Trip Reports

Summary:

Characters: Sue (me-39), son Chris (11), Mary (60’s) for 2 of the days
Dates: August 15 - 20, 1998
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Coronado Springs & Old Key West
Accommodations: Standard Room (Coronado) & Studio (OKW)
Ages: 1 Adult, 1 Senior, 1 kid aged 11 (almost 12)
Experience: Sue & Chris are DVC members and frequent visitors (6 trips in 1998 alone), Mary has never been to Walt Disney World.
Introduction:

Our last trip was mid-June of 1998. Chris & I have been to wdw too many times to count, so we are not of the theme park commando mentality. We each have our favorite things that we hope to enjoy, and are hoping to do a few new things this trip. We’ve never been to Blizzard Beach, and since FL residents get in after 3pm for only $15 this seemed like a good time to go. We’re planning on going Saturday night, since we’ll be staying at Coronado that night & will not be visiting the parks that day. I also hope to use my $50 coupon at the Swan or Dolphin (from Rita Aero’s book), but have not made reservations because I’m undecided on which restaurant to choose. As always, Chris plans to spend a lot of time at Innoventions, and I plan to spend at least 3 nights at the Comedy Warehouse in Pleasure Island. We’re also planning on visiting Disney Quest, I’d like to find a new watch (bracelet style), and since we’ll have a wdw virgin with us for a couple of days we will make it a point to see Spectromagic. If all of this happens, great - but if not there will always be another chance on a future trip!

Day 1 - Saturday August 15, 1998:

We left Ft Myers at 7am, arriving at the Belz Outlet Center at 10am. No trip to Walt Disney World can begin until I’ve had the chance to check out the merchandise at both Character Warehouse and Character Premiere. It was mostly the usual stuff, and I didn’t see anything I had to have. We did get Chris the Santa stocking cap with mouse ears attached - marked down from $10 to $.99. Normally he would not have been interested in it, but we will be attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the MK on 12/18/98, and he’ll wear it then. For under a dollar, I won’t care if he never wears it again! After briefly checking out the Planet Hollywood outlet, and buying some socks (boring but necessary) we headed to wdw. The traffic on I-4 headed to Orlando was stop & go, bumper to bumper all throughout the theme park area. It wasn’t too bad when we came through earlier, but now it was very backed up. I pity those people who stay at the motels along International Drive - they must have to sit in traffic coming & going every day. Talk about a fast way to destroy any "magic" from your day!

We arrived at Coronado around 11 am. I let Chris out & told him to go get in line for check-in while I parked the car. I circled the lot, and there was not a single empty space! I had to wait for someone to come out, and then follow them to their space. When I got in the lobby, Chris was standing at the entrance to the line, letting everyone pass him by rather than securing our spot. <grrr> We got in line - at the end - but thankfully it moved quickly & we were at the counter within 10 minutes. The CM checking us in was pleasant, but not too swift. They had no rooms ready at all, which was not surprising, and told us she was blocking us into a room in Cabanas like we requested - top floor and non smoking. I asked her which building we would be in, so I could put the car over there, and she gave me a room number that I knew was not in Cabanas - it was in Casitas! I asked her to check for a room in Cabanas if they had one, as I’d prefer not to be in a 4 story building full of conventioneers when I knew the Cabanas were 2 story & thereby less congested. She was very nice, and got us a room in Cabanas. We drove the car over to our building, so as to make room in the main lot for people arriving. The traffic was awful getting out of the main lot, because a big convention had just let out. We ended up circling the resort, which was faster than sitting in the traffic. After parking the car we walked over to the Pepper Market for lunch. We’ve eaten here several times, and it’s one of Chris’ favorites. Originally he wanted Taco Bell, but with all the traffic on the wdw roads, and since it was soooo hot outside I canceled those plans & said we weren’t doing anything that would involve driving! Chris got a taco salad ($6.99) and I got the kid’s chicken tender meal (2 tenders, fries $3.50). The chicken tenders were excellent, and would be worth a trip back just for them! Chris ate every bite of his taco salad, saying it was the best thing he’s ever had, and ate half of one tender. The Pepper Market was very busy, and there was a noisy child in a high chair at the next table. I don’t understand why parents don’t try to shush their kids when they get too loud. Luckily they were just about done, and left soon. There were very few conventioneers having lunch, and we didn’t have to wait long for our food. This was the first visit where someone took our drink order. Total including tax & 10% automatic gratuity was $12.23. Chris checked out the arcade while I took care of the bill. He saw a tank game of some sort that he wanted to play later, and commented that he hoped Disney Quest was as cool as the CS arcade - lol!

After pulling him out of the arcade, we took the Downtown Disney bus knowing it would stop at Boardwalk (BW). To my surprise, BW was the first stop - I had figured it would be the last stop since I had taken the bus from Downtown Disney when staying at CS last October & it stopped at BW before continuing on to CS. Our destination was actually the Swan & Dolphin hotels, to check out menus for using that $50 coupon, and figured the fastest way would be to use the BW as the connecting point. It was hot, so rather than walk we took the MGM boat from BW over to YC/BC and then Swan/Dolphin. We checked out Palos menu & dining room, which looked good. Next we went to Gulliver’s Grill, which did not impress me. To get there we had to walk through a lobby are where people were smoking, which absolutely turned me off on the whole hotel. I’m so used to having a smoke-free environment indoors at wdw, that it caught me by (unpleasant) surprise. We left the swan & headed over to the Dolphin, walking outside to avoid that lobby area again. There were a few people out on the lake in pedal boats that look like swans - they were really cute, but it was way too hot for me to consider renting one! On the way over, Chris said "Mom those do not look like dolphins" referring to the statues on the hotel. I said "dolphin FISH" and he said "Oh". It made me laugh because just a week or so on the boards someone had posted about how come the Swan has statues of swans & the Dolphin has statues of fish? We were not impressed with the restaurant choices in the Dolphin, so we returned to the Swan to book Palios. We were able to make a reservation for Sunday night at 6. I would have preferred to eat at 5, so I could take my time & yet have a shot at arriving at Pleasure Island in time for the first show at the Comedy Warehouse (7:10) but Palios does not open until 6. We walked back to BW, and caught the next Downtown Disney bus - which went directly to Coronado Springs.

I don’t recall what time it was, but we checked at the front desk to see if our room was ready (not expecting it to be). It was not. We got our swimsuits from the car, changed, and went to the Dig Site (main pool). Most of the chairs were taken, yet the pool is so large it did not seem crowded. Shortly after we arrived they started games for the kids, and Chris played for about 45 minutes before we went back to check on the room again. By now it was 2:40 and I was hoping to be able to put our stuff in our room before heading to Blizzard Beach at 3 pm. We dried off, walked back to the front desk, and the room was still not ready. The CM said the rooms were guaranteed to be ready between 3 and 5 pm. I told her I had never heard of the 5pm thing - and she went on to say they had around 700 rooms check out that morning, and were sold out again tonight. We decided to just go to Blizzard Beach (BB), and move into the room after that park closed. On the way to the bus, it started to drizzle, and once on the bus it began to pour. The bus stops first at Animal Kingdom (AK), and then goes to BB. I told Chris since it was pouring still we were just staying on the bus for another round trip & we’d see if the weather improved. By the time we got back to BB it was not raining much, but there was lightning. We got off the bus, and walked to the entrance, where we found the park was closed due to the lightning. A CM explained that they close if lightning is within 10 miles, and they had spotted some about 5 miles away. He said the storm also appeared to be moving towards the park, and although the storms usually skirt around BB they won’t reopen until it’s passed. At this point it was after 4, so we’d already lost over an hour of our BB time, and had no way of knowing how much longer it would be until BB reopened, so I told Chris we’d be skipping BB. He was disappointed, but could understand why. We waited for the next CS bus, and arrived back to CS just a little before 5. On the way in, we passed several people with large, delicious-looking chocolate chip cookies. Once inside, we saw a tray with several glasses of sprite, and an empty tray (probably with chocolate chip cookie crumbs). Chris got a sprite, and while I was in line to check on the room I saw a CM come out with a new tray of cookies. Chris went over & got us each one - this all was free! The cookie must have been 5 inches across, almost an inch thick, and instead of chocolate chips it was loaded with m&m’s. It was delicious! Unfortunately, our room was still not ready - and I was not too happy (happy about the cookie, but that’s about it at this point) so the CM called someone who was able to give him the number of a "ready" room. He also asked if we’d heard about the fire at the gas plant in north Florida. I had seen it on the news the night before - and asked him if that was going to impact us at wdw (hope not). He explained that the main gas pipeline supplying almost all of FL (including wdw) was shut down for repairs, and once the hot water in their lines was gone there would be no more until the pipeline was fixed because the water is heated w/natural gas. We ended up in room 8110, building 8A in Cabanas. It was 1st floor, non smoking, and since it was the same building I stayed in last October, I knew it was a great location. We moved the car over, and went into the room. I was surprised to find a refrigerator & a porta-crib. I can only assume they gave me someone’s room who had requested these items, since I didn’t have either in October. I expected them to come get them, but they didn’t.

We got changed, and I decided to check out the Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlets. They are located close to wdw, and I had an internet paper good for a $300 coupon book. Chris didn’t want to go, so I let him stay in the room watching tv. The traffic was still awful on I-4, and I was glad I only had 1 exit to travel. The outlets were nothing special. I think I was there for all of 15 minutes. On the way back to CS, I decided to stop at Downtown Disney to look for a bracelet style watch. I had looked in June, but didn’t see anything that really captured my attention. I was hoping to find one before my birthday in November - sort of a present to myself. As I was pulling into a parking space, I had a change of plans & decided to visit Animal Kingdom. I remembered reading that after a storm the animals were active, and figured it would be a good time to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari again.

I drove over to AK, and parked in the handicapped section (in one of the several non-handicapped rows, so don’t flame me - I would not park illegally) as close as possible to the entrance since time was very limited. By now it was after 6, and the park was closing at 8. I called Chris to let him know what I was doing, and gave him permission to go to the main pool for a swim. I went to the Safari, and got on with a short wait. I saw just about all the animals, including the lion. Next I walked the forest trail that used to be called Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail (I forgot the new name). I walked through pretty quickly, really just wanting to get a sense of what it was all about, and saw the gorillas. One big guy (a gorilla) was just as busy watching the tourists - it was kind of funny. Finally, I walked over to Dinoland for a ride on Countdown to Extinction. This time I kept my eyes open most of the time. I was in the front row, and was originally seated in the left seat but was able to move over one. I remembered most of the dinosaurs coming up from the left, so I wanted to be as far to the right as possible! It was lots of fun, and looking at the pictures afterwards was fun, too. I looked like the only one enjoying myself in our car - the other people looked scared. By now it was just after 8, so I got the car & drove back to CS. The sun was setting, and the sky was beautiful.

I stopped at the room to put a powerade for Chris and a water for me in our refrigerator, then went to the Dig Site. The pool was practically deserted, and Chris said someone had thrown up in the pool & they had made everyone stay out for about 45 minutes. I showed him the 22 person jacuzzi, and then we walked to the Pepper Market. By now I was getting hungry (Chris was starved as usual) and we were both planning to repeat what we had for lunch. There was a line to be seated, and I saw a sign informing guests that due to the gas problem there would be no chicken tenders, baked potatoes, or french fries! Oh well, so much for my kid’s chicken tender meal. Chris did get the taco salad again, but this time with chicken ($6.99). I had a tough time deciding for myself. I really wanted the pasta, but there was no way I’d eat it all myself. Chris really wanted the taco salad, so I didn’t force him to get the pasta. I finally noticed a lady at the pasta stand getting a small bowl of pasta, & decided to do that. I got the "side" pasta with the alfredo sauce, and it was excellent. Chris tried it & liked it, so I left some for him to finish after he finished his taco salad. He went to the arcade to play that tank game while I updated my notes and paid the bill. I had no idea what my side of pasta would cost, and was surprised to see it was only $2.00! The total dinner with tax & 10% automatic gratuity was $10.48 - can’t beat that!

We stopped at the store to look for a CS postcard to send to FirstNo (an aol friend stationed in Saudi Arabia right now). We found one, bought stamps, and walked back to the room. We each took a cool shower to wash off the chlorine. The water was definitely chilly, no matter how far I turned the knob! The CM at check in had said they were hoping it would be fixed by the next night, or else Disney would look to buy gas from another source. Not looking forward to the morning’s shower - but what can you do?? We were in bed at 10, hoping to catch some 10pm news for a gas updated and the latest weather. Tomorrow we move "home" to Old Key West (OKW). Everything is very quiet here at CS, and the room is very comfortable - but it is not in the same league as OKW.

Day 2 - Sunday August 16, 1998:

I woke up at 5:45 for a way too cool shower. I just couldn’t stand it, so since I’d taken a shower the night before I just quickly washed my hair. According to the local news there is no hot water anywhere on Disney property. I’m not sure why Disney gets singled out - the truth is most of central Florida is without hot water. The news reporter interviewed a family staying at a "Disney hotel" - except these people were standing in front of the Hilton sign over at the Village. We all know those are not Disney hotels, even though they are on Disney property. In any event, it was not a nasty story at all, and the tourists were very understanding of the gas problem. The reporter stated that certain menus at wdw would be altered and the state is expected to have rolling blackouts if people don’t cut back on energy consumption today. I hope it doesn’t impact on our dinner at Palios tonight! While getting ready, I spotted 3 separate bugs in the room, and a 4th when on our way out. They were all in the bathroom/sink area. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s a first floor room, but I was surprised by this. Otherwise, the room was great. It had a connecting door to the room next door (which was unlocked so I locked it), but no noise from the room next door. The air conditioning was quiet. Our view was across the grassy area to the Ranchos, and we were very close to the Dig Site and our bus stop. Basically one end of the building was right at the Dig Site and the other end was right at the bus stop. The Pepper Market was about 5 minutes away (walking). I don’t care for the carpet, but the rest of the room is bright & cheery (without going overboard). We went to the Dig Site for Chris to take a few pictures to finish up a disposable underwater camera he had from a school trip to the Florida Keys last May. We drove to the main building & had breakfast at the Pepper Market. There was a sign stating no omelets due to the gas problem. Chris got the adult scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuit & home fries meal ($6.50) and I got the kids’ orange juice & Mickey waffles meal ($3.50 I think). Total with tax & 10% automatic gratuity was $12.18.

We drove over to OKW, where check in took less than 5 minutes. Of course the room was not ready, but we did not expect it to be. The CM did tell me we’d be in building 44, and when I signed the credit card paper I saw it was unit 4420. We moved the car to that location, and went to the Old Turtle Pond bus stop to catch the MK bus - with no wait. We arrived MK at 8:30, with no wait to enter Main Street. There were very few people anywhere - fewer than normal. We checked at the camera store for the price to develop Chris’ disposable camera, but it was $13.75 for a single set of prints. I would have gone as high as $10 for the convenience, but passed on the $13.75. We’ll get it developed at home for around $6-7 for double prints.

We walked down Main Street, and waited for the rope drop at the entrance to Adventureland. We agreed that I’d be heading to Big Thunder while Chris rode the Jungle Cruise. We’d meet at the remote control boats near the Jungle Cruise. I ended up riding Big Thunder twice, and then met Chris. He enjoyed the Jungle Cruise, but was mostly interested in the remote control boats. He did them one time before we moved on. The wait for Splash Mountain at 9:15 was already 20 minutes. I’m not interested in a 5 story drop, so I didn’t care how long the line got! It was already very hot & very humid. We walked to Fantasyland & rode Peter Pan twice with no wait - just to cool off some. We then did Snow White with no wait, and Mr. Toad with a wait of less than 5 minutes. Next Chris rode the Teacups 3 times while I went to Toontown & rode the Barnstormer 4 times before returning to retrieve him at the Teacups. By now it was about 10:15 and lines were forming at all the attractions. It still was not too crowded walking around, though. Have I mentioned how HOT it was yet? We live in Florida & are used to hot weather, but it really felt uncomfortable. Chris waited in line for the Astro Orbitor while I got on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. On my third time around he was waiting at the loading platform & joined me for a final TTA ride. Next we did Carousel of Progress, which is one of Chris’ favorites, and then got in line for the Skyway to Fantasyland. There was quite a line, since the Skyway had been stopped (with guests stuck sitting there in the hot sun) for around 45 minutes or so, and had just restarted. The line moved pretty well, and we didn’t have anywhere else we needed to be, so we stuck it out. After getting off at Fantasyland we walked down Main Street and exited the park.

We took the boat to Wilderness Lodge to go swimming. Now, before you all start e-mailing me about pool hopping not being allowed, I am a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member, and we are allowed to use any wdw pool when we are staying at a dvc resort. It’s one of the perks Disney gives us that doesn’t cost them anything. On the boat ride over, they were playing Disney music with a very upbeat tempo to it. The pilot was up in his pilot house, just dancing up a storm. At one point he looked down at the 3 or 4 of us passengers & told us we should be dancing! I asked what CD that was, and they said it was something like Mouse House - and I decided I’d be looking for it to buy to play at home. The WL pool was pretty busy, and I didn’t see any towel bins. I asked the lifeguard, who explained that now WL guests are supposed to use their room towels. He said normally he’d have some he could give me, but with the gas problem they are unable to wash the towels and have run out of clean towels. He said even their guests are being told they have to reuse their towels. I sent Chris to the men’s room to change into his swimsuit, and then used his shorts and some stuff in my bag to stake out 2 chairs. We went into Roaring Forks for a quick lunch - but they weren’t serving anything but pizzas and cold sandwiches (due to the gas problem). We had a cheese pizza ($4.00), a sausage pizza ($4.25), and a chocolate milk ($.80). Total with tax was $9.59. They had a sign about a trivia challenge for kids, which we asked about. Chris answered the first of 3 questions, and was given a card & told to come back 2 more days for the next 2 questions. I told the cm we were staying at OKW, and he said we could just do all 3 questions now. Chris didn’t know the answers to either of the next 2, but the cm gave them to him so he could win. His prize was a free ice cream certificate, which I decided he could use after our pool time. After eating we swam for about an hour, and Chris used the slide several times. This pool is not very large, but it has a nice atmosphere. It’s especially nice to watch the geyser erupt. They had cm’s checking all guests for resort id’s to make sure they belonged there. It was a young girl - she asked to see our resort id and when I told her we weren’t staying there, she was stunned. I didn’t prolong her discomfort, though - I explained about the dvc thing. She said she’d have to check, and went to talk to another cm. She soon came back & said everything was fine, and gave me a green paper bracelet to keep with our stuff so she’d know she already checked us. I thanked her, and told her I was glad she was checking. While we were there I didn’t notice anyone being escorted out, so I guess they all belonged there. After our swim, we went to the rest rooms to dry off with paper towels and get changed. We stopped in Roaring Forks to get Chris’ ice cream (the butterfinger kind was excellent) and then went to find a bus to Downtown Disney. I checked in the store at WL for that cd, but did not find it.

Since it was before 4pm, we had to take the Crockett bus to the TTC & then transfer to a Downtown Disney (DD) bus. I really, really hate the TTC! Luckily the DD bus was there waiting for us, so we just walked right on. We got off at the Marketplace stop and waited for a bus to OKW to arrive. It came within 5 minutes. We were going to take the boat to OKW, but figured the next one probably wouldn’t arrive for about 30 minutes, so decided to wait about 10 minutes or so to see if a bus arrived. Since this bus was a DD bus, the first stop was the Hospitality House, which is where we got off. It was almost 4, and the lobby was crammed full of people waiting to check in, and there was a line of people at each of the house phones calling to see if their room was ready. I wanted no part of that mess, so for $.35 I walked across to Olivia’s and used a pay phone to call - and our room was ready. They activate the keys for us without our having to stop anywhere, which is the best way to do this. We walked to the Peninsular Road bus stop, and hopped on the first bus to come by, getting off at the Old Turtle Pond Road stop. We unloaded the car, and moved into our studio. It was #4420 - at one end (not the end by the road) of a building. It was on the 2nd floor, which was also the top floor. It was a lock-off which could be combined with the 1br unit next door to make a 2 br unit. The view was of one of the ponds in the golf course. It basically was exactly what I asked for, and we were very pleased. I unpacked, and noticed the message light blinking. I had a message to call the concierge at the Swan, and when I did they told me that due to the gas situation Palio’s would only be serving pizzas and cold appetizers. I told them to cancel the reservation - I was planning on a "nice" meal, and even though I’m sure their pizzas are excellent, that was not what I wanted. We’ll rebook Palio’s for our December trip. Then we’ll be staying at the Boardwalk, so it will be even easier to transport the leftovers to our fridge!

Chris wanted to go to Innoventions in Epcot tonight, and I was chomping at the bit to get to the Comedy Warehouse at Pleasure Island. I wavered back & forth on whether or not to take an umbrella and water shoes. On a trip last year we got caught in a downpour that ruined my sneakers. I swore that on future summer trips I would carry a pair of those water shoes & be able to keep my socks dry & save my sneakers if we got caught in rain like that again. After looking out all our windows & deciding the clouds weren’t bad I decided to leave it all in the room. Once on the bus, I noticed extremely dark clouds & heard thunder from the direction I wasn’t able to see from the room (it figures) and I realized I had left my Pleasure Island refillable cup in the room. We got off at the Hospitality House, and Chris went to the arcade while I returned to the room to get my cup (and umbrella & water shoes). We had planned to ride to DD on the boat, and then he would use the buses to transfer to Epcot. By the time I returned to get him, they had a sign up saying the boat was not running due to inclement weather! He took the bus direct to Epcot, and I waited for the DD bus. The wind really picked up, and was blowing quite hard. I got off the bus at the Marketplace, and looked for the CD. I finally found it at the Disney TV store in Pleasure Island. It’s called Mouse House Dance Mixes and cost $18.95. I got my mkc discount, and after tax it was $18.10. While I was looking at it, a cm passed by and told me it was a great cd. My resort id would not work, so I had to use my credit card. I didn’t bring much cash on this trip - less than $50, since I was planning to just charge everything to the room.

I needed to grab something for dinner, but nothing sounded good. I ended up in the West Side, and got a chocolate marshmallow thing from the candy store. It’s 4 marshmallows on a stick, dipped in milk chocolate, and then rolled in assorted chocolate chips & stuff. It was $1.26 with tax, and very tasty (but very sweet). By the time I finished it, I was a little sick to my stomache, but felt better in no time. I entered Pleasure Island before 7, having gotten my wristband on the way in. I immediately got in line at the Comedy Warehouse since there were already 4 people in line & I knew this would place me directly front & center. I saw the first show, which was good - but not their best. I got in line for the 2nd show right away, and the people in line behind me recognized me as having been at the 1st show as well. They were Tony & Bonnie from somewhere up north (NJ or CT I think), and we enjoyed chatting to pass the time in line. They were staying off-site, and said they had plenty of hot water. I guess there hotel must heat their water with something other than gas! At Tony’s suggestion, we became a party of 3 and were seated together for the 2nd show. The show was great, and but the line was already long for the 3rd show so I went to the Adventurer’s Club for a little while. I arrived in time for the new member induction ceremony, and left shortly after that. I’ve been through it dozens of times, although it is still fun to repeat. While there I called a co-worker who would be joining us for the next 2 days. She was staying off site, and she reported she’d driven over to OKW to see where it was. While there her credit cards were either lost or stolen. She had been approached in the parking lot by a man asking if he could help her find something (she was looking at a map I’d given her). She thinks the credit cards either fell out of her fanny pack onto the ground or inside her car. She knows she locked the car door, and when she came out of HH and returned to the car it was unlocked & the man was gone. She reported the cards missing, and notified OKW in case someone found them & turned them in. [fast forward to Wednesday 8/19 - she got a call from the Orange County sheriff’s dept. They caught a man using her card to buy furniture, claiming to be her relative. Sheriff’s dept said the guy was "a real piece of work". They arrested him for fraudulent use of a credit card. I’ve asked her to write down the details so I can make okw aware of this, and improve security. I’m puzzled as to how this guy can hang around without being noticed or questioned.]

I left to catch the okw bus, and arrived just as the bus was pulling in (at 9:40 pm). These buses now stop at the West Side in addition to the Markeplace and Pleasure Island. I got off at the Hospitality House to straighten out that resort id problem. The cm there checked my cards, and said they all should have worked. By now it was POURING (it started to sprinkle after I got on the bus), and there was lots of very loud thunder & big bolts of lightning. I had planned to walk to Peninsular bus stop, but not in this rain & lightning! A cm took a family with a wheelchair to their unit in a golf cart with the plastic flaps closed. When he came back he offerred me a ride to my room, which I gratefully accepted. He got the okw van, and pulled it up under the cover. When arriving at my building, he pulled as close to the entrance as he could. I didn’t bother with the umbrella, figuring it was a very short distance to get under cover. I couldn’t figure out why I was getting wet while climbing the stairs - figured the rain must really be blowing sideways. Only after I reached the 2nd floor did I notice the stairs are not covered - LOL! No wonder I was getting wet!

I was in the room by 10:15. Chris was already there, having spent the night in Innoventions except for the time it took to get a sausage & pepperoni pizza from Pasta Piazza ($5.25 including tax). He left Epcot at 9:15 and says he got pretty wet going to the bus. He was in bed watching Pete’s Dragon on tv and eating skittles. I showed him my cd - which is definitely not cool to him. I turned on the hot water in the tub, just to see if there would be any. After a few minutes I stuck my hand in, and almost got burned! I guess the found some gas somewhere. The news was still talking about the gas problem so I am assuming Disney bought some from some where else. I love the rooms at OKW. The 3 pillows on each queen bed is a nice touch, and the wooden blinds on the windows & porch door are really pretty. It’s all top quality stuff, and there’s such an obvious difference between staying in a nicer Disney resort vs staying off site. The a/c unit is quiet - no noisy window units here! Being at the end of the building we only have a neighbor on 1 side, and so far there’s been no noise at all. I LOVE it here!

Day 3 - Monday August 17, 1998:

Today a coworker (Mary) was joining us for a couple of days. She runs our Cafe at work, which is one of the departments I’m responsible for. One of our vendors was putting on a food show in Orlando yesterday, and Mary came up for that. She has never been to wdw, so I offered her the use of our "free" passes (they came with our dvc membership & will expire at the end of 1999) for Monday & Tuesday and we’d show her some of the highlights. She’s staying at the Howard Johnson Park Square Inn in Lake Buena Vista at a government rate somewhere between $50 and $60/night. She met us at our studio at 7:45. I got up at 6:30 - the hot shower felt great!! I did notice the shower curtain "grabbing" at me, but since I’m probably smaller than Rich (Richym1) I didn’t get mummified (LOL). He wrote in his trip report about getting attacked by his shower curtain - it was really funny. I think the problem is the shower head is not centered between the wall & the shower curtain - so it forces you to be too close to the shower curtain. I had my cereal and cappuccino on the porch. Mary said her hotel was just okay. When she arrived in her room, there were dirty clothes on the balcony and there were kids running around screaming at 1:30 am.

We took the bus to Epcot, arriving at 8:30. They opened the turnstiles just as we arrived, and we headed for Spaceship Earth first. Mary was very impressed! She could not believe how great it was. She also noticed all the flowers, and other things that wdw veterans like us tend to not even notice anymore. We walked over to HISTA, hardly seeing any other people along the way. We got right in during the preshow, and enjoyed the show. Chris & I know how to avoid the mice, but it’s always fun to bring in a new victim - - um, I mean guest! Next we rode Journey into Imagination, and looked at the water fountains briefly. Mary was amazed at the leap frog fountains. We walked over to the Land, and rode Living With the Land with a 5-10 minute wait, and then saw Circle of Life. After leaving the Land, Chris went to Innoventions while Mary & Sue went to Living Seas. I sat through the movie, since it was Mary’s first time there, and once we boarded the ride vehicles I noticed the tank was all cloudy. You couldn’t see any of the reefs and only an occasional fish if it was swimming right up against the glass. I asked a cm what was going on, and she said they were being cleaned & that the process would take 100 days to complete. She did say it wouldn’t stay this cloudy the entire time. We stopped to see the manatees, and then left since we couldn’t really see the fish. I would not bother with this attraction in the next month or 2.

We picked up Chris in the Sega section of Innoventions, and then went to Wonders of Life for a snack at Pure & Simple. I ordered a wonder waffle with fruit topping and a vanilla shake for Chris & I to share ($6.47 including tax), and Mary got a bowl of frozen yogurt ($2.95 plus tax). Her yogurt must have been 6 inches high - it was huge. Even with us helping, some was thrown away.

Next we went on Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Chris really enjoys this, and so do I. I’ve never minded looking at Alex Trebek, especially on a big screen <g>.

We bought a 2nd water bottle strap to attach to Chris’ squeeze breeze, and then rode Horizons. We then walked to World Showcase, Mexico side, and the flamingos were eating bread from some man’s sandwich. I’d never seen them approach the crowd before, and it was kind of weird. Mary & I rode the boat ride in Mexico while Chris watched the glass blower in the shop there. We went to Norway & rode the Maelstrom with a short wait. We stopped in Germany to look at the train, but it was being repaired. It was pretty hot by now. We didn’t bother stopping at most of the countries as time was limited & shopping was not in the plan. At America we listened to the Voices of Liberty and then saw the American Adventure show. I think Mary was snoozing a little! Our priority seating was 3:45 in Morocco, but we showed up early & were seated at 3:10. Our table was right next to the dance floor, and our server was a nice young girl. Chris ordered the kid’s Kefta (3 mini burger patties, fries, drink & ice cream $4.95), Mary & I each ordered the Chicken Bastilla appetizer ($5.75). Total including tax & tip was $19.94. Mary really enjoyed the Chicken Bastilla, although neither of us could finish it. It’s minced chicken & almonds stuffed in filo dough, with cinnamon & powdered sugar. It sounds strange, but it’s very good. We watched the belly dancer perform, and then left. Chris wasn’t hungry for his ice cream, so our server made it for him "to go" in a coffee cup. She put some vanilla, chocolate & pistachio ice cream in the cup & then covered it with sliced almonds & a cherry. He wanted to go back to the room to rest (Darla - just like Steven he is used to his midday break from the parks), so he took the bus back to okw while Mary & I hopped on the monorail.

At the TTC we switched to the resort monorail, and got off briefly at the Polynesian so Mary could see it. I chatted briefly with the dvc rep there - who confirmed that additional dvc units near the Wilderness Lodge was one of about 5 different ideas being considered, but that no decision has been reached yet. They’re also considering units near the Animal Kingdom, and possibly a golf course resort (not sure why they need that when okw is built on a golf course). We were going to stop at the Grand Floridian, but decided to skip it & just get into the Magic Kingdom (MK). We rode Pirates of the Caribbean (walk on), Big Thunder (15-20 minutes), and then went to Haunted Mansion. Mary was amazed at the effects in there. For our last attraction we rode Small World, and then headed back to Main Street to see if people were lining up for Spectromagic yet. It was now 7:15, and many people were sitting on their piece of curb waiting for Spectro at 9pm. We had arranged to meet Chris in our usual spot by the train station between 8 & 8:30, so we decided to sit down & get as comfortable as possible. I try to sit next to the pedestrian walk way, since it helps cut down on people climbing over me if I can point out the walkway right next door. I noticed the upper deck of the train station had available railing space, so I went upstairs to check it out. I found several chairs, and dragged 2 over to the railing & screamed at Mary until she heard me & came up - then I got the 3rd chair for Chris. We had an excellent view of the parade as it would be rounding the curve to pass in front of the train station, and since we were waiting almost 2 hours we might as well sit on a slightly cushioned chair instead of the hard concrete curb! We sat & people watched as the street below got more & more congested. Chris arrived around 8, and we called him upstairs. He went to the candy store to check the price of the cotton candy. It was $3, but it was a big bag - so I let him buy one. After we ate most of that, I got him a popcorn (since I’d eaten so much of the cotton candy he’d bought). Spectromagic was wonderful, as always. I asked Mary if she’d ever seen anything like that, and she said it was just phenomenal. I asked her if it was worth a 2 hour wait, and she said "oh, yes". After Spectromagic we made a quick exit & boarded the resort monorail to the Contemporary. We went to the 15th floor observation deck, and watched the fireworks from there. Immediately following, we saw the electrical water pageant out on Bay Lake. During the pageant, I felt what I thought was a mosquito bite on my arm (on the soft fleshy part below the elbow). I looked, and saw a welt - but tried not to scratch. The nice thing about FL mosquitoes is their bite only lasts a few hours, unlike when I lived up north & was the food supply for New England mosquitoes. We took the elevator back to the lobby, and the DD bus was at the bus stop. Rather than walking back to the MK for the OKW bus, we just got on this one. Unfortunately, it stopped at TTC and filled to capacity. I held my itching arm against the air-conditioned railing on the bus. At Pleasure Island we switched to the okw bus, arriving back at okw at 11pm. I looked at my arm, and was surprised to see a giant swollen area approximately 3 inches long and a couple of inches wide. Obviously, this was no mosquito. It was warm to the touch, I was not uncomfortable at all. Mary returned to her hotel, and Chris & I went to bed to watch the local news.

Whew - 3 days done, 3 more to go. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Day 4 - Tuesday August 18, 1998:

Today the swelling on my arm had gone down enough for me to see the 2 distinct bite marks - now it was clear that a fire ant had gotten me. By now (8/21) the swelling is gone, although the bite marks remain. Today okw was having a member’s continental breakfast in Community Hall. This is an opportunity to hear the latest about dvc resorts (especially Vero Beach & Hilton Head). We arranged to meet Mary there at 8:00. I got up at 6:30 again, and relaxed with a cup of cappuccino before waking Chris. We went to our bus stop & hopped on the first bus that came, getting off at the Hospitality House (the next stop). I got our name tags & door prize tickets, and we waited for Mary to arrive. We enjoyed bagels & cream cheese, and orange juice. They also had danish, coffee & several other juices. The guide Bob was very nice, and did a good job with his slide show. He mentioned that the price of dvc points is going up to $65/point on January 1st. This will amount to $337.50 on the minimum purchase, or almost $500 on a purchase of 220 points. Anyone planning to buy a membership should do so before January if possible. The talk/slide show lasted about 30 minutes, then we were on our way to the bus stop for the MGM bus.

We arrived at 9:10, and did Star Tours first. Mary said it was really cool - she loved that one. We did Voyage of the Little Mermaid next. Chris considers this one really lame, but we didn’t have time to waste trying to meet up after the show so I made him go in with us. There were screaming toddlers in there, with parents who just sat there letting their child ruin it for everyone seated around them. If a parent is too rude or too stupid to get up & leave when this happens, I wish the cm would come over and either assist them out of the theater or take them over by the doors to stand away from the rest of the audience. Next was the Great Movie Ride - western scene. I prefer the western scene over the gangster scene, primarily to see people’s reactions when the bank explodes. The entire inside waiting area was filled in at 10am, but the line moved fairly quickly. We headed to the Backstage Tour, which was a little warm but we enjoyed it. Catastrophe Canyon is the best part. Chris had offered Mary the seat on the left, but she knew he was up to something & declined. After hearing the announcement about getting "soaked" she knew what he was up to. Finally, we saw Muppet Vision. It was 11:15, and the line was extended outside and around the side of the building. After the show we decided to split up. Mary & I went to see the 12:45 Beauty & the Beast show, and we’d meet Chris around 1:15-1:20 along the Mulan parade route across from Indiana Jones. He spent the time inside the sound effects attraction, listening to the 3-D sound a few times, and playing with the different sound effects. Mary & I sat in the first row (behind the 2 rows for guests in wheelchairs), and had a great view. Four for a Dollar performed before the show, and they were excellent. I’d heard about them, but had never seen them. They were really funny, and had beautiful voices. The B&B show was great, too, and Mary was very impressed with it. After leaving the theater we picked up Chris & went to grab some lunch at Backlot. We found an indoor (air conditioned) table with a view of the parade route, so Chris held the table while Mary & I got the food. Chris had the double bacon cheeseburger special (with fries & large soda $7.35) & I got chicken strips ($6.10). Total with tax was $14.26. We watched the Mulan parade while eating. We left MGM along with the parade crowd. We caught the 2:15 bus back to OKW with a 10 minute wait. We said goodbye to Mary (she was driving home now) - she loved her 2 days at wdw.

Chris & I changed into our swimsuits, grabbed towels from the Turtle Pond pool, then drove over to Stormalong Bay at the Yacht Club/Beach Club Resorts. The Stormalong Bay area is completely fenced off to prevent unauthorized people from using the facilities, so we went to one of the few entrances where our ID was checked and our hand was stamped. After finding a couple of chairs to leave our stuff on, Chris headed to the water slide while I floated around the lazy river with the noodle I’d brought from home. Although we’ve been here several times, I discovered things I’d never noticed before.

For those of you who have never stayed at the Yacht Club or Beach Club, Stormalong Bay is the main pool area shared by the 2 resorts. It is easily the largest (and best) pool area at wdw. It has at least 3 separate pools (you must get out, walk across the concrete, and get back in). One is a kiddie pool, only 2 feet deep, with a big sand area to play in. We found the "cool" jacuzzi this time - it’s just a jacuzzi with water that is not heated. They also have at least 2 heated jacuzzis. In the main 2 pools (one of which varies from 4.5 feet to 8 feet deep) in many of the places where there are rocks outside the pool there is bench seating along the side - inside the pool. You can sit in chest deep water & just relax while watching everyone go by. The lazy river section is in the deeper of the 2 main pools, and the current allows you to drift along with minimal effort on your part. The other main pool area is where the water slide is (I think it’s a 200 foot water slide), and there’s a whirlpool section and a section with bubbling underwater jets. There are holes you sink into (about a foot deep) in the sand bottom section near the buoy. Both of the pools have a section with sand in the bottom of the pool, but it’s not real sand. It feels like it, but Chris pulled some up in his hand and it’s almost like small plastic beads. I guess this way it’s more permanent. I floated around for about 1.5 hours, then got a virgin pina colada from Hurricane Hannah’s ($4.24 plus tip) and updated my notes while Chris went for a few final rides on the slide. We left after about 2 hours.

We arrived back at OKW around 5:30, and I cleaned up to go to Pleasure Island. Chris was undecided on what he wanted to do. He was considering going to Epcot, but thought he might just stay home and watch tv, or go to Goods (at okw) for dinner and then hit the arcade. I drove to the Hospitality House, and took the boat to Downtown Disney. It was the new boat, and they now seat 10 people instead of 14. It was very comfortable, and there were only 4 passengers. I stopped at the World of Disney and bought myself a bracelet style watch. It’s 2-tone (gold & silver), with alternating hearts and kisses (X). It’s got a mother of pearl face with a Mickey sitting on the roman numeral III. It was $75, but after the mkc discount and tax it came to $71.55 - and I just love it! I wore it out of the store, and headed to Pleasure Island - to the Comedy Warehouse. I was seated in the 2nd row of seats on the floor for both the first and second show. The best part about being a party of 1 is I frequently get a much better seat because there’s one left empty somewhere from the people way ahead in line. The 1st show was good, but the 2nd one was outstanding! My favorite actor (Layden) was in the 2nd show, and he did a skit with one of the newer actors (Lisa) that was absolutely hysterical. She’s very talented also, and they worked well together. I wanted to see the 3rd show, but the line was way too long already - so I went to the Adventurer’s Club instead. I repeated the new member induction ceremony. The Butler was ringing the bell to get everyone’s attention, and there were lots of jokes about his "dinghy" working, and his "clapper". They picked on the man sitting next to me, asking if he ever had problems with his "dinghy" working - to which he replied that it always worked fine. The butler was jealous, and the Club President told the guest that the butler was just suffering from "dinghy envy". It was pretty funny, but probably not something you’d need your kids to be giggling about - so please use some judgement before bringing young kids to Pleasure Island. I attended the next show in the library, which was the radiothon. I’d seen it before - will they ever update the shows in this club? It was fun, though, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I left Pleasure Island around 10 or so. I was getting hungry since I hadn’t taken time for dinner, but it was too late to eat much of anything now. I caught the bus back to OKW, picked up the car from the Hospitality House, and drove to the studio. Chris was in the room. He’d gone to Epcot for Innoventions, and got a great meatball sub for dinner at Pasta Piazza. He really raved about that sub! He was in bed watching tv, so I finished up the cotton candy and went to bed also.

Day 5 - Wednesday August 19, 1998:

Today the alarm went off at 5:30. That’s 5 minutes later than it would on a work day, but it’s still very early! I actually woke up at 5, and got up at 5:15. After showering, I had my cappuccino and watched the early news. It was too dark to sit on the porch - there would be nothing to see. Chris & I had agreed that he’d get to sleep in this morning while I ran over to Animal Kingdom. I have an annual pass, but Chris has a FL resident seasonal pass. Right now it’s still the black out period for his pass (until 8/23), so he was using the "free" passes which came with our dvc membership. Those "free" passes only include the original 3 parks, though. He’ll be able to see AK several times during our trips in late October/early November and then again in December before Christmas - so it did not make sense to purchase a separate ticket for this trip. I was out the door with a low fat pop tart (tastes just like a regular pop tart to me) at 6:25, and the AK bus was at the bus stop waiting for me. I arrived at the AK turnstiles at 6:50. There was a strong animal smell - sort of like being in a barn or something. The smell had disappeared by around 8:30 or so, though. I headed to Kilimanjaro Safari first, and walked right on (bypassing some people because they were looking for a party of 2 or less to finish filling one of the vehicles). The driver was Don, and he did an excellent job. We saw many animals, and Don was very knowledgeable. The matriarch giraffe is pregnant, with about 2 months to go, so perhaps we’ll get to see the baby (it will be about 6 feet tall at birth) on our next trip. I was off the safari at 7:30, and took the Wildlife Express to Conservation Station. I was the only one on the train, and the driver threatened that if no one else showed up I’d have to pay the private car rate! I walked around Conservation Station briefly. It was desserted, and I just wanted to see what was there. After a short while, I took the train back. The Discovery River Boat had no wait, so I hopped on that. I’m used to seeing waits of 75 minutes on this one! It was a nice ride. I sat in the front row & had a great view. The animal handler brought out a scorpian (about 4 inches long and totally disgusting), a spotted gekko (lizard), and a tarantula. It was a nice ride, but I wouldn’t wait more than 15-20 minutes for it. Next I did Countdown to Extinction at 8:30 with no wait at all. It was fun, as always, and there was only 1 other family in my vehicle. Finally, I wandered around the oasis for a little while and then left at 9am. The tip board had the safari listed as a 20 minute wait at this point, which did not sound too bad. Hordes of people were on their way in, and by 8:30 this park was uncomfortably hot. Buses from all the resorts were full of guests, except the okw bus - which had less than 10 people. Not sure why.

I got back to the studio around 9:35, and Chris was still asleep. He never heard me leave or come back. I woke him up, and then sat on the porch with a bowl of cereal. Today was our "trash & towel" day, so we wanted to be out of the room before housekeeping came by. We put on our swimsuits and drove back to the Yacht Club. The plan was to spend the majority of the day at Stormalong Bay relaxing. We got to Stormalong Bay at 10:15, had our id checked & got our hands stamped. Around noon we shared nachos & a large chocolate chip cookie for $3.98. After eating Chris rented an innertube ($3.00/hour). We just floated around until dark clouds came rolling in around 2pm. We dried off, got changed, and it started to rain. We decided to visit the Nike outlet over at Belz Outlet Center - to look for a jacket for Chris. Traffic was awful on I-4 again, and I regretted leaving wdw property! We found nothing at the Nike place, so we popped into Character Warehouse again briefly & then returned to okw. The sky was black, with lots of lightning & thunder. We ran up to the studio & packed while it rained. Housekeeping had already been by. They replaced all of our dirty towels, and left an extra 2 sets - so we had 6 sets rather than the standard 4 sets. We didn’t need or ask for the extras - so I’m not sure why they left them, especially since we were checking out in the morning.

By the time I had finished packing the rain was just about over. We cleaned up & got ready for Downtown Disney. We drove over to Hospitality House in the car, and then took the DD bus. Chris wanted to ride the boat, but I was pretty sure it would not be operating due to the weather. We got off the bus at Pleasure Island, and walked over to Disney Quest. We each got a $20 ticket, which got Chris 90 units and me 100 units (due to the annual pass). Total with tax was $40.24. The elevator ride inside is pretty cool. Chris thought DQ was really cool, but I just thought it was an arcade. Granted, it’s a very nice arcade - but to me it will always be just an arcade. We did the Virtual Jungle Cruise first, but it was hard work & I was getting a little tired of being sprayed all the time! Chris played a couple of other things, and then we went to eat dinner. On the 5th floor there is a Cheesecake Factory Express with several different food areas. I told him we’d be sharing a meal, so that we’d have room for cheesecake for dessert. We settled on a chicken caesar salad ($6.95) and a small root beer ($1.55). Total with tax was $9.01. The portions were enough to knock our socks off! They’re HUGE!!! The salad came on a 12 inch plate, and was easily mounded more than 6 inches high. His "small" root beer must have been 16 ounces, too. We both ate all we can - and Chris has a very healthy appetite - and threw away enough salad to make another meal for 1 of us. It was delicious, too - one of the best tasting caesar salads I’ve ever had. The food at the other stands also looked and smelled wonderful. We played some more games, mostly the arcade type stuff that only costs 2-4 units each, and then got a piece of chocolate mousse cheesecake ($5.57 with tax). It was huge, and very good. It was a struggle for the 2 of us to finish the 1 piece, but there was no way I’d be throwing any of that away! I wish you didn’t have to buy an admission ticket to DQ to get food here - it’s really wonderful & I’d love to eat here more often. However, I’m not willing to spend a minimum $15 per person just to get in the door! The CM said the company plans to open a full service Cheesecake Factory (not the Express) in Orlando somewhere in a couple of years, but I’m interested in another Express location for inside wdw somewhere! After eating, we played skeeball for a while, winning bunches of tickets. I gave my card to Chris to finish using my points & left for Comedy Warehouse at 6:45. This left him with 120-130 points to occupy him the rest of his evening.

The line was already pretty long for the1st show at Comedy Warehouse, so I got right in line. This show was one of the best ever! I got in line for the 2nd show, and was seated in the 2nd row this time. For the 3rd show the line was pretty long, but I got in & was seated in the last row. The show was good, but I really prefer being close enough to see the actors’ faces & catch their expressions. Plus, there was a couple of families directly below me who each had an infant with them. One was crying & fussing the whole time, to the point of me not being able to hear everything being said on stage. Finally the mother got up & took the baby to the hall near the rest rooms until it settled down. Of course, in my opinion those babies belonged in their cribs asleep instead of being in a noisy & crowded nightclub so late at night. It’s certainly true that brains or common sense are not required to become a parent! After the 3rd show I wandered around a bit, and stopped to listen to the Turtles performing on the West End Stage. I had heard of them, and their songs were familiar, but they were a little before my time. The 2 main guys said they’ve been performing together for 36 years, and they sounded great.

It was standing room only on the bus to okw, and I arrived back at the studio at 11pm. Chris was in bed watching tv (again), having arrived not too much sooner. Using all those points took him a long time, since he spent most of them on the cheaper games. He did do the Aladdin Virtual Reality Magic Carpet Ride attraction, which he said was just "ok". He did the human pinball thing, which was pretty cool. Overall today was a long day for me - up at 5am and out until 11pm. In all that time, only 2 hours was spent in a theme park - which some people would not understand. WDW is so much more than the 4 theme parks, yet many people don’t see it that way. It was sad leaving Pleasure Island tonight - my last night until late October. Comedy Warehouse is my favorite place in all of WDW.

On the way up to the studio I was behind my neighbors returning from the pool. It’s a lock off unit - I’ve got the studio (2nd bedroom) and they’ve got the 1 br part. However, there are 5 of them and they’re all adult-size. Either people are lying about how many of them are staying in the unit (occupancy is supposed to be not more than 4) or dvc doesn’t limit occupancy very strictly.

These people had pool towels in their hands, to get around the fact that there’s only 4 sets of towels in their unit. Their noise carried through the connecting door, and at 1 point it sounded like one of them was running through the living room. Fortunately, the noise was brief & they must have gone to bed. For us it was lights out at 11:30. Tomorrow’s our last day of this trip

Day 6 - Thursday August 20, 1998:

I got up at 6:30 again. I sat on the porch for the last time - with cereal & cappuccino. I’m always amazed that the porch furniture is always spotless. No mildew or dirt at all. The sun was just peeking over the building across the pond from my porch, but it wasn’t too hot yet. Since we’re leaving today we didn’t have to make our beds. We don’t bother at home, but at okw I always insist we & all of our guests make their beds each morning. The units are so pretty, an unmade bed trashes the place in my opinion. Our bill was hanging on our door, and everything appeared to be correct, so there was no need to stop by the front desk.

We drove over to Epcot. Normally I don’t like to drive to the parks, especially in the hot weather, but since we’re leaving today it will be easier & faster to get back to Epcot than it would be to get back to OKW. Plus, it gets the "leaving" okw over with sooner! I ended up getting lost driving to Epcot. After passing MGM & approaching AK I realized I had taken a wrong road. Chris knew I was going the wrong way, but as a male he knows not to question a female’s driving! I’m training him to be a good husband for someone some day. He told me where I went wrong, and which road I should have taken, so I back tracked & he was exactly right. We arrived Epcot at 8:40. I rode Spaceship Earth while Chris played in the Global Neighborhood at the end of the ride. Next we went to Innoventions and sent some e-mail postcards to people, and he showed me some of the games he’d been playing the other nights. We stopped in the Motorola section, where he did the virtual reality thing. I looked at some of the exhibits & took a quiz. Next Chris went to the exhibits inside Wonders of Life while I rode Horizons. I retrieved him from Life, and we headed to the monorail at 10:05.

At the TTC we switched to the resort monorail & got off at the Grand Floridian. We checked out their pool. It was large, but nothing special. There was not water slide or anything. Chris liked the fact that it was so uncrowded, and wants to come back to swim here some time. We went out to the beach & sat in a swing for a few minutes, but it was just too hot. We had a priority seating at 1900 Park Faire for 11:00, but checked in early & were seated around 10:40. The characters present were the Mad Hatter, Alice, Mary Poppins, Pluto, and Minnie. It was not crowded, with maybe half to a third of the tables occupied - so it was not too noisy. They had lots of food, and it was very good, but they do not serve the chilled strawberry soup at breakfast (darn). Originally the waitress had charged us for 2 adults, but I told her Chris was 11 (until Sept 19th) and she was very nice about changing it. One reason I booked the character meal is because it will be my last chance to do so at the reduced kids’ price. The adult meal was $15.95, kids are $9.95. Total with tax & tip was $31.46. Chris drank about 6 glasses of the fresh squeezed orange juice! We at least tried most of the items on the buffet, with him eating twice what I did.

We took the monorail to the MK, and stopped at the booth where they sell the bricks to see if they had any information about bricks at Vero. They didn’t, so we walked over to the bus stops. Chris wanted to go to the Marketplace to buy some candy for the trip home, but the sky was filling up with very threatening clouds. I had not brought water shoes, and did not want to get caught in a downpour, so I told him he could shop at the candy store in the Boardwalk. We took the Swan/Dolphin bus, getting off at the Swan & walking to the BW. He bought a couple of candy things, and then we walked through Epcot & took the tram to our car. The sky was turning black, and the wind really picked up, but we did not get rained on. I’m not sure exactly what time we left , but I think it was around 1pm. It was earlier than we’d planned, but with a storm coming there was no point in sticking around.

Miscellaneous Thoughts:

Trash & Towel at dvc resorts: We stayed 4 nights, so we were entitled to a trash & towel service on our 4th day. I would have preferred to have it scheduled midway through my stay rather than on the day before I left. Maybe next time I’ll ask if I can get it on an earlier date.
Cheesecake Factory Express: I just cannot say enough about this delicious food (especially the cheesecake). I sure wish they’d open a location I could get to without having to buy an admission ticket to DisneyQuest!
Kids/Babies at Pleasure Island: What are these parents thinking????? Please leave them with a sitter or in a kids club - or wait to visit PI with them until they are in their teens. It’s not fair to the other guests & it’s really not in the best interests of the child either. Kids grow up fast enough - we don’t need to be jump starting their repertoire of suggestive jokes when they’re in elementary school!
Stormalong Bay: You can easily spend several days here. It is limited to only guests registered at Yacht Club, Beach Club, & dvc members - which is a good thing or it would be too crowded. If you’re looking for a great pool, consider adding a night at YC or BC.
Vanity Sink in OKW: One of the things I really enjoy (sounds stupid, but after all it’s usually the little details that stick in your mind) is the drawer & cabinet space in which to store our toiletries. At home I don’t line everything up on the sink - it’s out of sight, put away. I like that it’s the same way here at my other "home".
Charging to the room: This is the first time I’ve used the resort id to charge stuff back to the room, and it worked great. I may do this more often. It felt funny going to wdw with only around $50 or less, but it was so convenient. I don’t think I spent any more than I would have any ways - perhaps even less because I didn’t have a pile of money in the wallet so there was no feeling like I needed to spend a set amount during the trip.
Palios: I was looking forward to eating here, but will make a reservation for our December trip. We’ll be staying in the BW Villas then, so any left overs will be easily transported back to our refrigerator for another meal.
I-4 and International Drive traffic: YUCK!!! I pity anyone who stays out there, since they’re going to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic every day. It’s really awful. If you can’t stay on-site, try to Lake Buena Vista or the highway 192 area first. It’s not as bad in the slow season, but you won’t catch me staying in International Drive even if they’re giving away rooms for free!
Our next trip will begin October 30th. We’re staying 2 nights at Coronado Springs, and then moving into a grand villa (3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms) at OKW on November 1st for 5 nights. My 40th birthday is 11/4 and I’ve invited some friends to join me in the grand villa to celebrate my birthday week. Since school will be in session, I’ll be flying Chris home on the Monday night - so he’ll only miss 1 day of school. Until then, thanks for reading - & if you’ve got any questions about anything in this trip report feel free to e-mail me.

ºoº

Sue Holland

WDW1972@aol.com

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