Trip Reports

October 25 - 30, 1999

October 25th We caught a taxi to SeaTac Airport and after checking-in with Delta Airlines, we had a relaxing dinner. We then caught our flight and instead of sleeping on the flight as we planned we kept going over that days events. We landed in Orlando, Florida in the early in the morning and a small Mears shuttle transported us to Port Orleans Resort at Walt Disney World.

Our room was on the first floor at Port Orleans Resort with a view of a water canal. The New Orleans setting was so calm and relaxing with pastel colored building featuring the building style of the French Quarter of New Orleans. There were modeled little streets featuring horse tie-ups, iron fences, trimmed hedges and trees hung with mosses. We were a world away from Seattle. After dropping our things in our room we took a two-hour nap.

Our first exploration was to Disney/MGM Studios with sunshine and 80 degrees weather...perfect. We wandered around a little first just looking at the re-creations of different parts of Hollywood including The Brown Derby, The Chinese Theater and other places. Then we enjoyed the relaxing Great Movie Ride that took us through the history of the movies via film clips and set re-creations with live action stuff. But at one point of a live re-creation of 1920's gangster movie a shoot-out occurred that scared Cathy and had her hiding behind me! Next we caught the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. It was fantastic show with lots of stunts and fiery explosions and action, featuring a re-enactment of the fight seen by the airplane from the first movie. I really enjoyed mid-eastern looking sets and watching them change and move the very large sets. We then experienced the exciting Star Tours Ride, which was a jolting ride on a Star Wars shuttle...Cathy laughed and screamed through the whole thing! We then walked over to the Tower of Terror Ride. This was Twilight Zone meets the Haunted Mansion! We were put in this elevator which suspends us through surrealistic re-creations of the opening of the old Twilight Zone show, but in the middle of the ride, the elevator suddenly shoots up several floors and then drops us down even faster! Cathy really enjoyed this, screaming and laughing all the time. After that we wandered around and mistakenly entered the Rockin' Roller Coaster...only thing was, we didn't see the word "Coaster"! We thought it was about recording rock & roll music or something. When we sat down in the ride and the big shoulder holders came down...we were puzzled. When the car took off very fast...I knew we were in trouble. It turned out to be one of those wild roller coasters that goes around in twits and turns and upside down. Cathy spent the whole ride with her eyes closed and very quiet and I kept thinking, "She's going to kill me when this ride is over!" With the finish of that ride, came a finish to our day...we were both worn out. There were more things to see and do, but it was late and we both were tired and hungry.

We had dinner at O'Hana at Disney's Polynesian resort. The food was served family style featuring Hawaiian style cooked pork, chicken, shrimp and sausage...it all was so great with Cathy's pina colada drink ending up as my desert...the smoothest and best pina colada that I have ever had!

October 26th We started our day with breakfast at Bonfamilles at Port Orleans where they had a great buffet breakfast that we tried. I mostly enjoyed the very tasty fried potatoes with little piece of everything in it; cinnamon covered french toast, biscuits with county gravy and very sweet watermelon pieces...gosh, we were stuffed!

Our second day of adventure was at Disney's Magic Kingdom and the weather was wonderful...sunny and 80's. Like all visitors, we first passed through Grand Central Station of the Walt Disney Railroad and of course walked down Main Street U.S.A. and then explored Cinderella's Castle. We then enjoyed a nice relaxing train ride around the Magic Kingdom on one of the Disney steam trains. We next explored Adventureland by climbing the Swiss Family Treehouse. That was followed by the Jungle Cruise with its animal surprises, like the hippo's coming out of the water that surprised Cathy. We next visited the Enchanted Tiki Hut, which Cathy thought was corny. Then came the Pirates of the Caribbean...with one cannon shot splashing the water right next to Cathy. We then went to Frontierland and where our first really challenging ride was Splash Mountain. It is a log boat featuring a long drop through splashing water that had us both screaming! We were mostly safe in the last seat with only a little wetness. We then went on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride. This roller coaster like ride had Cathy screaming and laughing most of the time! And as if that was not enough, we then went to the Haunted Mansion. The only time Cathy was scared was when the ghost suddenly appeared in the mirror right between us. We then wandered though Fantasyland with a fun ride on Cinderella's Carrousel. After that we road on the It's a Small World ride, the Peter Pan ride, the Snow White ride, the Winnie the Pooh ride and saw the Lion King show. We also road the Skyway cable-car to Tomorrowland...what a great view of Cinderella's Castle and other areas. We then headed back to Port Orleans, as we were too tired to do more and it was getting late. But before we left the Magic Kingdom we road the Monorail around the different resorts.

We had our dinner at Bonfamilles, which features Creole style cooking. Cathy had chicken with pecan rice and I had shrimp cooked in a very tasty sauce circling cheese grits topped with specially cooked spinach that was totally great! There was no room for desert.

October 27th I just could not help myself, I had to have breakfast again at Bonfamilles...it was the french toast and country gravy and Cathy had some omelet with very tasty tomato sauce.

The first part of our day was finishing Disney Magic Kingdom and the weather was the same as the day before. We first went to Micky's Toontown Fair where we road Goofy's Barnstormer ride, a roller coast with cars shaped like a crazy bi-plane...again Cathy was screaming but enjoying it! After seeing things there, which was disappointing compared to Disneyland's Toontown we then went to Tomorrowland. We first road the very relaxing Tomorrowland Transit Authority which were future-like upper level tram which took us all around Tomorrowland...I did really like it. Then we drove the little cars on the Tomorrowland Speedway. From there we saw the Timekeeper show and we were scared by the Alien Encounters ride. Next we had loads of fun shooting things in the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger ride. Yes, we really got to shoot at things! I really enjoyed making our rocket turn round and round. I then talked Cathy into going on the Astro Orbiter ride, but every time I made our rocket go high, she would scream and ask me to stop. I road the Space Mountain by myself as Cathy couldn't take any more roller coasters...even if they were in the dark! We had seen as much as we had time for and it was time to move on to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

We arrived at Disney Animal Kingdom just after noon. Because it was so sunny I bought Cathy and I some cool hats. Cathy was our guide for the day and so she led us through the Oasis area with colorful birds and a really cool long-tongued anteater. We next saw the great Tree of Life. Cathy then led us to Asia area. Here she pointed out all kinds of plants that are natural to the Philippines. I was greatly impressed with the detailed re-creation of Indian ruins and other as things on the Maharajah Jungle Trek where and we saw big fruit bats and Bengal Tigers. I was so mesmerized by the buildings and detail, that I forgot to take pictures! After Cathy pointed at a sign a couple of times, we went to ride the Kali River Rapids ride. The waiting line went through a series of buildings that looked like an Indian trading post...the details were amazing. When we got on the round river raft Cathy asked this one guy to move so we could sit together. At the first turn, the round raft turned so that the man got somewhat wet and we ended up with almost a foot of water in our raft. We passed through jungle areas and then we passed through a slash-burn area complete with strong smell of charcoal and smoke...it was fascinating! Then we passed too closed to a waterfall and that same man got hit again with water...he was soaked! And to make it worse, Cathy said, "We are so lucky that we traded with you." He was not laughing. When we got out of the river raft my pants cuffs were wet, but worst of all, Cathy's whole butt was wet! We walked around a little more and then went to watch the Tarzan Rocks show, which was a rock & roll with Tarzan and crew jumping and swinging around. Within less than five minutes of the loud rock & roll show going, Cathy was totally napping against my shoulder! She napped about ten minutes and we left. Cathy led us to Dinoland. There we went on Countdown to Extinction, which was a thrill packed ride seeing dinosaurs. At one point there were little flying dinosaurs and Cathy started screaming and hiding behind me and the ride ended with a giant dinosaur jumping out to eat us, which had us both screaming! It was great. Cathy next led us to see the African area. On the way we again passed the Tree of Life and went in to see "It's Tough to be a Bug." As we walked there we were winding around the large tree roots and rock with small waterfalls. At the show, they gave us 3-D glasses, which made things look like they were jumping right out at us and had Cathy ducking, hiding and screaming all the time. At one point they even made it seem as if bugs were running on the ground and touching us some how...wow, did Cathy really scream then! After the show was over, it was closing time and we were tired and so we headed home. So many things to see, so little time!

For dinner that night we went to Boatwright's at Dixie Landings. Cathy had roasted chicken with rice and I eat prime rib. Again, it was great and there was no room for desert.

October 28th We decided to try breakfast somewhere really different, so we decided to wait and eat breakfast at Disney's Epcot. To be honest, our choices there wasn't that great, and we ended up with Disney's version of a McDonalds breakfast sandwich!

I was really impressed with the size of the great silver globe that symbolizes Epcot. We enjoyed the Spaceship Earth ride, which covered the ages of man and his forms of communication. At one point we passed a scene of destruction that had the strong smell of smoke and sulfur...the detail was interesting. We next rode on the Body Wars ride that was based on the movie "Fantastic Voyage"...here we were shrunk down and moved through the body in a tiny submarine with lots of bumps and jolts. It was about at this time that we noticed that each ride had its own sponsor which gave you a commercial about themselves somewhere; what a shallow disappointing thing for them to have done. We next went to the Test Track ride. This was great...we were put in a small car that ran on a test track and although it seemed like we were racing at 100 miles an hour with Cathy screaming and enjoying it all the way, the speed display showed we were only going 46 miles and hour! After that we moved on to the World Showcase.

The second area to Epot is the World Showcase. The first thing I noticed were real, live pink flamingos. Anyway, our first stop was Mexico and we were really impressed with the really high Aztec temple with all its details...we felt as if we were really visiting a distant place. Inside the temple, it was dark with Mexican imports being sold and a relaxing ride showcasing Mexico. Outside we had some watermelon juice that was really yummy. We next visited Norway and there they had a replica of a Viking ship. As we took a rest, little birds came right up to Cathy and eat crumbs out of her hand. We then enjoyed the Maelstrom ride that had many surprising turns and very mild splashing end. Next came China and again we were so dazzled with bright colorful buildings and endless details. At one point there was like a Chinese warrior; he was so big and mean looking and Cathy was so very very nervous to have her picture take with him. I knew if he made any noise, she would have just fainted! Next was the Outpost, which was re-creation of an African trading post, including a rusty old truck and Zulu warriors. I asked Cathy to get by the rusty explore truck so I could take a picture. She said she didn't want a picture of that...that she could see a rusty truck every day in the Philippines! We then visited Germany with its very interesting buildings. We next stopped at Italy and we were again deeply impressed by the workmanship and detail in every classical building there. There was even a really fantastic Neptune statue. We stopped to listen to classical music played to a jazzy rock & roll tempo by musicians dressed in period costumes. It was hard to move on from this tranquil setting and to stop taking more pictures. In our hurry we passed by the early American area and went right to Japan...we planned to see it later. Here again the detail and accents in the Japanese temples and buildings was amazing. As we took in the sights, Japanese ceremonial drummers starting their performance on these huge drums...the two women drummers were just marvelous! There was also a great display on Japanese mechanical toys including this dragon that Cathy operated and she got so nervous when it seem to look at her. We then entered Morocco. I was so greatly awed by the total air of Morocco...I was a world away again. We ended up having dinner there later. Our next country to visit was France. The buildings were cool and we enjoyed three guys doing some street comedy. We hurried on to Great Britain to see a nearly three block area re-creating a time gone by...similar to Marry Poppins setting. Cathy sat down and enjoyed a British rock group play in the distance. It was in this area that we got our Epcot Passport books and as we walked our way back through the countries we put our stamps in as we passed through each country. But before we walked back through them, we turned the corner to the Imagination glass pyramids to see Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. This was another 3-D show, which had special effects that really get you. At one point it felt like rats were touching our legs...wow, did Cathy scream at that one! After that we started walking back through the different countries.

We stop at Morocco and had dinner back at there, where we enjoyed the King's Feast. This featured a taste of several dishes from that area and we got to enjoy the belly dancer's performance! After dinner in Morocco, it was late and we both were too tired to stay any longer...and we totally forgot about the Tapestry of Nations parade...we were just too tired.

All in all, Cathy favorite countries were Mexico because of the watermelon juice, Germany because of the interesting buildings and Morocco because of the belly dancer! For me, my favorite countries were Morocco and Italy, both because of the detail in the buildings and the air of each which so relaxed me and beckoned me to stay...like being in another time and era!

October 29th After my adventurous idea of having breakfast at Epcot, which was a real disappointment, I thought it was best that we stay with something familiar. So we returned and had breakfast at Bonfamilles. I did the buffet again and Cathy had a special-made omelet.

This day's journey was to Universal Studios Florida and although the day started out cloudy, it finished warm and sunny again. We first walked through Universal Studios City Walk, which was packed with stores and restaurants. But the tall, contorted Islands of Adventure tower caught my attention first. The next thing we knew was that we were walking down a series of Middle Eastern and exotic shops...we were in a different world. We turned left and surprise, we found ourselves in Marvel Super Hero Island! Everything looked like it was right out of an old comic book. We saw the Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster and the Doctor Doom's Fearfall, both of these looked too scary for us. Instead we road the Spider Man ride. They gave us 3-D glasses and put us in a cool car and we were off. This had the best 3-D effect with Cathy and me ducking flying bricks and things popping out at us. At one point it really looked like and felt like we are flying up and up and then being so high above the city. Then just as suddenly, we started dropping down looking like we are going to crash! All the time Cathy and I are both screaming, but really enjoying ourselves. We ended up riding this one three times! We walked on and next Toon Lagoon and everything was like from the Rock & Bullwinkle or Popeye cartoons. We eagerly got on the Dudley Do-Right log ride. This was turned out to be a water ride with loads of splashing, and then a long drop down the rapids. And just when we thought the ride was finished, as we turned around a corner, our log was grabbed and taken up to an even higher place and down we went again with both of us screaming all the way. We were happy we had our coats that day; but, wow, did Cathy's butt get wet! We calmed our nerves and walked around seeing more sights and drying off. We next road Popeye & Bluto's Barges which was a river raft ride. There was the usual splashing but at one point we passed below a wrecked ship where people squirted us with water! We were wet again and Cathy's butt was wet once more! We next entered Jurassic Park section. Here we were in the land of the dinosaurs. We went on the Jurassic Park River Adventure boat ride which had dinosaurs popping up everywhere and even one large dinosaur which jumped out to attack us, but was only a distraction to keep us from seeing the waterfall drop with more splashing! We then walked around more and then went to see the Triceratops Encounter. Cathy was so nervous; fearing it would move and chase us at any second. We walked more and entered The Lost Continent. Here again I was totally mesmerized and so intrigued by the buildings designed. There were so many strange yet wonderful building designs...again I was in another would and I really enjoyed exploring this area. We stared at the Dueling Dragons roller coasters with their twists and turns and we both agreed that we both were not brave enough. We walked on and soon found ourselves in Seuss Landing. Here everything looked like replications right out of the famous Dr. Seuss books...its was a strange world just right for children. We walked around to the front area of the Super Hero Island and Cathy stared and stared at the Hulk Coaster and then at the Fearfall. She then said we would go on the Fearfall. This was more than I was really ready for, but my ego would not say "no." I knew there was a problem when they buckled us in so tightly with and extra buckle. Then the ride suddenly shot us up about six stories high and equally fast, dropped us right down, and then repeated it again. All I could do was close my eyes tight, hang on even tighter and dearly pray for the ride to end. While I hear Cathy saying, "Wow, look at the view...wow, look at the view." Sheeze, when I did peak open my eyes, I had to shut them quickly...it was like parachuting again! My knees were almost buckling when it was done. We next headed to the other half of Universal Studios Florida

We walked through New York area and went to see Twister. We were taken into a sound stage where it suddenly started raining hard, then lighting strikes happened and then a small tornado landing. And to really scare us, they had the floor suddenly drop just a little...it was great. We next walked over and took the King Kong ride. It was enjoyable tram like ride, but neither of us was scared at all. We then walked over and road the Back to the Future ride. This was another fun ride with loads of ups and downs and stuff, and the only time Cathy was scared was when the dinosaur ate us! From there we went on the E.T. Adventure ride was lots of fun going on a pretend flying bicycle ride and are transported to E.T.'s home world which was very colorful. We next enjoyed the JAWS ride, which had the boat driver shooting at the water and the great shark attacking us. And much to our surprise, Cathy got splashed again! We then went and on the Earthquake ride. This was good fun, and the only time Cathy got scared was went water started rushing right at her side of the car...I think she was starting to get a complex about water! When we had finished that, it was late and it was closing time.

Cathy chose our dinner place that night and it was the Latin Quarter, feature foods and music from Latin countries. I ordered an appetizer, which seems so very interesting on the menu; it turned out to be Mexican tamale! The rest of our dinner was so very tasty and they had live music with dancers. We were so tired when we got back to our room.

October 30th We got up a little early and walked to Boatwright's at Dixie Landings for breakfast. Tried as I might, I was still called to the buffet breakfast with french toast, country gravy, and watermelon pieces.

Because it was our last day and we had to leave Orlando early for the flight home, we wanted a more relaxing last day, so we first went swimming. And the weather was just right for swimming; sunny and warm. Port Orleans had a really great pool with a winding water slide. Cathy and I got into the pool by going down the water slide...what an entrance! Cathy and I then splashed around a while before I was able to talk her into going down the slide again. She did enjoy it but was still nervous. We splashed around some more and I talked her into going down it again promising to catch her. This she really enjoyed and laughed after I caught her. We went down the slide a couple more times and it was time to go off shopping. But then Cathy started asking to go down the water slide just one more time, and one more time, and one more time, and one more time; each time laughing when I caught her...this was really great fun. Finally we did end our swimming fun and got our clothes on. We took a little canal boat to Downtown Disney. It was a fun and relaxing boat ride there where there were so many shops and stores. We looked all around and bought souvenirs and gifts for everyone. We enjoyed another relaxing boat ride back to Port Orleans. Just before we left our temporary home, Cathy jumped on of the little shuttles and I took her picture. It was a perfect week together...the best week of my life.

Timothy Brown

ModkeyMan@AOL.com

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