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Carolyn Ritchie -- December 2002 -- Walt Disney World (WL)Cast of Characters
The Planning As is so often the case, the idea for a trip to Walt Disney World started to take shape when we were at Disney World on another trip. In March, Hank and I had gone for an eight-day visit (our friend David Johnsen was with us for the first half of the trip). I decided that trip was too short and would not satisfy my need for a Disney fix for 2002. That trip we had stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and had a wonderful time, but we both wanted to see the World at Christmastime and Hank was especially keen on staying at the Wilderness Lodge, which Robert and Alison had both said is particularly cozy and enjoyable during the holidays. Robert and Alison, meanwhile, had not been to Walt Disney World for several years and had had to sit by while Hank and I took two trips in the space of just four months (Hank and I first went to Disney World in October 2001) and were really starting to get the bug for a return trip. Alison suggested December 10 through 15, as she knew those dates were in Disney's value season and the parks would be less crowded than many other times of the year. Those dates worked for Hank and me as well so we put it in ink on the calendar. We would stay at the Wilderness Lodge and go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party our first evening there. Over the next several months, we made our room reservations (courtyard view for Hank and me, standard view for Robert and Alison -- their view was a good one, though, as you could see the top of Cinderella's castle from their balcony), bought our airline tickets ($249 each, round trip, on Delta from Dallas to Orlando), and started making mental lists of what we wanted to see and do. I was in countdown mode for months beforehand, reading and rereading the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World and checking out the many World-related websites on an almost daily basis. Mercifully, the time passed swiftly, and before we knew it we were off to a much-needed respite in the Happiest Place on Earth. Tuesday, December 10 Our friend Kevin Autrey was kind enough to volunteer (or, more accurately, insist) to take Hank and me to the airport so he was at our house bright and early at 5:15 a.m. We met Robert and Alison at the airport and the flight departed right around 7:30, the scheduled time. The flight was uneventful (always a good thing). Sleep wasn't an option for me as I was too excited about the magic I just knew was awaiting us in Orlando. We arrived in Orlando at around 11:00. We retrieved our bags (Hank and I had packed as if we were moving to Walt Disney World, while Robert and Alison just had a couple of carry-on bags) and then had a lengthy discussion about which would be cheaper, the shuttle or a taxi. We were having a lot of trouble with the math because none of us had had much sleep, it seems. We finally decided on the taxi, but I'm not sure we saved any money. We didn't have to stop at any other hotels on our way to the Wilderness Lodge, so that was a plus. There were a lot of dark clouds in the sky as we headed to the Lodge so we were pretty sure we were going to get rained on. The taxi driver also predicted rain for the day. We got to the Wilderness Lodge, checked in, and then went to Whispering Canyon for lunch. "Tiny," our waiter (whose name was definitely tongue-in-cheek), really was entertaining and also was more than happy to sit down with us and give us recommendations on what to do and see and where to eat. The lodge is beautiful at Christmas -- there's an enormous tree in the lobby and the rest of the lodge is extensively decorated as well. By this time it was around 2:30 so we decided to go to Downtown Disney for a little shopping. That's when we hit the wall and decided naps were in order. So we went back to the Lodge after only being at Downtown Disney for about 45 minutes. We decided to meet at the boat dock at 6:30 for the ride over to Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. The boat was one of those huge paddle boats and was riddled with mosquitoes, which Robert says are the state bird of Florida. We got to Magic Kingdom promptly at 7. The park is always beautiful at night, but is even more so at Christmas. We ate dinner at Pecos Bill’s. Hank was his usual sweet self and offered to get the food so that I could go outside to watch the special Christmas parade. We rode quite a few rides -- Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World (which was both much longer than it needs to be and longer than I remembered from a trip to Disneyland 20 years ago -- won't need to see it again for another 20 years at least), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (really enjoyed riding this one at night), and Splash Mountain (got very wet). There was pretty much no wait for any of the rides, even Space Mountain. After Space Mountain, we hung around Tomorrowland a little bit because word was that a "hot new singing group," Jump Five, would be appearing shortly. They came out -- three guys and two girls, all appearing to be in their early teens -- and started singing. They also do some acrobatic moves, hence the "Jump" part of the name. They were either pretty bad or we're all too old to appreciate their music (maybe both) so we didn't last even one song. At some point during the evening, we caught a live musical show about Mickey's night before Christmas and picked up our complimentary hot chocolate and cookies and photo. We also watched a special fireworks show that included 360º fireworks. We got lucky and didn't get rained on once. So our worry about the weather was for naught. We departed Magic Kingdom around 11:45, took the ferry back to the Lodge, and fell into bed and immediate sleep. Slept through the night for the first time in months. Wednesday, December 11 Got up around 7, ate breakfast at the Lodge, and headed over to MGM-Disney Studios (just Hank and I). We road Rock-N-Roller Coaster, which is Hank's favorite ride at WDW, and Tower of Terror, which we both love. I had prepared for Rock-N-Roller with a Dramamine so the two loops wouldn't bother me for hours afterward. We had agreed to meet Robert and Alison at 10:00 so we went to the Mickey's Sorcerer's Hat, the appointed rendezvous spot. And waited. And waited. Once they were 15 minutes late, I was getting a little irritated so I said let's just go and do a ride and we'll probably run into them later somewhere in the park. So we rode the Great Movie Ride and were headed back to ride Rock-N-Roller Coaster again and sure enough we saw Alison -- she was returning from getting some aspirin for Robert, who had a headache as a result of his trip on the Rock-N-Roller Coaster. We were a little disappointed that they had ridden it without us. They had never ridden it before, and we had wanted to see their reactions. Anyway, they both really liked the ride and we vowed to ride it as a group later. By this time it was about 11:15 and I was getting hungry so Hank and I decided to eat at the Brown Derby, which is a nice quiet sit-down restaurant modeled after the original Brown Derby restaurant built in Hollywood in 1928 (or so the plaque outside says). Had a quiet lunch (BBQ chicken Caesar for Hank, Thai noodle bowl for me) and emerged from the restaurant feeling much revived. Met up again with Robert and Alison and decided to go see MuppetVision 3D. That's basically a 3D movie with some extra stuff thrown in and I have to admit I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open even though I enjoyed the show. (Hank told me later that this probably was a result of the Dramamine). Once the movie was over, we headed over to Star Tours, which is a very jerky motion simulator ride. It's not one of my favorites so I decided not to go on it and to go get a cup of coffee at a nearby coffee shop/bookstore. Hank and Robert and Alison met me at the store once the ride was over. We browsed a little bit more and then decided to head over to Rock-N-Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror again. The sign out front said a 5-minute wait for Rock-N-Roller Coaster, which is about how long it takes just to walk through all the gates and stuff even when there's no line at all. So we got inside the building and were very close to where the ride vehicles (which are supposed to look like stretch limos) are loaded when they announced that the ride would be shut down briefly for mechanical problems (we hope that's not Disney-speak for "somebody got thrown from the ride vehicle and is being loaded into an ambulance"). We would have waited, but we were in line with a group of CHEERLEADERS!!!!! Who cannot talk like normal people; they have to YELL and SCREAM EVERYTHING. The girls were about 13 years old, it appeared, and there were some adults with them, who made no effort to SHUT THEM UP. In fact, I have noticed that parents and other adults who are involved in CHEERLEADING think that everything CHEERLEADERS do is ADORABLE. Believe me, it's not. Then these idiot adults actually encouraged the CHEERLEADERS to start doing cheers in this very confined area we were in. Forget the ride -- I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Once we got outside again, Robert commented that he didn't come to WDW to stand in line and be around screaming kids all day. I thought that was a great line. Anyway, we went to Tower of Terror and had no wait at all. Then we decided to go back to Rock-N-Roller Coaster and see if it was running again. It was, and we got on after a very short wait. I don't know what it is, but it seems like every time I ride this ride (which has two loops -- or is it three? It's hard to tell with your eyes closed), it's after I've just drunk a cup of coffee. So I was feeling a little oochy after the ride, but nothing serious. After our CHEERLEADER encounter, we were ready to move on from MGM-Disney Studios. Robert floated the idea of returning to the Wilderness Lodge for naps and Hank seemed amenable to that. But I didn't come to WDW for naps and apparently Alison didn't either so we both pooh-poohed that idea. Somebody (I think it was Robert) suggested taking the boat over to the Boardwalk (a beautiful Disney resort with an old-style boardwalk with shops and restaurants around the boardwalk and lake) and then on to Epcot, which is within walking distance of the Boardwalk. When we got to the dock, a boat was already there so we jumped right on. The boat stops at two other Disney resorts, the Yacht Club and the Beach Club, before it gets to the Boardwalk so we decided to get off at the stop for those resorts and check out their Christmas decor. Everything was beautiful. In the lobby of the Beach Club, Hank took a picture of a very large (though not full-scale, obviously) and detailed gingerbread carousel. After we had checked out both resorts, Robert suggested buying a bottle of wine over at the Boardwalk and just sitting out and enjoying the nice weather. I initially wanted to press on to Epcot, but Robert persisted and I thought "what the heck." (Hank helpfully told me after our trip that he thought I was being bossy!) So we walked over to the Boardwalk and found a nice bottle of Fetzer Chardonnay for $11.00 at a store that Robert originally thought was called Behind the Green Door. Once we got closer, we were relieved to find that it is called Behind the Screen Door. Robert bought a corkscrew (Alison was not thrilled with this $6.00 purchase since they have a travel corkscrew sitting in a drawer at home) with the wine and the cast member (that's what Disney calls employees) gave us some paper cups. We sat on the Boardwalk for about 30 minutes just people- and bird-watching. The seagulls were hoping we had food and are totally fearless. They'll sit right by your table on the posts of the fence at the edge of the boardwalk. Alison noticed that one of the seagulls was missing most of one foot, but it obviously was an old injury that had healed as best it could and was not slowing the little guy down at all. We felt sorry for him, though, and were worried that it might cause him trouble in attracting the ladies. After we finished our wine, we walked over to Epcot and started working our way around the World Showcase, starting with France. Checked out the shops there (Robert was looking at corkscrews, of all things). When we got to the American pavilion, we went inside to see a tattered American flag that had been found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center. In Germany, we fortified ourselves with big, soft pretzels and Hank and Robert had German beer (or should I say "bier"?). Alison and I held out for margaritas in Mexico. As we continued walking towards Futureworld, we stopped to do a little shopping and I bought a Hidden Mickey-style Christmas door hanger. After that we rode Spaceship Earth, a ride we all really enjoy and consider underrated. The weather had turned a little chilly so I decided to buy a sweatshirt in Mouse Gear, which I think is one of the best stores in WDW. Hank bought a sharp-looking long-sleeved cotton shirt that has a Mickey Mouse silhouette where a polo figure usually would be. From Mouse Gear we walked over to see Figment in Journey Into Your Imagination. Can't say we were overly impressed with the Figment ride, which was new to all of us. I have to admit that I have no idea who or what “Figment” is so maybe that affected my enjoyment of the ride. It was about time to head over to Le Chefs France for our priority seating. After a 20-minute or so wait we were seated and learned that Francois and Sandrine would be our waiters. Sandrine, as I recall, was on something like her second day on the job, but she did fine. The food was excellent, as expected. Because I was obsessed with getting a good vantage point for Illuminations, Epcot's spectacular fireworks show, I headed over to our regular spot by the Rose and Crown Pub (on the Canada side) and was disappointed and surprised to see a lot of people already there. They must have started getting in place two hours before the show. As an Illuminations fanatic, however, I can understand why. While I staked out a spot a little further back than I'd have liked, Hank, Robert, and Alison went to Le Boulangerie Patisserie to get pastries and coffee for dessert. Illuminations was brilliant -- my favorite thing in all of Walt Disney World. We actually had not planned to see Illuminations this evening, but with rain in the forecast for later in the week, I did not want to delay it and risk not seeing it at all. After Illuminations, we took the bus back to the Wilderness Lodge and fell into bed. Thursday, December 12 We started our day at the Animal Kingdom, first making a beeline for Kilimanjaro Safaris. We ended up getting Fast Passes for the safari and taking a walk on the Pangani Forest Trail, taking the time to find and watch the animals in each exhibit. Animal Kingdom really is a place to be savored, which is difficult when it's crowded -- I feel like I need to keep moving onto the next thing, even when I'm not ready to. The trail was pretty congested, though we did get to see the gorillas up close. They were quite active and fascinating to watch. One of the male gorillas was walking around his area, dragging a blanket clutched in one of his feet. Robert astutely commented that the only reason he was allowed to keep it was because they couldn't find any volunteers to take it away from him. We took the safari next and were proud that we managed to save Little Red from the poachers. The safari group ahead of us obviously wasn't up to the task. The male lion was asleep on one of the big rocks, and we just got a glimpse of the cheetah. The elephants and giraffes were easy to spot and impressive of course. During the ride, we debated whether some of the alligators and hippos are actually fake. I think the consensus was that some are. After the safari, we took a stroll through Asia, the first time any of us had seen that part of Animal Kingdom. The tigers were spectacular -- it wasn't too crowded so we got to really spend some time watching them move about their enclosure, which is designed to look like some Asian ruins. Hank took quite a few pictures for future enjoyment. By now it was lunch time and there was much debate about where to eat -- Hank wanted to go to Tusker House, but Robert, Alison, and I weren't in the mood for chicken. So the three of us decided to get something at the little kiosk by Kali River Rapids (which we had no interest in riding as the weather was quite chilly and damp) and just meet Hank over at Tusker House. The service at the kiosk was unbelievably slow, which was surprising given the limited nature of the menu. We ended up walking as fast as we could all the way back to Africa with our food sloshing on our trays (they didn't have to-go boxes) so we could meet Hank before his food got cold. We met up with Hank and enjoyed a brief respite, just doing some people watching. Around this time it started to rain. We decided not to let it slow us down -- we just put on our ponchos and headed over to Dinosaur. It was still raining when we emerged from the ride. None of us had ridden Primeval Whirl before so we decided to give it a try, even though it's an outdoor ride. The line was fairly long -- it must be a pretty popular ride if people will wait to ride even in the rain. I was nervous about the spinning aspect of the ride -- I definitely didn't want to end up with an upset stomach. As we were getting on the ride, one of the cast members gave me a Gig 'em sign -- she had seen my TAMU rain poncho and told us that she was going to be starting at A&M in the fall. Of course, we all congratulated her on her wise choice (Alison, Robert, and I are all Aggies). The ride was wet but fun; we all laughed hard, perhaps more at the silliness of it all -- four adults in slickers crammed into this spinning ride in the rain. After Primeval Whirl we shopped for a bit -- Robert befuddled Alison by buying an ESPN hat. Seems it was the only one with a fitted band, but as Alison pointed out it was distinctly lacking in Disney magic. He was happy with it, though, so that's all that matters. Next we watched It's Tough to be a Bug -- a cute 3-D show with creepy-crawly special effects. By the time we emerged from Bug it was probably 4:00 or so and the park was winding down (it closes at 5:00). Hank spent some time looking for a lanyard as he was starting to get interested in pin trading. He couldn't find one he liked, however. As we headed for the exit, we made a point to stop and look at some of the colorful birds near the front of the park -- Animal Kingdom is such a unique and beautiful theme park. I think we all thought that we gave it a little short shrift for this trip -- we'll do better on our next trip. From Animal Kingdom, we headed over to Epcot. We started off with Ellen's Energy Adventure, a long ride that's a nice break for the feet. The weather had improved considerably and Epcot was pretty crowded. After Ellen, we headed off to Test Track to use Fast Passes we had picked up earlier. Just as we were getting close to boarding, the ride broke down. We had no indication of when it might start up again but there were no CHEERLEADERS around so the wait was bearable. From Test Track, we walked to Innoventions. Hank and I hadn't been in either building before. We played with some of the Mission:Space computer games and then Hank and Robert got drawn into a demonstration of a Segway. They felt a little duped, however, as guests weren't allowed to ride it. Innoventions is not my favorite -- I like to be outside at the theme parks and it seems to me that the displays are more interesting to people with a science or technical background -- like Robert and Hank. Not that I'm suggesting they should add makeup demonstrations or anything like that -- it's just not a place I need to spend much time in. It's funny -- I always feel a little guilty when I'm less than thrilled by a Disney attraction. We took the bus back to the Wilderness Lodge, arriving around 6:00 p.m. It was raining heavily and didn't let up for the rest of the evening. We had priority seatings at 8:00 for Artist Point so we had time for a nice break. As Hank and I were walking down the hallway on our way to Artist Point, Hank spied a Hidden Mickey on one of the pillars. Once Hank saw it, we were surprised we hadn’t noticed it before since it really wasn’t hidden. And this happened just a few minutes after I had commented that I was surprised we hadn’t seen any Hidden Mickeys since the Lodge is known for having quite a few. We met Robert and Alison at the restaurant and Robert suggested that we spend some time in the nearby bar before dinner. We ended up spending a nice hour there. While we were there, however, Hank decided to check our messages at home. That's when we learned that Sammie, our elderly Labrador Retriever, had had a medical emergency that was going to cost us $1,500. (She recovered fully). I think this news was much easier to take in the comfort of the bar at the Wilderness Lodge -- better to find out there then just about anyplace else. Oh well. We headed to Artist Point around 9:00 p.m. The food was good, but we weren't overly impressed with our waiter, Carlos. He was no Tiny, that's for sure. A screaming baby at another table didn't help matters. Oddly, the same thing happened when Hank and David and I ate at Artist Point in March 2002. That restaurant is too nice (i.e., expensive) for babies and kids who can't behave. Rather than have dessert at the restaurant, we decided to order dessert to go so that we could follow Robert's excellent suggestion to find a cozy fireside spot in the Lodge to relax before bed. Hank ordered the chocolate bread pudding (he was kind enough to share) and it was delicious. We also ordered Wilderness Lodge coffee -- can't remember what-all is in it, but I know it has kahlua and coffee and whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top. Yummy. We found a fireplace sitting area on the fourth floor (scared off some guy who was just thinking about sitting there too) -- it was so peaceful and relaxing, especially since it was raining so hard outside. A bit of trivia about the Wilderness Lodge: major water leaks. We finished our coffee and dessert and headed off to bed, tired but happy after another full and fulfilling day at Walt Disney World. Friday, December 13 It was already raining hard when we awoke. Rather than head to the parks in the lousy weather, we decided to hang around the Lodge for a bit and take the free tour. Stan, our tour guide, was an elderly gentleman who commented more than once that it was the biggest tour group he'd ever had, no doubt a result of the weather. Unfortunately, Stan is a soft-spoken man and the Lodge lobby is pretty noisy, so it was extremely difficult to hear him. I finally gave up trying, though I did learn about "Disney wood" and the carving of the two gigantic totem poles in the lobby. Each is made from a single log. Stan also pointed out a Hidden Mickey on the enormous fireplace in the lobby. After the tour, the four of us walked over to the Wilderness Villas. The lobby there is quite small and doesn't have the warmth and grandeur of the main lodge. If I stayed at the Villas, I think I'd have to walk through the main lobby every day just to make sure the mood was set right. At this point it was still raining, but we were ready to head to the parks, though we couldn't seem to decide on which one. So we decided to go to the Transportation and Ticket Center (an unmagical name if ever there was one -- shouldn't it be called Tinkerbell's Fairy Center or something?). Once there, we settled on taking the monorail to Epcot. Hank and I had never done that before, and we enjoyed the above-ground tour of Epcot that the monorail gives you before it drops you off at the entrance. It had been a little while since we'd eaten (I actually hadn't eaten at all) so we decided to stop at Fountainview Espresso for coffee and some of those yummy cheese danishes. From there we headed over to Wonders of Life and watched the Making of Me and Cranium Command and spent a fair amount of time with the exhibits and games there. The Making of Me and Cranium Command are both entertaining and good examples of how Disney sets (and meets) a higher goal -- education -- and resists the "dumbing down" of entertainment that is so prevalent in American society. After Wonders of Life, we were ready to tackle the World Showcase again. By the time we got to Germany, it was time for something more to eat, so Hank and I got one of our favorites -- bratwurst and sauerkraut at Sommerfest. Hank topped his off with a beer. We have been to WDW three times now and eaten at Sommerfest each time. I think Robert and Alison enjoyed their meal as well. Hank checked our messages while we hung out in Germany and -- more bad news -- learned that our alarm system had gone off. Luckily, Kevin was willing and able to go over to our house to see what the story was. Turns out it was just a false alarm (and wouldn't be the last one before the end of the trip). It took a while for us to get everything squared away with that. Hank ended up talking with two of our neighbors who had heard the alarm and gotten concerned. Next we continued on through the World Showcase, with Hank and Alison both reporting that the restrooms in Japan are too dark. We exited through the International Gateway and walked to the Yacht and Beach Club to look for t-shirts for Kevin and David, our airport pick-up ride. We grabbed the boat to MGM and were impressed with the speed with which our female captain got the boat underway -- she didn't even wait for everyone to get seated first. We all thought that was fine. Let's keep moving people! Once at MGM, we spent some more time shopping (still looking for t-shirts) and then decided to try our luck at Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It. The next show was about to start so we hot-footed over there and got in place just in time. Robert figured out that the key to getting on the board is to begin pressing the answer the instant you see it come up on the screen. At one point, Robert was in the number two or three spot on the board. The high scorer for the first game was Kyle, a college kid from Chicago who knew the answer to an MTV Real World question. At our advanced ages, the four of us didn’t have a prayer at getting that one right. Although Kyle claimed to be a film major, we soon learned that he didn't know that Surrey with the Fringe on Top is a song from Oklahoma! He sort of slouched in his chair and really took an arrogant, I-swear-I'm-too-cool-for-this attitude and none of us was rooting for him. He got knocked out pretty early and the next player was not much better. At the end of the game, I was #2 on the big board. Robert would have been there too, but he panicked and picked "cat" in response to a question about the animal most closely related to a polecat (the answer was weasel). From Millionaire, we decided to head over to Sounds Dangerous. Robert and Alison had not experienced this attraction before. It is enjoyable but not something that I would feel a need to repeat each visit. After Sounds Dangerous, we shopped some more before deciding to ride Twilight Zone Tower of Terror again. We got a different drop sequence this time and it seemed like we were suspended in midair for a particularly long time when the ride was taking our picture. In fact, it was so long that we all got ourselves coordinated and gave the A&M "gig em" sign to the camera. Since the four of us were in the front row, it was very noticeable and I'm sure the other people in our elevator car were thrilled. Not. Hope none of them minded too much. We still were in a quest for a t-shirt for Kevin so we shopped some more and finally settled on one that had embroidered emblems for each of the four parks and said "it all started with a mouse." We also bought some 100 Years of Magic jelly beans for the neighbors who were picking up our newspaper and mail. MGM-Disney Studios is the site of another must do -- the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights -- 5 million Christmas lights donated by Jennings Osborne of Arkansas and strung up on the backlot behind New York Street. The crowd was massive, which meant that we had to shuffle along and couldn’t walk freely. The lights were impressive, of course, and Hank proved to be especially adept at spotting Hidden Mickeys in the lights. He also was the first to see the only Hidden Minnie in the lights. It was nearing dinnertime so we took the boat over to Epcot where we had priority seatings at the Rose and Crown. We checked in at the restaurant and then went to the pub next door for drinks while we were waiting. The wait was short -- we had barely settled in at a table when our pager went off. At the restaurant, we told the maitre 'd that we would love to sit outside to see Illuminations. I'm sure he gets tired of hearing that from guests who act like they’re the first ones to come up with the idea. He said he would have to seat us inside (I'm not sure why since there were seats available outside) and then would do his best to move us outside if possible. We ordered appetizers (a wild mushroom dish and a fruit and cheese plate) and enjoyed a chat with our waitress who, of course, was from England. She is an aspiring singer (or was it actress?) and we all vowed to remember her name in case she becomes famous. Her name escapes me now, of course. (Just checked our receipt -- her name was Karis). Robert was being his most charming self in an effort, I think, to ensure that we got out to the patio for Illuminations. I'm pretty sure he was more concerned with keeping me under control than about his own burning desire to see the show from that vantage point, though I know he enjoys the show too. After our appetizers, the maitre 'd told us we could move to the patio for prime Illuminations viewing. We were all thrilled and made sure we let him know how pleased we were. We got to eat our dinner on the patio -- the weather and atmosphere were great and Illuminations was fantastic. If I had my way, I'd watch it every night. Like everyone else, we headed for the exits after the show, though we took a little bit of time to enjoy the Christmas lights. Hank took a few pictures as well. We were all amazed at how efficiently the park empties out and that the roads around WDW aren't just massive traffic jams all the time, especially after a park closes. I suppose it helps that the parks all close at different times. Fell into bed at the Lodge after another magical day. Saturday, December 14 We had made reservations for the 9:30 a.m. Keys to the Kingdom tour so we met Robert and Alison at the boat dock at around 8:15 a.m. Right away we were all commenting on the chilly, breezy weather. Luckily, the wait for the ferry was quite short and we were on our way to the Magic Kingdom in no time. After about a 10-minute boat ride we were at the dock and heading for the security checkpoint and then the turnstiles. It was about 8:45 so we had a 15-minute wait until the park opened. A large crowd gathered between the turnstiles and the rope that Disney puts up until park opening. At a few minutes before 9:00 the "Mayor of Main Street" and a dozen or so cast members wearing turn-of-the-century outfits appeared at the depot for the Walt Disney Railroad (which is on a raised platform so it was very easy to see them). The cast members sang "Good Morning, Good Morning" and then the mayor welcomed us to Magic Kingdom and announced that Mickey and the gang would be there shortly. Mickey's train pulled up a minute or so later. Mickey was in the first car, and about two dozen other characters, including Minnie, were with him. The mayor threw some pixie dust (really confetti) on the crowd, the rope dropped, and the park officially opened. None of us had ever seen the Magic Kingdom opening so it was a treat and a great way to set the stage for the show that is the Magic Kingdom. The tour garden is right on Main Street. The tour guides were waiting for us with coffee, name tags, and menus for our lunch order. Our tour guide, Holly, appeared promptly at 9:30 wearing the riding outfit that Lilian Disney, Walt's wife, designed for the tour guides. She asked each of us to introduce ourselves by stating our name, where we were from, and our favorite Disney character. Robert and I both picked Chip and Dale, Hank picked Grumpy, and Alison chose Mickey Mouse. Two oddly dressed guys from New York City chose a couple of Fantasia villains as their favorite characters, and Holly knew just who she was talking about. There were 23 people (including the four of us and a bride and groom wearing the special wedding mouse ears) in our tour group. Everyone in our group was very cordial and attentive throughout the tour. Anyway, after the introductions Holly led us part of the way down Main Street and gave us a little introduction to the four "Keys to the Kingdom" -- safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency -- and asked us to give examples of each key. She explained a little bit about the names in the windows on Main Street (all are real people who were important in the success of various aspects of Disney). Walt's name is on the window of the last building on Main Street. The Mayor of Main Street also stopped by to personally welcom us. From Main Street, we went to Adventureland for a ride on the Jungle Cruise. Turns out the dirty water on the Jungle Cruise is actually clean water dyed brown. Next was a peek "backstage" at the parade staging area and the enormous hangar where the parade floats are kept when not in use. Holly gave us some interesting tidbits about the parades (the floats for the Spectromagic parade have over a million lights, for example), pointed out some Hidden Mickeys and Hidden Walts on a few of the floats, and then took us back "on stage" for lunch at the Columbia Harbour House in Liberty Square. After a 30-minute lunch break it was on to the Haunted Mansion for a ride and then back over to Main Street for a peek of the offices on the second floor, behind the Main Street storefront, and the underground utilidors. Our tour concluded at nearly 2:30 so it was almost a five-hour tour. The time flew, and our tour guide was very knowledgeable and pleasant. It definitely was worth doing. The Share a Dream Come True parade was set to start at 3:00 so we had about 30 minutes to kill. Hank retrieved our camera from a locker (cameras are not allowed on the tour though it turns out that the tour administrators will hold your camera for you) and then Alison suggested we get some of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies at the Main Street Bakery. The parade route already was crowded with people and, not surprisingly, we were not the only ones with the cookie idea. Hank and Alison braved the line while I staked out a spot for the parade and Robert mingled on Main Street. Unfortunately, the crowd was so thick that there was no way I could save much space. Hank, Robert, and Alison ended up watching the parade from about mid-way back on the sidewalk. Even though I hadn't officially placed my order, Hank was his usual sweet self and bought me a chocolate chip cookie and a cup of coffee. The cookie was fresh from the oven and really hit the spot. The parade was wonderful. The characters make a point of interacting with as many children as possible, and I especially enjoyed watching the little kids' reactions to the special attention from the characters. I just know many of those kids will remember those moments for the rest of their lives. At this point, it was about 3:15 and we were at loose ends as to what to do. We all decided that a trip on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority would give us a chance to sit down in a quiet place, see some sights, and do a little trip planning. The ride in my opinion, is underrated. Certainly, it's not worth standing in a long line for, but it offers a nice tour of various points in Tomorrowland. We were all surprised at how busy the ride was. I guess that was a result of the fact that it was Saturday in the Magic Kingdom and the wait time for nearby Space Mountain was 40 minutes. We emerged from the ride about 15 minutes later, still without a plan because we got caught up in the sights and forgot to do any trip planning during the ride. We decided to head over to Toontown because I was determined to get a picture of us with Chip and Dale and figured that was the surest place to see them. After quick tours of Minnie's and Mickey's houses (no, they don't live together), we had seen only Goofy (or was it Pluto? I can never tell those two apart) so I decided to ask a cast member about the whereabouts of Chip and Dale. She informed me that all the characters were in the Country Fair building between Mickey's and Minnie's houses. Once inside the building we tried to get our bearings. We are novices at the character meet-and-greet and autograph sessions, so we had to ask some veteran parents how the system works. Turns out there are three lines, each with a different set of characters assigned to the line. Once you get to the front of the line, you and about 9 other people are ushered into another room where the characters assigned to that line are available for 5 minutes or so for pictures and autographs. We all showed great fortitude in sticking it out in the line -- it appeared we were the only adults there sans children. The place was crawling with very young children though they actually were quite well behaved. The promise of characters waiting at the end of the line must be enough to keep them reasonably content. After about 20 minutes, our group was led into the room with Chip, Dale, and Minnie Mouse. I have to say, it was like meeting celebrities. I think we all (the four of us, not the veteran parents and kids) were feeling a little silly and unsure of ourselves. First, we got pictures with Chip and Dale. Separately that is -- when we asked if we could get our pictures with both of them at the same time, their handler told us that they weren't supposed to do that . Huh? Those guys are always together! We didn't push it, though. Robert and Hank then posed for a picture with Minnie. It could have been a great picture, but I was having trouble with the camera so I expect it to be a blurry mess. It was a fun experience -- though one I don't think any of us has any intention of ever repeating. At least we can say we did it. I have to admire all those battle-weary parents who go from one line to the next to make sure their kids see all of their favorite characters. What a way to spend a day at Magic Kingdom! We boarded the Walt Disney Railroad in Toontown and made enough of the loop to get us over to Splash Mountain, where we got off. Although it was fairly chilly, Robert, Alison, and Hank wanted to ride Splash Mountain. I decided to pass, as I did not want to get wet and then shiver and suffer while my clothes dried. While they road the ride, I sat near the exit and people watched. I also spent a little time in the shop at the end of the ride. If I'd had my act together, I would have watched for them to come down the big flume. I did walk over there, but I was worried that I might already have missed them so I headed back to wait by the exit. They finally emerged, wet but not too wet. On our way over to Tomorrowland, we stopped to see the Country Bear Jamboree. The wait was quite long and the show was pretty bad. I think we all thought our time could have been better spent elsewhere. Oh well. After the Country Bear Jamboree, we rode Space Mountain (which Robert found to be very uncomfortable in a certain part of his anatomy) and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Hank always racks up a big score, but I am just hopeless at it. I finally gave up and just watched Hank shoot everything in sight. I know some people get addicted to this game and maybe I would too if I were any good at it. After Buzz, it was time for the evening parade (Spectromagic), which Hank and I had never seen before. We thoroughly enjoyed it, as expected. The four of us then headed over to Cosmic Ray's for dinner (chicken strips for everyone but Hank, who had grilled chicken). As we were finishing our dinner, we heard the fireworks start up. I can't resist a fireworks show, so Robert and I left to check them out. Turns out the area right in front of Cosmic Ray's is a pretty good viewing spot so that worked out well. Alison and Hank emerged from the restaurant a little bit later. We decided we were done for the day and headed for the exit. On our way out, we stopped to check out the Disney photo of our visit with Minnie, Chip, and Dale. We all decided that the pictures we took probably would be better (they were) as the Disney photographer had not done a good job of centering the picture and only about half of the fake woodsy backdrop was visible in each picture. So we decided not to buy their picture and just take our chances with ours. As we went through the turnstiles, the cast member said "hey, nobody's smiling," to which Hank replied "that's because we're leaving tomorrow!" Once back at the Lodge, we relaxed with Wilderness Coffees and didn't get into bed until almost 11:00 p.m. Sunday, December 15 Departure day. Bummed. I woke up at 7:00, got a cup of coffee at the Roaring Fork, and got back in bed to read the newspaper and the Unofficial Guide while Hank slept in. He awoke at 9:00 and then we started getting ready, packing, and preparing to check out. Met Robert and Alison in the lobby around 10:30 and arranged to have the bellhop keep our bags until it was time to leave for the airport. The plan had been to hop a few buses to get over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a tour and lunch at Boma. I hadn’t realized, however, that Boma isn't open for lunch so that part of the plan did not work out. We spent quite a bit of time walking around the lodge, shopping at the Zahwadi Marketplace, and looking at the animals from various vantage points. The weather was nicer than it had been for most of our stay. I was starting to flag from lack of food and there was some talk about eating at Mara, the snack place at Animal Kingdom Lodge. That wasn't the kind of lunch I had in mind so I was pretty resistant to the idea (Hank remembers this as the scene of "a little bit of tension"). Ultimately, we decided to head over to the Beach Club for lunch at Beaches and Cream, which is always a crowd pleaser. Robert, Alison, and I all had cheeseburgers with fries while Hank had a veggie burger. After the Beach Club, it was time to return to the Wilderness Lodge to ensure that we would be there in plenty of time to take our taxi to the airport. We still had some time to kill, though, and spent it doing, what else, shopping. Alison bought some Christmas ornaments (including one as a gift for Hank and me, as we found out 10 days later) while Hank and I bought a t-shirt for David and a CD of the music of the Disney parades, including the Share a Dream Come True parade, one of my favorites. The timing ended up working out quite well, as we finished up our shopping just as it was time to gather our bags and head for the airport. Another taxi ride, some time spent at the airport, and two and a half hours later, we were back in Dallas. David was waiting for us at the baggage claim and chauffeured us back home. Conclusion All in all, it was a wonderful trip. The four of us got along well (at least I think we did), and I don’t think anyone felt like they hadn’t gotten to do something they wanted to do. Flexibility, and Robert’s persistence, were key to making sure that we didn’t we end up touring the parks commando style, which is my default mode. We received excellent customer service throughout our stay. The parks were clean, beautifully decorated, and not too crowded at all. The Wilderness Lodge is a perfect setting at Christmas time. Disappointments – The weather was probably the only real disappointment. It was chilly or wet or both most days. We didn’t let it get us down, however. Oh and our trip was too short. Highlights (this is my list – Alison, Robert, and Hank will have to make their own) – Illuminations, Share a Dream Come True Parade, Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, the gorillas at Animal Kingdom, the Wilderness Lodge, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, 100 Years of Magic ice cream bars, and spending carefree time with loved ones. Carolyn Ritchie gotthemagic2001@yahoo.com Mail a Comment to Carolyn Ritchie |
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