Discussion Boards | Reviews | News | Trip Planning | Shop | Travel | Site Map

Disney Trip Report Archive An archive of reader-submitted trip reports

- Look in: MousePlanet WWW

[ Return to Index Page ]

David Hastings -- January 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASMoR)

January 30 - February 10, 2002

• David Hastings- 43 years old
• Debbie Hastings- 49 years old
• Caity Hastings- 14 years old

Preplanning- I won’t go too much into the preplanning except to fill you in on the basics of how this trip came about and how it changed over time. After a dry spell of about 6 years we were fortunate to vacation in WDW in 1998 (Coronado Springs, Dixie Landings), 1999 (All- Star Movies) and 2000 (All- Star Music). All were fantastic vacations. When we got home from our 2000 trip we decided to skip a year and then do it right in 2002. So we made reservations for the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge for the first week of February. We paid the rooms off in short order and all that was left was the waiting. During this period we put more money aside for tickets and meals, etc. Debbie kept looking at the room rates that we were paying and was wondering whether we should be making a change as we don’t spend that much time at the hotel, anyway. We don’t do the afternoon break as many do. Our rest break usually consists of a nice, sit-down meal where we can relax, unwind and recharge our batteries. Of course, Caity and I still wanted to stay with the nicer hotels.

Well, one day while I was reading the Sunday paper I came across an ad for the Disney All-Star Resorts at the rate of only $59 per night. WOW! As much as I was looking forward to the two lodges I simply could not pass this up. So we changed to the All- Star Movies Resort and the money we had left over paid for our park tickets and still left about $450 on account at Disney. At the All- Stars regular rates I never would have made the change but this was just too good to pass up. Plus, and here’s my real reason, when we get home we are planning on booking a Disney Cruise (Western Caribbean) for 2003. It will be nice to be able to pay off a big chunk of the cruise at the outset.

So the only gray cloud on this trip is the hotel situation but realistically we will be at Disney World and we will be staying at a Disney resort. When you look at the problems that life can serve up to you I’d feel foolish complaining about such a minor thing. I’m not a huge fan of the All- Stars as a whole but the last time we stayed at the Movies we loved it. Their food court is fantastic.

As I sit here writing the preplanning portion of this report we are just two days away from leaving on our vacation. This is absolutely the best time. We actually made our reservations about 45 weeks ago and have been diligently checking them off ever since. Finally, the time is almost here. Our vacation was set for the first week of February but we added the Thursday and Friday from the previous week because Nabisco owed me two days off. We are actually leaving on Wednesday after I get off work. We will be staying at the Comfort Inn in Florence, SC. This will put about 5.5 hours of driving behind us and leave about 7.5 hours for Thursday. Not too bad. We were going to fly this time but Debbie is very nervous flying and after the events of 9/11 we’re back to driving.

I won’t go into any of the planning details as you will be reading all about it in the body of the report. There’s not a lot that is new this year at Disney but there are some restaurants that we will being to for the first time. And I should warn you - a major part of what I look forward to on my Disney vacations are the meals and the restaurants. So they will be covered in detail. If you are not into the food- you have been warned. Gotta check my watch. How many hours now?

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30-

The person who will be covering my route while I am on vacation worked with me today so I ended up getting off a little early. How nice. As you can imagine, my mind wasn’t 100% on the job today. Okay, maybe my mind wasn’t 10% on the job today. :-) When I got home I started packing the car and Debbie took her car to pick up Caity from school. By the time they got home I had finished the car, left the necessary voice mails, and turned off my pager (Woo- hoo!). We left at 2:46 p.m. which was great because it meant that we would miss the rush hour traffic which we had to deal with on our last two trips. In fact, the traffic was light for the whole drive today. We stopped for dinner at a Taco Bell and spent about $6. Debbie looked over at me and said, “Something tells me this is going to be our cheapest meal of the whole vacation”. This is good evidence that she HAS been to Disney World before.

When we arrived at the hotel I noticed that the trip odometer showed 315 miles. Expedia.com had computed it to be 321 miles. I thought that was pretty close. I don’t remember the mileage that they showed for the remainder of our drive tomorrow but I do remember that the travel time was computed at 7.5 hours. Hopefully, this will be accurate. Last trip, due to rain and many accidents, we arrived about 4 hours late. Boy, were we frustrated (okay, mostly me). I’ll keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Anyway, we arrived at the Comfort Inn about 8:00 p.m. We got settled in and went to bed after watching West Wing. Today was a great start to what I trust will be another great vacation.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31-

We did not set an alarm last night but I woke up at my usual time of 4:00 a.m. Debbie woke up shortly after I did. We really didn’t mind. We were both well rested and besides- we weren’t going to work! It’s amazing how your plans for the day can determine whether you wake easily or not. We didn’t rush but just took our time and eased into the day. Anybody that knew the old me would find this hard to believe. As a reformed Disney commando I think back to the days of rushing around and getting stressed out and I have to wonder what I was thinking. Well, the theme for this trip was fun and relaxation and why not start today? When you consider how early we wake up (except for Caity, of course <g>) and the fact that Early Entry is a thing of the past we won’t feel rushed at all.

While Debbie took her shower I made a trip out to the car and I could not believe the temperature. It’s short-sleeve weather early in the morning in January. On our last trip down in April of 2000 it was bitterly cold outside. I hope we keep this kind of weather all week. After waking Caity and finishing showers and stuff we went to the lobby for the continental breakfast. Nothing special but it served its purpose. We were back on the road before 8:00 after a quick stop for gas. I didn’t mention it but the car I’m driving (Chevy Malibu) is a company car. Beginning this year Nabisco issued all Sales Reps gas cards which will cover all gas needed- business or personal. It’s great because that is one less expense that we will have to pay out-of-pocket this year. It’s also more convenient as I can pay at the pump which is really nice.

The ride to WDW was uneventful. Traffic was lighter than I have ever seen it. For once, the drive was completely stress- free and was not tiring at all. We made two quick stops- once at KFC for lunch and then the usual stop at the Florida welcome center for some free orange juice and so that Debbie and Caity could pick up some extra brochures in case they need them for their scrapbook. The morning had started off a little cloudy but by the time we hit Florida the day was absolutely beautiful. Perfect temperatures and puffy white clouds. We passed the Disney gate at precisely 4:09 p.m. It really felt good to be back after skipping 2001. I drove straight to the All- Star Movies and got through the gate with no problems or delays. All I had to do was to show a picture I.D.

At check-in we requested a room in the Fantasia section. We were informed that as of January 1 the Fantasia section is considered a preferred destination and that those rooms cost $10 more than rooms in the other locations. (I had heard about this and doubted that we could get the Fantasia section because of the $59 rate that we had gotten.) Debbie told them that the surcharge would not be a problem. We still wanted that section if available. The CM got on the phone with somebody and after a few seconds informed us that we would be upgraded to the Fantasia section at no extra cost. Wow. How nice. Not only had we not complained but had stated that the extra fee would be fine. We’ve been here about 5 minutes and we’ve already experienced some of that Disney magic.

We drove on around to our parking area and took our bags on up to the room. This really is an ideal location. We are on the second floor and have a corner room right on the end of the building. You can’t get any closer to the Food Court than we are. It’ll be great for that early morning coffee. If you step out our door and walk to the railing over to the right you are overlooking the kiddie swimming pool which sits in front of the laundry. And no, noise was never a problem. We had hoped to get the building with the Sorcerers hat and the dancing brooms but we are in the toy soldier building which is directly across the courtyard. It did not take us long to figure out that this is the better location because as we come and go we can see the other building but you don’t really see the icons on your own building. We spent a few moments looking around and then unpacked a little before leaving for our 6:00 p.s. at Whispering Canyon Cafe.

We got in the car and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge. (I drive everywhere; don’t like to wait for the busses.) As far as I’m concerned, nothing makes me feel more like I’ve arrived at Disney than walking through the doors of the Wilderness Lodge. This hotel never ceases to amaze me. Every time I walk in it’s like the first time. It is a little bittersweet this time as this was one of our original destinations. Oh well, maybe next time. We walked over to the restaurant and were seated immediately. They put us in a location that I hadn’t really noticed before. It is in the back of the restaurant on the right side. Basically, you are sitting behind the enormous fireplace which dominates on corner of the lobby of the hotel. And this little seating area has a fireplace built into the back of the main fireplace complete with roaring fire. It really made for a nice, cozy area. Definitely the place to request if you are looking for a little romance in this restaurant. Of course, at this time all I was looking for was a menu which we quickly got.

I ordered the Apple Rotisserie Chicken which was a half chicken marinated in an apple- rosemary marinade and slow- roasted. It came with cinnamon apples and roasted potatoes. It was good but nothing special. It was my only disappointing meal of the week. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad at all. It was just standard roasted chicken like you get at Boston Market. Debbie ordered the Glazed Pork Chops which was 2 pork chops brushed with a maple- garlic glaze and then grilled. They came with roasted corn and baked beans. This meal was very good. For some reason, poor Debbie suffered all week from a slightly queasy feeling in her stomach. She takes medication for diabetes and we think that this may be a side effect but it wasn’t something we could figure out down here. So she wasn’t able to enjoy her meals as much as usual. In what was to be a re-occurring theme this week she gave me one of her pork chops. Hey, anything I can do to help- you know? Caity ordered the Grilled Chicken Pasta which was noodles and vegetables tossed in a creamy Romano and garlic sauce. Caity went nuts. It was outstanding. The sauce had the best flavor but was not heavy and rich. This ended up being Caity’s favorite meal of the week. We were all quite satisfied after the meal but were too full to even consider dessert.

After our meal we just walked around the resort just enjoying the ambience as well as taking some pictures and video (like I’ve never done that before). We stopped by the mercantile and looked around for awhile and I ended up purchasing 2 CD’s- the Spectromagic parade CD which I’ve been waiting for a long time and a CD called ’Magic in the Streets’ which contains music from all four parades which celebrate the 100 Years of Walt. I also bought a souvenir DVD which I can’t wait to see when we get home. The last thing I bought was a statue of the Disney character totem pole which sits just outside of the mercantile. This is a new version which really looks nice. (Could I BE any more of a tourist?) Before we left the hotel we went out back to look around and then we walked out to the dock and sat for awhile and just enjoyed the gorgeous night. The stars were out, the crickets were chirping (I know, I know, they’re piped in) and the water was lapping gently on the dock and not another guest was in sight. I could have sat there forever but we dragged ourselves away and headed back to OUR hotel. We stopped by the food court and bought our refillable mugs and immediately filled them up with hot chocolate (which was very good by the way). I also purchased a Mickey shaped Rice Krispie treat with chocolate-dipped ears which I’m saving for breakfast tomorrow. Back to the room where we finished unpacking and we were in bed by 10:30. All in all, a great first day at WDW. It feels really good to be back.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1-

I woke up to the alarm at 5:30 feeling well-rested and ready to go. Debbie got in the shower and I took our mugs to the food court to get coffee for her and I and Diet Coke for Caity. By the way, they have two sizes of mugs now with one being thinner so that it can fit into the cup holder in your car. That is the one I bought for myself. At this time of the morning there was no one at all in the food court. When I got back to the room I ate my Rice Krispie Mickey while I drank my coffee. Hey, it is made from cereal. Besides, I don’t usually eat breakfast at home. This was really a treat. After eating I showered while the girls went to the food court for breakfast. When they got back it was time for us to head on over to Universal Studios.

It really felt strange going to a non-Disney park on our first full day in Orlando. This park got added at the last minute when our trip got extended by a couple of days. We have Islands of Adventure planned for later next week. Universal Studios opens at 9:00 today and we arrived about 8:30. We did not have to wait in ticket lines as we had purchased our tickets at AAA in Virginia Beach. This was really nice. They do not give you vouchers but actually issue you tickets which work for immediate entry. We bought two-day tickets which allow entry to either park but we did not plan to park hop. They let us in precisely at 9:00 and we were amazed at how empty the park was. We headed right over to Men in Black figuring we would hit the most popular attractions first in case it got busier later. We walked right onto this ride with absolutely no other guests in sight. I was very impressed that Universal offered free lockers to store your valuables for the duration of the ride. This is a very nice perk. As to the ride itself, I have to admit that I was a little bit disappointed. I’ve heard so much about this ride that I had perhaps set my expectations a little too high. It was fun and all that, but nothing special. But then, I’m not as big on Buzz Lightyear as some people are, either.

After MIB we headed on over to Back to the Future which was one of my favorites from our last visit in 1999. I enjoyed it this time as well. This ride is very well done, blending both ride simulator and 3D film. Then we crossed the park to hit Kongfrontation. This one also is a very well-done attraction. Don’t miss it if you get the chance. After the ride we stopped to get our picture taken in the giant Kong hand doing our best Faye Wray imitations. Of course, this was done with the scrapbook in mind. After this we walked on over to Twister. We discovered that there is really two ways to experience this attraction. Up front, you really get to experience the wind and the rain a little better. But if you are on the back row, you get to experience a lot of special effects which are not visible to you from the front. Basically, this means the partial collapse of the building that you are using for shelter. This is another fun attraction. I should also point out that Caity is a huge fan of Bill Paxton, who introduces the attraction in a short film.

After Twister we decided to head over to do the Earthquake attraction. As we were passing an alleyway Caity recognized it as the alley behind the boys of N*Sync on one of her posters. So we stopped long enough for me to get a photo of Caity in the same spot. Then it was on to Earthquake. This attraction has some pretty awesome effects and Caity had forgotten about the water that rushes down the stairway and was actually startled- thinking, of course, that we were going to get soaked. But, once again, the water didn’t quite reach us. Next we headed down the street heading towards Jaws. I should point out here that they were really playing some great music in this park. We’ve been hearing songs by Matchbox 20, Lenny Kravitz, and many more. Also, songs from the movie Moulin Rouge. When we got to Jaws there was actually a 5- minute wait. This has been the longest wait all day. We’re really moving right along.

We were starting to get hungry and decided that now was as good a time as any to stop for lunch. We decided to go to Mel’s Diner. We don’t want to eat too much as we will be eating at O’Hana’s tonight. On the way to Mel’s Shaggy from Scooby-do came driving by in the Mystery Machine and made some remarks about my receding hairline. Unfortunately, he was past before I could come up with a brilliant reply. (I still haven’t thought of one, now that you mention it). Caity was laughing and told me that she got the whole incident on my video camera. Mustering up as much dignity as I could I walked into the restaurant.

Not wanting to overdo it too much we ended up getting two burger & fry platters to split between the three of us. Debbie and I each got chocolate shakes (no sharing here, thank you very much) and Caity got a root beer float. While we were eating I was telling Caity that this drive-in was from the movie American Graffiti but Debbie kept insisting that it was from the TV show Alice. Neither one of us would budge and we were getting nowhere until Caity saw the answer on the back of the waitress’ uniform. Modesty prevents me from telling you who was right (wink, wink). By the way, all of the food was very good. It was a really nice surprise. One thing I thought was odd. At one point Caity went to go find the restroom and found a sign pointing to a door. The funny thing was that this door led outside. The restrooms were actually around the corner.

After lunch we headed over to Terminator 2- 3D. This is yet another attraction that we stood in line for what seemed like forever last time. I remember it well because it was a record breaking summer and most of the lines are outside the building. We had melted by the time we made it inside. This time, once again, we walked right in. I can definitely get used to this. This attraction is probably the crowning jewel of this park and we enjoyed seeing it again. At this point we had pretty much done everything that we wanted to do; and it was just after lunchtime. We decided to check out the Funtastic World of Hanna- Barbera ride simulator before we left. It is similar to the Back to the Future ride but geared more for kids. On our way over there we found Ricky Ricardo and his band performing in front of the Brown Derby (hat shop). The guy playing Ricky was pretty good so we stopped to watch for a couple minutes. Of course, Lucy tried to join the gig dressed as a saxophone player. Cute show. The Hanna- Barbera ride was fun but be prepared if your kids are small. It’s quite rough. It was neat seeing a lot of cartoon characters that I have not seen since I was a kid. On the way out of the park I stopped to buy a drinking glass with a Bates Motel logo on it. It looks like a regular glass but the writing is partially obscured by a bloody fingerprint. Cool.

We made our way back out to the car and realized that it was only a little after 1:00. Wow, what a totally different experience this was compared to the last time we visited this park. We actually had some time to kill so we decided to head over to the Belz Outlet Center to check out the two Disney stores. We’ve never been to either and figured that this would be a good time to check them out. I wasn’t sure where they were but I knew they were on International Drive so that’s where I went but of course I went in the wrong direction. I’m actually kind of glad that I did because I had a chance to see some really interesting architecture. Like the Ripley’s Believe It or Not building that is sinking into the ground. And the F.A.O. Schwartz store with its collection of giant toys sitting outside. And my personal favorite- the Wonderworks building which is actually sitting on the ground-- upside down!! I’ve seen pictures of these buildings in assorted guidebooks so seeing them in person was exciting. (Boy, I really need to get out more often <g>). It was also interesting seeing a lot of the restaurants that many of you write about in your trip reports. I remember all your reviews, good and bad.

Anyway, we got to see all of this stuff twice as we had to turn around and drive in the opposite direction to get to the outlet stores. This time we found them with no problem. We looked around each store for awhile. Both stores carried pretty much the same thing. We ended up buying some glasses for the kitchen, Caity got two shirts and Debbie bought one shirt. I ended up not buying a shirt at all (unusual for me) but the sizes were really extreme (big and small) and I kept thinking that I would see shirts later that I would like better. So I just ended up with a nice Pleasure Island Jazz Company cap. Not too bad. Before we got there I was worried that I would be leaving with 8 or 10 shirts and a ton of other stuff.

We still had a little time to kill before dinner so we decided to stop by the Magic Kingdom for a quick visit. We were itching to get into a Disney park- especially this one. Plus it would give us an opportunity to make sure that our park passes worked. The girls had their bags checked before coming through the gate but the delays were really minimal. By the time I got through and took one or two pictures they were there by my side. The Magic Kingdom was fairly busy but we hadn’t planned to do much anyway. We just enjoyed that first walk down Main Street and then took a left over to Adventureland. This has always been my favorite area because the theming here is so incredible. The new Agrabah section looks okay but the whole area is really cramped with the Aladdin ride stuck in the middle of it all. And I must say, in my opinion, the ride looks like a big ugly plastic thing and kind of out of place in this authentically themed area. It should have been made to look like it was constructed of wood, leather, cloth, etc. I know, I’m being kind of picky but Disney is the company that set the standards so high. Take anything from Port of Entry at IOA and set it down in Adventureland and it would look more at home. Actually, the ride looks kind of fun; it just looks like it belongs in Fantasyland. We’ll try it out next time. We walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean and rode that with almost no wait. I remember when this attraction used to be so popular that the entire queue area was almost always full. We enjoyed our ride and then looked around the pirate shop for awhile. This is one of my favorite shops in all of WDW. I found a few things I wanted but decided to get them later and we left to head over to the Polynesian. Instead of taking the car we decided to ride the monorail over to the hotel. We arrived about 6:00 which was about an hour early for our P.S. but we wanted to look around for awhile first so that worked out perfect. We walked out back to check out the new volcano pool. The pool looks great and the whole area is really nice but I must admit that I really miss the Tiki torches. Debbie and I stayed here for our honeymoon 17 years ago and one of the things that we remember the most was walking around the courtyard at night with all the Tiki torches lit. Oh, well, things change.

After we were done exploring we headed on up to O’hana’s and were seated within 2 minutes. We’ve heard so much about this restaurant that eating here was one of the things that we had anticipated the most on this trip. In fact, I was worried that we would be disappointed after all the hype. Well, I worried for nothing as this was one of the best meals of the trip. In fact, it ended up being Debbie’s favorite meal and my second favorite. Caity also enjoyed it very much after having some concerns ahead of time. The meal started out with a huge appetizer platter. Actually, it was a lazy Susan which they placed in the middle of the table. We had that baby spinning like a top in no time as we sampled all the offerings. They included Stir Fried Vegetables, Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, Shrimp and Chicken Wontons, Honey Coriander Chicken Wings and Stir Fried Rice. This was quickly followed by the skewers containing the BBQ Pork Loin, the Mesquite Seasoned Turkey Breast, the Oak Grilled Sirloin Steak, and the Grilled Jumbo Shrimp. Everything was great. Debbie’s favorites were the salad, vegetables, pork and shrimp. Caity’s favorites were the fried rice, the wontons and the turkey. I loved it all but especially enjoyed the fried rice, wontons, pork and turkey. But what made this meal special for me was the peanut sauce that came with the appetizer platter. It was the perfect accompaniment for all the grilled meats. It sounds strange I know but if you have never tried a peanut sauce you don’t know what you are missing.

The usual was going on while we ate- coconut races, Hula Hoop contests, and a strolling singer with a ukulele whose name we never learned. They just called him the “big Hawaiian guy”. He was very entertaining. But, of course, we did not let any of these distractions keep us from the job at hand- which was eating as much of this wonderful food as we could. Hey, everybody’s got to have goals. After enjoying our main course we ordered coffee and they brought out the pineapple with caramel sauce. Debbie enjoyed this very much but I elected to order something off the menu. I got the Chocolate Chantilly which is chocolate cake layered with butterscotch icing sitting in a pool of chocolate sauce. This was very good and not as sweet as it sounds. It was perfect with the coffee. Caity elected to skip dessert- obviously showing more common sense than her parents. <g>

While we were enjoying our coffee and dessert the lights dimmed in the restaurant and the fireworks started over Cinderella’s castle. The music from the fireworks is piped into the restaurant and the chatter just about disappears. We were close to the windows and had a great view. I must say that this experience was much more magical than I had expected and you couldn‘t help but get caught up in it. It was just really, really nice. I, of course, had heard about this but it wasn’t something that we had planned on. We had figured that we would watch the show from the beach after dinner. Not only were we not rushed out of the restaurant but our waiter told us to take out time over dessert as the show was coming up in 15 minutes. The restaurant was full but no one was waiting so we didn’t feel bad staying. Sometimes you don’t have to go looking for the magic- just relax, be there, have a good time and the magic will find you. At this point, we decided to call it a night and head back to our room. We headed to the TTC and picked up the car and were back in no time. What a great day this has been. We did a lot but at a relaxing pace and we never got the least bit tired. It was a wonderful start to what promises to be another great vacation.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2-

I woke up at 6:45 without the alarm. Today is Epcot day so there is no need to hurry. The park doesn't open until 10:00. We had breakfast at Cinema Hall with one minor incident. Caity’s bagel caught fire in the toaster. Pretty funny. It is a little cooler out with the high today going up to about 70 degrees. Perfect. We arrived at Epcot shortly after opening. Usually we come in through the International Gateway so this is the first time that I have seen the monuments out in front of Spaceship Earth. I have to agree; they are pretty ugly. We walked straight to Test Track (along with everyone else entering the park) and picked up our Fastpasses. Then we went back and rode Spaceship Earth. I’ve always enjoyed this ride. It doesn’t even bother me that it hasn’t really been updated. I miss Walter Cronkite but you gotta love Jeremy Irons. After our ride through the heavens we stopped by Mouse Gear to get a pair of sunglasses for Caity. She had left hers at home but thought she could get by without them. I love this store. Debbie spotted a glitter lamp that she wanted to get (the glitter was shaped like Mickey heads) but we decided to wait until our next Epcot day. This was a mistake because, of course, we forgot it.

We walked over to Test Track and got in the Fastpass line. We were almost immediately let into the preshow area and were seated in our test vehicle in no time. Of course, if you remember, the first test is the hill test and we failed that miserably as the ride broke down just as we hit the bottom of the hill. It wasn’t too bad as there is a CM stationed right there and we talked to him for awhile. There is also a view screen off to the side so that you can see yourselves in your vehicle. We were stopped right on the screen so I took some videotape of it. After about ten minutes we resumed the test and were soon flying around the track. The first time I rode this I was a little bit disappointed after all the hype but ever since then I’ve loved it. On our way out, as we were passing the new car showroom I spotted something I had not seen before. It is a VR simulator called Dreamchasers. You sit in a chair with a railing in front and move your head forward until it rests against the VR unit. The chair rotates. It looked like a lot of fun with about 20 chairs spinning in unison so we decided to give it a try. Boy, what a mistake. This is very lame. It’s basically a commercial for GM but even that would be okay if it was entertaining. And the worst thing is, we waited over 20 minutes to do this thing. Our longest wait of the week for the lamest ride of the week. Oh, well, live and learn. There was one other thing I was thinking about as we were leaving the Pavilion. I love Test Track but it is a shame that the World of Motion attraction had to be dismantled to make room for it. I thought that was a great ride with a lot of clever audio-animatronics. I wonder if Disney has ever thought about releasing a DVD with past attractions on it. I would love to see some of my old favorites again. I know that somewhere they must have ALL the old attractions on film-from beginning to end. I would purchase this in a minute just for nostalgia reasons and I am sure that there are probably many others with the same interest. It would also make it a little easier for Disney to retire attractions that still have a loyal following. By the same token, I would like to see some audio CD’s with music from past attractions and parades.

Anyway, we headed over to the Universe of Energy to see Ellen’s Energy Adventure. We really enjoy this with the addition of Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Nye, and (of course) Jamie Lee Curtis. Also keep a lookout for a short but funny cameo by Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld). At one point during the preshow Ellen looks out at the crowd and says, “Hey you, I like your hair”. I pretended that she was talking to me to make up for the comments by Shaggy yesterday. The Unofficial Guide listed this as the most improved attraction in Epcot and I have to agree.

At this point we decided to head over to the Electric Umbrella for a quick bite. Debbie is a diabetic and must stay more or less on schedule. She and Caity each got a small pizza and I just got a piece of chocolate cream pie as I was not all that hungry from breakfast. Lunch was good and quick, nothing special but not bad. After lunch we headed on over to Wonders of Life to see Cranium Command. This is a very cute show and even better for Caity as she now knows all the performers thanks to reruns of Saturday Night Live on Comedy Central. I would love to see what the kids look like nowadays as this film is quite a few years old now.

At this point World Showcase was open so we decided to head over to Mexico. We entered the pyramid to look around the village marketplace that they have created inside. We’ve looked through here before but never took the time to really look at what they had. We have a goal this year. Our plan is to buy something small from every country in the World Showcase for the shadow box which hangs in our living room. We found a few small items that we liked but then we spotted something that we really liked. It is a sun crafted from clay and is made to hang on the wall. It’s really attractive and will look great hanging next to the shadow box. I also found a small pre-Columbian figurine that looks absolutely authentic. I got this more as a gift to myself as I am very interested in both the Aztec and Mayan peoples. We decided to ride El Rio del Tiempo before making our purchases as there was no line at all. Most of this ride is pretty cheesy compared to the rest of the pavilion but I do like the fireworks at the end. When we got off the ride Mariachi Cobre was playing inside the pyramid. Unfortunately, they were playing right in front of the items that we wanted to buy. So we took some time to enjoy them and were finally able to make our purchases. We had them sent back to our hotel.

After Mexico we headed next door to Norway. While I took a few pictures Caity went to look around the Viking ship. Debbie went to the Kringla Bakeri og Kafe and returned with a Creme Horn. MMMMM! It’s times like this that I remember why I married this girl. After our snack we rode Maelstrom and even stayed for the movie afterwards. I really enjoy both. Afterwards, we went into the shop (Puffins Roost) and bought a small troll. We also spent a couple minutes looking through the stave church since we have never looked around in here before.

China was our next stop on our world tour. We walked through the Temple of Heaven and went straight back to the theater to see ‘Wonders of China’. It is a beautiful film but like all the 360 degree films you don’t get to sit to watch. I think I’d give up most of the view for a nice, soft seat. Actually, today we’re not really tired as we have been keeping a relaxed pace and the weather is nice and cool. But on those hot, summer days when the crowds are here there is nothing like an air conditioned, sit-down show. After the movie (which for some reason doesn’t touch on their questionable human- rights issues) we did some souvenir shopping. We ended up buying a jade Buddha and a carved lion. All the items in the store are made in China which is not significant but the funny thing is that if you turn some of the items available in the other pavilions they are made in China, too. This came as a surprise to us as we thought that all of the items available in the World Showcase were manufactured in the country that they represent. Just keep it in mind if you are looking for authentic souvenirs- there are plenty of those, too.

Our next stop was the African Outpost where we bought a Masai warriors mask to hang on the living room wall. It is carved out of dark wood and beautifully painted and will go nicely with our decor. There was an artisan there who was carving while you watched. He had a lot of nice stuff but it was higher priced than what we got so we decided to go with what we had picked out.

Our next stop was Germany where we looked around the shops and finally decided on a small beer stein. There was not a huge selection of smaller items but the stein is nice and does represent Germany really well. I also bought a large beer glass which I never got to use as Debbie accidentally broke it the first time it was washed. Oh, well. At this point it was getting close to 6:00 and our PS at Alfredo’s. Italy is the next pavilion so our timing is perfect. We checked in and were seated immediately. As we looked over the menu the waiter recommended an appetizer which was a sample plate of Italian meats and cheeses. It also included olives, artichokes and bread. We made small sandwiches with the meats and cheeses and used the olive oil on the table for dipping. This turned out to be really good. We were getting to be pretty hungry at this point anyway although Debbie was feeling a little bit queasy. I think the sandwiches helped her a little bit. Rather than ordering anything heavy Debbie decided to go with the Tomato- Mozzarella Salad. After reading a lot about this dish online she decided to give it a try but ended up very disappointed. She said it was very bland. Caity ordered her usual Fettuccine Alfredo and declared it very good but filling. I ordered the special which was a pasta dish made with large prawns and a spicy tomato- seafood bisque. This was really very good and the sauce was actually very light and not too rich. For dessert Debbie ordered the panna cotta which was good but not nearly as good as that served at Palo’s on the Disney Magic. I ordered the cream puffs that were dipped in chocolate and came sitting in a vanilla cream sauce. This was good but not as good as the coffee I ordered to go with it. Caity declined dessert. For some reason she never gets dessert after eating alfredo <g>. When the bill came I learned a valuable lesson. I saw that the appetizer was $23.95. WOW! It was good but I never would have ordered that if I had known. I hadn’t really planned on ordering an appetizer anyway. But I only blame myself for not asking so we did not complain and we tipped appropriately.

After dinner we shopped for awhile in Italy and bought a miniature Carnival mask. It is hand painted and really beautiful. Next we headed over to the American pavilion. We had just missed the next showing of The American Adventure and decided to see it on our next Epcot day. We looked through the shop but there was really not anything that we were interested in so we decided to limit our souvenirs to foreign countries. We live very close to Williamsburg so we see these kinds of things all the time. We were about ready to call it a night, but Caity asked if we could stop by the Mitsukoshi department store in Japan. She has been buying gifts for her friends from school and wants to finish up tonight if possible. She ended up buying some lucky cats (as did we), a rice bowl, and a banner with the Japanese symbol for “dream”. The store had a section of items dedicated to the Iron Chef TV show. It’s a Japanese show that features a cooking competition between two chef’s. To us in America it’s kind of fun and campy, but it Japan it is serious business. I thought about buying a t-shirt but decided to wait until later so, of course, I never got it. This is a great store for browsing if you have the opportunity.

After leaving Japan we started towards the exit and decided to see when the next showing of Honey, I Shrunk the Audience would be. It turns out that our timing was perfect so we went on in. This is a very well done and entertaining show, especially if you are sitting next to someone who has never seen it. Since our last trip I have turned Caity into a huge Monty Python fan so she enjoyed seeing Eric Idle in this. After we exited the theater we were heading toward Spaceship Earth and could see parts of the Illuminations fireworks show out over the lake. We didn’t stop as we will be seeing this show on Wednesday. All of a sudden we could see a massive wall of flame out near the globe on the lake. Obviously, one of the fireworks barges had caught fire. I thought about heading to the lake to capture this on film but Debbie was patiently waiting up ahead so I just kept going. I’m sure this is something that happens occasionally and is no big deal. I caught up to Debbie and Caity; they were running around like kids on the light-up paving stones. This really is a neat effect and one of the many extra little things that Disney is so good at. In no time at all we were out of the park and back at the hotel. Boy, I love staying on property. It’s so convenient. Also, I should say that I rarely use Disney transportation. It is just too convenient to drive myself. We can get to any park in five minutes or less and after we park we’ve never had to wait around for a tram. There’s always one loading and as soon as that one pulls off another pulls in right behind it. I’m definitely not a commando anymore but I do hate standing around waiting on busses.

When we got back to the hotel we picked up our mugs for some of that really good hot chocolate. I love coffee, but I must say that on these cool nights the hot chocolate really hits the spot. Caity decided to gat an ice cream since she got no dessert at dinner. She ordered a double scoop and they piled her cone with 4 huge scoops. She couldn’t finish it all but had fun trying. Food may be expensive at Disney but they don’t usually skimp on the portions. Back up to the room and we were in bed by 11:00. Yet another spectacular day.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2002-

I woke up this morning at 7:15. Boy, it’s amazing how fast your sleep schedule adjusts. At least I’m not waking up at 4:00. I immediately woke Caity and Debbie so we could head over to the Animal Kingdom as soon as possible. Caity chose this moment to let us know that she needed some laundry done. I know we’ve only been here a couple of days, but apparently, there is a certain article of clothing that she needed. I guess she only brought a couple with her. So while they showered I took all our dirty clothes down to the laundry. I figured that I might as well do everything and not mess with it again on this trip. After I moved the clothes to the dryer I went up to get my shower while the girls went for breakfast in Cinema Hall. I wasn’t all that hungry so I just had a cup of coffee. When I returned to check on the clothes I noticed a very stressed-out woman trying to find an available dryer. She was having a hard time as half of the dryers were broken. I checked my clothes and they were dry so I emptied the dryer for her. It turns out that her nephew is getting married at the wedding pavilion at the Polynesian in one hour and he had just now pulled his shirt out of his suitcase. Obviously, it was very wrinkled so she decided to “iron” it in the dryer. The whole thing was kind of humorous- looking at it from the outside, of course. I finished with the laundry just after 9:00 so obviously we did not get an early start at the Animal Kingdom.

When we arrived we got right into the African theme and joined the herd of people heading for the safari. When we got there the wait time was posted as 20 minutes but I figured it would be faster so we just got in line. It actually took about 15 minutes- not too bad. The safari was pretty good. We saw a lot of animals; but nothing really close. But that’s okay, we were just enjoying the beautiful morning. The weather is once again perfect. It is cool without being cold.

After the safari we decided to walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Our favorite section had to be the meerkats. I love the way they always have one animal standing guard. We were disappointed that none of the gorillas were out where they could be seen. We’ve never had that happen before. Oh well, we’ll catch them next time. When we exited the trail we decided to head to Asia and on the way we passed the Flights of Wonder bird show which was just starting so we went on in. This show changes a little each time we see it but it is always good. Most of the principals are the same from year to year. It almost seems like Groucho is an old friend of ours. He is a parrot who can sing seven songs from beginning to end. We’ve seen him perform at Busch Gardens- Williamsburg and have seen him on TV with either Jay Leno or David Letterman, I forget which. He seems to be a permanent fixture at Disney now and it’s nice to see that he’s still around. Of course, with their life span, he’ll probably be performing long after I’m gone. At one point during the show, Caity had a hawk fly directly over her head so close that his feathers lightly brushed her. She said that she got a great picture of it which we can’t wait to see.

After the bird show we continued over to Asia to walk along the Maharaja Jungle Trek. I love the theming in this area. It’s really Disney at its best. We got a lot of great shots of a lot of animals. There weren’t a lot of tigers out, but the ones that were out were very close. It was very impressive. If there is any animal more beautiful than a tiger, I can’t think of it. We thought about hitting Kali River Rapids while we are over here but nobody was in the mood for getting wet. It just wasn’t hot enough today. We did, however, decide that it was lunchtime so Debbie and Caity headed for Pizzafari while I hotfooted it over to Dinosaur for Fastpasses. At this point the park is really starting to get crowded. By the time I got to Pizzafari I was hot and felt much more like having something cool for a snack instead of waiting in line for some hot food. Sounds like ice cream to me. When the girls were done eating we walked out of the restaurant and I spotted an ice cream stand right across the street. (Gee, what are the odds of that happening?) Caity and Debbie got Toll House Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches and I got a Chocolate- Caramel Ice Cream Bar. I think they used to be called Goofy Bars. I have yet to get my first Mickey Bar. Usually I eat at least 3 per day. The Goofy Bar just sounded better right now and it really hit the spot. Yeah, I know, me and ice cream. Don’t ask. I just love it. We enjoyed our ice creams as we headed back to Dinoland to ride Dinosaur. When we arrived we turned in our Fastpasses and walked right onto a ride vehicle. The ride was fun, as always.

Next, we headed over to It’s Tough To Be a Bug which we always enjoy. I always forget just how good this film is until I’m watching it again. The Audio-animatronic Hopper is awesome. Then we headed over to Camp Minnie- Mickey (wall- to- wall people) to catch the last showing of the Festival of the Lion King. It was packed and we barely got a seat. But we did come at the very last minute so I blame ourselves. I’ve seen the show a number of times but it was very enjoyable because there was a little girl about 3- 4 years of age in front of us who was VERY excited with the show and the music. She was very cute and fun to watch. After this we had done pretty much everything that we had wanted to do but decided to wait around for an hour to see the new Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade. We stopped at a stand and Debbie and Caity got frozen lemonades and I just got a large Diet Coke. For some reason I was dying of thirst. We looked through the Beastly Bazaar and the Island Mercantile for awhile and then found some good viewing spots about one- half hour before the parade was to begin. We were actually sitting on a wall and had an unobstructed view. It was perfect for filming and taking pictures. I really enjoyed this parade. I think it was a huge improvement over that thing the Animal Kingdom used to call a parade. The parade vehicles were very well done and the music was great. After the parade we headed on out and left the Animal Kingdom about 4:45.

We have PS at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for 6:00 so we decided to head on over so we could look around the hotel before eating. I must say that the lodge is not all that impressive as you drive up and see the front exterior. It was nice but did not hit me the way that the Wilderness Lodge does. However, upon entering the hotel I was extremely impressed with the interior. Not just the design features but the layout of the lobby, the restaurants, the viewing areas, etc. It is a large hotel but has a smaller, more intimate feel to it. There are plenty of nooks and crannies and separate seating areas. It is definitely a lobby where you could relax with a book and feel comfortable. If you will recall, we almost stayed at this hotel so our tour was enjoyable but bittersweet as well. I must admit that I was a little disappointed in the animal viewing areas. The animals were great but the scenery left a lot to be desired. Maybe it is a work in progress and needs to grow out a little more but it looked more like undeveloped land than savannah to me. I was, however, very impressed with the pool area and I think I would actually like a room with a pool view as much as a room with a savannah view. I know, I know, nobody agrees with me, but that’s just the way I felt. Debbie and Caity relaxed on one of the huge, very comfy, sofas in the lobby while I went around doing my picture and video thing.

When our PS time got close we eagerly made our way to Boma’s. This was a hugely anticipated meal and we had high hopes. The smells from this restaurant (and, I assume, Jiko as well) permeated the lobby and was making us very hungry. We checked in and were given a pager and had a wait of about ten minutes. After we were seated our server explained the layout of the buffet and we wasted no time. Boy, I don’t know what I can say about Boma that hasn’t already been said. I’ve eaten a lot of great meals at WDW but this was easily the best. In fact, this was one of the best meals that I have ever had, anywhere. The spices, while exotic, were not overwhelming. Even if you are not too adventurous, you should give this place a try. My first plate consisted of the flank steak (which had been marinated in spices for 5 days), the prime rib (best I’ve ever had), and the roasted chicken with African spices (tasted great but could have been warmer). All of these meat dishes were GREAT but what really made them special was the sauces that accompanied them. One was a Tamarind BBQ sauce (Wow! Incredible!) and the Boma’s Mustard Sauce (Out of this World!!!). I also had the Potatoes with Afritude and Pap, which is a creamy white corn meal. Both of these were excellent as well. My second plate contained repeats from the first as well as a nut-crusted Mahi- Mahi which I had missed the first time around. This was also very good. I could have returned to the buffet again and again but I wanted to save some room for dessert. Against my better judgment I also made two trips to the dessert bar. Of course I had to try the much ballyhooed Zebra Domes and I must say that the accolades are well- deserved. They are a combination of chocolate and mocha mousse. They are rich, of course; but very, very good. Especially with a good, hot cup of coffee. I really wish I could get these at home. I also tried the chocolate mousse which had a crispy candy base and I thought they were almost as good as the Zebra Domes. My other choices were the Coconut Tiramisu and the Banana Bread Pudding with the Vanilla Cream Sauce. Both of these were excellent; especially the bread pudding. There were other great- looking desserts as well but I just couldn’t eat another bite. If you are visiting WDW you absolutely MUST try this restaurant. Debbie loved it as well, but she preferred O’hana’s. Caity enjoyed her meal but pretty much stayed with the kid’s buffet.

After the meal we stopped by the Zawadi Marketplace to look around and I ended up buying an AKL t-shirt and an AKL coffee mug. Then we headed back to our hotel to watch the end of the Super Bowl. It really turned out to be a great game. I didn’t really care who won but just wanted to see some great football and I wasn’t disappointed. We stayed up to watch Malcolm in the Middle and went to bed around midnight.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2002-

I woke up around 6:00 and just read for awhile and let the girls sleep for another half an hour. We did the usual morning routine and then headed over to the Disney Studios. It is really cold out this morning. We turned right on Sunset and went straight to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Caity rode this once a couple of years ago and is not ready to try it again, not yet. So she headed to the gift shop to wait for us there. Debbie and I walked right in and were in the library in about four minutes. As we went through the lobby I showed Debbie the message board where some of the letters have fallen off spelling out the words “EVIL TOWER- YOU ARE DOOMED” in the bottom of the case. Pretty cool. The ride was great, as always. We counted six drops this time. This attraction is definitely Disney at its best.

We picked up Caity in the gift shop and walked across the street to the Rockin’ Roller Coaster. The wait was listed as 0 minutes for the standby line and sure enough we walked right on. Caity was nervous. She loves roller coasters but is not crazy about the rapid takeoff. I, on the other hand, think that this is what makes the ride great. When all was said and done, it wasn’t as bad as Caity remembered it and she loved the ride. Plus, she has reached an age where she has gotten into Aerosmith to some extent so that helped. As I type this on April 1, I can’t help but think how funny it would be to play “It’s a Small World” during the ride on April Fools Day.

We left Sunset and headed to ’Who Wants to Be a Millionaire- Play it!’ to pick up fastpasses for the 12:30 show. Then we decided to walk through the One Man’s Dream exhibit. Wow! This is great and anyone who is a fan of Walt Disney must see it. The exhibit is full of interesting artifacts and a lot of scale models of attractions from the many Disney parks from around the world. I really wish you could take photos and video in here. (Okay, I did take one picture before my daughter told me that the man at the entrance had specifically told me not to. I swear I didn’t hear him. I enjoyed the rest of the exhibit while trying to look nonchalant.) The film at the end is also very well done. I have read a few books on Walt so I didn’t really learn anything new, but I enjoyed it anyway.

When we left we walked over to see if we could get into the next Millionaire show. We timed it perfect and walked right in. During this show, two people made it into the hot seat. The first one got 1000 points and the second person got 32,000 points. In this version of the game, all the audience members play along and have a chance to make it to the hot seat. I must admit I knew all the answers but don’t be too impressed. I really thought all the questions were pretty easy. Much easier than the TV show. Being way too shy to get up in front of a lot of people I was hesitating before punching in my answers which really put me in the hot seat with Debbie. And I must admit, I really wanted one of the Millionaire polo shirts but not enough to play the game. After the show we went outside and turned in our fastpasses and went right back in. I helped Caity with some answers and at the end of the show she was ranked number 4 and Debbie was ranked number 8. Go girls!

At this point it was 1:00 so we decided to eat lunch. Caity headed over to Pizza Planet for you know what and then she carried it over to Studio Catering to meet Debbie and I. Debbie got a hot dog and I got a cheeseburger. I was hungry and the burger was very good. The fixings bar here is very nice. I think Debbie actually put together a salad from the ingredients they had. As I was finishing my burger I noticed that people were lining the street outside and an announcement was made that there was going to be a parade honoring Tom Brady, the Super Bowl MVP. Obviously, he was the Grand Marshall. You know the TV commercial where they ask the MVP what he is going to do next and he says “I’m going to Walt Disney World!”? Well, I guess they really do. It was kind of strange seeing him here this morning after seeing him on TV just last night. You never know what might happen at WDW.

We headed over to Muppetvision 3D and once again timed it perfectly, walking right in to catch the full preshow. By the way, crowds are very light in the park today. This film is very entertaining and the preshow is just about as good. I always remember a trip years ago when the CM piloting the boat on the Jungle Cruise told us that Jim Henson had just died. I think of that every time I see this show. After the Muppets it was back to Millionaire to use the fastpasses that we had picked up after the last show. Debbie is still giving me a hard time about really trying on this round so I told her I would. (SHHH! Not a chance. Besides, even if I got over my stage fright and was lucky enough to make it up there I’m bound to lose on a question that virtually everyone else knows the answer to.) This time Caity ended up in third place (with my help) and Debbie ended up in sixth.

After Millionaire we went to the Great Movie Ride and once again walked right on. (This was a regular occurrence on this trip.) I love the film montage at the end but it needs to be about four times longer. Then we headed over to Dinosaur Gertie’s for some soft serve ice cream. It’s still really cool out but there is never a bad time for ice cream. We looked around some shops for awhile and then headed towards the back of the park to see the Hunchback of Notre Dame show. This is one of Caity’s favorite animated movies so we always try to hit this show at least once. We caught about half of Matt the Jugglers show. He’s still great even though we know most of his jokes at this point. Caity asked me if it would be okay for her to take pictures during his performance and I said, “Sure. Why not?”. Well, it never occurred to me that she was going to use her flash and after she took her shot Matt started joking about seeing nothing but red dots and all he needs now is a crying baby. Caity got very embarrassed and needless to say she didn’t take any more pictures. Sorry, Matt. The Hunchback show was very good and had changed just enough since the last time we saw it to keep it interesting. Caity, who is reading The Fellowship of the Ring’ right now, kept thinking they were going to say Frodo instead of Frolo.

The show ended just after 6:00 and we had to rush across the park as we had PS at the Brown Derby at 6:00. This bothered me as I hate being late for anything but the restaurant wasn’t busy at all so it was not a problem. I love this restaurant and it is a must-do every trip. While we were checking in the hostess told us that we had just missed Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie, and their entourage. Apparently they were celebrating Lisa Marie’s birthday. Tom Brady had eaten here a couple of hours earlier. She also told us about guests that they have had in the past. I don’t remember them all but she did mention Gary Sinise, Steven Tyler, and Drew Carey. As we were being seated the waitress saw Caity’s N*SYNC notepad and said that on December 5 the restaurant had been visited by N*SYNC, the Backstreet Boys, O Town, and LFO. All in one day! I assume they were all here for some kind of event celebration Walt’s Birthday. Debbie wasn’t feeling all that well so she just ordered a bowl of potato soup and a salad. Caity also ordered the potato soup. For an appetizer I ordered the Pan Fried Lump Crab Cake with vegetable capellini and Dijon aioli. For my main course I ordered the Spice-Grilled Filet Mignon with chevre mashed potatoes and oven- dried tomato chervil butter. Both of these were excellent, perfectly prepared. The quantities aren’t huge- especially for the price. But at least the quality is there and I definitely wasn’t hungry when I left. Both the girls raved about the potato soup; and believe me, they are experts on potato soup. For dessert Debbie ordered the Blueberry Creme Brulee. I tried a couple of bites. It was very good. It had caramelized sugar on top. Caity ordered the White Chocolate Cheesecake. It came with a Sorcerer’s Apprentice hat on top which looked just like the one out in front of the Chinese theater. Only this one was edible and made out of chocolate. I decided I just wasn’t hungry enough for dessert and figured that I could pick up something in the food court later.

We left the restaurant and looked through some shops hoping to find a sweatshirt for Debbie and I but we didn’t really see anything that struck our fancy. We headed out the front gate stopping on the way out to get a picture of the SA hat at night. I guess I have to go against prevailing opinion but I’ve got to say that I really like the hat. I thing it looks really good, especially at night. The Studios needed something to liven things up a bit, aesthetically speaking. The Chinese theater never really did anything for me. I was sorry that we had missed the parade today as I had heard that it is pretty good but we were busy and enjoying our day and time just got away from us. Other than that, it was a great, if cool, day. When we got back to the hotel I went and got some coffee and a piece of chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. Not great, but not bad. Debbie and Caity conked out about 10:00 and I read for awhile and went to bed just after 11:00.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2002-

We woke up excited this morning because it is finally Magic Kingdom day. We love all of WDW but it is this park that contains the most memories for us as a family and nothing can beat the atmosphere of the MK. I could walk around all day and never ride a ride and just enjoy the ambience. Speaking of ambience, it is cold, cold, cold, today. The temperature when we arrived at the MK was 43 degrees. While the girls were going through the security checks I went on ahead to the Emporium to look for a sweatshirt. I worked my way up the left side of the street and didn’t really see anything I wanted until I hit the last store and found a nice one with ESPN on the front. Ahhhh, that’s better. By now, it was almost 10:00 and I was worried about what the lines were going to be like in Fantasyland. We usually hit Frontierland first but Splash Mountain is down for a rehab so we thought it would be a good idea to knock out Fantasyland instead. It turned out I was worrying for nothing. There were no crowds to speak of and the lines were almost nonexistent. We rode Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Peter Pan, and It’s a Small World with no wait longer than 5 minutes. Then we headed over to Tomorrowland to check out Space Mountain. It had almost no line as well but only the right side was open so I let Debbie and Caity ride and I sat this one out. I love rollercoasters but if they are rough or jerky I tend to get a headache. I’m fine on the left side of SM but the right side does it to me every time. I guess my brain must be a little bit loose. But not so loose that I couldn’t figure out that now would be a perfect time to get my first Mickey Bar of the trip. Usually I’ve eaten quite a few by now. So I sat at a table near the Speedway and enjoyed watching the kids having the time of their lives driving cars. Wow, it sure seems like a long time since Caity was that age. I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot about the girls but luckily they found me so we went to Buzz for Fastpasses and then went into Alien Encounter. I love this attraction and can’t figure why so many people think it lame or dislike it so. Caity rode it years ago and it scared the pants off of her and hasn’t ridden it since. Well, she’s 14 now and was ready to try again and ended up loving it. It didn’t scare her at all. Maybe next year she’ll be ready to take on the Tower.

After AE we headed across the street to use our FP for Buzz Lightyear. Final scores-- David-96,000, Debbie- 49,200 and Caity- 23,800. I know, terrible scores all around. But I still won! Hey, I’ll take whatever I can get. To make the girls feel better after their thrashing I bought Caity an ice cream and Debbie a Strawberry Popsicle. While they ate we walked to the train station to get a locker to drop off some of our stuff as it was finally getting a little bit warmer. Debbie and Caity stopped to use the restroom near the fire station so I used this time to get some nice pictures of some of the buildings on Main Street. There were a lot of buses, horse trolleys, and horseless carriages running so I was able to incorporate them into most of the pictures.

After the girls met back up with me we headed over to Adventureland and decided to give Aladdin a try. It was a cute ride and did allow us to see Adventureland from a different perspective. The wait was about 5 minutes but I wouldn’t wait much longer to ride this. We checked out the Jungle Cruise but the standby line was 45 minutes and the FP wasn’t in use so we decided to check back another time. We decided that it was time for lunch so Debbie stopped at El Pirata Y el Perico and ordered nachos while Caity and I went over to Pecos Bills for cheeseburgers. These two restaurants are actually connected which is really convenient for a family looking for different choices. The cheeseburgers were typical WDW fast food. Nothing fancy but really good when you are hungry. The burgers were quite large and came with fries. Caity and I carried our meals back to the other restaurant and found Debbie seated in a nice outdoor plaza which is located in between the two restaurants. It was really a nice location and as we were at the Caribbean Plaza we got to enjoy the sounds of Caribbean music and a steel drum band. (Piped in, of course.) The atmosphere really was nice. Adventureland has always been my favorite.

After lunch we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad picked up some fastpasses. While we waited for our window to open we spent some time looking around Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe and found a bunch of stuff that we liked. We’ll pick it up on our next MK day. After our ride on the runaway mine car we noticed that they had staked out the parade route with rope and masking tape so we found a good spot and staked our claim. (Notice how I continued the mining theme?) Shortly before the parade started I ended up crossing the street because I noticed that in our original spot the sun would have been located directly behind the floats turning everything into silhouettes. The spot I ended up in was excellent as I had an unobstructed view and I got a lot of pictures of the snowglobe floats from the ground on up. I really liked this parade. It was really nice to see a new one for a change. And don’t tell Debbie but all the Princesses were really looking nice. ;-)

After seeing all those Disney villains the next logical choice had to be the Hall of Presidents. Just kidding! We decided that this would be a good place to escape the crowds in the streets. Plus, we were anxious to see the new George W. figure. Then we headed over to the Haunted Mansion where we could see even more dead people than we had seen in the Hall of Presidents. ;-) The wait time was posted as 25 minutes but I knew it would be quicker so we went ahead and got in line. We actually waited about 5 minutes. While we were waiting to be admitted to the stretching room I noticed that they have added a new tombstone to the little graveyard just outside the entrance. I took a picture because it is Madam Leota’s tombstone, who just happens to be the same woman whose head is in the crystal ball in the seance room. There is even a likeness of her face on the tombstone. I found out later after we had returned home that the eyes open periodically and I must say it is an awesome effect. Pretty creepy. I saw pictures of it on a web sight but I don’t remember now which one. I really wish we had seen this while we were there.

HM was great as always. It’s still one of my all-time favorites. It was now about 4:00 and we’ve already done just about everything in the park. As I said, the lines have been pretty much nonexistent all day. I never dreamed that we would complete this park in one day and that includes time out for a parade. What a great way to enjoy the MK, not hurrying at all but taking our time to fully enjoy the surroundings as we enjoy the park. It’s really been a nice, relaxing MK day.

After leaving HM we decided to head over to Adventureland to get a light afternoon snack. We stopped at Aloha Isle and Debbie got her usual Dole Whip and Caity and I got soft serve ice cream. I don’t know what brand it is but their soft serve is the best that I have ever had. After our snack we decided to hit The Enchanted Tiki Room. This attraction used to be painfully outdated but I think it’s pretty good in its new incarnation. After this we decided to mosey on over towards Tony’s. We were seated in the waiting room which was pretty crowded. Suddenly a young boy announced to his mother, in a very loud voice, of course, “I’ve got to poop”. It was very funny. We were seated in short order and met our very funny waited who said that his name was Murphy (even though his name tag said Jason). He started out speaking with an Italian accent but gave it up about halfway through the meal. Debbie ordered the Chicken Marsala which came with 2 large chicken breasts. Caity got the Spaghetti with Meatball. That’s right, one meatball, but it was very large. Both the girls thought their food was very good. I ordered the Tenderloin on top of Garlic Spinach with Mashed Potatoes and Chicken Marsala. Okay, the chicken came from Debbie. She gave me one of her breasts. My meal was excellent. This was no surprise as we have never had a disappointing meal at Tony’s. After dinner, (no room for dessert), we picked up our clothes from the locker and headed on out. The monorails to the TTC were swamped so we got on one of the resort monorails with no wait and got to the TTC in no time.

Our original plan for tonight was to visit Pleasure Island. We wanted to check out the Comedy Warehouse because we are huge fans of ’Whose Line Is It Anyway’ and love improv. Debbie and I have been there before but it was a few years ago. We also wanted to take Caity to visit the Adventurers Club. But Caity decided that she was kind of tired and asked if we could just go back to the room and have an early night. So we headed back to the hotel, picked up some snacks from the food court, and watched TV until about 11:00. Another great day comes to a close.

WEDNESDAY- FEBRUARY 6, 2002-

This morning Debbie and Caity went to Kona Cafe for breakfast. I stayed back at the hotel and had worked on my trip report and had a light breakfast. I had eaten a lot last night and did not wake up all that hungry. Debbie got the Tonga Toast which she and I both love and Caity got a bacon and cheese omelet. After they were done they picked me up and we were on our way to Epcot. First though, we headed off property to buy some more film. I take a lot of pictures and could go broke paying Disney’s prices. We stopped at an Eckerd and found some 4-packs of film that were on sale but the best thing was that they were bonus packs where you got 36 exposures per roll for the price of 24. We bought two 4-packs which gave us 48 free exposures. Sweet. After this we headed on over to Epcot. We aren’t rushing as we don’t have that much left to do in this park and we have PS for Le Cellier for 6:10 which means that we will be in the park for awhile. That’s just fine. We love walking around Epcot, especially World Showcase.

When we got through the gate Debbie and Caity headed over to Test Track for fastpasses. I walked through Future World to the International Gateway to rent a locker for our coats, sweatshirts, etc. so they will be handy if we need them tonight. The weather is absolutely gorgeous today- very comfortable and not cold like the last 2 days. I met up with the girls at The Living Seas (as planned) and we watched some of the Dolphin Encounter that was going on at that time. Wow, that sure looks like fun. At the time we were watching, some of the participants were seated in shallow water and the dolphins were laying in their laps getting their belly’s rubbed. The rest of the Living Seas was only mildly interesting. They really need to create some kind of a show for this pavilion to bring in more people. On our way over to Test Track to use our FP’s we stopped for an ice cream. I’m finally getting my groove back in regards to ice cream. TT was great as always but once again it broke down on us. Drat! We almost made it off but it stopped about five feet from the unloading area. We were hoping for the offer of another ride to make up for it but no such luck. Okay, the wait was only about 5 minutes; not too bad. So the score for this vacation- two rides on TT, two breakdowns. That’s alright, we still love it.

It was about 1:00 now so we decided to get something for lunch. Caity went to the American Pavilion to pick up a burger and fries and Debbie and I went to the Yakatori House for some Japanese food. We have never eaten here before and were looking forward to trying it. We each got the Kushi-Yaki which is one skewer each of shrimp, chicken and beef in teriyaki sauce and a side of steamed rice. It was a very good meal with the exception of the beef, which was very tough. Caity joined us with her food and we ate together by the window which looks out over the Japanese gardens. This is a very nice location which we have never discovered in all our trips but will be sure to visit again.

When we left the restaurant Debbie and Caity stopped at the stand to get a Kaki-gori. Debbie got a honeydew and Caity got a strawberry. I didn’t want anything just yet but I did make an interesting discovery. There is a stone bench sitting in the shade right next to the Kaki-gori stand. I sat down and discovered that the bench is VERY cool and actually cools you off while you are sitting on it. Seriously, I’m not kidding. It felt great. We headed over towards France and came across a stand selling chocolate filled crepes so I got in line to get one but at the last minute I changed my mind and got a soft serve ice cream instead. It just seemed more refreshing. And it was. Once again, I don’t know what brand of ice cream it was but it was really good. Not at all like soft serve. After finishing our snacks we headed inside the French pavilion to see Impressions of France. I love this film. The music in this film is some of my favorite from my music from the parks CD’s. Debbie likes it because you get to sit for this film. The only thing that marred the experience was a very large group of senior citizens that we were sharing the theater with. They were talking VERY loudly and did not stop at all when the movie started. Honestly, they were worse than teenagers. Debbie fixed the problem with a very loud “SHHHHHHHHHHH!’. Do not miss this film when you are in France.

Next we headed back to the American pavilion to see the American Adventure. When we walked in downstairs I was surprised to see the Voices of Liberty singing in the lobby. I thought American Vybe had taken their place. Maybe they take turns but I do know that the only CD’s that I’ve seen around Epcot have been American Vybe. Anyway, it was nice hearing them again. When they were done we headed into the theater. And guess what. Our senior citizen friends were here and just as loud if not worse. Once again we ignored it until the show started and this time Caity supplied the “SHHHHHH” that quieted them down. Really, it wasn’t just us. Everyone in attendance was irritated with the noise but the seniors were totally oblivious of the angry stares. All in all, not too big a deal. I always enjoy this show as I am related to Mark Twain (on my fathers side). But I must admit to nodding off here and there over the years. The show is good but the finale with the Golden Dream song is truly phenomenal.

After the show we were heading toward England but stopped in France to watch the living statue. She was a lot more active than they used to be. She had a boy and girlfriend up there with her and was pretending to kiss the boyfriend while placing her hand over the girlfriends eyes. After watching for a few minutes we continued over to England and looked around the shops for awhile. We found a metal cap for a newel post that would go great in our house and also bought a few British candy bars. I’ve been to England a few times and it was really neat seeing some of this candy again. While we were shopping we could hear the World Showcase Players performing the Grail skit in the street outside. When we left the shop we could hear British Invasion playing out back but did not stop as we wanted to get over to Canada to see Off Kilter perform. It may be the off season but there is definitely no shortage of street entertainment.We got to the Off Kilter stage about 20 minutes early so Debbie saved my seat while I went inside to buy Off Kilter’s second CD which I had been intending to buy online but just never got around to. I’ve had their first CD for years now and it is great. I’ll admit that when I first purchased their CD I had just seen them perform and bought it more for its souvenir value and less because I really expected it to be all that good. I loved their stage show but had my doubts about listening to the CD at home. I could not have been more wrong. Their CD (and now the second one) is one of my favorites. These guys are not just good stage performers but are very talented musicians as well. Jamie is brilliant on the bagpipes. When he plays they do not have that irritating dying cat sound but he is able to coax out sounds that are vibrant, raucous, beautiful, and even haunting. Picture someone who is a master of the saxophone and you get the idea. And I don’t mean to omit the rest of the group because they are just as accomplished. My brother-in-law (who is a musician) once summed it up very succinctly- “Man, these guys are tight.” Anyway, as always, the show was great and had a lot of energy. At one point, they brought a fellow Epcot CM up on stage to honor her as it was her last day. (She was also very attractive- surprise, surprise.) After she got up there they did the fish dance for her and tried to get her to join in but she wisely declined. If you haven't seen it the fish dance consists of standing straight with your arms at your sides, jumping in the air as high as you can, and wiggling like a fish. Sounds strange, but it was very funny.

As they were ending the final song of this set Debbie jumped up and Jamie yelled, “Hey you, sit down, we’re not done yet!”. Jokingly, of course. Then he saw the CD in her hand and told her to come on up we’ll be glad to sign it for you. We went on up and Jamie removed the paper from the CD case and opened it up and on the inside were pen and ink drawings of all the band members. He pulled out a Sharpie and signed his name and made sure that the whole band was also able to sign in between greeting other fans. While they were doing this Jamie turned to Caity and asked her if she would like to come up on the stage for a photo with the band. Well, I haven’t seen Caity move so fast in years. She was up there like a shot. She absolutely loves these guys (especially Mark, the bass player- wink, wink) and needless to say she was thrilled. Many thanks to Jamie and the rest of the guys who really seem to appreciate those who appreciate them.

We had a little while before dinner so we decided to squeeze in the ‘O Canada’ film. I love this movie. The scenery is beautiful and I love the song. It does seem a little dated but I enjoy it just as much today as I did the first time I saw it. The film let out just in time for our PS at Le Cellier (well, almost) so we went downstairs and checked in. They gave us an I-Pod to play with while we waited. I guess it’s like a Palm Pilot and had all kinds of things to do but all we got to do was to play a game, look at the menu, and watch a preview of the film Monsters, Inc. At that point it chirped, telling us that our table was ready.

We all had the Cheddar Cheese soup for an appetizer. I had one to myself and Debbie and Caity split one. It was a hit with all. As were the breadsticks- especially the multigrain and the pretzel. Everything was so good and filling we decided to skip our entrees. Come on! You didn’t really believe that, did you? Haven't you been paying attention these last few days? For my entree I ordered the 7 oz. Filet Mignon. It was topped with a cabernet reduction and served with roasted garlic herb mashed potatoes. It was very good and was something of a departure for me. Every time we’ve eaten here I’ve always gotten the Maple Glazed Salmon. It is a wonderful dish and I can never not order it- until this year. I was determined to try a steak in this steakhouse and I wasn’t disappointed. Debbie ordered the Herb Crusted Prime Rib. It came with roasted Yukon potatoes and the cabernet reduction sauce. We both enjoyed it as she was getting full and shared. WOO! HOO! Caity ordered the Rosemary Garlic Seared Chicken which came with the roasted garlic herb mashed potatoes and French green beans. She really enjoyed her meal as well. I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record but we all really enjoyed our choices. The food had been consistently good on this trip and I think the food quality in general at WDW has improved over the years. I think that Disney made the decision to try to go away from the concept of mass produced theme park food and has tried to operate their restaurants more as regular chef-run restaurants. The mass production still exists to some extent- note that Caity and I had the same potatoes and Debbie and I had the same sauce. But at least the quality is there. Anyway, after eating all of my meal and half of Debbie’s I was stuffed. Boy, I love vacation. We decided against dessert and instead walked over to France to pick up some pastries to eat later in our room. Debbie got a Napoleon, I got an eclair, and Caity got a huge chocolate chip cookie.

We left France and headed over to the Yacht and Beach Club stopping at the lockers by the International Gateway to pick up our coats and sweatshirts. We are doing the Illuminations Cruise tonight on the Breathless. The Breathless is a reproduction of a 1930 Chris Craft speedboat. It was built in 1990 and is worth over $150,000. It’s really nice. This is our big treat on this trip having just barely won out over tickets to Cirque de Soleil. That will have to wait until next trip. We checked in with Angelo who was our captain for the cruise. After charging the cruise to the room we boarded and were underway in just a few minutes. We left little early so he took us past the new Boardwalk Villas and over to the Disney Studios. Wow, it really was nice out here. The night was beautiful and it was wonderful being out on the water seeing all of the usual things from a different perspective. Then we cruised around the Boardwalk for awhile before settling in underneath the bridge between England and France. We were parked right next to the pontoon boats that are also available for hire. While we were waiting I asked our captain about the fire I saw the other night and he confirmed that indeed one of the barges had caught fire. He also told us that the cost of the fireworks each night is about $35,000. Wow.

After a few minutes the show started and I have to admit that we were pretty excited. If you suffered through my last trip report you may recall that I stated that I think that Illuminations is the best show that Disney has ever produced, period. Or, at least, the best that I have seen. We all absolutely love the music and play it often around the house. My opinion hasn’t changed. The show is still great. And it was really nice to be able to watch it while sitting comfortably in the boat. For once we didn’t have to arrive early and fight to maintain our spots as late arrivals try to push their way to the front. The view was spectacular and we got to see the globe as never before. If anyone is planning a trip and enjoys this show then I would highly recommend one of the Illuminations cruises. Our driver was very nice and chatty and made the experience even more enjoyable.

After the show we asked if he could drop us at the International Gateway as Epcot was getting ready to close and we had to cut through to get back to our car in the parking lot. When we got back to the room we picked up some coffee and hot chocolate and ate our pastries. Minutes later we were sound asleep. This was yet another great day in what is turning out to be a wonderful vacation.

THURSDAY- FEBRUARY 7, 2002-

Today is Islands of Adventure day. I hate leaving Disney but I have to admit that I really like this park. After a quick bite at the food court we were on the way to the park and arrived just in time for the 9:00 opening. We immediately made a beeline for the Incredible Hulk roller coaster since it was one of the few rides that we did not get to ride on last time. The lines were just too long. This was not to be a factor today as the skies were threatening rain and all the rides were walk-ons all day long. As we were walking through the queue I reminded Debbie that this coaster was featured in the movie House on Haunted Hill. In the movie the track separates with dire consequences. I know, it was mean, but I couldn’t resist. Besides, Debbie has no fear of coasters. After riding all I can say is “WOW! WOW! WOW!”. What a great ride. This is now one of my favorite coasters, ever. Debbie and Caity agreed and we got right back on and rode again. On our way out we purchased a photo of us on the ride.

After Hulk we walked on over to Spiderman. This attraction is an amazing blend of ride and 3-D simulator that must be seen to be believed. It is truly state-of-the-art. I believe that this and Tower of Terror are the two greatest attractions ever built in terms of themeing and execution. Do not miss it. While going through the queue we got our picture taken with Spiderman which will be available for viewing later today in the shop near the park entrance.

After this we decided to head on over to the Jurassic Park area to ride the River Adventure. This is a pretty decent ride that is made better by the awesome T- Rex that you encounter just before the drop at the end. Caity, who is not too fond of drops, did not ride this on our last visit but wanted to try it this year. We walked right on remembering the 90- minute wait that we had to endure last time. The ride was really fun but beware- at the bottom of the hill you hit the deeper water and decelerate VERY quickly. Make sure that you have a firm grip on the safety bar. I was filming most of the ride and really wanted to film the drop as well. But as we started to drop I could see that we could get pretty wet so I brought the camera down and leaned over it to try to protect it. BIG MISTAKE. When we stopped so abruptly my chest slammed into the camera which was between myself and the safety bar. As it turns out the camera was fine but I was unable to breathe for at least 30 seconds and I was experiencing quite a lot of pain. I sat there unable to talk, trying to breathe, and trying to figure out just how much a couple of broken ribs was going to affect our vacation. Seriously, those are exactly the thoughts that were going through my head. The pain was that intense. Luckily, nothing was broken but I did have a large, rectangular bruise on my chest that was precisely the same size as my video camera. When I was breathing again I turned to the left to let Debbie know what had happened and I was kind of wondering why she had not caught on to my predicament. I realized that Debbie was ministering to Caity who had had some problems of her own. Caity is not fond of drops except on some roller coasters and when we started down this drop she ducked her head and held on tight. Unfortunately, when we slowed dramatically at the bottom of the hill her mouth slammed into the safety bar resulting in a cut lip. Not too serious but bleeding quite a bit. Okay, this ends our lesson on how not to ride a ride. Clearly, we were at fault. I was holding on with only one hand and not too tight at that. Caity clearly had her head where it should not have been. The ride is actually quite safe but apparently not idiot proof.

After comparing injuries we headed over to Camp Jurassic to play around while we dried. This area is primarily for kids but we all had a blast. There are lots of places to climb and explore. We even found the dinosaur footprints that produces dino roars when stepped upon. Debbie especially loved these and would laugh like a kid each time. Caity and I found a rope bridge that was so narrow that you had to place one foot in front of the other to get across. Way cool but very shaky. After awhile we were ready to leave and had to drag Debbie away from her dinosaur tracks. This is really a fun area and if you have kids it must not be missed.

We left the Jurassic Park area and headed over to the Lost Continent which is my favorite area of IOA as far as the themeing goes. I must say it is absolutely spectacular. We went right to Dueling Dragons which is a hanging roller coaster- my favorite type. This ride is two coasters in one which have some near misses during the ride. However, only one side was running today- ice. So we rode that with only a five minute wait, our longest wait so far. I love this coaster but must admit that I like The Incredible Hulk more. It has been threatening rain all day and it finally started sprinkling steadily while we rode. We decided not to ride again as we were wet enough thank you very much. We decided that now would be a good time to head to Mythos. We had planned on Mythos for dinner but the rain changed our minds. Plus, at the rate we were moving we definitely won’t be here at dinnertime. Both Debbie and Caity ordered the Mythos Burger (huge, by the way) and I ordered the Cedar Plank Salmon with Orange Horseradish Potatoes. The fish came with a side of Citrus Beurre Blanc sauce that you poured over the top. The edges of the cedar plank were still smoldering with red-hot embers when it came to the table. I’ve gotta tell you, this meal was fantastic. After I placed my order the burgers that the girls ordered started sounding good but after it arrived I was glad that I got what I did. The themeing in this restaurant is outstanding. It is like being inside a giant cave with huge faces and dragons carved on the walls. It sounds tacky but is really very elegant. The girls were stuffed from their burgers so we skipped on dessert.

While we were eating lunch the rain did stop so we lucked out there. It’s not that the rain bothers me so much but I was worried about the Nikon. We decided to head over to Poseidon’s Fury. We saw this show last year and thought it was just okay but I heard that it had been improved and actually had a storyline that you could follow. The show was indeed better and I noticed that because of the cool weather the water vortex was done with hot water this time. Nice. When we came out of the attraction the rain had come for good and it was absolutely pouring outside. We waited a few minutes but it obviously was not about to let up so we headed over to Seuss Landing going from shop to shop. (Okay, we probably would have done it this way anyway.) I did see a nice Poseidon’s Fury glass that I had to buy. During our trek Caity stopped at an ice cream shop and got something called a walk-away sundae. I guess from the name alone we should have known that this was going to be a mistake. This was a waffle cone, soft-serve vanilla ice cream, hot fudge(!), whipped cream and a cherry. Well, as you can guess, the fudge melted the ice cream and I’ll leave it at that. What a mess! Caity struggled with her snack as we headed over to the Cat in the Hat ride. We decided to make this our last ride as the rain was persisting and we had pretty much done everything that we had wanted to do. Last time we had a 1 hour wait for this ride and this time we walked right on. Wow, I can’t believe the difference in attendance from our last trip. Between the events of 9/11 and the weather today the park seemed empty. This is a really fun ride and when it was over they let us go around again as there was no one in line. Then we made our way toward the front of the park as the rain was not too heavy but very steady. By now our clothes were slightly damp and my sneakers were quite wet. There was a distinct chill in the air and Debbie and I were wearing shorts. When we got to the Port of Entry I spotted the Croissant Moon Bakery and we went on in. I hate to say it but the selection of pastries was better than the bakery in France in Epcot. Debbie and I both bought eclairs and it was much better than the one I had yesterday. We also got some nice, hot coffee and it was the best that I have had all week. They were fresh roasting the beans on site so maybe that was the difference. Anyway, what with being cold and damp this coffee break was exactly what we needed.

Before we left the park we stopped by the shop to pick up our picture taken on the Incredible Hulk as well as the picture of us with Spiderman. We also bought a souvenir video. (Could we be anymore like tourists?) I’d been debating whether to buy a polo shirt with the IOA symbol embroidered on it or whether to buy a different polo shirt with the Jurassic Park symbol embroidered on it. The JP shirt is gorgeous (no, really) but the IOA shirt better represents the whole park. I decided on the JP shirt but Debbie snuck the other up to the register as well and got both. Thanks, honey. Caity got a Dueling Dragons t-shirt with some really great artwork on it. We had taken our time leaving as we were in no hurry. As we were going through City- Walk we passed the 36 screen theater and looked at each other. Why not? It’s raining out and we are right here. So I walked to the car to put our stuff away and left Debbie and Caity to pick the movie. They picked Behind Enemy Lines since it is PG-13 and Caity can see it. We all enjoyed the movie even though the theater was cold. And when we got out it was even colder outside. We rode on back to Disney and decided to just pick up dinner at the food court. Caity got the Chicken Parmesan with garlic bread, Debbie got the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich and I got the Double Cheeseburger. To my surprise, this burger was really good. It was freshly made and actually charcoal grilled. Debbie and Caity enjoyed their food as well. We took it back to the room to eat in comfort and warmth.

Despite the rain and the cool weather is was a really great day. Every ride at IOA was a walk-on except for two which had waits of less than 5 minutes. If we had wanted we could have done the whole park by lunchtime. We did all that we had wanted to do today, plus we had seen a movie and got back in time to see Friends and C.S.I., two of our favorite shows. Debbie and Caity fell asleep just after 10:00 and I updated the trip report notes and read until about midnight.

FRIDAY- FEBRUARY 8, 2002-

I woke up about 7:30 when Debbie turned on the TV. We are not rushing today as this is our free day. No park visits are planned. The only set plan is a visit to Downtown Disney, especially the World of Disney. My chest feels much better today. It is only tender if I press on it. Okay, so don’t press on it, you idiot. The girls went to play some miniature golf at Winter Summerland but I stayed behind to do get some things done. I wanted to pick up our purchases that we had had delivered to the hotel so I could start packing them up. I also wanted to do some laundry so we wouldn’t be taking a lot of dirty clothes home. I hated to miss the golf but it will be nice not having to mess with any of this stuff tonight. We leave tomorrow but will be getting up early to visit the Magic Kingdom as is customary on our last day.

They got back around 11:30 and we headed over to Downtown Disney to do some shopping and parked at the West Side. Our first stop was Planet Hollywood to grab a snack and to look around at all the movie stuff. Debbie ordered buffalo wings and I ordered the Captain Crunch Chicken Strips. Both were excellent. I really didn’t expect to like my chicken but wanted to try it as I have heard so much about it. I just can’t tell you how good this really was. The honey mustard dipping sauce perfectly complimented the mild sweetness of the chicken. For dessert I had the Snicker’s pie which was good but nothing special. Debbie ordered the White Chocolate Bread Pudding which was out of this world. I should have gotten that. Caity did not eat as she was not hungry after a good breakfast. After eating, we walked around for awhile looking at the movie props. We are huge movie fans so this was a lot of fun. We left Planet Hollywood and headed on over to the Candy Cauldron where Caity and I got some Jelly Bellies for the ride home. I also got two of their candy coated pretzels. MMMMMM.

After this we walked around Starabilia’s for awhile. If you enjoy movies and/or TV then you must check out this place. It is loaded with all kinds of authentic memorabilia. Most of it is signed. I saw ton’s of stuff that I would love to have but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of disposable income. After this we got into the car and drove on over to the World of Disney. We stayed about an hour and actually did relatively little damage to my wallet. My share of the damage was the Michael Crawford Disney CD, a 100 years of Disney coffee mug and a large insulated cup. From the World of Disney we headed on over to the Gourmet Pantry. This is another one of my favorite places. Debbie picked out some gifts for our relatives back home while I got another candy covered pretzel to add to the two that I got earlier. Next stop was Ghirardelli’s. I know you haven’t been able to tell, but I love chocolate. ;-) I bought an assortment of candy bars and a large container full of chocolate drops and non-pariels. It has become a small tradition of mine to pick up Ghirardelli’s chocolates to take home to enjoy over the ensuing weeks. It is a nice treat and serves as a small reminder of our wonderful vacation.

After Ghirardelli’s we were through with Downtown Disney so we decided to head on over to Celebration to have a look around. We’ve always wanted to do this but have never had the time. This year, with the crowds being so low, we’ve been able to do a lot of the small things that we usually keep putting off. Celebration was really nice, maybe a little TOO nice (insert dramatic music). My main impression was that it reminded me of the town from The Truman Show but it also made me think of two other movies. The Stepford Wives and Village of the Damned (you know, the one with the blonde kids with the eyes that glowed). Nobody was out and about so I was unable to verify this. I don’t know why such a perfect little town should invoke such strange comparisons but there you go. Maybe it’s just me.

After our little tour we headed on back to WDW and drove over to Old Key West for our 6:00 PS at Olivia’s. We decided to eat here for two reasons. First, I checked out the menu online and it looked really good. Second, we’ve been wanting to check out OKW for awhile now. We arrived a little early so we could spend some time looking around. We did not visit any of the guest room areas but looked around Turtle Krawl which is the location of the resorts main facilities. We walked through the Hospitality House which is the check-in area and checked out the Conch Flats General Store. It was small but nice and had some logo merchandise that I was interested in (polo shirt, mug, etc.), but I did not know whether these purchases would be limited to DVC members. The phrase ’DVC Member’ was part of the logo. I could have asked but decided that I probably didn’t need to spend the money anyway. By the way, we plan on becoming DVC members in the future and that’s why I was interested. We left the store and went out back to take a look at the pool. It seemed really nice. Nothing too elaborate but very pleasant. I could see myself spending an afternoon here with a good book and a cold drink.

It was almost 6:00 so we headed over to Olivia’s to check in. I was very impressed with the atmosphere in this restaurant. It was much more casual than I expected and I really liked that. This resort is tropical themed but still manages to convey that homey feeling that makes the visit all the more pleasant. This walls of the restaurant are COVERED with many pictures of families of DVC members. They call it their “Family Album”. It is a really nice touch. We were seated almost immediately. Caity ordered the Caesar Salad and had them add grilled chicken to it which they were glad to do. Debbie ordered the Pork Scallopini and I got the Filet Mignon with the Lobster Stuffed Shrimp. I’ll repeat it just in case you missed it- I got the Filet Mignon with the Lobster Stuffed Shrimp. WOW! What an incredible meal! I think the stuffed shrimp were the best single thing that I ate all week. There were three of them on the plate but I wish I’d had a dozen. If you go to Olivia’s you must try this meal. Debbie’s dish came with two huge pieces of pork which had been pounded, lightly breaded and fried. That was too much so she gave me one. As you can see, this was quickly becoming one of my favorite meals of the trip. ;-) Actually, I was feeling kind of bad for Debbie. That slightly queasy she has been dealing with all week just won’t go, so of course, her appetite is still down. So she has had to share a lot this week. Bad for her but good for me. Hey, we all must step up to the plate (literally, in this case) to help out our loved ones. Its just a shame that it had to happen to her on vacation. Anyway, our dinners were all excellent and we enjoyed Olivia’s very much and will definitely come back. OKW in general seemed nice; at least what we could see while we were there. Before we left I took some pictures out back as the sun was setting. I had to set my camera on some pilings on the dock to take the timed exposures but they really turned out beautiful. Between the Hospitality House and the canal is a boardwalk (okay, it’s made of concrete, but you get the idea) that is strung with lights. Facing the boardwalk are many of the resorts facilities, including The Electric Eel Arcade, The Gurgling Suitcase bar, Good’s Food to Go (counter service snacks), the exercise room, Olivia’s and other’s. It is a really nice area; beautifully done with bright, tropical colors. With the sun just starting to set it was just gorgeous because the colors were still visible and the lights were on as well. Perfect for pictures. I could have stayed here all night just enjoying the atmosphere.

But we tore ourselves away and headed back to our hotel, stopping to gas up the car on the way. When we got back Debbie and I started packing and loading the trunk of the car while Caity went down by the pool to get a hair wrap. We got almost all of the packing done so tomorrow should be real easy. We have express check out so we should have no problem getting to the Magic Kingdom bright and early. Things were a little subdued tonight but on every trip this night must come. It has been a wonderful day. As much as we enjoy the parks, the non-park days always stand out as our favorites as we think back on our vacations. I think it’s the relaxation factor after days of park touring. Tonight we were in bed by 11:00.

SATURDAY- FEBRUARY 9, 2002-

I got up at 6:00 this morning and jumped in the shower. It’s our last day so I want to get as much out of it as I can. While Debbie and Caity were taking their showers I went to the food court for some coffee. Suitably fortified I started taking the last of our stuff out to the car. In the course of a week it’s amazing how fast that stuff adds up. When the girls were ready we went to back to the food court for our yogurt and oatmeal. Okay, I knew you wouldn’t believe it. We ate our pastries and then left the hotel for the last time and headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Traditionally, we always hit the MK on the last day we always have breakfast at Tony’s. This year that will not happen as Tony’s is not serving breakfast at this time. We were very disappointed in this but knew about it before we left so at least it wasn’t a surprise. Our timing was perfect and we arrived just as the gates opened at 9:00. We headed right over to Splash Mountain because it is reopening today after being down for a major rehab. When we got there we had our second disappointment. There was no water running on the ride. We found a CM in front who told us to try later as they were not quite ready yet and to come back later. Undaunted, we headed next door and rode Big Thunder as a walk-on and then did the same at Pirates of the Caribbean. When we got off we walked through the pirate shop for awhile (my favorite shop in WDW) and I ended up buying a polo shirt with pirate Mickey embriodered on it. It’s really a great looking shirt. Caity got a couple of the hanging parrots for her room.

We decided to do the Haunted Mansion next and had about a 5 minute wait. It really is fun hitting the classics right at the end of our trip. As much as I hate leaving I was anxious to get on the road so we headed back to Splash to check it one last time before we leave. Yea!! As we got close we could see logs running with people in them. So we went and got in the standby line even touugh the wait time was listed as 30 minutes. No time for fastpasses as we will be leaving soon. We stood in line for 5 minutes and I noticed that we hadn’t moved an inch. Not a good sign. About a minute later thay announced that the ride had broken down and they did not know how long it would be before they could get it up and running. Bummer. We can’t wait anymore. Caity looked real upset. Like me, it is her favorite ride at WDW. I guess it’ll have to wait until next time. A sour end to a perfect week. So we took our final walk down Main Street, our final Monorail ride, our final tram ride, located the Malibu and were off the property in a matter of minutes.

We hit I-4 about 11:30 and I must say that the traffic was the best that I have seen in all of my years of traveling to WDW. We had only one slowdown and it was very brief. We stopped at Burger King for lunch and Bojangles for dinner. We had reservation for the Comfort Inn in Florence, SC but I was wide awake and feeling good so we stopped to see if we could cancel without a charge being applied to the credit card. They were very nice and said no problem. We drove as far as Selma, NC and got a room at the Hampton Inn. (I didn’t see any Comfort Inn’s close by or I would have stopped there since they we so nice in Florence.) It was just after 10:00 so we just flipped around on the TV and came across the show Mysterious Ways and watched that until 11:00 when we went to bed. The good news is- we only have about 3 and a half hours to drive instead of 5 and a half.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2002-

I woke up about 6:00, took my shower, and went to Bojangle’s for biscuits while Debbie and Caity got ready. We ate and hit the road about 8:30. The Hampton Inn was really nice. The room was HUGE and included a refrigerator and a microwave. We didn’t use either of these but, of course, we did use the coffeemaker.

The weather is cloudy today but so far no rain which is what was predicted for today all along the east coast. We kept our fingers crossed. It must have worked as we never hit rain all day. Traffic was very light and we made great time. The speed limit was 70 all the way home but everyone was going about 75. At Emporia, in Virginia, we turned east to begin the final leg on our way home to Virginia Beach. About a minute later I saw a police car in my rearview mirror with his lights going so I dutifully pulled over to let him by. To my surprise, he pulled over behind me. He asked me if I knew why I had been stopped and I told him that I assume I must have been speeding but I really didn’t know. It turned out that The speed limit had gone down to 55 and I was still going 70. I should have known better. This area is known for its speed traps. The trooper gets points for being nice and polite but he did write me the ticket. It ended up costing us $75 which I mailed in a few weeks later. After the trooper gave me the piece of paper while allowed me to help the local economy we started back up and I set the cruise control for 55 m.p.h. Boy, did this seem slow. It felt like we were creeping along. Most everyone was passing us but I wasn’t about to chance another ticket so we took it easy. It occurred to me that we had actually traveled faster on Test Track. Even at the slower pace we made it home around noon which would give us time to get things in order before heading back to work and school tomorrow.

FINAL THOUGHTS-

I think that this vacation was about as close to perfect as it could have been. Our only real disappointments were Debbie’s queasy stomach, Splash Mountain being closed, and no breakfast at Tony’s. The only bad weather day was Thursday at IOA but we completed almost everything before the rain started and the park was almost deserted. We tried a lot of new restaurants this year and LOVED them all- Boma, O’Hana’s, and Olivia’s. As I said before, Boma is now my all-time favorite at WDW. I wish we could have followed our original plan of staying at the Wilderness Lodge and the Animal Kingdom Lodge but we just could not pass up the $59 per night offer at the All-Star Movies. It allowed us to spend the extra money on things like the Illumination’s Cruise and all those great meals. Even though it’s a Value Resort I really like this hotel and our room could not have been more convenient. Noise was never a problem. We have never been to WDW when the crowds were so low. Some of the park hours were cut back and but it did not matter as you could basically do everything with no waiting. I know we’ll be forever spoiled. We were not affected by any other cutbacks except for the breakfast at Tony’s and I missed not seeing the Carousel of Progress and Timekeeper. The CM’s were great all week and the parks were in excellent condition. Of course, the highlight of the trip for Caity was her photo and autograph session with the boys of Off Kilter. They were very nice and gracious. If you haven’t seen them yet make sure that you do when you have the chance and I highly recommend both their CD’s.

It will probably be a few years before we make it back to WDW as we will be taking a Disney Cruise next year. It will be leaving on June 10 of 2003. It will be our first time on the Western Caribbean cruise and we are REALLY looking forward to it. If you will be on this cruise let me know and mayb