Trip Reports

Date of Trip: March 24 to April 1, 1998

I plan to write this report in summary form instead of a day to day detailed trip report. The participants are a family of 4 plus one extra child from So. Ca. They include Janet-40 (me), Rod-44, Jeremy-13, Ryan-12 and Melanie-18. We flew from LAX to MCO and stayed 5 nights at the Fort Wilderness cabins and 3 nights in a two bedroom villa at the Boardwalk. This was our first trip to WDW and I did all the planning with the aid of guidebooks, the net and especially RADP.

Fort Wilderness Resort and Cabins (Fort Wilderness Homes)

I can’t say enough positive things about this resort. It was wonderful, especially with the two boys. I was able to get an AP discount (thanks RADP) so we only paid $119.00 per night plus tax. I don’t like to camp but the cabin was definately not camping. It was extremely well designed and although it is small we didn’t feel cramped. The decor is really nice and it was very clean and definately still had that "new" smell. Melanie did not join us until later so it was just the two boys and us sharing the cabin. The kitchen had all the ammenities just like home and the maid even did the dishes! We had the local newspaper on our porch each morning and were able to park our rental car at our doorstep which is a big plus.

We also rented a golf cart which I would highly reccomend to anyone staying in this resort. You need to reserve in advance and they cost $35.00 a day but they are a blast. We loved zipping around in it and you can"t use a regular car to get around the resort itself. We never used a FW bus but they seemed to be everywhere and I didn’t hear anyone complaining. I don’t think I would stay in the homes without a car as they are quite isolated from the main part of the resort.

The cabin felt very private, peaceful and quiet. They are close together but it is not a problem at all. There were lots of ducks, squirrels and even deer wandering around. It seemed to be a safe enviroment and I felt very secure letting the boys roam freely. It was a great break from the crowds and intensity of the parks.

The resort has many things to offer and we could have had a great time there even if we didn’t go to a theme park. The boys really enjoyed renting fishing poles, river country and the video arcades. Their favorite thing was renting water sprites ($18.00 per ½ hour). I find it pretty amazing that they rent those things to kids as young as twelve but they loved it and they didn’t do any damage. We also rented a pontoon boat($22.00 per ½ hour) and cruised Bay Lake. We rented it for 1 ½ hours and were able to take a leisurely cruise and checked out all the MK resorts from the water. You can’t reserve them and we waited about 30 minutes for a boat to become available. This was the highlight of the trip for my husband and the rest of the family really enjoyed it.

We used the boats from the marina to get to the MK, Wilderness Lodge and Contempory (the arcade here was one of the boys favorite attractions). They were fun and we never waited more than 10 minutes. We were never asked for our resort IDs.

We saved lots of money on food using the kitchen in the cabin. We fixed all breakfasts, most lunches and some dinners there and it was better tasting food than what they had in the parks. Overall we found the food in WDW to be poor and very overpriced. The food in the parks was especially bad and if we go again I plan on fixing even more meals myself. We bought our groceries at Goodings and I think you can do much better price-wise if you take the time to find a Publix or other big supermaket.

The only drawback I can think of is that the double beds in the cabins are quite small. My husband and I are not large people but the bed was really too small for us. I wish they would take the bunkbeds out of a few of the cabins and put in queen-size beds for smaller families like ours. Other than that the Fort Wilderness Resort and our cabin exceded our expectations.

Boardwalk Villas Resort

We had planned on staying the entire 8 nights at the F.W. cabins but we had a sudden desire to try another resort and were lucky enough to do so. The evening of our fifth night in WDW, which also was the evening before the arrival of our 18 year old daughter, we decided to check out the Boardwalk Resort on our way to EPCOT. I mentioned to hubby how much better our daughter would like the Boardwalk compared to FW and he agreed. We were very impressed with the resort and it’s location right in the middle of the action. We were very happy at FW but thought it would be fun to experience something completely different but we didn’t want to give up our kitchen or the AP discount.

I decided to check at the front desk and they told me I’d have to check with Central Reservations to get an AP discount so on my way into EPCOT I called from a pay phone. They said I could get into studio with 2 queen beds and sofa bed but it didn’t have a kitchen. We couldn’t get a one bedroom because they only allow 4 people. AP discounts were available for both of these for the next 3 nights. There were no two bedrooms available at this time. The very nice CM suggested to me that I call back in the morning and one might become available. I called at 7:00 am while hubby was picking up daughter at airport and I was able to get one with AP discount for $289.00 per night beginning that night for our last three nights. I know this still sounds really high but the high season rate for these is well over $400.00 so I felt like we were getting a pretty good deal, especially for a last minute thing. We decided to throw caution to the wind and splurge, we didn’t regret it.

We packed and loaded the rental car. I called the front desk and was told I didn’t even need to check-out. I was told to just go over to the Boardwalk and check-in and they would forward a copy of my bill to them. We turned in our golf cart three days early but that was no problem, they said they would credit our account. Actually they ended up charging our account but we were able to straighten that out later.

The Boardwalk resort is beautiful and we had a great experience there. Our two bedroom villa was very plush. It had a full kitchen, living room with large t.v. and sleeper sofa, bathroom with jacuzzi, seperate shower, two sinks and walk-in closest. The master bedroom had a king bed and t.v. and there was a large balcony with doors from the living room and bedroom. The second bedroom is actually a connecting studio room with queen bed, sleeper sofa, bathroom and includes a small fridge and microwave. It also had a balcony. We were located on the far end of the resort but we had a great view of the waterway to MGM and the Swan and Dolphin hotels. These hotels are ugly but architectually interesting to look at. It was quite a walk to our room but I liked the view and it was peaceful and quiet. The villa was huge compared to the cabin and it was also much more centrally located.

The service was excellent and we enjoyed the activity on the boardwalk. We couldn’t go to Jellyrolls because my daughter in only 18 and you have to be 21. We checked-out the ESPN club and it was fun. The pool has a nice circus theme and the boys enjoyed the waterslide. It is an easy walk to EPCOT and the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and the Swan and Dolphin. The Fantasy minature golf is a short walk and the boys spent lots of time there. We drove to MGM but could have taken a boat.

Overall we loved the Boardwalk. It is expensive but you feel you are getting what you pay for. It feels like a first-class resort. If we go again I would like to split the time between the FW cabins and BW villas. They are both great and a good contrast.

Magic Kingdom

This report is about our experiences and opinions. We are from So.Ca. and have been able to take day trips to Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts, 6 Flags Magic Mountain, several water parks, Sea World and the LA and San Diego Zoos. We have been to these parks many times and I think that is why we didn’t enjoy the WDW theme parks as much as I thought we would. We hate waiting in lines and always visit during the off seasons.

We found the MK to be almost identical to Disneyland except more spread out. Fantasyland was arranged completely different and was much larger but had the same rides except for the addition of Lion King. I wanted to try it but the line was too long. Also I don’t think they had the Alice in Wonderland ride. All the lines were long (just like Disneyland) and I much prefer the Fantasyland at DL but I’m sure that is because I grew up with DL.

We did the e-ticket on 3-26 & 3-31. We probably wouldn’t have done it twice but our daughter missed the first night. This worked out great for us because all the rides we wanted to ride were open, we absolutely hate lines and we much prefered staying up late over getting up early. The word must be getting out about the e-ticket because there were many more people than I expected. The lines were still short and the only problem is the distance between the attractions. We started the first night with Alien Encounter and then rode Space Mountain. We then crossed the park and rode Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Carribean. Next we rode Spash Mountain but then decided the line was too long for Big Thunder Mountain. We went back to Tomorrowland and did Alien Encounter again and Space Mountain two more times. It was then about 11:30 PM and we were exhausted but happy so we hit the bakery and headed back to the cabin. We never waited more than 10 minutes and usually much less. When we did e-ticket again on the 31st we went to Thunder Mt. early and rode it with a 10 minute wait. The CM advised us that you should start with Splash/Thunder because most people head for Space Mt. first, we did this and found it to be a great idea. We rode all the rides plus Space twice in two hours.

Ride reviews:

Space Mt.: Great ride, almost identical to Disneyland except at DL there is great music blasting in your ears that is choreographed to the twists and turns of the ride. We missed that but still really liked the coaster, we would have gone on it more times if it wasn’t such a long walk to get back on.
Alien Encounter: Wow, this was different. We liked it but I strongly urge any parents with kids under 10 to be very cautious about taking them on this. Check it out yourself first. I won’t say too much because that would spoil the effects but basically it’s only purpose is to trap you in the dark and scare you to death. It was totally different than anything we had experienced and we like being scared so we thought it was great. We did it three times and sometimes were better than others because all the effects didn’t work properly each time. I agree with others who have complained that this attraction does not belong in the MK. I liked it a lot but it definately does not follow the theme of the MK. There is absolutely nothing "magical" about it and it would be much better in the MGM park. They should also be stronger in their warnings to parents of young children. The robot in the pre-show was awesome and one of the highlights.
Pirates of the Carribean: O.K. The ride at DL is much better because there the ride begins and ends in a cool restaurant where it looks like night all the time. Also the ending is much better with the fire almost exploding dynamite which is hanging over your head.
Splash Mountain. Great ride and I think it is a little better than the one at DL. There were some funny effects that I didn’t remember from DL and this was probably our favorite ride at the MK.
Thunder Mountain: This seemed longer than the one at DL. We only went on it once at night so I couldn’t really see everything but overall I think it is longer and a better ride than DL.
Haunted Mansion: Overall we liked this version better than DL. The ride was longer but the music seemed different. I don’t think they were playing the same cool music that they do at DL but still it was a good ride.
Spectro Magic: My favorite attraction at the MK. I loved it and surprisingly even my husband and two boys really enjoyed it. I think it is better than the old MSEP but it has been so long since I saw that one. It was beautiful and I would go see it every time without fail. I hope they don’t get rid of it. We had a great spot on the curb on Main Street but we had to snag it 1 ½ hours before parade time. We didn’t mind as we enjoyed people watching and were conserving energy for the e-ticket evening to follow. Do not miss this parade, it is really special for old and young alike.
Overall opinion: We all agreed that while the MK was fun and we enjoyed it Disneyland is a better experience. Mainly it boils down to the fact that DL has Indiana Jones (the best ride you will ever go on) and the Matterhorn which is a great and very unique coaster. The MK has Alien Encounter, The Lion King and the Spectro Magic parade. It is also easier to see more at Disneyland since the attractions are closer together. In our experience the food is much, much better at Disneyland.

EPCOT

We did not spend very much time in this park. I tried to talk them into trying all of the attractions but they just weren’t interested. I will give a review of the things we did experience.

One thing we did do was ride the Monorail to EPCOT for our first visit. This is an excellent way to arrive for the first time. We were able to snag the front seat both arriving and departing (we had a lot of great beginner’s luck). We asked the CM both times and it was no problem. It is a nice long ride from the TTC compared to the one at DL which just cruises the park and parking lot. When you are arriving you also get a nice overhead tour of Future World so I highly recommend using the monorail for your first visit if possible.

We all wanted to ride Spaceship Earth first which was no problem since we arrived in late afternoon. There was no line and we walked on. Everyone liked this ride, especially the earth part at the top.

Horizons: Surprisingly we liked this almost as much as spaceship earth. I had read some pretty negative reviews but we liked it. We walked on and it is a very long ride. Also it is a ride and it doesn’t have a preshow, hooray!
Cranium Command: I thought it was just o.k., Hubby didn’t like it at all (if I remember correctly it has two preshows and he hated all the preshows). The 13 YO boys loved it. I think they tried it two more times. It is a show with special effects about a 13 YO boy’s brain and it is pretty amusing.
Body Wars: Hated it, hated it, we all hated it. It made us sick and we have never had that happen and we have ridden lots of motion simulators and big coasters. The story line was dumb and confusing and the scenes in the bloodstream were like being on a boat in rough seas which I think is what makes everyone sick.
The Living Seas: We were very disappointed in this attraction. The preshow was boring. The ride through the aquarium too short and the whole thing looked in desperate need of a rehab. It smelled in there too.
Innoventions: This place was cool. The boys spent quite a bit of time here and I sent lots of e-mail postcards which I thought was really fun. Some people got theirs and some didn’t but the ones who did loved them. It was way cool sending photos to your friends and the 13 YO friend of my son sent one to his family and they were thrilled. It wasn’t crowded and we could have spent hours here if we had the patience to explore everything thoroughly.
Honey I Shrunk the Audience: Well I saved the best of Future World for last. Everyone was thrilled with this attraction. I think it was probably our favorite in all of WDW. It is so creative, funny, slightly scary, unexpected and the special effects were awesome. This show will be opening in Disneyland next month, Hooray!! I’m sure we will be enjoying it for many years to come.
World Showcase: We walked through all the lands and briefly cruised some of the shops but didn’t find a lot that interested us. I think it was the age of our kids, teenagers are more action orientated.
Iluminations: This show did not live up to our expectations. Maybe we were in the wrong spot but it just didn’t seem to have a whole lot going on. There was a lot less fireworks than I expected and a lot more water fountains. It was windy that night and I am wondering if they used less fireworks than normal. Another night we watched some of the fireworks from the Boardwalk and it seemed to be much more than the night we saw the whole thing. It’s possible we just hit it on the wrong night.
Well, that’s it, we didn’t try any of the other attractions. We ate lunch one day in the Land pavillion. It was awful, most of it we couldn’t even eat. It may have just been us because we never ate any fast food in the parks we thought was good.

We once went in the morning and it was crowded so we just left. The other time we went in late afternoon and I recommend this. We were able to walk on everything and it was cooler in the evenings.

MGM

We only spent about three hours here in the late afternoon and evening and still felt like we did almost everything we wanted to. The boys and hubby did not want to see any shows and my daughter wanted to go to Pleasure Island so we just hit the big rides.

Tower of Terror: We walked right on which was a good start. The preshow was fun and entertaining (even preshow hating hubby liked it). The CMs were fabulous and were working very hard to carry out the creepy hotel theme. Our elevator operator was hilarious, rolling his eyes back in his head. The ride is short but eventful and the first split second when the elevator drops is awesome. It is really not too frightening and I would encourage everyone to try it at least once. There are some great special effects before the big drop. We rode it twice back to back in about 15 minutes total.
The Great Movie Ride: I had to push really hard to get them to try this. I liked it a lot but the rest of the family thought it was just o.k. We were on the gangster side and I thought it was a long and entertaining ride. It did seem a little tame after TOT which we rode just before.
Star Tours: Exactly like Disneyland. It is still a good ride but we’ve been on it a million times. It is just like Body Wars but we didn’t feel motion sickness at all.
The Muppets 3D: Pretty cool show. It is like HISO but not as wild. Great for little kids, We liked all of the 3D shows we saw.
Indiana Jones Stunt Show: Just o.k. The Waterworld stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood is much better. All in all for a stunt show it was pretty good but I don’t think any of us would spend the time to see it again. The outdoor theater was large and comfortable and we weren’t packed in like sardines.
I really wanted to see the Hunchbackand Little Mermaid shows but we just ran out of time. We were there the last three hours before the park closed which was great. It wasn’t hot or crowded, we walked on all the rides. We drove from the Boardwalk but could have taken a boat or probably even walked. We took the car so hubby could drop my daughter and I at Pleasure Isand after.

Animal Kingdom Preview

O.K. first a disclaimer: I do not profess to know anything about imagineering or theme park planning and I enjoy many things Disney. The following are just my familie’s and my opinions based on our limited experiences in the few hours we spent there.

Kilamijaro Safari: Overall, we liked this ride. We went on it first thing which for us was about 10:00 AM. I’m sure you would have a better experience if you arrive when the park opens a 7:00 AM. That was just too difficult for us not being morning people and coming from a time zone that is three hours later. We still saw quite a few animals but most of the ones we could see up close were what I would call minor attraction animals. We did see the elephants up close but the giraffes and lions were quite far away. We didn’t see any hippos, rhinos, cheetahs or other e-ticket animals. The jeep driver was entertaining but the whole "big red, poacher chase" was quite lame.
Gorilla Encounter: We only saw one gorrilla. He was asleep and had his back to us. It was beautifully landscaped. We didn’t see the hippos here either.
Tree of Life: This was fasinating. Hubby especially enjoyed it, He shot a whole roll of film while exploring it thoroughly while daughter and I went to the Lion King Show. I can’t really describe it and do it justice so I won’ even try. The Bug Show wasn’t open yet but it sounds good. We liked every 3D show we saw.
Lion King Show: Daughter and I loved this show. The music is great the singing and dancing are great. The costumes and sets are fabulous. This is the only stage show we saw and I’m glad we chose this one. Thank you RADP. If I had not read such good reviews here we might not have tried it. I highly recommend it to everyone that enjoys shows, especially for young kids as some were able to dance with the characters at the end of the show.
Countdown to Extinction: This ride is really, really bad. I can not believe that Disney had anything to do with it. I’m sure it was even worse for us because we have been on Indiana Jones at DL. The people that designed Indie couldn’t possibly have done this ride. It has no imagination, the story is stupid, the dinasours are a joke and there is not near enough going on. It is not scary in the least and it is mostly just the jeep jumping around in the dark with stupid roaring sounds. The preshow is bad too and when we were exiting the CM was asking people if they wanted to go again. Most of us just laughed.
Overall we enjoyed our day there. We spent about 4 hours and felt we saw what we wanted to. It was not crowded so that helped a lot. I think this is probably going to be a big failure for Disney at first. There just isn’t enough to do and the person that called it "Plant Kingdom" hit the nail on the head. It is a great enviroment for the animals but because of that you can’t see them. Kind of a catch 22. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if Disney can figure a solution.

I’m glad I went. I wouldn’t go back before the work out the bugs.

Water Parks, Blizzard Beach

Our family really had a blast at Blizzard Beach. It was myself, hubby and the boys. Daughter hadn’t arrived yet. We arrived at 9:00 AM when the park opened and were probably the one of the first 20 cars. We drove from FW which is on the other side of WDW but it still only took about 15 minutes.

There were no lines and we had thousands of lounge chairs to choose from. We moved several times before we settled on a spot. We decided on the beach at the wave pool and hubby and I relaxed in chairs at the edge of the pool, with our feet in the waves. The boys imediately took off and rode all the slides in the first hour while there were no lines. They had a great time. My son’s friend even rode the big one (I think it is called Summit Plummit) but he said it burned the skin on his back.

We then all tried the lazy river which was very relaxing and very long. It took a long time to go all the way around. There were plenty of empty tubes and we all got soaked in the waterfall. The boys then convinced us to ride the family raft ride which we did. We had to wait about 15 minutes but it was fun and not too scary.

The boys then spent the next hour enjoying the wave pool and we left about noon.

I liked BB very much and would like to go back. I think it would be good to pack a lunch and make a day out of it. We left to go back to FW and rent boats from the marina.

Typhoon Lagoon: I didn’t go here as my AP didn’t include water parks so I only chose one. The boys went one afternoon and said they had a good time. They liked the snorkling and big waves in the wave pool but said the slides were better at BB.
River Country: The boys went here our first day in FW while hubby and I were settliing in and buying groceries. They had fun but said the lake water was cold and they did enjoy the slides. I’m glad they went to this water park first because after BB they didn’t want to go back to RC.
Overall the water parks were great and the weather was in the 80s so we could really enjoy them. They boys voted BB the best followed by TL and RC in that order. Although they did say Hurricane Harbour which is about 20 miles from our home is their favorite water park. Go figure, to me it is not even in the same league and doesn’t remotely have the atmosphere and imagination of the Disney parks. I guess 13 year old boys don’t care about atmosphere and imagination.

Pleasure Island

Overall this was probably my biggest disappointment. I was really looking forward to it and it just didn’t meet any of my expectations. I went with my 18 year old daughter and I must report that she wasn’t disappionted, she thought it was great.

We both had to pay the $19.00 admission price as she had a 4 day hopper and I had an annual pass. I realized later though that we could have gone free if we had taken the boys 6 day all-in-one passes. They were playing minature golf and not using their passes that night and we had been everywhere they had been that day so our hand stamps matched. The passes don’t have their names on them and since they weren’t using them I don’t think of it as cheating. Oh well, live and learn, it’s only money, right?

We shopped first and had our purchases delivered to our room. I also was able to get a 10% discount with my MKC card. They were delivered the next morning without any problems.

We saw the 10:30 show at the comedy club and I was disappointed but Melanie liked it. It was all improv and basically they told a story and kept adding to it with suggestions from the audience. It was interesting but not as funny as I expected. I would have liked to try another show but we didn’t get in line soon enough. Since it is all improv I’m sure the quality varies from show to show and you problably need to see more than one to form a valid opinion. The drinks were tasty and expensive.

We watched the New Years Show at the West End Stage which I thought stunk but again my daughter liked it. I thought the music was bad and the dancers were weak. It reminded me of a low rent Vegas lounge show or a cruise ship show. The fireworks were limited but there was lots of confetti everywhere. A girl standing next to us said the show was not nearly as good as normal so we may have just hit it on a bad night.

We walked briefly into the Adventurer’s Club but my daughter quickly vetoed this and I was getting tired so I didn’t argue. We checked out the Rock and Roll Beach Club and found it to be your typical sleazy bar full of sleazy drunks. It seemed very dirty and dank. After that we decided not to try another bar and headed out to see Planet Hollywood.

Planet Hollywood is nice and it was late so we could freely roam around and look at all the displays since the place was almost empty. Basically though it is not different than the Planet Hollywoods we have been to elsewhere. The one in Vegas is still our favorite, probably because it is the first one we have ever been to. We caught a bus after about a five minute wait and returned to the Boardwalk with no problems.

Overall, I don’t care to ever go back to Pleasure Island, especially if I had to pay the admission fee. As long as I don’t take my daughter to WDW I’ll be o.k., I know she would drag me back there.

We shopped at the Marketplace one afternoon and found it very pleasant. The lego store was really special. We grabbed a burger at McDonalds and it was the best burger we had all week (please don’t flame me). The Disney Store there is huge and we got our MKC discount at all the stores. I didn’t care for the shopping as well at Disney’s West Side, except for the All-Star Cafe Store.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. We also went to a spring training game between the Braves and Astros at Disneys Wide World of Sports. The stadium is beautiful and the game was fun but we thought we would have good opportunities for autographs which wasn’t so. It really wasn’t any easier than at the regular games we go to at Dodger Stadium. We went early during batting practice but the players were not very available. My son got one autograph from a Braves player but he is pretty determined and a little aggressive. He never comes home empty handed from Dodger’s Stadium either. Our seats weren’t very good which was surprising since I ordered them the first day they were on sale. We will not do this again unless we could see our Dodgers. The All-Star Cafe looked just like the one we had been to in Vegas. The one there had overpriced food that was just average.

Universal Studios Florida

This park was a big disappointment and since it cost $168.00 for the four of us a costly one.

Terminator 3D Battle Across Time: This was the only thing we did here that we enjoyed, in fact this was probably our favorite attraction overall in all the theme parks. It is a fabulous 3D show and the graphics are incredible. The story is good and the characters are familiar. The 3D effects are the best we have seen anywhere. Usually a 3D movie is a little blurry (HISTA and the Muppets for example) but this movie and the 3D effects are super sharp and clear throughout the whole show. The action sequences are very exciting. We saw this first right after the park opened so we didn’t have a long wait.
We then went on Back to the Future which is a little different than the one in Hollywood because the screen is bigger and you can’t see the other cars around you. You literally feel surrounded by the screen. This is good but the picture is very out of focus which is not the case at USH. I don’t know if they were having a technical problem or it is always like this. For this reason the USH one is much better.
We then did King Kong, Jaws and Earthquake, all of which are better done on the tram ride at USH. They just seemed really lame to me. We didn’t see any shows since they were mostly sounded the same as USH. We were also sorry to see they didn’t have a stunt/action show. The waterworld stunt show is our favorite attraction at USH.
Hubby and I had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe featuring another meal of bad overpriced food. We bought some cool stuff here for my daughter who hadn’t arrived yet. As Hard Rock Cafes go this was a pretty nice one and one of the biggest we have been in. We got there when it opened and still had to wait about ½ hour for a table. The line was much longer when we left.

I made the biggest planning mistake here and it is the only thing I truely regret about the whole trip. My son really wanted to tour the Nickleodeon Studios. I told him to go on some rides with us first before it got crowded and then do the tour. He said it would be crowded later but I didn’t believe him. He ended up not doing it because it was over an hour wait. He kept telling me he should do it first and I should have listened. Nickleodeon Studios was at the very top of his list of things he wanted to do while in Orlando and he didn’t get to do it.

Kennedy Space Center and Cocoa Beach

We took a day trip to the east coast to tour the space center and check out the beach on the other side of the continent from our beach. The space center was very interesting and educational for the boys. It is also free since we didn’t take the bus tour. We checked out the shuttle and all the other displays and the astronauts memorial which was very moving. We didn’t see any of the movies as it was such a beautiful day and we didn’t want to spend any time inside. It is a fun place to visit even if you don’t spend money for the tours and movies. I would love to see a shuttle launch though.

We then went over to the Cocoa Beach Pier. It was a very good time. It only cost $2.00 to park and they give you $2.00 in tokens which are good in the stores and restaurants. The boys rented boogie boards for $3.00 per hour ($5.00 for half day) and they had a blast riding the waves. I had packed a lunch so we ate and relaxed on the beach. I would definately like to come back and make a full day of it here. I didn’t have my bathing suit which was a big mistake because the water was very warm compared to the Pacific and I wanted to go swimming. Oh well, next time. It would also be a very inexpensive way to spend a day off from the theme parks.

The only other off-site place we took in was the Belz Outlet Mall where the Character Wearhouse store is. We did this on our way to the airport our last day. It also has an outlet for the All-Star Cafe and Planet Hollywood. Their were great bargains which is my middle name so I would like to spend more time here when I didn’t have to rush. It is enclosed and air conditioned and had a food court.

Summary

This is the end of my trip report. If any of you out there are still reading you can breath a sigh of relief. I picked up so much helpful advice from RADP and I promised a couple of the regulars I would write a trip report when I got back. Boy, I bet they are sorry. I could have taken a lot more time to do a better job but then I would have never finished so I just dove in and went for it. I am done now, my vacation is over and I can go back to my lurker status and go on with my life.

Overall we had a dream vacation and I want to thank all of you on RADP (especially the oldtimers and local cms) for sharing your expertise. While we didn’t enjoy the theme parks as much as I thought the resorts far exceded our expectations.

I just remembered I forgot to mention the Fantasy minature golf course. It was within walking distance from our villa at the Boardwalk and the boys played 6 rounds in the three days we stayed there. They voted it their favorite thing to do in all of Disneyworld. Thousands of miles flown and thousands of dollars later they liked something best that we could have done at home. Go figure.

WDW is also extremely well laid out and it was very easy to make our way around in the rental car. Traffic was never a problem and we didn’t get lost once we threw away the map. It’s mindless, you just leave your resort and follow the signs like sheep. You can’t get lost if you do this. As long as you don’t think about it you are o.k. as it always seems you are going in the wrong direction.

WDW also felt very safe to me and I felt comfortable letting the boys use the transportation and roam freely when they wanted to. They went to the Contemporary, Typhoon Lagoon and the MK by themselves from the Boardwalk. My son is responsible and independent for a 13 year old and he always had his friend with him. They walked by themselves to the Fantasy Golf and EPCOT from Boardwalk and while we were at FW they roamed all over.

Another tip: Check your bill very, very carefully when you check out. We charged everything to our room which was great but they made over $350.00 in errors on our account. We received a credit at FW on our golf cart of $120.00 but it showed up as a charge. Then while at the Boardwalk we ate at the Crystal Palace and we were charged for our dinner plus and extra $85.00 charge. We returned a broken tigger watch that showed up as a charge instead of a credit. It took a while but we got it taken care of after we got home and they are supposed to credit my credit card. I hope it doesn’t show up as a charge instead. Yikes!

They also forgot one of our backpacks when we picked up our luggage from the bellhop. We didn’t notice it until we got to the airport. I called when we got home and they sent it in the overnight mail. We got it the next day all the way in California. I was amazed.

I am really done now, I promise. Good-bye and thank all of you again for the help. We had a great trip and enough memories and pictures to last for years to come.

Now a Disney Veteran too,

Janet Schrock

LaRoo 57@aol.com

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