Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: Offsite
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: The Kelly's spent a week in mid-September playing "Commando" at the Orlando attractions. In my opinion, Rhiannon and her family did it all wrong, but they seemed to like it that way. There's a lot to be gleaned here, if you're into the heavily-planned, dawn-to-dusk trip.



Details:

September 19-27, 1998
Offsite - Quality Inn Maingate East
2 Adults, 5 children ages 6 through 13
THE "CMs":

Myself and Hubby and our 5 children (girl 13, boy 10, girl 8, girl 7 and boy 6). Hubby is a marathon runner, I'm something of a "gym rat" and all of our kids are experienced backpackers in excellent health. I tell you all this because I've been told that our Scientifically Designed Commando Tour Plans resemble the Battan Death March <G>! I will admit that our appearances at all-you-can-eat buffets remind one of Sherman's March to the Sea.

Anyway, we "do Disney" once every 3 years and it is our sworn mission to see the attractions and avoid lines. We are "goers and doers" by nature and, yes, we act like this at home too. My neighbor confided that it is exhausting sometimes just to watch the activity at our house. Anyway, it works for us because both hubby and I are Commando types. If any of the children are not, they have been smart enough not to mention it <G>.

Another thing I should explain about us is that our kids have spent their early years in various foreign countries and I am a very eclectic cook. They are probably much more adventurous eaters than the typical child. They are also quite intrepid, probably because hubby and I both ride motorcycles daily and love theme park rides. We've always encouraged them to try anything they could meet the height requirement for. We've also been known to supply heel lifts for the short but brave among them.

THE EQUIPMENT:

A 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite with living room and kitchen. (Quality Suites Maingate East, $82 a night Magicard rate). Yes, we'd love to stay on site, but we no longer fit in WDW's rooms at any reasonable price. Besides, this place is fine and we're only "home" to sleep.

Minivan from Dollar Rent A Car. $185 for the week using code "daily". Renting a car makes sense for us, even on-site. We like SeaWorld, Universal and Wet'nWild too. Also, do the math for 7 round trip airport transfers!!! Plus our CO (hubby) has zero tolerance for the time waste that invariably seems to be caused by public transport. We're both Native New Yorkers, where time is MUCH more than mere money -- It's like the "Gold Standard" of life!

Three carry-on bags. Yes, we are a frighteningly efficient little group. Actually, we can do this because the suite has washers and dryers. Also our 7 and 8 year old daughters wear the same size clothes, as do myself and my 13 year old daughter. While I am 4 inches taller, this doesn't matter with shorts, halters and shirts without sleeves. I'm also one of those no-makeup and hate to shop types so this works out great. Daughter loves to shop but I have to remind her that people my age do not wear bellbottoms!

Each day we will sally forth (in time for rope drop, of course!) with a rented double stroller (we do have some mercy) sandwiches, snacks and a large supply of powdered drink mix along with an empty container to mix it in. Remember -- it is our goal to see the attractions with a high degree of efficiency, not to shop and eat and certainly not to "relax". YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (Tee hee hee)

Sea World:

We got into Orlando last night too late to do anything but sleep. This wasn't my first choice of flights, but I got a good deal and flying in earlier in the day would have cost us an extra $50 each, which adds up with 7 people in a family.

I planned to tour Sea World today for several reasons (1) It's the Park my kid's will like the least. Don't get me wrong -- we think it's a great park and always enjoy it, but I feel that if you take kids to MK first they may be disappointed in everything else and if you take them to Universal first you may scare them and make them apprehensive about riding ANYTHING for the rest of the week. (2) Its Sunday and I'm betting that locals don't turn out in droves for SeaWorld on the weekends and (3) if they do it won't be that much of a problem because SW is mostly large capacity shows and walk-thrus. (4) The kids had a late night last night, we need to do some food shopping sometime today and we don't want to overdo it the first day. Our plan is to take in the highlights of SW, therefore, not to see everything.

We arrive at opening and check out the show schedules. I note the times for the 2 shows we are interested in on my map of the park. No sooner do we get in the park than it begins to rain. It's moderate rain and pretty much continues the whole time we're there. We duck into the gift shop and buy ponchos for all. Yes, we knew it would rain and could have brought our own, but we're northerners and our rain gear is too heavy for the climate here, so we just planned on buying them whenever we hit our first rain.

Everyone is most interested in Journey to Atlantis. It wasn't built the last time we were here and looks great in the brochure. I called SW ahead last week to find out EXACTLY where it is so we would be able to beat it right there at rope drop. (Am I compulsive or WHAT?) Anyway its up in the back behind Key West and Penguin Encounter, for the record. We don't rent a stroller today as we're only planning to be here until 2 o'clock and we want the kids to get used to the walking since we're not going to overdo it today anyway.

Everyone loves Journey to Atlantis. There is actually "favorite ride" talk. You can tell that they were going for a combination of Splash and Space Mountains and we think they have done a great job of it. There is no line so we ride two more times before going to the Dolphin Show. Next we head over to Penguin Encounter, Pacific Point (the Sea Lions) and Terrors of the Deep. There are people in the park, but no lines at all for anything all day. Next we go to the Shamu Show and Wild Arctic. We had planned to spend some time in Shamu's Happy Harbor, but everyone is wet enough by now, thank you <g>.

We ate the "free continental breakfast" at our hotel this morning and we have some granola bars, plus some powdered drink mix and a plastic pitcher with a screw on lid to mix it in, brought from home. (When I packed the drink container I filled it with (clean!) socks and underwear so it wouldn't be wasted space in our luggage.) We have priority seatings at Ohana at the Poly tonight at 5:30 so we can do something festive and "Disney" on our first night.

We eat our snacks while watching part of the Water Ski show, since it is just starting as we pass by. I taught my oldest 2 children how to water ski this past summer so they can appreciate how difficult the moves are this time.

We would like to see the Key West area, which is new since we were last here, so we do that and also the stingray lagoon. We have fun petting the rather slimey stingrays but the dolphins ignore us. The trainer says they are supposed to come to you if you put your hand in the water and wait, but we are having no luck. My guess is the rain is messing up the dolphins' sonar so that they don't notice the motion of our arms in the water.

We leave around 2 PM. It has stopped raining and the kids are anxious to check out the hotel pool so I drop them and hubby back at the hotel while I go to Publix, which is right accross the street from Quality Suites. I buy stuff to make sandwiches, apples and grapes, snack foods, coke, Crystal Lite, Laundry Detergent and a sharp but cheap knife to cut sandwiches -- also several cans of pineapple juice. I don't actually do any cooking on vacation -- just use the fridge, microwave the complimentary coffee that is never hot enough, and make sandwiches to bring to the parks. The first time we stayed here I planned to cook spaghetti and stuff but it wasn't worthwhile with all the inexpensive buffets around this area. I also stop in Walgreens (also right across the street) which is where the liquor store is, believe it or not. I buy a bottle of coconut rum to mix with the pineapple juice I bought at the supermarket. Now all we need is a trip to the hotel's ice machine and we have a week's worth of Pina Coladas for a fraction of what they would have cost us at the pool bar!

Everyone had a nice swim so we head over to the Poly at 5:30. Our family really liked the food here, hubby especially. Everything was good with the exception of the chicken in banana leaf, which had a strange taste that none of us cared for. The salmon was particularly good. The kids enjoyed the traditional coconut race and hula hoop contest too. When I choose restaurants I pick someplace that we have not been before, someplace "themed" or with some form of entertainment, and someplace where I think my husband will like the food. Ohana is a hit in all 3 categories. One of my sons was born in Polynesia, but does not remember it, so he is particularly interested in this place. He tells the Big Kahuna, who promply makes a fuss over him -- "So, where ya from?" Just as we are leaving another coconut race starts so the kids get to do it twice. One of our kids wins this time.

I've planned to walk over to the GF by way of the beach, so we head out by the pool area now. All the torches are lit along the walkways and the sun is about to set. The Poly looks magical and we enjoy our stroll. The GF is absolutely beautiful, especially the lobby. I do feel a bit strange there in my cutoff jeans and T-shirt and suddenly wish I had a bit of my New York wardrobe with me! There is even a live orchestra playing in the balcony. We return to the Poly by way of the monorail, pick up our car and go back to the hotel to sleep. It's only about 9:30, but that rope drops early enough tomorrow at MGM!

MGM

Everyone had a good night's sleep and we are all up in plenty of time. Hubby goes out with a tray to load up on the free continental breakfast items and we munch in front of the TV while getting dressed. Jobs were assigned at a family meeting before the trip and troop manuvers are going smoothly. "Yes, It's a well-oiled machine" hubby remarks for the millionth time. (I know, I do most of the "oiling" <g>).

When its time to get into the car the kids all start arguing about who is going to sit where. Hubby quickly assigns seats and tells them this is the arrangement for the duration of the trip. Anyone causing a disturbance will be docked pool time in 10 minute increments. There is peace in the kingdom as they mull this over.

We're at MGM in plenty of time so we browse in Sid Cahuenga's Shop. Everyone knows that I have this TINY little crush on Mel Gibson currently so they come running with an autographed picture of my boy. It's way overpriced, like everything here, but its still a fun place to browse.

When the rope drops we head quickly to The Great Movie Ride. Yes, I know that we should be at Tower of Terror, but I don't want to start the younger kids off with quite that much of a bang, lest they be put off riding anything all day. We catch the first show of the Little Mermaid with moments to spare after that. I'm pleased, as the Mermaid always has a long, very boring line later in the day. We catch the Indiana Jones Show next and then Star Tours and Muppet Vision. We have done great so far, losing almost no time waiting for anything.

It is getting hot and attendance is picking up by now (around 11 AM) so I say lets head to the far end and see Hunchback of Notre Dame, lest we have a problem later. This is a wonderful show. We have never seen it before and everyone loves it. We had a few minutes wait while we were sitting waiting for the show to begin so we passed out sandwiches and made up a pitcher of drink mix at the water fountain. Counter food is expensive and nothing special, and you really save time bringing your own too.

After the show we stop by Goosebumps fun house, since it is right there. This is a total waste of time -- luckily it only takes a few minutes to walk through. It is nothing but a mirror maze! The Goosebumps Show is starting so we sit down to watch it. There is just no shade and it is too hot to stick it out, so we move on after only 5 minutes. We all get wet at the Singing in the Rain umbrella while we're in the NY neighborhood.

Next we do the Backlot Tour (this is the one that includes Catastrophe Canyon) which is interesting and not overly time consuming. The CM who does the first part of the tour (at the water tank) has her microphone up too loud and one of the shrillest voices I have ever heard. I'm glad to move on without a headache! We only do the first half (the tram part) of this tour on the advice of a guidebook that says the last part has been turned into an infomercial. Afterwards we let the kids loose in the Honey I Shrunk the Kid's Playground.

Our plan calls for Beauty and the Beast next, but we know we will not have enough time to catch it before the parade. For some reason the Mulan Parade is at 3 PM today. It is always reported as being at l:30, so we had double checked this earlier with a CM. We are headed for the parade route to stake our claim when the heavens open up. This is a major downpour and lasts quite a while so the parade is rained out. We are really disappointed as this was one of the new things we had very much looked forward to. Our 7 year old was born in China and has a nostalgia for all things Chinese, so she is especially disappointed.

We cannot return to catch Mulan on another day because we have 4 Day Value Passes, rather than hoppers. These have always worked well for us in the past as we always toured during early December when you can count on great weather. With 7 tickets you do save quite a bit, but I would get the hoppers just in case the next time we come. The flexibility really is worth the extra money in case you encounter the unexpected.

We have priority seatings at the Sci-Fi Dine In at 4 PM, so we estimate that we have just enough time to do the Animation Tour and then dash across the park. I pointed out that it was better to do this before 5 because if you go after work hours you will pretty much just see a bunch of empty work stations. Even though its only 3:15 the Disney employees seem to have all gone home already anyway. Do people stop working at 3 in Florida or what? Wow, we should move -- in New York only major slackers leave before 7 <g>. The tour is worthwhile anyway and we make our reservation right on time.

The food at the Sci-Fi is overpriced and nothing to write home about. You're best off to stick with burgers and shakes here. We know all this, but our family loves this place and never wants to pass it up. It really is a hoot and our waiter, Tony, is a real likeable character who turns out to be from Brooklyn.

Its still "poncho time" when we come out and we have lingered too long and missed the last showing of Beauty and the Beast, which is too bad as it is an excellent show. Oh well, we did see the whole thing on Broadway 2 years ago. Its now on to the Big Enchilada -- Tower of Terror. I actually hate this ride, but hubby and kids love it, so I go along for the ride even if it makes me feel like the human yo-yo. The effects are great and it really is one of Disney's best rides, I just don't like to be dropped 13 stories after I just ate. Everyone wants to go again but I beg off, knowing that I will now be teased about it on several occasions during the course of our trip. "Ride wimping" is frowned upon in our family <g>.

We have time for one more thing that's not a show. The consensus is Star Tours again, so we head over there before returning to the hotel for a nice swim for the kids and Pina Coladas for Mom and Dad in the hot tub. Mmmmm . . . . nice!

USF

It's Tuesday, September 22, which is the day after EE at MK. However, being warned by you good people that tonight will be an E-Ticket night there, I am concerned that everyone will pile into the MK, especially later in the afternoon. Since we're off-site and not eligible for E-Ticket or EE, I have figured that Wednesday looks like a good day for the MK and we'll do Universal instead today.

I know that there will be gnashing of teeth, but USF is actually our favorite park, with MK running just a hair behind, of course.

We arrive for rope drop -- no kidding, Is the Pope Catholic! -- and head right for Terminator. I know that the unofficial guide says after 3 PM for this, but we've never seen it before and we're dying to after all the raves we've heard. It lives up to its reputation. Easily the best 3-D effects in Orlando, combined with live action, "smoke 'n mirrors" special effects and a bit of motion. Before the week is over some of us will have seen this 5 or 6 times!

Next we hustle over to ET Adventure, Back to the Future (our former favorite but now we're not so sure) and Jaws. Everything is still a walk-on. We skip Earthquake for now (it has 2 rather dated pre-shows before the "good part", which makes it quite time consuming.) and go for Kongfrontation where we hit our first line. The line moves fast (no more than 15 minutes). Kong is always more fun than I remember. One reason that we go every three years is that we don't want to remember the attractions TOO well, as we're afraid it would take alot of the fun out of them if we remembered what was around every corner in every ride. Also, every 3 years puts each child at a different age developmentally. They appreciate different things each time. Don't know if others will agree, but I have a theory that some guests start out clockwise around the lagoon and others start their touring counter clockwise. Earthquake and Kongfrontation always seem to have more of a line than anything else when you get to them. My theory is that this is where the 2 touring masses -- clockwise and counter clockwise -- kind of meet at the same time. Once you get past this mid-way around "cross over" point, the crowd seems to thin out again. Makes a certain kind of sense when you look at the way USF is laid out???

After Kong we double back and do Earthquake, as it is the last major ride. Twister is next on our list. We try to get near the front, as posters here have told us to, but we're not familiar with the set-up and end up in the back. Later on we will get a chance to stand right up against the front rail for this and it makes a HUGE difference in the quality. There are all kinds of things going on that we didn't even see the first time and it is truly awesome when you're right up front, although it's impressive from anywhere. The waiting area outside for Twister is only partially covered and must be VERY uncomfortable when there is a long line! Lucky for us we encounter no serious wait here. There are 2 pre-show areas before the main event. When you pass thru the doors leaving the second area for the actual room try to stay as far to the right as you can. Just keep moving as far right as you can once you get into the room and that will put you as close to the front as possible.

We move along to Funtastic World of Hanna Barbera. If you are unsure of how your kids will do with Back to the Future, I would suggest you try this first. It is a kinder, gentler motion simulator with a Flintstones/Jetsons cartoon interface. This is the last of the "hurry up and beat the crowd" attractions and we're getting hungry so we find a nice spot and pass out sandwiches and drinks. Today it's turkey, salami and swiss and there are several complaints about the salami. I explain about not being in New York anymore and take this opportunity to suggest they stay clear of the (closing doors?<BG>) pizza and Chinese and eat all the barbeque they can find while we're here.

After lunch we go see the Hercules and Xenia show, which is very worthwhile. We can't resist hopping into Terminator again since we're in the neighborhood. Next Dad takes the 3 younger kids to Feivel's Playland, which they adore, and I ride Back to the Future again with the two older children. We re-group at Feivels so everyone can get wet and then head over to the Wild West Stunt Show, which is quite good. We now have about an hour before the Dynamite Nights closing show so we catch the Animal Actors Show. It wasn't on our schedule, but its cuter than I remember it being and everyone likes it.

We get a spot midway down the lagoon for the closing show, which is OK, but the action is very difficult to see due to the length of the lagoon. No matter where you stand, you seem to get a decent view of only about one-third of it. Hubby and I decide that the two narrow ends might be a better place to stand than along the sides. We never get this one right and its kind of frustrating to us Commando types <g>.

We discuss where to eat, pointing out to the kids that it is too late to swim if we go for a full, sit down meal anywhere. They really want to swim and hubby and I are not very hungry, so we are indifferent. We go to the McD's drive thru on the way home and bring it back to the room. Hubby and I don't like fast food so we decide that those Pina Coladas are filling enough. We make 2 big ones and head down to the pool area.

Hubby heads off with the kids to actually swim. I'm more of a hot tub type, myself, so I head straight there and submerge myself with a sigh of contentment. Too late I realize that "Joe Romeo" of the hot tub has taken it into his head that my sigh has been directed at him. I keep hoping that my 5 kids will show up and take the wind out of his sails, but even mentioning my husband twice in the first 3 sentences does not seem to put this puppy off. By the way, girls, this is not a compliment. This is the type of older guy that makes you think that (a.) he has lots of money, which makes him overly confident, or (b.) you are truly middle aged now and have completely lost your looks. Since this is the Quality Suites hot tub, not the Grand Floridian, I must discard the first idea. Now I am depressed but brighten at the thought that my husband's eyesight gets worse each year. Truly this is one of God's great mercies LOL!

MK

It is Wednesday, September 23, and our troops are assembled on the bridge to Tomorrowland at 8:59 AM. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls . . . . ." There is nothing quite like the pixie dust of the Magic Kingdom! We are eager participants in the Space Mountain Sprint but encounter a 10 minute wait anyway. Turns out that they are only operating the right track, so that would explain part of it.

We all LOVE Space Mountain so we ride 2 more times. It is a walk-on the second and third times, BTW. This is our 6 year old's maiden voyage, as he was too short last time we were here. He does great and even has his hands in the air on the third time. Some of us are carried away and want to go again but hubby calls us unflattering names and insists on moving along. We skip Alien Encounter as no one has ever liked it or even "gotten" the point of it. Besides, it's kind of mean-spirited for a Disney thing IMHO, which is a mood alteration we're not looking for when we're all so happy and excited to be here.

My plan calls for Jungle Cruise next, followed by Pirates of the Carribean, so we head to Adventureland. I'm doing JC now because it is outdoors (too hot later!) and has a tendency to form longish lines. Also, I thought we might need an "antidote" to Space Mountain in case it freaked the little guy the first time. JC is also one of those rides that seems always be way better than you remember it being. Pirates is always a guaranteed hit and we all emerge singing, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!" Both of these have been walk-ons.

Next up is Big Thunder. (We are able to save Splash Mt. because we have two of those "jump the line" coupons signed by Mickey himself!) The line at BTMRR looks long, but when we get to the top we discover that they are not using any of the "switchbacks" up there. Total wait is under 10 minutes. We head over to the Haunted Mansion and walk right on. Daughter No. 2 is okay with this but wimps out about going twice. Everyone agrees to move along as our next stop is Peter Pan and I'm concerned that the lines must be really building by now over in Fantasyland.

There is a 15 minute wait for Peter Pan, which is to be expected since it's closing in on noon by now. We ride Its A Small World now (no wait) and turn back towards Tom Sawyer Island, where we plan to picnic today. I had hoped with this manuever to distract our smaller children from the rest of Fantasyland for now and my ruse has succeeded. My plan is to do Fantasyland between 5:30 and 7 and to stay out of Toonland completely. Before we left on this vacation we explained to all that we had only one day in the MK and we wanted to see the things that Disney does best or that are unique to the MK. I'd don't want to get bogged down standing in line to see characters or riding slow-loaders.

We have a great picnic on Tom Sawyer's Island, eating our bologna sandwiches with wild abandon in spite of Cableguy's disapproval <G> Later on tonight I'll even do laundry back at our cheap off-site hotel, just to rub it in, LOL! The kids explore the island and play in the fort. We have given the oldest a watch and agreed to meet in 45 minutes at the raft dock. Hubby and I hold hands and stroll around. Life is good.

We meet up, take the raft back and head over to Spash Mountain. We go in the exit, flashing our pass and announcing cheerfully, "Hi, we're line jumpers!" We got two of these passes on our last trip because Splash Mt. was brand new. After waiting in line our two youngest could not make the height requirement at that time, so we did the baby switch and they handed each of the little ones a line-jump pass as compensation. Very nice and we have had them tacked to a bulletin board at home for 3 long years. People look at us like they're trying to figure out if we are celebrities they should recognize or something. It's FUN jumping lines with The Mouse's approval. We ride twice, of course, since we have 2 passes, and then it's on to the Tiki Room and The Swiss Family Treehouse.

Hubby balks at the Tiki Room, saying its "lame". I protest that it is new and improved and a "classic" even if it is a bit lame. I cinch the argument with two little words -- Air Conditioned! This does it, and a stampede to the Tiki Room ensues. The new show is cute and nice and short too. We all join in singing, "In the tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki, tiki room". We climb the treehouse and head for the Dolewhip.

It's parade time now so we head out to the Hub and eat our Dolewhip on the curb while waiting. The weather is holding up nicely today so far. The parade is acceptable by WDW standards, but I like others I've seen here in the past better. Magical Moments is adequate and worth seeing but not one of their true extravaganzas.

After the parade we head back to Time Keeper and Carousel of Progress. Both my husband and I are old enough to remember CoP and Small World from the 1964 World's Fair. We were little kids but both remember it clearly as a highlight of our respective childhoods. In those days there was nothing like WDW and we were VERY impressed by the things we saw at the World's Fair. Even our high tech children are very fond of CoP, which seems strange until you consider it's soothing "Mr. Rogers" like appeal. They all say, "Oh good. I remember this from last time!"

We're in the Space Mountain neighborhood again and some of us cannot resist riding again twice. Hubby is disgusted with us and takes himself off to what we derisively call the Wedway Grandma Mover. He takes the youngest with him in a futile attempt to keep the boy from turning out like the rest of us . . . Huuummmphh!

We march everyone past the Speedway with the usual speech about its being slow-loading and not very much fun. Serious rain begins just as we reach the Teacups. It's covered, so there's no hardship here. We make the sprint to Dumbo and ride in the rain anyway. Who cares now that its the end of the day and we have a set of dry clothes in the car for everyone anyway. It's a good thing we did Dumbo as they shut it down right after our ride. There is no lightening or anything, but it is raining hard. Our only other interest in Fantasyland is Cindy's Golden Carousel. There is no line as all the sensible people are now running for the exits in their ponchos. We ride twice and bid a fond farewell to our day at the Magic Kingdom.

Our family has a tradition that our MK day is always followed by dinner at the Sizzler on 192. They have a huge buffet and the kids always get a kick out of this place. Hubby and I get a kick out of the price, too. Kids under 12 used to eat free here and it was downright embarassing. We'd have 7 people eating everything in sight and get a check for $16 or something! Kids aren't free here anymore but the entire tab with sodas and make your own sundaes is still only $42!

Tomorrow will be our first look at the Animal Kingdom.

Animal Kingdom

It's Thursday, September 24 and the Animal Kingdom is open from 8 AM until 7 PM. Everyone oversleeps a bit and we actually miss rope drop by 15 minutes. This is an unheard of phenomenon in our family and we are quite ashamed <BG>. Reeling from the shock, we plunge through the oasis just in time for the Tough to Be a Bug Show inside the Tree of Life. This is very cute and nicely done, although the 3-D effects seem a bit out of focus. The show has some little surprises but I honestly don't see how children could be terrorized by this. Mine aren't at any rate and I don't hear anyone else's crying in the audience either. Just my own perception -- I know that lots of kids are even afraid of the characters. This show lets you out on the opposite side of the Tree than where you went in and the hunt for your stroller can be a bit annoying. We've lost bit of time but figure that we better get over to Killamanjaro Safaris and bite the bullet as we are not staying past mid-day.

Killamanjaro Safaris has the worst line we will wait in all week, but it is covered and somewhat comfortable. I'd say the line was 30 minutes plus and it was just after 9 AM. We are rewarded for our wait with a truly excellent Safari. We see all of the major animals, including the lion awake and posing on his (air-conditioned) rock. The chase after the poachers is a nice twist, especially since the little ones believe it is "for real" and their eyes are round with wonder.

My husband asks the guide some questions about what the animals eat and I am surprised to hear him say, "This is wild Africa and they take care of themselves." I know that this is a complete lie, as they take them in and feed them at night. No way does Disney want the guests' sensibilities offended by sights from the REAL circle of life LOL! Survivial of the fittest is NOT a pretty picture and does not a catchy little tune make. I don't say anything but the guide explains himself to us (after removing his microphone) at the end of the safari. He's not allowed to answer questions in any way that will damage the illusion while he's "on the record" it turns out. Ohhh . . . we get it.

The Pangani Forest Trail is lovely and the hippos are very active while we watch at the underwater viewing station. We only see one gorilla, but he's very shy and hiding in the back behind lots of foiliage. They did a great job on the town of Harambe, we think. It's very interesting looking. We've never been to this part of the world for real so I have no idea if its at all authentic.

Next we take the bridge to Dinoland. We ride Countdown to Extinction, which is a great ride. It's a fast dark ride with special effects (cars run on a track -- not a motion simulator). Everyone wants to go again except our middle daughter, who can be a bit timid. (This one really CAN scare children, although our 6 year old proclaims it his favorite -- I even saw children of about 10 coming out in tears.) Hubby offers to stay with daughter and we hop over the rope into the waiting area again, as there is no line. This turns out to be a logistical mistake. When we come out of the ride and follow the trail the exit leads you down we end up quite far from the entrance to CTX. Our party becomes separated which is annoying because it is hot, I have the 2 youngest kids with me and Hubby has the stroller!

Not catching on to the idea that they are waiting for us in front of the ride we continue to our next planned stop hoping that they will do the same. We explore the boneyard and playground while keeping a lookout for them, but no luck. We return to the CTX entrance and find them cooling off in the fountains out in front. We tell them they didn't miss anything as the playground is fine but ordinary. We would have liked to see the Jungle Book show next, but have missed the time because of the mix up. We decide to skip it and just go for the Lion King Show, since it is supposed to be the best anyway. If we had the time I would have done the Flights of Wonder Show too, but our afternoon plans are important to us too.

The LK show is over in Camp Minnie Mickey and those who posted that this area is very poorly designed certainly were correct. Completely unsheltered lines wind all over the place in a confusing manner. We have about a half hour before the LK show. Knowing it is always very popular, we man our places in line to make sure we get in. I keep the kids in the dark about the character greetings here as we don't want to be bothered with that. As we are waiting for LK we are hit with the worst downpour we will see on our entire trip! Its like having buckets thrown over you but we stand our ground. We're wet anyway, this is our last thing to do in AK and I've heard so many people say it is wonderful.

We end up in the front row of the Lion section, which is wonderful. The show is the BEST and we get lots of interaction with the performers. The kids are in the show! The lead singer looks so serious at one point that I can't resist shooting him a silly look. He comes right over and engages me in a nose-to-nose staring contest. He's really good looking, so I get a fit of the giggles and he wins.

We leave AK reluctantly, knowing that we will be able to give it a full day on our next trip. We're already looking forward to Tiger River Rapids. We need to go somewhere and eat, but we don't want to do Rainforest Cafe. (We have a clone right by our house in NY and have been there several times already). I suggest that we go to the new McD's on the way into the All Stars, thinking that we can get fries and shakes and the kids can use the play area. We're really surprised to find that there is no play area at all here! The most rinky-dink little McD's has a playground at home and here's this big thing looking 3 stories high with NO playground. We shake our head and continue on to Disney Village Marketplace, or whatever they're calling it now -- You know what I mean.

We have set aside one hour for souvenier shopping and each child is allowed to spend $25. This works for our family because the kids know that they will be given a time and a place to shop. This way there is not constant begging to buy things and we do not waste any of our precious theme park time. You are strongly encouraged to buy something reasonably sensible, but we're not very strict about this. We concentrate on the World of Disney and the Leggo Store and soon everyone has zeroed in on what they want. I also buy those big lollypops for our neighbors children who are also our kid's best friends. We stop for sundaes in Ghiardelli's and are not impressed. Very ordinary flavors and toppings at a very inflated price. They do not even have sprinkles -- The children are NOT amused!

We put our purchases in the car and return to the village to take the boat to PO/DL, where we have p.s. at 6. It's only about 4 now but I wanted to have some time see these resorts, as we have never made it over there in previous trips and I have heard so much about them. It is raining lightly off and on most of the time we are in the Village.

We take the boat -- which absolutely IS allowed if you have dinner reservations for the record -- upstream to Dixie Landings and walk around old man island. Nice pool, okay wooden playground and it has conveniently stopped raining for our walking tour. The fishing hole is closed for some reason. The kids have fun picking out penny candy in the General Store. I expected to like the Bayou rooms better but find that I like the Plantation House buildings very much more, at least from the outside. We would love to rent a surrey to ride down to PO but they only seat 4 and it is such a short walk down the carriage path that it seems an excessive waste of money to rent 2. Don't even know if they'd let us anyway as we have no resort ID's and our seating time at Bonfamille's is closing in on us now.

I like the look of PO. The pool is especially impressive. The little grove with the hot tub is charming but would present a problem for parents trying to lifeguard their small children. We like to be able to see the kids in the pool from the hot tub when we stay in a hotel.

We're happy with Bonfamilles. Stuffed Jester Caps are not as good as they sound but we all like the spicy house salad dressing and our main courses. We drink several Nawlins Ice's while we're here and I mention to the waiter -- a friendly guy with a fabulous memory -- that they are the best drink I have had down here ever. He gives me the recipe:

1/2 oz. each of Blueberry Cuvacao, Blackberry Brandy, Peach Schnapps, Banana Liquor. Add Pina Colada mix and ice and top with Dark Rum. (They put it thru a blender before topping it off the the rum).

We let the kids play in the playground after dinner for a few minutes. One of the great things about a big family is that they never need anyone to play with. As usual, they have made up some game using the available equipment and are laughing and running up and down. Hubby and I relax on the bench.

We head back to the boat dock just as it begins raining again. They won't run the boats because of lightening and direct us to take the bus back to the Village, which we do. The wait for the bus, plus the long and winding route it takes back to the Village, confirms our decision to always rent a car. We pass the time chatting with a nice family of first timers from England who seem to know nothing about WDW. We try to give them some helpful hints about what there is to do here and tell them which stop the want to get off at. Returning to the Village our oldest daughter and I would like to continue poking around the shops but we are out-voted by those wanting to have time for a swim before bed.

We all go back to the hotel for a swim and then turn in. We're supposed to go to Wet 'n Wild tomorrow after a Character Breakfast at the Beach Club, but they are forecasting definite solid rain all day.

Character Breakfast...and Wet 'n' Wild

Friday, 9/25. Today's agenda calls for a Character Breakfast (8:00 AM) at the Beach Club followed by Wet 'n Wild, which opens at 10 AM. After that I planned an early dinner at Cafe TuTu Tango followed by a stroll around the Mercado and a round of Mini Golf at Pirates Cove on I-Drive. (Almost none of this will end up happening, but it would have been a good plan!)

We're up early and the weather man is freaking out. Today is "THE BIG ONE" we are assured. 100 per cent chance of absolutely drowning out there -- not a doubt in their minds, no sir! The sky does look misty and overcast and we've all heard plenty about Hurricane Georges by this time. So we buy into it and I hustle everyone over to the Beach Club a half hour early so as not to get caught in the imminent hurricane -- the news is actually saying it will hit in 20 minutes they are so sure of themselves! Besides, our main problem at the hotel this morning is keeping the kids from following their usual cereal-eating routine today. They look at me like I'm so mean when I stop them. There WILL be food, I promise!!!

We're at the BC by 7:30 when the sun comes out. We have a nice stroll around Stormalong Bay, which we have never seen before. It really is very impressive and we wish we could stay here for a few nights. Hubby and I discuss the limit of 5 people per room and toy with the idea of slipping a few extras in. Hey, remember college??? More likely is a 4 night trip for our upcoming 20th Anniversary sans children. I point out that we could stay 2 nights here and 2 nights at PO. Hubby says he can't see coming here without the kids and I WOULD feel kind of mean sending my little ones post cards from WDW -- It might even quality as the definition of "mental cruelty" LOL. More likely we will go to St. Lucia, as planned.

Admiral Goofy is in charge of the CB in the Cape May Cafe. Pluto and Chip 'n Dale are also on hand in their "wild and crazy" bathing suits. The buffet is truly incredible. Everything you could ever want is on it, including things like miso soup, sticky rice and congee (rice porridge - the standard breakfast of Asia). Actually, we used to eat dumplings and green tea for breakfast in China. My kids surprise me by waxing nostalgic and going for the sticky rice and miso. The little guy tries to eat Frosted Flakes but we give him the evil eye and direct him to the Mickey Waffles (he's allergic to eggs).

Anyway the buffet has 4 sides. Side one is mostly fresh fruits, yogurts and toppings, side two is quiche, scrambled eggs (western and plain) bacon, sausages, waffles and pancakes with strawberry and warm syrup. Side three is a huge skillet full of cherry cobbler, really good bread pudding with vanilla sauce, and a huge selection of pastries, bagels and muffins. Side four is the aforementioned Asian cuisine and dry cereals. The OJ is fresh squeezed and the coffee is very good. Our waitress, Dorothy, is a nice grandmotherly type who is very solicitous of our every whim. (We understand why later when we get the bill -- Hubby remarks that he doesn't remember ever paying $100 for breakfast before!) I cheer him up by saying, "Just be grateful it wasn't dinner LOL!"

Having eaten like horses (one of our specialties) we take another walk over to the Yacht Club since the weather is holding. The lobby there is particularly nice and we have a good time looking at the globe, as my husband loves old maps. My older son enjoys the ship models, as he likes to build them. We walk back along Stormalong Bay. The CMs are all busy taking the umbrellas in and tying everything down because of the alleged storm.

We're rethinking Wet 'n Wild because of the forecast. I'm still set on saving Epcot for tomorrow as today is EE there and I'd rather avoid the school groups that frequent the place in the fall on weekdays. Because we have value passes, rather than hoppers (a mistake - buy the hoppers!) we have no options left for today with WDW. We do, however, have the Orlando Flex Ticket, with entitles us to unlimited use of Universal, SeaWorld and Wet 'n' Wild. We decide to spend a second day at Universal since there is still lots to do there that we skipped over on our first day.

We spend the day at Universal re-doing most of the major rides and catching the things we didn't do the first time. The weather is BEAUTIFUL and we are a bit annoyed that we didn't follow our original plan, but we're having a great time at USF, so don't really care that much. This turns out to be the day with the very best weather of our entire trip, believe it or not. We don't even have "poncho time" once! This time we do things like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Barney Show, Beetlejuice Review, The Blues Brothers (especially good, we're in the front row and get to participate!). We also re-ride most of the major attractions, see Twister again and tour Nickelodeon Studios. The kids love the Nick tour, so it's worthwhile, and one of our daughters gets picked and picks me in turn to be in the game lab section. I have to wear a Ren & Stimpy hat with big ears while daughter throws hoops over me. (I am now a middle-aged ride wimp who may have lost her looks and is wearing a funny hat, for those of you keeping score.) We beat the pants off the blue team, driven Type-A competitors that we are <G>. Everything at USF is worthwhile, although I would suggest that you not bother with Nickelodeon unless you have grade school children. It's pretty silly and boring for adults.

No sandwiches today -- Cabletroll will be SO pleased! -- due to the Character Breakfast and early dinner plans. For the record, we used to buy counter food like the majority, but our kids are all good eaters. Once we passed the point of having 2 or 3 children we began to feel a serious hole in our wallet everytime we went on a family outing. Hence we developed the picnic habit, both at WDW and at home. Smaller families look stunned when I point out that my kids can easily eat $50 worth of hot dogs in 5 minutes flat (keep your hands and feet out of the way, folks!)

Picnicing also works for us because we have a stroller anyway, so we're not lugging the stuff around. Also, we soon noticed the great convenience of being able to grab half a sandwich, a drink or a snack while standing in line or waiting for a show to start. No one had to go anywhere and stand on line to get it and it used absolutely none of our touring time. Plus, there is no real need for consensus -- every one can choose when THEY want to eat. Besides, one of the blessings of a big family is having lots of manpower. I don't even make those sandwiches personally anymore -- its our oldest daughter's job. I rest my case <BG>.

We leave Universal around 4:30. No need to stick around for the closing show, as we saw it the other day. We ponder where to eat and stop at the Hard Rock Cafe since it's right there. We have one of these at home and we are rock fans, but for some reason we've never gone to a HRC so we figure we'll give it a try. I go in to scope it out, another family habit. No reason to "unload the whole bus" if they can't seat us in a reasonable amount of time. Once inside I find the place too annoying to want to bother, even though they can seat us right away. It's very dark and so LOUD. I love music and still never miss a Pink Floyd tour folks, but the idea of trying to eat and converse in this place gives me indigestion. Just MHO, folks -- I know lots of you love it.

I go back to the car and suggest Sonny's Barbeque, which I've heard good things about on this NG. Sonny's is about 6-8 miles down on the right of 192, traveling East from the WDW main gate. This place has zero class, zero atmosphere, not so hot service and we will definitely go back on subsequent trips. Why? Because the food is excellent and the prices are unbelieveably low. (I can't understand how they are making a profit here.) Too bad they don't have draft beer, though -- I think lots of men enjoy a pint with this kind of food.

We stuff ourselves silly and "roll" back to the hotel for a swim. We're normally very "lite & healthy" eaters so this is FUN! We discussed our mini-golf plans at dinner but nobody really felt like it after being on our feet all day. Also, this is the kid's last chance as we expect to stay late at Epcot tomorrow night and our flight leaves early on Sunday morning.

Epcot

It's Saturday, September 26th, our last day at WDW (sniff!). We've saved Epcot for last because we wanted to do it on a weekend day, so it was either today or do it last Sunday on our very first touring day. We figured that we had a late flight into Orlando last Friday night, needed to get settled with food shopping, and didn't want to wear ourselves out the first day here, since Epcot is something of a "marathon" being open 9AM - 9PM. Remember, we have those 4 day value passes, so we can only have one day here.

Turns out we have chosen wisely. There is only a light drizzle once in a while during the morning and afternoon and the park is really empty until about 2 in the afternoon! We do Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Land boatride, Universe of Energy (remember to sit in the front row all the way to the left!). I know this is a minority opinion, but I really don't like the new "Ellen" format, especially when it continues on into the "ride" portion of the show. IMHO her bouncing in and out of the dinosaur era kind of ruins the "feel" of it -- just too "modern" and choppy for me. I kind of missed those old panoramic shots of the exploding volcanoes too.

Next is the Met Life Pavillion. Although we generally love motion simulator rides, we always steer clear of Body Wars as we all found it to be the only one that makes us queasy. Maybe its the subject matter. We did Cranium Command ("Where do you think you are, Disneyworld!?!" LOL) and The Making of Me, which we thought was great, and we are conservative parents. It stops just short of "lets not go there" and is very nicely done. If your kids aren't old enough to grasp the subject it will just go harmlessly over their heads.

At this point, we have covered everything on our itinerary in Future World and it is about noon. We stop for a sandwich break by the big fountains before continuing on into the World Showcase. We do the boat ride in Mexico and I buy a peasant blouse in the wonderful little interior courtyard. This is one of our favorite Disney places, but we ate in the restaurant here last time and we try to do new things on each trip.

We ride Malestrom at Norway and the kids enjoy the new outdoor Viking ship play area, which is a nice surprise. Our family celebrates St. Lucia Day (December 13th) and this is the only place I know of where I can buy paper goods for the occasion. I always stop here and buy 3 year's supply so we'll have enough until our next trip. While I am minding by own business shopping and not hurting anyone <g> my laughing family runs up and crowns me with a Viking battle helmet. It is gold plastic with a large horn over each ear and two blonde braids attached to it. They gleefully note that the braids are the exact color or my own hair and that the helmet is a perfect fit. If I don't act quickly I know that I will be forced to wear this thing every Halloween for the rest of my life.

I should tell you some background here -- On our coffee table at home is a book who's cover depicts a blonde woman in exactly this type of headgear under the title "Celtic Mythology". My husband bought this book a few years back largely because he was struck by the woman's remarkable resemblance to myself. She is, indeed, a "dead ringer". Now you understand why my family are so determined to saddle me with this hat!

Hoping to save myself I put forth my (extremely) Irish background -- "Weren't both my parents born in Ireland? Didn't I graduate from St. Bridgids after being pounded weekly by the Sisters of Notre Dame themselves? Isn't it true that I can sing all 5 verses of "Kevin Barry" at the drop of a pint? Don't I have truckloads of bothers and sisters and whole villages full of cousins? In desperation I offer to recite the entire Littany of the Saints, IN LATIN, while step dancing and baking soda bread! I'm Irish and can prove it, darn it! Hubby is trying to refute me with insinuations about the Viking raids. I don't like the turn this is taking, so I take my parting shot -- Oh "pog ma thon!" This means "kiss my butt" in Irish Gaelic and hubby cheerfully responds, "Been there, done that." He is anxious to get over to France now, in case they sell those French Maid's outfits. I point out that they won't fit him (tee hee hee!)

Next up is China, where we have timed our visit to coincide with the acrobat show. When we arrive there is a woman playing the ducimer and we stop to listen and chat with her. We see the movie and get really excited when there is footage of Sozhou that we recognize. This is where our youngest daughter was born. Sozhou is a town famous for its beautiful women, we always tell her, as we observed it to be the truth while we were there. The acrobat show is especially nice since the troupe is all children. I would like to buy my daughters and myself new dresses here for New Years, but they are insanely overpriced. Once again I regret that I did not full a trunk with these before we left China! Oh well, they are still resonable in NYC's Chinatown.

We continue on to the American Adventure, catching Viva los Americas on the stage accross the way. Too late I realize that we have missed the last (2 o'clock) show here featurning Mickey and Co. Last time we skipped the American Adventure due to the age of our children, but all of them are school-aged now so we go. It's okay, but I always think the home team could do a little better than this. Hubby remarks that they should make Monica & Bill attend this 5 times a day until he's REALLY sorry.

Its on to France. No, they don't actually sell those maids' outfits. Check Frederick's of Hollywood. Hubby suggests dragging me over to Morroco to see what he can get these days. This refers to the time that two guys there offered him money for me. (Not not in Epcot, Silly - in the real life Morroco!) He tells everyone that the language barrier was such that he couldn't make out whether they wanted to buy or rent. Very funny -- NOT! I did catch him doing the math on the exchange rate, though!

Lucky for hubby, it begins to rain hard and it is almost time for our 5 PM P.S. at Spoodles. We run for the boat and arrive at the Boardwalk at 4:45. On the way over I explain to the kids that this is supposed to be a replica of Atlantic City at the turn of the century. You know, "Boardwalk" on the Monopoly Board? Now they are intrigued and I tell them how many great games originated during the Great Depression because people had no money for entertainment.

The food at Spoodles is all its "cracked up" to be, although the kids are disappointed that there are no make-your-own pizzas now. The bread dips are wonderful, as so many of you have posted! Daughter and I share a pasta dish and I tell hubby to have the Osso Bucco. He doesn't know what it is but he trusts me on these things. I've been feeding him a long time. It comes with some excellent polenta, which I help him eat. His first morning back in NYC he called his favorite Italian restaurant to ask if they have Osso Bucco. That's how much he liked it! Everyone is too full for dessert. We found the service here rather erratic, BTW. They neglect and hover, alternately, with no happy medium!

It is still pouring when we emerge. We're not interested in nightlife, but I had hoped to look around a bit here. We take the boat back to Epcot in the second worst downpour we have encountered here. We are stranded at the entrance for about 20 minutes wating for it to subside, but it finally slows to a mist. It is getting dark now and all the lights are comming on. I love the World Showcase when its all lit up.

We enter the U.K. and I can't resist offering the children the traditional ethnic wisdom, "Watch your backs." (Remember, I'm Irish <G>) Hubby takes a dim view of my Feinian ways, as he is a Protestant -- or, as several of my relatives say, "a protestant, God help us!" Protesting that I'm only passing along my rich cultural heritage, I point out the lovely little park. See, kids, this is just like the place where they hung my Great Granddad! I am well into an amusing (to me) little ditty about the British army when hubby leans over and makes a very attractive suggestion. (Those Protestants know how to nip a Rising in the bud!) "How about going back to the hotel and I'll help you uphold another fine old Irish stereotype?" says he. "Would that be the one where we're all drunk and oversexed?" I ask hopefully.

Well, we skipped Iluminations and the rest of my visit to WDW is none of your business <VBG> Seriously, I'll write my epilogue (as opposed to my epitath) tomorrow. Appologies to those of you who don't like or understand my ethnic humor. No offense is meant to anyone, as this kind of carrying on is standard for us. We are a family devoid of "sacred cows" I guess.

Rhiannon Kelly

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