Trip Reports

Cast of Characters:

Art and Elaine Penpek (50-something); David Penpek, our 30 year old son; Maria and Brian Busby, our 30-something daughter and her husband; Christopher (6) and Nate (2 1/2) Busby, our two grandchildren.

Day 1, Tuesday, Nov 25

David had arrived from Utah a few days earlier and was staying at our house in Madison, WI. We got up at 5 am today. We had packed our suitcases the night before. We used all carryon luggage (standard size carryon with wheels and handle). We wore our warmest clothes (jeans, sweatshirt, lightweight jacket) and packed our lightweight stuff. Since we would have a washer and dryer in our treehouse villa we could get by with fewer clothes. We left the house at 5:45 am and drove about 10 minutes to Maria and Brian's house to pick them up. They were ready and waiting so we put their luggage in the minivan, got Nate's car seat hooked up, loaded everyone in and took off for the airport. The airline suggested getting to the airport 1 ½ hours before the flight due to crowds. We actually got there an hour before and stood in line for about 15 minutes. Our flight to Detroit left Madison at 7:40 am and arrived in Detroit at 9:55 am (Detroit time). We gate checked the stroller with no problems. We used Nate's car seat (booster-type) on the plane and he was good. We had a two hour layover which was OK. We got the kids a snack and let them run around a little. Our flight to Orlando was scheduled to leave at 12 noon but it was 12:20 by the time we pulled away from the gate. The flight attendent told us we couldn't use Nate's booster chair on this flight. We were surprised since we used it on the previous flight. She got out the "rule book" and showed me that booster type seats were not allowed even if they were FAA approved. So they gate checked it along with the stroller. Nate fell asleep right after takeoff and slept the entire 2-hour trip (thank God). After getting off the plane we headed to Budget car rental. There was no waiting and we got a red Ford Windstar minivan. We drove to the Disney Institute (using the directions on Deb's web page but taking highway 535 to get to DI). It took awhile to check in since we were setting up two chargeback accounts - one for us and one for Brian. We also rented two pagers at $20 each for the length of stay. From there we drove to our treehouse. It was #432, almost at the end of the road, down by the pool. I posted a description of the treehouse villas last week. If anyone missed it, check Deja News or e-mail me with questions.

Art, Maria, Chris, Nate and I drove to the Super Walmart on 192. It took about 20 minutes to get there. It was huge and we were somewhat overwhelmed. Nate was getting antsy so we hurried to get our groceries and misc. stuff. Mostly we got breakfast foods and snacks, milk, pop, sunscreen, etc. We got back to the treehouse about 6:15 pm, put away the groceries and headed to the Contemporary for our 7 pm priority seating at Chef Mickey's Character Dinner. It was packed but we were seated by 7:15 pm. It was fun - lots of kids. The food was good. My favorites: prime rib and parmesean mashed potatoes. Others raved about the marinated flank steak and the chicken tenders from the kids buffet. Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale all came to each table to visit, sign autographs and have pictures taken. Pluto and Goofy greated people in the lobby. We charged the dinners to our chargeback accounts at 8:15 pm and took the elevator to the roof to watch the fireworks (went off at 8:30 that night). It was great - what a view! After the fireworks we rode the resort monorail once around the loop and then got off back at the Contemporary and went to our car. We got back to our treehouse and settled in. We called Housekeeping for an extra blanket for Chris (he slept on the couch). We had requested a crib for Nate. It was one of the portable mesh-sided pack-and-play type. It worked just fine. Everyone went to sleep by 10:45 pm and I stayed up a little longer to write down my notes for the trip report.

Day 2, Wednesday, Nov 26

We got up at 7 am. The clock radio went off in our bedroom, evidently set by the previous family. We had coffee, toast, etc, got cleaned up and left the treehouse at 8:30 am. We drove to the Polynesian to park. We were waved on by security since we had the DI parking pass in the window. We rode the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and went right to Space Mountain. Brian, Maria, Chris, David and I rode it while Art waited with Nate. After that, Brian took Chris on the Astro Orbiter. Then Art and I took the two boys to Mickey's Toontown while the others went on Alien Encounter (huge line). We rode Goofy's Barnstormer (kids loved it) and then the boys played on Donald's boat. Thanks to RADP we knew we should bring a change of clothes along for them. After we got them dried off, the rest of our group met up with us and we went to Pinocchio's Village Haus for lunch at 11:30. We found a table right away and most of us had smoked turkey sandwiches (good). After lunch we went to Haunted Mansion. Nate didn't mind too much (I kept telling him "some rides will be dark, but not scary". He repeated "not scary" several times after that - I think he was convincing himself. Chris went on Thunder Mt. for the first time with his mom, dad and David. He thought it was great. They were going to go on Splash Mt. but there was a one hour wait. So all but the kids and I went on PoC. Nate fell asleep in his stroller. We got citrus swirls and cappuccinos at Sunrise Terrace and then took the monorail back to the Polynesian and drove back to the treehouse at 3 pm.

We left at 4:15 pm for Jungle Jim's at the Crossroads Shopping Center. We ordered two appetizers at half price (beef nachos and chicken quesadias). Brian and David ordered Jungle Jim's (after three you're invisible) and Maria got a margarita - all half price. We also ordered our food right away. Maria had the Monte Cristo sandwich, Art got a cheeseburger, Chris had the gorilla grilled cheese and Nate had the grilled pb&j. The rest of us just ate the appetizers. All the sandwiches came with fries. They were having a special and kids ate free! During the course of our stay, Brian had two more Jungle Jims and was feeling no pain. After dinner David was tired and stayed at the treehouse while the rest of us went to Disney Village Marketplace. It was a zoo. We finally found a parking place and walked through the Lego Store and World of Disney. Maria bought 25th anniversary sweatshirts for their family. I bought Chris an autograph book and large pen. We walked over to the Rainforest Cafe and looked around. We're thinking about eating there Saturday (note, we never did). Art and David were going to use the hot tub at the Treehouse pool but it was after 5 pm and they were told it was closed and, in fact, they shouldn't even be outside after dark. Brian went to bed early (wonder why!) and Maria washed two loads of clothes. By the time the second load was done it was 11 pm and we went to bed.

Day 3, Thursday, Nov 27 (Thanksgiving)

We left the treehouse at 8 am and drove to EPCOT. We had 8:40 am priority seating at the Garden Grill in the Land Pavilion for the character breakfast. We had a long table which was nice so we didn't have to be separated. The food was good: scrambled eggs, potatoes, ham, sausage, biscuits & gravy, grits and cinnamon rolls. They kept refilling the coffee, juice and asking if you wanted more food. The characters were Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale in farmer outfits. Nate didn't want to have too much to do with the characters but Chris got autographs and pictures with each one. After breakfast we went to Food Rocks. The 30 year olds particularly enjoyed the references to their pop/rock heros. Both kids had fun too. After that, we went to Circle of Life, a wide screen film about ecology. It was pretty impressive and loud at times. I told Nate to cover his ears if it got too loud for him and he did. When we left the Land pavilion it was 11:00 am and Imagination had a huge line so we went into World Showcase. I bought Chris a passport which he got signed in each country. We had a bite to eat at American Adventure and then listened to the Voices of Liberty and Chris got a few more character autographs there. Maria got a Kai Gori (sp?) which Nate promptly spilled on Maria and I (red, of course). He finally fell asleep in his stroller and we finished the countries. We left EPCOT at 4 pm and went back to the treehouse. We left again at 5:15 pm and drove to the Beach Club. We ate dinner at Beaches and Cream. The adults all had hamburgers and they were excellent. Chris had grilled cheese and he ate all of it. Nate had the children's burgers and did quite well with them. After dinner we walked to EPCOT through the International Gateway. It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed the walk. We went right to Spaceship Earth and rode without a wait. Then I watched Nate while Maria, Brian, David and Chris went on Body Wars. Art waited outside with the stroller and talked to an older CM who was telling him how many people get sick on Body Wars. Then we all went to Universe of Energy and saw Ellen and Bill Nye the Science Guy, saw the dinosaurs, etc.

While walking past Innovations we stopped at a drinking fountain. I heard funny noises and said "Wait, is that the talking fountain?" The others thought I was crazy for sure. But when you turned on the water it kind of sparkled and you could hear voices talking. It was really neat. After that it was 8:30 pm so we headed for World Showcase for Illuminations 97. We sat Nate and Chris on a trash can with the rest of us around them. We had a nice clear spot overhead so we had a good view of the fireworks. When it was over we went back through the International Gateway to the Beach Club parking lot and drove home. By that time it was 10:15 pm and we read to the kids until they fell asleep (didn't take long).

Day 4, Friday, Nov 28

We left the treehouse about 9 am and drove to MGM. David and Brian went on Tower of Terror while Art, Maria and I took the kids to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, then the Muppet Show and Pizza Planet. After we met up with Brian and David we went to the Beauty and the Beast show. Opening act was Four for a Dollar and they were fun. BatB was good and very touching. The final release of doves was quite impressive. We picked up some hot dogs at one stand and then some pizza at Pizza Planet (very crowded). After lunch we went on the Great Movie Ride, then watched the Hercules parade in the hot sun (Chris on Art's shoulders, Nate on mine). The other three sat back in the shade and watched from a distance. The parade was fun and the kids enjoyed it, especially the music.

Brian and David wanted to see the Muppets so the kids and I went again with them. After that we were all getting hot and tired - it got up to 80 today. We went back to the treehouse and David, Brian and Maria took naps. Nate fell asleep at 4:45 and we had priority seating at Cape May Buffet for 5:45 so we bundled him up and drove to the Beach Club. When we got there we put him in his stroller with the back down so he could sleep. We took the stoller right into the restaurant and Nate slept through the whole meal. We appreciated that because we could enjoy our meal. The buffet was excellent. Brian and David especially appreciated the seafood and brought back buckets of clams, oysters, mussels, etc. I stayed with the BarBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, and clam chowder. Then I hit the dessert table big time. We lingered over coffee and dessert and I bought a coffee mug for a souvenier. Nate finally woke up and Maria got a couple of pieces of sweet corn and some chicken for him to take along. He ate both pieces of sweet corn as we walked over to the Boardwalk.

From the Boardwalk we walked over to EPCOT. We went into Imagination and got stuck on the Figment ride. Then Brian wanted to go to Horizons so Art and I kept Nate while the rest of them went. The three of us sat on a ledge and watched the fountain for about an hour. It was beautiful and Nate was enthralled with the colors and the music. It was a little bit windy so people on one side would get misted once in awhile and he thought that was pretty funny. When the others got back it was 9:45 pm and we decided to stick around for the holiday Illuminations at 10:30 pm. We found a place to sit and wait. It was very impressive with the singing of Sandy Patti and the narration of Walter Cronkite. The last song was "Let There Be Peace on Earth" which left me a little teary. When it was over we walked back to the Beach Club and drove back to the treehouse. We were all beat!

Day 5, Saturday, Nov 29

We slept in today. The kids didn't wake up until 9 am. We washed clothes and then went to the Crossroads shopping center at 11:15 am. David had an appointment to meet a good friend from seminary at Perkins so we dropped him off there. The rest of us went to the Walgreen store on 535. We bought a couple of umbrellas and a few supplies, then drove back to Crossroads for shopping. Maria and I bought some things in the Fresh Produce store (cotton knit t-shirts and dresses, all 50% off). We ate lunch at the McDonalds there so the kids could get their happy meals. Brian saw an ad for an outlet mall just down 535 so we drove there and looked around. As we were driving back, Art's pager went off and David was ready to be picked up. We were right nearby so that worked out great. We went back to the treehouse from there. It was drizzly off and on all morning and it's predicted to rain/storm tomorrow so we decided to get as much in as possible tonight. At 3:30 pm we drove over to the Coronado Resort. Nate was sleeping but we had him in the stroller so we walked around the lake and checked out the pool and playground. We looked at the Pepper Market but no one was hungry just yet so we left and drove to MGM. Maria, Brian and David went on the Tower of Terror (Maria's first time) while Art and I got hot dogs, fries and frozen yogurt for the kids. Then M, B & D went on Star Tours and after that we walked through the Osbourne Family lights. It was very crowded and humid. Brian and David said the lights made them dizzy but it could have been after effects from Star Tours. After that we went back to our car and drove to the Polynesian and took the monorail to Magic Kingdom. The 8 pm Spectromagic parade was going on so Maria, Brian, David, Chris and I went on Splash Mountain with just a short wait. This was the first time for Chris and he loved it. Chris, Maria and I were in the back seats and just got misted, not drenched. Then we took the Skyway to Tomorowland and rode the Wedway People Mover. I think it has a new name but it will always be Wedway to me. When we went through Space Mt. we could see that one side was entirely shut down. We left Magic Kingdom just as the 10 pm Spectromagic parade was starting. We saw a few of the floats but didn't want to stay. Luckily there was no rain in the evening.

Day 6, Sunday, Nov 30

We left at 8:30 am and drove to the Polynesian and took the monorail to Magic Kingdom. David and Brian went to Space Mt. while the rest of us took the train to Toontown. We rode the Barnstormer twice in a row since there was no one waiting. Then we went to see Mickey's house and got a picture with Mickey. From there we saw Minnie's house. Nate especially enjoyed her kitchen, watching the cake in the oven and the popcorn in the microwave. Next was Hall of Fame where Chris got autographs and pictures with Donald, Winnie the Pooh, Eyeore and Tigger. It started sprinkling and kept it up most of the day. When Brian & David met up with us we rode the Barnstormer again (twice) and then went to Fantasyland. Brian and I stood in line for 30 minutes with the kids (in the rain) for Dumbo (what you don't do for your kids!). After that we rode Mr. Toad, Small World and Peter Pan. We got mouse ear hats for Chris and Nate with their names sewn on and picked up our 25th anniversary poster and guest of honor badges. By 3 pm we were wet, tired and hungry so we took the monorail back to the Polynesian to have an early dinner at Coral Isle Cafe. This is one of our sentimental favorites. Art was talking to a CM there before we were seated and told him we had been there for our 25th anniversary, also our 30th and now we were celebrating a belated 35th.

After we were seated, Rick (the CM) told us he wanted to buy us a round of drinks to celebrate our anniversary. He was so cheerful and upbeat that he really made our day. David and Brian ordered something that came in a pineapple and was delicious, Maria had a Margarita and Art and I had cokes with Capt. Morgan rum. Rick led us in a toast - something like "We've all had fun, the buses were late, but that guy Rick, he sure was great!" Nate was sleeping in his stroller by this time so we had a nice, enjoyable meal.

We drove back to the treehouse, then Art, Maria, the kids and I went to Wilderness Lodge for the RADP meet. We met gardenia who was a most gracious hostess. We chatted with Bronwyn and a few others I didn't know while waiting for the ranger. Nate was getting pretty hyper so we didn't stick around after the choosing of the family to lower the flag. We checked out the gift shops, walked past the pool and got a snack for Nate in the food court. When we got back to the treehouse, David and Brian were watching X-Files so I went to bed early.

Day 7, Monday, Dec 1 (last day)

We slept in and then got packed. We left the treehouse about 10:30 am and got gas in the car. Then we drove to Disney Marketplace. We bought some sweatshirts (David and Brian wore theirs as it was a little chilly and windy this morning). We walked through Pleasure Island to the new West Side. We looked in the Virgin Megastore. David bought a CD and a video of an old movie he was looking for. We had lunch at Bongo's Cafe at the outdoor tables. The Cuban sandwiches were great, served with banana chips. We got a cheese pizza from Wolfgang Puck's Express for the kids.

We left about 1 pm to drop off the rental car. That was no problem except for the surprise 10% airport charge. Then we checked our luggage through. I had packed a couple of nylon backpacks and used one as a carryon with my essentials and other stuff that wouldn't fit in the suitcase. On the way back we only had 30 minutes between flights in Detroit so it was good not to have all the carryons. We had a bit of a wait to check in. The attendent told David we'd have to scramble in Detroit since we were scheduled to arrive on concourse F and would leave from C. When the purses and carryons went through the conveyer belt, Nate was "helping" and got his fingers caught in the belt. They stopped it right away and he just had a little scrape on one finger but he screamed all the way to the tram. We gatechecked the stroller and car seat and got on the plane. I sat next to Nate and he was next to the window. Luckily he fell asleep right after takeoff and slept the whole two hours.

When we got off at Detroit the plane pulled into Concourse C - what a relief! We only had to go down a couple of gates. But the next plane was overbooked so they asked for people to give up their seats. Under other circumstances I would have done it but not today! We left only about 20 minutes late. Nate sat next to me again and he was wide awake for this one. I had to read his Busy People book over and over to keep him quiet. We arrived in Madison about 8 pm. Just in time to hear the start of the Packer game on the radio on the way home. We dropped Maria and Brian at their house and got home about 9 pm. All in all, it was a wonderful trip. I learned so many great tips from RADP that I wanted to share this trip report with everyone. Hope it's useful.

Elaine Penpek

elaine.penpek@ccmail.adp.wisc.edu

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