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Sheri Niklewski -- August 2002 -- Walt Disney World (AKL)

• Participants
  • Me - Sheri (40) - the planner and report writer, recently unemployed. I'm the Disney fanatic and have turned the true Eeyore in the family into one too.
  • Husband - Eeyore, err, Rich (42) - Enthusiastic collector and excellent cat care taker. He's got that pixie dust now.
• When: August 29th - September 3rd, 2002. Labor Day weekend. We were here last year at the same time so we're prepared for the crowds.
• Where: Animal Kingdom Lodge savannah view. I think this would be the only way I'd experience this resort.
• How: Personal vehicle from Georgia
• Experience: Veterans

Why

Because it's a three day weekend and we're just seven hours north. That's been my excuse for every holiday weekend. My in-laws want us to go and see them but no way. We have annual passes, the drive is not a problem (well, it is boring), so let's go!

That was the original reason. Since my company decided my job was no longer a viable option, this became a "we're both unemployed, let's go to Disney World and forget about life for a while" trip.

Meeting People

Our friend Lindy, who swore she would not be back to Disney World for quite a while, decided that the call of the Mouse was actually the call of a lion. She'll be there when we are so we will have to meet up with her. Lindy has Rich completely enchanted so we'll work something out. And did we?

We are meeting for lunch at MGM on Saturday and following that up with a Hunchback of Notre Dame show. That show is Lindy's favorite. I like it too - Rich will go along with it because Lindy will be there. We'll also try and meet that night to catch Randy, a juggler we all like on the Boardwalk. And, of course, Sunday we'll have to meet for at least one Off Kilter performance. And we added a lunch in between performances as well. And once the trip was expanded, Lindy asked if we could get together for dinner at Boma on Friday. So that was added.

Lindy is staying offsite at the Courtyard by Marriott at Downtown Disney. She's flying in from Salt Lake City and renting a car from the airport to get around. This is a big step for Lindy. First time she's going to be driving from the airport to Disney World. Just two years ago, Lindy didn't even want to make a solo Disney trip and now she's being a wild woman!

Resort

I struggled with this one. It's a short trip (well, it started out that way) but I wanted something nice. I "justify" these shorter but more frequent trips with nicer places to stay. I knew the Annual Pass rates were out there so I checked mousesavers.com to see what was available. I had passed up staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in May because I really wanted a savannah view if I ever stayed here. At the time of the May trip, it would have been nine nights and the rate for the view would have been more than I wanted to pay. Well, this trip would only be two nights (to begin with). What did mousesavers.com have?

Savannah view with a special rate code for $189/night. I'm going for it. I did.

And then I checked back in mid-June. Another rate code out there for Georgia residents (and residents of a few other states) for just $154 for a savannah view. I called Disney again and got the reduced rate. I have got to love this! Hint - call back if you see a better deal.

Touring

Extremely relaxed. Especially since I got the savannah view (and extended the stay). If there are animals in our view anytime we are there, we will forgo the parks and just watch nature. We are animal lovers. Extreme animal lovers. We are not tree huggers and go along with the circle of life most of the time. But we want to see animals protected from the unnatural forces that make them endangered or extinct. We will take binoculars, thanks to a trip report I read. So our "touring" might be a lot at the resort.

Since the visit became extended, we'll work around the lunches with Lindy and seeing Off Kilter as much as we can. We'll concentrate on Epcot and MGM with now maybe Animal Kingdom thrown in after we check in on Friday. But Friday and Monday are pretty much open.

The Off Kilter news. If you've read any of my prior trip reports, you know that this group is very special to me. In the past couple of months, I have totally turned Rich into an Off Kilter fan. The man was asking for lyrics and everything.

This group took me through a four month separation from Rich when he moved to Atlanta and I stayed in Nebraska for work. I played Off Kilter CDs every day. Now, we've been playing their CDs constantly to get us through this time. We have discussions about what "I dreamed a dream by the old canal" means. (That's a lyric from "Dirty Old Town"). So for all those people out there who are scratching their heads wondering why we would spend an entire day camped out in Canada watching a Celtic rock band, well, there's your answer.

Food

I wasn't planning on anything special this trip. Ha! Why is it that just about every Disney World trip of mine involves tons of food? I'm not a big eater, usually. I think they put something in the water down there.

When I emailed Lindy with the news of the extra couple of days, she asked if maybe we could get together for dinner at Boma on Friday night. Boma is the buffet place at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We've enjoyed several nice meals here (a couple with Lindy) and since I'm thinking Friday night will be a quiet one, this was perfect. Rich claims we are Boma-ed out (I think we've eaten here five times in the past year) but he didn't even blink an eye when I asked him. The Lindy charm comes through! I made the seating for 6:00 on Friday night. Lindy will be able to check out our room at the Lodge after dinner. And I'll be able to have about a zillion Zebra Domes. OK - maybe just ten or so.

The Saturday lunch with Lindy will be at the 50s Prime Time Café for 12:45. Lindy has never been there before. Rich and I have and it was a great experience. I went there before with friends (thanks again Donna!). We have never had an over the top server which has been nice. I'm a little concerned about the wait time here, though. I wish they would use the Disney beepers instead of shouting out your name. My name isn't the easiest to pronounce and neither is Lindy's. Well, maybe we'll get our first laugh at how they murder my last name! When I called to make the seating, the Cast Member did ask if I had ever been there before. I guess they need to warn guests about the antics. For those who don't know, you are served by a "family member" (sister, mom, aunt, uncle, cousin). And heaven help you if you don't follow strict table manners. Eat your vegetables, clean your plate, no elbows on the table, etc. The "punishments" range from standing in the corner to having your veggies "airplaned" into your mouth. Good fun for the three of us.

We were going to wing the Sunday lunch but I got to thinking about the Rose & Crown at the United Kingdom pavilion at Epcot. Rich and I have eaten here several times and we both like it. Lindy has never been there so working this in between the first two Off Kilter sessions was an idea (Canada and United Kingdom pavilions are next to each other). I called and made a seating for 2:20. Once I did that, Rich said that since Lindy has never been there, we *had* to request to sit outside. Told you Lindy has Rich completely charmed.

The Weeks Before

Life just has a way of slapping you in the face when you least expect it. We were dealing with some personal issues with our son, Chris, and doing a pretty good job of it. A quick, unplanned trip to Ohio for Rich with Chris journeying there from Nebraska to help out a friend. So we were just getting back to normal, my job was settling down, and then it happened. I guess my company decided that the accounting department, which is small to begin with, wasn't small enough. Last one hired, first one fired, right? I got the news on Monday morning. Why they could tell me Friday afternoon is beyond me. So I got up early, drove in, only to be told my job wasn't that important anymore, and then I had to drive back home. In Atlanta rush hour, by the way. Nice way to start the week.

Rich has been laid off since last year so now the two of us are unemployed. Nothing we can do about it but keep applying for jobs. Our solution to the problem? Hey, we have the time, let's expand the Labor Day trip! More time to see Lindy and to enjoy ourselves. We certainly need it. I figured if we could get there Friday morning, we'd beat the Labor Day hoards checking in. And if we stayed through Monday, we'd get another Off Kilter session. And not have to deal with everyone leaving on the holiday. Really, the traffic was the primary reason for staying later. Honestly.

I called 1-407-WDISNEY and asked if I could get there early and stay a little later. I held my breath and crossed my fingers because this rate was way too good. After having a horrible day (I called the day I lost my job - Disney magic, please!), I figured the pixie dust would be limited. The Cast Member took his time getting back to me because he said they were switching systems and had to have two of them up at the same time. All my information was there but it just took a while to process. He even said the rate code back to me. Yes, that's the one. He said it was a great deal. Yes, I know, please tell me it's still there and I can do this just two weeks before I leave.

The Disney magic is still there! Not a problem! Whoo hoo! So we arrive on August 30 and leave on September 3. Four nights now at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Savannah view. OK, the credit cards will be maxed but I'm not concerned with that. Rich and I have been through a lot together and this is just one more hurdle to get through. And we'll do it. Together.

The Plan

I try not to overplan Disney trips anymore. I found that going with the flow works the best. You never know about crowds and weather. But we do have a general plan. We will leave our house outside Atlanta (35 miles northeast of downtown) sometime Thursday and drive halfway to Lake Park, GA where we stay at a Days Inn. If we did the seven hour drive to Disney World, which is absolutely boring, we would not arrive in good moods. We normally would have to wait for me to be off work, but not anymore! Every cloud has that silver lining. Rich can stop at any antique place on the way he wants. That made him extremely happy. We normally are just bypassing everything because it's so late at night. We'll spend Thursday night relaxing and then get up Friday morning and be checking in at the Animal Kingdom Lodge around 11:00.

I'm sure the room won't be ready so we'll head over to Epcot for our customary stroll around World Showcase. Or we'll just go over to Animal Kingdom. I'll take the cell phone and call back for the room number and then we'll go and enjoy the Lodge. Rich and I talked about our room preference and I will fax in a general request of a non smoking room (a must) that is quiet but has a nice view from the balcony. A king bed would be nice but not a priority.

Sidenote - Rich is such an animal lover. I told him that each savannah (there are three) has different animals so which ones did he want to see and I'd request that particular savannah. The man is utterly adorable. He said that he couldn't make a choice because that would mean excluding an animal and he didn't want to insult anyone! Now you know why the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the extent of what they are doing is so important to us. Rich can spend hours just watching nature. Back to the report.

Friday will be dinner with Lindy and lots and lots of kicking back. Aah - the commandos are not going to like the fact that I use relaxation and Disney World in the same sentence. Saturday will be the 50s Prime Time lunch with Lindy followed by the Hunchback show at MGM. Saturday night will probably be at the Boardwalk but we'll see. Sunday will be a marathon Off Kilter day (if they are playing) with lunch at Rose & Crown with Lindy. Monday will be open.

Dedication

I didn't know who to dedicate this report to. I've been doing dedications lately. I thought I'd drop it for this one. But I have had such a huge outpouring of support with the loss of the job. I posted on the newsgroup about it and got so many responses. These are people I may never meet but just knowing that we have places to turn to is unbelievable. After the June trip report was posted, I had so many people write to me after seeing the newsgroup post. Thanks to everyone for that. I have never been laid off from a job so this helped.

And to Lindy, Donna, and Adrienne. These ladies are awesome! We'll see Lindy so we'll be able to have such great times. Donna was at Disney World when I got laid off but I realized that the world does still turn and people still have lives. And Adrienne was such a special friend. After I called Rich on the way home that horrible day, I pulled over and called Adrienne at home. We usually email each other but I wanted to talk to her. We talked for quite a long time. Enough time for Rich to get worried about me. I did call him after and tell him I was on the way home again. And then Adrienne called me on Friday night just to make sure things were going along. I think we were on the phone for over two hours. I have great friends. But I met all three of these ladies via the trip reports. I have such special moments with all three. One of these days, we'll all be together and have a mega-Disney blowout!

But the biggest supporter has been Rich. I have no idea what I would do without him. We are going through some personal things with the son (I think we'll have an enlarged family after the first of the year) but we're getting through it. As I was throwing temper tantrums, he was still there and telling me that something will work out. And it will. And he never batted an eye when I suggested that a little dose of the mouse was needed. I just dedicated a report to Rich when he was down. Now he's picking me up. Marriage is 50/50. I hope I give my 50% because I think I might be getting 100% back.

Days Before

No Niklewski Disney World trip would be complete without last minute changes!

Donna had just gotten back from Disney World and she stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and gave it a glowing report. She and her husband were celebrating their wedding anniversary and didn't take the kids. And they were upgraded to a savannah view! So I got lots of details about what to expect. I had checked out the Lodge's map on www.wdwig.com and knew there were two branches of rooms - the Zebra Trail and the Kudu Trail. Donna was housed on the Zebra Trail and said it was so convenient to the pool area and the food court. So I decided to request the exact opposite! We are empty nesters and don't mind a walk to get to our rooms as long as we have quiet.

I wrote up a fax request just asking for non smoking with a nice view from the balcony. This way, I won't get a first floor room (I hope). I also asked for Kudu Trail and a king bed if possible. I didn't have access to a fax so I asked Adrienne to fax it for me.

And then while Rich and I were jamming to an Off Kilter CD on Monday morning, I asked him just why the heck were we not going to be at Disney World on Thursday? Why couldn't we just get up early, leave before the Atlanta traffic picked up (like at 6:00 AM), and get there in time for the last two Off Kilter performances? Didn't you want to request "Dirty Old Town" and "Back Home in Derry"? Err, give me the phone, let me call and see if I can't get Thursday night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge too. I think Rich might have tried to protest it but then the man came back and said that it wouldn't be that expensive since we would "save" the $40 for the Days Inn. I called 407-WDISNEY as quickly as I could. We're in starting Thursday. Now we're up to five nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Tuesday brought a lot of excitement to our house. First, I called CRO (Central Reservations) because I wanted to make sure the change of Monday went through. The Cast Member was a little hesitant yesterday but this one made sure everything was there, said I was set, noted the king bed request (that was done way back when I first made the reservation) and asked if there was anything else she could do. No, just make the time go faster. After I did that, I called Lindy at the Courtyard by Marriott. I told her I could track down anyone. With the news that we would be there earlier, we decided to meet at one of the last two Off Kilter shows on Thursday - probably the last one at 6:40.

Lindy did have news that Randy, our juggler, would not be at the Boardwalk over the weekend. Just on Friday night. So after our Boma meal, we will definitely be going to the Boardwalk. Lindy had talked to Randy who said he remembered me from my June trip (he's such a sweetie - I'm sure he doesn't remember me at all). I told Lindy I'd just have to get another kiss from Randy.

As I'm talking to Lindy on my cell phone, our house phone rings and I don't hear it. Rich does and takes the call. I hang up with Lindy and it turns out that it's a job opportunity for me! Whoo hoo! Nice commute, good job, great company (been around since 1850 or so - I don't think they're going to go down the tubes anytime soon). When can I come in for an interview? Err - tomorrow since I'm going out of town on Thursday? Great. (Nothing has developed - oh well, I'm still looking).

Tuesday night was interesting in that our son, Chris, is now committed to celebrating his 21st birthday at Disney World in May. He wants to take his girlfriend and her daughter with us. I told Chris that I thought Caribbean Beach would be a nice resort for us. He totally surprised me by coming back and saying that he wanted Dixie Landings. I had to explain to him that it's now Port Orleans Riverside. He said "whatever" but said that's where he wanted to stay. If Chris is actually planning and thinking about Disney World, I have to act on it!

And Adrienne was so, so nice. She called to let me know that she faxed my room request for me. And we talked about the job possibility and everything else going on.

Let's recap all this - these three ladies. What wonderful friends! Donna gave me such great advice on the Animal Kingdom Lodge, we'll be seeing Lindy very soon, and Adrienne has been there through all this job garbage. I cannot thank them enough. And, of course, Rich and Chris are right there with me. Thank you to everyone.

Day One - Thursday, August 29, 2002

I honestly don't understand why Rich stays married to such a wacky Disney fan. Last year, I made Rich get up very early to go to Disney World because I couldn't sleep. This year, I got him to agree to leave by 6:00 AM to beat the Atlanta traffic. We made plans last night to go to bed early. I did. Maybe a little too early. By 2:30 AM, I was ready to go. I told Rich he could stay in bed and I'd just go online until he was ready. Ha! He couldn't sleep after that so we were on the road by 3:30 AM. Well, we did beat all the Atlanta traffic.

We had packed yesterday and decided to take just about all of our shorts, plus extra shirts, socks, and underwear. The south has been hot and we knew we'd need extras. And we figured we'd be rained on a couple of times so we wanted dry clothing available. With the extra early departure time, I'm glad we got everything together the night before. By the way, our cats thought we were insane. They probably still do.

I got us down to the Florida/Georgia state line. How I did that, I'll never know. I made one maintenance break and to stretch. I'm not that comfortable with nighttime driving and I did all of it this morning. Before we left, we stopped in a 24 hour gas station (thank goodness they exist) so we were fine on gas but decided to fill up at Exit 2 on I75 in Georgia. Cheaper gas prices than Florida. We switched drivers and I told Rich to just get us to Ocala and I'd take over again. I attempted to sleep but only took about a half hour nap. I woke up and my stomach reminded me that it had been a while for food. I was hungry for an Egg McMuffin. Thankfully, I75 has a McDonald's at just about every exit.

Rich got two egg and cheese biscuits and I made my stomach happy with my favorite food from McDonald's. I also ordered a large orange juice and what I got was this huge Super Sized cup. I wasn't expecting that. $7.88 later, we were headed south once again.

We made our traditional stop at the Disney Welcome Center in Ocala. Exit 350 off I75. We use this as a bathroom break and to see if there's anything new in the gift shop. Nothing we didn't see last month so I took over driving (Rich protested) and made Disney World our next stop. Rich did his typical reminder that I couldn't freak out on Highway 27 OR Highway 192. At least we weren't driving his Baby.

I took Sherberth Road onto property. This doesn't have the feeling of coming "home" like World Drive does but it made sense today since it's the easiest way to get to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Up to the Security Host (gate guard) and said we were checking in. Why is it every time we check into a different place, they ask to see different things? This time I had my confirmation slip ready to go since that's what I showed at the Polynesian last month. But this guy asked for my driver's license which I hadn't had to show last month. Of course, I didn't have that ready so I fumbled around for it. But everything was in order and in we went. By the way, the guards will direct you to go to where the Bell Services people are to check in. Of course, that means they'll go out of their way to take care of your bags. Rich does not like doing Bell Services (the man is a tightwad) so we just parked in the self parking lot.

I had heard that the Cast Members at the Animal Kingdom Lodge really are some of the friendliest. The one checking me in certainly was (we encountered one later that was not very nice at all). All my requests were noted and the CM said she would try to find a room with a king bed. She indicated that there are a very limited number available. She asked if that was a high priority. I said no, I'd rather have a good view. The room that was already assigned to us had two queen beds but a nice view. I said we'd take that one. It was before noon and the room was ready! Wonderful since we were both lagging at this point.

We went up to the room before getting our bags to check things out. The lobby for the Lodge is on the third floor and so was our room. I had requested Kudu Trail but we were on the Zebra Trail not that far from the lobby. I thought that would be a problem. But the elevators are located in the middle of each Trail so we didn't have that much traffic going outside the door. Our room number is 3417. It is a very nice view. We are next to the Arusha Rock Savanna Overlook. Of course, I had to run out and see what I could see. One Ankole Cow. Oh well, the day was hot so maybe everyone else was getting some shade somewhere.

Rich wanted to get the unloading done so we went back to the car and did that. Both our suitcases were on wheels and we had a small cooler and the laptop so it was an easy unloading. However, it seemed like we had to walk forever using the ramps instead of the stairs. If you need to push a wheelchair up to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I advise you drop the person off before you park.

When we got back to the room, I suggested we just relax for a while. The Cow was gone. But Rich said something about being able to make the first Off Kilter show. Well, it wasn't necessary but why not? So we went and did another Niklewski Off Kilter marathon. I even let Rich drive to park at the Swan. We had to hustle just a little to get to Canada in enough time for me to get our favorite seats. I told Rich to get us a beer to share - another tradition in Canada. I grabbed us a seat.

Oh, my, my! What is Disney World doing to us? The entire beer vending stand is gone! Rich came back with this very perplexed look on his face. OK, well, maybe they moved it down to where the beaver tail stand is. No. How can you not have beer in Canada? Fine, we'll enjoy the boys without a beverage.

I know the guys have been on vacation and they must have really relaxed because the shows today were some of the best we have ever seen. All the guys were loose and talkative and joking. They did the song "Mary Mac" which is a very, very fast song. They ask the audience to sing along and if you've ever heard the lyrics, it's almost impossible to do. Rich was determined to learn the lyrics. He had to find them first and he did that just this week so he didn't have too much practice. When the chorus came along, Jamie (the lead singer and bagpiper) asked for a sing along. I just pointed over to Rich who gamely tried to keep up. Jamie thought Rich's attempts were very funny. I sing Randy's (lead guitarist) version - "watermelon", "watermelon", "watermelon".

After the first show, we went for our customary stroll around World Showcase. The day was very hot and very humid. So we walked slowly and made use of any shade we could find. We did get our beverage in Norway and Rich got to interact with a very nice looking female Cast Member. With the beer gone in Canada and the stunning Norwegian Cast Members, we'll probably be stopping in Norway a lot.

The drummers were out in Japan and they are one of Rich's favorites. The audience standing area is not shaded so Rich headed there and I grabbed a seat on the side in the shade. Unfortunately, we got there just as the drummers were finishing up. Oh well, we hear them all the time. They did say they have a video and a CD available so we'll have to check that out. We just sat in the shade and finished the beverage before heading back to Canada. We do a lot of people watching at Epcot and today was no exception. It was amazing what some women will wear in order to stay cool. Or attempt to stay cool. But Rich was disappointed because most of the women did not have very accommodating body styles, if you know what I mean.

On the way to Canada, we did have an extremely uncomfortable situation happen. After September 11, we've been treating the airline industry like always. Not a big deal. But even before that date, there were almost no commercial airliners going over Disney World. After September 11, there has been a security helicopter constantly overhead. Necessary, of course. But today we saw an airliner circling Disney World a little lower than comfort level. Very disturbing. We were the only ones watching but it eventually left. The helicopter was in view so that was fine. Just a bizarre thing to happen this close to the one year anniversary.

We made it back to Canada with about a half hour to the next Off Kilter show. We passed the time chatting with a retired couple who wanted to know if it was worth the wait. We said we thought so but did our caution that the show is loud and it's not traditional bagpipes. Celtic rock. They wanted to know if there was any other entertainment we thought they would enjoy. I mentioned the British Invasion and the woman thought she'd like that. Then they asked about food options. Where would we eat if we were them? Rose & Crown and Le Cellier got mentions but they said they were not huge meat eaters so we didn't even say anything about the Germany buffet. I turned my thoughts to other options and came up with Cape May Buffet at the Beach Club. That really interested them. So I showed them on the map how to get out using the International Gateway. (We later thought about the Norway buffet). They decided to stay for Off Kilter since it was now very close to show time. I love meeting people at Disney World.

While I was chatting with the couple, Rich was getting into Disney World nature. Last month, he spent quite a bit of time on the Polynesian balcony watching an osprey flying around Seven Seas Lagoon looking for breakfast. This time, it was three ospreys looking for lunch in the World Showcase Lagoon. Rich was standing by the Off Kilter benches and then he saw one of the ospreys going for a dive and the man literally ran over to the lagoon railing to watch. This might be the all time Disney World Nature Trip Report.

The second Off Kilter show was even better than the first one with lots of new material. They did a great "Johnny B. Good" and we had never heard that before in all our marathons. Wonderful! Our new found friends did leave the show about halfway through. Off Kilter is not for everyone. After the second show, we went back to the American pavilion so I could see if there was anything new. For some reason, there's now a ton of Olympic 2002 stuff. Must have had an overrun in Salt Lake City. On the way back, I picked up an ice cream in France. Very good for the warm day.

For the third show, we were joined on our bench by an older couple. Of course, we started talking to them. They were pretty Disney savvy but were amazed when I told them this was our sixth trip this year. We chatted about our favorite resorts and restaurants. The couple had seen Off Kilter before and liked them. But not enough to do a marathon like we do. It was very hot and I talked Rich into going for another beverage. He ended up going to the United Kingdom and getting a half yard in a plastic container that you can keep and bring back for discounted refills. I had seen people with these all day but didn't know about the discounted refills. Kind of like an adult refillable mug.

Then we had the strangest thing happen. We were on the second bench (the first one was in the sun). All four of us. This guy and I'm thinking his wife sits on the first bench. The guy looks at Rich's half yard (we were sharing it) and says some of the strangest things. Something about cubits. Like how many cubits went into the half yard. Heck, I didn't even know what a cubit is (I do now). Rich thought the guy was joking and said he hadn't even thought about cubits since high school. Then the guy tells Rich that Rich was half yarded anyway. Rich asked what he meant. The guy said "well, you're half in the bag". Then he cautioned Rich that he should not be drinking the beer and to be careful in the hot sun. Very odd encounter and highly unnecessary.

Before the show, the guy left. Our friends said "that guy just sits down to insult you and then leaves". I thought maybe we were misunderstanding what the guy was saying but the other couple thought the same thing. So it just wasn't us.

The third set was just as good as the first two and it was enhanced by the guys doing some of our favorite songs. Excellent as always. We had over an hour until the last set and the one that we would be meeting Lindy at. How about another stroll around World Showcase? We were a little concerned with the last show because the clouds were rolling in big time. In June, the guys had to cut short a set because they will not and should not be up on stage with all that electronic equipment when there's lightening in the area.

On our way back to Canada, we hear "hey, I know those guys" from behind us. It was Lindy! She had been following us for a while but didn't realize it was us. It had started to sprinkle so all three of us went back to Canada under the umbrellas there. The rain wasn't that bad and we were hoping that the clouds would just blow through. The Off Kilter stage had battened down the hatches but Lindy could see the equipment was still turned on so we had some hope. There were a couple of guys on the stage (we could see their feet) and we thought they were with the band. But when they came down the stairs, we realized that they were just guests who climbed over the rope and were checking out the stage. Kind of rude - the flaps were down, the stairs were roped up. There was no reason for these guys to think they should have gone up there.

We were joined by a Disney Cast Member and fellow Off Kilter follower we had met before. She works at Animal Kingdom Lodge so we'll be sure to stop by and say hello to her. We heard Jamie getting ready on his bagpipes and then the guys came on the stage. A handler put up the flaps and the guys were going to attempt the set. I expected them to only do instrumentals and not get near the mikes but they did vocals as well. This set was enhanced by some very cute kids. One little boy just went up towards the stage and stood there with this mouth hanging open. And two little girls were in Minnie Mouse dresses, complete with Minnie shoes. We thought we'd get a whole set but Jamie completed the third song and thanked everyone for coming. And then the guys hightailed it off the stage. I didn't think the sky looked that bad. Until we turned around. Wow - it was almost black across World Showcase Lagoon. No wonder the guys ended the set!

Of course, I had left our silly yellow ponchos in the room since the day had been so hot. But Lindy said for the past couple of days, it's been raining starting around 7:00. Great. It's 7:00. I suggested we walk very fast back to the Swan to get to our cars (Lindy parked there too - she had been enjoying Epcot all day). Lindy at least was smart enough to have an umbrella. Rich predicted we'd get to the Boardwalk and it would start to rain. It did. One of these trips, we'll actually make it back to the Swan and not be soaked.

Rich and I were lagging very much by now so once back at the cars, we decided to part ways. Lindy was looking for Rich's Baby (a Corvette) but I had to point out my car. Lindy said her room at the Courtyard by Marriott at Downtown Disney had a nice view of the Illuminations fireworks so she hoped that went on tonight (it did). The Animal Kingdom Lodge CM from the Off Kilter show said that the pizza at the Lodge was pretty good and it was available with room service so that sounded excellent to Rich and me. So we headed back to the Lodge after briefly thinking about going to New York Pizza World which is a great offsite place we like. But we were wet and tired so Rich drove us back to the Lodge.

We both got into dry clothes and finally really got settled into the room. Here's a description of the room. There are double sinks outside the shower/toilet area. Like at the Polynesian, though, the Animal Kingdom Lodge has turbo toilets. Those things are loud! The bathroom door is huge. There's a nice area in the front of the connecting door where you can store your suitcases. Gets them out of the way. There's a good size closet and Rich was trying to figure out what the thing in the Graco bag was. I had to explain it's a portable crib. In the main area, there is enough walking around space. The TV is in the armoire that has two decent size drawers and two smaller drawers. A table and two nice sized chairs. The beds are higher up with nice firm mattresses and three pillows. I love having extra pillows. There's a table and two chairs out on the balcony. Of course, it's all African themed with lots of wood. Some flair includes mosquito netting behind the headboards of the beds.

The rains continued through the night. We did see some Grant's Zebras and Ankole Cattle out in the rain. There was also a little herd of White-bearded Wildebeest that just stood there in the rain. At least the zebras and the cattle were moving around. But we figured the wildebeest are used to a herd mentality. I ordered the pizza from room service (16 inch pepperoni for $16.99) and then threw in a Zebra Dome. Rich didn't see how much that cost. I would regret this the next day, though.

BTW - I'm not a scholar of animals. The Animal Kingdom Lodge provides a paper animal guide in every room so that's how I knew the proper names of our new friends.

We unwound from the long day and hoped we'd be able to sleep in the next day. When the pizza got there, we had the unfriendly CM encounter. An older guy who didn't speak English very well was the deliverer. Rich tried to hold the door open for the guy but he was very blunt and wouldn't let Rich do anything. We had cleaned off the table and the guy just plopped the tray on there and handed the bill to Rich. We were charging it to the room and there was a $3 delivery fee plus 18% gratuity already included. So of course, the guy didn't get anything extra. I don't think he was very happy with that but he really didn't do anything special for us. Pronouncement from Rich - "the best Disney pizza anywhere".

A couple of other things about the Animal Kingdom Lodge. You, obviously, are not supposed to feed the animals. If you are caught violating this rule, you will be escorted off the property immediately. In order to enforce the rule, cameras are on the guest rooms at all time. You are warned to close your drapes for privacy. So think twice about overly romantic gestures that you think are private. Also, I read that the lighting levels in the rooms are low. They are. The lights in the sink area are fine but in the main area, it's dim. That's because of leaving the drapes open and having the lights on the savannah. So bring extra lighting if that's important to you but please close the drapes.

Day Two - Friday, August 30, 2002

Well, the day was not going to start out very well for me. It was either the extremely full day of yesterday or that Zebra Dome but I knew during the night that I was going to have problems. I did use the turbo toilet and just about scared Rich out of the room! But I hoped for the best. The morning came too soon. I struggled awake and Rich got up too. The noise level to the outside towards the savannah is non-existent. But we did have noise in the hallways (children running and shrieking) and some adults not reading a Do Not Disturb sign and talking right outside our door. You'll get that at any resort with interior corridors. The only other noise level was the turbo toilets in our neighbors rooms. There are no secrets here.

I knew I had to take it easy this morning and Rich was so understanding. There was an USA Today outside our door and he was happy. He "volunteered" to go to Target and KMart and get me some aspirin, him some chapstick, and oh, by the way, sports cards were on sale at both of them. So I worked on the report, tried to feel better and Rich went to get some stuff.

Up until this point, we hadn't seen that many animals. But around 11:00, the feeders came out and I was hit with the mother lode of animals for this savannah. Unfortunately, Rich was still out. But at least I knew that a feeding was going to happen at 11:00 every day. I took pictures and realized this would have to be a daily event (it wasn't). I saw the Ankole Cattle, the zebras (thankfully, not the dome of last night), Eland, giraffe, Gemsbok, and the wildebeest (they moved today). We would become very familiar with all these guys in the next few days.

After Rich got back from his offsite run, I got ready for the day. And I took my time. Unfortunately, all of the ESPN coverage was on the threat of the baseball strike. Ugh, the stupid issue was settled before we went out. I'm just glad football season starts soon because let's put these baseball whiny babies off for the season.

I figured I'd rather be doing something then sitting in the room thinking about how I felt. I suggested a walk around the Lodge even though the animals had decided the day was too warm to be on a savannah. It was overcast but still hot and humid. We went out to the Arusha Rock Savanna Overlook and were greeted by Mark from South Africa. He said there weren't many animals out and we agreed. But he was so friendly and told us some places to go around the Lodge for other animals.

We headed towards the pool to see if our CM friend was there and to check out the hot tubs. We walked around, saw the hot tubs which are very nice and off the main pool area. We checked out The Mara (the food court) and it was almost deserted at 12:30. We also went into the gift shop which has some very nice non-Disney items. I might have found some more Christmas presents. I love shopping all year round for people. Rich then asked what we were going to do for the rest of the day. I didn't know. I wasn't sure how long I would hold up.

We sat in the very nice lobby (lots of kids like this lobby - TV videos and games are around). I thought about what I could do with the way I felt. I wanted to be close in case I needed to get back and rest in the room. Well, aren't we right next to Animal Kingdom? There were two problems with this. First, it was going to be hot. The second was Rich was insistent that we take the bus over there. Disney buses are great but I'd rather drive and be in control (yes, it's part of my nature). I compromised and requested just to walk through the two Treks and take it easy. Rich requested taking the bus. I agreed. Marriage is all about compromise and respecting each other's feelings.

First up was for me to lead Rich to the bus stop. He had no clue where it was at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We waited about 10 minutes for the bus which wasn't bad. Not too many people were taking a bus to anywhere right now. It was around 1:00 PM. We were on the Animal Kingdom bus with a mother and daughter and that was it. Quick trip, through the turn styles and then I asked Rich which Trek he wanted to take first. This man really struggles with how to navigate the Animal Kingdom. He said "they're next to each other, aren't they?" Ugh! No, darling (he was putting up with me not feeling well) - one is in Asia and one is in Africa.

We made it to Discovery Island and Rich went towards the right so that meant Asia. I challenged him to get us back there. He did mention It's Tough to be a Bug since it was a walk on but I wasn't sure I could handle going under the Tree of Life so we passed. We managed to get to Asia (Rich did OK) and had to wend our way through all the people dripping off Kali River Rapids. But we made it to Maharajah Jungle Trek. We saw the tigers, the bats, and I was embarrassed at the Komodo Dragon exhibit. I couldn't see him! Even though the Cast Member pointed him out. Rich did and I finally saw the guy.

It was hot and I was sweating a little more than normal but that was fine - get those germs out of me. After this Trek, I challenged Rich with getting us over to Africa. And he actually did it. We did a stop for some misters which were wonderful!! On the way to the Pagnani Trek, we saw that the Kilimanjaro Safari was a five minute wait which meant a walk on. Hey, I could use a nice sit down, long attraction. So we went. It was about 2:00 PM and you wouldn't think the animals would be out, right? Wrong.

I think we saw every animal there. Well, maybe not but we were not bored. And we had a jeep full of first timers. I thought the woman behind Rich was going to fall out of the vehicle with her excitement. I don't think the guy in front of me put down his digital camera the whole trip. I heard "ostriches!" "crocodiles!" "lions!" "cheetahs!". And we saw the rhinos and zebras playing and running around. With the ostriches, we had always seen them from afar. Today, they were right along the road. And one of them was in the road. So our jeep had to wait. The driver said "we're going to play Ostrich". Instead of "Chicken". Get it? The whole jeep cracked up. We waited and the bird walked off to the side.

After our Safari, we did the Pagnani Trek which was our original intent. I had to check out my African bullfrog in the Naked Mole Rat Exhibit. I just wish one of these days, I'd see the guy move! The family of gorillas were pretty active so that whole window was mobbed with people. We did have a stroller incident in that these two women, each with a huge stroller, parked them side by side in the crowded conditions. No one could get around them, leading to a big clog. And the kids weren't even in the strollers so why couldn't these be stowed somewhere else? Oh well, we pardoned ourselves, excused ourselves and finally made it out. There was only one of the bachelor gorillas out there. The CM stationed there was very nice and Rich talked to him a while about the bachelors.

By now, it had started to sprinkle. Of course, the ponchos were sitting safely back in the room. We just didn't think it was going to rain that early in the day. We were done with everything I wanted to do for the day and air conditioning was next on my list. Just as we walked out of the Trek, it started to rain harder. So we did a little shopping while waiting for it to slow down. We didn't buy anything but just looked around. The rain let up so we walked to the entrance and towards the bus stop. Quite different going to the right instead of the left.

A bus got there within about 10 minutes and a couple of kids were complaining about the wait. The round trip between the Animal Kingdom and the Lodge is only 15 minutes on a bad day so that would be about the most you would be waiting. Not that bad.

Back to our room where ESPN finally had something on besides baseball strike coverage. Thank goodness. All of our new found animal friends were out at various times throughout the rest of the afternoon. Lindy was coming to our room around 5:30 so we had a couple of hours to relax. I needed it and Rich understood. I took a nap while Rich watched golf and read. It stormed quite a bit somewhere but it just was raining off and on at the Lodge. When I woke up, I felt so much better. The animals were still out and about when Lindy came a little before 5:30. Fortunately, every species of animal made an appearance during Lindy's visit.

Our seating for Boma was for 6:00 and we headed down there before then to check in. We've been here with Lindy previously and always had a wait. Not this time. I checked in right after a family without a priority seating and was given buzzer #1. The wait was "a few minutes". I think it was something like two minutes. There were plenty of empty tables but it was still busy, if that makes sense. Our server was Mike and he was great. Always clearing off the empty plates and refilling the glasses. I kept it very simple and stuck with fruit and this excellent radish/orange salad. Sounds strange to put those two together but the flavors blended very well. I did get "real" food - a piece of their excellent chicken. But no zebra domes were going to be had by me. Oh well, I'm sure I'll be back.

Now, here's why we like Boma. Lindy is a vegetarian. Rich is a carnivore. Both stuffed themselves silly at this meal. Loaded plates with all their favorites. Lindy did convince Rich to try some non-meat things but Rich had more than enough of the flank steak to compensate. And Lindy highly recommends the Boma version of tomato bisque. Lindy tried a few desserts and Rich more than made up for me not having any dessert. Boy, did he ever! We usually never have desserts but Rich went to town. I think his quote was "I have to at least try every one of the cookie choices". What an excuse!

Lindy left us early since she promised Randy, the Boardwalk juggler, that she would be there for his first show which was at 7:15. Rich and I settled the check and then went back up to the room for a maintenance break. Kind of glad we did. The rain just broke loose and we had lots of thunder and lots of lightening. A giraffe was feeding and when this clap of thunder went off, the guy just took off running. It was very interesting to see. All the animals slowly made their way across the savannah to get to cover. Fascinating to watch. It kind of looked like "Jurassic Park" and the dinosaurs and how slowly they walked. At this point, we weren't sure we'd be joining Lindy at the Boardwalk to see Randy. We had packed the ponchos so we were prepared. But Lindy had told Randy we'd be there and I thought we could handle it.

We did do a bit of human watching here too. There was a huge group of people on Arusha Rock watching the animals. We could see the rains were coming. We actually could hear the rains approaching across the savannah. Rich just said "watch the people". We did. Once the rains came, they all ran back into the Lodge. It was pretty funny since we were nice and dry on the balcony. Yes, we're at Animal Kingdom Lodge people watching.

We made it to the car without ponchos and found a little problem. Our rear view mirror was dangling from the windshield. Ugh! My car is almost 10 years old and has almost 150,000 miles on it (don't you think the Disney World trips has something to do with that?) so she's showing her age a little. Of course, we can't drive around with the thing dangling. Rich attempted to stick it back on the windshield but no way. It was kind of dark so we couldn't see that much. After turning on the interior lights, I figured out how to disconnect the power cords (the mirror is electronic and automatically adjusts for bright lights) and took the mirror off. But we might have to make a visit to Car Care Central on Monday to get the thing fixed.

Rich drove us over to the Swan and spent a little time getting used to not having the mirror. We both rely on that a lot - we're the "scanning" type of drivers. We check the mirrors all the time. The rain had let up so we thought we could make it to the lobby sans ponchos. As soon as we got out of the car, the rains picked up a lot (I think we are cursed). We took a drier route through the convention center. Once through the Swan, we immediately put on the ponchos. Silly, silly yellow ponchos. But they worked. So we looked like dorks but we were dry.

If it's raining at the Boardwalk, the outdoor acts perform in the Boardwalk lobby. Makes for a lively performance. We met Lindy in the lobby and waited for Randy. He ended up going out to the entryway for his session. He had already started when we got there but we were greeted as his "number one fan, number two fan, and number three fan there in the back". Excellent repoire with everyone coming and going at the Boardwalk. Not that much of a steady audience so Randy said that he really didn't have any other new routines since we had seen him last. Lindy asked him about the shaker cups. We hadn't seen that one yet. I had no idea what they were. Randy said that works best when done inside. So he'd do that in the next set.

By now, an audience had developed and any time Randy would drop something, he'd ask a kid to pick it up for him. These three kids had fun doing that and then they kind got of aggressive. The intent is for the kid to pick up the pin and toss it back to Randy and he would catch it and continue to juggle. He also tosses pins and balls to different people in the audience and asks them to throw them back. Gently, of course. It was a great set with some of the kids getting a little belligerent with the tossing. And then Randy did a joke and dropped all three pins. These three kids literally ran in there, picked up the pins and were going to chuck them at Randy! Not nice at all. At that point, Randy said "thank you very much" and packed up. Understand that Randy has no protection from his audience at all and these kids were extremely close to him. With no discipline from their parents standing nearby. In fact, I think the parents were laughing. Highly dangerous situation and I'm glad Randy ended when he did.

The next set was in 40 minutes so we sat in the rockers outside the lobby and then came inside near the fireplace. We just chatted and visited and stayed out of the rain. Randy came out and set up in the lobby. A little bigger of an audience and he juggled balls for a while. Lindy asked him questions and we got a nice lesson in juggling. You cross odd number of balls but when you have an even number, like four, you toss two with your left hand, two with your right hand. Randy did some demonstrations of this. Very nice. He also did the shaker cups, as promised, and they were very loud and very difficult to juggle. But Randy did a great job while joking about bugging the Bell Services guys who were right behind him. A family with three very small kids - around three or so (maybe younger) had stopped and these kids kept running up towards Randy. Their parents didn't do much to keep them back. At first, the kids would just run up, yell something, and run back. Randy kind of joked about it and kept going. But the kids got bolder and they were finally way too close with the parents still saying nothing. So Randy ended this set a little early. I think he still had five minutes to go and said he'd be outside for that time. Parents, please watch your kids around these performers. They (the kids) could get hurt easily. Use the performers' cues as your guidance. Randy would easily have kids in the sets but only when he could control it. Lecture mode off but please pay attention.

I got a hug from Randy after the inside performance and Lindy took a picture. Then Rich took a picture of Lindy and Randy. Lindy was staying for the rest of Randy's shows but I was lagging and I thought Rich was too. So we said goodbye and we'd be meeting for lunch tomorrow. Rich and I put on the ponchos and headed back to the car. On the way Rich says "Illuminations will be going off even if it does rain, right?" Thinking that we could see some of the show. He was working without a watch (I have to get him one before the next trip - he drives me crazy) so I checked mine. Oops - it's after 9:30! We were amazed we lasted this long.

We got back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and back to the room. With the rain, all the animals were out and moving around. Except the wildebeests. They really are amazing. We could really see them tonight. They were just standing there but the interesting thing is that they were all facing out. Their instinct is to watch out for predators. Even when the rain let up a little and they actually moved, they all were facing out of the herd. For us animal lovers, this was very nice.

Day Three - Saturday, August 31, 2002

We must have really been tired. We slept until 10:00. We were both surprised at that. Rich though, blamed it on the kid somewhere that just was shrieking this morning. He (or she) went on and on and on and no parent was even trying to keep him quiet. Then the noise went away for about an hour and then was back. We think they took the kid to breakfast. Hope Boma or The Mara is still in existence after this kid.

We both got ready and then waited for the 11:00 feeding. Ain't happening today. The giraffes were out and they were fun to watch. So graceful. I decided we should head out around 11:30 since we were meeting Lindy for lunch at MGM at 12:45. That would give us enough time to park at the Swan and then take the walkway to MGM. Maybe get to do something before the lunch.

I'm having Rich doing the driving around and he's getting extremely good. My excuse is that he needs to know Disney World. It's actually because not having the mirror would drive me insane. We took the walkway and the weather wasn't that bad but we figured there would be rain later. I was carrying the ponchos in my bag. We breezed through security and the turn styles and I looked at my watch. I wanted to check in at 50s Prime Time at 12:30 for our seating since that place is usually pretty crowded. It was a little after noon. What to do? We looked at the wait board and Star Tours was pretty much a walk on at 5 minutes. Let's do that.

Headed over there and saw the stand by time was 10 minutes. OK, that's still basically a walk on. But when we got into the queue, we barely got by the first area and stopped. Err, this is at least 20 minutes and then we still have the trip to Endor. So we escaped. Rich suggested going into Tatoonine Traders to see if they had anything for Chris. He's a massive movie junkie and extreme Star Wars fan. I think we pick up something for him every trip. But we were just here last month. And we got the figures he needed and we picked up the pins he wanted before. What could be new?

Why did we do this? Why oh why? And why did we just happen to look at the nice pewter figures under the glass next to the cash register? Why? I guess it's The Force. One of the things Chris had been asking for, just if we happened to see one, was Yoda with a light saber. I don't know - I haven't seen Episode II yet. Well, there was little Yoda with a light saber. Nice pewter figure. Very nice pewter figure. At Disney World. Ugh! What was the price? A nice Cast Member helped us and told us it would be $21.20 after taxes. Extremely reasonable. For Yoda with a light saber. We said we'd come back and get it. Chris is getting some very nice Christmas presents early this year.

We headed back to the 50s Prime Time Café. On the way, Rich saw a dangerous thing on the ground. A collectible pin had fallen off someone and was lying face down so the actual pin was sticking straight up. Someone in flip flops would have gotten a rude surprise. Rich picked up the pin and it was fate. A Mickey patriotic one. It didn't have a back to it. Later, Rich asked at the Epcot pin station if they had extra backs. Rich laughed because the cart had a tray full of the backs. We kind of got a free pin out of the trip. Sorry to whoever lost it but it's in good hands now. On my bag for future trips.

Over to the Prime Time Café and I went to check us in at the "lobby" which is like a living room and it was not crowded at all. I said we were there but waiting for one more person. Lindy was back watching Hunchback of Notre Dame and that wasn't going to be over until after 12:30. I was told to just let them know when we were all there. Rich and I sat outside waiting for just a few minutes before Lindy showed up. I rechecked us in and we were immediately led to a table. They did murder my last name and Lindy was the one that noticed they were calling us. The guy gave up after one try!

Mom was our server and she checked in with us and said she had a few things to do before she could serve us. Not a problem. We went through the menu and made our choices and waited for Mom. The only problem would be if we couldn't make the 2:00 Hunchback of Notre Dame show. That was our plan. Mom came back and sat down in the extra chair. She chastised Lindy for having her feet on the chair. Lindy has never been here and even though she read about the antics, she hadn't experienced them yet. Mom brought the silverware and I said that Lindy had to set the table because she was the youngest. Mom said that, guess what, Lindy would always be the youngest so why were we making her do the work?

Mom asked us where we were from and we said Georgia and Lindy said Utah. Which made Mom tell us (we're not supposed to repeat this) that she was wanted in Utah for an unpaid traffic ticket. It was really funny. Rich ordered the meatloaf (after finding that it was beef and pork and didn't have veal in it) and substituted french fries for the mashed potatoes. The man hates mashed potatoes which is one of my favorites. I got the open faced steak sandwich and accepted everything listed on the menu. Then Lindy asked if she could get a turkey sandwich without the turkey. Mom gave us a look like "what the heck is she talking about?" Rich and I both said "she's a vegetarian". Then Mom told Lindy that she could whip up a veggie burger for her. Lindy said that would be great and could she get that with fries? Mom said "I'll make sure it comes with fries". Excellent service here. Lindy also ordered the fried boursin cheese appetizer. Mom said she'd really like it.

The appetizer came and Lindy said it was "OK". She asked us to join her with it. Rich did and said it tasted like ravioli without the pasta. I really don't like fried cheese so I didn't have any. But neither Rich nor Lindy really wanted that much more and encouraged me to see what I thought. I loved it!! I really would have demolished the rest but I knew I had the huge steak sandwich to eat. Rich helped me finish it. (I'm craving the thing now).

Mom stopped by the table and gave us trivia to answer. We picked the Disney category, of course. Name the 11 Disney animated films with one word titles. Conversation at our table stopped while we pondered. We came up with 10 and just sat there, thinking. Rich came up with "Atlantis" so we were done! Whew! Wouldn't want Mom to think we were stupid. Mom came back and said that our ticket was lost in the kitchen but she was going to bring our food out as soon as possible. Err, the clock was ticking on that 2:00 Hunchback show. Would we make it? Lindy has some connections and she said as long as we were there before show time, we were fine. We'd miss Matt the juggler, but we'd be OK.

BTW - on the trivia, "Atlantis" was bounced. It's actually "Atlantis: The Lost Continent". We didn't like the film at all so whatever. Mom did say the last film started with a D and was recent. Think, think, think. Conversation stopped again. "Dinosaur"! Yep. And then we were given another trivia question. Name the five Disney animated films without humans. Lindy said that was easy. It wasn't but we managed to get five together. Mom said "The Great Mouse Detective" wasn't on her list. But "A Bug's Life" was. We discussed our choice and Mom asked the other server about it. He said there were humans in "The Great Mouse Detective" but you could only see their feet. So she gave it to us! (Yes, I have since found out there are humans in "The Great Mouse Detective" - proves you should never argue with your Mom).

To make up for the ticket being lost, Mom brought out free refills on the house. Lindy was having Coke and Rich was having iced tea but I ordered a beer. I didn't think I could do two beers and still walk out of the place. Fortunately, my husband is very understanding and helped. The food was brought out and everything was perfect on it. Except Mom didn't bring it out and the guy that did disappeared before we could ask for ketchup. Don't tell anyone but Rich stole it from another table. Everyone enjoyed their meal. I thought the steak sandwich was excellent. It had a nice sauce on it so I didn't even need steak sauce. The meat loaf kicked Rich's butt - he couldn't finish it. Mom said that Rich had to eat more green beans (he loves the beans here) and he did. She also said I had to have a few more bites of my sandwich - I said I could eat one more piece and would that be OK? She agreed. Whew!

Other antics at the lunch - another server was trying to get a kid to eat his macaroni and cheese. He did the airplane thing. And then Mom came by and said "you need to eat three more bites of your lunch, young man". The family thought that was great. Another woman got this huge brownie/ice cream dessert and didn't even finish half of it. Which led her server to say "why did you order that if you couldn't eat it?" A kid asked where the restrooms were. The reply was "well, you go out of the restaurant, through the exit, take the boat to Epcot, and there's one underneath the ball. Or you go down the hall and to the right".

And Rich was dubbed "Skippy" and Lindy was "Princess". Mom didn't give me a Title. Rich will forever be known as Skippy.

It was a great meal and Lindy and Rich settled the bill with about 10 minutes to spare before the 2:00 Hunchback show. We did the Lindy power walk back to the theatre. We made it with a little left in Matt's routine. Lindy got us seats in the VIP row which was very nice. Matt's last routine was one where he juggled brooms to the tune from "Sorcerer's Apprentice". Excellent. We're sure getting our fill of jugglers this trip. Hunchback of Notre Dame was very good, as usual. We parted ways with Lindy after the show - she was asked to go backstage with her Cast Member friend. We'll see her tomorrow for lunch at Rose & Crown.

We had absolutely no plans after this. I had earlier said something about the Great Movie Ride closing in the near future so Rich suggested we go to that. It was basically a walk on with one cycle of the movie clips in the waiting area. We did the cowboy side which Rich says we do every time. It's been quite a while since we've done this so I didn't disagree. My thoughts on redoing this attraction. Yeah, they could probably add some more recent things but why? Complete opposite of what I thought before I did this again. It's the Great Movie Ride. Not the Most Recent Movie Ride. That's my opinion.

After this, I thought we were done so we went back over to Tatoonine Traders and got Chris' Yoda. It was funny because the Cast Member had to show us the figure in the box. While she was doing that, this little boy came up and said "wow, that's a little toy!" (it is not a toy). And then he said that they sure put that little toy into a big box (I love Disney packaging - you never have to worry about something breaking). With our purchase made, we checked out Star Tours again. 20 minute stand by and the line was out the door. Forget that. Rich said something about the FastPass being for another hour and then said that would mean "the others" would be longer. Meaning Rock N Roller Coaster and Twilight Zone. I hadn't even thought those were in our future. I guess they might be.

So we headed over to Sunset Boulevard and saw that Twilight Zone was a 13 minute wait. Which means a walk on. We didn't do that right away but went over to Rock N Roller Coaster. 10 minute stand by but FastPass for just 45 minutes away. Enough time to do Twilight Zone and take a break. So we did the FastPass and then headed back to Twilight Zone. Rich was amazed. We walked right into the library without stopping. Once in the boiler room, we went right into an elevator. We were told to go into row 3 but saw the last two seats in row 5 were empty and that's where the seat belt seat is. So we moved over there (no one was behind us). I graciously gave up that seat to Rich. I love that seat and don't like the ones with the lap bar. But I had just done this last month and Rich hadn't in a while. Marriage is compromise, right? I pulled the lap bar down as much as I could and even asked the guy next to me to move his bag so I could get the bar down further. The ride was great and I had to close my eyes whenever they opened the doors on the drops. I can't handle how high up I know we are. The guy next to me yelled "you can open your eyes!" I just shook my head no. Heights are not my friend.

We still had 20 minutes for our FastPass time so I suggested a beer which was met with enthusiasm by Rich. We had to wait behind this huge family who took up two windows and ordered about 22 turkey legs, 15 hot dogs, 5 baked potatoes, plus assorted beverages. And then had to coordinate who was ordering for who. Rich thought they spent at least $100 on food. Might be a slight exaggeration but it sure felt that way. We enjoyed our beverages and listened to the Beauty and Beast show. Nice music but I'm still not a fan of the show. Just too disjointed for me. I loved the film. It's kind of like reading a great book and then seeing the movie version. Kills the fantasy.

We entered our window for FastPass and headed over for Aerosmith and Rock N Roller Coaster. Standby time was now just 5 minutes but it was not a walk on. We went right in with FastPass. There were a ton of people who wanted the first row. We just went with what we got (row 6 - great). Not a bad ride anywhere, as far as I'm concerned.

After this, we were done with MGM. Rich suggested another stroll around Epcot. He also suggested taking the boat. Ugh. We made it out just before the parade. Rich looked over towards the boat and I asked if we were taking it. He said no way. The line was that long. So we took the walkway back. And what a long walk! We thought it would rain but no signs right now. We arrived at International Gateway and Rich asked which way did I want to go. I replied that I really, really, really wanted (1) a glass of wine and (2) a bench. So France it is. We sat on a bench in Morocco and I took off my shoes and my poor feet were aching. I was getting a problem with my right foot so I took off my sock to try and deal with it. While I was doing that, a woman with a stroller came up and asked if I needed a bandaid. I said if she had one, sure. She searched but then said that it looked like her husband used the last one. Not a big problem - I have some in the room. But thanks for offering!

And while we were resting, Rich had Osprey Moment #2. Another one was dive bombing the lagoon. Rich ran over to the railing to watch nature. I rested my foot. The osprey got his lunch. One more fish out of the lagoon. Rich was a little disappointed. Said the "damn boat" got in the way. Only my husband would cuss a Disney boat for getting in the way of nature watching.

We continued our stroll with a little stop in Germany. I might have to get another Christmas present here. It's a little expensive but it's for Rich's mother and she's hard to shop for. We'll see. Tapestry of Dreams was going to go off so we high tailed it to Mexico and off the parade route. I love the parade but I was starting to lag. We did stop for a while and watched the ducks and other waterfowl here. We saw our first furry creature - a little bunny. Yes, we watch nature all the time.

And it was a long walk back to the Swan. I felt like we had been out for 12 hours! We did have a little encounter on the walkway right outside International Gateway. It was sprinkling just a little so we stopped under some trees to wait it out (we had the ponchos but didn't want to put them on for a light sprinkle). A large family was across the pathway and was trying to figure something out. We must have known what we were doing because then they asked us for directions on how to get to Cape May Buffet. I swear Rich has that "I'm here" look to him. He was always getting asked on how to get passes on the Washington, DC Metro line. Heck, he gets asked that here in Atlanta and he has no clue. It's just his look. We gave the directions and I hope the family had a great meal.

Rich drove us back to Animal Kingdom Lodge and got a decent parking space. This place is getting more crowded with the holiday weekend. On the way back to the room, we were carrying a case of beer and a six pack of Diet Coke. A couple of women were coming the other way and said "where's the nearest grocery store?" It always embarrasses me to carry a case of beer through a nice resort lobby so I was not a happy camper. But these women were serious. They were in search of a grocery store. Rich had me give them directions to my favorite Publix and I hope they found it.

Up to the room to watch Maryland get stomped by Notre Dame. Ugh! I took a shower to cool off. Plus, I thought I'd knock over a couple of animals with how I smelled. It was hot today! And we watched animals and humans as well. Since the football game totally stank (Rich has been a Maryland fan forever - poor guy), we decided to go to the hot tub at half time.

There are two hot tubs at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We wanted the smaller one and headed there. People were in it. OK, let's go over to the larger one. Well, there's must have been a party going on there. Back to the first one which only had four people in it. Once we got there though, they turned off the jets and were diving under the water. Turns out this guy had dumped his wallet into the tub. Another guy had to tell him. Not a good sign. But we forged on. Everything was cleaned up, we got into the tub, the one guy left (not the guy with the wallet), and we were left with a guy and two women who were thoroughly enjoying some drinks. And probably had been for quite a while. I kept to myself but Rich was involved in a conversation with the guy. It was very interesting. These people had kids in the main pool which you can't see from the hot tub so the kids kept coming back to the tub. The lifeguards at the pool go off duty at 10:00 and the slide closes but the pool is open 24 hours. That was the kids' curfew. Thankfully, it came. Rich and I got 5 minutes of quiet time in the tub.

We went back to the room and changed channels since Maryland was losing and losing badly. Please get an offense sometime this year. It actually was a very long day for us. Into bed during "Saturday Night Live".

Day Four - Sunday, September 1, 2002

The little shrieking kid either was quiet today or left the building and we slept almost uninterrupted until 9:30. Rich got up and got ready while I worked on the report. We had a newspaper delivered to the door on Friday (USA Today) but hadn't had one yesterday. Rich had said something about getting a paper and going to the pool to read it. I asked him to give me until 11:00 meaning that he should get a paper and come back to the room. He was gone for quite a while. He did go to the pool but ran into our Cast Member friend from the Off Kilter shows. So they chatted for a while. The CM would be at Off Kilter around 3:00 with her parents who were visiting. Then Rich came back to the room for his newspaper reading and watching ESPN. We did have quite a lot of visits from our animal friends. I'm really liking the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I finally got myself ready and we went to do what we normally do on Sundays at Epcot. Another marathon Off Kilter session. The excuse was the lunch at Rose & Crown with Lindy. And we're sticking to it. Plus, we knew that another Off Kilter fan would be there all day as well. And it's so nice spending the day with her. The day was going to be very hot and very humid. It didn't even look like it was going to rain. Rich did take his refillable "mug" for use at the United Kingdom pavilion.

We filled the "mug" to share and then joined our friend in Canada for Off Kilter. Lindy came for the first performance and we could tell that the cold she thought she was getting was there. Poor girl was on medicine for the day. Lindy said she thought the cold was from going into air conditioning after being out in the heat.

Off Kilter did another nice set (I don't think they ever miss on a set) and seemed as relaxed and animated as Thursday. We invited our friend to lunch with us but she declined since she already had eaten. She said she'd save seats for us. Lindy, Rich, and I headed for the Rose & Crown. I had anticipated a long line here but we were seated immediately. I did request to be outside and we got a great table along the World Showcase Lagoon. Rich and I had specialty drinks and Lindy stuck with Coke. I had the Beefeater which was shaved roast beef served open faced with Stilton cheese. Our server was from Wales and had a very heavy accent. He asked me if I had ever had Stilton cheese. I said no so he said he would put it on the side since it's very powerful. Rich did the fish & chips. He told Lindy that he will never eat fish & chips anywhere else because this is so good here. My Beefeater was fantastic and the Stilton cheese was powerful but perfect. Next time, I'll get it on the Beefeater. Excellent meal.

We had a nice lunch although it was interrupted a couple of times by this pair at the table behind us. They were pleasant enough but were trying to communicate via a horrible walkie talkie connection to another party. So the guy decided in order to solve the problem (other than buying the good ones) was to (1) turn up the volume on the walkie talkie and (2) shout his responses. It was so bad, the three of us could not continue our conversation until the guy was finally done. By the way, he was giving horrible directions to the party trying to find them.

I asked Lindy if she had trouble getting from the airport to Disney World with her rental car. She confessed that she took the shuttle and then rented from National at Downtown Disney. But her excuse is that it was a lot cheaper that way because she didn't have to pay all the airport fees. Hint - it might be cheaper to do this with all those concession fees that are charged.

Lindy left early again since she wanted to see Voices of Liberty which was on at 3:15. Our server was good until the end. Then he kind of forgot about us. I sent Rich back to Canada to keep our friend company. I didn't have to do that though. Our CM friend and her parents were there. I waited for the check. Unfortunately, our server got into a conversation with the other couple so I waited and waited and waited. I did hear that this couple's daughter is a stripper and can only perform for 20 minutes at a time because the guys get a little unruly after that. Neat lunch conversation. I finally got the bill and put it on the room charge. Then I hightailed it over to Canada for the next Off Kilter show.

Another nice set and it was only an hour to the next one. Rich was feeling the effects of the heat and needed some liquids. I did not want to walk around so I stayed with our friend. The CM and her parents went in search of food. Rich headed to Japan for a Kaki Gori (shaved ice with syrup). He also stayed and listened to the Japanese drummers. When he got back, he said he still needed something. Our friend suggested a frozen lemonade from the nearby kiosk. It wasn't that frozen but it hit the spot for him.

I went to France for a glass of wine. There was a little bit of a line and there was a couple in front of me. The day was extremely hot. The woman told her husband what she wanted and then said she was going to stand over in the shade and left. I asked the guy if he was getting two drinks. He said yes. Then I told him the Disney policy. One person, one drink. You can't get two if the other person is not with you. He thanked me and we both called his wife back over. The guy said that his wife would have killed him if he only got one drink. It turned out it was the wife's birthday and they were having a celebratory drink. I did wish the woman a happy birthday.

Back for the third Off Kilter set which was a nice one with some of our favorites. They did mess up when they introduced one song and launched into a different one. Oh well, they carried on. After this set, I was ready for a walk so Rich and I took another stroll around World Showcase. We just like to walk. I did go and pay my respects to the American flag recovered from the World Trade Center. I thought I'd be OK until I saw the paintings on either side. One is of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The other one is of a family enjoying what I thought was a Thanksgiving dinner (at least there was a turkey there). They are holding hands and appear to be praying. The thing was, there was a diverse ethnic mix of people. That's what that flag is all about. I scurried out of here again, thankful for my sunglasses to hide my eyes.

We continued on, taking advantage of shade whenever we could. We made it back to Canada and visited with the CM and our friend. We did find out that the beer stand in Canada was just down for a refurb and would be back. Thank goodness. I asked the CM just how far into the rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge can the cameras see. She said not that far. They are mostly looking for people on balconies that could be harmful to the animals. Like if there was a large party out there with drinks or food. The other thing about the Animal Kingdom Lodge - there is absolutely no smoking allowed on the balconies. Even if you have a smoking room, you cannot smoke on the balcony. Too much temptation to flick the butts out into the savannah.

We enjoyed the fourth and last set of the day and then said goodbye to everyone. Our CM would be working tomorrow night so we think we'll go to the hot tub (hopefully without the "entertainment" of last night) and visit with her. We'll see our other friend tomorrow for Off Kilter.

We thought Lindy would be over at the Boardwalk and we had to walk by there anyway. We didn't find her but did see Phil, who does card tricks with slight of hand. Normally, I don't like that kind of entertainment but he was very good. Had these four kids just eating out of his hand (no pun intended). Since we didn't find Lindy, we assumed she was taking it easy and nursing her cold. No fun having to go home and be sick. (She was there but we missed her). I suggested checking out Fantasia Miniature Golf but we thought the course looked a little crowded. We just don't like be stacked up behind people so we passed. It'll be there next time.

We headed back to the room for relaxation. I used my cell phone and called Chris to tell him about Yoda with a light saber. He thought I meant the regular figure until I said it was the pewter one like his Darth Maul one he got last year. After he realized that, he was such a happy camper. He also told me he gave his roommates a moving out date of October 10. It's hard to believe my "little boy" is going to make a serious life change. I needed comfort after that so I called Adrienne. We talked for about an hour and a half with Rich going insane with the cell phone minutes. I was out on the balcony and did get bit up from the mosquitoes. We do have a warning about West Nile disease in the room. The animals were out in force so it was nice to sit there and tell Adrienne what I was seeing.

During the animal viewing, I took about a roll and a half of film. I don't even know if these will turn out since it was pretty dark (they didn't) but we had a great time. It was "look, the giraffe and the zebra are together, take a picture". Or "the wildebeests are moving, get that". I thought we humans were the ones intruding on the animals' lives.

We came inside and just crashed on the beds and watched TV. Rich actually went to bed earlier than I did.

Day Five - Monday, September 2, 2002

Today was going to be the hottest and most humid day of our trip. And I'd pay for it. We decided not to take the car to get the mirror fixed. We'll feel better getting it done back at home. So after we got up, we relaxed in the room. I thought we would get another USA Today since it was Monday but Rich reminded me that it's a holiday so no newspaper. With these mornings, we certainly boost the ratings for the ESPN Sports Center.

We did our normal drive to the Swan and walk over to International Gateway. Rich left his "mug" back in the room after realizing it didn't hold as much as we thought. So it wasn't that great of a deal especially since you have to carry the thing around all day. But it is a nice souvenir. Our friend was waiting in Canada (she brings a book to enjoy throughout the day). We settled in for Off Kilter again. Since the day was so hot, we tried to make use of the nice, cold water fountain next to the stage but the water level was low. Water fountains became our friends throughout the day. That and going to the restroom in United Kingdom and washing down every once in a while. I heard someone say that with the humidity, the temperatures were well over 100. Certainly felt like it.

We enjoyed the guys' first set and I think Rich now has the lyrics to "Mary Mac" down. We did cheat yesterday and bring the printed copy. After the set, we needed lunch and Rich might be turning me into a carnivore. I was craving a hot dog. We headed over to the cart at the entrance to World Showcase for the dog. Last time we shared one of these true foot longs, the CM cut the dog in half for us. This one wouldn't. So Rich ripped it in half. Rich likes a little hot dog with his ketchup. I add onions to mine. Rich gobbled his on our walk but I saved mine until Norway where we got a beverage to share and sat on a bench for a little more civilized way to eat. Rich did meet yet another stunning Cast Member.

We continued our walk around and I wanted to see the flag again. Rich waited outside with the beverage (which was now extremely warm). The CM here almost wouldn't let me in because a show had just begun. I explained I wasn't here for the show, just the flag. She reluctantly let me enter. There is a quote near the flag and I had to write it down:

"America has been settled by people of all nations. All nations may claim her for their own. We are not a narrow tribe of men...No, our blood is as the flood of the Amazon, made up of a thousand noble currents all pouring into one...We are not a nation so much as a world." - Herman Melville

I thought that was very appropriate not only for America but for all nations. We've all come too far.

Since the rotunda was empty, I strolled around and looked at all the quotes and all the wonderful paintings. Plus it was air conditioned. Then we continued on and since the other beverage had gone warm and I can't drink warm stuff, I stopped at France for a glass of wine, getting the featured one this time. Not that bad. We went back over to Canada for the second set and enjoyed visiting with our friend before the guys came out. Another nice set. After this one, Rich waited around and wanted to request a couple of songs. Ones that we have never heard performed live. Rich got turned on to "Back Home in Derry" which is a very slow ballad and does not have bagpipes in it. But he loves it. And he likes "Dirty Old Town".

There were a lot of people visiting with the band so Rich just kind of hung back. Our friend saw that Randy (lead guitarist) was finally available so she called him over. Rich asked if they ever did "Back Home in Derry" anymore. He said he understood it was slow and it didn't have bagpipes so he would understand if they couldn't do it. Rich said "Dirty Old Town" was fine if they could do that but no big deal.

We just hung around after this set since Rich had been talking with Randy. We did bathroom breaks and to cool off. Back for the third set and these guys are wonderful! "Dirty Old Town". Thanks! It was pretty darn warm and Rich said something about getting another Kaki Gori. But he didn't want to do two in one trip. I said I'd walk around the Showcase with him. The man was smarter than I was since he did get something to cool him down. I'm not into this so I said I'd get ice cream later. I wanted it back in Canada, sitting down. I can't walk and chew gum at the same time, how could I eat an ice cream and walk on such a hot day?

We watched the Japanese drummers for just a bit (need some shade here) and then Rich got a cherry Kaki Gori. I heard the American Fife and Drum Corps were out so we went over there. Only four performers instead of five so we got a little bit of an abbreviated performance but very nice. We strolled around back to Canada, taking our sweet time because of the heat. We did hear a guy say "well, at least it's not hot". Where was he from? Hell? Now, it was between 5:30 and 6:30 so the afternoon had been hotter.

I passed up ice cream cart after ice cream cart, thinking I'd get something closer to Canada. You know how many ice cream carts are close to Canada? None near the Refreshment Port, none in England. By the time I got something, it would have been dripping all over me on my walk back (trust me, I can't do two things at one time). So I passed. Dumb move. I did do all the water fountains on the walk that I could but it wasn't enough. Plus, I thought I had enough exposure to the sun in the preceding months so I didn't use sun block. Double dumb. I've done this before and you think I would learn, right? Wrong.

But the fourth set of Off Kilter was so, so nice. Our friend noticed I was getting sunburned and said something. Of course, you never realize you are sunburned until much, much later. I thought I was fine. Our friend did see some other friends towards the back of the area and invited them to sit with us in the front row, which they did. When the guys came out, they saw everyone and then talked about the play list. I thought I heard it. I nudged Rich. And they did "Back Home in Derry"! Randy had said they like to keep the later performances pretty rocked up but they fit this in. Can you tell why we like this group so much? They did compensate and performed some Ozzy Osbourne stuff. It was pretty funny.

We made sure we thanked the group for getting in not one but both requests. And then it was time to say goodbye to our friend. We won't see her again until November. We exchanged email addresses and I told her we'd let her know when we find jobs, finally. She said she thinks of us all the time because we're "fun". Well, how can you not be fun at Disney World? What's the real world?

We knew that Randy the juggler, would be on at the Boardwalk tonight so we were heading over there to see if we could find Lindy. It was her last night as well. We saw Phil set up and then we saw Lindy there too. Of course, we had to go over. Phil was great and now we have yet another performer to see. Lots of icing on top of the cake this trip. Lindy had told us Phil was great with names and when Lindy applauded a trick, Phil said "It's Lindy, my Designated Applauder". Since it was obvious that we knew Lindy, after the show Phil asked our names and talked a little with us. Extremely nice touch

Then we were in search of Randy and found him setting up. He was joined by a banjo player, Anthony, and the two of them together were great. Rich and I had gotten some wine from the Spoodles pizza window (dumb move on my part). That led Anthony to remark we were the winers while the kids that had gathered were the whiners. Funnee. Anthony also asked if I had been at Epcot that day. I didn't know why he asked that but found out later it was because I turned out like a red lobster. Warning - be prepared for sun!!

Rich and Lindy were part of a routine this time (I had my shot the other night). Randy did have a little bit of trouble with the shaker cups (we didn't request them) but did not have any obnoxious kids so he was much more relaxed. Anthony was great on the banjo. After the set, Anthony played on his own while Randy was off to the side. Lindy said they should do that more often and we agreed. Lindy was going to stick around for more Boardwalk entertainment even though she had to get up and catch a shuttle to the airport at 4:00 AM. We (I) decided to go back to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and start packing. Along the way, I realized I was probably getting dehydrated. Rich drove us back to the room and I took a nice cold shower and started taking in liquids.

Our plan all along today was to get yet another pizza from Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is now the number one favorite pizza of my man, Pizzaman. It was going to be quick and easy but instead of ordering room service, Rich decided to go to The Mara and get it himself. Saved us money on delivery and gave me down time in the room. But the service at The Mara was too quick! I think this pizza was even better than the room service one. I did pull off as much pepperoni as I could and did some creative slicing so all I got was cheese. I was getting tired of meat.

By this time it was around 10:30 and the day kicked me hard. I normally would obsess about packing but we had decided to take the morning easy, stay as late to check out we could and then take the drive back slowly. We'd try and time it to either beat the Atlanta traffic or wait until it was done. We opted to wait until it was done. Smart move.

By this time, it was close to 11:00 so I tossed it in and went to bed. Every time I even moved during the night, I drank more water. I finally got smart.

Day Six - Tuesday, September 3, 2002

We slept in until 9:00. Rich got up and while he was getting ready, I did the packing. Unfortunately, the dirty clothes go into the big suitcase and the remaining clean clothes go into the smaller one. Lots and lots of laundry to do when we get home. A hint for the summer months - pack extra clothes. Rich sweats a lot and he goes through T shirts. Extra socks even during the day are great. If you can, pack washcloths in separate Ziplocs for cooling off in the restrooms. There's nothing like washing your sticky face and arms during the day. You can use the Disney paper towels which are fine and held me through the days but with frequent trips. Just thought of something for next summer's trip - washcloths in Ziplocs with ice.

I got everything ready with Rich's help when he was done getting dressed. And then I took a shower and got ready. I came out and looked at the clock. We did all that in just a half hour?! Rich said he got up when he did because he figured I'd be "tapping away" which is what he calls working on the report. Hey, I'm not passing up the opportunity. So I did that for just a little. Then it was time to pack up. We wanted to get most of the things down to the car and then stop in the wonderful gift shop here. They have some nice, unique gifts.

We took the big suitcases (on rollers) down and a few other lighter items. On the way through the lobby, a Cast Member was coming the other way. She said goodbye and wished us a good trip. I had to hold it back. *This* is my new favorite resort. We both loved the animals, the room, and everything else. Yeah, the shrieking kids were a problem but we'll live with it - we could still sleep until 9:00 (that was our earliest time getting up). Oh man, give me this rate again and I won't even have to think about where to stay.

We loaded up the car and then headed for the gift shop. Our goal was to get something unique for Rich's father for Christmas. He's almost impossible to shop for. I had seen these carved wooden eggs made in Kenya for only $5.00. Stands were only $3.50. So we had to choose a design. Ugh with Rich, the most indecisive man I have even met. But he very quickly said his father would love something with an African mask design. Score! I looked for one for us but saw a nice giraffe dish that was $14 that I liked better. I didn't want to get it since it was for myself. But Rich insisted. Isn't he great? Rich did pick up a package of candy that he was eyeing and we headed for check out.

Not too much damage and the Cast Member made mention of Eeyore on Rich's shirt. Rich is definitely Eeyore and I said so. The Cast Member agreed. Then we went back to the room for the rest of the lighter things. Not that much. But damn, it was hard to walk out of that lobby for the last time. I've been to Disney World so much that leaving hasn't bothered me recently. Until now. In the words of Gonzo "I'm going to be back there some day".

There is a nice hanging on the wall as you exit the Animal Kingdom Lodge. You're supposed to touch it to ensure your journey is safe. We saw a Cast Member do this on our first day. We read the plaque and then made sure we touched it every time we left for the day. Even Rich had a hard time touching it for the last time this trip. We have our memories and I hope the pictures turn out (the daytime ones are awesome). We didn't speak that much getting to the car.

Rich drove the first leg. We gassed up at the awful Florida prices because we had to. Then we made a maintenance break at the Georgia Welcome Center and I took over driving. The next couple of hours were mind numbing. Our goal was to get to around Macon, belly up to a trough somewhere, eat, and wait until Atlanta traffic would die down. We didn't see that much but then saw a billboard for Fuddrucker's. Doing the Homer Simpson thing now, "umm, meat". So that was our destination. A half pound tri-cheese burger and baked beans for Rich, a steak sandwich with grilled onions for me and we were set. Chow, chow, chow. I think I've eaten as much meat in the past five days as I have in the past month. We were probably still grazing when we left. We did gas up here so we could make it home without another stop. Nice Georgia prices. Rich was driving to get us through Atlanta. I can't handle the traffic.

As soon as we were on the highway, Rich said he was sure there would be an accident at Steve Reynolds Boulevard or Jimmy Carter Boulevard on I85. We had the radio on and the traffic report came up. Guess what? A great triple threat! Not only accidents on both Boulevards but then another couple of exits up, there was an overturned truck earlier in the day that still had traffic backed up. This was at 6:00 PM. We contemplated taking another route we had never done before but then decided to stay on I85. Glad we did. Glad for those HOV lanes they finally put in down here. We bypassed a ton of traffic and didn't loose any time. We wanted to be back to our cats!

Made it home and Todd, Gus, and Belle were very nice about our latest adventure. Unloaded, got caught up with email (Rich ran out of hotmail space) and just chilled. We did plug in the Off Kilter CDs and jammed. We had to - our cable was out. Ours was the only outage so we'll see what happens with that (some wise repair person "accidentally" unplugged us).

Final Thoughts and Overall Impressions

Food -

The dinner was great at Boma even though I didn't have a ton of it. Lindy and Rich enjoyed it immensely so that made up for it. The radish/orange salad was wonderful and probably saved the day for me. I wisely passed up the zebra domes. Chocolate at that point was not a good idea.

Lunch at the 50s Prime Time Café was perfect except for the mix up with the lost ticket. Not a problem and Mom made right. Just enough interaction for us and the trivia questions were great (I have the answers if you're interested). I believe everyone loved their food.

The lunch at Rose & Crown was wonderful. Nice table, nice day (a little hot but it is breezy along the Lagoon). Good food and Rich had his fish. The only bad thing was the other couple with the guy yelling at the walkie talkie. If I'm here with a party that's going to be going separate ways, we are definitely checking out the communication system before we leave our house.

Rich proclaims the Animal Kingdom Lodge pizza as his all-time favorite. Ahead of the Spoodles pizza window and ahead of Port Orleans Riverside. Believe me, the man knows his pizza so this is high, high praise. And you can get it at the food court. OK - I admit it - I concur with his opinion.

And for the first time in a very, very, very long time. a soft pretzel did not make it into a Niklewski trip report. I mentioned that to Rich on the way home and he was appalled!

Touring -

You didn't think we did much, did you? Lots and lots of Off Kilter and not much else. Well, I think we did. We did MGM like we wanted. We managed the two thrill rides which were very nice. And got that over with in less than an hour. We've been pretty lucky with that lately. We saw the Great Movie Ride which we hadn't done in a while. So we were satisfied.

With Animal Kingdom, I think on any other day we would have chosen, we would have melted. Seriously. So doing it when we did and how we did was great for us. Throwing in the Safari with no wait was wonderful. We could have done It's Tough to be a Bug but that was not going to work for me. You just go with the flow.

We never made it to Future World at Epcot. Not even for a fountain show or to go to Mouse Gear. But it'll be there next time. We did so many walks around World Showcase and even though the buildings remained the same, the people didn't. Very nice moments to remember. People might think going to see a flag displayed is a waste of time but it wasn't for me - or for Rich.

We enjoyed the nighttime Boardwalk entertainment thanks to Lindy. Randy is a great juggler and we enjoy him a lot. And a new find this trip was Phil, the card handler. Again, thanks to Lindy. This is a great spot for after the parks close.

And Off Kilter? Yeah, we did three marathon sessions which seems a little much. But we enjoyed them all so I guess the trip was a success. Thanks to the guys for doing Rich's two requests when they didn't have to. They did other requests (not ours) as well and we enjoyed them. They don't do the same sets each time - it's four different sets during the day. And they vary the songs in each set for each day. Thanks to our friends who make the performances for us when they are there. We really appreciate their company and I hope it's vice versa.

Resort -

The Animal Kingdom Lodge. What more can I say that I haven't already said? That I'll be back here in a heartbeat? That the staff was tremendous? The room was fantastic? I loved everything about this resort. Someone asked Rich how this compared to all the other resorts we've stayed at (I think we're down to two we haven't been to yet). He said the Swan wins hands down for convenience and cost but this was a close second. I have to say that this one is my number one and I know Rich would never say we couldn't stay here again. I peppered this report with lots of nature and that's the way the trip went. We live that every day. If you're like our friend, Steve, who says turtles make a nice popping sound when squashed, well, sorry. We're the kind of people that pull over to the side of the road and move the turtle to safety.

Meeting People -

Thanks to Adrienne for allowing me to call her while I was on vacation. And we talked for such a long time. And thanks to Donna for giving me help with the Animal Kingdom Lodge request. We got such a nice room.

But the biggest thanks goes to Lindy for just being her. We loved meeting up with her at Disney World. She made the trip so special for us. We did our own thing, she did her own thing, but we made time to be together and had a blast. Thanks again for everything! We will definitely make the trip next time you are there.

In Conclusion

Adrienne said it the best after I came back and gave her the highlights. She said I could borrow her words. "There is nothing better than having your expectations exceeded by a Disney experience." That sums this trip up perfectly. We were trying a new resort that we now love and will do again. It was hotter than any other time but we survived. We extended the trip and relaxed and just had a wonderful nature experience. Life can get rough but if you have people that you love, you'll get through anything. A little dose of Disney helps. I just realized that I didn't have any Grr Moments on the trip. Lots and lots of Icing Moments and they are too numerous to mention. The whole trip was an Icing Moment.

Feel free to email me - just put Trip Report in the subject line so I don't filter you out. Next trip (unless I sneak one in for the Food & Wine Festival) is Thanksgiving. And we're planning a May trip to celebrate our son's 21st birthday. We'll have a five year old along so I'll have to do lots of different things on that trip! Have a great Disney Day.

Sheri Niklewski

disnut8@hotmail.com

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