Trip Reports

10/29/99-11/7/99

Cast: Me-32 yrs, physician, my wife-32 yrs physician. This trip was mostly the result of my planning with approval from my wife. I am from California, and I have been to Disneyland over 20 times. This is my third trip to Orlando. Given all the new developments by Universal we decided to spend the first three days with them followed by 6 days with Disney. The 7 in 7 refers to 7 major theme parks in 7 days although we actually visited 7 parks in 9 days, but 7 in 7 sounds better. We are the epitome of commando-type park tourers, maybe even Navy Seals in our case. I apologize for including some Universal days in RADP, but it may be of interest to some and the comparison between Universal and Disney I think is interesting.

Day 0 &1

We booked two separate packages, one through Universal Escape and the other through CRO. I must say that Universal was less than helpful. We chose a package which included park passes and three nights hotel. I booked one additional hotel night via the internet because Universal would not let me add on an extra room-only day. The package also included a dinner at the Nascar Café or the Hard Rock Café in Citywalk, as well as a Citywalk party pass for one night which gives you admission to all the nightclubs, one race simulator ride at Nascar Café and one movie pass to the multiplex there. For some reason Universal does not have a pass which includes a party pass for the length of your stay ala the Unlimited Magic Pass. The pass I chose was a three day pass for USF and IOA, a single day pass for Sea World, and a single night admission to HHN(halloween horror night at USF). They also have some multipasses which allow hopping between USF, IOA, and Sea World for 4 days, but this would have been more expensive.

We flew with Continental from Newark even though we live in Manhattan because the flight times worked out the best. We arrived on schedule at 9:20 pm and went to the rental car counter. Is the Dollar Fastlane supposed to speed anything up? This is the first time I have used this since I joined, but it did not seem to help at all. Next we drove toward Universal and checked into the Delta Orlando resort, my main mistake of my trip planning. I failed to read the warnings about this "resort" until it was too late. To sum it up it is an expensive cheap motel. Also since I had booked the first night through the internet, we would have to check out in the morning and check back in.

We took an 8am shuttle to Universal and got there about 8:20. They do have shuttles to Universal, Sea World, and Wet and Wild, but they do not run at consistent intervals throughout the day. We first had to exchange our vouchers, which after some initial misdirection, we accomplished. We also picked up our 'ride it again' cards which allows you to stay on certain attractions for a second time. One pass is good for up to a group of six. This can be used for Spiderman and Cat in the Hat at IOA and Kongfrontation and Earthquake at USF, one time for each ride. They let us in a bit early at 8:50am. They let you into the Portal of Entry area a bit earlier if you want to do some early shopping. Make sure to put cameras or bags in lockers before going on Hulk. The lockers let you use them for 90 min free or else they will make you. If you do not claim your belongings in the locker by 90 min, it is $2 per 30 min thereafter. We went on Hulk, Spiderman, Dr Doom, and JPRA all with no wait. We then went on Dueling Dragons, Fire first row, 15 min wait, Ice, last row (no wait), then Cat in the Hat, 30 min. Since the park was getting crowded we decided to try the Triceratops encounter, which was not the greatest. We had lunch at the Enchanted Oak Tavern which as some pretty good BBQ. The line was relatively short for One Fish, Two Fish (20 min wait) so we tried it and had a good time. We next went to the two shows, the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad (shows are at specific times) then Poseidon's Fury (40 min wait, runs continously with a two stage preshow). I definitely like Poseidon much better than Sinbad, the effects were more interesting and the show was a great concept with creative use of various effects.

We had tickets for HHN at USF for that night and we heard that it was good to be there before the regular closing time of 5:30, we decided to switch to USF at about 4pm. HHN was supposed to be from 7-We went on Twister with no wait, then let us in at 5:30 to the NY area. People were already lining up for the 3D Creature Feature, so we got in line. While there we were entertained by roaming characters in costume who were scaring everyone. We got lucky and they let us into the 3D maze at 6:00 and we were one of the first in line. I thought that this was the best maze because of the 3D effects, other than that it was similar to the other mazes. This turned out to be great because later in the evening the line was incredibly long. We then had dinner at Midway of the Bizarre which is basically the usual carnival games with a heavy layer of smoke and wandering scary clowns. We decided to head next to Insanity and Psycho which are in the same building. Unfortunately if you want to go to both, you have to get the same line twice. We decided to try Insanity (which opened about 6:45 pm, 15 min wait), but skipped Psycho. The Mummy and Doomsday have a similar setup to Insanity in Psycho in that you have to wait in the same line twice. I can imagine if the line were longer, which it was later in the evening, it would be practically unbearable. We went through the Mummy maze twice since we missed the turnoff for Doomsday the second time. Then we did Doomsday (20 min wait). During the evening they have the Festival of the Dead Parade which is similar to their Mardi Gras parade with floats, beads, etc. We checked out the first one, which was pretty fun. We then decided to try the shows, first Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure which was heayy on Dr Evil from Austin Powers. It was a very good show with some good music. We then went on Jaws at night (30min wait), which was quite a change from going on during the day, followed by ET with a 5 min wait. We saw the magic show, Deadly D'Illusions which was not very good. Although the park closed at 2am this evening, we decided to call it an early night at 11pm. It was incredibly crowded at this point.

Day 2(Sea World)

Because of our complicated travel arrangements, we had to check out in the morning, then check back in. This time we received a Universal Escape welcome envelope and were told that this package included an upgraded room with a refrigerator and a microwave. Since we were in a hurry, and did not want to pack and move (no one told us to expect this the night before), we asked if we could change rooms in the afternoon and they said that would be fine. We decided to spend the entire day at Sea World. We decided to drive rather than take the shuttle, because there were relatively few shuttle to SW. We arrived for the opening at 9am and went on Journey to Atlantis first. This is a pretty cool coaster/flume ride combo with a bit of a story thrown in. There are a few interesting effects during the ride, but you do get pretty wet. We next went to Wild Arctic (note this area did not open until 10am, rest opened at 9am). We took the air route although you can also go by land. It is a decent motion ride with the usual preshow. Unfortunately there are not many animals at the “Base Station”, only one sea lion, one polar bear, two walruses, and some salmon. The rest of the day was spent watching shows and feeding the animals. We went to the Clyde and Seymore sea lion show (silly pirate story thrown in for effect), then the

dolphin show (pretty good). After that we went to feed the dolphins ($3 for 4 small fish) which is done at about 2 hour intervals throughout the day. This was the highlight of our trip, I could have spent the whole day there. You can actually pet the animals as you feed them, the interaction is quite amazing. They had a Discovery Cove preview center which we did not check out, but we are definitely interesting in this park when it opens. For those of you who do not know about this next Sea World park, it will be an interactive marine animal park which will be by reservation only and will cost $150 per personWe next went to see the Pacific Point Reserve which has quite a few sea lions which we also fed ($3 for 1 tray(4 fish)or 2 trays for $5)). Though rather noisy, they are fun too, but not as much as the dolphins. You do not get to touch these animals. By the way you can also feed stingrays ($3 for squid)(and pet them), which we did not do, since we have been to Stingray City in Grand Cayman.

We then went to see Shamu (There are two orcas, which is shamu?). This is a very interesting and enjoyable show (don’t miss this one), I love the giant screen. We decided to sit in the splash zone, beware, you will get wet! They also have an Extreme Water

Sports show which we decided check out, which wasn’t too bad. Don’t forget the dolphin nursery which has some of the younger dolphins. They have the typical aquarium, “Tropical reef” which is quite nice with some very interesting fish, etc.

We had lunch at the Smokehouse quite good ribs, chicken, and beef brisket and cheaper than IOA, are we sensing a theme here? That's right stinky hands! We next went to the Terrors of the Deep exhibit which has quite an amazing display of eels, stingrays (not a terror at all), and many(!) sharks. We then visited the Budweiser hospitality center-free beer, need I say more? (they also have some food, by the way) Quite a few choices besides choices just regular Bud, they have Michelob as well. We quickly checked out the Penguin exhibit, then decided to call it a day about 5pm. Definitely a full day.

Back to hotel room, changed to new room with minifrig and microwave. Next, onto Citywalk. We had made reservations for Emeril’s about one month in advance, but all they had available was 9:30pm. Fortunately, when I had called earlier in the day they were able to move up our reservation to 9:00, at which time they also mentioned that free valet parking (validated) is available (2hrs Mon-Fri, unlimited on Sat, Sun). This is also available for most of the other restaurants (ask when making reservations). Just a side note about Citywalk (which I will describe in more detail on Day 3, since that is when we had planned to use our Citywalk Party Pass), this is a pretty cool looking place, but does not quite measure up to the standard set by PI IMHO. Emeril’s is a very nice looking restaurant and rather upscale (entrees $18-24, special are $35-$40 for some reason). We have also been to Emeril’s Fish House in Las Vegas and my wife has been to Emeril’s in New Orleans. Although the regular menu sounded incredible, we decided to try the Degustation (Tasting Menu). It is a six course Prix Fixe meal for $65, optional wine pairings are $45 additional. I did not feel like drinking six glasses of wine, so we only got the wine pairing for one meal. The menu included Smoked Salmon, Tuna, Redfish, Quail, Filet of Beef, and a Berry-filled meringue for desert. Of course each of these courses was prepared in a lavish manner with a cajun influence, Oven roasted Mississippi farm raised quail with seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras, braised red cabbage and an Oxtail ragout for example. It really was an incredible meal and all the wines were first class including a Chateau Margaux which was not part of the regular wine pairing, but which they offered to us (I don’t know if my sending back an overcooked tuna filet had anything to do with it). I think it was worth what we paid, but I am not sure that I would do it again. We were done by 11:00, and we rushed back to our hotel to sleep. I don’t know if anyone has noticed at this point, but we have skipped any afternoon break, two days in a row. This is definitely a mistake! Please take the advice of many others and take an afternoon break, on the days we did we felt much better, and the days we did not, we regretted it. For those of you Disney fans, only one more day at Universal.

Day 3, IOA, USF

IOA was scheduled for early opening at 8am. We were there at 7:45 and were first in line at the turnstiles. There were about 50 other people there. We thought we were in great luck and had planned to ride the first row of Hulk at least twice. When they let us in at 8:00, we were wondering why the Hulk wasn’t running as it usually does prior to opening. We then got in and asked one of the employees who told us that

only Cat in the Hat and Spiderman were operating. What kind of early opening is this?! Only two rides operating! No wonder there were so few people there at 8:00. We went on Spiderman, but it malfunctioned and it took us through the ride with badly timed 3-D effects and no motion effects. Fortunately, they let us ride again, when it almost worked completely except for one bad 3-D effect in the beginning. We even found out that we missed one of the effects the first time we rode. We then went on Cat in the Hat. We went back to try to ride Spiderman again since we still had some time before the rest of the rides opened (9:00), but by now the line was pretty long, so we decided to skip it. We went back to Hulk to try to be first in line when it opened, but then found out it was malfunctioning. It turns out it did not work until 10:30. We thought maybe now would be a good time to try the Pterandon flyers, but it opens at 10:00. We then decided to go on Ripsaw Falls, Bilge Rat Barges (with no wait). We went to Me Ship the Olive to try the water cannons, which are pretty fun, but there are only three (two of which were working). Since it was after 10:00, we decided to go back to Pterandon flyers, we got there 1020, but now there was a 75min wait! This length of wait persisted throughout the day. If you want a short line, you had better line up a little before 10am. We also wanted to try the Island Skipper tours, but they were not working. At about 10:30, Hulk was finally working, but now there was a 10 min wait, and 30 min for the front, so we sat in second row. We went to check out the JP discovery center (which opens at 10am). There is not much of interest there except for children. We rode DD, Fire and Ice first row both each with a 5 min wait, love that loop duel!

Now to USF, we went to T2 straight into preshow. Fortunately we just missed a downpour while inside. The weather report at this point was not too encouraging. Tropical Depression Katrina was now moving across central Florida, and although it was not supposed to be too serious, it was supposed to dump a few buckets of rain, and this was our night to check out Citywalk with our Party Pass. We had lunch at the Beverly Hills Boulangerie, which incidentally has a nice fruit salad. We decided to go on BTTF (10min wait), followed by Earthquake (10 min wait), then Kongfrontation (10min). I decided against using our “Ride it Again” pass, who wants to ride Earthquake or Kong twice in a row? Now almost 3pm, we took a break until 5pm. I wanted to see IOA at night so we went back there. We went on Hulk, 2nd row (walk on), followed by the Island Skipper tour (kinda lame, but saves the feet). Next, Poseidon’s Fury (walk in to preshow), love that tunnel, but two preshows is a bit much. On to One fish, Two fish, at which point it started to rain. We tried Hulk at night, which by the way they ran in they rain, and were pelted rather hard in the face with raindrops. We still had some time before closing so, with our ponchos on, we went to Ripsaw Falls (walk on), the drop is even more fun at night. At this point, it was time to go.

Included in our package was one dinner at either Hard Rock or Nascar Café. The menu at Nascar did not sound too appetizing, so we started to walk to Hard Rock. I should also mention that our coupons for dinner also included a front of the line pass as well as one entrée, non-alcoholic beverage, tax and gratuity. Dinner was usual Hard Rock fare, now to Citywalk. We had to exchange our vouchers for Party Passes at the Citywalk box office. The regular price for these passes is $18. The Party pass includes admission to all the clubs, Marley’s, Buffet’s, Pat O’Briens Dueling Pianos, etc. as well as one Nascar race car simulator ride, and one admission to the multiplex movie theater at Citywalk. I should mention a few caveats at this point. The Nascar Café closes early, 9pm, so we missed our Simulator ride, and admission to the various clubs is free before a certain time, ranges from 7-9pm depending on the club. In addition, individual admissions to the clubs can be purchased separately for $3-5. We first tried Bob Marley’s Tribute to Freedom. The club does have a nice look, reminiscent of the Islands, the ever-present gift shop, and beware Expensive drinks ($7-8)! Also, the band which did not play much Marley, was not particularly good. We then went to Pat O’Brien’s which is a replica of the one in New Orleans, including the famous Hurricane ($8.50). They have pretty good Dueling pianos which we enjoyed for almost 2 hours, in part because it took 30 min to get out check. It was now almost 11pm. Things seem to close early here, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville was already closed. It would definitely not be worth $18, I would suggest purchasing individual admissions instead ($3-5). This is not Pleasure Island, there is no comedy club or Adventurer’s Club. We went home at 11pm.

Day 4, MGM & Epcot, including Fantasmic! Dinner Package and Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Checked out of Delta Orlando (glad to be out of that place) at 6:30am. We then checked into Port Orleans. Many thanks to RADPers who in response to my question regarding building preference, suggested number 5. We asked for a room in this building, and two were immediately available. This turned out to be a great location, close to the food court (ideal for those mug refills), pool, and bus stop. Right away the difference between a Disney resort and one close to Universal was dramatic. The check in was incredibly smooth (not as though it was the first day they were operating a hotel associated with a theme park!), the surrounding were impeccably manicured and clean, and there was a general sense of organization and well being. Although we could have gone to see our room, I wanted to head straight to Epcot since it was an EE day. Welcome to the world! We got lucky with buses today, no wait all day. We had planned one EE day at Epcot just to ride TT, which we promptly did two times in a row, front and back row. We next went to Innoventions, JIYI, HISTA, body wars, and just missed cranium command. One of our other goals this trip was to check out the food and wine festival. Of course we ended up eating too much, but drank just enough. There was an incredible assortment of food and wine at 30 "marketplaces" throughout the WS. Each had 2 or 3 food choices, often one was a desert, prices ranged from $1-4. Each stand also had 2 or 3 wines ($2-4). Some of the stands by the Millenium Village had wine only. There were also small (20min) and large (45 min) wine seminars in the afternoon at which they discuss a few wines with free tastings. In addition there was an international food court in the Millenium Village. We tried paella from Spain, peanut coated chicken from Africa (in MV), cassoulet from France, lau bing from China, marinated salmon from Norway, and Shrimp from the specialty marketplace of the day. Each day there is a different specialty marketplace from a WDW restaurant. Although the portions of food were rather small, they were quite tasty. Probably 2-3 per person would make a nice lunch. The hard part is choosing which to try. We also tried a few of the wines which were also quite good. We also visited the Millenium Village and walked through the Eggs and tried the motion ride in the Israel area. What's your gift to the world?

At about 1:30 we decided to head back to the hotel. Since we heard that the weather was going to turn unseasonably cool for the next couple of days (which it did) we decided to try the pool while it was still relatively warm. We found our room (garden view), unpacked, and went to the food court to buy our refillable mugs. Although we are not big soda drinkers, after reading about the mugs in RADP, I felt obligated to buy one (almost $10 each incl. tax). I had heard about the Fantasmic dinner package on RADP and Deb Wills site, so one week ago I made reservations for tonight at 5:20 for the Brown Derby. For those of you who do not already know, the Fantasmic dinner package can be reserved up to 7 days in advance at either Brown Derby or Mama Melrose's. For no charge, you get a PS at either restaurant and a pass which guarantees you a seat for Fantasmic. There are a few caveats though. Each adult must purchase an entree, the latest PS is 5:20pm, and the reserved section is on the far right. After dinner, you are given a pass to enter Fantasmic after 6:30. You enter near the front gates by the gas station are directed to the Fastasmic stadium. Before dinner, we had time to the Muppets, which was a lot of fun as always. Unfortunately, though it left out a bit too close to the time of our PS for my comfort. When we got to the restaurant, they said they were about 20 min or so behind in seating. I would recommend to others to either make an earlier reservation or arrive 10-15 min before your PS if it is late like ours was. By the time we were seated (about 5:45), I did feel a bit rushed although we did have ample time for dinner, but ordering desert would have been pushing it. Dinner at Brown Derby was excellent, similar to the last time we were here two years ago. I had the famous cobb salad and wild mushroom stuffed pork loin, and my wife had the shellfish medley with grouper. Both entrees were very good. On to Fantasmic! Although, the reserved seating is on the far right, I thought that given the distribution of the water screens, our view was fine, but if you just have to sit in the center section, you had better wait in line with the rest of the crowd about 1 ½ hours before show time. On the other hand, if that kind of wait bothers you (as it does me), go for the dinner package, you get a nice meal, and you only have to sit about 20-30 min before the show starts. And in fact, before the show starts you get some audience-provided entertainment hosted by some character. He had one child from each section volunteer to tell a joke. The funniest one of the evening was "What does MGM stand for?"."Mickey's got your money". Although I am sure that this joke is not original, it did strike us as very funny (true) at that point. On with the show! We both thoroughly enjoyed the show, I thought it was the right length and had a nice mix of effects. I really enjoy shows on water screens for some reason.

After that, we exited with the rest of the massive crowd and got on a bus after not much of a wait and were back to PO before we knew it. Since this was our night for PI, we took the boat cruise to Disney marketplace. We had been to Ghiradelli's in San Francisco and enjoyed it, so even though we really didn't have room for it, we decided to try it for dessert. Again it was fun and very good, although not for those with small appetites, I personally recommend sharing one dessert between two people. Now to PI. We went to the Adventurer's Club first (and last), determined to stay for the new member induction. Almost immediately we were ushered into the library for the radiothon. We had seen it twice before, but it still is a lot of fun. After that we hung out in the lobby, I did not realize that the other shows in the side room start after they let people into the library. I guess they do that to handle the overflow. After about 10 min, they started the new member induction (kungaloosh), followed by the corresponding library show. After that we decided to skip the next library show and hang out in the mask room, which started right after they stopped letting people into the lobby. It seemed shorter than the last time we saw it (only about 5 min long). By this time it was getting quite late (11:30), so we headed back to PO 11:30, this time by bus.

Day 5, MGM & Hoop Dee Do Review

Tip for today: Transportation within WDW is free.

How is everybody doing today? Up at 6am for MGM EE, since we know they actually open at 7:30. I don't know if this strategy is the greatest, since they limit the open attractions to a few. In fact, the only ones open were ToT, GAMR, and RNRRC. Star Tours did not open until 9:00, contrary to what it said in the Disney Surprise mornings guide. When the park opened at 7:30, we headed straight for ToT, then we noticed that RNRRC was open so we got in line (no wait). I really liked the preshow, but does EVERY ride need a preshow now? The screen for the brief movie was incredible it must have been High Definition. I though the ride was incredible, 0-60 in 2.8 sec. Somehow I thought that there would be more signs along the rode (ride). Also, I wasn't sure if they would let us wait for the front row, since it seems to more efficient to have all the cars filled which seems to correspond to the preshow (2 full cars/show). We sat in the last row, then the second time tried the fourth row. I also thought that the soundtrack did add to the ride as well as the sound effects in the beginning of the ride. If I were to compare the initial launch to the one on the Hulk, in IOA, I would have to give the edge to the Hulk. I think that since you are angled up, like a launch as opposed to the cars being flat, makes it seem faster even though the Hulk only reaches 40mph, while the RNRRC accelerated to 60mph. We then went to Star Tours and were told that it doesn't open til 9, but that Muppets is open (great). Then went to GMR (gangster side, no line), we never seem to be able to get the Cowboy side for some reason. Star Tours was now open, stop at Tatooine Traders to offload some cash on two light sabers with sound that I had been looking for. Brief rant: does every ride need to exit into a narrow giftshop. By the end of the week, this was really getting on my nerves. Universal seems to have copied this from Disney, only adding to my irritation. End Rant. We made it to the first showing of Sounds Dangerous, a little low budget for my taste, but still a fun show. I think this show needs replacement in short order, those little headphones made it seem tacky for some reason. I think Muppets without the movie would make a better show. Next to Little Mermaid, never get sick of this one. On to Doug Live!, not the best show I have seen (my wife really did not like it, but she had never seen Doug, while I had, even before it was associated with Disney), I actually thought that the audience participation part of the show was the best. Another brief rant: How does Disney magically claim all of the characters as their own. Were they the ones to develop Doug? Also, I saw Pokemon merchandise everywhere, are they going to make it Mickey's long lost brother or something just to cash in?! End rant.

My excitement to try Disney Quest would not let me wait any longer, so off we go. We drove to Disney's West Side and went straight to DQ ($27 reg entry). This place is a little tricky to navigate. We first tried Virtual Jungle Cruise and although we liked it, it was not our favorite. We saw water on the sides of one raft, but we did not get wet at all, malfunction maybe? Next, Treasure of the Incas in which one person drives a remote controlled car through a maze, while the other person guides you to the treasure by watching the car go through the maze, we got bored with this quickly. There was about a 20 min wait for Hercules, they did not seem to be filling each room to capacity (only four) which I think increased the wait, in addition to the fact that each game is 5 min long. This was a fun game but the first time is a little tricky to get used to the controls, the second time is much better. I was starving by this point so we went to lunch at the FoodQuest (Cheesecake Factory Express). Cheesecake is on one floor (fourth) and other food is on the floor above, which is divided into three sections. One with pizza and some sandwiches, one with hamburgers and wraps, and the other with freshly made salads. The food looked incredible, I could have eaten here every day. I couldn't resist the hand made hamburger which most people were having. The only problem with making the food fresh in this setting is that you have to wait for it to be made. There were only three people in front of me, but I still had to wait almost 20 min for my order to be ready. It was a great cheeseburger even though the meat was significantly smaller than the bun. Since we anticipated an all-you-can, I mean, I all-you-care to eat dinner, we decided to hold off on dessert, even though I was tempted. Also be careful how much you eat before you go on very many of these virtual reality rides, they can make you a bit seasick.

We then tried Buzz Lightyear's AstroBlaster, our favorite ride/game. We rode 3 times, as well as the Mighty Duck's Pinball, Aladdin's magic carpet ride, Invasion!, Ride the Comix, and some of the video games. The name "Ride the Comix" is somewhat deceiving since it is actually a virtual reality light saber fighting game, but it is a lot of fun. I was a bit surprised that they had so many of the new video games including Star Wars Trilogy, many racing games and many simulator games (wave runner, water skiing, hang gliding, etc.). But, the main problem I saw with these areas is that since you can continue an unlimited number of times, kids seem to stay on these games forever and don't let anyone else play. I think there should be some notices up indicating that if someone is waiting you should limit the number of continues.

One little secret of sorts I did find out about was that in the area where the games you play for tickets are there are some basketball games which are free, whereas the basketball games in the videogame areas were always occupied, these were often unoccupied. A note about this area with the games in which you win tickets. You have to buy points to play the games in this are $5 for 10 points, i.e. $0.50 per game. Keep this in mind in case you are planning to try this, I am not sure how much whatever prize you win would actually end up costing you. The crowds weren't too bad though.

Lastly, we decided it was time for CyberSpace mountain, saving the best for last, and letting me digest my lunch some. We loved this ride! The first coaster we designed was a 2, a bit boring, so we tried another one, this time making sure to pick only the red or "danger" tracks, and even though one segment was a yellow (they, or physics forced us to do it), we made it to a 5! (with 9 loops). Much more fun than the last time. We did not have time to check out the create zone which looked interesting, but cost extra to buy your creations. The waits in general were not too bad, in general less than 10 min. I would be curious to see how crowded it gets later in the evening.

Since we were in the area we went for drinks at Bongo's (not cheap, $8/drink). If was fun to sit on the bongo drum stools, but nothing special. Back to PO for a brief rest before Hoop dee do (7:15 show). I would recommend taking the boat from MK if possible, which was our original plan, since the two bus trip from PO was a bit tiring. Disney really seems to be pushing DVC more that the last time I was here, offering free photos taken in the DVC information area. We refused to do this on principle even though the check in person at HDD seemed to make it be required. The show was fun, but I think mainly geared to families with small children. The dinner consisted of fried chicken, ribs, salad, beans, corn (unfortunately not on the cob), and strawberry shortcake for dessert (all you can eat of course which we complied with). Back to PO, another long day.

Day 6, MK & Epcot (Dive Quest)

Tips for today:

Amex card users receive white glove treatment
Dining reservations can be made from your room by dialing 55
We started the day with MK EE at 8:00. Along with the small crowd, we headed to Space Mtn, Buzz(172000, 30000), Pooh, Peter Pan, Splash Mtn, BTMRR, HM, PotC, JC, AE, Teacups, Railroad to entrance and left at 1pm. By that time the park seemed pretty crowded, but when we checked the board the waits were only 10-20 min. I did not want to include too much about the MK, since I wanted to focus on things that have not already been extensively discussed. But we did like Pooh, interestingly it is somewhat similar to Cat in the Hat in IOA. We had lunch at PO in the food court, I had a pretty good stuffed baked potato.

After a short rest we went to Epcot at 3pm. A while back I had made arrangements for Dive Quest at 4:30, they said to be at guest relations at 4:15. By the time we got to Epcot, we had time for Cranium Command and a visit to Ice Station Cool. For some reason, the last time we to Epcot, we checked Ice Station and it was closed, and we checked at least 2 or 3 times. But this time we made it in. Of course I had to play the Beverly trick on my wife, who did not appreciate the humor in it at all. My favorite was the apple one from Mexico.

At 4:15 we made it back to the front entrance and met our guides. They began by leading us "backstage" and showed us the filtration system and gave us a brief description of the living seas. We were warned that for most of the time, we would "on stage", so we should behave accordingly. There were four other divers with us. We were then led to a briefing room where we watched a short video about the dive and the living seas and of course we had to sign waiver and show our proof of open water certification-C cards. They took us to changing rooms where we were provided a bag with a short wet suit and booties and a key to a locker. We went through a door which led to the living seas viewing area then up a spiral staircase to the dive preparation area on top of the tank. Were were told the ground rules for the dive including staying at least 10 ft away fence that separates the dolphins from the rest of the tank. Other than that, there were not many rules. The tanks were set up and we were introduced to the two dive guides and the videographer. They also had masks and fins. The only equipment you are allowed to bring is a watch and mask. The dive was scheduled to be a 35min dive with a maximum depth of 27 ft. The gauge does not include a depth indicator, since as our guide told us, if you are more than 30 feet deep, you would be have to dig a hole in the bottom of the tank. The water is a bit cold 74oF and takes some getting used to. About the first 15 min of the dive are guided, mainly it seems to makes things easy for the video person. After that you are allowed to dive with your buddy until they signal you that the dive is over. Although there are not a ton of fish in the tank, there are many interesting ones. We saw lots of rays, (eagle, spotted), 3 brown sharks, a large turtle, large jacks. The sharks were very cool and my favorite part of the dive. They are about 6 ft long and seem quite timid. You get to swim by the viewing areas, both in the living seas are and the Coral Reef restaurant, which is fun, especially if you have any family or friends watching you. They let you pose in front of them so the video person can film you. Once the dive is over, they immediately take you back to the changing room where you can shower (a very nice shower I must say with better shampoo than that in the hotel. Once done you go back to the briefing room where they give you a nice T-shirt, a certificate, and a stamp for your dive log, if you brought one (which we did). In the meantime, the video is being edited so that you can watch it and decide whether you would like to purchase one ($35 each). They also provided free soft drinks (in cans), coffee, and hot chocolate.

The cost of the dive is $140 per person and apparently goes toward supporting various marine conservation measures supported by Disney. Overall, I thought it was a great experience, but not one that I will be repeating in the near future. For dinner we decided to eat around the world-chicken satay, cream of lobster soup, fish and chips, marinated salmon roll, cassoulet, taco, pretzel, beer (the American Pavilion has 8 kinds of craft beer) and wine. At about 7:30 we found a reasonable spot for Illuminations near Italy, which I thought was a pretty good spot, especially if you can get the courtyard opposite the center of Italy. This turned out to be a good time to set up because by the time we finished our beer, it was time for the Tapestry of Nations (8:10, a great parade), followed by Illuminations 2000:Reflections of Earth. We both really loved this version of Illuminations, it really is a moving experience. My favorite part was the first portion with the fire effects. We left with the massive crowds, but made it back to PO in a reasonable period of time, refilled our mugs, and went to sleep.

Day 7, AK & E-ride

You have to make sure to catch one of the first buses in order to make it to AK for opening at 8am. We were a little late for the bus, we got to the stop at 7:30, but by 7:45, there was no bus and there were a lot of people waiting. So, we decided to drive. We ended up getting there by about 8:10 and we headed straight for KS along with many other people. As I had heard from other reports, there were not very many animals to see on the morning safari. It turned out to much better when we came on a subsequent day in the afternoon. We decided to go for the first showing of the Festival of Lion King, theater did not even fill up. I agree with others that this is the best of the production shows, but a bit much on the audience participation. We followed that with Ctx with only a short wait. We really enjoyed this ride, but the lighting could be a bit better in some spots, especially at the end. The motion part of the ride is very good, better than Spiderman at IOA. Next, Tarzan Rocks-if you like the songs from the movie, you'll like this show. I thought they could have used the characters from the movie more, it was quite a while until we even saw Tarzan himself. The Phil Collins knockoff just doesn’t thrill me. I was not very impressed with Dinoland, USA even with the McDonald’s. We walked the Pangani trail, but unfortunately there were not very many gorillas to see. It was the warmest part of the day so we decided to go on Kali. Warning! You will get soaking wet!, well if you are sitting in the unlucky seats as I was you definitely will. A fun ride, but a bit short. I thought that the comparable ride at IOA (Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges) had better whitewater sections and more drops. Of course the scenery is much better on Kali. Since we were in the are, we went on the Maharajah jungle trek. Here we got some great photos of the Tigers, and the bats were pretty neat, even though they were sleeping. We had been to the Rainforest Café at the Disney Marketplace the last time we were here and had a good time, so we decided to have lunch at the one at AK. There was about a 45 min wait, so we decided to sit at the bar since there was no wait. Anyway, I had always wanted to sit on those animal bar stools. This turned out to be something of a mistake. Later, I remembered we had a bad experience at another restaurant when we ate at the bar. It seems the service is never quite the same. This time it took about 45 min to get our food, other people who came after us got there food much before we did. The bartender was nice and offered us two free smoothies, but it was a bit annoying. Another warning, the portions are big here. We got a pizza and a salad for lunch, and we barely even made a dent in the salad. I saw some other people ordering appetizers only, and this would be better idea in my opinion. We went back into AK to see ITTAB. I thought it was one of the better 3D movies (4D with effects), but not the best. We went back to PO at 2pm for a break. Tonight was E-ride night at MK. Why do they wait so long before announcing the E-ride nights for the next month? We only found out about them 1 week before the beginning of the month. Is this such a big secret. Of course it ended up being on Tues and Fri as it almost always is. Imagine they only announced the Surprise morning one week in advance. To me this unnecessary secrecy is absolutely ridiculous. We first saw the MSEP, nostalgic for me since this was the only parade I saw during my whole childhood. It is a bit annoying though the pushing and shoving that goes on along the parade route trying to get the best position. We of course watched the fireworks, as we edged our way toward Splash Mtn. We followed that with BTMRRx2, HM, Astro Orbiters, Space Mtn, Buzz x2, Astro Orbiters, Buzz x2(high score overall 331,000, they even let us stay on the ride for the second time around), AE-little to no wait for everything. I think they could improve the lighting on some of the paths, it seemed a bit dark. The E-ride night is fun, getting to walk around without too many other people, but it makes for a very long day.

Day 8, BB, DQ, Epcot (Grand Tasting)

We decided to sleep in for a change and to wake up without the alarm clock. The weather was finally turning warmer (the high temps for the previous couple of days was in the low 70's), today was supposed to be about 80. We had never been to any of the Disney waterparks, so we just had to try one. Since both Typhoon Lagoon and River Country were closed for rehab, we went to BB. We drove there for the 10:30 opening. At first I was struck by the sight of Summit Plummet. We have been on similar slides in the past, but not as high. Somehow it seemed rather intimidating, maybe I am getting old. Also, my back always hurts quite a bit after these types of slides when you skin is being used for a brake at the bottom. Slush Gusher (SG) right next to it seemed mild by comparison, so we decided to try it. We took the lift to the top since there was no wait, of course after getting our locker (a small one is barely enough for two people) and changing. SG is not as mild as I thought, you get going pretty fast (with similar back burn), and you catch a bit of air on the second hump. A word of warning to contact lens wearers: I almost lost a lens because I did not close my eyes enough on this slide, a lot of water splashes in your face. Overall, I did enjoy the slide, but would probably not go on it too many more times.

I tend to like the longer slides that you use tubes for. Fortunately, there are also a few of those, so we went on each of them a couple of times, including the family raft ride, which we thought was great, except for when they try to take your photo at the end. By the end of the week, I was pretty tired of all the ride photos and people trying to take you picture at the park entrances. It's funny how after one week, certain things start to get on your nerves, even the "How's everybody doing today? Can't you do better than that?" that starts so many shows. You get quite a bit of exercise walking up those stairs so many times, especially when there aren't too many other people to slow you down. By about 12:00, we had gone on all the slides we wanted too, even a second time on SG. At that time also, the crowds started to increase, so we left and went to Downtown Disney for lunch.

Although I could eat lunch (and maybe dinner too) at Foodquest, we had lunch at Wolfgang Puck express. The organization of this place is a little confusing. They have separate line for the pizza, hot sandwich, and cold sandwich areas which was not clear to me in the beginning (nor to those around me), and the employees there were not helpful at all. They have freshly prepared food as well as prepackaged salads, etc. I had BBQ chicken sandwich which wasn't too bad, but nothing special. Prices aren't too bad either by Disney standards. I still regretted not eating again at Foodquest though.

On to Disney Quest. We designed a 4 on CSM (not enough loops I guess) and went back to try a few of the rides we had gone on before including Hercules. The second time was much better. Unfortunately, since this was a Saturday, the place was somewhat more busy than when we went before, which really took a lot of the fun out of it. Waiting in line for 20 min for one of these rides doesn't seem quite worth it somehow. Still, it was fun, including one more time on Buzz's Astro Blaster (I love this ride, you really get you aggressions out on this one).

Back to PO to change.

Tonight was the Grand Tasting at Epcot which we had arranged about 2 months ago. We got to Epcot by 3:30, so we time to do a few things before this. We went to one of the small wine seminars which last 20 min. It was on Italian wines, and we got to taste two reds, which were not particularly good (about $10 per bottle). Still the lecture was interesting, and for a 20 min investment, it was fun. They have these throughout the day in a tent near Germany, and cover a variety of wine topics. We were not able to make it for any of the large wine seminars, they last 45 min. After that we went to see one performance of Off-Kilter, since I had heard so much about them on this newsgroup. It was a nice show, but kind of short, I guess by necessity, given the schedule for the day.

On a brief side note, I had also heard a lot about Kaki Goris at Japan, and was very excited to try them, until I found out that they are shave ices (or snow cones). They don't even have the traditional red bean flavor which is popular with Japanese people. Unfortunately the line for TT was pretty long (45min, they really need FastPass for this ride), so we didn't have a chance to ride it for a third time. Since there was a rumor that they would let us into the tasting a bit early, we decided to line up at 6:30.

For those of you who are not very familiar with the International Food & Wine Festival, the Grand Tasting is a special event held on Saturdays throughout the festival. It costs $55 per person and starts at 7:00 in the Odyssey pavilion. Although it is scheduled to start at 7:00, they tell you when you make your reservation (which is prepaid by the way, and you do not get a written confirmation) to show up at 6:30. A person in front of the Pavilion checks you in. Then at about 6:50, they let us in. It was just beautiful. Upon entering, they give you a souvenir wineglass (1999 on the stem). There are about 14 food stations and 20 wine stations (including champagne and port). Each station represents one restaurant, which varies with the week. They include Disney restaurants and ones from other cities, such as New Orleans, for example. There is a different theme for each Grand Tasting. The assortment and quality of food was unbelievable. My favorite was a Vanilla Icewine cured Arctic Char with citrus barley risotto and chanterelle mushrooms. My wife's favorite was a House-smoked Sturgeon with crisp wafer and American Paddle fish caviar. In addition, the variety and quality of wines was on par with the food. You could match one or two wine with each course without any problem. Each wine station had two wines, both of which were the better or reserve label almost uniformly for each winery. You could either just take the wine or the host from the winery was more than happy to chat about the wine. Needless to say we overindulged, who could resist? I didn't try every wine, but I sampled quite a few and tried almost all the food items. I think it would almost be worth a trip to Orlando, just for this next year, definitely worth the money. We haven't been to any of the Winemaker Dinners, but I expect these are of high quality as well. You may think, as my wife did, that two hours (the event is scheduled to run until 9:00) is not enough to try everything, but by 8:30, I was knocked out. They did run out of a few food items toward the end of the evening, but I think everyone should have been satisfied at that point. Before the tasting, we thought that afterwards we would have time to go to PI. Forget about that, I was wiped out. Time to go home to sleep.

Day 9, MK & AK

First we had to checkout, a very sad time. We had come to think of PO as our home away from home. No more would we be able to refill our mugs at will. No more would we return home and find our beds made and the room cleaned. Oh well, just have to look forward to the next vacation. Wait we still have the day left. I had intentionally planned a late flight back (departing at 9:00pm) so we would get a full days use of our passes. I hate paying for full days with the Unlimited Magic Pass and not using them. Exactly 60 days prior to today, I had called at 7:00 am to make PS for Cinderella's Royal Table for breakfast for 9:30 and to use our flex feature.

We arrived at MK a few minutes after 9am. We tried to go to on Splash before breakfast, but since we missed rope drop there was already a wait. It's amazing how fast the wait can build up, even during the off season. So, we decided to go straight to the castle to check in. We were directed inside the castle to the lobby, and after a short wait with a fairy godmother photo op, we were instructed to proceed upstairs via the elevator or spiral staircase. Of course, if you choose the elevator, you will miss the Cinderella stained glass window.

For breakfast, we were offered a choice of either a light (blueberry yogurt topped with granola) or a "traditional" (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast, and breakfast potatoes (with cheese)) breakfast. Although we had thoroughly gorged ourselves the evening before, we chose the "traditional". You are brought a single plate of food, but of course this is an all-you-can, I mean, all-you-care to eat meal.

Before the main course, they brought a plate of fruit and served coffee and OJ. After about 5 min or so, the parade of royalty began including Snow White, Princess Aurora, Jasmine, Belle, and Cinderella. Each was very gracious and offered to pose for photos, except for Jasmine, who seemed in a bit of a rush. The room is nicely themed and has a view of Fantasyland. The meal itself was pretty good, but nothing special. If you are not interested in seeing the face characters or just really want to see what the inside of the castle is like (as we did), you could probably do better foodwise for a character breakfast (Grand Floridian for example).

We next went to Lion King (courtesy of Kodak), followed by CBJ and Tiki birds (under new management). I think the new version of the Tiki birds is a definite improvement, but still not my favorite attraction. We decided that since we had not ridden the monorail this trip that we would take one ride around the resorts. We gazed longingly at the Grand Floridian, and decided the next time we would stay there (we'll see whether that actually happens). That done we took the bus back to PO to refill our mugs one last time (a particularly sad moment). Then off to AK by car.

At AK, we had wanted to try Fastpass, but due to lack of lines, we had not used them. We decided to try this system for Ctx, so we got a pass for 2:00-3:00. We wanted to make the 1:45 Flights of Wonder show in the meantime which we did. It is quite a nice show, I liked the Bald eagle the most. We returned to ride Ctx one last time, bypassing those in line. Then we got a fastpass for KS. While waiting for our time, we strolled along the paths in the roots of the Tree of Life, I wanted to get some close up photos, and it was a nice way to explore some of AK's nooks and crannys, a relaxing change of pace on a beautiful day. You really should not miss this area since it is a nice way to see the Tree and get away from the crowded paths around the park at the same time.

We went back to KS. We used the FastPass, but by this time (3:30) there was no line anyway. This time we saw more animals and they were more active. Especially nice was the close up encounters we had with a couple of Giraffes and Rhinos. It is pretty hard to get nice photos since the jeep only slows down and rarely stops, but I did manage to get a couple of nice ones. Since we had some time left, we decided to check out Conservation Station. They do have some pretty entertaining interactive exhibits in addition to a petting zoo, but I would consider this area to be best for families with children or if you have time to spare, as we did.

Since our flight did not leave until 9pm, we decided to have dinner at Downtown Disney at Fulton's Crab House. We both had Florida stone crab claws, not cheap at $37 each for 1.5 lbs, but quite good. It was the Stone Crab Festival after all.

Time to go to the airport and say goodbye to the world. Although at times I may sound a bit cynical about certain things Disney does, it's only because I really love it, and would like to see some things improved. I think that although they do a tremendous job with so many things, there is room for improvement. Of course, I hold them to a high standard, definitely a higher one than I do Universal. We had a lot of fun at Universal, especially IOA, but it is just not on the level of quality and attention to detail that Disney does. Definitely worth 2 or 3 days, if you have a week to spend, and are somewhat adventurous. They also have significant room for improvement especially at Citywalk.

I hope anyone reading this enjoyed my attempt at a trip report. I have enjoyed reading so may myself, so I felt obligated to write my own in return. I would be happy to answer any questions about what we did, especially those of you considering spending some time at Universal, since I have not read too many good trip reports from there.

Cyrus Hedvat

cvhedv@yahoo.com

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