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Mary-Ellen Marks -- August 2003 -- Walt Disney World (WL)This is Mary-Ellen's second trip report for MousePlanet. You can find the first here: Characters
Background I became a Disney nut in August 2001 during the first visit of my life. It mushroomed from there as it does with those of us who allow ourselves to surrender to the Disney magic. After our trip in November 2002 for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, I started thinking about the next trip, justifying that since we already had annual passes, we needed to go again to get our money’s worth. Some people ask us directly and many others I’m sure are thinking “how can you afford it on one modest income?” The simple truth is that travel, especially to WDW is a budget priority. We don’t drink, smoke or do drugs. We rarely eat out or order in. It is interesting to consider that smoking one pack of cigarettes a day at $5 a pack would pay for annual passes for a family of five. Our cars are 8 and 18 years old. We buy most of our kids’ clothes and toys at yard sales and thrift shops. We use our local library for books and videos. We never pay full price for anything. Add to that the fact that our son Andrew, who has been diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Autism Spectrum Disorder, makes leaps and bounds in his development with each trip to WDW and the importance of these trips is obvious. The planning also gives me something to look forward to during New England’s looong winters. In March 2003 we talked our friends Tony and Karen into a trip to WDW – Karen needed a break from her intensive MBA program and she and Tony had not taken a vacation in several years. They had never been to WDW, only Disneyland. We decided on the last week of August because there is a penalty for taking our children out of school for vacations (considered unexcused absences and could lead to repetition of the year if they exceed five days) and WDW at the holidays would not be pleasant for us because of the crowds. We had already taken the kids out for a few days in November for the F&W Festival and that was the limit. Also, Karen had school until the third week of August so it would be a terrific reward for her. We had spent the last week of August through Labor Day at WDW during our first trip in August 2001 so we knew it would work for us. The heat is totally manageable, despite being New Englanders used to milder conditions. Mary-Ellen (that’s me) enjoys the trip planning almost as much as the trip so everyone trusted me to make the arrangements. I first had us booked at the Dolphin using a special disboards rate of $129 because there were no Annual Pass (AP) discounts in sight for the last week of August. I was excited by the convenience of the Dolphin but started to worry about the location of our room at that rate. Everything I had read said that it would likely be a room overlooking the loading dock, complete with beeping trucks at all hours of the day and night. I then contacted Dreams Unlimited and upgraded to lake view for $149. That was really more than my family and Tony and Karen wanted to spend, but we rationalized that it would still be worth it. Then I heard about the $10 mandatory daily resort fee and started to feel less excited about the Dolphin. I started checking Disboards and Mousesavers for a code, any code, but was not prepared to stay at a value resort again, after a depressing experience at All Star Music (ASMu) during the F&W Festival in November 2002. We had a room that reeked of cigarette smoke and smokers in the non-smoking room next to us and despite requests to be moved, we were told “no can do”. The best they could do was “fog” the room with industrial strength Glade. DH is allergic to cigarette smoke and even though the room and the entire row of rooms were non-smoking rather than smoking-optional, our neighbors ignored the rules. I realize now that we should have insisted, and persisted, but it turned us off to ASMu. Finally, AP rates came out in April and I got on the telephone at 7:00 a.m. the day after I heard about them and booked 2 rooms at WL at an AP rate of $109/night. Day One – August 23 – Travel, Check-in and Epcot I was not happy about about our airfare rate -- $207 each despite buying them in April. Then our non-stop really early flight down disappeared and was replaced by a stop in Atlanta. We flew on Delta out of Boston’s Logan Airport – the plane left about 20 minutes late at 8:03 a.m. We arrived in Atlanta at 10:30 and ran through the huge airport to our next gate. We departed Atlanta at 11:30 and arrived in Orlando at 1:00 p.m. Our Tiffany driver was there and took us to our Publix grocery stop. We bought sports bottles of water and the only selection in the store was Zephyrhills – I much prefer the Coca-Cola water product Dasani but never saw it down there. We also bought juiceboxes, cereal, Parmalat milk, nutrigrain bars and donuts. I had packed square Glad food containers with lids and plastic spoons to use to eat our cereal. Eating breakfast in the room saves us money and time. By the way, milk and donuts can be bought in the WL gift-shop for much less than in the food court. We checked in at WL at 3:00 pm. The resort is every bit as gorgeous as it looked on Samantha Brown’s “Great Hotels” Show on the Travel Channel. It does have tremendous echoes, which made it difficult to carry on a conversation. Our friends were coming on a later plane. Our bunkbed room had been assigned to our friends Tony and Karen who didn’t need bunkbeds. Because we wanted connecting rooms, we had to wait for the party still in what was now Tony and Karen’s double bed room to check out before the CM could check us in to our bunkbed room (that used to be Tony and Karen’s). Confused? So was I, but the wait turned out to be well worth it. We waited until almost 5:00 to get into our room . We had a late lunch/early dinner at Roaring Forks (RF) while we waited and bought our four refillable mugs. We were still waiting for our room when Tony and Karen arrived. Since I had booked both rooms with my AP I waited to make sure they were charged the AP rate too. They ended up buying APs for the trip anyway, but it is legit for an AP holder to book more than one room (I think the limit is 3 as long as the AP holder is part of the group) We were finally assigned our rooms and went upstairs. We loved the details of this resort, even down to the brass otter handrails in the elevator! The AP rate of $109 was for a standard view but when I opened the drapes, I turned to DH and said, wait a minute, we have a view!! We had a fabulous view! We could see the pool, the geyser and Bay Lake. This almost makes up for our crappy room at ASMu. At some point this first day I purchased Pal Mickey in the gift shop. I was instructed by the CM to turn him on at the entrance of each park and beam his nose at the gate to load that day’s data into his memory. After our luggage arrived we filled our collapsible cooler with ice and some beverages. (On the trip home, the cooler is packed with souvenirs and carried on the plane.) We then stashed our valuables in the room safe and headed out. Around 6:00 p.m. all six of us made it to the boat dock to begin the journey to Epcot. Not the bus stop, the boat dock, I was trying to be a good guide. This will become important tomorrow… My plan as Tourguide Mary-Ellen was to take the boat to MK this evening as a dry run for tomorrow morning. I repeated this to everyone in the party as the boat made its leisurely way across Bay Lake. “Yep, this here is a dry run for tomorrow’s early entry at MK. …”. Tony and Karen were either too tired or too excited to comprehend me, as tomorrow would reveal. From the MK docks we walked up to the monorail and took the monorail to the TTC and transferred to the Epcot monorail. At Guest Relations we requested a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) for my son Andrew who is a highly-functioning autistic. The GAC works essentially like a fastpass without a specified time and applies to the entire party, up to six people. In the absence of a fastpass line, the CM can let you into the handicap entrance. We put all six in our party on the GAC. Tony and Karen then bought their annual passes. Our first stop was Spaceship Earth (SE). My entire family loves this ride and I was very depressed to hear that it will soon be gutted for a more “thrilling” ride. I get annoyed that there appears to be a thrill ride lobby that carries a lot of clout. I think that a theme park needs to have something for everyone and for every mood. Too much adrenalin can kill you, you know. I will be curious to see if the Everest coaster being built at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK) ruins the ambiance of what is my #2 favorite park. After SE we went for dinner at Yakitori House. I had the Tonosama Shogun combo and a Kirin light. I was underwhelmed by the food but the rest of my party seemed to like it. The chicken tasted like chicken LIVER. My kids enjoyed eating the edamame. The iced green tea is good but you have to sweeten it yourself. We were just in time to watch Illuminations in front of America – not the best place to see it, I guess. After four trips to WDW I have yet to find a decent spot that does not require staking out. Tony kept hopping around trying to get some great shots with his new digital camera. In my opinion Illuminations is always worth the price of admission alone and I never tire of it. After Illuminations we took the bus back to WL – it was waiting at the stop when we got there. We arrived at WL at 10 pm and went to RF for ice cream novelties. Sunday, August 24 – Early Magic Hour (EMH) at Magic Kingdom I was up at 5:30 – I cannot sleep in during a WDW vacation because I am afraid I might miss something. I walked to RF with 4 mugs, taking the short cut to the outside and across the pool area and into the opposite building. I got tea, cocoa, cherry coke for the kids (only on vacation!). You have to ask the CM cashier for the teabags and cocoa packages. No cocoa machine like at AllStars which is okay by me (they never looked clean). The kids were up by 6:30 and we left the room at 7:15 and headed for the boat dock. I had Pal Mickey with me, clipped to my waist pack. Later in the trip I would decide to loop a spare bottle strap around his neck so he would hang closer to where I could hear him. I eventually had to perch him on my shoulder. I found him to be a good companion and yes the jokes were corny but needed to be so that kids can understand them. Pal Mickey vibrates when he has something to tell you and his “uh-huh, ah-hah, oh, gawrsh” laugh would grow on me. The boat left the dock at 7:40 and we arrived at MK at 7:50. We were about the 30th person in our queue and Tony and Karen rang our cell phone while we were in line. Even though I detest cell phones, they come in handy when traveling with a group. We entered the turnstile right at 8:00 . (Note – you might learn from my experience the importance of clear communication even if you have to repeat your game plan ad nauseum and make the others repeat it back to you. The message I received was that Tony and Karen would meet us “there”. We did not define “there” well enough. Here is where we crossed signals. They thought I said we took a bus to MK which I would never have said in my right mind since there IS no bus to MK from WL. The dry run the night before did not make an impression. Anyway, while we floated over to MK on the boat, Tony and Karen ended up taking a bus to TTC and then the monorail to MK. We use our son’s GAC very sparingly and only for waits of more than 20 minutes. We take advantage of all EMH parks so we don’t need the card very much. We headed straight for Dumbo – I have since learned you can use the GAC on Dumbo but I would feel terrible bypassing that huge line when we can use the EMH strategy instead and “Dumbo or Die”. Then on to Snow White (SW) – we love this attraction, especially my son. This is one of those attractions, IMHO, which should not be changed because it is relaxing for the adults and just scary enough for the little ones. It is also a Disney Classic. We then met Tony and Karen at Cinderella’s Carousel and we all went to Peter Pan (PP). PP is one of my favorite rides and I never tire of it. I do not like that hard landing at the end which brings you (bump!) back into reality. Then onto Buzz Light Year. This is ho-hum for me, maybe because I can’t seem to get the hang of it. Could I be too old for it? We then headed for rope drop at Frontierland for one last ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR) before it was shut down for a rehab. Riding a coaster is a big deal for me because of motion sickness and inner ear problems (and fear of losing my eye glasses). I yelled the whole time and felt exhilarated afterwards. Then Tony and Karen and I went on Splash Mountain and we each got a mouthful of swamp water on the big drop. I enjoy the vignettes on Splash more each time because the fear of the big drop is no longer a concern. Then to Pirates of the Caribbean (PoTC), Haunted Mansion (HM) and It’s a Small World (IASW). We stopped for lunch at Pinocchio’s Village Haus. For those who have not tried it, they have good burgers with a great toppings bar including sautéed mushrooms and onions. They also have a delicious salad on offer with mixed greens and nuts and cheese and peaches and chicken in it and a unique side meal, Figaro fries which are French fries covered with bacon, cheese sauce, lettuce and tomato. Much better than they sound, but rich. At Pinocchio’s, I did not take my own best advice which is to order 3 meals for the four of us to share. This is easy to do – just ask for an extra plate and extra cup. I ordered cheeseburgers for each of us and there was a lot of wasted food. We then did a little shopping and I bought a watch (which has since stopped running – reason #312 to go back), Snow White sunglasses for DD and a toy for Dear Dachshund back home in Boston. Disney has wised up and added Disney-themed pet toys, collars, leashes and such. I can remember only 2 years ago that there was nothing! On to Winnie the Pooh (WTP) with a standby of 45 minutes – so we went to the fastpass entrance with our Guest Assistance Card (GAC) and waited another 10 minutes or so. Despite what other special needs families have reported, we never received any nasty glares for using the GAC -- for all those in stand-by know, it’s a fast pass. Again, we use it sparingly. At 1:00 we took the boat back to WL and I sat outside in the broiling heat loving every minute of it. To back-track a little, the first day we arrived at WL I had called Mousekeeping and requested early room cleaning. They told me sure, sure, is 9-10 okay? Well, when we got to our room at 1:30 the Mousekeeper had not been there yet. Some joker had put a “privacy” sign on our door. So I called Mousekeeping and they sent someone up as we were leaving for the pool. I asked very politely for 2 extra pillows, towels and a coffeemaker (to make my tea). She kept saying, you have to call you have to call. Okay. Then next thing I know SHE’S on the phone calling. Yes, I do tip, usually $1 per person per day and I print out the special Mousekeeper envelopes some kind soul has posted on the Internet. The pool was lovely but I felt it was a little crowded – I kept bumping into people. You can’t really swim, just kind of walk around and squat down to cool off. One tip for enjoying the pool in August– wear your hat and sunglasses! The slide is great for the kids but adults have to watch their heads going through the tunnel part of the slide. My kids were showing me the results of their swimming lessons at the YMCA – much to my horror, I found my son “hanging” in the water, face down, in the deep end. Then DH informed me that the Y is teaching the kids the Dead Man’s Float as part of drown-proofing techniques. Sure enough, up popped Andrew’s head for a breath. We then noticed that the “spas” (what they call the hot tubs) were vacant so we headed over there. It was my first hot tub experience and despite the August heat, it was glorious. Bubbly, 104 degree water with the hot sun beating down – I could feel the marrow in my bones storing the heat to get me through our miserable Boston winters. At 3:00 we went back to our room to get cleaned up. Being the Mom, I let everyone else shower first and I went out on the balcony to update my notes for my trip report, enjoying the view once again. Then, strangely, I started to feel dizzy and nauseated. Could it be heat stress? A delayed reaction to the stress leading up to this trip? A side-effect of the Amoxycillin I had to take for an ear infection diagnosed four days earlier? I could not believe it. I had been so careful to drink water all day long, wear my hat and seek A/C at all times. Then I went into the room and the chills started. I had to lie down and when I did, I had the bed-spins. We had PS at Teppanyaki in Japan but there was no way I could go. DH, DD and DS went with Tony and Karen and I stayed in the room feeling sick and feeling sorry for myself. Of course, they had the BEST time! DH can highly recommend this place as a kid-friendly restaurant. Despite a PS, there was a bit of a wait and the host amused the kids by folding origami frogs out of park times guides. He also showed them how to use chopsticks and tried to teach them some Japanese words. DS had the kid’s shrimp, DD had Donald’s favorite which was chicken, carrots, peas and limas, DH had scallops and shrimp. If your kids are tired of the same-old, same-old chicken fingers, pizza, mac cheese and PBJ, then this is the place. Children are seated at the coolest part of the cooktop and the chef tended to give them the most attention, flipping shrimp tails on to the tops of their heads and such. He made a volcano out of stacked onion rings and steam, he made a long row of sesame seeds and told my daughter it was Japanese Sesame Street. They came straight back to WL after dinner because Stephie was worried about her Mommy. Steady rain from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. --- I watched from my sick bed as the rain came down, down, down ala Winnie the Pooh. I was determined to get better before tomorrow morning for my #2 favorite park – Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK). MK and Epcot tie for first. I sipped water as my stomach would allow and took motion sickness medicine to help with the dizziness. I also took a Nexium for my stomach. After resting for nearly 13 hours, I woke up a little weak, but game. Monday, August 25th – EMH at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK) We caught the 7:30 bus to DAK, stopping first to pick up passengers at Le Grand Floridian. We arrived at DAK just before 8 and went straight to the queue for Disney Resort guests. Yes they did check room cards to see if you qualify for EMH. We followed the hordes to Kilimanjaro Safaris and never stopped walking until we got in the vehicle. After a glorious ride I was ravenous after no food for 18 hours so we ate breakfast at Tusker House. I love their hash browns. We then did the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and saw exactly one gorilla who kept his silver back to us the entire time. This was an improvement from the last time when he kept his back to us and took a ceremonial crap while we watched. We finished the morning at Its Tough to Be a Bug(ITTBAB). Tony and Karen loved the show, declaring it magnificent! We left the park about 11:30 but Tony and Karen stayed there to explore some more. We rested in the room for an hour from 12-1 and then hit the pool from 1-2:30. A family of ducks joined us in the pool for a bit which was charming. I worked up my courage and tried the slide – I am legally blind without my glasses so they had to stay on – DH said just to keep my head up and I’d be fine. Well, I shot down that slide like a luge sled and under the water like a torpedo. My glasses and hat flew off and I said to anyone who would listen, “Help! I lost my glasses!” A blur next to me said, in her Southern drawl, “well, theyah rat theyah.” The woman obviously never wore glasses and I decided not to explain that I could barely see her let alone eye glasses four feet down on the pool floor. Then DD came to my rescue and had fun diving for Mommy’s glasses. The funny thing is, I always wear croakies on the park rides, but never expected to surprise myself by using the slide, so I was wholly unprepared. Dumb-dee-dumb-dumb-dumb. Then black clouds moved in quickly and the pool was cleared out. We watched a spectacular T-storm from our balcony and DD declared that “lightning is God taking a picture of us!” I want to use this space to rave about Teva sandals! I had heard great things about them on disboards and when someone posted a link to a sale on them at Sierra Trading Post, I bought a pair for each of us. The price was about $30 a pair with free shipping. For those of you who don’t know about Tevas, they are a well-padded walking sandal which seems to mold to the shape of your foot after breaking them in. Its not fair to say that Tevas even need breaking in, but just in case I had all of us wear the sandals for a few weeks before the trip. There were no blisters or sore feet for us despite all the walking. The styles were considered discontinued, but mine are particularly sharp looking navy blue with lime green blazes on them and I have received many compliments on them and inquiries on where to buy them. After getting cleaned up we headed to Epcot for our PS at Le Cellier, a must-do on each trip. DH is a big meat-and-potatoes eater. We were early so we took our pager and drifted down to watch Off Kilter. Such manly-looking men, made even more so by the kilts, I thought. Now I know why Sheri N. raves about them in her trip reports. We checked in at 5:50 for a 6:00 PS and were finally seated at 6:15. I don’t get this restaurant sometimes. The place was half empty when we were seated, so why did they make us wait. It happens every time. The adults shared a bottle of mediocre merlot. DD had pasta with sauce and DS had pasta w/o sauce and with extra cheese. Le Cellier does have a decent kids menu, complete with mini steak and desserts like chocolate moose. However, the happy mood was ruined for me when the server forgot my steak!! Everyone else was served and had started eating and there was no steak for MEM to go with my roasted mushrooms which were cooling off. My steak arrived when everyone had finished. The server offered to heat up my mushrooms (not bring me new ones mind you) and I said no thank you because then my steak will be cold (I was annoyed at this point). BTW the mushrooms are plentiful so two could easily share. My 7 ounce filet mignon was very good but the garlic mashed potatoes were wicked salty. We skipped dessert to save room for beavertails outside. Tony and Karen picked up the check which is a good thing for the server because I would have shown my displeasure by the size of the tip. Outside at Trapper Bob’s shack my family shared a cinnamon sugar beavertail and I think Tony and Karen went for the strawberries and cream? We then went to ride It’s a Small Mexican World (El Rio Del Tiempo in Mexico) which is so appallingly dated! Its no longer so bad that its funny. I suggest Mr. Eisner skip dismembering my beloved SE and put in a thrilling dark ride here instead – how about Curse of the Aztecs?? I then noticed DS looking pale and pulling on his ear so we headed to First Aid for some children’s Motrin. The Motrin is free, but you have to tell the nurse the child’s usual dose, she dispenses it and you the parent give it to the child. As I recall we also had to sign for it. The nurse gave my son some neat stickers with Nurse Minnie on them. Within 20 minutes my son was feeling much better so we headed to Maelstrom in Norway. This is a terrific ride but too short. We usually stay and watch the movie and I suggest EVERYone watch it at least once – its much better than the usual travelogue and it nicely contrasts and compares the modern Norwegians with their Viking ancestors. I get weak at the knees at the sight of the oil drilling platforms in the North Sea – you couldn’t pay me enough for that job. We watched Illuminations in front of Norway which may be the best spot but also the most crowded. Tuesday, August 26 - SeaWorld Today we decided to take a break from WDW so Tony and Karen could see SeaWorld. We had never seen it either, but it takes a lot to draw me away from WDW. A morning at Gatorland was the most I had allowed myself before ( a must-do if you have the time). I had purchased our tickets on-line using a code I saw on disboards. We had hired a van from Tiffany Towncars (TTC) to take us there and back. Berkley from TTC picked us up at WL at 8:15 and we arrived at 8:40. I was underwhelmed by the entrance. It was a lot like an entrance to a Disney resort, very Yacht and Beach clubby. After a security check we took our e-tickets right to the turnstiles, showed our photo I.D. and picked up a park map. Exactly at the 9:00 a.m. opening all activity came to a halt as the national anthem was played. I went first to the tours booth and signed us up for the Behind the Scenes Tour – Polar Expedition. It was $15 per adult and $12 per child and began at 10:30. We started at the stingray touch tank which is neater than it sounds. You purchase fish to feed them and then try to find their mouth!! Too funny, really, because I kept trying to stuff it in one of the gills. Finally, I reached UNDER the stingray and felt a gentle mouth with powerful suction pull the fish out of my hand. My kids very tentatively stroked their backs but did not try to feed them. Then off to the dolphin feeding area. The fish are $1 each and sold in cones of 4. They limit the number of fish sold so the dolphins aren’t overfed, so I suggest you get there early. I was thrilled to pet the dolphins’ shiny silver-gray heads and they kind of do feel like a peeled hard boiled egg. I fell madly in love with one dolphin who had a mouthful of fish he (or she) was saving for a mid-morning snack, yet still asked for and received more. I swear she (or he) winked at me for being so clever. We went next to the manatees, most of which had one missing or mangled flipper or half of their tail fluke missing. This area was called Manatees: The Last Generation? Makes me sick to think that such a gentle creature could become extinct because of our carelessness and selfishness. Despite their wounds, or because of them, I found the manatees adorable. Then it was time for our Behind the Scenes Tour – Polar Expedition. I am discussing only the highlights of this tour because I didn’t take notes on anything else and frankly, don’t remember anything else. We met our guide at the huge polar bear with cubs statue outside of Wild Arctic. We went behind the scenes to the polar bear enclosure where just on the other side of the glass was a huge female named Leibchen. Klondike and Snow were also in the area. Our guide asked if anyone wanted to feed a polar bear and then she showed us a mangled white plastic 5 gallon bucket that a bear had “played” with. Heck, a rottie can do that kind of damage. There was a hands-on exhibit showing a model of polar bear paw prints, a male skull and a piece of hide. Polar bear fur is actually clear, but bunched together the clear hair look white or yellowish. Polar bear skin is black, to absorb as much of the sun’s heat as possible. We visited the penguin enclosure and each guest was permitted to pet the female Magellanic penguin, held by an employee. The penguin was very sweet and allowed us to stroke her with “two fingers only.” The guide informed us that penguins have a nasty, twisting bite and also projectile poop when threatened. At four feet tall, the Emperor penguin is the largest. A penguin’s feathers are so fine that 77 of them would fit into the circle made by your thumb and forefinger. I was interested to learn that penguins are black on top so that viewed from the air, they blend into the ocean. They are white on their underside so that viewed from underwater, they blend into the sky. Neat camouflage. We then went to lunch at the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center. Two small beers per adult are free and we enjoyed tasting most of what was available. The roast beef sandwiches are real roast beef like Mom used to make and served on crusty baguettes. Not that bloody red stuff from the deli. We headed over to Shamu and 30 minutes before the show it was already SRO. We tried to find a good place to stand but the Rude Peoples’ Convention was being held there at the time and no matter what, someone would stand in front of us and refuse to move, pretending not to understand. I watched most of the show on the giant screen and was very disappointed. I developed a better strategy for the Clyde and Seamore show, the one I came to SeaWorld to see. We headed straight over there before Shamu ended and 20 minutes before the show, had great seats. We spread out so we could fit Tony and Karen in when they arrived. Sure enough, at least a dozen people asked (some demanded!) that we slide over and I kept saying the seats were taken and their owners would be right back. I am appalled that some people feel so entitled that they can show up 2 minutes before a show and expect you to give up seats to them. The Clyde and Seamore Show features two California sea lions who outsmart a band of pirates (actually, they take Pirate Island). Special guests include an otter and a walrus who squirts water on the audience. It is a terrific show, often laugh-out-loud funny. It soon became clear that the animals rule and the humans ad-lib around them. The Shark Encounter was next and this is basically a giant tank filled with sharks and other aquatic life. The tank is built around a people mover and you pass through the tank and don’t get a chance to dawdle. The neatest thing is looking up and seeing the sharks’ mouths from underneath. The dolphin nursery was cute and we learned that a dolphin’s gestation is 12 months. The babies were brand new, born August 10th and 12th, 2003. A dolphin’s milk is pressurized so that the baby doesn’t have to suck – she just presses on the teat and milk shoots into her mouth. I was envious of the Mom. SeaWorld is almost all concrete, glass and metal and very, very hot. By 3:00 I was beat and by speaking up, I found that everyone else was ready to call it a day. We then had ice cream cones and signed up for the free 2nd day admission. I was not sure at this point if I needed or wanted to come back a second day, but we signed up anyway and had our photos taken as required. (We ended up not going back for the second day but I think Tony and Karen should have since they are coaster freaks.) We called Berkley from Tiffany about a half hour before we wanted to leave and he was waiting for us in the parking lot right on schedule. The RT fare from WL to SeaWorld is $55 for the entire van, plus I tipped $10 each way. We rested in our room for an hour and then DD and I went to the pool from 5:30-6:30 and visited the spa/hot tub. We had a late dinner at RF – pizza, cheesesteak, and chicken nuggets. I stopped at the Mercantile to shop while DH took the kids upstairs. For the past four days I had checked in with the Mercantile for postcards of the WL. The CM said they exist but the shipment had not come in. This seemed a no brainer to me and I asked if they should just increase the size of the order since they are so popular? Heck, a company the size of Disney could just print their own postcards. Having the postcards available is like the guests paying Disney to advertise one of the most beautiful resorts on property (IMHO). I just could not understand that and no postcards materialized during our entire 10 day stay. While I was continuing to shop, my kids showed up unaccompanied. DD explained that they got locked out of the room and panicked, and came downstairs to find me. DH must have been on the balcony because he did not hear them knocking. We went back to the room and sure enough DH was furious because he had searched the hotel for them. At 9:35 was the Electric Light Pageant on Bay Lake – we could have seen it from our room, but I had the bright idea to watch it from the beach. The parade was very neat, with barges each containing a different figure outlined in lights. There was a dragon in 3 parts, a turtle, octopus, leaping dolphins, crocodile/gator, brontosaurus, King Triton and seahorse, and a spouting whale, Then all the lights disappeared and changed into a red, white and blue display of stars and stripes forever. The mosquitoes were fierce although they did not bother me and never do (professional courtesy DH calls it). Wednesday, August 27th – The party splits up Tony and Karen rented a car to visit a friend in Tampa so we decided to take it a little easier that day. I did laundry from 6:30-8:00 a.m. and it cost me $12 to wash and dry three loads. I nabbed the last 3 machines so you can get an idea of how busy it was even at that hour. Roaring Forks is right nearby so I filled my mug and sat outside the lodge while the clothes were washing. I was hoping to see the armadillo DH saw the night before but no such luck. Today I thought we would take the exercise trail to Fort Wilderness. I highly recommend this. Its about a 15 minute walk at medium speed. We went to Trail’s End buffeteria and had the all-you-care-to-eat breakfast buffet which was $34 plus tip for all four of us. I think that even Larry Wilmot would find this a bargain. Beverages were included so we re-hydrated with several glasses of O.J. each. The menu included fresh fruit, donuts, home fries, western omelet, breakfast pizza, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, Mickey waffles, hash, and French toast. I think there was yogurt and cold cereal too, but why bother? I soon learned why there is no Bambi attraction at WDW – his head is hanging on the wall at Trails End. From the docks we took a boat to the Magic Kingdom. There we rode SW, Carousel, HM and IASW with little or no wait. We did have to use our son’s GAC for WTP, PP and Buzz. We then rode an old friend, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. This is especially beautiful at night, for those of you who have not tried it. After ice cream at Auntie Gravity’s we went to PoTC and it had the longest queue I have ever seen for it . All the way out to the entrance to the attraction. We skipped it and took the monorail to TTC and then onto Epcot. We started at Ellen’s Energy Adventure which had a long wait in an unattractive construction/rehab zone. We enjoyed it and as usual, I had dinosaur snot snorted onto my glasses. The kids had their customary visit to Ice Station Cool but there was no Chinese watermelon soda! That’s the only reason I stop there. We had a snack at The Land and then used the GAC for Living with the Land (a 45 minute stand-by). Then on to the short film The Circle of Life – I do love the gorgeous photography. Figment was a walk-on. I never saw it in its previous versions, but I think its safe to say it needs more tweaking, if not a complete over-haul (just stay away from my Spaceship Earth!!). We then walked through a sun shower. I have tried to adopt the behavior of the Floridians and don’t hurry to whip out the ponchos when I feel a raindrop. We then enjoyed a trip on SE and headed for the bus stop, waiting about 10 minutes. Once in our room we got cleaned up for our PS at Whispering Canyon Cafe (WCC). We checked in at 5:20 and were seated immediately. We were fortunate to have Hedda Lettuce as our server (really Suzanne from Queens) who was really into the role. Very saucy and sarcastic but with humor. My daughter innocently asked for ketchup for her fries and had no idea what was coming. Hedda told her to stand on her chair and holler for ketchup as loud as she could. She bellowed “I need ketchup please!” and 8 bottles were brought to her by other children. When the next person asked for ketchup, DD had to bring the bottles to their table. After dinner was a children’s race on stick horses. With regard to the food, both DH and I ordered the skillet which was way too much food for me. It was good, plain food and lots of it. I don’t remember what the kids ordered. WCC has bottomless milkshakes but DH the milkshake expert said they weren’t very good. We watched the MK fireworks from our balcony from 8:35-8:45. .. they appeared directly over the rooftop opposite our balcony. The kids preferred to go to bed but DH and I enjoyed them. Thursday, August 28 – EMH at MK We had a Mickey wakeup call at 6:07 – odd times tend to ensure it will be Mickey himself and not a generic voice. I went to RF to fill our mugs and then we had beverages, nutrigrain bars and cereal in our room. We headed for the dock and the boat came at 7:40 after a 10 minute wait. We arrived at MK at 7:50 and entered the gates at 8:00 sharp. We headed straight for Dumbo and were flying by 8:06. DH and the kids rode the Carousel while I went to the bathroom. We then walked on to SW and WTP and waited 10 minutes for PP. We then walked onto IASW. For you polyglots out there, what language is Sa Waht Dee Krahp? It appears at the end of IASW and I assume its like Afrikaans or something for good bye? It was time for a mid-morning snack so we headed to the Main Street Bakery – it is almost always the longest line we wait in. We ordered bagels, a cherry turnover, a Mickey head chocolate bundt cake and a huge bowl of fresh pineapple chunks as well as milk for the kids and O.J. for the parents. The food there is of excellent quality and not a bad value. We ate at our favorite spot across the street, outside of Casey’s. We headed to the Hall of Presidents for the 10:00 show. This is a good show and I respect the audio-animatronics but I only need to see it every time we change Presidents! DH does not feel that way. HM is in the area and it was a walk-on. I pointed out the newish Madame Leota tombstone to some folks in line and suggested they watch her for a moment to get a surprise. They appreciated my alert. We then waited for about 5 minutes for Aladdin’s Flying Carpets. PoTC was a walk-on and as we headed for the Adventureland exit, I noticed, hallelujah, that Aloha Isle was open. It is usually closed or has a huge line when we go past. I would finally get my Dole Whip. Actually, I ordered the pineapple float which was luscious, the kids had a chocolate soft-serve and DH had the vanilla and pineapple swirl soft-serve. All tasted delicious. Our next stop was Country Bear Jamboree. Now despite a lot of criticism I read about it on various boards, it is the ADULTS who laugh loudest and hardest at the jokes during the show. Its always a full house and kids are fascinated by the AA bears and heads on the wall. I would love to see it at Christmas. We then headed for the boat – there was one waiting for us at the dock. Aside from the night my husband and kids waited 45 minutes, in the rain, for a bus to Epcot the night I was sick, the transportation to and from WL has been excellent. Better than POFQ and ASMu, in my experience. We arrived at WL at 1:00 and called Tony and Karen and made plans to meet in the hall at 3:00. We went to the pool at 1:25 and swam in the rain until 1:45 when the pool was cleared due to thunder. We also spent a whole five minutes in the spa. We got showered and dressed, met Tony and Karen and caught the MGM (I mean Disney Studios) bus at 2:50. We stopped at Fort Wilderness to pick up and arrived at DS at 3:30. We went straight to the Great Movie Ride (GMR) and waited in the first queue for 10 minutes until we passed the Mary Poppins carousel horse display and could reach the handicap access. We boarded in another five minutes and like every time before, got the gangster side. I noticed while waiting in the queue that some people thought the GMR was just the pre-show and turned around and left. Karen was disappointed in the ride and felt it wasn’t up to the same high Disney standards. She remarked that only the Clint Eastwood character looked realistic. I tend to agree with her, because the more I experience the ride, the more I notice its deficiencies. The Sigourney Weaver figure in Alien is very mechanical-acting, as her head snaps back and forth, a lot like her real-life counterpart ;-). At 4:30 we caught MuppetVision 3D which I am sorry to say is also looking dated. We stopped to watch the Stars and Motor Cars parade on the way out and I had to deal with very rude Japanese tourists walking right in front of me while I was taking pictures at the curb, stop and totally block my view. I said “excuse me” very loudly and motioned for them to move and they just laughed, said sorry and stayed put until they got their shots. We had PS at Boma for 6:00 p.m. and an Animal Kingdom Lodge (AKL) bus was pulling up just as we got to its stop at Disney Studios. We were early for our PS but checked in anyway and were seated soon after. Our server encouraged us to try a little of everything and most of us did. I was tempted to take my little notebook up to the buffet to write down the names of everything I tasted but I was afraid of being confronted (I know, at Disney?) Much of the food is very familiar looking but with an African twist. We ordered an Indaba Merlot 2002 from South Africa and it was excellent. There were soups, salads, flat breads, dips, prime rib, lamb stew, and all sorts of vegetables and potatoes. I really enjoyed the pap with tomato sauce and the prime rib – it was available from rare to well-done. They had a kids’ station but my kids get bored with the same thing all the time. I let them eat from the big buffet and they enjoyed small pieces of prime rib, mac cheese, potatoes with Afritude and slice after slice of watermelon. The dessert table is worth saving room for if you can. The zebra domes and mini chocolate mousses were worth every calorie. As we were leaving Boma we checked out the giraffe and other decorations made out of different colors of chocolate. We went upstairs to the lobby to give ourselves a tour. Particularly impressive was the Nigerian Ijele mask, 16 feet high and 240 pounds and they said, carried on the head of a single dancer. Can that be possible? We went outside to the firepit and over to part of the savanna. There was a spider the size of a tarantula on some of the vegetation on our side of the fence. The CM said it was a banana spider and while not technically poisonous, can give a bad bite. He put in a request for it to be relocated. We then took a bus to Downtown Disney (DTD) and visited Once Upon a Toy. We tried to do the fill-a-box of Lincoln Logs, following the posted building diagrams. Well the snotty CM told us we had a few too many logs because the box top has to fold FLAT and the sides have to tuck in neatly, (unlike the build a Mr. Potato Head a few feet away…hmmmm) Could this CM be a micro-manager? I told him as cheerfully as I could that I was SURE his supervisor would be pleased to learn he lost Disney a $16 sale for the sake of a few cents worth of Lincoln Logs. Beware folks – they post instructions for neat LL buildings and you can easily infer that you can make them with one boxful. Not true. That was an un-magical moment. We caught the bus back to WL and stopped in front of Hoop de Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness and several dozen people got on! Can they ALL be going to WL? No, in fact, they were tired of waiting for a bus and thought if they went to WL they could get a bus to DTD or TTC and from there back to their resorts. One woman on the bus uttered a sacrilege “Disney isn’t special if you come every year”. Sure honey, keep telling yourself that and you might start to believe it. Friday August 29, 2003 – EMH at DAK We had a five minute wait for a bus to DAK which arrived at 7:30 a.m. We stopped at the GF to pick up and arrived at DAK at 7:50. We made a potty stop and then went to the Resort Guests queue. The lines were not too bad, considering it’s the first day of a long holiday weekend. The guy ahead of me was yakking business on his cell phone and impressing no one. The back of his shirt read “if you’re not leading the pack the view never changes”. Lighten up guy, this is a vacation. We went right to KS and waited about five minutes in stand-by. There were no rhinos today ? my very best favorite. We then went shopping to find Karen sandals – she had terrible blisters which she had tried to cushion with the moleskin I gave her. ITTBAB was next and a walk on at 8:55. Then to the Boneyard at 9:30. DH stationed me at the exit because its easy for the kids to slip out without you noticing. We did some more shopping and DD bought a very realistic looking stuffed Komodo dragon. Dinosaur! was next with a 10 minute wait. I hope they change it back to Countdown to Extinction. This was my second time and I enjoyed it much better than the first time when I would not open my eyes. It was the speed that frightened me, not the dinosaurs. Tarzan Rocks! was at 10:45 and 10 minutes after the show started the CM was still letting people in! Its not like she made them sit in the back either, she had them make people near the front get up, slide over, squeeze in, etc. Not a good policy, IMHO. We had lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque – it has been closed every other time we’ve been at DAK. We had the fruit salad, smoked chicken breast sandwich, smoked beef sandwich, seasoned fries, corn on the cob, baked beans and lemonade. My family of four shared three meals. I enjoyed tastes of everything. Seating is outside under some trees but it was pleasant enough. After lunch we used DS GAC for Kali River Rapids and had a 10 minute wait. You can no longer take your shoes off but if you keep your feet on the railing just above the floor, they’ll stay dry. You CAN still put your cameras and such in the center well. DD and I got soaked this time – its usually DH because he’s a big guy and the heavier side of the raft usually gets the tidal wave over the back. Next was the Maharajah Jungle Trek and we saw 2 very active, interested tigers. I think their enclosure is the most inventive and beautiful I have ever seen. We left the park at 1:00 and it began to rain at 2:00 just as we were getting ready for the pool. It rained steadily until 3 so we got showered and headed to DTD on the 5:20 bus. After a pick up at Fort Wilderness, we arrived at the Pleasure Island stop at 5:50. We bought tickets for the movie Pirates of the Caribbean – I felt it only fitting to see the movie at WDW. Tickets were $8.50 for adults, $6.00 for children. While waiting around for the 7 p.m. show, we had Wetzel’s pretzels and lemonade. We then walked down to the Virgin Megastore and bought 3 DVDs: the second Lord of the Rings, To Kill a Mockingbird and Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson. As everyone has reported by now, the movie was terrific, with a superb, truly unique interpretation of a pirate by Johnny Depp. As I type this, people are buzzing about Johnny’s “surprise” nomination for the Academy Award. No surprise to his fans! I’m sending pixie dust to The Academy for you, Johnny! Orlando Bloom was wonderful too, but I think I like him better as a platinum blonde. Geoffrey Rush was a howl. We then walked to Ghirardelli for a snack – say “Gear-ah-delly” , per the menu. The line was out the door but that was deceptive. It moved very quickly. I had the kid’s S’mores Sundae and the CM gave me two kids goody bags as a bonus. The kids had their favorite chocolate chip ice cream cones and DH his chocolate shake. We got back to our room at 11:00 and to bed at 11:30. A very late night for us. Saturday, August 30th - Epcot After such a late night, we slept through the alarm and woke at 8:10 a.m. We were out the door at 8:40 and caught a bus to Epcot at 8:45, arriving at 9:10. Our first stop was the Fountain View Café – the first time for us. We had cheesecake, a chocolate croissant, bagels with cream cheese, milk and decaf coffee. Then we headed to Mission Space to get fastpasses for Tony and Karen. No one in my family could do MS because of motion sickness issues. At 9:45, their return time was only an hour later. We then used DS GAC to ride Test Track. This was everyone’s first time and we all agreed it was an awesome way to get your heart started. I bought a TT Mickey Head pin, TT diecast vehicle the size of a Matchbox car and a TT Mickey beanie baby. We then played in Innoventions while we waited for Tony and Karen to experience MS. At 11:45 we all headed to Ellen’s Energy Adventure (normally I would not do it twice on the same trip, but Tony and Karen had not seen it yet). There was a 13 minute wait and then the 8 minute pre-show before the 37 minute show actually began. We went from there to Cranium Command and had an 11 minute wait. This show, for me, is a do-it-once kind of attraction. Lunch was Cantina de San Angel in Mexico where we had the wet burrito, plato del nino and nachos, with lemonade. The food was plentiful and okay, but not as good as the Mexican food during the Food and Wine Festival! From there we went to Maelstrom and used DS GAC because of a huge queue. Food Rocks was at 3:10 and we had a 10 minute wait. DH and the kids love this show and were disappointed to hear that its gone to make way for Soarin’ Over California. For me, Food Rocks is something to do once. We used the GAC again for Living with the Land because Tony and Karen had not seen it. At 4:10 we headed to the “environmental fable” Circle of Life. As I said before, I do love the photography of this film and it’s a great place to rest and cool off. We had a 10 minute wait for Honey I Shrunk the Audience and after seeing four times now, I don’t need to see it again. We took a Friendship boat across the lagoon to Germany - my family had never done this, preferring to walk half way around the world. Imaginum, the living statue was performing near France and DD got into the act. The statue pulled DD up onto her pedestal, took off DD hat and put it on herself. We bought the lemon granitas in Italy to refresh ourselves. American Adventure was next and we waited 10 minutes for the 5:50 show. I love this show and well-up during the Civil War part – “One Wore Blue and One Wore Gray”. We then walked to Morocco to take some photos and headed to the UK for fish and chips and the child’s hotdog. We are definitely eating at Marrakesh on our next trip. We walked over to the pavilion to wait for the British Invasion. While I was standing there with my fish and chips, the four of them came out of a back entrance, their heels clicking on the stone path, right past me. I had a little thrill just hearing the Liverpudlian accents and seeing their mop-tops so close up. One of them commented on how good my food looked. We rode my dearest SE on the way out. It was a beautiful, clear, starry night and we watched the Electric Water Pageant from our balcony at 9:35 and then, as a bonus, the MK fireworks above the roof opposite. I noted out loud that there had been no rain at all that day. Sunday, August 31, EMH at MK We took the 7:45 boat after a 5 minute wait and arrived at 7:50. The lines were already out to the green railing. We were riding Dumbo by 8:10 and by 8:45 had also ridden SW, WTP, PP, Cinderella’s Golden Carousel. The crowds at the entrance dissipate mightily once the gate is open and seem to all head for Space Mtn and Buzz. Afterwards we had breakfast at Main Street Bakery and noticed for the first time that there is a toaster for the bagels at the back of the bakery, really part of the gift shop. We sat in our favorite spot outside of Casey’s and I took a photo of the kids next to the Please Do Not Feed the Birds sign which became our Christmas card. Haunted Mansion was next after a 5 minute wait. Then Jungle Cruise at 10:10. My kids and DH love this ride but I think its lame, lame, lame! With the real thing over at DAK, this IMHO needs some updating or a complete overhaul. After JC we wasted some pocket change on Shrunken Ned’s mini boats. PoTC was a walk on. Then we caught the Enchanted Tiki Room just as it was starting. This one is just okay. We climbed the Swiss Family Treehouse just because its there and also because we had just bought the DVD from the Disney “vault”. We did Hall of Presidents and then went to Casey’s for hotdogs. This was a first for us. The dogs tasted good but the buns were stale and crumbled. A boat to WL was waiting at the dock at 12:35 and made a stop at Fort Wilderness. Tony and Karen had not come with us, so we knocked on the connecting door and discussed our suggested itinerary for the rest of the day. We swam from 1:30-2:30 with another 10 minutes in the spa. No rain as of 2:30. We headed to Disney Studios about 5. We went first to Sounds Dangerous since we had not ”seen” it in four trips. I have only one thing to say about this attraction: LAME!!! I can see that its good for breastfeeding or napping but that’s it. We then had ice cream from Dinosaur Gertie’s just as they were closing – good, generous soft serve. We sat through Indiana Jones which I have no need to see again. There was a 10 minute wait for Backlot Tours. This is another one I can live without. Disney Studios is my least favorite park because there’s really nothing here for my family. Maybe next time we’ll try TOT and RRC, but equipped with Bonine. Indy was over at 7:40 and we booked it over to Fantasmic. Technically we could have used DS GAC but Tony and Karen had saved us seats. The CM almost wouldn’t let us join our party because he said that section was full. We persisted and finally slipped under the rope. It was a gorgeous, breezy night. DH went for popcorn, soda and soft pretzels because the kids had not really eaten since noon. The performance was stopped at 8:35 due to “unforeseen circumstances” . We all sat there wondering if that was it for the night? It was eventually corrected and ended at 9:10. Fantasmic was spectacular as always. On the way to the bus, we shopped in Villains and I bought the Maleficent black and purple dragon for my Harry Potter Christmas tree. A bus was waiting for us at the stop at 9:40 and we were back at WL at 10. We stopped at RF and shared pizza and soda before bed. Monday, Labor Day, September 1st - Flag Family! At check-in on our first day we signed up to be Flag Family. All the spots during our stay were filled except Labor Day which I thought was the perfect day to do it. Our CM was Birdie and we met her at the Guest Services desk. We took the elevator to the 7th floor, walked through Concierge level and then walked up three flights to the roof. DH is a former Marine and so we had him help the CM with the flags – she had not done it before. There were 2 WL flags, 1 state of Florida flag, 1 Disney flag with a green Mickey head icon and one U.S. flag. The view was spectacular and you could see the monorail trains going in and out of the Contemporary. We decided to do some power shopping at DTD in the morning and arrived there at 11:25 a.m. It was a very long trip because the bus stopped at Fort Wilderness first and then got stuck in the huge line of campers checking out! What, no back way for the busses? We went to World of Disney (WOD) first and ordered the Wilderness Lodge Lincoln Logs set to be shipped home (the snotty CM was not there). Then we had ice cream at Ghirardelli’s – one cable car sundae (MEM), 2 chocolate chip ice creams in a cone and one chocolate shake. Then on to Virgin Megastore to get the Pirates of the Caribbean movie soundtrack on sale for $14.99. I play it often and it always peps me up. We caught a bus back to WL at 1:15 after a 5 minute wait. I stopped in to the Mercantile to check on the elusive WL postcard – no luck – and bought several bags of Mickey pretzels for the plane trip and for my office. I did my first pin trade of the trip – I traded a Kellogg’s/Disney pin for the black Maleficent dragon from Fantasmic. WL has a book of pins sitting out and you can peruse at leisure. We took a bus to Disney Studios at 2:15 with a stop at Fort Wilderness, arriving at 2:50. We went straight to Voyage of the Little Mermaid (VOTLM), waiting 20 minutes to get in and then were told it would be another 20 minutes. Tony and Karen were saving seats for us at Beauty and the Beast (BATB) so we had to duck out of VOTLM and hurry off to BATB for the 4:00 show. We had kids in front of us whose Dad told them to stand on the seats so they could see. Then the Mom noticed that MY kids could not see through them so she had them sit down. At 4:30 we took a bus to Epcot (I would have preferred the walk, but we were running short on time). We purchased a photo of our kids at Leave a Legacy and were given two tradable LAL pins. We headed for Test Track now that we are huge fans of it and used DS GAC because of a 30 minute stand-by (we had PS at 5:50). We then headed to our PS at Chefs de France. I had high hopes for this place and although the food was good, it was what I would call plain, peasant style, not at all what I expected. I had the French Menu which was onion soup, roast chicken and crème brulee. I have eaten French onion soup in Paris and this soup was nothing like it – in fact, some of the onion skins were left in the soup. The roast chicken tasted like any roast chicken, but I enjoyed the crème brulee and the light Alsatian bier. The children had chicken fingers and pasta but the restaurant had no grated cheese for the pasta. The server brought out a small cup of shredded Gruyere but it was not what my kids are used to. DH had the steak with potatoes and green beans. Tony and Karen met us there part way through dinner. As I recall, they wanted to hit RRC and TOT before the trip ended. I still have not asked them about those attractions. After dinner ended at 7:00, we went shopping in France and then listened to the drummers in Japan. We then walked on to Maelstrom and SE on the way out. We skipped Illuminations because of fatigue (Tony and Karen stayed), caught the bus at 9:10 and were back at WL at 9:45. September 2, 2003 – Last Day ? ? ? ? I did not take notes on our last day but I know we went to MK to do our favorites one last time. It was a virtual ghost town. We hit Dumbo, SW, PP, WTP, Buzz, TTA, IASW, PoTC and HM. DD and I then went to find T-shirts. I bought DS a Buzz Lightyear shirt at a cart and then went into a store where I bought DD a black knit top with a white lace Mickey head icon on the front. I treated myself to a yellow T-shirt with all the Magic Kingdom characters and the castle in full colors, front and back of the shirt. I wore it on the plane. I had asked for late check out on our last day (1:00 p.m.) and was granted it. Tiffany picked us up at 1:00. I hate being picked up so early but they have a 2 hour before take-off rule or else no guarantee you’ll be there on time. Our Delta Song flight was at 3:25. The plane left on time and we were back at our house just past dinner time. Song is a beautiful, cheerful plane on the inside, with tropical colors like lime and mango and comfy seats. You can buy food on the plane and we did but I cannot remember what. The kids were excited about the first day of school and wore their new T-shirts. Shortly after our return home, I started thinking about our next trip. I surely was impressed by that Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Coronado Springs sounds nice, but then the Fort Wilderness cabins would be fun and if a great AP rate comes out then an Epcot resort might be in the budget. P.S. After reading this trip report, Dear Husband declared that since I had discussed so many attractions I need never see again, that there is no reason to go back to WDW. Well, that prompted me to make a list of things I haven’t done YET, justifying another trip. I’ve covered the front and back of a piece of paper and I’ve just begun. Thanks for reading! Feel free to e-mail me. Please put WDW Trip Report in the subject line. Mary-Ellen Marks mary-ellen.marks@tufts.edu Mail a Comment to Mary-Ellen Marks |
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