Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Train
Resort: PBR
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Twice in one year? It's not fair! No sooner did Kathy return from her honeymoon this Spring than she's up and going back for a repeat trip. This is a fun report with a lot of detail. A trip feature worth highlighting is that Kathy and Stan used Amtrack for their travel mode.


Cast:

Kathy Kula (28) (me): This is my third trip to WDW. I went for the first time in Nov. 1996 and the second time for our honeymoon in April 1998.
Stan Kula (30): This is Stan’s sixth trip to WDW. His first time was when he was five (1973), he went twice with his HS marching band (around 1985) and the last two trips we took together.
Background:

Ever since we returned from our April honeymoon trip, I have been bugging Stan to take another quick trip this year. We already have reservations for the Cruise in April 1999 (because we have a discount since our honeymoon cruise was cancelled). Stan wanted to go somewhere other than WDW since our two last vacations have both been WDW vacations. He suggested New Orleans or an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. I half jokingly changed these to Disney vacations by suggesting we stay at Port Orleans or Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR). We started discussing in August. I told Stan that I would go anywhere he wanted, but he had to make the decision before we started to plan.

After reading the "Taking the Train to WDW" FAQ on Deb Wills’ site, I checked out the Amtrak website and found out some interesting facts which I shared with Stan. There is a "Fall Amtrak See America" promotion, which allows passengers to visit 3 cities and pay a discounted fare that is based on the number of regions of the country that are traveled. So I suggested to Stan that we take the train to New Orleans and one other city and stay in each place for 3 nights. Stan was looking at a map of the US and was trying to decide what our other city should be. So, I innocently suggested Orlando. I couldn’t believe what happened next. He said OK! After months of trying to convince Stan that we should go to WDW, he finally agreed that we could.

Planning:

Since it was already October 14th when we made the decision, and we wanted to travel November 13 – 22, 1998, we started planning immediately. I called Amtrak and found out what the train schedules were. I found out that the train from New Orleans to Orlando only runs on certain days of the week, so we made our plans based on that. Our basic plan is to travel from Newark, NJ to New Orleans, LA on Friday Nov. 13th, arriving there on the 14th. We will spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights in New Orleans. Since Stan has been there twice before, he’ll plan that portion of the trip. We’ll leave New Orleans on Tuesday evening and arrive in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon. We’ll stay at WDW Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights and leave on Saturday afternoon to arrive back home on Sunday afternoon. Phew! I hope we can keep all of this straight.

Next, I called CRO to see if anything was available on-site. The only thing we could get for the three nights I asked for was CBR. We stayed at Dixie Landings in 1996 (when Stan proposed) and Grand Floridian on our honeymoon. For our trip in April, we’ll be staying at the Beach Club. I know that at this point, we’ll have to take what we can get, but after all of the luxury and pampering… not to mention room service, I was a bit disappointed. We booked it for $119 a night. Although I had told the CM that this was a quick, impromptu trip, he still asked if we wanted to add a day to see the Animal Kingdom. I explained that I would very much like to add a day or two or ten, but the train schedules and vacation policies at work would not allow.

A few hours after I hung up with CRO, I realized that I had reserved the wrong dates. I needed November 18 – 21, but I had booked Nov. 19 – 22. I would have to call them back in the morning and see what was available for the dates I really needed the room. That night, I couldn’t sleep. All of the excitement of the upcoming trip plus the fact that I screwed up when calling CRO made it hard to sleep.

The next day, Stan’s task was to make sure he could take the time off from work. If everything went OK on that end, I would call Amtrak and he would call to reserve the New Orleans hotel. One of the first things I did was to call CRO and try to fix my error. I told the CM that I was so excited that my husband had actually agreed to go, that I had mixed up the dates. The first thing she tried to do was to add the 18th to our existing reservation. That didn’t work, CBR was completely booked on the 18th. I started to get really nervous until I heard her say, "Wow!" I asked her what she found and she said, "You’re not going to believe this, but the computer just gave you the Polynesian at the moderate rate." Aha! An "Upsell"! Of course, I jumped at it. I also booked the LOSs with an MKC discount and asked if the Dining program could be used at the special events at the Food and Wine Festival such as the Winemaker’s Dinner. Since the answer was no, I didn’t add dining. So, we ended up getting The Poly for $134 a night. I also called and made reservations for the Winemaker’s Dinner on Thursday, November 19th. This is charged to the credit card at the time the reservation is made, so we’ve already been charged for it.

Stan called me to tell me that his boss Okayed the vacation request, so I called Amtrak and asked him to call the Best Western on Bourbon Street. I booked our trip and got everything we wanted except the promotional rate was not available in Coach for the trip home. The woman at Amtrak said that we could take the train I requested, but it would be an additional $284 to travel coach, or we could get a Sleeper Car at the promotional rate and pay $150 more than we had planned. It wasn’t a difficult decision, I went for the sleeper car. Stan reserved the hotel in New Orleans, but it was at a higher rate than they had quoted him the night before, since we also had the dates wrong, and Saturday nights are much more expensive.

So, now the only things left to do are to decide how we will travel from the train to WDW and to decide if there are any additional WDW meals we would like to make PS for. I have a Rita Aero coupon, so I think that dinner on Friday night will probably be at the Swan or Dolphin (I asked Stan to decide). Since our main purpose in going will be the Food and Wine Festival, we will probably spend most of our time in Epcot. I’m hoping for an E-Ride night so that we can do a few things in the Magic Kingdom, and we’ll spend a couple of hours in MGM and AK, just to visit the favorite attractions.

Here’s the Basic Plan:

Wed., 11/18/98: Arrive by train at 3:20 p.m.. Check into Polynesian by 4:30 p.m. (I hope). If it is early enough, we will stop at the Grand Floridian for Afternoon Tea. Then we will spend a few hours in MK, and possibly see fireworks. Go to Pleasure Island to have a Kungaloosh and be re-inducted into the Club. After we swap adventure stories with the cast, we’ll head back to the Poly for the night.
Thurs., 11/19/98: Animal Kingdom in the morning - the only things I really want to do again are: CTX and FOTLK. If it’s not too busy we might take in a showing of ITTBAB and go on a Safari as well. We’ll just have to see. Then, we’ll head on over to Epcot to check out the Food and Wine Festival. Our Winemaker’s Dinner is 6 – 9 p.m., so we’ll see Illuminations afterward (I know, I know, we won’t have a great spot, but it will be OK). We might go to the Boardwalk to Jellyrolls or Atlantic Dance after Illuminations.
Fri., 11/20/98: We’ll spend the morning and afternoon in Epcot (sampling many of the foods from around the world for our lunch). Then we’ll go to MGM to drop a few times on TOT and see Fantasmic. I’m thinking that we’ll have dinner at the Swan or Dolphin after Fantasmic on Friday night. Then we’ll head over to Pleasure Island again.
Sat., 11/21/98: We’ll check our luggage at the Poly and go to MK and/or Epcot for anything that we may have missed. The train departs at 4:34 p.m., so I’m hoping that we’ll be able to stay at WDW until about 2:30 p.m.. It will probably depend on the mode of ground transportation we select.


Budget
(all amounts are approximate)

Item Amount
Train fare $750
New Orleans Hotel (Best Western on Bourbon St.) $450
Polynesian $450
Length of Stay passes $400
Ground Transportation $50 - $80 + tip
Winemaker’s Dinner $159
Other Meals $750
Souvenirs/Entertainment $400
Total (10 days/9nights) $3,000
Other Notes:

We’ll have to see how closely we can stick to this budget. On our honeymoon, we went overboard ($4,200 for the package, $400 for airfare, and $3,000 for food and souvenirs), so this is a relatively cheap vacation.

The ground transportation will be anywhere from $50 for Mears to $80 for a cab (plus tip). Right now, I’m seriously considering booking Tiffany Towncar for $65 plus tip. Stan thinks that we should go with the cheapest, but I called Mears and they said that there is no guarantee of how long it will take for them to have a shuttle which is available to go to the train station. I would much rather pay $15 extra to have a driver ready and waiting. Last time we used Florida Towncar, and were very happy with the service.

One thing that we are slightly concerned about is that I recently started a diet where I eat 5 low-fat meals in a day. I don’t want to bring a whole cooler of food on our multi-destination trip, so we’re trying to figure out creative ways to get all my meals in and make some better choices (i.e. eating popcorn or ice cream for my "meal 2" is not an option). We’ll have to see how I deal with this challenging situation since I am from the "don’t bring food into the park because it is a violation of the rules" school.

November 13 – 14, 1998: Train from Newark to New Orleans

We both worked on Friday the 13th. Our train was scheduled to depart at 2:43, and I was planning on working until noon. That is until I received a phone call from Stan at 11:00 a.m. telling me that he was already home. Wait a second, I started work at 6:00 a.m. and I was still there, and he didn’t get to work until 8:30 a.m., and he was home. What’s wrong with this picture? Anyway, I wanted to get a project done, but I promised Stan I’d leave by 11:30 a.m.. I was home by noon, and Stan arrived with his mom at 12:30. We got to the train station by 1:00 p.m., and our bags were checked within 5 minutes, thanks to Lou the friendly redcap. This left us an hour and a half to sit and wait. I was a bit perturbed because I could have finished my project if I had stayed at work an hour longer. The train arrived right on time, and the conductor assigned us our seats. The staff on this trip was very friendly and helpful. They always let us know what was going on.

The only major problem of this trip was a woman seated behind us who was talking loudly on her cell phone from 4:30 when she got on until midnight when the complaints were enough for the conductors to move her to a car where there were very few people. I started trying to get to sleep at around 8:30 since I wasn't feeling well, but this woman made it nearly impossible. After one of the warnings, when the conductor walked away she said, "I don't care who tells me to quiet down, I won't!" I believe she also said, "I know who is complaining and I'm gonna get them." Her husband was trying to quiet her the whole time, but she accused him of being an alcoholic every time he opened his mouth. Their child was very well behaved. After the woman was moved, the trip was a lot more pleasant.

We were held up for about an hour due to a broken down freight train, but they made up some of the time and we arrived in New Orleans only 20 minutes late. The staff on this train was very friendly and eager to please, but it was a long trip (31 hrs.).

November 14 –17, 1998: Summary of New Orleans Vacation

I’ll give a brief run-down of our trip to "Nawlins" for those who are interested (Beadzillions, this part’s for you). Please feel free to skip it if you are not interested. We took a cab from the train station to the hotel. The cabbie took us and another couple over the guy who was standing next in line (I didn’t think this was right). He also lost his license plate and drove around in circles retracing his path to try and find it. Our hotel was right on Bourbon Street. I had no idea what to expect, and at first, I was put off by the public drunkenness, the sex shops, and general state of confusion. Plus, I really really wanted a shower. Eventually, I warmed up to the place.

The food was amazing. We had Gumbo, Po’ Boys, Jambalaya, Beignets, Café Au Lait, Ettouffee, Hurricanes, you name it. The best food was the lunch we had at K Paul’s (Paul Prudhomme’s restaurant). Do you remember that diet I mentioned in the Pre-Trip report? It was all but forgotten while we were on vacation (except the occasional reminder from Stan that I’d be going back on it the day we returned). We had fried dough and coffee every morning for breakfast: not exactly diet food.

We did a few tours. We went on a mule drawn carriage ride, with our humorous driver, Roland. We did two tours with the Haunted History company: Ghost Stories and the Cemetery and Voodoo tour. The Ghost Story tour was the best. I really enjoyed hearing all of the stories, and will bet that I did feel a presence in the one place that we went inside. This particular room was a holding pen for slaves. I really felt tension, anger, and fear while we were standing there. Stan said it was just a warm breeze that was wafting through, but I felt some "energy". We also went to the Voodoo Museum (waste of money), the Pharmacy Museum (well worth the $2 donation, especially for a pharmaceutical company employee like myself), and saw an IMAX movie (mostly for a rest). We did a dinner cruise on the Natchez down the Mississippi River complete with a Dixieland Band.

Now as for the nightlife: we mostly walked up and down Bourbon Street with Hurricanes and Daiquiris in hand, but the last night (a Monday) there was no line at Pat O’Brian’s, so we went in and sat in the room with the dueling pianos for about 3 sets (and 3 hurricanes each - $45 in drinks before tips incl. souvenir glasses). It was fun, but I think I like Jellyrolls more. It was a much older crowd, and they were doing a lot of songs I didn’t know. By the time we were half way through our third set of hurricanes, a woman at a table next to us started asking us where we were staying and then told us that she was coming home with us since we had a balcony on Bourbon Street. Then we lied to her about our last name and our room number and got the heck out of there.

We went up to our room, stood out on the balcony, and I tried to "earn some beads". I don’t know if it was because it was a Monday night, because my husband was standing right next to me, or because I’m just not that attractive, but no one would throw me any beads. We did buy some beads before we left, but I felt bad that I couldn’t earn any. Maybe I’d do better at Port Orleans with the Beadzillions.

In New Orleans it seemed like we were always handing money over to someone for something, and everyone needed to be tipped. We went way over budget, though I can’t say by how much until we actually see the credit card bill. The Best Western on Bourbon Street was a very nice and affordable hotel, and I highly recommend it.

November 17 – 18, 1998: Train from New Orleans to Orlando

The next leg was NO to Orlando (yay! we finally get to go to WDW). When we checked our bags, the woman said that the train would be in at 9:00. According to the schedule, the train was supposed to arrive at 7:15 and depart by 8:15. We hoped for the best and figured that 9:00 was the estimated time of departure. The train pulled in at 9:40. There were no updates by the Amtrak staff until the train actually pulled into the station. The screen with arrival and departure times said TBA until we boarded at 10:15 (keep in mind that we arrived at the station at around 6:30 to allow plenty of time to check baggage). When the train arrived, I called TTC to let them know that the train would be running behind and that they should check with Amtrak for an arrival time the next day (we were supposed to arrive at 3:20 p.m.). When we reached the conductor assigning seats, he assigned us a seat that was taken and we had to go back and get another assignment. There were no apologies or explanations for the lateness of the train.

The next morning, when I woke up, I started looking at the schedule and where we were. We were now 4 hours behind schedule instead of 2. Again, there were no explanations. In fact, I don't think there were any announcements made on this train at all. The lack of communication made it very difficult to enjoy the ride. All I kept thinking about was how we would miss all of the fun things I had planned for the first 4 hours of our trip: Tea at the GF, an evening at MK, the RADP meet, E-Ride night. The staff on this trip was very rude compared to those on the first trip. I didn't enjoy this ride at all. We ended up pulling into the Orlando station at 7:00 p.m. (the time E-Ride night started). The TTC driver, Jamal, was waiting, but he said that Amtrak was unable to give them an ETA, so he was there at 3:00 and then again at 6:00 (we gave him a big tip).

November 18, 1998: Citricos and Pleasure Island

This was our 7 "monthaversary" – seven months since we were married.

What is it they say about the best-laid plans? Between 3:20 and the time we actually arrived, I was hoping to have tea at the GF, spend a couple hours at the MK, go to a RADP meet at the Buzz Lightyear ride, and start an E-Ride night. All of this was carefully orchestrated so that we could see Fantasmic later in the trip and have a nice dinner at the Swan or Dolphin with our coupon. Well, I couldn’t do anything to make the train go faster, so here’s a summary of what really happened.

We checked in at the Poly at 7:30, the CM offered to change our 4 day LOSs to a 3 day (since most parks had already closed). She did this and then added 2 individual PI passes - so we saved some money. She seemed to have a problem with the computer, and needed a supervisor’s help. Check-in took a long time, and we arrived at our room at around 8:15… desperately needing showers after our long trip. Our room was 2048 in Moorea. It took us the whole length of our stay to figure out exactly how to get there from the Great Ceremonial House. It was very convenient to the TTC, and we often went directly to the TTC rather than catching the monorail at the Great Ceremonial House (GCH). The room was recently renovated and it was huge! The bedspreads wallpaper, bathroom décor, and furnishings were all recently redone (I was half expecting décor form 1971). I really liked the green marble tiles in the bathtub. They even used green grout. The shower curtain had hidden Mickeys on it. The wallpaper had a design that looked like it said "HI". I was trying to figure out if it meant hi as in hello, or if it stood for Hawaii. We went to the room, showered, and then had a lovely dinner at Citricos.

I would like to interject here, that having two WDW vacations so close together, it felt like we never left. GF still felt like home to us, I still had the transportation routes memorized, most of the attractions were still in place (except Mr. Toad sniff sob sniff). It was a wonderful feeling – as if we had been on a continuous vacation since April.

I cannot recommend Citricos highly enough. The restaurant has some of the best food and service in all of WDW. I enjoyed a simple salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing for an appetizer while Stan had a plate of salmon with sweet potato mousse. For dinner, I had lobster and mussels on a bed of risotto, and Stan had scallops and pasta. We both went with the recommended wine pairing. I was surprised to find that they recommended a red for the seafood dinner. It did pair very well. I think we spent about $140 on dinner here (tip included).

Then we took the bus from the Grand Floridian to Pleasure Island (PI). We headed directly for our most favorite of places in all of the world: The Adventurer’s Club. Kirk, who I recognized from our previous visits, was explaining the set-up of the club to a group of people who went in before us. He started to tell us, and I told him that we were already inducted members. We did the Adventurer’s Club salute and he said, "Call Me". I knew that those people in New Orleans must be wrong… I am bead worthy! So, in we went! A show was beginning in the Mask Room, but it was filling up, so we took a seat in the main room and Pamelia sat down right across from us. She asked us where we were from and we told her that we were from New Jersey, but we just came from New Orleans. She asked us about "Nawlins", and I told her that it was a lot like Pleasure Island, but with sex shops. We would have continued the conversation, but Ginger the maid came out and began talking to Pamelia about Spam recipes. While we were in the Main Salon, the Colonel taught us a song that we had not heard before: "Dough with which I buy my Beer". We thought it was so funny that we were singing it the rest of vacation. Here are the lyrics for your singing pleasure:

Dough with which I buy my beer,

Ray the guy I buy beer from,

Me the guy I buy beer for,

Far the distance to the store,

So … I think I’ll have a beer,

La la la la la la la,

Tea no thanks I’ll have a beer,

Which brings us back to dough.

After Babylonia found her security guards, we proceeded into the library for Samantha Sterling’s cabaret show. I finally had a Kungaloosh when we got into the library. We were very surprised to see the Samantha Sterling we saw when we came the night we were engaged. When we were there on our honeymoon, we only saw the blonde Samantha. This one was the redhead. The one that called my sweetie "Pumpkin Boy" and said the immortal words: "You’re going to marry Pumpkin Boy?" Stan still insists that the shirt is salmon in color and not orange. Samantha’s mike went out, so she improvised. It was very funny. At one point she was talking to a 12 year old boy and told him to write down anything he didn’t understand and ask his parents to explain it to him on the trip back to the resort. Then she said something, which perfectly sums up my point of view on the children at PI debate. Too bad I don’t remember it word for word. It was something to the effect of: "You’re 12 years old, on vacation, and your parents take you to a bar where they tell jokes about sex… It’s just what Walt had in mind."

After we sang along with the "Mutual Admiration Society" song, we were escorted back out to the main salon for the induction ceremony. "Drop your drawers, drop your drawers…" oops, wrong song. We truly love the Adventurer’s Club. I really wish they’d come out with a CD.

We waited for a bus for about 20 minutes, went back to Moorea, though we took a detour to Pago Pago, and learned that you must use your key to gain entry to your building after 11:00 p.m.. I think this is a great idea and I wish they had this in place when we were at GF in April.

November 19, 1998: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, & Jellyrolls

We had placed our order for room service, and our wake-up call request the night before. Mickey woke us up at 7:30, I showered, and breakfast arrived at about 8:15 am (while Stan was showering). I really believe that the Mickey wake up service is voice activated. Each morning we heard music until I said "hello". I had the famous Tonga Toast for breakfast and Stan had pancakes. The Tonga toast lived up to all the good things I had heard. It was Deeeelicious! I do wish that for room service, a person could order 1 cup of coffee or 1 cup of tea. It costs $4.50 for a pot of either, and since Stan drinks coffee and I drink tea, we really waste a lot of money on beverages when we order room service.

I left a note for housekeeping requesting some extra soaps and shampoos so I could send them to Dotti Saroufim, and she left me three sets. Now I just have to get around to sending them. Where did I put that padded envelope?

On this trip we started to notice some recurring themes from our previous trips which we have decided to call traditions this time around. We always go to the MK first, and the first attraction is always Jungle Cruise. So, we walked to the TTC to take the monorail from there. I noticed that there were a lot more "Walk Around the World" bricks at the TTC than the last time we were there, and we sort of looked for ours, but decided the best course of action would be to ask at the kiosk at MK. It was weird taking the "Express Monorail", since last time we almost exclusively used the Resort Monorail, but the TTC was so much closer to Moorea than the GCH.

Walking under the railroad station and seeing the castle for the second time (we had a castle view table at Citricos), we paused to take it all in. We were really here. The whole trip ahead of us was a bonus. There were no "have to sees" since we had just been there 7 months earlier. We walked down Main St. and paused to have our picture taken (also becoming a tradition – to purchase the photos they take). Then we headed directly for the Jungle Cruise, which was a walk on.

We had Skipper Sherry. She was very funny. Stan laughed at all of her jokes, and she said, "You really want to survive this trip, don’t you?" At the end of the cruise, there was a hold up because they were loading a large group of people in wheelchairs onto a boat. She told us jokes that her kids had told her. They were pretty corny, but it was a good way for her to entertain us.

After Jungle Cruise we went to see The Tiki Birds – Under New Management. We had about a 2 minute wait before the pre-show started. We didn’t see the pre-show the last time. I thought that it was humorous. I think I appreciated the actual show more the second time around – especially the "Hunky Tuna Tostada" line.

Next we went to Pirates of the Caribbean, which was also a walk-on. We love this and sang along throughout the ride. Stan pointed out the skeletons playing cards downstairs from the queue area while we were whizzing through the non-existent line. And I thought that I was the one who knew all of the Disney secrets. I guess as a kid, he spent some time waiting in that line. At the end we were held up again because of that large group of wheelchair guests. I didn’t mind the wait, but it seemed like they were following us.

Next stop… Splash Mountain! We walked over to Splash Mountain. The sign said it would be 15 minutes, but it was more like 8 minutes. We had a great time, as usual, but once again, there was a hold up at the end as they were loading a large number of wheelchair guests.

Next we went directly to Haunted Mansion – our favorite! Once again, we had no wait.

After HM, we decided that it was time to head over to Epcot for some Wine Seminars. It was about 11:00 a.m. at the time. On the way out we stopped to look at the picture, and we bought it. We stopped at the Walk Around the World kiosk and found out our brick numbers and approximate location.

We took the express monorail to the TTC, and we were lucky enough to ride up front with one of the friendliest CMs I met on the trip. Janel was so nice. She talked to us about the possibility of monorail expansion, the general state of transportation in general, and she even gave us some Food & Wine festival tips. She basically said that they have to do "something" if they’re going to continue to offer transportation as a perk for on-site guests. She said that she thought that expansion of the monorail was a better choice than light rail or some of the other ideas that have been tossed around. She also said that management knows that they need to spend some money, they just need to figure out the best way to do it. She also made a remark about Michael Eisner putting the CMs down on TV, and we sympathized with her. She recommended that we stay away from the funny-smelling meat dish at the Swiss/Austrian stand. At the end of the trip, she gave us both monorail co-pilot licenses. It was such a pleasant experience talking to her, that I’ll be sure to send a letter to WDW. The last time we rode up front, the CM didn’t say a word to us. Janel really made us feel welcome.

We arrived at Epcot at about 11:30 a.m.. I suddenly remembered that I had made a PS at Garden Grill for our only character meal of the trip, so we headed over there, after having our picture taken by Spaceship Earth.

We were seated in a nearly empty restaurant and Chip came along immediately. Chip sat down next to Stan and took the Food & Wine Festival guidebook out of Stan’s hands. We told Chip that we were going to do some wine tasting after lunch. He perused the booklet and pointed to the BBQ ribs served at the American pavilion, and gave us the "thumbs up". I told him that I had a kitten named Chip. I named her Chip because she had a black nose and looked like a little chipmunk. I didn’t tell him that I also had a kitten named Dale who died. They were abandoned kittens that I rescued (well, I rescued one, I tried with the other one). Chip seemed very excited that I had named my pet after him. We took some pictures, and Chip moved on. Next we saw Farmer Mickey. He came by about three or four times before we saw him go through a door in the center of the restaurant.

We enjoyed our lunch. I really loved the smashed potatoes. We didn’t see any characters at all for a while, and then we saw Chip and Dale both come out of the door. I tried to linger over dessert long enough to meet Dale, but I guess the restaurant became busier and he was held up. As we left we just about ran into Dale. He asked us if we enjoyed our lunch. We told him that we had, and he told us that he cooked it himself. That must be why it took him so long to come out and see us.

After lunch, we went over to the Large Wine Seminar tent for the 1:00 seminar. There was already a line forming, so we joined in. The seminar was given by the sommelier from Citricos. This was the same person who was the Maitre’d at Victoria & Albert’s when Stan proposed in 1996. It was about Viogniers. I learned so much about this varietal, and I enjoyed the wines as well. They had four wines available for tasting which were placed at each place setting on these long tables. Stan took some notes about the wines. Viogniers are a very fruity, crisp type of wine. I hope we can find some to serve at our upcoming party. It is a very trendy wine right now. The wine seminar was just wonderful. I think this was the moment when Stan realized that this "extra" trip wasn’t a waste of our time.

We walked around WS, and went on Maelstrom since there was no line (every time we went past in April, there was a line). We enjoyed having the trolls tell us to get lost and skipped the movie. We went to see what "Meet the Winemakers" was all about, but it seemed to just be a booth where you could buy the wine samples from the actual winemakers and ask them questions. We bought some Food & Wine Festival merchandise and requested resort delivery. I didn’t feel it would be a good idea to carry around the t-shirts and poster for the rest of the day, plus this was the last day we could do it.

We decided to head over to the Large Wine Seminar tent for the 3:00 seminar on "Merlot and Friends". It’s a good thing we got there early, because they were turning people away. It was at this point, while we were waiting on line, that I realized how hot it was. It seemed much hotter that it was during the April trip. Stan and I looked at each other and said, "How do people do this in the summertime?"

This wine seminar wasn’t as informative as the first. Maybe I just felt that way because I am not a big fan of reds, but it really seemed to me that this man (who is a master sommelier) seemed to be very condescending. At this seminar we tried five different wines. I learned a little bit, but I was sort of disappointed.

We decided that we should leave for the Poly to get ready for the Winemaker’s dinner. On the way out, we stopped at Ice Station Cool. I loved the "real" snow in the tunnel. I warned Stan to avoid the Beverly. At another side of the drink dispenser, a woman warned the man she was with to avoid the Beverly as well. Maybe she was a RADPer! I didn’t ask them, though I probably should have. I liked all of the drinks and was really pleasantly surprised about the vegetable one. Wouldn’t you know it, Stan was curious and tried Beverly. He ended up drinking 3 cups of other drinks to get the taste out of his mouth.

We were going to check on the picture, but the photo place was mobbed, plus we were coming back in an hour or so. We monorailed back to the TTC and walked to Moorea. On the way we stopped and saw our bricks! They were right next to each other. It’s kind of neat having two major events of our life immortalized in stone. One says "Kathy & Stan Engaged Here November 21, 1996". The other says "Kathy and Stan Kula Honeymoon 1998". In case you’re in the area, and feel like looking they’re H05 – 875 and H05 – 876.

Stan showered, I freshened up and changed – not enough time to shower, dry hair, etc.. The woman had said that dress was "resort casual" when I made the reservations for the Winemaker’s Dinner. She explained that this meant no shorts, jeans, or tank tops. I wore a skirt and knit top, Stan wore Dockers and a polo, and brought a jacket along (just in case). We left the Poly by 5:15 p.m., and took the monorail back to Epcot (pausing to see our bricks as we passed).

When we arrived at Epcot, we had some time, so we went to the photo shop to purchase the picture that was taken earlier in the day. We even had enough time to ride Spaceship Earth – which really completes a trip to Epcot for me.

We arrived at the Odyssey center at bout 5:50 p.m., and checked in. We received a card with the table assignment. We noticed that many other guests for dinner were wearing t-shirts and shorts, while some others were wearing cocktail dresses and suits. There was one couple who must live locally, because they said that they had been to every single dinner during this festival.

Hors d’Oeurves: Toasted Brioche with Quail Egg and Osetra Caviar
Snails Baked in Puff Pastry with Garlic Butter and Herbs
Chefs – Scott Hunnel & Bruno Vrignon
Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc 1997
Markham Sauvignon Blanc 1997

When we went inside, they were serving escargot in puff pastry and quail eggs along with two types of white wine. I felt that my hands were too full w/camera, purse, photo, and card w/ table number, so we went to the table, put down our stuff, and then enjoyed the hors d’oeuvres. We were glad to see that we were seated at a table for 2. On the table, they had souvenir napkin rings and huge wineglasses. I loved the escargot, though I have never eaten snails before. We didn’t try the quail eggs because Stan has an egg allergy. Both wines were very nice as well.

It was the "French Bistro Dinner" and featured E. Guigal winery which is French, and Markham which is from Napa. The two winemakers each stood up and told us about the history of their wineries.

First Course: Pate of Sweetbread and Foie Gras en Croute, served with Onion Confit and Frisee
Chef – Bruno Vrignon (Chefs de France)
Guigal Condrieu 1996
Markham Chardonnay 1997

The first course was a pate of foie gras and sweetbreads with some other things on the plate as well. I was brave and tried it. The two white wines each paired very nicely. After each course, the chef would tell us a bit about why he chose the particular dish and how it was made. Most of the chefs were French and did not speak English very well. It was obvious that most of these people enjoyed cooking much more than public speaking.

Second Course: Warm Lobster Salad with Mango and Roasted Peppers
Chef – Gerald Hirigoyen (Pastis and Fringale SF, CA)
Guigal Hermitage Blanc 1994
Markham Merlot 1996

The second course was a warm lobster salad. I love lobster, so this was great in my book. The chef told us that it was very lightly seasoned with chili pepper. It was very nice. This course was interesting because Markham chose to pair a red wine with it (I think it is the latest trend to pair reds with lobster – I also had a glass of red with my lobster at Citricos the night before). Guigal selected a white. It was really interesting to see how two very different wines could change the way the food tasted. I’m looking forward to learning more about wine pairing in the future. Hmmm… maybe a Disney Institute vacation in our future?

Third Course: Perigord Truffle Stuffed Poussin over Porcini Papardelle with Truffle Essence and Le Chatelain Camaembert
Chef – Scott Hunnel (V&A)
Guigal Chateauneuf-Du-Pape 1995
Markham Zinfandel 1995

This course was a wonderfully tasty dish, which was served to the table in copper pans. To translate for those of you who don’t speak French (like myself), it was a chicken dish in a mushroom sauce with noodles. It was excellent. The Markham wine was a red zinfandel, which I guessed from the shape of the glass placed on the table (it was the first course with two reds). I think I am really beginning to appreciate red wines more and more. When they are paired well, with an amazing dish like this, red wines really enhance the flavor.

Fourth Course: Short Rib Terrine with Root Vegetables, Pot-au-Feu Style
Chef – Michel Richard (Citrus, LA, CA)
Guigal Cote-Rotie 1994
Markham Cabernet Sauvignon 1995

When most people think "ribs", they probably think of meat on a series of bones. This was a wonderful dish of meat (no bones) formed into a short cylindrical shape with a band of a pasta-like thing around the outside (to keep the form). I really enjoyed it. At this point, after all the wine, I tend to forget some of the details. The chef was very funny. When he got up to speak, he said that his restaurant was in Santa Barbara. He then proceeded to tell us the number to call for reservations. Everyone laughed. He said, "No, seriously… I need the money, my wife spends it too fast." If we ever are in Santa Barbara, we will be sure to go to Citrus. The food was great.

Dessert: Tarte Tatin served with Vanilla Ice Cream
Chef – Eric Weistroffer (Chefs de France)
Markham Muscat 1996

Dessert was a wonderful apple tart tower type creation, which was served with ice cream and a cookie in the shape of the Eiffel tower, and some red and blue candy pieces (which the chef told us were not meant to be eaten… after I ate one). A White Muscat wine from Markham accompanied this (a very sweet dessert wine) and coffee and tea.

Overall, the meal was wonderful. If we have the good fortune of planning another trip to WDW during the Food & Wine Festival, I would reserve a winemakers dinner (or two) before making any other plans. It was a wonderful experience, and well worth the money.

After the Winemakers Dinner and about 13 glasses of wine, we staggered toward the International Gateway to go to the Boardwalk. I wanted to stop and see Illuminations, but Stan wasn’t interested. I did get a chance to view the fireworks for a few minutes while Stan used the facilities in the United Kingdom. We rushed to the Friendship launch to catch the boat before Illuminations ended and the crowds came out. Unfortunately, the boat didn’t leave until it was filled to capacity with people who had just seen Illuminations. If I had known that the boat wouldn’t leave until after the show was over we would have walked.

Once we arrived at the Boardwalk, we went directly to Jellyrolls. We sat on stools, and I was a bit grumpy wishing that we had a table so that I could have a place to put the purse, napkin rings, Epcot photo, camera, etc.. Stan had a soda, and I was preoccupied with sharking out a table. Soon a group of women left, and we grabbed their table. Then we had a good time. Since we had just consumed all of that wonderful wine, we went with cokes for the night, and I think the waitress lost interest in us after we ordered the first two. I ended up going to the bar for subsequent drinks. Other than that, we had a great time. Jellyrolls is really a place where the crowd gets involved. One part that was particularly funny this time is that there was a request for "Raspberry Beret". The guy sang the first verse (after complaining about how he hated the song, and then claimed he couldn’t remember the next verse. He offered $5 to anyone who could tell him how the second verse started. In high school, I was a huge Prince fan, so I was hitting myself for not knowing it. They played some other songs, and then the guy suddenly remembered the second verse and played it. We had a great time.

Then it was time to find our way home. WDW really needs to do something about transportation from the Boardwalk if they’re going to continue to promote the nighttime entertainment district. Waiting for a bus, getting off at PI, waiting for another bus, it all just takes so long. Another note about the busses: I noticed this time that they all seem to have brakes that squeal. I was worried about my safety more than once. Home to the Poly, and then to bed.

November 20, 1998: Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and E-Ride Night

We woke up thanks to Mickey. We got ready for our busy day and headed to Captain Cook’s for a quick breakfast. We had a nice, simple breakfast, and then took the resort monorail to the TTC, switched monorails, and went to Epcot. It probably would have been quicker if we just walked back past Moorea to the TTC. We also purchased tickets for E-Ride night while at the GCH.

Once at Epcot, we decided to do some Future World attractions before World Showcase opened at 11:00. We contemplated HISTA, but Stan didn’t want to, so then we went on Horizons, probably for the last time ever. The line for Ellen’s Energy Adventure was long, and we weren’t in the mood for Body Wars, so we just walked around enjoying the ambiance for a little while.

This was the chance to Nibble our way around World Showcase! We walked around World Showcase three times, stopping at the different booths along the way. I can’t even begin to tell you all of the wonderful foods we tried. Stan’s favorite was the vegetable sushi in Japan, and he went back for seconds. My favorite was the kielbasa and pierogi. We both loved the Watermelon juice in Mexico. We also stopped for a Kaki Gori, but I must admit that neither of us particularly enjoyed it. I think that I was expecting more of a Hawaiian shaved ice intensity of flavor (which they have at our local county fair).

On one of the trips around the WS, we stopped for a Small Wine Seminar which was given by Brian Biondio of Markham. This was the same gentleman who spoke the previous night, as he is the president of Markham. It was a very informative seminar. We sat right up front, and before the seminar began, we told him how much we had enjoyed the selections at the winemakers’ dinner.

We decide to stop back at the Poly to regroup before going to AK. We took the monorail. I figured that at this point, we were preparing for the rest of the over-planned day: AK, dinner at Swan or Dolphin, E-Ride night, and PI. I made sure that I had the $50 coupon, and we headed to the GCH to catch a bus. We waited for a long time.

We arrived at AK shortly after 3:00 p.m.. Stan was nearly dozing on the bus, and I should have taken this to be a bad sign. As we entered, we encountered the only instance where they were checking hand stamps. We always had our hands stamped when leaving a park, but this is the only place where they checked. We took some time making our way through the Oasis. As we exited, we noticed that the parade was going on. We walked through some shops to get past the crowds just as it ended.

As we passed the wait board for ITTBAB, we had one of the few fights of the trip. It’s actually kind of funny, and we laugh about it now. Here’s the transcript:

Me: Oooh! ITTBAB has a zero minute wait. Do you want to see it?

Stan: No.

Me: Oh, come on, maybe later?

Stan: NO.

Me: Are you sure?

Stan: Yes I’m sure! What part of NO did you not understand? I don’t really like shows.

Me: Oh.

He had never told me before that he didn’t like ITTBAB or any other show. What a surprise. So, we walked to Harambe, and walked on to Kilimanjaro Safari. We saw a lot of animals. I really liked the CM who was the "guide". She had a charming accent. Since we were sitting up front, I could see when she smiled at certain points when she was supposed to be serious about catching the poachers. It looked like she enjoyed the ride. I would have to say, that this being our second safari, my favorite part is when the African music plays, and you sit back and enjoy the scenery. At the end, when they catch the poachers, we noticed the guy who stands there holding a gun and giving the thumbs up. We both agreed that that must be a boring job, and hoped that the CMs were rotated for that role.

After KS, we purchased some popcorn and sodas. The total came to around $7, but Stan thought the woman had said $70. He was like, "how much?" The CM said that it wouldn’t be long before popcorn and two drinks came to $70. We walked to Dinoland using the path that goes past where Asia will be. We took one trip on CTX, and bought the picture. We were all set to go on it again, but the line had gone from 10 minutes when we went in the first time, to 30 minutes when we approached the line the second time. We decided against it, and headed for the park exit.

I decided that Stan and I were both getting grumpy and needed a rest. Stan wanted to make me happy and suggested that we go for dinner at the Swan (taking a bus directly from AK). We looked at the time and all of the other things we wanted to do and decided to skip a nice dinner (we had two nice dinners the previous 2 nights). We took a bus back to the Poly and took a well-needed nap. We realized that big kids need a rest too.

We woke up around 6:30, and took the monorail to the MK. We proceeded to the table by town hall to get our E-Ride wristbands. Spectromagic was about to start, and we needed to get dinner, so we made our way through the crowds, and arrived at Casey’s by the time the parade began. We grabbed some hot dogs, and sat down in an area where the parade was not readily visible, so it wasn’t too crowded. I sort of wanted to see Spectro since we didn’t get to see it at all on our honeymoon, but Stan wasn’t interested, and we were starving.

After dinner, we went to the Jungle Cruise. I had never taken a JC at night before. It was very cool. Skipper Andrew was very funny. While we were sitting there waiting to get enough people to make it worth going around, he made a few "Jersey" jokes when he found out where we were from. He also told a guy to go ahead and sit on the engine in the middle. The guy took him seriously, and almost did. As we left the dock, one of the CMs that was loading guests was still standing on the boat. He ended up holding onto the dock with one leg and the boat with the other. He almost fell in until Andrew backed up so that he could jump off. It was so funny. The spiel was basically the same, with a few extra sarcastic remarks. At the end, when we got off, and no one else was waiting, he kept waving and yelling, "Come back again soon!" "I'll miss you!" "Don't forget to write!" He was waving and yelling until we were out of sight. It was the best JC I had ever taken.

After we said our good-byes to Andrew, we decided to watch the fireworks from the castle-side of the Adventureland Bridge. Something very scary happened while we were waiting for the fireworks to start. A mother, her son (~10 yo) and her daughter (~5 yo) were standing next to us. The boy told his mother that he wanted to stand closer, and told her that he was going to move. She told him no, and the next thing she knew, he was gone! Stan said he saw the kid sneak away while the mom was tending to the little girl. The mother told her daughter (who didn’t realize what was going on) not to move, and she walked away to find her son. I kind of think she might have trusted us to some extent since I was talking to them a little before the boy left. The mother could not find her son, grabbed her daughter, and headed for the exit (I’m guessing she made a stop on the way out for some assistance). I could see from the look on her face that she felt helpless. The boy was defiant, thought he could take care of himself, and took advantage of the fact that his little sister occupied his mother’s attention for a second. She obviously cared about her son and it was a strange mixture of anger and fear I saw on her face. I hope that she found her son quickly, and that he learned his lesson.

We watched the fireworks, just like we had most nights while on our honeymoon. It brought us back in time to any of those wonderful nights.

Now it was time for E-Ride night. First we went to POTC. We noticed that they were letting many people on who did not have wristbands. It sort of annoyed me, but not for long. We were having too much fun. After POTC, we went to Splash Mountain. I love Splash at night. It amazing to see the castle lit up. Then we went to BTMRR. Unfortunately, they only had one train running, and the line moved very slowly. I think they were putting another train on as we were leaving.

We went over to HM. As the CM held the door open for us, I said, "Thanks. I’ve been dying to get in." I guess this tipped him off that I was a guest who liked to "get into" the ride. He silently put his face next to my cheek and said "BOO!" I screamed so loud that I think I woke the dead. It was strange because one moment he was at the door, and the next minute he was standing so close to me, with his face right up to mine. When we went into the stretch room, the CM was particularly menacing when he asked everyone to move to the "dead center of the room". He tried to say boo to me again, but I caught him in my face before I had a chance. So then he spooked another girl. It was the best HM ride we had ever taken. I don’t know why, but the HM at night is much scarier than going on it in the daytime. Stan and I commented to each other that it sure would be fun if the CMs were to hide out in the attraction on E-Ride nights to add some extra haunting elements.

After HM, we went to Tomorrowland. On the way to Space Mountain we saw Minnie Mouse and stopped to get a picture since I was wearing my Minnie shirt. It turned out to be the cutest picture of the trip. We realized that the Buzz Lightyear ride was open, and went for a "spin". We were really bad at hitting the targets. My score ended up being 60,000, and Stan’s was 50,100. I beat him by a little, but I saw some scores some other people had and they totally blew us out of the water. I think that it is a fun new ride.

Next we went on Space Mountain twice. The first time I sat right up front, and didn’t feel the nausea I usually feel. The second time I was right in the middle. This needed to be our last trip on Space Mountain for the night. Walking through Tomorrowland, we saw Tigger. He was obviously headed off stage for a break, so we didn’t bother him too much. We just said "Hey Tigger" and waved. When he waved back to us, he nearly tripped on a bench. I felt bad for distracting him from looking where he was going. Then we saw Chip and Dale playing drums on a Tomorrowland trash can. They were very funny. After they were done drumming, I was first in line to get a picture. When I approached them, they were too busy having a slap fight to pose. The character handler told them to cut it out and he was nice enough to take a picture of the two of us with the chipmunks that I named my kittens after.

We went back to Frontierland and rode Splash Mountain one last time. There were only four people in the log, and we bought the picture. We were very surprised that even with no people waiting we couldn’t just stay on and ride it again. After Splash, it was nearly 10:00. We bought a couple of sodas and headed to the monorail to go back to the Polynesian.

We were wearing matching T-shirts, so we needed to return to our room and change before going to the Adventurer’s Club or else become the subject of ridicule. When we got to the room, we realized how tired we were from the two busy full days at WDW, and decided to skip AC for the night. We had a relatively early night (10:30 p.m.) and just enjoyed relaxing in the room.

November 21, 1998: MGM & Magic Kingdom

We ordered room service again so I could get another order of Tonga Toast. We also packed while we were getting ready. Although I didn’t keep a careful tally of all of our expenditures, the bill which arrived under our door wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. I suppose it helped that our major expense (the winemakers’ dinner) was prepaid. I called the front desk to confirm that we had 1:00 p.m. check out, and to ask about the package that we never received. We were all set to check out at 1:00 p.m., but the CM said that we would have to either take a refund for the purchases that were not received or arrange to have it sent to our home when it turned up. He explained that we could arrange for either of these options at the front desk upon check out.

We walked to the TTC to catch a bus to MGM from there. I think that was a big mistake. We waited nearly 45 minutes and boarded a very full bus. There were also angry people behind us who didn’t get on. Since I knew it was going to be full, I went all the way to the back to make room for as many people as possible. Then I heard a very rude comment. A man who was seated said, "Gee, I hope she doesn’t lose her balance, I’d hate to end up with that *** in my lap." I knew that he was referring to me because I was standing directly in front of him. His friends all giggled. It really hurt my feelings to hear him say that. The whole trip to MGM, I just held on tight to my husband and tried to keep as far away from him as possible. When we got off the bus, I told Stan about what was said. He asked me to point the guy out so he could say something, but I told Stan to forget it.

Once inside MGM, we headed for TOT. We had our secret travelling companion, Mr. Sockpuppet in my pocket, and planned on getting a picture with Mr. Sockpuppet in it. It really is true that it is best to go straight when there is the split of the line in the boiler room. Most people don’t realize that either way is OK. We had a great time, but the picture of Mr. Sockpuppet didn’t highlight his best features (he’s a very vain sock), so we went for it again. Both times we had no wait. On the second ride there were only 7 people (and 1 sock) in our car. All of us were in the front row. There were two Japanese girls to my right and a family of three on the other side. The Japanese girls didn’t speak any English, and didn’t know what to expect. From the moment the elevator started moving, the girl directly to my right was screaming. When we finally got to the drop, she buried her head in my lap and screamed, "Ayieeeee! Ayieeeee!" continuously. I thought that she was going to hyperventilate. When the ride was over she kept saying, "Sorry". I told her it was OK, but she kept apologizing. We bought the picture. It’s pretty strange. On the right side of the car there are three normal looking people. On the other side, there is a girl with her head in my lap, a girl smiling, Stan smiling, and me with a look of shock holding Mr. Sockpuppet so he can be seen. By the way, Mr. Sockpuppet was very satisfied with this photograph.

After TOT, we went to see Muppetvision 4-D, which Stan likes (I still have yet to figure out why he likes certain shows and detests others). It was great as always. Then we went on another final ride on TOT. There were no screaming girls and Mr. Sockpuppet decided to stay in the shopping bag. He prefers to be incognito when at all possible.

We went back to the Poly, did the final room check, and called bell services for them to come and get our bags. Then we went to the desk to ask about the package. The CM told me to check at the gift shop and explained that they do not deliver directly to the rooms anymore. We went to three different shops before we found the one that holds the packages. I was a little peeved because if we had received it in our room we would have packed it away and it would be locked up with the other bags. The woman said that we should have received a call when it arrived. We didn’t.

We took the monorail to the MK and said good-bye (another tradition). The park was packed. Fantasyland (which we hadn’t visited at all yet) was wall to wall strollers. I paused to pay my respects to Mr. Toad at the big blue wall. The HM line was even out past the gates. I couldn’t believe the huge crowds, especially considering that we had just been at MGM where everything was a walk on.

We took the boat to GF. We arrived right at 2:00, and had tea in the Gardenview Lounge. We had the tea for two. I had raspberry and Stan had apple cinnamon. There were 5 different tea sandwiches on the plate. I traded my cucumber with roasted vegetables for Stan’s egg salad since he’s allergic to eggs. I really loved the tea, the food, and especially the atmosphere. We left GF by monorail and went to the Poly to meet Jamal, our TTC driver. We had asked to be picked up at 3:30, but it was only 3:15 and Jamal was ready and waiting. We had our bags in no time and we were on our way.

November 21 – 22, 1998: Train from Orlando to Newark

We arrived at the train station in time to check our bags, and for once the train was on time. We went into our sleeper compartment, stowed the luggage, and a conductor came by to give us each a cookie and chocolate. He showed us how all of the stuff in the room worked: the sink, the toilet, the upper bed, the TV, etc.. Then we closed our door and shades and had a wonderful private trip back home. I slept well (Stan didn't do as well). It was nice to have meals included. There were only two small glitches: the woman who ran the dining car was very particular about the way food was served and didn't take well to people placing their orders out of order etc. (sort of like 50's Prime Time Cafe), and whenever one person wanted to use the toilet, the other person had to leave the room. The hallways are narrow, so it was a problem if anyone else came through. We arrived in Newark ahead of schedule, and called the in-laws on our cell phone. They picked us up within half an hour.

I'm glad we traveled by train it for the experience. Would I do it again? Probably not. If it was a choice between driving and the train, I'd take the train. If we were to travel by train again, I’d pay extra for the sleeper compartment. If it was a choice between flying and taking the train, I'd definitely fly. When I think about the fact that we could have flown from NO to Orlando and back in the time we were late, it makes me a little angry at myself for not flying. BUT, were it not for Amtrak's see America fares, we would not have been able to do a multiple destination vacation such as this (the NO/ORL compromise was made as a way to keep both of us happy), flying with 3 one way fares would have been astronomical.

Final Notes:

Well, I don’t have the lovely budget chart I had originally planned on. I think we came in pretty close, but I couldn’t tell you for sure. The diet was out the window, but I’m back on it now.

Now that this wonderful trip is over, I can start doing some serious planning for the big anniversary/birthday Disney Magic Land Sea package in April. I think it may actually be about time for me to make my V&A birthday dinner PS.

Stan and I really enjoy vacationing at WDW. We’re talking more seriously about joining DVC, and will probably do it when we go for our vacation in April.

Kathy Kula

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