Trip Reports

• Time of Year: Summer
• Travel Method: Plane, Rental Care
• Resort: Old Key West Resort
• Accommodations: 1 Bedroom Vacation Home
• Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
• WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran, DVC Member
• Comments: This is another of Dotti's excellent reports. The Saroufim family stayed at Old Key West Resort for a huge eleven day trip. It's amazing how fast they're over, though, huh?

This is trip report detailing our 10 night stay at the Old Key West Resort from Tuesday, 8/20/96 through Friday, 8/30/96.

A little background: The five people in our party consisted of:

• Tony (head of the household, husband and best friend, picker upper of all tabs, recent Disney convert, age 43 and a native of Lebanon who sometimes sees things from a very different angle...),
• Dotti (that's me, age 42, Disney fan(atic) to the point of making friends wonder if I'm running on all cylinders),
• Joseph (age 13 going on 18 who loves Disney maybe as much but not as passionately as his mom. He saves his passion for basketball),
• Elie (pronounced "ee-lee" which is a Lebanese derivative of Elias, age 10 but who still isn't embarrassed to hold mom's hand in the parks - I love it...), and
• Peter (age 8 when we arrived and a tired but happy age 9 when we returned).

This was our 6th trip to WDW since 1992, our second since becoming members of the DVC.

So....."kindly move all the way in and make room for everyone....there's no turning back now!"

Day 1, 8/20

We awoke at 5 a.m. to get to Logan Airport by 6:30 for a 7:30 a.m. flight. Check-in was much slower than in the past but ID's were only required for Tony and myself. As we were seated on the plane, a good friend who is a flight attendant for Delta (but unfortunately on the Miami flight that morning) came running on board to see us off. I'm always reassured when I see her - she's been flying 3 times a week for 20 years and she's still alive. (I don't love flying.) She gave us coupons for a free in-flight cocktail (was it too early for a Bloody Mary? Yeah, I guess so...) and ran off before they locked her on with us. It was a great flight and we landed on time in Orlando, around 10:30 a.m.

We had rented our car through member services at the DVC who got us a very reasonable deal through Dollar Rent-a-Car. For a Dodge Intrepid, we paid $135/wk and $27 for each of the three additional days. There was no line and we had our car, our luggage, and were on the road by 11:08 a.m. We arrived at the OKWR at 11:30 a.m., went to the express check-in counter (a DVC perk that can be arranged from home) and stood behind a family of about 56 people (well, actually there were 7) who were having a problem with their resort ID cards. After they sorted through their confusion, we found that our envelope (resort ID's, park passes, maps, etc.) was all ready and waiting but, of course, our room was not so we gathered our belongings (took small children by the hand....) and headed over to Olivia's for lunch. As has been mentioned on r.a.d.p., the menu has changed and the prime rib sandwiches are very good! I believe that they are $8.95, come with fries and are quite filling. After our meal, there was a computer glitch preventing the servers from accessing the checks so we were treated to free desserts while we waited. Ahh, that Disney service.... We tried the Key Lime Pie (yummy), the Peanut Butter Pie (very rich but a peanut butter lover's dream) and the Chocolate cake.

With full stomachs, we sat to wait for the bus to the Disney MGM Studios. We arrived to find no wait for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (x2) so Tony, Joe and Elie immediately went off in that direction and agreed to meet us in front of the Beauty and the Beast Stage show in a half hour. This is one of the few rides that Peter hasn't tried (I've done this one a few times but not since the new double drop) and he's saving it for the "next trip". B&B had already begun and there were no seats available so we just strolled through the shops and used the penny press at one of the shops ("Mickey & Me"?) while we waited. Has anyone noticed that the new maps list the restaurants but not the shops? I guess that this wouldn't pose a problem unless you tell someone, "Meet me in front of ____________" and that someone is never seen or heard from again....They were out in 25 minutes with lots of stories of the multiple drops (Elie says there are at least 5) and all liked it more than before. (I'm not the bravest of souls - that one drop was manageable...) From there we headed over to the opposite side of the park to catch the next show of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I was very impressed with the staging of this show and the costumes were lovely. All the performers were so talented that it took me a while to see that they were actually singing and not lip-synching! Thank goodness for those overhead fans - this theatre is not in the sun but it sure is hot!

As the HoND was finishing, the rain was coming down quite heavily so we made a run for Star Tours while everyone else took cover. Not only did we have no wait, we walked on to a half full vehicle! We sat in the second last row and it seemed like a fairly tame ride compared to other times that I've ridden it. Since it was so slow, after shopping for Star Wars souvenirs for my nephew, we went back on and sat in the back row to see if there really is adifference. Most definitely so! I think because the seats are so much higher up, you don't have the same ability to steady yourself with your legs? Whatever the reason, for the first time ever I felt nauseous on Star Tours. Still loved it though! We left there and walked by the Great Movie Ride but the wait was about 45 minutes so we postponed it for another day. I won't skip this one and it really felt good to know that we had nine more days to go!

We left the park to relax at the resort. We had asked for building 26 and were put in a second floor unit in building 28 which was farther away from the bus stop but not unmanageable. The view wasn't quite as pretty (lots of trees too close to the building) but otherwise, everything was in order. We took a one bedroom this time - two kids on the pull-out bed and one on the floor on a queen-size air mattress which we bring with us. Seems silly to waste our points on a two bedroom (though I'd love the extra space) when the one bedroom is so large. (BTW, we were told when purchasing that, even though this is classified as a 4-person-per-room unit, the one bedroom would accommodate 5 with us bringing our own bedding for the fifth person. I guess this is legal. When housekeeping came in for our four day cleaning, they even left an extra set of sheets!) After Tony got his second wind, he took the kids to swim while I took a much needed 1 hour nap (I had only slept for 3 hours the night before). We spent the evening relaxing by the pool, eating a light dinner at Goods to Go, and playing ping pong in Community Hall. I really do love the OKWR....

Day 2, 8/21

None of us woke up until around 9 a.m. (hey, I'm on vacation!) and everyone took their time getting ready while I enjoyed my coffee on the balcony. These quiet mornings were some of the best memories of this trip. We skipped breakfast with thoughts of an early lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe, hopped in the car, and arrived at the Disney Village Marketplace at around 11:30 a.m. This really must be the best time to eat here - we were immediately brought to a table. Didn't even get to hear, "Would the Saroufim party approach the elephant - your adventure is about to begin!" Unfortunately, our table overlooked the gift shop which gives the shoppers the added pleasure (?) of watching you dine. We asked for another table and, after passing by the most unique barstools I've ever seen, were seated with the elephants. What a great place to eat! If you've seen the monsoon scene in "Jumanji", you can begin to imagine the foliage which surrounds you. Add to that the elephants, gorillas, birds, bats (all audioanimatronic), the beautiful tropical fish (real) in extremely large tanks, waterfalls, and an occasional simulated thunderstorm (my favorite), and you'll find that this adds up to a very unique dining experience. Our waiter, Alberto, was very pleasant and didn't rush us in the least. Actually, he was working a double shift and kept saying "Good Evening" to everyone, so the slower we were, the better for him... I ordered the Mojo Bones ($15.95) which were probably the tastiest, most tender ribs that I have ever eaten. Joseph ordered the Rasta Pasta (lots of garlic and very tasty - $11.95), Peter and Elie got the Jurassic Chicken (chicken nuggets in the shape of prehistoric beasts - a little pricey at $5.50) and Tony ordered a salad with chicken (the "Islander", $10.95). We all shared an order of Chicken Quesadillas ($7.95) which was served on pita bread. The whole meal, with drinks, cost in the range of $70.00 - not horribly overpriced but enough not to justify eating there too often! The restaurant is sometimes noisy (thunder, elephants, gorillas) but not enough to bother us. We would definitely go again. Just a warning though - the floors are quite slippery for some reason...

After lunch, we strolled over to Mickey's Character Shop so that I could inquire about a watch that I had purchased last August that was running a bit erratic. When the CM who waited on me realized that my warranty was about to expire, she spoke to the manager who told me that I could exchange it for any watch of the same value. Where else but WDW? We then headed back to the OKWR to drop off our "doggie bags", packed a bag for swimming at Stormalong Bay and headed over to the Beach Club. We parked the car and walked over to Epcot to do a little exploring before our swim.

The first thing we did upon arrival to Epcot was to buy one of those Epcot passports that are being sold at every souvenir cart. This was the best idea I've had in 6 trips! For the first time, my kids WANTED to go and visit each country! These passports are a clever idea - for $8.95 you get an "I'm a World Showcase Traveler" pin, a passport and a set of stamps for each country. As you visit the countries, there is a place where a CM will stamp your passport and write something in his or her native language. We bought one passport for Peter but Elie was having just as much fun directing us to the CM who would do the stamping. (He also decided that he had to drink at one water fountain in each country....)

In Epcot, we first went to the United Kingdom and saw a very comical interpretation of the search for Holy Grail. This was very enjoyable - lots of corny jokes ("Mama told me there'd be knights like this"?) and, at least for this show, some funny audience participation. After the show, we walked through the English garden and continued towards Canada. I finally got to see "Oh Canada" which I thought was very well done. I don't think, however, that it would be a film that I'd repeat each year... We then bought some frozen yogurt and watched the Canadian Mountie show presented by the Canadian Comedy Corps. I'm ashamed to admit how little time we've spent in the past enjoying the entertainment. I was really having a wonderful time! Onward to Future World, we walked by HISTA and decided to try again later. The sign indicated a 2 hour wait! We walked right on to Spaceship Earth and, after riding, exited and found the talking water fountains (what a hoot!). We were then able to board Horizons with no wait. I expected there to be more of a line since this attraction will soon be no more. (Maybe the majority of visitors don't know?) I will truly miss this attraction as it still ranks very high on my list of favorites. Back to HISTA and a 15 minute wait which we decided to brave. This was excellent as usual EXCEPT for the fact that I was eagerly anticipating what many others raise their feet in fear of. It never happened! Everyone else was screaming and it had to be MY seat that was malfunctioning!

We were, by then, all hot enough to be looking forward to that swim. We headed back over to the Beach Club, ate a light dinner at Beaches and Cream (my family devoured 4 bowls of chicken soup in approximately 2 minutes) and enjoyed Stormalong Bay until 11 p.m. when they kicked us out. As mentioned in many posts on r.a.d.p, there was absolutely no problem swimming there with the DVC membership card. The CM's were very pleasant and didn't even want to see my room card. This was, all around, a really enjoyable day - it didn't even rain!!!

Day 3, August 22

Tony ran out early to Goodings to get us some breakfast food. Prices were slightly better than at the OKWR, but still expensive. Our only gripe on this trip was the cost of the food from the general store at the OKWR. Since most of us staying there are members, having the food at a reasonable price (while still making a profit, of course) would be a great service for us. Even the prices of your normal, expensive 24 hour store would be a big savings over what's available. Oh well...

After bagels and cereal, we took the bus over to Epcot and arrived around 11:30 a.m. Our first stop was the Discovery Center (in Innoventions West) which I've been itching to visit since reading about it on the web. The downstairs area is a store with a combination of typical Disney items and an assortment of educational toys, computer software, and gifts. The upstairs, however, is an absolute gold mine of Disney information! We were greeted by a Discovery Center "resource assistant" who was more than willing to answer whatever questions that we could come up with. The walls are lined with handouts, brochures, magazines and educational journals. There are a few computers set up with software for the kids (and adults) to sample. Some examples of handouts that I picked up were ones on horticulture facts of the WDW Resort, research activities of the Epcot Science and Technology Group, the music of "Impressions de France", the American Adventure Lobby Quotes, and a whole packet on animation. My favorites were the handouts on each country at Epcot and each pavilion in Future World which seem to be geared towards field trips but which contain a wealth of information and little quizzes to pass on to your kids. Examples: How many gallons of water does the Living Seas contain? Why is Norway known as the Land of the Midnight Sun? What is the meaning of "Nippon"? What is hydroponics? I highly recommend a visit to this area. (It's also very quiet and a nice little hideaway from the crowds!)

I had to bribe the kids with "Sega city" to get them away from the computers (now that's a switch!), and we spent about a half hour in Innoventions. I really do not like this place. It's just too big and too easy to misplace your child. And too noisy... I actually enjoy many of the exhibits that are not in the video game area but I won't leave the kids long enough to spend much time there. We got them out of there with a promise to return on another day (great...) and walked over to the Wonders of Life pavilion and right into Cranium Command. It still amazes me that there is never a wait for this attraction. We've seen it at least 6 or 7 times and enjoy it each time. Body Wars had a 30 minute wait and none of us were up to it just then (we were getting hungry!), so we saved it for later.

On to Norway to finally try Restaurant Akershus. The setting is a Norwegian castle, complete with trolls. The lunch buffet (or koldtbord) has over 40 selections and we decided, after our first walk through, that this was now our favorite restaurant in World Showcase! Even my fussiest eater found lots to keep himself content with! We stayed mostly with the cold buffet as we found the items more interesting than those in the hot buffet. There were many kinds of salads, herring prepared in an assortment of ways, orate beef, pork, turkey, cheeses, mackerel, salmon, deviled eggs, chicken salad...I guess I shouldn't name all 40 items. The price for lunch was $11.95 for adults and $4.75 for children 11 and under. We had a 15% discount coupon from our annual pass newsletter, so this was not only one of our best but also one of our cheapest meals that wasn't fast food.

From lunch we headed straight for Maelstrom and had only a 10 minute wait to board the boat. I wish this ride was a bit longer and yes, we did skip the movie. From there to China where there was a performance going on by the "Flying Dragon Variety Troupe", two very lovely Chinese women doing balancing with large spools and string. We didn't catch the beginning, but what we saw was fun. We then saw the "Wonders of China" and liked this much, much more than "Oh Canada". Peter had his passport stamped and off we went to Mexico for a short wait for the El Rio del Tempo. Another passport stamp and we gave Peter and Elie a promised and much anticipated trip over to the fountains to cool off. (Is this really called the "I can't believe this is Epcot fountain" or is that only Shelinger's "unofficial" name for it?) They stripped of shirt and shoes and socks (and would have gone even farther if allowed) and, of course, had a great time running through the spraying water. I had a great time watching them. Tony and Joe had a great time watching "Kristos" which is a strength ballet performance that was at the Innoventions Logo Plaza. We then had a very wet ride back to the OKWR for snacks and a rest before dinner.

We had decided to take advantage of the coupon in the back of Walt Disney World for Adults which gives you $50 off at any restaurant in the Dolphin Hotel. I also wanted to see Sorcery in the Sky at the Disney-MGM Studios because it would be our last chance on this trip so we made reservations at Harry's Safari Bar and Grille at the Dolphin for 9:30 p.m. We drove to the Dolphin, thinking that it would be easier to get home after our meal, and waited (for what seemed like forever) for the boat over to the Studios. We arrived at 8:45 p.m., in time for the fireworks but not for much else. We stood in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard and had a great view of everything. I like this even more than Illuminations but I'm sure it's due to the music (I love old movies). The whole family agrees with me on this one (this could be a first!).

We got the second boat back to the Dolphin - not bad. I was looking forward to dinner at this restaurant but we were not impressed. The service, however, was wonderful. Our waiter, David Schiller, is the treasurer of the Orlando chapter of the National Fantasy Fan Club. Although the name may sound suggestive, this is actually "the Club for Disneyana Enthusiasts". He is also the editor of their newsletter and it was very enjoyable hearing his stories about his recent trip to the HoND world premiere in New Orleans. If anyone wants more info on this organization, their new web address is www.nffc.org. Back to the meal -the menu does not offer much variety - I had the tenderloin (extremely underdone), Tony had the prime rib (so-so) and the kids had burgers and grilled cheese which were the best things that were brought to the table. Also be forewarned that this is a pricey restaurant - even after the $50 coupon, our bill was pretty steep. We didn't hate it but we also wouldn't go back. The kids were disappointed because they had read that a gorilla would be at our table to greet us - not so. David had to steal him (the gorilla) from another table when I asked about it. No big deal and probably my fault for telling them everything in the hopes of getting them as excited as I am....

Day 4, August 23

We didn't have the OKWR park passes for days 4 and 5 (I had picked up a free two night stay when we became members and used them on the weekend when we would have been be paying more points. The park passes didn't come with the free nights), so we decided to use this first day at Sea World. I'll limit by description to the basics, seeing that this is a Disney newsgroup, and if anyone wants particulars, feel free to e-mail me. We arrived at approximately 10 a.m. and picked up the schedule at the gate. The schedule lists your best "game plan" to see and do everything based upon your arrival time. I really liked this idea and was happy to find throughout the day that it actually works! The kids had no preconceived notions of what this would be like, so they were pleasantly surprised to like almost everything. The stadiums hold LOTS of people and the shows were all cleverly done with the exception of one called Window to the Sea. This show gives a great overview of the Sea World purpose and program but seems to turn into a Sea World commercial by the time it's complete. We managed to see almost everything, skipping the fireworks (didn't want to stay that late) and the Water Fantasy Show. Their flight simulator ride, Wild Arctic, IMO does not come close to Star Tours or Body Wars and is very short. We had a pleasant day and left quite tired from all the walking.

On the way back from Sea World, we must have somehow gotten revitalized, because we all agreed to stop at the BoardWalk to check it out. We stopped at the guard shack (for lack of a better word) and they only asked if we were visiting the BoardWalk and if we would be self-parking. I think that they may be more lenient to those of us with a resort ID on our dashboard. We parked in what we thought was a very confusing parking lot (maybe we were tired) and walked over to the lobby. Just on an impulse, I asked the DVC rep if there was a unit open for us to look at and it just so happened that we had walked in at one of the "open house" times (I think that it's Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7-8 p.m. but I could be wrong). The Grand Villa is magnificent! The balcony doors in the huge living area opened onto a view of the lake and, since the sun was beginning to set, it was a spectacular sight. The decor is quite different from the OKWR, with darker hues and a more rustic feel. The balconies are much smaller than the OKWR. The kids were watching a magician on the boardwalk below us and they stood one on each balcony! The two bedroom unit was a bit of a disappointment as the second bedroom (which would be the studio unit if used alone) has only a queen size bed and a pull out sofa. The kitchen area is also much smaller, made to feel even more so by the amount of people touring the unit. I think that our overall impression was that if we could afford the Grand Villa (by not eating for a few months), it would be great to stay there for a few days but, on the whole, we prefer the OKWR over the BoardWalk for everything but proximity to the parks. One disappointment was the scratching of the plan for the "members attic", a place where members could socialize and have a great view of Illuminations. According to the DVC rep, the "attic" was built but the plan is to rent it out to private parties. If the DVC members technically "owned" it, this would not be possible. Too bad...

We were hungry again (big surprise...) and I wanted to try the ESPN Club, so we walked over and put our names in for a 20 minute estimated wait. Not bad for a Friday night at 8 p.m. While waiting, we walked over to Spoodles to check the wait there. 2 hours! No thanks.... Back at the ESPN Club, we were seated immediately at a teeny-weeny table which would barely hold our drinks, never mind food for five. It's a fairly noisy place to eat. We sat in the main area where the live sports "chats" are periodically held - two hosts asking opinions, mostly football on this night, of the patrons. There are monitors suspended overhead with different sports broadcasted on each. There is also a monitor suspended from the middle of the ceiling with an ongoing trivia contest that diners can answer by remote control if their lucky enough to get a unit. The kids loved this. Food was decent, actually better than I expected. I ordered something that I think was called "Grand Slam Fries" - an order of french fries covered with what you would normally expect on nachos - beans, cheese, sour cream, hot peppers, etc. I'd go back just for that! After eating, we strolled the boardwalk, checked out the arcade (one of the better ones, according to my resident experts), watched another magician, found the cart with crepes-on-a-stick which we decided to come back for sometime, and enjoyed the atmosphere. I noticed that the music coming through the loudspeakers seemed more geared to us baby-boomers and our teenage years on the beach than to the 1930's which is supposedly the era that the resort was modeled after. Lots of Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Neil Young.... We drove home and almost immediately passed out.

Day 5, August 24, Peter's birthday!

We let Peter plan this whole day, his 9th birthday, and what he wanted most was to eat and swim. We had 10 a.m. character breakfast reservations at the Cape May Cafe and had only a 5 minute wait once we arrived. Our waitress was lovely and brought over a decorated birthday cookie along with Pluto and another waiter to sing "Happy Birthday". Well, Pluto didn't sing of course... Admiral Goofy, Chip, Dale and Pluto all wrote "happy birthday" in his autograph book and the food was great, as usual. (It had better be. With tax and tip, breakfast cost $71.00!) We had given Peter a new camera for his birthday, which he opened at breakfast, so I'm sure that we have many, many pictures of this happy event! Luckily, it was a beautiful day so his swimming wish also came true. We spent a few hours at Stormalong Bay and again had no trouble with the DVC membership. The CM even remembered my name from the time before! At around 1 p.m., Peter decided to give the BoardWalk pool a try so we walked over (hot!) by way of the Swan and Dolphin rather than going through the trouble of moving the car. I hate to even admit this, being someone who loves all things Disney, but I did NOT like this pool. It was extremely crowded, incredibly noisy, had no shade to sit in and barely any space between chairs. The refreshment area couldn't adequately serve the amount of people there (probably because it serves specialty drinks which take a while to prepare) so it took us more than 20 minutes to simply buy a coke. The slide, though it looks exciting, did not get a high rating from the kids. Could be the heat, the headache, the dehydration (where's my coke??), but I even thought it was a bit tacky. On the other hand, I do think that under different circumstances (early evening, less people?), this could be a very enjoyable place to swim. We only stayed about an hour (a very long hour...) and headed back over to get the car and return to the OKWR to shower and get ready for dinner.

Peter's choice for dinner was the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. Our priority seating was for 5:20 p.m. (we skipped lunch because of the big breakfast) and we arrived right on time and were seated almost immediately after admiring the enormous lobby. And admire we did! This place most definitely lives up to all the descriptions in this group. The restaurant is right off to the left of the lobby as you enter and is opened up to the lobby so that you can continue admiring as you eat. Our waitress was "Contrary Mary", though she wasn't contrary at all. The food was very good (especially the ribs) but only secondary to the "show" put on by the waitpersons. They are all in character with cowboy/cowgirl outfits and pistols (some water, some just plain noise I believe) and there is a lot of "YEE-HA" going on while you eat. They honored Peter's birthday with a wooden horse race and then serenaded him with "Happy, happy, happy, happy birthday.....happy, happy, happy, happy birthday to you" sung to the opening music of Bonanza. All in all, a very enjoyable birthday meal! We again admired the lobby after dinner and went out in search of the geyser which was quite accommodating and went off only 5 minutes after we located it. If I had remembered everything I read in r.a.d.p., we would have waited until 8 p.m. to see the animal handler come from Discovery Island, but alas, we left too early.

From there, we parked the car at the OKWR at my suggestion and took the pontoon boat over to the Disney Village Marketplace for "Kid's Summer Nights". I discovered my favorite ride at WDW!! This boat is very comfortable and the ride up (down?) the river in the evening is pure heaven! The drivers are usually very friendly and talkative, probably because it's such an intimate way to travel (only 14 passengers per trip). The DVM was mobbed unfortunately so shopping wasn't even an option but we did catch a decent juggling act (with umbrellas) and a very good bicycle stunt show in the little theatre area across from the new World of Mickey under construction (looks huge!). There was a great DJ who really got both kids and adults up and dancing between shows. At one point, the DVM managers were up on stage guiding the kids through the Macarena (or macaroni as my foreign husband calls it). They also danced the Electric Slide, the Hokey Pokey (or the "Hoopty-Doopty" - hubby again), that awful YMCA song, a conga line and they also had a few guys on stilts helping everyone with the Hand Jive (I don't dare tell you what Tony called THAT one...). I really hope that they do this again next summer.

Day 6, August 25

We had our usual slow start. It was a Sunday and I wanted to hit Magic Kingdom early because it's usually pretty quiet until 10 a.m. or so, but after a cup of coffee on the balcony (where I watched a golf ball come whizzing through the trees, bounce off of a trunk and fall onto the walkway below me...Ahhh...so that's why there are so many trees around my building!) and breakfast for 3 very sleepy kids, we weren't on the bus until after 10:30 a.m. We decided to do what we could and skip the busy attractions for another day. My first stop was the jewelers on Main St. to have the metal band of my new watch shortened (no charge). We then headed for the Jungle Cruise which we bypassed (45 minute wait), Pirates of the Caribbean (10 minute wait) where Joe noticed that the battle scene by the ship was missing the explosions in the water, and Big Thunder Mountain. I should mention here that I am the all-time chicken when it comes to roller coasters. I will NEVER go on Space Mountain. I actually like Splash Mountain (only one major drop, no turns), the TZToT (again, straight down, no problem), and anything similar to Star Tours which I know is never leaving the ground. However.....it has taken me 6 trips to get up the courage for Big Thunder Mountain. The wait was 25 minutes (a very long time to be nervous) and Peter, who is not crazy about roller coasters either (though he went on Space Mountain when he was five)(probably why he's not crazy about roller coasters...) was also going on for his first time and holding up much better than his mom. Well, I survived. I didn't see much because my eyes were closed for most of the trip. Now maybe the kids will stop bugging me!

Next was the Haunted Mansion with no wait at all. I wish it was a bit slower so that I could see more of the effects. I wouldn't mind at all getting stuck on this one in an interesting area like the ballroom....We went from there to Tomorrowland for lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. This was our first time there and I was amazed at the size of the place and the selection of food. I liked the fact that you could pile lettuce and tomatoes on your sandwich and make it a bit more filling than it would otherwise be. The five of us ate for $31 - not bad at all! By then it was 2:50 p.m. and we decided to try Alien Encounter while everyone else was in position for Mickey Mania. We had about a 20 minute wait. Reactions to this attraction are so varied. We saw two teenage girls exiting and saying "that was the stupidest thing I ever went on" and also saw whole families who looked like it scared the pants off of them. It really bothers me to see little children crying after this attraction - don't the parents read the signs??

Tony, Joe and Elie then headed over to Space Mountain, and Peter and I took in the Carousel of Progress. This was good except for the fact that a whole group of people in our almost empty theatre decided to exit after the second scene. This, of course, delayed us from traveling to the next scene until part of that scene was already over. Peter was disappointed, but I didn't want to go back in just for the missed 1-2 minutes. We met the guys and then went on Take Flight (never any wait), the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (no wait), Timekeeper (on my best of Disney list - 6 times and I still hear new things), the Mad Tea Party which we have never done (shame on us)(10 minute wait), the Legend of the Lion King (only 5 minute wait!) and Peter Pan's Flight (20 minutes). Peter and I wanted to go to the Country Bear Jamboree and Tony, Joe and Elie wanted to ride Splash Mountain (35 minute wait) so we agreed to meet outside the CBJ, where, while waiting, I actually saw someone from my neighborhood! This may not be very unusual, but when in WDW, I always feel like I'm on another planet!

We were leaving the MK just as Main Street was being lit up (which, of course, made we want to stay longer) and caught the bus back to the OKWR in 5 minutes. Back at the resort, Tony, Peter and Elie wanted to eat in the room (Tony was feeling the effects of all our heavy duty meals) and Joseph and I went to eat at Olivia's. I have to admit that I thought Olivia's, for lunch, was good but not great. I have a totally different opinion of dinner there. I had the dinner special which was blackened catfish, potato patties, and vegetables along with the soup of the day and dessert (I think it was approximately $15.00) . The soup was cream of potato and was delicious. The entire meal was delicious! Joseph ordered the meatloaf ($10.95) which was served with mashed red potatoes (with skins) and green beans. Other selections on the menu include Crawfish Etouffee ($14.75), Seafood Linguine ($15.25), Grilled Mahi Mahi ($16.25) and Roast Prime Rib ($16.75) among others. I'm now a true convert and have something else to add to the reasons that I love the OKWR!

Day 7, August 26

By now, you all know that my mornings start with coffee on the balcony.... This was our water park day and we arrived, by bus (which unfortunately only runs every 30 minutes) to Blizzard Beach at 11:45 a.m. With our DVC discount, the adult tickets were $20.50 each and the children were $15.50. We purchased a refillable purple mug for $9.00 and filled it with lemon-lime slush (only available, BTW, at Lottawatta Lodge)(the slush, not the mug). It was very crowded for a Monday in the last week of August. We hunted for chairs and found a few near the Ski Patrol area and unloaded our belongings. A quick rundown of what we did - Cross Country Creek was first, initially with all of us and then a few more times around with just me and Pete while the others went in search of water slides. That water that hits you in the cave is really COLD! Maybe its purpose is to keep us from dozing off. Then lunch at Lottawatta Lodge which was pretty good. From there, we went to the family raft ride, Teamboat Springs where Peter almost flipped out, figuratively AND literally. He wasn't holding on tight enough and I looked up from my frightened spot (plastered to the bottom of the raft) to see him fly over my head! Well, Joe says I'm exaggerating here.... A note about this ride - Tony and Joe say that it's much milder with less people for some reason. With the combined weight of my family, we really rode up the sides of this slide (a ride that my family guaranteed that I would like....), all the while with me yelling, "You @#$%@#$%, I will NEVER trust you again as long as I live!!!" For those who like this type of thing, this is a GREAT raft ride. For some of us, however......

We then went to the wave pool (Meltaway Bay?) which was being repaired on our last visit. The kids missed the big waves at Typhoon Lagoon so they weren't very impressed here but it was a good place to spend a little time. Peter and Elie then decided to spend some time in the preteen area while Joe and Tony went in search of adventure (which, in Joe's case, probably meant young girls in small bathing suits) and all was well until 5:20 p.m. when a huge rainstorm arrived. I covered our things as best I could and tried to wait it out (this IS Florida, right?). About ten minutes later, after torrential rains almost drowned me, the lightning and thunder arrived and the pools were cleared out. We still decided to wait it out, under shelter. Actually, this was fun - one of the lifeguards had us all singing and chanting (probably an ex-cheerleader) while trying to huddle together and stay warm. Finally, at 6:10 p.m., all hope was lost and they closed the park for the day. We ran to the bus (which was waiting, thank goodness) and entered in all our sopping glory to a very understanding bus driver and lots of laughing passengers. My prayers were answered and the air conditioner wasn't going full blast... Back to the OKWR and right into that hot jacuzzi! As for BB, we are still partial to Typhoon Lagoon. The slides and the wave pool are better for the ages of my children, the sidewalks aren't as hot (due to all the foliage which shades it) and it's just prettier in general. We liked BB, just like TL better.

We made 8:30 p.m. priority seating for 1900 Park Faire at the GF and this was our only problem with the priority seating system. Seems that the monorail was undergoing difficulties and a swarm of people had just arrived, late, before us for their seats. We weren't seated until 9:20 p.m., more than enough time to wander the lobby. The food was great, especially the prime rib. Minnie visited twice and Mickey finally hit out area as we were getting ready to leave. Luckily, we were there for the meal and not for the characters. We wandered over to the arcade (the quest for the perfect pinball machine) and I shopped until 11 p.m. when they closed the store. Being tired and full, I sat on a bench overlooking the GF pool and waited for my boys (all 4 of them) to finish playing. They should be so patient when I'm shopping.... While sitting, I saw lots of Arabs, much more than in other resorts. This must be the place that's recommended for the spending of all that oil money. Also, saw more smokers than anywhere else which I thought was strange. Maybe I just never sat in one spot for so long with nothing to do. We didn't get back to our room until after midnight and all slept soundly.

Day 8, August 27

After another late start, we had breakfast and drove to one of the T-shirt places at Crossroads. I don't remember the name and wouldn't recommend it anyway. It was expensive, though not as expensive as those on property. We drove to the Yacht and Beach Club and retrieved Elie's cap which he left at the Cape May Cafe breakfast and from there, walked again to World Showcase in Epcot. We walked immediately to France under the pretense of passport stamping and had a 10 minute wait for "Impressions de France". This is, by far, my favorite film in World Showcase. The combination of the breathtaking scenery, the moving musical score and the ability to sit down while viewing put this high on my list of favorite attractions. My kids even enjoyed it, especially Elie when he recognized some of the music as the song that the farmer sings in "Babe"! I will not miss this again on future trips to World Showcase. We walked by the French pastries : ( , arrived in Morocco in time for the "Festival Marrakesh", decided that the line was too long for Aladdin and Jasmine (making special appearances in honor of the release of "Aladdin, King of Thieves", and walked over to Japan in time to watch "One World Taiko", a very energetic drum duo. I had wanted to try the Teppanyaki Dining Room so we went in to check the menu. Poor Elie thought that all they served was sushi and wanted nothing at all to do with this! We decided to give it a try and were seated with a very pleasant family of 3 from New York City. Elie was pleasantly surprised. It really is fascinating to watch your food prepared at your table by someone with such expertise! If only I could cook dinner so quickly.... The children's menu was very reasonable. Elie got almost the same meal as the rest of us and for $3.99 it included a drink and a small ice cream for dessert. It was also nice not to feel stuffed when leaving a restaurant.

We left the restaurant just in time to catch the show at the American Gardens Theatre. This week it was "SalsaMania" with Carlos Oliva & the Judge's Nephews and the Augmar-Montilla Dancers. Nice show with the added element of Elie up on stage dancing the Macarena with a very pretty female dancer. All that practice at the Disney Village Marketplace paid off! We took the boat over to the Showcase Plaza where I bought yet another Epcot sweatshirt from Port of Entry and we found yet another penny press machine (Mickey with a suitcase - pretty cute). We walked back to International Gateway by way of Canada and the U.K. (where we stopped for another show of the Holy Grail). It was now already 6 p.m. and the heat was finally getting to me. We swam again in Stormalong Bay, the boys played in the arcade while I indulged in a hot fudge sundae from Beaches and Cream, and we walked back to Epcot to watch Illuminations amidst quite a few lightning bolts. Somehow we had enough energy afterwards to walk over to the BoardWalk for crepe-on-a-stick (which didn't live up to its promise, unfortunately), watched another magician and headed "home". A slight DVC digression here: on the eighth day of your stay as members, you get what is called a "trash and tidy" which is basically a replenishing of all the amenities and an emptying of the trash. We arrived back to find fresh towels but nothing else. I made a call to housekeeping and within 10 minutes, a woman was at my door with a bag containing 2 shampoos, 4 soaps, 3 packages of coffee, 3 boxes of laundry detergent, toilet paper, tea, creamer, sugar, and another entire towel supply for 5! It felt like Christmas!

Day 9, August 28

Friends from Boston had arrived the day before at the Wilderness Lodge, so I called for dinner reservations at Ohana as soon as I awoke. Joe had been wanting to try Fantasia Gardens and seeing that he doesn't ask for much (and had been a very patient 13 year old traveling with his parents and two younger brothers!), we arrived there at 10:30 a.m. (they open at 10 a.m. during the off season) to find only a few families who had arrived before us. I don't have enough experience with miniature golf to give a true assessment of how good or bad this one is, but I personally enjoyed it immensely. I especially like the rhyming clues that are given at each hole and really appreciated being dowsed with water near the completion of the course. The entire 18 holes take approximately 40 minutes for a family of four (unless you are as pathetic at golfing as we are!) and, if you go in the daytime, beware! It was probably the hottest place we visited in the entire trip. From there, we drove to the Disney MGM Studios. We expected much lighter crowds but the park was packed. The wait for the TZToT was 60 minutes and there was a 50 minute wait for the Great Movie Ride. We skipped both of these and headed straight for the Animation Festival which had just begun a few days before. While we waited in line for the 15 minute workshop on animation, Peter and Elie had fun with the interactive kiosks set up nearby. Joseph recognized one of the CM's who is in a commercial on the Disney info channel in the resorts. He seemed pleased that we knew who he was. He also said that people should get to the parks more and spend less time in the room watching television... There are 5 or 6 workshop areas set up and each one consists of one animator and about 18 animator wannabes. Our workshop was on how to draw a side view of Mickey. I can draw a half decent front view so this was exciting for me! It was even more exciting at the end when a family was filing out past us and one of the children said, "Look at what she drew Ma! That's what it was SUPPOSED to look like!" You get as a keepsake an "animation celebration" folder, some animation career facts, and a little flip book showing a bouncing Mickey head. Oh, and of course, whatever masterpiece you created during the session.

At the time for the Toy Story Parade, we were able to get on the GMR in only about 15 minutes and most of that was inside where they show those neat trailers from the many films showcased on the ride. I never mind the wait once we enter that area. We got the car with the cowboy (cowperson?) action and, as usual, this ride ended too quickly for me. This is still in my top 3 attractions in all of WDW. From the Great Movie Ride, we reluctantly passed the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and were walking past the backlot studios when a voice from a doorway asked, "Would you like to come in?" "Come in to what?" we responded. It seems that there was a live taping of World Championship Wrestling and that there were only a few seats left before the doors closed. As we debated (none of us like this stuff but the idea of a live taping was intriguing), he informed us that "once you go in, you MUST stay for the full hour. You can't just get up and leave." A smarter person may have been warned off by this, but in we went. What an experience! The hosts had everyone screaming and yelling for free hats, t-shirts, banners, buttons, etc. While all the screaming and foot stamping and yelling is going on, the cameramen are getting this all on tape to show how enthusiastic the audience was while watching "wrestling". There was, of course, some wrestling going on in this hour and the audience was instructed on who to root for and who to boo. Well, after about 10 minutes, the novelty wore of for me, Tony, and Joe. The two younger ones, probably realizing that this would never, ever happen again in their dependent life, hammed it up and had a grand time. One nice touch to mention though...while all the screaming for shirts was going on, a very excited autistic boy was really getting into it behind us.. About halfway through the show, I saw one of the cameramen subtly point out this child to the host, who on his next time around the ring looking for his most enthusiastic fans, made a point to climb the stairs and hand the boy a shirt. The look on the boy's face almost made that hour worth it!

When we were finally "released", we made our way over to Mama Melrose's for a late lunch. We had the honor of meeting "Uncle Luigi", Mama's twin brother, who recommended the anchovy and ketchup sandwich or the "all-you-can-eat" anchovy special. Quite a character! Joe ordered a bottomless pasta dish ($10.95) and Tony and I ordered salads. Peter and Elie ordered from the children's menu and the best part of the meal was, for 99 cents extra, the make-your-own pizza cookie dessert. On a tray, they bring over a giant cookie (?) and on the side are marshmallows, gummy worms, M&M's, and two kinds of sauce (chocolate and strawberry, I believe) to decorate your cookie. Fun! After lunch we ran (literally) to SuperStar Television because Joe wanted to get there for the preshow, and of course get picked for the show. Although Elie and Joe made all the commotion necessary to get attention, poor Peter, trying to look invisible on the sidelines, got roped into playing the skipper on Gilligan's Island. He was great and I only wish that they allowed videotaping in this show. Our whole family (minus me, the chicken) has been on at least once. We then went to the Monster Sound Show, again to Star Tours with, again, no wait and walked right into Muppet Vision 3D (unfortunately, right through the pre-show which had just finished).

Our last stop, Catastrophe Canyon, was next and we were quite surprised to see how it had changed. Because of the Animation Festival (at least, I think that's the reason), you now enter via the water tank/special effects show which used to be part of the walking tour. After watching that, you queue in a props area which would be much more interesting if I could figure out where or when the props were used. After a relatively long wait (about 20 minutes), you finally board the tram for the backlot streets and Catastrophe Canyon. I liked the special effects segment the first time that I saw it but I honestly would not want to see it every time I wanted the Catastrophe Canyon end of it. I also felt that this whole process slowed things down considerably. I'm assuming that Kenny is right (isn't he always?) and that this is temporary.

We exited the park at closing and walked to the tram with the sound (and lightning bolts) of a storm not too far in the distance. While waiting for the tram to take us to our car, a very large woman cut from her line to ours and literally pushed Elie off of the tram that he was boarding! This was probably the only bad experience that we had with people on this trip, but it was a doozy. We managed to board the next tram without incident and returned to the OKWR for a quick shower and change of clothes so that we could get to the Polynesian by 8:30 p.m. for our dinner at Ohana.

Our friends were there waiting and we were seated immediately. Much to my surprise, the restaurant was half empty! I've heard such great reviews here on r.a.d.p., that I thought it would be hard to book a reservation. This place is a blast! There is no longer a "king's table" and the entertainment seems to be all over the dining area. When we arrived, a group of diners were parading around the room in grass skirts. The CM's were all very playful with the kids and got everyone to participate in the activities. They held one more coconut race where the kids chase coconuts with brooms and later had all the kids try their hand (or waist) at hula-hooping. Oh-oh - then it was the parents' turn! Tony had his going quite well - around his neck (Lebanese hula hoop?) and our friend Linda kept it going for so long that our waiter awarded her a pineapple! The food was plentiful (3 foot skewers of meat, turkey, chicken, ribs, shrimp, sausage) and the waiter was so attentive that we were all stuffed in no time. The cost of the adult meal was $19.50 and the children's meal was $8.00. I thought that there was a "junior" price, but it didn't appear on our bill. Our friends rated this dinner much higher than their Polynesian Luau meal.

After dinner, we showed off our "vacation home" (which they loved) and made another trip to the BoardWalk to walk off some of our meal. Linda, her daughter and I walked over to the Yacht and Beach Club while the boys played (where else?) in the arcade. Oddly enough, we got a little lost driving back to the OKWR resort after midnight, a trip we had made countless times. In one direction, the signs would say "Disney Village resorts -straight ahead" and coming back in the opposite direction the signs would day "Disney Village resorts - straight ahead". All roads lead to....Disney Village? We had a good laugh over it since we were all extremely tired and finally made it to our destination.

Day 10, August 29

Our last full day at WDW (sob). We slept until about 9:30 a.m., had breakfast and, you guessed it, coffee on the balcony. Joe and Tony took off to play basketball while the rest of us got ready to go to Epcot for a final visit to Innoventions. We didn't get to Epcot until almost 1 p.m. and once we hit Innoventions, Tony look at me and said, You really aren't happy here and I don't mind staying with the kids - why don't you go shopping?" Ahhh - in those few seconds, I remembered why I married him! I caught the next bus back to the OKWR, dropped off my backpack, and walked over to the dock to catch the boat to the Disney Village Marketplace. My driver's name was George, or at least that's what her nametag said. She was a very pleasant older woman who just loves working for Disney and spent the trip telling me about the benefits of working for the mouse. I didn't shop much - just browsed in the Character Shop and the Christmas Chalet where I purchased two ornaments for my tree. It was nice just to be able to browse without worrying where the kids have disappeared to or wondering if everyone is bored waiting for me.... I caught the 3:40 p.m. boat back to the OKWR and my driver this time was Rufus. He pointed out all the buildings of the OKWR and gave his recommendations as to which were the best. When we were docking, I looked up to see all three of my boys running to the dock to greet me! They were finishing lunch at Olivia's and watching as every boat pulled in to see if I was on it. Only three hours away from them - can you tell that I don't get out much?

After I ate, Joe and I went back to the room while Tony, Elie and Pete stayed to swim. Joe relaxed while I packed (big sob) and threw the rest of the dirty clothes in the washer. Ten days in WDW and I only brought home a quarter of a load of laundry - amazing! Everyone came back tired and we decided to spend a relaxing evening in the room. I told Tony that this is the reason that 10 days isn't enough - it takes us that long to realize that we need to slow down! He didn't buy it.... The boys had picked up one of the free rental movies and while they watched it, I sat outside and wrote some of the notes that allowed this trip report to get soooo long.

Day 11, August 30

Not much time to do anything but throw the last few things in the suitcase, have that last cup of coffee on the balcony, eat a quick breakfast and head out to the airport for an 11:35 a.m. flight back to Boston. Although we didn't do a few of the things that we had planned - a trip to Discovery Island, renting the 4 person bicycles at the BoardWalk, Tony's annual ride on Body Wars - we did survive the trip with everyone staying healthy, no major travel glitches, gorgeous, albeit hot, weather and even arrived home before Hurricane Eduoard was due to hit the New England coast. As hard as it is to leave, it sure does help to know that we'll be back next summer!

If anyone has any comments or specific questions, I'd love to hear from you. I hope that this wasn't too detailed - I feel like I've told you everything except where and when we went to the bathroom (which would be a trip report in itself!). A big thank-you to all of you on r.a.d.p. who, with the wealth of information you possess, helped make this trip as enjoyable as it was.

Thanks for reading!

Dotti

DSar@aol.com

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