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Dan Weckerly -- May 2003 -- Walt Disney World (PORR)A Fantasmic Trip: The Weckerlys in Walt Disney World Who:
What: Nine days in The World. We want to see all four parks, eat at some memorable restaurants, try a water park, and have a blast. Admittedly, nine days is a long time, but a number of factors influenced this decision: With three first-timers under the age of 10, we knew a slower pace was required, meaning more time in total to see as much as possible. Also, Amanda, at 9, had already endured reports of neighbors, friends, schoolmates, fellow Girl Scouts, cousins, and others who had already been multiple times to Disney. Since she’s waited SO LONG to go, we decided to make it a good, healthy stay. When: May 01–10, 2003. We discussed this timing a lot. We wanted the weather to be warm enough for the water parks, but also to cause the least disruption in school. We also wanted to avoid the summertime and Christmastime crunches. May, being close to the end of the school year but still far away enough from finals to ensure proper preparation, proved a wise choice. Where: Onsite. On that, I was insistent. I/we had stayed at the Contemporary and the Polynesian previously, and there was a lot of discussion about being on the Monorail loop with li’l ones versus the PRICE of being on the Monorail loop with li’l ones. Finally, a good friend (who is not only our dog obedience instructor but also a Disney travel agent) recommended Port Orleans Riverside without hesitation. Whenever she goes, that’s where she stays, and it’s the site she sends all her clients to. That was good enough for us. Why: Show the kids the magic. Rediscover the joy ourselves. Bond as a family. Ride the new stuff. Create memories to last a lifetime. Bring the kids up-to-date with peers who had been there numerous times. Preamble: The prior 18 months before the trip were spent in preparation. We read the guidebooks (borrow them from your library to save $$$). We also met with our travel agent, who helped us make reservations in the Allegator Bayou section of POR. We discussed, dissected, planned, and plotted. We formed a skeletal plan for visiting parks on certain days, and then revised-revised-revised. At the 120-, 90-, 60-, and 30-day marks, Priority Seatings were made. Cinderella’s Royal Table. Hoop-Dee-Doo. We were going all-out. But most of all, we scrimped and saved. Out of all the forehand debates, a number of decisions were made: 1) use a crib rather than a trundle bed for Kristin. Although we though she might get a kick out of sleeping in a “big girl bed,” we figured it wasn’t worth the risk. 2) Rent a car. Sure, the Disney Transpo is renown, but when Kristin crashes, it’s time to go - - fast. So for purposes of being able to whisk her back to the hotel room ASAP, we opted for a rental from National. Finally, it was time! Thursday, May 01, 2003 Nonstop from Philadelphia International Airport to Orlando International Airport. We got off to the rockiest of rocky starts, thanks to USAir. We arrived at the airport two hours early, in deference to Code Orange Homeland Security measures. A mistake. We got through Airport Security at Philadelphia International in, oh, about eight minutes. No shoes off. No belts open. No metal-detecting wands. Just a zip-a-dee-doo-dah through everything. Which meant we were two-and-a-quarter hours early for our flight. Okay, we decided, let’s fight the boredom monkeys for a while. Highlights Magazine. GameBoy. Bathroom Trips. Philly Pretzels. The clock was crawling. Finally, departure time came. And the plane had mechanical difficulty. Oy vey. And USAir couldn’t decide whether to fix it or get a new plane. So we waited. And waited... And Kristin, who hadn’t napped, began to fray at the edges... followed by Claire. The airline then decided to swap planes. All the bags had to come off the wrong plane and on the right plane. Hmmmm... We finally departed!!! Hooray!! It was 5:30 in the afternoon. For a 3:30 scheduled flight. For a family who had been there since 1:15 p.m. Ugh! Kristin had an absolutely awful time on the plane. She hadn’t napped; she hadn’t eaten anything substantial. She was “That Kid,” as in, “Can’t they shut That Kid up???” We landed. ‘Ray! Bag pick-up took time; car rental took time. We got a red Monte Carlo that fit precious little in the trunk. Amanda, Claire, and Kristin were BURIED under bags in the back seat; all I could see of Claire was one eye and half a nostril. Driving to WDW was dicey in the dark, and the kids crumbled mightily. We stopped at a supermarket for supplies (24-hr Goodings at Crossroads - - didn’t care about bargain-hunting at this point, only on getting off the road) and a Mick-Dees for dinner. The kids ate in the back seat. It was 10:45 p.m. Kristin was out for the night. We limped into Port Orleans. At the security gate:
We checked-in. I was surprised to find we were in Magnolia Bend, Parterre Place (9581), first floor, rather than Alligator Bayou, second floor. But at that point, I didn’t care. I scarfed up our keys/cards and got back in the car. Finding the room was yet another challenge. I was so tired, I was stupid with exhaustion, staring at signs that said “Rooms 9500–9550 ?; Rooms 9551–9600 ?” and unable to figure whether 9581 was a left or a right. The houses at Magnolia Bend were like a rabbit warren, full of many corners and twists and turns, and I was completely disoriented and on reduced mental capacity, owing to the late hour and the ordeal we’d endured. I finally found the room and hung my hat on the doorknob, so as not to get lost again. We shuttled the kids in. The crib we’d ordered wasn’t there yet - - so Kristin slept in our bed. I started the mule train of getting all the bags from the car to the room, while Eileen unpacked and the kids slumbered. This was not the dreamed-about arrival we had planned. Once the bags were in, I went on one more mission. Dripping with sweat - - despite the darkness and the tree-cover, it was still hot and humid - - I took off for the ice machine. Again, I ran the gauntlet of ins-and-outs, at the outer edges of absolute brain-fry. At last, Shangri-La!, the ice machine. I filled the bucket, held a few chips on my sweaty skull, and returned to the room. Eileen was finishing up. Kids were in slumberland. The crib had arrived, so all was well. But the extra bed meant we needed an extra pillow, which I’d forgotten to ask for (despite our travel agent’s reminder…). I was therefore pillow-less that first night - - but I was never so happy to see a coverleted hotel bed in my life! We all slept soundly. Friday, May 02, 2003: Day One: Magic Kingdom I was awake at 5:45 a.m. I wandered a bit on my own, trying to get a better feel for the resort and allow the others to sleep. It was dark early in the morning and a bit disorienting, but I found the Sassagoula River with no trouble (it was right outside our door!) and the Quiet Pool and Ol’ Man Island. Navigating by way of the river, rather than using the confusing arrows and the signs, became second nature, and as the week progressed, we found Port Orleans to be very logically arranged and easy to maneuver around. It was also gorgeous - - moss-hung trees, manicured lawns, roses, fountains. I also loved how the Cast Members and even other guests greeted each other in a friendly way: “Good Morning!” here and “Good Morning!” there, from place to place. I returned to 9581 and roused the troops. To keep the girls busy while we finished dressing, we sent them to the lush, green lawn just outside our door, which we propped open to be able to monitor. There, Amanda, Claire, and Kristin adopted “Donald” and “Daisy,” a male and female duck, who, for the duration of our stay, they fed spare breadcrumbs and crushed peanut butter crackers. After Eileen got the short-hand tour of Antebellum Riverside, we were off to Magic Kingdom. We arrived just in time for the 9 a.m. opening. Security was sticky and we were unprepared and disorganized (we got better - - much better - - at this routine later in the trip). But before long, we were strolling Main Street, which was having its Official Opening. The site of the castle took my breath away - - we were really there!! We passed a trolley full of 1910-clothed singer/dancers, doing “The Trolley Song” with refurbished lyrics (“Welcome to Main Street U.S.AAAaaayy!”). It was unbelievable! Breakfast was in Cinderella’s Castle with the princesses. The wait time was passed lining up for the Fairy Godmother. And of course, as soon as the kids reached her lap, the server dinged the chimes and called the Royal Weckerly Family for its meal. There was time, however, to finish up the photos and autographs. Upstairs, Eileen was m’Lady, and I was m’Lord for a satisfying and delicious breakfast that featured good food and great character interaction (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Prince Philip, Belle, Alice in Wonderland, and Mary Poppins). Kodak Moments aplenty. It was ridin’ time. Carousel (where Claire, Kristin, and I heard “Feed the Birds,” which I hummed to them while holding on - - does life get any more magical?). Small World (Kristin’s eyes were dinner-plate wide). Peter Pan. Country Bear Jamboree. Jungle Cruise. This is what it’s all about. The girls dumped out of the Haunted Mansion. On the walk to the Doom Buggies, in the dark, it was just too much for them. I spotted the “chicken exit” and we took it. Crisis averted. The MK, however, was crowded (it was a Friday, after all), and we were less-than-adept with FastPass (we got better with this, too, later), so we didn’t make much headway. In the over-stimulation that defines the parks, though, I tried as much as possible to notice the little details, the things Disney throws in just to make the experience more interesting. The Hidden Mickeys were part of this endeavor (Amanda found a great set of them in the Riverside lobby), but certainly not all. For instance, in Small World, I noticed that the ride was almost as much an aural experience as a visual one. Strategically placed speakers were hard at work, so that when our boat passed by Hawaiian dancers beating on drums, we didn’t hear the drums ‘til we were right next to the dancers. We returned to the hotel, which Kristin called the “O’Dell” all week. The kids had fun discovering the surprise poses that the maids and housekeeping staff left their stuffed animals in. One afternoon, we came in to find “the guys” all waiting in our window, and on another occasion, Lolly Dolly was watching Aladdin, with the TV remote in her lap, while Tommy the Turtle was reading Amanda’s book. We also found, one return, our washcloths formed into pretty seashells, and one of our Mousekeepers even left us a note of thanks on the pad by the bed! We did some more low-level exploring and some welcomed swimming (the cool water felt great on those tired legs and barking dogs). Riverside food court was fashioned to look like a cotton-baler attached to a working underside water wheel. The main pool, on Ol’ Man Island, had retained the broken water sluices from the mill so that water thundered into it from a variety of sources and angles; it also had a sprouting sink and some rocks in the middle (where the “Ol’ Man” tried to stop up the spring) and a slide. Kids loved it, and so did we. That night’s supper was at Yachtsman Steakhouse (attached to the Yacht Club). Excellent meal, but Kristin crashed, so after the kids’ dessert of a white-chocolate Mickey puzzle, with frosting “paint” and brushes to decorate, we quickly got the bill and scooted. On the return to Port Orleans, I was pleased to see the security guard who had welcomed us so warmly the night before on duty again - - he worked, I guessed, the four-to-midnight shift during our entire stay. When he saw the “Port Orleans” parking permit on the dashboard, he welcomed us back with a healthy salute. Which I returned every evening. Another nice touch among many during our stay. Before retiring (collapsing is more like it), I arranged for a wake-up call for the next day, partly to get us going early and partly for the fun of having Mickey call us and urge us out of bed. Saturday, May 03, 2003: Day Two: EPCOT Phone rang at the appointed time. I figured the girls could take turns hearing Mick’s message, so I picked it up and handed it to Amanda. Nada. Nothing on the other end. Oh well, at least we were up! And off to EPCOT!! We drove to the Boardwalk and trekked over to the International Gateway of World Showcase (which did not open until later in the morning). It was hot, long walk, but it gave us a peek at the Boardwalk and we figured it would save time searching for the car in an EPCOT lot. As part of the ongoing EPCOT Flower Festival, the park had put in a topiary maze dedicated to the “Disney Dogs.” Amanda, Claire, and Kristin enjoyed wandering the aisles and finding the surprises (boxes with doggie voices inside, a musical keypad for jumping on, etc.). After some photo ops here, we pushed on to Future World, where the kids were agog at the fountain, choreographed to spray dozens of feet in the air to perfectly timed, awe-inspiring music. I particularly liked how some of these geysers were accompanied by pops of high-pressure air jets; it made them sound like liquid fireworks. We rode Spaceship Earth and toured Living Seas, where we saw manatees and a dolphin. Kristin thought it was neat to raise her shirt and press her belly against the cool glass, so that a fish could kiss her bellybutton. Ah, the uninhibitedness of being a two-year-old! Test Track was a great ride. The auto “tests” were a lot of fun, as our car was put through the paces of braking, heat, cold, corrosives, and hair-pin turns. When I exited to take over Kristin-duty, I breathlessly told the kids it was awesome, warned them about the truck, and told them to hang on during the outside part. They hopped on and mostly agreed with my rave review (Claire was rattled by the speedy part) - - even Mommy! We started a dangerous habit that afternoon at EPCOT, dangerous from the standpoint of our expanding waistlines: The Two O’Clock Mickey Bar. Mickey Bars, as Eileen was well acquainted, are sinful ice cream treats in the shape of Mickey’s head (basically three circles of deliciousness on a stick), covered by crunchy, dark chocolate, and on our steamy days in the parks, there was nothing like them. Dinner that night was at San Angel Inn in Mexico. The girls started their World Showcase masks, but we didn’t make much progress on these as the week slipped by. We were seated for the meal, but Kristin disliked the interior: The painting of the volcano, which slowly seeped lava, scared her. We settled her down, though, and proceeded. Great food! As we waited for IllumiNations, we found that The American Adventure was a walk-on. We went. Wonderful. We sat in the fourth row, allowing me my closest view of this show I’ve ever had. The music and grandeur brought tears (the sight of the Shuttle crew), and I loved it! Amanda was a little frosted by it all, but the sight of Ben Franklin (who she’d studied) and Valley Forge (which she’d studied) caught her interest. After that, we watched IllumiNations from right in front of the American Pavilion, a great spot, especially when fireworks shot out from right in front of the girls to the center of the lagoon. Again, I’ was seriously moved by it all (the message of the narration, the power of the music, the beauty of the globe and its projections), and before long, tears are streaming down my face. We walked back to the Friendship boat, unable to talk about anything other than how wonderful it all was. Sunday, May 04, 2003: Day Three: Church/Disney MGM No Mickey on the wake-up call this morning, either. Claire dejectedly put the receiver back on the cradle, and we hustled out. Went to Mass offsite at the Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Funny enough, the building experienced a power outage mid-service. So we were left straining to hear what was going on. After a quick breakfast at the Waffle House near church (Amanda was curious about grits but was unwilling to try them), we got our first exposure to MGM. I loved this park! The architecture. The 1940s feel. The music piped-in. A great experience. I got a FastPass to Tower of Terror and left Eileen and the girls in the Shrunk the Kids playground. They had a ball, climbing the oversized props and getting a photo on a giant ant. Eileen even climbed a huge net, following Kristin who wouldn’t hear otherwise about not keeping up with her older sibs. They slid down a huge role of Kodak film and ran between 15-foot blades of grass, taking time to note the dog’s nose that was the size of a Buick. Even Mommy had fun cooling off under the monstrous leaky garden hose. Tower of Terror got an A++++ from me. An amazing experience. I was on the alert enough to notice that the boilers in the basement bore General Electric logos, and I liked how the bellhops added to the creepiness of the ride. But when the hallway disappeared into a spiral of stars, my eyes popped in one of many “how’d-they-do-that?” moments of the week. And during the four drops we were subjected to, I spotted the white capped mountains of Blizzard Beach. Amazing. I picked up the kids, and we did Little Mermaid. Kristin again didn’t like the sound level, and not even the bubbles from the ceiling could assuage her. The older two, however, liked how this show combined puppetry, live actors, special effects (mist, lightning, etc.), and projections to tell the complete - - if rushed - - story of Ariel. We then did the Backlot Tour, which started with a water-battle from Pearl Harbor. We enjoyed watching the volunteers get soaked. The tour then moved onto the prop room, which looked like the largest Gramma’s attic in the world, and outside again, where we boarded a tram. We were driven by a number of movie vehicles and down a residential street. The houses, however, were merely façades, including the one used for The Golden Girls. I particularly liked the New York Street, which we had walked earlier in the day (sound effects were abundant, with beeping taxis, clomping pedestrians, and grumbling buses), and the way the Imagineers used forced perspective to make the Empire State Building look proportionally tall. Catastrophe Canyon was a hoot, with the fire and the deluge of rushing water. A quick buzz through the costume shop revealed a mannequin wearing the black-and-white jumper from Eloise at the Plaza, which we had watched just the week before. That night’s dinner was at Brown Derby. A truly classic meal, complete with Cobb Salad for two and Grapefruit Cake for me. I noticed the lighting fixtures, which were small hats. The kids quizzed me on the star portraits, most of which I got right. We moved onto Fantasmic, but in passing Rock-n-Roller Coaster, I found no line. I went. A great upside-down, hi-speed coaster. The opening five seconds put my heart thrillingly in my throat! I think this was my favorite ride in all The World; I would have love to do it again, but time did not allow. We shuttled into Fantasmic. It was jammed, but our dinner-package seating did us well. It was sweltering in the stands, and I can’t imagine waiting two-plus hours, especially with a crew of tots. And speaking of li’l ones, Kristin did terribly here (fear factor to the max), but the older two liked it, especially when the princesses/princes floated by, dancing on their barges. I thought it was clever how they sprayed the fountains in a fan and then projected film images on them. Monday, May 05, 2003: Day Four: DAK Phone rang. No Mickey. He must be on vacation at Universal. This was our Early Opening day at Animal Kingdom. We were up before dawn (despite some grumbling) and out the door. Breakfast was at the Rainforest Cafe. The interior was amazing, all lush greens and jungley. Animatronic gorillas, elephants, cheetah, and monkeys were peppered throughout the dining room, along with a waterfall and a network of connected aquariums. We watched divers in two of the huge, blue tubes cleaning the coral with air jets. Kristin was nervous about the animals (we don’t think she “got” the fact that they were pretend) and the thunderstorms every 20 minutes, but she survived. Amanda was particularly attuned to the atmosphere, as she had finished a school paper on the rainforest just prior to our departure. We found a huge painting of a toucan by the ladies’ room, and I snapped a photo of her with it, just for fun. It became the cover-shot of her report. We acclimated ourselves to DAK. The Tree of Life was indeed impressive (photos and TV coverage all give a spotty sense of its scale - - it’s massive in real life!). We did the Safari, which was fun, but I found it too bumpy to videotape. Lots of animals on patrol, including a baby hippo. At Kali River Rapids, a FastPass/Baby Swap combo saved us about 75 minutes in line! We had this down to a science! The rapids were rather tame (the guidebooks had oversold the forcefulness of this ride big-time), but a ton of fun, and we got sufficiently wet. Amanda and Claire warned me about some of the drops, but their notice didn’t take any of the surprise out of getting splashed. A great ride! We took the mini-train out to Conservation Station. Got an easy photo with Rafiki, but the interesting part was being able to watch a veterinary surgeon at work. It was just our luck to arrive concurrently with a surgery going on. A black buck female had been gored in the haunch by a male. After a week of trying to heal her on her own (with a regimen of antibiotics), the vet decided to operate. So we got to watch her being stitched. We saw the surgery not only through the plate glass but also on a variety of monitors in close-up. And the vet, when finished, took questions from the peanut gallery. Fantastic!! After watching the surgery, we moseyed toward the door but needed pit stops. I got a big laugh in the men’s room. Standing there, I looked up and noticed a plaque mounted on the wall. It was a “Whiz Quiz,” questions about, well, you know… The questions were humorous enough, but the answers were posted by the sinks, to promote hand-washing. It was there, for example, that I learned that an elephant can produce 20 gallons a day. Wow! When I walked out, I was still smiling to myself over the clever way Disney has imparted this information. I started to tell the girls about it - - surely the ladies’ room had nothing similar, owing to no “standee” time. But I was surprised to learn that in their stalls, they were presented with the “Scoop on Poop.” We laughed together over these, noting one more way Disney carried its themes all the way through its attractions. At lunch that day, I experienced a true surprise, Disney-style. It was a small thing, but I’ll remember it for a long time: As we were prepping to leave our table, Claire spilled a jug-let of milk at Pizzafari. I went to a Cast Member to tell him of the mess and ask for a mop. He asked me, “Was it chocolate milk or white?” And I was puzzled, big-time. What, I thought, do they have different mops for different flavors of milk? But not thinking all that clearly, I answered, “White.” He zipped off. He then found us, mop in one hand and a new milk for Claire in the other. Nice touch, Disney!! Park was crowded and hot, however, and, after a set of Two O’Clock Mickey Bars we exited. Dinner that night was supposed to be at the Flying Fish Café at the Boardwalk, but we skipped the Priority Seating. Instead, the kids splashed in the pool during the post-nap period - - lolling there ‘til 8 p.m. We then changed and ate in the Riverside Food Court, as we all needed a break from the regimen of 6 p.m. sit-down, here’s-your-menu meals. Plus we had already seen the Boardwalk the previous day. A smart move. And where else but at Disney can you swim in early May until 8 p.m.? Tuesday, May 06, 2003: Day Five: Disney/MGM Brrrring. Phone. Mickey was still AWOL. Sigh. Back to MGM for Early Open. The vacant park put us on a roll: MuppetVision (Kristin disliked); Indy Jones (Kristin was okay once Eileen took her back to standing-room); One Man’s Dream: A Tribute to Walt Disney (everybody was okay). I thought we’d found a Lucille Ball look-alike (certainly sounded like her), but in fact, it was “Rosie,” the cleaning lady. She was a sight to behold: Orange hair in a babushka. Ancient apron. Enough racing-red lipstick to shame Tammy Faye Bakker. Eyeglasses with emeralds in the wings. Large mop. I started joking with her:
I proudly wore my kiss across the street to another store (still looking for those laces). The help there didn’t have the laces either, but had the exact skinny on who I met: “Oh, I see you ran into Rosie!!!” Lunch was at PrimeTime Café, where I was “Junior” and the waiter was “…babysitting from next door.” Our waiter was okay (a little too harried to be really into his character - - plus he screwed up Amanda’s order big-time), but the one in the room behind us was a stitch. We watched him do the Airplane Fork (“rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr”) to a guy who hadn’t finished his pot roast. And balance a tray full of glasses on one hand and yell as he walked, “Gangway! It’s my first day at work! Gangway, I’ve never done this before!!!!” Kristin screamed at one point (angry at something or other), and at least four waitpeople responded in unison: “Stop pinching the baby!!!” Among the many details at MGM were a whimsical ice cream stand shaped like Gertie the Dinosaur. She stood on one side of a huge decorative fountain, but during a jog to pick up a bag we’d left at the Indy show (which was being thoroughly checked by security when I breathlessly caught up with it), I noticed that the sidewalk had been imprinted with her “footprints,” along with cracks in the cement. It was as if Gertie had stomped across the walkway and plopped into the water to cool off! More Disney detail to note! We retreated to the O’Dell and prepped for Hoop-Dee-Doo Review. Another ace! Our table (#12) was front-row, center. The music was plenty of standards (“Clementine,” “Hokey Pokey,” “Shenandoah”) in sing-along style from the HDD players: Six-Bits Slocum (the comic relief) and his partner, Dolly; the dancing team of Flora Long and Jim Handy; the handsome cowboy tenor Johnny Ringo; and his floozy, Claire de Lune. Meal was terrific, and the jokes were about 100 years old, including the Abbott & Costello bit of singing a song downstage while scenery and props are being moved upstage. It didn’t matter—we bellylaughed at everything. It was really fun watching Amanda and Claire watch this show. They were doubled over with laughter, enjoying the corn-pone humor and silly lyrics. Amanda was old enough to get all of the un-bear-able puns toward the end, and Claire was thrilled that one of the players bore her name (and had a fantastic and infectious giggle). The show featured lots of audience participation, including the crowd swinging its gingham napkins in the air and the kids getting washboards during the finale, to ensure maximum noise-making. It was also interesting to see how the food (fried chicken and ribs that were lip-smackingly good) was incorporated into the show. The buckets of piping hot vittles were plunked down on our table at an exact beat in the music (provided by piano and banjo), and the strawberry shortcake dessert got its own dance routine! HDD was one of many highlights of this trip! Wednesday, May 07, 2003: Day Six: Blizzard Beach This was our sleep-in day. We were scheduled for Blizzard Beach, which didn’t open ‘til 10, so there was no wake-up call (didn’t expect Mickey anyway), no alarms set. We eased out of bed at the late-late hour of 8 a.m. and moseyed across the bridge to breakfast at Boatwright’s. Blizzard Beach was another home run! Kids loved the slides. There was a scaled-down area (Tyke’s Peak) for Kristin, who adored the spraying alligators and the spritzing turtles. And in the ski “training” area, the older two navigated again and again over a chain of anchored “icebergs” that had rope netting above them to hold onto. Lazy River was another highlight. We all scooped our butts into large tubes and wended our way around the park. Claire was true comic relief, here, as she kept getting ejected from her tube and needing many hands to reinsert her. At a few points during the ride, we slid lazily under water streaming from above - - only to find that it was from the melting snowcaps and frigid! Lots of screaming and giggling! We also tried the wave pool, but I found it a little too rough and a little too uncomfortable (the bottom was funky) for my tastes. We all climbed the staircase for Mt. Gushmore (Note to self: Smart move avoiding the long lines at the chair lift, but next time, don’t do this barefooted!) and marveled at the view. The family (Kristin included) then rode Teamboat Springs, a river-raft drop. We sluiced back and forth on 14 banked turns, holding on for dear life, which was enough to turn Eileen green! I climbed the stairs again, solo, and did Summit Plummet, a 120-foot drop. Park statistics estimate sliding speeds at around 60 mph, which I wouldn’t doubt, as descending Summit Plummet felt to me as if I were standing upright on a gushing fire hose. It was a real thrill! I thought the height might make me nervous, but without my glasses, I don’t think I saw clearly exactly how high I was. A good thing! By mid-afternoon naptime, we were exhausted. This park was physically punishing, with all the swimming, climbing, and sliding, but we had a blast. Dinner was at Portobello, an Italian restaurant in Downtown. We did the largest Disney Store there, spending a pot full. Legoland, though, was rather ho-hum! Amanda and Claire got their hair wrapped, but Kristin fell asleep. I took her back to the O’Dell room on a lazy boat. The skipper was a font of WDW info: Disney’s watercraft, we learned, makes it the sixth largest navy in the world!! He also pointed out some other neat details about our digs. The buildings at Riverside are all two-story. And the porches are on the second floor. The reason? Accuracy. New Orleans homes put their sprawling porches up to 1) Catch the breezes better, and 2) Protect furniture in case the Mighty Mississip left its banks. Disney followed suit… He also explained that each grouping of houses was architecturally different: Magnolia Bend/Parterre Place was all whitewash stone and clay tile roofs. As the “houses” got further from the main house (lobby/restaurant/foodcourt), they became more and more rustic, moving to cinderblock, then brick, the shingling, then slatted siding. The theory was as the builders moved further and further down the Mississippi (toward Alligator Bayou), they had a harder and harder time getting supplies to the building sites, meaning they had to incorporate more “natural” elements into the structures. Subtle but very cool. Thursday, May 08, 2003: Day Seven: MK Phone rang. I picked up, expecting another bust, but as I was taking the earpiece away from my head, I heard a familiar squeak on the other end. Mickey!!!! I scooped the receiver back to my ear and heard his message, which was quick and hard to grasp but was something along the lines of how it was time to get out of bed and get started on the day and how glad he was we were sharing the magic with him. ‘Ray!! Before bed the night prior, Eileen and I were regretting how little we did in MK that first day, what with our disorganization and the crowded park. So we revamped the schedule to take advantage of the MK Early Open. Wise move!! We knocked off, in quick succession, repeats of Small World and Peter and first-timers on Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder, Pirates, Swiss Family Treehouse, Tiki Birds. Some of these were hits (Buzz/Splash) and some were misses (Thunder was too jostley for Claire; Pirates was too spooky for Amanda; Tiki was too stormy for Kristin), but we dealt. On Buzz, I gave the joystick to Kristin, who didn’t move it an inch, so we never quite figured out that we could swivel. But Claire was a very good shot, and the ride was a winner. On Thunder, as I went alone, I got the thrill of riding in the very first car. Again, I was trying to note details (of the abandoned, flooded mining expedition), but other than the chuckwagon and the donkey in the middle, it was all a blur. …Unlike Splash, where we got to enjoy all the details of the Song of the South story, including B’rer Frog, who, in his initial appearance, was just an animated shadow in a rocking chair. I did Alien Encounter alone. I liked it, knowing that the girls would’ve hated it, but I laughed more than screamed. They must have tamed-down the preshow - - perhaps in deference to the Unofficial Guide, where reviews of Alien Encounter are quite severe - - because there was no frying of the cutesy alien transported from one tube to the other. We exited MK, staring down at Cinderella’s Castle for one long last look at this amazing and magical park. On the way back to Riverside, we got on a relatively empty Monorail, and I asked the Cast Member if we could sit with the operator. He said yes, but went on to explain that the driver could fit only four passengers. So Eileen, Amanda, and Claire rode up front (but disappointingly got no certificates - - although Eileen said the driver was burned-out), while Kristin and I took the first car behind them. We passed through the Contemporary, which the kids thought was terrific. We returned to EPCOT, as that’s where we were dining. But before being seated, we tried to do some last-minute riding. Unfortunately, rides were shutting down before the 7 p.m. close time. Booo! We easily got into Journey into Imagination (with Figment) and Food Rocks (where puns like Neil Moussaka went right over the kids’ heads) but were turned away from World of Energy, Wonders of Life, and The Land. Next time. Dining at Coral Reef had us seated amid the huge aquariums that make up The Living Seas. During our meal, huge fish, and even a scuba diver, shark, and tortoise, floated by. Good meal, including the kids’ peanut butter Play-Doh for dessert. Amanda made a Mickey. Claire made a monster-bug. Vive la difference. We caught IllumiNations one mo’ time, despite Kristin’s vocal objections (“We go for a liddle walk, Mommy; we go for a liddle walk…”). I got teary once more, but Claire bawled, knowing that this trip was rapidly coming to a close. I knew exactly how she felt.... Friday, May 09, 2003: Day Eight: DAK The trip was winding itself down, and we were in disbelief how quickly it was all sliding by. Happily, the morning got off to a good start as Mickey was back on his full-time wake-up call rotation. Atta boy, Mr. Mouse! It was our last full day, so we picked up the missing pieces of DAK. Again, we used Early Open to our advantage: Saw Festival of the Lion King, which was terrific. Big puppets + actors + moving set-pieces + audience participation = a Broadway-style presentation in about 12 minutes. In the center, monkeys performed amazing acrobatics, jumping on trampolines and swinging on gym rings. Scar’s song was presented with a torch dancer who, at one point, lit the stage itself on fire. Ooooh. Later, a dancer dressed as a blue bird (Zazu? It was unclear) soared up to the ceiling, flying over the audience. This was a big crowd-pleaser, including the Weckerly crowd. …Well, most of the Weckerly crowd. Kristin disliked the loud music, so she and I watched from “backstage,” at the recommendation of a Cast Member. It worked well, and I was able to catch the entire performance. We moved onto Camp Minnie-Mickey, where the girls got hugs and photos with the Pooh gang. Claire and I did Tough to be a Bug; Amanda wanted to skip. Okay. Claire and I had a blast. First, we marveled at the great close-ups that the line afforded of the Tree of Life. We had fun picking out the animals from amid the twisted, gnarled roots. I remember beetles and an octopus and gorilla, but I know there were dozens others. In the queue, I laughed over the pun-ishing posters (“Ant-ie,” “A Cockroach Line”). And then we enjoyed this great 3-D movie! Our favorite part was the ending, where Flik said, “Humans, please keep your seats while all maggots, fleas, beetles, and cockroaches exit the theater first.” And the seats - - rigged beforehand, of course - - rippled along the butts of the audience members. We squealed with laughter as people popped up in surprise. Wandered over to DinoLand, passing under the “Olden Gate Bridge,” which was outfitted with a huge dinosaur skeleton. The kids ran through the Boneyard, but it was just too hot to be enjoyable. I did like how the yard had an a.m. radio blaring, full of prehistoric puns and groaner-jokes from the deejay. Lunch was at Restarurantosaurus, which was jammed. We were lucky to find seats in the Motor Pool room, which Claire saved the day by finding. In greasy hand prints, there were dinosaur skeletons on the walls. Neat. The Dinosaur ride was down, unfortunately. I was told by a Cast Member that “…one of the dinosaurs has escaped, and until we can get her back in her spot, it’s just too dangerous to let people in there.” Nice keeping with the theme. Dinosaur therefore was undone (a minor disappointment, as I had enjoyed the similarly constructed Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland), put on the list for the return trip, and we exited. Trudging to the gate, we enjoyed the last of our Two O’Clock Mickey Bars. We will miss these dearly upon getting home. We returned to Port Orleans (I returned the offered salute) for our scheduled down-time. Amanda, Claire, and I couldn’t agree on which pool to visit for the last time (Ol’ Man Island v. Quiet Pool), so we headed to both. We had a good time splashing and paddling, but I joked to the girls that no pool at which we arrive could be accurately described as a “Quiet Pool!” Din-din that final night was at Chef Mickey’s, a great choice. The kids hankered all week to meet the characters, but we avoided them in the parks like the plague, as their lines were lengthy and they were utter time-killers. Our trump card became, “We’ll see them all Friday night at Chef Mickey’s.” And that’s exactly what we did. They were plentiful (Mick, Minn, Goof, Chip, Dale, Donald), and they visited each table numerous times. Kodak Moments galore!!! After supper, we returned to the Blizzard Beach area to do mini-golf. Summer/Winterland was well worth the time. The little secrets at each hole had us laughing. One putt, through a campfire, brought plumes of smoke out the top. And another hole soaked us with water from a melting snowman: Surprise!! The evening was a little buggy (Note to self: Next time, bring Off!), but despite the flying companions, we had a great time. Saturday, May 10, 2003: Day Ten: Home! ~~sigh~~ We received our last wake-up call from Mickey and sadly put the receiver down - - he would have to enjoy the magic with other visitors; our time was over. We packed quickly, jamming the suitcases full of our unworn clothing (Note to self: Next time, no jackets and no long pants!) and souvenirs. I felt a little guilty leaving a huge bag of trash for Mousekeeping, but it was accompanied by our final tip. Rental car drop-off and departure from Orlando were uneventful. Security at the Orlando airport was much more stringent than at Philadelphia (makes you wonder, no?), but we sailed through. Came home and got the washer chugging almost immediately. The Aftermath Some random thoughts: The rental car was a savior. One of the singular best decisions we made along the way. The World has grown so massive that the bus transportation, while reliable I’m sure, could never have lent the convenience and flexibility we needed. HDD, for instance, would have involved three transfers to make it to and from Port Orleans. With the car, the commute was 10 minutes. And when Kristin was dead to the world, it was great just to shuffle her into her carseat, let her snooze on the way “home,” and zip her into the crib. In matters transportational, the car also brought added benefits to the Early Openings. Because the lots weren’t jammed, we could park very close to the entrances and avoid all the “We’re parked in Goofy Film Lot 205, Row 53, Subsection 432, the 142nd car from the left” annoyances. I underestimated the physical rigors of this trip. I considered myself fit for walking, as I do about two miles every day with our Labrador Retriever. But this was different: This was hours of walking, not 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. And WDW was a lot more than just walking. It was carrying, toting, adjusting, sitting, standing, climbing, entering, exiting, packing, unpacking, stroller-in, stroller-out, and on and on. It was kid-attentiveness 24/7. It was judging, plotting, maneuvering, watching, waiting, and outflanking. There was some solo running, this side of the park to that side, especially in search of FastPasses, which we discovered were easier to collect if one person (usually me) went in pursuit, leaving the others to take bathroom breaks or ride something else. And Blizzard Beach, albeit not to be missed, was a chiropractor’s goldmine. Each day in the world, I woke up in the morning still sore, achy, and stiff from the day before. But we pressed on. We did a lot of things exactly right. Among the decisions I’m glad we made were to: Bring our own stroller. Kristin was more comfortable in it, as the Disney strollers, hard plastic and unwieldy, looked awful, and we were spared the hassle, time-chew, and expense of renting one. I wished our stroller folded a little more easily and more flat than it did, but we managed. Getting it on the parking-lot trams proved to be a circus, so we were lucky to only have to do it a handful of times (see “Rental car was a savior,” above). We did benefit from the extra storage space in the stroller, and we got very adept at packing and unpacking it, learning the very first day not to load up until AFTER the security checks at the gates! And while on the subject of strollers, I’ll mention my Great Stroller Tip. They amass in front of a ride like rush-hour commuters, and finding ours after exiting a ride (Small World) was challenging, especially when they would be regrouped by Cast Members tidying up. Even tying things onto the handle didn’t seem help in the Post-Ride Stroller Hunt. What did help was thinking outside the box. Rather than park the stroller “in” (facing the curb) as the rest of humanity did, I found it easier to park the stroller “out” (away from the curb). After a ride, we were the only “backward stroller” in the lot and within seconds, foop, we were gone. Nap every day. Kristin needed it. The other two benefited from it. Heck, on some days, all five of us benefited from it. The parks were crowded and the heat and humidity were draining. That hour or two of quiet and cool were blessed. Stay flexible. We revamped our itinerary a couple of times onsite, in deference to individual preferences and group responses. It worked very well. Among our more sensible swaps was the cancellation of Flying Fish, opting for a pool night instead. And the decision to use Early Mornings for MK and DAK our last two days in Disney. Collect autographs reasonably. The kids were excited to do this, but with the clock running and the crowds pressing, it became a tough decision: Stay here and get Baloo’s scrawl, or ride rides. Chef Mickey, again, was a beautiful compromise. Restaurant was neat and clean, food was good, characters were abundant. ‘Sides, we had to eat anyway. Highly recommended. Make-make-make those priority seatings! I was glad we didn’t have to wait long to be seated, especially with kids. We were able to eat at the coolest places (Prime Time, Brown Derby, Cinderella’s Table, HDD) and basically walk right in (15–20 minute waits, max, before our li’l pager would light up and vibrate). Celebrate what we did rather than lament what we didn’t do. HDD knocked out our opportunity to see SpectroMagic and Fantasy in the Sky. Oh well. I’m sure those are terrific shows, but HDD was five-star. And early closures prevented riding some of EPCOT’s offerings. No worries. Put ‘em on the list for next trip. Take the guidebooks with a grain of salt. The Unofficial Guide and Birnbaum’s were great for getting the lay of the land and choosing attack plans, but Unofficial had us believing we’d never get a decent meal our entire stay (or that we’d have to take a second mortgage to do so), and Birnbaum’s viewpoint seemed to be that the kids would be petrified at every turn. Not so, and wisely, we gauged what we thought was best, made our decisions, and moved ahead. Knowledge of an individual child is much more valuable than any guidebook. As far as things that didn’t go well or things I’d change, there aren’t many: Grin-and-bear-it with the carseat. If you need one, know that it’s going to be a major pain. Through both airports, I was hauling it everywhere, and it never seemed to fit well on the luggage carts. It was okay in the car, but Kristin didn’t like it in the airplane at all - - I suspect because she saw her sisters sitting without them and wanted to do likewise. If you’re renting a car with kids, go for the four-door rather than the two-door. The two-door car became tiresome, especially with Kristin in the carseat. The mechanism for pulling the front seats forward (to allow loading and unloading) on our Monte Carlo wasn’t in the best shape, either, so that may be tainting my view, but I still think we’d have been better off with four-doors. Ask for additional towels and pillows immediately upon arriving at the room. Our travel agent told us to do this, and I forgot. It’s especially essential if you’ve got a family of five. There are only four pillows in the room, and if you’re allocating one to a crib, you’re going to be one short. I slept without a pillow that first night, which didn’t inhibit my slumber any (I could have slept on a bed of nails that first night), but could have been prevented if I were thinking clearer. Use the video camera more. I’m thrilled to have IllumiNations and the Jammin’ Jungle Parade on video, but I’m ashamed at the little else we shot. We should have brought it on everything, if, for nothing else, to get the kids’ reactions to things. Blizzard Beach was a natural for home movies, yet the day slid by with the camera in residence at the stroller. Live and learn. So after all is said and done, this trip goes down in the annals of Weckerly Lore as one of the best vacations ever. We can’t wait to do it all again. The fund for WDW 2007 is already in the making. Let the countdown begin! Dan Weckerly DWeckerly@afsvision.com Mail a Comment to Dan Weckerly |
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