Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
Resort: PBR, DL, ASMR
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent
Comments: Laurie, Brad and twelve-year-old son Alex visited WDW for eleven days in October. As you might imagine, they covered a lot of territory...and stayed at three resorts during the trip! Interesting report for folks with pre-teens. Alex even gives a not-to-be-missed list and a too-be-missed list at the end of the report.

Disclaimer:

This was an eleven-day trip to WDW, so we got a lot in. This will be a longish report, but one that we’ve tried to fill with information we didn’t see elsewhere.

Players:

Brad (43), staff writer for "This Old House" magazine
Me (Laurie, 40), professional actress
Alex (12), who has been looking forward to this trip ever since our last one
Plans:

Last June, during a particularly busy and stressful time in Brad and my careers (summers tend to be very busy for both of us), our son was looking very woebegone. In an effort to cheer him up and thank him for all the schlepping he was being asked to do, I said, "When all this is over, we’ll HAVE to do something REALLY SPECIAL to make up for it!" And we all know what that means...

My poor husband doesn’t ask for much, but he really, really hates fighting crowds at WDW. During our last trip, which was in November, we experienced the parks in both their extremely crowded and extremely uncrowded states (part of our trip extended into Thanksgiving week, which is VERY crowded).

On the other hand, I wanted to experience the water parks during this trip. It was way too cold last November. We tried the "heated" pool a couple of times, but the water was chilly and the air was even chillier, so only our 12-year-old (who seems to run much hotter than we do) had a good time.

At first, we thought of going the first week of September. However, Brad was afraid the weather would still be too hot (come to think of it, he does ask for a lot, doesn’t he?), so we settled on the first week of October and extended it over both weekends (October 2 - 12). We checked the various books (Unofficial Guide, Rita Aero’s book, Birnbaum’s and Fodor’s) and each of them seemed to indicate that October was a slow month.

Wrong.

My first clue should have been when I called to make reservations at a WDW resort and most of them were completely full. I asked the CM making reservations why it was so crowded, but he said he had no idea. We found out later that there were 10,000 computer conventioneers there, besides tons of (very large) foreign tour groups. Be forewarned: if all the resorts are pretty solidly booked, rest assured that at least the MK will be very busy. Even if it’s supposedly a slow time of year. Don’t delude yourself (like we did) by telling yourself they’re all conventioneers, so they’ll be busy at meetings. The second Saturday we were there, they had to "close" the Magic Kingdom (turn away people wanting to enter) because it had reached capacity during the afternoon. More about that later!

We had wanted to stay at the Yacht or Beach Club. Nothing at all. Nothing at WL. Little dribs and drabs available at Polynesian, DxL and ASSR and MR, nothing at PO. Absolutely nothing ANYWHERE for the full ten days of our stay, including the campground!

We decided not to (tent) camp this time for a couple of reasons. First, although we absolutely loved the campground during our last trip (it was clean, well-maintained and free of bugs), after five days my back was really complaining about sleeping on the ground . Also, it got pretty chilly at night, which didn’t help. I felt pretty strongly that, after a long day of walking on concrete, I would really benefit from a real bed. Second, I cooked most of our meals last trip over a Coleman stove, and I wanted to be pampered this time. Eating in the lowliest of food courts has it all over eating pork and beans out of a can.

We ended up staying the first night at ASM, a resort we were not at all interested in (although that changed!). The next six days were at DxL (which many had raved about in their trip reports) and the final three at the Poly. Getting these reservations nailed down was not easy. The first few times I called, they didn’t even have this many days together. But if you are persistent and call every other day or so, things open up. If I had been even MORE persistent, I could probably have cobbled together ten days together somewhere, but in retrospect I’m glad I didn’t. We learned some very valuable information by switching around.

Because we like to really relaaaaaaaax on vacations, and driving a car is not particularly relaxing for either of us (mainly because I’M in the car and I’m a Type A personality), we decided we would not rent a car but take Disney’s internal transportation instead. We did this last time and really enjoyed it. We never waited more than 15 minutes for anything, and felt that the boats, especially, were a real treat. Riding the boat from FW campground to MK was one of the highlights of last year’s trip. While I would still recommend using Disney transportation instead of a car, we found out that you will definitely do more waiting around if you stay during a crowded time of year. More about that later.

Let me say up front that we are not commando-type WDW guests. We sleep late, take a short run, and eat a leisurely breakfast. We have been known to get to MK and just sit at a chair on Main Street and look around. Alex and I are very apprehensive about "scary" rides and don’t normally ride them, so we don’t have to worry about getting to the parks early to avoid long lines to the thrill rides. The nice thing about WDW is that there is still plenty for us to do and enjoy!

I had several months to fill between completing the ressies and beginning the trip, so I filled them by reading tens, if not hundreds of these trip reports. I was obsessed! But in a good way! Even though we’d only been to WDW once before, I began to feel like a veteran. It really paid off when we got there, because I knew the possible transportation choices better than most CMs. Many thanks to everyone who has written a trip report over the last couple of years!

Day 1, Friday October 2, 1998

We flew USAirways from Portland, ME, to Orlando. Interestingly, this airline appears to have stopped even pretending to feed its passengers. We flew during prime dinner (5-7 pm) and lunch (11am-1pm) times and received only a small bag of peanuts. Oh, well.

One of the highlights of the trip was having the foresight to use Florida Towncar (thanks to other trip report filers for informing us about this service). We saw herds of people being loaded into Mears "shuttles" (everything from a car to a van to a huge bus) and felt like royalty having our own towncar. For $75 a car, this service pays for itself if you have four or more people. We felt it MORE than paid for itself in peace of mind, and I would use it even if I were traveling by myself. FTC meets you in the baggage area of the airport with your name on a sign, carries your bags (or at least helps YOU carry your bags!), and whisks you away directly to your resort or hotel. Then they do it all in reverse when you leave! I was worried that they would forget that we were changing hotels midstream, but they didn’t. They were on time, pleasant and professional. Judging from the frantic running around that frequently attended the Mears shuttles, I am sure we made the right decision.

(BRAD ADDS: I made the reservations with Florida Town Car. I found them on the Internet at www.floridatowncar.com. DON’T be dissuaded because the company’s web site says you must make your reservation a week in advance. I called about 10 hours before we were to arrive in Orlando, and the guy could not have been more accommodating.)

We arrived at the ASM resort at around 11:30 pm. The lobby was empty and check-in went very smoothly. I reminded the CM who checked us in that we would be switching to DxL tomorrow, and that our luggage would need to be moved. She said fine, leave the luggage in the room and it would be moved for us while we were at the parks.

Like I said earlier, this was NOT a resort we had wanted to use. We were there only because there was no room anywhere else. Imagine my surprise, then, when my son clapped eyes on it and fell in love. He adored the oversized instruments. He beamed at the caballeros shooting water into the pool. He couldn’t get over the fact that there were TWO pools within 100 yards of each other. He loved the fountain in front of the Jazz building. He loved the vintage cars decorating the "streets" in front of the Broadway and Rock ‘n Roll buildings. He even loved the food court. From that point on, every resort we stayed at or visited was compared in his mind to the ASMR. Only the Contemporary made the cut (but more on that, later)!

We were in Country Faire, Building 6, the farthest away from the food court, but still not a far walk. The room was about the size of every motel room we’ve ever seen. Small but not claustrophobic. Unlike most motel rooms, it was very, very clean, including the carpeting. Also unlike most motel rooms, the remote control was NOT screwed to the bedside table. For some reason, this thawed my heart toward ASMR.

There was a color TV with lots of channels. We found out that all TV’s in WDW resorts have the same channel selection. You do not get extra or premium channels (or even a VCR) when you move up to premium rooms. I was surprised by this.

For a budget resort, ASMR had a couple of very nice extras. There was a dispenser on the shower wall containing both body wash and shampoo. This was much nicer and easier to use than the miserly shampoo bottles supplied at the more expensive resorts. The body wash was citrusy-smelling and very moisturizing. I have dry and very sensitive skin and it didn’t bother me at all. Also, it had a retractable clothesline in the shower -- a very welcome touch and not usually found in motel rooms.

Most important, ASMR rooms have a wonderful climate control system -- far, far better than that in DxL or even the Polynesian. It was digital, located in the interior wall and very quiet. At DxL and the Poly, you set an analog thermostat. The DxL air conditioning was located under the window and hummed loudly even on its lowest setting, and the ceiling fan made a curious swishing sound that made it impossible to use at night (my husband is a light sleeper). The Poly’s system was quiet, but it was located near the ceiling and poured very cold air onto the beds when the AC came on, which I found uncomfortable.

ASMR also provides and wall safe with key, which is also not typical for a budget motel.

We got there so late, we just rolled into bed and slept.

Day 2, Saturday October 3, 1998

Woke up to our Mickey call. We were so excited about it that we tried to get it on tape. Unfortunately, we got a lot of, "Wait! Wait! Can you hear him? Hold it closer!" and not so much of Mickey. Oh, well. there are many more days to try!

We found a lucky cricket in the room and removed him to the outdoors. The beds had been exceptionally comfortable, so I peeked underneath. The reason was immediately apparent -- there was an extra supportive bar across the middle of the bed, which was in turn supported by an extra leg. What a great idea! No sagging!

Our first order of the day was a run, and then off to our PS at Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary. As we were leaving, I had a little twinge as I looked at our luggage. And so, even though the CM last night had assured me that the luggage would be moved, I wrote an extra little note to the housekeeping staff reminding them. Turned out that even this was not enough, but more on that later.

We took the EPCOT bus (no wait) and switched to the resort monorail. We were very fortunate because we got to ride in the very front with the driver, Karl. Karl was a veteran driver and very entertaining. He gave us co-pilot licenses and sent us on our way.

We waited 5 minutes for our table at Chef Mickey’s. I had heard that the buffet was great, but I was not prepared for how really, really, REALLY great it was. In addition to all the usual bacon, eggs, sausage, sticky buns, etc., there was lots and lots of fresh fruit! Brad and I are not big meat, egg or pancake eaters, so this was a welcome change from the food court. They even had grits, which I love even though I’ve spent about 5 days of my entire life in the south. Alex loved the made-to-order pancakes, hot off the griddle. Any shape you want.

(ALEX ADDS: I’m not really a fruit person, so I was a bit downhearted when I was told to add something to my plate from the fruit section. After I finished slogging to the buffet line, I noticed the large amount of melons, a type of fruit I somehow do like. Disney obviously does market research on children.)

At age 12, the characters were definitely not the main draw for Alex, but we did get to see Chip and Dale, Minnie, Mickey and Goofy. They very quickly recognized that Alex was a tiny bit embarrassed about the character thing, and thoughtfully made their stay at our table as adult as possible and mercifully brief. It’s very nice that they are sensitive to the "needs" of their guests like that. Alex really did want to see the characters, he just didn’t want the same level of attention as the four-year-old across the room. I thought it was great of the characters to intuit that. We found that to be the case all over WDW -- that characters would not approach people unless they clearly wanted to be approached.

The place was a bit of a zoo, what with all the little kids zooming around and people helping themselves to the buffet, but the CMs did a good job of keeping people in their seats and pointing out that the characters would be coming to see everybody. One little girl, who was about 4, was standing very near a table being visited by Mickey. She had her autograph book and a pen. The CM explained that Mickey would come to her if she sat down, but she just fixed her eyes on Mickey, stuck out her lower lip and wouldn’t budge. I was glad to see that the CM let her stand there instead of trying to remove her, as it was clear she would have made a big fuss. She wasn’t allowed to go to the table and interrupt the other family, but they didn’t agitate her either by trying to pry her away. Another example of a Disney CM exercising good judgment.

While we were there, we saw something that newlyweds might like. A couple was wearing his and her Mickey-ear hats -- one with an attached veil and one with a top hat. I don’t know where they got them, but they sure were cute.

On to EPCOT and the first glitch of the day -- two of our world hopper passes, purchased online and sent to us through the mail, would not work at all. The CM told us that it probably got too close to something magnetic in the mail system and we had them replaced. Next time, we’ll probably get them through a Disney store or when we check in at a WDW resort.

Everything today was basically a walk-on.

One of the CMs told us that today would be the last day for JiI, so we rode it a couple of times. Turned out the CM was wrong, but we enjoyed it anyway! It will eventually be closed for rehab, including the Imageworks. They want to bring Imageworks computers up to date in the morphing area and make several other changes. But it will still be the Imagination Pavilion.

(BRAD ADDS: My favorite part of JiI is when you ride under a screen that shows a photo of the occupants of your "car" taken about 40 feet earlier in the "film reel" area. The idea, I think, is to delight riders with a photo of their smiling selves. Instead, it invariably shows people scowling as they try to figure out what the heck this ride is about. But I have great sympathy for the poor sap who had to design this ride. If someone asked me to make a ride that captured a concept as elusive as imagination, I doubt I could do better.)

Alex and I saw HISTA for the first time. Alex liked the 3-D effects better than Muppets at the Studios, but he likes the scripting of the Muppet movie better. I agree -- HISTA is good for its one-time "shock" value, but the Muppet movie wears better over repeat performances. Warn little kids to close their eyes at the snake and lion parts.

Then we split up. Alex spent a couple of hours in Innoventions playing Sega games (even though he ostensibly prefers Nintendo) and Brad and I went to do all the rides that Alex is either bored by (Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Horizons, the Land) or scared by (Body Wars). The nice thing about WDW is that you can feel pretty safe about letting your 12-year-old loose. We did this several times on this trip. Alex never had a problem and was, in fact, quite appreciative of his independence.

I did Body Wars for the first time. It was a walk-on, so I was tempted even though I’ve never done a simulator before. Brad always gets sick when he rides any simulator, so I was pretty apprehensive. He had to sit down and take it easy for a couple of hours after Star Tours last trip, and everyone says Body Wars is even worse. But I stiffened my upper lip and marched on -- and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS RIDE! The rougher the better, I say! Ride it even if you’re scared to! Yee-ha! No one is more of a weenie than I am about scary rides, so if I can do it, ANYONE can (anyone who doesn’t suffer from motion sickness -- Brad was a little green when he left, so I guess this means I don’t get motion sick). My eyes were shining and I was really pumped when it was over.

Like I say, I’m a BIG weenie about scary rides. Last trip I refused to ride Astro Orbiter, BTMRR, Splash Mtn., Space Mtn., Alien Encounter, TOT, Star Tours, Body Wars and even the aerial tram between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Based on my success with Body Wars, I developed a sense of bravado about potentially scary rides that I would live to regret. But more on that later.

Making of Me was sweet but uninformative. Don’t bring kids in thinking that they’ll learn anything about reproduction. I cried, though, when they delivered the baby, and I wasn’t the only one!

We linked back up with Alex and we all rode Spaceship Earth a couple or three times. It was a walk-on all day. This is definitely our favorite ride at EPCOT.

Then we went over to Cool Station. Where else but WDW would you find a room full of soda dispensers and thousands of tiny dixie-type cups so you can sample sodas from around the world until you’re ready to explode? I liked the bitter Italy drink best by far. Brad liked the Mozambique ginger drink best. Alex liked the UK "Lilt" which tastes kind of like Mountain Dew without the caffeine. And the most stunning thing about this room is that there weren’t thousands of crushed and sticky cups underfoot. It was as clean as WDW usually is. Amazing.

At this point, we headed back to DxL to see if our room was ready (around 4pm). It was. We were in Acadian House, one of the plantation manor houses. We had heard a lot of rhapsodizing about the theming of this resort in trip reports. Well, maybe it’s because we’re all unreconstructed Yankees, but it did not knock our socks off.

The manor houses were impressive looking, but the rooms were just average. I was surprised that, as expensive as these rooms are, they are still glorified motel rooms with exterior entrances. Our room was clean (as always), but only about eight inches longer than the ASMR room. It had two sinks outside the bathroom instead of one, but they were still outside the bathroom (an arrangement which I will always associate with a motel). The nice bodywash/shampoo dispenser in the shower at ASMR had been replaced by a bodywash-only dispenser, meaning that we now had to use the less convenient, very hard to squeeze, complimentary shampoo bottles. The thermostat was analog, and the AC made a loud hum. The ceiling fan also made noise. Ol’ Man Island (the big central pool) had a great twisting waterslide, but it was pretty crowded most of the time. We spent most of our pool time in the nearby quiet pool. It was nice, but it was not twice as nice as ASMR, even though it was twice the price. In fact, Alex rates ASMR quite a bit higher in his opinion than DxL! Go figure.

Also, our luggage did not arrive. In fairness, we couldn’t blame this on DxL, since ASMR was supposed to send it over. Even my obsessive note-writing to the housekeeping CM had not worked! Little did we know that this would be a recurring theme. WDW resorts have really GOT to figure out some way to get luggage delivered when guests are changing resorts. Either that, or make guests deliver their own. We notified DxL Bell Services and they had them to us in about an hour.

(BRAD ADDS: A note should any Disney people read these reports. Theming matters! Virtually every DxL guest has to stand at window of the bell services cottage, right at the entrance to the resort, and chat with the employees. The inside of this room has fluorescent lights, Formica countertops, and all the charm of a laundromat. It would cost Disney $1,000, tops, to outfit this room with some barrels, lanterns, horse collars and other DxL-appropriate accouterment. One of the delights of the Disney World experience is finding theming in such odd nooks and crannies. At MGM, for example, when the customer stands at the window of Rosie’s take out, he can see loads of WWII-era paraphernalia. Attention to detail is what separates Disney from Six Flags over Nowhere -- people notice when that attention lapses!)

We also experienced a couple of glitches with our room keys. One night they just stopped working. All of them. Unfortunately, I was sopping wet from the pool and kind of cold when this happened. A CM came within 5 minutes and let me in, then started to work with a handheld computer to try to fix it. He left about ten minutes later, saying it was fixed. I tried a key and it worked, so I left to go get food from the food court. When I came back, none of the keys worked again, so they ended up replacing them all.

We also found the bus service to and from DxL to be inadequate. Many’s the time during this trip when we watched two or three buses from other resorts (including ASMR and ASSR!) pick up passengers, while the DxL folks waited.

On the plus side, the food court at DxL (the Cotton Mill) is one of the nicest on WDW property in our opinion, both in terms of food choice/quality and in ambiance, and we’ve seen quite a few! There is a large waterwheel outside the main complex which turns a wooden "umbrella" in the food court. All the wood gives it a warm and cozy atmosphere, and the carpeting in the dining areas helps keep the noise level down. We found ourselves rejecting several restaurant options later in the week just so we could eat at the DxL food court again! The roasted chicken and BBQ ribs are great. There are lots of selections, even for near-vegetarians like us. The red beans and rice were particularly good. However, the one thing that all of WDW needs (including its premier restaurants) is more cooked vegetable offerings. Fried, mashed or boiled potatoes don’t count. Bring on the steamed greens, sautéed vegetables, even reconstituted frozen stuff! We were feeling mighty vegetable-deprived by the time we returned home.

Another magical DxL moment -- when we arrived the first thing Alex wanted to do was swim, but we only had three towels in our room. I called housekeeping for a couple of extra towels, and two minutes later a CM came by with SIX extra-large towels! We later found out that you can get complimentary towels at Ol’ Main Island, but you have to bring your own to the quiet pools.

We ate a late supper at the food court, went back to our room and slept.

Day 3, Sunday October 4, 1998

Today was a "day off" -- we wouldn’t be visiting a park. We thought we’d go to Downtown Disney and check out Disney Quest, which Alex was REALLY excited about.

We did our morning jog (people looked at us strangely whenever we did this -- like we were out of our minds running in the heat before we spent a day walking in the parks!) and then walked the riverwalk to Port Orleans, which was lovely, and had breakfast at the PO food court. Very noisy and less selection than at DxL. We heard that their beignets were fabulous, but none of us is up for that kind of stuff in the morning.

(BRAD ADDS: The PO food court’s ordering system is also confusing -- you order and pay at the cash register, THEN receive your food at the counter. The DxL system is much more intuitive -- you collect your food at the counter, then pay, like most cafeteria-type establishments.)

We checked out the PO pool, which looked great on our WDW video. It was colorfully themed, with more character-type statues than Ol’ Man Island, but the waterslide was just a straight shot rather than twisty, so it got a thumbs down. We’re so arbitrary!

We took the Sassagoula boat from PO to DD and got off at the marketplace. By the way, if you’re thinking of taking this boat in order to experience a lazy drift down the river (i.e. a romantic ride), be forewarned. It’s more like a speedboat ride. It’s efficient, but not evocative.

(BRAD ADDS: I loved it!)

We stopped at Rainforest Cafe to try and make a PS for that afternoon, but they don’t make same-day PS’s there (they DO at the one at AK -- just be aware of the difference). So we decided we’d eat somewhere else, although even at noon there was no line. But we were in a hurry to get to Disney Quest (or at least one of us was!) so we didn’t want to chance coming back to an overcrowded Rainforest.

We’re not big shoppers, so we blew through World of Disney and several other smaller shops. When we hit the Lego store we had to stop. It really is quite unbelievable that those sculptures are made out of Legos, but they are. The Sea Monster is the most impressive, but there are a lot of smaller, really cute and funny sculptures around, as well. Very good photo ops. Be sure to go inside because there’s a robotic Lego man playing a guitar.

We whisked Alex past McDonald’s with a minimum of fuss, and on to Pleasure Island, just for a peek. We planned to come back during the week. It’s pretty eerie during the day. Dirty confetti all over the ground. Drink spills and various odors that you normally don’t associate with WDW. Looked kind of run-down, but we’ll withhold judgment until we see it at night, in party mode.

Now we see Planet Hollywood, a restaurant that we tried to eat at last trip, but which was enveloped in a crush of people from sunrise to closing time. This time, NO LINE AT ALL! It’s 1:53 pm, and not even one person in line! We walked up to the PH CM (whom we nicknamed "Serge" because of his indeterminate East European accent and his Hollywood-style aloof manner) and asked if we could be seated. He shuffled some papers around and made a couple of calls on his walkie talkie, just for show, and then let us go up. We were seated on the second floor (the "adventure" floor) and had a wonderful meal.

By the way, our technique this time around was to order two regular dinners and some smaller item, like a dessert or a salad or appetizer. We found almost everywhere (except the Flying Fish restaurant) that portions are HUGE and we ended up not eating the equivalent of one dinner when all of us ordered full meals. So we ordered two meals and an appetizer and it was perfect. We all shared the entrees. No server ever gave us a hard time about it. We saved money, ate all we wanted, and didn’t waste food. Once Alex is a teenager, we’ll probably have to go back to ordering three meals, and then HE can eat what I don’t finish!

Back to Planet Hollywood -- be forewarned that there are attendants in the men’s and women’s bathrooms. They squirt soap on your hands and hand you a paper towel, so have your tip ready! At first, I was surprised by this -- it was so unexpected. I must have looked shell-shocked, because the CM said, "Kind of a long day, huh?" Mostly, I was panicking internally because I had just realized I would have to leave a tip, and I wasn’t sure I had small bills. Don’t you just hate fishing in the tip jar to break a twenty?

(BRAD NOTE: On the list of useless occupations, restroom attendant must surely rank near the top. Upon entering a restroom, does anyone really think, "Gosh, I wish there were an attendant here to hand me a paper towel so that I could tip him a buck." Maybe PH is trying to create a fawned-over-celebrity experience for the masses, but this service aggravates rather than pampers. Aside from this, I enjoyed PH -- friendly waitress, fun ambiance, great food.)

Anyway, out of Planet Hollywood and on to Disney’s West Side. This is the section with the Virgin megastore, lots of shops (magnets, memorabilia, clothes) and several restaurants, but we made a beeline to Disney Quest. We had decided in advance that we would each buy a $15 pass (60 units apiece) and Alex could use whatever Brad and I didn’t. You can’t transfer units to someone else’s card, but you CAN give them your card to use.

Disney Quest is about 80% what you’d find at your average upscale arcade, and the other 20% is helmet-type virtual reality games, a remote-control maze, a bumper car type of game with the added plus of firing a "cannon" at your opponents, and a class on cartooning. Brad and I did a couple of things (I made some really cute stickers with a picture of Alex and me), but we couldn’t begin to make a dent in our 60 units, so we gave them to Alex, who had a wonderful time for the next two hours. He particularly liked a computer game that allowed you to design your own toy. For an extra $10 you could buy a real-life replica of your toy, which was his favorite souvenir from this trip. There is a snack bar/lounge where bored parents can sit, although there are no extra chairs by any of the games. This place was also air-conditioned to about 60 degrees -- lots of T-shirt clad visitors were shivering and rubbing their goose-pimpled arms. Bring a sweater!

( ALEX ADDS: Keep in mind these words of warning: Disney Quest is LOUD! To get an idea of what the sound is like in the more "arcade" sections of Disney Quest, imagine putting three electric guitars in a trash compactor, turning it on, putting the working trash compactor into a much larger trash compactor along with a working fax machine and a pound of tin cans. Now imagine turning on the large trash compactor and you’re at about nine-tenths the noise level of certain areas of Disney Quest.)

After Disney Quest, we walked to the West Side bus stop to wait for the DxL bus. The bus stop is pretty average looking, but Disney pipes in upbeat music via a sound system. It really helps establish the Disney magic to have that constant background music setting the mood.

We ate a light dinner at the DxL food court, took a little swim and went to bed.

Day 4, Monday October 5, 1998

Today was our Typhoon Lagoon/MGM day! We certainly got what we wanted in terms of weather. It was 88 degrees and sunny every day of our trip. Everyone said it was unusual that it was so consistently hot in October, but it was fine with us.

We got up, ran, and ate breakfast at DxL food court (Alex ate the Mickey shaped pancakes!). We were planning to do both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, but we thought we’d like TL best, so we went there first.

TL is quite lovely, with a lot of tropical plant life and Gilligan’s Island type buildings. Brad did the Humunga Cowabunga first, even though every person who came off HC complained that it burned their back pretty badly. Brad later confirmed that this was true, and didn’t do the ride again. I guess it’s a guy thing, because I had no desire to try it after hearing the testimonials!

Then we went in the wave pool. We were hoping to catch the "tidal waves", but it was just waist high waves at that point. We learned that the wave machine starts out with small waves and ratchets up the size every few minutes. It’s quite a space of time between tidal wave segments, but the up side is that, once the tidal waves start, they keep churning them out for quite a while. We decided to leave and try the family whitewater raft ride.

This was a complete disaster. We waited in the longest line of the day (at least a half an hour). We thought we might be close to the top because there was some commotion ahead. Then we saw what it was -- families were being asked to roll these enormous yellow rafts to the summit of the "mountain" where the slide began! It was extremely slow going from the looks of it. We looked at each other and decided right then to ditch this ride. There HAD to be a better way to get those rafts to the top! We found out later -- at Blizzard Beach -- that there was, but our patience with this ride was exhausted.

We decided it was time to drift along in Castaway Creek -- a very slow floating tube ride around the perimeter of the park. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing. It was around noon and, since Alex and I aren’t body slide aficionados, the only thing left to do was the wave pool.

The wave pool was just beginning its tidal wave segment when we got there. You’d hear a big "wush" and then a large swell would appear. The good swimmers in the deep end bobbed in the swell, but the real punishment was reserved for the little kids and the bad swimmers in the shallow end! As Alex and I stood innocently in waist-deep water, the tidal wave crested and came crashing down on us with a lot more force than I anticipated, forcing us to our knees on the very unforgiving concrete bottom of the pool. Both of us skinned our knees, and quite a few young children were understandably terrified by what they had just experienced. But we’re slow learners, so we stood (or tried to stand) through two more waves before we decided it was more pain than pleasure, and we exited the pool.

All in all, we’d give this park mixed reviews. If you’re into fast body slides and are a strong swimmer, you’ll have a good time. If you’re easily intimidated by slides and big, crashing waves (not to mention nubbly concrete pool floors), I would give it a miss and just enjoy your hotel pool.

Off to MGM! For months, Alex had been waiting to eat a red hot-dog at Rosie’s Red Hot Hot-dog Stand at MGM. So the first thing we did when we got there was to head straight to Rosie’s. Imagine our horror upon discovering that Rosie’s had been converted into a regular sandwich counter-service place! But then the Disney magic crept in. I mentioned this to the CM at the counter, and she said they actually did have some foot long hot-dogs reserved for people who really wanted them, so she made one for Alex and me! It turns out that Rosie’s will open up a stand serving hot-dogs right next to the existing counter-service place at some point in the near future.

Last time we were at MGM, we rode all the rides but didn’t see any of the shows. This time around I was determined to see all of the shows and then fill in around the edges with rides and other attractions. So we checked out showtimes and discovered we could hit every show if we timed it just right. There wasn’t a show anywhere for a while, so Alex and I went to Muppetvision 3D while Brad went to TOT. I don’t ride TOT because I hate drops.

We all had fun (Muppets is still great after seeing it a total of four times!) and met back at the theater where they show HoND. Matt the Juggler was great even in the sweltering heat, just like everyone said. I had no real idea what to expect from this show, so I was really excited about seeing it (being a professional stage actor, myself).

I have to say that, while the whole show was good, Clopin far, far exceeded my expectations. It was like he was in another show entirely -- perhaps one on Broadway. HoND is very different from the other shows at MGM, which are primarily dance numbers strung together with bare-bones scripting. Although the show is relatively short, they do try to cover the dramatic high points and take a creditable stab at acting. The major characters are speaking and singing live (not on tape). And the opening and closing numbers are well-sung by the ensemble and can induce chills. It really heartened me to see the audience receive the show more enthusiastically than any other show at MGM. Let’s hear it for the magic of live theater!

That being said, I was somewhat disappointed with BaTB. This was literally a few dance numbers strung together with mostly dubbed voice-overs. It was glitzy and slick, but lacked any of the dramatic pull of HoND. A tip: sit on the seats directly behind the stage manager’s "pit", where all the audio equipment is. Best seats in the house!

I was prepared to be underwhelmed by VoTLM, but it was great -- for what it was. The laser lights playing on the fog was nice, and the special effects were good AND added to your understanding and enjoyment of the show. Alex really enjoyed it, too, which surprised us (and him!)

We went on the GMR and took the cowboy side, which we’ve never seen before. It was a walk-on. We asked the CM which side was the cowboy side and he showed us, very nicely.

At park closing time, I RAN to Star Tours to try and ride it, and made it onto the last ride of the day! It was really great, although I liked Body Wars better because it was rougher. Star Tours is much more visually spinny, so I would really recommend against it if you get motion sick.

Now we headed to our 7:45 pm PS at the Flying Fish on the Boardwalk. We actually arrived at 7:30 and were told to come back at 7:45, which we did. We were then given a beeper and told it would go off when a table for three was ready, so we went to admire the Boardwalk while we waited.

Once thing we noticed was that the ESPN Club restaurant was packed, with a line out the door, presumably because of Monday night football. Guess you’d have to get there pretty early to get a table.

We wandered from one end of the Boardwalk to the other, gazed over the water, even struck up a conversation with a DVC hostess at the Boardwalk Villas, but still no beep. Despite our PS and having arrived early, we were not seated until 9:15 pm! Our poor son was almost asleep by then, but we ordered dinner anyway. Thankfully, we departed from our two dinners and an appetizer plan and ordered three dinners, because the portions were MUCH smaller here than anywhere else on WDW property.

The food was good (we ordered their signature snapper in potato wrapper, a center cut pork chop and a pasta dish with a red wine reduction sauce and portobello mushrooms) but it was very, very salty. We noticed this everywhere at WDW, but it was especially surprising to find it in a fine dining establishment (it was a problem at Artist Point, as well). By the time we finished dinner it was much too late for dessert, and Alex was asleep. We vowed never again to make a PS for later than 5:30 pm.

Back to DxL and to sleep.

Day 5, Tuesday October 6

Got up, ran, but didn’t eat breakfast at DxL because this was MK day! We were too excited! We decided we’d pick something up at a vendor in the MK. Unfortunately, when we got there at 10:30 am, we found that none of the vendors opened up until 11, and some didn’t open until closer to noon. So we got nice and hungry while we waited for our breakfast hot-dogs!

We were really hoping that a Tuesday in early October would be uncrowded, but it was not to be. Crowds at EPCOT and MGM had been relatively light, but MK was moderately crowded. Waits for most rides were between 15 and 30 minutes, a far cry from the walk-on situation that existed last time we visited (in mid-November). The thrill rides were worse, with waits of an hour or more. I made a mental note to be sure and go for early entry on Saturday.

We met up with my sister, brother-in-law and their 6-year-old daughter (Zoe) and spent the day touring the park with them. Zoe stuck with me for the whole day, so I got a chance to see how a relatively brave 6-year-old reacts to various attractions. As soon as we got to the park, I tried to make same-day reservations at Cinderella’s castle for 6 people. The CM laughed (nicely) and was dumbfounded to see that there was one available at 3:15! What luck! So we grabbed it.

We started out in Fantasyland, skipping Dumbo because the line remained enormous throughout the day. Small World was a walk-on. This was a ride Alex had resisted taking because he thought it would be annoying, but it ended up being one of his favorites. Zoe thought it was boring. Brad liked the suggestion of a lady quoted in the Unofficial Guide -- SW would be vastly improved if they gave each passenger a bucket of softballs.

Next was Snow White’s Adventure, a 20 minute wait. Zoe was apprehensive about this one because the sign outside still says "Scary Adventure". She was gripping my hand pretty tightly during the first two appearances of the witch, so I suggested we count how many times we see the witch. This turned it into a game, and she started having fun. She even asked to go on it again to see if we got the right number! Alex thought it was OK, but he’s not really into Snow White.

Peter Pan’s flight and the Teacups were 35 minute or more waits all day so, even though we really like them, we skipped them. We rode Cinderella’s carousel, which Zoe loved and Alex hated. But he was a good sport.

Legend of the Lion King was really crowded, so we decided to come back later. We didn’t tell Zoe about Ariel’s grotto because none of the adults wanted to waste half the day in that line.

We wandered over to Liberty Square and picked up some fast food snacks/breakfast. Then on to the Haunted Mansion, which was a 20 minute wait. Zoe was trying to be brave, but looked like a cat on a vet’s table. Even Alex (who spent the whole ride with his head in my lap and his ears covered two years ago because the teens in the car ahead of us screamed in mock terror for the entire ride) was apprehensive. I did my best to explain how this ride is ha-ha scary, not terrifying scary. I told Alex that what he IMAGINED was going on (with his eyes closed last time) was certainly more scary than what was REALLY going on, and that the teens weren’t screaming because they were scared, but because they were just being -- teens. Still, there was a lot of anxiety prior to the ride. We offered to let the kids stay behind, but they decided to brave it.

Well, halfway through the ride, Zoe turned to me and said, "This isn’t scary at all!" I did my best to tell her what was coming up before we got there, so nothing caught her by surprise. Whenever something sort of weird came by (like the hologram head) I asked her how she thought Disney did that. That seemed to take a lot of the spookiness out of it, and she enjoyed the ride. Once she’s a teenager, she can scream! Alex came through it just fine and kept his eyes open the entire time, although he didn’t ask to go back.

Next was the Frontier Shooting Gallery, the only game you have to pay extra for in the entire MK! So naturally Alex wanted to spend most the day there. We let Alex and Zoe (and Mom and Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Greg and Dad!) shoot for about 20 minutes, then on to Tomorrowland (I know we’re not doing this is the most efficient way, but the kids were begging for certain attractions, and the adults were content to wander around).

Believe it or not, we were heading to Tomorrowland because Alex, Brad and I REALLY wanted to ride the Carousel of Progress. For some very odd reason, this is our favorite ride in the entire park. Last time we were here, we rode it about seven times. We love the song, we love the stupid jokes, we love the dog, and we love that the guy in CoP is inexplicably the same guy you see on Horizons. We love how relaxing and cool it is in the theater. And we love how it’s always a walk-on and you absolutely never have to wait more than 5 minutes.

Next, the weenies (Lisa, Zoe, Alex and I) went on Timekeeper (walk-on) and the brave men went to see Alien Encounter (15 minute wait). I had always been afraid of AE because I can’t watch scary movies, so I figured it would be a bad ride for me. We liked Timekeeper, although I forgot to warn Zoe about the dinosaur in the movie that sort of bites at you, which made her jump. But she really liked the rest of it. Both guys liked AE.

Time for lunch, so we decided to stop at Cosmic Ray’s. Very large sandwiches! Alex and Zoe really liked Sonny Eclipse, the animatronic DJ in the dining room.

Now Zoe wanted to go on Grand Prix raceway, Greg wanted to go on Space Mountain and Brad, Alex and Lisa wanted to get on to Adventure of the Lion King, so we split up. Zoe and I get in and out of the Raceway (a 10 minute wait!) and back to Fantasyland before Brad, Alex and Lisa get over to Fantasyland riding the Skyway tram (a very long wait). I am glad that they took the tram, because I secretly hate it and now I won’t have to ride it (I hate heights AND drops!).

Adventure of the Lion King was pretty good. Actually, all of us thought the pre-show clip from the movie (the opening sequence including the Circle of Life song) was the best part. The rest of it was a glorified puppet show, and I have to say that now, two weeks after we got home, I can’t remember a thing about it! If your kids are in love with the movie, see this show. Otherwise, certainly don’t wait in a long line.

At this point, we looked at our watches and realized we had completely missed the PS at Cinderella’s Castle! AAAAAARGH! From that point on, we set our watch alarm to beep 1/2 hour before any PS. We never did get to the Castle this trip.

On to Adventureland and the New Tiki Room Show. Well, at least no one got up and left early this time! It was different from the old one, but the problem was that the volume was jacked up so high, the birds’ voices were distorted, so we couldn’t really hear the jokes. This is a blanket complaint I have with WDW -- why does everything have to be so loud that it’s just below the threshold of pain? Is all of America that close to being deaf? Does anyone else but us notice this?

Jungle Cruise was closed until November. We took a quick run through the Swiss Family Treehouse and then on to Pirates of the Caribbean. Alex has to be coaxed onto this ride because of the small drop in the dark (he gets it from me, I guess), but we all rode it and survived. Curiously, neither Zoe nor Alex liked this much. Both of them though it was a little scary and nothing we could say could convince them to do it again.

Well, the time had come for Frontierland. I had been dreading this all day, because I always get teased for not wanting to go on Splash or BT Mountains. Maybe because my sister was there and I wanted to appear brave, or maybe because my 6-year-old niece was begging me, I decided to do both mountains today. Alex (the smart one) decided he’d rather do some more shooting at the Gallery, and Lisa went with him. The rest of us got into the hour long line to Splash Mountain.

I must say, I was so scared about the drop, I really couldn’t enjoy the rest of the ride, although everyone else (including my niece) enjoyed it tremendously. The scenes of animals are sure cute, but it made our impending doom seem all the more intimidating. There are several smaller drops during the ride, which no one seemed to remember from last time, which unsettled me further. However, there is no missing the final drop, since you are pulled up a HUGE hill, and there’s a raven or a buzzard or something saying good-bye to you.

The drop itself was as bad as I had imagined, and I have a pretty active imagination. I was so scared that I couldn’t scream, and I thought I might pop! Just as I was deciding I had to pass out or die, we hit the bottom. It took me a full six hours for my stomach to recover from it and I will NEVER ride that ride again! Everyone else loved it.

BTMRR was next. The park was emptying, so it was only a 15 minute wait. This was not bad. It’s really a very smooth roller coaster, especially if you sit up front, but my stomach was in such a knot from Splash, I couldn’t really enjoy it. I’ll go on it again next time we go back to give it a fairer assessment. Everyone else loved it. Zoe rode it twice.

By now the park was closed, so we left to go have dinner. We got into Lisa and Greg’s car and were intending to drive to DxL for dinner at the food court. This was our first (and only) experience with trying to drive in WDW. We ended up getting terribly lost because one of the DxL signs was missing. Magically, we ended up over by ASSR which happens to be near -- McDonald’s! So the kids’ begging won out and we ate there. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

Finally found our way back to DxL and fell asleep.

Day 6, Wednesday October 7

Animal Kingdom day and the Day From Transportation Purgatory.

Got up, ran, ate breakfast at DxL food court. Then over to the bus stop to catch the bus to AK. We wait, and wait and wait, while four EPCOT buses, three MK buses, and at least one bus to every other possible destination comes by. This was the beginning of the worst day for transportation we have ever experienced.

Finally at AK, we make same-day PS for 3 pm at the Rainforest Cafe and set our alarm! The Oasis part of AK is very, very nice. Restful, cool, lush, with animals and birds around every corner. If the whole park was like this, we would have loved it.

Then into Harambe, a sort of sanitized African village. This was hot, with uninspired "architecture". I cannot imagine wanting to spend any time here unless it was to wait in line for the safari.

The safari had long, long lines all day, so we gritted our teeth and got in line. It was easily an hour’s wait, with little other than TV loops to while away the time. Once on the safari, we truly enjoyed looking at the animals, who were all out in force despite it being the middle of the day. I hate zoos, but these animals were not visibly caged, and didn’t look miserable. Brad, Alex and I would have liked to be able to walk some sort of protected pathway so we could look at them for much longer. Anyway, the safari ended abruptly with the silly "poacher" ending, which seemed oddly out of place after the dignity displayed by nature.

We wandered around to the Asia section and caught a bird show which was the highlight of our day. No stupid pet tricks, just a lot of birds flying around and a lot of interesting information.

The Tree of Life was large and interesting to look at, although we found the animals themselves to be much more awe-inspiring. We did not do Tough to Be a Bug or Countdown to Extinction for some reason. They just seemed out of place to us in this very natural setting.

We went over to Dinoland and didn’t enjoy it at all. Again, the artificiality of this section seemed to fight against the natural beauty of both the Oasis and the African plain. And yet it was full to bursting with people. The jarring imbalance we experienced here seemed to resonate throughout this park, and we wonder if it can survive without tipping more toward one or the other.

Time for lunch at RC. A big, hearty lunch in a big, loud, visually busy place.

We spent more time in the Oasis, then went over to catch the last Lion King show of the day. I was really pumped to see this because of all of the glowing reviews in the trip reports, but I have to say I was disappointed. It was more like a circus than anything else. AND VERY, VERY, VERY LOUD! Again, just below the threshold of physical pain. It was impossible to tell if the singers were great or not. They were certainly pretty good, but mostly they were just loud. The monkey-tumblers were definitely second- or third-string -- nothing your moderately talented college gymnast couldn’t handle. There was a fair amount of dialogue going on, but again -- we couldn’t really hear it or appreciate it because of the sound distortion. At first I was thinking maybe I was being too picky, but I noticed that the audience was not nearly as receptive to this show as they were with HoND, so maybe I’m not imagining it. IT’S TOO LOUD!

Park is closing, so off we go to find a bus.

(BRAD ADDS: Animal Kingdom is a unique challenge for Disney. MK is pure fun. MGM is based on movies, so again, pure fun. EPCOT has science and travel themes, which, if not always fun, are at least inherently interesting and dramatic. But animals and their environments are by nature subtle, shy, nuanced, peaceful, muted. Disney could have reflected this by making AK the most restful, natural, green and quiet of the four parks, a respite from the flash and crash of the other three. Or, the imagineers could have made the place just as active and colorful as the others. It appears that they tried to walk a middle course -- enough flash for the Space Mountain crowd, enough peace for the contemplative. I would have liked to see more quiet and serenity, but maybe I’m weird -- I suppose people seeking that experience should just skip WDW altogether. One last note -- if you like the safari ride, you’ll be pleased to know that there are plans for a resort hotel that overlooks the area, opening in 2001 -- [or so a CM told me].)

Alex wants a flotation device to bring to Blizzard Beach on Friday, so we decide to go to DD and look around. We wait and wait and wait. Lots of other buses go by. Several times. Finally, the bus for TTC comes and we get on. It lets us off at TTC and we get into what is already a looooong line for DD. Several more buses come and the DD line gets much longer. We wait and wait and wait. The DD line is now so long that it will take at least four or five buses to transport all these people. Several buses for WL come (several Boones and a Crockett) and wait next to our stop for passengers who never come. I beg an empty Boone bus to take some of this line to DD. He politely declines. I am just about to hijack a Boone bus when two DD buses pull up. We are among the last five people to get on the second bus, and we leave an irate crowd behind. How can Disney possibly not figure out that it needs to run several extra DD buses when the parks close early?

Anyway, we get to DD and find no flotation devices, so we decide to take the Sassagoula boat back to DxL. That will be more relaxing than the bus, right? We get into a relatively long line for the boat (about two or three boatfulls), and a boat pulls up. The boatmaster asks that only PO-bound people enter the boat, so about ten people (less than half a boatfull) board. The boat departs, leaving scores of irate DxL people at the dock. Why did they send a half-full boat up the river? I ask. Because if the boat carries DxL people, it has to stop at PO and DxL. Then DxL people want to get on the boat at the DxL end and there’s no room for PO people to get on when the boat stops there. So that boat is going to PO only.

Ok, I say, but wouldn’t it be more efficient to send fully loaded boats up the river to PO and DxL, then turn the empty boat around and send it to PO to pick up those poor, crowded-out PO people? No, he lies. Another boatmaster explains to me that they thought of that, but that people at the DxL end get irate if you send an empty boat to PO. Yes, I say, but DxL people are already getting irate at THIS end when you send a half-empty boat to PO. Since people are going to get irate whatever you do, why not at least do the most EFFICIENT thing? He has no answer to this, but the people around me are smiling.

After a while, we get back to DxL and see the enormous line that has built up there waiting to get to DD. Clearly the transportation to DD needs tweaking.

We go for a little swim and then to sleep.

Day 7, Thursday October 8

This was our day to tour resorts we hadn’t yet seen, in case we want to stay there next trip.

Woke, ran, ate breakfast at DxL food court. Hopped the bus for MGM, then took the boat to the Boardwalk, a very relaxing ride. The night we ate at Flying Fish, we were entranced by the Boardwalk Inn -- primarily because the street life below seemed quite fun. The resort itself looked more refined and less cute, which also appealed to us. When we went in, however, we were quite disappointed with the service. At every other resort we’ve visited, the CMs went out of their way to make sure we got to see a room. We make it clear that we need to see a room in order to decide whether or not we will stay. The CM at the Boardwalk said he couldn’t show us a room. When pressed, he said none were available to show right now (even though we had made an effort to be there after 11 am, and we said we’d happily look at one being cleaned). When we asked when one might be available, he said he had no idea. Maybe later in the day. Maybe not.

We decided right then we wouldn’t be staying at the Boardwalk Inn. Michael Eisner loses $300 a night. Oh, well.

We walked over to the Yacht and Beach Club. CMs had absolutely no problem showing us rooms, although they were every bit as busy as the Boardwalk Inn and it was during the same time of day. The Yacht Club had a practiced stuffiness to the theming that didn’t appeal to us (although they were very kind about showing us a room). On the other hand, we felt the interior decor of the Beach Club rooms was quite gracious. On the down side, the rooms were not remarkably larger than the lower-priced resorts and the sinks were still outside the bathrooms. I know I’m weird, but if I’m paying $300 a night, I want a fully appointed bathroom. With a door. YaBC is more convenient to EPCOT and MGM than ASMR, but not $200 worth of convenience. The pool area was impressive, with its "mini water park", but we’ve discovered that our son prefers the quiet pools, so that wasn’t a big selling point.

From YaBC, we took the boat back to MGM and hopped a bus to the Contemporary. My son has wanted to stay at this resort since we got our first WDW promotional video. Brad and I thought it looked a little cold with all that concrete, but we decided what the heck. Can’t judge a book by its cover.

Were we ever right! This was a VERY busy resort, the busiest we had seen since we arrived. We got there around 3 pm, the worst possible time from their point of view because it’s check-in time. Yet the CM at the desk couldn’t have been nicer. He took us up to a room and actually went out of his way to show us two rooms with different views. I think you must have to work your way up the CM ladder to work at the Contemporary, because every CM we saw was very efficient and pleasant.

The room was the same size as the one at the Beach Club, but with a big difference -- the view! Wow! We were in the A-frame main building and the views of the MK and the lake were absolutely spectacular. I would stay at the Contemporary just to get one of these views. Also, the sinks were actually in the bathroom, which had a very sophisticated vanity area with green marble and stainless steel. Sold.

We had picked up a light lunch earlier in the Contemporary’s food court on the lower level. Alex loved the very large arcade near the food court.

Now it was on to the Wilderness Lodge. We had eaten at the Whispering Canyon Cafe during our last trip. The Cafe was a little hectic for our tastes, but the Lodge itself had won its way into our hearts. Brad is from the Pacific Northwest, and the Lodge makes him homesick (BRAD NOTE: Reminds me of my beloved Timberline Lodge on Oregon’s Mt. Hood -- sniff!). We had scheduled a PS for dinner at 5:30 at Artist’s Point in the Lodge, and we thought we’d see a room as well.

The CM at the check-in desk was very nice and immediately showed us to a room. It was about the size of the DxL room, but more expensive. Again with the outside sinks. It was cozy and nice, but it’s hard to justify the price. We weren’t impressed, but we’d probably come back to the Lodge just to sit in the lobby area and drink in the ambiance.

Dinner at Artist’s Point was a mixed bag. All of the food was great except that it was so salty you could hardly eat it. Even Alex complained, and he NEVER complains about too much salt. I had venison, Alex had a seafood stew in cream sauce and Brad had portobello mushrooms over risotto. Everything about the food -- the execution, the presentation, even the taste minus the salt -- was wonderful. It easily had the potential to be our best meal at WDW. Just way too much salt. Too bad.

We saw the geyser erupt as we left, which was a nice cap to the day. We took the bus to TTC and then a bus to DxL. Then a little swim and to bed.

Day 8, Friday October 9

All of us are going to Blizzard Beach in the morning, then Brad and Alex will go to MK while I go to EPCOT. This evening Brad will do E-ticket night at MK and Alex and I will go to Pleasure Island.

Got up, ran, ate breakfast at DxL food court. This is our last day at DxL. Now we move over to the Polynesian. Remembering our problem last time with our luggage, we stop by the bell services cottage out front and remind them that our bags are in our room and need to be delivered to the Poly ASAP. The CM writes down our name, our room number, the number of pieces of luggage, and our destination and we leave. Even with all this I’m still feeling a twinge.

Blizzard Beach was absolutely great! We liked it much better than TL because it had more tube and toboggan rides and fewer body slides. Also, there is a pool for kids and grownups that is pretty neat, with floating plastic "icebergs" and a ropes course. Alex spent most of his time in this pool and floating in cross-country creek. But beware of the freezing cold water cascading out of the roof in the cave!

We also did the family raft ride, Teamboat Springs. This was a lot of fun and a HUGE improvement over the similar ride at TL, mainly because the large rafts were brought to the top of the ride on a conveyer belt instead of the backs of the riders. The ride loaded quickly and was just thrilling enough.

Brad and I rode Run Off Rapids, three twisting tube rides, one of which is completely enclosed. Although the signs seem to indicate that the two on the right are enclosed, only the middle one is. The two outside rides are open. I was apprehensive, but they were just a lot of fun and not scary at all. Not very fast, but very twisty. I thought the dark one was great (actually there are little light holes all the way down), and Brad loved it too. We rode these several times with no wait at all. Since they’re at the back of the park, I think a lot of people miss them.

Brad also did Summit Plummet and Slush Gusher, which he said were vastly more comfortable, and consequently more fun, than Humunga Cowabunga at TL. One note to the wise: cross your legs going down these body slides, or you’ll get 60 mph water up your nose for the whole ride!

(BRAD NOTE: One of the coolest aspects of Summit Plummet is the view you get from the tower. You can see the entire property -- castle, geosphere, Tower of Terror, everything, so the "line experience" is as much fun as the slide itself. There are two free telescopes on landings as you ascend to help you take it in. At the top, I had a unique encounter with a circa-age-20 CM who was operating the "clear to slide" gateway. I told him I had never been on this before and was a bit nervous. He said, "Some intense experiences take away from your life. This one adds to your life." A philosopher at the top of Summit Plummet! The slide itself left me with a couple of very mildly bruised hips, but was a blast -- and perhaps, even now, I am a bit more lively for it!)

We hopped a bus for the Poly and arrived at 1 pm. Our room was ready! Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, our luggage was not. I called Bell Services and explained the situation and they said they’d get it ASAP. It arrived six hours later.

The Poly has absolutely gorgeous landscaping. We especially loved the gas torches, which are lit every night. On the other hand, all that humidity means there is a significant mildew problem everywhere. The smell was strong everywhere (at least to me, although I admit I have a sensitive nose), including our room. On the up side, we finally had a fully enclosed bathroom!

Another problem was the AC. It was in a unit near the ceiling, and when it went on, it poured cold air on the beds. Very uncomfortable.

On the whole, I think I still preferred the ASMR. Or the Contemporary.

(BRAD ADDS: I liked the Poly, but it did occasionally remind me of some pathetic single-guy nights at Trader Vic’s in the 70s, nursing a blue drink with an umbrella in it.)

Alex and Brad spend the rest of the daylight hours at MK. They did the brand new Buzz Lightyear shooting gallery, and re-rode things they rode on Tuesday. Alex liked the new Buzz Lightyear ride -- which had opened just two days before -- except one thing. You shoot your laser at various targets during the ride and try to amass as many points as possible. Unfortunately, everyone’s laser-light is red, so it’s pretty confusing in there -- very hard to judge which light is yours and whether you’re hitting your intended target. Alex suggested that they make the laser lights in different colors. Either that or fill the place with fog so you can see where your laser beam is going. Either or both of these would help -- I wonder if they can be done?

At EPCOT, I just strolled at a very leisurely pace through the countries. The bakery shop in France is SOOOOOO good. I got a ham and cheese croissant for just a little over $2. Fabulous! I also rode Maelstrom for the first time. It was fun, and the drop was very small (plus you can see it coming, so it’s not like the PoTC), for drop-impaired people like myself. The only problem is the huge line. It never seems to shrink, so I just went for it.

We met back at the room at 6 pm and Brad went off to E-ticket night at the MK while Alex and I went to PI. Brad said there was no wait at any ride, and he rode the mountains several times.

(BRAD NOTE: I absolutely loved E-ride night! This is a special deal only for Disney resort guests -- you pay $10, plus 60 cents sales tax, at the front desk of any resort on a designated E-ride night and receive a plastic card. At the MK between 4 and 7 p.m., you trade it in for a wristband. Promptly at 7 p.m., everyone who has no wristband must leave the park, while the anointed band-wearers can stay until 10 and ride the 9 most popular rides -- actually, it was 10 rides the night I was there, because they threw in the new Buzz Lightyear ride. I rode Splash Mtn. twice with no wait, HM, BTMR, even Astro Orbiter, which loads so slowly that it normally sports an endless line of glum citizens. Aside from the rides, the experience of being in the park with so few other people was a kick!)

Alex and I started with the Comedy Warehouse, which we really enjoyed. It’s more improv than stand-up. Alex is very interested in improv, so he had a great time. I love to watch other actors sweat, so I had a great time, too! Alex and I had virgin Pina Coladas, which they were very nice about making. The comedy (at least at the early show) is absolutely appropriate for pre-teens.

We made the circuit of all the dance clubs. Since it was early, nobody was really dancing, but Alex got the flavor of "club hopping," and that was enough. We left PI at about 8 pm and wandered through DD West Side. Then on to the bus stop and back to the Poly.

We snacked, watched TV and fell asleep.

Day 9, Saturday October 10

Today was early entry day for the MK. Alex and Brad were MK’d out, so I went alone.

Somehow, being on my own emboldened me. I marched right up to Astro Orbiter and got on (believe it or not, this ride was scary to me!). As it started around, I pried my eyes opened and looked, and it wasn’t bad at all because there is the loading floor under you. But boy does this thing exert centrifugal force! Way more than Dumbo. I discovered that raising your orbiter cuts down on the force and makes the ride much more comfy.

Then I did a crazy thing. I decided that, while I was on a roll, I would try Space Mountain. Before I could chicken out, I ran on. I ran all the way up to the loading platform. I’m sure the CMs thought I was nuts. Well, I WAS nuts. I got on the right side, which I didn’t realize at the time is the side with the dip near the end (thank goodness). Anyway, I plunked myself in the first car (because I didn’t want to see anyone else or have anyone else see me during the ride, in case I went hysterical or something). With my heart beating like a rabbit, the ride started up and we plunged into the semi-dark. And you know what? I LOVED IT! I would do this ride 1,000 times! It was rough and twisty and dark but not too dark. By the time we got to the drop (which is not too big) I was so thrilled with myself that it didn’t bother me! Much.

So what should I do next? Alien Encounter! Why not? I’m invincible! And you know what, I WASN’T SCARED! I laughed all the way through it. I laughed when the monster bumped the seat. I chuckled when the hot breath blew on my face. I sneered when the claw touched my head. I basked in the dripping slime or whatever it’s supposed to be. The scariest part of the whole thing was worrying about Skippy.

Next, I rode Buzz Lightyear. Here’s a tip for people who are too competitive for their own good. Pick a target and keep shooting at it for as long as you can. Turn your car if you have to. I got 320,000 points that way.

Finally, I went to Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan’s Flight and Snow White’s Adventure, just because I like them.

It was now 9:15, and an absolute wall of people was coming in. We were thinking of coming back to MK this afternoon, but I had a bad feeling about it, and we decided to go to EPCOT instead. Good thing, too, because it turns out that the MK filled to capacity that day. And that’s no fun, even when they have the staff for it!

EPCOT, on the other hand, was a complete walk-on all day. We just had a ball, doing whatever we wanted, as many times as we wanted. We ate our way around the world showcase and had a late lunch at Alfredo’s. Mediocre meal, but the best service we have ever had! We also saw Food Rocks for the first time (in The Land Pavilion). It was great! All my favorite songs, and it was too cool that Queen was their opening and closing act! Alex really liked the audioanimatronic rock groups.

We also found the health food part of EPCOT, which is in the bottom floor of The Land. Too bad we found it after we’d eaten virtually all the EPCOT meals we’d need. It’s a food court with lots of vegetarian selections and generally healthier things than you tend to find elsewhere. We’ll certainly make a few stops there during our next trip!

At 7 pm we went back to the Poly and watched the MK fireworks from the beach. This was definitely a better view than you usually have at the MK! We also watched the Electrical Water Pageant, which is very cute.

(BRAD NOTE: Regarding he EWP, George M. Cohan said it best: Many a bum show has been saved by the flag.)

Then back to the room and to sleep.

Day 10, Sunday October 11

We hadn’t decided what to do on this day, and a good thing, too, because Alex came down with a bug and a temperature of 101. So we stayed in the room most of the day and watched TV. Around supper time, Brad and I tried O’Hana’s buffet. Again with the salt, but at least there was a nice salad and some interesting appetizers. We also loved the sliced pineapple after dinner. The CM very nicely let us take Alex a little of the leftovers, although technically that’s against the rules.

We packed and got ready to leave. By this time, we were all ready to go home.

Day 11, Monday October 12

Florida Town Car picked us up, right on time. We had the same driver and he remembered us! (BRAD ADDS: Florida Town Car tells me they always work this way... the same driver who drops you off picks you up.) How nice, and what a nice ending to a great vacation.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it, and I hope we’ve passed along a couple of useful bits of information. The most important thing WE learned is -- don’t be ashamed of unabashedly loving the All Star Resorts. They’re the most bang for the buck, and every bit as much fun as their more high-maintenance cousins!

(BRAD ADDS: Absolutely correct! From the bottom to the top end at Disney resort hotels, quality goes up in a linear fashion while the price goes up logarithmically. All you get at higher end hotels is a slightly larger room, and perhaps a smidge more travel convenience [though at DxL this is highly debatable]. The theming is great everywhere, the service is friendly, the rooms are clean and even the TV channel selection is identical. Next time, we will definitely spend a good part of the vacation at an All-Star Resort).

Alex’ not-to-be-missed list:

Carousel of Progress (MK) Excellent song, impressive effects
Timekeeper (MK) Amazing special effects, great jokes
Legend of the Lion King (MK) Great songs
Horizons (EPCOT) I just liked it
Spaceship Earth (EPCOT) Very good effects
Journey into Imagination (EPCOT) Fun, upbeat
Food Rocks (EPCOT) Excellent songs, neat audioanimatronics
Muppetvision 3D (EPCOT) The best 3D effects, good jokes
Alex’ to-be-missed list

Pirates of the Caribbean (MK) Boring
Haunted Mansion (MK) The effects aren’t worth the worry it generates
Living with the Land (EPCOT) Not into farming
HISTA (EPCOT) Poorly scripted
Kilimanjaro Safaris (AK) Tries to pass itself off as a thrill ride at the end -- they should keep it like a regular safari
Laurie Lemley

__________________
You just read a trip report that was originally published in our MousePlanet Trip Reports column.

Reader-submitted trip reports have always been an extremely popular feature here at MousePlanet. In order to improve the search functionality and shorten the time from when you submit a trip report and the report gets published, you can now post your trip reports directly to our Trip Report forums. The forums are moderated, but reports should become available for reading very quickly.