Trip Reports

February 4, 1999 - February 9, 1999
4 veterans, 5 first-timers
Dixie Landings - Acadian House - 2nd floor - rooms 8207 thru 8210
Cast:
Me - LisaB, thirty-something
Husband, Rodney
2 year old Pearson
Ken (my brother)
Gracie (his wife) also thirtyish
Mom
Bill (our parents)
Moma (Rodney's Mom, seventyish)
Sally (16) our niece
Just some background: Me, my husband and Ken & Gracie had a couple of previous trips to WDW, everyone else was making their maiden trip. We got MKC rates on the rooms, and used some of the other discounts, too. Obviously, I am the one who did most of the research and in return for all the help radp has been, here is our trip report, hope it helps or entertains someone, or helps someone remember the magic....

Here goes:

We arrived at MCO Thursday morning around 11, and our driver from Tiffany Town Car was waiting for us! Thanks Dessie! This was our first trip to use Tiffany and they exceeded our expectations! Quickly picked up luggage, and took off in "our" van. After a quick stop at Publix for groceries, we arrived at Dixie Landings. This was our first stay at this resort. We had 4 rooms reserved and had requested that they be nearby each other. Unfortunately, this meant that they had us not in Alligator bayou as requested, but in the Acadian house at the nether reaches of the northside of the property. I wish we had been a little more belligerent, that hike to the food court wasn't always easy with a 2 year old, not to mention the older folks in our group... Otherwise the rooms were great and our housekeeper Lisa was the best! She gave our 2 year old Mickey and Minnie beanies on our check out day! and left us notes throughout our stay. BTW loved the hidden Mickeys on the bedspreads..

Since it was nap time for Pearson, we checked in, ate sandwiches in the room, and bedded him down for a quick nap. Everyone else unpacked and relaxed for a while. As soon as he was up, we headed out to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon.

What can you say - when you walk into the MK for the first time with people who've never seen it? It was exciting! Since this was a short afternoon for us we went straight to Fantasyland and got in line for Dumbo. Pearson LOVED it, and cried when we got off. Then we headed off to Small World and rode. He couldn't get enough, I guess little kids are really intrigued by all the dolls that are their size, singing and dancing... Later when we asked him if he had gone a boat ride, he nodded yes and started singing La la la... Priceless memory! (we've been back for 2 weeks, and he still sings...) We decided to ride the Carousel, got good pictures of everyone on horses. We went to Cosmic Ray's for supper, watched Sonny Eclipse perform, Pearson danced. By then it was time for the fireworks, so we watched from the bridge between Tomorrowland and the hub. Pearson thought they were a bit loud, so we headed back to the hotel, to bed early.

Friday morning we stopped at City Hall for a birthday button for our niece, she turned 16. Then we decided to head straight to AdventureLand. We visited the Tiki Room, and watched my son's eyes get SO big as he tried to take everything in, he couldn't look around fast enough. (he sings this song too, we've listened to it on cd and he goes nuts) Then we did Pirate's which he also enjoyed. Then we went to Splash Mountain (Rodney, Pearson and his mom sat out) and we had a blast, but I think I got wetter this time than I ever have, at least we didn't get stuck by the water fall BTW for others with small children, there is a playground themed like Splash nearby, Pearson had a ball sliding while we got wet! We headed over to the Haunted Mansion, where I rode with my niece. She screamed as everyone jumped up at her, she said even though she knew they were coming, she still was startled. We saw the wedding ring at the gate on the way out. My son had no problem with the Mansion, daddy explained all the potentially scary stuff away. (Oh look! Flying people...) Now for the biggest thing we all came to see, Pearson meeting Mickey for the first time. We went to Mickey's house and then on to the Judge's tent... There the CM noticed Sally's B-Day button and serenaded her with Happy Birthday - what a great voice! We were the last in this group to see Mickey (there were 9 of us) so we got to spend a little extra time! Pearson walked right up to Mickey and hugged him and kissed him on the nose! He wasn't scared or apprehensive at all. It was magic! We got most of it on video, then took pictures etc. Pearson didn't want to leave Mickey, but we explained that other people needed to talk to him, and that we would see him later, and he was okay. BTW - for others with small children - we prepared our son for meeting the characters - we have a number of videos - the Disney singalong Disneyland Fun is the best one: it shows the characters interacting with the kids, and even though it was filmed at Disneyland, for this purpose it was perfect! We watched this video a million times (if you have kids you know what I mean) We also watched the trip planning video, and the singalong Campout At WDW. And we talked about the different attractions, and what it would be like, so he'd have an idea of what to expect. It really made a difference - he wasn't intimidated by anything, and he's usually pretty cautious.

Friday evening we had a priority seating at the San Angel Inn, Mexico at Epcot. We always make a point to dine here every trip. We arrived a few minutes early, and they had our table ready in moments. We had a large party, so we got the big round table. Food was pretty good, that ancho chile sauce is pretty warm (not hot, we're from Texas, after all). As a surprise to my niece, they brought a birthday cake, and she was serenaded by the entire waitstaff, then they smeared icing on her nose and took a picture. Was pretty funny, even if she didn't think so. (Pearson points to his nose whenever we talk about Sally's birthday...) We ended the evening by watching the Fountain of Nations perform, and riding Spaceship Earth. (or as Pearson says "BALL!) On Spaceship Earth, we got stuck by the children on the virtual fieldtrip scene for around 15 minutes. We memorized the script and proceeded to shout the words with perfect timing, "First we need to shorten its wings and change its body." "Mars!" and the ever popular "There's no water in space!" We enjoyed ourselves, and the people that couldn't see what we were seeing probably thought we were crazy, oh well. Not a bad place to be stuck - the cars were even reclining. The only better place to be stuck IMHO would be at the end with the neon/fiberoptic city and the music going...

Saturday we went to the Studios/MGM. We rode the Great Movie ride (cowboy side) and got in the first two rows of the car. It was pretty good, our driver Rush was a hoot, can't say the same for the cowboy... I tried to act with him, but alas, he wasn't an interactive CM. Then we went to see Ariel, and sat at the back of the theater, it really feels like you're under water from back there, since you can see all the laser effects more clearly. After that we decided to visit the Muppets, this was a big hit with every one, although my son wasn't crazy about the glasses. Now everyone was hungry, so we ate at the Commissary. Man that quesadilla thing was humongous. We split up, my parents took Pearson back for his nap, and the rest of us headed off to do the Backstage Pass Dalmation thing. Indiana Jones wasn't on because of some cheerleader thing so we headed to Star Tours, the wait was long enough that we got to actually enjoy the queue area. My mom loved this one, kind of surprised me that she did so much. Big grins. We came out just in time to catch the last of the Mulan parade as she came by the Chinese theater area.

We made arrangements to meet at the Magic Kingdom, to go to Tomorrowland and we planned to stay for Spectromagic. We did the TTA, Buzz, Timekeeper and then headed over to the hub to stake out a place for the parade, we watched from the railing to the right of the hub by the popcorn cart. Turned out to be a pretty good place, got some good pictures, and Pearson could sit on daddy's shoulders so he could see very well. This was the first time we had seen that parade, we'd always been leaving on a Saturday and had missed it on earlier trips.

Sunday we had a priority seating at the Garden Grill at the Land pavillion in Epcot. This restaurant spins around and you see scenes from the Living with the Land boat ride. It took about an hour to go all the way around. Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale were on hand for breakfast, and the food was wonderful. My son was especially intrigued about the spinning of the restaurant and was pointing it out to all the characters, pretty funny, they just acted along with him! After breakfast, we did the Land, and the Circle of Life show. Half of our party went back for the Behind the seeds tour, (we had done it on a previous trip) They thoroughly enjoyed it, lots of interesting things you don't see from the boat, and explanations that make sense. Since it's only $6 for adults, it's not too expensive so go do it! The rest of the group went to the Living Seas, and then we met up outside Ice Station Cool. Can you believe my brother tried Beverly? Yek! We all agreed that the Pineapple flavored drink from england was the best one... We did Test Track (3 of us split up) and rode singly. What a rush! Has anyone else seen the little "hidden" Mickey plush in one of the "control" rooms on the inside part of the ride? I had the biggest grin on my face as we "crashed" through the wall! Didn't buy the picture though... Then we headed off to do the Universe of energy, the ellen thing is pretty funny, kind of lame in spots, but okay. And of course we visited Body Wars. Boy, that one is much wilder than Star Tours... but we loved it! Then we met up with everyone again, and did HISTA. The "mice" had my niece up on her chair, too funny. My son decided that some of this one was too much, and everytime he got worried during the movie, he would take his daddy's hand and cover his eyes. Pretty smart for a 2 year old. Even got a chuckle out of my dad. (who is hard to get a chuckle out of) It was sad to the Journey into Imagination just sitting there, and not to meet Dreamfinder and Figment in the fountain courtyard... But the fountains are still entertaining. We headed off for the World showcase, and as usual, parts of our party split off to do their own thing. My brother and his wife took off for the Cirque du Soleil, (which they said was awesome!) and we headed off for the World Showcase. We listened to Off Kilter (boy are they cute, love them kilts!) strolled through the pavilions one by one, met Pooh and took pictures, saw Belle and the Beast, stopped in japan for a snack, germany for beer, and watched performers dance at Mexico. We couldn't stay for Illuminations, as much as I wanted to (past bed time for my son and he was wiped out) so we headed back to the hotel for more food and some rest.

Monday we took off to the Animal Kingdom. My husband stayed behind to meet us later, tummy troubles. We decided to meet outside the Tough to Be a Bug entrance. So we arrived and made our way through the Oasis, it is really pretty, we went through the cave/grotto with the water falls and took pictures of all kinds of birds and critters. The first view of the Tree of Life was incredible! everyone just sort of stops and stares. The flow of people and strollers needs some work, there were spots where you just couldn't move, and for no apparent reason. I guess it will improve (hope it will) as more of the park is opened. Husband showed up (all better) and we took off to do Kilimanjaro Safaris. This was worth the wait! We saw so many animals, hippos, giraffes, elephants, rhinos, gazelles, lions, flamingos, gorillas... We really got a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, that was about all most of us saw of the Animal Kingdom. My brother and his wife stayed and did the rest of the park, but the rest of us took pearson back to the hotel for a nap, and to rest up for our Priority seating at the Flying Fish at the Boardwalk. What happened next, proves that a toddler is a major force of nature. My son woke from his nap, in a terrible mood, upset, tummy ache and in general not too happy, and there was no way we were going to take him on a bus with transfers - so we called the Flying Fish and told them that the party wouldn't be 8 but only 4. Sorry to have missed it, but after we went for a quiet walk to the fountain in the courtyard, my son was fine. (Forces of nature are pretty resilient, it's us parents who get worn out) We decided to go to Downtown Disney and do dinner there. We took the boat from Dixie, my son loved riding, and waving to all the other boaters passing us. We ended up eating at Captain Jack's Oyster Bar, walked right in and the food was great. We had a great view over the water of the shops and people, and my son had this incredible rainbow peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I had to take a picture of it, it was so colorful. He looked at it kind of funny, then ate it all. We did a little shopping, had to go to Studio M and burn a Walt Disney World Forever CD, and buy the usual stuff.

Tuesday - our last day, our flight leaves around 6pm. We did a leisurely breakfast at DxL's food court. Everyone is feeling a little edgy, being the last day and everyone has something they want to do/see one last time. We split up and we end up with Rodney, me, Pearson and mom-in-law heading off to the Magic Kingdom. We head for FantasyLand, we wanted to let Pearson ride Small World, Dumbo, PeterPan before we leave. We ride Small World, and then get in line for PeterPan, and my little boy decides to get a tummy ache. So we get out of line - take care of the problem and decide to do the carousel. After the carousel, I take him to stand in line for Dumbo... Well, wouldn't you know it, he fell asleep in my arms as I was awarded the coveted plastic chip. I stand for a few moments trying to jiggle him awake (he loves Dumbo) but he is OUT. So I give the CM the chip back and rejoin my husband and mom- in-law waiting in the shade by the carousel... Poor kid was just worn out, and due to check out times, didn't get nap - so he just conked out in the park (something he never does at home) We let him sleep, enjoyed some people watching, and the head off to Tomorrowland to catch the Carousel of Progress. On our way there we stop outside Cosmic Ray's and lo and behold - another much sought after sighting! We finally saw the Talking Trash Can! It was hilarious! My mom-in-law fed it her empty cup and it said "Thanks Lady! Oooh, I just love those cups." We were glad to have found it, it was on our "list" of things to see. In the CoP Pearson wakes up when the show starts. He loved this show, and was singing by the end. When the theater stopped at the end and didn't continue to the next room, he was motioning for it to go - he wasn't ready for it to be over! On our way out we practically walked on to Buzz Lightyear, this time I scored much better than I did the first time - And then it was time to make our way down Main Street for the last time. Pearson and I stopped for something to drink and Rodney and his mom would meet us at the entrance. As I carried my son down Main Street, I turned and pointed to the Castle and we waved bye-bye to the castle together. A bittersweet moment, very happy/sad. We boarded our bus back to the DxL and had a quick lunch in the food court and met up with everyone in the lobby. Dessie our driver from Tiffany Towncar was there with a van and before we knew it we were looking at the Mickey buckle up seatbelt sign on the freeway and we were off Disney property on our way to MCO.

All in all it was a pretty good trip. Traveling with that many people, with their own agenda and adding a 2 year old into the mix - it turned out remarkably well. Note to others taking children and grandparents: Talk before you leave about your expectations. If you want some "couple" time, and want the grandparents to babysit - work it out before you go. My husband and I got no "couple" time - we were too busy trying to be tour guides/concierge/caretaker to everyone else. That is the only thing we would change about the trip - I wish we had made a priority seating for just us and next time we will.

Below follows my only real RANT about our trip: it concerns our flight back on Continental.

<<RANT WARNING-->> The flight home was not fun. Due to the American airlines pilot thing, our Continental flight was overbooked. At check-in they offered us free tickets and other compensation to give up our seats, but we declined. How I wish we had taken them up on it. The DC-10's secondary/on-the- ground power was not functioning properly so there was no air conditioning in the plane during boarding... Of course we didn't know this, and we of course, boarded early since my mom-in-law is older and we have a 2 year old with a car seat... Can you say overheated? Hot, uncomfortable 2 year old, and hot uncomfortable mommy... Of course we didn't know about the problems until after we boarded and after we sat there for over 40 minutes until takeoff - I don't get air sick, but I felt terrible the whole flight. Then they messed up our food order - I called Continental and requested something suitable for a baby/toddler. We got something that would have worked if he had all his teeth, which he does not, yet. They gave us carrot sticks, a sandwich on a tough bun. Pearson ended up drinking the milk, and eating the cookies from the adult meals. Luckily, we weren't dependent on that for his meal... but wait - it gets better - one of the lavatories was "broken" it had no water, so there was this line during the whole flight... Add to this surly flight attendants and you have the whole picture. I've flown that route a number of times, even the same flights - and I've never had such an uncomfortable experience... Okay - i'm done. (and yes I did write to the airlines, and to date, they haven't responded) <<--RANT OFF>>

LisaB PO '95, WL '96, DxL '99 (and with a little magic, maybe April '99 for our 10th wedding anniversary...)

Lisa Brown

L@bunltd.com

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