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Robert Kennedy -- April 2003 -- Walt Disney World (Offsite)WHO:
Trip Planning April 23rd- Wednesday (Travel) We left Connecticut and headed for LaGuardia around 3pm. We hit no traffic and long term parked across from the airport. We had an uneventful flight, layover and landing into Orlando. The renting of the car went smooth and easy and at around 12:30 am we were headed to our hotel. We found the Days Inn east gate fairly quickly (thanks to a map) and the four of us checked into the same room for a 5 hour nap. The Days Inn was not a palace but after working half a day and traveling the bed felt like a cloud. Not bad for around $7.00 a person. April 24th- Thursday (Magic Kingdom) We woke up around 7 to make it in time for our priority seating for Breakfast at the Crystal Palace. The Days Inn East gate was very close to the MK and we arrived in no time. We park and headed to the TTC. People were lined up and we by passed that line and made our way to the cast member telling her we had a PS at the Crystal Palace. She waived us in and soon we were on the monorail enjoying the familiar sound of "please stand clear of the doors." We quickly passed through security and gave out name to the cast member and we were allowed to enter the park. Once again we encountered an empty Main Street USA. If you have never had an early character breakfast you are missing out. Being in the park early is reason enough to spend $16 a head to eat breakfast. The breakfast was generally the same fare we enjoyed last year at Cinderella's castle. The buffet was laid out well and everything was fresh and tasty. The characters included Piglet, Tigger, Eyore and Pooh himself. All of them came around to our table for pictures. This was a great way to start Sarah's first visit to a Disney park. After breakfast we hung a left into adventure land and got on the Jungle Cruise. The park was not very crowded today and stayed that way for our entire trip. We left the jungle cruise and walked right on to the Pirates of the Caribbean. After a few fun photos wearing silly hats (a family tradition) at the POTC shops we continued our counter clockwise direction to Splash Mountain. My wife being pregnant waited for us on the bridge over looking the big drop. The cast member chatted with us and asked where the fourth member of our party was. She must have guessed that there were four of us. We got to chatting about kids and pregnancy as she loaded us on the ride. Every day at least one cast member really knocks me out with their friendliness. My wife got a few digital pics of the three of us getting soaked. Next we doubled back towards liberty square where we rode the Haunted Mansion. My last time at the MK, I took the Keys to the Kingdom tour so on this trip I continuously bored the wife and friends with Disney trivia. I pointed out the chess pieces on the top of the HM and showed them the hidden Mickey's inside. Next stop It's a Small World. Every time I think I'm out IASW pulls me back in! Really needs a rehab! Many ceiling tiles are broken and it's just not Disney sparkling. We leisurely strolled past Cinderella's Castle and stopped to pose for pictures. A nice cast member stopped and took a picture for us. Score Update: Cast Members-2 Guests-0. Now we head for Tomorrowland. We are very excited to find the Carousel of Progress open for business. My wife and I love this show but our two friends were not all that impressed. It's just not a trip to the MK without the COP. We then got our first fast passes of the trip for Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. Time for a snack and bathroom break. I have left out the fact that my wife has to use the bathroom every half hour and needs to eat every two hours during this whole trip. I would personally like to thank the kind folks at Disney for making this really easy for her with bathrooms- a-plenty and a veritable cornucopia of snacks to choose from all trip long for my pregnant wife. We got some chicken and fries over at Rays Starlight Café and we sat outside and listened to a Pennsylvania Junior High Orchestra play at the Tomorrowland Stage. We wandered around Tomorrowland and enjoyed Alien Encounter and The Timekeeper. Timekeeper needs to be replaced. It just doesn't dazzle like other attractions do. It was now time for our Buzz fastpasses so we headed over there. Lou and Sarah really liked this attraction and I scored the highest of our group. (With a secret I learned on the Keys to the Kingdom from a previous trip). After that we decide it would be time enough to head over to West Gate Lakes check in, chill out for a while and then go back to the MK for the Electric Light Parade and fireworks. We arrived at West gate and were greeted at the door by an overly eager staff. The lobby was nicely outfitted and decorated. The main building looked expansive and it was bustling with people. We were directed to an office to the left and waited in a line for about 40 minutes. The staff member gave us our info and told us that we would be attending the Sunday information seminar about the time share. After we checked in there we had to check in at the West Gate itself. So we waited for another 30 minutes and checked in. The staff member named Sean was excellent. He was very accommodating and moved rooms around for us so we could be closer to the pool and to our friends who were traveling with us. We then followed the bellhop in his golf cart to our rooms and we settled in. Our room was different than the units we saw on the in internet. We still had a Jacuzzi and a small kitchen but it was configured differently. The tub was in the bathroom and our room was very narrow and long compared to the others. We all changed and went to the pool to grab a swim. The Westgate has a small bar near the pool but it wasn't open very late and the offerings other than beer and wine were slim. After a quick shower we hopped in the mini van and stopped on the way to eat at The Crab Shack. We enjoyed this restaurant and found the seafood to be really fresh. The staff performs some musical numbers every half and hour or so. It was a fun alternative to a Disney restaurant. We hit the TTC about ½ hour before the parade and hardly anyone was heading into the park. We went to the front of the monorail and asked to ride up front with the pilot and we were obliged. The pilot had no personality but we were excited to be sitting up front. We found some seats for the parade in the center island in front of Town Hall. I posed for some pictures with Minnie and Roy Disney statues by the flag pole. The parade was great as always and I enjoyed the fireworks as well. It was a nice view all the way down Main Street to the castle. My wife was really tired from our long day and she wasn't feeling 100% so we called it a night. April 25th Friday Today I can truly say I have grown as a person. I am spending a day in Orlando Florida and not going to a major park toady. I wonder if I will lose my commando rank. My idea of a perfect Disney holiday is up a 6:30 and in the parks at rope drop. Not today! The girls are tired. With my wife being 2 months pregnant I cant say as I blame her. So today's plan is to split up. The plan is to sleep in and then Lou and I are going to go to Typhoon Lagoon while the 2 girls will spend the day worshipping the Florida sun by the pool. We left the hotel around noon after a nice leisurely lunch. I remembered the way to typhoon lagoon as I hadn't been there since my honeymoon in 1998. We parked and bought our passes and then went and rented a locker. I had talked Lou into buying swim shoes and we were glad we did. The paths to the slides can be rough. We hit every major slide and water ride including the wave pool. It was fairly crowded so we decided to take a break. I asked Lou what time it was and his response was "its beer- thirty". We found some bar stools at the Summerhouse and enjoyed some frosty adult beverages. After lunch we hit the slides for another hour or so. I enjoyed running around with Lou today. We acted like a couple of 12 year olds who were allowed to go around the park by themselves. We changed and headed home to find the girls still by the pool. We had a few drinks up at the Hotel Pool Bar (if you can call it that). We rested, cleaned up and decided to go to Downtown Disney/ Pleasure Island for dinner and late night fun. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood which was fine. For some reason my wife and I always end up eating here. I guess it's the Capt Crunch Chicken appetizer. We then bought tickets to Pleasure Island. The weather was bad. A light drizzle was falling and no one was at Pleasure Island. We went to an almost empty Adventures Club (kungaloosh!) and then ran over to check out the scene at 8 Traxx. They were also empty as was The Beach Club. We decided that tonight want the night to hang out at PI so we packed it in anticipating a long day Saturday. April,26th Saturday The plan of attack today was up early hit the AK in the morning eat lunch at flame tree and jet on over to MGM for the evening hopefully lasting until Fantasmic. We got up early this morning had breakfast at the hotel deli and we hit the AK at opening. The park was not that crowded. Lou and Sarah enjoyed the Tree of Life and the atmosphere here at the AK. I really love the AK but I think it's pretty small and doesn't hold my attention for a full day. I would love to see a couple more E Ticket rides. I think Disney is taking a huge step in the right direction with Expedition Everest. We headed directly for Kilimanjaro Safari (doesn't everyone). The animals were out in force. Lou and Sarah really enjoyed it. We took the Pangani trail and the gorillas were very entertaining. We then took a walk over to Dinoland and three of us rode Dinosaur! (named after a movie only 3 people saw) while Andrea waited. No pregnant ladies allowed! Afterward Lou and decided to take a whack at Primevil Whirl. I have walked past that ride on the last 2 trips and finally I decided to check it out. Just as I suspected...disappointing! This belongs at a carnival not WDW. While trying to find the girls Lou and I bumped into Mickey in his safari gear. No one was around so I got my 1st solo picture of me and Mickey. My wife was jealous! On to the Festival of the Lion King show which we all loved and then of course a bathroom break for my wife. On the way out some of the Country Bears were out and we got some great pictures. On to Flame Tree BBQ for my traditional brisket sandwich. We eat here on every trip...Yum! Time to climb back in the car and drive over to MGM. Again we used our AAA diamond parking passes. This is great way to park up front and usually avoid a tram or two. MGM was not packed but not empty either. We immediately spilt up. The girls went to see the Beauty and the Beast show and Lou and I were going to do the Tower of Terror, Rock N Roller Coaster twin bill. The tower had a longer wait so we fast passed TOT and climbed in line for the 45 minute wait for RRC. Lou loved the RRC as do I. I am disappointed with the queue line however. It reminds me of Universal Studios. By the time we got out of the RRC it was time for our TOT fast passes. The random drop sequence is an excellent addition to an already great ride. We regrouped with the wives in front of Starring Rolls and went over to Who Wants to be a Millionaire Play It and just made it into the show. No leader boards for us. Not a bad game this time. The host was sort of a goofball. After WWTBAMPI we walked down to the New York City Street and took in Muppet Vision 3D and we took the Back lot Tour. At this point Andrea was exhausted, sick to her stomach and her feet hurt. So we cancelled our dinner reservations and made out way towards the exit. We did however stay to watch Stars and Motor Cars Parade and got some great pictures. We went home and Andrea immediately took a Jacuzzi and took a nice long nap. I read a bit and went for a swim and even napped a bit myself. Later in the evening we drove back to Downtown Disney/ West Side/ PI for some dinner. We choose the House of Blues. The food was great as well as the service and atmosphere. We again tried PI again but our plans were foiled again by a sick wife. This time it was Sarah. The House of Blues Jambalaya did not agree with her so we left. PI has been soooooooo disappointing the last 2 trips. And we really love PI! Off to bed we went; dreading the fact that we had to take the time share tour in the morning for an hour and a half (yeah right). April 27th Sunday We woke up really early to go to the time share tour. When we arrived to the welcome center they offered free pictures and juice and coffee. Everyone was really nice and willing to get us anything we want. We were greeted by Dave our sales rep and we had breakfast. Dave gave us the soft sell which I appreciated. We looked at some of the bigger units on the lake side. I won't bore you with the details but it was your cookie cutter time share. You can trade it for other locations; you can pick your week blah, blah, blah. We went up to a large room filled with tables and chairs after the tour and got the pricing. We turned him Dave down. We had the 1st manager come over and try to hard sell us. We turned him down. A 2nd manager came over with a condo re-sell thing (buying an existing share) and we turned him down. He said someone would be right over the check us out. All the while people were buying time shares left and right. They announced the new purchases on microphones and had the staff cheer for them. We waited another 20 min's for our "checkout" person. He again tried to sell us something. This time a vacation was offered that we could buy for $500 and the price of that can be used towards a future purchase of time share. My pregnant and slightly hormonal wife finally had enough and we were leaving. Its funny how when we were perspective customers they treated us like royalty. Now that we turned 4 of them down we couldn't even get a ride back to our car more than a mile away. It's actually a nice timeshare and we can't complain because it was a cheap alternative to a hotel. If you want more info on West Gate Lakes, Mike Scopa did a nice story on it and Cathy McMahon did a review. We left the Westgate on our way to Epcot for a day/night double header. We had PS at the Rose and Crown with the hoped to get an outside table. Epcot was fairly full and for the 2nd year in a row we arrived during the International Flower & Garden Festival. We started out by grabbing some food over at the Electric Umbrella. When my wife is hungry we stop! That's the deal I made with her. If she wanted to go to the restroom, eat or rest I had to comply. It was the least I could do. We rode Spaceship Earth and then walked over to the Living Seas. After spending way too much time (for my taste) in the Aquarium we walked on to Journey into your Imagination. I like this ride but I miss the old versions. Next up for us was Honey I Shrunk the Audience and the mice and snake were enjoyable. We then booked it on over to the amphitheatre opposite the American Experience to watch Davey Jones live in Concert. The former Monkee put on a great show and even sang "Girl" and dedicated it to Marcia Brady. My wife loved the show and squealed with delight when Jones smiled at her. (She may never wash her cheek again) By this time we were ready for our PS at the Rose and Crown so we strolled on over. We were a little early so we enjoyed a beer and a set by Off-Kilter in Canada. Ok time for our PS. We begged for a patio seat at the R&C. The cast members couldn't promise anything. When it came time they sat is inside. We were a little disappointed. We ordered our drinks and food and settled in. Just them my wife spotted a table of five getting up and leaving. She pounced on the manager and they immediately moved us, lock stock and appetizers to the patio outside. We enjoyed our English cuisine and really enjoyed being able to sit down lakeside. We had a long leisurely meal and had a few adult beverages. Sitting at the Rose and Crown gave me the best view of Illuminations I have ever had. Maybe it was the fact that I was drinking Guinness and was sitting in a comfortable chair, but who knows. We slowly made our may out of the park and soaked up some good Disney atmosphere. We went on back to the Westgate to pack and get ready for our day of Travel tomorrow. April 28th- Monday Nothing too exciting today. We checked out of Westgate and had some time before our flight. We have started a tradition on the last few trips. We now go over to the Disney Market Place for some last minute shopping. My wife wanted to replace an earring that she had broken a few months ago. I wanted to buy my token T Shirt and Polo shirt and we wanted a few Disney baby things. With the help of a very nice cast member my wife found her earrings and I bought a cool Mickey T and a new polo shirt for work. We found a great bib for the baby. And we also found a "Baby's first Christmas" ornament. We were surprised at how little merchandise they had for infants. We had a few munchies and then said goodbye to Disney property and left for the Airport already planning another trip in our minds. Notes:
Robert Kennedy robbyk1005@yahoo.com Mail a Comment to Robert Kennedy |
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