Trip Reports
02-07-2006, 10:43 AM
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
Resort: All Star Music Resort
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Jason, a 19 year old when this report was penned, covers the summer trip of his family to WDW. It definately has a perspective that would be useful to check out if you're planning a trip that includes teens or college-aged kids. The trip was arranged by buying a Classic Package with Accommodations in the All Star Music Resort.
Jason Weiss' Trip Report WDW June 28th - July 5th 1995:
Disclaimer: This trip report is very long and detailed and may seem very boring to some readers. I wrote this report primarily for my own entertainment and while I strongly welcome any questions please keep any and all criticisms to yourself.
General Information: My traveling party consisted of Me (almost 19) my brother (almost 10) and my parents (40ish). We have been to WDW before as a group in 1992 and 1993. We were there without my brother for 2 days in 1981.
I have been there with school groups twice (1991 and 1994). This was the first time that we have ever stayed on the property.
We stayed in the All Star Music resort for 7 days and 8 Nights on the classic package which included length of stay passes and 1 character breakfast. We made reservations for the character breakfast in the garden grill room before we left home. We also had reservations for the Polynesian Luau and the Hoop Dee Do Musical Revue before we left home. We flew on Delta Airlines.
Wednesday June 28th:
We had arranged the earliest possible flight (7:10 AM) from our home in Buffalo NY so that we would be able to spend as much time as possible in the parks on our first day. Due to a delay our 1 hour layover in Atlanta turned into a two hour layover in Atlanta so we didn't actually arrive in Orlando (MCO) until about noon (just as a little side note. The Employees in the Atlanta airport were some of the rudest people I have ever come in contact with. From the janitorial staff, to the food court, to the people in the gift shops they were all rude rude rude rude rude). When we finally arrived in Orlando we arranged a transfer to All Star Music via Mears Motor Shuttle (we used coupons included with the classic package).
We found the Mears Shuttle to be very quick and efficient and definitely would recommend them to anyone. I was incredibly impressed with the All Star Music. It was big, bright and beautiful. It was kept immaculately clean. The room was on the small side but was very nice and included several little amenities like a table and a room safe. All the service was great throughout our entire stay there. We were able to check in at around 2:00. We had requested a room in the Calypso since we had been told that it was closer to the bus stops but we were told that no rooms in the Calypso were currently available so we were put in the Jazz instead. We found that peoples complaints about how far you have to walk to get to everything were unfounded. It wasn't really that big and being in the Jazz put us closer to the smaller quieter piano pool which we used frequently thorough out our stay. After checking in we wandered around the resort for awhile. The Gift shop was very nice (somewhat similar to a Disney store with a drugstore stuck on the back).
We ate Lunch around 3:00 in the food court. The food was excellent, the service was friendly and efficient and they had a full and reasonably priced selection of meals. We purchased four of the souvenir mugs (about $7 a piece) which are refillable forever. This was definitely an excellent value since drinks were $1.25 each and we used the mugs at least 20 times each! We then went swimming in one of the two huge and very beautiful pools on the All Star Music property.
We headed over to the Magic Kingdom around 6:00. The Bus service from the ASM was great. Fast friendly and efficient we rarely waited more than 5 minutes for a bus (definitely got around a lot faster than on past trips where we rented a car). Upon arriving at the MK we found the crowds to be surprisingly light and we headed straight for Alien Encounters (waited about 20 minutes). It was great! Incredible special effects. The monster was incredibly real looking and you could actually feel him grabbing at the back of your head. One word of caution: Don't take small children on this ride. My 9 year old brother was terrified in this show and still hasn't forgiven us for taking him on it. We then saw the new timekeeper show with Robin Williams (no wait here) and it was also very good. Funny with great special effects. We then headed for old favorites Delta Dreamflight, Carousel of Progress and Tomorrowland Transit Authority (no wait at any of these). The new dioramas added to the TTA are great but the new narration needs improvement. By this time it was about 8:00 and we headed over to the Columbia Harbor House ( yes it is open!) for clam chowder in a bread bowl. I hadn't had it in about 4 years and it was every bit as good as I remembered. I also noticed at this time that the Skyway is open. Didn't someone say it had been taken down? After dinner we did the Pirates of the Caribbean (5 minute wait). Then my mother and I did Thunder Mountain in the Dark while my father waited with my brother who was still too shaken up from Alien Encounters (it realllllly scared him). Thunder mountain really is great at night (we waited about 15 min). Then we did the Haunted Mansion (about a 5 min. wait) and headed back to our hotel for a late night swim (around 10:30 - 11:00). The lifeguard goes off duty at 10:00 but the pool is open 24 hours.
Thursday June 29th:
We had a 6:00 wake up call this morning (if you ever stay at a Disney resort be sure to get a wake up call. Mickey calls you personally and it is really a great way to start the day) and headed back to the MK for early opening after grabbing a quick breakfast from the food court. We entered at about 8:15 and had time to ride space mountain twice before the park officially opened. We then worked our way around the park hitting Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White (which is now greatly improved. It actually tells the story of snow white now and it uses statues in place of the old cardboard cut outs), Lion King (great show), Peter Pan, Small World, Hall of Presidents (I love the new show. A great improvement. I am more and more amazed by the HOP every time I see it), and the Tiki Room (a sentimental favorite that we may have unfortunately seen for the last time). It was now about 12:30 so we headed over to King Stephan's Banquet hall for lunch (we had made 1:00 reservations from the guest services at ASM that morning). King Stephan's was mobbed and we weren't seated until about 1:15 but Lunch was excellent as always.
We then headed back to our hotel (arriving at about 3:30) to swim and play in the arcade. At about 6:30 we went to EPCOT and ate at the land food court (very good and reasonably priced). We then saw Food Rocks (a vast improvement over Kitchen Cabaret), rode living with the land (which has some minor but very good changes), and saw the Circle of life movie which was certainly much more entertaining than symbiosis. We then rode Spaceship Earth which has many new additions. Most of the additions were very good but Jeremy Irons narration pales in comparison with the original by Walter Cronkite and the Tomorrow's Child song is sadly missed. The AT&T exhibit at the end of SpaceshipEarth is quite interesting and we spent a good amount of time there. Then we grabbed a spot by Canada for Illuminations before returning to our hotel at 10:50 for a snack and more swimming.
Friday June 30th:
Another 6:00 wake up call this morning, quick breakfast and off to EPCOT for early entry. We went straight to Honey I Shrunk the Audience which was a great show. The effects were even better than Captain Eo and Muppet Vision and the extra in theater effects really add to the overall experience. After HISTA we did the Journey into Imagination Ride and played around in the image works. Then we spent about an hour looking around at inoventions. Although I found it to be primarily a big commercial and not all that interesting my 9 year old brother said that inoventions was like heaven and we had a hard time dragging him away. There were a couple of interesting things there like a virtual reality tour of chapels in Venice. We then headed over to the Garden Grill Room for our Character Breakfast (10:30). The restaurant is basically the same as I remembered it (from about 2 years ago) except they have added new murals to the walls which are really nice. The food was OK but nothing spectacular. Service was excellent. The characters (Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale) were great. I was groped by Minnie and then chased around the restaurant by Mickey (can't wait to see the pictures). After breakfast we headed for the world showcase and toured Mexico, Norway, China, and Germany before hopping a boat back to Future World. We then rode the World of Motion (sadly, I probably will never see this spectacular attraction again) before heading back to our hotel for a swim.
By around 3:30 I had had all the swimming I could stand and my parents were still resting so my brother and I got on a bus to the village marketplace. The buses to the market place were slightly less frequent than the busses to the theme parks but we still only waited about 20 minutes. There are some nice new stores in the village and we bought plenty of souvenirs. We also rented a water sprite ($13 for half an hour I think) which was a lot of fun. Then we met back up with the rest of the family to get ready to head to the Polly Luau. The Luau wasn't until 9:30 and we were quite early so we stopped and checked out the contemporary on the way. It looks like a great hotel. I especially liked the observation point on the roof (another great place for photography) and would like to eat at the restaurant up there some day. The Polynesian was also a very beautiful place. I especially liked their white sand beach with a view of the castle. I give the Luau mixed reviews. The setting is beautiful, the service is great and the drinks are very good. That said, the food SUCKED WITH A CAPITAL 'S'. Everything was absolutely horrible, worst meal I have ever had at WDW. The entertainment was enjoyable however and the finale was spectacular. It was still a fun night out but I wouldn't recommend going there hungry.
Saturday July 1st:
We decided we needed to sleep in today so no wake up call. We were up and ready by 10:30 however. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to Typhoon Lagoon. It was great. Castaway Creek was one of the most enjoyable relaxing parts of our vacation. The wave pool was incredible and the shark reef was a once in a lifetime experience. I only did one of the water slides because the lines were quite long but it was enjoyable albeit short. We also did the family raft ride which was a lot of fun but again very short considering the wait to get on. We headed back to the hotel around 5:00 and made reservations at the front desk for 7:15 at the Rose and Crown. We headed over to EPCOT and stopped at this thing for teachers at the entrance. My mother is a teacher's aide and belongs to the teacher's union. It was interesting to see and they gave us lots of cool free stuff (including some very interesting literature and a Bill Nye Science experiment kit). Then we watched one of the shows at the new fountain. It was really great and well worth stopping by to see. Is this the same fountain that was used for Splashtacular? We then toured Canada (living so close to Canada this was the only pavilion that I had never been in) and saw a funny show by the Canadian Comedy Corps. We then headed to the UK for our dinner reservation. Our Waitress was great. We all had Fish and Chips which were excellent with incredibly big portions. We then toured Morocco and headed to the American Adventure. I get goose bumps just thinking about this show. It is so spectacular, every American should see it at least once.
Sunday July 2nd:
We went to MGM for early opening (arriving about 8:15). My parents headed straight for the Tower of Terror and my brother and I both chickened out. We rode the great movie ride while they rode the tower. They said that the special effects were very good and that it was truly terrifying but that it was wayyyyyyy to short and that the final drop wasn't all that spectacular. We met up again around 9:00 and went to star tours (about a 25 min wait). Then we saw the Muppets show (no wait) and the monster sound show. Be sure to stop in the soundsations booths after the monster sound show, they are really incredible. Then we took the backstage tour and the effects tour. Interesting side note: on the effects tour we notice that one of the subs from 20,000 leagues under the sea is now in the effects pool. No mention of it was made on the tour but it kinda Makes you wonder what they are up too. Then we went to the great movie ride again since my parents had missed it the first time. There was about a 35 minute wait there by this point. It was beginning to become apparent that the crowds were building (it was really quite quiet early in the trip). We arrived at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theater at about 2:15 for our 2:45 reservations and we were seated by 2:30. I had their all you can eat chicken wings. Having been born and raised in Buffalo NY I must say that I am quite a chicken wing connoisseur. These were bar none the best wings I have ever had outside of Buffalo. If you ever go to the Sci-Fi you must try their milkshakes, they are spectacular. After lunch we watched the Aladin parade before seeing superstar TV, the little mermaid show (Great!) and the animation tour. We headed back to the hotel around 7:00 for a swim. We had a late dinner at the food court, played around at the arcade and retired early.
Monday July 3rd:
Another early entry at the MK and again we rode space mountain twice before opening. The second time there was some kind of problem and they turned the lights on just before we got on. I was impressed by how big space mountain really is. I always thought that if I ever saw it with the lights on it would be a lot smaller than it feels but that was not the case at all. The problem was resumed quickly and we were able to ride again. Then my father and I headed over to splash mountain ( while my mother waited with my brother) where we waited about 30min even at 9:10 in the morning. Splash is well worth the wait though. It has everything. It is long, it has great audio animatronics, a good story line, great music and an incredible drop. Probably my favorite ride in the world. Then we rode pirates again before catching the train back to main street USA. Then we took a Monorail over to EPCOT where we arrived at about 11:30 and spent another hour at inoventions.
We saw a really great show about digital music which is one of the few really valuable things at inoventions. We had lunch at the Coral Reef at 1:00. I had never eaten there before and it was really spectacular. Every table has a greatview of the tank and the food and service are outstanding. After lunch we saw the rest of the living seas attraction and the rode the universe of energy (the dinosaur thing is great but the movie put almost everyone in the theater to sleep). We were back at the hotel by 6:00 for swimming and rest. at about 8:15 we headed back to the MK since I really wanted to see Spectromagic all the way through once. Upon arriving at the MK we ate at the Plaza Pavilion with a 20% off coupon we were given at lunch. The food was good for a quick and cheap place. Then we all rode big thunder in the dark again and my mother and I rode splash again (since she had missed out the first time). We got a great spot for the parade around 10:30. We sat in frontier land right in front of some building that says town hall on it. The parade was incredible (I hope my pictures come out). After the parade the rest of my family headed over to the bus while I walked around the MK taking some pictures of Tomorrowland and the castle with their night time lighting. We all met back up at the hotel at about 12:30 for a late night swim.
Tuesday July 4th:
We slept in again on this day. We figured that there was no point in trying to fight the crowds today so we went back to Typhoon Lagoon which wasn't crowded at all. We ate at Galley and Grog which was the only place in WDW where we have ever had disappointing service. The food however was satisfactory. We returned to our hotel at about 2:40 for a quick rest before leaving at about 3:45 for our 5:00 reservation at the Hoop Dee Doo musical revue. Getting to pioneer hall was an absolute nightmare. We were given four different sets of directions, none of which were particularly good and the busses were running very slow. We arrived at about 5:10 and the food was pretty good. The show was quite entertaining, definitely an improvement over the luau. At 7:00 we took a bus over to the Wilderness lodge. It was absolutely gorgeous, I'd love to see what it is like at night. Then, at 7:45 we took a boat over to the MK. We were in the MK only for about 30 minutes. I just wanted to see what it was really like on the busiest day of the year. Although we never got past Main Street the crowds boggled then mind. I spoke to a cast member that told me there were about 100,000 people in the magic kingdom that day! At 8:30 we got the heck out of there and took a boat over to the Grand Floridian. At the Grand Floridian we sat on the grass by the water and had a great view of the fireworks. Drinks were served ($1.25 a pop, $3.50 a beer) and the audio from the MK was piped in. The fireworks were amazing!!! They came from all sides. Just as the fireworks show started a lightning storm began in the distance adding to the show. At the end they requested that everyone stand and sing the national anthem while they did the most spectacular fireworks finale I have ever seen!!! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. As soon as the fireworks ended a tremendous rain storm began. It was an incredible piece of Disney magic. I don't know haw they made the rain hold off (thanks Walt) :) We then toured the Grand Floridian. It is the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen. I found it even more elegant then the Plaza in New York City. I would love to stay there some day. We also shopped in their fabulous gift shop. We then took the monorail back to the MK to catch a bus back to the ASM. The Bus line was huge. It wrapped through all the turn backs, around the whole bus circle and back towards the entrance to the MK. Despite the fact that there were some 500 people ahead of us in line we waited only a mere 25 minutes because suddenly 7 busses pulled up to our stop and wisked us all away. Disney is truly the supreme master of crowd management.
Wednesday July 5th:
Our last day, we had a wake up call at 8:00. We used the express checkout and were at the MK by about 11:00. The crowds were huge. We took the Rail Road to Mickey's Starland, then walked to Tommorowland and repeated Delta Dreamflight, the TTA and the Carousel of Progress (all had lines). Then we did the Haunted Mansion (about a 30 min) wait and headed back for the entrance. We played with a few of the old penny arcade machines along the way which are now scattered throughout Main Street. We were back at our hotel by 2:15 where we ate dinner and caught our Mears shuttle for the airport at 3:30 for our 5:20 flight home.
Summary:
We really had a great time. Everything went very well. The ASM was better than I ever dreamed it would be. Staying in the middle of the Disney Magic was a dream come true. The bus service was very efficient (also much better than expected). The crowds were fairly light from June 28th through July 2nd, heavy on the 3rd and huge on the 4th and 5th. I wouldn't hesitate to go in the summer again but I would avoid holidays if possible. I definitely learned to hate the word "Tourismo" on this trip:) I learned some spanish on the monorail: 'Por favour mantaigne de las puertos' The weather was hot and humid the whole time but remarkably, it only rained twice. Resting in the afternoon was definitely the best way to go.
Souvenir List:
Black and Red Pen with Mickey ears engraved " Jason 1995 " ($22)
The Disney Story Video ($20) (can anyone tell me if this is the film that used to be shown on Main Street and why it has the same cover as the book
Walt Disney an American Original?)
Walt Disney's Famous Quotations ($10)
WDW Souvenir Song book ($20)
Large embossed WDW souvenir Mug ($15)
Micky Mouse Memories Photo album to house the approximately 200
Photographs that the four of us took on this trip of a lifetime ($15)
Please ask me any and all questions you may have about anything at WDW. I love talking about my trip and I feel like I sort of qualify as an expert now.
I hope I haven't bored anyone to death. I really look forward to any questions or comments that anyone might have.
Jason Weiss
vp24pgdf@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu
Travel Method: Plane, Shuttle Service
Resort: All Star Music Resort
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Jason, a 19 year old when this report was penned, covers the summer trip of his family to WDW. It definately has a perspective that would be useful to check out if you're planning a trip that includes teens or college-aged kids. The trip was arranged by buying a Classic Package with Accommodations in the All Star Music Resort.
Jason Weiss' Trip Report WDW June 28th - July 5th 1995:
Disclaimer: This trip report is very long and detailed and may seem very boring to some readers. I wrote this report primarily for my own entertainment and while I strongly welcome any questions please keep any and all criticisms to yourself.
General Information: My traveling party consisted of Me (almost 19) my brother (almost 10) and my parents (40ish). We have been to WDW before as a group in 1992 and 1993. We were there without my brother for 2 days in 1981.
I have been there with school groups twice (1991 and 1994). This was the first time that we have ever stayed on the property.
We stayed in the All Star Music resort for 7 days and 8 Nights on the classic package which included length of stay passes and 1 character breakfast. We made reservations for the character breakfast in the garden grill room before we left home. We also had reservations for the Polynesian Luau and the Hoop Dee Do Musical Revue before we left home. We flew on Delta Airlines.
Wednesday June 28th:
We had arranged the earliest possible flight (7:10 AM) from our home in Buffalo NY so that we would be able to spend as much time as possible in the parks on our first day. Due to a delay our 1 hour layover in Atlanta turned into a two hour layover in Atlanta so we didn't actually arrive in Orlando (MCO) until about noon (just as a little side note. The Employees in the Atlanta airport were some of the rudest people I have ever come in contact with. From the janitorial staff, to the food court, to the people in the gift shops they were all rude rude rude rude rude). When we finally arrived in Orlando we arranged a transfer to All Star Music via Mears Motor Shuttle (we used coupons included with the classic package).
We found the Mears Shuttle to be very quick and efficient and definitely would recommend them to anyone. I was incredibly impressed with the All Star Music. It was big, bright and beautiful. It was kept immaculately clean. The room was on the small side but was very nice and included several little amenities like a table and a room safe. All the service was great throughout our entire stay there. We were able to check in at around 2:00. We had requested a room in the Calypso since we had been told that it was closer to the bus stops but we were told that no rooms in the Calypso were currently available so we were put in the Jazz instead. We found that peoples complaints about how far you have to walk to get to everything were unfounded. It wasn't really that big and being in the Jazz put us closer to the smaller quieter piano pool which we used frequently thorough out our stay. After checking in we wandered around the resort for awhile. The Gift shop was very nice (somewhat similar to a Disney store with a drugstore stuck on the back).
We ate Lunch around 3:00 in the food court. The food was excellent, the service was friendly and efficient and they had a full and reasonably priced selection of meals. We purchased four of the souvenir mugs (about $7 a piece) which are refillable forever. This was definitely an excellent value since drinks were $1.25 each and we used the mugs at least 20 times each! We then went swimming in one of the two huge and very beautiful pools on the All Star Music property.
We headed over to the Magic Kingdom around 6:00. The Bus service from the ASM was great. Fast friendly and efficient we rarely waited more than 5 minutes for a bus (definitely got around a lot faster than on past trips where we rented a car). Upon arriving at the MK we found the crowds to be surprisingly light and we headed straight for Alien Encounters (waited about 20 minutes). It was great! Incredible special effects. The monster was incredibly real looking and you could actually feel him grabbing at the back of your head. One word of caution: Don't take small children on this ride. My 9 year old brother was terrified in this show and still hasn't forgiven us for taking him on it. We then saw the new timekeeper show with Robin Williams (no wait here) and it was also very good. Funny with great special effects. We then headed for old favorites Delta Dreamflight, Carousel of Progress and Tomorrowland Transit Authority (no wait at any of these). The new dioramas added to the TTA are great but the new narration needs improvement. By this time it was about 8:00 and we headed over to the Columbia Harbor House ( yes it is open!) for clam chowder in a bread bowl. I hadn't had it in about 4 years and it was every bit as good as I remembered. I also noticed at this time that the Skyway is open. Didn't someone say it had been taken down? After dinner we did the Pirates of the Caribbean (5 minute wait). Then my mother and I did Thunder Mountain in the Dark while my father waited with my brother who was still too shaken up from Alien Encounters (it realllllly scared him). Thunder mountain really is great at night (we waited about 15 min). Then we did the Haunted Mansion (about a 5 min. wait) and headed back to our hotel for a late night swim (around 10:30 - 11:00). The lifeguard goes off duty at 10:00 but the pool is open 24 hours.
Thursday June 29th:
We had a 6:00 wake up call this morning (if you ever stay at a Disney resort be sure to get a wake up call. Mickey calls you personally and it is really a great way to start the day) and headed back to the MK for early opening after grabbing a quick breakfast from the food court. We entered at about 8:15 and had time to ride space mountain twice before the park officially opened. We then worked our way around the park hitting Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White (which is now greatly improved. It actually tells the story of snow white now and it uses statues in place of the old cardboard cut outs), Lion King (great show), Peter Pan, Small World, Hall of Presidents (I love the new show. A great improvement. I am more and more amazed by the HOP every time I see it), and the Tiki Room (a sentimental favorite that we may have unfortunately seen for the last time). It was now about 12:30 so we headed over to King Stephan's Banquet hall for lunch (we had made 1:00 reservations from the guest services at ASM that morning). King Stephan's was mobbed and we weren't seated until about 1:15 but Lunch was excellent as always.
We then headed back to our hotel (arriving at about 3:30) to swim and play in the arcade. At about 6:30 we went to EPCOT and ate at the land food court (very good and reasonably priced). We then saw Food Rocks (a vast improvement over Kitchen Cabaret), rode living with the land (which has some minor but very good changes), and saw the Circle of life movie which was certainly much more entertaining than symbiosis. We then rode Spaceship Earth which has many new additions. Most of the additions were very good but Jeremy Irons narration pales in comparison with the original by Walter Cronkite and the Tomorrow's Child song is sadly missed. The AT&T exhibit at the end of SpaceshipEarth is quite interesting and we spent a good amount of time there. Then we grabbed a spot by Canada for Illuminations before returning to our hotel at 10:50 for a snack and more swimming.
Friday June 30th:
Another 6:00 wake up call this morning, quick breakfast and off to EPCOT for early entry. We went straight to Honey I Shrunk the Audience which was a great show. The effects were even better than Captain Eo and Muppet Vision and the extra in theater effects really add to the overall experience. After HISTA we did the Journey into Imagination Ride and played around in the image works. Then we spent about an hour looking around at inoventions. Although I found it to be primarily a big commercial and not all that interesting my 9 year old brother said that inoventions was like heaven and we had a hard time dragging him away. There were a couple of interesting things there like a virtual reality tour of chapels in Venice. We then headed over to the Garden Grill Room for our Character Breakfast (10:30). The restaurant is basically the same as I remembered it (from about 2 years ago) except they have added new murals to the walls which are really nice. The food was OK but nothing spectacular. Service was excellent. The characters (Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale) were great. I was groped by Minnie and then chased around the restaurant by Mickey (can't wait to see the pictures). After breakfast we headed for the world showcase and toured Mexico, Norway, China, and Germany before hopping a boat back to Future World. We then rode the World of Motion (sadly, I probably will never see this spectacular attraction again) before heading back to our hotel for a swim.
By around 3:30 I had had all the swimming I could stand and my parents were still resting so my brother and I got on a bus to the village marketplace. The buses to the market place were slightly less frequent than the busses to the theme parks but we still only waited about 20 minutes. There are some nice new stores in the village and we bought plenty of souvenirs. We also rented a water sprite ($13 for half an hour I think) which was a lot of fun. Then we met back up with the rest of the family to get ready to head to the Polly Luau. The Luau wasn't until 9:30 and we were quite early so we stopped and checked out the contemporary on the way. It looks like a great hotel. I especially liked the observation point on the roof (another great place for photography) and would like to eat at the restaurant up there some day. The Polynesian was also a very beautiful place. I especially liked their white sand beach with a view of the castle. I give the Luau mixed reviews. The setting is beautiful, the service is great and the drinks are very good. That said, the food SUCKED WITH A CAPITAL 'S'. Everything was absolutely horrible, worst meal I have ever had at WDW. The entertainment was enjoyable however and the finale was spectacular. It was still a fun night out but I wouldn't recommend going there hungry.
Saturday July 1st:
We decided we needed to sleep in today so no wake up call. We were up and ready by 10:30 however. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to Typhoon Lagoon. It was great. Castaway Creek was one of the most enjoyable relaxing parts of our vacation. The wave pool was incredible and the shark reef was a once in a lifetime experience. I only did one of the water slides because the lines were quite long but it was enjoyable albeit short. We also did the family raft ride which was a lot of fun but again very short considering the wait to get on. We headed back to the hotel around 5:00 and made reservations at the front desk for 7:15 at the Rose and Crown. We headed over to EPCOT and stopped at this thing for teachers at the entrance. My mother is a teacher's aide and belongs to the teacher's union. It was interesting to see and they gave us lots of cool free stuff (including some very interesting literature and a Bill Nye Science experiment kit). Then we watched one of the shows at the new fountain. It was really great and well worth stopping by to see. Is this the same fountain that was used for Splashtacular? We then toured Canada (living so close to Canada this was the only pavilion that I had never been in) and saw a funny show by the Canadian Comedy Corps. We then headed to the UK for our dinner reservation. Our Waitress was great. We all had Fish and Chips which were excellent with incredibly big portions. We then toured Morocco and headed to the American Adventure. I get goose bumps just thinking about this show. It is so spectacular, every American should see it at least once.
Sunday July 2nd:
We went to MGM for early opening (arriving about 8:15). My parents headed straight for the Tower of Terror and my brother and I both chickened out. We rode the great movie ride while they rode the tower. They said that the special effects were very good and that it was truly terrifying but that it was wayyyyyyy to short and that the final drop wasn't all that spectacular. We met up again around 9:00 and went to star tours (about a 25 min wait). Then we saw the Muppets show (no wait) and the monster sound show. Be sure to stop in the soundsations booths after the monster sound show, they are really incredible. Then we took the backstage tour and the effects tour. Interesting side note: on the effects tour we notice that one of the subs from 20,000 leagues under the sea is now in the effects pool. No mention of it was made on the tour but it kinda Makes you wonder what they are up too. Then we went to the great movie ride again since my parents had missed it the first time. There was about a 35 minute wait there by this point. It was beginning to become apparent that the crowds were building (it was really quite quiet early in the trip). We arrived at the Sci-Fi Dine in Theater at about 2:15 for our 2:45 reservations and we were seated by 2:30. I had their all you can eat chicken wings. Having been born and raised in Buffalo NY I must say that I am quite a chicken wing connoisseur. These were bar none the best wings I have ever had outside of Buffalo. If you ever go to the Sci-Fi you must try their milkshakes, they are spectacular. After lunch we watched the Aladin parade before seeing superstar TV, the little mermaid show (Great!) and the animation tour. We headed back to the hotel around 7:00 for a swim. We had a late dinner at the food court, played around at the arcade and retired early.
Monday July 3rd:
Another early entry at the MK and again we rode space mountain twice before opening. The second time there was some kind of problem and they turned the lights on just before we got on. I was impressed by how big space mountain really is. I always thought that if I ever saw it with the lights on it would be a lot smaller than it feels but that was not the case at all. The problem was resumed quickly and we were able to ride again. Then my father and I headed over to splash mountain ( while my mother waited with my brother) where we waited about 30min even at 9:10 in the morning. Splash is well worth the wait though. It has everything. It is long, it has great audio animatronics, a good story line, great music and an incredible drop. Probably my favorite ride in the world. Then we rode pirates again before catching the train back to main street USA. Then we took a Monorail over to EPCOT where we arrived at about 11:30 and spent another hour at inoventions.
We saw a really great show about digital music which is one of the few really valuable things at inoventions. We had lunch at the Coral Reef at 1:00. I had never eaten there before and it was really spectacular. Every table has a greatview of the tank and the food and service are outstanding. After lunch we saw the rest of the living seas attraction and the rode the universe of energy (the dinosaur thing is great but the movie put almost everyone in the theater to sleep). We were back at the hotel by 6:00 for swimming and rest. at about 8:15 we headed back to the MK since I really wanted to see Spectromagic all the way through once. Upon arriving at the MK we ate at the Plaza Pavilion with a 20% off coupon we were given at lunch. The food was good for a quick and cheap place. Then we all rode big thunder in the dark again and my mother and I rode splash again (since she had missed out the first time). We got a great spot for the parade around 10:30. We sat in frontier land right in front of some building that says town hall on it. The parade was incredible (I hope my pictures come out). After the parade the rest of my family headed over to the bus while I walked around the MK taking some pictures of Tomorrowland and the castle with their night time lighting. We all met back up at the hotel at about 12:30 for a late night swim.
Tuesday July 4th:
We slept in again on this day. We figured that there was no point in trying to fight the crowds today so we went back to Typhoon Lagoon which wasn't crowded at all. We ate at Galley and Grog which was the only place in WDW where we have ever had disappointing service. The food however was satisfactory. We returned to our hotel at about 2:40 for a quick rest before leaving at about 3:45 for our 5:00 reservation at the Hoop Dee Doo musical revue. Getting to pioneer hall was an absolute nightmare. We were given four different sets of directions, none of which were particularly good and the busses were running very slow. We arrived at about 5:10 and the food was pretty good. The show was quite entertaining, definitely an improvement over the luau. At 7:00 we took a bus over to the Wilderness lodge. It was absolutely gorgeous, I'd love to see what it is like at night. Then, at 7:45 we took a boat over to the MK. We were in the MK only for about 30 minutes. I just wanted to see what it was really like on the busiest day of the year. Although we never got past Main Street the crowds boggled then mind. I spoke to a cast member that told me there were about 100,000 people in the magic kingdom that day! At 8:30 we got the heck out of there and took a boat over to the Grand Floridian. At the Grand Floridian we sat on the grass by the water and had a great view of the fireworks. Drinks were served ($1.25 a pop, $3.50 a beer) and the audio from the MK was piped in. The fireworks were amazing!!! They came from all sides. Just as the fireworks show started a lightning storm began in the distance adding to the show. At the end they requested that everyone stand and sing the national anthem while they did the most spectacular fireworks finale I have ever seen!!! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience. As soon as the fireworks ended a tremendous rain storm began. It was an incredible piece of Disney magic. I don't know haw they made the rain hold off (thanks Walt) :) We then toured the Grand Floridian. It is the most beautiful hotel I have ever seen. I found it even more elegant then the Plaza in New York City. I would love to stay there some day. We also shopped in their fabulous gift shop. We then took the monorail back to the MK to catch a bus back to the ASM. The Bus line was huge. It wrapped through all the turn backs, around the whole bus circle and back towards the entrance to the MK. Despite the fact that there were some 500 people ahead of us in line we waited only a mere 25 minutes because suddenly 7 busses pulled up to our stop and wisked us all away. Disney is truly the supreme master of crowd management.
Wednesday July 5th:
Our last day, we had a wake up call at 8:00. We used the express checkout and were at the MK by about 11:00. The crowds were huge. We took the Rail Road to Mickey's Starland, then walked to Tommorowland and repeated Delta Dreamflight, the TTA and the Carousel of Progress (all had lines). Then we did the Haunted Mansion (about a 30 min) wait and headed back for the entrance. We played with a few of the old penny arcade machines along the way which are now scattered throughout Main Street. We were back at our hotel by 2:15 where we ate dinner and caught our Mears shuttle for the airport at 3:30 for our 5:20 flight home.
Summary:
We really had a great time. Everything went very well. The ASM was better than I ever dreamed it would be. Staying in the middle of the Disney Magic was a dream come true. The bus service was very efficient (also much better than expected). The crowds were fairly light from June 28th through July 2nd, heavy on the 3rd and huge on the 4th and 5th. I wouldn't hesitate to go in the summer again but I would avoid holidays if possible. I definitely learned to hate the word "Tourismo" on this trip:) I learned some spanish on the monorail: 'Por favour mantaigne de las puertos' The weather was hot and humid the whole time but remarkably, it only rained twice. Resting in the afternoon was definitely the best way to go.
Souvenir List:
Black and Red Pen with Mickey ears engraved " Jason 1995 " ($22)
The Disney Story Video ($20) (can anyone tell me if this is the film that used to be shown on Main Street and why it has the same cover as the book
Walt Disney an American Original?)
Walt Disney's Famous Quotations ($10)
WDW Souvenir Song book ($20)
Large embossed WDW souvenir Mug ($15)
Micky Mouse Memories Photo album to house the approximately 200
Photographs that the four of us took on this trip of a lifetime ($15)
Please ask me any and all questions you may have about anything at WDW. I love talking about my trip and I feel like I sort of qualify as an expert now.
I hope I haven't bored anyone to death. I really look forward to any questions or comments that anyone might have.
Jason Weiss
vp24pgdf@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu