Trip Reports

4/8/98, Day One, Flight from San Francisco to Orlando, Check In

Well, here’s the trip report I promised everyone. It’s the first trip report I’ve written so bear with me. This trip to Walt Disney World had been planned for well over a year and I want to thank Deb Wills, Brian Bennett, Peter Werner and everyone on RADP for the suggestions and information. It was invaluable!

This was a vacation for me (Patti, age 36) and my son, Bryan, age 13. We had both been to Disneyland prior but Bryan hadn’t been since age 7 so he had never ridden Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. And neither of us had been to Walt Disney World before.

We woke up around 8:00 am on 4/8/98 with everything packed and ready to go. My best friend, Sue, drove us to the airport in San Francisco where we caught our flight around 11:00 am to Denver, then onto Orlando. I am a HORRIBLE flyer and the flights were both pretty bumpy so I was VERY happy to land in Orlando. I had been watching the weather on the web before we left and the temps had been in the 60s at night so we made the mistake of wearing sweatsuits on the plane. When we landed in Orlando at just after 9:00 pm it was 76 degrees and humid! Despite wishing we had dressed differently, we thought it felt wonderful!!

We caught the "monorail" (as Bryan called it) to baggage and that started us out in the Disney mood. We picked up our bags and headed over to National to pick up our rental car. Okay, I’ll admit it, I swear I got lost before I ever got out of the rental car garage but somehow we made it out of the airport and were on our way! We found a great radio station and headed out for WDW.

I will say that being from California, Florida seemed like another world. It was so open and not crowded at all. It was very clean and was relaxing to us immediately. The only glich on the way to our hotel was when we hit the first toll, I accidentally got in the Express Toll lane all the way to the left! Ack! I made the mistake of assuming that was for those of us who felt smart enough to have the correct change for the toll. NOT! <gg> So, we were a little embarrassed and we backed up and got in another lane. Whew, we made it through and with Bryan as my co-pilot we made it to the Yacht Club.

I let the friendly folks at the Yacht Club unload my bags and valet park the car. We checked in and were given Room 3012. We were innocent and unaware that we were about to make one of the longest treks on the trip -- geting to our room. Wow, are there are LOT of rooms in that hotel! But we finally got there and the bellman brought the bags up. I went to our balcony and we had a wonderful view overlooking a small pond and fountain between the Yacht Club and the Dolphin. It was really nice! By the time we were checked in and somewhat settled in the room, it was almost 11:00 pm. Since it was only 8:00 pm to our bodies, we were wide awake. We changed into our bathing suits and headed for the 24 hour pool (not Stormalong Bay). Bryan swam and I sat in the hot tub. Afterwards we walked around outside of the hotel and found the beach. We turned in around 12:00 pm and finally fell asleep a little before 1:00 am. We knew the next morning would come VERY early!

4/9/98, Day Two, MGM Studios

This morning we woke up a 7:00 am. OH MY GOD, our bodies felt like it was 4:00 am but we knew if we struggled through one day, we would adjust more quickly. We were showered and downstairs for breakfast at the Yacht Club Galley by 7:45 am. The buffet was really delicious, I especially liked the broiled tomatoes. YUM! The weather was very warm and humid and it was overcast.

Just a note here—we decided to avoid the early entry parks while we were here since we did not want to get up REAL early and this was such a crowded time of year.

We caught the launch to MGM at about 8:00 and only waited about 20 minutes once we got to MGM before being let into the park. We both decided the first thing we would go on was the Tower of Terror. I remembering looking at the Tower on our way in on the launch and we were both trying to talk ourselves out of being nervous. As we strolled up to the building and could already hear people screaming we just kept looking at all the little kids in line and telling each other that if they could do it, we could do it! We only waited about 5 minutes before entering the lobby. I am NOT a roller coaster person nor do I ever go on rides that send me upside down or drop me from large heights. But hey, this is Disney, how bad could it be??? From the pre-show all the way through to the end of this ride, it is terrific! It was just wild enough for me. I screamed through the whole ride but we both loved it.

Next, we zipped over to Star Tours and waited about 15 minutes. I recall this ride being a little more sickening (motion sickness) the last time I was on it but I had no motion sickness at all. From there we couldn’t decide where to go so we headed over to Muppet 4D. I’ll tell you this, Bryan did NOT want to see anything that sounded like it would be for a little kid—must be his age. I managed to talk him into it since it was a movie though I knew at that point I could kiss off Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We only waited about 10 minutes in the lobby area of Muppets and were let into the theatre. Bryan insisted on sitting in the front row which takes away alot of the fun of a 3D movie. We enjoyed the show very much.

Next, we went over to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and waited about 30 minutes outside for the next show. This was a good stunt show and we had seats pretty much dead center in about the 5th row. When we left Indy we ran smack into the Hercules parade. We had both agreed that parades were not what we were interested in so we kept trying to find our way away from the parade. This is not easy! It was like an obstacle course.

We moved next to the Great Movie Ride and only waited about 10 minutes for this. Bryan really like this attraction though I thought it was just okay. He really liked the CM we had that was the gangster. We left and were headed to the Backlot Tour and got somewhat lost. We were walking down one of the many roads in MGM and I glanced at someone we passed and thought it looked a lot like my cousin, Janet. Now I have not seen Janet more than twice in 10 years and she lives all the way across the country from me in PA but it sure looked like her. I told Bryan that we had just passed someone who looked a lot like my cousin so he said we should turn around and find out. We walked back and when I saw her again I was sure. I said, "Hi Janet." And she immediately looked up and saw me, but I could tell she was trying to figure out what was going on. When she finally recognized it was me we hooped and hollered! How bizarre! She was at WDW with her husband, Greg, and two daughters, Cori - 13, and Katie - 15. We talked for a few minutes and this was their first day, too. We exchanged names of hotels, they were staying at All Star Music, and agreed to try and hook up in the next few days. That was so weird!

Bryan and I went on to the Backlot Tour where we waited about 15 minutes before making it to the first preshow area. And I was lucky (not) enough to end up in the last seat on the left side of one of the trams. I figured I was going to be soaked but I really didn’t get that wet. After getting out of the Backlot Tour we were so tired we headed back to the hotel for a break. Bryan changed and headed down to Stormalong Bay and I picked up the rental car from valet so I could head out to Publix for some drinks and snacks for the room. After I got back I found Bryan at the pool where he had already hooked up with another boy about his age. We went back to the room, changed and grabbed a launch back to MGM around 4:00 pm.

We had PS at 50’s Primetime at 5:00 pm. We got over to the restaurant around 4:15 and asked if they could seat us earlier. We only waited about 5 minutes. Neither of us were very impressed with dinner—food or atmosphere. We were both like walking zombies and were way too tired to be amused at the shouting by the CMs. It wasn’t their fault, I just think we picked the worst possible time to be there. When we were first seated the "mother" explained that Bryan would HAVE to remove his hat or he wasn’t getting dinner. Ha! The look she got was enough to convey that he wasn’t playing that game so she said if he at least turned it around, he could eat. As soon as she walked away from the table he put it back to the way it had been. I had the turkey dinner, Bryan had the meatloaf and it cost about $35. Pretty steep for bad food.

After eating we walked around and decided to do the Animation Tour. We waited about 20 minutes. Once out of there we both agreed there was NO way we could make it to 9:50 pm for fireworks so we took the launch back. We decided to get off the launch at the Boardwalk and we walked around a bit. Bryan wanted to play a couple of games in the arcade and then he waited in line for a slice of pizza while I picked up a wonderful chocolate covered pretzel from the Sweet Shop. We rested on the benches for about 30 minutes and then got a second wind. We decided at 8:45 to head into the back entrance to Epcot to watch Illuminations. After Illuminations we headed back and sat on the beach at the YC watching the fireworks from MGM. It was the perfect ending to our first full day at the parks.

We headed upstairs and crashed about 10:30 pm. Good night!

4/10/98, Day Three, Magic Kingdom

The wake up call came at 6:30 am. I was much more awake this morning. We had the breakfast buffet at the Yacht Club Galley again and were outside to catch a bus to the MK at 7:45 am.

We were dropped off in front of the MK and got into line at 8:10 am. At 8:30 the let us in the front gate and we got to head over to the rope at Tomorrowland until 9:00 am. When the rope dropped were headed to Space Mountain and only waited 5 minutes. We both loved the ride! Next, we went to the Timekeeper where we couldn’t have waited more than 2 minutes. I enjoyed the attraction, Bryan thought it was just okay. We decided at that point we would get up our nerve and get in line for Alien Encounter. I knew if we didn’t do it then, the wait would get too long. We waited 25 minutes and were inside the preshow. The first thing Bryan said when he saw the cute little guy was, "Aw, he’s so cute." Uh oh! :-) I had read the entire script for Alien Encounter and I knew what was going to happen. We both agreed we would scream really loud and it would be okay. I thought the whole thing was pretty hilarious! Bryan wasn’t thrilled with the shoulder harnesses going up and down but overall he thought it was fun. I’m not sure how I would’ve faired if I had not known what was coming. We left Alien Encounter and walked straight onto the Carousel of Progress. I had forgotten my Pocket Unnofficial Guide so I was not sure what to expect on this attraction. We were both sorry we wasted the time. We walked up to Frontierland and opted for Splash Mountain. That line took 55 minutes to get through and we realized that it was time to get out of the Magic Kingdom!

I had the bright idea that we should take the monorail over to the TTC and catch the monorail to Epcot where we could simply walk to the Yacht Club. Well, for those of you who know how big Epcot is, you realize we would’ve been better of waiting for the bus! Ah, live and learn!! :-) Bryan was dying to rent a mini water sprite at the hotel so we did that for ½ hour and I let him drive. I got some great pictures of the Boardwalk and our hotel from the boat. It was fun. We went back up to the room to rest and there was a message waiting from my cousin, Janet. She wanted us to meet up either the next day (Saturday) or Sunday and left the number for her hotel. I called her back but she wasn’t in the room (no suprise) and the voice mail system at All Star Music wasn’t working so I had to leave a message with the operator. I knew we would be heading back to MK that night and be out late so I really didn’t know what to say except, "Call late tonight."

After a nice rest, we caught a bus back to the MK around 3:30 pm. We hit the park just as the Easter Parade was heading around Main Street. Argh! So we hopped the train to Frontierland and walked back down to Adventureland. We only waited 5 minutes for the Jungle Cruise. Bryan really liked this ride, as did I. Next, we waited about 20 minutes for Pirates of the Carribbean, which both of us thought was just okay. We had PS for the character dinner at the Crystal Palace at so we headed back down that way. We only waited about 5 minutes and were seated. I thought the food was delicious and Bryan thought it was okay, certainly better than dinner the previous night. I got a picture with Tigger, and Pooh and was able to convince Bryan to at least take a picture with me and Eeyore. Piglet is Bryan’s favorite and he was pretty miffed that Piglet wasn’t with his friends. I give the Crystal Palace a thumbs up!

We headed back up to Frontierland and ran smack into my cousin, Janet, and her family again! Talk about a small world. I explained to her how great this was since trying to catch each other on the phone was going to be nearly impossible. We decided to make plans for the next night right then to have dinner together. We promised to meet at 5:00 pm at Bongos Cuban Cafe in Downtown Disney. They were headed for Tomorrowland so we bid them farewell. Bryan wanted to go to the Frontierland Shooting Arcade so we did that. Next, we went over to the Haunted Mansion and waited 10 minutes to get in. This attraction was not bad. We knew that it was still too early for the lines to have died down at any of the Mountains so we decided to go into Fantasyland.

We went on It’s a Small World (10 mins), Snow White (10 mins), and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (15 mins). Bryan was not impressed with any of these rides so we made our way back to Frontierland. We got in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the sign out front said it was about a 35 minute wait. After 25 minutes in line they announced the ride had broken down. Some people left but a majority of us just waited in line hoping the ride would be back up soon. After another 5 minutes they made us all leave. Bryan had no desire to wait in line for anything else so I went and grabbed a coke for us and we sat on the rocks outside of BTMRR waiting for it to reopen. We had a ball with the CMs there. After another 20 minutes the ride opened again and we were on the first train! It was great. We got right back in line and only waited about 10 minutes for our next ride. Then the ride broke down again so we left. We moved over to Splash Mt. and only waited 15 minutes.

From there we walked over to Fantasyland and took the Sky Tram over to Tomorrowland. I’d say we waited about 15 minutes to get on. Once off the tram we got in line for Space Mt and were able to watch the fireworks. For some reason, it took about 40 minutes to get through the line on Space Mt. I was really beat by then so we took the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so I could have a rest. Bryan asked if we could ride the Speedway before we left so we went over there and waited about 15 minutes. After getting off the Speedway we went back down Main St. and out to the bus area. We only waited 3 minutes for a bus but it was terribly crowded and we ended up standing the whole way back. The bus driver never turned on the air conditioner and this was the only negative experience we had with Disney transportation. We got into bed about 1:00 am.

4/11/98, Day Four, Epcot and Downtown Disney

After being up so late at the Magic Kingdom the night before we slept in until 9:30 am. We grabbed some breakfast at the buffet downsairs while deciding what to do for the day. We opted to hang out at the pool so after breakfast we changed into our suits and headed for Stormalong Bay. It was in the low 70’s and there was a breeze so it wasn’t ideal swimming weather. One of my biggest disappointments of the trip was Stormalong Bay. When planning the trip I debated between the Yacht Club and the Wilderness Lodge. I finally decided on the Yacht Club because I read about Stormalong Bay and it was described as a 300 acre water park. I really expected more than one slide. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful pool and very well laid out, but this was not a 300 acre water park. It was a gorgeous pool with a slide. We only stayed down at the pool about an hour because it was too cool.

We changed and decided to head over to Epcot about 1:30. We had time to kill before going to Downtown Disney to meet my cousin and it was easy to go in the back of Epcot. We strolled through the World Showcase looking around at all the buildings. We went to Norway and rode Maelstrom with about a 20 minute wait. We both liked the ride. Next we went down to Mexico and rode Rio del Tiempo because there was only a 2 minute wait. After riding we knew why there was only a 2 minute wait! I wouldn’t bother with that ride. We browsed in some of the shops and headed into Future World. We decided to go into Horizons and waited about 5 minutes to get on. We choose the Undersea return. Neither of us were at all impressed by Horizons and I think it needs to be brought up to date. It was getting late so we walked back through the World Showcase to get back to the hotel. We made sure to stop in France and pick up a chocolate croissant to split. Yum!

After changing clothes we got the car out of valet and went down to Dowtown Disney. We walked around and looked through a few shops. We met my cousin, Janet, and her family in front on Bongos Cuban Cafe at 5:00 pm. I had never had cuban food and it was good. Bryan said he food was not the best he had ever had but I enjoyed it. After dinner we all walked down to the Marketplace to see some of the shops. We went in the large Disney Store, Pooh Corner, and the Art of Disney store. It was getting late so we made plans to meet Janet the next day in Epcot at about 8:00 pm to watch Illuminations together. Bryan and I left and drove over to the Wilderness Lodge to take a look. We went inside and also out back to see the pool. What a great looking hotel. We both think we would like to try staying there next time. We drove back to the Yacht Club and we could see parts of Illuminations in the sky from the car. We parked the car and walked out back to the lake and we could see more of Illuminations. We headed back to the room where I lounged in a long hot bath. We watched the MGM fireworks from our balcony and into bed early. Lights out at about 10:30 pm.

4/12/98, Day Five, Easter Sunday - Animal Kingdom

We were up at 6:45 am and out back to catch a bus to AK at 7:45 am. We arrived at the Animal Kingdom at about 8:00 am. We walked through the Oasis to catch our first glimpse of the Tree of Life. WOW! We were both really impressed by it. We looked at the otters and then decided to head over to Africa to get onto Killamajaro Safari before it got any later.

There was no wait and we headed out on the Safari. We saw lots of animals and took lots of pictures. We saw zebras, giraffes, some antelope-type animals, a lion, elephants, mire (sp?) cats, and the scenery is so well done. We both really enjoyed the ride. Next, we walked through Gorilla Falls and saw at least 4 gorillas. By that time, I was really hungry so we went back into Africa for breakfast. We split a large cinnamon role and I bought a nice fresh banana. We decided to take the Discovery Boats back over to Dinoland. We waited in line about 5 minutes for the boat and had a nice chat with the CM that was there. She said that the past week the park had started getting a little busier and today was supposed to be the busiest day so far. They expected a large influx of people into the park around 2:00 pm after the parade was over in the Magic Kingdom. Great, that oughta be just about the time we were leaving! :-) The boat ride is a nice way to get from one area to another but there wasn’t much to it.

When we got to Dinoland we immediately went to Countdown to Extinction. We waited about 10 minutes for the ride. The preshow is very good, probably better than the rest of the ride. I had been on Indiana Jones in DL before so I knew what kind of ride to expect. When we got off Bryan thought it was good but would’ve been happier if it had been some kind of roller coaster. He commented that he thought it was too loud. I told him I thought we should go back on again, before the crowd got any bigger. This time we only waited 5 minutes. After the second ride, Bryan decided it was indeed too loud and he wasn’t going on again. Note: I have since read that the ride has been changed now that the park is open and people say it is better. When we were there it was good, but not the best ride we’d been on.

We went back to gaze at the Tree of Life some more and saw so much more than the first time. This is one of the most awesome sights I’ve seen. I have since seen pictures on the web and on television and thought they were beautiful, but you HAVE to see this tree in person. We were thrilled to find out the It’s Tough To Be A Bug was up and running so we got in line for it. We waited about 10 minutes before being let into the theatre. It was so good! Bryan and I agreed this was our favorite thing so far in any park. Yes, even better than BTMRR which we LOVE. We took a break and got a chocolate covered frozen banana and strolled back to catch the train to Conservation Station, about a 5 minute wait. We stayed out at there about 45 minutes. There is a lot to look at out there but there isn’t really anything that DRAWS you. This could be one of the best places in the park but it needs some more imagining. :-)

By this time we decided it was time for lunch so we went to the Tusker House, food was very good. We went into a shop and bought some stuff for folks back home. We went to an Animal Encounter area and waited about 10 minutes for the animal. Bryan was very disappointed that it was a goat since he had just petted about 10 of them at Conservation Station. But I enjoyed the fact that they had a young girl straight from Kenya that talked about life back in her village. It was interesting. We had to go back to the Tree of Life and we spent another 45 minutes just gazing. By the time it was around 2:00 pm the park was suddenly swarming so we caught the bus back to the Yacht Club and Bryan went for a swim. I got a message at the room that I had left my Visa card at the shop we were in at AK and that it was being transferred to the main Lost and Found at the TTC. Boo, this was the first thing that had really gone wrong! Fortunately, I didn’t need it for the rest of the day.

We had PS at the Cape May Clam Bake at the Beach Club at 5:00 pm. We got there about 4:45 and were seated immediately. I thought this buffet was super! There was Prime Rib, Turkey, Ham, Lamb, Ribs, Steamed Clams, Shrimp, Corn on the Cob, Asparagus, soup, salad, and much more. The dessert bar was incredible. Definitely worth the money!

We headed over to Epcot at about 5:45 pm. We walked down through Great Britain and into some of the shops. I picked up some Twinnings Mint Teat at one of the shops—a great find since I cannot find the Mint flavor of Twinnings at my local store in CA. We went down to Spaceship Earth and waited about 5 minutes. We thought this ride was better than Horizons but that isn’t saying much. It was okay. We went over and got in line for Honey I Shrunk The Audience, waited about 15 minutes. It was a good movie but I wish we hadn’t seen It’s Tough To Be A Bug first because nothing could be as good as that. We went into Journey Into the Imagination next with a 5 minute wait. This attraction is not very good but somehow we ended up falling in love with Figment anyway. Bryan was still wishing some of these rides would be roller coasters (he wouldn’t listen to me that it wasn’t going to happen!) so he would occassionally throw both arms straight up in the air like we were going down a hill on a roller coaster. Okay, I did laugh.

It was getting late and we were scheduled to meet Janet (my cousin) and her family in France at 8:00 pm so we headed up that way. We got there a little early and the Living Statue was out. Bryan stayed and watched her and I went back into that wonderful bakery. I picked up two chocolate croissants for the next morning and grabbed a chocolate filled eclair while I was there. Mmmm! We found Janet about 8:05 pm and went down to a little area by the bridge that sits down on the water to wait for Illuminations. It was nice to have about 45 minutes to just chat. The kids went down to Japan to look around. We all enjoyed Illuminations and I found that it was much better for us this night. It obviously does make a difference where you are when you see it. Janet and her husband had decided they would walk to the Boarwalk and catch a launch to MGM to get a bus to All Star Music instead of trying to go with the crowd leaving Epcot. We walked over to the Boardwalk with them and got on the launch since the first stop was the YC. We said goodbye and promised to email when we got back. We got back to our room and watched the MGM fireworks from our balcony, watched a little television and went to bed around 11:00 pm.

4/13/98, Day Six, Blizzard Beach and Epcot

The wake up call came at 7:15 pm, and we ate our wonderful croissants while getting dressed. We took the car right over to Blizzard Beach and were the 8th car in the parking lot. We were in line to be let in at 8:30 am.

They let us in the park around 8:45 and we rented a locker and some towels. We headed up the stairs and we went on one of the slides that was next to the Toboggan racers. We took the ski lift back up and Bryan went down Slusher Gusher. I waited up at the observation deck for him to come back up. He said it wasn’t that scary but the seams in the slide hurt his back and he had some scratches on there. This helped him decide he wasn’t going to try Summit Plummet (uh huh, wouldn’t want to scratch our back!). :-) Next went both went down the Toboggan Racers, the Snow Stormers, and Runoff Rapids. We basically had no more than a 2 minute wait for any of these. We got in line for the Double Dipper and waited about 20 minutes for tubes. This was not a very organized ride and I think there has to be a way to speed things up. We liked the ride but had no interest in waiting that long again.

We went to Melt Away Bay and then the Cross Country Creek. We were both getting hungry and I was starting to get cold. It was only in the low 70s and whenever you got out of the water, the breeze made you feel very cold. We had lunch -- bacon double cheeseburgers and curly fries which were typical amusement park food. After lunch we decided we were too cold and the lines were getting too long. We changed our clothes and got a funnel cake to split before heading out of Blizzard Beach. This park’s theming is really good and it has some great slides. I would’ve enjoyed it more if it had been hotter weather.

We left around 12:00 pm and stopped at the TTC to pick up my Visa card from Lost and Found. We went back to the Yacht club where I showed and we changed clothes. We left about 2:00 pm for Epcot, stopping outside our hotel to each get a temporary tattoo. We walked into Epcot and went down to Canada to see the movie, O Canada! -- waited 10 minutes. I enjoyed it but it made Bryan dizzy. Next, we went over to the Land and saw the Circle of Life movie—waited 10 minutes. We both thought it was very good. We went to Living with the Land and waited 15 minutes, ride was okay. The Living Seas was next and we waited about 10 minutes. This was not the best attraction we had seen. We headed over to the Universe of Energy and got in with no wait just as the preshow was starting. Overall, we both enjoyed this attraction but it seemed a little long. We went into the Wonders of LIfe and waited 10 minutes for Cranium Command. It was cute. I had heard so many warnings about Body Wars not being for those with motion sickness so I originally figured I would skip it. But I threw caution to the wind once we found the line and decided to go on, 10 minute wait and no motion sickness for me. It was fine.

At this point it was almost 6:00 pm and we were getting hungry. We had no PS that night so I decided we would head back over to Canada to see how long the wait would be for Le Cellier Steakhouse. They told us we could get a table in about 30 minutes so they gave us a beeper and we went and found a bench to sit down and relax on. It was at that point that I realized I was getting sick. My head hurt and my throat was getting very sore. Figures, right in the middle of a wonderful vacation!! We were beeped to our table about 35 minutes later and had what I think was the BEST meal of the trip. We both ordered the Prime Rib and Cheddar Cheese Soup special. We had a great waiter and when he brought over the French Bread he told me there was a special way to eat it. There was roasted garlic in the middle of the loaf so he said to wrap a piece of bread around a garlic clove and dip it in the soup. It was out of this world! And the beef was quite good. If anyone has a chance to get to Epcot, make time for a meal at this restaurant!

After dinner we went down to Innoventions and Bryan wanted to play video games in the Sega area. I told him to meet me 45 minutes later and I went outside to listen to the DJ playing music and watched the kids dancing. It was a hoot. We left Epcot and little before 9:00 pm and watched part of Illuminations from the path going back to the Yacht Club. We went to the room and watched the MGM fireworks from the balcony—this was getting to be a routine! Lights out about 11:30 pm.

4/14/98, Day Seven -- Last Full Day, Fantasia Gardens and Magic Kingdom

We slept in this morning and woke on our own around 9:30 am. I opened my eyes and, YES, I was sick. My throat was so sore and I felt like I had a fever. I decided I only had this last day at the Happiest Place on Earth and I wasn’t wasting it being sick. So I showered and broke out the zinc lozenges. We had a leisurely breakfast at the buffet downstairs and drove over to play miniature golf at Fantasia Gardens at about 10:30 am. We enjoyed it and Bryan beat me.

We decided we would head back over to Downtown Disney because I really hadn’t gotten anything for me, arrived there about12:00 pm. We went into the Disney Store where I bought some Tigger shorts and socks, a Tigger shirt and nightgown. We got smoothies and walked through Pleasure Island and down to the Virgin Megastore. We left about 1:15 pm and got gas for the car. We went back to the Yacht Club where I laid down and rested my cold for about 2 hours. We left at 4:00 pm for Epcot since we had PS in Morocco at 5:15 pm. We walked through Italy and bought some coffee to bring home. We went into the American Adventure gift shop and Bryan bought some coins. We headed over to the Restaurant Marrakesh and were seated immediately. I ordered the chicken kabob and Bryan ordered the beef kabob so we shared both meals. The food was very good.

We took a launch over to Future World and exited to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived at MK at about 6:30 pm. We went over to the Common Sense stand in Liberty square where Bryan bought some coins and paper notes from the Civil War. We went up to Frontierland and the lines for Splash Mt and BTMRR were both at least an hour. It was much more crowded than the previous Friday. We went back down and waited 10 minutes for the Hall of Presidents. Next, we were going to go on the Jungle Cruise again but the line was too long so Bryan suggested we do the Enchanted Tiki Room. I was so surprised because I had wanted to do this but Bryan had refused to do any "shows". We waited only about 5 minutes and we both enjoyed it. We headed back up to BTMRR and waited about 25 minutes to ride. I was still feeling sick and Bryan was suddenly burned out. He asked at 9:00 pm if we could leave and go back to the hotel! It took us 35 minutes to get through the nightmare crowd watching the parade to get back out front to catch a bus. We got back to the hotel just in time to go out back to the lake to watch the fireworks at MGM. We went upstairs where I packed most of our stuff and were in bed by 11:00 pm. It was so depressing to know we would be leaving the next day.

4/15/98, Day Eight, Leaving WDW, back to San Francisco

We got up, showered and finished the last minute packing. We called the bellman to come up and bring our luggage down while we ate at the breakfast buffet downstairs. We loaded up the car and headed back to the airport to catch our flight. The return home was without incident but it seemed like such a long trip. I don’t know when we will get back to WDW but I’m looking forward to the trip whenever it is.

Some of the things we noticed are worth passing on:

I had read in many of the guidebooks and on the Internet that whenever there are two lines for an attraction you should get in the left line because it tends to move faster. This was true in some cases and not at all true in others. Since we were at WDW during one of the busiest times of the year, perhaps it didn’t apply?
We always avoided the early entry park and went to another park during the day. I think during busy times like Easter this is the best way to go.
Overall, the week before Easter seems less crowded than the week after Easter.
Although we didn’t use it much, I’m glad we had our rental car. The rate for a week was $128 prepaid through National and I felt it was worth the money. Disney does have terrific transportation and we took advantage of it but having the car was nice when we did use it.
There were probably some great shows we missed since Bryan refused to do any of them. I would’ve liked to have seen the Little Mermaid and the Hunchback show in MGM and the Lion King at MK. Other than that, we did most everything else we wanted to. We both had also agreed we didn’t want to see the parades. Of course, we found ourselves lost in the parade at every park—Murphy’s Law! :-)
Our top rides/attraction recommedation:

Tree of Life
It’s Tough To Be A Bug
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Tower of Terror
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Killamajaro Safari
We also enjoyed (in no particular order) Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, Star Tours, Great Movie Ride, Alien Encounter and Jungle Cruise.

I hope this Trip Report wasn’t too hard to read and is helpful to some of you out there planning a trip. I found the Trip Reports to be very helpful to me in my planning.

Ta Ta For Now!

Patti Cassalia

pattic@tdl.com

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