Trip Reports

• Time of Year: Fall
• Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
• Resort: Dixie Landings
• Accommodations: Standard Room
• Ages Represented in Group: Adult
• WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent, Rookie
• Comments: Kathy finally got around to writing a report on the trip that Stan asked her to marry him. It's about time! I'm sure you'll enjoy reading this flashback report (It's October, 2000 as I post this one). Kathy has since written several other reports, but this one covers the first trip of the (to be) Kula clan.

11/15-11/22/96, Kathy & Stan's First Trip to WDW Report

Cast:

• Kathy DeGraaff (26) This was my first ever trip to WDW. I was so excited. I planned for months by reading books (mostly the Perlmutters' WDW for Couples).
• Stan Kula (28) - my boyfriend - Stan had been there three times before, his first time was when he was five (1973).

Why am I Writing This?:

Well, here it is, September 2000, and I'm writing a report about a trip I took in 1996. Well, I recently started e-mailing back and forth with a friend who had read some of my other TRs, and she asked why I had never written a report about this trip (though I referred to the trip many times). I told her that it was actually quite a good idea, and she agreed to bug me until I got it done. She has been doing a good job of bugging me.

Background:

Stan's mother had always said that we should get away to WDW for a weekend. I was never really that interested, because I thought that it was a single theme park, and had no idea what a magical place it could be. I had never been as a child, and always sort of laughed at the people that would go there on vacation year after year. Little did I know that I would become one of those people.

Planning:

I don't know exactly where the idea for a Disney trip came from at that particular time. Stan and I had just gotten through a bad place in our relationship, and things were going really well for us. He was living in Connecticut (working at Yale), and I was living and working in NJ. Maybe it was because we hadn't gone on a vacation together since 1993... I'm not sure, but in early 1996, I started reading books and planning for what was to be the vacation of a lifetime.

I read the Perlmutters' book, Walt Disney World for Couples, from cover to cover. I flagged the pages that had the things I found most romantic. Of course, these things were also the most expensive. One thing I really wanted to do was to go to dinner at Victoria & Albert's (V&A's). I knew that with Stan's appreciation for fine wines, he would agree. I was also set on staying at the Yacht Club. That seemed to be the most romantic place in my opinion. However, the price was prohibitive, and we started looking at the moderate resorts.

After I picked up a Magic Kingdom Club card from work and a brochure, we weighed the options, and decided to book at Dixie Landings. I remember that we called in April, from Stan's apartment in Connecticut. I was shocked that although we were calling over 7 months in advance, there were no MKC discounts available at any moderate resorts. I booked a package at Dixie Landings for November 15 - 21.

I found some information on-line, but at that time, I hadn't yet discovered newsgroups and message boards, and my on-line research was limited to the Hidden Mickeys site and the official WDW site.

I really got into planning. We also bought Rita Aero's WDW for Adults, and the Birnbaum Adult book. I reserved the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and the Polynesian Luau right away, and waited patiently for the 60 day mark, when I could start making some PSs. I did end up reserving V&A's, and a whole bunch of other places too. Stan's mom thought we were going overboard, but the guidebooks suggested PSs, so that's what I was going to go with.

I booked a rental car on-line, and spent far too much time obsessing over small price differences between companies. We bought plane tickets at a travel agency.

Day 1: FRIDAY November 15, 1996

Somebody in Stan's family dropped us off at Newark airport. As we went through the X-ray area, they pulled Stan aside to check his bag. I wanted to see what was up, but he shooed me away and told me to wait at the gate. I was a little concerned, but when he arrived at the gate a few minutes later, he said there wasn't any problem.

We had a midday flight out of Newark, and landed in Orlando around 3 p.m.. It took an extraordinarily long time at the National rental car desk, but we finally got the midsize car we had reserved for ~$120 for the week. We drove to the WDW resort area, and found Dixie Landings with relatively little trouble. We checked in, and received our room assignment in The Acadian House. The CM at check-in was very informative. She explained that they would be changing the locks over during the stay, and at that time, our resort ID cards would be our room keys as well. Our resort IDs included our LOS passes and charging privileges. We also received gray punch-card style room keys.

We drove the car around to the parking area closest to the building, and unloaded our baggage. It seemed to be a long walk to our room, but we quickly got used to that. We had a room with a king sized bed (OK, you can shriek in horror now, since we weren't married yet). After we settled in, we drove our car over to Port Orleans for dinner at Bonfamilles.

That's where it happened...right there in Bonfamilles. That's where I first experienced the magic. Our waitress was so nice. She was much more polite than the waitresses I was used to in NJ were. She suggested some items from the menu, and would refill our sodas without our asking. When she saw how quickly I was going through Diet Coke, she brought a whole carafe to the table just for me. I can't remember what we ate that evening, but I do remember that the waitress made such an impression on me, that I knew our upcoming vacation was going to be all I had dreamed and more. The food was also wonderful as well.

After dinner, we wandered around Port Orleans for a little while, and decided that we might like to stay there some day. We drove back to DxL, and decided to go to Pleasure Island for the evening.

Now, I believe that we probably checked out most of the clubs that first night. I don't think we stayed at the Adventurer's Club long enough to discover it, and we didn't have the timing right for a Comedy Warehouse show. We did have a good time, and we figured we be back there frequently. This was our first time using Disney transportation. We were quite impressed with how easy it was to get from place to place.

Day 2: SATURDAY November 16, 1996

I offered to go to the food court for some breakfast. Stan said he'd drive me, and I insisted that I'd be fine walking across the resort to get the food. So, I went to The Cotton Mill, and I picked up some croissants, some fresh fruit, coffee, and juice. It all packed up nicely into a sack, and I headed back to the room. When I got there, Stan was gone. I ran out to the parking area, and noticed that the car was missing. He must have gone to the main building to pick me up. He eventually came back, and said that he got lost and ended up on the road to Port Orleans. Whatever. So, we had breakfast, and decided to catch a bus to Epcot.

I was amazed. I think we did and saw most of the major attractions in Future World by noon. I remember really liking Ellen's Energy Adventure and HISTA.

We had PSs for lunch at the Coral Reef. Our table wasn't right down on the floor, but we enjoyed the aquarium, and the food too. We were pleasantly surprised at the end of the meal when the waiter gave us a Coral Reef watercolor postcard and a Flounder (the character from The Little Mermaid) sticker. We also got some after dinner chocolates with a picture of Spaceship Earth on the wrapper. Oh! I almost forgot... the theme butter. Throughout the trip, we were amazed at all of the wonderful molded butter that fit the themes of various restaurants. This was the first one where we saw it, and they had butter that was either in the shape of a seashell or of a fish. I don't remember which, but I do remember being very impressed.

We had so much fun at Epcot that day. I wanted to see and do everything. We spent a lot of time in World Showcase in the afternoon, and we had a great time. I remember that we saw the Japanese drummers, and really enjoyed watching that show.

In the late afternoon, we headed over to the Beach Club for a wine flight at Martha's Vineyard Lounge (they no longer have this). It was a really nice experience. We were served 4 small glasses of wine each and a plate with some fruit and cheese. We also received a piece of paper for taking notes, and we had a great time tasting and rating the wines. After our wine flight we had dinner at Ariel's (which is now gone). I had a huge lobster. I think it was the biggest and most expensive lobster I ever ate. I remember that they had a tantalizing display of desserts, which the maitre'd showed us as we were walking in. I'm pretty sure that Stan and I shared one of them. We really enjoyed our dinner there.

After dinner we returned to Epcot and enjoyed Illuminations in the vicinity of the UK. We didn't allow quite enough time to find a place to stand between dinner and the show, so it was difficult to see, but we loved it.

Day 3: SUNDAY November 17, 1996

This was my first visit to the Magic Kingdom, and I loved every minute of it. I was like a child in a candy shop, and the castle was decorated to match. The castle was pink to celebrate the 25th anniversary, and it was covered in candy. I had never seen the castle in its natural state, so I didn't have anything to compare it to. We stopped to pick up the stickers that they were giving out that had the year of your first visit (mine said "First Visit" and Stan's said "1973"). We also picked up a print that I had a coupon for. There was also a movie shown about what was to come in the near future at WDW. There was a segment of the movie about the new cruise line, and I knew we'd have to go on that someday (and we did, in April 1999). I remember that I was most impressed with Animator's Palette Restaurant. I just thought the whole concept was amazing.

We did quite a bit. The attractions that were really memorable were the Jungle Cruise, the Haunted Mansion, and Cinderella's Golden Carousel. I thought the carousel was so romantic. I remember that we decided to skip Splash Mountain altogether, since we figured it was too cold, and the lines were always very long. Plus, I thought it was your standard flume ride, and I had no idea how wonderful it is.

Upon the recommendation of a friend from work, we stopped into the Diamond Horseshoe Saloon to see the show. We were considering eating lunch there, but the menu didn't have a lot that we would enjoy. While we were waiting for the next show to begin, Stan found a phone, and called WDW DINE. He got a PS for lunch at the Crystal Palace about an hour from the time he called. We enjoyed the show at the Saloon, and decided to head over to the Crystal palace for lunch.

This was our first character meal of the trip, and we had a fabulous time. The food at the buffet was good, and we got to meet and "play" with Pooh and Eeyore. Tigger was also supposed to be making the rounds, but he never made it to our table. We snapped some wonderful pictures of ourselves with the characters.

After a wonderful lunch, we took in some more attractions, and then found a good spot for the afternoon parade. It was a little difficult to see, but we enjoyed the parade, and the "Remember the Magic" song was repeated so many times that I'm sure I'll never forget it.

In the afternoon, we spent some time meeting characters in Mickey's Toontown Fair. I thought that Minnie's house was really neat, and I got a kick out of seeing the kids playing with all of the toys and things there.

We also spent some time in Tomorrowland. We went on Alien Encounter, and I enjoyed it, but Stan didn't. We also saw the Timekeeper, and we went on Dream Flight. I believe that was the first and last time I was ever on Dream Flight. It was closed down when we were there on our honeymoon, as they were making it into the Buzz Lightyear attraction.

We had a PS for King Steffan's for dinner. We thought the food was great, and we enjoyed receiving the Royal Treatment. Our server was wonderful, and the food was pretty darn good. After dinner, we went outside to watch Spectromagic and fireworks. We didn't have a really good spot for the parade, but I did enjoy the parts we saw. The fireworks were wonderful. I was in awe as we watched.

After MK, we headed back to the resort, and then we went out to Pleasure Island. I believe that it was on this night that we discovered the Adventurer's Club. They had a show in the library that was a beer tasting, and we had fun doing that, as well as collecting the beer mug shaped shot glasses. We also caught a late show at the Comedy Warehouse. We got in line early, and we had front row seats. We thought it was really great.

Day 4: MONDAY November 18, 1996

We started out the day with another food court breakfast. Then we headed to MGM Studios. We tried to plan things around the show times, and that seemed to work out pretty well. We saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid first thing, and I loved it. We also saw Beauty and the Beast, which I thought was wonderful. I believe that we were able to fit in a trip on the Tower of Terror or two before lunch. We loved the Tower of Terror. The themeing and story line really make the ride in our humble opinions.

We had lunch at the Brown Derby, and we thought that was great. The food was good, the service was wonderful, and the themeing was perfect. It quickly became one of our favorite restaurants.

After lunch, we fit in some more attractions. We went on the Great Movie Ride, and saw the gangster scene. We saw Muppetvision 3-D, and got a real kick out of it. We're both fans of the Muppets, so we really enjoyed it. We hung out near the Singing in the Rain umbrella, and posed for photos on New York Street. We did the Soundstage tour, and had a great time. We also saw Monster Sound Show which was OK. We got in line early for one of the showings of Superstar TV, and I was picked to be a singer on the Ed Sullivan show. I really enjoyed that. I thought that an attraction where people can really get involved is really perfect in Walt Disney World. In fact, I loved the attraction so much, that I have boycotted the Doug show that is there now. We saw most of the Hunchback show, but left early to see the Indiana Jones show. Both of these were OK, but not spectacular.

Sometime during the day, we ran into a character greeting area where there was a 68th birthday card for Mickey Mouse that we signed. Mickey was also available for a photo op, so we took advantage, and we wished him a happy birthday.

We left MGM in plenty of time to go back to DxL and get ready for the Hoop De Doo Revue. Guest Services told us that a Crockett or Boone bus makes the rounds of DxL, and he was right. In fact, we were so worried about transportation over to Fort Wilderness, that we left about 2 hours early, and we ended up hanging out for a long time at the trading post there. Once we finally got in for the dinner show, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had a table for 2 right up in the center front. We really liked the show, and thought the food was good too. We may do it again someday when we have kids. When we left, we were surprised to see that there were busses lined up for all of the resorts.

Day 5: TUESDAY November 19, 1996

We spent the morning in the Magic Kingdom. We revisited many attractions, and enjoyed greeting more characters.

We ran into Snow White in the judge's tent, and she took note of Stan's button that said that he was first there in 1973. She said to him, "Do you remember seeing me when you came in 1973?" Stan blushed and said that he did. Then she asked him how old he was then and he said he was five. She said, "I remember you, you were such a handsome little boy. And now you've grown up to be such a nice young man." Stan blushed.

We also witnessed Donald Duck take a child's Mickey Mouse doll and stomp on it in front of Minnie Mouse. She had to make him stop and give the doll back to the child. Then she chastised him by waving her finger and shaking her head. I think Donald learned his lesson.

We had a counter service lunch in Tomorrowland, and the food was OK. We probably had hamburgers and fries.

In the evening we went to Epcot. Both of us felt like we were coming down with the beginnings of colds, and we were a little bit grumpy. We posed with sombreros and maracas in Mexico, and went to San Angel Inn for our dinner PS. We enjoyed dinner, and the frozen drinks helped soothe our throats a bit. It was quite dark, and that made it difficult to see the menu and the food, but I think we both enjoyed the meal. After dinner, we watched the dancing fountain for a while, and then we staked out a great place for Illuminations. It was a perfect viewing spot - much better than the previous time. We loved the show, and snapped many pictures. We were wiped out and feeling a little sick, so we headed back to DxL for some much-needed rest.

While we were at the resort, Stan went out to get a soda. The vending machine was right around the corner, but he was gone for about 30 - 45 minutes. When he returned, he told me that he had gone to the arcade.

We turned in early that night, though Stan wanted to go to Pleasure Island, I was just too tired.

Day 6: WEDNESDAY November 20, 1996

We had breakfast at King Steffan's. I loved interacting with the princesses. We decided to ask them each something when they approached. We said, "Bon Jour" to Belle and asked her what her prince's name was. At the end of the story he turns into a prince, so he can no longer be called "Beast." She said that she's not allowed to tell, because it is a secret, and that in the Magic Kingdom, he always appears as Beast since that is how he is most easily recognized. We asked Sleeping Beauty a similar question, and she reminded us that she is married to Prince Philip. I was just so thrilled to meet Snow White that we didn't ask her any questions, we just told her that she is my favorite princess, and that seemed to make her very happy. We asked Cinderella if she is married to the same Prince Charming that Snow White is, and she got very annoyed and said that she is the only one married to Prince Charming, and that Snow White's prince has a different name. She gave a sarcastic smile in the picture we took. We thought she looked like Sandy Duncan.

After the fun breakfast, we decided to play the shopping game. This is a game where we spilt up for a pre-determined amount of time, and buy each other a trinket gift. We agreed that we would spend no more than an hour and no more than $20. So, I headed over to Adventureland and bought Stan a $20 hat I had seen him looking at earlier in the week. That was easy enough. Then I spent the rest of the hour wandering around the Magic Kingdom, soaking up the atmosphere. At the end of the hour, I went to the agreed upon meeting place and waited for Stan for about 15 more minutes. Soon, he came running toward me with a bag in his hand. He said, "I went way overboard." We exchanged gifts. He loved his hat, and I loved the seven dwarfs nightshirt and 25th anniversary button that he bought for me. Having accomplished our mission, we headed to Epcot.

We did some attractions that we hadn't seen earlier, and had a blast walking around World Showcase. In France, we met a Cinderella who was much nicer than the one we had talked to earlier.

We had lunch at Teppanyaki. I thought it was OK, but not as much fun as some other hibachi places that I had been to.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in Epcot, and had a chance to see lot of World Showcase. We headed back to Dixie landings fairly early to get ready for the Luau at the Polynesian.

We took the bus from DxL to the MK, and then we took the monorail to the Poly. We found the spot for the luau with no problem, but once again, we were incredibly early. We took a stroll on the beach and walked over to the wedding pavilion. By the time we walked back, it was nearly time to go in, so we went in and received our shell leis. I also bought a silk flower lei. There was a pre-show where they invited kids up on stage to do a little dancing, and the kids all seemed to have fun. When it was time to be seated, we were once again pleased to be seated right up front and center at a table by ourselves. We really enjoyed the show and the meal. I had a few Mai Tais, and they were pretty tasty too. After the show, we headed directly to Pleasure Island to continue the fun.

At PI, we went directly to the Adventurer's Club. We saw a few shows, and of course, comments were made about how we had gotten "leid" that night (since we came straight from the luau). We stuck around to see the fireworks, and thought that the show wasn't really worth all of the hype. We headed back to DxL for some well deserved rest.

Day 7: THURSDAY November 21, 1996

We started off our day with another breakfast from the food court. Then we headed over to the Studios and had fun posing around the park and taking pictures using a roll of black and white film. It was shortly before lunch that we decided that we felt we saw everything we wanted to see that trip.

We had lunch at The Prime Time Café, and I was having a good time. Stan wasn't as impressed. Our little brother, Chris was really great fun. I remember that we both ordered burgers and that they were good. When Chris brought us the "grocery bill," I jokingly expressed displeasure that "Mom" wasn't so happy to see us back, and how could she charge her own kids. Well, Chris played right along and said that maybe we could work it off by doing some chores in the kitchen. Well, of course we paid the bill.

After that, we left Disney MGM Studios and went to the Magic Kingdom for what has become our traditional good-bye. We went around to each of the lands and rode our favorite attractions. Then we walked down Main Street, turned around when we got to the end, and waved good-bye to the castle, promising to return again soon.

We went back to DxL to rest and get ready for dinner at V&A's. As we were getting ready, I noticed that Stan was sweating a lot. I figured that it was just the Florida heat.

We decided to use the rental car to get to V&A's. We had no problem finding GF, and we pulled up to the valet parking stand. I got out of the car and asked how to get to the restaurant, and I noticed that Stan was taking what seemed to be a very long time. When he finally joined me, he told me that the guy was asking for a tip. I was a little annoyed because I had put some singles into Stan's breast pocket for that purpose, plus the parking attendant is usually tipped when he brings you the car.

So, we went inside and marveled at the majesty and grandeur of the lobby at the Grand Floridian. My breath was taken away. We found the restaurant with no problem, but once again, we were early. So we decided to go back down to the lobby and sit there and listen to music. Stan seemed very nervous, so he went upstairs to check on the reservation. I just sat in the lobby and soaked it all in. I remember that a waitress from the Gardenview Lounge (they were serving drinks at the time) came over to ask me if I would like a drink. I politely said no, and then the waitress told me that she thought I looked beautiful. Wow. That certainly made my day. I'm definitely not they type of person that random people come up and compliment.

Well, Stan was soon back down in the lobby to tell me that our table was ready. We were the first ones seated, and we were seated at a table in a small room that had a beautiful fireplace at one end. The fireplace has a portrait of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert above it, and there was a Victorian Christmas tree in the corner of the room, right next to our table. Our Victoria and our Albert were wonderful. The meal was superb. The tomato cream soup was the best soup I had ever tasted (up to that date). Everything was absolutely perfect, and we both felt that the meal and the atmosphere were well worth the expense.

Shortly before the dessert course, our Albert brought a vase with a dozen red roses to the table. I thought that it was a nice touch. Then, our Victoria brought a covered silver tray and set it before me. I was really looking forward to my blueberry soufflé, and I was certain that the soufflé was what would be revealed when the cover was removed.

The cover was removed, and I couldn't believe my eyes. In the center of the tray was Cinderella's slipper. It was engraved to say, "Will you marry me?" Inside the slipper was a beautiful diamond ring. Rose petals surrounded the slipper. Stan got down on his knee and professed his undying love for me. He eloquently told me how much he loved me and asked me to be his wife. Everyone in the room was waiting as I said "yes." He then slipped the ring on my finger, and we kissed. The other diners applauded. Stan and I were both crying. It was the perfect proposal.

It turns out that the roses were not just a nice touch, Stan had ordered them to be delivered to the restaurant the previous day - when we had our shopping game. He had also purchased and ordered delivery of the glass slipper. That's why he said he spent too much. When he was stopped at the airport, it was because he was carrying my ring in a hollowed out book, and that looked suspicious to security. All of his mysterious trips to get sodas and pick me up when I went to buy breakfast were to check on the ring which he had stored in the safety deposit box at the resort. When he was talking to the valet parking attendant, he was instructing him that the ring was in a box under the seat, and he asked him to please deliver the box up to the restaurant. That is why he was so nervous about checking in with the maitre'd, he wanted to make sure they had received everything.

Well, after dinner, we left with our vase of roses, the other rose they give the ladies, the menus, and me with my new ring. I was so excited that I told the parking attendant that we just became engaged. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. We headed back to DxL and made some phone calls to family. Stan's family was not surprised. They knew exactly what he was up to. My parents knew that he was going to propose (since he drove to NJ from CT one day without me knowing to ask my father for my hand), but they didn't know when. My sisters both squealed with delight. My roommate wasn't home, but I left her a very excited message.

We changed our clothes and went to PI. We went to the AC. During the beer Tasting show, Stan was picked to be a cheerleader for one of the beers. While he was getting instructions from Samantha Sterling, Hathaway Brown sat down and started talking to me. I believe that he asked me if I would fly away with him, and I told him that I engaged and I pointed to Stan. I told him that Stan had proposed that night. Well, while all of this was going on, Samantha was making a comment about how Stan was wearing an orange shirt (it is actually salmon colored) and calling him Pumpkin Boy. So Hathaway got Samantha's attention and exclaimed to the entire library that Stan and I had just gotten engaged. I'll never forget Samantha's response. She said, "You're going to marry Pumpkin Boy?" I nearly died laughing. Of course more jokes were made about marriage. We had a wonderful time.

We went back to the resort and packed up our things. We went to sleep, and the next morning we carried our bags to the car and went to the airport. We had much more stuff than we had arrived with. I was fairly preoccupied with the roses, which I had wrapped in a plastic bag (the vase was in a suitcase). When we boarded the plane, the flight attendants asked about the roses, and I told them that Stan had proposed the night before. One by one, throughout the flight, the attendants came back to our seats (last row of the plane) to see the ring and the roses.

FinalThoughts:

We really enjoyed most things on this trip. Dixie Landings was wonderful. I was very impressed with Guest Service all over the WDW resort. The one thing we would (and have) do differently is the car rental. We only used it once the entire week and feel it wasn't necessary for us.

It's funny. When we waved goodbye to Cinderella's castle that day, Stan and I figured that the next time we'd be back would be maybe on a 10th anniversary or so. We never imagined that the magic would have such a hold on us that we would want to return year after year after year. Maybe if Stan proposed to me somewhere else, we'd have a different favorite vacation spot. I always remind him that it is his "fault" for proposing to me there. Since the 1996 trip, we have been back there for our honeymoon, for a short trip to see the food & wine festival, for our first anniversary, and we have a trip planned in October 2000. We are nowhere near a 10th anniversary trip, and we have been there numerous times. We even joined the DVC on a trip to Disney's Hilton Head Island resort in March 2000. So, we have another 41 years of Disney vacations that we can look forward to.

Kathy Kula

kathykula@cmalbums.com

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