetime. We decided on going in December for a couple of reasons. The first reason was because I had read in Birnbaum's Guide that the week before Christmas was the "prime time" to visit the world. The lines were supposedly smaller (more on this one later), and the Christmas decorations were all going to be up. The second reason for the December trip was that Amy and I were going to be graduating from Illinois State, and what a better graduation trip than to go to the most magical place on earth! After months of anticipation, Brian (me) researching everything I could on the net, (much thanks to MousePlanet) and saving every red cent, we were set! Day 1: Leave Milwaukee airport at 9:00am and arrive in Orlando at around noonish. Arrive at All-Star Sports and Epcot at night. Our plane ride was awesome. The airport was very quiet and we were both comforted to see the armed guards. Checking in and going through security was a breeze, not what we were anticipating. We thought the lines would be unbearable, but they were incredibly manageable. Neither Amy nor myself were apprehensive about flying and our plane ride was really quite enjoyable. I'll skip all the small details and jump to our arrival in Orlando. We arrived in Orlando to 70-degree weather and a beautiful sunny day. We got our luggage and found our Mears Shuttle service. When we got on the bus we couldn't believe how empty it was. Including Amy and myself, there were probably about 6 people on the bus. The trip to Disney was about 20 minutes and I cannot tell you how excited we were when we saw the huge Disney sign welcoming us to Disney World. I never told Amy this, but I got a little teary eyed. How could I not? I was in Disney World with the woman I loved, we had eight magical days ahead of us, I had money in my pocket (for a change) and months of anticipation finally came to an end! When we pulled up to the All-Star Sports resort it was just like I imagined it. Check in was a breeze. The lobby was a little crowded but it took all of 20 minutes in all. The cast member who checked us in was so nice. She made sure that all of our requests were met. A room with a king-sized bed, close to the bus stop, and close to the food court...we even managed to be about 100 paces from the pool! It was great. As we walked to our room I noticed that there was practically no one around! Of course there were people milling about, but for the most part this place was really quiet. When we got to our room, we noticed all of the intricate detail. The bed spread, the curtains, the lights and even the shower curtain were sports/surf themed. It was so neat! My favorite was the Mickey hand soap; I even managed to sneak more than a few bars into my suitcase! Oops! So, we unpacked and decided to hit the pool and grab a bite to eat at the food court. One thing I want to mention is the refillable mugs that Disney food courts offer. This was great. One of my Dad's friends at work had just visited WDW and let us use his mug from All-Star Music. We had no problem. I can't tell you how much we probably saved because we didn't have to pay for soft drinks. Onward! In the food court there was no wait. We walked right up and ordered. I got a meatball sandwich and Amy got quesadillas. The food wasn't great, but then again it wasn't terrible. It was as good as food courts get. Plus, the selection was pretty great. There was nothing they didn't have. So we took our food out to the deck and ate. We then took a walk around the resort. I was waiting to see the football field, complete with huge X's and O's and even bigger football helmets! We played around and took some pictures. We checked out a few pools and then I took a dip in our pool at Surf's Up! We got back to our room and got ready for a night at Epcot. When we got to the bus stop we were again amazed at the amount of people who were lined up. The lines were slim to none. The bus arrived within minutes and we were off to our first park: Epcot! It was about 6:00pm and the crowd was busy with people. We really hadn't planned anything for the night, so we went to Honey I Shrunk The Kids 3D! This was a walk-on. The show was incredible as far as 3D shows goes. It was very entertaining, but Amy got a little squirmy. For those of you who haven't experienced it, I won't give it away, but we both recommend it! We then made our way into World Showcase and the Christmas tree and the decorations blew us away. Our first stop was Mexico for a margarita for Amy, and a cervesa for me. Amy loved her margarita, she loved it so much, she got 2 of them! We got into Norway and I ordered a beer at one of the beer carts. The man asked me if I wanted the "Viking" or the "Lady." Of course I ordered the Viking, which cost me $10.00! But hey, we were on vacation and I figured I deserved to splurge. We walked around WS for a few hours, enjoying drinks and entertainment. At around 9ish I think people were lining up around the lagoon for Illuminations. Amy secured a spot for us right by the fish and chips booth. I went and ordered some and they were actually pretty good. Once Illuminations started we were both amazed at the show. It was simply incredible to see. I figured that there was going to be a lot of people heading to the bus stop, so we started walking before the show ended. The bus ride home was a little more crowded but still manageable. So our first day at Disney was incredible. Everything that I read couldn't compare to seeing it in person, but knowing the lay of the land was half the battle. One tip I would recommend is that if you're headed to WS at night, you really don't need a backpack. Just grab a guide map and go. If you bring a backpack, you'll have to wait in line to get it inspected. The line does move quickly though. I just liked not having to carry around the pack all night. Day 2: Epcot, Future World, World Showcase, Blizzard Beach, and Pleasure Island at night. Okay. Even though we were on vacation, we still had to wake up early each day to make it to the parks as they opened. A few weeks before we left for WDW I found out that Early Entry had been canceled. In its place was a Character Caravan. This was fine with us because we found out that we hadn't really missed out on much with the loss of EE. We, well actually I woke up at 7:51am each morning. Amy slept in and I got ready for the day. As Amy got ready I went to the food court to grab her a bagel and some root beer. What a good breakfast huh! The food court was on the busy side, but still I didn't wait any longer than about 5 minutes. Before I went back to the room I peeked outside at the line for the bus. The lines were incredibly short, and it seemed that the longest lines were for Animal Kingdom and MGM. Once Amy was ready we headed to the bus stop. It was another beautiful day! The temp was about 70-74 and the sun was shining. For future reference Amy and I recommend wearing shorts comfy tennis shoes and a long sleeve t-shirt for the early morning and you'll be glad you have it at night as well. Epcot was a little busier than I though it would be for a Sunday. We breezed through the backpack check and made our way to the rope drop. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, again let me stress EVERYONE headed straight for Test Track. Ames and I decided to get a fast pass and we made our way to Wonders of Life. WOL was a ghost town! When we got there, there were about 4 other people inside milling around. I wanted to do Body Wars, ATTENTION: DO NOT EAT BEFORE RIDING BODY WARS! We took the trip through the human body, and Brian got a little dizzy after it ended. I even took two Dramamine before, but it really didn't help. Oh well, I survived. Onward! We walked through Mouse Gear and checked out all of the Disney stuff. I wanted to buy a hat, but Amy told me to wait and get it at the gift shop at the resort so that I wouldn't have to add to the stuff in our bag. She's so smart! It was time for Test Track and we were ready. Test Track was a walk-on. When we made it to the queue area there was a 15-minute hold up. Something was wrong with the track or something. The cast member was very nice and assured us it wouldn't be a long wait. Test Track itself was awesome! Amy and I both recommend it! It's a must do! We walked around Innoventions and sent a video email to our parents. We also stopped in the Coca-Cola station to cool off and enjoy some free beverages from around the world. Some of the cola there was absolutely gross. Some guy suggested that I try a certain kind, he said it was fabulous, I say it was nasty, I can't remember what is was called, sorry guys. If you've never been there, try them all and I'm sure you'll find it! It was clear I think! Anyways, Onward! On our way to World Showcase, we caught the Character Caravan. It was so cute. All of the characters were dressed up in hats and gloves. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Pinocchio (My favorite), Tigger, Pooh, Goofy, and Donald. There were more, but I forgot who. We walked around WS and had lunch at the Lotus Blossom. It was very good, I recommend trying the tea. It had some kind of berries in it and it was really good. As we made our way out of Canada we saw Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Dee snatched Amy away from me and I got a really cute picture of the two of them. Anyhoo, I can't tell you enough how amazing WS was. The details are incredible, and the thing that I thought was neat was the different Santa Clauses around the world telling the story of Christmas in their country. We left Epcot after riding Spaceship Earth...cool ride, and then headed to Blizzard Beach for the rest of the afternoon. We decided to go to Planet Hollywood for dinner because with our package deal one of our free options was a dinner at Planet Hollywood. The food was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. The expensive part is the drinks. After Planet Hollywood we set off to Pleasure Island. We stopped by a few places but most of the clubs were still really dead. So, we wondered into the Adventurer's Club, and I think I could've stayed there all night! It was so neat. I definitely recommend this place! Next, we headed into the Comedy Warehouse. We waited outside for the show to start, and it was getting cold. By the time the show ended we were ready to go home. Big day tomorrow. MGM Studios! Day 3: MGM Studios and Osbourne Family Spectacle of Lights This was another beautiful day and it was even better when we walked out to the bus stop to find that there weren't a lot of people around. We walked into MGM right after the rope drop and walked right on to Tower of Terror. After that we walked right onto Rockin' Roller coaster. I couldn't believe that we finished our 2 top priority rides within 20 minutes! We headed for the tip board and I just had to take a picture. The wait times were no longer than 10 minutes and most of the shows were "See Now." It was absolutely awesome. There were hardly any waits! As we admired the tip board a cast member came up to Amy and started talking to her. To make a long story short, Amy and I were asked to be the grand marshals in the Stars and Motorcars Parade! Thomas was the cast member's name, and he even gave us 4 free "no wait" tickets that enabled us to surpass all the lines on the rides of our choice. It ended up that we didn't even need the passes because there were no lines all day long. Next, Amy and I headed to the Backlot Tour because she wanted to see the Golden Girls house really bad! I was asked to be part of the show and I ended up getting a little more wet than I wanted to! Oh well, that's the price you pay for fame I guess! Our next stop was Pizza Planet. Except for the birds flocking to the tables, the food was decent. My lunch cost about 7-8 dollars and I just got a pizza and a drink. Amy had the same. Next, we headed over to the Muppets 3-D. I was really excited to see this show, but I must say that it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Overall it was still fun. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Play It! Was next. I qualified after the first question then I suddenly disappeared from the qualifiers. It was really interesting to see the set though. This one was also a walk-on! Our next stop was Voyage of The Little Mermaid. Amy and I both enjoyed this one. It is a great show, and not to be missed. Oh, this was also a walk-on. The Animation Tour was our next stop. This is a very long (about 45 minute) walk through the animation studio. It is interesting, but a little too long for Amy and me. This was a walk-on as well. It was just about time to head on over to get ready for the parade! We got our costumes and headed out. We were the first people out of the gate, behind us was the Tisi family from Pittsburgh. They got to ride in a car! It was neat to get to see all of the different characters like Jesse from Toy Story 2, Aladdin, Mickey, Buzz Lightyear, and the new guys from Monsters Inc. When we finished the route, we got to watch the parade from the exit. It was such a neat experience. They kept introducing us over the loud speaker. Amy and I laughed the entire way. We felt like celebrities! We decided to leave and then come back later for dinner. Before we left the park I made priority seating at 50's Prime Time Café. The dinner was really good. I had meatloaf. Amy had a salad and French fries. I couldn't finish my green beans, so our "Mom" shoveled them into my mouth for me. Amy and I must recommend the S'mores dessert! It is heavenly! This place is neat place to see and the food is good too. We recommend it! Our last stop of the night was the Osbourne lights. What can I say? Snow in Florida and roasted almonds! It sure felt like Christmas! The lights were amazing too. Day 4: Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney (at night), Disney Quest This was the day we had been waiting for. But what could top leading a parade and the Rockin' Roller coaster? The Magic Kingdom seemed really busy when we walked in, but everyone went in different directions. Amy and I got an awesome picture in front of Walt and Mickey. Of all the landmarks at Disney, this was the one I wanted to see the most. We headed into Future World and walked on Alien Encounter, which I must say, was a disappointment. It just wasn't as great as I thought it would be. Oh well. Next we walked on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Then we walked onto the Disney World Transit. This was a fun and relaxing ride. It was a little chilly this morning, so the long sleeves helped. Our next stop: Space Mountain. It was another walk-on, well actually there was about a 10-minute wait, but it was fine. I was also disappointed in this one. Amy and I both still swear by Rockin' Roller coaster. Space just didn't wow us as much, maybe we were expecting more. Our next stop before lunch was It's A Small World. Amy enjoyed it, and I got a kick out of the little girls in front of us just amazed at the giant doll house. So we hummed the song as we walked to Pinocchio's Village Haus. This was a really good lunch. Amy didn't eat because she doesn't eat meat, so I ordered a big fat cheeseburger with fries and a drink. It cost about $7, but it was good! Our next mission was to find Amy lunch. On the way we did Peter Pan and Snow White, both about 10-15 minute waits. We walked around Frontierland looking for food for Amy, and I was looking for the famous Dole Whips. Amy finally found a place to eat that was right by Pirates of The Caribbean. She said that the food was good. I found a Dole Whip, and it was great! Amy got one for herself too, and we both recommend one! Banana and Chocolate was my favorite. We then did Pirates without a wait. Cool ride, a little scary for Amy though! Our next stop was the Jungle Cruise, and we got to walk right on because they needed a party of 2. I felt bad for all the people waiting in line. Oh well! The Jungle Cruise was very bland and boring. We'll skip that one next time. Our last stop of the day was the Haunted Mansion. The wait was about 25 minutes, but the ride was soooo worth it. We loved it! We took a bus back to the resort. We went to Wolfgang Puck's Express for dinner. The best pizza ever! We did some shopping, or actually Amy did some shopping, and I followed. I wanted a big stuffed Mickey, but he was $100! I skipped that one. We went to Disney Quest for a while until I got deathly sick on create a roller coaster, and we went to the Virgin Megastore to have a look around. We headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest. Day 5: Magic Kingdom (again), MGM for dinner at Mama Melrose and Fantasmic Our second day at Magic Kingdom was basically to enjoy the details and decorations and to hit Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad, which I think is the most underrated ride in the parks. I really enjoyed it as far as roller coasters go. Amy liked it too. Big Thunder was about a 10-minute wait, and Splash was a walk-on. I thought it would be the other way around. I told Amy to sit in the back on the left and she wouldn't get wet. Well...I was very wrong. Poor Amy was the only person on our log to get wet. She was a trooper though! I think now is a good time to say one thing: When there are only 2 people in your party, taking pictures can be tough, not at Disney World. Everyone is so nice about taking pictures for people, so if you are a first time couple to WDW, just ask! People are more than happy to shoot your picture for ya! Our next stop was Mickey's Toon Town. It was exactly what I read it was: A LOT OF KIDS. It was neat to see Mickey and Minnie's house though. We then headed to the bus stop, Amy wanted to hit the pool at our resort and relax a while before dinner. We did the Fantasmic dinner package, which I would totally recommend to anyone. You're guaranteed a seat at Fantasmic and a good meal beforehand. Mama Melrose was an okay meal; the service wasn't that great, but hey we got seats for Fantasmic out of it! Fantasmic was incredible. It is one of my favorite memories, I loved the ending. I won't give it away. Amy wanted to go get a S'mores again, so we went back to the 50's Prime Time Café and sat in the bar. We got a S'mores and a milk (two straws). The bar tender didn't even charge us for the milk! Our last stop before leaving was Mickey's of Hollywood. It was really chilly that night and I needed a sweatshirt really bad. We then headed home. Day 6: Animal Kingdom, back to MGM, and Sci Fi Drive In for dinner The Christmas crowds were starting to get a little heavier. We walked through the lobby to go to the bus stop and you could just tell that there were more people. There were A LOT of high school-age kids running around. It got kind of annoying when we were at the pool because there was a boys wrestling team there and it seemed that pool wrestling was a new sport. Oh well. Enough rambling. Animal Kingdom was quiet. The crowds were light and the waits were minimal. We walked right onto It's Tough To Be A Bug! This show was 3-D at it's BEST! We will go back to AK just to ride this one. Dinosaur was next. The wait was about 25 minutes, but manageable. We walked around and did Kilamanjaro Safaris; this was a walk-on and a great ride. After some ice cream, we decided to go back to the hotel because we really didn't want to see or ride anything else so we left. We did do lunch at Restaurantosaurus, but our advice...SKIP IT. The food was terrible, over-priced and Amy's grilled cheese wasn't even grilled! We went back to MGM for dinner and to ride the Great Movie Ride. Dinner was really neat. The food and service were both really good. The line for the Great Movie Ride was the longest wait the entire trip. It was worth it though. We both got a kick out of the Wizard of Oz. On our way out, Amy got a HUGE rice crispy treat. It was so big we had to take it back home with us. We went back to the resort for a good night's rest; tomorrow is our last day! Day 7: Our last day at Disney. Blizzard Beach, Magic Kingdom, Bongos Cuban Café For our last day at Disney Amy and I decided that we should just take it easy. The crowds for Christmas seemed to be filling in so we were glad that we accomplished our top priorities. We spent the morning at Blizzard Beach. The weather was a little chilly, but Amy and I made the best of it. We did all of the water slides with no waits but a lot of stairs! I was the only brave soul to attempt Summit Plummet, Ames chickened out! Around mid-afternoon we decided to head back to the pool at our resort so that we could soak up some last minute rays of sun before heading back to chilly northern Illinois. After we left the crowded pool, we headed back up to the room to get ready for fireworks at the Magic Kingdom and dinner at Bongo's Cuban Café. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, it was really busy. We watched the Christmas show and the fireworks. Amy loved Tinkerbell at the beginning, so did I. We took a lot of pictures for our scrapbook too! We took the packed Monorail to the ticket center and then took a bus to Downtown Disney. We walked around for a while and then finally decided to grab some dinner. We ate at Bongo's Cuban Café, and I must say that the food was great! Amy and I have never had Cuban cuisine, but we took a chance and it turned out to be a fun experience. Great service, great atmosphere, small wait, and great food. After dinner we went for a walk and stopped at Sosa's Cigar Shop. I bought a cigar and puffed away as we walked into Pleasure Island. Amy wanted to go back to the Comedy Warehouse because it was so much fun the first time. Again, it was a great show. We even came back for the second show. After the second show we decided to call it a night and head back to the resort. When we got back to the room Amy wrote Christmas cards and I watched the one of the Disney channels that takes you through each park. I just needed one last look before I went to bed. Day 8: Pack up and checkout Checking out was sad but it was quick. We kept saying how glad we were that we came when we did because there were A LOT of people checking in. So, we headed to the bus stop and awaited our ride to the airport. We made it home safely, but we were greeted with cold and rainy weather. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: The Good:
The Bad:
Well, I think that about does it. Before we got to WDW I had our entire week planned out. Once we got there, we completely abandoned our game plan. The whole commando thing was just not going to fly, and since the lines were so small we really didn't need a plan of attack. Next time we go I think we'll go about it the same way. It was just a lot easier to decide what we were going to do the night before. Once we were at the park we just did and saw what we wanted as we went. It was less stressful and a lot more vacation-like. The experience was like no other. We made memories that will last a lifetime. We couldn't have asked for a better trip. The service was for the most part great everywhere we went. The cast members really make you feel comfortable and go above and beyond. As far as budgets go, I took $600 and spent a little less than half that. Amy spent about $175. The most expensive part of the trip was the alcoholic drinks. They really get ya. The weather was awesome. Just perfect. It was nice enough for shorts and a long sleeve shirt at night. To sum it all up, it was a fabulous week. We are already planning our trip for next December. I think a week earlier would be perfect. We also want to stay at a little fancier resort, not that there was anything wrong with the All-Star, it was great for a college student budget. Well, thanks for reading if you have survived up to this point! We hope you enjoyed our trip, we sure did. "Everyone neat and pretty? Then on with the show!" If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email me! Brian Wahl bdub1215@hotmail.com Mail a Comment to Brian Wahl |
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