Trip Reports

August 22 - August 29, 1998

Participants:

Gretchen (32), Chris (33), Carl (almost 12), and Megan (7)

WDW History:

I was there twice during high school in the early 80’s –both times did just the Magic Kingdom at a whirlwind pace, spending a lot of time in line for Space Mountain.

Chris and I went for 5 days in May of 1989 for our honeymoon – by then 3 parks were open. We stayed off site (Days’ Inn Lakeside – don’t do it!!). We saw a lot of the parks, but really had no touring plan. The following year we took my then 15-year-old brother and our son Carl, who was 3 at the time, for 8 days in July. We had a fantastic time – I spent a lot of time planning the trip and we got to do everything we wanted to. We stayed off site again – at Wilson World, which was ok.

This Trip:

After our last trip, we had talked about going back, but things like a new baby, home repairs, job changes, etc. kept it from happening. Every Disney commercial made my son ask when we could go back. And of course Megan would ask why Carl got to go to Disneyworld and she didn’t.

So in January of 1998, we sat down to figure out the finances of a WDW trip. If we drove down, ate most breakfasts and lunches in our room, we agreed we could swing it. Since I am a teacher, the off-season was out for us, so we decided to shoot for the end of August.

I called and made reservations at All Star Sports for August 23-29th, reserved a rental car to drive from New Jersey to Florida, booked hotels for the road trip, and started saving in earnest. We kept a tin on top of the refrigerator for our "Disney Funds". Any extra money went into it – odd jobs, refunds, etc. The kids put in part of their allowances each week – we really all worked towards this trip. A friend told me about RADP, to which I immediately became addicted, and I also started reading any guidebook that I could get ahold of!

We decided to add an extra day to our trip so that we could have a "day of rest" in the middle of the week for sleeping in, swimming, and exploring the non-park aspects of WDW. By the end of February, we had saved enough money for the hotel and for 5-Day Park Hopper passes for us all (purchased with my newly acquired MKClub card at the Disney Store).

After a month or so, the thought of spending 4 days of our vacation in a car hearing "Are we there yet?" every five minutes made the vacation seem a little less magical, and so I began to look into the possibility of flying. After much Internet searching, I found round trip tickets for $160 each out of Trenton. I made a comparison chart, and it actually will SAVE us money to fly. We were going to have to rent a car for 10 days, plus gas, tolls, meals, hotels, etc. And the savings on the wear and tear on our nerves are priceless! So I booked the flight to leave 7:50 AM on Saturday August 22.

But the changes in our original plan were not done yet! Thanks to RADP, in July I found out about the $84 rate at Dixie landings. I was on the phone with CRO in a heartbeat and boom – we were booked! And best of all – the total cost to upgrade from AS-S to DL for 7 nights? $62.00! As the trip got closer, we read ride descriptions to the kids, and we voted on the things we would like to do. Here is our tentative itinerary:

SAT> arrive, check in, grocery shop, and explore WDW – dinner at Whispering Canyon Café

SUN> Magic Kingdom at opening, rest and swim in the afternoon, Epcot for the evening

MON> MGM all day - dinner at 50’s Prime Time Café

TUES> MK in the morning, rest and swim early afternoon, AK late afternoon and evening – E-ticket at night

WED> character breakfast at Chef Mickey’s for the girls, Blizzard Beach for the boys ; dinner at O’hanas

THURS> Epcot all day – dinner at Gulliver’s

FRI> Family Magic tour at MK in the morning – afternoon AK, possibly another E-ticket night at MK

SAT> explore resorts, Downtown Disney, pack up, and go home ?

After all this time planning, it’s hard to believe it’s almost here! I will be sure to follow this up with a full –fledged trip report when we get back!

Day One (Saturday, August 22)

BEEP BEEP BEEP –

Our alarm went off at 4:30 – groan! I think that was the earliest I had ever woken up! Nudged Chris and we were up and dressed quickly. Megan had slept in Carl’s room in the top bunk, and when we went in to wake them, they actually bounced out of bed with smiles on their faces! (Hope they remember that feeling when they have to get up for school in a few weeks!) We had loaded the car the night before, so after a quick bowl of cereal, we left home about 20 after 5. We arrived at the Trenton-Mercer County airport around 6:30 and checked in with no problems. This was our first experience at this airport, and it was nice being that small. We were the only flight leaving at the time.

We took off right on time (7:40) – Megan screamed at take off because she didn’t know what to expect, but she loved flying after that. Carl was a little nervous when the plane turned, but he was okay after a bit too. Right before landing in Orlando, we saw a rainbow outside the plane – Megan was so excited – "Mommy – today is my first of EVERYTHING!!"

We got our luggage with no problem and found the Dollar line with no one in it (sign of things to come??). They allowed us to use the Rita Aero upgrade coupon, even though I had used an Internet discount to reserve the car. We ended up with a Kia Sephia. We were able to shove all 4 suitcases (barely) in the trunk, and off we went!

Megan promptly fell asleep while we were on the Greenway, and we made it to I-4. Chris had a headache and we were all starving by this time. We saw a Ponderosa and pulled into the lot – Chris had to check the menu first and decided it was just like the ones in NJ, and so he didn’t want to stay. I tried to remain calm! By this time breakfast was a dim memory and all the food I packed was wedged in the back of the trunk! We pulled out of the parking lot and promptly got lost. One plus – saw the gates to enter WDW a few times as we drove around! Finally we saw the Crossroads and Pizzeria Uno and stopped. While eating, we studied the map I had, trying to figure out how the heck to get to Dixie Landings. Megan went to reach for the map and spilled her entire soda on the booth between Carl and me. Then our pizza came out with the wrong toppings! We were smiling by now – what else could we do? She got a new soda, I dried off, and we got a second free pizza to go for the error. Total cost for 2 appetizers, a medium pizza, 2 kids’ meals and 4 sodas - $50 including tax and tip. We found Dixie Landings – by now it was pouring! We had a very short wait at check in – bought our e-tickets for Tuesday night ($40.21). Best of all, we got building 14 as I had requested – yippee! The registration room was beautiful – loved the theming.

We got our stuff to the room – saw the cutest little frogs on the way there! Megan claimed the trundle (the reason for getting Alligator Bayou –thanks RADP!), and we called for the refrigerator. We unpacked while waiting for it to arrive.

Around 3 we left to see if we could find the Belz Outlet and Publix. Boy – International Drive is a zoo! I don’t think I would enjoy having to fight that traffic each day to get to the parks.

After MUCH driving around the Belz Outlet complex, we finally found the building with the Character Outlet (hmm – getting lost is becoming a theme here!). We browsed a bit, but really didn’t feel like much shopping yet –

Megan got a pair of Mickey earrings with her name on them for $4.99.

After all our good luck in finding places (!), we decided to pass on Publix and just go to Goodings. We bought lunch items and milk and OJ. Back to DL, which we explored a bit – our room is in an awesome location! We left in our car to go to Wilderness Lodge for dinner – we found it on our first try! We vowed not to leave the Disney property again until next Saturday! We valet parked the car and entered. WOW – very impressive on first sight!

Dinner was at Whispering Canyon – we had Chuck Wagon for our server and he had the kids in stitches – Megan ended up talking about him all week! The food was fair, but the experience was a blast! Total with tax and tip was $70. Highlights included Megan being teased for having some "Pooh" on her shirt, and Chuck Wagon wearing Carl’s hat because he was wearing it in the building!

Back to DL – we had bought the refillable mugs earlier in the day – got them filled, and headed to the quiet pool for a quick dip before bed – aahh! Very refreshing. Although the amount of chlorine in the pool was quite heavy!

Back to the room for dreams of Disney and our first visit to the parks tomorrow!

Saturday expenses:

Plane - $661 (pre-paid)
Hotel - $652 (pre-paid)
Luggage Cart rental - $2
Car - $191 (charged it for insurance)
Tolls - $2
Lunch - $50
E-tickets for Tuesday - $40.21
Grocery - $32.12
Dinner - $70
Valet parking - $2
Refillable mugs - $38
Day Two (Sunday, August 23)

Got our wake-up call at 7 – it was just music – no Mickey. Tomorrow I will try an off time to see if it makes a difference. We ate our cereal and pop-tarts in the room – went to fill up the mugs – the food court is literally a minute away! After breakfast we headed to the bus stop. The Magic Kingdom bus was just pulling up as we arrived – Chris had headed back to the room for some gum – but he made it. We were the first DL bus stop, so it was nice each morning to be able to get a seat! The weather today was sunny and warm, but not too humid.

We had purchased 5 day park hopper passes at the Disney Store before leaving so we got right in line at 8:30 and entered the park. The 6 dwarves (Sneezy was having an allergy attack!) were heading down Main Street so we stopped to get some pictures and autographs – Megan wasn’t sure about the autograph part, but soon warmed right up to it! I even got my picture with my favorite dwarf – Grumpy!

We headed to the rope drop heading toward Frontierland – we were near the front, but at 9 when they lead us to Splash Mountain, we were far back. But we still got right on the ride with no wait – woo hoo!!! I can’t imagine having to wait in that LONG line on a hot day – ick! We all loved the ride – checked our picture, but we were all looking down – next time we will be sure to look up!

Next we headed to Big Thunder Mountain – again, we walked right on. Carl went on this one as a 3-year-old – of course, he didn’t remember. We had a blast on this one – I don’t remember it being so long! When we got off, lines were beginning to form both here and at Splash Mountain. We’ll wait to do them again another time.

We headed over to Fantasyland, which could have been renamed Ghost Town for the lack of people there. Sunday morning is a terrific time to go to the Magic Kingdom.

We walked onto Peter Pan – Megan thought we were actually flying and she was so excited! Her face was just pure joy – a special Disney moment for sure.

Next we went to Mr. Toad – hard to believe we won’t be riding that again. The kids sat in the front seats – boy, are they bad drivers – they almost got us killed!

Snow White was next – it was just ok – nothing we will plan to do again this trip. And then we went to Carl’s most anticipated ride (ha ha!) – It’s a Small World. He had the look of "Mom – I can’t believe you are making me ride this" the whole time. But, he survived! So far our whole morning had been walkons – could it continue?? We headed to Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion – with no wait! Carl and I sat together and Chris took Megan in case she got "funny" about being in the haunted house. Chris was making fun of all the ghosts and she did fine. Carl particularly liked the crystal ball scene and the singing ghosts – neat technology! I liked the part where we got to lay back and take a nap! We checked the Hall of Presidents, but there was a 25-minute wait til the next show, so we sat on some rocking chairs and waited. Our first tragedy – Megan got her finger caught between two of the chairs and was she screaming! We walked over to the nearest stand (the one where they sell the fruit). The CM gave us a baggie full of ice and wrapped it in a towel. We offered to give the towel back when we were done, but she said not to worry about it. That impressed Chris.

We saw the H of P – I wasn’t real thrilled by Maya Angelou’s voice, but the Presidents themselves were pretty cool! Megan didn’t believe that they weren’t real – we had to double check with a CM for her!

By now it was 11:15, and Carl wanted to take a look at Tomorrowland, so we walked over. We hopped on the TTA for an overview. I ended up riding backwards – yuck! Gave me a headache! It was nice to just sit though!

After this we headed back to the bus stop – longest wait of the day – 10 minutes! We forgot which depot we should get out at, and so when the driver said, "last stop at Dixie Landings" we were like – whoops! So Chris went up and asked him what we should do, and he said to get out here and it should be a short walk. Ugh – trudged around and finally found our nice cool room! South Depot – we will not forget!

The maid had not yet been in the room, so we went to fill up our mugs and yikes – we forgot our room key! The three of us stayed at the food court while Chris tried to find someone to help us. A maintainence man came to get us in with a master lock and his key wouldn’t come out of the lock! So he ended up having to take the whole mechanism off and apart to free it. He was a nice guy – he had worked for Disney for over 21 years. He had left a better paying job to come work for Disney and hadn’t regretted it yet. We ate the leftover pizza from yesterday for lunch, and we all showered. Chris and Megan took a nap while Carl and I explored – we found the arcade where I actually beat him at a game of air hockey! At the general store I bought postcards and then I got 4 of those big yummy looking chocolate chip cookies from the food court. We woke up Sleeping Grumpy and her father and got the bus for Epcot around 4.

We arrived at Epcot and the kids were both impressed with the size of Spaceship Earth. Did you know that it is not a perfect circle? Carl asked the CM and the height is a bit more than the width. Interesting!

We enjoyed the ride – I can’t remember the Walter Cronkite version, but I did enjoy Jeremy Iron’s voice. Carl had learned much of the contents in his 6th grade social studies, which made it neat for him. Megan continues to be very impressed with the "robots" (as she calls them) – not believing that they are just pretend!

We stopped in the Ice Station – bet the CMs fight for that job! My strange daughter actually LIKED the Beverly and drank a whole cup full – it made me feel ill! I did like the watermelon drink. The Living Seas was our next stop – another walkon! We had both kids believing that we were going way down under Disney World! Carl knew better, but Megan was sure that we were. She was a great age to bring – old enough to walk around without complaint, but young enough to really believe in the magic of Disney.

The aquarium was separated into sections by a huge yellow tarp – the CM told us this is due to the fact that they are replacing the gravel and this keep’s the "dust" to a minimum. We got a cute videotape of our very own "Meganfish" narrated by "Carl" Leach – on Lifestyles of the Fish and Famous! Guess you had to be there, but it was quite funny!

We headed over to the Land pavilion – there was a 15 minute wait posted for the boat ride – oh no – our perfect streak broken?? Aaahh – only a 7-minute wait! The ride was much as I remembered it, but what happened to the "Listen to the Land" song? I was all geared up to sing! Next stop – Food Rocks, which is a new one to us all. We were all alone in the waiting area and Megan danced her little hula dance to the music while waiting! We got in in about 5 minutes. Carl and I just loved this show – definitely our kind of humor! We just giggled through the whole thing. I can’t say I remember the old show that was here, but I sure enjoyed this one.

Honey I Shrunk the Audience was a walk on as well – the pre-show was just ending as we entered. Megan loved it until it got a bit intense –

Did that thing really explode in my face?" She basically closed her eyes for the rest of the show. I had the 3D glasses on top of my regular glasses, and it worked out fine. I would have liked to see it again, but there was no way Megan was going in again!

We saw Journey to Imagination – cute! Although at the end when they show your picture, it was comical to see all the bored faces on the big screen! Megan bought a Figment doll with her money and I bought one of the beanies.

We played in Image Works for awhile – Carl liked those metal "fingers" that hang down – he played with them for quite a while. Test track was our next stop – I think they just play a recording of a car going by just so you think they are doing something!

On our way to Horizons, we saw a friend of ours from Carl’s baseball team! What are the chances? We took a picture of Carl and Todd together in Disney World.

Horizons was good as usual – it ended up being on of Carl’s favorite rides. Love that orange scent – I don’t remember that from 1990. We picked the space ending. I hope they don’t close this ride!

It was now 8:30, so we decided to do Body Wars before heading "home". We all enjoyed it – add to the list of Carl’s favorites! Megan sometimes gets motion sickness, but she was fine on this.

When exiting the park, we saw the fiber optic sidewalk – very cool!

Our bus driver was a cross dresser – looked just like Dustin Hoffman in "Tootsie". Megan kept asking why that lady talked like a man! It was funny.

We ate dinner at the food court – 2 taco salads, kids’ macaroni and cheese, garlic knots, and a calzone.

After dinner we decided to try the Ol’ Man River pool, so we went back to the room to change. The maid had just thrown the stuffed animals on a chair – boo hoo. And we only had one bar of soap to split between the shower and the sink. And no shampoo! Guess I will have to write a little note tomorrow. It wasn’t our regular maid – she said she would be off on Sunday.

We stayed at the pool for about 30 minutes – Carl fell asleep in a chair and never even got in the water. The slide was turned off for the night, which disappointed Megan, but she had fun anyway. Back to the room and right to bed! We had a GREAT first day at the parks! Tomorrow – MGM!

Sunday expenses:

3 adult, 1-child 5-day pass (bought beforehand): $723.05 w/MKC discount
Postcards: $2.60
Cookies: $3.61
Figment Beanie: $7.42
Dinner: $20.13
Tip for maid: $3
Day Three (Monday, August 24)

Got our wake up call at 7 again today, but this time Mickey was on the other end – yippee! I didn’t sleep great last night – my allergies were acting up – might have been the ceiling fan?

Had our pop tarts and cereal in the room again – sent Carl to the food court with the mugs – I knew there was a good reason for having kids! After breakfast, we decided to drive to MGM since we were planning to spend the entire day there (the park would be closing at 7). We had no trouble following those great purple signs and soon we were in line for 8:30 admission. We headed right to the rope drop for Tower of Terror and basically we were head of the line. We talked to the CM in front of the rope who said that they were trying to get a big opening announcement similar to the one at the Magic Kingdom – right now they have to just depend on their watches to let them know when it is 9 o’clock. The rope just covered the street, but people were lined up on the sidewalks as well. When they started walking with the rope, all those people started merging, and it was a real mess. Shoving, cursing – very un-Disney like. We took our time walking up to the ride – it wasn’t worth getting caught up in that madness. We still only had a 5-minute wait, and that was with just one side running. As an aside – I have a big fear of heights and of falling – I absolutely hate the Freefall ride at Great Adventure. But I vowed to myself that I would give T of T a try. Well – we got on and I absolutely LOVED it! It was much more than I expected – that second (or third?) drop was just great! I was worried about Megan, but she was giggling her little heart out at the end! We checked the picture but (repeat after me) our heads were down –have to do it again later!

On our way over to the Great Movie Ride, we saw that they were starting to seat for the Little Mermaid, and so we went right in to the auditorium. What a neat show! I am normally not a "show" person, and I was beginning to wonder why. Loved the rain! The only thing I didn’t like were all the flashing lasers – my eyes are very sensitive and so I had to sit with them closed until that part was over.

Next was the GMR with only a 5 minute wait – we had Walt as our guide –very enthusiastic. We got the gangster side. My kids were not familiar with many of the movies depicted, but they enjoyed it nonetheless.

We walked on to Star Tours – I knew Carl would love this one after Body Wars and I was right. We all thought this one was better done than Body Wars – not quite as jerky. Definitely a "do-again" ride. We all thought those Disney people are so clever – dumping you out at a gift shop 9 rides out of 10!

Next stop – Muppets! We went right in to the pre-show. I am a big Muppet fan from way back, so this was right up my alley! The movie itself was super – Megan was a bit apprehensive after HISTA last night, but she did fine. We wandered around the gift shop for a few minutes afterwards – Megan bought a Tinkerbell wand full of candy. And the highlight for the kids was seeing a little girl wet herself on the floor – lovely. Kermit was right outside the door and we got his autograph, or rather his stamp and picture. I hope they were cleaning up inside!

Our next planned stop was Indiana Jones, but we were a few minutes late and it was standing room only, so we decided to forego it for now and come back later.

Hmm – what to do now? We decided on an early lunch, which was good since Megan was heading towards a breakdown. Carl had popped her plastic bag and World War 3 was about to begin. Carl wanted to try Pizza Planet, so we went back there. We got 3 pizza combos (salad and drink included) and a pepperoni pizza and a large diet coke. We took it upstairs where it was nice and quiet and cool! We took our time eating and it perked Megan right up!

After lunch, we went to the Backlot Tour – had about a 5-minute wait for the previous group to get done. Both kids were eager to see Catastrophe Canyon, since they had seen the video of it from our last trip. The tour itself has changed a lot since last time – much shorter, which is probably a good thing!

We bought 4 ice cream bars while the Mulan parade was going on (we were not close enough to see anything but the tallest figures), and then it was off to SuperStar TV. Chris works for Sony, but didn’t have his ID to see if we would get any perks! None of us were chosen to act, but we enjoyed the show anyway. Some of the people were so funny! Especially a foreign woman who didn’t speak English in the Cheers scene! Carl liked this a lot. We headed back over to the Animation Tour – this was ok, but our guide was really bizarre. I think I would have liked just seeing the movies and skipping the rest of the tour. But that could have just been my feet talking!

Almost 4:00 and time for the Hunchback Show – after hearing all the praises for this show on RADP, I was eager to see it. We got a little lost finding the theater (hee hee), but got in just as the juggler was finishing. Boy – was that a superb show! The guy who played Clopin was just amazing! Megan was able to collect a piece of confetti in each color. We never did get to do it again, but it sure would have been worth it. Now we figured it would be a good time to see Indiana Jones – we passed by Star Tours with no wait so we rode again – yippee!

Chris was picked to be the LOUD extra as we were sitting in the front row and yes, he was loud! The kids got a kick out of seeing Daddy up there! The show has changed a little since 1990 – for the better. We wanted to ride Tower of Terror again, but there was a 30-minute wait, and we had dinner plans at 50’s Prime Time, so we decided to pass. Boo hoo. The kids both bought Tof T t-shirts though.

Dinner was fun – our Uncle Devon was great – the woman across from us did everything she could to get herself in trouble and she succeeded – she ended up with ketchup and leftover dinner in her hands! Carl got milkshake in his water, and so Devon carried his glass around to show everyone. The kids colored a picture for Aunt Sally’s fridge, and we had to promise not to forget her at Christmas this year. We had nachos as an appetizer, and it came out in little pieces. We were promptly given a new one and the manager came out and apologized. Total for nachos, a shake, 2 kids meals (cheeseburger and PB &J), turkey platter, meatloaf, and a plate of S’Mores for dessert (sweet but yummy!) was $60, after MKC discount, tax, and tip. It was funny walking out – the park had been closed for an hour and it was EMPTY! We took some pictures of the buildings with no people in front! The tram driver that took us back to our car was a nut – we were holding on for dear life!

Got back to DL in one piece – we all took showers and Chris and Carl were off to play Air Hockey.

Happy note – the maid had propped the stuffed animals around the room –very cute to walk in to. Also – plenty of soap and shampoo! Sad note – We realized when we got back that Carl had left his beltpack somewhere. We called the front desk who said they would look into it for us. I thought I remembered him taking it off at dinner. He had 2 rolls of our used film in it from the day – which is what we were most concerned about.

Early to bed!

Monday’s expenses:

Tip for maid: $2
Lunch at Pizza Planet: $32.70
Ice cream: $8
Soda: $7.50
Dinner: $60.00
Day Four (Tuesday, August 25)

When we woke up this morning, there was a message on our machine – it was from the front desk and Carl’s beltpack had been sent from the restaurant and we could pick it up at any time! Woo hoo! Chris went right down and got it and it was all-intact, including our film! We were tired this morning after our 12 hour in the park day yesterday –had breakfast in the room and then headed to the bus stop. The Magic Kingdom bus was just pulling in.

We arrived at the MK about 8:30, and we took some pictures on Main Street. Those same 6 dwarves were there again – poor Sneezy should see an allergist!

We headed toward Tomorrowland – we were at the rope drop but after yesterday, didn’t really care how far back we were – had enough of that, thank you very much!

Our original plan was to head to Space Mountain, but that was the original plan of everyone else in line too, so the boys decided to do Alien Encounter instead. I really had no desire to go on it, and I knew Megan would get freaked out, so we headed to Carousel of Progress. Yuck – they don ’t open for an hour after the park opens, so we hopped on TTA instead. Really worth getting to the park at opening, huh? At least I got to face forward this time <grin>.

We planned to meet at the tip board by Timekeeper and we heard a thousand times "he’d love to take the time to take you through time!" Ahh –

I am hearing that in my dreams!

Carl and Chris met us about 3 minutes before the next Timekeeper show –they both thought AE was dumb and predictable. Guess I don’t have to worry about them going back on it anytime soon!

Timekeeper was cute – I like Robin Williams when he is under control, if you know what I mean. It was the first circle vision movie for the kids and they liked it. Megan sat on the rail (shh – don’t tell!) When we exited Timekeeper, there was only a 10 minute wait posted for Space Mountain, so we headed over there. Yikes – I remember my first trip to WDW – Spring Break 1980. I think I waited through every inch of that queue area! Today we just breezed on by and had only 5 minutes to wait. Loved those flying chocolate chip cookies!

I got the back seat – is it bumpier there? The ride was ok, but I think once was enough. I am not a real roller coaster person, and bumping around in the dark was not the best fun. Carl loved it and so did Chris and Megan – all right – I am out numbered! They wanted to do it again, since there was now no wait, but I decided to go check Carousel of Progress. My first time alone all week!

I liked the show – I don’t remember having done this before, but I was singing "It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" in my head the rest of the morning! The theater was basically empty, and there was no wait when I got off.

I met up with the other 3 – they had ridden SM twice more while they were waiting for me.

After a soda, we left Tomorrowland (now there was a 70 minute posted wait for Space Mountain). We were thinking – our experience this week has been to encounter virtually no lines, where people that arrive at the parks a few hours after us looking to ride the major rides are probably complaining about the waits! It is sure worth it to get there early. We checked the wait for Jungle Cruise – 30 minutes – too long for us spoiled people! It was not one of our "must-sees", so we won’t worry if we don’t get on it this time.

Pirates of the Caribbean had a 5-minute wait – we decided to make this the last ride of the morning. What a nice cool waiting area! The day was a bit more humid than it had been the rest of the week. Thank goodness for our water bottles!

Our little Tower of Terror lover was frightened by the Pirates – I think it’s the explosions that bother her. We all liked seeing that muddy, hairy leg hanging down. You would think after all these years he would want to wash that thing!

Megan bought a sword and eye patch after the ride. She will use them to fight back if we go on the ride again!

We left the park as tons of people were streaming in. A Dixie Band was playing on Main Street and we all danced our way down – where else but Disney could you feel this carefree? Megan bought her first pressed penny –a baseball Mickey. The DL bus was waiting and we were the only riders! Our room looked great when we got back – our maid Millie had fanned all the towels, made us a toothbrush holder, and arranged the animals on the bed. Thanks, Millie!

Chris made lunch while I went down to start the laundry. I was the only one there!

I walked around to fill the mugs, we ate, and Megan and Chris fell asleep. Carl helped me finish the laundry and then we headed to the arcade for some Air Hockey – he beat me bad!

During the morning, Carl had changed his mind about going to Blizzard Beach tomorrow (he had heard lots of people talking about the horrendous waits), and so I called to see if I could add Chris and Carl to Megan and my PS at Chef Mickey’s tomorrow morning. There was no problem – changed the time to 10:45.

I wrote some postcards, woke up the sleeping beauties, and we headed to Animal Kingdom around quarter to 3.

We drove to Animal Kingdom – passing Blizzard Beach and seeing the lines made Carl glad he had changed his mind! We entered the parking lot and parked right in the front lot next to the taxis (is this a little known secret?). It was a great place to park, anyway. It was very muggy by this time. Many people were leaving the park – yeah – get out of there and let us in!

We walked through the Tree of Life Garden – Chris was in his glory taking lots of flower and flamingo pictures! (I tease him about our last trip to WDW – all he took were flower and bird pictures – you wouldn’t have even known we were in Disney World! He is doing much better this time!)

The Festival of the Lion King was starting at 4:00, so we headed over that way. The directions in this part are not very clear, even with the map. We finally found it, and we were at the end of a very long line. In fact, after we entered, they were not letting any more people in. Finally we were seated in the Elephant section. We all LOVED this production. Through my sweat I got chills. Megan is a gymnast, and so she really enjoyed the monkeys. Even my Mr. Cool son was clapping and singing along. Don’t know which I enjoyed more – Hunchback or Lion King – I guess I will like them both the same!

There was a CM begging people to go into the Bug movie, so we went through the Tree of Life to get there. How cool are those carvings! More pictures!

The movie was good, but Megan was freaked out again. Of course Chris was screaming at the end too! I found the 3-D in this movie to be a bit blurry compared to the other two – thought it might have been my glasses, but the others said the same thing. It was good, but not as good as the Muppets! We asked for directions to Dinoland and headed that way. It began to pour as we went past the boneyard. Our first park rain of the week. Chris and Carl went on Countdown to Extinction. I figured I would go on after them if it were a "keeper". Meg and I sat undercover and she ate some crackers. The rain was really coming down!

After about 20 minutes the rain had stopped and the boys had not yet come out. Hmm – there was no wait – they should be out by now. We thought maybe a dinosaur had gotten them. They finally came out and said the ride had broken down and didn’t know when it would be fixed. Boo hoo – I know Carl was disappointed.

It began to pour again as we headed towards Africa – out came our cheapy K-mart ponchos – they did the trick and we tossed them afterwards. The safari was a walk on and the rain had pretty much stopped again. Our driver was a crazy man from NJ! He was good, even though his grammar wasn’t the best (I am sorry – I’m a teacher and can’t help it!)

We saw TONS of animals. Everywhere we looked there were animals around. We even saw a male and female lion up on the rocks – the driver seemed surprised to see the female that close – he said she never comes this close to the road. After hearing all the stories of waiting in horrible lines and seeing no animals, we felt very fortunate. I think they need to do away with the poacher story though – I think it detracted from the ride. My opinion only.

We took the Falls tour afterwards - I think we were the only ones! We saw the okapi (?) eating a tree right by us! Chris loved all the landscaping – we felt it must have cost Disney a bundle to have all the fully developed plants brought in. What detail! He was in picture taking heaven!

We saw many gorillas, including one male who was flinging his feces at the bridge – lovely! We all stood back! Also saw two younger males sharing a banana.

By now it was 7:00 and we were getting hungry. Carl got a fried chicken dinner to go at Tusker’s, and since we had to wait for them to cook it, we got an extra piece thrown in – cool – Megan’s dinner! The CM also gave both kids a cookie to go.

By this time I was sporting a big blister on my little toe – hope I would make it through E-ticket night tonight!

The rain had cooled things off and AK was virtually empty. We stopped at Pizzafari for Chris and I to eat dinner – 2 pizzas, a Caesar salad, and 2 sodas. I liked the theming of this restaurant – it would have made a great kid’s room!

We left AK at 8 and headed to the MK – it was a pain with the car having to take the shuttle and the monorail – we have gotten spoiled with the buses! We arrived at just about 9 and got our wristbands – the CM said tonight was sold out.

We first went to the Pirates to test Megan’s bravery – she did fine! On our way to Splash Mountain we stopped for autographs and pictures of Minnie, Pluto, and Tigger. There was a 25-minute wait at Sp. Mountain, so we did BTMR with a 10 minute wait. Carl pointed out the nice cold water fountain in the queue area. This ride was very cool at night – we all tried to keep our arms up the entire ride, but I couldn’t without squeezing Carl! Splash Mountain now had a 10 minute wait so we headed back there – we love this ride – I think it is the most "Disney" of all the rides so far. We checked the picture, but a guy had his hands in front of Megan’s face.

Will we ever get a good ride picture? Stay tuned!

We did Haunted Mansion and then walked over to Tomorrowland, buying an ice cream on the way and admiring the changing colors of the castle. Gotta love those details! The 3 of them headed to Astro Orbiters – I don’t do heights, and so I waited this on e out. I need to rest my poor toe anyway and catch up on my notes. Boy that ride is slow loading!

They got off AO and said it was basically lame and not worth the wait.

Back to Splash Mountain which now wasn’t running at all due to a lost

bolt on one of the boats. Boo hoo. So we went on BTMR 2 times in a row.

It was now 11:30 – we saw Goofy and Max on the way back to Pirates. Got their picture and autographs. We were the only riders on Pirates – had the whole boat to ourselves and now Megan liked this ride!

The park was now a ghost town as we exited – now we have seen 3 of the parks with virtually no one in them – nifty stuff!

We monorailed to the tram and on the tram Chris had a horrible feeling he had left the car keys on the monorail – AAHH! But they were in his pocket –big sigh of relief! We got off the tram and Megan decided she couldn’t walk anymore, so she got a shoulder ride to the car. Drove back to DL where I soaked my feet for a minute, and then we were all asleep a little after 1. What a busy but fun day!

Tuesday expenses:

Soda: $2
Laundry:$6
Tusker’s meal: $10.55
Pizzafari: $19.83
Ice cream: $8
Day Five (Wednesday, August 26)

Today we got to sleep in until a little after nine, but the wakeup call still seemed too early! I was so sleepy I actually took Chris’s medicine by accident – whoops! Luckily it was nothing that would hurt me – gotta shake those sleepies before taking a pill!

Chris and Carl went to mail the postcards while I got Megan ready in her Minnie Mouse overalls, shoes, and hat for our breakfast at Chef Mickey’ s. We drove to the Contemporary where the guard was checking reservations at the gate. I guess they are starting to crack down on people who park there for free and then walk to the MK.

We enjoyed the antics of Chef Goofy while waiting to be seated – we only had to wait a few minutes. The food was good – and a nice change from all those Pop-tarts we have been eating. Megan was able to get more autographs for her book and Chris was able to take some more pictures, so it was a good morning! I noticed as we were leaving around 11:30, the restaurant had really cleared out and the characters were spending a lot of time at each table – something to think about for a future visit!

I took the troops up to the California Grill to see if we could look out. They weren’t yet opened, but we were invited in to look around – what a view! The fireworks have to be spectacular from up there. We hopped on the monorail to let the kids see the Grand Floridian. The CM outside the monorail was a bit rude when we asked if we could sit up front. "If there’s room." And when the monorail came with people in the front, we asked if we could wait for the next one. " You can if you want, but it will probably be a while." He wasn’t really in a Disney mood, that’s for sure!

At the Grand Floridian, we walked around a bit, and on the second floor terrace there was a wedding taking place – we got a picture of Mickey and Minnie arriving in their Sunday best! They sure get around fast – we had just seen them in their cooking outfits!

We headed back to the Contemporary to get our car – with a quick detour to the arcade Carl had heard so much about! He loved it. I sat and caught up on my notes. I wasn’t real thrilled with the Contemporary – it seemed a bit cold to me. Can’t beat that convenience though! When we got back to Dixie Landings, the maid had made up a scene on the bed – she had made a pool out of blankets and towels and all the stuffed animals were sliding into it – it was so neat! She definitely made our visit a great one.

Off we went to the Marketplace – we were going to take the boat from Dixie Landings, but one had just left and we didn’t want to wait another 25 minutes for the next one, so we headed toward the car. However, a Downtown Disney bus was just pulling up, so we jumped on it instead. Our first stop was the Art of Disney store – what fabulous things they had there – we made a note to return on Saturday and buy a print for home. I bought "Since the World Began" at the 2R’s store and had it sent to our room – love that feature!

We checked out the Rainforest briefly and then went to the World of Disney – Megan had wanted a princess dress, but after trying them on, she decided against it. Too scratchy! We bought some gifts and I bought myself a Grumpy pin. I even remembered to use my MKC discount. None of us were real impressed with the World of Disney – for the size of the place, it didn’t seem like they had much more than a regular Disney store. Although I did enjoy the watch room. I was hoping they would have a bigger selection of beanies or water globes. Oh well – it still was a neat place.

Carl wanted to see the Lego store, so that was our next stop. After that, we decided to return back to our room, since it was closing in on 5:00. Megan really wanted to take the DL boat, so she and I headed that way while the boys browsed a bit more and took the bus. Meg and I waited about 10 minutes for the boat – what a nice relaxing ride! There was a cool breeze and we got to see the "treehouses" and had our first peek at Port Orleans – very nice! The boat driver said we have enjoyed the nicest weather of the summer this week, thanks to Hurricane Bonnie.

Chris and Carl returned shortly after we did – they said the bus trip home from Downtown Disney was very round a bout. So I guess it’s a good idea to take the boat home if you are staying at DL or PO. Chris took the kids down to the pool for half an hour while I relaxed in the room – giving my poor blistery feet a rest. Chris wanted to go to Alfredo’s tomorrow, so I made PS for lunch with no problems.

We left for the Polynesian about 6:40 – the theming and atmosphere at the Poly was really nice – out of the 3 monorail resorts we have seen so far, this was our favorite. After a brief wait, we were seated at O’Hana’s. The food was delicious – the best tasting meal so far this week! Carl won the coconut race and Megan learned how to hula hoop. Even Chris and I got to hula, captured on videotape for future generations to laugh at!

After dinner we walked down to the beach and got settled just as the fireworks were beginning – super way to end the day! We decided against staying the extra half-hour for the water parade – we were all eager to get back to DL. On the car ride back, we talked about coming back to Disney in a few years – yippee!

Carl and Megan got into bed and were watching TV and Chris and I decided to take a little walk together. Carl is quite responsible, so we didn’t worry about leaving them for a short while. We filled our mugs and briefly looked at Fulton’s store, and then we walked along the river to see Port Orleans up close. It was a nice night, although a little humid. Both of us liked the streets at PO – very realistic looking. We checked out that tongue slide we had heard so much about – the pool was quite crowded. I wouldn’t mind staying there some time, much as I have enjoyed our stay at DL.

On the way back, it was interesting to see the change in landscaping as we left PO and headed toward DL – even the benches changed! Also we observed the difference of the plants on both sides of the river. I think we both just loved all those little details that make WDW so special. The kids were just about asleep when we got back to the room – a nice early night, which we needed after yesterday!

Wednesday expenses:

Maid $2
Chef Mickey Breakfast - $55 w/tax and tip
"Since the World Began" - $23.80
World of Disney souvenirs - $24.33
Dinner at O’Hana’s - $82 w/tax and tip
Valet parking $2
Day Six (Thursday, August 27)

After lots of early mornings this week, we decided to get a later start today since we were planning to spend the day at Epcot and we had seen so much on Sunday. The wake-up call was set for 8:45. Chris woke up a little before this and watched the news for word on the hurricane (seeing if it would affect our flight on Saturday). Then he went alone for a quick dip in the pool.

After breakfast Chez Room 1423, we headed towards the bus stop. My feet were protesting, but I soon taught them who was boss! We arrived at Epcot about 10:30, and decided to rent a stroller to carry the backpack, camera bag, etc. Our shoulders appreciated the break. Of course, once Megan saw the stroller, her feet just refused to walk one more step – that girl will be winning an Academy Award someday!

Our first stop was the Universe of Energy – I was eager to see the changes since our last visit – I remember it being quite boring! The Ellen/Bill Nye/Jeopardy story line is super. I always have liked Ellen’s brand of humor, and it made the ride a good one. The kids liked the way the theater broke apart into ride vehicles – I kind of think it’s neat too! We visited Horizons one more time since it was a walk-on, and Carl liked it so much last Sunday – this time we journeyed through the desert at the end. I think choosing the ending is the best part. Onto the World Showcase where no one else was! We went on the Mexican boat ride and we were the only ones on the whole ride. Carl liked seeing the cliff divers, but otherwise it was nothing special. He had his heart set on getting a sombrero, so we looked around a bit, but since it was getting close to 12:30 and our PS time for Alfredo’s, we planned to come back later.

After hoofing it over to Italy (I love saying stuff like that at Epcot!), we had a bit of a "discussion" over staying due to the prices at lunch and the fact that I was not real hungry. But we did stay and had a nice meal. I ordered off the kid’s menu, and there was no problem at all. I had the kid’s lasagna (which was a pretty big portion!), Carl and Megan had the kid’s fettuccine Alfredo with a side of meatballs, and Chris had the Italian sausage. The kid’s meals came with a dessert of lemon ice which was to die for!

Outside, we saw a Family Fun spot where Megan made "spaghetti and meatballs" and Chris talked to the CM about where his family originated from in Italy.

Onto Germany, where we looked at the toy store and I bought a little Grumpy figure. We wandered through the other shops where we saw the $24,000 Hummel figure. Chris asked the CM if any had ever sold, and she said actually one person had bought 2 of them! Can you imagine having that kind of money? Timon was outside and Megan got a picture and autograph. At China, we saw another CM at a Family Fun spot. Both kids got to color in a dragon, and then she wrote their names in Chinese. She loved Megan’s name – said it was very easy to translate into Chinese, but Carl’s name gave her fits – the "L" sound is not in the Chinese language. She was real nice and Chris and I enjoyed talking to her. The movie was just letting in, so we went right over to see it – our less than 10-minute wait streak was still unbroken! Chris and I remembered and liked this movie form our last visit and were glad to see it again. Megan whined about standing – the stroller was beginning to be a curse! We tried to put her on the rail, but we were reprimanded – bad us! We looked briefly around the museum and then off to Norway, where the Maelstrom was a 5 minute wait. Unfortunately, we felt every moment because there was a nasty case of BO standing in front of us – a good place for a stick-up! The ride itself was good though short. After seeing the movie, Carl said, "That movie didn’t tell much about Norway." I agreed! Next stop – another visit to Mexico where we saw Donald Duck and did another Family Fun activity. Carl decided to skip this one, so he and Chris went off in search of a sombrero, while Megan colored. I wonder why they set these tables up outside – it is so hot, especially when there is no breeze or shade.

In a few minutes, Carl emerged wearing the world’s largest sombrero, and they had also bought a smaller one for Megan. I couldn’t believe he was actually willing to wear that thing around for the rest of the day! Through the heat waves, we managed to get over to Canada. For some reason, we had never seen this movie, and now I know why. We had all sorts of problems finding the entrance, especially with the stroller. Of course, by now you know the trouble we have been having with directions! We found the movie and got right in, but boy, were our feet sore by now. If I were in charge of Epcot, my first move would be to put in swivel chairs at all the Circle Vision movies! I did like the movie, and was humming that song for awhile!

I changed into my sandals to give my blisters some relief, and then it was over to France, because I know you can SIT there! Why can’t all the movies be like this? Air-conditioned, seated, great music, wonderful scenery – I wish this one was longer! Although Chris and Megan fell asleep. Ok – I am done ranting about standing up – it’s just my feet talking.

We stopped to get a soda and we all split a chocolate éclair – yummy! Then we saw Morocco for a moment before heading off to dinner – they had a man contortionist performing – yuck! He was very good though. At 5:30 we headed to the International Gateway to return the stroller and to take the Friendship boat over to the Swan. While we were waiting, the kids were fighting over a cup of ice, and when I went to pick Megan off the ground to stop her tantrum, she scraped her knees. I felt bad – I know we were all tired and grumpy by this time. The boat felt great! We got our first glimpse of the Boardwalk – for some reason it wasn’t as big as I had pictured it.

Gulliver’s was easy to find, and we were immediately seated. I didn’t tell the kids that it was Tigger and Pooh night. Pooh is Megan’s favorite character, and we all love Tigger. They spent a lot of time at our table due to the fact that the restaurant was pretty empty. Carl had the kid’s cheeseburger and a milkshake (which was delivered with about 10 straws attached to one another!), Megan had a hot dog and soda, and Chris and I both had the chicken breast. I asked for mine without mushrooms and it came out dry. Apparently the sauce is made up ahead of time. I put some mustard sauce on it and it was fine. We both had a soda and Chris also had a milkshake. When the bill came, we were laughing – after the coupon, it was $4.22! Even with the tip, it was $15 – cheaper than lunch at Mickey D’s! We caught the boat back to Epcot and finished looking at Morocco and browsed the shops in Japan. Carl was fascinated by the oysters that contained pearls.

We found a good spot for Illuminations and Megan and I held them while the boys ran to Canada for beaver tails – had to try them after hearing about them on RADP! Illuminations was as wonderful as we remembered – what a great show!

When Illuminations was over, we hung around Epcot for about an hour to avoid the rush. Carl was thrilled to find a Rose and Crown yard mug discarded in the bushes – a free souvenir! Megan played in the little fountains for a bit, and Carl discovered the talking water fountain! What a nifty little surprise!

We were also able to see the Dancing Fountain show with no one else around – Chris got it on tape. It was especially good at night with the lights on. We headed to the bus stop at about 10:15.

The bus driver we had was fabulous – he told Disney trivia all the way home. I actually did pretty well! Did you know that the notes over the desk at Port Orleans are from "When the Saints Come Marching In"?

We arrived back at the room and were just too tired to shower – fell right asleep!

Thursday expenses:

Maid $2
Stroller $6 with $1 refund
Alfredo’s lunch - $38
Grumpy figure $3.18
Megan’s sombrero - $6.18
Snack at France - $8.62
Dinner at Gulliver’s $15.22
Beaver tails and drink $8
Day Seven (Friday, August 28)

Today’s wake-up call came at 7:15 – Megan wanted to answer it today, but Carl beat her to it – it’s another crisis! But we got everything under control. After breakfast, where Chris broke from routine and had a bologna sandwich, we caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom. Putting our tickets through the turnstile was bittersweet – it was our last day of going into the parks.

A few months before our vacation I had received a "Special Delivery" package in the mail. I have no idea why I was chosen to get this, but in it was a coupon for a free Family Magic Tour of the Magic Kingdom. How could we refuse a Disney freebie? I am not sure how thrilled Chris was to be doing this, but he was a good sport.

We checked in at guest relations about 9, where we all received Peter Pan nametags. Megan was so happy to have chosen her Tinkerbell shirt to wear today! There were 5 other families touring with us.

Our guide Mike came out and we all introduced ourselves and told where we were from and who our favorite characters were. (For the record, it was Grumpy for me, Tigger for Chris, Donald Duck for Carl and Pooh for Megan.) We actually had a second guide along named Joann. Later we found out that this was Mike’s first tour, and she was along to make sure he didn’t run into any problems.

The tour itself was interesting – the premise was that Peter Pan had stolen Captain Hook’s gold hook, and Hook was tearing apart the Magic Kingdom trying to get it back. We had to follow a series of clues to meet Peter Pan and get back the hook. In our travels we saw Sonny Eclipse – what a cool dude! We also encountered the Mad Hatter (who was a riot with his bit about New Jersey - he had recently bought one due to an unfortunate crochet accident!) As we were walking, Chris and I decided to try to eat lunch at the castle, and then head over to MGM and then to the Boardwalk. At the end of the tour, Peter Pan was not at our rendezvous spot – oh no! He eventually got there, and was very apologetic – apparently he had gotten tied up with the Lost Boys. But the hook was recovered and all was well in the Magic Kingdom – hurrah!

Now came the best part – we walked with him over to his ride where we got right on – some of the kids even got to ride with Peter! And then he asked if we wanted to go on another ride with him – almost in unison we all yelled "Splash Mountain!" There was a posted 90-minute wait, but we went up through the exit and got right on! How cool was that! Megan got to sit next to Peter Pan and Chris, Carl and I got on the same boat as well. This was one picture we were definitely buying!! After Splash Mountain (which Peter assured us Wendy would have loved), off we went to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with its 20-minute wait (but not for us!). I felt just like a celebrity walking with the character and skipping the lines! Carl sat next to Peter this time, and almost got squished by him going around the curves! Peter really had to hold on to his hat! Back to Liberty Square where we went our separate ways, but what great memories! Chris went back to Splash Mountain to order the picture (which turned out super) and the three of us relaxed with a soda.

Last night’s bus driver had told us about a hidden Donald at the Haunted Mansion, so we had to check it out. It was a walk-on, but no luck finding that Duck – oh well, maybe next time!

Megan wanted to meet the princesses, but we found out they are no longer at Toontown – wonder whose bright idea that was? And then we discovered that they are not at the castle at lunchtime either. The CM’s outside the castle said that the fairy godmother was in there, so we had to see her! She was very very sweet – she took down Megan’s name and address and promised to send her a picture of Cinderella. Oh – I hope she does! Megan will just go nuts!

Before leaving the MK, we made PS at the Soundstage for lunch in an hour – figured we could catch some different characters there. We took the DL bus back to the resort and then transferred to the MGM bus – much easier than going to the TTA, I thought.

Lunch at the Soundstage was good – the kid’s buffet was great for Megan, as she usually won’t eat the "grown-up" food. Be sure to check out Genie’s lamp before leaving! We saw Esmerelda, Rafiki, Genie, and Meeko. To rest our tummies, we went over to the Great Movie Ride. I asked for the western side this time. The ride was so slow at this time of the day that we actually waited inside the loading area where they had turned everything off until they had enough people to ride! We sat right in the front seat next to the driver – he flubbed his lines heading into the western section – I guess he thought he was on the gangster side. He was real embarrassed – saying to himself " I can’t believe I did that." He did fine the rest of the ride and I told him so!

Now off to the Tower of Terror – Megan was dying to go again! There was only a 10-minute wait and we ended up riding 4 times in a row! We kept posing for the cameras until we found one we liked! We bought 2 pictures –one with Chris in the seatbelt seat with this look of fear on his face, and one with all 4 of us in the front row with our arms up. We just love this ride!!

We left the park and got boo boo faces – that was the end of the parks for the vacation. We headed back on the bus for DL about 6:30. Megan was crying because we wouldn’t be going on anymore rides. Poor baby.

We changed into our suits and had a nice refreshing swim at Ol’ Man River – it really felt good! Afterwards we got a pizza from the foodcourt and brought it back to the room.

We left for the Boardwalk about 9 – it was drizzling a little bit, but soon stopped. We have sure been lucky with the rain this trip! Chris had the car valet parked and in we went. Very nice – nothing like the Atlantic City I know! Carl wants to stay here sometime.

We walked a bit and got to ESPN when I started to feel really lousy – all chilled and achy. I figured I was just over tired from the day and maybe was coming down with a cold, so I asked Chris if we could cut this short and just head back to our room. By this time I was hurting all over and feeling sick to my stomach. I was so glad that if I was getting ill, it was the end of our vacation.

I went right to bed when we got back to our room – I guess everyone else did too!

Friday expenses:

Splash Mountain picture - $10.55
2 Tower of Terror pictures - $21.10
5 sodas - $10
Lunch at Soundstage (with tax and tip) $55
Pizza $15.11
Maid $2
Valet parking $2
Day Eight (Saturday, August 29)

I can’t believe this is the day we go home! I had been up most of the night feeling totally lousy. We woke up about 9, and Chris took the kids to the pool so I could get some more rest (what a guy!). I checked the door for our express checkout, but nothing was there.

We managed to pack everything and left the room around 10:50. The line at checkout was HUGE! I walked over to Guest Relations and asked them why I didn’t receive the express checkout. He checked the computer and we were not down for this service. He asked if a certain woman had checked us in, and after describing her, it had been. Apparently this had happened before with her. He said he would let a manager know, and then proceeded to print out our bill. Painless!

We drove over to the Marketplace and I again began to feel awful. I was absolutely freezing in the World of Disney. We purchased 2 pins, a small water globe, a glass, and a little Piglet figure. The rest of them were hungry so we walked to the very crowded McDonald’s. I just had a soda and actually dozed off at the table while they were eating. So if you were there on August 29th and saw the goofy lady asleep at her table – it was me! It was around this time that Megan noticed a red spot on my right leg, but I didn’t really worry about it.

With a few stops along the way, we made it to the Art of Disney where we bought a print of Tinkerbell for our yet-to-be-built family room addition. It was the one picture that Chris and I could both agree on. It was now off to see the Yacht and Beach Club. On the way we drove into Caribbean Beach to see what it looked like – interesting colors! And very large as well. I didn’t feel like getting out of the car, so we just drove around a bit.

We parked at the Yacht Club and went into the lobby. A very nice CM named Jason offered to take a family picture of us in front of the steering wheel (by now I think we were on the 16th roll of film, and we had very few of all of us together). We took a bathroom break, and we were all duly impressed with the cloth towels to dry our hands! Very fancy! Carl was eager to see what the "Kitchen Sink" looked like, so off to Beaches and Cream. He drooled over the pool on the way by as well. I think he would like to stay here next time!

We were seated right away at Beaches and Cream, where Megan ordered the small (!) sundae, Chris got the No Way Jose, and Carl thought he would get the kitchen sink, but I talked him out of it. He got the Mud Slide instead. He and Chris asked to see the kitchen sink bowl, which our waitress was happy to show them. Very impressive! I just got some chicken noodle soup, since I hadn’t eaten all day.

Megan didn’t like the marshmallow sauce on her sundae, so the waitress gave her a cone to put the ice cream in – this she ate right up! I helped Chris finish his sundae, while Carl hardly made a dent in his!

We sat in the lobby at the Yacht Club for a few minutes, and then decided it was time to head towards the airport. As much as I loved our vacation, I was looking forward to lying down on my own bed – I hoped I would make it the rest of the day. My face was burning up and my leg thingy was starting to spread.

Our plane was an hour late taking off. I got a blanket from the stewardess and pretty much slept the whole way home. We walked in our house about midnight. Home sweet home! Megan and I went right to bed, while Chris and Carl ran out to get milk and orange juice and tacos. Vacation’s over.

Saturday expenses:

World of Disney - $30.23 with MKC discount
McDonald’s lunch - $16.53
Art of Disney $23 with MKC discount
Beaches and Cream $22 with tax and tip
Final Comments

Are you dying to know what was wrong with me? I woke up Sunday morning with a 104 fever and my whole leg was swollen. The doctor wanted to see me right away – turns out I had cellulitus – a skin infection. Some little germ got in through one of my blisters, no doubt. Anyway, I was ordered to stay off my leg for a week and put on antibiotics. So my vacation continued for another week, although I would have much preferred being healthy! At least it gave me a chance to put this trip report together, although by now you are probably glad it is finally over!

Anyway – here are some final thoughts:

Favorite Ride:

Chris- Tower of Terror
Gretchen – Tower of Terror / Splash Mountain
Carl – Tower of Terror / Horizons
Megan – Tower of Terror / Splash Mountain
Favorite Show:

Chris – It’s Tough to be a Bug
Gretchen – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Carl – It’s Tough to be a Bug
Megan – Muppet Vision 3-D
Favorite Meal:

Chris, Gretchen, and Carl – O’hana’s
Megan – 50’s Prime Time Café
Other Thoughts:

We never did Early Entry, and we were able to do everything we had planned. Getting up at 7 on vacation was early enough, thank you! Maybe if the parks had been more crowded, we would have taken advantage of this. For the most part, we did each park on the day after Early Entry, and it seemed to work out great.
Was E-ticket night worth it? It was neat to be in the MK late at night, but we actually encountered more lines here than we did during the day. Plus the fact that Splash Mountain stopped running didn’t help. I don’t know if I would do it again.
The days we took an afternoon break kept us from getting as grumpy –although Carl and I never slept, we did manage to relax a bit while Chris and Megan napped. If the parks had been open later, we probably would have done this everyday.
Eat in the room and save lots of time and money! We never did get charged for the refrigerator, and it was so convenient to not have to go out every morning.
Use the Disney transportation! Even though we used the car to get to other resorts, it was so nice to be able to take the bus without worrying about parking and all. But I was glad we had the car – it made it much easier to get to our dinners at other resorts.
Take advantage of the kid’s meals. Carl is almost 12 and has a big appetite and they were enough for him. The one day I ordered the kid’s meal it was plenty for me. Thankfully Carl still counted as a child at the buffet and pre-plated restaurants – I even brought his birth certificate to prove he was under 12 (though I never needed it). Next time we go he will be considered an adult for these meals.
Let the kids have their own spending money. Our kids contributed money towards our Disney account, and we exchanged it for Disney Dollars. They never once bugged us to buy them things – when it was their own money they re-thought some purchases, and ended up with great souvenirs.
The rides are great, but make sure you take advantage of the other things that make Disney so special. We loved all those little Disney details! Next time we want to do more Hidden Mickey searches!
Remember all the fun family memories that you will have for a lifetime.
I will always remember: dancing down Main St. arm in arm; trying to get the best poses for the ride photos; and making up words to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride when all we knew was Yoho, yoho a pirate’s life for me! (Some misconstrued lyrics include "We wiggle, we wobble, we fribble, we frobble – something something Yo Ho!"
Well – I guess I am done – hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. I am so glad to have all our memories written down to reminisce about in the future!

Gretchen Valianti

TwoZNuf@prodigy.net

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