 |  |
| Discussion Boards | Reviews | News | Trip Planning | Shop | Travel | Site Map |
| Disney Trip Report Archive An archive of reader-submitted trip reports | |
| Alex Stroup, editor | Search just the Trip Report Archive. |
|
Mark Goldhaber -- April 2002 -- Walt Disney World (CSR)4/2/02-4/7/02 Preamble WARNING: I have a tendency to ramble on at great length. If you like short summary reports, run for your life! OK. I decided that I was finally going to write a trip report. I've been informally meaning to write something up for some time, but I finally decided to write one for my family's next trip in November 2002. Then, suddenly, I got the opportunity to go to a technical conference at the Coronado Springs Resort (on my employer's dollar!), and I decided to use the opportunity to ease into trip reports. How much would I actually have to write when most of my time would be taken up by the conference? Little did I know.... So, here we go: For the whole background exposition, you'll have to wait for the November report. There will be pages of pre-trip planning, let alone the week there. Trip participant Me, soon-to-be-38-year-old computer geek/manager state employee, 16th WDW trip - first solo (3-trip Disneyland veteran) Trip genesis Our next WDW trip was planned for November, 2002. Planning was well underway, and we (me, my wife Hope, and our 3-1/2 year-old son Joshua) were all looking forward to it. We might have gone sooner, but Hope can't take time off from work until then. After a great technical conference in December in Philadelphia, the same organizers had scheduled a follow-up conference at CSR in April. It didn't take too long to get out my shovel and write a justification on why I should go to the conference. I guess I'm good with a shovel, or they really trust my judgment, because the justification sailed through the approval process and I was making my reservations for the conference, hotel, and plane mere days after submitting the request. Who would think that I could get New York State to send me to Walt Disney World?!?!? I've got to write up a conference summary for my managers, and it's really not appropriate for this forum, so I'll be glossing over that aspect of the trip. If you're really interested, e-mail me for details. The starting base plan I will be arriving at MCO around mid-day on April 2. The conference is scheduled to run from April 3 - April 7, running all day and ending between 4:15pm and 9:00pm each day. The late sessions are all on topics of no interest to me (exam cramming), so I should be done by 7:30 or so at the latest. If I can get a group of people from the conference to hit the parks together each afternoon/evening or get a big group dinner set up, I will. Otherwise, I'll just have to enjoy the parks by myself. :-) I figure I'll be able to get to a theme park by 3:00 on 4/2. On 4/3 (Wed) and 4/4 (Thu), I'll probably just do dinner and/or Pleasure Island. On 4/5 (Fri), I'm planning to get an E-Ride Night pass and hit the MK. On 4/6, the conference proper ends at 4:15, so with luck I can hit a park by 5:00 or so. The post-conference workshops end at 1:00 on 4/7, and my flight is at 4:10, so I'll have to high-tail it out of there as soon as it's over. I've made reservations with Mears, so we'll see how that goes. (This is the first time ever that I haven't had a car, but it was part of the deal to be able to go and stay at the hotel in the first place.) The biggest problem: It'll still be Passover until Wednesday night, and I need to figure out how to eat without breaking Passover until then. Trip objectives so far:
--------------------------------------- Baseline Advance Budget
The Trip Tuesday, April 2 - travel day, check in at CSR, Magic Kingdom We got off to a rousing start. My son had a bad sinus cold, which was tripping his asthma, making it a very long night with little sleep. I was in the car and on the road to the airport by 5:15, eating matzah brei in the car. (Good thing my wife makes it pancake-style, perfect for eating by hand.) Got to the airport at 5:30 for the 7:35 flight, only to discover that the flight had been delayed to 8:05 due to the flight crew getting in late last night and not having enough off-hours. This would have caused me to miss my connection in Philadelphia. Luckily, there was another flight from Philadelphia that would get me into Orlando only half an hour later. Even better, not only was I able to get assigned to exit row on both flights (more room for my large self), but instead of having to run from Gate C26 to B11 to make my connection, I only had to go to Gate C22. Of course, who knew whether we would pull into C26 now. Oh, well. I breezed through security and had plenty of time to work on the trip report and rest a little. Dozed a bit on the first flight, made it to the gate for my new connection right before they began boarding. C26 to C22! Whew! Was able to doze on the second flight, too, so I felt a little better. Both flights were nice & smooth. No problem getting luggage or getting to the Mears shuttle, but I wasn't expecting the 20 minute wait for the right bus while six other buses came and went. Oh, well. No big deal. High temperatures in Albany had been running in the 50's and it was muggy and 80's in Orlando. I was at the comfortably familiar level 1 of the Orlando International Airport. And yet, it's funny how it didn't feel like I was there yet. I think it was that I'd done so little planning, and I was by myself, so I wasn't getting into it as much as usual. I took advantage of the wait to call home. Joshua still wasn't feeling well, and he was staying home from day care all day again. The Mears bus stops at Caribbean Beach Resort on the way to CSR (and, noted later, on the way back to the airport from CSR). After checking in I realized that, while I had purchased my 3-day after-3:00 pass through the conference, I would not be able to pick it up until registration opened, either at 6:00 that evening or 8:00 the next morning. Rather than wait an extra 3+ hours, I bought an extra 1-day after-3 pass. I figured that also meant that I had license to force Wednesday night at a park. :-) I was assigned Room 2185, which is as far from El Centro as you can get in Casitas 2. Of course, it's still a quarter-mile or more closer than the Ranchos. I suppose that, if you plan on using the quiet pool, guest laundry, and/or the beauty salon, it's kind of convenient, since they're right there. Since I wasn't, it was just a corner room with a parking lot view on both sides, a 2-3 minute walk to the nearest bus stop (all through the parking lot), and a 5-10 minute (brisk vs. leisurely) walk to El Centro. If I had my head together a little more, I would have asked to be moved to a water view in Casitas 1 or Casitas 3 when they first gave me the room. Oh, well. It's not like I would be spending all that much time there. After dropping my bags in the room and changing into shorts (yay warm weather!), I was on my way to the Magic Kingdom. Checking in with home again, I found out that the Nurse Practitioner had prescribed a new course of antibiotics for Joshua. I really felt bad about not being home to help Hope. Next, I discovered that my bottle of water had been forgotten in the room, and I then realized that all four handheld fans that I own -- including two pocket-sized ones -- were sitting at home and in my office. Like I said, a roaring start. Oh, well. I was there! After clearing security and saying hi to our brick by the entrance (W02045 for the curious, and yes I know that it's pretty badly eroded), I was in. The middle of the Share a Dream Come True parade was passing by (watch for a continuing theme here). It looked interesting, but not exciting like some parades past. The Mickey Mania parade and the early days of the Remember the Magic parade spring to mind. (OK, so maybe I'm a little biased because I got to be in the parade the day of the actual 25th Anniversary festivities.) I think that the parade passing as I entered probably detracted from the usual first-entry impact, since I didn't get to hear the Main Street music or get a clear look down Main Street to the castle. My stomach reminded me that it hadn't had anything since breakfast, so I popped over to Cosmic Ray's for a Caesar salad minus croutons. I took a quick ride on the TTA, grabbed a Fastpass for Buzz, visited the Carousel of Progress, and then I was feeling a little more at home. After wandering around a bit and gawking at the standby times (40 minutes for Small World, 90 for Peter Pan!!), I grabbed some soft serve from Aloha Isle and people watched for a while. See, I'm used to coming down in October, when 10 minutes is a lot to wait for Small World, and a 30-minute line for Pan means "come back later." Next, I figured to check the Main Street shops during the show in front of the Castle. Gotta take advantage of those diversions! After a stroll through all the shops (some interesting 30th Anniversary stuff, but nothing knockout), I had a nice conversation during a 15-minute wait for Pirates with a woman from Portland, Oregon. She was finishing off a South & Central Florida family vacation with a day in the park with her daughter while her husband was at the hotel with her son. She made a great recommendation for a book to help with some issues we're having with Joshua called "Raising Your Spirited Child." At this writing, I'm about halfway through the book and I'm amazed at the difference it's made already. I don't remember your name, but if you're reading this, thanks! After dodging a brief shower and finding a quiet place for a quick call home (Joshua was still sick & cranky, so Hope had no time to talk), I stopped by Grizzly Hall to see the Bears, got a Fastpass for the Mansion, then waited for Big Thunder on a 30-minute standby line posted at 55 minutes. Taking the riverside route, I passed the beginning of Spectro (here's that partial-parade viewing theme again) heading the other way on my way to Haunted Mansion for my Fastpass. The new Leota Tombstone (love the inherent pun!) is very well done. I love the moving eyes. I staked my place on the wandering way between Main Street and Tomorrowland for the fireworks right under the Tink cable, so that I could get a good look at the landing site. However, Tinkerbell was nowhere to be seen tonight. I wonder what was wrong... Then it was on to Buzz for the Fastpass (Planetary Pilot - 185,900) before getting some water and going up to the train station for some work on the trip report and a good look at Spectro (my one full parade viewing of the trip). One last ride around the park behind the Walter E. Disney engine, a last look down Main Street, and I was ready to go. 7-1/2 hours in the park, 8 attractions, fireworks, and one full and two partial parades. I left at 11:00 and the park didn't close until 12:00. I was not disappointed with the day. I guess I have beaten the commando thing after all! Time to get back to the resort so I could get in some sleep. But first, a ride with a bus driver who was very talkative, and might have been funnier if I wasn't so exhausted from the traveling and the sweltering heat. By the time I unpacked, checked my e-mail at the office (geez, now they're charging for toll-free calls!), and organized the rest of my stuff, I got to bed a little after 1:30. Not much later than normal for night-owl me. Wednesday, April 3 - pre-conference seminar, Epcot, shopping Up at eight, got ready, down to the conference, tried to focus. They didn't provide lunch today, so it was time to try out the Pepper Market. Caesar salad with no croutons. Very good! While the salad was pre-cut and mixed with the dressing in batches, the chicken and croutons were mixed in when you ordered, keeping them nice and fresh (and allowing for ostensibly keeping Passover). But I couldn't wait for the return of leavened food that night. More brain-stuffing during the afternoon session, then I dropped stuff off back at the room and caught the bus to Epcot. After visiting our Leave a Legacy tiles (a nice cheer-up from seeing Hope & Joshua's smiling faces) and stopping at Innoventions to see the Segway display (kind of disappointing -- I had expected more, like the ability to take a test ride or something), I headed over and caught the last 20 minutes of Off-Kilter. Don't think I'll buy the CD, but they were really good. And that "I'm Too Sexy For My Kilt" number was just too funny! I was shut out of Le Cellier, even for a party of one, so (passing by part of the Tapestry parade -- here's that theme again!) I headed over to Tempura Kiku for some green tea and their eponymous dish. Delicious! I chatted for a while with a nice guy from Long Island who was down with his wife, two kids, and in-laws before heading out. The heat and humidity were still dragging on me a bit. I strolled around the Showcase for a while, stopping to call home in the courtyard in front of the America pavilion. Joshua was feeling better, and Hope thought he might be ready for a part-time return to day care. Yay! Next, I decided to skip the prime viewing areas for Tapestry and Illuminations toward Germany & Italy in favor of a Marvelous at the Boulangerie. Yum! (Yes, my stomach does sometimes make the decisions, especially at Epcot!) I walked over to the theater just as the doors opened for Impressions de France, so I decided to see it, since it had been so long. (It was a pleasant movie with great classical music.) After seeing another piece of the Tapestry parade (note theme reference) on a potty break at Morocco, I staked out a spot above the park near the International Gateway bridge for Illuminations and had a nice chat with a lovely British woman on holiday with her family. After Illuminations, it was out the Gateway to catch a bus for some shopping at the Marketplace. On a whim, I bypassed the nearest bus stop at the Beach Club for a stroll down the Boardwalk. While stopped for a chat at the DVC stand, I ended up discussing the pros and cons of membership with a prospective member for 5-10 minutes before heading to the bus stop. His final question ("would you still buy in now at $75 per point?") was answered with "I'm glad that I don't have to answer that question." (Our points were purchased at $62.75 per point with seven more years left on the lease and five years of free park passes.) I hope he makes his decision soon, though, because it goes up to $80 per point on June 2. It was only a short wait for the bus, and an uneventful trip to Downtown Disney. I was briefly surprised that they took the long way around the block (up and around Community Drive), until I realized that it made much more sense from a traffic flow perspective. After passing through 2R's and Art of Disney, I had reached my goal: World of Disney. Forty-five minutes and a couple of hundred bucks later (oy!), I was back at the bus stop. After checking e-mail back at the room, it was off to bed. I had planned a quiet evening, but having the extra day's pass let me get in a viewing of Illuminations and a nice international dining experience. Thursday, April 4 - conference, Rainforest Café, Pleasure Island Up at 7:00 for another full conference day, including lunch (make-your-own tortillas) and reception (finger foods) -- the food was pretty good, but not outstanding. The shuttle launch scheduled for today was scrubbed, so no break to go outside and watch the plume of fire. I dropped my stuff at the room between the conference and the reception for an easy getaway. After stopping at Guest Services to pick up a ticket for tomorrow's E-Ride, get some info on having Mickey send postcards to Joshua, and discuss some Disney philosophy and web sites with Ralph, I headed out to the bus stop. By about 7:15, I was on my way to Downtown Disney for the evening. I checked in with home from the bus. Joshua went to day care for a couple of hours, and was doing better. Hope was holding up OK. I still felt guilty. I got to the Marketplace and decided to get a more substantial meal for dinner (the finger food wasn't holding me), so I headed over to the Rainforest Café. There was no wait for a safari of one, so it was right back to the Elephant Room for me. Travis was right on top of things and I was watered, ordered, and updating the trip report in no time. Two cycles of the rainforest later, I had my Hong Kong Stir-Fry with Shrimp. It was very good, but by the time I got out of there and got over to Pleasure Island, it was after 9:00 and time to get in line for the 9:20 Comedy Warehouse show. I got the aisle seat in long row, and chatted on and off with three ladies on their night out while waiting for the show. They asked why I was taking notes, and they were amused by the thought of trip reports. Jamie was on the keys, and Greg opened with a phone call to Jen, a recently-graduated dietician who was looking for work in the corporate health field. The cast for this show was Greg, Matt, Mary, Krista, and Jake. The rest of the show was Conducted Story, with Jake leading "A Bird in a Nest." Matt was the first to die, by dictionary. Then Greg died by towels, assisted by Krista as a deranged Bed, Bath, & Beyond salesperson. The story continued with Mary in a Kung Fu movie and Krista in a film noir. Krista died by chinchilla, with everyone helping, including Mary as Mrs. Danvers and Jake as Sparkle, the deranged chinchilla. Mary wrapped up in a folk song. The finale was a song about a guy in the audience whose fiancé explained that he did not know how one played hooky. "Do you play it with dice?" Then it was back outside to get in line for the 10:40 show. After listening to Frankie and the gang rip through Santana's "Smooth," we entered, and I got the aisle seat one level up from long row. Lisa got me a very good Bacardi & Coke, while I chatted with a gentleman who had moved to the area from Cleveland because the electronics component business was hot in Central Florida and really stunk in Cleveland. Chris opened with a phone call to Stephane from Johannesburg, South Africa, who was here for three weeks with his wife, Ilyse. (I'm guessing at the spelling based on pronunciation, which gave poor Chris fits, as Stephane's accent was very thick.) Chris was joined by Greg, Matt, Mary. and Philip in a song about his job as an accountant for a gold, silver, and platinum mining company. Next up was Song Cue, directed by Mary, with Philip as a guy looking to buy an engagement ring from Greg, as a snotty sales clerk, where Philip -- it turned out -- was actually interested in dating Greg. Chris joined them on the Japanese song, "I Am Not Buying a Ring at K-Mart." The two guys then performed "Manners Are a Two-Way Street" and the Broadway classic "I Just Want to Be Near You," with a great closing line from Greg. Next was a Classic Disney Moment in the dark in the Animal Kingdom parking lot. This was followed by Schmeopardy! hosted by Greg as Milton Bradley. The contestants were Nora Life (Chris), manager of a TCBY in a mall in Emerson, IL; Kookie (Mary), a "massage therapist" who was very good with her hands; and Gordon LightTooth (Matt), an entertainment technician (with a distinct Elvis-like appearance) at Universal Studios "ESCAPE!!" Topics were Fancy People, the Dollar Store, and International Cuisine. After a final Schmeopardy! round of Dionne Warwick songs, Nora won. They wrapped up with a pet peeve blues song about "love bugs." (It's currently love bug mating season in Florida.) Mary made a great reference to Buddy Hackett and Dean Jones that most people missed. Then it was time to get in line for the 12:05. After the New Year's countdown and fireworks, we entered to the melodic strains (?) of "Blister in the Sun." Matt opened the show with a phone call to Ari, an Internet marketer from Brooklyn who thought he was hilarious and was here with his wife of one year. (He might not make two if he keeps up those cracks about his wife.) Matt was joined by Chris, Krista, Mary, and Philip. Next, Chris led Changing Styles with Krista & Mary as friends who met on a cruise years ago and now work together as waitresses at a comedy club in Alaska, and Matt as the drunk guy Mary was trying to set Krista up with. They went through 50's sitcom, country music, film noir, Tennessee Williams, After-school special, do-it-yourself TV, Kabuki theater, Terence McNally, horror movie, scrambled porn channel, Celtic music, hospital drama, foreign movie, silent movie, Bob Fosse, and finished it off as a New Age song. Next came a repeat of the last show's Disney Classic Moment. (Trying out a new bit for audience feedback?) Next was Cliché, where they tortured Matt (before and after he got it) with "Keep looking at the stars, because you'll never be one." They closed with Pet Peeves again. Erica's pet peeve was that she hates kids who can't swim. This is of vital importance to everyone because Erica is a lifeguard at the Polynesian. Parents, you have been warned. After the show, it was time to head back to CSR for some much-needed rest. Of course, by the time I got there, got organized for the next day, and got to sleep, it was about 2:30. At least I didn't have to check office e-mail, as I had decided to bring my laptop down to the conference and hijack a high-speed connection from one of the community PCs so that I could connect to the office via VPN. (It's a technical thing, I'm not going to explain it here.) Friday, April 5 - conference, Magic Kingdom, E-Ride Up at disgusting o'clock again. (If I'm at Walt Disney World. I shouldn't have to be up at seven.) Brain-cramming conference from 8:00 to 7:45, with a long break for lunch (or at least for those of us who skipped the vendor presentation). After eating the conference lunch (hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken sandwiches -- OK, but nothing special), I took a nice stroll around Lago Dorado. The resort is lovely to look at. There's a great marsh nature trail in the Ranchos area where I saw herons fishing for their lunch. The Dig Site is well done, and looks like a fun place to hang out, play, and swim. I had a nice relaxing sit on a bench behind the boat-and-bike rental kiosk. If I were to stay here again (not likely, due to our DVC membership, though you never know when there'll be another conference), I'd probably want a water view in Cabanas 9B. After we were done for the night, I stopped by Guest Services before heading out for E-ride night to give Ralph the postcards for Mickey to sign. (They were waiting for me in my room when I got back from E-ride -- Ralph is right on top of everything, and always willing to go the extra mile. He is also always looking for more information to help guests. I wish I had ordered those What Would Walt Do? pins, because he definitely deserves one. And Ralph, feel free to email me if you want to stay in contact. There should be a link somewhere on this page.) I called home from the bus -- did I mention that I love free long distance on my cell phone? Joshua went to him music class and almost a full date of day care today. He's doing much better, and Hope is still holding up. Yay! When I got to the Magic Kingdom, I saw the tail end of Spectromagic (there it is again...) as I got my wristband and got over to Tony's Town Square for dinner (no wait). I was starved, and ordered the Buca Nuva appetizer and the Frutta di Mare. The plate under the Buca Nuva was scalding hot, which I didn't realize until I went to adjust the plate. Now, I'm usually very careful about hot plates. I barely put any pressure against the plate, and only for a split second, but I still immediately got a small blister on my little finger. Alfio, my waiter, was very concerned, brought me a cup of ice, and urged me to stop at First Aid after I finished my meal. He also stopped by several times during my meal to make sure that I was OK. The food was excellent, and the two who actually brought my food were the only other down points of the meal. The man who brought the Buca Nuva could have at least said "be careful, it's hot," though it seemed that "Buca Nuva" was about as close to English as he could manage. The woman who brought my entree had to be asked the second time she later passed the table to remove my appetizer plate, which had been pushed well away from me before the entree arrived. At least Alfio was on top of his game. When I was done I decided to go to First Aid just to be safe. Unfortunately, it was now time for the grand finale of the fireworks. I managed to work my way to the end of Main Street by the time the show ended. Note to those who check their brains at the gate: when the fireworks stop and Mickey says good night, the show is over. Continuing to watch the castle for more fireworks for several minutes won't change that. Several dozen folks at the end of Main Street probably could have used that advice. After getting some burn gel on my finger, it was time for some rides. My cell phone rang as I was on my way to Goofy's Barnstormer to check seat & restraint sizes for November. Joshua didn't want to go to sleep and wanted Hope to call me so that he could tell me that he missed me. Talk about your heart-melting moments! After getting off the phone, I continued on to Goofy's Barnstormer. Judging by where the lap bar rested on my legs, we may have to come up with a supplemental restraint method for Joshua. Being extra-large with an extra-small child has its difficulties. Next I had to go on the teacups (Joshua's favorite ride), where people probably thought I was a nut as I rode while staring at a picture of Hope and Joshua on the teacups at Disneyland from last year on my trusty Palm m130 (on which this report was written). I felt a bit better, and yet more melancholy at the same time. I guess that phone call really got to me. I walked though Fantasyland, amazed that the lines were still 50 minutes at Peter Pan and 25 at Small World. I headed over to Jungle Cruise, where I was able to walk right on. Skipper Dan was pretty good, if lackluster at times, with some jokes that were new to me. Dockside loader Heather did a little hula, and we were off. Next, I walked right on to Pirates again, then got to Frontierland just as the Garden Float (Sleeping Beauty) from Spectro passed. (My sixth and final partial parade of the trip.) By the time I got across the parade route, decided to head to Fantasyland, and made my way along the riverside pathway, the end of the parade had passed and the line for Peter Pan was back to 50 minutes. Since I didn't want to waste the first half-hour of E-ride on the Pan line, I kept walking and found that the Snow White line was only about 3 minutes. Unable to resist a bargain, I jumped on. After that, I strolled over to Space Mountain. It was still 10 minutes to E-ride when I jumped on the short line. When I got off, E-ride had started, but the line had backed up a bit, so I headed over to Buzz (Planetary Pilot - 127,500), then rode the TTA. (Yes, you read that right. It seems the TTA is now an E-ticket ride. Not a popular one, apparently, since it appeared closed when I walked by it about 12:00, one hour into E-ride.) I took one more ride on Space, then headed to Frontierland. I rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad five times without getting out of my seat, then walked right onto Splash Mountain. E-ride: the Ultimate Fastpass! (You know, there's just something that's so magical about Big Thunder after dark.) On Splash, it seemed as if they had the water turned up extra high. I got drenched! Rather than staying on for another go-round as I had planned, the chill in the air convinced me to start winding down. I stopped by the Haunted Mansion to give my regards to the 999, then headed for Main Street. The smellitizer outside the Bake Shop lured me in for a chocolate chip cookie. Not their best offering, to be sure, but my order was set by the smellitizer before I set foot inside. My last stop was the Emporium for a couple of last-minute items. Upon exiting, I said goodbye to the Magic Kingdom from our brick, and headed to the bus stop at about 1:40. By the time I got to my room, got everything set for the next morning, and got to sleep, it was almost 3:00. Another early night. ;-) Saturday, April 6 - conference, Studios Up much too early again, it was again time to immerse myself in the wonderful world of Windows 2000 and .NET Server. Lunch was table service on the Patio del Sol outside the Conference Center. Not bad for conference food (though I've had better), and it was nice to be served after two days of buffet lunches. I stopped by the front desk during lunch break to thank Ralph and say goodbye. I think he has a bright future at Walt Disney World. Once we were done for the day (4:30!), I dropped my stuff in the room and waited for the Studios bus, reaching the park around 5:15. Checking in from the bus stop, Hope and Joshua had just returned from some shopping, and all was well. I figured I'd check in later. After grabbing a Millionaire Fastpass (6:50-7:00), I headed over for an extended visit to the One Man's Dream exhibit. It was kind of melancholy, seeing Walt's achievements and thinking about what the accountanteers are doing to his legacy. It was really cool to see the Dancing Man, and the cast member was impressed that I noticed that the bird cage had been added to Walt's Studio office. After commiserating with a couple of cast members about the decline in quality (Traditions is now a day or less in length! Oy!), I moved into the last area before the theater. There, I was confronted by a visual reminder of the sheer extent of the travesty. On one side of the room sat a rough model of Grizzly Peak from Disney's Cheapskate Merchandise Location, er, California Adventure. On the other side was an intricately detailed model of the Fortress from Tokyo Disney Sea. The feeling of melancholy in my soul was quite intense. OK, maybe that's a little melodramatic, but seeing the difference in quality depending on whether it's Disney or someone else footing the bill is downright depressing. (Disclaimer: I've been to DCA, but only seen the fabulous pictures of TDS.) Despite Japan's terrible recession (worse than ours), they can't keep people away from Disney Sea. Yet Disney is struggling to get people into DCA at reduced prices. Maybe it's because the Oriental Land Company put lots more money into park quality? Hmmm.... ::soapbox mode off:: At least those long-time cast members helped keep hope alive. The movie was pretty good, though Michael's smug lip service to Walt was painful to watch. Next stop was the Stories Behind the Magic kiosks, which had kind of simple questions (to my mind), though they were a good concept. I strolled around the Studio, stopping to offer to take a picture for a family at the Washington Square Arch on New York Street, and checking out the "Honey, I Shrunk..." playground for the November trip before heading over for my Millionaire Fastpass. I ended up in seat #16, in the front row of the bleachers, right behind the hot seat. I messed up the fastest finger question (knew the answer, pooched on punching it in). By the time the first contestant messed up at the 4,000 point level, I was at #8 on the big board. Then they took #1 for the hot seat and threw out all the rest of the scores. When they checked scores after the second contestant hit the 1,000 point level, I was at #10. Then I screwed up the next question by going against my first instinct. I was one of only about 10% to get the next question, but the contestant wasn't one of them. His game was over, and so was the show. I was not on the big board at the end. I headed over to Sunset Boulevard, down to the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, but the wait was 65 minutes, with no Fastpasses left. Waiting on that line would have meant skipping a sit-down dinner, and I was really looking forward to the Prime Time, so I skipped that and headed back to the Tower of Terror. The line was listed at 13 minutes, but I was at the library door in 5. In the elevator, I pulled the old "make the picture look funny" and sat leaning against the cage with my chin in my hand and a bored expression on my face for the photo. As I exited, I heard the laughter while I was looking at the photo, and laughed my way out of the attraction. (This concept was brought to me by my friend Eric Zuckerman, who first suggested looking to the opposite side with an "ooh, a butterfly" look for the photo in Dinosaur!) Next it was on to the 50's Prime Time Café and a 10-minute wait for dinner. Unfortunately, Debbie seemed more like she belonged at Durgan Park in Boston than the Prime Time. Everybody else seemed to act more like "home." After my Char-Broiled Double-Cut Pork Chop and my Oreo Cheesecake (yum!), it was off for a leisurely stroll back down Sunset Blvd. toward the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater. I relaxed in the last row of the section between Pocahontas and Mickey and took advantage of the down time to update the trip report and check in with home. No pre-show entertainment tonight. I wonder why? Fantasmic! was a nice "final Disney entertainment" for the trip. After returning to CSR, I took one last leisurely walk along the lakeshore, simultaneously wishing that I didn't have to go home and that Hope & Joshua were there with me. Then it was back to the room to pack up and set the clocks ahead in preparation for tomorrow. Sunday, April 7 - post-conference seminar, check out, travel day, get home Not only was it an early morning for classes, but the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, too. In other words, I was exhausted! After a conference session from 8:30-1:00, it was time to wait for the 1:20 Mears shuttle. The ride went quickly, as a bunch of us from the conference (including my last presenter) engaged in an ad hoc extension of the conference. As I entered the terminal, I was dreading a madhouse at check-in and security. In point of fact, I had no wait at check-in, and the only delay at security was unpacking and repacking the laptop. Once I got airside, I was able to get some food and still have plenty of time to get to my gate. I checked in with home and with my parents while waiting to board We boarded on time, but had an extended delay while they looked for volunteers to get bumped. They had to up the ante to two free round-trips plus hotel, dinner, and breakfast for the overnight in order to get their four volunteers. Once we got underway, I was able to sleep almost the whole flight to Philadelphia. Once we got to Philly (a bit late), we ended up parking out by the cargo facility and we were shuttled to Gate A6 via people mover. My connecting flight was scheduled to board in 5 minutes, and I had to get to Gate B3 in the next terminal. After playing O. J. Simpson (for those that remember those "I'm running through airports!" commercials), I got to my gate 3 minutes after it was scheduled to board ... and discovered that the plane hadn't arrived from Rochester yet. By the time the plane arrived, emptied, was cleaned, and everybody rushed on board, we pulled away from the gate only 15-20 minutes late. By the time we got to Albany, I got my luggage, got my car, and got home, it was about 10:20pm. Certainly a long-enough day, especially after unpacking and getting ready for work. But at least I was home and with my family again. The Good
The Bad
The Ugly
Lessons Learned
The Budget
Success against objectives list:
Next trip: November 8-16, Disney's Old Key West Resort, 1 bedroom unit. My father and stepmother will be there for the Tuesday through Friday portion of the trip, in their own accommodations. (They're also DVC members.) It'll be a belated 15th anniversary (10/25) trip for us and a belated 4th birthday (10/2) trip for Joshua. Since Brian doesn't post pre-trip reports any more, the (most likely) massive report should be submitted by Thanksgiving. Mark Goldhaber mgoldhab@nycap.rr.com Mail a Comment to Mark Goldhaber |
|