Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: BCR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult, Senior
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent
Comments: This is a report I've had on file for quite some time, but hadn't put on the site. Now it's here...and I hope you enjoy it. It's a nicely written play-by-play with a bunch of detail.


Debbie’s Trip Report

Dates: October 16 to 23
Resort: Beach Club
Cast: Debbie & Mom Shirley, Frequent Travelers. Besides Disney, our favorite travel spots are Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
Previous Trips: October 1994 - Grand Floridian, November 1996 - Polynesian
Day 1 - Friday, October 16 Arrival MGM

Our flight arrived in Orlando at about 12:30. Waited a few minutes for baggage claim and then headed to the National Car Rental Counter. Lugged the bags over to the garage and found our Pontiac Grand Am, almost the exact same car as I own, so it felt like I was driving my own car. It was my first time driving in Florida and I was a little nervous, but didn’t have any problems. Not much traffic on the Greenway and we arrived at the Beach Club about 2:00.

Went to the front desk to check-in, but our room was not ready, they said to come back around 3:00. So we headed over to the International Gateway to get our Annual Passes and walked around the United Kingdom side of the World Showcase. We decided to get Annual Passes because we plan to return early next October (and even sooner than that - more on that later). Returned to the Beach Club about 3:00, but our room was still not ready, a big convention just checked out. The CM went personally to check our room to see if it was ready, but came back and said they hadn’t even started. She said we had a nice room on the second floor, full balcony, overlooking the courtyard next to the entrance. I was hoping for an upgrade to a waterview, but they were booked solid. She searched the computer for a similar room that was ready and came back with a room in the same area on the first floor. I told her I really didn’t want a first floor room, I wanted a balcony. She searched again and found a room on the fifth floor with a full balcony. We got up to the room and I wasn’t thrilled at first to see we were over the entrance, looking out at the canal and parking lot. But you could also see most of Spaceship Earth, the top of The Land pavilion, and the Canada Building. As the week went on, I grew to like this view (just ignored the parking lot!). It was at a corner of the hallway, so there was not another room on the one side. It was now close to 4:00 and we had a reservation at Mama Melrose at MGM at 4:30. We quickly hung up our clothes and were out by 4:15.

Just missed the Friendship boat to MGM, so we knew we would miss our reservation. Got to MGM about 4:45 and ran back to Mama Melrose. Fortunately, they were not busy and we got a table. For an Italian restaurant, they really didn’t have much of an Italian menu. Nothing with marinara sauce, mostly white sauce. Ended up having steak (so much for an Italian restaurant!). After dinner, we were headed over to Fantasmic, but noticed that there was no wait for The Great Movie Ride. After that, we got to the Fantasmic Stadium about 6:25. Most of the center sections were already full, got seats one section over from the left end. The were entertainers in the crowd to pass the time and we did “the wave” several times. Finally, the show started on time at 7:30. What a great show! I was totally mesmerized. After the show, it was crazy trying to get out. They need another exit. We waited in line a while for the Friendship boat back to the Beach Club and got back just as Illuminations was ending. Finished unpacking and headed to bed after a busy first day.

Comments on the room:

It was very nice. 2 queen beds, daybed, table & 2 chairs, armoire with TV and mini-bar underneath (snacks on top - but check the price list first!), large closet, small chest of drawers, 2 sinks and counter outside bathroom, hairdryer and make-up mirror, the toilet & tub/shower were separate, kind of small to move around in. Full balcony with table & 2 chairs. Plenty of room for 2 people. We made the reservation over a year ago, got a 20% MKC discount.

Day Two - Saturday, October 17 Epcot MK

We had breakfast at Spoodles. Nice buffet for $10.99 minus a 10% discount for AP. I like buffets because you can pick a little of everything and it’s quick. Looked cloudy when we walked over and when we came out and it was starting to rain! No prediction of rain in the forecast. We ran over to the boat dock and the boat for Epcot was waiting. After we got on, it really started to pour. We got off at the International Gateway and decided to wait it out there. Waited about 20 minutes and it stopped, so we ventured in. As we started walking around the closed World Showcase, the sun came out and it was very humid. Did HISTA and the Land without much wait. It was getting close to 11:00 and I walked by the tip board and noticed the Malestrom was delayed for mechanical difficulties. I was wearing a Winnie The Pooh shirt and got the first of “do you know you have pooh on your shirt” comments by the CM’s.

Walked around the World Showcase until about 3:00, went back to the room for a short rest and then headed over to the ESPN Club for lunch/dinner (we usually eat a big breakfast and then a late lunch/early dinner). I didn’t consider that Saturday was college football afternoon, but we only had about a 20 minute wait. College football was on all 4 screens. Had a chicken sandwich, was very good. Then walked back over to the Beach Club for the bus to the Magic Kingdom.

I picked up a MK guide at guest services and noticed that instead of closing at 9:00 as scheduled, MK was open until 11:00 with an extra showing of Spectromagic at 10:00. I was excited about this, but when we arrived at the MK later I found out why this was done. I noticed when we passed the MK parking lot, there was a “full” sign. Got to MK about 6:00 and immediately noticed how crowded it was. The sidewalks were already starting to fill for the 8:00 Spectromagic. I checked the tip board and Splash Mt was 1 hour, 15 minutes! Even Small World had a 20 minute wait, traditionally a walk-on. Did Haunted Mansion, about a 20 minute wait also. It was starting to get dark and this was my first chance to ride at night at MK. On our first trip in October 94, MK closed at 7:00 every night, no Spectro or fireworks. Our second trip in November 96, it was the anniversary year and there was Spectro at 6:15 and fireworks at 7:00. It got dark around 6:00 that time and I wanted to see Spectro, so there was no riding in the dark. So we headed over to BTMRR. About a 30 minute wait, not too bad. Loved it in the dark! Splash was still a 45 minute wait and it was getting close to the 8:00 showing of Spectro, so we headed over to Frontierland and found a spot behind some kids sitting behind the rope. The first 2 times I saw Spectro in 1996, it was on Main Street, so it felt weird in Frontierland. Felt out of place, plus the street isn’t as wide for the floats to spread out. Headed back over to Splash, still a 45 minute wait, but I wanted to try it in the dark, so we got in line. The 9:00 Fantasy in the Sky fireworks went off as we waited in line. In the dark, you really can’t see a lot of the ride. Got really wet when we passed next to the big hill and another log came down. Started looking for a spot for the 10:00 Spectro (I love Spectro and wanted to see it again). We kept walking down Main Street and ended up finding a space in front of the Train Station, again behind some sitting kids. It started to drizzle as the parade started and as soon as it ended we headed for the bus stop. Bus came right away, got a seat, but waited for it to fill up. It started to rain again and got back to the Beach Club around 11:00.

Day Three - Sunday, October 18 Church at Polynesian Trip to Wilderness Lodge MK Downtown Disney

Hot and Sunny day, mid to high 80’s. Drove the car over to the Polynesian for the 9:00 church service. After that, we headed over to the Grand Floridian Cafe for breakfast. It was crowded, but we had a priority seating and got seated quickly. Waiter was not too great. Did not refill orange juice or even stop back to check if everything was OK. Then charged for orange juice, even though it was included with our breakfast. Got that corrected and took a walk around the grounds to check out the buildings to request for our trip next fall (made a reservation in August for October 99, got MKC discount).

Got on the monorail and then took the boat over to Wilderness Lodge. A friend stayed there a couple of years ago, raved about it, and insisted we had to take a trip over to check it out. We were standing in front of the geyser, waiting for it to go off at 12:00. We didn’t realize that the wind was blowing in our direction and when it went off, we got soaked! The Wilderness Lodge was nice, but not our style. Caught the boat back to MK.

Lines were almost as bad as the night before. Did Pirates of the Caribbean, not much of a wait. Went over to BTMRR, but it was closed due to technical difficulties. I did Space Mountain, about a 30 minute wait. My mother will not ride it, so she waited on a bench in tomorrowland. First time for the left side, I think I like it better. We rode the Skyway back to Fantasyland. I love the view from the skyway. Peter Pan was about a 40 minute wait. We ate at the Plaza Restaurant, split a club sandwich. I walked over to the tip board and noticed that BTMRR was running again. Headed back there, it was about a 20 minute wait, not bad. Then did Splash, about a 30 minute wait at that point. It was getting close to 6:00 when we left. Picked up a Disney Property map at City Hall, we wanted to head over to Goodings to pick up some groceries.

Found Goodings with no problem (hey, I like this FL driving), got some bottled water (FL water is horrible) and a carton of Ginger Ale (mini-bar charges $1.20 with tax & tip for a can of pop (or soda as some people call it!). Then went to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Parking lot was jammed. Drove around until someone pulled out. Did all of our souvenir shopping in The World of Disney, total came to $110 with MKC discount! Found everything but a Duchess beanie baby for my niece, which I found out is not sold in WDW, only at the mall stores. Got back to the Beach Club. Around 8:30 we went down to Beaches & Cream for some ice cream and found some chairs on the beach and waited for Illuminations. View was OK, but a lot of the fireworks were blocked by the Beach Club building. Sitting on the beach was heavenly. Ducks were swimming on the lake, the lights of the Boardwalk were across the lake, the music was playing from the Atlantic Dance Hall, Friendship boats were going by. I could have stayed out all night.

Day Four - Monday, October 19 Universal Studios Belz Outlet

Had an early breakfast at the Yacht Club Galley. They have a buffet for $10.99 or you can order off the menu. Chose the buffet. Good selection of foods. Another hot day, so got our water bottles (filled them and put them in the mini bar the night before), got the car and headed for Universal Studios. After looking at a map, there are 2 exits for Universal - 29 and 30B. I decided to go for 30B because I had directions to get to Belz Outlet afterwards and they followed 30B. Big mistake. I passed 29 and then saw a sign “left lane exit 30B”. Got in the left lane and then saw a sign “30B closed, use 30A”. Ok, where is 30A. On the right side.......... Saw it too late and passed it. The next exit was the FL Turnpike, I was afraid to get off there. Traffic started to really back up and I got off at the next exit, 32 I think. There was an IHOP on the other side of the road, I turned around there and got back on I-4, west. Got off at 29 and arrived at Universal Studios at about 9:45. Found a space in the garage and started following the crowd. Thankfully I noticed at the last minute before we left the floor what section I was parked in (King Kong), it would have been difficult later. It’s a long walk to the entrance from the parking garage. There were long lines at the ticket windows and finally got in about 10:30. Got a $5 per ticket discount with the USAirways Dividend Miles (frequent flyer) card.

I always read about the ET ride and it sounded neat, so we headed there first. I knew about the name surprise, but Mom didn’t. About a 5 minute wait outside and 15 or 20 inside. Mom was all confused about the name thing (why they wanted it), but I didn’t want to tell her what it was about and spoil the surprise at the end. We got seats (bikes) in the front row and off we went. It was fun! And ET said our names at the end! After that we did Terminator (no wait), Twister (little wait - stood in the middle and didn’t get too wet), Kong (longest wait - about 30 min), Earthquake, Jaws. I was thinking about Back to the Future, but was a little nervous about it because I had not done a simulator ride before. I knew it would be too much for Mom. It was only 1:30 or 2:00 and we had done most of the attractions, so I decided to give it a try. Mom didn’t want to try it (and I didn’t think she should), so she found a bench in the shade and I got in line. About a 20 or 30 minute wait. After I was seated in the car, a girl in the back got nervous and said “is it really that bad?”. The ride operator said “well, it is aggressive”. We all said “aggressive?”. The girl bailed out. I was thinking about it too, but decided I waited this long, I might as well go through with it. Well, it was aggressive......... My neck and shoulders were hurting by the end, but my stomach made it through.

We decided to head over to the Hard Rock for lunch/dinner. They said the wait was about 30 minutes. We sat in the bar and it only ended up being 20 minutes. Got seated upstairs and split a club sandwich. Got 10% discount with AAA card.

After that, we headed back to the gift shop we had stopped at earlier (on the main street near the entrance). I bought a Universal t-shirt and again got 10% off with AAA card. Left about 5:00.

I followed the directions to Belz Outlet, mailed to me by Carol at the Orlando Vacation Spot (thanks, Carol!). Was proud of myself, didn’t get lost! First went to the Character Warehouse in Mall 2. Found a $38 embroidered shirt for $9.99. Found 2 other shirts, plus a shirt for my nephew at great prices. Went to the cashier and gave her my VISA. It came up “call for authorization”. I knew I was nowhere near my limit, so I figured it may have been due to charging so much out of state. The girl was from England and wasn’t sure what to do, so she got her Manager. They called VISA and after about 30 minutes finally got it straightened out (had to show my driver’s license & give my mother’s maiden name). I’m holding up the line and everyone’s looking at me like I’m some kind of criminal. Went over to Mall 1 to find Character Premier and found another shirt, but not as much of a discount. Character Warehouse was the better of the 2. Left there and found my way back to I-4 in a round about way. It was now about 6:30 and was difficult to drive because the bright sun was low in the sky.

After we got back to the Beach Club and rested a little, we decided to go get ice cream and go out to the beach again for Illuminations. I just loved sitting out there at night. Unfortunately, so do the mosquitoes. I got a couple bites, but Mom got a bunch. Lately she has been having some kind of reaction to bites, they turn into big welts.

Day Five - Tuesday, October 20 MK - Keys to the Kingdom Tour Epcot

We originally had a priority seating at the Crystal Palace for 8:15AM. We had to be at city hall for the tour at 9:15 (9:30 start). We decided it would be too much of a rush to get there by 8:15 and since we liked the Yacht Club Galley on Monday morning, I canceled the priority seating for Crystal Palace and made one for Yacht Club Galley at 7:45. Another hot day, so we picked up our water bottles in the room and headed for the bus stop (decided it would be easier to just catch the bus rather than drive).

Made it to MK just as they were making the 9:00 opening announcement. Never heard that before, it was neat. Went to City Hall and checked in for the tour. There were about 19 people total for the tour. We met our tour guide, Lua, promptly at 9:30. She first had everyone go around and introduce themselves and name their favorite Disney character. Some people came up with good ones, like one of seven dwarfs. She was dressed in an Equestrian outfit with white blouse, blue vest, plaid skirt, white knee socks. She was a communication major in college and came to Disney on the College Program. She liked it so much, she got a job with Disney after she graduated. She also does private tours for celebrities when they visit the park. We headed down Main Street and she pointed out the names in the different windows. At the end of Main Street, we stopped near the hub and she gave a history of Walt and WDW. We then headed to Tomorrowland and she said the tour usually goes on TTA, but since there was no line at Buzz Lightyear, would we rather do that. We said yes, so Buzz it was. Didn’t do too well with the gun, only got 11,500 points, 10,000 of them on one shot. It was fun, certainly a different type of attraction (she told us there is only 1 ride in WDW - the monorail. The rest are attractions). We then headed towards the castle and she showed us a wishing well where they collect money for sick children to go to WDW. We headed towards Fantasyland and what everyone wanted to see - the utilidor. We entered through a door in a gift shop next to Peter Pan. We all stopped on the steps and she explained what we were going to do. First, this is the castmembers world. They are not putting a show on for you here like the do in the park. This is how they really are. Second, absolutely no pictures. Another thing she mentioned is that she can answer questions here that she can not answer onstage, like about park secrets (for example, tinkerbell flies on a line from the castle. On stage, someone asked about this and she would not answer it. At the time, she said it was Cinderella’s clothesline :-) Once backstage, she can answer questions like that honestly. It’s a rule because you never know who may be listening on stage, like a child. Of course, there were still questions she would not answer. Like how many people are in the park at capacity or on any given day - it’s a big secret. We proceeded down to the utilidor. She stopped at a large map of the utilidor and explained how the different sections are color coded. There were a lot of golf cart type electric vehicles driving around. She said only 2 types of gas powered vehicles are allowed in the utilidor - ambulance and LOL - the Brinks Truck! We saw where the entrance is from outside, where deliveries are made. It was weird thinking that the park was above us. We stopped at costuming and she showed us how the castmembers get their costumes for the day. She also went over dress rules (no beards men, no dangling earrings for women, no visible tattoos, etc.). We stopped at the cosmetology department and watch a woman styling a wig. They talked to us about how the style the wigs and the makeup. There is a manual with each character detailing how their wigs and makeup should look. They do the wigs, but after initial instruction the makeup is the castmembers responsibility. They go out and check everyone before a parade heads onstage. After we finished there, we headed back upstairs and were surprised to find that it had rained (it was getting very cloudy when we went in).

We stopped at the Liberty Tree and then had a 30 minute break for lunch. We had planned an early dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table, so we just walked around the castle. Found the rose garden I had heard about. Gathered together again about 12:50 and someone pointed out to her that she had 2 different socks. One was plain and one was ribbed. She was just mortified. Why didn’t someone tell her when we were down in costuming? She made it a big joke and pointed it out to other castmembers she knew. Anyway, we headed over the Haunted Mansion and she talked about some of the details on the outside. Like the pet cemetery, never noticed that before. We headed in through a back hall and got a little private tour. One of the castmembers who runs the stretch room (the spooky one) explained some of the architectural details in the stretch room. We did the regular ride and when we came out it had rained again. It was still drizzling, but not too bad. We headed through Frontierland to the gate by Splash Mountain. We went down to the warehouse where they keep the parade floats. All of the Spectromagic & Magical Memories Parade floats were there. The Spectro floats are real plain, almost ugly. I would have loved to take pictures here, but again the rule was no pictures (if caught, they would take your film and develop it at your expense and give back the OK pictures). We talked to a castmember who drives the floats out and he explained how they drive them. They were also getting some floats ready for Halloween. We headed back out by Frontierland and over to Pirates of the Caribbean. She explained some architectural details there and then we went to the new Tiki Room. She wanted us to stay to the very end to hear some of the things people always run out on. Again, it was drizzling on and off. After we left there, she gathered us all around for final questions. We were done about 2:15. Lua was a great guide and as a side note, my friend Donna took the tour the next week and I told her if she got Lua to mention her socks. She did and Lua couldn’t believe it! She couldn’t figure out how she knew about that!

The skies still looked bad, so we decided to buy ponchos in case it started again and we were on a ride (got caught on BTMRR on our first trip. It was pouring by the time we got in the car). Then went on Jungle Cruise - no wait! It was the first day it was running after a rehab. It was about 3:00 and we heard the parade music starting, so we headed over to the shortcut between Adventureland and Frontierland (where the restrooms are). We found a spot in front of the Liberty Tree Tavern. I guess because of the threatening rain, they did not stop for “magical moments”. We starting walking over to BTMRR and the sun came out! Of course, since we bought the ponchos. I looked at my watch and it was about the time my friend Donna’s plane was landing. It never rains on her trips to WDW. I said “well, I guess Donna’s here”. BTMRR was about a 15 minute wait.

It was almost time for our Cinderella’s Royal Table reservation, so we headed over there. We had the first priority seating for dinner, 4:00. We got called promptly at 4:00. We shared “The Grand Duke”, a 10oz steak and each got a Caesar salad. Sharing meals turned out to be a great idea. They split it into 2 plates for us, with more than ½ of the side item on each plate.

After dinner, we went back over to Splash Mountain and the wait was only about 20 minutes. Got very wet again when the log coming down the big hill passed next to us. Walked through The Emporium on the way out and bought some postcards.

Caught the monorail to Epcot. Sent family & friends e-mails from Innovations. Spaceship Earth was a walk-on. I think doing Future World in the evening is a great idea, there are usually no lines. We usually do that the first evening we are there, but the schedule didn’t work out right this time. Malestrom was open tonight and was about a 20 minute way. After that we walked around the World Showcase and found an empty bench near Morocco/France for Illuminations. Unfortunately, we didn’t notice that this was downwind and when the fireworks started the smoke flew towards us. Headed back to the Beach Club via the International Gateway.

Day Six - Wednesday, October 21, 1998

Animal Kingdom

We had an 8:30 priority seating at the Rainforest for breakfast. Unfortunately, I forgot something in the room and had to go back. We waited quite a while for a bus and didn’t get to the Animal Kingdom until about 8:50. No problem, there was no line at the Rainforest and the restaurant was half empty. Had the “breakfast of bandits” which was eggs, bacon, fruit, potatoes and a muffin for $7.99. Not bad. Orange Juice was extra - $3.59! Skipped it. I noticed a kid at another table got it and it was in a huge glass. Who drinks that much orange juice in the morning? Service was quick and we were in the park by 9:45.

Headed to the Safari first. Just as we got into the line, the wait time was changed from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Decided to do it anyway and it turned out to only be about 30 minutes. The highlight was when we had to stop and let giraffes cross the road. Did not see the lion on the rock. Did the trail next and then Conservation Station. The train ride went past the back of the safari and you saw where they keep the animals at night. Saw a turtle being operated on at Conservation Station, it was hit by a car on Disney property. Walked back to the petting zoo and was about to walk away when a bell rang. All of the sudden all the goats when in a stampede towards a gate. Lunch time! It was really funny, some were on the hind legs at the gate. Next we did “Tough to be a Bug”, about a 20 minute wait. While in line, we got a chance to take a good look at the Tree of Life. Very interesting. You kept seeing different animals the more you looked at it. “Tough to be a Bug” scared some kids and their parents were taking them out. I sat forward to avoid “the sting” which I had read in trip reports hurt some people. I could feel the holes on the back of the seat and there was no way to sit without touching one, so I just sat forward. After that was over, we made a mistake. It was about 1:30 and we decided to try to catch the 2:00 Lion King show. Didn’t realize how far of a walk it was. When we got over there about 1:45 it was already full. Should have headed to Countdown to Extinction, we were close to it when we left Tough to be a bug. It was really hot and humid now, so we walked around some shops near the Tree of Life and went back about 2:20 for the 3:00 show. We were pretty far back in line, but got a good seat. I enjoyed this show, it was worth the wait. Then we walked over to Countdown to Extinction. Mom was sorry she tried this one, it was pretty rough. We left the park around 4:30.

We rested a little bit before our 6:30 reservation at Harry’s Safari. Had the $50 coupon from the Rita Aero book. I made the reservation about 60 days ahead and was shocked when we got there and it was almost empty! We got a great table in the corner with windows on both sides. One faced the Swan and the other faced the center between the hotels. We got the beef filet and shared a chocolate moose desert. The peppercorn on the steak was a little spicy. Bill came to $67 minus the $50 coupon, so it was only $17 and a $10 tip. Service was great - it should have been since we were his only table for most of the time! We walked around the Dolphin, I had never been inside before. It was confusing because the lobby was actually on the third floor. After that we took a walk on the Boardwalk, stopping in the shops. We also stopped to look at the lobby of the Board walk and took a walk around the Boardwalk Inn grounds. Saw the garden suites and the pool, but when we tried to get back into the lobby, the door was locked! I looked around and luckily someone passed by and let us in. You would think they would lock the door going out towards the garden suites & the pool. There was a box to slide a card key if you were staying there. Looks like a nice place to stay.

It was about 8:30 so we decided to walk over to Epcot to see Illuminations again. Heard the British Invasion playing as we walked through the International Gateway. We made it over to United Kingdom just as they were finishing.

We walked around towards Canada and it was very crowded. Found a good spot behind some people sitting next to the fence. Great spot! Afterwards, we started to head back to the International Gateway, but the crowds were all heading towards us. We found a bench outside Canada and waited for the crowds to die down. Got back to the Beach Club about 9:45

Day Seven - Thursday, October 22 Epcot MGM

Had breakfast again at Spoodles and caught the Friendship boat from the Boardwalk to Epcot. Some people were on a boat fishing. I didn’t realize that there were fish in the lake, but noticed on the dock that you could see large fish in the water.

We did the attractions that we missed previously - Universe of Energy, Horizons, Living Seas. Rode Spaceship Earth again, I really like that. We missed it on our first trip in 1994, it was closed for renovations. Around 12:30 we caught a bus over to Caribbean Beach where we are staying in December. I had never been there and wanted to check it out. Got off the bus at Old Port Royale and looked around the food court and general store. Looks great! Also walked around the Martinique section to see the area I wanted to request. Spent about a half hour there then caught a bus to MGM. As the bus went around the resort, I noticed that they are doing some excavating on the Jamaica side of the resort, I heard they were going to add more rooms.

We were the only ones on the bus and got to MGM quickly. No wait for ToT, rode it twice. Did the animation tour and the inside backstage tour, not much new there. There was no wait for Muppets so we did that before dinner at Sci Fi. Sci Fi was a different experience, the food was OK. The cars are kind of cramped. After that we thought we could catch the Little Mermaid before Fantasmic, but the line was already full for next show, so we decided to walk over to get good seats for Fantasmic. Got to the end of Sunset Blvd and there was a sign “Fantasmic canceled for tonight”. I asked the guy at the tip board why and it was because of high winds. It was very windy and was starting to even get a little chilly. We decided to go back over to see the Little Mermaid. I think this show is cute and the live singing is great. Left MGM about 7:00.

We stopped at Beaches and Cream for one last ice cream, which I ate out on our balcony. At 9:00 we went out to see if we could see Illuminations from the balcony, which we could if we leaned over a little. Even though it was chilly (I had to put a jacket on), I sat out a while listening to the exit music from the World Showcase. I’m really going to miss this place! Started packing because I knew we would be rushed in the morning.

Day Eight - Friday, October 23 MGM Departure

Our express checkout was slipped under the door right after we got up, about 7:00. Everything checked out ok, and we were off to breakfast at the Yacht Club Galley. After we came back, we finished packing and called the bellman to pick up our luggage for storage. The bell service was great, he was up in about 5 minutes. We had plans to meet my friend Donna (ILUVWDW) at MGM at 10:00. We work together and have spent many a lunch hour reading trip reports and talking about our trips. Coincidentally, we both planned trips for October and they overlapped by a couple of days, so we decided to meet and ride our favorite ride, Tower of Terror. Headed out to dock about 9:15 and made it to ToT a few minutes early. Donna and her family had already arrived and were coming off ToT right after we got there. Even her 3 year old son Jake rode it! He wasn’t ready for a second ride yet, so Donna’s husband Joe stayed with him while Donna, her sister Beth and her son Justin (13) and I rode ToT. We were hoping for a good picture to take back to work and it turned out good! We both got one and split the cost (a second copy is cheaper). Justin wanted to ride Star Tours and I had never rode it before, so we headed over there. Her son Jake loved it! He was having a great time and went tearing off the ride to the gift shop! They had a lunch reservation at Sci Fi, so we said our goodbyes. They were staying another 9 days, I was a little jealous! Indiana Jones was about to start, so we got seats there. After that, we went back to the Backstage Tour (Catastrophe Canyon) because we had missed it the day before. I noticed that they already had a lot of the Christmas lights up on the back streets. We covered everything and still had some time left and I noticed on the tip board there was only a 5 minute wait for ToT, so I rode it again! It was about 2:00 and we wanted to get something quick to eat before we left, so we stopped for a hamburger near ToT. It got really windy and I thought we were going to get a big storm. However, I knew we had a secret weapon - Donna! It has never rained on any of her trips to WDW and I knew she was still at MGM so I figured we were safe! Sure enough, the sun came back out! She did get a little rain the next day at Disney’s West Side, but it wasn’t at a park so her record was safe! I wanted to get out of the park before the Mulan parade, so we left about 2:45. We just missed the boat back to the Beach Club, so we had to wait about 20 minutes. We walked around the Beach Club one last time and went to get the car and luggage about 3:45. Our flight wasn’t until 6:45. I had to get gas for the car and I wasn’t sure about where to return the rental car and everything, so I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time. Got to the airport with no problem. Checked in our luggage at curb side and asked the skycap for directions to the car rental return. Three left turns, easy enough. Had a small problem returning the car, he could not complete the transaction on his hand held computer because the computer showed I was returning the car the next day. I had to take the slip to the Emerald Aisle booth to finish the print out. Walked around the stores at the airport, one last search for that Duchess Beanie Baby with no luck (ending up finding it at the local Disney Store a couple of days after we got home). Our flight home was uneventful (the best kind!) and landed on time. Our cat chewed us out for about an hour after we got home (my sister-in-law stopped in twice a day to feed her and bring in the newspapers & mail). Had tons of regular mail and e-mails to go through. Welcome back to the real world (yuck!).

Final Thoughts:

This was our longest vacation, 7 nights. Previous trips were 5 nights to Disney (twice) and Las Vegas (twice). But I think it was the quickest! It seemed like the time just flew by. Every thing seemed to go perfect. Except for Fantasmic being canceled on Thursday night, we did everything we wanted to.

We LOVED the Beach Club. I’m even thinking of seeing if I can switch our Grand Floridian reservations for next October (it might be hard to get MKC for Beach Club again). We thought we would miss the monorail, but we didn’t. Walking to and from Epcot was great, especially after Illuminations. The boat to MGM was great. Except for a long wait for the AK bus on Wednesday, the bus service was good too. Loved the Boardwalk area too.

As I mentioned earlier, we are returning sooner than we thought. In mid-September, I got the Disney Insider in the mail and there was an article on the back about Christmas festivities. I love the Christmas season and Holiday shows and I started thinking about how nice it would be. I mentioned it to my friend Donna at work and she started talking about her trip in early December 1995. I had seen her trip videos and starting thinking about it a little more seriously (this was first thing in the morning). About mid-morning, I couldn’t stand it anymore and decided to call MKC to see if they had anything available at the moderates for early December for 5 nights. I figured nothing would be available and I would just forget it. I originally requested Dixie Landings, where Donna had stayed, but nothing was available with MKC discount. The CM checked the computer and found CBR for December 3-8 at $95 a night plus tax. I still couldn’t believe I was doing this, so I told her to hold it. I called USAirways to check on airfares and found a fare of $203 each, which was cheaper than the $219 my mother paid for the October trip (I had a free ticket from points from a credit card). I still hadn’t even mentioned any of this to my mother, but the reservationist said there were only 3 seats left at this fare. She said she could hold it for 24 hours, so I put a hold on it. So I called my mother (this was now about 11:00AM!) and said “how would you like an early Christmas present?”. She couldn’t believe it! She said I was hanging around Donna too much (Donna, a DVC member, had 3 trips planned for 1999. She has since combined 2 of them). But she agreed and I called USAirways back when I got home to finalize the reservation. I still couldn’t believe we were doing this! I called for tickets for December 7 for MVMCP. That turned out to be a hassle. I called on September 21 for the tickets and did not get them until this week! I called back twice and was told duplicates would be issued, but they were not done the first time and I finally got the duplicates November 9. I can’t wait! 3 more weeks! I still can’t believe we doing this!

Hope I didn’t bore you too much. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Debbie

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