Trip Reports

Day 1: April 3, 1999

Travelling- Victor (43), Karen (ahem), Stina (6), David (5)

We planned on leaving our house at 10:00 a.m., and we were late- 10:01, to be exact. Somehow, Karen and I managed to not tell the kids where we were going, only to "New Jersey" where there was an Ikea store. We also managed to get the suitcases into the car without them either suspecting anything, or at least with them silently wondering how long a trip to a furniture store could take. On the way down, I asked David (in response to one of those "Where are we going?" questions), "What do you think, we can just hop on a plane and go to Disney World?" Of course, he knew better than that.

We get on a DeHaviland Dash-8, a 37-seater prop plane for the one hour flight to Baltimore. We get there, and make our way to the gate for the plane to Orlando, where other people finally start to give it away. Once we reassure the kids that the Easter Bunny will be able to find us at WDW, the kids get very enthusiastic about going.

Arriving in early evening, we pick up the rental car and go on to the All-Star Sports resort, for our one-night stay. We're tired and moving slow, so we just end up eating supper at the food court and staying in instead of trying to catch the late show of Fantasmic! Our plan on this trip is to see the new stuff now before our "big" trip in July.

We turn into bed relatively early, around 11:00 p.m.

Costs for the day: Tolls to Newark Airport- $2.55; tolls to WDW from the airport- $2.25; lunch at Newark- $17.71; supper and dessert at Food Court- $46.21; room (previously paid)- $105; airfare per person (via Travelocity) $116 round trip.

Day 2: April 4, 1999

Today's saying: Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

We are up, and decide to skip the early and late Protestant Easter services since we sleep late. We pack the car, then head to the Magic Kingdom.

Back in 1989, on our honeymoon, Karen and I spent the fourth of July holiday at the Magic Kingdom (at least, the night of it), and it was packed. We decided it wouldn't be a great idea to go back to the MK on a holiday. But, this was a Sunday, so we figured it wouldn't be too bad.

People, wall to wall people. We try to get breakfast at Tony's, but they aren't taking in walk-ins. We get some breakfast from the pastry cart outside of Tony's, and proceed to go into the park via the train to Toontown, where we ride Goofy's Barnstormer.

A general rule of thumb we have is to judge how crowded the park is by the lines. In this case, there was a line outside of "It's a Small World". To us, THAT was a bad sign. Still, we wait in line for Peter Pan, Stina and I go to the Haunted Mansion while Karen and David go on the Mark Twain; then we go to Tomorrowland for the TTA ride and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. What a great ride- the music in line is wonderful. I also notice two Hidden Mickeys while waiting in line- the Asteroid Art on one sign, and three craters on the moon on the recreational spaceship sign. But, of course, the best part of all is I got the high score- 182100. David got 10000, Stina 0, Karen 81200.

At that point, we left the MK and checked into our final hotel- the Yacht Club. We get in, change, and head for Stormalong Bay. We have a great time there, and grab supper from Hurricane Hannah's. After that, we take one final dip, change, and head back to the MK. The crowds have died down, and we get to go on Splash Mountai (I spot a HM on the house with the flag mailbox- three nuts on the roof), Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Skyride (after dark), the Carousel, and It's a Small World. As we head out of the park, we stop to have ice cream and soda. At 12:30 a.m., the Main Street music stops and a short recap of Walt's philosophy is given as the castle changes color in the background- very effective, very wonderful. With that, we catch the bus back to the YC.

Best rides of the day: Victor- Buzz Lightyear Karen- Buzz Lightyear David- Buzz Lightyear Stina- Splash Mountain

Spent for the day: Breakfast $15.70; snack $9.60; Supper $25.49; late snack $10.09.

Day 3: April 5, 1999

A late start, so we grab breakfast at Beaches and Cream (HM in the one of the drawings of the onion rings). We head over to the Animal Kingdom around 10:00 a.m. The Kali River Rapids Ride has only a 30 minute wait, so we do it. And get soaked. And spot a HM in Mr. Parka's shop in the fruit basket- three apples. On the Jungle Trek afterwards, we see the usual assortment of animals, with David being very impressed by the bats and wanting to come at night to see them fly instead of just hanging around upside down. I spot a HM at the Tiger Temple in the clouds. And Karen and I are both surprised at the statue inside the Red Temple on the way into the aviary.

But, the crowds are awful, the waits horrible, so we go back to the hotel and do some more swimming. We catch supper back at Beaches and Cream and then return to AK. We do the safari around 6:15 p.m., and see a ton of animals- pretty much everything but the lions. From there, it is on to It's Tough to be a Bug. This seems changed, with the stinkbug sequence nowhere near as bad as it was last year. Then on to Countdown to Extinction, which David still isn't tall enough for so Stina gets to ride twice, with her picture about the same from both rides- a great picture of the back of her head and her back as she crouches down as low as possible.

With that done, we head over to MGM and take in the Great Movie Ride (for at least the third straight time, getting the robber switch scene). We debate for a minute about seeing The Little Mermaid (it is a little after 9), but decide to go on and get in line for Fantasmic. The early show is just letting out, so and there is already a lot of people in line. We wait, and wait (despite being told they would let people in around 9:30 p.m., we don't start really moving into the stadium until at least 9:45 p.m.

There is no "official" preshow tonight, but there are some great unofficial things. We ended up seated in the Mickey section, dead center, row G (7 rows from the lagoon). In the section to the right, a woman spends ten minutes desperately trying to get the attention of her husband and daughter to have them move over. People in our section start mimicing her behind her back. Finally, someone four rows up and about five seats to the right can take no more, and HE starts calling the husband and daughter. Then about 40 people in our section join in. Thoroughly embarrassed, the husband and daughter come over and sit with her. Then our section starts the Wave and gets everyone to join in and get it from one side of the theater to the other. Then another guy leads us in "Row, Row, Row your Boat", with arm motions. We sing "Happy Birthday" to two people in our area. We sing the "Mickey Mouse Club March". We are having a great time.

Then- the lights dim. The lone note sounds in the background and gradually rises above the din of the crowd- the show is on! The wife and kids love it, and I love it as well- but I get to compare the WDW version with the DL version I saw back in 1996 or so. So, here are my official rankings:

Viewing: For viewing comfort and visibility- WDW. For viewing atmosphere- DL. Battle : Hook versus Pocahontas- no contest, the battle on the Columbia wins hands down, big edge to DL Bonus+ : WDW's "bubbles" with movie characters/scenes is a nice addition Snakes : In Kaa (DL) versus Jafar (WDW), Kaa wins hands (err, scales?) down Boats : Mark Twain (DL) versus ??? (WDW)- sorry, Mark Twain is just so much more impressive. Also, the characters seemed more animated at DL. Winner: DL

Overall- If you were going to go and see Fantasmic! in one place- go to DL. But, the show in WDW is technically well done, but, in my opinion, depends too much on the modern "classics". Also, I don't know if it was the wind or the way things are normally, but we were misted a great deal in our seats.

We take the boat ride back to the YC, and the driver informs us that the dark sections in the middle of each building are removable rooms, put there in case the monorail system was ever expanded.

General note: Don't plan on doing AK after a late night the day before. Getting in at 10:00 a.m. meant a lot of people leaving, but a lot more still there.

Picks of the day: Dad- Fantasmic! Mom- Kali River Rapids Stina- Countdown to Extinction David- Fantasmic!

Costs for the day: Breakfast $17.49, Supper $49.52 (with tip), 4 sodas at Fantasmic! $9, (2 small, 2 large), pretzel $3, popcorn $2.

PS- We decided an April trip would be cooler than our usual August one- Orlando today had a new high: 90.

Day 4: April 6, 1999

Our last full day at the world. We get up mildly late, and Karen calls *55 and makes breakfast reservations at Tony's for 9:45 a.m. We get to the MK and have Kathy as our server, who is extremely friendly and provides great service. I have the day's special, a breakfast pizza which is pizza crust with scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, and pizza sauce on the side. When I express my doubts about ordering it, Kathy informs me it comes with a satisfaction guarantee- if I don't like it, I can send it back. It does not go back.

After breakfast, we do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad- it is David's first time on during the day, and he likes it. We go to the Country Bear Jamboree next, and I spot a Hidden Mickey on the band's logs- left hand side, bottom three logs. We go over towards Pirates, and see the line on Splash Mountain is almost there- we later see a sign that gives it an 80 minute wait time. We also see a line the other way towards Pirates from Jungle Cruise, so we skip that this trip. We do see the Tiki Room, which does not seem as bad as last year, but once again we get there at just the wrong time and miss the preshow. After that, it is getting hot and crowded so we move on back to the Yacht Club, change, and get ready to go to Blizzard Beach.

We go to the bus stop, and Charles, a cast member with an arm in a sling, informs us that BB is closed, but comes back within a minute to tell us that resort guests can still get in. We go, stop off at Tike's Peak after getting a locker and towels, and then decide to take the ski lift up to the top of Mount Gushmore to ride Teamboat Springs. After a 15 minute wait in line, we find out that there is now a height requirement of 48" for the lift, which means our son and daughter (who both rode the last two years) can not go on. The audio tape has not been updated, saying only that infants are not allowed on the lift. There is a sign, off the trail, that does say you have to be this tall to go on, but there is no numerical indication of a height requirement for the ski lift. We hike on up the mountain and do the ride, and then split up with Stina staying in the Junior Ski Patrol area to try out the new ropes/ice floes layout (two paths across now), and unable to go on the new rock climbing offered there (ages 9 and up or 10 and up, there is some confusion). I take David over to Tike's Peak, where he enjoys the little peak at the top, the slide, and tube ride; I notice that Brent at the slide is doing an excellent job with the kids, joking with them and having a good time. We do the mats, spend time in the wave pool, and then leave, walking past a new topiary Ice Gator near the entrance.

The new Winter Summerland mini-golf is open, and we were going to do it anyway, but a sign proclaims a 20% discount with a BB handstamp. We decide on the winter course, which is a par 56 but I finish in 46... only to be beaten by 10 strokes by Karen. We both agree the course is easy, but fun. CM Dan takes some time to give the kids some tips on putting- it must work, as they then go on to get a few holes in one. As we get ready to go, CM Ashley offers my son a free drink for his new BB cup (key deposit refund), which then pays off as my daughter also wants a drink, so we pick up a Winter Summerland cup for her.

Back to Yacht Club, change, and back off to Epcot via the Friendship, where Captain Paul from Maine is funny while giving tips on where to eat in the Y&B and Boardwalk areas. We decide to eat at Le Cellier "take out", which is no longer there . We walk around to Germany and get supper at the Sommerfest, then work our way back to Norway for Maelstrom and shopping (David gets more Legos). We watch a little of Illuminations from the outdoor eating area at Norway, feasting on the sweet pretzels and almond cookies (no more Kranske cake), and take a leisurely walk to the monorail. Despite a huge line (huge for our experience), we get on within four trains. Back at the TTC, we get in line for the monorail to the MK, where David asks CM Ashli if we can sit in the front. She tells us yes, and CM Scott (the driver) asks us if this is our first time up front (he says it is his), and gives us a ride and the kids get their monorail co-pilot licenses without asking- the first time that has happened for us.

Buzz Lightyear is our first stop, and this time Stina gets 10000, David 161000, and Mom easily bests my score from the first ride at 262000. However, we did get stuck at one point for about a minute- which still doesn't account for my final score of 642100. This takes the pain out of the minigolf loss to a degree. We then go to Space Mountain with about a 20 minute wait, and Stina rides twice as we do a switch- both times on the "right" hand track, the second time in the last seat, which Karen and I feel is the bumpiest seat on the ride, either side. David is reassured by the height checks three times that he can't ride, especially by CM Jim from Boston who is doing the height check at the queue split. After Space Mountain, it is the Astro Orbiter, and then sodas and out.

But our Good Cast Member Day is not yet complete, as Rene, driving our bus at 12:45 a.m. is funny (first day on the job- NOT) and asks the trivia question "What does Epcot stand for?" I answer with Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, and he says there are THREE answers. After a few moments of thought (and remembering what I've read on RADP), I come up with answer two- Every Person Comes Out Tired. I miss the third, despite the clue that it involves cast members- Every Paycheck Comes On Thursday. We get off the bus, thanking him, and making our way back to the room.

Day's best: Karen- Golf and Teamboat Springs; Me- Golf and Big Thunder; David- Golf, Buzz Lightyear, getting Legos, and Big Thunder; Stina- Space Mountain, golf, and Maelstrom.

Costs for the day- Breakfast $33.97 (with tax and tip), Minigolf $28.41, towel and locker rental $7 (with either a mug or $2 back when you turn in the key), mug and drinnk at Winter Summerland $3.71, Supper $26.07, Snack at Norway about $10, Sodas at the end of the day $8.17.

Day 5: April 7, 1999

Sigh. Our last few hours at Disney. We pack, get the kids up, and have our bags taken and loaded in our rental car. Then it is off to Epcot. We arrive at about 8:30 and beeline to Test Track- the line is already to Innoventions when we join it at 8:45. Once the doors open at 9, though, the line moves swiftly and we are on the ride in about 45 minutes. The pre-ride area is very interesting, showing how GM checks the safety of their cars (and a hidden Mickey is spotted on a tool cart where a set of three gauges are assembled). We finally get into the briefing area, and I catch the CORROSIVE test we will go through; my daughter notices the "random" test chosen by the narrator's assistant is CRASH TEST. With a party of four, Stina gets to ride in front with another couple, and then we are off.

This is a great ride- everyone in our family enjoyed it. I thought the "SPEED CHECKED BY RADAR" sign was a funny touch- until I saw our checked speed of 64.8 mph. And the crash test was excellent as well . I don't know if I would have waited in line two years for the ride, but an hour was reasonable, as we were off the ride a little before 10.

Breakfast time next, as we go to the Land for an ala carte breakfast (not the character breakfast). We take the boat ride, and then as Karen shops I join the kids in catching "Food Rocks", still full of horrible puns- the people in the theater around me are dying at the song parodies. Of course, my kids don't get it at all. But they still like the show.

From the Land, we go to The Living Seas, with Karen getting to enjoy the feeding of the manatees and then a talk about them. The kids get a kick out of the diver in the tank around 12:45 p.m., as she waves at them and has them "touch" her hand through the glass.

Back across Epcot to Wonders of Life, where Stina gets to go on Body Wars again, and we drag David along as well. We walk through the butterfly garden (new?) at the tip of Innoventions, then through Ice Station Cool, past Goofy playing in the water fountain (those big feet can really deflect water), then on to Mexico for the Rio de Tiempo boat trip- this seems really too quiet now.

Back to the Electric Umbrella for lunch (and making Stina hold her empty soda cup until we got downstairs for her to throw it away in the talking trash can she had forgotten about), and then to Karen's favorite stop, Field Trip- only it is now just a store, and not a center for teachers to get information about the world. She is very disappointed.

At this point, it is nearing 4:00 p.m. We hustle out of Epcot, gas up the car near Pleasure Island, then back to the airport for the 5:50 flight. There is a delay in checking in due to multiple bookings (Thanks, Travelocity ), but we make it to the gate with at least 10 minutes to spare. Back through Baltimore, redeeming the car from the parking lot in Newark, and then home the same night. And thus ends our April Disney Vacation.

We did what we wanted to do- see the new attractions. Bonus points for getting David to try some new rides, and Stina as well. Maybe by summer David will be tall enough to try one or two more rides.

Best of the day: Test Track (big surprise there, huh?)

Costs for the day- Breakfast $14.56 at the Land Bake Shop; Lunch 23.40 at Electric Umbrella; gas $2.40; cart for luggage at airport $1.75; Parking at Newark $40; tolls (FL and NJ) $3.20; supper on the road $34.37.

Summary information, tips, etc.

This was our last trip with the stroller- we started with our double stroller, "forgot" it the first night we went back to the MK, and never looked back. The kids survived, and we moved faster and without running anyone down.

Don't try to get to AK early after leaving the MK the previous night at 1:00 a.m. Especially with kids.

Despite many more stops, getting around on the bus from the Yacht Club was tolerable. We ended up not using the car at all- if we fly again, we'll probably do Mears or a town car.

Meals and stuff cost breakdown:

Sunshine Food Fair (Breakfast, 4/7)

Blueberry Muffin 1.75 Cinnamon Bun 2.25 Cherry Danish 1.75 Continental breakfast (coffee, fruit, muffin/danish/bagel choice) 4.50 Milk 0.99 Chocolate Milk 0.99 Large OJ 1.50 Total w/tax- 14.56

Electric Umbrella (Lunch, 4/7)

Children meal (hot dog or chicken) 3.25 Chicken Deluxe Meal 6.39 Cheeseburger meal 5.59 Medium soda 1.80 (children's meal includes drink and fries, 2 bought) Total w/tax- 23.40

Casey's Coke Corner (Snack, 4/7)

2 Small drink - 1.60 (each) 2 Medium drink - 2.25 (each) Total w/tax- 8.17

Sommerfest (Supper, 4/6) (Germany at Epcot)

Bratwurst sandwich w/sauerkraut 4.10 Frankfurter sandwich w/kraut 4.10 2 Frankfurter w/o kraut 3.20 (each) 2 soft pretzels 1.90 (each) Regular soda 1.60 2 large sodas 1.80 (each) Chocolate milk 0.99 Total w/tax- 26.07

Winter Summerland (Drink, 4/6)

Mug w/drink 3.50 Total w/tax- 3.71

Winter Summerland mini-golf

2 Adult play w/20% discount with handstamp (and labeled 20% Annual on receipt) 7.40 (each) 2 child play (ditto) 6.00 (each) Total w/tax 28.41

Beaches and Cream (Supper and dessert, 4/5)

Double cup sundae 3.49 Milk 1.20 Child coke 0.99 2 Cokes w/vanilla 2.00 (each) Kid's Grilled Cheese 4.50 Home Run steak&cheese w/fries 8.95 Kid hot dog 4.50 Side of onion rings 2.25 Turkey w/cheese sandwich 5.25 Single cup sundae 2.49 Mickey Mouse sundae 2.49 Total w/tax 42.52

Beaches and Cream (Breakfast 4/5)

3 OJ 1.50 (each) Chocolate milk 0.75 Large coffee 1.75 Cinnamon bun 2.00 2 muffins (blueberry, chocolate chip) 1.65 (each) Cereal 0.85 Cereal w/milk 1.35 Danish 2.00 Total w/tax- 17.49

All Star Sports Food Court (Supper, 4/3)

Chips 1.00 Chocolate milk 1.59 Watermelon slice 1.39 Mashed potato 0.99 Steak 10.99 2 Kid's hot dogs w/fries 3.69 (each) Rueben sandwich 5.59 4 soda 1.49 (each) Banana 0.79 3 ice cream cups 2.50 (each) Total w/tax- 46.21

I did not include tips in the above, since it will depend on your own habits and service you receive.

Victor Vitek

70007.3673@compuserve.com

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