Trip Reports

Summary:

November 19-November 25
Delta Airlines from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tiffany Town Car to Hotel
All-Star Music, Standard Room
2 Adults and 1 five year old
4th trip in 4 years to WDW (6th overall) Veteran and Disney Vacation Club Members
My wife, daughter (5 years) and myself make the week of Thanksgiving our annual trek to Walt Disney World for our vacation. This year, we decided to leave a few days earlier. Originally we were booked to stay off property at the Radisson Resort, which we had stayed at before, for a rate of $49.50 per night. When we decided to add three extra days on the front end of our stay, we were told those three days would be at $75.00 per night. I decided then and there to cancel the rental car and try to stay at any WDW property that I could find. Unfortunately, the only property available for that length of stay was All-Star Music. We booked in with a rate of $74.00 per night and arrived late on 11/18.

Day 1 of 7 (11/19)

We awoke to Mickey telling us to rise and shine at 6:00 am, since we had a 7:30 am breakfast scheduled at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary. We caught the first bus labeled TTC so that we would arrive in plenty of time to catch the monorail to the hotel. Much to our surprise, we were one of two families on the bus. The other was going to breakfast at the Crystal Palace. The driver wanted to know where we were going. After a few minutes we discovered that instead of taking us to TTC or Magic Kingdom, he delivered us to the front door of the Contemporary Hotel! Once again, the good old Disney customer service was apparent and appreciated. After a great breakfast with Mickey, Minnie, and the others, we took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom at 9:00 am. Since we booked late we were told by MKC to inquire at Guest Services to receive our Magic Delivery, but alas, GS said that they stopped giving those out there 2 weeks ago, and we would have to await our package at home. Well, there was not point in that.

We then were off to Tomorrowland! Once inside we were able to ride Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin, Space Mountain (which was a first for my 5 year old, and boy, was she excited!), the Timekeeper, Astro Orbiter, TTA, and the Carousel of Progress. We wanted a last ride on COP just in case the rumors are true and it is retrofit or shut down altogether.

Next came Fantasyland, where we saw the Legend of the Lion King. Great Show! We had been in line 4 times in the last 4 years and always got out of line to go see something else. It's worth the wait!

We then went to Liberty Square and toured the Haunted Mansion! My daughter was not as excited about this as I was, but she enjoyed the ride just the same.

After a brief pause for a Mickey Bar, we headed to Frontierland and went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Not a bad ride, but fun nonetheless.

In Adventureland we visited the Enchanted Tiki Room (Under New Management) and enjoyed a great show.

We decided that we had accomplished a lot for just 5 hours and decided that it was time to get our place in line and see the Magical Moments Parade. After a quick lunch at Casey's, which incidentally has the best hot dogs in all of WDW, we staked out our spot to the right of the Castle, but left of the main entrance to Tomorrowland. My daughter enjoyed the parade immensely! She was invited out to dance twice!

After the parade, we headed back to Frontierland and took the raft across to Tom Sawyer Island. We had never done this before, but it gave us time to relax and explore the caves and shoot at the riverboat from the fort. We then proceeded to take the Jungle Cruise, another ride we somehow missed during all the other visits.

Next came the Main Street Electrical Parade! This is a new parade to our family since we have not been to Disneyland. We were in front of the Mickey Theater and had a great spot up front! Excellent parade! When it was completed, we wandered towards the castle to find a spot for the fireworks. We ended up settling for a table beside the ice cream parlor, and enjoyed a Napoleon as we watched the fireworks. At its conclusion, we took our bus back to the All-Star and decided to pick up a pizza in the food court before bed.

This had been a great first day! The week was just beginning, so there was no telling what magical moments were in store for us!

Day 2 of 7 (11/20)

Well, after a great nights sleep our wake-up call from Mickey came at 6:30 am. We got showered and dressed and took the bus to MK so that we could make our 8:00 am ressies at the Crystal Palace. Breakfast was great! I don't think my OJ glass ever got half empty.

Since the park wasn't crowded, we headed to Fantasyland to try and catch some of the rides we missed on Day I. We were able to almost walk on all of the rides. We rode Pooh's Adventure, Snow White's Scary Adventure, the Carousel, Peter Pan, Small World (without the Mattel Logo), and Dumbo. We then took the horse drawn trolley to the front gate. We were able to walk on the boat to TTC and noticed that we were the only people on it. That was kinda neat! After waiting 25 minutes for the bus we went to MGM.

MGM was not very crowded either. We picked up a Fast-Pass for 3 of us to ride the Rock and Roller Coaster and then saw the Beauty and the Beast and Ariel shows. After seeing these it was back to the RRC. After finding that my daughter was about an inch too short, my wife decided to not ride. Well, there I was with 3 fast passes, and only 1 rider. I decided to do the honorable thing... I rode all 3 times in under 50 minutes! Fast Pass was great. As for the RRC, well WOW! zero to sixty in just 2.8 seconds and then an invert! Needless to say, I thought the ride was a must do. My last ride was in the front car!

After catching my breath and purchasing a mug and pin from the gift shop outside RRC, I met my family and went to see Bear in the Big Blue House. We were the first in line so we sat up front and my daughter was invited to dance with some other kids in front.

Next came the animation tour, which is my daughter's favorite part of MGM, since she decided at 4 years old that she wants to be an animator when she grows up. After the tour was over, we went on the Backstage Pass Tour. Next came time to get in line for Fantasmic. We had blown this off last year because we were told that the lines were so long. Well much to our surprise, we were able to walk into the amphitheater about an hour and a half early, set in the first 5 rows, and go to the top of the stadium to get popcorn, hotdogs, pizza, drinks, etc. Needless to say, Fantasmic was GREAT! The idea of projecting video and animation onto a vertical screen of water is ingenious!

After the show we were tired, so we took the bus back to the All-Star Music and picked up dinner in the food court. During this time I purchased our E-Ride tickets for Wednesday, since the computer wouldn't allow them to be sold until today.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

Day 3 of 7 (11/21)

As Mickey says "Up and At 'Em". We received our wake-up call on time and caught the bus into Magic Kingdom for our breakfast at Cinderella's Castle. After a great time with Peter Pan, Belle, Cinderella and the Prince, we decided to catch some of the rides we missed on our previous two days.

In Tomorrowland we rode the Tomorrowland Speedway. After a brief session in Fantasyland on the Tea Cups we were heading to Animal Kingdom. On our way past the Pooh ride, we saw Donald (the hardest character to find) and Goofy. We took pictures and went to Ariel's Grotto to see her. After a brief session in Ariel's Grotto, we were leaving when I told Ellie from Golden Springs Colorado, Ariel's "handler" at the time, how much we appreciated all the cast members do to make each and every visit a magical one. This was our 4th trip in 3 years, and we've seen pushy parents and grandparents, and bratty kids and the like. They handle these "touchy" situations extremely well, and we thought that she would like to know that. She thanked us, and as we were leaving, asked what we were doing around 11:00 am. We told her that we were going to AK, but what did she have in mind? She said that she didn't want to upset our plans or interrupt our vacation, but that the Pooh characters ride their ride at 11:00 am. Would we like to ride with a character? OF COURSE! My daughter was beside herself! Ellie asked us to meet her at the Pooh gift shop to the right of the ride at 11:00 am.

Excited as we were for what was to come, we still had some time to kill. We rode the Pirates of the Caribbean, and toured Mickey and Minnie's houses. The Barnstormer was broken, so we didn't get to ride.

After arriving back at the Pooh ride, Ellie met us, took us to the front of the line, and we rode with Piglet! What a great photo opportunity for us as parents, with Piglet holding our daughter's hand during the entire ride! When the ride was over, the other three families that rode with Pooh, Eeyore and Tigger and ourselves were taken to a private photo session with all the characters across from the ride. We thanked Ellie and had her get in the picture with Rachael and Piglet. (We're going to send her a copy when it comes out.) After a hug, we took the train to main street station and left MK.

When we got up to the monorail, there was room for 2 people to accompany the driver and another couple up front! My daughter and I took advantage and rode to Epcot up front with the driver! This child was having a great day! We picked up a pair of Fast Passes for the Test Track, since the queue was about 95 minutes.

At Epcot, we went through the Coke Ice Station (bbrrrrrr!!!) and then picked up a passport for Rachael. We visited Mexico and rode the River of Time, Norway and rode the Maelstrom, China where we watched the 360 movie and Germany. In each of these countries, the cast member signed her passport in his or her native language, stamped it and wished her well! I also watched a great acrobatic exhibition by the Chinese outside of the Temple of Heaven.

We took one of the boats back across so that we could make it in time for our FP to Test Track. We rode Test Track (30 minutes) and were underwhelmed. Any ride that took almost 3 years to build should have been better. It wasn't bad, just not what I expected. Oh Well. We then journeyed to the Living Seas and wandered inside the aquarium. This is always a treat for us, since we are able to see the Manatees.

We then went to Journey Into Your Imagination. Not a bad ride, some neat effects. But then again, I never rode the old JII.

After a brief stop in Canada, we watched the movie and decided it was time to stake out our spot for Illuminations 2000: Reflections of Earth. We found a spot in the garden area just across the bridge and to the left of the International Gateway. My wife went back and picked up fish and chips (they were great!) and we awaited the show. And what a show! It was great! The globe of Earth and the video projected on it made for a sure spectacle!

Well since the show was over, we returned by bus to AS Music and decided to get some sleep. Only 3 days into a 7 day trip, and we were certainly enjoying the magic as only Disney could provide it!

Day 4 of 7 (11/22)

After waking up to Mickey, we were off to Animal Kingdom.

When we arrived, we had not eaten breakfast so we had a cinnamon roll and cereal in Africa, and then decided to catch as many shows as possible. We first arrived at the 8:15 am showing of the Lion King, then went straight into the show with Pocahontas. After this, we visited the "It's Tough to be a Bug" show. Great effects. My daughter really enjoyed the stink bug, though we did lean up to keep from being "stung" by the other bug. Next came the Flights of Fancy show. The hawk soared about 6 inches above our heads! We then moved on to the Tarzan Rocks show. It was mis-labeled. It should have been Tarzan Sucks! We didn't think that much of the show, although our 5 year old seemed to enjoy it. It looked to me like some old 80's vintage throwback lounge singer Rick Dees wannabe meets the X-games. Not the style or production flair that we would normally associate with a Disney production. Oh well, I guess even Disney has to have a flop here and there. I then rode the Countdown to Extinction ride. Pretty good ride. Since it was noon, we had reservations so we left the park.

After taking the bus to TTC, we then caught the monorail to the Grand Floridian and my daughter had a tea party with Alice. It was so cute. They had everything set up and ready for the children. This is a must do if you can get the reservation. During the tea party my wife and I had lunch in the Grand Floridian Cafe. Try the Praline Mousse. It's delicious! We picked up Rachael and decided to go back to the hotel to swim and get ready to go to Downtown Disney to shop and have dinner.

At Downtown Disney we arranged reservations at the Rainforest Cafe, but the girl working there was so rude, we decided to spend our money elsewhere. We were able to walk into Planet Hollywood with only a 15 minute wait once inside. Dinner was great, as always anywhere near Disney. We then went shopping and decided to call it a night.

Day 4 in the books. 3 more to go. I hope my feet hold out!

Day 5 of 7 (11/23)

We had an early wake up call so that we could get to MGM Studios for Breakfast with Minnie and Goofy at Hollywood and Vine. After making it to the bus platform, I decided that I had better check to make sure that the busses would be running on time. Our breakfast was scheduled at 8:10 am, but the parks didn't open until 9:00 am. After inquiring at the front desk, the gentleman told me that "NO, they only run one hour before park opening." I explained to him that they run earlier than that if there character meals scheduled inside the parks, like they do at MK, AK, and Epcot. He staunchly told me that this was not so. We do this every year, so we knew that he was mistaken or misinformed. He then made a call, and said that this was the policy. I looked him in the eye and told him that if we missed our breakfast, I would be very upset! He then suggested we take a cab, and they would reimburse me. Fair enough. We got in the cab and made our breakfast with time to spare. I was still a little upset, since I felt that his customer service skills were severely lacking, but he did, after much prodding, attempt to make the situation better.

We were not that wild about the character interaction at this breakfast. It takes 45 minutes to an hour for the characters to make it to the tables. That's a long time with children!

After breakfast it was 9:00 am and the park opened. We caught the Great Movie Ride and then hurried over to Muppet Vision 3D. We sat in the front row, since there were only about 60 people in the show.

Next came the Hunchback of Notre Dame show. We walked towards the pavilion, and I decided to do some "Singin' in the Rain" under the umbrella. What a hoot that was for the other guests who had never seen it run before.

Again, we sat in the second row at the Hunchback show since there weren't many people there. This is always a great show, and I highly recommend it for anyone going to MGM.

We always make it a point to see Lindy, our favorite sketch artist at MGM Studios. Last year she let my daughter set in her chair and trace a picture of Donald Duck to take home. We had purchased several of her sketches and had them framed. This year she had been moved to the store with the watches. We found her and she remembered us and called my daughter by her name, Rachael. We were so surprised! She then asked Rachael if this year she would trace something for her wall at home. Rachael jumped at the chance, and chose Sleeping Beauty. While she traced it, Lindy gave us a nice gift for Rachael from her. We always enjoy seeing Lindy, and she is such a sweet young lady. It's no wonder she is one of the top 3% of all Disney Employees.

We then had an appointment to see the Disney Vacation Club, so we boarded the boat to Boardwalk for our preview.

After seeing the facts, we decided to join. I recommend this for anyone who vacations at Disney annually. No more All-Star Music for us. They even gave us lunch at the restaurant (grill) outside of the membership office. After signing all of the paperwork and eating lunch, our DVC membership coordinator, Karen, arranged a van ride back to our resort.

We spent some time in the pool, and then got ready to go back to see the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights. We usually miss this, since it doesn't start until Thanksgiving night. This year it started earlier and it was well worth the trip back. It helps to put you in the Christmas Spirit well before you should be!

Well, 5 days in the books and my feet hurt.

Just 2 more days to go!

Day 6 of 7 (11/24)

We were awakened to the sounds of Mickey and got ready for breakfast.

Breakfast this morning would be at 1900 Park Fare with Mary Poppins in the Grand Floridian. We caught the bus to Magic Kingdom, then took the monorail to the GF. The service at 1990 PF was average to say the least. We enjoyed the food, but would probably not go back again, though it was good to see Mary Poppins.

My wife had a 1/2 day planned at the Disney Institute Spa, so she took a shuttle over and we were left to fend for ourselves. We took the monorail to the TTC and picked up another one to Epcot to try and finish off my daughter's passport.

Once inside Epcot, we visited Innoventions West and took in the exhibits. Next we were off to the United Kingdom, France, where we watched the movie and they sprayed her passport with perfume, then Morocco, the United States, Japan and Italy. All of the countries were now finished, so we caught the boat across the lake to meet Adriane for our Ice Cream Social with Mickey at the Garden Grill in the Land pavilion.

The ice cream was delicious, and we spent time with Mickey and Chip and Dale. We usually eat dinner here Thanksgiving, so we naturally love the restaurant.

Next it was the bus to the hotel to rest for E-Ride night at MK. After arriving early for E-ride, we watched the Main Street Electrical Parade again. During this time, we decided to upgrade our 7-day Park Hopper Plusses to Annual Passes. The customer service rep at MGM and Karen at DVC told us that since we were moving our annual vacation to the week before Thanksgiving rather than the week of Thanksgiving, we should upgrade. We had also not used any of the Plus options, so we would not have to upgrade to the Premium Annual Pass. The young lady at the counter in Guest Services gladly took my money and gave us the upgrade. One small problem though. She said that the passes would expire October 23, the date that we purchased them through the mail. We assured her that this was not what we had been told. If this was the case, why should we even bother to upgrade? She smiled, spoke with the manager on duty, and told us that this was the new policy, and the other cast members must not have been aware of it yet. She did change our expiration on the Annual Passes to be one year from the day of first use of our Park Hoppers. This means that during our vacation next year, our entry into the park will only have cost us about $150. This is great!

We then took off for the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House before E-ride began. We also rode the TTA one last time. During E-ride we rode the Astro-orbiter, Buzz and Splash Mountain.

It was time to go to the hotel and sleep. It would be a short night before our last day.

Day 7 of 7 (11/25)

Thanksgiving Day! Our last day for this trip. We decided to cancel our reservations at O'Hanas in the Polynesian the night before so that we could sleep in.

We had breakfast in the food court and headed towards the bus to take us to MK.

Inside MK we decided to ride the riverboat, since we had missed it 3 times earlier. Towards the end of the ride, we went up and spoke with the young lady, Sarah, piloting the boat. She let my daughter steer and gave her a certificate making her an honorary riverboat pilot. What a nice surprise. We then took in the Hall of Presidents and since the crowds were so bad, decided to go to Epcot.

After taking the monorail to Epcot, we went inside Spaceship Earth.

Next came the rains. We decided to catch desert in the Land pavilion and then cancel our dinner reservations at the Garden Grill. We were tired, and didn't want to run around in the rain all day.

We went back to our room, had a great thanksgiving meal from the foodcourt, and watched movies and packed to get ready for our 7:00 am flight back to Oklahoma.

We enjoyed our trip, but it was time to get home.

My feet still hurt, but I made it through 7 full days in Disney. We rode almost everything. We missed Body Wars, Cranium Command, Honey I Shrunk the Audience, The Indiana Jones Stunt Show, Star Tours, The Tower of Terror, the Country Bear Jamboree and the Extra-terrorestrial Adventure, but we had a blast nonetheless.

Patrick C. Carr

thecarrs@tcac.net

__________________
You just read a trip report that was originally published in our MousePlanet Trip Reports column.

Reader-submitted trip reports have always been an extremely popular feature here at MousePlanet. In order to improve the search functionality and shorten the time from when you submit a trip report and the report gets published, you can now post your trip reports directly to our Trip Report forums. The forums are moderated, but reports should become available for reading very quickly.