Trip Reports

Trip Report, WDW December 16-23

Cast:
Amy (me), 24, 5th trip to WDW, recent Disney lover
Jason (my fiancé) 25; 20th trip to WDW
Peggy (Jason’s mother) 52; 20th trip to WDW
Grant (Jason’s brother) 21; 18th trip to WDW
Resort: Contemporary
Trip Planning: The only planning we had done before the trip was reservations for tours and P.S. for most of out meals.
DAY 1: Thursday, December 16

Wake up this morning was at 4:30 AM (ugh) for Jason and me, as our flight left for Orlando at 7:15 AM from Dulles. Surprisingly, I got up on time and wasn’t too tired after only about 4 hours of sleep due to last minute planning and packing. We picked up a quick breakfast of bagels and doughnuts from Dunkin’ Donuts and went onto Dulles airport. Our flight was on time and the plane ride was smooth. We arrived in Orlando about 9:45 A.M.

We used Tiffany Towncar for transport to WDW based on comments from the RADP newsgroup and info on Deb’s site. They were great. Our driver, Mohammed, had a sign with our name at the airport to meet us. The ride was nice as we chatted with Mohammed about all the new housing developments we saw and the price of gas. The only slight problem we had was when we came to the main entrance to the Magic Kingdom and the cast member asked for our reservation (it was in our luggage in the trunk) but she let us through without looking at it. Mohammed called her a rookie and said they usually don’t ask to see it. Peggy and Grant took Tiffany Town Car later that day and were also asked to see the reservations but they had theirs with them.

We arrived at the Contemporary and checked our luggage expecting not to have our room until later in the day. The weather was cool this day so I wore a light long sleeve shirt, a jacket, and jeans. Check in was quick and well and we found out that one of the 3 rooms was already ready for us then at 11 AM. We had 3 rooms (Jason and me, Peggy, and Grant and his friend J.D. who came later today) We got what we requested, rooms as high up as possible on the Magic Kingdom side. We got our length of stay passes. This year we had no problem with them as room keys or entering the parks as we did last year.

The rooms and view are great! Jason never wants to stay at another Disney resort, just the Contemporary. It was a nice change from staying at All Star Sports last year. The Contemporary is very convenient to everything. And the view of the MK! I cannot say enough of about the view! Our room # was 4730 and first I was confused about the 47 since we were on the 11th floor but we figured out later that it must be because 4+7 equals 11? Neat idea. The decor is bright but nice. I loved the shapes of the couch and chair and found the “hidden Mickeys” in the pattern of the couch, bedspread and the shower curtain, well, I don’t know if they were supposed to be Mickeys in the shower curtain but it looks like it!

We went to the back of the resort to look at the pool. I didn’t realize until this trip how many topiaries of Disney characters that are around WDW as there are a lot in the back of the Contemporary. The pool was nice but we never ended up going to it during the trip. The butterfly house is a miniature replica of the Contemporary which is neat!

We then looked briefly at the shops in the hotel and then took the monorail to the MK. I love going to MK the first day since it was the first park built in WDW and is also my favorite park. The first ride we went on was Buzz Lightyear with a less than 5 minute wait. Almost every other time throughout the trip that we passed it the wait was almost always 30+ minutes. The first cast member we meet is Matthew, who I saw is from Butler, PA which is very close to where I grew up so we briefly spoke with him. Back to the ride, we really like Buzz Lightyear. I am not too good with hitting the targets though! Jason is much better than me! Next we rode the Tomorrowland Transit authority, or WEDway People-Mover, which was what it was called my first trip to WDW and the name we still will always call it. We like the nice relaxing ride through Tomorrowland. I especially liked seeing the model of Progress City, which I don’t remember from our trip last year, as I only got really interested in the history of WDW and Walt during this past year. We also took note of no line at Space Mountain for that time of the afternoon, 1 o’clock, I think.

We wanted to go on the new Pooh ride next but saw that the line was 20 minutes and decided to have lunch first. Little did we know that that was the shortest we ever saw the line for Pooh throughout the trip. On the way to Pooh, we saw one of the talking trash cans. There were a lot of kids around it. I thought one of the funniest questions a kid asked it was how long have you been this way? The answer was that he had been a trash can for 3 years and his name was Push. Jason told me a funny story about him and his brother and the talking trash can from years ago. His brother was wearing a sailor type had and the trash can asked him what he was doing wearing that Gilligan hat. Jason then gave the hat to the trash can and the trash can said thank you and rolled away and they never got the hat back! Anyway, instead of going on Pooh next we went to the Plaza Pavilion for lunch. I’m not really a big fan of Disney fast food. We both got the pizza and breadsticks. It was ok, but not too great. After lunch we decided to wait in the 20 minute line for Pooh. I really like the new ride! I like the colors, the scenery, and story. The Tigger bouncing part and the rainy day were the best parts. I did smell the honey smell, only very strong when exiting the store. To me it really didn’t smell bad at all.

After Pooh, we headed to the Haunted Mansion and walked right on. A Disney classic and one of my favorite rides at the MK. It’s amazing the details in that ride I had not noticed before. I had never looked up in the pre-show room after the lights go out and this is the first time I saw the hanging body. I can’t believe I never noticed that before! Next we did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which for some reason I had never done before. It was ok but I still like Space Mountain better as a coaster ride. It was almost 3 and I wanted to see the parade. We headed over to Liberty Square and decided to get something sweet from Sleepy Hollow so we got the apple cobbler with ice cream which was very good. We watched the Magical Moments parade from this location. I really liked the parade. I don’t know why, but the parades in the parks are one of my favorite activities in WDW.

Next we went over to the Jungle Cruise. We had a good tour guide, J.C. I think your enjoyment of the cruise depends a lot on your tour guide. Last year wasn’t so great but our first Jungle Cruise this year was good. We walked towards Main Street and stopped in the Town Hall Exposition center. We had our picture taken at a kiosk and emailed it some friends. The rest of the trip every time we went in there, those kiosks were shut down for repair, I think.

After this we decided to head back to the Contemporary to see if Jason’s mother Peggy and his brother Grant had arrived yet. They were flying in from Allentown, PA and were supposed to be arriving at the hotel around 3. So we took the monorail back and as we were getting off we saw Grant getting on so we yelled to him and so we got back on the monorail to the MK! Grant told us on their flight they had a high school choir who were going to be in the Candlelight Processional and sang songs towards the end of the flight. Back at the park, we rode Space Mountain. I really like Space Mountain, the sense of not knowing where you’re going, the darkness and cool lighting.

The park was closing early that day for the Christmas party so we headed back to the hotel to watch the fireworks at 6 from our room. We watched them from the balcony in Peggy’s room. It was really neat to see where the fireworks are launched from, somewhere behind the park and watch the changing colors of the castle.

We had a 7 P.S. for 1900 Park Faire but decided to go right after the fireworks and see if we could get seated early. This was my first time to see the inside of the Grand Floridian and it is really nice! It also smells so good-I think this is one of my favorite smells of Disney! I love its Victorian style, design, and the soft pastel colors. We ended waiting about 20 minutes but still got in before our P.S. time. The buffet was really good. I had heard about cold strawberry soup before but I didn’t realize it was at this buffet. I like strawberries but it still seemed weird to try but I shared some with Jason and it was really good. We had Cinderella, Belle, and the mice from Cinderella stop at our table and had our picture taken with the Beast on the way out.

We were all tired so just decided to go back to the room for the night. I ended up watching Frasier and ER. We were surprised to hear fireworks again at 10PM, but I guess they were for the Christmas party. They were even better than the first since they came out from 5 different places and we could see where they launched the ones from the lagoon. Went to sleep at 11 to get rested for our first full day in the World.

DAY 2: Friday, December 17

We actually got up at 6:30 this morning so we could arrive for early open at EPCOT. We agreed the night before to meet Peggy and Grant later that day in EPCOT. Jason and I were at the Ticket and Transportation Center by 7:45. As we were switching monorails, we saw Grant and his friend, J.D., who had arrived from California late the night before.

I really like the 2000 logo on Spaceship Earth. It looks better in real life than in the pictures I had seen before the trip. I didn’t realize how the numbers were “flowing” and all the other points on the ball. Leave a Legacy, ugh. It really ruins the view of EPCOT.

Our first stop was Test Track. Jason and Grant had ridden it during soft opening and waited in line for 2 hours last year which I wasn’t willing to do this was my first ride on it. The waiting area looked nice and interesting but we didn’t have any wait. I really liked the ride except that my hair kept getting in my face. I made a mental note that the next time I rode it I would pull my hair back in a ponytail. I especially liked the 60 mph curve at the end. We played with games at the end and practiced out driving skills and I “ran over” quite a few things. As much as I do like Test Track, I miss the old World of Motion. I loved when EPCOT had the 3 rides, that, Horizons and Spaceship Earth and now it’s down to one. The Horizons building is so big and seems so strange that it is closed.

Next we went to the Wonders of Life pavilion and walked right on Body Wars. I hadn’t ridden this since right after it first opened and I remember not liking it too much. Actually, I liked it a lot better this time. We then played with some of the activities in the pavilion. I rode the stationery bike through a miniature world and Disneyland. Got my exercise for that morning, as if I wasn’t going to get enough exercise from walking in the parks all day! Also took the little Snoopy health quiz and found out that I am not doing too bad. I made my very first pin trade with a Cast Member in this pavilion. We left the pavilion without Grant and J.D. and went and played around in Innoventions for a while. Not suprisingly, a little while later we found Grant and J.D. playing the Sega games.

Jason and I went to have a quick breakfast at the Fountainview Bakery. I got a fruit tulip which was really good and Jason got a fruit croissant which also looked good. We next went to Ice Station Cool. I really like the watermelon drink from China and Jason really likes the drink from Japan.

Next we met Peggy, Grant and J.D. at The Land. We went on Listen to the Land. I always like to hear about how they grow their fruits and vegetables and it always especially makes me hungry for their vegetables. Next we all went to Journey Into Your Imagination. We had read all the comments and heard all the terrible things about the ride. I really don’t remember the original ride that much since it had been so long since I had been on it. Well, we were not too impressed with the new ride. It’s ok for one time but I wasn’t clamoring to go back on. The only part I liked was the train part and how it looked at the very end. There weren’t too many things to do in the Imageworks after the ride either. We headed next to Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. I always enjoy the 3D movies.

Next, we headed over to the Millennium Village. I heard a lot of people comment that it had a convention center feel, but it really didn’t feel that way to me. We forgot to look at the bathrooms which I hear are huge!

There wasn’t really much to see at Brazil so we really didn’t even stop. Jason and I stopped and played miniature golf in Scotland and learned a little about famous Scots. Some of the golf holes were hard!

We glanced at the other countries on the way to The Gift of Cuisine since we were hungry. Grant and J.D. had gone off somewhere so it was just Peggy, Jason and me. I got the pulled pork sandwich from the Pacific Rim and the chystantheum ice tea. The pork was very juicy and good and the ice tea was very, very sweet. Peggy got the shrimp and pineapple from the Pacific Rim. It was pretty bland with not much of a taste. Jason got the Nicaguaran flank steak sandwich, coconut pie and the guarina (I think that’s what it was) soft drink. The steak just tasted like steak to me, nothing special. The pie was sweet but good and the soft drink was good too.

Jason and I headed back to Saudi Arabia. We watched a little bit of the video and looked at different Saudi webpages. We watched the little exhibit about the history of Saudi Arabia. The fountain in the tent was neat where you shine light on the words in the fountain in the Arabic changes to English and vice versa. I also had my name written in Arabic by a CM.

Next we went through the eggs of Sweden, each representing one of the 4 seasons. I thought the eggs were pretty neat. We also looked at the wall of Swedish people and looked at some of the videos. Overall, I liked the Swedish exhibit as one of my favorites.

Next we went to Israel to go on the Journey to Jerusalem ride. The ride was ok as a quick introduction to Israel. We played at The Gift of Renewability, which Jason really liked. We walked through the World Marketplace and stopped to play the World Culture Game. I was Marbles and Jason was Horseshoes. I got the first question correct in the quickest time so I got to spin the wheel. The game was fun and Jason ended up in first place and I was in second. Overall, I had a good impression of the Millennium Village. I think you can learn a lot depending on how much time you choose to spend it each country or area. We spent time at a few places and I think it was worth it.

When we left the village we noticed that it was wet outside and was sprinkling a little. We headed to the United Kingdom because I wanted to try to fish and chips from Harry Ramsden. Just as we got the food it really started to rain heavily. We didn’t have an umbrella or raincoat. We ate under a little overhang of the Tea Caddy and listened to the start of the British Invasion concert. It was still raining hard when we were done eating but we decided to head out. This was the beginning of the two day deluge and the sea of yellow ponchos.

We went back to Innoventions and hung out there for a while where it was dry and played with some of the computers exhibits. We went over to the Electric Umbrella and saw cute little dioramas from Mickey’s Christmas Carol. We also saw photographs from a photography contest which was gone later in the trip.

We decided to ride Spaceship Earth before leaving the park. The Spaceship Earth ride is always so relaxing to me, to sit and watch and listen-like Horizons and World of Motion was. We looked a little bit at the exhibits at the end of the ride.

We went back to the Contemporary to dry off to get ready to go to the Hoop-de-Doo for 7:30. We met Peggy back in the room and took the boat over to Pioneer Hall at Fort Wilderness. We met Grant and J.D. there.

Jason and his family have done the Hoop-de-Doo almost every year but this was my first time there. We were surprised by our table-the table on the left, right next to the stage! The food was really good! Chicken (mmm-very good), ribs, baked beans, corn, bread, salad and delicious strawberry shortcake. The salad came in a big bowl pre-mixed with salad dressing. I don’t like salad dressing so I asked if I could have a salad without dressing. I expected a plate of salad but she gave me a whole bowl of salad half the size of the bowl with dressing, which was nice. I like the show-funny and entertaining. Six Bits was my favorite character. We all really enjoyed the show and food. Rested for the rest of the night and went to sleep at 11 again.

DAY 3: Saturday, December 18

We started out the day with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at 7:15 without any P.S. and got in right away. I like their buffet especially the great selection of different kinds of fruit. I also liked the gingerbread house display there especially the furniture in the houses which is also made out of cookie and candy. We bought an umbrella at the hotel, and of course as soon as we bought it, it stopped raining but was still rather cool.

Peggy, Jason and I went to the MK together and rode in the cab of the monorail, which I had never done before. It was neat to see where you’re going. We went on Buzz Lightyear again. I don’t think my gun was working. We were stopped in the first room and I kept hitting targets but my points didn’t change from 0 while Jason’s was going higher and higher. All of a sudden I looked and had 5000 points before we started again but that was my final score! I don’t think I could have done that bad so I think there was something wrong there.

We next went on Fantasyland rides, Snow White, Peter Pan and it’s a small world. Snow White always reminds me of the old dark rides in the older amusement parks that opened in the beginning of the century. Peter Pan is always a classic although I think I like Pooh better now. I do like it’s a small world and really don’t find the song too annoying. Next, our second trip to the Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise (tour guide Amanda was good) No lines on any of these rides. By the time we got to the Jungle Cruise it was raining again so the umbrella was useful. We next went to the Tiki room. This was only my second time there. I can’t believe I never saw the original on any of my previous trips. Next we rode the Pirates of the Caribbean which is always good too. I love how it makes you feel that you are outdoors.

Next we went to the Plaza Restaurant for a 11:20 P.S. There, we met Bruce Metcalf (Zazu) and his wife Marta for lunch. I had never been to the restaurant before and Jason thought I was just talking about the ice cream parlor when I mentioned it. It is a really nice place for lunch though. I had the raspberry ice tea, tuna salad sandwich and cookies and cream hot fudge sundae for dessert. We all really enjoyed meeting with Bruce and Marta. Bruce is a walking encyclopedia of Disney history and trivia. He knew answers to all our questions, even my strange question about what kind of ketchup is used at WDW. We had pleasant and interesting conversation over lunch. Jason and I looked on Deb’s site before the trip at overlooked attractions and we think lunch with Bruce should be added if you want pleasant conversation and answers to all your Disney questions.

By the time we finished with lunch, it was raining heavily again as we walked down Main Street. We took some pictures in the train station and Bruce explained to us the meaning of the names of the stations on the board. We went over to the Town Exposition Center next and just happened to find Grant and J.D. there too. We talked some more with Bruce and Marta about possible future Disney attractions among other things. Peggy, Jason, Grant, J.D. and I were supposed to go on the Keys to the Kingdom tour that afternoon but we decided to try to change it since it was so rainy and the tour was a lot of walking outside. We got it switched to the next day. We said good-bye to Bruce and Marta and told Bruce we’d see him on the train sometime that week.

Jason, J.D. and I decided to head over to MGM for the rest of the day. The monorail was down so we decided to take a bus there. We took a bus to the Yacht and Beach Club. From there, we took the boat over to MGM. MGM, for some reason, was very crowded that day while MK was not too crowded. We headed to the Rock and Roller Coaster and decided to get a fast pass for it. The fast pass machine must have not been working because they just handed out the tickets after they saw our cards. Since we weren’t in the system, we headed over to Tower of Terror to get a fast pass for that too.

While waiting for our fast pass times to come, we went to Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey. I don’t know what I was expecting but I liked the 3D sound show. After the show, we headed towards our fast pass rides and used our fast pass on Tower of Terror.

The fast pass took right inside the hotel. Some people cut in line in front of us from the regular line not realizing that they’d have to show fast passes inside too;they jumped out of line when they saw fast passes were being collected and had to go back to the end of the line. They changed TOT since we were there last year and added more drops. All the drops are great I just love this ride! It is one of my top 3 favorite rides in WDW. The only bad part of the ride was that we had a bunch of noisy teenagers and could barely hear any of the narration or music.

We headed next to the RnRC but our fast pass time hadn’t come yet so we just decided to get in the regular line which turned out to be probably a 15 minute wait at the most. I liked the pre-show and theming of the ride. I didn’t like that you waited outside for most of the time with no themeing and then passed up most of the themed parts in the inside. Now, I like roller coasters but not all of them. I loved the loop and the idea of going fast in the dark and not knowing where you are going like in Space Mountain. I didn’t like the corkscrews though. I didn’t know what they were at first and never realized until then I never rode a coaster with corkscrews although I have ridden a lot of coasters. We went on the ride again, this time using the fast pass. Twice in a row was enough for me at this ride.

Next we headed back to TOT. We rode it again without fast pass with a longer wait, probably 10 minutes more. In general, I like the fast pass system. I didn’t know if I’d like it but I think it’s a good idea and works well if people know how to use it.

Jason and I had P.S. at the castle at 6:45 with Peggy so we decided to head back there and J.D. decided to head back to the hotel. We waited for a really long time for the TTC/Contemporary bus to come. All-Stars, Carib Beach, GF-all had 2 or 3 busses before ours finally came! I don’t know what the hold up was.

We made it back to the castle and MK just in time. We had to wait about 15 minutes in the castle before our name was called. I had never been inside before so it was neat to see. Unfortunately, though, we didn’t get to sit by the window. I got the coconut shrimp with cold pasta and some kind of banana sauce. The shrimp was really good but not too coconutty-just sweet. Jason got the same thing and Peggy got prime rib. We all shared a piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert which was good.

We were supposed to meet Grant and J.D. at the castle at 8 but couldn’t find them. We saw the very end of the 7:30 Main Street Electrical Parade while we were waiting for them. The rain had stopped though and it was cool and windy. We looked up to the east for the possible launch of the space shuttle (it was supposed to launch Thursday night and we had looked every night) but it didn’t happen that night.

We found Grant and J.D. and waited 20 minutes to go on Pooh again. The first time on the ride I forgot about Mr. Toad being in Owl’s house. I remembered to look this time, but didn’t see him. Another odd thing, I had never rode Mr. Toad when it was there 3 previous times when I went! What was I thinking not riding all these rides before! We then went to Tommorrowland and the Peoplemover again.

Then we got a seat on the curb on the hub right by the entrance to Tomorrowland to see the MSEP. I have never seen the parade before but have heard the music before. I loved it! I love the Baroque Hoe-down with the floats. I love how each float has its own music too. The little bugs are so cute! The parade is the best!

We all split up after the parade and Peggy and I ended up at the candy shop on Main Street. I loved the Mickey chocolate covered pretzels and I got one with mint chips on it and a cherry truffle. Peggy got some chocolate fudge. I love candy shops. We walked back to the Contemporary. I was tired and cold so I took a nice long bath which felt so good. Went to sleep around midnight.

DAY 4: Sunday, December 19

Peggy, Jason and I started out the day with at 8:50 P.S. at Hollywood and Vine for breakfast at MGM. I loved the art deco decor of the diner. I especially liked Minnie’s pink and silver dress. Their buffet was pretty good especially the chocolate French toast and potatoes. After breakfast we went to the Muppets 4-D show. I forgot how much I like the Muppets and how entertaining they are. I miss the old Muppet show on TV. Next we saw Doug Live, which the whole theater was full. It was a good show. I enjoy watching Doug on TV so it was neat to see in a different format.

After the show, we headed over to the MK again so we’d be there in time for the 1:30 Keys to the Kingdom tour. Weatherwise, it was a beautiful sunny and blue skied day and the first day I could actually wear shorts and short sleeves and not be cold. The three of us split up for quick lunches. I decided to walk up Main Street and just get French fries and an iced tea from Casey’s and sit on the hub by the castle and people watch and just appreciate being in the MK. We met at 1:30 at City Hall for the tour. We didn’t realize how long the tour was going to be and had to cancel our P.S. for Fantasmic that night. We already had canceled our P.S. for Sci-Fi Cafe for lunch. Besides and 5 of us and our tour guide, there were 15 on the tour. Our tour guide was John who was from Paris, France.

He first told us about the 4 tenets of WDW-courtesy, safety, show and efficiency and gave examples. We then walked up Main Street and stopped at the first street off to the side and John told us about the making of Main Street and various things about the imagineers names as businesses in the window. He told us about one window that said M.T. Lot, which was a fictitious company name when they were buying the land for WDW. I looked for that window but never saw it. He also told us about the 7/8 perspective which I knew about.

We walked towards Tommorrowland and stopped by the entrance to TL while he talked a little bit about the theming there. He referred to the castle as a visual magnet (our other tour guide in our later tour in EPCOT referred to it as the term I was familiar with, weanie) We stopped and sat at the theater in TL for about 30 minutes as John talked to us about how Walt bought the land for the park cheaply and the interest about building a Disneyland East, problems at DL in the early days, and Walt’s vision of EPCOT. The talk was interesting but it was hot at the theater so I listened with my eyes closed.

Next we rode the Peoplemover-3rd time for us! We took a short break and I got a fruit smoothie from Auntie Gravity’s. From there, we went around the path on the right side of the castle to Fantasyland. We hardly ever go that way to the castle. I saw Belle’s Storytelling Garden on the side of the castle that Bruce told us about that we never knew existed. We also saw Cinderella’s wishing well which I didn’t know about either.

We stopped by the castle and John told us how they were permitted to build a fiberglass castle in Florida and about how WDW is in 2 different counties and has its own governing authority, which I didn’t know about before.

Next we headed backstage for the first time, through a shop in Fantasyland. John explained about how he could say different things on and off stage. He said a frequently asked question is what is the wire for in front of the castle. On stage, he says that when Cinderella isn’t greeting people at the restaurant or doing other royal duties, she enjoys watching TV, especially the Disney channel, so the castle had to be hooked up for cable. Off stage, John said he could tell us that the wire is to make sure Tinkerbell flies right for the fireworks.

We went into the famed Utilidors and John told us about backstage Disney. We heard a loud rumble in the pipes above us and John told us it was ice flowing through the pipes to clean them out cause garbage flows through the pipes. He dispelled the Disney urban legend that there is a tube under each trash can in the park that sucks the garbage away; I guess I still thought this was partly true. He told us about the different types of Disney employees and their benefits. The Utilidor seemed particularly busy. I don’t know if it’s always like that or because it was right after the end of the 3 o’clock parade.

We next went to costuming and learned how each CM gets a costume with a barcode every day and how they have to return them. We learned about the massive amount of laundry that Disney does each day, I can’t remember the exact number now but it was many, many tons. We went into cosmetology and learned how CM’s must learn to apply their own makeup if they need it and how the wigs are styled.

We next came back on stage and started walking towards Liberty Square. John explained about the architecture of Liberty Square and how some things were made to look old. We also learned that the Liberty Bell is an exact replica of the real one but without the crack. We then had a 30 minute break. We went to Columbia Harbor House to get a quick bite to eat. I shared chicken strips and fries with Peggy.

We reconvened and went over to the Haunted Mansion. John explained about the theming of the attraction and the recent addition of a pet cemetery, which I didn’t know about. He told us about Madame Leota and how the small lady at the end of the ride is voiced by “Leota’s daughter. He also told us to look for Hidden Mickey in the ballroom scene. We went up to the exit side of the attraction and went in a door marked Servant’s Quarters which I never noticed before. The small hallway was themed with the rest of the mansion which is neat for a place that mainly CM s see and use. From there, we were led straight into the room before the “growing room." I found the Hidden Mickey easily and it seemed so obvious I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.

From the HM, we headed towards Frontierland and John explained about the gradual change from the HM to Frontierland in the style and architecture of the buildings, from New England to the wild west.

We went backstage again near Splash Mountain. I recognized the area backstage and then saw the big Disney Magic Music Days logo on a building. Twice in high school, we marched in the parade and that’s the back stage area we saw. We walked into the large storage area of parade floats. The coolest things to see there were the MSEP floats! They were testing out the lights and music on the Peter Pan ship float when were there which was neat but wasn’t good for hearing John with the loud music and also the cannon. We saw where the driver sits in that float and also saw the driver’s view in one of the cute little bugs, which also included a fire extinguisher. John told us some about the history of the MSEP parade and how it left WDW and toured the other parks. He also told us about how they sold the bulbs from the original parade so when these floats came back to the MK this year they had to be reworked. I was a little confused here and Jason didn’t think that was accurate but I’m not sure. Another interesting thing in this part of the tour was the different colored pavement right before entering the park on the parade route. From the change in color of the pavement, that section is considered on stage and CM s must act accordingly since that line is the furthermost out that guests from the top of Splash Mountain if looking that way can see.

We came back into the park and John talked while we sat on a bench by Pirates of the Caribbean. He told us about how Walt became interested in audio-animitronics and a little bit of how they work. He gave of a choice of going on the attraction but the line was 30-40 minutes and we didn’t get any special privileges here. We all opted not to go on the ride. John told us about a Hidden Mickey in the last scene that can be seen for one moment in certain light. Oh, he also told us about a Hidden Mickey that can be seen in the clouds at Splash Mountain but he had never seen that one himself yet.

We next walked through Adventureland towards the castle. A few closing comments from John and that was the end of the tour. It was interesting and I highly recommend this tour. I had no problem understanding John’s accent except for a few words but then understood them in their context. I had no problem hearing him but I guess some others did especially when we were in the theater in Tomorrowland with the loud music, but I was in the front row there.

After the tour, Jason and I decided to see if we could find Bruce on the railroad since he said he would be working that night. We went up to the Main Street station intending to ask a CM where Bruce was working. A train was in the station and the first CM we saw was Bruce! I guess we were just lucky! We rode with Bruce on the very back of the train which was neat. We heard him give his little spiel and rode as far as Toontown where he got off for his rotation there. Jason and I walked around a little in Toontown and went on Donald’s boat which we didn’t see last year.

We then left the park back for the Contemporary to meet up with everyone else to see what we were going to do for the rest of the night. We turned on the TV and saw that the shuttle was scheduled to launch that night in about 15 minutes. It had been a clear day and night so it looked as if it was going to happen. We decided to go up to the lookouts on the 15th floor of the Contemporary. A lot of other people had the same idea. Suprisingly, the shuttle launch happened right on time! It was neat to see the bright orange streak go up and we watched it until it looked like just another star. Jason and his family were at Disney playing miniature golf and saw the Challenger explosion. They were also in the MK that day and said it was strangely quiet.

After the launch, Jason, J.D. and I decided to go to Downtown Disney. We had a great bus driver, Mark, who constantly told jokes and asked us Disney trivia questions.

We went to DisneyQuest first, which Jason and I hadn’t been to before but J.D. had been with Grant earlier in the trip. The place was pretty empty. We first did the a Virtual Jungle Cruise where you’re in a raft and paddle through a scene. It was kinda neat. We next did Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride which is a virtual reality type game. You saw the other 3 players with you and there were different routes to take through the Cave of Wonders but I exactly wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing. We all saw something different. J.D. and I saw Jafar but Jason found Jasmine. It would be neat to further explore the game.

We next went to create your own cybercoaster. We had fun designing a coaster but decided not to ride it because the line for the simulator was too long. That was about all I really wanted to do there. We went into a room with a bunch of video games that really didn’t interest me. On another floor we found the old cool video games like Q-bert and Donkey Kong. I don’t think I saw my favorite, Frogger, though. I played Ms. Pacman for a little bit. Earlier in the day, after the tour my left leg started to really hurt me and felt a little numb and I think I pulled a muscle. It was really hurting then so when we found the Wonderland Cafe I said I’d sit there for a little while while Jason and J.D. further explored. I liked the comfy feel of the Cafe. Each booth had a computer where you could surf the net so while the boys explored I checked my e-mail.

Next we decided to go to Pleasure Island and see what we could get to eat there. It turns out that PI doesn’t have much in the choice of food for dinner we thought. I ended up getting a BBQ pork sandwich and fries at the Missing Link, I think that was the name of the place. It was ok but I could not finish the fries since I was so tired of them that day-the third time I had fries that day and I definitely had my share. We decided to catch the 10:40 show at the Comedy Warehouse. The CW has the best pina coladas! I love the decor there with the old Disney attraction themeing. We enjoyed the show, but it was not as funny as it was last year. Last year when we went it was hilarious. Went back to the Contemporary and went to sleep around 1AM.

DAY 5: Monday, December 20

Today we started out the day at the Animal Kingdom. This was our first visit to the park except for Grant who saw a little bit of it when we went last year. Jason and I got to the park around 8:15. I really like the themeing of the AK. The Tree of Life is amazing. I guess I didn’t expect it to be so big. It looks really neat.

We first headed over to Countdown to Extinction which had no line. The outside and pre-show area of the building reminded me of the building in the Jurassic Park movie. I liked the ride but thought it was pretty rough. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be though.

We went through the 1999 Dinosaur Jubilee and looked a little bit at the dinosaur bones. The one dinosaur skeleton was wearing a Santa hat.

We headed back towards the Tree of Life to go on It’s Tough to be Bug with the rest of our group. Grant and J.D. already went in but it was only a few minutes ago Peggy said so we tried to catch up with them. Consequently, I didn’t really get to see as much of the tree as I would have liked to since we were trying to catching up with them. Boy, the way to the attraction is long! I can’t ever seeing the line full. I guess it’s more for looking at the tree. I liked looking at the bug movies and hearing the bug music before the show. The show was really neat. I think it has the best 3D effects in WDW, although Muppets is still my favorite. I had been following the thread on here about the sting in the back, and none of us really felt much with the sting. This was a neat show altogether.

Peggy, Jason and I had P.S. at the Rainforest Cafe for 9:30. We had P.S. for all 5 of us for 8:30 but changed it the night before and they told us there were no more available P.S. for 5 so we took one for 3 instead. We got there and the place was practically empty-no seating for 5? Jason and I had been twice to the RC in Virginia and this one looked pretty much the same. Jason got their version of the Tonga toast and I got something called Matazlan mix, scrambled eggs in a tortilla shell topped cheese with lettuce, salsa, and sour cream on the side. Peggy just got plain scrambled eggs. Mine was ok but I got sick of it after a while since I’m not really too big of a fan of scrambled eggs but will eat them occasionally. Jason really liked his Tonga toast. I tried a bite which was ok but I was more interested in trying the Tonga toast at the Kona Cafe. I thought there were too many egg choices on the menu but no pancakes.

Next the 3 of us headed to Africa to the Kilamanjaro Safari. I really like how Africa looks. It made me feel as though I was really in Africa. The line for the safari was about 30 minutes. The safari was really neat, great scenery and animals.

At the end of the ride, we found Grant and J.D. and decided to walk on the Pangani Forest trail which was neat to see and learn about different animals. This part of the park seems like a zoological park and museum. I think the AK has the most learning experiences of all the WDW parks.

We next took the train to the Conservation station, which I didn’t realize until we got there that they train was the only way to and from the station and that was why the line to the train was so long when we got there. It was ok but not really much to do there as we thought. After we arrived back on the train, Jason, Peggy and I went to the Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. We each got something different-I got the chicken, Jason the pork and Peggy the beef. They came with cole slaw and corn on the cob. We tried the other BBQ sauces. I thought I’d like this place better than I did but it was just ok. There were so many birds at the tables so I guess people must be feeding them a lot! We saw a bird pick up a leftover packet of ketchup on the table next to us and fly up into the tree. We watched him in the tree as he tried to open the packet. I guess he gave up cause he dropped it and it landed on another table. We looked at when we left and he did poke a hole in it and ketchup was coming out but I guess he didn’t like it.

We were going to go on Kali River Rapids next but we saw that it broke down. All day I had been seeing people with frozen chocolate covered bananas which looked good so I decided to get one and it was yummy. The park seems to be a lot of walking and I didn’t feel like walking too much more since my leg hurt and the others didn’t feel like walking either so we left the park.

Jason and Peggy went back to the Contemporary but I decided to go MK since I hadn’t seen my favorite attraction yet, Carousel of Progress, which I was dying to see. Yes, my leg did hurt but I had to see COP soon and couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it earlier in the trip. I watched the pre-show video which I didn’t know about before and realized I saw part of it before when Vault Disney did the 1964 World’s Fair. There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow ended up being in my head for the rest of the night. I walked around a little bit more and then headed back to the hotel.

We had 7:30 P.S. at Artist Pointe at the Wilderness Lodge so Peggy, Jason, J.D. and I headed over there; we didn’t know where Grant was. I had never been to the WL before but when we got there I fell in love with it. This is where I want to stay at our next Disney trip! It is so cozy in the lobby with the big comfy chairs and fire. I ended up being the only one who really wanted something from the menu at AP so we decided to go eat at the Whispering Canyon instead and had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. During our wait, I explored the lodge and found my way up to the 7th floor and the great view. I saw the door opened to one of the rooms and the rooms look really nice too.

Whispering Canyon turned out to be the surprise hit of the trip. We had not planned on going here but glad we did! We go the BBQ platter to share which was very similar to the food at the Hoop-Dee-Doo. I liked the food at the Hoop-Dee-Doo better though. The waiters and waitresses were very entertaining at WC and we had a great time.

We next headed out for our second night at Downtown Disney. We looked around at some shops in the Marketplace, especially World of Disney and then headed over to PI. This night we went to the Adventurer’s Club. Jason and I just loved the AC last year. I got the famous Kungaloosh. We saw the professor’s talk in the artifact room, which we didn’t go into last year. We spent the rest of our time in the main room. The club wasn’t as crowded as it was when we went last year. We had a good time again though at AC. Went back and went to sleep around 12:30.

DAY 6: Tuesday, December 21

We all started out the day at MGM at had a quick breakfast at Starring Rolls. Their raspberry jelly roll there is really good!

We then went onto the Great Movie Ride with about a 10 minute wait. I like seeing all the movie previews in the pre-show. The ride was enjoyable as usual. We had the gangster for the first time for me, I think every other time I’ve had the cowboy.

We next went on the Backlot tour. Last year we had about a 20 minute wait but this year there was no line. I liked last year looking at all the artifacts in the metal cages which we just went past this year. The museum collections manager in me wants to catalogue all those objects in put them in proper storage! I like seeing movie artifacts. I didn’t remember Walt Disney’s plane last year so that was neat to see. I like the little AFI exhibit at the end of the tour. Last year they had an exhibit on costumes and this year it was puppets. I liked seeing the marionettes from The Sound of Music but what I especially liked was seeing the puppets from one of my favorite movies The Dark Crystal.

Next we went on the animation tour. We saw some drawings for the new Kingdom in the Sun movie. I hear that David Spade is going to be a voice in the movie but I just can’t see him doing a voice in a Disney movie.

After the animation tour, we took the boat over to EPCOT for our 1 o’clock P.S. at Akerhaus in Norway. Our waiter was Ole, who was very nice. I find the cast members at Norway some of the nicest CM s in the World Showcase. He showed us the buffet and explained some of the foods on it. I like the idea of the buffet for countries with food you’re not really familiar with. I tried a little bit of a lot of things. I had never had goat cheese before and it was really good. Their bread was good too. I tried the mashed rutabaga which tasted a little like pumpkin pie to me. The cold salads were ok. I liked the fish, meatballs, and smoked pork. For dessert, Jason, Grant and I got the rice cream with strawberry sauce and Peggy and J.D. shared a chocolate mousse Viking boat. I wasn’t sure if I would like the rice cream so Grant and I shared one. It turned out to be really good-mmm! One of my favorite desserts of the trip.

After the meal, we headed over to Future World minus Peggy to hit the attractions we hadn’t seen there yet. We went past the Odyssey cause Jason wanted to know if there was anything in the building. We saw a sign for a holiday buffet dinner with choices of foods from a lot of countries. The buffet was $30. We didn’t even know this was there.

We passed Test Track and line was 90 minutes long and fast passes were sold out for the day. We went to the Universe of Energy. This is probably my least favorite attraction in WDW. I hated the old version and the Ellen version is better but I still don’t find it very interesting. As someone else said, if I could I’d probably leave right after the Jeopardy part.

Next we went to the Living Seas just to see what has happening there. I don’t think I’ve been to that pavilion since my first trip to WDW in 1987. I didn’t realize it had a ride, the sea cabs, but then I realized it really wasn’t much of a ride, just through some of the aquarium. There wasn’t really much to do there. Does The Living Seas have a sponsor now? We didn’t think so. Jason told me it was sponsored by United Technologies. Jason says it still appears that UT sponsors the CM’s costumes since their logo with writing is them and they also sponsor the exit since a big sign says The Living Seas and also United Technologies. :0 I don’t know. I think that pavilion needs major renovation. They should have renovated the Living Seas and left the Imagination pavilion alone.

We next went to the Land and Food Rocks, which I like. After this Jason and I went off on our own. I wanted to see the House of the Future in Innoventions so I saw this while Jason played with the computers there. The tour hadn’t changed that much from last year but there were a few new things. It’s interesting to see that the furniture in the House of the Future which is supposed to look futuristic was a lot of Charles and Ray Eames designed chairs and a marshmallow couch designed by George Nelson, which were both designed in the 1950’s.

We headed back to MGM for 6:30 P.S. at the Brown Derby for Fantasmic seating. Jason and I met Peggy and J.D. in front of the restaurant. We had to wait and little and they told us we could wait upstairs in the lounge. The upstairs lounge was not what I expected it to be. It was the Brown Derby so I was expecting plush and here it was cold and sterile with a mish mash of different chairs. Jason also thought it looked like the old ABC Commissary but I really don’t know.

Peggy got the famous Cobb salad which she’s been wanting to try. I never saw one before and it was neat how all the ingredients were in separate rows and then they mixed them all together. Jason got the prime rib. I got the grouper with julienned vegetables. I really liked the sides better with the filet mignon, but I really don’t eat that that much. J.D. got the filet mignon and gave me his side of baby green beans(delicious) and I tried some of his blue cheese potato cake which was also good. My dinner was also good. For dessert I got the grapefruit cake which was really good. Jason and J.D. got the pumpkin cheesecake, which I never have heard of before. I had a taste of it and it was really good.

Our waiter Larry promised to have us out in time for 8 to get our seating for Fantasmic and we just barely made it. We had seating for the show on the right show. The show was really good. I love all the special water and lighting effects. Jason and I saw it last year but we were standing in the back. I liked the show better this year and part of the reason probably is because I was more comfortable.

After the show, Jason and I went to see the Osborne lights. Last year we didn’t get or know about the special effects glasses but we got them this year. The glasses were a big hit at my family’s house for Christmas too, they liked looking at the tree and the lights around our Nativity with the glasses on. Anyway, the Osborne lights are amazing! So many lights! I just think of all the planning that went into how to put up all the lights. It really is pretty though. I also like the “snow” on the New York street. We headed back to the hotel and went to sleep around 12.

DAY 7: Wednesday, December 22

J.D. left in the afternoon today so Peggy, and Jason and I said good-bye to him in the morning before our tour. Today the 3 of us did the Hidden Treasures of the World Showcase Plus tour at EPCOT. We had to be at EPCOT at 8:45 so we went around 7:30 to the Kona Cafe for breakfast and got right in without any PS. Finally I got to try the famous Tonga toast! It was really good but a lot to eat! Jason told me he likes the RC Tonga toast better but I don’t see how he can!

There was a little confusion at the beginning of our tour. We were supposed to meet at Guest Relations outside of the park we were told. We got there and they told us to sit on the bench over the side where some other people were sitting. It turned out that they were for the dolphins program. We saw a CM standing with a clipboard so Peggy went and asked him if he was waiting for us and it turns out he was. He took us to Guest Relations inside the park. There we met the rest of the tour group and our tour guide Mark.

There were only 7 of us on the tour, us and a family from Illinois. Mark took us to sit near the Showcase Plaza and began by telling us about the original vision of EPCOT. I knew about the plan for the shops and could even see the concept art for that when he was talking about it. Mark answered one of my first questions without me even asking it, is there any order to the countries of the WS and the answer is no. Some of them were put where they were depending on what kind of look they were going for, such as France by water since it’s supposed to simulate the Seine. The American Adventure was supposed to be about where we were sitting but the architecture of it really wouldn’t have fit in with Future World. Each country has the exact same space and each of the countries tallest building is the same height. The words of the day for the tour were forced perspective, weenie and carrot. Many buildings in EPCOT have forced perspective, meaning they are not really the size that they appear to be. Mark told us the difference between a weenie and a carrot. A weenie is a landmark that can be reached such as the castle in the MK. A carrot cannot be reached such as the Eiffel Tower in France in the WS. We started in Canada looking at the weenie, Hotel du Canada and seeing how its perspective changed as we got closer. It appears to be 6 or 7 stories but is really 3. The first group of buildings are the Northwest territories with natives and then the trappers. The very large totem pole was actually carved in EPCOT by a native American and he told his family story in the pole and even added Disney (a hidden Mickey in the totem pole) We learned about the Victoria Gardens, which represent the Butchart Gardens, in British Columbia, I think. You can tell what season it is just by the arrangement of the flowers. There were some white flowers when we were there which represented snow fall. As the winter goes on, more white flowers will be added to represent heavier snow fall. As spring comes, the white flowers will gradually be replaced with pinks, greens, and blues and will be very colorful in the summer. In the fall the colors will be reds and oranges. I found that to be very interesting. The next set of buildings represent the Maritime Provinces.

Next we got to go back stage behind the mountains and learned how they were built. We also talked about the Millennium pavilion there and Mark told us it was blue so that it would blend in with the sky from outside and from other parts of the park. Mark also told us there was room for 9 more countries in the WS which amazed me. He said this was because the green spaces between countries is just really empty space and another country could fit there. He talked a little bit about the perpetual rumor of a Swiss pavilion and told us there was some truth to it and they were looking at Nestle International as a possible sponsor. For the record, I thought of 9 countries I’d like to see in the WS: Australia, Egypt, Kenya, Spain, Brazil, Israel, Switzerland, Russia and India.

In the United Kingdom, we learned about the history of the different architecture. There are 3 parts to the Rose and Crown pub and they represent wharf, city and country pubs. The Tea Caddy shop is modeled after Anne Hathaway’s cottage and then Tudor and Victorian England. We learned about the butterfly garden that I remember glancing at last year.

Mark explained the Eiffel Tower carrot to France. It is supposed to draw you in, right into the Impressions of France movie and then hopefully you forgot about what happened to it after the movie and just enjoy France. We went back stage again and just saw how big that Eiffel Tower really is-not that big. It is an exact replica of the real tower and they used Gustave Eiffel’s blueprints to build it. France is designed as the La Belle Epoque of France so that they could have street artists and other things of that period.

The Morocco pavilion is the only one sponsored by the country’s government. The king was so impressed with Disney’s plan for the pavilion that he sent his own artisans out to design it. Many Moroccans are Muslim and they believe that beauty comes from within so many buildings look plain on the outside but are so pretty once you go inside! We saw the exhibit inside which I have heard about but never seen. Mark showed us how the artisans purposely put flaws in the design because only God is perfect. The pavilion is themed after 3 regions of Morocco-Fez, Casablanca, and Marrakesh. We saw the eye of the needle and learned the origin of the term that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The eye of needle is not the sewing needle as we think but a doorway. That was interesting.

Next in Japan we learned about the temple (I think that was the Goju No To Pagoda) The bells on the end of each roof don’t have clappers because the sound was too annoying. We went in the gallery and learned about the simpleness and tranquillity of Japanese culture.

In the American Adventure, we once again talked about forced perspective and the size of the main building here. It looks as if it is 2 stories but is really 5. A reverse of forced perspective from other buildings that we saw.

Italy is themed after one region, Venice. The doge’s palace and the tower (forget its name) are the weenies of the pavilion. We learned the supposed origin of fetticini alfredo. A chef’s pregnant wife couldn’t stand marinara sauce but really wanted pasta so asked her husband Alfredo to fix some. He made up a new sauce of some ingredients he had in the kitchen and his wife loved it and it got her through the pregnancy. They also named their son Alfredo, hence fetticini alfredo.

The Germany pavilion is themed after the Bavaria region and the spirit of Oktoberfest. We had lunch at the Biergarten. Mark told us how the restaurant used to not be a buffet but didn’t work well so they turned it into a buffet. Earlier this year, Jason and I went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia and ate the German food there and liked it so I knew I would like it here. I did especially the chicken, potato salad and black forest cake.

China is modeled after the Forbidden City, Beijing. Mark explained the significance of different colors to the Chinese. We learned about the interior of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. If you stand in the middle of the Hall of Prayer, your voice sounds different because of the acoustics. We also went into the Chinese exhibit hall for a bit.

Four cities are represented in the architecture of Norway; Setesdal, Oslo, Bergen and Alesund. Mark told us how different the buildings of those regions are but how they fit them all together. We also went inside the Stave church, which I didn’t know you could go in.

From Norway, we went back stage again and it was a pretty long hike. Much of this was repeat from our Keys to the Kingdom tour but it was interesting to compare backstage MK and EPCOT. EPCOT seemed a lot less busier. Their cosmetology dept was smaller but the costume/wardrobe department seemed bigger. Mark also pointed out to us that the design on the Mexico pavilion only goes part way back cause that’s all that can be seen from the park, except I found out that wasn’t true. When we rode the monorail the next day, I could see past where the design ended.

We took the right side entrance to the Mexico pavilion and came through the foliage like we were discovering a lost temple and learned about the Aztec and Mayan designs on the outside of the temple. The artifacts in the beginning are like things that were left at the ancient temple and now being discovered. I don’t think I would have thought all this until Mark told us. The inside of the pavilion is a modern Mexican village at a fiesta time. The pavilion is designed to be cool and relaxing if you walk around the WS and end up in Mexico and relax. We ended our tour here and Mark gave us all little books with facts about the design of the pavilion. That’s were I got the names that I just wrote about; I didn’t just remember them all. Mark was a great tour guide and the tour was very interesting. I recommend it especially if you just want to wander around the WS and learn more about the countries there and the details in the pavilion.

From there, Jason and I split up from Peggy to see the things we hadn’t seem in the WS yet. We went on Rio de Tiempos, for some reason I love the song on the ride! We then did the Maelstrom boat ride and I found the Hidden Mickey hat on a Viking. We had about a 10 minute wait for the ride but no wait in Mexico. I then wanted to looked at a few things in the China pavilion. I did most of my shopping that day in EPCOT since we had the 15% discount for the Candlelight Processional plan. I got tea and a teapot for my mom and a Chinese brocaded diary for myself which I had been looking for a long time.

We headed up to American Adventure but first watched the Tapestry of Nations parade. I liked the parade especially the big puppets. The music is cool too. Next we went on the AA, always a good patriotic show and a good song.

We started to head around the WS to the UK for our P.S. at the Rose and Crown. We found Grant in Morocco and went the rest of the way with him. The food was good here. Jason got prime rib, Grant got lamb and Peggy and I both got the cottage pie which was really good. Two of the vegetables served with it were rutabagas and parsnips which were different but good. Jason and Peggy both got the Guinness chocolate cake. There was some kind of Alice and Wonderland design made of chocolate which was on the plate which was neat. I got the special millennium dessert-a chocolate Spaceship Earth with white chocolate mousse inside. All of our desserts looked so nice that we took pictures before eating them. Mine was good but a little too much to eat.

We had a little time so we went to do more shopping with our discount at Mouseworks. I bought the 2000 CD, mainly for There’s Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow and two pairs of Pooh earrings. At the Art of Disney I got the Building the Dream and Disney songs book and a T-shirt with the 4 castles on it. By this time, it was time to head over for the Candlelight Processional. My leg was really hurting me again so we caught a boat over to Morocco but that’s ok cause that’s where the line was! Another thing I had never done, take the boat across the WS.

We sat on the left side for the CP. It was beautiful and relaxing to sit there just as it was last year. We saw Mark in the cast member choir. Our narrator was Andy Garcia.

I wanted to go to PI after Illuminations. Jason was getting a cold and not feeling well so Grant and I were going to go but then Grant didn’t want to go so I didn’t go. We walked down to Norway to watch Illuminations from there. On the way we got a gingerbread cookie and hot apple cider since it was a little cool. Illuminations was great! The fireworks were cool and I love the pictures on the globe! It was a great way to end our last night in Disney. Went to bed around 12.

DAY 8: Thursday, December 23

We slept in a little on our last day and didn’t leave until 9AM. We all had breakfast at the Crystal Palace. I like the potatoes and muffins there the best. We got all of our pictures with Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and Pooh. Pooh was standing by the door and greeting, last year when we came it was Piglet who was doing that.

Jason and I went to do Splash Mountain, even though it was colder that day and I was wearing my jacket and jeans. It was less than a 5 minute wait and we were in the back. I put my hood up on my jacket and tied it and amazingly I barely got wet! Last year when I was in the front seat I got soaked!

Next we got a fast pass for Pooh and headed off to Tomorrowland to go on the attractions we missed there. We first did Alien Encounter. My first time going on it ever was last year we sat in the front row and I was scared to death! This year we sat in the back row and it really wasn’t as scary to me this time, maybe because I knew what was going to happen. We did Timekeeper next.

We went back and did the fast pass Pooh. This third and final time on the ride I finally found the picture of Toad in Owl’s house! We next headed to Adventureland and did the Swiss Family Robinson and Pirates of the Caribbean again. We didn’t find the Hidden Mickey; it was hard to find. I got a Dole whip (vanilla/pineapple) and Jason got an orange slushie. I like the Dole Whip better than the Citrus swirl.

We met Peggy and Grant for lunch at Aunt Polly’s on Tom Sawyer’s Island where I got a ham sandwich but ended up feeding a lot of the bread to the birds. There were so many birds there!

It was too cold to explore around the island so Jason and I went to the Hall of Presidents. I’ve always been interested in presidential history so I love seeing all the presidents in this attraction. I don’t like Maya Angelou as the narrator though. We noticed a new “hidden” thing in the film-in the Norman Rockwell painting scene, the TV camera says WED productions.

We went to the Christmas shop and I got my Christmas cards with the castle and the characters to use for next year. Jason hadn’t ridden the Carousel of Progress yet so we did that and I found out that there are 2 pre-show videos. We saw the very end of one and the whole of the other I had seen previously. A show was letting in while we were waiting for the other and the CM told us to come in but we told her we wanted to see the other video.

I convinced Jason to ride the Astro Orbiter which I wanted to try. He rode it years ago when they were something else but didn’t like them. I told him to give it another try but he still didn’t like them cause he said they felt as if you were falling out. I thought that they were fun. We were contemplating on what to do for dinner and decided to go have cheddar cheese soup in Canada and then something else. So we headed over to EPCOT on the monorail. First I went to make my own CD. There really isn’t too much of a good selection. Jason wanted the song from If You Had Wings but there was only the Dixieland version? Why so many songs from Cinderella’s Carousel and the parade? I really wanted it for the Carousel of Progress show since it had the Now Is the Time music, which I love. That is the only a song I remember from my very first visit to the World.

We found out that you don’t need to go to Le Cellier for the soup; we got it from the stand outside. It was warm, a little spicy and delicious. It really warms you up. Peggy got me the Disney cookbook and the recipe for it is in there along with two of my other favorites-rice cream and grapefruit cake. We then had our main meal, fajita chicken potatoes at the Land. I had Butterfingers cheesecake for dessert and Jason had strawberry cheesecake.

We left and headed back to the Contemporary to leave for the airport at 7. All four of us left together in a Tiffany Town Car. Our driver was Anne Marie who drove Grant and Peggy there last week. She was very nice and talkative.

Our plane was slightly delayed but not too long. There was a lot of turbulence with the flight though. The worse thing was though, that our luggage didn’t show up at Dulles. Luckily, though, they found it the next day! Ta-da! And that was the trip! We had a great time and did lots but still missed a lot. Things I wished we had time for: Star Tours, all the movies of the WS, Sci-Fi Cafe, berry cobbler at Artist Pointe, Blizzard Beach, miniature golf, more time at PI...Oh, well there’s always next time!

I loved pin trading! It was really a lot of fun! I started out with 5 pins, 4 I bought at the Disney store and one Magic Music Days pin I had to trade. I ended with 13 pins in the end with the ones I bought there but none of the pins I had at the end were ones I bought. Every time we passed the pin stands I had to stop and look at the pins and look for traders. A lot of people had these camera straps that I kept thinking were pins on the straps. I did get some good trades from cast members but most really didn’t have much of a selection. A lot of them had these pins from a Tarzan set or name pins. It was fun meeting cast members and guests with pins though. Some guests had some really great pins but they weren’t trading and then others with great pins were. Here are the pins I ended up with.

Pooh-just because I like him
Piglet-see above
Black nosed Tigger
Sleeveless Sleeping Beauty -- Supposed mistakes but I’m not sure how rare they were. I saw lots for sale at the pin stands
Cast member safari with Mickey and Goofy
Cast member safari with Pooh and Tigger
Disney Vacation club 2000
Adventureland
A jungle cruise pin that doesn’t say Jungle cruise but just has a picture of a boat and the areas around it (eg, Mekong, Nile, etc) -- Does anyone know anything more about this pin?
A blue square pin that says Disney 75 years, Part of the Magic, October 16, 1998. -- The guy I traded it with said it was from Burbank. Does anyone know anymore about this date?
Disneyland Main Street -- I really wanted a pin from Disneyland so I was happy when I traded for this one.
A small gold square pin that says Fed Ex on the bottom with a picture of Space Mountain -- I found this on a CM in the AK. Someone told me that it’s given out at the VIP lounge at Space Mountain. Anyone have any more info?
Tron -- I traded with a CM for this one. Jason wanted this one so I gave it to him.
Amy Johnson

amy@pressroom.com

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