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Michael Rozacky -- May 2002 -- Walt Disney World (BCR, PORR, WL)
Introduction: This will be the 6th trip we've made to WDW in the last 5 years. What started our as a once-in-a-lifetime trip has somehow taken on a life of its own, and has now turned into an annual event. Disney seems to have a knack of making sure that happens. I've only gone to the effort of a formal trip report on one previous occasion; shame on me for not doing a better job of keeping up with them. I truly regret not having done a report for each of our trips and would encourage anyone taking a trip to WDW to make the effort to do so. For most people making a trip to WDW, there is usually a great deal of planning and cost involved, and while photos and videos are nice, there is no better way to remember a very special time together than chronicling the daily activities of the event as well as the thoughts and feelings associated with those activities. I got cracking on this one just as soon as we got back to make sure as many of the details as possible are included in it. Planning for this trip began shortly after our May 2001 annual trek to WDW. Still going though Disney withdrawal, I was browsing the Internet in July, checking on airline ticket pricing (we've always driven to WDW, but I was in a "what-if" state of mind), and I stumbled onto a Travelocity deal for $102 round-trip tickets from Austin to Orlando. This seemed too good to be true, and I was surprised at the rate but it was also very strange, because even thought the trip details indicated that travel had to be completed by November 2001, the Travelocity system let me book well into 2002. I was still a little leery about purchasing them, so I called their Help-Desk and talked to a person who confirmed that if their system allowed me to book on those dates, the rate could indeed be purchased into 2002. I then called Jeanette to see about booking them. I know she was probably a bit amused by me wanting to buy tickets this early for next year's trip, but she was excited about the prospects of flying (though not as much as I was). She agreed that this was a deal that would be hard to pass up, and left it up to my judgment. I got back on line, and booked the flights with no problem. There had to have been a mistake on Travelocity's website, because shortly after I went ahead and bought the tickets, I went back to re-check the information, and the "loophole" that had enabled me to book these for May 2002 had been corrected, and they could now only be booked through the stated date. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive about the problems we might encounter with these tickets, but I'm pleased to report that the flights went off without a hitch. What a deal!!! I was ecstatic. We were all excited about flying, particularly Jenna who had never flown at all. Our thrill about flying was severely tempered by the events of September 11, but by the time our travel dates rolled around, most of the apprehension had disappeared. Our tickets arrived by FedEx the next Saturday, and all that was left was to book the rooms and we'd be ready to go. We had originally planned on staying offsite for several nights followed by a stay at a Disney property. We were able to get the Wyndham Palace in Downtown Disney for $33/night on Priceline for part of our 2001 trip, and followed that up with a few nights stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with a $159/night introductory rate. Our plan was to try and do something similar for this trip, so we kept our eyes open for Priceline deals on the Bidding for Travel website, and for deals on Disney properties on the Mousesavers and DIS websites. Our hotel plans took several different turns before they finally took their final form. In January, we booked 5 nights at the Dolphin for $155/night, using the Disney Club discount, and 4 nights at the All Star Movies. Then at the end of January, Disney announced a bunch of special codes to help stimulate post-September 11 business, so we cancelled the Dolphin and booked 3 nights each at the All Star Movies, Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge. These were confirmed and the deposits already made. Then in February, we got one of the coveted "postcard rates" via E-mail, and we re-booked Port Orleans-Riverside for $84/night, Beach Club for $199/night and Wilderness Lodge for $130/night, including 3 passes for Mini-Golf as part of the Wilderness Lodge package. We were staying at 2 Deluxe resorts, and at our favorite Moderate, Port Orleans-Riverside. We were excited about staying at the Beach Club with its easy access to EPCOT and Disney Studios, as well as the attraction of Storm-along-bay. We loved the atmosphere of the Wilderness Lodge, with its easy access to the Magic Kingdom and the Fort Wilderness area, having visited but not stayed there on previous occasions, and Port Orleans-Riverside (forever to be remembered by us as Dixie Landings) has become a family favorite. We contacted Rabbit at Yourride for transportation between our resorts and MCO with a stop for groceries thrown in. We also found a deal for $2/day parking at a new Park & Ride near the airport and clipped that coupon, saving us about $6/day for parking for the nine days we were gone. Short of that, there was not much else left to do but count the days down to May 24. As the weeks went by we slowly packed and included one suitcase for food--coffee and coffeemaker, pop-tarts, granola bars, Pringles, etc. We planned only 3 sit-down meals for the entire trip, and planned to eat most of our meals in our room or at counter service and food court locations throughout the resorts and parks. We also planned on picking up cold cuts, bagels, beverages, and other snack items at our grocery stop in Orlando and carried a collapsible cooler with us to store the cold items and beverages during our stay. The countdown clock slowly counted down, and before we knew it, Jenna was out of school and it was time to go!!
Friday, May 24 The big day had finally arrived!! Today was Jenna's last day of school and they had early dismissal at 11:30. I took her to school while Jeanette finished packing and getting the house in order. I took care of the outside-watering plants, yard, etc., while Jeanette got herself together. We had stopped the mail and newspaper, and made arrangements for a neighbor to water things while we were gone and by 11:30, we were ready to go. We picked up Jenna from school, had a bite of lunch at home, and then left for the airport around 1:30. Parking at the Park & Ride was a snap and soon we were checking in at the Delta ticket counter. We got our boarding passes, cleared through security, and then waited around for our flight time. Jenna was a little nervous as we took off, but as the flight continued, she relaxed and really enjoyed herself. We made sure to let her have a window seat, and she kept her eyes glued to it for most of the trip. Our connection was in Dallas, and during our short layover, we had dinner at Pizza Hut. We continued on to Orlando, arriving at 11:15. Moe from Yourride met us holding a pink sign with our name on it at the bottom of the escalator, helped us gather our luggage, and told us where to wait for him to pick us up. He was a good driver, very talkative and we talked about goings-on in Orlando and WDW all the way into town. We stopped for groceries at Gooding's-not my first choice but with our late arrival, we were told it was the only game in town. We got our groceries, and then drove to the Beach Club, arriving there around 12:45. While I took care of Moe, Jeanette went and checked us in, and by the time I finished up, she was already back at the car with our room keys. We checked out our room, and then went walking around the Beach Club. We were too excited to sleep, and still had a hard time believing that we were really here. One of the pool maintenance people greeted us with a "Good Morning" as we walked around Storm Along Bay. We continued exploring around the pool and lobby areas until around 2:00, then headed back to the room, took care of our perishable items, and finally hit the sack. Saturday, May 25 Since we had a long day yesterday and a late night last night, we planned on sleeping in this morning, but it was not meant to be. Whoever had the room before us had the left the clock radio set for 8:00, and normally, this would be sleeping late for us, but since we had not gotten to bed until after 2:00 a.m., this was a little earlier than we had planned on getting up. Lesson learned, and I checked the alarm clocks at the other two resorts we would be staying at to keep this from happening again. Nevertheless, Jeanette and I stirred out of bed leaving Jenna to catch a few more winks. We still had a hard time believing that we were actually at WDW. It seemed strange that we could have made it here so easily, since we usually drive and there is a building sense of excitement about getting to WDW while we are on the road. With flying, it seemed as though we were here in just a blink of an eye, which made being here seem almost like a dream. But what a dream it was!! Here we were at the Beach Club, a place we had always dreamed about staying at, and we were looking at 9 glorious days at the Happiest Place on Earth. We had breakfast in the room and finished unpacking, and then went walking around the grounds of the Beach and Yacht Club, oohing and aahing at the beautiful landscaping, flowers and topiaries, feeling like we were really a part of the resort now that we were actually guests here and not merely visiting. We took many pictures, eventually making our way out to Storm Along Bay. Storm Along Bay is really a fabulous pool and it's for that very reason that its access is restricted to the guests of the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk resorts. After we got back home, I learned on Brian Bennett's website that Storm Along Bay is actually so large that Florida law actually dictates that it be called a water park, so to call it a pool is not correct. A long slide comes down off the crows nest of an old abandoned pirate ship situated on the north shore of Crescent Lake and the pool and slide and kiddie pool areas all have a sandy bottom which makes this a very special and highly regarded attraction. The sandy bottom really felt good on your feet after a long day in the parks. After presenting our resort ID to the security attendant and getting wristbands (and feeling really special about it!), we found ourselves a spot, and discovered that the pool was already busy. We took our time and explored every nook and cranny of the three-acre pool. Jenna tried the slide a couple of times, and then decided that she wanted to try to float around the lazy river area of the pool so we rented her one of the large yellow tubes to float around on. Jeanette and I soaked up the sun and just enjoyed relaxing. We returned to the room for lunch and then had a short nap before going back to the pool in the afternoon and hung around there until about 5:00. In the evening, we got cleaned up and headed to the ESPN Club at the Boardwalk for dinner. We had about a 20-minute wait, and got to sit on the floor level of the dining area in front of the large screen TV. Boston and New Jersey were playing in the NBA semifinals and there was lively exchange between the fans of each team. We dined on Buffalo Wings, Quesadillas and Nachos, then waddled back out onto the Boardwalk. We checked out the shops along the Boardwalk, and then walked over to the Swan and Dolphin hotels. We had stayed at the Dolphin a couple of trips ago, having gotten a great deal on Priceline, and the hotel and this whole area really grew on us then. We make it a point to include the Swan and Dolphin in all our trips, if only to walk through the Dolphin and reminisce about that trip. Jeanette and Jenna shared an ice-cream sundae at the Dolphin Fountain, and then we walked back to the Boardwalk area, and over to the bridge that connects it with the Yacht /Beach Club area. We watched the Illuminations fireworks, or at least what we could see of them, from the bridge, then headed back to the room to get ready for our first day in the parks tomorrow. Sunday, May 26 After waking up at 7:00 and having breakfast in the room, we walked the short distance from the Beach Club to EPCOT and entered via the International Gateway. It was really great not having to wait at a bus stop to make it to a park today. There was a brief wait after checking through security, and at 8:55, they began letting guests enter the park. We had a nice walk through an empty World Showcase and then on through to Future World. We did take time to admire the topiaries of the 101 Dalmatians at play, Lady and the Tramp sitting on a checkered "tablecloth" of red and white flowers sharing a string of spaghetti, and the tribute to the 1932 Silly Symphonies cartoon, "Flowers and Trees" at the entrance to World Showcase. We also took several pictures of the topiaries of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves between World Showcase and Future World. Later in our trip as we left EPCOT one evening, Jenna would say that the topiary of Snow White looked like a faceless alien rather than the character it was supposed to depict. Because we entered through the International Gateway, we were now the only ones in the area in front of the fountain and Future World, so we stopped and took several nice pictures of each other with the fountain and Spaceship Earth (and no one else) in the background. Our first move in Future World was for a Fastpass for Test Track. The return time was for 10:15, so we moved on to Ellen's Energy Adventure. We rode this with no wait and there were not many people at all in the opening show. Then it was back to Test Track to use our Fastpasses. As luck would have it, the ride broke down just as we were in front of briefing rooms. We had to wait for an additional 15 minutes, but finally got to board and had a nice ride. It seemed as thought the ride was down intermittently throughout the day as we noticed on the attractions tip board that we checked periodically throughout the day that it was shown as closed a couple of times. After Test Track, I went to Living With the Land to pick up Fastpasses, and then we explored gardens between World Showcase and Future World. We also spent some time checking out the various gardening booths connected with the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival. Soon, it was time for our Fastpass at Living With the Land, so we headed over there and once again walked right on to a ride. For the second time today, but not the last for this trip, I commented to Jeanette, "Have I told you how much I like Fastpass??" It amazes me that so many people seem to be unaware of how this system works, and are not able to, or don't want to, make use of it. It was after riding Living With the Land, that we split up. Jeanette and I wanted to do Honey I Shrunk the Audience, but Jenna did not want to have anything to do with it so she and Jeanette went to The Living Seas, which I had no interest in doing, and I went to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. My timing was perfect, as I was the last person let into the attraction just as the True Colors pre-show was drawing to a close. I love this show, and especially enjoy observing the reaction from people who haven't previously experienced it to the special effects the show presents. Since my timing was so good, I was able to get to our rendezvous spot about 30 minutes early, and so I shot some video of the grounds and topiaries around the Innoventions Fountain while I waited for Jeanette and Jenna. I met them in front of the Innoventions Fountain at 1:00. They were both very disappointed in The Living Seas-no conveyor cars to Sea Base Alpha, and once they got there, they found out that the manatee was not even there. This is the main reason they wanted to visit there, so they were not very happy with the results. At this point, we thought about riding Spaceship Earth and walked over to the entrance, but there was still a long line and I still felt that we could ride it later without this long of a wait later in the day. We visited the Pin Station, still looking for Buzz, but could not find him. From there, we headed to Ice Station Cool to sample the various Coke flavors. Somebody tried to "Beverly" me, but I was smarter than that and it did not work. We looked for Ice Station Cool Caveman and I think I saw him in the flowerbeds around Innoventions East, but only at a distance. We did not see him anytime after that. It was now 1:30 and time for lunch. All in all, we had a good morning. The crowds were pretty light and we used Fastpass to our advantage, and just had good timing on a couple of attractions. We walked through Canada and the United Kingdom, and back to the Beach Club via the International Gateway for lunch and a cool-down period in our room. We stayed in the room until around 4:00, and then headed back out to EPCOT via the International Gateway. The United Kingdom was first on the list, and we strolled the gardens, explored the maze and browsed the shops there. Then it was off to Canada. We caught the first part of an Off Kilter show, and then walked through the gardens and waterfall areas there, spending a lot of time with pictures and videos. The grounds are just beautiful, and there was a peacock topiary in the gardens that we had not seen before. We continued on across the World Showcase entrance area and over to Mexico where we rode Rio del Tiempo. We also spent some time in the Marketplace area, and went into all the small shops around its perimeter. Jenna loves to watch the glass blower here (and anywhere else, for that matter) and we had a hard time getting her to move on with us. On the way out, we stopped to check out the cockatiel topiaries in the Mexico Rainforest area, then stopped in at the Cantina de San Miguel, where Jeanette got in line to get us some Margaritas. I went ahead to Norway to get Fastpasses for Maelstrom and met them back at the Cantina where we enjoyed our refreshments. Jeanette was still back in line by the time I returned, so Jenna and I caught a table for us. I also bought a pretzel at the Kringla Bakery in Norway and we enjoyed it with our drinks. We had a time trying to keep the birds away and saw one duck that looked like he might have gotten hit by a rocket from Illuminations. His feathers looked like they had all blown off and he looked really pathetic. After our snack in Mexico, we continued on to Norway and rode Maelstrom with no wait. "Have I told you how much I like Fastpass??" We enjoyed the ride but walked thru the movie presentation, and onward to China. We were still hungry and had planned to eat around the world, starting with the drinks in Mexico. Jeanette continued our "Eating Around the World Tour" and had Beef and Broccoli from the Lotus Blossom Café in China and I went to Sommerfest in Germany for a bratwurst /sauerkraut plate and a Beck's beer. We met back in China to enjoy our snack and to share them with Jenna. Jenna, who is becoming a braver person when it comes to trying new foods, loved both of our food choices, and we ended up needing to continue our trek around the world in search of new foods to try. We browsed the shops in China and Germany before moving on to Italy. Masquerade was playing, showing, performing, or whatever it is that they do, and we got some poses with them before moving on. At the American Adventure, Jeanette and I each had a beer as we sat and listened to Arlo Guthrie. He was part of the Flower and Garden Show "Flower Power" concert series and we both sang along when he played "City of New Orleans." Once again, there were lots of topiaries here and we spent time taking pictures and videos of them. Jenna went ahead to Japan to watch Miyuki make her candy creations and to try and snare one of them. We caught up with her there and bought her a Kaki Gori, which she enjoyed while she watched Miyuki. Jeanette and I sat and people watched as we waited for her. Our next stop was in France where we grabbed a couple of snacks at Boulangerie Patisserie- a cream puff for Jenna and a parfait for Jeanette. These were great and we would be back here a couple of more times before this trip was over. The 1st Tapestry of Dreams parade had been cancelled due to high winds and the way the wind was acting at 8:00, we were sure they would not have the 2nd one either. It seemed windier now than it had been earlier, but much to our surprise, they had it anyway. We walked back towards Morocco to catch the parade, then back to France for another showing of the Living Statues. I walked over to the UK for a beer and by then it was 9:00 and time for Illuminations. We watched from the bridge between France and the United Kingdom. It was a great show as always. We all love the music, listening to it throughout the year on the Illuminations CD we bought here on our last trip, and the fireworks are simply spectacular. We took our time leaving the park after the show, and walked thru the UK again before heading back to the Beach Club via the International Gateway and back to room. Since we had an off day tomorrow, we went swimming at the quiet pool near our room and hit the hot tub for about an hour. This was very relaxing, and something we hardly ever do after a day in the parks, since it usually takes so long to get back to the resort. With the Beach Club being so close, we were back to the room in no time, so we took advantage of it. After a gin & tonic at the pool, we were ready for bed around 11:30. Tomorrow we move to Port Orleans-Riverside. Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day) We slept in this morning since we had no park activities planned and had breakfast in the room, then packed up all our stuff and got the bags ready to be transferred to Port Orleans-Riverside. Jeanette packed while Jenna and I headed to the quiet pool to knock out a load of laundry. We swam and did laundry for a couple of hours, then headed back to the room to clean up for our move. We carried a small cooler with some adult beverages and soft drinks, a backpack packed with some snack items, and the camera bag, and found a spot at Storm-along-bay get in a few more hours there. Jenna and I played in the sand and we all swam around a bit, and then we had a lunch of hamburgers and chicken strips at Hurricane Hanna's. It rained pretty hard while we were having lunch, but Jeanette had found us a spot under one of the umbrellas so we stayed pretty dry while we ate, and the rain let up shortly thereafter. We hit the hot tubs for some additional relaxing and I spent some time shooting video of Storm-along-bay while Jenna and Jeanette swam. We stayed at the Beach Club until around 2:00, then caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom, and connected with another one from there to Port Orleans- Riverside. Check-in was a breeze and our room was ready as soon as we checked in at about 3:00. We were in Oak Manor in the Mansions section, with close access to the quiet pool and laundry facilities and only a short walk to the food Court and Old Man Island. It was a really good room location. Jeanette unpacked and then joined Jenna and me at the quiet pool to cool off for a while. We swam for a couple of hours, and then headed back to the room to clean up for our trip to Downtown Disney for some dinner and some serious shopping. As soon as we got there, we put our name on the waiting list at the Rainforest Café, then browsed through the Gourmet Pantry, Disney at Home, and Disney's Days of Christmas while we waited for our time to return to the Rainforest. Once our name was called, we were escorted to the Gorilla Room where we had a great meal. Afterwards, we browsed their gift shop and Jenna spotted a pin she liked, so we bought it and a Rainforest shot glass (toothpick holder) for my collection, and then headed to the Disney store where we could get our Disney Club discount on all our Disney purchases. We bought a photo album, 2 CDs that I had to have--Music in the Streets-the parade music from each park, and 100 Years of Magic-music from park rides and attractions, a couple of trading pins, a light-up Magic-in-the-Streets pin, and a charm for Jenna, a picture frame, a Christmas ornament, a 100 Years of Magic shot glass (toothpick holder), and a couple of T-shirts. The Disney Club Discount was $17.92, so you can do the math on how much we actually spent. Our shopping urges fulfilled, it was now time to see to other urges, so we went to Ghiradelli's for a sundae and then headed back to the Sassagoula Steamship dock for our trip back to Port Orleans-Riverside. It was when we arrived back at Port Orleans that one of the funniest incidents of this trip took place. There was a group of people in the back of the boat who had gotten on to the boat at Downtown Disney, apparently thinking that it was just another attraction. As we were docking and the boat was beginning to unload, one of them commented, "Where are we?" Another one piped up, "This ain't where we got on this boat!" A third quietly whispered, "Do you think they'll let us go back to where we came from?" The three of us laughed all the way back to the room, and this became the running joke for the remainder of our trip. When we got off the beaten path, one of us would say, "Where the heck are we?" and we would all break up, remembering the incident from tonight. We still don't know if those folks made it back to Downtown Disney or not. We settled in and got to sleep around 10:00, ready to take on the Magic Kingdom tomorrow. Tuesday, May 28 Today was a park day. We were awakened with a call from Mickey, and answered with the speaker feature of the phone, so we could all hear his instructions for us to get "up and at 'em." I went to the Food Court for breakfast plates for everyone and we were out of the room by 8:00. We got to the Magic Kingdom and went through security, then got in line behind several dozen other people. I went to take pictures of the "100 Years of Magic" topiary at the entrance, and as I was walking back to rejoin Jeanette and Jenna, a CM walked up to a previously unmanned turnstile, and proceeded to open it. I immediately jumped into that line (actually, I became first in line) and motioned to Jeanette and Jenna to join me, and we ended up being among the first into the park that morning. The park opened at 9:00 today. We were back in the Magic Kingdom again, and it felt great! We headed up Main Street, towards Cinderella's Castle. Mickey and Minnie were waiting for us in front of the castle, so we stopped and got several pictures with them before continuing over to Dumbo's Ride, a traditional first ride for Jenna and either Jeanette or me. I let the two of them ride while I videoed their adventure. After riding Dumbo, we all walked over to Pooh's Adventure to ride there. As we were approaching the loading area, who should pop out of the ride, riding in a Honey Pot, but Tigger. At first it looked like we might get to ride with him, but we then realized that we were in the 2nd loading position, and Tigger's honey pot would arrive at the 1st. Nevertheless, it was a thrill to see a character riding an attraction, and doubly so since we were so close to riding with one. Jeanette walked over to Peter Pan's Flight and got Fastpasses for the three of us while Jenna and I went to the Mad Teacups to ride. The ride was slow loading for this spin, and Jeanette showed up before our ride started, so she was able to join us. As we were riding, we saw Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore walking by headed towards Toontown. Next up were Snow White's Scary Adventure, and It's A Small World with no wait on either of these, before we headed to Peter Pan's Flight to use our Fastpasses. Legend of the Lion King is no more, soon to be replaced with Mickey's "Philharmagic", so after a ride on Cinderella's Golden Carousel, we had ridden everything in Fantasyland, and it was only around 10:15. Crowds were light this morning, despite Disney no longer offering Early Entry to on-site guests. The Haunted Mansion was next in our sights, and we had several features we were particularly interested in spotting during the ride. The hidden Mickey in the ballroom scene, the "dripping" hidden Mickey in the attic, and the broken window both in the attic and in the graveyard scenes from which Master Gracy's bride had jumped were among our viewing objectives. We managed to spot the new "Leota" headstone and the fresh rose and freshly turned dirt on Master Gracy's grave in the graveyard you see before entering the stretch rooms, as well as the "hanging" Master Gracy in the belfry of the stretch room. We also discovered for the first time that there is a pet cemetery on the hillside to your left as you exit the ride, with epitaphs for the pets similar to those in the "people" graveyard at the beginning of the attraction. Since our last trip, we've spent a lot of time looking at various websites devoted to the Haunted Mansion, and have discovered a number of "hidden" features in the ride, and looking for them during the ride makes it more enjoyable. The Haunted Mansion is fast becoming one of our favorite attractions in the Magic Kingdom and we would ride at again before the end of this trip. Next it was over to Adventureland for the Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. We got Fastpasses for Jungle Cruise, and then did the Tiki Room with no wait. Pirates, however, was a different matter. The park was really beginning to fill up and I had never seen a line this long for this attraction, as it was backed up all the way out into Adventureland. Nevertheless, we still got in line, and actually enjoyed our wait, as we were able to observe a number of features in the waiting area that we had never taken the time to see before. After Pirates, we took advantage of our Fastpasses and rode the Jungle Cruise with no wait. Still a neat attraction, and the skipper did a good job narrating the ride. After a short break for a Dole Whip, we headed out of the park for lunch and a short rest. On the way out we ran into a presentation for Cinderella's Surprise Celebration on the Castle Forecourt Stage. We found ourselves a spot and watched the show before heading out of the park for the day. We had really accomplished a lot today, and it was still early in the afternoon. We had been apprehensive about the elimination of Early Entry, and the impact it might have on our touring plans, but we still managed to get a lot done before leaving the park for the day. The secret still is to arrive early, have a plan, and use Fastpasses as much as possible. We would be back in the Magic Kingdom tomorrow to ride the Mountains and then stay in the afternoon for the "Share a Dream Come True" Parade. For now, it was back to Port Orleans-Riverside, and some R&R. Rested and refreshed, we headed off to Disney Studios around 4:00. Our objectives were Priority Seating reservations for Fantasmic at Mama Melrose's and just enjoying the atmosphere of the Studios. We knew we would not be able to accomplish much at the Studios this trip, as we had only scheduled ourselves for 4 days in the parks, and, with the elimination of Early Entry and Magic Kingdom E-nights, we would need to spend more time at the Magic Kingdom to be able to do all we wanted to do there. Our first attraction at the Studios was the Great Movie Ride. This is still a family favorite, and despite getting there late in the day, the line was relatively short. The same could be said for Muppet Vision 3-D, which is a must-do for us. We walked into the pre-show, which is still a riot, with no wait. We also toured the "Walt Disney-One Man's Dream" attraction and really enjoyed seeing the various displays, park mock-ups and other Disney memorabilia in the attraction. This should be a must-see for all Disney fans, and I wish they could make it a regular part of this park's attractions. Our Priority Seating time at Mama Melrose's was for 5:40. The Disney Stars and Motorcars Parade began at 5:00. It would take some precision timing and creative planning to be able to accommodate both of these time demands. Fortunately for us, the parade was relatively short, and began in the Star Tours area, which is very close to Mama Melrose's. We positioned ourselves in the walkway directly in front of Star Tours, which was a great location to see the parade, and saw it as it entered through the gate from the backstage area. The parade is pretty cool and consists of characters riding in limos, complete with a police escort and a number of characters and dancers on foot. The parade includes Mike and Sulley of Monsters Inc., the Muppets, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia from Star Wars, Mary Poppins and Bert, Aladdin and Jasmine, Rolie Polie Ollie, a Villains limo ridden by Ursula and surrounded by Darth Vader, Jafar and Cruella de Ville, all the Toy Story characters riding in Andy's bed. The parade concludes with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald in a 1929 Cadillac. The individual cars are: Toy Story, Mary Poppins, Snow White, The Muppets, Star Wars, Mulan, Aladdin, Monsters Inc, Hercules, Evil Villains, Atlantis, Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney and the Finale of Mickey and Co. in the 1929 Cadillac. We were able to see the parade in its entirety and still make it to Mama Melrose's in time for our Priority Seating reservation. It was another great meal at Mama Melrose's. The place was not at all busy, and we were seated immediately. Jeanette and I shared an entrée and a salad, and Jenna had the 4-cheese Pizza, which we shared with her. We also had calamari as an appetizer. The food was great, and we left with our stomachs full, and our Fantasmic Priority Seating voucher in hand. We had a couple of hours until Fantasmic, so we tried to get in another attraction or two, but by this time, most of the shows had already run their schedule for the day. We tried Millionaire, but just missed the last show at 7:00. Raiders of the Lost Ark only had 4 shows scheduled for today, the last one being at 4:45, and the Beauty and the Beast show did not even run today. We were able to ride Star Tours with only a minimal wait but that was about it for today. We walked over to the Sunset Strip area to check on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller coaster, but the Fastpasses were all gone for the day and the stand-by lines were too long, and would cause us to be late for Fantasmic if we tried waiting for either of these rides. We headed into Fantasmic and were seated in the Ursula section with pretty good seats. Fantasmic was great as usual, and Jeanette said she got goose bumps when Sorcerer Mickey appeared at the top of the mountain to ward off the host of Disney villains. After the show, we followed the masses down Sunset Strip and made a side trip back towards the Sorcerer's Apprentice hat to get some nighttime pictures and videos. We then headed back to Port Orleans for some much needed rest and got to bed around 11:00. Wednesday, May 29 Today was another day starting in the Magic Kingdom. We had planned on an E-night last night, but Disney messed up our plans when they cancelled them for May, citing low attendance. This meant we needed to spend additional time in the Magic Kingdom if we were going to be able to do all the attractions we wanted to do. We began this morning in Frontierland. I wanted to ride Splash Mountain and Jeanette and Jenna wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain. They rode twice and got Fastpasses for Splash by the time I had ridden once. The ride broke down as I approached the loading area, so it took longer to ride, but I still had a great time. Jenna thought about using the Fastpasses with me, but she is still a little intimidated by the final drop. We decided that I would use a Fastpass for Splash Mountain and they would go to Tomorrowland and get Fastpasses for Space Mountain. We could then ride it together and continue our touring from there. They left for Tomorrowland, and I checked the Splash Mountain Stand-by line time-only 10 minutes. Let's see-it's 9:50, Fastpass return time is 10:10, and the Stand-by line time is 10 minutes. That meant I could ride a second time in the stand-by line and then use the Fastpass, for a total of 3 rides on Splash Mountain before 10:15. That's just what I did, and had a great time. Jeanette and Jenna went on to Tomorrowland, where their timing for Fastpasses for Space Mountain was perfect. Once my Fastpass window for Splash Mountain had opened, they were able to get all of us one for Space Mountain. They then rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin with about a 10-minute wait. Jenna had read in a recent edition of Disney Magazine that there is a particular target that will give you 100,000 points if you hit it. She managed to hit it a couple of times and scored 320,000 points on her mission against Emperor Zurg. I finished up at Splash Mountain by 10:15, and strolled through Frontierland towards the Castle to rejoin them. I had a Mickey ice-cream bar on the way, and by the time I rejoined them in Tomorrowland, we had time to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and then had only had a short wait for our Fastpass time for Space Mountain, at which time we got 3 more for Buzz. After finishing up in Tomorrowland, we headed to Main Street for lunch at Casey's Corner. We all had hot dogs, and then Jeanette and Jenna went over to the Main Street Ice Cream Parlor for a couple of ice cream cones, and we enjoyed them while listening to the piano player at Casey's. After lunch, we walked towards the castle and over to Cinderella's Wishing Well for some pictures. The next stop was the Hall of Presidents, which we hadn't seen in several years. Then Jenna and Jeanette went to Tinkerbelle's Treasures, and I went to Haunted Mansion to get us another round of Fastpasses. We met up in Fantasyland, where we saw the Sword in the Stone ceremony for the first time. Merlin put on a good show, and made the dream of one very cute little girl come true. Jeanette decided that she didn't want to ride Haunted Mansion, so she headed towards Main Street to stake out a shady spot for the Share a Dream Come True Parade; Jenna and I headed towards Liberty Square, where we waited until our Fastpass time. We shared a drink as we waited for our Fastpass time to approach, and then entered the ride with no wait. "Have I told you how much I like Fastpass??" We said good-bye to the 999 Ghosts until our next trip, and then headed back towards the entrance to find Jeanette. Since we had enjoyed the Haunted Mansion so much on this trip, I offered to buy Jenna a Haunted Mansion pin for her collection, so we stopped at the pin cart in the area and checked on them, but she didn't really care for the only one they had, so we passed on buying one. We caught up with Jeanette near the Roy and Minnie statue at the entrance to the park, where we waited for the parade. The parade was spectacular and we spent lots for film and videotape capturing it. It is made up of six snow-globe floats, accompanied by various walking characters and artists on bikes, the first of which is supposed to depict Walt Disney in his early years. The six snow globes floats in the parade are: It Was All Started By A Mouse--featuring Mickey and a number of sculpted Mickey's from films through the years, plus Minnie, Goofy and pals. Wish Upon A Star--featuring Disney's early years, with Pinocchio surrounded by Gepetto, The Blue Fairy, Figaro, Cleo, Jiminy Cricket, Snow White, Doc, Grumpy and Happy. A Thousand Dreams To See--featuring Disney's adventures in flight, with Aladdin riding his magic carpet inside the globe, plus characters from Winnie The Pooh and Mary Poppins on the float. Face The Darkest Fears--with the Evil Queen from Snow White transforming into the old hag inside the globe, while Chernabog from Fantasia hovers overhead and the likes of Jafar, Maleficent, Cruella de Ville and Ursula surround the float. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes--featuring three individual 'princess' globes which house Cinderella and Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast, and Ariel and Prince Eric, while characters from all three films walk alongside. As Long As There Is Imagination Left In The World-- designed like the Crystal Castle in Main Street's Crystal Arts Shop, with a two-tiered snow globe and crystal turrets and towers, housing Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as well as Chip 'n Dale, Baloo, Brer Bear and Brer Fox, Esmerelda and Alice, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Once the parade had passed, we followed the rest of the masses out of the park and headed back to Port Orleans for a short rest and a swim. It had been a long day so far, and we were pretty tired, so the break was a welcome relief from the day's activities. We planned on going to EPCOT for the evening. After a break, we left for EPCOT around 6:00 and headed to World Showcase. The weather was very nice this evening, and we spent most of the time just walking around enjoying the atmosphere of World Showcase. We started in Mexico, shopping where we wanted to, and stopping for snacks from the Counter services in each country as we wanted. We got caught in the 1st Tapestry of Dreams Parade and ended up watching it in China. We paid another visit to Boulangerie Patisserie in France and tried some new varieties of their goodies. (Are you starting to see a pattern here?) We also watched another session with the Living Statues in France, and Jenna once again tried for a candy offering from Miyuki in Japan. She was disappointed again, but said she had fun just watching her make her creations. Since we were in France when the 2nd Tapestry of Dreams Parade began, we missed it, and just hung around there waiting for Illuminations to begin. We watched from the bridge between France and the United Kingdom, then slowly made our way out of the park to our waiting bus. We were back in the room by 10:00, and packed some of our stuff, as we were moving to the Wilderness Lodge the next day. We were in bed by 11:00. Thursday, May 30 After breakfast in the room, we did another load of laundry at Port Orleans before packing up and moving over to the Wilderness Lodge for our last 3 nights stay. Jeanette did the laundry, Jenna swam, and I spent some time just walking the grounds and shooting video of Port Orleans-Riverside. We all love this resort, and have stayed here for at least a portion of 5 out of the last 6 trips we've made to WDW. We took a bus from Port Orleans to the Magic Kingdom and then one of the launches from the Magic Kingdom to the Wilderness Lodge arriving around noon. We checked in with no trouble, except that our room was not ready yet. We spent some time checking out the Lodge-it is a gorgeous place with lots of wood and stone interior and beautiful landscaping in the courtyard and other exterior areas. The landscaping really makes you feel like you are at a location somewhere in the Northwest United States. Disney really did a nice job in creating a realistic feel for this resort and we were excited about being able to stay here. Since our room was not ready, we checked out the Roaring Forks counter service for lunch. We had hamburgers and chicken strips and ate out on the patio, then found a spot at the pool to wait until our room was ready. Probably the only shortcoming of the Wilderness Lodge is the size of the pool. With the addition of the Wilderness Lodge Villas, the pool seems way to small to accommodate both of these resorts, and while it wasn't too crowded today, that would change by the time Friday and Saturday rolled around. We spent a couple of hours at the pool, checking periodically to see if our room was ready. It was ready at around 3:00, and we went up to check it out and to chill out in the room for a while. We cleaned up and then took the boat to Fort Wilderness, where we had dinner at Crockett's Tavern. Jeanette and I had Buffalo Wings and Jenna had the Quesadillas. We have eaten at least one meal here on each of our previous trips, and have always enjoyed the atmosphere here, as well as the fact that that it is kind of out of the way and most people heading in this direction are going to the Hoop de Doo Review at Pioneer Hall, so there is hardly ever a wait to get in. We had planned to go to the Campfire Program at the Meadows Trading Post, but the rain that had been threatening all day finally let loose while we were having dinner. We assumed that the event would be cancelled due to the rain, so we caught a bus back to the Wilderness Lodge, and spent the evening enjoying the lobby and the exploring the various sitting areas situated on each of the floors. The rain continued throughout the evening, so we made it a early night and were in bed by 10:00. Friday, May 31 Today was another non-park day. We got breakfast at Roaring Forks and brought it back to the room, then headed out and made our various transportation connections over to Fantasia Golf to walk the links there. As a part of the package for our three nights at Wilderness Lodge, we each received free passes to either the Wide World of Sports complex, or to a free round of golf. We chose the mini-golf, and caught a bus to the Disney Studios, a Friendship boat to the Dolphin, and then walked to Fantasia Golf. We had a fun time even though it was pretty hot and the golf course doesn't have much shade to offer, and for the first time since we've been coming to WDW, daughter Jenna shot the best round. She was ecstatic, and I bought her a Fantasia Golf pin to commemorate the event. We learned that this pin could only be bought here at the golf course itself, and nowhere else on Disney property and Jenna proudly added it to her pin collection. We walked over to the Dolphin Grotto pool where the losers rewarded themselves at the Cabana Pool Bar and Grille with a Pina Colada and a Strawberry Daiquiri as consolation prizes. We finished off these drinks in the Dolphin Lobby then caught a bus from the Dolphin to the Magic Kingdom. We did our traditional tour of the monorail resorts, and then caught the monorail to EPCOT just for the ride there and back. Back at the TTC, we caught the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, and from there, a boat back to the Wilderness Lodge. Whew!! Just writing about all these transportation transfers makes me tired!! We had a late lunch in the room, and then went down to the pool to swim for a while. Dinner tonight would be at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had stayed here on our last trip, but did not get to eat there then. As we were planning this trip, we talked about a special place to have dinner on our last non-park night, and thought this would be a good choice since there have been nothing but raves about the place on the various websites I frequent. Our priority seating reservation was for 7:10, so we left Wilderness Lodge around 6:00 so that we would have enough time to make all the necessary transportation connections, and still have enough time to snoop around the Animal Kingdom Lodge for some animal viewing before our dinner. The food here was delicious, but in trying to sample a taste of each of the offerings, we definitely had too much to eat, especially when it came to the desert table. Just so you know, everything that everyone says about the Zebra Domes is true. They are out of this world! Most of the dishes were good as well, but a second visit on future trips could enable a person to concentrate on the dishes that were the most appealing, rather than having to try each to see which ones were the best. I think that would result in a better overall dining experience. But we did enjoy the food and the experience of sampling a cuisine that we are not generally exposed to, and we will probably be back again. We visited the Zawadi Marketplace before catching a bus and making our transfers back to the Wilderness Lodge. We stopped in at the gift shop, and I got a Wilderness Lodge shot glass for my collection, and we also bought a Wilderness Lodge picture frame to commemorate our stay here. Tomorrow would be our last day at WDW, so we did a little packing before turning in for the night. Tomorrow we visit the Animal Kingdom. Saturday, June 1 Following our usual routine, we had breakfast in the room, finishing off the remaining breakfast foods we had available, since tomorrow we would be leaving for home. We headed over to the Animal Kingdom, which was supposed to open at 9:00 today. The park had opened earlier, however, as we arrived there about 8:30 and the gates were already opened and there were very few people in line. We suspected that Disney had opened the parks early today, since today was Gay Day at the Magic Kingdom. We later learned that Disney resort guests had been notified that Disney Studios and the Animal Kingdom would be opening an hour earlier, yet somehow, we did not get the notification. Initially I was disappointed, because we thought the park would already be very crowded due to our late arrival, but we got in and soon discovered that there weren't too many people here yet. Jambo, everyone!! Our first stop was Kilimanjaro Safaris, where we walked on with about a 5-minute wait. We also got a Fastpass to ride again at 9:15. The safari was fun as usual, and I think we had a better view of a lot of the animals than we have had in the past, especially of the lions. You can usually see them lounging around in the rocks, but on this trip and on the second one we took, they were quite visible prowling the rocks and at one point, the male actually looked as if he was ready to leap across the chasm separating them from the other animals. We got the best video and still-photos of the male lion that we have ever gotten, and everyone in the vehicle was as excited as we were about being able to see him. After saving Little Red on each of our two safari rides, we headed over to Asia to ride the Kali Rapids. Jeanette didn't want to get wet this early in the day and she passed on this first trip, so Jenna and I rode alone, and got pretty soaked. It's for this very reason that we usually wear our swim suits when we visit the Animal Kingdom, so we weren't too bothered by the water, but there were some people wearing denim shorts, and some wearing long pants that got just as wet as we did. I'm sure they were pretty miserable if they stayed in those clothes for very long. We dried out pretty quickly as we headed over to Dinoland to check out the rides there, but not before picking up 3 Fastpasses to use on the Kali Rapids later in the morning. We picked up 3 frozen bananas to snack on, then headed for Dinosaur, and rode it with about a 15-minute wait, then went to check out Chester and Hester's Dinorama. Still not sure what this area is supposed to be, other than an effort to get more people to come to and stay in this part of the park and to give Disney another opportunity to separate its guests from some more of their money. The whole environment really looks out of place in this park, and I think it really detracts from the overall effect that the Animal Kingdom was initially intended to portray. Just my opinion, mind you. We chose not to ride Triceratops Spin (just a Dumbo ride with no Dumbo), but did get Fastpasses for Primeval Whirl and then headed back to Kali Rapids for our Fastpass return. This time Jeanette was the one that got soaked, her socks and shoes taking an especially direct hit. Jenna and I were only slightly soggy. We sloshed over to Flight of Wonder, where we parked and tried to dry out. This is still a great show, and what the trainers are able to do with these birds is nothing short of remarkable. The CM playing the tour guide character was very funny, there was good interaction with the audience and we enjoyed the show immensely! After Flights of Wonder, it was time for our Fastpass return at Primeval Whirl, so we headed back and got on with no wait, once again amazed at the number of people not utilizing the Fastpass system. You can tell they don't know about it by the glaring looks and comments you get as you pass by them in the Stand-by line. "Have I told you how much I like Fastpass??" And as far as Primeval Whirl is concerned-been there, rode it, probably not gonna' ride it again. Jeanette's wet shoes were really starting to bother her, so we decided to head back to the room and return later in the day for the Jammin' Jungle Parade. She had managed to rub two blisters from walking in the wet shoes and socks, so the timing of our departure was just right. We headed back to the room, where she dried off, and we had lunch. After lunch, we decided that would pass on going back to the Animal Kingdom, and would have to catch the Jammin' Jungle parade on a future trip. Jeanette and Jenna were pooped, and said they just wanted to nap and relax the rest of the day and then take in EPCOT one more time this evening. I just couldn't see being that close to the Magic Kingdom and not visiting it one more time, so I left for the park on my own, wishfully thinking that perhaps the crowds had thinned out enough for me to get in one more ride on Splash Mountain. Major mistake, but at least I got it out of my system. I took the WDW Railroad over to Frontierland to check it out, and the place was mobbed. The Stand-by wait for Splash Mountain was 2 hours, and at first I thought about getting in line for it, then decided that would be pretty foolish of me, so I tried moving to another part of the park to see what else might be available. I should have taken the train to Toontown, but decided to walk back towards the Castle instead. Major mistake #2. I ran smack dab into the Share a Dream Come True Parade just making its way into Frontierland, which made walking anywhere next to impossible. I worked my way through the masses and over to Liberty Square then into Fantasyland where Peter Pan's Flight and Pooh's Adventure had wait times of 75 minutes. There was even a 20-minute wait for It's a Small World. The crowds were just as bad wherever I went. Accepting my defeat, I worked my way to the park entrance and back to the Wilderness Lodge, where I caught up with Jeanette and Jenna at the pool, which seemed nearly as crowded as the Magic Kingdom. Our original plan had been to go to the Magic Kingdom tonight to see Spectromagic and Fantasy in the Sky fireworks, as tonight was the only night of our trip that these two were being run. My encounter with the crowds at the Magic Kingdom this afternoon made me glad we had changed our plans and were going to EPCOT instead. Spectro and Fantasy would have to wait for another trip. We swam for a while at the Wilderness Lodge pool, enjoyed a couple of frosty fruity drinks, and then went back up to the room to clean up for the evening's activities. We left for EPCOT around 6:00 with the intention of snacking our way around the world again and taking in Tapestry and Illuminations. It may seem like we spent a lot of time in World Showcase, but we really enjoy the atmosphere here and, with evening activities in most of the other parks curtailed by Disney, we had planned to spend a lot of time here. We like the atmosphere, the food, the music, the entertainment, the scenery-you name it. The parades and fireworks are the icing on the cake. Epcot is quickly becoming our favorite park and World Showcase is our favorite section. We started in Canada and headed to the United Kingdom, stopping for a snack of Fish & Chips at the Rose & Crown counter service there. We continued on over to France, where Jeanette and Jenna once again hit the Boulangerie Patisserie, this time for a quiche and a ham and cheese croissant. Jeanette and I each had a beer as we listened to The Knack at the America Gardens Theater, while Jenna once again tried to get a candy animal from Miyuki in Japan. Still no luck, but she can try again on the next trip. I walked over to Germany for a final bratwurst, kraut and a Beck's. Are we creatures of habit, or what?? Or do we just know what's good? They caught up with me in Germany, where we caught our final Tapestry of Dreams parade there and then we watched Illuminations from the area near the boat launch between Germany and Italy. There are speakers built into the canopy over the entrance to the boat ramp, so the music from Illuminations was especially loud and clear at this location. This location was also a better viewing spot for the show then we had on previous evenings, as it provided a much better view of the images on the globe, as well as the colored fountain parts of the show. Once the show was over, we took our time leaving the park, realizing that our vacation was officially over, and knowing that we had to leave WDW tomorrow. We strolled back through World Showcase and then into Future World, bidding farewell to the "alien" Snow White and stopping at the fountain to shoot some final pictures of Spaceship Earth. Our bus was waiting for us and we got back to the room, did some more packing, and were in bed by 11:00, still unable to comprehend how nine days could fly by so quickly. Sunday, June 2 Not a whole lot to say about today. We ate breakfast in the room for the last time, packed up and poked around the resort for a while. Jeanette and I walked around and took pictures of the exterior before our car picked us up around 11:15, and we said farewell to the Wilderness Lodge and to WDW for this trip. We got to the airport and checked our bags at the curb, had lunch at Burger King, and stopped in at the Disney Store there, then cleared security and headed to the gate to check in. Our flight to Atlanta was uneventful, but we had a 2-hour delay there on top of an hour and a half layover for our final flight back to Austin. Also in Atlanta, I was picked for an additional carry-on and shoe search and body scan before being able to board our plane. We arrived home around 8:45, reclaimed our luggage and headed towards home, but not before stopping in at our favorite local Mexican food place for a couple of Margaritas and Nachos to cap off our vacation. While we had been waiting for the car to pick us up back at the Wilderness Lodge, I had snuck off and bought one more pin for Jenna's collection. It was one of the Tapestry of Dreams pins, but I didn't give it to her until we had stopped to eat on the way back home from the airport. She was ecstatic when I pulled it out and gave it to her and it was a good way to end the day and our trip, before heading home. Final Summary Resorts-We really loved Wilderness Lodge, actually more so than the Beach Club. The interior atmosphere and the grounds and landscaping were far superior to the Beach Club in our opinion. We plan on staying there again sometime in the future. The only shortcoming is the pool, which, with the addition of Wilderness Lodge Villas, is small in comparison to the number of rooms it is supposed to accommodate. Perhaps Disney is planning something to better accommodate the pool needs of these two resorts in the near future. Storm Along Bay is great, but in our opinion, doesn't justify the high cost of a room at the Beach Club. I doubt if we'll be staying there again. Port Orleans-Riverside is a resort we can always depend on for a good stay, and I know we'll be back there again. Parks-We thought the parks were more crowded than when we were here at the same time last year. This makes Disney's explanation about the elimination of Early Entry and May E-nights even more difficult to accept. Disney cited low attendance as the reason for canceling the E-nights for May. I would hate to have experienced whatever crowd levels Disney felt they needed to justify the May E-nights. We also missed Early Entry and consider the Character Caravan to be a poor substitute. We're early birds when it comes to touring the parks and know how arriving early and not having to fight the crowds and endure the heat can add to the overall park enjoyment. We had to change our touring plans considerably, but resisted the urge to add additional days to our tickets just to do everything we originally wanted to do. Perhaps Disney's elimination of these two perks is just that-a reduction of park hours in an effort to get guests to spend more money on additional park days. In our case, it didn't work. We started out with a plan, still got as early a start as we could each day, used Fastpass very well to our advantage, and didn't focus so much on getting a set number of attractions done. Although not as effective as the advantage of Early Entry, or the luxury of an E-night, our plan worked very well for us, overall. The new parades were fantastic, and although we passed on the Jammin' Jungle parade, we thought the Share a Dream Come True and the Stars and Motorcars Parades to be great additions to the park lineups. I hope these continue to run in some form for the next few trips we make, as we would really enjoy seeing them again. We saw Illuminations three times and Fantasmic once, and we are always amazed by the fireworks displays, and thrilled by the accompanying music. Restaurants-Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge was a good choice and I'm pretty sure we'll do that buffet again. Rainforest Café and Crockett's Tavern are still reliable family favorites, and have almost become a tradition with us. We'll probably pass on ESPN next time. We had originally planned on more sit-down meals, particularly in EPCOT, but as we checked pricing on the various restaurants there, we changed our minds. Even at lunch prices, they are still pretty pricey, and so we changed our meal plans to include more counter service meals in EPCOT. We really enjoyed our dining round the world experiences, and felt that we got a good flavor of the cuisines of the various countries by doing so, and saved some money in the process. Final Thoughts, 2002 We're hopelessly hooked, and we remain so, when it comes to WDW--and we love it! Call it "Disney Magic" or whatever you want to, it's difficult to explain to someone who has not yet enjoyed the Disney experience, but the magic does work on us. It has ever since our first trip and continues to do so with each new trip we take and there is no reason for us to believe that it will ever stop. As I sit here putting this report together and trying to focus on this last trip, not yet 2 weeks passed, I can't help but to think forward to the next time we might be able to go again and despite any complaints I may have voiced in the course of this report, we had a wonderful time. It was a trip as different as each of our previous trips has been, and just as fantastic as each of those was. I'm not sure if it really is "Disney Magic" that makes these trips so special or if it's just being away from the ongoing intrusions of the real world, spending quality time with two of the people that I love the most. Whatever it is, as long as Jeanette and Jenna are willing to come along, we'll be going back for as long as conditions will allow. Hopefully, that will be for a long time to come. Until our next trip, and the next report.... Remember the Magic! ! ! ! Michael Rozacky michaelrozacky@msn.com Mail a Comment to Michael Rozacky |
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