Trip Reports

INTRODUCTION:

March 5-7, 1999
Cast of Characters: Sue (me - 40)
A couple of months ago some of the dvc members I chat with on aol started talking about planning a ladies’ getaway weekend. It would be ladies only (sorry dvc guys) - no husbands, and definitely no kids! It ended up being set for Thursday 3/04 through Monday 3/8, with a total of 14-16 of us coming and going during that time period. We ended up with people flying in from Chicago, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, New Jersey and others driving in from Florida & south Georgia. This trip report will the portion of this getaway weekend that I was able to attend.

DAY 1 - FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1999:

I left Ft Myers at 7am, and passed by Walt Disney World at 10am. I headed to Belz Outlets first, since traffic can be troublesome on I-4 later in the day. I shopped at the Character Warehouse and Character Premiere stores. I checked out the holiday Character store, but didn’t see much worthwhile in there - not sure how much longer they’ll keep it open. I ended up buying myself a couple of pairs of Mickey/Minnie socks for $2.99 and $3.99 (originally $6 & $7). I got a couple outfits for my nieces in New Hampshire - $38 marked down to $14.99 and $28 marked down to $9.99. I left Belz at 11, and headed for OKW. On the way, I took a wrong turn (I thought the road would take me somewhere it didn’t) and ended up outside Universal’s new Islands of Adventure park. Boy, do those roller coasters look wild! I’m not a wild ride person, but would think anyone who likes that kind of stuff would enjoy this park. As I got close to wdw, the traffic on the other side of I-4 was bumper to bumper, so I was glad I went to Belz first! I got off at exit 27 so I could drive through the Village Hotels. The Travelodge is now the Best Western Lake Buena Vista, and the Palace (the big hotel on the end across from the Marketplace) is now the Wyndham Palace.

I arrived at Old Key West and told the guard I was checking in. He asked for my name, so I gave him Darla’s last name. He found it on the list, said "Welcome Home", and directed me in. Darla had put my name on her OKW reservation so that I could use the park passes that come with it, since my AP has expired. As a dvc member, I’m planning to use the "free" passes that came with my membership for all my 1999 visits, but they’re only good when staying at OKW. Since I’m at Port Orleans this trip, I wouldn’t have had park passes! Check in went smoothly, except I noticed the park passes were only for Friday & Saturday. Since Darla’s reservation was for 3 nights, there should have been 3 days of passes. CM John checked into it while I went to the shop and rest room. I bought another Mickey antenna ball - my ex husband had seen mine and wanted one, so I got one for him. In the rest room I felt like I’d finally arrived at wdw when the toilet automatically flushed. LOL, it’s the little things that we come to associate with Disney! I returned to the front desk, and John had found that the 3rd night’s reservation was made with points that do not have the park passes, so my pass will only be for the 2 days. I might be able to get a pass from another one of the ladies for Sunday, but if not I’ll just skip the parks that day. As I walked out to the car I reached into my fanny pack for my car keys.....and couldn’t find them! With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I stopped and looked in the pack but there were definitely no car keys. Next I checked the bag with the antenna ball, and sure enough, I’d put the keys in there. Duh, I felt like such an idiot! I guess I never put my keys away, figuring I’d only be out of the car for a couple minutes to check in, and then must have put them in the plastic bag either in the shop or in the rest room.

I drove over to Port Orleans, which is right around the corner. Originally I’d gotten a $74 rate at All Star Music, and thought I’d be staying there. The rest of the group is staying at Old Key West, but my points are all booked up, and I didn’t want to cancel a future trip to provide points for this weekend. One of our DVC members who works at MK had made a reservation at Port Orleans with a $75 cm rate for one of the ladies, who ended up staying at OKW so I took the PO room. I’ve stayed at both resorts, and although I don’t ~love~ Port Orleans, I barely even ~like~ the All Stars. For the extra $1/night I got a much better resort, and are as close as possible to the others. I checked in with no problem or wait. The room’s not ready, but that’s no big deal. I got my resort ID, and saw that I was assigned to room #1208. From the map I figured this was probably building #1. I’d stayed here just after the resort opened, and was in building #1 that time, too. It would have been nice to try a new location, but I didn’t want to bother asking. I could have had a room right away if I would take a smoking room, but I said I would wait as long as it takes. There’s no way I’m staying in someone’s ashtray! I wandered around the resort a little bit, and then had lunch in the food court (Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory). I saw the beignets that everyone says are so wonderful. They look like jelly doughnuts with a ton of powdered sugar on them. Maybe I’ll try one tomorrow, although I’m not a big jelly doughnut fan. I’ve never liked the food court here. It’s too small, not attractive at all, has a more limited selection, and I hate the ordering system they have here. I prefer the All Star food courts over this one, and really like the food courts at DL and CS (CS does have the best one). I ordered an individual cheese pizza ($4.23 including tax) and forgot to show my Disney Dining Experience card to get my 20% discount. I guess I’m just not with it today! The pizza was actually very good, but I was only able to eat half of it. I hate buying food and throwing it away, but I hate stuffing myself beyond what I need even more! So, it ended up in the trash can. After eating, I figured that since Sunday was going to be an Epcot day, and now I may not have park passes that day, I might as well visit Epcot this afternoon.

I put my papers in the car, and waited at the bus stop. The 3rd bus was going to Epcot, and every passenger got off. There was one other couple who boarded with me. We headed to Dixie Landings next, but not a single person got on at any of the 4 stops. I entered Epcot and walked right on Spaceship Earth. After checking the tip board I rode Living With the Land with a less than 5 minute wait. I was really surprised at how empty this park was, considering it was early entry day. I think having so many attractions closed must be hurting attendance here. I skipped Food Rocks because I’d just missed the show and didn’t want to wait 14 minutes for the next one. I browsed through the shop, and read the menus in the food court before leaving the Land. I shopped at the Centorium, and then went to see what was happening at Test Track. I’d read on the boards that it would not be open at all today, and that’s exactly what the cm was telling a guest as I walked up. He said "maybe" tomorrow. I went back to Centorium and bought a pair of gloves that have Walt Disney World on the back of each hand. I’d seen them at AK in December for $6, but it was so warm I didn’t think to buy them until it was too late. Today I bought them for $3.99! When I came outside Cast in Bronze was performing next to the fountain, so I stopped to listen to the rest of their show. They had 4 musicians, and 1 was playing this instrument that was like a keyboard but each key rung a bell. There were 36 bells on the top level and another 6 or 8 controlled by foot pedals. It was unusual, and very nice. They were Spanish, but I’m not sure what country they were from. It was approaching 2:30, so I decided to return to PO & get my room. I got my hand stamp (since I’m not using an annual pass) and went to the bus stop. My bus arrived just as I got there, so I sat on the bus while we waited for other guests. We got back to PO at 2:45, but my room was still not ready. I walked over to building #1 to find the room number and to see where I should park my car. The housekeeper’s cart was in my open doorway, so I knew they were working on it. There’s a courtyard with a pretty fountain and some benches between buildings 1 & 2, so I sat there for a little while. Growing restless, I wandered through the pool area (very busy - too crowded for me) and went to call the front desk. Now the room was ready, so I drove over & got settled. I do like the interior of the PO rooms. Everything is very pretty, and well maintained (except for a few stains on the carpet). I think the inside of the rooms is the nicest thing here. I don’t like the exteriors of the buildings at all, and the grounds are just okay. The room’s got 2 double beds (pretty bedspread), a big armoire to hold the tv and plenty of drawer space, table w/2 chairs, bench, and 2 pedestal sinks with a wide shelf. There is a safe, but no hair dryer, coffee maker, iron or ironing board. The bathroom has the combination soap/shampoo dispenser, but they also had 2 bottles of Mickey shampoo and a bar of soap at the sinks. After getting unpacked I decided to change into sneakers. On the advice of Jdocter7, I’d bought a pair of Teva sandals and had been wearing them all day. While they were surprisingly comfortable, I didn’t want to push my luck - I knew I still had several hours to go!

I walked along the river to Dixie Landings to catch a MK bus. The PO bus would have been a shorter walk, obviously, but I enjoy the walk. I got to the Oak Manor/Magnolia Terrace bus stop just as the MK bus got there. This is the last stop, yet the bus was only about ½ full. I noticed when I got to MK that this park has a separate PO bus and a DL bus. The 2 stops are not even in the same area. At Epcot the 2 resorts still share a bus.

I had about an hour to kill before meeting my friends for dinner, so I headed to Tomorrowland. Buzz Lightyear had a long line - extended outside the building - so I rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (people mover). Next I took the walkway over to Toon Town, and skipped the Barnstormer because the line was too long. I don’t mind waiting 15 minutes for a 10 minute ride, but won’t do it for a 30 second ride! Toon Town was very congested, as usual. As I was walking into Fantasyland, a woman pushing a stroller was commenting to her husband that she couldn’t believe all the smokers - and where did they all come from?? I told her I agreed it was disgusting, and mentioned that in many other countries it’s still very acceptable to smoke (we could hear a number of different languages being spoken). She agreed, but was still amazed. She said she & her husband don’t even know anyone who smokes anymore! Continuing through Fantasyland, the Snow White ride had practically no wait, so I got on. It’s not a ride I plan to do, but since everything else was so busy I figured why not. Peter Pan had a 25 minute wait, and even Small World had the inside waiting area filled in. Cinderella’s Carousel was closed for rehab. Both skyways had long lines, and the line was quite long at the Grand Prix Raceway. However, if they’d opened the other lanes it wouldn’t have been so bad - they only had the 1st 2 lanes of cars going. The Haunted Mansion had no visible line, so I went on it with just a brief wait. Afterwards I headed to Crystal Palace to meet the others for dinner.

I recognized Darla first, and then Donna as the group arrived at the restaurant. Most of the others I was meeting for the first time. We had Darla (IluvDVC), Donna (ILUVWDW), Debbie (Deseylou), Jodi (djpix), Tina (sfarmer509), Dottie (Ilovebskts), Pat (PatMc23), Debbie (DABxxxx) and me. Jodi had made name tags for everyone, which was really nice. After some group photos taken by a cast member, we set about determining who was doing what! Tina & Dottie were eating elsewhere, and Debbie (Deseylou) and Pat decided to do the same. The rest of us had the character dinner buffet at CP. The characters were Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore & Piglet. We saw Pooh & Tigger twice, and the others once. The food was very good, but I was surprised to see only 1 side of the buffet set up (the other side was closed) despite the restuarant being very busy. They had salmon, peel & eat shrimp, bbq chicken, roast beef, chicken francaise, other fish, paella, chicken caesar pasta (very good), salads, vegetables, and desserts. The desserts were not as great as Chef Mickey’s, but we all had enough to eat! One of the cm’s (Chris) stopped by to talk. Turns out he’s a dvc member, and his roommate works in dvc member services. We gave him Darla’s web address so he can see the pictures we were taking. Dinner was $19.95, but we got 20% discount with the Disney Dining Experience Card. For the 5 of us, including tax & tip it was $100.

After dinner we rode the monorail to the Grand Floridian. As we left the monorail station the MK fireworks were going off, which were really pretty. At GF we went to the valet parking to retrieve Jodi’s rental car. We stopped at PO so I could grab a sweater from my car, and then went to OKW so the others could change into warmer clothes. Everyone is in the same area, which makes it nice. I checked out the view from Darla & Jodi’s studio in building 55. I’ll have to request this building in the future, as it has a great water view. Donna’s happy with her golf view in building 50 (or 52), so everyone seems satisfied. We rode the car over to the Marketplace, and luckily got a good parking space. We met up with the others outside Ghiradelli, and after chatting a bit went to the World of Disney store. Once inside, we split into smaller groups and agreed to meet back at 9:15. Some went to the Lego store, but most of us started with WOD. There was a lot of new merchandise since I was there in December. Debbie (deseylou) and I headed over to the Christmas store, where they had some pretty new ornaments. I saw a couple that I might pick up on my next trip 2 weeks from now.

We all met back at 9:15 and compared purchases. After chatting again, most of the people headed to the West Side. Darla, Jodi & Debbie (deseylou) headed to the Bellevue Room at the BW for a drink, and I decided to return to PO to get this trip report done! We all said our good byes, and agreed upon a meeting time/location for tomorrow morning. I headed to the boat, and had to wait for the boat at the dock to pull away so that the PO boat could pull in. It wasn’t too cold riding the boat, and it was fun. I walked back to the room, and updated this report before turning in (at midnight).

DAY 2 - SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1999:

Today the plan calls for starting at MGM an finishing at MK. The alarm went off at 6:30, and tried to access aol to post yesterday’s report. It sent the post to 2 of the message boards, but had trouble reading the dvc folder - and then lost the connection. I kept trying to reconnect, but finally quit after $6.75 of failed attempts! I was getting pretty mad at this point, but restrained myself from opening the door to the room and tossing the @@##@ laptop out over the railing! Entre Computer suggests I reload aol, but I didn’t have time to try that before I left.

I made a hazelnut cappuccino in the room, and enjoyed that while getting ready. I stopped at the front desk to get the $6.75 in local calls taken care of, and then went to the food court for some breakfast. There is a very limited selection at PO, and they only had 2 registers open so the lines were very long. It was only around 8am, yet almost every table was taken. There was no background music or anything to attempt to make the atmosphere pleasant. I went to the bakery line, but the beignet just didn’t appeal (plus I didn’t see anyone eating one), so I got a regular donut. This time I remembered my Disney Dining Card for the 20% discount, so with tax it was $.67 - probably the cheapest breakfast I’ve ever ordered. While in line there was a family with a preschooler with a pacifier in his mouth (disgusting in anyone older than in infant, in my opinion) who was hacking away with a croup-sounding cough. What a lovely way to start your morning! I found a seat, and the man at the next table asked if he could take 1 of my chairs, so I said sure. Then he was looking for pepper, so he came to my table & just took it! I shot him a dirty look of disbelief (I wasn’t using it, but still, you don’t take something off an occupied table without asking the person first!) and he said thank you. I just shook my head! The donut was pretty good (chocolate icing and a ton of sprinkles), but larger than it looked in the case so about ½ of it ended up in the trash can. We were having lunch at 11:20, so I really didn’t want to fill up at 8am. There were many people filling their refillable mugs and returning to their rooms, which seems like the better alternative to trying to eat here (or make the walk or catch a bus to Dixie Landings) After ingesting about as much sugar as I could stand, I headed to the bus stop for a MGM bus. In less than 5 minutes an empty MGM bus pulled up. The floor was still wet from having been washed. About 12 of us boarded, and we went to the main stop at DL. Several people got on, filling most of the seats, and then we went straight to MGM without hitting the other 3 stops.

I arrived at 8:45 and waited for the others at the gas station. Soon they arrived. Today we had 13 people - me, Debbie (dab0111), Donna (iluvwdw), Pat (patmc23), Darla (iluvdvc), Dottie (ilovebskts), Mary (marykitch), Barb (dizyworld), Linda (elfriar), Tina (sfarmer509), Jodi (jdpix), Debbie (deseylou), and Kathy (dznynut). It had already warmed up, so we stored our sweatshirts in a locker, and headed to Tower of Terror. Kathy, Sue, Jodi, & Dottie took the chicken elevator out of there, but all the others rode. About ½ the group got back in line to ride again, and were finished around 10:15. The riders bought their pictures, and we headed out.

We rode the Great Movie Ride (western side), filling 3 rows of the tram! It was fun to be part of such a big group for a change. After the ride we went to the store on Hollywood Boulevard to check on our group pictures that had been taken when we arrived - but we didn’t like them. When they superimposed the characters, Goofy ended up blocking out Dottie. We had them send the photographer back out, and he took another 8-12 pictures. Next stop was Hollywood & Vine for lunch!

We had a priority seating for 11:30 (I think), and Shirley (irishdvc) joined us for lunch. The lunch is a character buffet (Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip & Dale - don’t remember seeing Mickey but he was probably there) costing $15.95/adult, $8.95/child. It was not crowded, and they hadn’t pulled the breakfast stuff off the buffet yet, but we only ate the lunch. Many of the ladies liked the food, but I didn’t. I found everything to be too salty, and didn’t eat much. For dessert they had ice cream & toppings, brownies, double chocolate cake & orange cake with cream cheese icing. I had a ½ piece each of the chocolate & orange cakes, and they were both excellent! We took lots of pictures, including a group photo with Minnie (posted on Darla’s page). Four of the ladies put on a boa and were dancing with Minnie - it was really funny! We got a 20% CM discount, so with the tax & tip each lunch was $16.06.

We returned to the photo store, and found a picture we liked. 12 of us bought one plus they threw in the 13th one for us to have posted at Olivia’s restaurant at OKW. With the cm discount the pictures were $7.70 each (because we bought 12). At this point the group split into smaller groups until dinner. Some stayed in MGM to see some shows, some went house hunting nearby, Darla was whining about needing a nap <g> but we were trying to make her be tough, and the rest of us (me, Linda, Pat, & Debbie -deseylou) went to Epcot. We took the boat to the Boardwalk and then walked into Epcot. We stored our stuff in a locker at the front entrance, and then headed to check out Test Track. It was 2pm, but the cm was saying it ~might~ be opening later. There weren’t cars running on the track, so we knew it would be awhile. Another cm said possibly after 4pm, so we didn’t wait there. We went around the back to the Test Track store, and ran into a cm I’d met at a ladies’ breakfast in December (Bonnie). We chatted with her awhile, and then headed to Wonders of Life to see Cranium Command. This is a favorite of Pat, and someone in our group had never seen it before. We all enjoyed it.

We did Ellen’s Energy Adventure next, and then returned to check on Test Track. There was nothing happening there, and we were told maybe tonight - but no guarantee. Debbie admired the cm’s TT pin, so he took it off and gave it to her! Turns out he’s also a dvc member, but mostly stays at Vero with his points. We admitted defeat as it related to Test Track, and decided it was time to head to the MK. We saw there was no line on Space Ship Earth, so we rode it. Afterwards, we retrieved our stuff from the locker and headed to the monorail.

We waited and were able to ride in the front car with the driver. We had Russell from Scotland. Pat said she could tell he was from Scotland because he was driving on the left track - lol! He was pretty quiet, and we threatened to write bad things about him on the internet unless he chatted more. He was really nice, and talked to us the rest of the way to the TTC. So, Thank You Russell for making our journey so enjoyable! At the TTC we took the ferry to MK. MGM & Epcot weren’t crowded at all, but MK was packed! It was awful! The tip board showed a 20 minute wait for Astro Orbiter so we headed there.

Debbie wanted to ride this ride, and especially wanted to bounce it up and down. We waited in the very slow line, and doubled up into 2 rockets. Pat & I noticed that Debbie & Linda weren’t going up & down at all - and wondered what was going on. Turns out once Debbie got up there she was too scared to go up & down, lol! After the ride we headed to Tony’s Town Square to meet the other’s for dinner. We had a little time, so we went through the Kodak exhibit. Everyone arrived for dinner at 6:20, and we said our goodbyes to Kathy. The 12 of us left were seated at a long table right by the window. Service was very slow, and the waitress seemed to have an attitude. We were using a 20% cm discount, and some of us were sharing meals, so perhaps that made a difference. Pat & I shared the fettucine alfredo (not on the menu, but they prepared it for us $16.25). I liked it, but Pat did not. We celebrated Tina’s birthday, and everyone sang happy birthday to her. We had a great view of the 7:30 Spectromagic from our table, which was an added bonus. Barb brought goodie bags for all of us - with candy and a beanie in each one. Thanks, Barb!

After most of the group stayed in the MK to see the fireworks and then either ride rides or watch Spectromagic again. Darla, Barb & Mary went shopping in the Emporium. Jodi, Debbie (deseylou), Linda & I headed to the Bellevue Room at BW for a drink. We sat as far away from the smoker as we could, but I still was bothered by the smoke. I propped the balcony door open to let some fresh air in. There was a scummy looking man & 2 women sitting at the bar, engaged in a nasty verbal fight. There was plenty of cursing, and decidedly un-Disney language and non-Disney action going on. The bartender kept an eye on them, and was looking pretty nervous. Eventually they left (thank goodness).

We got a drink, and started to play Yahtzee. Linda killed us the first game, since 3 of her first 4 turns she got a yahtzee! Later Debbie got a couple, too. Eventually Darla, Mary & Barb arrived, and joined us with a drink. We left before 11pm. I was getting really hoarse, and now my throat was getting sore.

DAY 3 - SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 1999:

I woke up at 7, and my throat was killing me! I still sounded awful, so I guess I have a cold or sore throat. I got online, but couldn’t access message boards so I just answered some e-mail. I decided against rushing to Epcot since I’d been there the past 2 days. The rest of the ladies were either going to church or Animal Kingdom (except deseylou went home), so I didn’t have to meet anyone until 10:45 for brunch. Barb had given me one of her park passes, so I was able to get in today. I made a cup of french vanilla cappuccino in the room while getting ready, but didn’t bother with breakfast. The weatherman on tv was saying 0% chance of rain, but when I went outside it was raining lightly when I left the room at 8:45. I stopped for gas at the Exxon station near BW, and the rain stopped too. I parked at Yacht Club - the guard asked me if he could help me, and I managed to croak "breakfast" so he waved me in.

I wandered around YC/BC resorts, definitely starting to feel under the weather (aches, chills). I looked around Stormalong Bay. The side with the kiddie wading area and lazy river are already open. The rest will open 3/11/99. They will be painting the bridges this week. About 9:30 I headed to Epcot, trying not to have to sneeze or cough (ouch!) and avoiding other guests as much as possible. I noticed that 2 of the 3 swings on the beach were missing (the swing stand was there, only the swing seat was missing), and they now have a sign at the edge of BC property saying surrey bikes are prohibited. Evidently now you can only ride them on the BW side, and not all the way around the lake.

Once inside Epcot I listened to Cast In Bronze again briefly, and then did the Living Seas. They were feeding the fish, but I’d seen that last December & didn’t want to join any large crowds. I returned to Yacht Club & waited for the others. Jodi arrived on time, but DARLA WAS LATE (had to say that, she was absolutely dying because she’s normally early). It was Jodi, Darla, Barb, Mary & I for brunch (technically breakfast). The food was great, and the buffet was $10.95/adult, $6.95/child. Everyone enjoyed it. Dottie & Tina arrived to say goodbye before we left, so we sat around talking for a while. There was a bride & groom having their photos taken, and they looked really nice.

We all said our goodbyes (so sad). The others were heading to Epcot, and I was going home to go to bed! I really felt miserable!! Tonight the others are doing Fantasmic and then dinner at the Cape May Cafe - so I’m sure they’ll have a great time.

SUMMARY:

What a wonderful idea this trip was! I’d only met a few of the ladies previously, but you would have thought we’d all grown up together and been friends for the past 20-30 years! It was amazing how great it was, and I hope to be able to make the 2000 trip (October?). We all did things and ate at restaurants that were new to us, which was fun.

I’ll be back to OKW for a regularly scheduled trip exactly 2 weeks from today, so my withdrawal won’t be as bad as the others’. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better by then, too!

Thanks for reading, and as always - if you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me!

Sue Holland

WDW1972@aol.com

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