Trip Reports

Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Personal Car, Rental Car
Resort: ASMR
Accommodations
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran, Infrequent, (DL veteran)
Comments: John and his daughter Natalie took a quick three day visit to WDW in October. They had a great time at WDW, even though the trip was clouded by some less than great travel concerns. John does a tremendous job describing how he handled the trip to make sure that he and Nat had some nice quality time together.


(Note: For a version of this Trip Report with pictures, visit http://www.thompsonfamilyweb.com)

Introduction

Talk about culture shock.

At 7:00 in the morning my 5 year old daughter Natalie (a.k.a. Nat) and I (40 year-old John, a.k.a. Dad) were boarding a plane in Newark, NJ. It was a dreary day with temperatures in the high 40's. A mere four hours later we were enjoying the 80+ degrees and Florida sunshine in the "Piano Pool" at Disney's All Star Music Resort in Walt Disney World. But I get ahead of myself.

This short (3 day) trip came out of a desire on my part to spend some quality dad/daughter time with Nat. Since Nat's little sister Charlotte was born a year ago June, my wife Andie and I felt that it was a good idea to plan special events with just Nat. When the baby is older we will do the same with her. Nat & Andie had gone together on a trip to Arizona to visit Andie's sister last winter and now it was my turn. My first choice for a daddy/daughter jaunt was, of course, Walt Disney World.

Friday October 2 - Hit the ground running

I was a bit concerned because, as we were only going to be there for 3 days, I knew that any majortravel delays would seriously cut into my goal of MDE (that's Maximum Disney Exposure). I figured if all went absolutely perfect we would be at WDW by noon, but that's a pretty big "if".

Our plane touched down at 9:30 AM, a little ahead of schedule. There was also no line at the Dollar Car Rental desk, so we were on the road by 10:00. Pleasant surprises number one and two. As soon as we walked outside one thing was obvious. It was hot and very humid. I would guess the temperature was in the 80s but the humidity made it feel much hotter. And it was still morning. There was no traffic on the drive to WDW (although I did note that the signs, which I followed, take a slightly longer route than the car rental place recommended). So far so good. We got to the front desk at Disney's All Star Music Resort (ASM) by 10:30. No line there either and we were checked in immediately. If that weren't enough, our room was actually ready. Big pleasant surprise there. Not even 11:00 AM and we are there, we have our car, we have out Length of Stay passes, and we have our room. We are on a roll!

Disney's All Start Music is one of two (including All Star Sports) and soon to be three (including All Star Movies, which is opening soon) "budget" resorts at WDW. Each resort has ten buildings, two each with a specific theme related to the overall theme of the resort. In the case of All Star Music the themes are different types of music: Calypso, Jazz, Rock, Broadway and Country. We stayed at the Country Faire because I thought the giant boots looked cool (we had stayed at ASM for one night on our last trip, in Jazz) and that Nat would get a "kick" out of them, and because we are fans of country music. I did this knowing full well that the Country Faire buildings are the farthest from the food court, lobby and bus stop, but I didn't care.As we drove to a parking space closer to our building, we drove by the All Star Movies Resort, which is under construction. I could see one building styled after "101 Dalmatians" with a giant Pongo on one end and a giant fire hydrant on the other. It looks very cute. I could also make out a "Mighty Ducks" building and another with some sort of car racing theme ("The Love Bug" perhaps?). The buildings themselves looked like they had the same basic structure as the two older "All Stars" resorts.

As we walked to our room (639 - building 6, 1st Floor) I noticed something just a little odd. The grass at the resort looked like it hadn't been cut for about a week. This may sound like a real nit-picky point, but anyone who has stayed at a Disney resort will attest to the level of upkeep they maintain for their grounds. It was far from being messy or ragged looking, it just struck me as a bit surprising.

When I tried to open the door to our room I found that my key didn't work and I was worried that we would have to go back to the lobby. If you've seen the ASM resort you understand how much I didn't want to do this. The lobby is, quite literally, about a quarter mile from the Country Faire buildings. Add to this the fact that I had my 5 year old daughter and one really heavy bag, not to mention the heat, and you can understand why I really did not want to have to go back to the lobby. I looked at our card keys more carefully and realized I was using the wrong card. They gave us two cards - one each for me and Nat - which also serve as our Length of Stay (LOS) passes. Mine, however, was the only one that served as a room key, and I was trying to open the door with Nat's. Once I tried my key the little green light blinked right on. Whew!

We walked into the room and I was immediately hit by three things. First, the AC was blasting and it felt good. Second, the antiseptic "motel room" smell was somewhat overpowering. (Nat said "the room smells good", but I have learned through experience not to trust Nat's judgment on these sorts of things.) Finally, the room was a bit tattered around the edges. It was perfectly acceptable, but far from pristine. The carpet was a bit worn and the quilts were faded. These are really nit-picky quibbles once again, but when you've stayed at Disney resorts you get used to a level of quality that is exceptionally high. If this had been, say, a Best Western (at the same room rate of $80 per night) I wouldn't have even noticed. But then the beds were firm, the pillows were soft and the towels were fluffy, so who am I to complain?

On the drive over I promised Nat that we would go swimming first thing, if we were able to get into our room right away. I warned her, however, that we would probably not get into the room until later. Well, I was wrong, so I made good on my promise. We put on our bathing suits, strolled out into the heat past the giant cowboy boots with Mickey stitched into the design, and jumped into the Piano Pool.

ASM has two pools. The one closest to our building is shaped like a giant piano. At one end of the pool there is a statue of Ariel, Sabastian and Flounder from "The Little Mermaid" playing musical instruments. At the other end of the resort, near the lobby building, is a pool shaped like a giant guitar. It has a statue/fountain with Donald Duck and the two other birds (whose names escape me - Joe Carioca?) from "The Three Caballeros". Disney is known for their pools and even the budget level All Star resorts have great ones. One thing I noticed about the pool at the Wilderness Lodge (where we stayed on our last trip) as well as the Piano Pool is that they are very kid friendly. The pools are large with plenty of shallow areas and very gentle slopes to the deeper parts. I also noticed that the life guards were extremely attentive and appeared to take their job very seriously. Nat is learning how to swim and getting better all the time, and it was nice to feel like I didn't have to stay right next to her all the time while she was in the water.

A few notes here about which building to choose. As I indicated earlier I selected the Country Faire knowing full well that it is in what is considered to be a somewhat less desirable location far from the main building with the lobby, gift store and food court. If you are staying at any of the All Star resorts for any length of time it would probably make sense to opt for one of the front buildings (Calypso & Jazz at ASM). On the other hand, all of the doors open to the outside at All Star resorts and I would imagine that the front buildings are a bit noisier. Additionally, since there are two pools you are never very far from a wet retreat. The laundry facilities are all located at the pools (the one by the Piano Pool looks like a giant radio - I didn't notice the one by the Guitar Pool), so that shouldn't matter either. Overall it's really a question of noise vs. convenience.

Our little pool excursion led to the first (very minor) disagreement between Nat and me. Being a typical 5 year-old who lives pretty much in the moment, when I suggested it was time to leave the pool and make our way to Disney's Animal Kingdom, Nat would have none of it. We ended up staying in the pool for over an hour - longer than I would have liked to - but she simply wouldn't budge on this issue. "I want to stay here" she informed me emphatically. I tried to convince her (not for the last time on this trip) that I really knew what I was doing and she really did want to go to Animal Kingdom. Finally I had to get a little stern with her, something I hated to do, but I knew she'd appreciate it later. Eventually I got her out of the pool. We went back to the room and I gave her a shower lest her blonde hair turn green from the chlorine, and off we went to our first park - Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Disney's Animal Kingdom

We arrived at Animal Kingdom (AK) by about 1:00 in the afternoon. There were plenty of cars in the parking lot but it was far from full. We parked in the Dino section, boarded the tram (which appeared to be the same type as the new "Tramzilla" used at Disneyland in California) and made our way to the main entrance. We passed the Rainforest Café on the way to the park entrance and Nat was intrigued so we peeked in. Of course she wanted to go in but I told her we would be going there for dinner later and would have plenty of time to walk around. We made first use of our LOS passes at the main entrance and we were in.

First I will dispense with the controversial stuff. AK has been criticized for being a "half day park" and for not being complete. I will sum up my personal impression of AK with two statements: It is the best Disney Theme Park I have seen. It is the worst Disney Theme Park I have seen. Let me explain. The park is absolutely gorgeous. Each area is themed perfectly and they blend together into a more cohesive whole than any of their other parks. The park immerses you into its world more thoroughly than any other park. The details are incredible. Everywhere you look there is something new and surprising waiting to be discovered. And it's only going to get better. The "Asia" section of the park is nearly open and there are plans for a "mythical beast" section. As the park ages, the foliage, already impressive in its variety, will fill in more adding to the jungle-like atmosphere. And let's not forget the animals. Beautiful and colorful birds abound, and it seems like every time you turn a corner you find an a imal habitat. The way it's laid out you get the distinct feeling you are discovering its details as you wander along.

And then there's the Tree of Life.

The Tree of Life (ToL) is the park's centerpiece, much like the castle is the centerpiece of the Magic Kingdom. Yet, while the castle acts mostly as a backdrop and a point of reference, the ToL is its own little world, beckoning you to explore. For those who have not seen it or read about it, the Tree of Life is a huge structure, part building, part sculpture and part theater, that stands at the center of AK. Disney artists have sculpted over 300 animals into the bark of the tree. The resulting structure is like a huge puzzle where each piece is its own work of art. The path that winds its way around the base of the tree meanders around and under the tree's roots, which of course also are decorated with likenesses of different members of the animal kingdom. You could easily spend at least two hours just exploring the ToL, taking pictures and pointing out the many creatures you discover. It is a testament to the power and beauty of this structure that even 5 year-old Natalie never tired of looking at it. It is also the single aspect of the trip she has talked about the most since. She even told my wife "I wish you could have seen it".

And now the bad news.

AK has, in my opinion, the worst collection of attractions of any Disney park. One attraction, the Discovery River Cruise, has even been shut down as a result of guest complaints. (Apparently the name misled many guests into thinking there was more to the boat ride around the park.) There is one thrill ride, one movie, a train ride, three live shows and a safari ride. There are also a few minor and/or temporary walk through attractions as well as a kids' play area. I will discuss each of the attractions in more detail at later points in this article, but in summation I will say that some were great, some were good, some were disappointing and at least one was just plain weird.

The layout of the park is similar to the hub-and-spoke design used in the Magic Kingdom. Just inside the park's entrance is the Entrance Plaza which acts as the park's "Main Street". Mostly it has shops and eating establishments, with an in-park entrance to the Rainforest Café at the end near the entrance. Just past the Entrance Plaza is the Oasis. Past the Oasis and over a bridge is the Safari Village which acts as the park's hub and is home to the Tree of Life. Safari Village is surrounded by water, making it more difficult than MK to get from one area to another. Starting to the right of the Entrance Plaza as you are walking in and working clockwise are Camp Minnie Mickey (where children can be greeted by characters), Africa (home to Kilimanjaro Safaris), the yet to be completed Asia section, and Dinoland, USA (home to the thrill ride Countdown to Extinction).

As its name implies, the Oasis is a lush area with meandering walkways full of interesting plants and animals (mostly birds). Once you pass through the Oasis you cross a bridge to the Tree of Life. Crossing over the bridge I noticed a landing that was, I assume, used for the Discover River Cruise. It's a very attractive little structure and I found myself thinking it was a shame that Disney found it necessary to close it down. In reality, on a trip with so little spare time we probably wouldn't have bothered with it anyway.

By now Nat and I were both pretty hungry so I figured it was time for lunch. We made our way to Dinoland and had lunch at Restaurantosaurus. Some of the menu at Restaurantosaurus is provided by McDonald's, most notably the French Fries and Chicken Nuggets. Nat doesn't like McDonald's Nuggets but there was nothing else on the menu she would touch so I got her a Happy Meal and admonished her to eat at least 2 of the Nuggets. I had a Bacon Cheeseburger. The Burger was fine and the fries were typical McDonald's. I don't recall the cost of the meal but it wasn't outrageous so far as I can remember.

Dinoland is themed as an archeological dig site. The story goes that the people in charge of the site tried to turn it into a tourist area, failed, and abandoned it. As is the case with the rest of AK, the theming is carried out beautifully. There is a sense of fun about the place that is very catching. It has a certain quirkiness that reminds me of Toontown, although they have absolutely nothing else in common. It's simply a great place to hang around and take in all the details. Even the music is fun - a collection of rock tunes that somehow tie in to the archeological theme ("It's the End of the World as We Know It", "Can You Dig It", etc.). This is a really fun place.

After lunch we headed over to the Theater in the Wild, which is showing "Journey Into the Jungle Book" (JitJB). The show was to start in a few minutes so we went in. JitJB is a colorful show using live actors and puppets to tell highlights from the classic Disney animated feature. The show was colorful, fun, entertaining and, well, a little odd. Some of the characters (Bagheera, King Louis and most notably Baloo) were actors in full character costume with their faces covered in makeup suggesting the look of the character they were portraying. To me this added a certain level of strangeness to the proceedings. This was especially true during the "Bare Necessities" scene. I don't know how to describe it, but the human face on Baloo lent a certain suggestiveness to the scene where he and Mogli are scratching themselves on trees that I think it otherwise would have lacked. Or maybe it's just me. On the other hand, both Nat and I were particularly impressed with Sher Khan, who was portrayed by a large multi-piece puppet. Very impressive.

We then headed over to The Boneyard, a large play area for kids. The Boneyard is styled after an abandoned archeological dig site. It has lots of stuff to climb on, many intertwining slides and caverns and secret passages carved into the "rock". Nat absolutely loved this place. One note of warning to parents: As is the case with many of these play areas there are lots of opportunities for kids to get lost. In particular many of the slides discharge in unexpected places. Be sure to note exactly where a slide ends up before letting small kids use them.

It was at the Boneyard that Nat and I would have our one and only "scene" of the trip. As I mentioned earlier it was very hot. There is a trickling waterfall spilling off one of the rock formations that looked inviting. Nat was at my side when I took off my hat and dunked my head in the water. When I pulled my head up she was gone. My heart sank into my stomach. I combed the area for her to no avail. Wasting no time I found a group of three Cast Members and told them what happened. "Don't worry" they said and immediately split up, giving Nat's description to every Cast Member they passed. After not more than 5 minutes (but what seemed like an hour) I heard Nat cheerfully calling "Daddy!" She ran up to me all smiles explaining she had climbed one of the structures at the center of the Boneyard. I was so angry and (mostly) scared that I really let her have it. I felt a little guilty later because I yelled at her and she started crying. Nat's a pretty bright kid and usually very good about this sort of thing, so this is just an example of how diligent parents have to be with their kids in a place like this. Within a few minutes all was forgiven and she promised she would never do that again.

We were scheduled to meet some folks who post to a WDW Internet news group at 3:00 and we still had some time to kill so we headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey (CMM). Themed after a summer camp in the woods, CMM is the place to meet Disney Characters at AK. The line wasn't too long so Nat and I opted to meet the Big Cheese himself, as well as his SO (Significant Other, to you net neophytes). Meeting the characters is always a big highlight for Nat and we are careful to allow time for it whenever we go to a Disney park.

After bonding with the Mouse we headed back over to Dinoland for the meeting which was to take place near a fountain in front of Countdown to Extinction (CTX). As we were walking up I saw that there were a few folks already there but Nat said she wanted a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar, so we stole away undetected to fulfill her request. When we returned there were a few more folks there. At its peak the party included Ronnie (with whom I had had quite a bit of correspondence), Deb (the editor of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World web site, easily the most comprehensive guide to WDW on the web), Kenny, Fuxi (from Austria), Bruce, Randy, Marta, Mike, Keith and Tracey and Steve from England. Ronnie gave Nat a miniature stuffed "Lady" key fob (which soon became a permanent accessory to her stroller) and Deb came bearing a bag full of Disney buttons. Nat selected a Hunchback pin while I picked a Hercules New York World Premier pin that matched the T-shirt I had selected for the day. We all chatted for a few minutes and then rode CTX. Since Nat is too small Ronnie kept her company while I rode.

Countdown to Extinction is AK's sole thrill ride. According to the story, you are in a special time-traveling vehicle that looks something like a large flying Jeep on a mission to find and bring back a live dinosaur just before a giant comet hits the Earth. The queue area is themed as some sort of science facility. Compared to the queue areas of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney MGM Studios or many other attractions at Disney parks, the queue area for CTX was unimpressive. As you wait to board you are shown a short film starring the woman who played Bill Cosby's wife (not being a fan of Bill Cosby, I'm not sure of her name) and one of the stars of Veronica's Closet (whose name also escapes me) that explains the story. You then board the "time vehicles" and are off.

The ride technology used for CTX, which includes advanced audio-animatronics and ride vehicles that move independently and enhance the experience much in the same way as a flight simulator, are of the same type used in the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. This naturally leads one to compare IJA to CTX. In my opinion there is no comparison. CTX is not nearly exciting as IJA. The main difference is that with IJA you enter a large chamber with many things going on at once that you navigate, while CTX is essentially a series of short vignettes interrupted by stretches of darkness. The overall impact for me was to make me feel as if the ride is incomplete. It's a good attraction that I recommend, but it could have been much better.

We all gathered at the exit to CTX, some straggling behind because they wanted to check out the photo that is taken of each car during the ride. The picture turned out extremely well and someone (Randy?) decided to buy a copy. Everyone, including myself, looked perfectly posed in the picture. It was really quite funny. We all then decided to head over to the Tree of Life to catch It's Tough to be a Bug (ITTBAB). ITTBAB is a computer animated 3-D film that uses audio-animatronics and various special effects techniques to create a total experience. The theater for ITTBAB is actually located inside the ToL, so the queue area for the attraction weaves in and out of the roots of the tree. Needless to say the queue area is quite a bit better than that of CTX.

As you enter the lobby of the theater, you are treated with various Hollywood show tunes as sung by insects. The lobby is also decorated with posters of insect versions of famous films (I regret to say that I can't remember a single one now, but they were very cute). The film itself is much like Honey I Shrunk the Audience in its execution, attempting to make the whole thing look like a stage show. Overall I quite enjoyed it, and Nat liked it as well. I had heard that young children get very scared by parts of the show, and Nat did get a bit spooked, but only for a few minutes. I did, however, find that the 3-D effects didn't work too well for me. Overall I enjoyed it, but I think I prefer HISTA and the Muppet 4-D Adventure (at least what I recall, it was about seven years ago when I last saw it).

It was after 5:00 by the time we left ITTBAB, and since Nat and I had 6:00 reservations at the Rainforest Café, we bid adieu to our friends. We would meet up again with many of them on Sunday.

We had a little time to kill before our reservations, so Nat and I strolled around AK for a while longer, taking in the ambiance. There is plenty to take in. Whenever we go on a trip with Nat that includes a lot of shopping, we allow Nat one present per day. We were looking around in a store called Creature Comforts that sells mostly stuffed animals. Nat was lusting after an Animal Kingdom Barbie, but as she has about two dozen Barbies at home (maybe I exaggerate a little) I tried to steer her away from it. Why don't they sell the outfits without the doll? She settled on a stuffed leopard that she would name Leppy (I guess it beats "Leper") which became a permanent fixture in her arms for the rest of the trip. I also picked up a cute dinosaur book for Charlotte. A side note here, there are these extremely realistic articulated dinosaurs that they sell in most of the stores at AK that, if I were about seven years old, I would have been nuts for. I was discussing them with a CM at one of the stores who told me they were a new item. Very cool.

It was now time for dinner at the Rainforest Café (RFC). AK was scheduled to close at 7:00 so I made reservations at 6:00, hoping that the wait wouldn't quite as long. The RFC has two entrances so it can be entered either from outside or inside the park. The outside of the building is covered with tropical plants and has waterfalls cascading off the roof. Once you enter, you walk through a Plexiglas aquarium archway that allows you to watch as fish swim over your head. The host station is made to look like a whimsical elephant. We waited in line for about ten minutes and were seated near the bar, which is covered by a giant mushroom.

The dining rooms at RFC are made to look like a lush jungle. There are tropical plants everywhere - some appeared to be real and some fake. There are also robotic animals everywhere: Elephants, Gorillas, Leopards, Apes and many kinds of birds. Every few minutes the animals start moving and making noise, and the calm is often broken with a tropical downpour. It's not exactly a spot for a quiet dinner, but it was a lot of fun and Nat loved it. She especially loved the funky barstools with various animal pelt designs.

Our server JB (John) was friendly and efficient. Nat had pizza that looked quite good. At any rate, she inhaled it (which is very unusual for Nat, who is not a big eater). I had a Caesar salad and chicken wings. The Caesar was pretty good. The chicken wings were better in concept than execution. They were served on a bed of fried onions with large slices of cucumbers instead of the usual carrot and celery sticks. The cucumber was a welcome change. The wings themselves were pretty good. The fried onions were a great idea, but they were a little stale. I also had an orange flavored margarita called a Margorilla. It was awesome. The bill, including tip, came to about $30.00. Not cheap but not bad.

I should take a moment here to discuss the schedule I had come up with for this trip. It was an aggressive schedule, since we were only going to be at WDW for three days, but I thought it was doable. Much to my pleasant surprise we were, so far, right on schedule. Among the things I had planned was a possible trip to Epcot this first evening to see Illuminations. We had reservations for the next night (Saturday) at the Rose & Crown, our favorite spot for watching Illuminations, but as Saturday was the only night with fireworks scheduled for the Magic Kingdom, I was hoping we could do that instead. I figured there was a good chance we would be too tired for Illuminations after our first (and very long) full day. After dinner I was feeling up to it though, and Nat seemed up to it as well. I asked her "do you want to go see fireworks tonight?" "Yeah." "You're not too tired?" "No." OK. Illuminations it is.

Illuminations

I didn't want to deal with huge crowds leaving Epcot after Illuminations so we drove to the Yacht Club and parked there. We walked along Crescent Lake to the Epcot entrance at the International Gateway. It was a beautiful balmy night and the view of the Boardwalk across the lake, all lit up in its neon splendor and reflecting in the still water, was spectacular. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to the International Gateway entrance at Epcot. We arrived a little before 8:00. With a little time to kill I thought it would be fun to visit the Land pavilion, since we had missed that particular pavilion entirely on our last visit. I especially thought Nat would like The Circle of Life film because it stars characters from The Lion King.

The Land pavilion, like many Epcot Futureworld pavilions, is organized in such a way as to make it natural to experience its attractions in a certain order. As you walk in, the Circle of Life is the first attraction you come to on the right. The show was about to start so we went in and sat down. It's a cute film that uses Simba, Poomba and Timon to tell a story with a conservationist theme. After the film was over Nat got very upset because she thought it was going to be a live show and was disappointed that it was "only a movie". I promised that from then on I would make sure she knew when something was a live show as opposed to "just a movie".

Next came Living with the Land (LwtL), the pavilion's premier attraction. LwtL is a boat ride though Disney's experimental agriculture facility. You board boats much like those used in It's a Small World. After floating past some displays, you enter the main facility and get an opportunity to view experimental growing techniques in use. It's actually much more interesting than it sounds. In fact, Nat wanted to ride again when we were done. Instead, I convinced her to see the pavilion's third attraction, Food Rocks. We had a few minutes before the next show so we decided to get some ice cream. I misjudged the time, however, and we ended up getting to the attraction after the doors were closed. The kindly Cast Member in charge of Food Rocks took pity on us, however, and led us in through the rear entrance. This was especially good because the show we saw was the last for the day. Food Rocks is a cute but forgettable show with various food items singing the praises of nutrition. Some of the names of the "rock stars" are quite funny (Neil Moussaka) and the voices used are good impressions of the stars they impersonate (they may even be the real voices, I'm not sure). One thing for sure; though it's far from a headliner, Food Rocks is far superior to the awful Kitchen Kabaret which it replaced.

We left the Land pavilion and made our way back to the World Showcase for Illuminations. By the time we got there the show had started. We made our way through the crowd and found a decent viewing spot right on the water between the England and France pavilions. There were trees blocking our view of any aerial fireworks, but most of Illuminations takes place near the water so it wasn't a great loss. This was my third viewing of Illuminations. It is truly a terrific show and one without which no trip to WDW would be complete.

After Illuminations we had to make our way through the crowds back to the International Gateway. As the vast majority of the people were headed for the main gate in the other direction, I felt a bit like we were salmon swimming upstream. Nonetheless, we were at our car in short order and we didn't have to deal with the huge crowds or the tram. If you're staying on site and are only going to Epcot for a short visit, this is the way to go. Nat was actually still full of pep and wanted to go swimming. I told her that I doubted the pool was still open (it was, as it turned out), and besides, we needed to get to bed. I found it hard to believe that at 5:00 that very morning we were in New Jersey getting ready to fly down to Florida. I felt a world away. The only regret I had was that Andie and Charlotte weren't with us to share the day. But then, the whole idea of this trip was for Nat and I to have some time together, just the two of us, and we certainly were getting that.

Nat was deep asleep by 10:00, I followed suit soon thereafter.

Saturday, October 3 - Keep running

That pesky mouse.

Why is it, on every trip I have made to WDW that same mouse calls so darned early in the morning and shakes me out of a deep sleep? Does he get some sadistic pleasure from it? Oh well, I'm up now.

As soon as I moved I realized something was amiss. Perhaps it was pushing Nat around all day in a stroller when she's really too big for it. Perhaps it was that wild and woolly ride on CTX. Whatever it was, something had made me strain my back. No big deal, mind you. I could tell it was a muscle problem, not a spine problem, but I was very stiff nevertheless. I dragged myself out of bed, took a shower and got dressed. It was easier to wake Nat than it usually is at home. (Now why do you suppose that is?) We strolled to the food court for breakfast. For those who are not familiar with Disney's All Star Resorts, they have a food court as opposed to any restaurants. I have found these food courts to be, in general, very convenient. They have a nice variety and the prices are reasonable (by Disney standards, at any rate). Nat had a bagel, I had cereal and we shared a fruit bowl.

The plan for the day called for us to go to the Magic Kingdom and make use of the early (7:30) opening available to on-site hotel guests. I can almost hear a bunch of WDW veterans out there screaming "Are you NUTS? The Magic Kingdom on a Saturday? It'll be wall to wall humanity!" Well, I know. My original plan was to do AK again Saturday morning and the Magic Kingdom Sunday morning. Unfortunate that plan was stymied exactly 60 days ago. Nat wanted to do the character breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. This particular character breakfast is the most popular and difficult to get reservations for. I called 60 days in advance as soon as I could for Saturday - just in case. Then the next day I called to make Sunday reservations. Except I forgot. Forgot until 11:00 in the morning that is. That's right, you can start making reservations at 7:00 AM 60 days before you plan to go, and by 11:00 they were already sold out. Thank goodness I thought to make the Saturday reservations. So there we were, headed to the Magic Kingdom on a dreaded Saturday. At least we could get in early.

Even though we had a car I decided it would make more sense to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom (MK). I had learned from our previous trip that driving to the MK is not a good idea. The parking lot for the park is actually located quite far away at the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC). This means that if you drive you must park at the TTC and take a monorail or ferry to the MK. If you get there when it's crowded you have to park, take a tram to the TTC, and then a monorail or ferry. It's a real hassle. If you're staying on-site you have Disney transportation available, sometimes by ferry or monorail but usually by bus. It is much easier.

The bus to MK pulled up right on time at 7:00. The bus driver on the way over was quite funny. At one point she said "The use of cell phones and pagers on this bus is prohibited. You're on vacation for cryin' out loud!" That got a good laugh from her passengers. In general I have found the bus drivers at WDW to be among the funnier employees.

We pulled up to the main gate at the MK at about 7:10. One thing I had learned from my many years as a Southern California resident and frequent Disneyland patron is to never get in line at the first gate you see. The lines at the MK gates are fairly evenly distributed because people are arriving from many different areas, but the longest lines were still the ones on the side where the bus dropped us off. So I led Nat to the other side, where the lines were considerably shorter. As luck would have it, this took us over to the area where our brick on the Walk of Fame is located. We took a few minutes to look for the brick and it was actually Nat who spotted it.

We got in line and a few minutes later we were in the park. It was another beautiful day with blue skies and puffy white clouds. Unfortunately, it was still very hot. Even at 7:30 in the morning I was sweating.

I had toyed with the idea of taking Nat on Space Mountain. I know a lot of people would think it's a bit much for a 5 year old, but Nat loves roller coasters and has been on some that are actually more radical than Space Mountain. Of course they weren't in the dark. I also recalled that the seats in Space Mountain only held one person, so I wouldn't be right next to Nat. I couldn't recall if she would sit directly in front of me, which would be OK, but I didn't want to chance it. So off we went to Fantasyland instead.

The lines in Fantasyland were pretty short. I assumed that Nat would want to ride Dumbo and I figured that should be our first stop, but she was not interested. OK, we did Peter Pan's Flight instead. We loved it, as usual, although Nat was a bit scared (also as usual). I noted the plywood up in front of the old Mr. Toad's Wild Ride which has been closed in favor of an upcoming Winnie-the-Pooh ride. Too bad it wasn't open yet, I'm sure Nat would love it.

After flying with Peter Pan, Nat and I agreed that a little culture was in order, so off we went to It's a Small World (IASW). Now, IASW is not my favorite attraction at WDW (that song! That SONG! THAT SONG!) but I have started to enjoy it more since becoming a father. I missed it on our last trip (Nat and Andie went on), but we all experienced the Disneyland version in '97. Floating on that boat with Nat, seeing the look of wonder on her face with all the lights and bright colors reflecting in her eyes really brought home to me why I enjoy these kinds of experiences so much with my kids. As a Southern California native I grew up loving Disneyland and I'm now enjoying introducing my kids to the same joy. Oh sure, there are lots of other experiences I have enjoyed with my kids in the past and intend to enjoy in the future, but going to a Disney park is something that brings out the kid in me (not that I need that much help) and makes me feel like I'm sharing part of my own youth with my kids.

After IASW we did the Carousel. I was a little leery of the Carousel because I wasn't sure if I could lift Nat on to a horse with back in pain, but Carousels are a must for us whenever we travel to someplace that has one. And of course Disney's are among the best. It turned out not to be a big problem - Nat was able to climb on the horse with little assistance and getting her off the horse after her ride took little effort. In fact, climbing into the boat on IASW caused more pain.

There was nothing else in Fantasyland Nat wanted to go on right then ("Are you sure you don't want to go on Dumbo?" "Yes." "How about Snow White?" "No." "The Teacups?" "Not right now." "OK...") There was still plenty of time before the park would open to the general public, so I figured we could go to the Timekeeper in Tomorrowland.

We had never seen the Timekeeper before. It's one of Disney's patented "Circlevision 360" movies with a twist. Instead of your run-of-the-mill travelogue kind of adventure, the Timekeeper sends you on a trip through time. Your guides are The Timekeeper, an impressive audio-animatronics robot voiced by Robin Williams and Nine-Eye, another robot with 9 eyes through which the audience gets to experience the adventure. I found it to be quite an enjoyable show. Nat liked the robot, but she seemed to fluctuate between being bored and frightened by the film.

After the Timekeeper it was time to head over to the Adventureland gate in order to get wet at Splash Mountain. Nat had been on a log flume on our trip to Wildwood Beach and she loved it. I figured she would really go nuts for Splash Mountain. We waited for a few minutes at the Adventureland gate, then they dropped the rope. The first thing I noticed: no more "dash for the splash". CMs now lead you in an orderly fashion to the most popular attractions. I for one think it's a great improvement.

As we made our way to Chickapin Hill Nat spotted a cart selling Cowboy hats. I told her we would pick one up after riding Splash Mountain (SplM). Nat was excited about SplM until she saw the big drop. Then she demurred. "I don't want to go on it". Now, I am not one to force a kid to do something they don't want to do while on vacation. Sure I wanted to ride SplM, but I wasn't going to force Nat to ride it if she was scared. Regardless, I talked her into it because I knew for a fact that she would love the ride. I told her "If you still don't want to get on when we get through the line we won't do it". The wait was only a few minutes so I figured it was worth the risk.

The portraits of the cartoon characters in the cheery queue area seemed to calm her nerves, so we boarded. All fears were immediately washed away. While we were riding I realized that the reason she was scared was because she thought you went under water after the big drop (anyone who has seen SplM can understand why she thought this). I assured her that, no, you don't go under water. After floating around experiencing the cheery Song of the South vignettes and a few small drops, the music turned scary, the mood somber, and our "log" started descending to the big drop. "Here we go!" Then Whoosh! Splash! We were back at the bottom of Chikapin Hill. "Let's do that again!" Nat squealed. Obviously, Daddy knows best. I told her that we couldn't go on again right then because we had a breakfast date with some princesses. Maybe later.

On our way out of Frontierland we bought her that bright red cowboy she saw on the way in. She was absolutely thrilled.

We had 9:30 reservations for character breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table (CRT) in Cinderella's castle. While we were waiting in the lobby I realized that, for some reason, the flash on the camera wasn't working. Disaster! It's Andie's camera and I recalled her telling me that the flash stops working when the battery gets low. I asked the CM at the reservation booth for the location of the nearest camera shop. Luckily it was right around the corner. The man at the camera store (booth, actually) tested the battery and said it was fine. That could only mean there was something wrong with the camera. I couldn't chance it so I bought a disposable camera with flash ($17, thank you very much). Then, after we were given our slip ("royal invitation") to be seated Nat realized that we left her autograph book at the camera store. Disaster again! I explained our predicament to the same kindly CM and we dashed back to retrieve it. Camera and autograph book safely in hand we joined Cinderella for breakfast. As a side note, the camera later worked fine. Oh well.

Andie and I had been to CRT on both of our previous trips, Thanksgiving 1997 and March 1992 (when it was still King Stephan's Banquet Hall. Why the restaurant in Cinderella's Castle was named for the King in Sleeping Beauty was a mystery that had been perplexing Disneyphiles for years.) In 1992 we were there for dinner, and last year for lunch (Nat was able to greet the characters in the lobby before lunch). I don't recall the food from that first trip, but I think we were unimpressed. The food for lunch the year before was downright awful. Well, now that we've done breakfast there, all I can say is that Cinderella definitely knows how to do breakfast. Nat had a waffle with eggs and bacon (OK, I ate the bacon), I had eggs, bacon, potatoes and custard stuffed French toast. The eggs were good and the bacon nice and crispy. The potatoes weren't to my taste, but the French toast was awesome! It was the only thing I ordered seconds of. Unfortunately it was so filling I could only eat one of the two extra pieces I got.

The characters on hand were Peter Pan & Wendy, Belle (I wanted my picture taken with her ;-), Snow White and, of course, Cinderella. The cast was, as always, wonderful. Our server Judy was friendly and efficient. All in all, the character breakfast gets a big thumbs up from me. If you have kids, especially a princess-loving little girl (aren't they all?), it's an absolute must. Remember to make those reservations 60 days in advance, and call first thing in the morning!

We were done with breakfast about 10:30. According to my plans , we needed to leave the MK by about 11:30 and the park was getting crowded, so we had enough time for one good attraction. I suggested the Haunted Mansion (HM). Nat had never been on HM, but she loves Pirates of the Caribbean so I thought she would love HM as well. I never thought of HM as being all that scary, but Nat was actually quite scared by it. Not screaming at the top of her voice "Get me out of here!" scared, but rather hide your head in Daddy's lap for most of the ride scared.

Andie and I rode HM on our trip in 1992 but we didn't ride last year so I didn't recall what the WDW version was like. The exterior of the building is, of course, very different. I have read comments on the Internet by people claiming that the HM at MK is virtually identical to the one in Disneyland, so I was surprised by how different they are. I have to say that the HM at WDW is slightly better.

I didn't want to have to rush out of the MK so we started making our way out after HM. We strolled and weren't in any great hurry. We were just enjoying a wonderful moment together. When we reached the south end of Main Street I noticed that the stable was open. Now, Nat absolutely loves horses, so I figured we could drop in and visit. The horse (whose name I forgot) seemed to take an immediate shine to Nat (maybe it was the cowboy hat) and the CM in charge of the stable was very nice. I don't know if he was just trying to be kind, but he said that the horse rarely takes to people with the gusto with which he seemed to take to Nat. After bidding a reluctant farewell to the steed we left the MK.

We walked to the MK monorail station and rode it to the TTC. From there we hopped on the Epcot monorail. We had never taken the monorail to Epcot before, and I have to say it is a fun ride. The train actually goes into the park and loops around the signature "geosphere" before depositing you outside the main gate. Our destination for the afternoon was not Epcot, however, but rather Crescent Lake which is walking distance from Epcot. We made our way through Futureworld and the World Showcase to the International Gateway. I'm sure that ours was one of the shortest Epcot visits in history. In reality, the route we took was very likely the fastest way to get from MK to Crescent Lake with or without a car.

Crescent Lake is surrounded by The Yacht Club and its sister resort The Beach Club on one side and the Boardwalk on the other. Just beyond those resorts are The Swan & The Dolphin. The night before we had strolled along the lake on the Yacht & Beach Club side; today we were headed for the Boardwalk. The Boardwalk has a regular resort as well as a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Timeshare resort. Both resorts share a lobby as well as an old fashioned Boardwalk lined with shops, clubs and restaurants (hence the title). We had purchased a small interest in the Boardwalk timeshare and had a 1:00 appointment with Judy, my DVC representative, to get a tour of the property. I wanted to give us enough time to look around the Boardwalk some, but we actually had less time than I would have liked. Of course we did have enough time to stop at the Sweet Shop for ice cream, however.

We found the DVC preview center and went in. The air conditioning was very welcome. Nat decided to make use of the playroom while Judy showed me models of the studio, 1 & 2 bedroom suites. Since my back was really bothering me I must say that the Jacuzzi in the bathroom looked very inviting. It would not be easy to return to our little old ASM room. Judy also showed me some miniatures of the other DVC properties at WDW, Vero Beach and Hilton Head. All look great. I was hoping they would have something about the new property being built adjacent to the Wilderness Lodge, but no such luck.

After the tour we retrieved Nat from the playroom and Judy showed us the pool. The pool at the Boardwalk, with its water slide made to look like a roller coaster, looked way cool. We then walked through the lobby, which looks great - whimsical and elegant at the same time. Judy put us in a DVC van and we were driven back to our hotel.

We hit the Piano Pool again. Nat expressed a desire to try the Guitar Pool, but when it came down to actually leaving one musical instrument to try another, she balked. After the pool we tried to nap. Well, at least I tried to nap. Nat was wide awake. This of course kept me awake too, so at about 5:00 I gave up and we decided to get our evening started. We showered, dressed and headed out. During dinner at the food court (Pizza for Nat, she liked it but I had a bite and thought it was awful, beer and a salad for me) I looked at my watch and realized it was nearly 5:00, not 6:00 as I had thought. The clock in the room was an hour fast.

After supper we boarded the bus back to MK. Nat, who had refused a nap while in our room, was dead asleep five minutes into the ride. I had toyed with the idea of leaving the stroller in the room as I suspected it had something to do with my back being sore, but had decided to take it after all because I needed something to lean on as I walked. Good decision. When we got to MK, Nat was out cold so I put her in the stroller and spent the next few hours walking around. A few times she stirred and I tried to see if she was interested in any attractions, but she would just shake her head and go back to sleep. No problem, I was really enjoying the time just strolling around the park.

Nat finally awoke at about 7:00. We went to see the Enchanted Tiki Room just as the skies were beginning to threaten rain. The Tiki Room has changed the show - it's "Under New Management" - and now includes the parrot Igo from Aladdin and the hornbill Zazu from the Lion King. It was interesting to see the original 1963 audio-animatronics figures compared to the vastly improved new figures of Iago and Zazo (not to mention a very cool Tiki Goddess). The show was fresh and funny, but I admit that I pined for the original.

As we left the Tiki Room it was starting to sprinkle. We went on Pirates of the Caribbean, and when we exited the ride it was raining a bit harder. In retrospect, I should have picked up a poncho right then and there, but we had Nat's slicker with us and I thought "A little light rain isn't going to hurt me". Spoken like a true non-Floridian. As we were heading through Fantasyland on our way to Toontown it started to downpour. I mean the sky really opened up. The lightning and thunder were spectacular (so who needs fireworks?) We were just able to duck under the shelter of the Mad Tea Party teacups (very thankful for the fact that this attraction, unlike its counterpart in California, is covered). Well, we're here. Let's spin a cup. Nat loves this ride. I told her that I couldn't make the cup spin because of my back, but Nat did a commendable job on her own.

After our spin, we huddled under the shelter hoping to wait out the rain. After a few minutes it seemed to subside somewhat, and we were a short distance from Cosmic Ray's, an eatery in Tomorrowland, so we made the dash. Once we got inside I knew it was a mistake. Although we would have been perfectly content to sit at a table and watch Sunny Eclipse, and alien lounge singer who is sort of a cross between E.T. and Wayne Newton, the air-conditioning and our slightly soggy clothes made for a very cold combination. It was still raining fairly hard and we were now in Tomorrowland - in the opposite direction of Toontown.

Luckily the rain tapered off some so we dashed for Toontown. We went through Minnie's house, one of Nat's favorite places, then we to the Town Hall for character greeting. While there I finally broke down and bought a poncho. First we met with Minnie, Pluto and Goofy, the we went to the 100-acre Wood section and met with Eeyore and Tigger. Pooh was gone for the day which seemed to upset a few people, but Nat didn't seem to mind. It was then time to meet the big cheese himself. One really cute thing - remember that we had seen Mickey the day before at AK as well - while we were waiting for Mr. Mouse he must have overheard me calling Nat by name. When he signed her autograph he wrote "To Natalie: I love you, Mickey Mouse". Well, Nat was absolutely beaming. "Daddy, he remembered my name!" It was perhaps the sweetest moment of the trip.

The main reason I wanted to go back to MK that evening was so we could see the fireworks. During this time of year, WDW has the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks display at MK on Saturdays only. The same is true of Spectromagic, the nighttime light parade. For this reason the park was really crowded - obviously most of the people vacationing at WDW that week would be in MK that night to see the parade and fireworks. Knowing this, as much as we would have loved to see the parade, I decided to skip it. People were lining the streets at 6:00 to be in good position for the 8:00 parade, and I just didn't want to deal with it. Instead I figured we could go to Mickey's Toontown Fair during the parade - it's on the side of the park opposite the parade route - and watch the fireworks from there.

As it turned out, we weren't the only ones to miss the parade. With all the rain and lightning the parade was canceled. Was I ever glad we hadn't been waiting on the sidewalk along Main Street since 6:00! If that weren't enough, Toontown was nearly empty and the CM at Minnie's house recommended a good spot to watch the fireworks. Was he ever right! They were spectacular! Of course we missed the effect of seeing them explode over the castle, but I would venture that our view of the fireworks was superior to what you would see from Main Street. It was absolutely great.

But then we had to leave.

It was actually almost surreal. When we started our trek out of the park we were practically by ourselves. The crowds grew in Fantasyland. By the time we made it through the hub into Main Street it was a veritable sea of humanity. It took quite a while to get out and then we were greeted by what was to be by far the longest line we would wait in on the trip - over an hour waiting to board the ASM bus. Eventually we got on a bus and were on our way back to the hotel. Nat had a mini melt-down when she realized she would have to stand for the ride, but a kind soul stood and let Nat take her seat. We were soon back in our room. Nat immediately crashed out and I stayed up for a while to pack and get ready for the trip home. I was in bed a bit past 11:00.

Sunday, October 4 - Take off running

Nat and I actually woke just before our 7:00 wake-up call, so I let Nat answer the phone when Mickey called. "Did you hear him?" I asked. "Yeah but I couldn't understand. He talked too fast."

After express checkout we were running a bit late as we wanted to get to AK as close to the 8:00 opening time as possible. To that end I suggested we stop at McDonald's for breakfast. A lot of folks complain about McDonald's on Disney property, and I can understand why, but the restaurant they built near the All Star Resorts is actually pretty cool, with giant fries and burger. Nat had a muffin and milk while I had an Egg McMuffin, hash browns and orange juice.

We arrived at AK just a bit after opening. I had heard that the Kilimanjaro Safari (KS) was best either first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon, so I figured we could do it this morning. I was a little concerned because I also heard that everyone who goes to AK hits KS first thing and that there can be long waits first thing in the morning. This turned out not to be an issue for us, and we basically walked on. I did overhear a CM at KS mention that a half hour later they would be "swamped".

Kilimanjaro Safari is a drive through a wildlife preserve - Disney style. Since this is Disney there is a story (something about poachers and a baby elephant), but the main attraction is the animals. (In fact, the poacher story thing is pretty lame.) Since you're dealing with real animals, what you will see can vary widely from one ride to another. We were pretty lucky and saw a decent collection of animals. The morning was cooler than it had been (though still quite warm) and foggy, and most of the animals were out and about for this reason. One cool thing was that most animals we saw were walking around rather than just sitting somewhere. Giraffes strolled very close to our vehicle, as did some other hoofed animals I didn't recognize. We saw egrets and storks, rhinos wallowing in the mud, alligators and, best of all, two hippos that were actually out of the water and walking around. I don't recall ever having seen hippos out of the water before.

After KS we went back to Camp Minnie Mickey because we wanted to catch the first show of Festival of the Lion King. The show didn't start until 10:00 so we had plenty of time, but I wanted to scope it out in case there was a long wait. The queue area was empty when we got there but a CM on duty informed me that they would start directing people to the theater in about 15 minutes and it would start to get crowded. He also pointed out the Pocahontas Colors of the Wind show had just started, so we went to watch that.

The Pocahontas show used one live singer/dancer/actress (playing Pocahontas), two puppets (Grandmother Willow and a small tree named Twig) and several cute little furry animals (a rabbit, skunk, opossum and others) to tell a story with a preservation theme. If we had seen the show anywhere other than a Disney park I would have thought it fairly well done, but I expect more out of these shows from Disney. The actress playing Pocahontas was trying hard and did a commendable job and the kids in the audience "ooo'd" and "ahhhh'd" appropriately at the furry friends, but the show on a whole was mediocre at best.

After Pocahontas we went to see Festival of the Lion King. While we were waiting in the queue I asked Nat if she wanted to stay at AK all day or if she wanted to go back to MK and do Splash Mountain again. "Let's stay here." OK. I had planned on getting together with folks that correspond via the Internet again - we were planning to meet at the Hub in front of Cinderella's Castle at noon - but we were enjoying AK so much I thought it might be more fun to stay there. I would have been happy either way, which is why I left it up to Nat. AK it would be.

The Festival of the Lion King (FotLK) plays in a large covered "Theater in the Round" style auditorium. The show is not the best I've seen at WDW (I think that honor would have to go to the Hunchback of Notre Dame at Disney MGM, which we saw on our last trip), but it was close. And it certainly is the most spectacular. The show uses floats, large puppets and an amazingly talented troupe of dancers, singers and acrobats. There were even two dancers on stilts. This is a truly spectacular show and one I'd rate "not to be missed". FotLK and KS are the only attractions at AK that I felt really lived up to there potential (in reality, even KS could be improved by getting rid of the lame story line), but as I indicated earlier the real appeal of AK is the park itself.

When we walked out of the theater we saw Chip & Dale taking pictures and giving autographs, so we joined them. Dale took Nat's new cowboy hat off her head and they started playing around with it. When we saw them there were only a few people there, but after we were done there was a long line. We looked at the roster of characters available in the various greeting areas, but Nat wasn't interested.

It seemed like a good time to do some shopping. The shopping in AK is great. Creature Comforts, which specializes in stuffed animals, and Chester & Hester Dinosaur Treasures which is just plain fun, were among our favorites. I wanted to make some "required" purchases so we headed to Disney Outfitters. I also wanted to pick up something for Andie but her "no character" requirement was hampering my style. I was successful with "required" purchases - A mug (cool AK design with ToL and animals on Savannah), a Christmas Ornament (same design as the mug, but dated of course) and (needless to say to anyone who knows me) a T-shirt (dark blue, "Disney's Animal Kingdom written over the right breast and the AK logo on the back) - but I was not successful finding anything for Andie. I also finally gave in to Nat and picked up that AK Barbie she had been eyeing the whole trip ("There's nothing else here I want, Daddy!").

As we were paying for our purchases Nat said "I changed my mind. I want to go to Splash Mountain." OK. If we're going back to MK may as well try to make the meet of Internet folks. I looked at my watch. 11:20. The meet was scheduled for 12:00 at the Hub. I asked the CM at the counter "Do you think I can get from here to Cinderella's Castle by noon?" "Sure." "Are you sure? I mean even dealing with TTC and all?" "Yeah, I think so. It's only a few minutes' drive." OK, we're off.

We left the park and went to our car (close by in the Peacock section since we got there early, luckily). As we are driving out of the parking lot I look at the clock. 11:37. No way we'll get there by noon. Hopefully they'll hang out at the hub for a while. We get to the MK parking lot. We park in Goofy. Thank goodness there is a tram waiting. It takes us to the TTC. 11:52. The monorail comes and we board. We get to the gate and make our way to the hub. 12:15. I recognize Ronnie and a few other folks. Whew! We made it.

They had been waiting for us, as well as Deb Wills. We made it, but Deb (who indicated she probably wouldn't be there) didn't show. Soon after we got there everyone decided to go to the Tiki Room. Nat wanted to do Splash Mountain again but we acquiesced to the masses. On our previous visit to the Tiki Room we completely missed the pre-show with birds named William and Morris (voiced by Don Rickles and the late Phil Hartman), and this time we just caught the tail end. (pun not intended but gratefully acknowledged). After the show some folks lingered behind because Iago has some funny lines after everyone has supposedly left the theater. I don't want to give them away, but if you see the show and have an opportunity, it's worth the few extra minutes.

After the Tiki Room we all went our separate ways. Before going to the Tiki Room I overheard Ronnie mention her desire to get a Dole Whip. I had never had a Dole Whip but had heard they're very good, and it sounded particularly appealing on a hot day. Nat was also hungry and wanted a bagel, so I got her a bagel at the Main Street bakery, went back to the Dole Whip stand near the entrance to Adventureland and we enjoyed our snacks under a ceiling fan in a covered eating area next to the stand. The Dole Whip was great and really cooled me off.

After our snack we headed to Splash Mountain again. We ran into Ronnie on the way and I told her that her mentioning the Dole Whip prompted me to get one and urged her to indulge herself. We said good-bye again and went back to Chickapin Hill. There is a sign on Main Street that states the wait time of the most popular attractions, and it said the wait for Splash Mountain was 45 minutes. When we arrived the sign at the queue entrance said 55 minutes and I overheard a CM tell a guest that the wait would be about an hour. Nat really wanted to do Splash again so we went for it. Luckily the wait ended up being about 35 minutes. Once again, at the bottom of the big drop Nat squealed "Let's do that again!"

I told her we really couldn't wait in line again, and I really wanted to find a gift for Andie. I bought Andie a Hawaiian shirt as a gift while on a trip to California that she loved, and I thought I'd look for another. I figured that Adventureland held the most promise so that's where we went. I actually found one at the Adventureland Traders that I thought she might like, but they only had it in large. I asked the CM on duty if they had any others and he said "No". He suggested I try the Polynesian. No time for that. Oh well.

Nat spotted Pirates of the Caribbean and requested another cruise. This surprised me a bit because she was scared by it a little on Saturday. She said "It's only the beginning that's scary." OK. At the ride's conclusion I heard someone behind me call out "John!" I turned around and saw Randy, another of our new friends. We chatted with Randy for a few minutes in the gift store outside of PotC (he asked me if we requested the "special 16 seat Splash Mountain log ;-)" )

After saying good-bye to Randy I suggested Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMRR). All I had to say to Nat was the word "rollercoaster" and she immediately agreed. We had made a few attempts to ride BTMRR earlier but the line was always too long. Unfortunately, it was a little after 3:00 and there was an afternoon parade between us and BTMRR. It appeared to be the tail end of the parade so we waited it out. As it turned out the line was quite short - I assume on account of the parade. Of course Nat loved BTMRR, squealing at the conclusion of the ride - you guessed it - "Let's do that again!"

It was getting woefully close to our scheduled departure time. Originally our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:30 but they moved us to a 6:30 flight. I considered that to be good news. Sure, it meant 2 hours less at WDW, but it also meant we would get home at a reasonable hour. We had enough time for one more good attraction so I suggested the Country Bear Jamboree (CBJ). I've seen CBJ at Disneyland countless times, but I've never seen it at WDW. Last year we went to see it but I had to leave just before the show started to change Charlotte's diaper and couldn't get back in. The show then was the holiday show, and I assumed the show now would be the "new" show that had been playing at Disneyland for several years. I was pleasantly surprised when it was the old original show. That's one I could recite verbatim. It brought back many fond memories for me.

After CBJ it was getting close to time to leave. We still had some time left but I didn't want to rush out of the park. We just strolled through Fontierland and down Main Street. When we got to the end of Main Street we turned around to say "good-bye" to the Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney World. "Can't we stay just a little longer?" "No, sweetie, we can't. Don't you want to go home and see Mommy and Charlotte?" "Yeah."

We left the park and did something I've never done - we rode the ferry to the TTC. It's a beautiful ride and a great way to end a final day at the park. At three days the trip may have been short, but we really were able to pack in a lot of fun. My main goal, that of having some fun time with just me and Nat, was accomplished and then some. We're thinking about doing another trip with my folks in Thanksgiving 1999, and you know what that means. Time to start planning!

Addendum - welcome back to Hell

Our trip home was the trip home from hell. If you don't want to finish off this story on a sour note, then turn back. I will say that nothing really awful happened, just several big annoyances. If you enjoy reading this kind of stuff, then read on.

To begin with, the only thing that didn't go wrong was the timing of the flight. It was perfectly on time - even a little early. But that's the only good news.

First, as I wrote earlier, our flight was changed from 8:30 to 6:30. Good news there. It took us a little longer to get to our car than I anticipated (or maybe I just lingered) and we were a bit later than I like. Luckily there was no traffic - if there had been it would have been very bad.

We were using "E-ticket" which meant we had no ticket, but instead got it out of an ATM like device. When arrived at the airport gate and they were boarding. The man taking the tickets pointed out something I hadn't noticed - our seats were not together. Thank goodness he noticed. We went back to the gate check and they told us they would re-assign us. We waited. And waited. Finally, with 15 minutes to board, they gave us new seats. Great. We boarded. "Sorry, there's no room left. You'll have to check your bag". Now I am very careful to only bring one carry-on bag and I also attempt to check in as early as I can. And of course if everyone else was as considerate I would not have this problem. I won't go into details but there were several reasons I did not want to check the bag. So here I am forced to check my only bag because 1) they messed up my seating assignment and 2) a bunch of inconsiderate people bring on more than they should. Great.

On the trip home we were surrounded by a group of unchaperoned teen-age girls who are either 1) kicking my seat 2) yelling back and forth 3) jumping all over each other or 4) throwing things at each other. The adults in their party were in 1st class, ignoring them. Great.

After what seemed like an eternity we landed. After getting off the plane I immediately started looking for my name among the placards held by drivers expecting passengers. Not seeing it I went to get our single carry-on bag that we couldn't carry on. I think it was the last bag out of the plane.

I went back to look for our driver again. Nothing. Knowing the way things had been going I decided to call the car service. "Oh, the driver was in an accident and he won't make it." Great. "Are you sending another car?" "Oh. You want another car?" "Of course I do. I've got to get home" "Oh, well it will be a while." "Well, how long ago was this that the driver was in an accident?" "A little over an hour ago." I went ballistic. The driver is in an accident (so he claims) with plenty of time to send a new driver, but they wait for me to call. I yelled at this yo-yo at the top of my lungs. I told his to send a car immediately.

Then I thought "to hell with it. We're taking a cab".

I asked the dispatcher how much it would cost before getting in line. $49.00 she said. Hmmm - doesn't sound right to me, but what the heck. Then when the guy came by to write my fair ticket I told him where I was going and that the other person said $49.00. He said "It's $117.00". Now, mind you, $117.00 was more like what I expected, and the guy said it in such a way as to make me believe he thought I was trying to pull a fast one. So I said "Oh, OK. It's just that that lady said $49.00" The guy pretty much just flipped out, calling me crazy, cursing at me. I told him "geez - take a chill pill". Welcome to New Jersey. Of course I had just gone ballistic on the guy from the car company a few minutes later, but then I was right ;-)

I was concerned about the condition of Andies $600 Nikon camera in the bag that they made us check, so I looked for it to make it was OK. It was not OK. It was not there. To make a long story short I realized that I had left it by the X-ray machine in Orlando. The one silver lining to this return trip from hell was that the camera was found and we later got it back. Thank God for small favors.

John Thompson

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