Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: BVR
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran, Infrequent, DVC Member
Comments: Gaylene and her sister Colleen visited Orlando for a convention and stopped into see WDW while they were in town. They also had the "privilege" (actually all mine) of meeting yours truly at Beaches & Cream. A nice Fall trip to break up the monotony of living 3000 miles away from WDW!

Dates:

September 24 – 29, 1998

Cast:

Gaylene (38) – Certified Disney Nut (or certifiable depending upon whom you ask)
Colleen (35) – My Sister (Also a Certified Disney Nut)
Pre-Trip Planning

I had been seeing advertisements for a scrapbooking convention in Orlando on September 25 and 26. I thought about combining a side-trip to WDW with attending the convention. Nice thoughts especially since I live 3,000 mile away from WDW. Not exactly a quick weekend jaunt.

Well...then one July night I was surfing the net and decided to check out airfares. Hmm...if I left on Thursday, September 24 and came home Tuesday, September 29...$214 round-trip on Delta!!! I couldn’t believe my eyes!! I quickly put a hold on two tickets and called my sister. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "Hey Colleen, would you like to go to a scrapbooking convention with me?"
Colleen: "Sure, when is it?"
Me: "September 25 and 26."
Colleen: "Cool, where is it?"
Me: "Orlando"
Colleen: "Yeah, right (insert appropriate sarcasm)."
Me: "$214 round-trip on Delta!!!"
Colleen: (Insert excitement) "I'll Check out how much it would cost to send Tom (her husband) to Reno and I’ll call you back."
So, back to the net I go to check out prices to Reno and wait for Colleen to call me back. Well, she calls me back and we’re going!!! Woo Hoo!!! I quickly call Delta and book two seats. We will leave Thursday, September 24 at 7:00am and come home Tuesday, September 29 at 1:00pm.

The next day I called Member Services to check out availability at OKW. The only thing I could get was a 2 bedroom (too big). How about a 1 bedroom at BW? Cool...Borrowed some points from 1999 and we are set.

Now comes the hard part...deciding what to do (and not to do) to fit everything in (insert hysterical laughter).

Thursday, September 24 or "Is this really better than the red eye?"

Ahh, the day has finally come, very early, but it is here. 3:30am the alarm goes off. Staggered to the shower and get ready to go. Bob drives me to the park-and-ride (what a nice guy) to meet my sister and Mom (a.k.a. Mom’s Airporter) at 4:30am. We arrived at the airport at 5:20 (making great time), checked in at the curb, and wandered around killing time until we left. We went to the coffee shop and ate the worse bagels of our lives. They looked really good, but we could have played hockey with them!

Took off at 7:30. The flight was smooth and we got our choice of cereal or omelet for breakfast. We both chose the cereal (the wisest choice). ;o) Arrived in Atlanta on time and had to ride the subway from Concourse B to A. Luckily we had plenty of time between flights. We left Atlanta on time, but the flight was packed. We were on a L1011 (2-5-2-seat configuration), and every seat was filled.

Arrived in Orlando on time (yeah!) and our first comments were about the humidity and how the air smelt like the PotC and JC. Got our luggage with no problems, walked right up to the National counter, and got a free upgrade with the coupon from Colleen’s Entertainment Book!! We chose a while Plymouth Breeze, a nice car, but gutless. We left the airport via 417 at 6:10pm. All the tollbooths were closed…why were they were not collecting tolls? We found out it was to help the people evacuating because of hurricane Georges down south. We stopped at Burger King on 192 for a quick dinner then off to BW!!!

I got a little turned around on our way to BW, taking a slight detour through the parking lot of MGM (lol), but arrived at valet parking safe and sound about 7:15pm. We checked in with no problems and was assigned room #3128 overlooking the quiet pool, but a LONG WAY from the elevator. We joked later that the hallways looked like the ones in the ToT (luckily they never dissolved into a star field) ;o)

We took pictures of our room, marveled on the moisture on the outside of the windows (high humidity outside, cool air inside) something we never see in Washington, then decided to try to see the big fireworks show on Seven Seas Lagoon. We called the main guest services to get directions (since we did not have official tickets) and they told us to go the Poly and park. Great, we can handle that. We are off to the Poly about 8:00. Well…none of the MK area hotels will let us park. We tell the guards about the information we received at guest services, but to no avail. :o( Well now we were miffed, so we said to heck with the fireworks and drove over to DTD.

If must have been written in the stars, because we found a great parking space right in front of the WoD store. We didn’t buy anything, but went through all the stores. Left DTD and went to Goodings to stock up on essentials like chips and water. Goodings may be more expensive, but what an awesome store. They have a great bulk candy section!!!

We got back to BW around 11:00 and made nachos for a quick snack. We phoned home and watched the news for hurricane and general weather updates. Boy is it humid!!! To bed at 12:30am. Tomorrow…Scrapbooking Convention.

Friday, September 25 or "Y’all are from WHERE?!"

First alarm was at 6:15am. Yawn. Got up and moving and had a light breakfast on our porch. We were out the door at 7:30am and walked around the BW checking things out in the early morning light. Got the car, and we are off to Downtown Orlando for the Scrapbooking Convention. There was lots of traffic on I-4, but we made it to the Expo hall with plenty of time to spare.

The first class we took was on "Rule It Up" rulers. The class was great, and taught by Vicky, one of the owners of the company. We got to play with the different rulers, trying to visualize other shapes than the obvious ones shown. Vicky gave each of us a copy of the "Rule It Up" book (and autographed it)! Great class.

While we were waiting for our second class, I tried to find someone who looked "local". I lucked out, the first woman I talked to was from Orlando and could give me directions to a mall that had a Warner Brother’s Studio Store. Believe it or not, she used to live in Spokane Washington. Everybody now…"It’s a small world after all." ;o)

Our second class was the alphabet tracers by Pebbles In My Pocket. Another great class, especially since I have looked at these tracers and wondered what in the heck to do with them. Anyway, we learned a lot about how to work with the tracers and received a copy of Pebbles’ new magazine.

We were so impressed with the classes that we wished that we had signed up for more. For the $5 class fee, not only did we receive great instruction, but goodies too. Everyone we talked to, agreed that all the classes were well done and worth the time and effort. Since we traveled 3,000 miles for this convention we had not signed up for the crop Friday night (we didn’t want to pack all our scraping stuff) but maybe sometime we will have the opportunity to participate in a BIG crop.

The shopping part of the convention didn’t start until 2:00pm, so with 3 hours to kill, we drove over to the Memories store on Hwy 50. We had an excellent lunch at Baja Burrito (a restaurant in the same strip mall). All the food they serve is fresh, including a fresh salsa bar. If you are ever in that area, definitely check it out. After lunch, we spent about 2 hours in the Memories store, taking advantage of their paper specials and buying, buying, buying.

After shopping we made out way back to the Expo Center (we didn’t have to pay again to park). The convention was well organized and lots of fun. Saw a lot of new products (including the oval cutter I had to have) and participated in a couple of demos. Spent a couple of hours shopping and looking.

We then headed to the Belz Factory Stores. I have never been to the Character shops. Wow. Colleen picked up a couple of baby shower gifts and Christmas gifts for some friends. The prices could not be beat. I picked up a cute nightshirt. I can see how you would want to visit often to see the new merchandise that is displayed.

After Belz we made out way to the Florida Mall to visit the (shh!!) Warner Brother’s Store and to pick up some Miami Dolphins stuff for Tom (Colleen’s husband). We spent a lot of time in the Warner Brother’s Store…my nephew Victor (Colleen’s son) is a BIG Scooby fan. He didn’t want anything Disney…he wanted Scooby. We picked up some cute things, then found a great hat and shirt for Tom at Sears.

We made our way back to the Boardwalk about 8:00pm. We had pizza at Spoodles’ take out window, then walked around the Boardwalk to the Yacht and Beach Club. We shared a hot fudge sundae at Beaches and Cream (B&C)…(beating the post-Illuminations crowd). I cannot believe this is the first time I have ever been to B&C. A very dangerous but yummy place. ;o) We waddled back to the room and watched the hurricane updates. To bed about 12:30am. Tomorrow…Animal Kingdom.

Saturday, September 26 or "What happens if I spray deodorant all over my body?"

Alarm at 6:15, and we are up. While we were getting ready, we realized that our sunglasses were in the car. While Colleen finished getting ready, I went down to the valet (with a nice tip in my hand) and they got the car for me, I grabbed our sunglasses and ran back to the room. The valet guy was really nice, and assured me that it happens to people all the time. We had breakfast pizza and fruit on the porch.

We walked out to the bus stop at 7:45am and an AK bus pulled right up. Perfect timing. Upon arriving at AK we walked quickly to the Safari (no wait), Trail, Safari (again no wait), then to Camp MM for the 10:00am Lion King Show. The Lion King was as awesome as I remembered. We were in the Lion section towards the top. After the show we had our picture taken with Pluto and Goofy. We then stopped for cookies on our way out of Camp MM. They also had free water stations set up, so we refilled our water bottles. We then went to CtX (about a 20 minute wait) but air conditioned!!!

We browsed through the shops, and the heat was really getting to me. I had been consuming mass quantities of water, but still had a headache. We had planned on going back to the BW to freshen up before having afternoon tea at the GF, but we decided to just freshen up at the GF. Since we had seen all the "have to see" attractions, we left AK about 12:30 and walked right onto the GF bus. We were the last stop, but enjoyed the ride.

We hung out at the GF, freshened up in their restrooms, and relaxed in the lobby watching wedding pictures being taken. Now it was 2:00pm and time for tea. We went to the Garden View Lounge which has a nice view of a garden and part of the pool area. Our server was Mimi, and she was great. Attentive but not in-your-face, and very nice. We both ordered the Buckingham Palace tea. The tea was served in beautiful teapots complete with cozies. The Buckingham Palace included:

Chicken, Salmon, Cucumber, Egg Salad and Pear (which we didn’t like) Sandwiches;
A Scone, Devonshire Cream, and a Strawberry Tart; and a
Huge bowl of Strawberries and Cream.
Overall the tea was a superb experience and we would definitely go again. Colleen and I now joke about being "tea snobs". ;o)

One funny note: there was a couple sitting next to us, and it was obvious that the husband was only humoring his wife by attending tea. He kept asking when the "real food" would be arriving and he tried the tea cozy on as a hat!! We tried to explain that tea was an "experience" and an "afternoon respite", but he wasn’t buying it.

After tea we looked around the shops and I bought some Aleve (for my headache. When the CM gives me my change, she says…"have a grand day". Get it…grand day…Grand Floridian? I thought it was cute. Anyway, we hopped the monorail to the TTC, taking a longing look at the MK as we passed. We swapped monorails and rode over to Epcot. On our trip it started to rain…big rain. Once we got to Epcot we waited out the rain at the monorail platform. When the rain let up, we made our way to Spaceship Earth, Ellen’s Energy Adventure (too long of a show), then to Horizons (which really needs a rehab).

When we exited Horizons it was a really, really big rain. We waited for a while, then the rain got bigger. When it slowed down some, we decided to don our raincoats and make a run for it. I reached into the backpack and…only one raincoat!!! Colleen and I incredulously looked at each other. We couldn’t believe it. Then I looked to my right and magically a poncho selling CM appeared! I plunked down by $5 and became one of the yellow poncho people.

We went to Centorium to shop and I bought a really cool purple backpack. We walked over to China and had a good dinner at the Lotus Blossom Café. We both had a combo dinner and had waaayyy too much food. Next time we will share a combo meal and get extra rice. We found a table well protected from the big rain (again).

After dinner we walked towards the International Gateway, and browsed through the countries. At AA we checked to see if Illuminations would still happen. The CM chuckled and assured us that this weather was nothing. So we kept wandering and found a spot along the railing and passed the time talking to a nice couple from Michigan. Illuminations is ok, but I still prefer MK fireworks.

Wandered back to our room and a package has been delivered that doesn’t belong to us. We looked at the paperwork and the room number has a question mark behind it. Luckily for the true owner, we are honest people. We called bell services to tell them about the package and to get a sewing kit. I had a blister (and needed a needle to pop it). How in the *!&%* do I stop getting blisters? This is getting very frustrating and painful.

We went swimming, ah, so cool, relaxing, and nice to be able to stretch out the ole muscles. We sat in the hot tub for a while and talked to a couple from Pennsylvania...but they had recently moved from Seattle (about 60 miles from us). Everybody sing..."It’s A Small World..."

Came back to the room and bell services brought my sewing/blister popping kit and picked up the mis-delivered package. We did a load of laundry, then to bed.

Sunday, September 27 or as Jimmy Buffett says: "You can’t reason with hurricane season."

We were beginning to slow down. Our commando touring was starting to tell on us. The alarm went off at 6:15am, but didn’t get up until 7:00am. We caught the bus to the MK at 8:15 and we were at the hub for the morning announcement and rope drop.

We walked quickly to Splash Mountain and rode with no wait. For the first time I had the guts to put my hands up on the big drop. What a rush. I convinced Colleen that she should try putting her hands up. Since there was no wait, we went back around and rode again. We both put our hands up on the big drop. It was awesome, we even bought the picture. I cannot believe that it took me so many years to finally get the guts to put my hands up. We got pretty wet, so we decided to blow dry on BTMRR. I love that ride!!! By now it was time to make our way to Main Street for our PS at Tony’s Town Square.

Colleen had never eaten at Tony’s so I asked to sit outside. They were not seating anyone outside, but the hostess said she would check with the wait staff. We were seated after about a 15-minute wait, outside right along the railing on Main Street. What a view, what atmosphere!!! We could watch the world go by, see people interacting with the characters, and soak up the true magic of the Magic Kingdom. We both had the breakfast calzone. What a great meal with great service and a view to die for.

After breakfast we rode the train around to Mickey’s ToonTown Fair. What a disappointment after visiting ToonTown at Disneyland. We walked quickly by and took the back walkway to Tomorrowland. We got a great picture of the train with the conductor waving at us. We stopped at a bench in the shade and I "doctored" my blister.

We rode TTA, CofP then went to Fantasyland. What a zoo. There were a lot of firefighters and their families visiting for the day. We rode IaSW (there was a line) then we exited Fantasyland and went to HM. After HM we shopped in Liberty Square. We then went on PotC. When we exited PotC (into the souvenir shop) I found the ultimate Jimmy Buffett shirt. We were going to see Jimmy the day after we get home from WDW (also my birthday)! Onto Adventureland and a Dole Whip!!! Ahh. There is nothing better than sitting on a shady bench eating a Dole Whip and watching the world go by. While we were resting the Parade went down Main Street, so we listened to the music. When the parade was finished we crossed the bridge to the hub, and through the castle (I touched the slipper for everyone) and back into Fantasyland. We rode Peter Pan, the carrousel and Snow White. We then shopped our way down Main Street and out to the monorail. We found our bricks just by the exit to the resort monorail.

We took the monorail to the TTC then switched to the Epcot monorail. We went directly to the Land for dinner at the Garden Grill (GG). Neither of us had every eaten at the GG so we were looking forward to it. What a meal. We practically had to be rolled out on a stretcher. I love character meals, you get to relax, eat, and have individual attention from the characters. I even set up a date between Mickey and Minnie for Illuminations. I’m such a little matchmaker. Chip and Dale were so cute in their overalls (their tails stuck out of the back).

After dinner we rolled downstairs and rode Living with the land, then Food Rocks. I had 1000 speed film in my camera so I was able to take some really great pictures inside of FR. By the time we exited the Land the park was closing and Illuminations was starting. We shopped some more in Centorium then walked through World Showcase to International Gateway and the Boardwalk.

We went swimming again, then to bed around 12:00.

Monday, September 28 or "But…I don’t want to go home!"

We crawled out of bed about 7:15, got ready and finished up our breakfast food on the deck. I just hate the last day of a WDW trip. You are sad that it is over, there are so many things you didn’t have time to do, but are looking forward to going home and seeing your family. At least we still have today and a couple of hours tomorrow.

We were off to MGM today, and arrived at the boat dock at 8:30am. We waited and waited and waited. I was ready to get the car and drive, or swim. This was the most frustrating transportation issue of the trip. Talk about taking a slow boat to MGM. Grrrr. I was really getting frustrated. Finally the boat shows up, then we are on the milk run. If I ever stay at the Boardwalk again, I will drive my own car to MGM. It is frustrating to be so close, yet so far.

Made a beeline for ToT. There was a short wait, but it went quickly. We both loved the ride. I felt so awake and alert when it was over. I wish I could ride ToT every day before work. I’m sure I would work better. After ToT we went on GMR (Western), then to the 11:00am Hunchback show. Saw Matt the Juggler (his timing was a little off, but still put on a great show). Then the best show at WDW (IMHO). The talent involved in this show is A#1. The day was really hot, but his show gave me goose bumps!!

Next up was Mama Melrose’s for lunch. We each had the Caesar salad, and finally got smart and shared the tomato pizza. Mama’s is a relaxing place for lunch and a great place to cool off. I’m not sure that WDW should promote Mama’s as an Italian restaurant, their menu is not traditional Italian food (i.e. pasta).

After lunch we went "under the sea" with VoLM, a great show and I love the water effects. Then one of our favorites…the Animation tour. The last time I was at MGM the animation tour was closed, so I was really looking forward to the tour. Overall, we enjoyed the tour, but I missed a few things from the "old days". One is Mickey wearing a Michael Eisner watch, and Michael Eisner telling Chernabog to sit down in the theater, and Chernabog apologizing. I’m glad they kept Robin and Walter, they are reat together. One warning about the seats in the theater…they are narrow. I mis-judged and got a nasty bruise on my behind.

We left the Animation tour at about 1:50pm and decided we could make the 2:00pm B&B show, so we hustled over to Sunset Blvd. We made it just as the preshow was ending. The B&B show is okay, just not the caliber of Hunchback. The theater was HOT! The fans appeared to be working, but there was NO air movement. Even my "ever-cool" sister used her Misty Fan!!!

We went to the Villain’s shop. (I’m glad to see the villains finally getting their time in the sun). I bought the "Disney Bad Girls" shirt for me, and the "Disney Bad Boys" shirt for Bob. Since it was so hot, we headed back to BW about 3:30pm. We just missed the boat, so we waited about 20 minutes for the next one.

Once back at BW we went to Seashore Sweets, then back to the room. We freshened up, got the car, then went to I-drive and to Stamp Cabana (rubber stamping and scrapbooking store). I love this store, but it is over-whelming in size and selection. We left about 6:30pm and drove directly to the Beach Club since we needed to be at B&C at 7:00pm to meet Brian Bennett and his family. I have corresponded with Brain via the Internet, and I have a couple trip reports on his web site.

Now I wasn’t exactly sure what Brian looked like, but I knew I would recognize him. We checked inside and outside B&C but did not see anyone that matched. Colleen and I decided to share a hot fudge sundae and wait outside. About 7:30pm we were deciding if we should stay a little longer when a couple with a little boy in a stroller, accompanied by "grandparent-looking people" walk by. I whispered to Colleen that "I think that’s them." So I approached and said "…are you?" just as Brian says "…are you?" It was nice to meet Brian, his wife Barb, son Allan, and his in-laws. We pushed a couple of tables together and talked with Barb as the guys got ice cream. Barb, Colleen, and I have a lot in common, especially scrapbooking. We talked about the convention and gave Barb directions to the Memories store on Hwy 50. We parted about 8:30pm. Thanks so much Brian for finding time to meet with us. This was my first time to meet anyone from the Internet.

What to do next? Why didn’t we bring our swimsuits? We could have gone swimming at the Beach Club. Duh! Oh well, there is always "the next trip". We got the car from valet and tried to figure out where to eat. We finally ended up at…shh…McDonald’s by the All-Star Resort. We each had a happy meal. ;o)

Back to the room to pack and clean up. We decided to pre-order breakfast from room service. Colleen kept falling asleep so I took the liberty of ordering. She will get what I order. ;o) Time to go to bed, tomorrow we go home. ;o(

Tuesday, September 29 or "Georges…again?"

Up at 8:00am and to the main pool at 8:15am. I love swimming in the morning and at night. We got back to the room at 9:00am and room service was waiting for us at our door. We are used to room service that drops your food on the table and leaves. Wow, was this different. She cleared off our table, put down a white tablecloth, and set the table complete with flowers. We were so impressed we took pictures of the table.

We had pancakes with powdered sugar sprinkled on the top, and an omelet. Lots of yummy food. Our dogs would have had a feast on the leftovers. We showered, finished packing, and made one last trip to Seashore Sweets. We called the bell desk a little before 11:00am, and also gave them our valet number. We also called room service to pick up our trays. Here is where things jumped into hyper-speed. The luggage guy showed up, loaded us up, the room service guy showed up, and next thing I know we are loaded in the car ready to go, and its 11:11am! Talk about efficient!

We made a quick stop on 192 at a "gee-gaa" shop for a cheap souvenir shot glass, then took 417 to the airport. Returning the car was no problem, but check-in was a nightmare! We checked our luggage at the curb, then went to the gate. At the gate we find out that Georges is causing problems again. Our flight is delayed because our plane had been late leaving Atlanta. We were supposed to leave MCO at 1:00pm, connecting in Atlanta at 4:00pm. Well, we didn’t leave MCO until 3:00pm arriving in Atlanta with 10 minutes to get to our gate. Delta had already booked us on a 7:00pm flight out of Atlanta, just in case. Once off the plane, we ran, yes ran, to our gate. We arrive and no one is there. We gasped out to the ticket agent…"Are…we…too…late…?" Nope, but we just made it. Our flight home was uneventful until we got to baggage claim. The good news…we made the flight in Atlanta. The bad news…our luggage did not. We filled out the appropriate paperwork and made our way home.

Ah, home and lots of hugs. Luckily our luggage was delivered the next day so I had my Jimmy Buffett shirt for the concert!!

Final Thoughts:

BW Elevators: Why is there only one set of elevators? I have never seen or walked down such long halls in my life.
Boat Service to MGM: Don’t bother. Drive, walk, swim…it would be faster.
I would never make it at WDW is June, July, or August. I have never sweat more in my entire life! I am a humidity whimp.
I love the International Gateway. How awesome to "buzz over to Epcot" for dinner or the entertainment.
The lack of fast food in the BW area. We would have liked a food court option.
All the pros and cons aside…I’d do it again!!!
Expenditures (Does Not Include What Colleen Spent):
Breakfast $45.86
Lunch $51.48
Dinner $50.88
Snacks $22.21
Groceries $23.00
Tips $50.22
Souvenirs $343.15
"Crafty" Souvenirs $198.85
So expenditure wise, I ate pretty cheap, but made up for it on stuff to take home. Oh well. ;o)

Gaylene Gray

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