Trip Reports

August 3 - 6, 1998

Day 1, Monday, August 3, 1998

We began our magical vacation with a minor snafu at the airport. We were due to catch a 7:50 a.m. flight out of San Antonio. While checking luggage, we were informed that while we held tickets that indicated our departure/return from/to San Antonio, the computer system indicated we were due to depart/return to Austin. We were put on the next flight out, causing our trip to be postponed 1 1/2 hours. (We were compensated by being upgraded to First Class for the return flight.)

Upon arrival at Pt. Orleans, our room was ready and Evan insisted that we unpack. We took a river boat ride down the Sassagoula to Downtown Disney. There, we ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe (pizza for Evan, Mogambo Shrimp for me), shopped at World of Disney and walked into various other shops. Next, it was off to the Magic Kingdom by way of the Transportation/Ticket Center and then by Monorail (we even rode up front with the driver and some new friends from Germany.) Once inside the MK, we strolled up Main Street where people were already lining up for SpectroMagic. We traveled to Adventureland and went through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (had just rented the movie the weekend before so we knew what it was all about.) Afterwards, we trekked to Pirates of the Caribbean (20 minute wait) and Evan loved it! Begged to go on it again, and I promised we would - later. We passed on Jungle Cruise the first night since I had read it was better to do during the day. I convinced (read: bribed) Evan to join me on Big Thunder Mtn. and while he kept his head down virtually the whole time, he said he enjoyed it and MIGHT go on it again - later. We both (gasp!) passed on Splash Mtn.. Afterwards, we caught the tail end of SpectroMagic and headed to the castle for fireworks. After watching Tinkerbell fly from the castle, we were awe-inspired and covered with goosebumps while watching the fireworks. This was the first of many times I would have tears in my eyes during this trip. Afterwards, we joined the crowds and headed down Main St.. The ice cream parlor was packed so we ducked into some other stores for gazing and shopping. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the shops are crowded when the park closes, but I just couldn't resist - had to buy something! It was, afterall, my first trip to the MK in 20 years and Evan's first trip ever! While everyone else waited in line for the ferry and monorails, we hopped a bus directly to Pt. Orleans (another 20-30 minute wait). Ice cream at the Sassagoula Floats Factory awaited us and we took a walk around the grounds. Evan wanted to swim, I wanted to sleep. I won. After requesting a wake-up call, we were snoozing by about 1:00 a.m..

Day 2, Tuesday, August 4, 1998

5:30 came awful early, but Evan got a big kick out of the wake up call from The Mouse, himself! Today we begin at Animal Kingdom and Evan was determined to catch the first bus out (at 6:30 a.m.). But because breakfast is always a must with Evan (the boy doesn't function well without it), we grabbed some okay food from the Food Factory (french toast for me, oatmeal for him) and were off to the wilds of Animal Kingdom. I explained to Evan the importance of getting to Kilimanjaro Safaris early and he agreed. Unfortunately, we were greeted by a native at the entrance of the Harambe Village who told us the Safari was down and expected to be up in about 30 minutes. We did an about face and headed for Countdown to Extinction. We walked right on - no wait. It was great! Again, Evan with his head down, but I did manage to get him to lift it occasionally. He swears he saw the T-Rex at the end, but in the picture that is taken of the riders, you can't even see him! He proclaims Countdown to X to be very cool. It's back towards Harambe Village when we overhear another cast member near the Tree of Life tell someone else that Safari is still down. Next, It's Tough to be a Bug! Loved the Tree of Life. Evan and I enjoyed pointing out the different animals to each other. And as everyone has said so far, it's amazing! Back to Safari, which is still down. We head over to Camp Minnie Mickey on the off chance we'll find some characters. It is now 8:45 a.m. and we're told by another cast member that the only characters out so far are Minnie and Mickey (the others will be out at 10:00.) As we stroll down the path, I stop Evan to take his picture in front of some small Donald/Daisy statues and here we have (in my opinion) the most memorable moment of our trip: Minnie and Mickey come RUNNING up to Evan and smother him with hugs. The look on his face is priceless. (This is Hanky Alert #2) I missed the photo op (I think I was in shock) but will forever remember that look! He's completely caught up in the moment as I struggle to get the autograph book & pen out of the backpack and get the camera ready. Just the five of us (Evan, Mickey, Minnie, myself and the accompanying cast member) for about a minute before a small crowd gathers. It was great! We leave Camp Minnie Mickey pleased with our find and a most wonderful memory. Finally, the Safari is open and we're told we have about a 50-minute wait. Evan says it's worth it and we wait. A small rain shower is most welcome - not even pulling out the ponchos for this one. About 40 minutes later, we're on Safari. Got to see quite a few animals, nearly had a close encounter with an ostrich, but no lions or tigers (do they even have them there?). Next, it's back to Camp Minnie Mickey for Festival of the Lion King. What can be said about this show except FANTASTIC! (Hanky Alert #3) Afterwards, we discover all the characters are out and we encounter Chip & Dale, Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore and Baloo and Rafiki. Finally, it's off to the Dinosaur Boneyard where we found a hidden Mickey . By this time, the heat was getting to both of us and we decided to say good-bye to Animal Kingdom. Turkey legs and lemonade on the way out satisfied our lunch requirement.

Our original plans were to spend the first full afternoon at River Country but due to a time crunch, we opted for the pool at the hotel which was convenient and which Evan just loved! And, it served the same purpose as River Country would have. After about an hour and a half in King Triton's shadow, it was time to get ready for a Character Dinner at Chef Mickey's (Contemporary). Had taken advantage of package delivery while shopping at Downtown Disney on Monday, however, our packages had not arrived by 4:00. Upon calling the Front Desk and explaining that Evan just had to have his Sorcerer Mickey hat before we left the hotel for the evening, they tracked down the CM making deliveries and had our package waiting at the front desk. Just another shining example of the impeccable service we've all heard so much about. The Sorcerer (Evan) and I headed to the Contemporary.

Dinner was very tasty and the atmosphere was great! Got to visit with Mickey, Minnie, Chip & Dale, Pluto, and Evan made a cupcake with Goofy. "Celebrate!" Both Mickey and Minnie signed the Sorcerer's hat - making it a one-of-a-kind-can't-ever-lose souvenir!

It's a short ride on the resort monorail to the MK for another evening of Magic. We've still got plenty of daylight left, so we head to the Jungle Cruise and the tasteless jokes spouted by our cruise captain, Michael. Next, as promised, it's a second trip to Pirates and then to Haunted Mansion. Evan couldn't decide how scared he should be beforehand, but thoroughly enjoyed this ride (enough to warrant a begging session for a second ride through - later). We decided to head over to Tomorrowland by way of Fantasyland and ended up taking in some of the rides there: It's a Small World (the song was out of my head before I hit my pillow that night), Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups. Another rain shower and we hopped on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (this was my unsuccessful attempt at convincing Evan that Space Mountain was a great ride that he would really like.) We raced at the Tomorrowland Speedway and Evan was gracious enough to stand in line with me for Space Mtn. (20-30 minutes); he ducked out and waited for me at the end. With everything closed up, we headed for the buses and directly back to Pt. Orleans (the ice cream parlor was once again packed). Bedtime was around midnight. This explains why you should have a vacation after your vacation - late nights and early mornings.

Day 3, Wednesday, August 5, 1998

It's Early Entry for MGM and we went with the crowds. (Evan was too exhausted to answer the wake-up call this morning, so I got to hear from The Mouse.) A little bonus this morning: we were transported to MGM by way of a new Disney Cruise Line bus - we were both impressed. Made it to the studios for the rope drop and made PS arrangements (lunch) for 50s Prime Time Cafe. Because Evan is the Star Wars fan that he is, you can guess where our first stop was. While everyone else went to ToT, we went in the opposite direction and walked right onto Star Tours. Evan thoroughly enjoyed this one and mom did too. Maybe a 2nd ride later. Next up was a direct walk into Muppet 3-D. We were told that Backlot Tour wouldn't open until 9:00, so we did the Great Movie Ride (20 minute wait). By the time we got out, we headed to Backlot Tour. I may be the first person to say this, but this did not live up to all of the "hype" (or my perception of hype); this is the main reason I wasn't as impressed with MGM as I thought I would be. Afterwards, it was into Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground which was a lot of fun and included many photo ops (heck, who am I kidding, the whole 'world' is full of photo ops!) Next, we run into Woody and Buzz and catch a snapshot of some of the little green men (soldiers, not aliens). Evan got a kick out of Woody taking his Sorcerer's hat and putting it on Buzz. Remember the tea party scene from Toy Story where Buzz has the little lady's hat on? Too cute! (By the way, bought the picture!) By now, it's time to head to Prime Time Cafe where "Mom" and "Brother Lerroy" took mighty good care of us. Evan really enjoyed watching me get into trouble for having my elbows on the table and for not eating all of my lunch! "Mom" even grilled me for being out of my seat when I returned from the restroom ("Did you wash your hands?" "What color was the soap?" "Was it liquid or powder?") By far, this was the most entertaining meal I've ever had! Evan enjoyed the burger and fries (think meat and potatoes) and this being vacation, I went with the nachos. The banana split (which we had to split) was out of this world. (Did I mention we skipped breakfast - and Evan actually survived?) Next we visited One Saturday Morning and SuperStar Television. Evan was ready to hit the pool so we headed towards Hollywood Blvd. and watched the Mulan parade before getting caught in the masses in the shops. All without even stepping near ToT (that's really okay with me).

We got about an hour's worth of pool-time before a thunderstorm chased everybody back to their rooms. We decided to get ready for Epcot in hopes of making this the earliest of bedtimes before our last day, tomorrow.

It rained while we were in Epcot and by this time, Evan was on a mission to obtain more autographs. We toured all the countries very quickly but missed all of the characters. Next, we did Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and Journey into Imagination. A plea from Evan to see Figment again yielded a resounding "no" from me - my allergies went haywire while inside this ride - I swear they piped in some kind of smell and I couldn't handle it! A little shopping and Evan was ready to leave. I know, I know, no Spaceship Earth or Body Wars or Illuminations. But this was one tired little guy I had and I was ready to collapse myself. Because my son is a self-professed meat, potatoes and pizza-kind-of-guy (ref. lunch), he wasn't one to try any of the different foods from any of the pavilions. We got pizza in our room and watched TV. After readying for the trip home, lights were out by 11:30.

Day 4, Thursday, August, 6, 1998

It's Early Entry for the Magic Kingdom and by golly, we were there with the masses again! Hanky Alert #4 came when I got my first look at the castle in the morning. Our fantasy was almost over. Much to my disappointment, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open for Early Entry (I was hoping to catch Big Thunder Mtn. one more time - with or without Evan!). We headed over to Fantasyland and rode Snow White's Adventure, Peter Pan (twice!) (I don't remember this ride from my visit here 20 years ago, but I really enjoyed it!) At Evan's request, it was back to Snow White and then over to Dumbo. And fulfilling my promise, we walked right in to Haunted Mansion. Next was a 10:00 character breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh and the Gang and to our surprise, Piglet was there too. Brian Bennett is right - the puffed french toast is out of this world! After that, we were on a mission to find characters until our departure time. We managed to find Snow White and the Dwarfs. Waited to meet Captain Hook, Mr. Smee and Prince John. Then, given the choice to meet Belle or Ariel, we stayed with Ariel and waited for what seemed like an eternity in the hot sun. (We had stopped by City Hall, so we knew where everyone was going to be). Near the grotto, I took more than a few moments to pay respect to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (sniff, sniff) and wished Evan could've seen it. Next we were off to Mickey's Toontown Fair where we toured Mickey's house and waited (again) to meet Donald and Darkwing Duck. Finally, it was time to say our good-byes to the most Magical place on earth. The stroll down Main St. was difficult and the final glance at the castle was cause for our final Hanky Alert. Until next time ....

The flight home was a real treat, since Evan had never flown first class before. It made coming back to reality just a little easier!

Sharon Burcie

sharon.burcie@dhs.state.tx.us

__________________
You just read a trip report that was originally published in our MousePlanet Trip Reports column.

Reader-submitted trip reports have always been an extremely popular feature here at MousePlanet. In order to improve the search functionality and shorten the time from when you submit a trip report and the report gets published, you can now post your trip reports directly to our Trip Report forums. The forums are moderated, but reports should become available for reading very quickly.