Trip Reports

SUMMARY:

Characters: Sue (40)
Dates: June 18 - 19, 1999
Travel Method: Personal car
Resort: Offsite - Comfort Inn Maingate
Accommodations: Garden Room
Experience: DVC member, frequent visitors
INTRODUCTION:

By now many of you are probably rolling your eyes and wondering what's going on! I closed my late March 1999 trip report lamenting the fact that my next WDW trip would not be until late July, which is a pretty long time between trips for me. Then, some things at work came up that allowed me to have an 11 day WDW trip in late May/early June! As it worked out, I was leaving WDW just 3 days before several on-line DVC friends would be arriving for their latest WDW vacations, including one person who'd be celebrating her 40th birthday (Donna). Donna (ILUVWDW) and I sometimes refer to each other as our "clones" because we'd often be in a chat room and end up typing the exact same thing less than 1 second apart. We also share many of the same pet peeves. It was a shame my trip didn't coincide with hers, so I could be there for her birthday.

But wait! After I returned I was in a DVC chat, and another member, Dottie (IloveBskts) mentioned she was possibly going to fly down from Atlanta for 1 night to surprise Donna for her birthday. Eventually it dawned on me that living a 3 hour drive away I HAD to just make it a point to be there - what kind of a clone would I be if I missed her birthday?? However, the thought of a 6 hour round trip drive for a birthday dinner seemed a bit tedious. I called a friend (Sheila) who's got an AP, to see if she wanted to make a day trip to WDW with me. She wanted to, but had a conflict that morning & wouldn't be able to get up there until mid afternoon Then I realized that my schedule was clear after 1:30 on Friday, so I should go up then. I called the Comfort Inn Maingate - a cheap motel I've used for night of arrival when I didn't want to waste the points or cash on a Disney resort prior to moving onto WDW property for the "real" trip - and was luckily able to get the FL resident coupon rate of $27.50! I had e-mailed the person who'd made the priority seating for the birthday dinner, who would be modifying it to include Sheila & me.

Day 1 - Friday June 18, 1999:

Today I had a mentoring program session scheduled from 8:30 to 1:30. I'd been asked to participate as a mentor in this program, and these sessions were a nice break from the hectic normal workday. It dawned on me that last week's session actually broke for lunch from 11:30 until 1:00, then we resumed at 1:00 and the mentors were excused at 1:30 (the mentorees stay until 3:30). I asked the facilitator if that was the plan for today, and found it it was. I spoke with my mentoree, who was fine with me bailing out at 11:30! I couldn't see spending 90 minutes at lunch, only to return for 30 minutes - by leaving at 11:30 I'd be up to Tampa by 1:30!

The session started at 8:30, and since it was a bright sunny day I left my windows cracked about an inch to help keep the car a little bit cooler. When the mentorees arrived at 10:00, one of them mentioned something about the rain. Huh??? Rain?? Oh no, it's POURING outside! We were in a room with no windows, so I had no idea! I grabbed my umbrella & ran outside to my car. Sure enough it was a driving sideways rain, right in the windows. I'd laid the contract for my latest DVC purchase face down on the passenger seat, with the check attached, and it was soaked! I closed the windows, used a towel to dry the seats (thankfully they're leather & not fabric), and spread the pages of the contract out to dry in the back of the car! The session broke just after 11:30, and I decided to make a trip back home to pick up my WDW rain poncho! I had one of the cheap $.99 ones in my backpack, but was doubting how well it would hold up in serious rain! I ran into the house to grab the poncho, and was back on the road before noon.

I checked in at the Comfort Inn about 3pm, getting my non-smoking garden room. The garden rooms are different from the standard rooms in that they've got a refrigerator, coffee maker, hair dryer, & larger tv. Otherwise, the rooms are the same. For $27.50 you can't beat it. Once the price gets up to about $50 though, I'd say the room is no longer worth it. I'd driven through some heavy rain on the way up, and more was forecast. I drove over to the Timeshare Store to drop off the contract & check - I'd made an offer on a 100 point resale at Old Key West, which was accepted by the seller yesterday - and was out of there by 3:30. Traffic was heavy on I-4 headed into Orlando, but not too bad coming back. I stopped at OKW to call Darla (ILUVDVC), but she was still out seeing the Tarzan movie, so we never did connect this day. I wasn't sure exactly what I'd be doing, so I just left a message that I'd see her tomorrow night. When I called her, I used the house phone inside Papa's Den at OKW (not sure if there's any other one). There was a large party of adults who had pulled their chairs around the table that the phone was on. I asked if I could use the phone, and they said "sure" but didn't move out of the way or anything! I had to pick the phone up & stretch the phone cord, and then it was hard to talk on the phone (got Darla's cousin) because I was practically standing in the middle of their loud conversation! I just thought that was really rude. You don't block off the only house phone like that!

Anyway, enough grumbling (for now ). It was about 4pm and I'd missed lunch, so I was pretty hungry. I drove to Epcot, and parked in the Amaze section real close to the entrance. I'd really enjoyed my meal at Le Cellier the previous week, so I returned to Canada for a repeat. I got there about 4:15 though, and the restaurant doesn't open until 4:30. I wandered over to the United Kingdom and listened to the British Invasion perform (Beatles' songs) for a little bit, then headed back to Canada. They assured me they could seat me without any problem (no priority seating was made). This time my server was Melissa, from Calgary, and she was very friendly. I told her I knew exactly what I wanted and ordered the white merlot ($5) and the Canadian cheddar cheese soup ($3.95). She brought out the yummy breadsticks, and stopped to chat a couple of times. There were some WDW cm's with shirt/tie seated nearby discussing things, but I couldn't overhear what they were discussing (darn)! I finished up just as they were seating a family with a squirmy little girl and another in a high chair at the next table - definitely time to make my exit! Melissa brought me a box for the leftover breadsticks - I figured the sourdough would be for the ducks/birds and the pretzel would be for me to eat tomorrow). After the 20% Disney Dining Experience discount the check was $7.42, so I left $10 and headed out.

I did feed part of the sourdough breadstick to a couple of ducks in Canada, but they weren't very hungry so I put the rest back into the box. I headed out of Epcot, and it began to rain. I rode Spaceship Earth (less than 5 minute wait), and it was absolutely POURING when I got off. I killed some time in a gift shop until the rain let up some. After picking up the car, I drove over to Coronado Springs.

From CS I took the next MK bus. After checking the tip board, I decided to head to the left. Jungle Cruise had a 5 minute wait posted, which was surprising, so I got in line. One of my pet peeves is kids who suck their thumbs or fingers - this really makes me crazy! I don't mind a pacifier for a baby, but once the kid can walk, it needs to go! Anyway, there was a family of 4 in front of me, and the Dad was carrying a girl who looked to be about 4 years old. She had long blonde hair, and would have been cute except that she had a lock of hair and 2 fingers (the 2 middle ones) in her mouth, and her pointer finger up her nose! She looked like an absolute freak, and her parents were fully aware of it yet did nothing to redirect her. As I said, this bugs the heck out of ME, but perhaps others aren't bothered by it (they might be bothered by items that I think are ok, lol). The Jungle Cruise was fun, except this little girl's mother kept moving around and I was seated next to her. Eventually I quit moving to allow her more room, and held my position until she finally got the hint that the entire left side of the boat was NOT reserved solely for her.

From here I walked onto the Pirates of the Caribbean. There were lots of people going through the right side, so I walked through the left. Both sides were open! I walked right to the loading area, and saw all the people in line from the right side across the water. I asked the cm if she was loading from this side, and she said yes. So, I got my own boat all to myself, while all those other people were waiting standing still in line waiting for their turn from the right side. If you want to minimize your time spent waiting in lines at WDW, the first thing you can do is WAKE UP and PAY ATTENTION to your surroundings! I can't tell you how many times I saw people mindlessly following the crowds ahead of them, when there was an empty line to their immediate left or right! I'm not saying you should cut anyone off, or jump ahead of them, but if there are 2 open lines - why on earth would you not choose the shorter one??

One unusual thing on Pirates - I was the only passenger in the boat, and was seated in the front row. When I went down the drop the boat really jerked around a lot at the bottom - enough that I had to grab my backpack to keep it from falling off the seat. I can only assume that without enough weight to stabilize the boat it will just bounce around a lot. My boat also almost immediately caught up with and bumped the boat ahead - while we were in the first scene with the pirate ships shooting. Again, probably because my boat was so light. I walked around MK for a while, but most attractions had a 20-30 minute wait, which is too long for me. Coming as often as I do, there's nothing I HAVE to see or ride on any given trip. Besides, this trip is mainly for Donna's birthday dinner, so anything else I get to do is just a bonus. I did ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (with a short wait), and just as I got on my beeper went off - it was Sheila testing to be sure it would reach me up here. When the ride ended there was still a wait, so I got off to make room for others and went to a pay phone to call Sheila. We agreed to meet tomorrow at the entrance to Asia at AK, and she'd beep me when she hit the road so I could estimate what time she'd be arriving.

I browsed throught the shops along Main Street, with the candy store being my primary destination/purpose. I wanted one of those marshmallows on a stick, dipped in chocolate and then rolled in m&m pieces things - but they were all out! Say what???? I did get a tiny sample of fudge - very good - but I was on a quest for my marshmallow thing. I headed to the bus stops, and boarded the Yacht Club/Beach Club/Boardwalk bus - getting off at the Yacht Club. I could see the MGM boat across the lake at the BW, and knew the next stop would be YC/BC and then Swan/Dolphin before heading to MGM. It was raining again and I figured rather than standing at the YC dock I'd just walk over to the Swan/Dolphin. I did make one error - I figured it would make sense to walk to the Dolphin side rather than the Swan side. This was pretty stupid, as I had to hustle to make it in time. The sidewalk in front of the Dolphin zig zags in and out, so it takes forever to get there! If you're walking to the Swan/Dolphin dock from the YC area, it will be faster to continue up across the bridge on the Swan side! I made it in time for the boat, and went to MGM. First stop was the candy store - just in case my quest was going to take me to another park! Luckily I was able to buy my treat ($1.25) and had them put it in a bag for later. I rode the Great Movie Ride, having to wait for the 2nd loading of guests. I got the 2nd row in the Western scene cars - which is my favorite. I left MGM, catching some of the Illuminations fireworks over the trees. I took the bus back to CS, picked up the car, got gas, and was at the Comfort Inn shortly before 10. After getting settled, I ate 1/2 the marshmallow thing and went to bed.

Total miles walked: 6.75

Day 2 - Saturday June 19, 1999:

The wakeup call came at 7. It wasn't raining, but puddles were everywhere, and rain was expected (although not as much as the past few days). The tv news was reporting that Mr Toad protesters were expected to be out protesting the grand opening of the Pooh ride tomorrow - lol! I didn't mind Mr. Toad, but I definitely prefer the Pooh ride - it's longer, more colorful, and not quite so boring. Sure, I'd like to see both attractions, but if I had to choose 1 it would be Pooh. Sorry, Toad fans.

Breakfast was cappuccino and the rest of the marshmallow thing. Somehow chocolate is something I can eat at any time of day - so this breakfast did not seem strange to me. I left the room about 8:30 to check out, which only took a minute. As I was driving along 192 I realized that All Star Movies runs right along the highway! I could see the green army men soldiers on the Toy Story building over the tree tops. I wonder if those rooms get any highway noise....hopefully not. Traffic on 192 was bumper to bumper - thankfully I had less than a mile to go! I parked at MGM (free with AP) and walked into the park rather than taking the tram. First stop was Star Tours, and I was on the 2nd tour of the day. The gift shop there is still closed for renovations - which is fine by me! I kind of hate being dumped into a gift shop, as there inevitably someone ahead of me who will stop dead in their tracks to look at an item, causing a bottle neck for those of us who simply want to exit! Since I was in the area, I wandered around a bit, and then went into Muppet Vision. For some reason, the effects seemed really blurry whenever movement was taking place. I didn't see this earlier this month, and don't remember if I saw it in March - but it definitely didn't look right today. I wandered around some more, and decided around 10am to leave the park. This time I rode the tram out to the car, and then headed for Belz outlets. I was hoping that the weekend would mean less traffic on I-4, but it was still very congested headed towards Orlando. Part of the way it was 30 mph! I looked in Character Warehouse, but didn't buy anything. The Planet Hollywood store had some cute little shirts with their logo embroidered for $8.99, which was a good deal, but none of the locations really grabbed me. At the other mall I only went into the Character Premiere, and bought a couple things. For my brother I got a long sleeve polo shirt with an embroidered Tigger ($48 down to $12.99) and for my sister in law I got a white blouse embroidered with all the villains ($54 down to $17.99). The blouse even has embroidery on each cuff - one side has a basket of red apples, and the other a basket of jewels. It's really pretty - and this will finish my Christmas shopping for that family! When I came out of the mall I was in for a surprise. The sun was shining! Ok, so it was only a tiny spot of blue sky, with dark clouds all around, but it was still sunshine & I had to squint! I called Darla's room, but it was too early for them to be back yet, so I just left a message.

I returned to WDW, and parked at the Beach Club, since this is where I'd be ending my day. I lucked into the closest self parking spot in the lot - which would be really nice in case it's raining again tonight! I looked in the shop at the Beach Club, then walked into Epcot & browsed through the shop at International Gateway. I found a small snow globe that was set on top of a small cinderella's castle (I think Mickey was standing inside the globe), and thought that would be a nice little gift for Donna - but decided to buy it on the way out so I didn't have to carry it around. First stop was to find some ducks to feed this sourdough breadstick to! I saw some ducks in the water near Odyssey, and threw a few small pieces to try to get their attention. They didn't notice me, but the many fish in the water starting jumping up to eat the bread - so I fed the fish. We've got the same fish in our lake at home, and if you drop several small pieces at 1 time it's like a feeding frenzy & kind of fun to watch! When the bread was gone, I sat down on a bench.....a wet bench! Oh well, at least it was just rain water & not soda or something! I checked the tip board, and Energy had a 7 minute wait (the shortest wait) so I headed over there. There was a cm at the entrance telling people they were working on the attraction, that there'd been a power surge that shut down the entire park this morning and Energy was still being worked on. I'd noticed the traffic lights were out on Buena Vista Drive, and the Orange County sheriff deputies were playing traffic cop this morning, but didn't know why. I finished the pretzel breadstick for lunch, and sat in the shade & people watched for a little bit.

Energy didn't reopen, so I decided it could wait for another trip, and headed towards World Showcase. Mexico was the first stop, figuring that at least I'd be able to get on El Rio Del Tiempo - and I did, with a short wait. The Maelstrom line was not extended outside, but I still decided to skip it. At USA there was only a 15 minute wait, so I sat inside & waited for the show. When it was time to enter, the cm told us to go 3/4 of the way down our row before stopping. Everyone else stopped in the middle, which caused the entire right side of the theater to be full. I went 3/4 of the way, and was at least 3/4 of the way back, and had NOBODY in any row in front of me all the way up to the stage. I had a perfect view, and all those other people were all scrunched in together. I did notice that in the waiting area, they've taken out all that boring history stuff & put in a shop for Disney animation & art. Had I known that early enough, I would have browsed through there! I continued around the countries, and exited at the International Gateway. In the shop there I bought Donna's gift, and the cm boxed it up nicely. I walked back to Beach Club, put the gift in the trunk of the car, and then walked over to the Boardwalk. The beeper went off, and told me Sheila was on her way. Her parents live in Sebring, which is exactly half way between Ft Myers and WDW (1.5 hours away). She was dropping her dog to be dog-sat with her parents, and then she & her son Colin were coming to WDW. He'll be doing teenage boy stuff while the adults have dinner, and then they'll most likely spend the night with her parents - being there for Father's Day. So far, she was at least 20 minutes behind schedule, and I'd recently found out our meeting time at the restaurant was 30 minutes earlier than planned, so together we'd just lost an hour! I hope she makes it in time to see Asia (she & Colin have been to AK many times, but not to Asia).

At the BW I talked to the DVC representative for a while. He mentioned that once the WL DVC resort is open, we will no longer be able to use our points to stay at the original WL. I'd never thought of that, but it makes sense. Just like we can't use points at BW Inn because we have BW Villas. Besides, it makes no sense to stay in a regular resort room when we can have a DVC studio for fewer points & more amenities! The sky was getting very ominous - so we parted company & I headed into the shops. I was hungry, but it was 3pm and I didn't want anything too big. I checked out the ice cream bars they sell in the store, but the calories were too high for the level of enjoyment I'd get out of the ice cream bar - so I passed. I tried the candy store, and bought a small milk chocolate mickey mouse head with hazelnut inside ($.40). The rain started, and it was pouring, with lots of thunder & lightning! I felt bad for those people riding their surrey bikes around, but since it's just a 30 minute rental you'd think they'd look at the sky before starting out! I sat on a bench outside Flying Fish (under cover), and updated my notes while eating the candy. It was ok - nothing spectacular. I figured I'd better start heading to AK, as I've never had a prompt experience getting there from BW using the WDW buses. Rather than using the uncovered outdoor stairs I decided to use the stairs inside the Inn. As soon as I opened the door, I was assaulted with the disgusting stench of ashtrays/cigarette smoke! YUCK! The Bellevue Lounge is at the top of the stairs, and smoking is allowed (as I know from a fairly unpleasant experience in early March - great company, but not a location I'd repeat). Thank goodness they have this smelly area on the Inn side and not on the Villas side!

I went to the bus stop and waited a while (maybe 10 minutes or so) for the AK bus. By now it had pretty much stopped raining again. At the turnstiles I saw another example of guests not paying attention. There were 2 turnstiles right next to each other, and both were open. However, this long line of people were all lined up at the one on the right. I walked past them and inserted my pass into the one on the left & entered the park. The cm should have done a better job telling them both sides were open, but I think he/she might have been helping someone with something. For those who might not know, just look at the turnstiles! If there's a red X that means it's closed, but if there's a green arrow that means it's open. If you still want to spend your vacation standing in line rather than using an open empty lane, then so be it. I checked the tip board, but there wasn't really enough time to ride anything. I stopped in World Outfitters, and saw a cute tank top with a picture of the tree of life on front & Disney's Animal Kingdom on the back. They had them in kids' sizes too, and recently someone had suggested I look for kids XL size since adult smalls were usually too big. I found one, and headed to wait for the only fitting room, but it was still too big. There wasn't time to try a smaller size, so I put it back & headed to Asia.

Just as I arrived & started looking for Sheila & Colin, the beeper went off again. Turns out Sheila had run into bad weather and turned back. I assume she realized she'd never make it in time, and jsut headed back to visit with her parents. Thank goodness for the beeper, so I didn't spend time waiting for someone who'd never be there! I returned to the shop, found a size L, and went to wait at the fitting room again. This time there were 2 women in there with a huge pile of clothes, and they'd left 2 small children outside the door to guard their wheelchair & other stuff. The kids were runing amok unsupervised, knocking clothes down, etc. I was glad when they finally emerged & left! This tank was much better, so I decided to buy it ($14) - I figure it'll get worn during the July/August trip, and I don't have any AK clothing. It was time to head back to the bus stop, where I boarded the bus headed for Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, & Boardwalk. I got off at the first stop - the Swan - and walked to the Boardwalk Bakery to buy some stuff to bring home. I loved the brownie I bought earlier this month, so I got one of them, plus a chocolate/vanilla pretzel. I think the brownie was $2.50, and the pretzel $1.95. (I ate 1/2 the pretzel Sunday morning while typing this trip report). I walked over to Beach Club, put the stuff in the trunk, retrieved Donna's gift, and then headed to the restroom to try to do something with my humid Florida theme park hair! While I was in the lobby, in walked Darla, Dottie - and another surprise visitor, Tina (sfarmer509)! Tina had decided last night to fly in from Virginia for the dinner! We checked in at the podium, then went into the bar. Dottie/Tina went to the bar to order a drink, and Darla went out to the lobby to watch for Donna. She brought Donna in, and Donna sat down in a chair - without seeing any of us. I turned & saw her, and got up to move to where she couldn't see me. But, she spotted me and said What's Sue doing here! She was shocked, and we hugged, and then she noticed Dottie at the bar! Donna did a sort of McCauley Culkin move from Home Alone - hand on either side of her face, but instead of screaming she just kept saying "Oh my god". When she saw Tina too, she just about lost it! Rich was video taping the whole thing, and will most likely have some pictures up on his excellent web page! It was a great surprise, and she was thrilled to have so many of her DVC friends there to share her birthday.

We were a party of 8. Besides the people I've mentioned were Donna's husband Joe, and Rich & Deb (Richmy1 & Debkay). We were seated on the dessert side (perfect spot for me), and we left our 2 tables of 4 separated rather than pushed together so we could all get in & out more easily. Oh, some of you probably want to hear about the food - ok. The buffet is 4 sided. There's the salad side, seafood side, dessert side, and non-seafood hot food. I don't eat seafood, so I didn't pay much attention to that side but did see shrimp, clam chowder & steamed clams (among other things). I had some beef tips that were too tough to eat - but Rich had picked through and found some rare ones that he said were very good. The chicken pasta alfredo was excellent, and the bbq ribs were not bad either. The kids' section had chicken strips, hot dogs, mac & cheese, and possibly other stuff. The desserts were really impressive. My favorite was the oreo mousse - which was an oreo cookie, with oreo mousse on top, then it was all coated in thin layer of chocolate. They also had key lime pie, chocolate mousse cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, white chocolate with pretzel pieces, almond cake, angel food cake, lemon bars, rice krispie treats, cookies, and several other items. Most of the stuff was little bite size pieces, so you could try a lot of different things.

At one point a bunch of us were waiting in line for the hot food side, when a woman asked us which side we were in line for so she didn't cut in front of us. We told her, and she stood behind us. Then, she said "Sue?" and I turned to her and said yes. Turns out it was Noel (FirstNo) from the Independent Traveler boards! What a small world! I'd written to her while she was stationed overseas, but we'd never met. She takes several solo trips to WDW, and always does great trip reports, and now is out of the military & working for Shades of Green reservation department. She was here having dinner with her parent who'd come into town. We only got to chat very briefly, and she met the rest of our group, but hopefully we'll get to meet again on a future trip & spend more time! She brought her parents over to meet me, too.

Donna opened her gifts, and then our server brought out a birthday cookie for her, and one for Rich (his birthday is next week). They each boxed them up to bring back to their kids. The dinner is $19.95 per person, and I used the DDE discount to get 20% off, so we each left $20 which then covered the tip.

After dinner the others headed to the Boardwalk for a drink, and I drove home. Before leaving though, I stopped in the restroom off the lobby. When I was in there, some of the other ladies came in, and were exclaiming over the basket of towels in the restroom. It's kind of a running joke among DVC members that towels are a precious commodity because we don't get fresh towels daily unless we pay extra. With DVC - just like all ownership resorts, the housekeeping services are on a less frequent schedule (which is perfectly fine by me). Anyway, I though their reaction was pretty funny! I hope that basket of towels was still there when they left......

The drive home went very well - no traffic or weather problems. I got in about 11:15, and was online until about 1:30am checking e-mail and catching up with some of the posts.

Total miles walked: 10.67

SUMMARY:

This most likely really will be my last trip until the late July/early August trip - lol! I certainly won't be making a habit of taking such short trips, either! I really enjoy having lots of time at WDW to relax & enjoy the resort, and 2 days just doesn't provide that.

I'm really glad it all worked out for me to celebrate Donna's birthday with her - and it was wonderful to see so many of my DVC friends again and to meet Noel for the first time. I wish the weather had been better, but it wasn't the end of the world. I never went to Comedy Warehouse - hadn't planned to, but did toy with the idea Friday night figuring maybe the crowds would be light due to the rain.

I leave July 23rd for my next trip, and will plan to post daily since I'll be gone for 2 weeks. Writing the trip report after returning from the trip takes so much time it would be overwhelming. Once again, thanks for reading, and I hope something in here has been helpful or at least entertaining to you.

Sue Holland

WDW1972@aol.com

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