Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: Offsite
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Infant/Toddler, Elementary, Adult, Senior
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran, Frequent
Comments: This is John's second trip report on my site (check out his September 1996 trip, too). John's report is play-by-play, but also includes a huge list of summarizations, observations, and reviews. If you're looking for suggestions and opinions, you'll love this report!



Cast of characters:

Me (John)--- 39 year old (7thvisit)
Wife (Nancy)--- 40 year old (6thvisit)
Daughter (Amber)--- 6 year old (3rd visit)
Son (Johnny)--- 3 year old (2nd visit)
Mother-in-law --- 66 years old (3rd visit)
Father-in-law--- 73 years old (2nd visit)
Prelude

Originally we were going to drive down. Once my Inlaws joined the trip plan we decided to fly. We were going to originally go for a 7-10 day trip but because of the unavailability of flights during the Thanksgiving weekend we ended up booking the weekend before, which gave us a 15 day trip. This was our 1st time going to Disney during the holiday season. Because of numerous advice we packed clothes for all temperatures. We ended up having weather that stayed in the 80’s-90’s. Even the nights were warm. We slept with windows open and sometimes air conditioning on. We had one week booked at the Vistana and another booked at All-Star Sports. About 3 weeks before departure we replaced the All-Star Sports with the Silver Lake Resort. I love Disney resorts but there is nothing like the time-share resorts in Florida. They sleep 8, have enormous pools, full kitchens, and washer/dryers (a must).

This was our original agenda written and modified many times over the last year. You can see how much we kept to the original plan.

Saturday 11/21 –

take 8:30pm flight out of Logan airport
checkin to the "Silver Lake Resort"
Sunday11/22 – Epcot (A) (9am-1pm)

Wine and Food festival
lunch/nap
Magic Kingdom
Magic moments parade
Spectromagic parade
Fireworks
Monday 11/23 -

Beltz Disney outlet
food shop
use resort facilities
shop at marketplace
Sea World (inlaws)
Patriots game at ESPN ?
Tuesday 11/24 –

Animal Kingdom
lunch/nap
MGM Studios
Magic Kingdom
Spectro magic parade
Fireworks
Hoop Dee Doo (Inlaws)
Wed. 11/25 -

Busch Gardens
Thurs. 11/26 -

explore Old Towne
explore Disney resorts
celebrate Thanksgiving dinner at the "Cape May Buffet"
Fireworks at the Contemporary
Electrical water pageant
Friday11/27 -

use resort facilities
explore Disney resorts
Universal Studios (Inlaws)
Saturday 11/28 -

Beltz Disney outlet
check into the Vistana
food shop
use resort facilities
Luau at the Poly (Inlaws)
Fireworks at the Poly
Electrical water pageant
Sunday11/29 –

Magic Kingdom
lunch/nap
Epcot
Land tour
Illuminations
Monday 11/30 -

Animal Kingdom
lunch/nap
MGM Studios
Fantasmic
Osborne Light display
Tuesday 12/1-

use resort facilities
explore Disney resorts
Universal Studios (Inlaws)
Wed. 12/2-

Animal Kingdom
Epcot
lunch/nap
Magic Kingdom
Magic moments parade
Fireworks
Thurs. 12/3 -

Animal Kingdom
lunch/nap
lunch at Rainforest Café (Inlaws)
Epcot
MGM Studios
Fantasmic
Osborne Light Display
Friday12/4 -

use resort facilities
shop at Marketplace (last minute shopping)
Saturday12/5 -

checkout of Vistana
fly home at 10am
Saturday November 21st -Departure – Day 1

To get our discounted rate we had an 8:30pm departure from Logan airport (Boston, MA. ) that would arrive in Orlando after 11pm. By the time we got our bags, rented our car and drove to our condo (Silver Lake Resort) it would be after 1am. Since we were going to the parks the next morning, this plan didn’t seem like a good idea. We tried something new to us – standby. There were flights leaving every 2 hours, starting at 1:40pm. We figured that we wouldn’t accomplish any more at home than we could at the airport. My parents dropped us off at the airport at noon and we put our 6 names on the standby list. I was told that the 1:40pm flight was overbooked and that our chance of getting on were slim. Our counter plan was for my daughter and me to take the flight (if there were only two seats) and we would do all the legwork (rent car, food shop, etc. ). To our surprise, 5 minutes before takeoff we all got on the 1:40pm flight. Even though the seats were separated the stewardess moved a few people around so that I could sit next to my son and my wife could sit next to my daughter. The kids were fantastic on the flight and thoroughly enjoyed it. We arrived in Orlando 5 minutes early at 4:45pm. We had no problem getting our bags but wasted a long time at the Dollar Car Rental. I was only the 4th in line, but it took over an hour before we were heading toward our lodging. National, which was right next door,had four people working the desk (Dollar had two) and no one waiting in line. At $199 a week, for a brand new mini-van, I guess I shouldn’t complain. We were finally settled into our condo at 8pm.

Sunday November 22nd – Day 2

Alarms woke us up at 6am. We were eating breakfast at Shoney’s ($30) by 7:30am. By 9am we were in Epcot. This was the last day of the Wine and Food festival. The festival was nice but not something I'd plan my trip around. First weheaded for the "Land" pavilion. My father-in-law is trying to learn the art of hydroponics so our 1st stop was "Living with the Land" (no wait). This is one of my favorite attractions. We headed over to "Honey I Shrank the Audience". On the way over Nancy spotted a cart selling beanie Figments. We bought two of them ($14) figuring that they would be all gone by the next time we went to Disney. I don’t know why people are having so much trouble finding them. We found at least three spots that had TONS of figment beanies. We did the "Honey I Shrank the Audience" using the child-swap. On the way out my daughter bought a figment keychain. They had a store that was loaded with all sorts of Figment items. By 11am we ventured into the "World Showcase". As we entered World Showcase a bus pulled up and at least 10 characters unloaded (great picture opportunity). Today, starting with Mexico we covered half the world. We did both the boat rides in Mexico and Norway (skipping the movie). We sampled some of the food and wines. From 2-2:30pm we went to Innovations. The kids played computer games and I sent some emails. We sent both the picture postcards and regular email. At 2:30pm we did "Horizons" (no wait) which I will miss and "Spaceship Earth". I noticed that Test Track was quiet during our whole trip. I didn’t even see any test runs.

Our initial goal was to take 2 hour naps/breaks everyday. This only happened twice. Today, we brought the kids back to the condo for a nap from 4-6pm. While everyone napped I took Amber to the pool. We swam for about an hour and then went food shopping ($50). Our goal was to see the "Spectromagic" parade. We woke at 6pm, ate and dressed, and were on our way at 6:40pm. One of the great things about the "Silver Lake Resort" was the backroad to Disney World. We used this all week and avoided any traffic. We headed to Magic Kingdom and made it on Main street one minute before they dimmed the lights for the beginning of "Spectromagic". This was a beautiful parade and we had a great view without any wait. Once the parade was over a lot of people left the park. We all rode the "Jungle Cruise" for the 1st time at night. We didn’t like it at night. We missed a lot of the props and animals in the poor lighting. My Inlaws watched the kids as we rode "Splash Mountain" (no wait). (we walked 10 miles today)

Monday November 23rd-Day 3

We all woke at 8am. We ate breakfast and then drove the Inlaws to Sea World. After we dropped them off we went to the Character Warehouse at the Belz outlet mall. Nancy bought a Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt ($10) and a pair of Winnie the Pooh shorts ($7). Amber bought a Bambi mug ($4) and an Ariel magnet ($2). We had a great buffet lunch at "Billy Wongs" ($27). The restaurant has a great selection of American and Chinese foods (including jumbo shrimp, roast beef, chicken, salad bar, desert bar and a lot more). After lunch we went to the Downtown Disney Marketplace. We spent a while exploring the shops and then headed to the Coronado Resort. This is a beautiful resort but I would never stay there. The resort is extremely spread out. The children played at the playground while Nancy and I enjoyed cold drinks. The pool is bordered by a huge pyramid. Water pours down the side of the pyramid toward the pool. The playground, which is themed after ancient ruins, has a variety of equipment for the kids to play on. We left Coronado and picked up the Inlaws at 6pm. We went back to the condo to eat. I watched 3 quarters of the Patriots game before falling asleep (I found out about the comeback victory 3 days later). (we walked 5 miles today)

Tuesday November 24rd-Day 4

We were up at 5am (this was a rest day for my Inlaws). The four of us grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonalds. By 7am we were in Animal Kingdom. We started out with the safari ride (15 minute wait). We all enjoyed it. We saw the male lion roaming nearby. The tire tracks and landscaping gave it a very authentic look. My kids like the poacher scene at the end. After the safari ride we walked through the "Gorilla Falls" trail and saw many gorillas. We then walked into the "Pocohontas show" a minute before it began. The singing was beautiful and the use of real animals (instead of animatronics) was interesting and different. As we exited we stopped to visit Mickey and Minnie in their safari garb. Our last attraction was the "Lion King Festival". This was a very beautiful and entertaining show. The crowds were getting heavy, so we decided to head out for an early lunch at McDonalds. We then headed over to MGM. First we hit the "Muppets 3D" (15 minute wait). We then went to the "Little Mermaid show" (15 minute wait). The family really enjoys both of these shows. At 3pm we left MGM and did some food shopping ($50). At 4pm we had a light supper and then drove the Inlaws to the "Hoop De Do show" at Ft. Wilderness. Once they were settled we took the boat to the Magic Kingdom. First we did theBuzz Lightyear ride (10 minute wait) which we all enjoyed. I love interactive rides, so this fit the bill. We then rode the "People Mover", which we haven’t done for years. The big bonus on this particular ride was that when we drove through Space Mountain the ride was malfunctioning and all the lights were on. I got a great (short) piece of video of the lighted tracks. I assumed that Space Mountain was a complex set of turns and tunnels. With the lights on you could see that is was a very simple track layout with special effects. Next we took a walk through Minnie and Mickeys house, then onto the "Lion King show",something we all enjoy. We stopped for a few minutes to take in the surroundings while munching on a large pretzel. Our last two rides were "It’s a Small World" (a favorite of my kids and mother-in-law) and "Cinderella’s Carousel". At 7:30 we were able to view the Spectromagic parade from the castle wall in Fantasyland. For the first time ever we were able to see "Tinkerbell" taking her flight from the castle. I got a great shot of this on video. We watched the fireworks and then made our way slowly down Main street. We met my Inlaws at the boat launch at 9pm. We took the boat to Ft. Wilderness and then a bus to the main entrance to get our minivan. We then spent about 20 minutes driving around the campground until we were able to find our way out. Back to the condo to bed. (we walked 14 miles today)

Wednesday November 25rd-Day 5

Since everyone was wiped out from the night before, we decided before we went to bed to postpone our trip to "Busch Gardens". The kids somehow got a second life and woke us up at 7am, ready to go. Since we purchased most of our park tickets in advance we decided to head for "Busch Gardens". At 10:30am we arrived. It takes about a 70 minute drive from Disney to Busch Gardens. This is a really nice park. If you have the time then take a day to do Busch Gardens. We weren’t able to complete the park in one day. First we spent a little time watching the huge gators. We then took the monorail which travels over the animal preserve. Next we explored "Africa", which is an area that has a great variety of African animals. We then explored "Egypt". They have a simulator ride (Akbar) that we didn’t enjoy. I think we are spoiled by the simulators in Orlando. Now was time for our only bad experience of the day – lunch. We had to walk across the park to get to the only place in the park that served hamburgers and hotdogs. Out of three possible service lines only one was open. The line was huge. $14 later we had 3 cold hamburgers and 3 cold orders of fries. Next time we will bring our lunch. After lunch we took the train ride which circles the animal preserve. My Inlaws took the kids to Dinoland while we went on the "Congo raft ride" (we got soaked). Dinoland is a fantastic kids area that not only has climb on structures and slides but also many great kiddy rides. Nancy and I went to the Hospitality house for a couple of free beers and took a quick look at the koala bears and kangaroos on our way back to Dinoland. We bought the kids a couple of huge cotton candies and headed out of the park by 7pm. (we walked 10 miles today)

Thursday November 26rd-Day 6 (Thanksgiving)

We used the pool area for the 1st time as a group today. At noon we went back to the condo, showered, and all took naps until 3pm. We parked at the Boardwalk resort. They have a huge gingerbread village (with a moving train)in the lobby. We explored most of the Boardwalk resort and then slowly walked around the lake to the Beach Club. We had 5:40pm reservations, so we spent some time exploring the Beach Club. At 4:30pm we decided to see if we could get in early. We were seated at 4:30pm. The meal was fantastic. The "Cape May Buffet" ($25) holiday menu consisted of turkey soup, clam chowder (very good), crab cakes, fried shrimp (excellent), oysters, mussels, steamed clams (small, but delicious), rolls, cheese platters, prime rib, steamed shrimp, turkey, yams, mashed potatoes, beans, mac and cheese, chicken strips (good), mini hotdogs, stuffing, salad bar, and many desserts. I was told the everyday menu ($20) is very similar without the Thanksgiving items. We walked around the lake again hoping to shed some of the meal that we just consumed. Once we were back on the Boardwalk we decided to rent a 6 person Sulley bike. We didn’t do to well with this. Since only 3 of us were pedaling we could only make it around the lake one time. We returned the bike and went to explore the Dolphin and Swan resorts. I personally hate these two resorts. In my opinion the Dolphin, Swan, and Grand Floridian are the three most plastic and cold resorts on Disney property. We dropped my Inlaws and daughter off at the condo at 8pm. Nancy, Johnny, and myself went to the Polynesian resort to watch the fireworks. The Poly and Wilderness Lodge are my two favorite resorts. We found a comfortable chair on the beach and watched the fireworks. To our surprise the "Electric Water Pageant" performs on the lake as soon as the fireworks are completed. My Inlaws were going to the Poly Luau on Saturday. We explored the resort and then checked out where the Luau was going to be held. We went home and to bed by 11pm. (we walked 10 miles today)

Friday November 27th-Day 7

This would be a slow paced day. Because of the anticipated Thanksgiving crowds I had no plans on doing the parks from Thursday through Saturday. I assumed that the crowds would be heading home on Sunday, so we would resume our park hopping then. My Inlaws were going on their first day to Universal Studios today. We all woke up and ate breakfast. A great benefit at Silver Lake Resort was the free shuttle service to the local theme parks. We signed my Inlaws up for a roundtrip shuttle to Universal Studios and they were on their way. As soon as they left we headed out to the pool until 3pm. We then headed to the "Wilderness Lodge" (one of our favorites). We walked around the resort, admired the enormous Christmas tree, got a hidden mickey list and my daughter answered trivia questions toward a free ice cream cone. We then relaxed in the rockers and couches that are in the lobby. We loaded two sleepy children into the minivan and headed back to the condo.

On the way back we stopped briefly to do a little food shopping ($30). We arrived back at the condo at 7:30pm, within minutes of when my Inlaws arrived back. They said that the crowds were horrendous at Universal Studios. They did only four attractions and no shows all day. Most lines were over an hour wait. As the conversation evolved we realized that they hadn’t gotten their passes signed for the second day admission. In hindsite, I should have left the kids at the condo with Nancy,but that idea didn’t enter our heads until it was too late. We all loaded into the minivan and drove back to Universal Studios. Fortunately they had no problems getting their passes and we headed home to bed.

Saturday November 28th-Day 8

We loaded the last of our luggage into the minivan. Today we were leaving "Silver Lake Resort" and checking into the "Vistana Resort". Ever since I purchased my timesharing 12 years ago I wanted to stay at the Vistana. I finally got my opportunity this year. We checked out of Silver Lake at 9am. I took a long shot and tried to check into the Vistana at 10am. We pre-registered but could not get into our condo until 3pm. We decided to do some resort hopping. I looked for my pedometer, but somehow in the move it got misplaced (I never did find it). First we showed my Inlaws the Wilderness Lodge. We then took the shuttle boat to Magic Kingdom. I went to the "brick booth" and got the location directions to our brick. I’d love to have a room where our brick is located. It’s halfway between the Grand Floridian and the Magic Kingdom, right near the beach. We spent a short time posing for pictures near our little piece of Disney real estate. We then took the monorail to the Contemporary resort and looked around. We then reversed our trek, Contemporary to Magic Kingdom and the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge. We went back to the Vistana to officially move in. At 6pm we drove the Inlaws to the Polynesian Luau. We did some food shopping ($50) and returned to the condo for a short break. We headed back to the Polynesian. We were meeting the Inlaws after their Luau to watch the fireworks and the Electric Water parade from the Polynesian beach (but they never showed up). It turns out that there is another beach just outside where the Luau is held, so fortunately they were able to see everything. They loved the Luau and the entertainment afterwards. We headed back to our condo and were in bed at 11pm.

Sunday November 29th-Day 9

We all woke up at 5am. After a quick breakfast we headed to the Animal Kingdom. This would be my Inlaws only day at the Animal Kingdom. We arrived at 7:15am and immediately went to see "It’s Tough to be a Bug" (no wait). Everyone enjoyed it. My daughters eyes were half closed (which was the norm for most of the dark attractions) and my sons eyes were wide open (which was the norm for every attraction he did). We then headed over to Dinoland. We took turns doing "Countdown to Extinction" (no wait), the kids sat this one out. We then let the kids play for a while in the playground. This is an area themed to look like a dinosaur dig site. Nancy noticed that if you stand in the dinosaur footprints, they make different sounds effects. We then did our second safari ride (Inlaws first) of the trip. We were hoping to try this at different times of the day, during the trip, but were never able to. We basically saw the same animals that we saw the first time (minus the lion). On both trips we saw zebras and giraffes in the distance and were hoping to get a much closer look. Once we got off the safari we spent a little (not enough) time watching some of the penned animals. The crowds were getting heavy so we left at noon. If you can do it, the best way to do Animal Kingdom is 7-11am and after 2pm. At this point one of our umbrella strollers was on it’s last wheel (literally). We junked it at Animal Kingdom and headed out to find the Walmart Superstore. We were pleasantly surprised to find that, not only did it have everything we needed but the prices were very good. We headed back to the condo and had a nice lunch with the food we just purchased. No time to rest, back in the minivan after lunch, and we were back in Epcot by 3:30pm. First we went to "Ellens Energy" (we love the new version) and then into Innovations for a while. I emailed while the kids played with the computers. We then all posed for some email picture postcards. We then did the "Living Seas", which none of us care much for (we grew up with the New England aquarium nears us). Now it was time to finish up the "Land" pavilion. We paused for a short time so that the kids could visit the characters at the Land restaurant. We then watched "Food Rocks" and took another ride on the "Living with the Land".

We then began our "walk around the world", this time going in reverse order. At our first country (France) we watched the "bubble boy" and then watched a band called "Off Kilter" (England). One of the highlights of the trip was the beautiful "Candlelight Procession". This is a huge Christmas choir that was narrated by Phylicia Rashad. We got there 5 minutes after it started and had an excellent view standing behind the seated area. When this ended we bought some gingerbread cookies and visited Santa at the American pavilion. We were planning on watching the holiday version of Illuminations (at 9:30pm) but the kids passed out so we slowly walked out of Epcot at 7:30pm. We did stop to enjoy the Epcot Christmas tree, the beautiful tunnel of lights (blinks in sinc with music) and watched our favorite fountains play Christmas music. We finally left the Epcot parking lot and headed for bed at 9pm.

Monday November 30th-Day 10

Once again I thought the kids would sleep late. They woke me at 6am (my wife slept until 9am) and asked me "what was on the schedule today". We went to the pool from 11-2pm and then decided to have everyone take a nap. Everyone slept from 3-6pm. We grabbed something quick to eat and then headed over to the Contemporary to watch the 7pm fireworks from their observation deck (something we have been trying to do for quite a while). What an incredible view, not only of the fireworks, but of the entire area. Next trip I want to check this out in the daylight. We hopped onto the monorail and rode over to the Grand Floridian. They had a gingerbread village (with a monorail circling) in the lobby. Once we were done exploring the whole resort we headed back to the Comtemporary. We were lucky enough to get some great pictures of the kids playing with Pluto and Goofy. Back to the condo and in bed by 11pm.

Tuesday December 1st-Day 11

This was our day to get the kids on Dumbo. We were up at 7am and waiting for the rope drop at Magic Kingdom. The rope dropped at 9:10am (10 minutes late) and we rode Dumbo with a 10 minute wait. We had very short wait at most of the attractions in Magic Kingdom today. We did Peter Pan (another family favorite) and took turns in the Haunted Mansion (my daughter sat this one out). We then did the "Tiki Room" (we didn’t like the new version), "Thunder Mountain", "Buzz Lightyear" (our scores got better each time), "People Mover" and took the back way to the character tent.

We waited about 20 minutes until we were in the room visiting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. Even though they had seen them numerous times already on this trip, my kids wanted to get in line to see Pluto, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse. Once we were done with all our photo ops we headed out of Magic Kingdom at 2pm.

Once again we ate at McDonalds and arrived at MGM at 3:30pm. Our timing was perfect all vacation and this was no exception. As we walked through the main gate the "Mulan parade" was just starting. Once again, as the parade concluded, hordes of people exited the park. We went on the "Great Movie Ride" (got the western side), and then watched "Belles Christmas show". We took the "Backstage/Tour ride" which has been extensively changed since we last went on it. We tried to get into the "Honey I Shrank the Kids" playground but it closed at 5pm. We slowly walked around and explored. We did the child swap (daughter sat out) for "Star Tours" and then headed to the "Osbourne Lights". We did the lights and then met with the Inlaws at 7pm to do "Fantasmic". Unfortunately the show was at 6:30pm tonight so we just did the "Osbourne Lights" together as a group. If you are at Disney for the holidays, don’t miss this. Snow falling, four million lights, Christmas music, and characters in holiday attire really put you in the holiday mood. We left the park at 7:30pm. Of course since Epcot was open until 9:30, we headed over there. We got into Epcot at 8:30pm and journeyed through "Horizons". We finally got to see the "Holiday Illuminations" and then headed home for bed at 10:30pm.

Wednesday December 2nd -Day 12

This was a rest day. My Inlaws were suppose to do their second day at Universal Studios. My father-in-law was feeling the affects of all the walking and decided to spend the day resting in bed. We left the kids with my Inlaws and decided to take the HOUR tour (it took 2. 5 hours) of the Vistana. Our reward was $50 and a continental breakfast. We got back to the condo at 10am and everyone (except my father-in-law) wanted to go to the "superpool". This was a very large pool with a hottub that could hold 100 people. By this time my kids were looking like fish in the water (my son did wear swimmies). I think my father-in-law was getting cabin fever. When we got back to the condo he was in the mood to hit the parks again. We went for a lunch at 2pm at the Golden Corral ($30), a very good buffet with a lot of variety. At 4pm we dropped the Inlaws off at Universal Studios. They accomplished more in three hours than they did in a full day when they went the first time. They took the shuttle home ($6 each) at 8pm. We used the rest of the day to do Downtown Disney. We first had to check out the ice rink and the new West Side. We looked at all the new stores and then stopped to hear a childrens choir on our way to Santa. This would be the first official visit with Santa this season. We bought a few ornaments ($12 each) and then went to watch the Christmas tree lighting. We arrived at the condo at the same time my Inlaws got back.

Thursday December 3rd-Day 13

This was our last day in the parks. We woke at 7am and were in the Magic Kingdom by 9am. We all did "Dumbo" and then headed onto "Buzz Lightyear". The kids needed one last ride on the "People Mover". My Inlaws and kids wanted to do the "Skyway". Since this went only one way and strollers weren’t allowed, they rode the "Skyway" and Nancy and I walked the strollers to Fantasyland where we met them. While my Inlaws did the "Lion King show", "Peter Pan", and "It’s a Small World", we did the "Christmas Country Bear Jamboree" and visited Donald and Daisy Duck at their Christmas tree lot. We saw Scrooge McDuck and then rode the "Steam Train". As we got off the train we met the Inlaws and posed for some pictures with "Scrooge". We left Magic Kingdom and went for our last lunch at McDonalds at 2pm.

By 3pm we were walking into MGM. We had about two hours until we would find seating for "Fantasmic". We decided to split up. The women went to the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" show and the men went to "Star Tours" and "Muppet 3D". We met at the "Honey I Shrank the Kids" playground at 4:30 and let the kids play for an hour. At 5:45 we entered "Fantasmic" and got front row seats. The show was very good (except my video battery ran out 5 minutes into the show) and we exited with very little trouble.

We exited MGM and decided to close Epcot on our last day. We entered Epcot at 8pm and went to the only pavilion we hadn’t visited yet, "Body Wonders". We did the health test, played with various displays, and watched "Cranium Control". We spent the remainder of our time in the gift shops doing a little Christmas shopping. Tomorrow would be our last full day.

Friday December 4th-Day 14

Again we woke at 7am and did some packing. By 10am we headed to a couple of gift shops. I had to get my traditional citrus trees (4 orange trees $12). At 2pm we went to our last buffet at the "Golden China" ($40). I do not recommend this place to anyone (bland food and a lousy selection). My Inlaws promised the kids a monorail set for a souvenir. We saw many on our first week but by now they were completely sold out (even in their warehouses). We plan on ordering one over the phone when we get home. We decided to get our last taste of Disney, so we visited Dixie Landings and the All Star Sports resort (where we stayed in 1996). From 4-5:30 we were back at the condo and decided to take one last swim. By 6pm we were dressed and doing our final packing (this part is so depressing).

Saturday December 5th-Day 15

Our flight was at 10:15am, so we were up at 5am. We were packed and on the road by 7am. We stopped at Denny’s for breakfast and then turned in our minivan by 9am. We posed for some final pictures by a huge Christmas tree at the Orlando airport and then boarded the plane. Departure and Arrival were on time. Family members picked us up as we headed towards home in New Hampshire.

Summary/Observations:

Silver Lake Resort: This resort worked out perfect for us. I got unit #711 which was on the first floor directly across from the pool (closest unit to the pool) and main building. The pool was huge and had a small bar/lounge on the end of the pool area. The units were huge with a full kitchen, huge jucuzzi in the master bedroom, and sleeping for eight. It had three TV’s, a VCR, and a screened in porch. They ran a free shuttle service which was very convenient (I wish we used it more). The shortcut enabled us to travel all week to Disney property in less than 5 minutes with no traffic.
Vistana: An absolutely beautiful resort with canals, fountains, and wildlife everywhere. The pools, hot tubs, and facilities were big and beautiful. The biggest problem with the facilities is that we had to take the minivan to get everywhere on the property, it’s very spread out. The units were once again huge, with a full kitchen, large jucuzzi (which we never used) in the master bedroom, and sleeping for eight. It also had three TV’s, a VCR, and a screened in porch. They also ran a shuttle service to the parks, but charged for it. Our unit was #1836 in the "Lakes" area. Our biggest complaint was that everything from the general store to the snack bar was very over-priced. These prices were actually higher than at the parks.
McDonalds (near All-Star Resort): I had to review this since we spent so much time there. You’d think we loved this place since we kept going back. On the contrary, It had to be the worst McDonalds I’ve ever been to. We continued to go for two reasons; It was extremely convenient as we did our park hopping and the prices were very reasonable. The employees were the worst that I’ve ever seen. They never got our order right. They constantly rang in the wrong amount of money. One lady was trying to tell a cashier that she undercharged her by $4. 00 and the cashier was arguing that since the cash register had that amount it had to be right (even though we could all see that she was wrong). I noticed several employees rolling their eyes and making subtle comments when foreigners were trying to make an order. I had one employee (without even checking) argue that they didn’t have an item on their menu even though we had ordered it on three other visits. Keep in mind that they were never busy when we were there. I can’t imagine how they act when it’s crowded. It’s a shame that Disney doesn’t control everything on their property.
Time of Year (Holiday season vs. October visit): We absolutely loved the holiday season in Disney. The decorations and festivities were fantastic. It didn’t hurt that we got 80-90 degrees for the whole vacation. We had planned this November trip as a one time affair. We always love the October weather and lack of crowds. We will probably give November some serious thought the next time we go. We never ran into any heavy crowds, except as we were leaving the Animal Kingdom on two days. We found that the crowds were small the weekend before Thanksgiving and the week after Thanksgiving. They were the worst on Thanksgiving weekend, which is what we had heard so we avoided the crowds on these days.
Animal Kingdom: We liked it alot. I don’t see how you can’t spend a whole day there. I think a lot of people are missing the boat with this park. It isn’t just about attractions, there is so much to explore here. I wish we had more time to study the animals and scenery. We could have easily spent over a day here.
REVIEWS:

These are our reviews from our 1996 (October) trip. I have put our 1998 reviews in parenthesis (in italics). Our rating system: lousy (1) - excellent (10)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Resorts (Inexpensive)

All-Star Music/Sports (5) (5) We didn’t like the music icons. We all loved the oversized sports themes. Our room location was fantastic. We were located in the "Touchdown" building about 50 feet from the pool, foodcourt, laundry, gift shop, and ice machines (very important). The pools were alot of fun. There was a good variety of food items at the food court, even though the prices were high. The "mug" was the buy of the trip. They cost $7. 99 a mug and can be filled for free, an unlimited amount of times. Some of the resorts sell the mugs for $6. 99 and charge 79 cents for a refill (a real ripoff). We did refill our mugs (without a problem) at several other resorts. The "All-Stars" have a decent arcade, gift shop, and laundry. The room sizes were not as small as I expected. (We are looking forward to the All-Star Movies)
Resorts (Moderate)

Dixie Landings (7) (8) and Port Orleans (7) (8) were two of our favorite resorts. Both had beautiful grounds and very attractive facilities. Both pools were very nice, with Port Orleans getting the edge because of their large dragon slide and alligator statue decor. The fact that they were both on the waterway, had access to boat rentals, and the water taxi (to the marketplace) added considerably to their appeal. (We still love Dixie and Port Orleans)
Coronado (6)is a beautiful resort. The theming is very nicely done and the resort has a lot of things to do. The biggest problem is that it is extremely spread out. There is no area that is close to everything.
Caribbean Beach (6) (5) was nice, but way too spread out. You needed transportation to get from one end of the resort to the other. The pools and beach areas were very nice.
Resorts (Expensive)

The Contemporary (8) (8) and Polynesian (9) (9) are still two of my favorites. You can’t beat being on the monorail. Both have nice pools and restaurants. We loved the atmosphere at the Polynesian. The Polynesian also has a beautiful beach (with hammocks) and marina. There is a great view from the roof of the Contemporary.
We visited the character breakfast at the Grand Floridian (7) (6). The food was great. It was my daughters birthday, so Goofy brought out a Mickey Mouse cupcake with a candle. She loved it !The hotel was very plush, but I have no desire to stay there. It’s just to "plastic". (I’m trying to force myself to like this place, but I can’t. It has no warmth.)
The Wilderness Lodge (9) (9) is very, very, impressive. The lobby is absolutely gorgeous and the pool area is something to see. There is a buffet restaurant (Whispering Canyon) in the lobby. It is a very good and filling meal, especially lunch and dinner. The biggest problem at this resort is the transportation. (Transportation has gotten better, attention to detail very good)
The Boardwalk (10) (9) and the Yacht and Beach Clubs (10) (10) are our two favorites. The Boardwalk resort is located on a boardwalk which has a variety of entertainment and restaurants. My favorites were the ESPN club and the Sulley bicycles. It also has a great swimming pool area (themed like an amusement park) with a big water slide. The Yacht and Beach clubs have a huge pool area with a long water slide and beach. The pool areas are the best in Disney World (not includingthe water parks).
The Swan (9) (6) and Dolphin (9) (6) resorts are located near the Boardwalk. They are very fancy, but I liked the resorts with novelties better. The pools at these resorts are very ordinary. (The more I visit these resorts the less I like them. Other than their location and cleanliness they don’t have much going for them)
The final resort that we visited was Fort Wilderness (5) (5). I don't think I would chance the weather camping, but the Wilderness Homes would be very nice for a stay. The campground is much nicer than a typical campground but very spead out. You need transportation to get around it. There is an abundance of activities and Pioneer Hall and Trails End have very good food.
Our favorite resorts:

Boardwalk (4)
Yacht and Beach clubs (2)
Polynesian (1)
Wilderness Lodge (3)
Contemporary (5)
Dixie Landings (6) / Port Orleans (6)
Dolphin (11)
Swan (10)
Coronado (8)
Grand Floridian (9)
All-Star Sports (13)
Caribbean (12)
Fort Wilderness (14)
All-Star Music (15)
Marketplace

We went to the Marketplace several times by car and once using the water taxi from Port Orleans. Use the boat taxi if you can. It’s a nice ride and very convenient. There are several very impressive places at the Marketplace.
The Rainforest Café was fantastic for sightseeing. There is an active volcano, some great animatronic animals, jungle foliage everywhere, and a talking tree. There are huge tunnel-like aquariums and live parrots. The bar stools looked like different animals. Every hour there would be a rainstorm in the restaurant.
Planet Hollywood was another tourist delight. There were hundreds of pieces of movie props and souvenirs. While you ate there were movie clips shown on giant screens overhead. We spent over 2 hours just walking around Planet Hollywood and the Rainforest Café.
The new character shop is huge. I was a little surprised that a store that was so big didn’t have a bigger selection. We did a decent amount of shopping here, but the bulk of our purchases were done elsewhere.
We all loved the fountains that were at the Marketplace, Resorts, and Parks. It seemed like they were all different. The kids loved playing in them and we all enjoyed looking at them.
The marketplace is a great place to visit during the holidays. They had an actual ice rink and many attractions/events geared for the holiday season.
The Lego store was very impressive. We are not into Legos but the different characters that were made from them were amazing. My kids did enjoy using the Lego play area.
Transportation

We used the car most of the time. When we did use the buses, monorails, or boats we found them to be enjoyable, punctual, and relatively convenient.
Character Visibility

I thought this was better than in the past. The different character meeting places gave people a chance to meet the characters without a lot of pushing and shoving. We were disappointed by the number of characters actually walking around the parks. It seemed like these were greatly reduced.
Our Attraction Ratings (1-10):

Magic Kingdom

Dumbo (4) - good for kids (4) Inlaws loved this too
Carousel (4) - good for kids (4) Inlaws loved this too
Snow White (4) - 4 year old was scared (4) now 3and 6 and still scared
Peter Pan (6) - one of our favorites (7) now one of kids/Inlaws favorites
Alien Encounter (7) -this is overrated (6) once was enough
Small World (3) - wife and kids loved it (4) Inlaws favorite/ kids love it
Country Bears (6) - another family favorite (7) Xmas version better
Pirates of the Caribbean (7) (7)
Tiki Birds (3) - getting old (3) don’t like new version
Lion King (9) - excellent, don't miss (9) all love this one
Minnies House (4) - needs more interactive (4)
Hall of Fame (9) - long overdue (8) great, but lines long
Donalds Boat (3) - needs more (3)
Jungle Cruise (7) - oldie but goody (4) lousy at night
Splash Mountain (9) - liked this a lot (9)great
Buzz Lightyear (7) fun interactive ride
People Mover (7) A nice change of pace
MGM

Tower of Terror (9) - excellent, wish it was longer (9)
Great Movie ride (9) - better than we remembered (9)
Muppet 3D (9) - hope they keep it (9)
Mermaid show (7) - too short (9) one of our favorites
Hunchback show (8) - wife loved this (10) women loved it
Beauty and the Beast (7) (7)
Toy Story parade (9) - too short
Mulan parade (9)
Belle Christmas show (4)
Star Tours (8) men loved this
Osbourne Lights (10)beautiful
Fantasmic (9) very enjoyable
Backstage Tour (6) very interesting
Epcot

Innovations (4) - thought it would be better (7) kids older/ used email
Honey I Shrank Audience (9) - great effects (9)
Journey to Imagination (4) - kids loved this Sad it’s gone
Land Boat ride (9) - one of my favorites (9) love it
Circle of Life (8)
Food Rocks (6) - 4 year old loved this (5) kids loved it
Horizons (8) - forgot how good it was (8) Sad to see it go
Ellens Energy (9) - excellent facelift (9) love the changes
Fountains (9) - especially good at night (9) holiday music made it better
Countries (6) - some better than others (7) kids get older, we enjoy more
Illuminations (5) - a letdown, thought it was better (7) holiday version
Living with the Seas (3)spoiled by NE Aquarium
Body Wonders (4)Cranium control was great
Candlelight Procession (9)beautiful
John Ciarcia Jr

__________________
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.