Trip Reports

Summary:

Dates of trip: April 19 - 29, 1998
Travel Method: Limo, Plane, Florida Town Car
Resort: Grand Floridian
Accomodations: Standard room (marina view)
Ages: Adult
WDW Experience: Infrequent (but hoping to become veterans)
Other: This is our honeymoon trip.
Cast: Kathy Kula (28) (me) and Stan Kula (29) on their honeymoon. Kathy had only been to WDW once before (11/96), and Stan had been there three times before, his first time was when he was five (1973).

Background: The plans for this trip actually started when we went to WDW in November 1996. I had never been there before and fell in love with the whole experience. Throughout the 1996 trip, we discussed our hopes for future trips. I was very impressed with the courtesy and service provided by the cast members. The best part of the trip was the last night when Stan surprised me at dinner at Victoria & Albert’s by proposing to me! The ring was presented on a sliver tray inside of Cinderella’s slipper which was engraved "Will you marry me?" Of course I said yes! We then proceeded to tell everyone at the Grand Floridian and at Pleasure Island that we were just engaged (after we called our families of course). The Cast of the Adventurers’ Club was really great. One of the CMs was sitting at our table during the beer tasting and made the announcement to everyone in the room. She also included Stan as a cheerleader in the beer tasting contest and called him "Pumpkin Boy" because of his orange shirt. I can still hear her saying, "You’re going to marry Pumpkin Boy?" It was very funny.

Planning: Planning a honeymoon was a difficult task at first. I wanted to do an all-inclusive type trip because I figured we would be too tired from planning the wedding to plan a honeymoon. Stan wanted an active trip such as touring California wine country. When we started seeing commercials for Disney Cruise Line (DCL), I called for the brochure. It seemed like the perfect trip. We could relax and have all of the fun Disney activities, and the Disney Cruise would be a new experience for both of us. On July 4, 1997 (after many calls to DCL to check out prices of various options and discounts) we called DCL and made the reservations. We reserved a deluxe outside room with verandah and added on an extra day to our WDW stay at the Beach Club so that we could start the honeymoon on April 19, 1998, the day after our wedding. We were very excited about our honeymoon and figured that everything was set including airfare and ground transportation.

One day in October I received a FedEx envelope from DCL. I thought that this was strange being that our honeymoon was still 6 months away. When I read the letter I was very sad to see that they had to cancel cruises because the ship wouldn’t be ready yet. I was sad. Stan was furious! Based on our dealings with CMs at WDW, and with DCL when we made the reservation, he figured that they would be very accommodating when he called to make other arrangements. We were hoping that since this was our honeymoon, DCL would make arrangements to help us get a discounted package at the resorts, or find a way to get us on the first boat. It was not simply a vacation that could be readily rescheduled. DCL was not willing to budge and said that they couldn’t even make resort reservations before May 1, 1998.

We were VERY disappointed and ended up making many calls hoping that something could be done, but to no avail. (Now I see that they canceled cruises up to July 30, and I’m really glad that we didn’t try to salvage the cruise idea, but we may decide to go for our 1st anniversary, after we see that the ship actually sails.) I called Disney CRO to find out about staying at the Beach Club for the week. Compared to the cruise price, resort reservations seemed reasonable, so I changed it to a Honeymoon package at Grand Floridian (GF) for 10 nights. I was in a strange state of mind, and didn’t stop to think about the fact that our new reservation, although it was nearly the same price, didn’t include airfare, meals, or airport transfers.

In February I began making our Preferred Seating arrangements. Stan and I decided to eat at some of our favorite restaurants from our last trip and try some new ones. We "reserved" about 2 meals per day including Victoria & Albert’s the last night. I was doing quite a bit of research on the WDW web site as well as WDWIG and Brian Bennett’s web site. I realized that for our ten night stay, we were probably paying more for the length of stay (LOS) passes than premium annual passports would cost (or close to it). I e-mailed WDW to find out that since the LOSs were part of a package that we couldn’t cancel them and order PAPs instead. This slightly disturbed me because I figured that we could save some money on admission if we take our anniversary cruise before our actual anniversary. Oh well!

We also found out recently that Animal Kingdom (AK) will be opening during our stay. I have been trying to get info about a price increase on our LOSs to include AK. All I can find out at this point is that we can go to guest services, pay some undetermined amount of money and they will add AK. I’m hoping that the opening of AK doesn’t increase the size of the crowds too much. I know that mid April is a busy time to begin with due to school vacations, and I hope that throngs of AK fans don’t make it too difficult for us to enjoy our honeymoon.

I have been searching high and low for the notes I made on the trip, but I can’t locate them. The following report is based on my memory (the pictures coming back helped too).

Day 1: SUNDAY APRIL 19, 1998

After the wedding we had spent the night at a hotel about a ½ hour from the reception site (compliments of our reception site). It was a very late night. We didn’t arrive at the hotel until well after midnight (the reception ended at 11:00 p.m.). We woke up and started packing up our wedding day attire and tried to make sure that everything was sorted correctly. Some things were coming with us (like my make-up/toiletries bag) and other things were going home with my in-laws. After everything was sorted, and Stan’s car was packed up with everything we wouldn’t need for our trip, we checked out of the room and waited to meet Stan’s parents for breakfast at the hotel.

After breakfast, we unloaded the suitcases and waited for the limo service that I had won at a bridal show. The limo showed up right on time and we headed to the airport. My father in law drove Stan’s car to their house and they returned the rented tux.

We flew out of Newark with a slight unexplained delay. My feet were hurting from the long day on Saturday, and I knew that hurting feet would not be good on a Disney vacation. We arrived in Orlando with no problems and proceeded to the baggage claim area to meet our FTC driver. There he was waiting for us and ready to help us with all of our bags. It was really nice not to have to worry about waiting in line to rent a car that we wouldn’t use. The driver was polite, although not talkative as I had read in some accounts on FTC’s website. When we were leaving MCO, I saw a Disney Cruise Line bus, and I was angry for a minute. How dare they have the busses ready, but not the boat… the nerve! I quickly overcame my anger and enjoyed the trip to WDW. I think I was more excited at the moment we first saw the Grand Floridian than I was when I walked down the aisle.

We drove up to the Grand Floridian and were greeted by a friendly bellman that checked our bags and told us a little bit about the monorail service. The CM at check-in wasn’t as helpful as the CM at Dixie Landings the last time we came. He didn’t offer any information, or even tell us that the LOS passes were encoded on our room keys (I already knew it, but he didn’t know that). Our room was #7515. I asked the CM which building that was located in, and he looked at me funny as if I should know these things in advance. He showed us on the map that our room is in Conch Key. We asked if we should wait for someone to bring us there with our bags and he seemed confused. I told him that we would head over there by ourselves and wait for our bags to be sent.

When we walked out the back doors of the GF and headed toward Conch Key, I saw the castle (in its natural state) for the first time. I was jumping up and down with excitement and disbelief that we had actually arrived.

Our room was lovely. It is a dormer room on the 5th floor of Conch Key with a king-size bed. We had a marina view and quickly went outside to check out the balcony. I loved the décor of the room. I especially loved the little touches like the fact that housekeeping embosses the edge of the toilet paper with the GF logo. We relaxed for a few minutes (all the time hoping our luggage would arrive) and then headed over to Citricos for our 5:30 PS. We were not dressed for Florida weather. I was wearing a sweater and stretch pants and Stan was wearing a 25th Anniversary sweatshirt and jeans.

Citricos opens at 5:30, so when we arrived the designated 15 minutes early for our PS, we were asked to take a seat at the bar and told that they would come get us when our table was ready. The bartender’s name was Laurette. We talked with her for a while about being on our honeymoon and how we were disappointed about the cruise. But, we sure were glad to be at the GF. Laurette recommended a wine for while we were waiting, showed us the menu, and told us about the menu selections. She was very friendly, and her service and friendly attitude quickly spoiled me. It just isn’t like this in New Jersey (or anywhere else for that matter). Our table was ready and we were introduced to Larry, our waiter. Larry was also really great! We told him that we were on our honeymoon and he explained the menu to us. We both decided to go with their wine pairing option. For an additional $20 per person, you receive an apéritif, a wine to compliment the appetizer, and a wine to compliment the main course. We both started with a sparkling white wine to toast the occasion. We selected the same appetizer that was an assortment of smoked fish and fish mousses served with a fried wonton. It was really amazing. For dinner, I had lobster on a bed of ratatouille. I don’t think I’ve ever had anything so good in my life. It was truly amazing. We were both too full for dessert, but Larry asked if we were to have dessert, what would it be? I don’t remember what we asked for, but a few minutes later Larry came to our table with a large plate with a small cheesecake in the center. The plate had "Congratulations" written on it in chocolate. There were also cute chocolate Mickeys on the plate. The dessert was free. We enjoyed a bit of the cake with our coffee and tea. Citricos was a truly amazing experience. The food was wonderful and the service was impeccable.

After dinner we returned to our room, and the luggage still wasn’t there. We called bell services and they informed us that when we checked in the check-in CM was supposed to tell us that we had to inform bell services after we had checked in that we were ready for our luggage. They would have driven us over in a cart. Our bags arrived almost before we hung up the phone with bell services (very prompt service). We changed our clothes and headed back to the main building to take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.

It is VERY nice to be one monorail stop away from the Magic Kingdom. We entered the park and headed down Main Street. We stopped in the Crystal Shop where Stan had purchased the glass slipper to propose to me. We thanked them for the great service a year and a half ago. I think that they thought we were nuts. We watched the fireworks over the castle. This was the perfect start for our honeymoon - Fireworks in the Magic Kingdom – it seemed as if they were setting off fireworks to celebrate our wedding and the fact that we had arrived. After the fireworks we headed over to Fantasyland for a couple of quick rides. We went on Snow White’s Adventure and Cinderella’s Carousel. Snow White is my favorite character from childhood, and I just love the ride. I never saw the former version. The carousel was so romantic. The one thing that sort of bothered me was the crowd. The last time we were there was in November, and November crowds are much better than April crowds… especially one week after Easter.

We took the boat back to the Grand Floridian. We found our bed turned down and the Romance Escape Basket (part of our package). Before we went to bed, I was sure to set up for the wake up call from Mickey.

Day 2: MONDAY APRIL 20, 1998

I woke up because of Mickey’s encouragement. I wanted to surprise Stan with "The Grand Breakfizz" which is OJ, champagne, assorted breads, fruit, eggs benedict, and coffee. I didn’t want to wake him up by calling from the phone in the main room and I couldn’t call from the bathroom because I couldn’t find a phone number for room service, just a button on the main phone. I waited until he woke up and went to the bathroom. Then I got on the phone and made the order. I requested a side order of sausage instead of eggs benedict because Stan is allergic to eggs. When the order arrived, I asked the waiter to set it up on the balcony (Stan was in the shower at the time). I noticed that they had charged me less because we had only one order of eggs benedict. When Stan was done dressing, we had a very romantic breakfast on the balcony. We had fun waving to the passing monorails.

We headed over to the monorail to get to Epcot. We met a very nice couple on the monorail. They were at WDW with their grandchildren. They said that they could tell that we were on our honeymoon because we were holding hands, kissing, and sitting so close. I told them that I hoped we would always be this romantic. What happened next was very cute. The older couple moved closer to each other put their arms around each other and kissed.

We arrived at Epcot and headed over to the Wonders of Life Pavilion. There was a short wait for Body Wars so we waited and did it (better now than after lunch). After Body Wars we waited for about 5 minutes to see "The Making of Me". I think this movie is great. We certainly didn’t need any lessons on baby making, but I hope it will give us some inspiration for the future. I really associated with the parents who had just been married and wanted to water ski and go to Disney Land before thinking about kids. Just being married, that’s where we’re at now. We just want to enjoy being married for a couple of years (and get in as many adult only Disney vacations as possible between now and then).

Next we went to the MetLife kiosk and signed up for the raffle and our newsletter. Then we proceeded to Cranium Command. We were ushered into the pre-show area. The pre-show had already started, so we missed part of the chicken brain jokes. As always, Cranium Command was great, I find this show very entertaining, especially since I am a 4-H leader and recognize that a 12 year-old boy’s mind really does work like that.

We had time for one more attraction before lunch, and I wanted to see Ellen’s Energy Adventure, but the line was way out the door. We headed toward Coral Reef and decided to just check in for our PS. We were seated rather quickly. I really like the atmosphere in Coral Reef, but I think the food could be better (especially since we were spoiled at Citricos the previous night). We mentioned to the waiter that it was our honeymoon, but there weren’t any special perks offered. After lunch we did the Living Seas attraction. We didn’t spend that much time at the Living Seas. We saw the manatees and wandered around a bit. When we took the hydrolators back "up". Some people really thought that we were going up. Although, I really can’t blame them, the first time I rode them, I thought the same thing.

Next we headed over to The Land. We saw the Circle of Life movie and thought that it was well done. This was something we had missed on the last trip, so I made a point of seeing it this time. Then we went on Living with the land after a 10 minute wait. There was a woman in our boat who kept yelling things out to the CM. "Louder" "Speak more slowly." With this woman shouting, I found it hard to hear the stuff myself. After the boat ride I wanted to see Food Rocks. Stan wasn’t that interested, but a show was about to start, so he agreed to see it if we didn’t have to wait for it. It was cute. I probably wouldn’t see it again without kids who are old enough to understand it.

We headed over to World Showcase. We knew we would be back again, so we sort of made a quick trip around. We started at Mexico. The topiaries in each country were great. I especially liked the Lion King topiaries. When we saw the Hercules topiaries in Italy, I had to stop and take a picture for Alex.

Alex is our 6 year old nephew. His birthday was 12 days before our wedding and we didn’t have a chance to get him a gift with all the hectic wedding stuff going on. At the wedding rehearsal, he gave me my birthday present (my birthday was 5 days before the wedding) and asked me if I had his present. I explained to him that we would be getting him an extra special present at Disney World. Alex loves Hercules, so he asked if it could be something with Hercules and I said yes.

In France we saw Bubble Nicholas. He is really amazing. I don’t know how he manages to breathe in there. We went all the way around the lagoon to Canada where we split a Beaver Tail. We saw the bird puppet people in Canada. I thought that they were Japanese, but there they were, walking through Canada. I didn’t remember the time of our dinner reservation, so we went to the Worldkey screens near the entrance. We talked to this wonderful CM named Kara. We told her that we didn’t remember the time of our dinner PS and asked her to look it up. She commented on the great selections we had made for restaurants during our trip. We told her that we were on our honeymoon and she asked to see the rings so we held them up to the camera. She joked that she was going to change all of the PSs so that they would be for three people, and she would unexpectedly join us. She was really friendly and great to talk to. Our dinner PS was for 6:30 at Yachtsman’s steakhouse.

We still had time for a few more attractions, so we saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience with a 10 minute wait. I think that this is best the first time around. Without the element of surprise, it isn’t as much fun. Then we went on Journey Into Imagination. For some reason I really enjoyed it this time. Last time I thought that it was sort of boring. After JIIA, we went upstairs to Imageworks. Neither Stan nor I had ever done this before. We had a lot of fun. There weren’t a lot of people so we didn’t have to wait too long for the different activities.

We wanted to go to Martha’s Vineyard for drinks, so we walked back through World Showcase and took a Friendship launch over to the Yacht and Beach. I really love the Yacht Club, and hope we can stay there someday. We were supposed to stay at the Beach Club for the cruise, but I think the Yacht Club is nicer. We walked through the hotel and made sure that we knew where Yachtsman’s Steakhouse was located. Then we headed to Martha’s Vineyard for drinks. The last time we were here we enjoyed a wine flight. Unfortunately, this was not available anymore (ever since Ariel’s closed). We were really looking forward to tasting a selection of wines (it was also served with cheese and fruit). We each tried a different glass of Chardonnay and relaxed for a few minutes. I think the lounge has gone downhill since Ariel’s closed. It was as if we were enjoying drinks in a ghost town. As we left, we peeked through the gate into Ariel’s and noticed that the fish tank is still populated. They must be pretty lonely in there.

We went to Yachtsman’s Steakhouse and were seated after a short wait. Our waiter was very friendly and he guessed that we were honeymooners because Stan was playing with his ring. We split a mozzarella and tomato salad and chateaubriand for two. The tomatoes and mozzarella were very fresh. They were nice enough to split into two different plates. I really enjoyed the steak. Stan and I decided to split a dessert (some sort of raspberry-chocolate cake). Once again it was free! We felt like we were really hitting the mark as far as dinners were concerned. Sunday and Monday we had wonderful meals with amazing service.

After dessert, we walked back to Epcot and headed toward the monorails. On the way, we saw the friendly couple from the monorail that morning. They looked like they were having a wonderful time. We stopped at Spaceship Earth before exiting the park. I was trying to find some hidden Mickeys. I didn’t have much luck. Stan didn’t understand why I wanted to go on Spaceship Earth, but I thought it wouldn’t be a day at Epcot without it. We monorailed it back to the Grand Floridian and stopped at the room to change for a night out at Pleasure Island.

We took a bus to PI and headed straight for the Adventurer’s Club. We love the Adventurer’s Club. It was like seeing old friends: Pamelia Perkins, Samantha Sterling, Graves, Gabby, the whole gang. Samantha teased us about being honeymooners during her lounge act. We stayed for a few hours and then took a bus home to GF. When we arrived back at the hotel there was a bottle of champagne, a fruit basket, and a rose on the pillow all compliments of the GF hoping that our honeymoon would be "Grand". What a nice surprise it was!

Day 3: TUESDAY APRIL 21, 1998

Breakfast today is at Cinderella’s Royal Table. We headed out to the Magic Kingdom and arrived early enough to do one ride before breakfast. While we were deciding, we had our picture taken on Main Street. I’m looking forward to seeing that picture at the end of the day. We went to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise with no wait. We laughed at the jokes, but the CM didn’t seem as enthusiastic about his job as the last one I remember. Maybe we’ll try to do Jungle Cruise again later to see if we have better luck.

We went to the castle for breakfast. We noticed that next to our names it said "honeymooners" on the PS list, and the CM wrote honeymoon on our card. While we waited, Alice was posing with people, so I asked Stan to have his picture taken with her. He said that he was afraid of her. I went up to her and had my picture taken. I told her that my husband was afraid of her. She giggled and said that she was just a little girl and he had nothing to be afraid of. After a short wait, Lord and Lady Kula were called to go up to their table. Breakfast was wonderful, as it was the last time we were there. I requested no eggs for Stan and they not only remembered, but they put extra potatoes and bacon on his plate. We told all of the characters that it was our honeymoon, and they all congratulated us. We took lots of pictures. At the end of our meal the waitress thanked us for choosing WDW for our honeymoon and gave us a set of two champagne flutes that said Cinderella’s Royal Table. Yippee! A free gift! The waitress used our Flex features to pay for the meal (we didn’t ask her to).

We rented a locker to keep the champagne glasses and video camera in. Then we headed over to Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean. There was no wait and we enjoyed this ride. Next we saw the Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management. I enjoyed the show, but felt that it was too short. Perhaps it is because the old Tiki room show was so repetitive and tedious that it seemed longer. We headed over to Frontierland for Splash Mountain and BTMRR. We didn’t go on Splash Mountain on the last trip because it was November and a little chilly and because the line was always too long. The line on this day was 45 minutes, but since neither of us had done it before, we decided to wait. The wandering style of the cue and the recordings along the path make the wait seem shorter. When we finally got on Splash Mountain, we were in for a treat! I can see why the line is so long all of the time. We didn’t even get too wet. We waited about 30 minutes for BTMRR. Whee! What fun! We walked over to Liberty Square for Haunted Mansion and waited about 5 minutes before they let the next group in. We both really enjoy this ride. We noticed that the bride had a new gown. As we exited, we tried to find the wedding ring in the sidewalk, but couldn’t find it. Oh well. Next time. Next: Fantasyland! We went on Small World and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Peter Pan had a 45 minute wait, and forget about Dumbo.

We walked over to Crystal Palace for our lunch PS. We had a 2:00 PS. We figured that this would be late enough to avoid the rush. Boy were we wrong. We registered at the stand and then waited on a porch full of people. The last time we were here, we were seated right away without a PS at 12:30. We finally got in. All of the characters were on the opposite side of the restaurant, so we went up to the buffet. I didn’t think the food was very good. I knew that there was a make your own sundae bar for dessert, so I saved room. Pooh came over first. I told him that we were on our honeymoon. I explained to him that this means that we have a large pot of "hunny" in our hotel room. He clapped his hands in delight. Next we saw Tigger. I told Tigger that Stan was very bouncy ever since we got married. Tigger did the cutest thing: He crouched down next to Stan and bumped elbows with him as if to say, "I know what you’ve been up to." The best part was that Tigger would go to another table and then return to our table to bump elbows with Stan again. He did this after every table in our side of the restaurant. I wish I was quicker with the video camera. We were nearly rolling on the floor laughing. We were still waiting for Eeyore and got up to get dessert. At least I enjoyed my strawberry shortcake sundae. We lingered over dessert. While we lingered, Pooh and Tigger came by again. They lapped Eeyore! The restaurant was getting empty, and I think that everyone left was just waiting for Eeyore. Finally Eeyore came over and we took pictures with him. I never see Stan smile so wide as when he is in a picture with Eeyore.

We went to Toontown for a picture with Mickey. The line seemed to be moving quickly, and then they stopped letting anyone in for a long time. Finally, we went in and had a picture taken by the CM and one on our camera. Mickey was so happy that we were there on our honeymoon and congratulated us with a hearty handshake. Next, on to Tomorrowland. We went on Space Mountain. The sign said 45 minutes, but someone lost their wallet, and they had to shut down the ride, so the wait was actually over an hour. After Space Mountain, we decided to head to GF to freshen up before dinner at Bonfamille’s. On the way out, we checked the photo on Main Street – didn’t buy it. The Mickey photo wouldn’t be done for a while, so we headed to the monorail. We decided that the quickest way to get to Port Orleans would be to take a bus from the Magic Kingdom. Since we were going to the Magic Kingdom anyway, I decided to check to Mickey photo while Stan purchased bricks to commemorate our engagement and our honeymoon (do we know how to spend money, or what?). I bought the Mickey photo… very cute, but I decided I need a haircut (I actually had decided a few weeks ago that I would get my hair cut while on the honeymoon). Stan bought the bricks using my MKC card (with my maiden name on it) with no problem. They will be next to each other at the TTC. We got on a bus headed to Port Orleans.

The last time we were at WDW, we ate our first meal at Bonfamille’s. It was our first experience with Disney service and we were very impressed. This time, compared to Citricos and Yachtsman’s Steakhouse, the service and food weren’t as impressive. The meal was good, but not spectacular. After dinner, we took the boat down the Sassagoula down to Pleasure Island. They were changing skippers, and it took a while for our skipper to get on board. We walked around Downtown Disney and we spent some money in the kitchenware store. I wanted to change the décor of my kitchen to Mickey and Minnie, but considering the fact that the kitchen stuff we have now is all new - shower and wedding gifts, I settled on a Goofy apron and oven mitt and a Mickey cookie cutter (for now). We went to Pleasure Island for a little while, and then decided to head back to GF to spend some time alone together.

Day 4: WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 1998

Today is the Grand Opening of Animal Kingdom. Our strategy is to stay as far away as possible today, and go there close to the end of our stay. Admission is included in our LOSs, so there is no worry about paying extra to go.

We have a PS for 1900 Park Fare this morning. I notice once again that "honeymoon" is listed with our name. Unfortunately, Mary Poppins is unable to join us for breakfast this morning, so Mickey and Minnie are there instead. I think that the buffet here is very good. There is a really nice selection. They even had "strawberry soup" (more on that later). Pluto came up from behind me and "licked" the back of my head. "Pluto, please! I’m trying to eat here." Mickey was very excited that we were recently married and tried asking Stan how long we were married. Trying to talk to the characters is like playing a game of charades. Stan isn’t very good at charades. Minnie came around, and she was happy for us as well. After we took pictures, she started rocking her arms as if she had a baby in them. We said, "No, Minnie, not yet." She was very insistent and kept nodding her head yes. Finally I told her that we need to buy a house first because our apartment is too small for children. She only stopped insisting that we have children after I promised to bring the kids back here to meet her. Although Mary couldn’t make it, Bert is at 1900 Park Fare and he soon arrives at our table. He is dressed like he’s been sweeping chimneys all morning. He was really cool. He crouched down at our table and asked about our plans for the day. He asked where we were staying and we talked about the Grand Floridian for a while. It was as if we were talking to an old friend. At the end of our conversation, I told him about Minnie’s insistence that we have children. I asked him to let Mary Poppins know that we may need a good nanny in a few years and that she should keep her schedule open.

We returned to the room and decided that we would spend the day at Blizzard Beach. Before we left, I made a hair appointment for Friday at the Ivy Trellis, and I called Fulton’s Crab house to see if we could get a PS. We made a PS for 9:00 p.m. at Fulton’s. We took the bus to Blizzard Beach. Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom are on the same bus route, so we got a peek at the Tree of Life and the entrance area of Animal Kingdom. We arrived at Blizzard Beach, rented lockers and a towel, and headed for the "slopes". I can’t even recall the names of all of the attractions we did, but I think we tried everything except Summit Plummet. We really enjoyed the creek that goes around the perimeter of the park. We had fun holding hands and spinning each other around while riding in the tubes. At one point, I returned to the chair where we had dropped off our towels and my sandals, and Stan went to hunt for food (and get his wallet from the locker). I must have been there at least an hour before he returned. He got lost and couldn’t find me. After he finally did find me, we headed over to Lottawatta Lodge for lunch. I had a hot dog and he had a hamburger. It was the cheapest meal of the trip: $15! The food was decent and after lunch we decided to give up on the chair and keep the towels in the locker. Overall, it was a fun day. I’m glad we had the time this trip to go to a water park. I did use sunscreen, but missed some spots and had sunburn on the backs of my arms, on the part in my hair, and on my face.

We took the bus back to GF to shower and clean up for dinner. Then we took a bus to Downtown Disney. It was well before 9:00, so we spent some time shopping. We were getting chilly, so we bought matching sweatshirts at The World of Disney. We wore them out of the store. We walked over to Disney’s West Side, but weren’t that impressed with the stores there. Finally we had wasted enough time, and went to Fulton’s to check in. We waited in a long line outside, and when we told the CM that we had a PS, she told us to go directly inside. Once inside, we talked with someone else, and she put our name on a beige card. We waited for at least 45 minutes. I bought a soda at the bar. It was $2.70 for an 8-oz. glass of ice with about 2 oz. of soda. Stan asked for a sip and polished the whole thing off in one gulp. I reacted as if the soda were made of gold. I certainly wasn’t going to but another one at those prices. Stan went to check on our table and it seemed like they didn’t know which end was up. They were working off of a list on white paper, red cards, and beige cards. It seemed as if beige cards had the lowest priority. Finally (after he complained twice) we were seated. Stan made sure that the waiter knew it was our honeymoon. He brought out two free glasses of champagne. I had the New England Clam Chowder and the Australian lobster tail. Stan had Portobello Mushroom Fries and Dungeness Crab Cakes. I thought that the soup tasted like it came out of a red and white can, and the lobster was the most tasteless piece of seafood I had ever eaten (the Australian tail was supposed to be of superior quality). Stan said that the mushroom fries were good, but he didn’t like the crab cakes at all. We didn’t bother with dessert since we were so disappointed in the food and the SLOW service.

We went to Pleasure Island with the intention of visiting clubs other than Adventurer’s Club. The CM who checked my ID said "Happy Birthday" and I responded by saying that my birthday was 9 days ago. He told me that he didn’t see me on my birthday, so it was a belated wish. I asked him for my present and he laughed. We went into Mannequins and stayed for about 30 seconds. We went into 8Trax and stayed for about 15 seconds. We didn’t even bother with anything else, we went with what we know… the Adventurer’s Club. We headed straight downstairs, and Pamelia ushered us into the mask room saying that they were waiting for us. We found seats, and Gabby was talking with the masks. She immediately pointed us out for wearing matching sweatshirts. We tried to explain that it was cold and we bought them to warm up. She said that it was the same old story. Later that evening (I had taken my sweatshirt off), Gabby was saying something about the honeymooners that gave her a story about it being cold and that's why they had matching sweatshirts on. She guessed that we must have left. I made the mistake of tapping her on the shoulder (we were behind her) and letting her know we were still there. She then chastised me about taking mine off. It was very funny. We stayed at the Adventurer’s Club until 11:45 when they ask everyone to go outside for the New Year’s Eve celebration. We stayed inside and bought some shirts and a hat. Stan wanted to buy the Adventurer’s Club membership, but I thought it wasn’t worth it, so we managed to escape before midnight. We took the bus home to the Grand Floridian.

Day 5: THURSDAY APRIL 23, 1998

Today is the only day we have planned at Disney-MGM Studios. We have a PS for breakfast at the Soundstage. The buffet here is good, but the fact that it is one big room makes it seem very disorganized. We saw Genie, Rafiki, Meeko, Esmerelda, and Aladdin. Meeko was stealing people’s food and putting mini cereal boxes on his nose. It was cute. We asked Genie if we could make a wish and he said "no". We were pretty bummed and then he started pointing toward the second floor of the building. We saw what looked like a magic carpet, but didn’t know what we were getting at. Then Meeko came over and started motioning like he was rubbing a lamp and pointing at the second floor. We still didn’t know what was going on. Then, Genie came over again and grabbed us both by the hand. He led us through the restaurant and up some stairs to a magic lamp. We both rubbed it together and wished for a happy marriage. Genie nodded as if to tell us the wish was granted. We waited for a while to see Aladdin. I hadn’t seen any sign of Hercules, so I figured that Aladdin was our best bet for Alex. We asked Aladdin for an autograph and explained that it was Alex’s birthday. We asked if he would wish Alex a happy birthday on videotape. He allowed us to tape a very nice "happy 6th birthday" message.

After breakfast, we went to see the Beauty and The Beast stage Show. We caught the end of Four for a Dollar. I really enjoyed Four for a Dollar and wished we had arrived earlier. I like BATB and enjoyed that as well. Next we went to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! This is one of our favorite rides. The wait was about 15 minutes and it moved really quickly. After TZTOT, we went on the Backstage Tour. We noticed that they were setting up for a private party on residential street. I think it may have been something for the Reba McIntyre concert the following day or for Animal Kingdom press. We went on the Great Movie Ride and I really seemed to enjoy it more this time. I don’t know why. This time we were on the Cowboy side. The last time we went we were on the Gangster side.

We had lunch at the 50’s Prime Time Cafe. Our sister chastised us for running off and getting married without telling Mom. I had Chicken Noodle soup and a half a Tuna sandwich. I didn’t find the food very good, but Stan enjoyed his chicken pot pie. I remember that last time I had a really good burger. I didn’t see burgers on the menu this time. A couple sat next to us that was also married on April 18th. Soon there were clinking glasses and both couples had to kiss. Stan and I both got Clean Plate Club stickers. A man at a table in our room had to have his carrots flown into his mouth. Stan and I split S’mores for dessert. They were yummy!

After lunch we headed toward Star Tours, but the line was well over an hour so we by-passed it and went to Muppetvision 3-D. We waited 5-10 minutes and then went into the already full pre-show area. Since it was near the end of the pre-show, we didn’t have to wait long before going in the theater. I love Muppetvision 3-D. I think that it is more fun and the effects are better than HISTA. After Muppetvision, we went over to Superstar Television. We waited for a short while until the casting director came out. Stan suggested we hold out on volunteering until they ask for a couple. They didn’t ask until we were in the theater and then she asked if anyone was on their honeymoon. We were in the front row and our hands shot up into the air so we were given the parts of Mr. and Mrs. McDowell on The Golden Girls. They weren’t big parts, but we had fun. Stan was videotaping the Tool Time segment backstage and a CM asked him to stop. We didn’t realize that taping was against the rules. Next we went to the Soundstage (1 Saturday Morning). I think I enjoyed the Monster Soundstage production better. After this we went to Star Tours and there was no wait. We like Star Tours better than Body Wars. It’s more fun to be on a runaway spaceship than trying to remove a splinter from the inside and running out of fuel. We had time for another ride before our dinner PS, so we went to TOT which had a 5 minute wait! We bought the picture afterward.

While I waited on line to purchase the picture, Stan headed over to the locker to get our stuff since we would be at dinner past park closing. I met Stan at the Brown Derby. I told the woman who seated us that it was our honeymoon. The waiter congratulated us on our honeymoon and I told him that we were "expecting a phone call". I thought that he would put us in the looney bin for sure, but he nodded and soon a phone was plugged in at our table so that Goofy could give us an important message. Dinner was really good, but I ate too much cleaning my plate earlier in the day. I ordered the grapefruit cake because I had heard that it was amazing, but I was in the ladies room feeling ill by the time it arrived at our table. I had the tiniest nibble (it was delicious) and returned to the ladies room while Stan settled the bill. It was difficult for me to figure out that after dieting for 6 months for the wedding, my stomach just couldn’t eating all of the food, no matter how good it was.

We left the Brown Derby and walked through the deserted park. There were some people milling around – probably for the event that they were setting up for on Residential Street. We arrived at the boat launch just as the last boat of the night arrived. We took the boat to The Boardwalk, hoping to do some ballroom dancing at Atlantic Dance.

We went into Atlantic Dance (there was no cover charge) and took a table. There were very few people there and a band was playing. The band was pretty good. We were waiting for a somewhat slow song so we could show off the Foxtrot we had spent months perfecting. Finally we decided to just dance Swing to a fast song. Shortly after we arrived, the band left and a DJ took over. The DJ was playing all very fast, very modern music. We were having difficulty finding anything that we could use our ballroom dancing skills with so we left.

Next we went to Jelly Rolls. I was not eager to pay the $3 cover after our experience at Atlantic Dance. We coughed up the six bucks and found a table up front. We had a GREAT TIME! We sang along with most of the songs and the two pianists were really funny and interacted with lots of people in the audience. We ended up staying for about three hours. Stan practically had to peel me from the chair because I was having so much fun. It was kind of tricky getting back to the Grand Floridian. We took a bus to Pleasure Island and then waited for another bus to get back home. It took a long time and it was cold out.

Day 6: FRIDAY APRIL 24, 1998

Today is four days before the only E-Ride Night of the trip. I ran out at 7 am to go to guest services and buy our tickets. We got tickets number 12 and 13. Then we ordered room service and had a nice late morning in the room. At 9 am I headed over to the Main Building to get my hair done. While I spent the morning at the Ivy Trellis, Stan went to the pool and smoked a cigar. I had my hair highlighted and cut to chin length. I had grown it down to the middle of my back for the wedding. I love my new hairstyle. She did a wonderful job and I wish that I could return to Florida every few weeks for a trim.

After my haircut we decided to rent a water mouse for a half-hour. It was fun, but the entire time I was concerned that we would be in the way of the ferries going to the Magic Kingdom. It was fun, and we made the rounds of Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. We returned the "mice" and decided to have tea as a late lunch.

We waited around in the lobby for 2:00 when it would finally be tea time. We visited with the birds and watched a few brides and grooms on their way to and from weddings. I finally convinced Stan that we should inquire about DVC and set up an appointment for a tour.

I think I knew more about DVC from Brian Bennett’s web site than the man stationed behind the desk. We set up an appointment for a presentation on Sunday after we went to mass at the Poly.

It was finally time for tea. We walked up to the podium and waited for the hostess to seat us. We had a really nice booth sort of table from which we could see the pool. We ordered tea for two. I had the raspberry tea and Stan had orange pekoe (no sense of adventure). The finger sandwiches, scones, and pastries were really wonderful. We had a lot of fun. There were very few people in the restaurant the whole time we were there.

After tea, we hopped the monorail and headed for the Magic Kingdom. We spent some time in the Toontown Country Fair because I wanted to have my picture taken with some of the characters with my new look. We got in the line for Fairytale Friends hoping for some princesses. When we got into the room, we were very disappointed to find the Evil Queen from Snow White and Cruella DeVil. These were not my Fairytale Friends, the were in fact… the Fairytale enemies!" We posed for a couple of pictures and quickly left. We wanted to try to get another picture with Mickey, but the line was very long.

We went to Tomorrowland and rode the TTA for the first time. I enjoyed the relaxation. Then we saw Carousel of Progress. I love the Carousel of Progress. It is great to see how much things have changed in such a short period of time. And that song – even as I write this report (months later) I can hear "It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow… - what a happy, hopeful song.

After Carousel we went to Alien Encounter. We were at the tail end of the next group they let in, so we hardly had any wait. For some reason, I didn’t find it as scary as the last time. Maybe it was because I knew what to expect.

We had dinner PS at Cinderella’s Royal table so we headed toward the castle. We noticed once again, that "honeymoon" was printed next to our name on the PS printout. They wrote "honeymooners" on the card. At this point, the meal started getting strange. The hostess told us that we would be in Lady Eileen’s section and asked us to go upstairs. Then her assistant said that we would be at another table instead and they had some discussion and finally sent us upstairs to be seated. Cinderella and Prince Charming were in the lobby, but we didn’t want to stop for a picture. When we were seated, our waitress introduced herself as "Lady Kathy" although her nametag said something else entirely. We ordered after what seemed like a long delay. I ordered the beef barley soup as an appetizer and Stan ordered the tossed salad. For a main course I ordered the Kingdom Feast (shrimp and beef) and Stan ordered Prime Rib. After a long time, she returned and said that she would return shortly with our salads. I almost corrected her and reminded her that I had ordered soup, but I figured she meant appetizer and said salad instead.

She came back and placed Stan’s salad in front of him and a Caesar salad in front of me. Caesar salad was my second choice, so I almost didn’t say anything, but Stan told her that I had ordered the soup. She certainly was embarrased and took the salad away promising me a bowl of soup. She brought it to the table right away. When we were finished with our appetizers she removed the plates and promised to return in a "jiffy". A "jiffy" later she came back with two orders of prime rib. I just kind of looked at it disappointed. She must have known that she screwed up and asked me what I really did order. I told her and she quickly brought out the correct entrée.

I really enjoy the food there. I know that many people complain, but I think the quality is good. We finished dinner and ordered dessert. I ordered the peach raspberry cobbler ala’ mode dish that they have there and she asked if I was allergic to chocolate. I told her no and I figured that they would write "Congratulations" on the plate in chocolate since it was our honeymoon. When she returned, there was a chocolate crown on top of the ice cream and it said "Happy Birthday" on the plate. She said, "Eileen, I’m really sorry for messing up the order on your birthday. This dessert is free because it is your birthday and because I messed up so bad." Stan and I were completely stunned. She said, "It is your birthday, isn’t it?" We told her that it was our honeymoon. She said, "Your name is Eileen, isn’t it?" We told her that they wrote Eileen on the card at the hostess station because that was supposed to be our waitress’ name. She was mortified. The dessert was still free and she brought us another set of champagne flutes (we didn’t tell her that we already had some from breakfast the other day). It was the strangest experience I had ever had in a restaurant.

We stayed at MK for a while longer. We went to the Haunted Mansion and the Hall of Presidents. We left before the fireworks went off and boarded a launch. We were waiting on the dock of GF for a while because we wanted to videotape the fireworks from our hotel. We waited a long time. We eventually found out that there were no fireworks planned due to grad night. L

I wanted to film the Electric Water Pageant but it never seemed to come along either. We headed to Pleasure Island for another evening at the Adventurer’s Club. The crowd at the Adventurer’s Club was really rowdy tonight. I think many people were too drunk to enjoy the show. You could tell that some of the performers were getting annoyed by the antics of the conventioneers.

Day 7: SATURDAY APRIL 25, 1998

We ordered room service and headed to Epcot for the day. We went to Ellen’s Energy Adventure. The other day that we were at Epcot, the line was very long. This time we walked into the pre-show.

We had seen this in 1996 right after it had opened with Ellen, so we were familiar with it. I nearly died laughing when it got to the part where she points out into the audience and says the thing about the haircut. It was as if she were really talking to me. We really enjoyed this attraction.

Then we went to Horizons. I was wearing a T-shirt with Pooh and Rabbit peeking out of the pocket. The CM loading the ride said, "I’m sorry, you can’t board this ride…you have Pooh on your shirt." Ha ha, very funny. I don’t think I appreciated Horizons the last time. This time, knowing that I might never get to see it again, I tried to take everything in. I hope they can save it. I really enjoyed the ride.

We headed over to World Showcase and wandered around until we arrived in the UK. We had PS for lunch at Rose and Crown. We had some time to kill so we went into the Tea Caddy to search for tea time accessories such as tea cozies and strainers. We bought a few things so that we could have tea time at home. The CM in the shop was very nice. We went outside and saw that Romeo and Edna was about to begin. I love this sort of thing. Stan does not. He waited patiently while we watched the first half of the show. Then we went over to Rose and Crown to sign in for our PS. They had these really cool coaster beepers that light up. Since we had a bit of a wait, we returned to see the end of Romeo and Edna.

Lunch was good. I had the fish and chips while Stan had an assortment of English pies. We liked the fact that the menu is printed on a jug. While we were eating lunch we noticed smoke rising from behind the China pavilion. At first we thought that China was on fire. Then we realized that it was off in the distance. This was the start of the brushfires that would continue throughout our trip (and afterward as well).

After lunch we had some wine in France (and later in Germany). We saw the woman making the candy sculptures in Japan. A friend of mine had told me not to miss it. We saw the American Adventure (neither of us had seen it before). I thought it was great. I was sorry that we missed the performance of the Voices of Liberty. There was a show going on in the theater across from the American pavilion, so we stopped to watch it for a while. We bought an Italian ice in Italy (of all places). We watched the African drummers. The line for Maelstrom was too long so we skipped it. We went to Mexico and had the obligatory pictures with sombreros and maracas. We watched a marriache band for a while and then went on El Rio del Tiempo. It was great that on this trip we had so much time to leisurely tour all of the countries. I really feel that we saw everything we could possibly have wanted to see in World Showcase.

We headed back to Future World to check out some things in Innoventions. They were passing out freshly baked cookies at a GE stand. We toured the Honeywell house of tomorrow. There were a few girls at the house of tomorrow flirting with the CMs. The CMs were being nice to the girls and not encouraging them, but I wish they had told them to knock it off.

After the house of tomorrow tour, we sprinted to France for our PS. We told them our name, and they asked us to have a seat. Many other people were seated while we waited. It was as if they had forgotten about us. Finally, we were seated. I can’t recall what we ordered, but I do remember that it was really good. Stan thought that his was sort of plain. We were sitting next to the dessert preparation area, so of course we ordered dessert.

We left Chefs de France to stake out a spot for Illuminations. It was about 30 minutes to showtime. We walked over the bridge and noticed an area that seemed sparsely populated. There were some CMs standing at the entrance and one of them was directing a man with a stroller to a ramp. We walked into the area. Soon we realized that there was a private party going on. There were refreshments on the lower tier of the area. We decided that we weren’t doing any harm since there was plenty of room for the people at the party to see. We just stood in our spots and tried not to make eye contact with anyone who could have us thrown out. We did get a great view of Illuminations, but I felt guilty the whole time. If I ever again unknowingly crash a private party, I will quickly leave and apologize.

The monorail was packed. We managed to get on the 2nd or 3rd one that left the station after we arrived on the platform. There was some delay getting to the TTC, and we were squished in the car for a long period of time. When we finally arrived at the TTC, the resort monorail was empty. We headed straight home. I went to bed, and Stan spent some time at Mizner’s lounge enjoying a glass of port and a cigar.

Day 8: SUNDAY APRIL 26, 1998

We left early to take the monorail to the Poly for mass. We promised to make prayer and worship an important part of our marriage, and vacation was no excuse to skip. Mass in luau cove was interesting. A family of ducks came to visit. There was a mentally ill man who was mumbling to himself throughout the service. He seemed to be trying to read something in a book. He was seated at the table next to us, but we just tried to ignore him (at times he was quite loud).

After church, we went out front to meet the DVC van to take us to the Boardwalk. Our driver was very friendly and we had a really nice trip. The woman we met with was also really nice. I thought that we should do it. We had a $1500 discount for staying at the GF for 10 nights. Prepaying 40 years worth of vacation seemed like a good deal to me. Then Stan brought me back to reality. We had bills waiting to be paid at home. We wanted to save up for a down payment on a house. Buying into the DVC would not be very responsible. Stan reminded me how silly it would be to own 40 years of vacations, but not to own a house to live in the rest of the year. We made a promise to each other to make DVC a priority after we got a house. We realize that the prices will be higher and it will be for fewer years, but we need to have our priorities straight. The saleswoman was very surprised. The way we were talking before Stan brought reality into the picture, I was asking about buying 200 points instead of 150 to start. I think she was sure we were going to buy.

They whisked us out of there very quickly. We asked the van driver to take us to Disney’s West Side. We did some shopping. We finally found a Hercules item at the Virgin Megastore – a CD ROM game which Alex didn’t have yet. We went to Wolfgang Puck’s for an early lunch. I had amazing Tortilla Soup. Stan had a pizza. He enjoyed it while he ate it, but afterward he wasn’t feeling well. There were some girls in the restaurant who were asking where Leonardo DiCaprio sat when he ate there, what he had eaten, etc.. It turns out that Leonardo himself had eaten at our table. The star-struck girls were very impressed. We left and headed straight home to GF (if you consider straight walking to the PI bus stop, waiting a long time for a bus, and then taking a monorail). Since Stan wasn’t feeling well, we spent most of the afternoon napping.

After we napped, we spent some time at the pool. Then we showered and changed for our dinner at 1900 Park Fare. At 1900 PF, we were seated next to some boys who misbehaved the entire time. The buffet selections were great. Mickey and Minnie were very glad that we were honeymooning at WDW and we got some pictures. I had seen the Strawberry Soup at breakfast the other day. They had it again at dinner. This time I tried it. It was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. I joked with Stan that it was silly soup and it made me act silly for the rest of the night.

After dinner we went straight to the Magic Kingdom (did I happen to mention how much I appreciate the monorail?). We went to Fantasyland and rode Mr. Toad, Snow White, and Peter Pan. While we were on Peter Pan we heard the fireworks and when we got off we watched them from Fantasyland. We returned to the hotel, and I called my father since it was his birthday. I told him that they set off fireworks over Magic Kingdom just to honor his 55th birthday. He laughed.

We turned in early after the call home.

Day 9: MONDAY APRIL 27, 1998

Today is our Animal Kingdom day. Last night I laid out a detailed commando plan so that we could finish by lunch time and get to our PS at Narcoosee’s.

We took a bus to the Animal Kingdom. We went in and pretty much flew through the Oasis and on to the Tree of Life. We didn’t take the time to appreciate it because we have places to go animals to see. A CM was telling us that the wait for Killamanjaro Safari was already over 45 minutes and recommended Countdown to Extinction (CTX) or It’s Tough to Be a Bug (ITTBAB). We headed over to CTX. There was no line. I wasn’t sure what to expect. We had an awesome time. I have never been so thrilled on a thrill ride. There were some kids who were pretty upset by the pre-show and some that ended up on the ride and were hysterical. I found it very scary. I actually thought that we would be stranded and become extinct with the dinosaurs.

After CTX we walked back through Dinoland to head to KS and get back on my commando schedule. On the way we stopped at a themed trailer for chewy bagels and coffee. We ate as we walked toward Harambe. When we arrived in Harambe, the line for KS was now 90 minutes. We walked through the Gorilla Falls expedition trail. I put commando mode on hold to enjoy the animals. The baby gorillas and mother were very cute.

We went to the Tree of Life to see ITTBAB, but the wait was 45 minutes. We decided to go to Camp Minnie Mickey and get on line for the first Lion King Show. We stood on line for a while and they told us that due to technical difficulties, the first show was cancelled. We returned to the Tree of Life. Now ITTBAB wasn’t running due to technical difficulties. Nothing left to do…but shop! We bought some opening day merchandise that was still available (5 days later) and some gifts for our sisters and brothers-in-law.

We returned to Camp Minnie Mickey and posed with some characters. Then we went to see the Pocahontas stage show (Grandmother Willow’s Grove?). It was really just for kids, so we stayed until we felt it was time to get in line for the next Festival of the Lion King show (FotLK). We were able to get seats and ended up in the Lion section (GRRRRRR). This show was the best. I can’t say enough. Stan was even singing along at the end. When we left from here, ITTBAB was still not running. We headed back to Harambe to wait in line for KS.

We had an hour wait for KS. We talked to some very interesting people in line. I couldn’t believe how long the cue area was. Each time we thought we must be getting close to the loading area, there was another corral. I really enjoyed the ride. We saw lots of animals: hippos, lions, zebras, and giraffes to name a few.

After KS, we left and hopped on a bus to make our noon PS at Narcoosee’s. Narcoosee’s did not impress me. Neither of us really enjoyed our meal, the service was slow, and the view was no big deal. After lunch, we returned on a bus to AK to catch the things we had missed. At the bus stop there was a woman with an adorable little girl and I talked to her about things at AK that her daughter might enjoy.

Commando mode was now officially off. I didn’t succeed in seeing everything in the morning, so in the afternoon, we had some time to soak it all in. We appreciated the Tree of Life. We saw ITTBAB with minimal wait. I was amazed at the detail on the tree while we went through the line area. We both really enjoyed the show, but agreed that some kids would be scared. We headed back over to Dinoland for another journey into the past on CTX. Once again, there was NO Line! WOO HOO!

I wanted to get on it again, but then Stan and I had an argument about how I can never enjoy something while I’m doing it, I always have to think ahead to what I’ll be doing next. We argued all the way over to the Jungle Book show. We sat in the theater angry with each other and watched the show. Somewhere in the middle we silently made up. I really enjoyed the show. I thought the puppetry was great. Some have complained about the costumes on Baloo and King Louie, I thought that the style was different but OK.

After the show we left for our dinner PS at Artist’s Point (I did want to ride CTX again, but I certainly didn’t want to get in another argument). Artist’s Point was great. We both shared a platter of an array of appetizers. One of them was ostrich. I had the salmon, but didn’t really enjoy the cedar taste. Stan had buffalo. After dinner we took a launch back to the Magic Kingdom and another launch to GF.

We did some shopping at Downtown Disney (last chance to have stuff delivered to the room). We spent the night at the Adventurer’s Club. We sat at the bar during Samantha’s second act. We knew that she interviewed the people sitting at the bar. That night she talked to everyone but us. I think that she probably recognized us from previous nights and decided to let some other people have a chance. We said good-bye to the Adventurer’s Club for the last time of the trip. Stan took some pictures in the Adventurer’s Club. We both really enjoy it there, and will be sure to return in the future.

Day 10: TUESDAY APRIL 28, 1998

We had breakfast at Gasparilla Grill this morning. We just discovered it today. We probably could have grabbed a few quick breakfasts here on other mornings. We stopped off at the Sandy Cove Gift Shop to order our GF robes. We decided to have them monogrammed. It is expensive, but we’ll never have another honeymoon, so we decided to really splurge.

We spend the morning at the Magic Kingdom focusing on the stuff that won’t be open at E-ride tonight. We had our picture taken three times by the photographers on Main Street. We did the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party which I never ever do because of motion sickness, but it wasn’t so bad. We went to get our picture taken with Mickey (with my new haircut) and there was no professional photographer in our room. We gave the CM our camera, but it wasn’t working. We get out of our pose and check the camera. Sure enough, we had forgotten to change the film, when Stan had used it up at the Adventurer’s Club the night before. We reloaded the film and got at the end of the line. The next group of people had a camera that wasn’t working either. The CM told us that we didn’t have to get at the end of the line and motions for us to stand next to Mickey again. After the picture was taken I thanked Mickey for having such a wonderful resort. I told him that Stan and I had a perfect honeymoon. This seemed to make Mickey very happy and he shook our hands and hugged and kissed us.

We went to Liberty Square and we both rode the Steamboat for the first time. I wished we had done it sooner. It was such a nice, relaxing ride. The narration was a little tough to hear.

We checked the Main St. photos and selected one that we really liked and bought it. Then we took the monorail to the TTC and a bus to Disney MGM Studios. We had our picture taken here as well, but all of the photographers were taking pictures of people as they walked through the entrance. We wanted a picture with the Chinese theater or TOT in the background. We ended up getting it taken with a shop in the background. We rode TOT twice in a row. There were no lines. We also watched the Streetmosphere players for a while. We checked on our picture and bought it. Then we headed back to GF.

We had tea once again. It was a lovely experience and we chatted with the waitress quite a bit about our stay and how we didn’t want to leave the next day. She told us that she was using the Flex Feature to pay the bill. We thought that it had been used up at breakfast a few days ago, but we didn’t argue since we were sure that one charge or the other would show up on our final bill (neither did).

After tea we went out in the water mice again. This time we each got one and raced around the lake. I was afraid to go too fast, so I mostly followed Stan around and tried to avoid the ferry traffic. After the water mice we went for a swim and then rested in our room.

In the afternoon we started getting dressed for our Victoria and Albert’s dinner. Stan had talked to the maitre’d the night before and arranged for us to be at the same table where he had proposed. He also arranged for a few other honeymoon "perks".

Dinner at Victoria and Albert’s was amazing. I simply love it there. It is such a treat to be pampered and eat the finest cuisine. Our menus said "Congratulations" at the top above our names. We also received some special chocolate greeting cards at the end of the meal. We had our Victoria take lots of pictures of us in the same poses as when Stan proposed. I hope that when we come to WDW in the future we can always find the time and money for a trip to V&A’s.

After V&A’s, we ran back to the room and changed our clothes for E-Ride night! We made it to MK at about 9:15 and the park closed at 9:00. We got our wristbands and headed to PotC. We could have had our own boat, but we didn’t want to be greedy, so we sat in the back row of a boat that another couple sat in the front row of. It was so cool walking through an empty park. We walked right on to Splash Mountain… and we got wet. We walked over to BTMRR.

The wait was about 3 minutes and some people were complaining. One woman had a child with her who needed to go to the bathroom. She told the girl that they had paid a lot of money to be in the park and that she would have to wait until after the ride because she didn’t want to have to wait in line again. I can’t believe that a parent would abuse a child by making her ride on a rough ride like BTMRR when she had to urinate. That woman was so selfish and cruel that it made me angry! I prayed that the girl didn’t have an accident on the roller coaster because I’m sure that a mother like that would have been abusive if the girl wet herself.

We rode BTMRR again and then Splash Mountain again. When we got off, Tigger was standing there and I ran up to him and showed him that I was wearing a Tigger shirt. He hugged me and we did a little dance. It was great. Then we took some pictures with Eeyore. We went over to Space Mountain and rode it twice. Once again, the wait was 3 – 5 minutes. I couldn’t believe that some people had the nerve to complain. We walked back to Splash Mountain for a final ride. This is my new favorite ride. I can’t believe I never went on it on our previous trip. When we got to the end, there was about 10 minutes left until midnight and no one waiting. I thought that they might let us stay on, but the CM said no and told us that there was enough time to get on again if we went through the line. We decided to skip it and headed toward the exit. It wasn’t until this point that we overheard that some people were upset because HM was limited to a private party. We rode it about 10 times during regular hours, so we didn’t mind.

As we left the Magic Kingdom, we both felt very privileged to be able to enjoy the park while it was so empty. We took some pictures and rode the monorail home.

Day 11: WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 1998

I woke up per Mickey’s request for the last time this trip. I ordered the Grand Breakfizz again and made the special request regarding the eggs benedict. I received three separate calls from in room dining regarding this request. They kept telling me that a side order of sausage was no where near the value of an order of eggs benedict and the substitution wouldn’t be fair to me. They offered to make it with egg whites or egg beaters if I had a problem with the cholesterol. I told them again that Stan was ALLERGIC to eggs and told them to please just give me what I had asked for. Finally the order came. They ended up giving us a full platter of breakfast sausage to make up for the eggs benedict. I think they used the meat from a whole pig. No human could eat this much pork in a week. Most of this food was wasted.

We packed our bags and headed for the Magic Kingdom to say our good-byes. On the way out the door, someone from housekeeping asked if this was our checkout day. We said yes and told her that we had requested (and confirmed that morning) a 1:00 p.m. check out. We went to the Magic Kingdom and said good-bye to our favorite attractions. Before we left we made a promise that we would return for our first anniversary.

We returned to the GF and made sure that all of our stuff was completely packed. Then we called bell services for pick up. They were there before we hung up the phone. I had packed an extra suitcase. We had a fun conversation with the bellman. He told us about some of the celebrities and royalty that has stayed at the Grand Floridian and the strange things they insisted upon. He dropped us off at the front and I waited for our FTC driver to arrive at ~12:30. Meanwhile, Stan went in to settle the bill. We had express check-out and he didn’t need to settle anything (by the way, we had made several ATM withdrawals throughout the week to pay off part of our bill in cash so our credit card wouldn’t be hit with all of our indulgences).

FTC picked us up right on time and brought us to the airport. The flight back was uneventful. When we arrived in Newark we were trying to find the limo driver since I had won the round trip airport transportation. He was no where to be found. We gathered all of our bags and still couldn’t find him. I was just about to call the limo company when I saw a frantic man with "Kula" on a card. I yelled him and he told me to hurry because he was parked illegally. He had this little sedan and our luggage barely fit between the trunk and the front seat (quite a difference from the stretch). It seems that he thought that we were going to the airport and had gone to our apartment to pick us up. He complained because we didn’t give the dispatcher our apartment number. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because we weren’t home. He drove us home and we tipped him. I don’t think I’ll use that limo company again.

EPILOGUE:

We have booked a cruise vacation next year from April 12 – 19. We will be staying at the Beach Club. We’ll be arriving the day before my birthday and departing the day after our first anniversary. I can’t wait!

Kathy Kula

kathryn.kula@pharma.novartis.com

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