Trip Reports

• Time of Year: Winter
• Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
• Resort: Offsite
• Accommodations: Standard Room
• Ages Represented in Group: Teen, Adult
• WDW Experience Represented in Group: Infrequent
• Comments: This is an old report, but still fun to read. John describes his trip with his two brothers...a very interesting perspective. The guys stayed offsite during their visit.

Welcome to my WDW trip report, and my first posting ever on r.a.d.p. My favorite things to read in this newsgroup are the reports, hands down, so I thought I'd chime in.

To begin with, this report is old. Three years old. But I think you'll enjoy it, as it describes in some detail my attempt to live out a lifelong dream: ride every ride in Walt Disney World in a single trip. I'd never really made the effort before, so I had no idea if it could be done in four days, but figured it was possible. So I did my research (mostly the great Unofficial Guide and my previous experiences) and drew up an itinerary, which I printed out and took with me. I also had a pen to check off each ride/attraction as I completed it.

Accompanying me on the trip were my step-brothers Matt and Luke (I was 22 at the time, they were 17 and 14 respectively). We had gone together with my father and their mother back in ('89, since which time MGM had been opened and lots of new attractions had been built. I myself was already a bit of a veteran, having lived in CA and visited Disneyland five times. Since moving to New England, I'd been to WDW seven times as well. (And I've been back twice since ('93).

We flew from Manchester, NH and stayed at the Travelodge Main Gate East (the Mears Shuttle brought us from Orlando airport), having four days at the parks. This was all part of a package deal, and we bought 4-day passes at the Disney Store inside the airport.

The plan was to take the first available bus out each morning and the last one back each night. Our rooms were pretty comfortable; the only problem was in ordering a rollaway bed; at first they said they didn't have any more available. When it did arrive, the mattress was wafer-thin (brief Python allusion there) and only by stuffing a pillow under the middle of it could one sleep properly. We rotated who would have to sleep on this device, and I volunteered to go first.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1993: (Day One)

We awoke around 6:30 (I, for one, was unable to sleep much due to excitement; or maybe it was the mattress...) to what would become our regular routine for the week. Dressing and showering as quickly as possible and then heading down to the restaurant for the All-You-Can-Eat breakfast. This was probably the best thing about the Travelodge; the service was efficient and friendly, the atmosphere subdued (not many families were up this early, so no noisy kids!), and the price was right.

All decked out in WDW T-shirts, we waited at the bus stop; it turned out the Travelodge bus was broken (for our entire stay), so the Holiday Inn across the street made a special pick-up (meaning the bus was pretty crowded by the time we boarded). We soon got to know many of our fellow hotel guests over the week (more about that later). The bus driver was great, pointing out our bus lane would be #33, "same as Larry Bird" (the driver was from Mass.), and he told us MGM stood for "Mighty Greedy Mickey".

MGM was our first stop; none of us had been there before (it was due to open three weeks after our prior WDW trip!) and in hindsight I wish we'd spent a whole day there, soaking in more of the atmosphere... the architecture in MGM is my favorite among the three parks. We passed through the turnstiles at 8:33 AM and headed for the first thing on my itinerary, Star Tours. Since the line was so short, we had scant time to enjoy the pre-show but loved the ride. We all laughed out loud at the way the exit leads you right into a Star Wars gift shop! Real subtle, guys.

Checking the event board, we headed to the 9AM Indy Epic Stunt Show, bypassing #2 on the itin. (Great Movie Ride); two rides into the list and we're already diverging! It was worth it though, we got good seats and didn't have to wait long for the show. The audience plant (who gets beat-up on-stage) had us all fooled; having re-visited since I realized the trick is the CM wears a REALLY obnoxious shirt (once it was radioactive pink) so the host will have no trouble picking him/her out.

On the way out, we posed in front of the Indy film props for some pix and high-tailed it to Great Movie Ride, where we encountered our first real line of the trip. We were still too excited to notice though, and there's plenty to look at inside the building which made the time fly by. We had mixed feelings about the ride itself; in some ways it's not worth all the space it takes up, but the CM interaction is fun and the Oz sequence had me pinching myself; the final film montage is well done too.

Next up was the tram ride (more good photo ops with all those great props), and Catastrophe Canyon REALLY impressed me; I wasn't expecting it to be that well done. The rest of the tram was so-so (seeing Golden Girls and Empty Nest sets does not really excite me). By now we were getting hungry, and saved the rest of the tours for after lunch.

The nearest (and cheapest) meal was at the Soundstage which at the time was still Aladdin-themed, I believe. Nothing special about the meal or the atmosphere. Next we headed to the animation tour; despite a healthy dose of Robin Williams, this was a real disappointment. Nobody was working on anything (though Lion King was in production at the time) and we walked through room after room of empty workstations. One thing which surprised me, in the pre-tour gallery, they played songs from Aladdin (which I hadn't seen yet), and at least half the crowd sang along, and knew all the words!!

Walking past several characters down Mickey Ave., we entered the SPFX tour next; this was my personal favorite of all the tours; being into radio and TV production myself I was fascinated by the latter part especially, seeing all the soundstages. We were all shocked at how small the Star Search soundstage was compared to how it looked on TV; it's all in the camera angles I guess.

Muppet-Vision 4D was next, and despite a huge line (at least 40 min) it was worth it. This is my pick as best attraction at MGM (beating out Star Tours); I couldn't believe they installed Statler and Waldorf in the balcony, but when I turned around to see the Swedish Chef borking away, well I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Great job!!

We meandered awhile through the New York Backlot sets, taking more photos, then did a bit of shopping along Hollywood Boulevard (postcards mostly). Despite not having seen everything (missed Monster Sound Show, Mermaid, and Superstar TV), I decided we'd done all the RIDES at MGM and my itin. said to catch the bus to EPCOT by 4PM to stay on track. Well it was now approaching 5, so we reluctantly left MGM and rode over to EPCOT. Realizing (too late) there was no bank there, I was forced to withdraw money from the ATM (and swallow the damn service fee), rather than cashing travelers checks, as I knew we'd have dinner at a fast-food spot.

We entered the gate and headed to Universe Of Energy. Boy do I hate this ride. Maybe that's why I wanted to get it over with first. I think it's a tremendous waste of space and am glad they're redoing it. Rather than be hassled with crowds, we opted for an early dinner next at StarGate in Communicore. Matt continued a tradition by spilling a large Coke all over himself (Luke had done the same in ('89).

After dinner, Imagination was the next stop, but Captain EO was shut down for some reason (no big loss, we'd all seen it last time). Making sure to play in the squirty fountains first, we rode Journey Into Imagination. I like this ride more than most people seem to, and I think the song is the BEST in all EPCOT. Bypassing Image Works for now, we went next door to ride Listen To The Land; this is one of the rides where I can just relax and not concentrate on the spiel or effects. Boat rides are generally my favorites at WDW, anyone else agree? They're so tranquil. (Even the first 90% of Splash Mtn., by and large).

Spaceship Earth and World Of Motion followed in quick succession. I don't care how good the Track Test ride is, I'm still very upset that I'll never be able to ride WOM again, it was probably my second fave thing in Future World. By now we'd done more than our day 1 itinerary (WOM was on Day 2) and still had time left, so we headed to WS and Norway. For some reason, they weren't running the full trip on Maelstrom;

I could swear there was a part where the boat almost leaves the building.

Have they taken this out for good or is it back now?

Exhausted (but realizing there were 3 MORE DAYS of this to come!), we took the last bus (9:45) back to our hotel.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1993: (Day Two)

After breakfast, we posed for photos at the shuttle bus stop (the sign read DISNEY EPCOT SHUTTLE BUS STOP, oddly enough; people seem to think WDW and EPCOT are two separate entities). I think it was on this morning, if not the next, that one family with three or four kids (quickly becoming familiar to us), waited with us. Just before the bus pulled up, one of the young daughters became sick, and the father said, If you're going to puke, puke in the bushes! Which she promptly did. Needless to say, this became an immediate catch phrase for us. Every time we got off Body Wars or Space Mtn. or another thrill ride, it was, If you're going to puke, puke in the bushes!

Passing through the EPCOT gates at 8:45 for a full day, we realized the only thing open before 9AM was Spaceship Earth. Since we'd seen that, we went as far into Communicore as they'd let us go and waited at the automatic door nearest the Wonders Of Life pavilion. I remember there was a character breakfast going on at whichever restaurant was next door. Soon enough, the doors opened and we (and the dozens of others waiting there by now) ran through, mostly towards WOL. A few poor CM's said don't run but it was no use. Even though we'd been near the front, we still had a brief wait at Body Wars. We all found this ride inferior to Star Tours; not as smooth and not as imaginative in pre-show or theming.

We walked to the Mexico pavilion next for El Rio Del Tiempo; again, though this ride is nothing to write home about, I like it due to the atmosphere. It's the closest WDW gets to the beginning of my all-time favorite ride, Pirates at DL (the Bayou stuff). Next ride (though not an official attraction) was the boat across the lagoon. Much to our dismay, Matt shot a whole roll of film on this voyage, not realizing how tiny each of the pavilions would look on the final prints. What a waste! While waiting for the next show at the US pavilion, we posed at the fountain in front and realized most of the pavilions have a fountain of some kind. So we decided to get a shot of us in front of each one as the day went on.

The American Adventure was great as usual, not because it stirs up any jingoistic feelings in me, just because it's so well-done. Much better than the Hall of Pres. Early lunch followed at my favorite restaurant in all WDW, the Yakitori House! Great teriyaki and cheap (by WDW standards) and quick. I always get the Shogun combo, beef and chicken. Knowing we were doing better than expected on the itinerary, we could relax now for the crowded afternoon hours and take our time soaking in EPCOT.

We began by watching the drummers outside the Japan pavilion, then wandered through Morocco, France, and the UK (got the obligatory red phone kiosk photograph, Matt standing inside pretending to use the phone, Luke pounding on the outside), winding up with Canada. We didn't bother to see any of the films since they weren't technically "Rides" and we'd seen them all last time anyway.

Next stop was Communicore where we took our time playing with most of the exhibits (I remember watching two straight performances of the robot arms spinning tops while waiting for Luke, then Matt to go to the restroom). At the Centorium, we bought more film and I purchased a cassette of Official Songs of WDW.

At around 2PM we returned to the list and rode through the Living Seas. Again, this is not a favorite of mine (I was very disappointed the first time I rode it in ('86 or so) due to the short length of the ride itself, and my dislike of fish in general. So we didn't spend much time here. Kitchen Kabaret was next, something we'd never seen before. I was mildly amused by the show (horrible puns notwithstanding) and we exited singing "Veggie fruit fruit veggie veggie fruit fruit" over and over. Since we'd missed the Image Works earlier, we spent some time in there before getting a snack at Sunrise Pizza in Communicore.

Horizons followed, probably my favorite of all EPCOT rides (figures my 2 fave rides, this and WOM will soon be GONE; sob!); sure the simulator part is cheesy, but when you go spiraling through that huge DNA strand, how can you not love this ride (reminded me of Adv. Thru Inner Space, another old favorite from DL which is also extinct)!

Back to the Life pavilion, we hit easily the most pleasant surprise of the trip: Cranium Command. I can't believe this doesn't get more press, so to speak, as it's one of the most creative attractions in all WDW. For some reason, we followed this by seeing "The Making Of Me" definitely not worth the wait (which was excruciating if I remember).

It was definitely dinner time by now, so we ate at Odyssey (which was also gone last time I went; what are they DOING to EPCOT?; stripping it and selling it for parts?). In the middle of the meal a character show began which made for a nice extra bit of entertainment. We debated over dinner about what to do next. I had scheduled us to see IllumiNations but we were getting really tired. Rather than burn out halfway through the trip, we took the next-to-last bus back to the hotel (after one last Mexico boat ride). I think Luke fell asleep on the bus itself. Needless to say, this was a good move and re-charged our batteries for two days at the Magic Kingdom!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1993: (Day Three)

Rise, shower, eat, bus... if you have to have a daily routine, it's nice to have one which drops you off at WDW each day!! Passing through the gates at 9:14 AM, we got Space Mountain out of the way (I don't like this ride much, it's like going into a dark room and being pushed around; there's not much to see, and what you can see flies by too quickly).

As per the Unofficial Guide, we got some slow-loading rides done early in the day. 20,000 Leagues (or as I called it "20,000 People Waiting To See") and the Tea Party, then the Skyway over to Fantasyland. (Yes I know the Tea party is IN Fantasyland but it's much nearer to the TL station). Lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus; then over to Liberty Square. Since we had time before the next Hall Of Pres., we played one game each at the Shooting Gallery, just to have another attraction checked off.

HOP, the Riverboat, and Haunted Mansion followed in quick succession. We got stuck on HM (don't think I've ever NOT been stuck on that ride; must be due to the way it loads/unloads), which was OK by me since it's one of my favorites.

Small World was next as we sang my new lyrics ("It's a world of plywood, a world of nails/It's a world of paint and a world of glue/All the dolls look the same/Boy this ride's really lame/It's a Lame Ride after all"). Sorry if SW is anyone's favorite, but especially compared to the DL version, this ride doesn't cut it for me.

At this point it started to rain and yellow ponchos appeared everywhere (in one photo I took at this point, more than half the people seem to be wearing them); you know the ones sold at every WDW store, with Mickey on the back. Magic Journeys was next (I remembered this from EPCOT), and even cooler than that was seeing the Donald/Chip/Dale 3-D cartoon in the pre-show.

We walked to Adventureland for what was then my favorite attraction in all WDW (this would change before the night was over): Pirates Of The Caribbean! Yo-Ho-ing all the while, we followed with the Tiki Room (we were nearly the only people in the joint; much as I enjoy this show, I wouldn't shed a tear if they replaced it) and the Jungle Cruise. The CM loading us into the boat was quite a jackass; he knocked Luke's baseball cap off and roared with laughter as though this was the height of comedy. Then there was the requisite fart joke as someone sat on the cushion.

It's time for a new script and maybe a new theme for this attraction.

Matt bought a large soda as we walked to the Treehouse, then we had to wait for him to finish it all as no drinks were allowed through. Afterwards we went to El Pirata Y El Perico (my favorite name for a WDW restaurant) for an early dinner. Eating a full breakfast before you leave and then early meals seems to be the best tip I can give for saving time overall.

At Main Street, we boarded the WDW railroad and took it as far as Mickey's Starland. Saw the show, which was way too loud for all those toddlers, but well done overall. Seemed like mostly a giant commercial for the Disney Afternoon. Since I'm a huge Carl Barks fan (anyone else?), we had to pose with the life-size comic book covers for some more photos.

While writing out the itinerary, next to Grandma Duck's Petting Farm, I wrote "pet one goat" - just so we'd have a way of verifying we had "done" that attraction. You can imagine how psyched we were to find a couple of baby goats in the very last pen. We all reached over (I had to give Luke a boost) and petted them!

Tomorrowland beckoned, and we rode another one of my faves, the WEDway Peoplemover (somehow TTA doesn't have the same ring to it). Dreamflight, Carousel Of Progress, Mission To Mars (one of its last flights before being closed; good riddance), American Journeys, and Grand Prix Raceway all followed one after the other without much waiting, and put us well ahead of schedule to do all the rides in one visit.

To close out the day, we strolled across the park to Splash Mountain. To our delight, there was almost no line (it literally took longer to walk through the empty queue than it did waiting in the line itself). Now we had never been on this ride before, and had no idea what to expect. It quickly shot to the top of my list and became my favorite thing overall at WDW. So many "can't miss" elements: a lengthy ride, a fairly easy-to-follow storyline, great music (esp. How-do-you-do which stuck in my head for the rest of the trip), colorful effects, and several fake-outs before the final thrilling drop. We got back in line again.

And again. And again. Four times in a row we rode this and only left because the bus was departing soon. I think we could've ridden all night!

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1993: (Day Four)

Anyone who's been to WDW for more than a day will agree that the last day is always the saddest and usually flies right by as well. Arriving at 9:05 AM, we tried to pace ourselves throughout the day to absorb as much as we could but not miss anything on the list.

Star Jets was first; it seems like this took forever (perhaps mechanical difficulties). We followed this with the Country Bear Jamboree; I was glad to see the original show reinstated (which I love) as when we went in '89 it was some horrible Vacation Hoedown thing (which I hated).

A second Haunted Mansion preceded a Mike Fink Keelboat ride; suddenly it was time for lunch (already?). We debated whether to eat on TS Island, but due to the limited menu, we opted for the Columbia Harbour House. Good choice, huge sandwiches and plenty of chips which filled us up. We rafted over to the island and walked it from one side to the other and back. Since we had time to spare, and not many rides left (Big Thunder was closed for rehab, unfortunately, during our whole stay), we took it easy during the crowded afternoon.

A second WEDway Peoplemover ride and then shopping on Main Street (I bought the book Window On Main Street and a Scrooge McDuck T-Shirt). In Fantasyland we knocked Mr. Toad and Peter Pan off the list (two more of my favorites, though the lines are usually way too long) and rode the Carousel. More Main Street shopping followed; we sat through a whole film at the Cinema, and played a game each at the Penny Arcade.

It was only 3:00 and with but four rides to go, we went for a second trip on Pirates. Unfortunately, they had a major problem and we were stuck in line for at least 15 minutes in the same spot (right where you can hear the pirates trying to tunnel their way out of jail). Afterwards I bought a grey Pirates mug at the cart outside, and we did a bit more shopping before taking a round-trip on the WDW railroad (technically our previous train trip didn't "count", since we disembarked at Starland).

Dinner at the Plaza Pavilion and a ride on the trolley towards the hub followed. (Counting all Main Street Vehicles as one "ride", we decided this was enough). Then I sat on the bench and relaxed while Matt and Luke did Space Mtn. again. I just wasn't in the mood for it. We took the Skyway to Fantasyland for the 2nd time and rode Snow White.

Checking and double-checking my itinerary, I confirmed that, yes, there was only one ride to go. Of course it was DUMBO! We purposely saved it for last since it's such a ridiculous ride (particularly the line-to-ride time ratio) and as we circled through the air we raised our fists in triumph (causing several people to stare at us)!! We DID IT!! EVERY RIDE IN ONE TRIP!!

As a reward, we went on Splash Mountain four more times in a row (8 overall) to close out the day and the journey.

Sorry for going on so long, but I hope some of my love for WDW is obvious in the details and memories I've shared. E-mail me or post any responses and share your thoughts and your own trips. If there's enough positive response, I'll write up some of my other WDW trips and post them (they won't be nearly as long, trust me, this trip was the most well-documented, and the most action-packed).

John C. Winn

cadees@aol.com

__________________
You just read a trip report that was originally published in our MousePlanet Trip Reports column.

Reader-submitted trip reports have always been an extremely popular feature here at MousePlanet. In order to improve the search functionality and shorten the time from when you submit a trip report and the report gets published, you can now post your trip reports directly to our Trip Report forums. The forums are moderated, but reports should become available for reading very quickly.