Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
Resort: DL
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Rookie
Comments: This summary-style report covers a lot of interesting details. Linda makes it clear that she is NOT a Disney-fanatic, and her perspective is definitely interesting for me (a tried and true one). It's refreshing to hear some constructive criticism of WDW. I spent quite a bit of time, as I read through this report, thinking about how I would have handled some of the negatives through a change in plans. It can be done...


October 19-24,1998

Just back from my first trip to WDW and thought I would try writing a trip report. Please note: I am not a Disney fanatic! We have visited numerous other theme parks in the past and Disney compares favorably in some ways and not so favorably in others. I think my impressions may help others planning their first visit. Our trip included myself, 43, female; my husband,51, and my 2 daughters, 12 and 14. I think I will do this by topic, rather than day to day.

We were rookies(first trip for everyone). I am 44, a paramedic; my husband Terry) is 51, in management for a large grocery chain; oldest daughter is Becca,14, an athlete who we had to plan our trip around (couldn’t miss a game!), and Lily,12, sweet and a cheerleader. (I tell you this because it might give the readers a better idea of the interests of the girls.) We had a standard room at Dixie Landings, I did request Magnolia Terrace and that is what we got. We used Mears to ferry back and forth to airport. Let me know if I can be of further help. Don’t mean to offend anyone with the term ‘honest’: not referring to the honesty of other reports, I just debated with whether I wanted to include my opinions of various things or just give a blow by blow account. Went with being "honest" to myself.

Part 1: Mears, Disney busses, etc.

We flew ATA round trip- no problems with flight there. When we arrived, had some difficulty finding Mears transport. When we did, there was a loooonnnng line of people ahead of us and a Mears coordinator trying to handle everyone. The Mears shuttles were for the most part large vans seating around 12 people. I expected a long wait, but we were seated and on our way in about 10 minutes. I know we were transported ahead of some people who were there before us, probably because of our hotel: Dixie Landings - they tried to place people going to the same destination together. Trip from airport took about 25 minutes.

We had some problems returning to airport later in week, though. The bus they picked us up in (at 4:40 for a 6:55 flight) was overbooked- a long wait at Port Orleans while the driver tried to please everyone by taking the people with earlier flights and making sure another bus was dispatched right away. We were the third stop at the airport and by now it was 6:15. We were assigned the last 4 seats and were unable to be seated together on the plane. Not 5 minutes later they were calling for volunteers to give up their tickets due to the flight being overbooked! In retrospect, next time we will take a cab - more reliable and less expensive. The Mears driver also made a big plea for tips, which was annoying.

We did take a cab to the Contemporary while onsite- about $10 from Dixie Landings. Did this because of early priority seating. Bell services called for cab and it was there in about 10 minutes.

The one thing I was very impressed by on this trip was the Disney bus service to the parks. We did not rent a car, and used a cab only once. The busses were comfortable and prompt. We never had to wait longer than 10 minutes for a bus. We did have to stand once, when leaving the MK at closing. Still, when you think of the thousands of people Disney needs to transport, they do a very good job of it! We stayed late at AK one night due to eating at Rainforest Cafe. It was an hour past park closing when we left. A Disney bus marked 'special' picked us and several other latecomers up and transported us to our respective hotels- a long trip, but better than calling a cab. The worst bus trip was to Typhoon Lagoon- the bus is the Downtown Disney bus and makes three other stops first. But I would definitely use the bus service in the future.

Part 2: Dixie Landings

We stayed at Dixie Landing the entire time. The room was adequate for 4 people, especially since we spent little time there. The bathroom was very (uncomfortably) small and had no fan. We stayed in Magnolia Terrace, and the walk to the food court was not bad.

The grounds are beautful, though, as my husband says "Why do smokers consider the world their ashtray?". Every day we saw employees cleaning up cigarette butts. We also saw person after person throw their butts on the ground. Wouldn't it be nice if the Dixie Landings employees (and they are employees - not cast members!) could spend their time on their jobs instead of cleaning up after dirty people?

Maid service was adequate - sometimes she arranged the stuffed toys and sometimes she didn't. Did leave a $2 tip every day.

Did request extra towels and they were delivered promptly. Mickey wakeup call never worked - employees knocked on our door one morning to wake us up!

Girls had hair wrapped at kiosk outside food court- 1.50 an inch, plus price of beads.

Part 3: Disney Food

We ate every breakfast but for one in the Dixie Landings food court. Food was decent - about $20 for breakfast for four. The bakery opened at 6 am and the rest of the court opened at 7. Only complaint is that the floors were perpetually sticky with spilled soda-yuck. Their bagels were excellent, their pizza bland, their eggs soggy and their bacon limp. We usually stuck to bagels, fruit, and pancakes. The girls also had cereal. Muffins were good too. Did have a character breakfast at Chef Mickeys, which was one of the neatest things we did. We used our flex feature for this. Both of our girls were "too cool" for approaching the characters, but couldn't help enjoying themselves here. In fact, our youngest requested an autograph book after the breakfast and diligently sought the characters out the rest of the trip! The meal was $60 for a so-so breakfast, but we only had to pay the tip (which was automatically added at 17%- a bit high for a buffet).

We had dinner at Rainforest Cafe-AK one night. We were always promptly seated because we had priority seating- but noticed people without them had an hour wait. Food was decent and lots of it. Girls had grilled cheese and chicken and liked it- older one a very picky eater. Meal about $68.

Had dinner with just my husband and myself at Fulton's for my birthday. Food was excellent, but skimpy for price. Meal about $60 for two of us. The girls hate seafood and opted for pizza in the room.

Also ate at Mexican place in MK - food ok. Service overall was friendly and competent, but nothing special.

Best time at a meal was at Prime-time cafe. Seated promptly (priority seating) again! Waitress and her co-horts a hoot and kids laughed selves silly at their parents table manners being corrected! Onion rings were excellent and rest of food was good and plentiful. Meal about $65 with tip. Girls usually ordered off of kids menu, and there was never any problem with this. (Ages 12 and 14). Service was slower at the Primetime- probably because of the antics going on. Disney employees throughout our stay were courteous and pleasant, some more friendly than others. However, we have experienced the same sort of pleasantry at other theme parks and resorts we have visited, and do not feel we were treated better at Disney. Nothing "magical" about good service - it keeps folks coming back - whether you be WDW, Cedar Point, McDonalds, Krogers. etc. Sometimes the posters on here seem to present Disney as an almost selfless company devoted exclusively to making people happy. We just never noticed anything out of the ordinary - or else we've been very lucky with the other vacations we've taken.

Part 4: Animal Kingdom

We did AK on the 19th, and arrived at the park around 1:00. (Had flown in that AM) It was HOT! Actually, I was relieved as rain had been in the forecast the night before. The parks paths were very crowded, though the waits were not bad at all for the attractions. It was difficult to navigate though. We first went to The Tree of Life and Bug film. This was a big hit with all of us. Our first time seeing a 3D film and the girls and I loved picking out the different animals on the tree! The wait was about 15 minutes, but would not have minded a longer one in order to see the carvings. Next we headed to Countdown to Extinction and waited about 15 minutes. Girls liked this, but hubby and I thought it was merely okay and not scarey at all.

Next it was off to the Safari. Saw lots of animals, but nothing I couldn’t see at the local zoo. I don’t really agree with those who say the animals are in their natural environment. These are still caged animals- cleverly disguised cages perhaps, but enclosures nonetheless. I really get more out of our trip to the local zoos. Most modern zoos also portray animals in their ‘natural environment’. Poacher story needs to be dropped - pretty lame. There was no wait for the safari.

Next to see Festval of the Lion King.Wait of about 20 minutes (in sun). I enjoyed this, but hubby and girls did not. They felt it was on a level with local, amateur theatre company. These four attractions took up the entire 5 hours we were there, mainly due to their distance apart and the crowds. Interesting how Disney spaced these out with lots of souvenier shops along the way.

Sun was blinding and I had left girls sunglasses back in Indy so we bought them each a pair. Older daughter did not take hers off for remainder of visit- left on even during Illuminations later in week!! :-) Hubby also bought each girl a disposable camera. Really wish I had thought of this ahead of time and bought several, as their own camera to photograph animals with proved a big hit!

I guess my own opinion is that if you are going to the AK to see animals, save your money and visit the local zoo. We had LOS passes, I would have been very unhappy to spend $160 plus on this park if I had not had the passes. We ended up liking this park the least of all the Disney places we visited.

Also noticed lots of "CM’s" (still dislike this term) out hawking the attractions. "Bird show starting in 5 minutes- in the shade! Plenty of seating! You’ll love it! Come on in!" "Last showing of Colors of the Wind! Hurry in! Lots of seats left!"

Perhaps Disney realizes there is just too little to do in this park? Didn’t notice this at other parks. Wanted to stroll around and enjoy lovely landscaping, but park just too congested.

Part 5 : Magic Kingdom

On Tues., the 19 th we visited the Magic Kingdom. But first had a character breakfast at Chef Mickeys. My "too cool" 12 and 14 year olds had been very laid back about everything up til now. But they couldn't keep their eyes off the characters. It was funny to see how they couldn't resist getting caught up in the fun. The 12 year old requested an autograph book after this, and we purchased one before entering the MK. Even though the 14yo didn't wish a book ("I'm too old for that"), she was very interested in helping her sister seek out characters. "You don't have all the seven dwarves yet- you haven't got Doc! We need to find Doc!" Tooooo funny!

We entered the MK right about 8:45. I have to admit I got chills and tears in my eyes when they played the opening music and announced the attractions were opening! We rode alien attraction first with a 5 minute wait. Was worried about my tender hearted younger daughter who doesn't like scary movies, but she did fine. Rode Space Mountain with no wait, in fact girls rode it several times in a row. Also rode Buzz Lightyear, which everyone liked and enjoyed attempting to beat each others scores. Did this about 3 times in a row.

Then we headed over to the other mountains. All loved Splash Mountain- great theming! Was not real impressed with Thunder Mountain. Had about a 20 minute wait for both of these. By now it was around 11am and the lines were building. We saw this throughout our stay - get there early and no lines - get there late and wait! Then did Jungle Cruise - girls were disappointed- I guess they had expected real animals. Terry and I didn't care for this either.

Had tacos at the pirate place. OK food, girls ate it. 30 minute wait for JC, no wait for lunch. Did Pirates and I liked this, girls and hubby were ho-hum. Next did Haunted Mansion- once again great theming! Disney has the theming beat on every other park we've visited. Waited about 20 minutes for HM, then about 30 minutes each for Snow White and Peter Pan. Thought these last two weren't worth the wait. More like an attraction you'de see at the State Fair.

Then rode round trip on the railroad to give feet a break. Went to Mickey/Minnie houses to allow kids to pursue characters. They rode Goofy's Barnstormer. Lines very short throughout this land.

Back to Tomorrowland to ride Carousel Of Progress. Hubby and I liked this - girls had a nice nap. Also rode people mover - a nice break for feet. Girls wanted to ride Space Mountain again but line had grown. Visited the castle and bought a tshirt and music box.

Never did get to see several attractions we really wanted to see, we simply ran out of time. Park was crowded and used up quite a bit of time waiting in line. Disney should consider later hours during October - closing at 7pm was way too early - park was still busy when we walked out at 7:10.

I really enjoyed MK, but think hubby and girls were disappointed at lack of thrill rides. If you are traveling with young teens or preteens you might want to warn them ahead of time that Disney's rides are 'themed rides' and not 'thrill rides'. Wish I had done this and their expectations would have been more realistic. Forgot to say we visited Hall of Presidents - very neat. Did sprinkle rain on and off in early afternoon. Lots of characters at exit - daughters collected several more autographs. Back to Dixie Landings and a dip in the pool.

Part 6: Water Parks

On Wednesday the 21st, we slept in and decided to hit the water parks. We decided to go first to the one whose bus showed up first - off to Blizzard Beach! We picked our spot, deposited our towels and headed for the family raft ride - very nice in spite of the 20 minute wait, longest one I've been on. Then on to the lazy river. I would have stayed on this all day if not for the people elbowing me aside in their hurry to move on. Is this not the LAZY river? Shouldn't we be drifting sllooowwwllly? Apparently not!

Exited and settled down to read for awhile while hubby and girls rode slides. Also had to defend our 'spot' against interlopers- at one point someone came and sat down at the table across from me with their food! You have to understand that our drinks, towels, cameras, etc were scattered all over this table. If he had asked if he could sit and eat I wouldn't have minded, but he just shoved our stuff aside! Stared at him and he finally got up and left.

I have to say, with only one exception, we saw few poorly behaved children, but many badly behaved parents!!! Hubby and girls waited up to an hour for some of the slides. After they got back we headed to Typhoon Lagoon. Took a bus to Coronado Springs, then transferred onto Downtown Disney bus. This was a major pain, as the Downtown bus stops at Marketplace, Pleasure Island, and Westside before continuing on to Typhoon Lagoon.

The girls loved the wave pool at the lagoon, and Terry and I found the 'ambience' nicer there than Blizzard Beach. I guess Blizzard Beach is better if you like slides, but it seems more like your typical water park and doesn't have as much theming as Typhoon Lagoon. Typhoon Lagoon has slides too, but we didn't go on them. Girls also liked the shark pool and swam through several times with no wait. We stayed here until closing. I had brought a waterproof camera and let the girls take photos to their hearts content. Also tried out lazy river here, with less pushing and jockeying for position while drifting. Had some snacks and bought a refillable mug. Girls opted for pizza in room and hubby and I went to Fultons.

Part 7: EPCOT

We visited EPCOT on Thursday, Oct.22. Got up early and arrived when gates opened.

First ride was Spaceship Earth, which we enjoyed - no wait. Then to Innoventions to the left - had a hard time getting my kids out of here. Ellen's Energy Adventure was excellent. Horizons was pretty bad - no one enjoyed this. At the Life pavilion we watched the anacomical players. Saw The Making of Me which was very cute. Then rode Body Wars which looked old - movie just seemed very dated appearing. Youngest got ill on this - was nauseated afterwards. She hadn't really eaten much this AM and I knew that getting something in her stomach would help. I had made priority seating for Coral Reef, but they weren''t til 2 and it was only noon. The girls don't really care much for seafood anyway.

After some debate we headed across the lagoon to the Teppanyaki. This was good food. We were seated at a table (no wait) with another couple with 2 young daughters. I had chicken and shrimp and the girls had chicken. Hubby had soup and salad. Chef was entertaining and meal was tasty. $40 for the four of us. Then we worked our way around the countries. Enjoyed American Adventure, though girls thought it was dull. I should mention by now that the oldest daughter was getting tired and unhappy. She had a slight cold and was just not interested in anything. We walked quickly through a couple of countries until we came to Norway and then settled down with some delicacies from the bakery. This perked her up slightly.

We then rode Maelstrom which everyone enjoyed, though it was way too short. Wait of about 15 minutes. Also rode the Mexican ride which I thought was awful. What an insult to the Mexican people! Enjoyed browsing in the bazaar. Then hurried over to see HISTA, another good 3D movie. Then rode living with the land - very interesting. Older daughter perked up during this and said she would like to work someplace like this.

Hubby and older daughter want to go back to hotel - I and younger daughter want to stay. We finally go to Living Seas. I love fish and acquariums so I liked this, although daughters were upset to see manatees and dolphins in their too-small enclosures.

Hubby by now has a real 'tude, but refuses to leave without me. We pick a spot for Illuminations and wait for about 1/2 hour. I should also mention that it had turned windy and cold! We ended up putting our rain ponchos on for some protection. Hubby and I holding spot at fence- oldest daughter huddled on ground with poncho wrapped around her (and sunglasses on!), youngest daughter eating snack and arguing with sister about why she had to wear the ugliest poncho. Apparently plastic ponchoes are "out" in the teen fashion world and they were both horrified that we made them wear one for warmth.

Finally Illuminations started. Hubby, younger daughter and I enjoyed it (his 'tude disappeared), but older daughter just watched grimly. This was the only time I saw a poorly behaved child- pushing and shoving to try to get in front of people, then standing on fence so that others view was blocked. His mother did nothing to stop this behavior. I finally backed off and let him have my spot- my feet were being trampled.

We joined the throng heading to the exit - no problems leaving except for a couple of people risking injury to all the children by carrying lit cigarettes in the crowd. I had a child burned once at another amusement park one time by a person doing this - PLEASE - let's put the childrens safety before our addictions, folks!!!! You can wait until you make it out of the crowd to light up! Who would want to risk burning a little one? My family really did not enjoy Epcot. I would like to go back sometime alone when I could stroll and enjoy the shops in World Showcase - hard to do with whining teens. Hubby also is not into shopping.

Part 8: Disney Studios

On Friday we visited Disney Studios. We got a late start as everyone was exhausted by the 12 hour Epcot marathon the day before. Did not arrive at studios until 11ish. Immediately regretted the late start as the park seemed packed!

We headed off to The TZ Tower of Terror, as the girls had been wanting to ride it all week. Hubby, after about 5 minutes of looking around as we strolled down the street, accuses me of saving the best park for last! He's a big nostalgia person. Rode the Tower with about a 20 minute wait. Fantastic!!! I am not a thrill ride person, but am usually game to try something once, Hubby and the girls live for thrill rides. This ride fulfiiled all our expectations. The hotel was eerie, the CM'c(cringe) were in character, and the theming was perfect. Did feel old when I heard a teen ask his parent's if there really was a show called The Twilight Zone. Even after reading what to expect on here, I was terrified. Hubby and girls loved it and rode it several times (once was enough for me).

Finally drug girls away to the Great Movie Ride. Hubby and I liked it, girls did not get all the references. Then to The Making of Armageddon (yawn). The type of show you see on TV. Next to Catastrophe Canyon (Backlot Tour). Had longest wait here- about 45 minutes. As my daughter said- this was interesting but not worth the wait. Also saw Beauty and The Beast and most of Hunchback of NotreDame. Enjoyed both. Another good 3D movie with the Muppets. Then did the sound show- forget it's name but girls liked it. Hubby and girls did Star Tours- I passed due to feeling a little queasy after Body Wars. This did not affect youngest daughter, who became ill after Body Wars,at all. They gave this a thumbs up.

Next was priority seating at Prime Time Cafe- good food and great fun! While eating was informed by waitress that Fantasmic was canceled due to high winds- but Sorcery in the Sky would be performed. Very disappointing- should have got over here earlier in the week, though! Sorcery in Sky good- hubby and kids missed it, because they had to ride Tower one more time! This park seemed packed all day, and once again arriving late made things worse. I don't know if they were unusually busy or if the park is just smaller than the MK and Epcot, but it seemed like wall to wall people. Disney needs to consider longer hours for October. Forgot to mention we spent some time in HISTK play area and went through Goosebumps. This group is right- Goosebumps a waste of time. You walk through a maze of mirrors, then back out into gift shop. Very disappointing and not at all what we had come to expect. Surprised Disney allowed this on property!

Part 9: Marketplace

Saturday we were due to fly home in the evening. Today oldest daughter and I opted for shopping and youngest daughter and Hubby went back to the Studios.

We grabbed a bus to Marketplace and headed for World of Disney as I wanted to use my MKC discount. It was packed (Saturday), but enjoyed browsing. Bought a mug for my collection, a Pooh backpack for my grandson (2 daughters on trip with us are youngest of 5), and souveniers for girls friends. Long wait to checkout. Afterwards, daughter and I decide we need some refreshment, so we head to Ghiradellis. UMMMMM! Hot fudge sundaes! Next do some more browsing and buy my annual Xmas ornaments. Every year I buy an ornament for each child, date and personalize it. Then when they start a home of their own , they already have some ornaments. My 25yo married daughter has started this tradition with her 2 year old son. Daughter need an aspirin- headache- so we walk towards McDonalds for a Coke to take it with. Decide to have lunch. Typical McD's food.

Forgot to mention this AM girls had hair wrapped. Quite a line to have this done. It cost $1.50 an inch, plus cost of beads. Youngest daughter (with shoulder length hair) costs $22, oldest $28! I told the girls this would have to be their big souvenier and they were happy with that. Hubby almost had heart attack at cost.

We didn't need to checkout- they had automatically added everything to our credit card. We had really planned on paying everything off when we left, but this was ok. Will just pay when credit card bill comes in.

Linda Phifer

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