Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
Resort: ASMR
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult, Senior
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran, Infrequent
Comments: Ronnie's report covers her family's trip (Ronnie, husband Mike, and Daughter Jill - and Jill's Grandma) for about a week. The plan was to addict Grandma to WDW as much as the rest of the family is. You'll have to read up to see if it worked or not. One other thing, if you've ever been curious about "hightea" served at the Grand Floridian, read up. The O'Rourke party did that one afternoon. (I've been curious about that for years, so I really enjoyed reading about it myself.)


Hi, folks! Iago here, finally, with my trip report. I flew South to Walt Disney World on September 30th, 1998, and returned home on October 5th. Boy, are my arms tired!

Just a friendly warning before you begin. This trip report is long. Very long. ABC will be running the mini-series next month. ; ) If you don't like long, detailed trip reports, I suggest you get out now, while you still can, before my demonic -- er, I mean, dynamic -- personailty sucks you in.

You have been warned.

Facts About The Flock:

Me. Iago. AKA Ronnie. Age 39. The Disney nut in the family. Trip planner and touring commando (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm working on it).
Mike: Age 41. The hubby. Likes Disney, but more interested in the Yankees than Mickey (yeah, I'm working on *that*, too).
Jill: Age 7. Likes blue nail polish, the Spice Girls, and anything with a high sugar content. Has a tendency to get cold feet just before the big rides. (A work in progress. Check back in a few years.)
The three of us are Disney veterans, having made family trips in 1994, 1995, 1996, and in March of this year. I also made a solo trip in 1996.

Mom: Age 69. Had been to the Disney-MGM Studios once, in 1989, and to Epcot a couple of times, including once in March of this year, when she met us there for the day. Never stayed at a Disney resort. Had never seen the Magic Kingdom. (My work on this project has been abandoned. Read on.)
This trip was planned a long time ago. I got the idea in my head that it would be great to show my Mom around Disney World. I wanted her to be as amazed and delighted by the place as I am. Next time I have an idea, smack me, OK? ; ) I made our reservations for two connecting rooms at All Star Music back in July of 1997. No MKC discounts were available at that time, so I was quoted the regular price of $74/night per room before tax. In January of 1998, I called CRO again, and was thrilled to get a 10% MKC discount, bringing the price down to $66.60/night per room. In August of this year, I called back again, because we had decided to get Annual Passes, and I was able to get a rock bottom AP price of $64/night per room. With tax, our room total would be $716.80 for 5 nights.

We bought our APs (for me, Mike and Jill) in September, through the Disney Store, just before the prices went up. I made reservations with Tiffany Town Car, because I determined that it would actually be cheaper than using Mears for the four of us. I printed out the $5 coupon from the internet. I was riding high, feeling like I could conquer the World and get discounts at every turn. Things were looking good.

I feel like my trip really started on September 25th, when I drove to Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta to meet Mark Wilkinson and his wife Mona, who were returning to California after a 2-week WDW trip. They had a brief layover in Atlanta between flights. Their plane landed, and I was waiting at the gate. Then I saw Mark's smiling face. We had exchanged photos over the net, so it wasn't necessary for me to hold up a "Kungaloosh!" sign, though I had considered it. : ) Hugs were exchanged all around, and the three of us walked to their next gate, which luckily was on the same concourse.

They told me about some of the highlights of their trip, which included the special dinner at the California Grill on the one and only night of the big fireworks display, on September 24th. They also gave me some details of the wonderful backstage tour they had taken. I admired Mark's hat, which he had gotten at the Adventurers' Club. We made some unsuspecting bystander take our picture - with both of our cameras. The guy actually did a good job. In all, we talked for about 30 minutes before they had to board their next flight. It was a great experience. But if you ever meet Mark, don't leave him alone with a Pop-Tart. You'll be sorry. : ) I'll let him explain that remark in more detail in his own trip report. Anyway, it was a wonderful kick-off to my own trip. I was psyched.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Birdie quote for the day:

I saw with open eyes Singing birds sweet Sold in the shops For the people to eat, Sold in the shops of Stupidity Street. - Ralph Hodgson, "Stupidity Street"

I shop there all the time.

I got a little worried when Hurricane Georges decided to make a slow trip over the Keys, and into the Gulf, and ultimately across Georgia. The weather forecast for Atlanta on 9/30 was for rain, possibly quite heavy, as Georges swept across the state like Sherman. But we were lucky. The rain stayed mostly south of Atlanta, and we left our home in the northwest Atlanta suburbs around 6 AM, encountering only light rain. We actually got a parking space at the airport, which was a big relief after having to search for an offsite space on our March trip. We parked under cover, for $9/day.

Our Delta flight was uneventful, except for the fact that we were in the middle section of an L-1011, and no one else sat in our row. Whoopee!! Elbow room. Our tickets had cost about $111 each. We had gotten my Mom a free Delta ticket from Newark to Orlando with Mike's frequent flyer miles. She was scheduled to land at 9:30 AM, and we were due in at 10 AM.

And there she was, sitting near the baggage claim area at MCO, talking to Mohammed, our Tiffany Town Car driver. We collected our luggage, and headed out to a nice navy blue town car, which was very comfortable. I mentioned to Mohammed that Tiffany was getting great reviews on the net. In no time at all, we arrived at ASM, where I paid Mohammed with my AMEX card (total $78 with tip).

We stored our luggage, and then went to the front desk. Check-in went quickly and smoothly, and we received not one, but two, AMEX fanny packs, one of which I gave to my mom. We had been assigned two connecting rooms at Rock Inn, which were not ready yet. I had considered calling ahead and requesting Calypso or Jazz, but I didn't want to jeopardize the connecting room request, so I thought it best to take whatever we got. My mom bought a 4 day Park Hopper with cash. She had a one-day ticket that she had received as a gift, and we were planning to use it at Animal Kingdom on Friday. Just a note about the Hopper pass. The CM mentioned to us that if the pass was purchased separately, and was not tied in to the resort ID, it could not be replaced if lost. However, if the resort ID was lost, it *could* be replaced. So the Park Hopper went on my mom's resort pass.

We went to the food court for lunch, taking our All Star mugs with us. These had been purchased on a previous trip. We ordered a large cheese pizza, and we bought a refillable mug for mom. (Total $21.92) The pizza was OK, but not as good as I remembered from our stay at AS-Sports in 1995. But a filling and inexpensive lunch for the four of us.

We caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom, where we needed to exchange our AP vouchers for the real thing. This didn't take very long, and we were soon through the turnstiles. I was so thrilled to be back. I couldn't wait to show Mom the view of the castle from Town Square. There it was! And it looked gorgeous. "Mom, look at this -- uh, Mom?"

Where was she?

I turned around, and I swear she was just emerging from under the Railroad Station. And she was walking v...e...r...y......s...l...o...w...l...y. I said, "Are you OK?" She assured me she was fine. She just needed to walk slowly. Mike and I looked at each other. This was not good. We had just arrived, and already she was having trouble.

I should explain here that when we met her at Epcot in March, we got her a wheelchair, because she had hurt her foot a couple of weeks before, and she's had bad knees since her days playing baseball, softball, and basketball back in the late forties and fifties. And Epcot is a huge park. But she had been embarrassed about using the chair, and she vowed that she would start walking every day at home to prepare for this trip. Well, the best laid plans...

So we started walking up Main Street. And I had to keep looking behind me to make sure we didn't lose her. I couldn't even force myself to walk as slowly as she was. Tomorrow, we would get a wheelchair for MGM. But I figured a couple of hours in the MK would be all right.

We headed toward the Adventureland Bridge, and we stopped to admire the Lion King topiaries, which are incredible! I noticed Rafiki holding up Simba first, and thought it was amazing. Then I saw the ones on the opposite side of the pathway. Pumbaa was especially realistic, because there was a tiny live lizard in his mouth. This was the first of many lizards we would see this trip. I've never encountered so many lizards in the World before. Must have been the heat.

Have I mentioned that it was hot? My God, the whole time we were there it hovered around 90, and the humidity was oppressive. The temps were above normal for the end of September and early October. Ick!

Over the bridge, and -- where else? -- to the Tiki Room! I had to see Iago and Zazu for the first time. We walked right into the preshow area, and I was delighted by the William & Morris banter. They never do say which agent is representing which bird, but I picture Don Rickles (William) as Iago's agent, and Phil Hartman (Morris) as Zazu's. Don is such a loudmouth, and Phil is such a smoothie, that it just seems fitting to me. Whaddya think?

We entered the show building, and I made the mistake of heading to the right. This put us in a terrible spot for viewing Zazu and especially Iago, and we mostly saw the Tiki Goddess's back. But I loved the new show. Some folks have said that Iago is furry. Well, I expected him to look like he'd been through the fluff cycle in the dryer, but he really didn't look that bad. At least until Uh-Oh-A the Tiki Goddess got through with him. Then he was a bit overheated. When I heard "Get on your feet..." I knew it was the signal to stand up, but I was the only person who did. : ) It's funny. At the old show, you couldn't stop folks from getting up and walking out. Now they have a hard time making people understand that it's time to leave!

Since the Jungle Cruise was down for rehab, we decided that some yo-hoing was in order. Onto Pirates! Mom was a little apprehensive walking through the queue. I think she felt unsteady in the darkness. So she was holding my hand, and she joked that our roles were now reversed. She reminded me how I had gripped her hand so tightly when I was a little kid, that I had left bruises on her. This was a very poignant moment for me, because I realized just how frail she had become, and how much she really did need my assistance. We got to the boat, and I helped her board, but her legs were incredibly stiff, and she had some trouble positioning them comfortably. She actually had to lift one leg with her hands to move it. A feeling of dread was creeping over me.

Well, nothing like a bunch o' skeletons to overcome that feeling, eh?

We passed the skeleton steering the ship, and Mike said, "Look, it's a Super Model!" I pointed out things like the hairy-legged pirate, and the one who looks like Sid Caesar in the jail (thanks, JT!).

Back out into the blinding sun we went. Since it was the middle of the day, I didn't think Splash or Big Thunder were good bets, and Jill was havng her usual cold feet ("I don't want to ride Splash Mountain *today*, OK Mom?"), but she wanted to do the Haunted Mansion. So we walked through Frontierland to Liberty Square.

We admired the headstones briefly, and were promptly admitted to the mansion. Things were going smoothly until we got to the darn moving sidewalk. I had warned Mom about it in the queue. I told her to expect it, and to be careful. What I *should* have said was, "Don't hold onto the railing when you step onto the moving sidewalk. Just keep walking as quickly as you can." Only I didn't say that. So Mike and Jill boarded their doom buggy, and Mom stepped onto the moving sidewalk, which I guess made her feel unsteady, so her natural reaction was to grip the railing, which was unfortunately attached to the *non*-moving floor. So her feet began sliding out from under her, and her top half was back clinging to the railing. The rest is kind of a blur. I know that I had to step onto the moving platform to try to support her, and a female CM was also trying to support her, and eventually the floor stopped moving. Then there were two CMs asking, "Are you all right, ma'am?" and saying, "We can get you some first aid right away if you need it" and that kind of thing, and we eventually got her up and into the vehicle.

Sigh.....I just figured out why it's taken me so long to write this report. Don't ask me about the rest of the ride. I don't remember.

Somehow, we emerged from the mansion still in one piece. Happy Place. I needed a Happy Place. Let's do It's a Small World. No moving sidwalk. Big bench seats. It seemed safe. So I reminded Mom about how I played the song over and over and drove her nuts when I was little, and I asked her what ever happened to that record? Did she "accidentally" break it?

And she didn't even remember that I ever *had* the record, much less what happened to it.

I was crushed. I clearly recall her exasperation over my repetitive playing of that song. I had been waiting to get her on the ride to torture her with it. And she didn't even remember that she hated it. And, unfortunately, she was tortured already at the Haunted Mansion, in a totally unexpected way.

So I tried to make the best of it. I told her that my friend Tricia served as a model for the little Irish girl doll. That seemed to impress her. She appeared to enjoy the ride. I think.

Out into the heat again. It was by then nearly parade time. There was no way we were going to survive standing in the heat to watch it, so I led the flock to the little park behind the Christmas Shoppe, which was deserted except for one small group of people at one of the tables. I sat everybody down, and I went off to find drinks. I think I got 3 sodas and a bottled water, for about $8. The park was a godsend. Blissfully cool and shady. We were removed from the action, but we could see the floats pass over the bridge. We didn't see the audience participation segments, but at least we were off our feet and out of the sun. We spotted more lizards on the stone wall near our table. The only hazard was the little nuts, or acorns, which were falling from the trees at an alarming rate. Or maybe they were being *thrown* from the trees by angry squirrels.

The parade passed by, and some of the characters spotted us and waved. As it moved down Main Street, I decided to call the hotel and see if our rooms were ready, and activate our keys. I borrowed a phone from a CM in the Christmas Shoppe, and learned that our rooms (4546 and 4547) were ready, and that our luggage had already been delivered. Woohoo!

We followed the parade as it got to Town Square, and caught the bus back to ASM. Now Mom had to walk from the bus stop to our rooms. Once again, I found myself looking over my shoulder. It made the walk seem longer than it actually was. Wheelchair tomorrow. Definitely.

You may be asking yourself at this point, "Why didn't Ronnie just go get a wheelchair right away, as soon as she thought there might be a problem?"

Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

And I think I was still on some kind of Disney arrival high, which impaired my thinking. On top of that, Mom insisted that she was fine. We were both in denial. Now where was I? Oh yes, our accommodations.

The rooms were at the back of building 4, overlooking Country Fair. They were very quiet. I noticed immediately that things didn't look as fresh as they had during my previous stay, in January of '96. But that's to be expected. There were scuff marks on the walls, the bedspreads were faded, and the carpets had some stains. But they looked clean otherwise, and they were delightfully icy. We unpacked and freshened up a bit. We were going to meet Kevin Stringer and his family outside the Biergarten for dinner at 6:30. There was a brief downpour just before we left the room, but thankfully it stopped in time for us to walk to the bus stop.

Off to Epcot. I remembered to bring along the gifts we had gotten for the Stringers. We took the boat across World Showcase Lagoon to Germany, and arrived just at 6:30. We sat by the statue of St. George, outside Der Teddybar, and I scanned the passing families anxiously, trying to spot them. Kev and I had exchanged photos, but I was so nervous, as I always am when meeting people for the first time. Suddenly, there they were! Big smiles all around, and introductions. What a handsome family! Poor Georgia was not feeling very well, and was sitting in the stroller looking a little sad. We exchanged gifts, and I thought this was so amazing, because each of us had chosen items that represented not only our home countries, but also our home towns. I won't go into detail, but I am still shaking my head over the fact that the Stringers' beautiful home town is over 1300 years old!

Our Priority Seating was for 7 PM, but we checked in a little early, and were seated very quickly. As luck would have it, they seat tables of eight, so our group took up an entire table. And what a table! We were seated down front, as close as you can get to the entertainment. We happened to arrive during the festivities, which are on and off about every half hour. At first, we had to shout across the table to each other, but soon enough the musicians took a break and we were able to actually talk. : )

Let me say a little about the restaurant. It's a beautiful place, full of atmosphere. The tables are set on tiers around the stage area, with the buffet tables set on the highest tier. It really looks like a German town. I thought the sauerbraten, potatoes, and red cabbage were delicious, and I had seconds of those. Jill managed to eat some chicken tenders, little hot dogs, and applesauce, which is pretty good for her. Mike went back for more. Mom had one serving, but ordered cheesecake for dessert, which she said was very good.

I took pictures of the Stringer clan, and even Georgia, who was not feeling her best, took a very sweet picture with her dad. The entertainment started up again, and there was a yodelling contest. The three contestants were not very good yodelers, but one of them, a lady from North Carolina, had a huge group of supporters from her company in the audience, and so got big cheers. One of the band members gave a cow bell-playing demonstration, and the bells ranged in size from delicate little tinkly things to huge monstrosities that looked like they had once belonged to Babe the blue ox. He was quite good, and after some urging (and some beer) played once again, this time at breakneck speed. Much applause.

Another guy in the band was very good-looking (can you say "beadable"?). I thought he looked like Jim Lampley, the sportscaster. Anyway, he played a really long, long horn (alpenhorn?) that looked like the ones in the cough drop commercial. You know ......."Ricola!" Much more applause and mental bead-throwing.

During most of the entertainment, little kids were having a great time out on the dance floor, slipping and sliding and expressing themselves. It reminded me of a wedding reception. Eventually, there was some instruction in the "chicken dance", I believe, and Tammy and India got out there and strutted their stuff. Have I mentioned that India is one of the most outgoing, vivacious young ladies I have ever met? What a delight! I can't decide whether she takes after mum or dad in this respect. : ) There was no sulking over meeting new people. It was as though she had known us all her life. Jill, on the other hand, takes awhile to warm up, but by the end of the evening, she and India were the best of buddies.

Eventually, the meal came to an end, but it was a terrific experience. Final bill was $83.61, including tip, and well worth it.

Upon leaving the restaurant, we decided to take the boat over to Canada and the UK to listen to the bands, but we were told that there would be no return boat crossing over, since it had to be docked at Germany by 8:30 for IllumiNations. So we began walking. We stopped at the Refreshment Outpost between Germany and China for a couple of minutes. India and Jill had a blast in the Coca-Cola misting area. Jill came running over to tell me that one of the boxes squirted water at her. She wanted to show me. So I went over to the thing, which looks like an old refrigerated case, and lifted up the lid.

Nothing happened.

Until I bent down to examine it, at which point I got squirted right in the face! Well, Jill thought this was hysterical. Now that she had a buddy, she was enjoying herself immensely. Clearly, India was having a good effect on her. Thank you, India. : )

We continued to make our way around the lagoon, and just as we got to Canada, the rain started to come down. We all huddled under a little umbrella structure. Out came our ponchos. Luckily, it only lasted a few minutes, but it had washed away our chance to hear the bands.

So we found a bench near the Rose and Crown and turned the ponchos inside out to cover the wet seat. Kev took a picture of us with his amazing digital camera / camcorder thingy. He also showed us some of the other photos he had taken with it, including a couple of shots of the gorillas at AK that looked straight out of the pages of "National Geographic."

We watched IllumiNations from the bench. I must say that this show just leaves me cold. It doesn't touch me in any way, like the parades do. It's just BLAH. I like to see the pavilions all lit up, but hearing the beef commercial jingle does nothing for me. ; )

We let most of the crowds drift out ahead of us, and then began our trek past the "sparkly sidewalks" and Spaceship Earth, which Kevin admired wistfully, since it was the last night of his trip, and he is very fond of it. It did look quite beautiful.

We all rode the bus back to ASM, where we parted company in the Calypso section. I was so sad to say good-bye. I'm sad thinking about it right now. Kev, you and your wonderful family created a very special Disney memory for us. Thank you so much for a magical evening.

Before going to bed, I got my swimsuit on, and relaxed in the Piano pool for a few minutes, by myself. I wanted to make sure I got in the pool at least once this trip, since we had never gotten in the Dixie Landings pool on our last trip.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1

Birdie quote for the day:

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore." - Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven

Today was going to be our MGM day. The phone rang at some ungodly hour, and I picked it up, only to hear the last strains of "...a girl worth fighting --"

"Hello?" I mumbled.

And then, there he was. The Big Cheese himself, talking about "big doin's today" and making me *want* to get out of bed. By the way, someone suggested awhile back that Mickey's spiel is voice-activated, and I think this is a good possibility. One morning during our trip, I was in such a stupor that I forgot to speak, and I heard music for quite awhile. Finally, it dawned on me that I hadn't said hello, and as soon as I spoke, Mickey responded.

We all managed to get ourselves ready pretty quickly, and over to the food court to recharge our batteries. I just had to get a croissant with egg, cheese, and bacon. I never eat bacon at home -- in fact, I only eat breakfast about once a week -- so I indulge myself at Disney World. I'm sure my arteries will thank me later. They're still a little backed up from the trip. Total for all of us was $17.75.

Then I made the mistake of deciding we should leave our mugs in the room, so we wouldn't have to carry them in the backpack (which was surprisingly heavy from our ponchos). So Mike returned them to the room, and the rest of us waited for the bus. It seemed like he was gone a long time. And then the bus came. And people started boarding.......and he still wasn't back.........and I kept scanning the hallway for him. I should explain here and now that, like the Matchmaker in "Mulan", I am not a patient woman. And there is nothing I hate more than missing a Disney bus because I'm waiting for someone. I start to mutter very un-Disneylike things, and I pace, and I fret, and it's not a pretty sight. Finally, Mike arrived.

Just as the bus pulled away.

So a little argument ensued, which I admit was all my fault, and, after much pouting and seething, things were OK again. Whew! It's tough being a commando, and even tougher being married to one.

So we didn't enter the MGM gates until around 9:15 (choke, gasp -- no, I'm all right, really), and we rented a wheelchair for Mom at Oscar's. I really like the CM costumes there, especially the ladies' costumes. I told the CM that, and her reaction made me think that *she* wasn't too thrilled with wearing it. But I think they're very cool anyway. They're striped jumpsuits that remind me of Rosie the Riveter's style. I think it would be a big mistake for Disney to go with the bland polo-and-chinos type outfits for all of their onstage theme park CMs, and I really hope that never happens. As for the wheelchair, it seemed much easier to move than the one we had gotten at Epcot in March.

We headed for the Tower of Terror, and Mom bravely (or ignorantly) said she would do it. Jill refused, so we all went through the library together (no line, BTW) and then Mike and Jill took the chicken elevator. Mom and I were seated in the back row. I thought it was fantastic! I love the latest combination of lifts and drops. Mom closed her eyes through the whole thing, and the picture showed her turning her head to the side and cowering. I don't think she saw any of the special effects. At the end, she said, "Don't ever make me do that again!" Then it was Mike's turn, so I got to ride twice. We had never gotten to ride it together. We were both screaming, and he was so hyped about it. I think it was his favorite attraction of the whole trip.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid was our next stop. This was our first experience with taking the wheelchair into an attraction. We all sat in the back row, and had a great view of the whole show. It seemed much less misty when we entered the theater than it had in March. Maybe it gets mistier as the day wears on. The special effects are so good, but the story really does get rushed through at the end, and it's kind of confusing. But definitely a feel-good attraction.

Next, we took the new version of the Animation Tour. Again, we sat in the back row, and watched the Robin Williams / Walter Cronkite intro. Not long after the movie started, I heard the distinct sound of steady, deep breathing. I looked over at my mother, and she was SLEEPING! Sleeping through a Robin Williams movie! So I nudged her and gave her a dirty look. Hey, I had to do it. If I hadn't, the whole theater would have been shaking from her snoring within minutes. I think she managed to stay awake through the rest of the film.

Then, when we were with the real, live animator person, she did it again! So I nudged her again. Jeez, snoring during a film is bad enough, but how insulting would it have been if she started snoring during the animator's presentation?

He demonstrated how to draw Mushu, and I enjoyed this segment very much (except for the nudging part, that is). I also loved seeing the art from "Tarzan." The pictures of Jane reminded me of either Ariel or Belle. I can't remember which one now, but I think it was Ariel. There was some "Tarzan" animation footage moving on one of the computer screens. I'm not sure if it was a screen saver, or if they were doing a motion test for part of the film, but it was cool.

We spent some time after the tour studying the sculptures and paintings from "Mulan," which I've seen five times. It gets more beautiful each time.

I think our next stop was the Great Movie Ride. We folded up the wheelchair and rode with it in the front row. First time we've ever sat in the front. We had the cowboy scene, and the "bad guy" was a middle-aged woman with glasses. Something didn't feel authentic. I noticed that it's much more difficult to see the Indy segment when sitting in the front of the car. You really have to twist and turn and crane your neck. We were very close to the Wicked Witch, though, and she is convincing even up close. Boy, those CMs really have to get their lines out quickly, because she jumps right into the conversation. Just the tiniest delay would cause her to speak on top of the CM's lines. I love the film clips at the end, but we were a little too close for comfort in the front row.

We ate an early lunch at the ABC Commissary. I had never been there before, and I was impressed with the decor. I expected a loud, bright, cafeteria atmosphere, so I was pleasantly surprised with the subdued lighting and attractive surroundings. The only problem I could see was that the line to order the food got backed up right to the front entrance very quickly. What is this place like in the summertime? The lines must go out the door. I don't think there's enough space there. You walk in and BAM! you're on line.

I ordered a chicken wrap, which was very tasty. Mike had a burger platter, and Mom had chicken tenders with fries. Jill, who is a very picky eater, didn't like anything on the menu, so she just had fries. With drinks, the bill was $23.92.

We headed to Star Tours afterwards, and, after seeing Mom's reaction to ToT, I thought it best that she didn't ride. Besides, she HATES Science fiction. Mike and I took her to "The Empire Strikes Back" years and years ago, and she couldn't stand it. She waited for us at the entrance to Endor Vendors, where it was shady and cool. The ride was a walk-on. In fact, just about everything was a walk-on that day. I have never seen the Studios so empty. We managed to get the last row, and I got the corner seat, which made for a great ride. All three of us enjoy this one.

I really wanted Mom to see Hunchback, because she's involved in community theater, and I thought she would appreciate the great talent and the clever effects. The theater was nearly full when we arrived, but there was wheelchair seating available in the front row, on the left side of the theater. This is certainly not the best vantage point, as some of the better scenes were blocked from view, but we were very close to Clopin at a certain point in the show, and he really hammed it up. Mom remarked that Clopin and Quasi had very good voices. This was one of the few times she spontaneously offered a positive remark about an attraction or show during the trip. Most of the time, I had to ask, "Did you like that?". It was very frustrating. After the show, she said that she had seen the Charles Laughton film long ago, but really hadn't understood the story behind it, and the stage show helped make it clear to her. This is still my favorite live show in WDW. (Sorry, FOLK fans!) BTW, we unfortunately only caught the tail end of Matt the Juggler's pre-show.

Jill had been begging for an ice pop, so we went off in search of one after the show. As we walked along Mickey Avenue, we came across a lot of the characters meeting and greeting. We had never gotten Piglet's autograph or photo, so we made sure to stop and say hello to him. Is he PINK, or what!!?? When I got my photos back from the developer, I was in shock at how pink he looked. I was also surprised that the characters were the traditional ones like Minnie and Pluto. These characters are EVERYWHERE. I really think that characters should be park-specific. The Hundred Acre Wood gang can be found in all four theme parks, and several character meals. Let's keep them in one special place. And let's have more sightings of the obscure characters.

We finally found ice pops at a cart in the Animation Courtyard. Jill got something called an Itzakadoozy, I think, or something like that. It's a gigantic, multi-colored twisty pop. Mom and Mike got Mickey bars. I bought a soda. We found some shade on a bench outside the Soundstage and relaxed. (Yes, fellow commandoes, the dreaded "R" word. Read it and weep.)

Parade time was fast approaching, so we positioned ourselves in the wheelchair viewing section at the bottom of the "Superstar Television-Soon-To-Be-Doug's-Large-Toony-Headed-People Show" steps, where it was shady. Right up until the parade started, you could have found a front row spot along the route. It was that deserted. The "Mulan" music started, and Mushu came along on his bicycle. And there was the Matchmaker and the brides-to-be, and the very comical soldiers in drag, and the enormous Shan-Yu who, much to my dismay, was only in balloon form. Hey, I want a real live hunky Shan-Yu, Disney people! And then Mulan and Shang waved down to us, and the very tall Emperor, and -- wait a minute, is that the end? Where is the big dragon? We wants the dragon! We wants the dragon! But he wasn't there. I don't know what the problem was. But the parade seemed *very* brief. I was disappointed. I've heard so many great things about the Disneyland version, and I was hoping to see some of that, but it was not to be.

Mike and Jill wanted to see the Muppets, so we crossed back over that way. They were painting the forced perspective buildings on New York Street, BTW, which was making them look far too sparkly clean and bright. Not authentic at all. I hope they dirtied them up with some faux dirt when they were finished. We sat in the back row for MuppetVision, which was good for viewing the 3D effects, but we couldn't see the Chef from where we were sitting. This film is a hoot, but I'd love to see a new version. Still Muppets, of course, but a new storyline. After the movie, we were walking past Pizza Planet, and Jill pointed out that Slinky Dog's ears were missing, along with his back legs. Now, the legs might have been purposely left off, because he was sitting way up on the roof, but there were only these two ugly strips of material on his head where his ears should have been. It almost looked like they had been attached with velcro, and somebody had ripped them off. Was he the victim of high winds? It looked awful. I hope they've fixed that by now.

We hadn't seen the Beauty and the Beast show yet, and it was approaching the time when we would need to leave for our dinner reservation at Gulliver's, so we had to make a decision on one last attraction. I checked the show schedule, and BatB was about to begin, so we hustled over there (which isn't easy when you're pushing a wheelchair). We passed a crowd in the street on Sunset Blvd., and Mom said, "What happened to that lady? Did she pass out from the heat?" But it was only a streetmosphere character doing some kind of routine. I don't know why she was lying in the street, but we didn't have time to find out. We had missed any preshow, so I don't know if Four for a Dollar had performed. I generally like this show, but the section where the Beast transforms is so awkwardly staged. It always bothers me. And Belle with that hood over her face drives me nuts. I realize they're disguising the fact that it's not the original Belle, because she must be changing into her ballgown, but it just looks so weird. And does it make anyone else crazy that Disney has always promoted this show by showing a clip of Belle and the Beast dancing together in all their finery, like in the movie? But in the actual stage version, that scene occurs with Belle and the *Prince*, not the Beast.

Don't get me started on the Tower of Terror promos with the group of kids *standing up.*

Where was I before my rant? Oh yeah, the music and costumes are superb. Gaston was quite good, but he didn't look "roughly the size of a barge" to me. Maybe a rowboat, but not a barge. No, really, I *like* this show. I do. : )

Mike had been eyeing the Tower of Terror wistfully all day, wanting to try a second run, so I told him to go for it after the show, and meet us at the new Villains shop. I wanted to see how that Jafar / Iago t-shirt looked. As it turns out, I thought it was very ugly, so I didn't buy it. And Jill wanted a Runaway Brain shirt, but that was only part of the Bad Boys shirt, so she wasn't interested. I asked two CMs in the Villains shop about "Edith & Adrian: Head to Toe" and neither one had a clue what I was talking about. Sigh. Some of the Fantasmic! stuff was OK, but since we wouldn't get to see the show, I was boycotting the merchandise. ; ) So the only thing I bought in there was some jelly beans. The caramel corn flavor and the pear flavor were excellent. I also kept bumping the wheelchair into the merchandise displays that were in the middle of the room. There isn't much room to maneuver in there.

We waited outside on a bench for Mike, who loved the Tower just as much the second time around. We returned the wheelchair, and I gave Jill the Disney Dollar refund. On our way out of the park, who should we run into but Randy Berbaum! He saw my RADPin, and flagged me down. Randy had been very busy at the Indiana Jones merchandise area. He had bought a stick with a skull on the top, and an Indy bullwhip. He said if there was no one around his campsite, he was going to practice with it. : ) I pictured Randy cracking that whip and knocking out lizards all over Ft. Wilderness. Swing, Snap, Crack -- Gotcha!! I'm sure that nobody disturbed Randy's campsite after that, what with that skull sticking out of the ground, and the whip hanging on the branch, and the weird incantations coming from inside the tent....

Oh, all right, I made up the part about the incantations.

How did whip practice go, Randy? <grin>

We caught the very slow boat to the Swan, and pulled up to the dock exactly at 5:30. After freshening up, we were about 10 minutes late for our Gulliver's reservation, but there were only a couple of other tables filled, so it was no problem. The restaurant is lovely. Our waitress pointed out that we were dining in a giant birdcage. If you look up, you'll see pretend birdies on their perches. She was a very nice waitress, but she must have said the word "youse" (pronounced like "use") a half dozen times. I cringed every time. "How are youse tonight?" "Would youse like a sample of wine?" Ouch.

The food was splendid. Mom and I both got the Gulliver's Feast, which is an entree, salad, and appetizer. There were 2 entree choices: I think one was a seafood medley, and the other was a beef dish. It was "tournedoes" of beef. I don't know if I've spelled that right, but in my haste to order, I'm sure I pronounced it "tor-NAY-doze." And I know very well I should have said "TOR-nuh-doze." So that waitress is probably telling everybody in her restaurant newsgroup that some heathen asked for tornadoes. Can youse believe it? ; )

I ordered the roasted garlic parmesan bisque as my appetizer, and it was delicious. Mom got crab cakes. Mike ordered off the regular menu, and got pecan-crusted grouper, which he said was fantastic. The house salad was also very nice. Jill got the kid's cheese pizza, and they brought her drink in a souvenir cup shaped like a dolphin (the Sea World kind, not the dolphin fish, top-of-the-Dolphin-hotel kind). I think this was the best meal of our whole trip.

Goofy joined us in a little while. He tripped as he entered the restaurant. And he kept hitting his head on the awnings, and just generally acting Goofy. He was very good. A short time later, Pluto came out to lick us. I got some good photos with these two. If you're looking for a quiet, subdued character meal, this is it.

Time for dessert. The waitress directed me and Mike to a large table where all the night's desserts were displayed. Wow! They all looked amazing. We decided to split a large portion of German chocolate cake. Jill got a big bowl of ice cream. Mom passed on dessert. The cake was scrumptious. Our bill came to $93.44. We used the $50 coupon, and after a $15 tip, our final layout was $58.44. I would love to eat at Gulliver's again, but without the coupon, I think it's just too pricey for a return visit.

We took the boat to Epcot, where we were going to meet Alison for IllumiNations. Rumor had it that the show would be different that night. It was Epcot's 16th anniversary, so I thought there might be some good changes. As we pulled away from the dock, I looked up at the swan statues, and they looked gorgeous.

We picked up another wheelchair at the International Gateway, and passed over da Old Troll's bridge. We were headed toward Mexico. Along the way, we passed the Japan Pavilion, and I had promised myself that I'd try a Kaki-Gori on this trip. Seemed like the perfect opportunity. I know I had just had that cake, but how filling could shaved ice be? I chose the honeydew flavor, and it was remarkable! These are nothing like sno-cones, which tend to get rock hard and lose all the syrup, so you wind up chewing on a big, bland ice cube. The Kaki-Gori was soft, like freshly-fallen snow, and the flavor lasted all the way through, and never separated from the ice. I passed it around to Mike and Jill, who both enjoyed it very much. It was gone by the time we got to Norway.

We hadn't ridden Maelstrom in awhile, because the lines are usually so long, and we had a few minutes before we met Alison. So we parked the wheelchair outside Akershus, and walked in. I couldn't believe it. There was NO ONE in there. We got right onto a boat. When we got to the drop, Mom almost had her head in her lap. I thought she was going to hit her head on the boat, so I warned her please not to do that. I couldn't believe how terrified she seemed of the slightest thrill. It dawned on me that the whole Disney experience was sensory overload for her. It seemed like she was almost gritting her teeth in determination to *get through* it all for our sake. Where was the pleasure? Even the shows didn't seem to provide any true enjoyment for her, which surprised me.

We watched the film, which I've always liked. The design of the seats is so unique in this theater, and adds to the Norwegian experience, IMO.

I had told Alison we'd meet her somewhere near the Cantina seating area, forgetting that there were seats on both sides of the building. So I parked the group on the far side of the building, and walked back in the other direction to see if I could spot her. Man, World Showcase is dark at night! I noticed it the previous night, when I was afraid we'd lose Jill and India. I think they should lighten things up a bit with appropriate lighting for each pavilion. Like half-naked Aztec men with torches. You know. Authentic. As I was walking back, Alison and I passed each other, and I think we each did a hesitant double-take. I had met her only once before, but I *thought* that was her. "Alison?" Yup, it was her. : )

We joined the family, and then it started to rain. Not again! This was the second time we had to pull out the ponchos before IllumiNations. And they are so hot. But this rain wasn't as bad as the previous night, and it stopped before the show started. We had a better view than the night before, but I didn't notice a single difference. Darn! They didn't even mention that it was Epcot's birthday.

I should mention that Alison signed Jill's autograph book, which is really cool. I love the idea of Cast Member autographs. She wrote her a very nice note -- in Spanish even!

I wanted to sit on a bench and relax with Alison for awhile after the show, but my flock was getting cranky. Mike was especially testy, and wanted to leave. I warned him that there would be big crowds at the bus stop, but he was insistent. I suggested that the three of them go back without me, but Jill started to whine about that. I was really embarrassed. At that point, I wanted to ditch the dodos. Stash the stiffs. Run away. Run away and never come back. You get the idea.

What could I do? I apologized to Alison, and told her I'd see her at Pleasure Island the following night. I'm apologizing again, here and now. She didn't exactly get to see my family's best side. : (

So we left, dropping the wheelchair off on the way out. Even though she had been in the chair almost the whole day, Mom was finding the walk to the bus stop and the endless line to be torture. Luckily, there was an empty wheelchair near the bus stop, so she was able to sit while we waited. But I could see that she wasn't doing very well. So I told her to forget about going to Animal Kingdom the next day, and to spend the day resting. I could see the sense of relief wash over her face.

When we got back to the hotel, I went up to the front desk and explained that she was having a hard time, and asked for a wheelchair. It's free for the length of your stay, but if you lose it, you have to pay $250. Trust me when I tell you that the wheelchair we got was not worth $250. These things must get a lot of abuse. There was a broken piece on one of the footrests, and the metal sides of the seat were bowed out from so many people sitting in it who were wider than the chair. You could see the scrape marks where the wheels had rubbed against the metal. Mom had the same problem with it, so it was very hard to push, because the wheels were rubbing. But at least she was off her feet, and she didn't have to walk back to the room.

When we were almost at Rock Inn, Mom said that something on the wheelchair was burning her. Burning? Yes, on her left thigh. She got up, and we examined the chair in the dark, and saw nothing. What could be burning? She described the sensation as "a mild cattle prod," which I found pretty darn funny. First of all, when had she ever experienced a cattle prod to know what it felt like? And secondly, is there such a thing as a *mild* cattle prod? I shall have to ask Kevin Stringer about that, since he mentioned in his trip report that he uses one as a wake-up device. ; ) I finally concluded that it was a result of the wheels rubbing against the metal sides of the chair. For the rest of the trip, she would hold the sides in with her hands while I wheeled. Are we having fun yet?

I got ice from the ice machine and put it in ziplock bags for her knees.

Things weren't going exactly according to plan, but tomorrow was another day.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2

Birdie quote for the day:

Deceive not thyself by overexpecting happiness in the married estate. Remember the nightingales which sing only some months in the spring, but commonly are silent when they have hatched their eggs. - Thomas Fuller, "Of Marriage"

Uh-huh. ;

Mickey called again, and we prepared for our day at Animal Kingdom. We decided not to bother with the ponchos, since there was only a slight chance of rain. I put the Do Not Disturb sign on Mom's room door, so the maid wouldn't wake her. I felt awful leaving her in the room. Her knees looked very swollen. But she was obviously happy to stay in bed, and she seemed to be used to treating her knees. I told her I'd call her from the park to check on her.

The three of us had breakfast at the food court for $11.91, then caught the bus to AK. We got there a few minutes after opening. Right after we passed through the turnstiles, we noticed a CM with a tarantula in a plastic box. He told us a little about the hairy fellow, and then we saw another CM with a couple of scorpions. Well, they certainly set the mood! We went down the path to our left, and saw the giant anteater. I think Kevin Stringer described it as a big, shaggy carpet, and that's certainly accurate.

I began to notice the little details, like the lamps, which had metal silhouettes of that AK logo with the animals, dragon, and dinosaur marching across it. The glass was iridescent, and very pretty. I simply can not believe how much landscaping was done in this park. It is so lush and jungle-like. My first glimpse of the Tree of Life was not as awe-inspiring as I had anticipated. I imagined it looming larger than life, but it really didn't look all that big. It wasn't until I got very close to it that I was able to fully appreciate it.

Our intention was to head for the Safari first thing, but it was tough to pass by It's Tough To Be A Bug when there was no line. So off we went, down the long and winding queue, and this is where I began to really love the tree. For some reason, I had pictured the queue being on the outskirts of the tree roots. But it is actually in among the roots, and as you walk, you can pick out various animal carvings, and touch them, and admire the incredible detail. Just when you think you've found all there is to see, another one pops out at you. We stopped to take Jill's picture with some very colorful live parrots along the way. (Distant relatives of Iago, perhaps?) Eventually, we got to the theater, and received our bug glasses. Cute.

Jill sat on my lap, since there were certain effects she didn't want to experience. I thought the 3D effects were just a bit fuzzy, but I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I didn't hear any crying children. : )

We were a little disoriented when we emerged on the opposite side of the tree, but we managed to head in the right direction for the Safari. We passed over the bridge to Asia, and I think this area is going to be amazing. Mike stopped to use the restroom, and I couldn't believe how authentic and ancient the building looked. Not that it looked like an ancient restroom, you understand, but it just looked like some old, old building in the middle of a jungle. And the ground, too. Layer upon layer of authenticity. There was even a little snack stand across from the restroom, which wasn't operating yet, but the detail was mind-boggling.

We arrived in Harambe, and Disney has produced a most convincing Africa here. Partially due to the Imagineers' attention to detail, and partially due to the fact that it was blisteringly hot. By the end of our visit to AK, I was glad my mother hadn't come with us, since the heat was intense, and I don't think either one of us would have survived pushing the wheelchair over some of those pathways.

I have a question about the large baobob trees here and on the Safari ride. Are they real? I know the guide mentioned that baobob trees live 2,000 years, and he said they estimated one of them to be about 1,000 years old, but I thought that was all part of the storyline, and I assumed these trees were fake. I mean, they are huge. How could Disney have transported them and successfully replanted them? And how in the world would they have gotten permission to uproot thousand-year-old trees?

I also have another question about them: how do you know when they die? They already look dead. Do they ever bloom? They are quite striking, but I wouldn't want to look at one in my yard.

We waited about 20 minutes to board our jeep, and we all loved the Safari. We didn't see any big cats or zebras, but we saw just about everything else. It truly feels like you are many miles from civilization. We were seated in the last row, and I kept staring at the "muddy" tire tracks behind us, marvelling at the fact that they weren't real. Even the sides of the jeep are painted to look like mud and dust has been splashed on them. For some reason, the old bridge didn't shake. Have they discontinued this effect, or does it operate randomly? The whole journey was seamless in terms of the landscape.

As for the poacher storyline, I think most people were so caught up looking at the animals that they didn't follow the Big Red / Little Red storyline very well. I knew about it ahead of time, and even I didn't pay much attention to it. It was kind of fun to speed up and chase the poachers, though. : )

We didn't walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, but we did peek in at some of the gorillas. I think it was the bachelors. We saw three of them, but they retreated back behind the bushes after a few minutes. Probably to watch the baseball playoffs and scratch themselves.

Oh, wait. I'm thinking of Mike.

The train to Conservation Station reminded me of the Disneyland Railroad, because the seats faced sideways. I just love the luggage piled on top, and the look of the louvers and bamboo shades.

At Conservation Station, we saw some baby ducks and geese, and just browsed around a bit. We tried the live cameras, and managed to zoom in on one of the Safari jeeps. The best part, though, was the sounds of the rainforest with Grandmother Willow. I closed my eyes for the full effect, and I could swear the rain drops were splashing right next to me, and there was *something* walking right behind me and sniffing me. Very intense effects. We went outside to the petting zoo area, and Jill enjoyed meeting the little goats. There were turkeys roaming around, too, and sheep. The elephant hand-washing area is adorable.

After taking the train back to Harambe, we decided to check out CTX. We crossed over to Dinoland and walked right in to the Dino Institute. Just a word about the exterior of the attraction. I thought the building and the fountain in front were really elegant. I genuinely thought it looked like a museum. Except for the throngs of half naked toddlers who were wading in the fountain. And the rather tacky CTX attraction sign, which spoils the look of the building, IMO. Get all those *people* outta the way, and take down that sign, and it would be perfect. : )

The lobby is very impressive and well done. The preshow was OK, but I spent too much time thinking, "That's Phylicia Rashad, and that's the guy from 'Veronica's Closet,' whose name I can't remember." I've read a lot of comparisons between CTX and Indy, and CTX nearly always comes up short in people's opinions. I can understand why. Indy's theming is so elaborate and the vegetation is so lush. There's much more going on visually, with a treat for the eye at every turn. It is, after all, an ancient jungle temple, and it's appropriately rich in atmosphere. CTX, on the other hand, has a much cleaner, almost sterile, feel to it. But I think it works with the research theme. It's a lab coat kind of a place. Now, once you get to the dinosaurs, I guess you could argue that there should be more effort to theme their environment. Agreed. But I thought the attraction worked well overall. It was thrilling and fun. Jill complained of a sore neck when we got off, but that passed quickly.

We tried to hurry over to Camp Minnie-Mickey to catch the 12 o'clock Lion King show, but by the time we got there the rope was up and people were standing by for possible seats. So we decided to have lunch. We walked back to Tusker House in Harambe. This building is *so* well done. It's very easy to suspend one's disbelief in this place. I can't even begin to describe it. You have to see it to believe it. I ordered a chicken caesar salad, which came with delicious bread, and Mike had smoked turkey on focaccia, which he said was excellent. I think Jill had macaroni & cheese. Lunch came to $23 even. I would definitely go back. The restaurant manager was kind enough to let me use a house phone to call Mom. She had just gotten up, and said she was feeling a little better. That eased my mind a bit.

Since it was around 12:35, we decided to try for the next Lion King show, at 1 PM. This time we made it. We were seated in the Elephant section. I thought the four leads were marvelous. I recognized the floats from the Disneyland Lion King parade. Sensational. The show was a high energy celebration, but I still prefer the HoND stage show. FOLK is more a series of vignettes than an actual story.

This show was definitely the most crowded attraction of the day. I don't think it's because of word-of-mouth, or reviews on the net. I think people just hear the magic words "Lion King" and they are drawn to it. Same thing with Legend of the Lion King in the MK. I'm sure some people think these will be similar to the Broadway show. IMO, the original film will be the most enduring Disney classic. It's a great story.

After the show, it was time for some character interaction. We got on line for Baloo, Louie, and Rafiki, but just before it was our turn, the characters took a short break. To his credit, the CM on duty tried to keep us amused with some trivia questions. He had some kind of cards with Mickey's face on them, and he was reading questions from them. They didn't look like Trivial Pursuit cards, so I'm not sure exactly what they were. Well, can you guess what happened? I quickly became Disney Trivia Queen. I was rattling off answers like crazy. There were only a couple I didn't get. Then he got to one answer that stated Sebastian from "The Little Mermaid" was a lobster. Oy. I corrected him: "Crab."

"But it says lobster here." I shook my head. "Well, it's wrong." "But these cards have Mickey's face on them."

Hehehe. A couple of other people backed me up, and I think we finally convinced him. Then he tried to think of questions on his own, to stump me. When I answered that Rosie O'Donnell would be the voice of an ape in "Tarzan," he gave up.

Speaking of apes, Louie and Rafiki returned just then. Unfortunately, Baloo wasn't feeling well. Drat! Jill really wanted to see him. Oh well. I got a couple of nice pictures of her with Louie and Rafiki, and as we left, the CM said if he had a trivia trophy, he would give it to me. : )

We also met Chip & Dale on our way out, which will make a good pair of photos for a double frame. Chip on the left, and Dale on the right.

Some shopping seemed in order, so we browsed in a few shops. I bought myself a hat with AK pins at Island Mercantile. It helped keep the sun off my face, which was already pretty red. I also picked up a few postcards. Total was $42.40.

It was time to head back over to Dinoland for the RADP Meet at 3 PM. We got there early and checked out Chester and Hester's. What a neat store for dino buffs. They had cups that looked like the carno from CTX, and they were hideous. All red and bumpy. Yuck. I took Jill's picture with that duck-billed dino outside the store. She pretended it was capturing her, and she was screaming. Then we sat on a nearby bench, and the heat of the day and the thought of a meet really started to get to Mike. The Crankosaurus reared its ugly head. So I suggested he go back to the hotel with Jill and go for a swim. That appealed to him, so off they went. I found out later that they got stuck behind the March of the ARTiimals, and it took them forever to get out of the park. Oops. Mike said the march was weird, but he admits that he wasn't in the best of moods to review it fairly. Personally, I enjoyed encountering the ARTimals at random locations throughout the day. I thought the costumes were neat.

As for me, I reported to the RADP Meet in front of CTX. I will try to recall the people who were there. Let's see.....Bruce Metcalf (Zazu) and his wife Marta; Deb Wills; Fuxi; Randy Berbaum; Mike Henigan and Kelly from Atlanta; Jen; Kenny Cottrell; Steve and Tracey from the UK; Elliot; and of course John Thompson, who organized the meet, and his daughter Natalie, who was enjoying an ice cream bar as only a 5-year-old can. It was so great to meet everyone. We took a group photo with several cameras, and then the gang rode CTX together. I stayed outside with Natalie, who didn't meet the height requirement. We had a very nice chat. Her dad concluded that DL's Indy was the superior attraction.

I walked over to Safari Village with the group, and on our way we encountered one of the Jungle Book characters -- an ape, possibly Louie (?). His costume looked like hundreds of strings of elbow macaroni. Maybe it was a heat mirage. : ) Jen and I then said our good-byes to the group. I would see many of the RADPers again at Pleasure Island that night. Jen headed to the parking lot, and I caught the bus back to ASM.

Some random thoughts on AK: I loved the park, but the HEAT was unbearable. It really does seem hotter there than at the other parks. We did take advantage of some ice cold water being dispensed in Camp Minnie-Mickey, but they really need more water fountains. The FOLK queue is completely uncovered. I don't know how anyone waited there for any length of time. There were some fans along the way, but I think they need to create a shelter of some kind, with an Adirondack theme. There were many delightfully quirky benches throughout the park, but there was no one using them. It was just too hot to sit anywhere. The park *seemed* crowded, but we didn't have a long wait for anything. I think the pathways just get very congested. We were on the go from 8:15 to 3 PM, and we still didn't see the Pocahontas show, the Jungle Book show, or the bird show. I think the park has plenty to fill a day, especially since it closes at dusk. It's true that there are not as many attractions as the other parks, but there was certainly enough to keep us entertained for an entire day. I can see myself riding Kilimanjaro Safaris again and again. When Asia opens, hopefully it will relieve some of the congestion on the walkways. As for theming, all I can say is WOW! Everything, from the animal areas to the plants to the lampposts to the restaurants to the shops to the bathrooms, has been created with care. It's beautiful. And it will grow even more beautiful and richer over time.

Back at ASM, I checked on Mom. She had managed to walk to the food court for lunch, and had brought back a chef's salad for dinner, which she was keeping on ice. Mike and Jill were swimming, and I think the cool water revived them.

Mike and I were going out for "date night," which is a rare thing for us. We don't trust any of the teen-agers in our neighborhood to watch Jill. So it was great to have my mother with us. (Turns out she couldn't be trusted either, but I'm getting ahead of myself.) So we freshened up and changed, and headed for Downtown Disney.

We walked into Wolfgang Puck's, which seemed like controlled chaos. People rushing here and there and every which way. We were told to stand in one spot first, and someone came and took us to the back of the restaurant, where we were told to wait for a second person, who finally seated us. I'm telling you, I never saw so many people zipping around a restaurant in my life. But it seemed to go along with the decor, which looks very high energy, consisting of lots of little colorful tiles that give the effect of sprinkles or confetti. Very trendy, but fun.

We ordered an appetizer sampler first, and they brought out this very large, beautiful dish filled with......well......hardly anything. There were *slivers* of eggroll, and some other items that I don't remember, probably because they were too small to be identified. ; ) Oh wait, I think there was some chicken satay, which was gone in one bite. Seriously, though, it was quite delicious, but at $12.95, it was just a tad overpriced. I kept seeing servers go by with heaping plates of noodles, which I think was the pad thai, so I held out hope for the entrees.

Mike ordered the spaghettini with shrimp, and I ordered the wild mushroom tortellini, which was yummy. These portions were more generous than the appetizer. I had iced tea, which was served with a large orange slice in it, instead of a lemon wedge. I found the flavor addictive.

For dessert, he had the apple pie, which was made like an individual tart. He said it was great. I got the vanilla creme brulee, and it was so creamy and delicious! All of the food was very well prepared, and tasty. Final bill with tax and tip was $76.

Then it was time for the Pleasure Island portion of the evening, which Mike was dreading, because we were meeting some RADPers again. <Looking over my shoulder to make sure he's not around> Before and after this night, all I've heard is how our "date night" was sacrificed, because we had to be with PEOPLE <gasp!>. I don't know how he expected to go to Pleasure Island and *not* encounter lots of people, but I think the distinction for him was that he would actually have to *talk* to these folks. So he was a pill. A dud. A real pain in the patella, as Philoctetes would say. I apologize to everyone who was there. He's really a nice guy, but you would never know it based on that one night. So let's just stick him up on the wall with the tragedy masks, and move on. : )

Speaking of masks, we met in the Mask Room of the Adventurers' Club. I will try to list everyone who was there, but as the trip wore on, the heat really began to destroy my brain cells, and by the time the MK Meet rolled around, I was practically delirious. So if I miss anybody, please forgive me. There was Alison, Debbie H. (piggie), her godmother Reggie, Steve Brown and Tracey, Mike H. and Kelly, Bruce Metcalf, Deb Wills, Kenny Cottrell, and Fuxi. Oh, and Tourist Mickey, who is quite the traveler. I think Bruce took some heat for his Hawaiian shirt. Was it Pamelia Perkins who commented on it, or the masks? After a Kungaloosh and a brief show with Arnie and Claude (the comedy and tragedy masks - think I've gotten the names right) we moved things over to the Comedy Warehouse.

Actually, we moved things over to the *line* outside the Comedy Warehouse, where we waited for a good long time. Debbie and Reggie decided to explore PI a bit, and when they returned, the line was too long for them to get in to the show, so we never did meet up again. : ( We finally were admitted, and we all sat in a row. I'll try to recall some of the highlights of the performance.

I know they did a spoof of "Jeopardy", which I think was called "Shmepardy." The audience members provided the answers, and the 3 contestants had to come up with the appropriate questions. The contestants' occupations had been determined ahead of time by the audience, but they invented their own names. I think there was Mr. Green Jeans, who was a landscape designer. He had on a farmer hat, and he had a real smooth delivery, which reminded me of Phil Hartman. Then there was Art, the crayon wrapper designer. He was big and goofy. Then there was my personal favorite, Cruller, the very pregnant doughnut-maker. She had to turn away once during the show to restore her "baby" to its proper place under her shirt. For a moment, it looked like she would have an unexpected delivery onstage.

When the emcee asked for a kitchen utensil, Mike H. shouted out "Corkscrew!" I think the corresponding question was "What expression was *not* part of the Starr report?" I'm sure Mike H. can correct me if I'm wrong. <g>

After much merriment and applause, the show ended and we exited downstairs. What to do now? Well, gee, I glanced over at Mike, who was giving me that "I vant to be alone" look. The steam coming out of his ears also clued me in to his mood. Yikes! Time to wrap things up. So the group broke up and some of us walked out to the parking area, and on the way we passed some woman in a see-through dress. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), she was wearing undies. And me with no beads. Darn!

So that was the Pleasure Island get-together. I have apologized profusely to Mike for the error of my ways (I *had* to, he paid for the trip), and now no one from RADP will ever want to go to Pleasure Island with me again <sniffle>.

Hmmmmmm...maybe that was his secret plan all along.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3

Birdie quote for the day:

The sky is falling! The sky is falling! - Chicken Little

This was to be our hang-out-at-the-resort day, which was a good thing considering Mom's knees and the fact that Mike slept in 'til about noon. Jill, however, was raring to go, so I had no choice but to get up. This is around the time I found out that Nana, when left to her own devices while baby-sitting granddaughter, gave said granddaughter cookies for dinner, after expressly being told to take the child to dinner at the food court, and *not* to allow her any sweets. I heard some lame explanation like "But she said she wasn't hungry" (Ha!) "and then it was 9 o'clock and I thought it was too late to go to the food court, and I didn't want her to go to bed on an empty stomach." Yadda yadda yadda. I think she just didn't want to walk to the food court, but she could have picked up the phone and ordered a pizza at least. Had she been from KinderCare or Fairy Godmothers, I would have given her hell, but since she was family, and I felt guilty about her knees, I let her off easy. Grumble, grumble, grumble. ; )

So the females of the flock had breakfast ($14.06), and I brought back a tray for Mr. Party Pooper ($4.99) to have later. (See? I'm not such a bad wife.) Then Mom laid down again, so I took Jill over to the hair wrap place by the guitar pool. She picked out a smiley face charm and blue and yellow string, and she got a wrap done behind her left ear. To the tune of $21. Good grief. The smiley face alone cost $5, and they charge $1.50 per inch for the wrap, and about 50 cents and up for the beads. However, it's supposed to last anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months, and it still looks perfect, so maybe it wasn't such a bad deal.

Then Jill wanted to swim so I convinced Mom to go with her, which was like pulling teeth. The woman has an aversion to swimming pools. Once she was in, of course, she loved it, and commented on how nice the pool was. We used the piano pool, because the guitar pool was temporarily closed for some reason. While they splashed, I mailed my postcards, went to the food court and filled up our mugs, and got chips. So they had a nice snack waiting for them when they got out of the water.

When they were finished, we all showered and prepared for tea at the Grand Floridian. This was something I promised myself I would do on this trip. Mike, Jill and I had had tea at the Georgia Renaissance Festival awhile back, and I got my first taste of Devonshire cream. Mmmmmmmmmmm......I had to have that again. Somewhere. Somehow. The Grand Floridian seemed like the perfect choice.

We decided to bring the hotel wheelchair with us and take our chances about losing it, so Mike folded it up and carried it up the back steps from then on whenever we boarded a bus. We caught a bus to the MK, then transferred to the resort monorail. The Grand Floridian lobby is so spectacular. I don't think I'd feel comfortable staying there, but it's a nice place to visit. We headed directly to the Garden View Lounge, and were promptly seated. Such a pretty place! They put us at two small round tables next to each other. Mike and Jill sat on the long banquette, with comfy pillows. Jill was the only one of us who had dressed up. She insisted on wearing a dress and sandals, which we changed afterward before going to the MK.

The grown-ups all ordered the Buckingham Palace, which consisted of the following: our choice of tea in an individual pot (I had the cinnamon); petite tea sandwiches (egg salad, sliced pear with cream cheese, a hollowed-out portion of cucumber filled with marinated veggies, chicken salad with cherries, and thinly shaved smoked salmon); a jam tart and warm scone, served with butter and DEVONSHIRE CREAM!!!!; and a big bowl of strawberies with whipped cream. It was all fabulous. Our waitress never asked if we wanted tea cozies, but I would suggest asking for them, since the tea cooled down a bit in the pot.

Jill had Belle's Tea, which was chocolate milk served from a tea pot; peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with the crusts cut off; a jam tart and scone; and her choice of two lovely little pastries. She was thrilled with the experience, and started off acting very formal and fancy, and delicately patting the corners of her mouth with her napkin. By the end of the meal, she had reverted to her usual behavior, but it was nice while it lasted, and I got a great picture of her sipping her "tea."

The atmosphere was only slightly spoiled by a loud group of business people at another table, who behaved like they were at the Biergarten instead of at a veddy veddy civilized English tea. I think they must have had the champagne. ; ) But they left halfway through our repast, and we breathed a collective and very proper sigh of relief. Heathens!

The total bill, with tax and tip, was $69, and I would go back in a heartbeat. It was a wonderful experience.

Jill changed her clothes in the ladies' room, and we caught the monorail to the MK. The weather had been hot and sunny all day, and I was looking forward to SpectroMagic and seeing Tink kick off the fireworks. This was the only night during our trip that the parade and Fantasy in the Sky were scheduled.

I thought it best to do the show-type attractions, since we would be returning the next morning for the mountains. So we started off with Legend of the Lion King, which I hadn't seen in awhile. The wheelchair seating for this show is in the front row, so we entered the preshow area and were directed down front for that, too. And when "Circle of Life" played, with the opening sequence of the film on the big screen, I got chills. Mike did, too. He looked over at me as if to say "Wow." That was a magical Disney moment for me. We entered the main theater, and I couldn't believe how close we were to the stage. I thought it might cause us to miss some of the effects, but it was just the opposite. I'm telling you, I had Banzai the hyena within arm's reach, and it was chilling. His head was sticking out of all that steam, and it was *right* in front of me! I absolutely loved the whole show.

After that, we went to Carousel of Progress, and got right in. Once again, the wheelchair seating was in the front row. I asked Mom if she remembered the show from the World's Fair, but she didn't. I found myself helplessly singing along at the end of each scene, with my feet bouncing up and down.

We had time for one more attraction before parade time approached, so we did Timekeeper. Jill was able to sit on the floor, because the wheelchair area is right in front of Timekeeper, and there was no one in front of us to block her view. I think my mother was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing, and I could tell she didn't care for the science fiction aspect of it. But at least she didn't doze off on Robin this time. ; )

When we came out of the theater -- Surprise! -- it was raining. We stayed undercover and went to the Plaza Pavilion. Once there, it seemed like a great place to view the parade and Tink. After it stopped raining, that is. For some reason, there is a section where the roof stops just short of the last few tables by the railing, so those tables had been abandoned and were soaked. We rounded up some chairs, which was tough because the place was getting packed with wet people, and I figured once the rain stopped, we could wipe off a table by the railing and have great seats.

Yeah, right.

Not only didn't it stop, it got heavier and there was lightning. And wouldn't you know it, we hadn't brought our ponchos with us. So we sat.....and sat.....and sat.....and sat.....watching the rain pour down and parade time approach. Then there was an announcement, which we could barely hear. The only word I understood was "delayed" so I figured there was still a chance. About 5 minutes later, I heard "delayed" again. Thankfully, we had something pretty to look at during all this. The castle was magically changing colors right before our eyes. Blue, pink, lavender. It was gorgeous. It was alive.

Mike started to complain that he was hungry. The tea sandwiches were a distant memory. But he wasn't *just* hungry. He was hungry for a hot dog. And he wasn't the least bit interested in the food available at the Plaza Pavilion. He kept looking longingly at Casey's which was so near and yet so far. Even when the rain started to let up, there was no way we could have gotten over there. The area was packed. I knew the restaurant would be wall-to-wall humanity, not to mention the street.

But he kept talking about hot dogs, and how he could *taste* the mustard and relish. Oh my God. Now *I* had to have a hot dog, too. Around this time, we heard another garbled announcement, and I picked out the word "cancelled." Darn! Our only chance, and it had gone by the boards.

And now I was suffering wienie withdrawal. Damn him!

So we sat dejectedly for awhile, watching the crowds jam Main Street heading toward the exit. The rain was just a drizzle now, but I sure didn't want to attempt to leave the park. I knew the transportation would be gridlock. So the question was, where could we satisfy our hot dog yearning? Think, Ronnie, think.

Pinocchio Village Haus popped into my head. I thought they had hot dogs. And we would be walking in the opposite direction of the crowds, so maybe it wouldn't be too bad getting there. Anyway, it was better than sitting. So we crossed the Tomorrowland Bridge and headed up the ramp to the castle, so we could walk through to Fantasyland.

And there was something I had never seen before. A great big closed door. The castle was closed! Oh no. In my hot dog hysteria, I nearly banged on the door and shouted, "Sanctuary! Please give us sanctuary!"

But cooler heads prevailed, and we walked down the opposite ramp, over the Liberty Square bridge, and into Fantasyland that way. There was the Village Haus, shining like a beacon. And there were lots of tables!

Because they were closed.

It was only about 8:30, and the park was open 'til 9. Why were they closed? Oh, never mind. Let's go back and see if Casey's has cleared out. Which of course it hadn't. Even the soaking wet tables outside were full, and the lines were about twenty deep. So we stood there indecisively, trying to figure out what to do. There we were in the Magic Kingdom, Walt's House O' Wienies, and we couldn't get our hands on a hot dog.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. I remembered the Food & Fun Center at the Contemporary. I was pretty sure they had hot dogs, and it was only about a ten-minute walk. It had stopped raining by then. We could bypass the monorail and the buses. Well, this seemed OK with everybody, so off we went. We noticed a lot of people hanging around Town Square, and someone mentioned that they were waiting for the fireworks, which I gather had not been cancelled yet. As it turned out, they too were eventually cancelled, so we did the right thing. (NOTE: We got that information from a cab driver later in the evening. Apparently, he was wrong. The fireworks *did* go on as scheduled, so we missed them. : ( )

The walk was a breeze, even with the wheelchair. I've never been so glad to get anywhere in my life. Now where were those dogs? Yowza, there they were! And they were gigantic. We ordered four hot dog baskets, which came with fries. The total with sodas was $26.76. I put *everything* on mine. What a feast! They were delicious. Well worth waiting for. We had found hot dog heaven. : )

And once Jill saw the arcade, she was in heaven, too. I normally hate arcades, but she had missed out on the parade and fireworks, so in we went, while Mike and Mom watched a playoff game on TV. This is a great arcade. Not only is it huge, but they have lots of games for younger kids. Jill's not into those martial arts, kick-boxing, space-blasting type games. She discovered something called Mouse Attack, I think, where you had to press a button just at the precise moment when a cartoon mouse was racing by to grab some cheese, and you could flatten him with a sledge hammer. Wheeee!! But decidedly un-Disneylike, don't you think? She was pretty good at it, and she soon had enough tickets to buy some trinkets. I think she got a big pencil, an Alien eraser, an Alien keychain, and an Alien figure playing baseball. Why the sudden interest in Aliens? Who cared. She was happy.

It was time to leave, but we really didn't want to face the crowds back at the bus stop, so we opted to take a cab. First time we've ever done that, but Mom paid with $15 she had gotten as a gift from a friend. The total with $3 tip ended up being $16, which I found hard to believe. Did he go the long way or something? But it was a big van with plenty of room for the wheelchair, and it was worth it. You know, I've never cared much for the Contemporary's theming, but it sure is convenient. I shall look on that ugly concrete structure with more respect from now on.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4

Birdie quote for the day:

Birds of a feather flock together. -Proverb

This was the day of the RADP Meet that I had organized (otherwise known as the Iago-A-Go-Go), so I was a little frazzled about it. I wanted to make sure I remembered to bring everything with me that I was supposed to. I had Disney pencils, Mickey & Minnie stickers, some Pooh bookmarks, a whole slew of Walt Disney World fact books, and some great Disney pins. Most of the fact books and all of the pins were courtesy of an anonymous donor. You know who you are. Thanks! Also thanks to Deb Wills for her donation. : ) I also had some "Save Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" postcards, but I completely forgot to put them in the backpack. Oh well. Something for another meet someday.

We had breakfast in the food court again ($19.02), and then we were all off to the MK! We arrived a few minutes after rope drop, and made a beeline for Splash Mountain. It was an adventure trying to hold onto the wheelchair in the sloping, twisting queue, which luckily was empty. We were directed to the exit of the ride, which also serves as the wheelchair entrance. This is somewhat hazardous, as we ran head-on into a bunch of happy folks who had just exited their logs and were rushing off to check out their photos. I really wanted Mom to try this, because she enjoyed "Song of the South," and I felt she would get a kick out of all the brer creatures. And she was willing, so I helped her into the log, and off we went. Jill had chickened out at the last minute, and I wasn't in the mood to argue with her, so Mike stayed with her.

As soon as we were inside, I looked over at my mother to say something, and she had her eyes closed. Sigh. I told her the big drop wasn't for quite awhile, and she should open her eyes and enjoy the scenery. Well, she opened them, but I don't think she enjoyed anything. She was so quiet and tense through the whole thing that it really wasn't much fun. Finally, we got to the big one, and after we went down she admitted that the anticipation was worse than the actual event. We didn't check the photo, because Mike was switching off. So I got to ride twice, and this was MUCH more fun. We both love this ride. We felt cheerful through the entire thing, and whooped it up on the drop. My right side was pretty well soaked from a brief wait at the waterfall on both trips, but I felt refreshed and happy.

Onto Big Thunder, where Jill also had cold feet. She's done both of these rides several times and adored them, but what can you do? I couldn't believe Mom was going to do it, but she got into the train with Mike, and I grabbed her glasses from her at the last minute, and they pulled out. I found out from Mike later that she had her eyes closed throughout, and kept asking, "Is it over yet?" He thought she was going to pass out. That didn't keep *him* from hootin' and hollerin', though. But toward the end, he was saying, "Are you OK? Are you OK?" It turns out she had thought we said Big Thunder wasn't as bad as Splash. I have no idea where this came from, as we had never directly compared the two, but that was the only reason she got on it. She was queasy and shaken up for half the day afterward. I swear, I didn't bring her on this trip to do away with her, but I felt like I was causing a slow and painful demise. Ain't guilt a wonderful thing?

So anyway, I rode with Mike, and he was really pumped up. He said he didn't see the guy in the bathtub the first time, so he made a point to look for him the second time, and he pointed him out to me. Gee, *somebody* got up on the right side of the bed this morning. What the heck did he have for breakfast? Lemme go look.....cold cereal, toast, and a banana. Wow, that must've been some banana. ; )

After we exited the attraction, we ran into Elliot, who had been at Friday's CTX Meet. He was on his way to work at Big Thunder. For some reason, his name tag said "Dan." Can't trust those name tags. After a quick hello, we moved on. Something more serene was definitely in order. Country Bears had just started when we passed, and I didn't feel like waiting 17 mnutes for the next show, so we kept walking to Fantasyland. Peter Pan seemed like a good idea, but they were having technical problems. It started back up briefly, then went right back down again. We waited a couple of minutes, then decided to keep moving along.

We decided to try Snow White, and were admitted immediately into the wheelchair entrance. This movie came out when Mom was 8 years old, and she remembers being terrified of the witch/queen. Now she knows better. She's only terrified of Big Thunder Mountain and Tower of Terror. The hell with that old hag.

Errrrrr, the witch, not Mom. ; )

Moving right along, we passed by the former Toad Hall and over to the tea cups. Jill really likes this ride, but Mike gets queasy on it and as for Mom -- well, she was already queasy. So I rode with Jill, and I got it spinning pretty well. I didn't seem to get sick when I concentrated on turning the wheel, and didn't look up. Mike took a picture of us, and got a nice shot of the back of my head. You can tell in the picture that my denim shirt was still wet from Splash Mountain.

Sooooo, howzabout a little character interaction? We continued into ToonTown, and had to make a decision in the Hall of Fame. Would it be Pooh and Friends, Minnie's Friends, or ToonTown Characters (how generic can you get?)? Jill said Pooh, so we got in line. After a ten minute wait, we discovered that it was only Pooh and Tigger, but I got a couple of very good shots of them with Jill. And Mike sneaked in there with Pooh.

We figured we had time for one more attraction before the meet, so we took the little used path from ToonTown to Tomorrowland. It was broiling. They need to plant trees there. Lots of trees. Jill and Mike got on line for Astro Orbiter (which I still have never ridden), and Mom and I sat on a bench in the shade. I took the opportunity to take some attraction photos in Tomorrowland. I even took a picture of the construction wall around Buzz, with the "Coming to Tomorrowland Fall 1998 - Batteries Not Included" sign. I was too timid to try pleading to get in. It was a CM preview day, and it opened officially on the 7th.

After their orbit, it was time to report to the Hub. There had been some confusion about my original meeting place of the Goofy statue, because I was told that there *was* no Goofy statue (you know who you are! ; ) ) so I had changed it to the Brer Rabbit statue. As it turns out, Goofy and Brer Rabbit are right next to each other anyway, which Kenny was kind enough to point out to me. <g> Thank you, Kenny.

Amazingly, people actually started arriving. This was so cool. Well, actually, it was far from cool. In fact, it was hot as hell. I don't think I met anyone during this trip when I wasn't dripping wet. I was handing out pencils and stickers and fact booklets and pins and bookmarks and shaking hands and -- I'm sorry, but it was all a blur to me. So I'm not even going to attempt to try to recall everyone's names and record them here. But I know at one point there were over twenty people there, including family members. And I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for coming to the meet. I've been trying to send out the group photo (in JPG format) to everyone who was in attendance, but there are a couple of people I haven't contacted yet, as I haven't had a chance to locate your e-mail addresses. Please, please drop me a line, and I will send you the photo. I really should have had everyone sign our autograph book and write down their e-mail addresses.

Some highlights: Bruce Metcalf (Zazu) was good enough to present me with a batch of my very own Iago business cards, which are unbelievably cool. They have a color picture of Iago, and they read: "Okay people, listen up, my name is Iago - Ronnie O'Rourke - or JIROMI@aol.com and I'm the brains behind Iago & Zazu's Attraction of the Week published every Sunday on news://rec.arts.disney.parks, news://alt.disney.disneyland, news://alt.disney.disneyworld and archived at ............" And here I will leave a blank, until Zazu tells me it is permissible to reveal the URL of the new web site we've been working on. : ) Really, Zazu has been doing the site work, and I've been digging up past posts in Dejanews.

Before you think that Zazu is letting Iago take all the glory, I should point out that Zazu has his very own business cards, which state: "Greetings, my name is Zazu, etc., etc., and *I'M* the brains behind Iago & Zazu's Attraction of the Week..." Hehehe. Very clever. Thank you, Bruce, and thanks also for the Iago beanie, which is perched over my computer at this very moment.

We also had a little trivia contest to win an AMEX fanny pack, which was ever so kindly donated at the meet. I think it was donated by Keith, but my brain was so overheated, I could be wrong. If so, please let me know. First, Zazu came up with the question: What do Molly Brown and Mark Twain have in common? No one got the answer, but it was in our Attraction of the Week dated 10/4, about the Disney Riverboats, if you care to look. So then I asked the question: In which two Magic Kingdom attractions are the title characters told to run away and never come back? Hint: I've mentioned both attractions in this report somewhere. I think Tracey ended up with the fanny pack. Or was it Jen? Oh well, someone received it.

It was time to do an attraction, so we walked en masse over to Adventureland. I think Pirates was temporarily down at that time, so the natural choice was the Tiki Room. But first, Mike and my mother took a group photo for us in front of the attraction sign. This time, Bruce directed us to the left inside the Tiki Room, and we had a much better view of the show. My favorite Iago line is "Hunky tuna tostada?!" which is his misinterpretation of "Hakuna matata." I've been saying hunky tuna tostada *a lot* since I came home. We hung around 'til the very end, when Iago says he's going to the Hall of Presidents to take a nice nap. Tune in later to see which one of my flock takes his advice. I'll give you one guess.

After the show, some of the group split up, and the rest of us headed over to the Frontierland Shootin' Gallery. I had never tried it before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I thought I did rather well. And it was air-conditioned! Jill wanted to try it, naturally, but the gun was a little too heavy, so Randy helped her out and showed her how to hold it. Thanks, Randy!

Bruce then did yet another nice thing for me. He arranged for me and Jill to help pilot the Liberty Belle around the Rivers of America! We boarded the boat with the remaining RADPers from the meet, and Jill and I went all the way to the top, to the wheel house. What a great view! She got to stand on a platform and really turn the wheel, and ring the bell as we came back to the dock. This was our very first trip on the riverboat, and it was spectacular. And Kenny took pictures of us from the deck below with my camera, too. Thanks, Kenny! The pilot even gave Jill a certificate, which reads: "The undersigned Inspector for the district of Liberty Square certifies that: Jill O'Rourke has been examined this day and has successfully demonstrated proficiency as PILOT of THE LIBERTY BELLE and is hereby declared licensed to act as such for one year from this date on THE RIVERS OF AMERICA IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM AT THE WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT. Given under my hand, this 4th day of October, 1998." Signed: Roy E. Disney, Commodore. Next time you ride the Liberty Belle, try asking if you can be a co-pilot. They allowed two of us up there, though some other kids boldly charged up the stairs without permission during the trip. The pilot was nice enough to let them stay. He even signed Jill's autograph book. Definitely a Magical Disney experience. : )

And then it was time for us to part, since the family wanted to get some shopping done, and we had skipped lunch and really needed something to tide us over 'til dinner. So we said our good-byes to the rest of the gang, and struck out for Adventureland to seek the elusive and mighty Dole Whip. I can't thank all of you enough for making our day very special. A big hug to everyone who came to the meet!

Did I say Dole Whip? Yes indeed I did. This was another experience that I promised myself I'd do this trip. So we lined up at the Aloha Isle, and came away with one all-pineapple DW for me; two vanilla/pineapple swirls for Mom and Mike; and one all-vanilla for Jill. We also got two pineapple spears. ($12.72) Then we sat in the pleasant little deserted courtyard nearby, and enjoyed our treats. Yummmmmmmmm. Gotta make this a tradition, along with the Kaki-Gori. It hit the spot.

Time to shop! Mike had been looking for an outback type hat, but in a softer material than the one I got at AK. We enjoyed looking around Traders of Timbuktu, where there was plenty to choose from. Jill was thrilled to find a book that shows you how to draw all the characters from Aladdin. I've tried it myself, and have produced a pretty fair Jasmine and Iago so far. While we were browsing, we noticed Baloo standing right outside, with no one around! Since Jill had missed him at AK, we made sure to run over and give him a hug and get a nice picture. And Mike found his hat, too. Total for the hat and book: $39.17.

It was approaching parade time, so Mike and I thought it would be a good time to try Space Mountain. We took the long way around, through Fantasyland, since we didn't want to cut through the parade route. We found an umbrella table overlooking the Speedway for Mom and Jill, and they browsed through the Aladdin book while we headed for the mountain. We walked all the way up to the loading area before reaching a line. After choosing the right side, we waited about 15-20 minutes to board. I had a front row seat in one of the new cars! Holy mackerel. I felt like I could go flying out at any moment. That T-bar is so small! It certainly added to the effect. Mike was getting a kick out of the guy in the back seat, who was screaming his head off. A great ride, and there was one dip that was totally unexpected.

We returned to the umbrella table, and it was soooooooo hot there. I bought sodas at that Coke misting station nearby, and we all cooled off in there. Jill really wanted to ride the TTA then, but I was a little worried about the moving sidewalk. I didn't want Mom to have a problem with it. But I thought she would enjoy the nice breeze and the bench seat, so we decided to go for it. I just kept repeating, "Keep walking. Don't stop. Keep going." And she was fine. Seems to me the TTA sidewalk moves much slower than the Haunted Mansion's. Everything was going fine until the car stopped right by the futuristic hair salon. And we sat there for 5 or 10 minutes. I got a pretty good look at the dame getting her hair done. Did you know there's a hidden Mickey on her belt? The worst part about it was hearing the Buzz Lightyear announcement over and over and over. I looked out the side of the car, and it was pretty filthy. I'm glad they finally got the thing going again, because I really didn't want to walk out of there.

There was only time for one more attraction before dinner, and it was so hot outside. I remembered the Hall of Presidents was very cool. So, even though I had planned to boycott the place because of Clinton, I decided the air-conditioning was worth sacrificing my principles. ; ) We arrived well before the next show, and the CM at the door directed us to sit "right under Honest Abe." No sooner had we sat down than I realized how ironic our vantage point was. Staring at us from directly across the room was Wild Bill. I said to Mike, "Oh, look Honey, they've got a dart board." <g> We then pointed out some of the Presidents to Jill. The portrait of Kennedy is very interesting, and I like it a lot. A completely unconventional pose. He has his head down, and his arms folded like he's deep in thought. I bet he was thinking, "What's Marilyn's phone number? 555.....?" All right, all right, I'll stop now. I think I see Jeff Spencer out there shaking his head at me. (Hi, Jeff!) Hey, don't be too mad at me. I liked Animal Kingdom, didn't I? ; )

In a few minutes, we were led into the wheelchair row, which is right up front. This theater is OK, but not as nice or as comfy as the American Adventure. Still, it was good enough for Mom! She was out like a light in no time. I decided to leave her alone unless she started snoring loudly. I had decided by then that she was a lost Disney cause. She woke up briefly at the start of the Civil War, but was soon back in dreamland. The most interesting thing to me about the animatronics is how good some of them look, and how awful others look. I think JFK and Clinton look terrible, for instance. But LBJ is sensational. As for the speeches, Mom was an equal opportunity sleeper. She slept through Clinton's speech *and* Lincoln's. I didn't really pay attention to either one, as I was studying the animatronics and worrying about her starting to snore. Why do they schedule History class at the end of the day? I can't pay attention. ; )

And then our day in the Magic Kingdom drew to a close. It was time to head over to Whispering Canyon Cafe for some grub. I hate leaving that park for the last time during a trip. It always makes me so sad. : (

We took the boat to the Wilderness Lodge. Arriving there by boat is such a pleasure. The beauty of this resort astounds me every time I visit. It's a completely different kind of beauty than the Grand Floridian -- stronger, darker, more natural. The building looks as though it grew there by itself. We entered the magnificent lobby and admired everything about it. We checked in at Whispering Canyon, and after a very brief wait, we were shown to a table at the back of the restaurant. The atmosphere is fantastic. The lamps are smaller versions of the teepee chandeliers in the lobby, and the decor reminds me of a Western-themed rumpus room from the 1950's, with its glossy pine furniture covered with cowboys and Indians. Some of the chair backs look like twisted rope. The napkins look like cowboy bandanas.

Our server was Diane, whch may have been spelled with two "n"'s. Someone else recently posted that their server had that name. She was an older lady, and, while she was a perfectly good waitress, she was NOT into the crazy antics that some of the other servers were involved in.

Another cute touch was that when the servers walked by with those folding stands for the trays, they would clop them on the floor to make it sound like a horse galloping by. I thought that was great. Mom just thought it was noisy. Sigh. There was a table of adults near us who were having an absolutely fantastic time. One woman was in hysterics at the server's behavior. The server was a young woman with a great personality. She took a bunch of bandanas from the serving counter and made Minnie Mouse bows for the ladies' hair, and she tied knots in all four corners to make a head covering for the men that looked like a pirate scarf. She brought one guy a HUGE glass with a straw that was as long as a yardstick. I guess he complained that his straw was too short. Even though I kept asking Diane for more diet Coke, she never took the hint and brought me one of those glasses. : (

I had told Jill ahead of time about some of the things that go on there, and she was dying for me to ask for ketchup. She wouldn't do it herself. So I asked Diane for ketchup when Jill got her food. She came back with two bottles. Two. Whoopee. A couple of minutes later, some kid at another table asked for ketchup, and the next thing he knew, there was a brigade of servers marching over to his table with bottle after bottle of ketchup. He must have had twenty bottles by the time they were finished. Waaaaaaa! I wanted to change tables.

At one point during the meal, Mom said, "Oh, they must have a buffet, too. Look at those people walking by with plates." So I turned around, and some family was walking around the restaurant with their plates. I guess it was punishment for some cowboy offense they had committed. Nope, not a buffet, Mom.

As for the food, it was good and very filling. Ribs, chicken, sausage, brisket, turkey drumstick. I tried a little bit of everything, and a couple of different barbecue sauces. I was stuffed. Mike was eating like a bottomless pit! He really enjoyed this meal, and asked for more a couple of times. Jill had chicken tenders and fries. Unfortunately, dessert was not included in the price, so we opted to wait until we got to Epcot and have something there. The total with tax and tip was $92.14 (Eeek! Where's the $50 coupon for *this* place?).

As we were leaving, they were bringing out the stick horses for the kids to ride. Jill said, "Good thing we're leaving *now.*" ; )

We took the direct bus to Epcot. There were several things we wanted to do here. I wanted to check out Ice Station Cool and ride Journey Into Imagination, and Mike wanted to buy the Off Kilter CD. Unfortunately, we hadn't gotten to hear them play on our two previous nights at Epcot.

We hit Ice Station Cool first, and we all avoided the Beverly. I liked the watermelon the best. The German one wasn't bad either. I was a little disappointed in the tasting room, since it just looked like a merchandise shop to me. I was picturing something different, I guess. We can get plenty of Coke merchandise in Atlanta, so we got out of there pretty fast.

We walked over to World Showcase and found the CD at a cart outside the Canada pavilion. Mike tried to pay with his room card, and it was denied. So I tried mine, and that was denied, too. We had just paid for dinner with no problem. So the CM called ASM and the person at the front desk said "Oh, they're way over their limit," and hung up. Now I was really annoyed. I asked her to call back and tell them we wanted to increase our limit. I should explain that when you check in at the ASM, they tell you that you have a $500 limit on your room charge (after you pay for your room), and when you get close to that amount, they will call you and let you know, to see if you want to arrange to charge more. Now, $500 is nothing at Disney World, so I knew we'd spend more, but they had never notified us.

So the girl called back and let me speak to the CM at ASM. He said we had charged $649 so far. Fine. I told him we wanted to increase our limit. He said he couldn't do that. The only thing he could do was to bill our credit card that day, which would bring us back to a zero balance, and we could have another $500 limit. Well, duh! I said, "You mean the only difference is that you'll bill my credit card company *tonight*, instead of when I check out tomorrow?" He said, "Uhhhhh......yes." "Well," I said, "then do it!" Sheesh. They need to explain this policy more clearly. They make it sound like you can *only* charge $500 on your room card during your whole stay. What they should say is that each time you reach the $500 level, they will bill your credit card that day, instead of waiting until your check-out day. Big deal. Grrrrrrrr....

All this aggravation for a $21.20 charge. So the guy hit some button, and we were magically able to use our room card again.

We still hadn't had dessert, so where else would we go but the French pastry shop? We bought a coconut pyramid, a peach tart, a big cookie, and a chocolate croissant to go. I whipped out my room card again. Hehehe. I would show *them*! I charged a whopping $12.04. Take that!

On our way over there, we saw the Living Statues performing near Chefs de France. My God, are they white! The spotlight was shining on them, which made them blinding. There was a pretty big crowd, and it was getting late, so we didn't stay to watch. Next time.

We had to say good-bye to Journey Into Imagination, so we backtracked, and just as we got to Canada, wouldn't you know it, Off Kilter started to perform. Aaaaaaaargh. We'll have to save that for next time, too.

JII was eerily empty. A big picture of Figment was being projected onto the outside of the building. Mom passed on this, so we parked the wheelchair where she would be able to see the fountain, and the three of us boarded the ride. It was weird to ride it with no other people. As I've posted previously, we were waving good-bye for our photo, but it turned out that we were too early in anticipating the flash, and the actual photo shows us sitting there looking stupid. :/

Back to ASM, where we enjoyed our pastries in the food court with drinks from the beverage bar. Love those mugs!

Depression was beginning to set in. We would be going home tomorrow.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5

Birdie quote for the day:

The penguin flies backwards because he doesn't care to see where he's going, but wants to see where he's been. - Fred Allen, "The Backward View"

Traditionally, we spend our last day in WDW at Downtown Disney, where I wander around in a funk, constantly checking my watch to see if it's time to head to the airport. This trip was no exception.

We slept a little later than usual, and then we borrowed a dolly and brought our luggage to the storage room. I dread that last walk past the pools, where there are always a lot of happy people, either just starting their vacations, or in the middle of their trip.

I hate them.

Before breakfast, I decided to return the wheelchair, since I didn't want the hotel charging me $250 if the thing wasn't in their possession by 11 AM. Mom looked a little alarmed. "You're returning it *now*?" Oy. Sorry, Mom.

One last breakfast in the food court ($18.59), and then Jill wanted to try out the arcade and get a couple of pennies pressed. I couldn't believe the pressed pennies cost 50 cents. Am I dreaming, or were they 25 cents in March? So we got a couple of them done outside the arcade, and then she used her Disney Dollar to play Mouse Attack again. She earned another Alien figure. This one is a boxer. Boy, those Aliens are a fit bunch. Then we were off to Downtown Disney. The marketplace was our first stop. I had been admiring those red pins that look like the CM name badges, so we stopped to have a couple of them made. Jill got a traditional keychain, with her name and hometown. I bought the pin, with "Ronnie" in large letters, and "TDC Iago" in smaller letters where the hometown would normally go. The CM operating the engraving machine looked a little puzzled, but asked no questions. : ) $9.54 with our MKC discount.

Then it was over to World of Disney, which is a huge store that didn't seem to have anything we wanted. After looking around awhile without success, I asked a CM if they had any Iago merchandise. "Oh no," she said. "But you might try Studio M. They do custom character t-shirts." Oh, joy! That sounded promising. So I hustled over there, pointed to the sign on the counter that showed the various characters available, and said excitedly, "I'm looking for a Iago."

The guy behind the counter replied, "I don't even know what a Iago *is*." "The parrot from 'Aladdin.' Sits on Jafar's shoulder." "Never heard of him. Try World of Disney."

(His surgery went very well, thank you, and the doctors expect him to hear again someday.)

Back to WoD, where Mike wasn't finding anything, either. Jill decided that a stuffed Tramp doll would be her souvenir, to match her Lady doll, so we looked in the room with the giant plush shrine extending all the way up to the ceiling. No Tramp. Lots of Ladys, but no Tramp. Does that make any sense to you? So she looked around and settled on a Flounder doll instead ($15.27 with MKC discount).

Mom picked up a few souvenirs for friends back home, and then we checked out Team Mickey's. We had much more success here. I bought Jill a basketball t-shirt with a small Minnie picture on front that says "Not Just A Pretty Face." On the back is a large picture of Daisy and Minnie in sports attire, with Minnie spinning a basketball on one finger. It reads: "Take Your Best Shot! A Girl's Place is in the Game!" Very cool.

Mike bought a funny ESPN shirt. On the front is a small WDW ESPN Club logo and it says "The Signs of Baseball." The back reads "Recognizing the Signs of Baseball" and has 3 cartoons of players or the manager giving signs, with translations. The translations are: A) Wake me if this game gets close, B) Two dogs with relish, and C) Babes in Section Two! The perfect combination of baseball and Disney World. Cost for 2 shirts: $33.39 with MKC discount.

Next we checked out the Lego store. I saw that Brickley's head had been perfectly restored, and I took two great pictures of him, with the steam coming out of his nostrils. At least it looks like it's coming out of his nostrils. Maybe it's his mouth. It seemed to me that some of the large figures outside the store had been