Trip Reports

Who: Tracy (myself, 33, administrative assistant), Dan (husband, 32, self-employed), and Whitney (daughter, 6, kindergarten)
When: March 12-20, 1999 (actual dates in Florida March 14-19)
Where: CBR (March 14-19) standard room, garden view
How: Personal Car
Previous Experience: Myself, about 10 times when I lived there in the late 70’s and early 80’s but before Epcot, Dan, 2 times in the early 80’s and twice to Disneyland as a small child, Whitney is a rookie.
This is rather spur of the moment for us. This will be a spring break trip. It is unusual for my daughter’s spring break and mine to match up. My husband and I had planned on an anniversary trip to Las Vegas for this time, but my boss will be sending our office there for a conference in May so we decided to do something different. We had discussed going to WDW this year but had decided to go next year. Well we did some checking and decided to just plunge in and go. We had originally made hotel reservations off-site but after checking around we decided to try our luck on property. We originally got a reservation at CBR for 3 nights (waterview), but after daily checking on the internet, we finally got all five nights gardenview at CBR. After reading all the trip reports and two books, we are counting down the days to go.

Details: Our plan is to leave Oklahoma after picking up our daughter around lunchtime from school on Friday, March 12, and drive to Louisiana or Mississippi. On Saturday we plan to try and get to Gainesville, FL with a stop in Tallahassee so my husband can see Florida State University and then on Sunday get to Orlando early in the morning. We had planned on going to the Atlanta Braves game, but it was sold out by the time we tried to get tickets (they are playing the New York Yankees). We hope to be able to see the practice in the morning but understand it might be a closed one.

Sunday: Braves game, shopping at Downtown Disney, hanging out at the pool at CBR. We might go see the electric water parade from the Polynesian but may try and make an early night of it with four jam-packed days coming up.
Monday: Early entry at MK. Hit Fantasyland first then Splash Mountain and BTMR. Head to room after lunch for swim/rest. Then Epcot World Showcase until Illuminations.
Tuesday: Early entry at Epcot. PS at Garden Grill at 10:45 for character breakfast. Go to room in early afternoon for rest/swim. Then MK for evening and Spectromagic.
Wednesday: Early entry at MGM. Do as much as possible. Go to room for rest/swim? Definitely see Fantasmic.
Thursday: Possible AK. If not, do whatever else we want to revisit or see.
Friday: The long drive home. Hopefully completed in 2 days (20 hours).
We plan on trying to not spend too much money on food while we are there. Breakfast in the hotel room from our cooler, late afternoon/snack dinner in hotel room (sandwich stuff). We will probably eat an early lunch (snack style) in the parks and probably a late snack also.

Trip Report Plan / Actual Comparison

As I wrote before, this was rather spur of the moment for us. I will compare what we had planned and what we actually did, because I think this is very helpful to people who are trying to plan their own

Friday-Saturday:

Plan: leave Oklahoma after picking up our daughter around lunchtime from school on Friday, March 12, and drive to Louisiana or Mississippi. On Saturday we plan to try and get to Gainesville, FL with a stop in Tallahassee so my husband can see Florida State University.

Actual: We left at 11 from Oklahoma and drove to Jackson, Mississippi on Friday. Rained most of the way. On Saturday, we made it Gainesville by 5 pm. We decided to go ahead and stay the night there even though we could have made it to Orlando without any problems. The weather on Sunday was supposed to be rain all day so we knew we wouldn’t miss too much.

Sunday:

Plan: Braves game, shopping at Downtown Disney, hanging out at the pool at CBR. We might go see the electric water parade from the Polynesian but may try and make an early night of it with four jam-packed days coming up.

Actual: We got to CBR around 10:30 in the morning. Check in went smoothly, bought our tickets, the room wasn’t ready but we really didn’t think it would be. It hadn’t started to rain yet, so we went to Downtown Disney before the crowds hit from the rain. Walked around and when it started to rain, went to the car to make sandwiches. Drove around to see some of the other hotels. Room was ready about 3 so went in and unpacked. We were in Barbados 11 and had a nice garden view, not the parking lot which we assumed we would get. The room was pretty far away from the pool/beach and very far from Old Port Royale but since we hadn’t planned on eating there it didn’t matter to us. We were close to the bus stop, which sure came in handy when we were done with the day. Raining pretty good when we unloaded the car so we just hung out in the room. Went to the pool late in the day. I’m sure glad they are heated since it was in the 50’s that night.

Monday:

Plan: Early entry at MK. Hit Fantasyland first then Splash Mountain and BTMR. Head to room after lunch for swim/rest. Then Epcot World Showcase until Illuminations.

Actual: Whitney was so excited with being there, she woke up at midnight and couldn’t go back to sleep. Finally my husband got desperate and at 3:00 in the morning took her driving around to get her to fall asleep. So the alarm goes off at 5:45 so I can get ready to catch the bus at 7. Not a great sleep start for a week where I know sleep will be at a premium. Everything goes smoothly after that. Catch the bus and get to MK by 7:15. Head straight for Dumbo when we get in. Second group to ride that one. Then on to Peter Pan, Snow White, Tea Cups, Carousel, and Buzz Lightyear. We find out that the rope drop will be at 8:50 so we decide that we would put off Splash Mountain til Thursday and go to ToonTown Fair. So we ride Small World and get in line at the rope. Well we were right at the front and there were hardly any people there. I guess they were all at Liberty Square. Minnie, Winnie the Pooh and Goofy come out and the kids are getting excited. The rope comes down and each character grabs two kids hands to walk into the Fair. Goofy holds Whitney’s hand and heads straight for the Barnstormer. We realize that they are going to ride after they get all the way up to the loading area. Luckily she had ridden roller coasters before so she wasn’t scared and Goofy did a good job of holding both girls he was with. What a great way to start the day with the characters. Then we were off to see Mickey’s house, see the head mouse himself, get Pooh and Piglet’s autographs before they move inside the tents. Then we go stand in line for Minnie and Pluto. Go through Minnie’s house and then back to the tent for Donald, Chip and Dale who were going to be there at 10. It sure helps to ask who is going to be in the line and when. The third line wasn’t open but we asked who was going to be there and when so we were first in line when it did open. Then off to Legend of the Lion King. Great show. It ended around 11 and the lines were getting huge all over the park. Pirates of the Caribbean was short (10 minutes) so we rode that. It sure has changed since I was there last. I missed the pirate with the girl over his shoulder. My daughter even commented that all the women were chasing the pirates. Then the Tiki Bird show. If you haven’t seen the original, you certainly won’t get all the jokes in the new one. Getting very crowded now, so we decide to go to the hotel. Whitney takes a nap. When we finally get her up she is groggy for the rest of the day. Big mistake. After this she only took 10 minute naps so she was rested not groggy. Head to Epcot. The weather never got warm that day, so we made sure and changed into long sleeves and jackets. Hit the World Showcase. Whitney is complaining of being tired and cold. Then her allergies act up. Everytime we are outside, she is constantly sneezing. Go inside, no sneezing. So we ride the Mexico boat and see The American Adventure. I don’t know how many 6 year olds will love this show, but mine did. I guess she will be a history buff like her dad. There was a great show outside the American Adventure paying tribute to the Cotton Club era but it was too cold to watch much of it. It is there only on Monday’s and I would recommend it. What we saw was great. My daughter is into dancing and they dancers were great. We decide with the weather and the sneezing, our best bet is to go back to the hotel and rest up for the next day. So no Illuminations tonight.

Tuesday:

Plan: Early entry at Epcot. PS at Garden Grill at 11 for character breakfast. Go to room in early afternoon for rest/swim. Then MK for evening and Spectromagic.

Actual: What a difference a good night’s sleep will do and the right medicine. We were up and ready to go by 7. Just missed the Epcot bus but another one came by in time for us to get there by 7:30. Got into a line that only had 6 people ahead of us. Hit Spaceship Earth first, Living with the Land by just walking on. Decided against HISTK and Body Wars. Test Track was having its grand opening the next day so they were opening it at 9. So we stood in line with hundreds of others. They first drop one line, then you go stand for another rope drop. Took about 15 minutes to get into the building but the line was moving pretty good. By 9:25 we were on the ride. Really fun but by the time we were done, the line was 1 ½ hours. I don’t think its worth that long of a wait. Hit Universe of Energy right when the pre-show was starting. Go to Food Rocks and then eat at the Garden Grill. Mickey, Chip, Dale and Pluto were there. No Minnie. That’s who my daughter wanted to see but she took it in stride since we had seen her Monday. Pluto is great. Really funny. Food wasn’t too bad, the first hot meal we had all weekend. Go to the Living Seas afterwards. This was the biggest disappointment of the trip. Very boring ride to have to sit through. Would not recommend it. One last thing in Epcot – Cranium Command. My husband and I thought this was cute. We decided to go over to MK straight from Epcot so we can catch the Remember the Magic parade and then go to the hotel. Whitney was chosen twice to be in the parade. Once with Beauty and the Beast, setting the table, and then Sneezy picked her to dance with. After the parade, we were all feeling really good, and since our luck had been with us (no lines for anything) we decided to stay the rest of the day for Spectromagic. Walked around and rode the Railroad, Riverboat, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Carousel of Progress. Grab a Minnie ice cream and look for a place for the parade. We got one on Main Street on the second row around 7, so my daughter and I go shopping, leaving my husband to hold the spot. Get back at 7:30 and he is being crowded by a bunch of high school girls so we help him out. Seems they were only there for one of the pre-parade bands, then they got up and left. At least we got some extra space after they left. The parade was fabulous. Went over to the Tomorrowland Pavilion to watch the fireworks. Pulled up some chairs away from the overhang and had a great view for Tinkerbell and the fireworks. Back to the bus and the hotel.

Wednesday:

Plan: Early entry at MGM. Do as much as possible. Go to room for rest/swim? Definitely see Fantasmic.

Actual: Once again we got up and to MGM by 7:30. They do their drop differently. Everyone gets into the park and then there are ropes on the streets. Of course, the line for Sunset is huge. I was the only one going to ride Tower of Terror so my husband took my daughter to a store to get her out of the way from the herds of people. They drop the rope and people start running. The CM’s are in the street saying "Don’t run" but people keep on running. One man was next to me talking into his camcorder as we were walking saying "Here we are at the running of the bulls at Pamploma." A truer statement I have not heard. Made it there and was in the third group to go into the pre-room. Go to the elevator, sit in the back row on the far left. What a great ride. I’m glad I didn’t take my daughter on it though, she would have been scared. Then we go see Great Movie Ride. Another disappointment. We had planned on riding it twice, but changed our minds. Then Muppet 3D. I wish I knew how they made that bird talk to everyone individually. Hit the first show of Little Mermaid, then Beauty and the Beast. Took the Animation tour and Whitney got one of the pictures that the animator drew. Saw Hunchback of Notre Dame (I think this was the best show). Then we went to the walking backstage tour. Nothing was being filmed so we just saw sets. On our way out of the park, stood in line to get character autographs, but when we got to Belle it was time to go in. She stopped to give Whitney a hug and asked her name, told her she had a pretty pink dress on and then to come back and see her at 2:30. Well we were leaving so we didn’t think we would be getting that one today. Went back to the hotel, went to the beach and pool. The beach is wonderful. Whitney got to play with a couple of little girls and they made sand castles. Definitely something you can’t do in Oklahoma. We were feeling pretty rested, so we headed back around 5 to MGM. When we got there, Belle was signing autographs, so we got in line. She asked what Whitney’s name was, and then she said she thought that was "my Whitney" and remembered her and had been looking for her that last two times she was there. That made Whitney’s day. Star Tours didn’t have a wait, so we walked onto that one. I was a little nervous for Whitney, but she loved it. Thought it was just like a roller coaster and wanted to ride it again. But it was time to go get our place for Fantasmic. Got there at 6:30 and got a seat in the far right front. By 6:45 it was standing room only. The pre-show entertainment was sort of cute. But Fantasmic was AWESOME! If you only see one night show, this is the one to see. After it was over, we tossed around the idea of trying to make Illuminations, but decided to pass on it.

Thursday:

Plan: Possible AK. If not, do whatever else we want to revisit or see.

Actual: Decided to do MK EE. Whitney was slow this morning and complaining that she didn’t feel good. Got to the bus and we were going to barely make 7:30 at MK. Hit Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway and Tea Cups, Peter Pan and Small World completed EE hours. Then to stand in line for the drop for Splash Mountain. We beat the other lines to the meeting place, so we got on pretty fast. Leave it to Disney to make a log flume ride great. After that we went to BTMRR, but just as we got in line, an announcement was made that it was closed for technical difficulties. So we headed over to Haunted Mansion. Third disappointment ride of the trip. Saw Country Bear Jamboree. Decided to go back to the hotel and take a long nap. I went shopping at Downtown Disney. Dan and she went to the beach while I rested. She was feeling so good, we decided to go to AK to ride the safari. Good choice. It was a great ride and it was late enough in the day for only a 15 minute wait and most of the animals were out. Thursday was the grand opening for Asia so we went to see the rapids ride, but at 5:45 it was closed for technical difficulties. So much for opening day. We really hadn’t planned on riding it. Then off to Epcot. The line for the Epcot bus was huge, but no one was in the Yacht/Beach club line so we ride over there. Decided to catch the bus to Epcot. That was a costly mistake (25 minutes) when we could have walked. But by that time we deciced we were not going to rush. Walked around World Showcase trying to find something healthy for Whitney to eat, and finally settled on Norway for a waffle with strawberry preserves. No line for the Maelstrom. No one had mentioned the backwards part to me, so that was a surprise. Got a spot for Illuminations and I walked around since I really hadn’t had an opportunity to see anything on Monday. Saw Illuminations but I really didn’t think it was too spectacular. Maybe you need to see that one before Fantasmic. Went back to the hotel for one last night at Disney.

Friday:

Plan: The long drive home. Hopefully completed in 2 days (20 hours).

Actual: Decide to sleep in til 7 (wow). Leave CBR around 8:30. Drive to Alexandria, LA. Saturday drive rest of the way home with a stop to pick up our dog.

So how did the plan meet the actual. Pretty well, actually. We didn’t eat as much in the parks as we thought. I wish we had tried the food court at Old Port Royale because I think they might have had a couple of healthy choices. And the pizza delivery did look tempting a few nights but just couldn’t justify the cost.

Recommendations:

If you are going to WDW in a peak time, staying in the park is essential. I cannot tell you how much time we saved by walking on to almost every ride. This was worth the extra money we spent on the room. Packing breakfast helped a lot because we didn’t have spend precious time getting food in the morning.

What we all liked and didn’t like:

Whitney
Favorite: Character autographs. She could have stood in line all day for these and not complained. The longest lines we had were for Ariel (hit it when she took a break). Couldn’t find Daisy Duck and saw Sleeping Beauty only once. Mulan was very popular but Whitney didn’t get hers. Best were Belle and Cinderella. My husband thought we were going to have to do a character meal to get Cinderella’s, but they told us we could go into the lobby where she was signing. Very short line there. The Fairy Godmother was great. She knew Whitney’s name (after looking at the front cover of the autograph book. Whitney never even saw that). It’s a Small World, Dumbo, Cinderella’s Carousel, Monorail
Least Favorite: Haunted Mansion, Cranium Command
Tracy
Favorite: Pirates of the Caribbean (sentimental reasons), Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Fantasmic
Least Favorite: Living Seas, Haunted Mansion, Great Movie Ride
Dan
Favorite: Splash Mountain, Fantasmic, hammocks at the beach at CBR
Least Favorite: Living Seas, Great Movie Ride, Haunted Mansion
Problems:

I had bought a picture on Tuesday night and had it delivered to my room. The girl checking me out didn’t normally work in the shop so she didn’t quite know what to do. Long story, but found out if you order after 7, plan on two days to get delivered. I checked on Thursday and no one could find my picture anywhere. The package delivery coordinator at CBR was fabulous. She had a new one ordered and delivered that day. She was going to make sure I got it before I checked out early Friday morning.
Our room was not in the remodeled section of CBR. The bathroom definitely needed a new paint job and the beds were not that firm. Of course, we were so tired, I don’t think it really mattered. Currently they are working on Jamaica and Trinidad (North or South, I can’t remember).
Hope this helps anyone planning on going real soon. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely and can’t wait to go back again.

Tracy Reinke

treinke@ou.edu

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