Trip Reports

Theme Park Trip Plan
May 19-21, 1998
The Players: Me, a fourteen year old Disney expert (if I do say so myself) and my sister/chaperone, Julie, a horticulture major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Accomadations: All Star Music Resort

Introduction: This was basically a last-minute trip to see the Animal Kingdom. I was on a very tight budget so I made reservations, via www.travelocity.com, for the All Star Music Resort. I was very impressed with Travelocity. It was able to tell me all availability in WDW for when I was there. I also booked airfare via Preview Travel on the Internet, and got a good deal.

We left our home in Neenah, Wisconsin on Monday, May 18 and drove to Milwaukee, from where our flight would leave from early the next morning. We stayed with my cousin and her husband.

We woke up the next morning (Tuesday, May 19) at about 5:30, showered, ate breakfast, and quickly got on our way. Our flight was to leave at 6:50, so we had planned to be there by 6:00. We got to the airport at about ten to six, but it took us more than a half an hour to find a parking spot. We nearly missed our flight, but we made it. The flight, ATA flight 601, went fine. We got into Orlando a few minutes early at about 10:00 AM EST.

After retrieving our luggage we went to the Mears Motor Shuttle desk and got two round trip tickets. We waited about five minutes for a shuttle and then were off. We shared our van with two families with younger children, one going to the Caribbean Beach and one to the All Star Sports.

When we checked in, we had an inexperienced new cast member. Another cast member had to tell him how to do everything, and he seemed very confused. It took us over fifteen minutes to check-in. He also mumbled, and the other cast member actually had to repeat what he said to us on more than one occasion. It seemed like he had never done this at all. I would think they would train him thoroughly, but it certainly didn't seem like they had.

Then, when we got to our room in Jazz Inn building two, we found the beds unmade and garbage throughout the room. We went back to Melody Hall and waited for thirty minutes to get a new room. They were friendly, but didn't offer us any sort of compensation. We just watched the movie in the lobby and ate sub sandwiches from the Intermission Food Court while waiting. Eventually we got our room and it was fine. We set off for Epcot.

My sister was especially excited for the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. It was very cool. There were a lot of topiaries and flower displays, as well as workshops, though we didn't have time to try any.

We went first to the Land and signed up for the next Behind the Seeds Greenhouse Tour. This was one of the highlights of the trip. The tour was very interesting, even for me, who really had no interest in growing plants. I would do it again, and recommend that anyone do it.

With limited time, we then moved on to World Showcase. We toured each of the countries up through France between 3:00 PM and 5:15 PM. We skipped most of the attractions, since we'd both seen them before, except for the American Adventure and Impressions de France, my favorite and her favorite respectively. We also saw those amazing young acrobats in China, a wonderful polka group in Germany, the Living Statues in Italy, and Bubble Nicholas the mime in France.

We exited at the International Gateway and walked to the BoardWalk where we had 5:30 PM Priority Seating arrangements for the Flying Fish Cafe. Since we were on a very tight budget, this was our only full-service meal. My mom offered to pay for it, so we ended up spending $80 on the two of us. But it was fantastic! I believe this ties the California Grill as my favorite WDW restaurant. I had the potato-wrapped snapper and it was delicious. We also shared the Chocolate Lava cake which is my new favorite dessert.

After that meal, we walked back to Epcot and continued around World Showcase seeing the United Kingdom (where the British Invasion was giving a concert) and Canada. It was now about quarter after seven o'clock. We went on into Future World and saw Innoventions East and West. I've never been that impressed with Innoventions, and though I appreciate that there is now less Sega, I still didn't find it all that exciting. The one exception is Honeywell's House of Innoventions, which is always fantastic and interesting.

We then went on to Universe of Energy, because my sister hasn't seen the new show. It was pretty funny as usual.

We finished at about quarter to eight and found a last-minute spot for IllumiNations. We had a pretty good view in Norway, though not great. I miss the old show, though the new 25th anniversary show is still fun. We hurried out as soon as the show was done and got on the first bus, though we had to stand. Throughout our trip we shared busses with the All Star Sports. I know that we did not do this in 1996, and it is really annoying. It is inefficient, too, because the bus will be almost full with All Star Music people coming back from, say, Downtown Disney when they stop at the All Star Sports. A few All Star Sports people get off, and the same amount can get on at the All Star Sports, but there is still a line. Then, three quarters of the bus gets off at the All Star Music resort and the bus goes not filled to Downtown Disney when there are still people waiting at the All Star Sports. Okay, that was confusing but, anyway, I hope it is only temporary.

The next day was our day at Animal Kingdom. I was extremely excited. We were up early and at the park by 6:45 AM. The park opened right at nine and we proceeded through the Oasis. I really love the Oasis and explored it more in-depthly later. As we crossed the bridge to Safari Village we were told by several cast members that the Kilamanjaro Safari was closed and would open later in the day. They suggested trying Countdown to Extinction or It's Tough to Be a Bug. No problem, we were going to do Countdown to Extinction first anyway.

We went into Dinoland and followed several other people to Countdown to Extinction. Unfortunately, this too was closed. They didn't know when it would be open, but we were warned that yesterday it did not open until 6 PM. I felt a little bit gypped now -- the two biggest attractions were not working. I can forgive them, though, because both were working by noon. We decided to take the Discovery River Boats from Safari Village upriver to Asia, since I had heard that lines built up for this later in the day. It was fun, but nothing all too special. We didn't see any dragon or even fire from the dragon rocks area, which disappointed me.

So far, I was not having as good of a time as I had hoped I would. Still, we wandered into Harambe. It was very authentic-looking. The safari was still not running, but people had still backed up to the entrance to Harambe. We decided to explore the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. We didn't see much at first, but then we got to the underwater hippo viewing area, and boy did we see something! The hippos were amazingly large! We watched them for at least fifteen minutes before moving on to the gorillas. At first we didn't know what everyone was watching, and then we saw the mother gorilla with her tiny baby. The father, a silverback I believe, came out a little bit later.

Then, we moved on to the bachelor group. It was fascinating to watch the leader of the group interact with the other gorillas. There was no glass here, so you can get better pictures than in the family clan. Finally we moved on until we reached the end of the trail. The safari had begun operating now, but we couldn't see the end of the line. A cast member told us it went all the way back to Pizzafari in Safari Village and recommended we come back later. We took the Wildlife Express to Conservation Station and were nearly the only people on the train.

Conservation Station was fun, though some of the exhibits weren't all that exciting. My favorite was Rafiki's interactive display. The affection section petting zoo outside was okay, but pretty much just a petting zoo; nothing special.

We took the train back and decided to see It's Tough to Be A Bug. We got into the next showing. The show was a riot, and the effects were hilarious though also scary. My only complaint is that it was too short, only eight or nine minutes long. It was hilarious though, and the 3-D effects were great.

After seeing It's Tough To Be a Bug we decided to go into Camp Minnie-Mickey and see the ten o'clock showing of the Festival of The Lion King. It was the first show, but it was still crowded at quarter to nine when we got there. We got in though and even got pretty good seats. The show is fantastic! The acrobatic monkeys are amazing, as are the hosts who do a fantastic job singing music from the Lion King movie. Simba, Pumba, a giraffe, and an elephant are all audio-animatronics (from the Celebration of The Lion King parade from Disneyland a few years ago, if I recall), and Timon is a costumed character. This was a pleasant surprise. I had heard the show was good, but this was simply fantastic! Unlike some shows, it was also nice and long, at least half an hour I believe. It seems to me each land has one headliner attraction and this is certainly Camp Minnie-Mickey's.

After the show, we had just a few minutes to get to the Colors of the Wind show at Grandmother Willow's Grove. We got one of the last seats. The show was good, although not great. The story is somewhat weak in my opinion, but the animals (squirrels, skunks, snakes, birds, raccoons, etc.) are neat. It is not a covered theater, though, and it was very warm. I was glad it was a short show.

There were lines to greet the characters in their homes, so we decided to skip that. We went back to Safari Village and ate lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue. The food was good, we both had barbecue sandwiches, but expensive. We spent nearly twenty dollars between the two of us just for sandwiches and drinks. It was enough food to fill us up, but not much more.

We continued on to Dinoland, USA, hoping to find Countdown to Extinction working again. It was. We waited about fifteen minutes. The preshow reminds me a lot of Alien Encounter's, but it good just the same. Then you get on the ride. I really loved it! The dinosaurs are very realistic and one even seems to chase you! It is scary though; my sister didn't like it for that reason. It is a little bit rough, but not that much. The effects at the end weren't in yet when we visited though, so there is not asteroid at the end and it doesn't make much sense. I'm told they're still working on that. The ride was also very dark, a little bit too much perhaps.

As we walked out of Dinoland we walked through the 1998 Dinosaur Jubilee tent, which I found pretty boring, and then played in the Boneyard which was great! I know it is more for kids, but this is fun for everyone!

After this we decided to go back and try the Kilamanjaro Safari. The line went just to the entrance of the ride, about a thirty minute wait. The queue area is kind of neat, and a video is shown once you get towards the loading point. The safari itself is as good as I had expected. We saw a lot of animals, huge numbers of giraffes especially. The poacher storyline was sort of fun, too.

At this point, since we had done most of the major attractions, my sister decided to go back to the hotel and swim or just rest. I stayed there by myself. The March of the Animals parade was about to begin, so I sat down to watch it. I really just did not like this. The floats looked like they were made by high schools! It just was a very bad excuse for a Disney parade. I would guess it will be replaced by late summer.

I was then going to go ride Countdown to Extinction again, but as I past Disney Outfitters I noticed a sign. Joe Rhode, head designer and Imagineer of the park, would be there today along with Melody Mahlburg signing the book The Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom. I went inside, bought the book, and was told the signing would begin at 3:00 PM until 5:00. It was just after two o'clock now, so I went into Dinoland and rode Countdown to Extinction again, this time waiting twenty minutes. I enjoyed it even more this time than the first time, perhaps because my sister wasn't screaming the whole time.

By the time I got off it was about 3:00 so I hurried back to Safari Village and got in line to meet Joe Rhode and have him sign my book. I had to wait about a half an hour, but it was worth it. I heard someone saying that it might be worth money someday. Doesn't really matter to me, but I'm glad I have it! It is a fantastic book, by the way!

From there I walked towards the exit and explored the Oasis area. I am sure a lot of people will miss this, but it is really wonderful. I wandered around for nearly an hour just exploring. There were several cast members with little computer-notepads surveying guests as well. I took the survey. The asked about my overall experience, my opinions on some of the main attractions, and a number of other questions. When I told her what I thought of the March of the Animals she said that no one seemed to like it.

I then decided to see the next showing of Flights of Wonder at the Caravan Stage in Asia. I walked from the Safari Village, because the Discovery River Boats were only making round trips at this time. I was very impressed with this show. Unlike most animal shows, it had a good, if a little bit sappy, storyline. The birds are absolutely amazing! They fly out into the audience, sometimes just inches from your head! The show was also somewhat improvised by the outstanding actors, when a bird wouldn't do what it was supposed to. They really made it quite humorous.

I now walked to Africa and got in line again for the Kilamanjaro Safari. It was about 4:30 PM. To my surprise, I was able to walk right on! Quite a change from the two hour wait earlier that day! It seems to me that the majority of people are leaving the Animal Kingdom at about 3:00 PM, leaving the park nearly empty. Anyway, the Safari was excellent again, and I saw a lot of different animals. It really is a different experience each time, so I recommend riding this at least twice per trip, more if possible.

After the Safari I walked back through Safari Village to Dinoland and got there just in time to see Journey into the Jungle Book show at the Theater in the Wild. The show was good; I liked the costuming and sets especially. I had heard from others that the two main problems with the show were Mowgli, who always looks much too old, and that nearly the whole show is done on the trampoline. I found neither to be true. The actor playing Mowgli really could have been a twelve year old as far as I could tell! And the trampoline was used only in a few segments and was a neat effect.

After the show I rode Countdown to Extinction once again, this time waiting only five minutes, proving my theory that a lot of people had left the park. It was further confirmed when I was leaving Dinoland. I stopped at the Restaurantosaurus and found it closed! It was 6:00 PM! Dinner time! I didn't quite understand why until I got to the Tusker House Restaurant in Africa where I decided to eat. This was a huge restaurant, but there were only two or three groups eating! There was probably more cast members than guests! With so few guests in the park, it wasn't profitable to have so many dining places open.

The food, by the way, was excellent. It was almost the quality of a full-service meal, but I suppose it should be since it cost over $10. I had the half rotisserie chicken, which came with mashed potatoes (yummy!) and a delicious vegetable mix.

I had then planned to try the safari one last time, but I was tired so I decided not to. I went towards the exit and left the park. I was impressed with Animal Kingdom overall, and I think once Asia opens it may be my new favorite park. I do feel that it could use a little bit more to do, which is why everyone left so early.

Anyway, after that I went back to the hotel and found my sister. After resting for a little while, we decided to go to Downtown Disney. My sister hadn't been here since 1995, and then just to the Disney Village Marketplace which has changed quite a bit since then! We looked around a few of the stores, and then spent quite a while at the World of Disney (we both bought a few things). Then, we looked around the Lego Imagination Center. We decided to go over to Pleasure Island. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let us in since my sister isn't my legal guardian. Strange, because my brother (only 18, my sister is 21) and I got in no problem last November. Oh well. We walked to the West Side.

At the West Side we pretty much just browsed the shops. DisneyQuest wasn't open except for to cast members (I understand soft openings began a few days later), but it looks really cool from the outside. The Cirque du Soleil "tent" looks cool, too. Then we headed back for the Marketplace and got milkshakes at the Ghiradelli Soda Fountain before leaving. My strawberry shake was great, but neither my sister or I cared much for her chocolate one, though we're both chocoholics. This place is very expensive, too. Plan on spending five dollars per person.

Finally we got the bus back to the All Star Resorts (sharing the bus with the sports one again) and went to sleep. I was very tired.

We got up the next and final morning, Thursday, at about 6:30 AM. We packed up our luggage and had our luggage stored before we left for the Magic Kingdom. Our express check-out information was on our door when we woke up, and it all looked okay so we didn't even need to check out. I had hoped to be at the Magic Kingdom right at 7:30 when it opened for early entry, but we didn't quite make it. We got there about quarter to eight. We probably would have made it if we hadn't stopped at the All Star Sport and waited for five minutes on the way.

It was so great to see the castle back to its former glory. We didn't pause to look at it long, though, before rushing to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. Unfortunately, it wasn't open yet. Instead, we went into Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan's Flight (no wait) and the Mad Tea Party (also no wait). Then we went back to Tomorrowland and saw The Timekeeper. I love this show every time I see it! Since my sister doesn't like it and I have seen it plenty of times, we skipped Alien Encounter.

It was about quarter to nine now, so we went and waited to make the "mad dash" to Splash Mountain at the Adventureland entrance. We were at the front of the crowd and were among the first twenty people or so on the ride. Splash Mountain is one of my favorites, and this time was no exception. Afterwards, we went over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad where there was only a five minute wait. As we left, the line was at least twenty minutes, and Splash Mountain's was up to a half hour.

We walked into Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise, which had no wait (on our way out there was fifteen minutes). We had a pretty bad skipper. She just wasn't funny. It was still fun, though. It was now shortly before ten o'clock and the Adventureland Challenge was about to begin. My sister was tired and had a headache so she said she'd just sit and wait on a bench.

I really enjoyed the Adventureland Challenge. It is sort of a treasure hunt all around Adventureland (mostly inside shops). The clues aren't too difficult, but they aren't simple either. I won in the end, and was given a "skip the line" pass to use on any ride in the Magic Kingdom. Yippee!

I then found my sister and we saw the new Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management). I really enjoyed the show and found it quite humorous, though it was a little bit too short.

Next we went into Tomorrowland and skipped the forty-five minute line (with our pass) on Space Mountain. Kind of fun! This is my sister's favorite ride and one of mine, so we really enjoyed it as usual.

With that done we walked back to Liberty Square and saw the Hall of Presidents. Despite all my trips, I had never seen this before. It was really good; not nearly as boring as I expected.

Then we took the raft over to Tom Sawyer's Island. We first got lunch at Aunt Polly's Dockside Inn. A lot of guidebooks recommend this place, but I wasn't all that impressed. A very small selection (ham and Swiss sandwiches and cold fried chicken) of food didn't give us a lot of options. I got the chicken, which was okay but, well, cold, and my sister got the sandwich. She stayed and sat while I went exploring around the island. I have just recently read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and I enjoyed this place a whole lot more having read that.

Then we took the raft back and got on the train. We took it to Main Street and exited the park there. We were told there was no direct transportation to the Disney-MGM Studios, so we took the resort monorail to the TTC. We wanted to look for a friend's Walk Around the World Brick around there anyway. We looked for a half hour but didn't find it. We then caught the bus over to MGM.

We walked up Hollywood Boulevard and went right to the Backlot Theater where The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A Musical Adventure was about to begin. We got seats in the front of the bleachers. This is a fantastic show, with fantastic music. Besides the new Lion King show at the Animal Kingdom, I believe this is my favorite live show.

Next we saw Muppet*Vision 3-D. Even though I love Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and It's Tough to Be A Bug, nothing beats Muppet*Vision. They seem to be painting and improving the shop outside.

My sister still had a headache, so she sat out while I rode Star Tours. There was no wait, which was nice.

We just had an hour or two left before we had to go back and catch Mears to the airport. We checked the Magic of Disney Animation tour, but it hadn't reopened yet. So, we went to the Theater or the Stars on Sunset Boulevard and saw Beauty and the Beast. I've never been all that fond of this show, but it is pretty good, and at least it was shaded.

Afterward, I rode Tower of Terror without any wait (my sister stayed off). This is probably my favorite Walt Disney World attraction, and I just can't get enough of it! From the top (we waited several seconds) I could see the construction of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. It is well under construction. There is a large, looping black track. It looks like it came right out of a Six Flags park. I sincerely hope that Disney plans to theme this somehow. If it looks so hideous when it opens, I might protest. It completely destroys the visual atmosphere. It is, by the way, behind the new animatior building and as far as I can tell the entrance will probably be from the Animation Courtyard. It could possibly also be from Sunset Boulevard, but I hope not. That would make a severe bottleneck.

After Tower of Terror, we got hot-dogs and fries at Rosie's Red Hot Dogs. I really like the Sunset Ranch Market area. There is plenty of selection, the prices are (by Disney standards) reasonable, and the hot dog was one of the best I've ever had. You could also see the Rock 'n' Roller quite well from her. Ick.

After finishing dinner, we left MGM and went back to the All Star Music. We got our luggage from Bell Services and Mears' bus came shortly after. Our flight went well, and after getting in we drove back from Milwaukee to Neenah to get some much-needed sleep.

Matt Soerens

ChedderMJS@aol.com

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

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