Trip Reports

NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 4, 1999

Cast:

Kerry, age 29, loves Disney almost as much as I do. He kept up with all our receipts and daily journal, 4th trip to WDW.
Lisa, age 28, trip planner, report writer, 7th trip to WDW, been to Disneyland once.
Brittani, age 10, daughter, 3rd trip to WDW.
Matt, age 9, son, 3rd trip to WDW.
Justin, age 7, son, 3rd trip to WDW (sort of. I was pregnant with him during his 1st trip!)
Susan, mother-in-law, age 49, 2nd trip to WDW.
Method of Travel: Airplane & Tiffany Town Car

Accommodations: Coronado Springs (2 nights) & All Star Movies (7 nights); 2 rooms at each hotel

A Bit of Background: Our last trip to WDW was in September 1998. We stayed in a Holiday Inn for 6 nights and at Dixie Landings for 2 nights. We had a great time, but we were only in the Disney parks for 3 days and we got tired so easy. For one reason, it is REALLY hot down there in September and for another reason, we were extremely overweight! In July of 1999, Kerry and I started to eat right and exercise. So by the time we left for this trip, I had lost 60 pounds, and Kerry had lost 75 pounds. Needless to say, the difference in our energy and stamina this trip was unbelievable! Even though several times we would have to “race walk” across the parks, we never got even slightly winded. We’re hoping by our next trip in May to be at our ideal weight!

Day One - November 25, 1999

We woke up at 3:00 am to get ready. Left our house at 3:30 am on our way to my mother-in-law’s house. Her boyfriend generously agreed to take us and pick us up from the airport. We got to the airport in plenty of time. We gave the kids each a goody bag which we had made for them. (As if the vacation itself wasn’t enough!) The goody bags each had a couple of Disney beanies, their best Halloween candy (which I had put up especially for this), their gameboys, and an activity book. This was my kids’ first time flying and we were so excited to see their reactions. They really enjoyed the flight, although my daughter had a bit of ear pain. It was a great flight.

As I had read, the guy from Tiffany Town Car was waiting for us at the bottom of the escalator at Orlando airport. My daughter told me later that she thought they were taking me to jail when she saw the man in the suit with a sign with my name on it. I’ll have to limit her TV. The man’s name was Berkley and he was wonderful. He helped us load up the van and we were on our way.

We arrived at Coronado Springs at around 9 am & checked in. Our rooms weren’t ready, so we went in Panchitos to shop for matching t-shirts. We bought those, then went to Pepper Market to eat. We all wanted lunch since we had been up for so long, but since it was only 10 am, we settled for Mickey waffles and breakfast pizzas.

After lunch, we rode the bus to Boardwalk, then got on the boat headed for Epcot. We had wanted to go to the back Guest Services based on advice from RADP that it was less crowded. Good idea! There was no one back there. We upgraded our park hoppers to annual passes and went into Epcot at World Showcase. We just walked around for a long time, admiring the countries. The kids got their passports and spent a good bit of time at some of the Kidcot stations. We watched the Pu Yang acrobats in China (they’re unbelievable!), the drummers in Japan, and saw American Adventure (at least some of us did....my husband and 2 of my kids promptly fell asleep). We then headed on to Teppanyaki for our PS. We were seated with a couple from Michigan on their honeymoon who we found out were staying in our building at Coronado Springs! Our cook was James and he was great. He kept acting like some of the food was still alive and kept stabbing at it. He even flicked some shrimp tails near Matt and about scared him to death! After all the great places we ate at, this is the place the kids still talk about.

As if that wasn’t enough food for us, after dinner we all split a funnel cake and a kaki-gori. No offense to all you fans, but the kaki-gori was not our thing. We thought it was nasty.

At this point, we were getting pretty tired from the early start, so we rode the Friendship boat over to Future World and caught a bus back to the hotel.

Day Two - Friday, November 26

Woke up around 7:30 am (that really felt like sleeping in compared to yesterday!). After a quick breakfast in the room, we walked to the marina. We rented a four-seater and a two-seater surrey bike and rode around the hotel paths. One of the funniest things that happened was Matt and I were in the two-seater and as I was heading around a curve, it sounded like something fell off the bike. I finally said “what was that, Matt?” The I turned around to see what had fallen off and I see Matt running behind the surrey bike trying to catch me and laughing his head off! It was so funny! (By the way, he wasn’t hurt at all, and neither him nor I know how in the heck he fell off....his fanny just slid right off the seat we guess. He was just there one minute and gone the next). After the bike rides, we rented a pontoon boat for ½ an hour.

We had lunch at the Pepper Market. I had the market nachos which were really good. We liked the food at Pepper Market, but I have to agree with most other people that 10% is a big charge for someone to just bring you drinks one time.

After lunch, we went to the main pool and had fun playing on the waterslide and sitting in the hot tub.

In the evening, we went to the Magic Kingdom and saw Timekeeper and Alien Encounter, then rode Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain. Then we watched the fireworks on the way over to Main Street and Tinkerbell flew right over our heads! We then ate at the Plaza Restaurant (based on a recommendation from a friend) and really enjoyed it. My mother-in-law said it was the best clam chowder she’s ever had, and the Bicycle Built for Two Kerry and I ordered made me blush when the waitress brought it out because it was SO big!

We snagged curbside seats on Main Street and watched MSEP. Now this parade brings back a lot of memories! Kerry and I last saw this parade over 20 years ago (not together of course) and it brings back a lot of good feelings. I LOVE it! After the parade, the kids were begging to ride TTA so we did that before leaving the park.

Day Three - Saturday, November 27

When we woke up, we re-packed what little we had gotten out of the suitcases to be ready for bell services. Kerry and Susan went to do laundry and the kids and I walked down to the hammocks. This was one of my favorite times the whole vacation because hardly anyone was around, I had my daughter lying next to me, the weather was about 75 degrees with a slight breeze, the sun was warming our face and arms, the boys were playing in the sound quietly...in other words, pure heaven! To end this peace, Kerry and Susan came by with the bell services guy in the luggage cart, and told us to hop in. Boo, Hiss! We had an easy check out, then caught a bus to Downtown Disney. From there, we got in line for a bus to All Star Movies, then went to check in there. Unbelievably, our rooms were ready even though it was early. Since we didn’t have our luggage, we couldn’t unpack, but we went to check out our rooms anyway. As predicted, the kids loved the big Buzz and Woody outside and the popcorn light in the room.

We caught a bus to Epcot, then got in line for the Dixie Landings bus. We got off at Dixie Landings and showed Susan around the hotel (we had wanted to show her where we stayed last year). Then we caught the boat to Downtown Disney. We did lots of shopping (Susan bought the monorail for us as our Christmas present) and ate dinner at Planet Hollywood. The food was good (except for the Captain Crunch chicken fingers - yuk!), but it was too loud and crowded for our taste.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.

Day Four - Sunday, November 28

We decided to do early entry at MGM. We rode Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster with a 10 minute wait, then Tower of Terror (my personal favorite, especially now that there are more drops. I’m in love!). I got the seatbelt seat without having to ask and loved it. I wish they’d drop you 15 times! Then we decided to ride Rock ‘n’ Roller one more time and had another 10 minute wait.

From there, we went to ride the Great Movie Ride. My kids loved this ride! Then we saw Muppets 3-D. We had lunch at Pizza Planet, which had great pizza. Then we played the claw game (which is easy here - try it) and won a couple of cute stuffed animals. At this point, my daughter realized she had left her hat (with many of my millenium pins on it) in the car outside of the Sci-Fi restaurant when we were taking their picture earlier. So she and I went to go ask the nearby shops if anyone had turned it in. No luck. We went to the front of the park to Lost and Found and had no luck there either. She got really upset at this point and as much money as I had lost with those pins being gone, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. (My Walt & Mickey pin was not on there or I probably would have not been so understanding!).

After lunch we did the Backlot Tour, saw Hunchback of Notre Dame (we think this is the best stage show at WDW), and saw Doug Live (which I slept through). Then we went back to the hotel for swimming and dinner at the foodcourt. Later that evening, we went back to MGM and saw the Osborne Lights. We didn’t enjoy this at all, because it was so crowded you could barely move. Afterwards, Kerry, Susan and Justin got in line for Fantasmic and Matt, Brittani, and I went to ride Tower of Terror again (20-minute wait). We met up with Kerry who took us to the seats they had saved for us and watched Fantasmic for the first time. This is the greatest show of it’s type in all of Disney in our opinion. We’ll never miss this show again!

Day Five - Monday, November 29

We got to Epcot around 10 am. We went directly to Test Track and rode 2 times in a row using the singles line. Even though it’s not quite as fun not getting to ride with your family, for us it was well worth it. The regular line was 45 minutes and we were getting on in less than 10 minutes. Matt and Justin loved this ride. I didn’t think it was all that great, except for the last curve on the outside track. After Test Track, we headed into World Showcase and listened to the holiday story tellers in Norway and Japan, and rode Maelstrom. Then we saw Snow White and Dopey. Dopey got so excited when he saw Justin’s shirt that had Grumpy and Dopey on it. He was hopping around and pointing to Justin’s shirt, all the while we’re thinking what perfect timing that he was wearing that shirt and we just happened to see Dopey. This Snow White was absolutely perfect! She looked and had a voice EXACTLY like the cartoon. Afterwards, we went back towards Mexico for our PS at San Angel Inn. The food was okay, but this is a place we probably won’t eat at again because it’s so dark and cramped.

After lunch, we rode Rio del Tiempo. Then on our way to see Voices of Liberty, we saw that Snow White and 5 of the dwarfs were sitting on the grass, and Snow White was telling her story. Matt and Justin immediately went to sit in front of her and were instantly captivated (so was I...like I said, she was like a living cartoon). I told Kerry, Susan and Brittani to go ahead to America and see Voices of Liberty and we’d meet them there. When we met up with them, we watched the fife and drum corps, then rushed over to France to see the Living Statue. She was really fun. She stole Susan’s backpack, finally giving it back to Matt when he went up to her. Then we went to listen to the British Invasion. While we were listening, the kids were at the KidCot station making the masks on a stick. Afterwards, Captain Hook and Tigger came out. Captain Hook acted like he was scared of the masks, so of course, that made Justin show it to him even more. Then Captain Hook started chasing him all over the place. Justin was laughing so hard he could barely run. It’s definitely the best thing I have on video!

We then watched World Showcase Players. Kerry became instantly addicted to them. The best part to me was when one the women kept on dancing with Gallahad, and everyone was waiting for them to stop. She then apologized for “dancing the knight away.”

Next we left Susan to hold seats for Off Kilter and we went right next door to get the kids each a personalized leather bracelet, an Off Kilter CD, and 2 beavertails. Then we all shared the beavertails while listening to Off Kilter. They sang “Run, Run Away” and even though my kids had never heard that song before, Justin has been singing that song ever since.

After Off Kilter, we headed back to Future World and saw HISTA for the first time. Even though I knew what was going to happen by reading trip reports, I was still shocked and screamed over & over at the “mouse tails.” If felt so real! After HISTA, we rode Journey Into Your Imagination which was okay. I’ve never ridden the first one, so I had nothing to compare it to. We had a lot of fun playing in the pavilion after the ride. We especially liked the picture postcard machines.

We rode Spaceship Earth next, then had dinner at the Electric Umbrella. After dinner, we went into Ice Station Cool and tricked the kids and Susan into trying the Beverly (and got it on the camcorder). Of course, being as curious as we are, Kerry and I had to try it as well. It wasn’t as bad at first taste as the aftertaste is. Yuk! The orange flavor was good.

We then went to Mexico/Norway to get a spot for Illuminations. After Illuminations, we let the kids play on the viking ship until the crowds cleared out. They had a blast. Then back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Day Six - Tuesday, November 30

We got to Magic Kingdom in time to get lots of pictures with characters before our PS at Cinderella’s Castle. The kids got to see Sneezy, Tweedle Dum, Brer Fox and Brer Bear. Then we had breakfast in the castle. This was okay, but not something I want to repeat anytime soon. We felt rushed and the characters weren’t very friendly with the kids. Maybe it was because they are older than most kids that eat there, but it just seemed like it was, “get up kids, smile for the camera, now go sit down.” Oh well, the food was awesome at least. The french toast and croissants were our favorites.

After breakfast, we rode the Pooh ride (20 minute wait), Carousel (5 minutes), and Snow White (walk on). Then we headed to Toon Town to get our picture with Mickey. We then rode the Barnstormer. The adults rode once, and the kids rode 3 times. They then played on Donald’s boat for a bit. After Toon Town, we rode the teacups, then got pictures with Eeyore, Piglet & Pooh.

Next was It’s a Small World (5 minute wait), and Peter Pan (5 minute wait). Then on to Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, and Splash Mountain twice (posted time wait was 25 minutes, but it was a walk-on both times). We bought the picture mostly because of the look of PURE TERROR on Justin’s face. He isn’t scared of this ride, since he’ll ride anything, but his expression in this picture was worth the price to buy it!

After Splash, we road Big Thunder (15 minute wait). This was a fun ride and in my opinion, no scarier than Goofy’s Barnstormer. We then got our favorite WDW snack, a citrus swirl at Sunshine Terrace. As we were eating, Kerry sees Baloo, and since this is his favorite Disney character, we ran right over. Also there for pictures was King Louie and Rafiki. After photos, we walked right in the Tiki Bird show. My kids love this show. Then we walked right onto a boat at Pirates of the Caribbean.

Next we went to see the Diamond Horse Shoe Revue which I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. We had a good time here.

Since we had enjoyed it so much on Friday, we went for another dinner at the Plaza Restaurant. As is sometimes the case, this time wasn’t quite as good. Our waitress was unfriendly, they didn’t have the clam chowder Susan was hungering for, and for some reason, Justin went to the bathroom and threw up right after eating. Now he wasn’t sick per se, it was probably the fact that he had brought 8 snacks in his fanny pack that day and had eaten them all. Yep, that’ll do it!

After dinner, we headed down to Exposition Hall to look at and buy our Main Street picture and pictures with Mickey. The kids and I made photo stickers, Susan stayed in line for us, and Kerry made a WDW Forever CD.

Then we headed back to the hotel and Susan and Kerry went to do laundry. They said there were not near enough machines for a hotel that size. The kids and I took a video of what the maid had done with their toys and went to bed early.

Day Seven - Wednesday, December 1

We headed to Animal Kingdom around 9 am for our breakfast with Donald. What a madhouse! This was pretty good, but I think Chef Mickey’s has spoiled us. That and the Crystal Palace are the best character meals we’ve had. The reason we made this reservation was because Matt is crazy about Donald Duck, and I kept hearing how hard it is to find Donald because of the height thing. I just wanted to make sure we saw the furry little guy.

After breakfast, we rode CTX (was this a good idea right after a buffet breakfast, or what?). Then we saw Tarzan Rocks. I loved this show, but we got there late and had really bad seats. I can’t wait until we go back so we can get there early and get good seats. Tarzan’s muscles rock!

After the show, we let the kids play in the Boneyard and dig for bones. Then we saw It’s Tough to be a Bug. Next, we went through the Jungle Trek and loved hearing the girl talk about the kimodo dragon. The tigers were funny too. One of them would be trying to rest and the other would sneak up on her and pounce on her.

Next to the safari which was a walk on. We saw lots of animals and I enjoyed the bumpiness of the ride a lot this year. The kids and I were laughing like crazy bouncing up and down! After the safari, we went and watched the gorillas for a while, then headed on the Lion King show.

After the show, we got pictures with Rafiki and Turk, then went for dinner at the Rainforest Café. This was our worst meal of the trip. Their prices have soared and makes regular Disney prices seem cheap. Live and learn.

We took a bus back to the hotel, then Susan and the kids caught a bus to Downtown Disney to see Toy Story 2 and have dinner. Kerry and I went back to the room to get jackets, then caught a bus to Pleasure Island. As we approached the turnstiles, we realized I had left my driver’s license back in the room, so I had to wear a band all night and let Kerry order the drinks. We saw the first show of the comedy act, hung out at the Adventurer’s Club for a few skits (Kungaloosh!), watched people dance at Wildhorse Saloon, then saw 2 or 3 more comedy shows. The talent of the comedians is outstanding. We were seated by a phone the second show we saw, and Kerry was really disappointed that they didn’t do the phone thing that show. I was really, really glad! We had lots of fun and I hope we can return sometime.

Day Eight - Thursday, December 2

We got to Epcot around 10 am and went straight to Ellen’s Energy Adventure. We all loved this ride/show. Then we saw Cranium Command & Making of Me (this embarrassed Brittani to death as I had just told her the birds-and-the-bees a month earlier. I think she was scared it was actually going to show the “act”). He he! I was getting a little worried myself. I think most of it went over Matt’s and Justin’s head. At least I hope so. After the shows, we wandered around the pavilion for a long time trying out everything.

When we finally decided to leave, we saw Test Track and (thanks to the kids begging) couldn’t resist another go on Test Track. So into the singles line for another spin! Afterwards, we had lunch at Pizza Pasta. Next we checked out Innoventions “Road to Tomorrow.”

Later, we went to see the World Showcase Players again. Kerry was very disappointed to see that they had started earlier than what was stated in the brochure, and we only got to see the last part of the act. We also listened to British Invasion again (can’t wait for their CD!) then claimed our curb space for Tapestry of Nations. After the parade, we headed over to the Candlelight Processional where the kids promptly fell asleep, but the adults loved the show.

We had to rush back to the entrance to catch a bus to MGM for our PS at Prime Time. We made good time and soon the “Willis kids” were called back to the kitchen. We had a good waiter, but Brittani, being the smart alec, pretended she didn’t like the corn on the cob so he would harass her. Now corn on the cob could be rolled in dirt and she’d probably still like it, but she told “Cousin Tim” that it didn’t taste good (she hadn’t even taken a bite. This probably clued him in to the fact she was pulling his leg). So he took her spoon and pushed all the corn off the cob then fed it all to her. She loved the attention! The green beans the adults had were probably the most gross thing I’ve ever had, but I forced them down so I wouldn’t be picked on (plus I wanted dessert). Naturally, I didn’t get a Clean Plate sticker, because how could anyone eat 4 pieces of fried chicken at once? Well, Kerry did, plus one of mine... Anyway, it was a great experience and the food (minus the green beans) was excellent. We’ll be back Cousin!

When we got back to the hotel, we made a few purchases at Donald’s Double Feature, then headed back to the room.

Day Nine - Friday, December 3

We were getting tired by this point in the vacation, and didn’t make it out until 11 am. When we got to Magic Kingdom, we got breakfast at the Main Street Bakery. I know, breakfast at 11:30 am? What a delicious place to eat, and the prices are good.

We got a fast pass for Space Mountain, then went to watch Carousel of Progress (my all-time favorite thing at WDW and as a bonus, my kids love this too). Then we went to ride Space Mountain (less than 5 minute wait-this fast pass thing is great---I’m such a poet). We then rode Buzz Lightyear again (5 minute wait), Haunted Mansion (walk on), and Splash Mountain twice. The first wait for Splash Mountain was about 10 minutes. We had a couple in the back seat of the boat with us who evidently made obscene gestures in the picture so we got a pass to go back up the exit ramp and ride again. Yay! We ended up making mouse ears in the second picture and so we had to buy it.

After Splash, we got Mickey ice cream bars and got a seat for the Magical Moments parade. Justin got picked to go out and rub the genie’s lamp and dance around. After the parade, we went to ride Big Thunder again (15 minute wait). Then we had lunch at the Columbia Harbor House.

We went to Main Street to grab a bench and wait for the Flag Retreat. As we’re sitting there, a lady comes over to ask our kids if they’d like to go up on the train platform during the tree lighting and wave to the crowds. Being true Disney addicts like us, they excitedly ran off with her without as much as a backward glance to us! This was a true Disney magical moment, seeing your kids up there holding hands with Minnie Mouse and waving to everyone. Then they turned on the tree and the Main Street lights. It was beautiful. The kids got a free copy of Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas video which made it even more special. Something this good, free, at Disney? We were feeling good.

We then left the park and rode the monorail for the first time this trip over to the Grand Floridian. We were very impressed with the decorations here, but not so impressed with the hotel itself. Both Kerry and Susan said the hotel didn’t feel like Disney. I guess it’s a little too “ritzy” for us! We then went to visit the Polynesian. Now this is just our style baby!! This and the Beach Club are my dream hotels. We peeked in at the Neverland Club then relaxed in hammocks on the beach. We could also see inside at some of the rooms and I can tell this is more my speed.

Next stop: Contemporary for our PS at Chef Mickey’s. This hotel doesn’t appeal to me at all, but Chef Mickey’s is our favorite character meal. We had to wait a long time to be seated, but it was worth it. The food was great and I love getting the see the characters several times! My kids love being allowed (even encouraged) to wave their napkins in the air during the “birthday” celebration. After a wonderful dinner, we headed for the monorail. They let the kids sit up front as we headed for Epcot. At Epcot, we caught our bus to the hotel for our last night’s lodging.

Day 10 - Saturday, December 4

We had stayed up late the night before packing, so we only had a few last minute things to pack. We left our luggage to be picked up then caught a bus to MGM. The lines were too long for Rock ‘n’ Roller and Tower of Terror. They were probably 30 minute waits, but to off-season tourists, that’s too much! We rode Star Tours for the first time (and probably last time), then went to get pictures with Buzz, Woody, Jesse, the soldier, & the horse. Afterwards, Susan, Kerry, and Justin saw Little Mermaid, then Beauty and the Beast, while Brittani, Matt, and I went on the Animation tour. Matt wants to be a cartoonist/animator when he grows up, so he just loved this. After we met up with the others, we caught a bus back to the hotel, ate lunch at the food court, and then played in the arcade. We had saved all of our change during the trip, so it was almost like free entertainment. After a little bit of playing, we saw Berkley from Tiffany Town Car. He had already gotten our luggage from Bell Services and had loaded it in the van. He was the best! We took a much more somber trip back to the airport and headed home. I don’t like to dwell on this part much, so let that be it. At least until our next trip, May 27, 2000.

Expenses

(Meals include tip. Susan paid for Brittani’s airline ticket as well as hers. We had 2 rooms at both hotels; she paid for her room and let Brittani stay in there with her. She also paid the tip for Tiffany Town Car. Meal money only includes lunch & dinner. We brought food from home for breakfasts.)

Airline: $ 580
Hotel: $ 789
Meals: $ 791
Snacks: $ 74
Tips: $ 31
Souvenirs: $ 458
Recreation: $ 39
PI Admission: $ 34
Drinks at PI: $ 30
Annual Passes: $ 1220
Tiffany Town Car: $ 80
TOTAL SPENT: $ 4126
Lisa Willis

willis_family@yahoo.com

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