Time of Year: Fall
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: All Star Sports Resort
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Infant/Toddler, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Rookie
Comments: John and his family stayed at The All Star Sports Resort on this trip. One of the coolest things about this report is the reviews of attractions and resorts that John included in the summary of his report. Very helpful information here...


INTRO (TRIP REPORT 9/10-9/29/96)

The following trip report is broken into 2 parts. The first part is a day by day overview and the second part is a review of different things. REMEMBER, these are the opinions of my family and myself and may not agree with others. My wife Nancy(38), daughter Amber(4), son Johnny(1), and myself (37), left on September 29th for Florida.

Our original plans were to leave on October 10th, but because of the expected large anniversary crowds, we thought the children would have a better time with the smaller September crowds. It turned out to be the right decision. We were able to see everything we wanted, plus alot more.

SEPTEMBER 10th (Tuesday)

We left Rindge, NH. at 6:00 pm (drove all night).

SEPTEMBER 11th (Wednesday) 2:00pm

Stopped at a Days Inn, located just below "South of the Border", for a little sleep. We left the hotel at 8:00 pm.

SEPTEMBER 12th (Thursday) 1:00pm

Checked into Holiday Inn, East Maingate for 3 nights. Originally we were only going to stay one night, but we made such great time on the ride down we got to spend an extra two nights in Florida. We spent most of the day exploring the Disney resorts. We had a quick bite at Kentucky Fried chicken and then off to bed. This is a very nice and reasonable hotel for someone with kids, who wants to stay offsite. It cost us less than $50 a night for 2 adults/ 2 kids. We also got complimentary use of a crib, sleeping bag, and a visit from the hotel mascot, Holiday Hound (a dog as big as any character you'll find at Disney).

SEPTEMBER 13th (Friday)

One of the few days we didn't visit Disney property. I learned about the Belz Factory Outlet from the newsgroup, and we decided to check it out. It was what we expected. The prices were good, but the selection was poor. You had to hit it right. Nancy bought a very nice sweatshirt (normally $54) for $20. We also read about a restaurant (near the outlet stores) called "Billy Wongs". It was fantastic, a great variety of American and Chinese foods. It also had shrimp, soups, a salad bar, and a desert bar. We ate there twice and probably would have eaten there more it we weren't banned (only kidding) from the place. Our son decided that this trip was the time to start throwing dishes, silverware, and food. Needless to say, we never made some of the nicer restaurants that we originally planned to eat at.

SEPTEMBER 14th (Saturday)

We spent this whole day visiting the Disney resorts, something I've always wanted to do (but never had the time). By the end of this trip we would have checked out every resort and pool area. We put my daughter in her swimsuit and let her play in most of the kiddie pools. We took a long walk on the "Boardwalk" (next time we plan on renting the car/bikes). Since I'm an avid sports fan, we had to have a drink at the ESPN Sportsclub. This was alot of fun for me. That night they were having the World Armwrestling Championships. Once we finished the Boardwalk area hotels it was time for supper. We decided to head back toward our hotel in search of pizza. We ended up eating in a restaurant called Francesco's. Pizza wasn't bad, but my son decided to start launching several items on the table.

SEPTEMBER 15th (Sunday)

We checked out of our hotel early and headed over to the "All-Star Resort" for six nights. We used the early checkin. This would enable us to just have to pickup the key later in the day. We grabbed the "Mug" ($7.99), which we used alot. This is one of the best deals in Disney. We used it at several other resorts without any comments. Some resorts will charge a 79 cent refill fee (ours were free). This is ridiculous considering you can buy a drink for less. The strange thing was that Dixie Landings gave free refills and Port Orleans charged a refill fee. I thought these two were sister resorts ??

To celebrate Amber's 4th birthday we decided to take her to the Character Breakfast at the Grand Floridian. It was great if you have never done it. The food was a delicious buffet, with a good variety. The waitress was very attentive, you never had an empty glass of juice (which was fresh squeezed). There were plenty of photo opportunities. The character came around the room twice in the time we were there. At the end of the breakfast, Goofy brought my daughter a Mickey Mouse cupcake (with a candle) for her birthday. As fun as it was, I would only want to go once. It was expensive and there were only four characters (Goofy,Pluto,Minnie, and Chip). We did checkout (didn't eat, just walked around) three other character breakfast (Contemporary Hotel, Land in Epcot, and MGM) and found the Grand Floridian to be the best.

After looking around the Grand Floridian (I don't like it) we took the shuttle boat (a very nice ride) to the Magic Kingdom. We got a map and decided to look for our brick (#w19488). I am collecting pictures of people posing by our brick. It you take one email me and I will send you my mailing address. We took several pictures/ video and then took the shuttle to Fort Wilderness. After exploring Fort Wilderness we took a bus back to the Grand Floridian to get our car.

We went back to our hotel for a swim and then picked up our room key. We had dinner at the food court and then officially checked into our room at 6pm. We were in (room #10149) the Touchdown building. The location of our room was fantastic. We were about 50 feet from the main building (which houses the arcade, food court, gift shop, laundry, ect.). The main pool, ice machine, and bus stop were also very close. The rooms were not as small as I expected (and we had a crib and 2 doublebeds). My daughter loved the Mickey Mouse soaps that they left every morning. Using the Magic Kingdom Club card we were able to get our room for $69 night (including tax).

SEPTEMBER 16th (Mon) Early Admission - Magic Kingdom

This was the first time we had ever used the "early admission". We were on Main street by 8am. From 8-9am we road "Dumbo"(5 min. wait), "Cinderella's Carousel"(5 min. wait), "Snow White"(5 min. wait), and "Peter Pan"(5 min.wait). I then rode "Alien Encounter"(10 min. wait). We headed back to Fantasy Land and rode on "It's a Small World"(no wait). We were getting a little hungry so we had a turkey leg($4) and Dole whip($2) lunch. We all loved the turkey legs and whip but couldn't find them in any of the other parks. After eating we headed over to the "Country Bear Jamboree"(10 min. wait), then the "Pirates of the Caribbean"(10 min. wait), watched the "Tiki Birds"(10 min. wait), watched the "Lion King"(no wait), and then headed to the "Toon Town Faire". We took a tour of Minnie's house(10 min. wait) and then went to the "Character Hall of Fame". If you are one of those many people who don't like fighting to get a picture of the characters, this is the place to go. It's located right near the exit to Minnie's House. There are three lines Princesses, Villains, and Mickey's Friends. You go into a room with four or five characters and can pose with each one (without any hassle). My daughter is crazy about princesses, so we did that room(15 min. wait) first.

Pocohontas, Snow White, and Jasmine were there (I heard they switch them all the time). We then went into the Friends room(5 min. wait). Goofy, Pluto, Donald. and Minnie Mouse were there. My daughter played for a short time at Donalds Boat(no wait). We walked by the Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain several times during the day, but the line was 40 minutes on both of them. We left the Magic Kingdom at 4pm and went to Mcdonalds for a food break. After our break we went to Epcot at 7pm. Since there was no line we went into "Spaceship Earth" and then checked out "Innovations". We played in "Innovations" for a short time and then watched the "Water Fountain show" (we all loved this). There was still time before "Illuminations" so we visited the "Mexican Pavilion" and took it's boat ride(no wait).

SEPTEMBER 17th (Tuesday)

We spent the day exploring the Disney property. First we visited Pleasure Island and the Marketplace. Planet Hollywood was almost empty, so we spent a long time looking at all the movie props and costumes. This place was much better than I thought it would be. We then cut through Pleasure Island on our way to the Marketplace. We poked our heads into most of the clubs. On our next visit, when the kids are older, we'd like to visit Pleasure Island at night. My wife made sure that we visited every store at the Marketplace, but unfortunately the new Disney store was opening a week after we headed for home. Our last stop was at the "Rain Forest Cafe". What a great place !! We had planned to eat there, while planning our trip, but didn't think our son would sit through the meal. The whole restaurant looks like a rainforest; plants, real and animatronic wildlife, thunder/rain storms, huge aquariums, a talking tree, plus alot more. I wasn't crazy about the menu, but if you enjoy different foods then you should try it out. For the remainder of the day we continued to visit the Disney resorts. We finished the day eating at the "Ponderosa Grand Buffet".

SEPTEMBER 18th (Wednesday) Early Admission - MGM Studios

We were in MGM by 8am. From 8-9am we rode the "Tower of Terror"(5 min. wait) and the "Great Movie Ride"(15 min. wait). We then headed over to the "Muppet 3D"(no wait). There is an area set aside for character greetings. We spent a long time here. Characters that were available at this time were; Fairy Godmother, Prince and Cinderella, Alice, Mad Hatter, Mickey Mouse, Lightyear, Cowboy from Toy Story, Green army men, Pocohontas, Goofy, racoon from Pocohontas, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and a few more.

We watched the "Little Mermaid show"(15 min. wait) and then the "Hunchback show"(no wait). We left MGM at 2pm, grabbed another quick bite (at Mcdonalds) and a little rest. At 4:45 pm we went to the Magic Kingdom. We did the child swap on "Splash Mountain"(no wait). The kids wanted to go to Fantasy Land again, so we went on "It's a Small World"(no wait) and Dumbo(no wait) again.

SEPTEMBER 19th (Thursday)

We did a little more exploring in the morning, had lunch at the "Grand Buffet"(again), and returned to the All-Star Resort. The rest of the day was spent at the pool and posing for pictures near all the statues and sport icons.

SEPTEMBER 20th (Friday) Early Admission Epcot '96

By 8am we were standing in front of "Spaceship Earth". Between 8-9am we did the child swap for "Honey I Shrank the Audience"(no wait). While Nancy was watching HISTA I took the kids next door and rode "Journey to Imagination". The kids loved it so much and my wife hadn't seen it yet, so we rode it again. We then wandered over to the "Land Pavilion". We watched the "Circle of Life"(no wait), took the "Land Boat ride" (5 min. wait), and watched "Food Rocks"(no wait). Next we rode "Horizons"(no wait), and then went into the new "Ellens Energy Pavilion"(no wait). My wife and kids were anxious to see the "Toy Story Parade", so at 12:15 we left Epcot and headed to MGM. We got to MGM at 12:35 and marked our spots for the "Toy Story Parade". There were plenty of spots to watch the parade. You could have arrive just before the parade and gotten a front row seat. After the parade we looked around and then watched the 2:00pm showing of "Beauty and the Beast". We then went to another showing of the "Muppet 3D"(no wait). We left MGM at 2:30, went for lunch at McDonalds(again), and then went to Epcot from 5-7pm. We walked around and then spent some time in "Innovations". We said our goodbyes to the Disney Parks and headed toward our new resort. We checked into "Orange Lake Resort"(timeshare) at 8pm.

SEPTEMBER 21st (Saturday)

We started out the day doing some light food shopping and then spent the rest of the day using the resort facilities. We had a beautiful 2 bedroom condo, that overlooked the resort's golf course. The resort had 5 pools, a miniature golf course, several tennis courts, a lake with numerous water sports, racquetball, hottubs, an arcade, several eateries, ping-pong, shuffleboard, a store, playgrounds, a movie theater, and more. Orange Lake is located only a mile and a half from Disney World.

SEPTEMBER 22nd (Sunday) Sea World

We had only two more parks to attend on this vacation. Today we left our condo a little after 9am and got to "Sea World" at 9:30. We saw everything except the "Polynesian show" (which we had seen on a previous visit). I thought the additions since 1990 (our last visit) added a lot to the park. We especially liked the "Wild Arctic". This was a helicopter simulator. You exited into a research camp with live polar bears and whales. The new laser light show was excellent. We thought the "Bay Watch watershow" was horrible (the title says it all, what could you expect) !! Everything else was very enjoyable. It's a good change of pace seeing all the living fish/animals.

SEPTEMBER 23rd (Monday)

This was our only day of doing nothing. We spent the whole day just lying around the pools. We tried catching up on a little rest.

SEPTEMBER 24th (Tuesday) Universal Studios

We arrived at Universal Studios at 9am. We immediately headed over to "Terminator 2". This would be the first of many child swaps today. We saw the first two shows of Terminator. Universal is geared for older children. Because of my childrens ages I didn't think we would be able to do many of the attractions. By finding the short lines and using the child swap we rode "E.T.", "Back to the Future", "Terminator 2", "Jaws", "King Kong", and the "Hanna-Barbera ride". The kids loved the "Barney show(we saw it twice) and the "Animal show". They spent quite a while in "Fievals Playground" and "Barneys Backyard playland". The child swaps are not as efficient in Universal as they are in Disney World. We had a lousy view of the water stunt show. What we could see was pretty lame. Characters were not as abundant as in the Disney parks. We saw W.C. Fields, Yogi and Boo Boo bear, Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Scooby Doo, Fieval, Woody Woodpecker, Barney, BJ, and Baby Bop. I think that Universal should come up with some kind of character parade and some shows that involve the characters. Like MGM, they need to vastly improve their backlot tours.

SEPTEMBER 25th (Wednesday)

This day (one of my wife's favorites) was set aside for last minute souvenir shopping. Of course Disney withdrawal was kicking in, so we spent some of the day revisiting our favorite resorts. We then did most of our shopping at the Disney marketplace.

SEPTEMBER 26th (Thursday)

Friday was checkout, so we took a last swim and began to pack our clothes. We were planning on getting an early start so that the kids would sleep for the early part of the trip.

SEPTEMBER 27th/28th (Friday/Saturday)

We got up at 1am. We were on the road by 3am. We were making such great time that we decided to spend a couple of nights at Virginia Beach (we were in Florida for two weeks and still hadn't seen the ocean yet). Bad move, it turned out there was a three day rock concert. All the rooms were taken. We decided to drive another 45 minutes and stayed in Williamsburg. We spent 2 nights there, using a day to visit Colonial Williamsburg.

SEPTEMBER 29th (Sunday)

We drove all day and arrived home at 11:30pm. We hope to return in 1999 after the new "Animal Park" has opened

SUMMARY

The trip went alot better than I ever could have imagined. Amber(4) and Johnny(1) were fantastic on the rides down and back. We had allowed four days (each way) for travel. It only took us two days (each way) so we got some extra time in Florida. If you have the time, and your kids ride well, I recommend driving down (at least once).

The Magic Kingdom was great for us. The only ride we did a child swap on was "Splash Mountain". Most of the rides are family oriented. Epcot had a lot more than we had remembered. I actually enjoyed it more than the other parks. MGM was alot of fun, but I still think they need more attractions.

Sea World is a great diversion from the parks.

Universal Studios was alot of fun, but is geared toward older kids. We lucked out because we hit short lines and were able to see most of the rides using the child swap. We hope to go again (when our kids are 4 and 7) in three years. We have our many pictures and video to hold us until then (Taking the video is a real pain, but well worth it once you get home !!!)

What A Great Trip !!!!!

REVIEWS -Our rating system lousy(1)-excellent(10)

Resorts (Inexpensive)

All-Star Music/Sports (5)

We didn't like the music icons. We all loved the oversized sports themes. Our room location was fantastic. We were located in the "Touchdown" building about 50 feet from the pool, foodcourt, laundry, gift shop, and ice machines (very important). The pools were alot of fun. There was a good variety of food items at the food court, even though the prices were high. The "mug" was the buy of the trip. They cost $7.99 a mug and can be filled for free, an unlimited amount of times. Some of the resorts sell the mugs for $6.99 and charge 79 cents for a refill (a real ripoff). We did refill our mugs (without a problem) at several other resorts. The "All-Stars" have a decent arcade, gift shop, and laundry. The room sizes were not as small as I expected.

Resorts (Moderate)

Dixie Landings (7) and Port Orleans (7) were two of our favorite resorts. Both had beautiful grounds and very attractive facilities. Both pools were very nice, with Port Orleans getting the edge because of their large dragon slide and alligator statue decor. The fact that they were both on the waterway, had access to boat rentals, and the water taxi (to the marketplace) added considerably to their appeal.

Caribbean Beach (6) was nice, but way too spread out. You needed transportation to get from one end of the resort to the other. The pools and beach areas were very nice.

Resorts (Expensive)

The Contemporary (8) and Polynesian (9) are still two of my favorites. You can't beat being on the monorail. Both have nice pools and restaurants. We loved the atmosphere at the Polynesian. The Polynesian also has a beautiful beach (with hammocks) and marina. There is a great view from the roof of the Contemporary.

We visited the character breakfast at the Grand Floridian (7). The food was great. It was my daughters birthday, so Goofy brought out a Mickey Mouse cupcake with a candle. She loved it ! The hotel was very plush, but I have no desire to stay there. It's just to "plastic".

The Wilderness Lodge (9) is very, very, impressive. The lobby is absolutely gorgeous and the pool area is something to see. There is a buffet restaurant (Whispering Canyon) in the lobby. It is a very good and filling meal, especially lunch and dinner. The biggest problem at this resort is the transportation.

The Boardwalk (10) and the Yacht and Beach Clubs (10) are our two favorites. The Boardwalk resort is located on a boardwalk which has a variety of entertainment and restaurants. My favorites were the ESPN club and the bicycles build for four. It also has a great swimming pool area (themed like an amusement park) with a big water slide. The Yacht and Beach clubs have a huge pool area with a long water slide and beach. The pool areas are the best in Disney World (not including the water parks).

The Swan (9) and Dolphin (9) resorts are located near the Boardwalk. They are very fancy, but I liked the resorts with novelties better. The pools at these resorts are very ordinary.

The final resort that we visited was Fort Wilderness (5). I don't think I would chance the weather camping, but the Wilderness Homes would be very nice for a stay. The campground is much nicer than a typical campground but very spead out. You need transportation to get around it. There is an abundance of activities and Pioneer Hall and Trails End have very good food.

Our favorite resorts:

Boardwalk
Yacht and Beach clubs
Polynesian
Wilderness Lodge
Contemporary
Dixie Landings/ Port Orleans
Dolphin
Swan
Grand Floridian
All-Star Sports
Caribbean
Fort Wilderness
All-Star Music

Marketplace

We went to the Marketplace several times by car and once using the water taxi from Port Orleans. Use the boat taxi if you can. It's a nice ride and very convenient. There are several very impressive places at the Marketplace.

The Rainforest Café was fantastic for sightseeing. There is an active volcano, some great animatronic animals, jungle foliage everywhere, and a talking tree. There are huge tunnellike aquariums and live parrots. The bar stools looked like different animals. Every hour there would be a rainstorm in the restaurant.

Planet Hollywood was another tourist delight. There were hundreds of pieces of movie props and souvenirs. While you ate there were movie clips shown on giant screens overhead. We spent over 2 hours just walking around Planet Hollywood and the Rainforest Café.

The new character shop was scheduled to open October 3rd. It looks huge. We did most of our shopping in the old character shop.

We all loved the fountains that were at the Marketplace, Resorts, and Parks. It seemed like they were all different. The kids loved playing in them and we all enjoyed looking at them.

Transportation

We used the car most of the time. When we did use the buses, monorails, or boats we found them to be enjoyable, punctual, and relatively convenient.

Character Visibility

I thought this was better than in the past. The different character meeting places gave people a chance to meet the characters without a lot of pushing and shoving. We were disapointed by the number of characters actually walking around the parks. It seemed like these were greatly reduced.

Our Attraction Ratings (1-10):

Magic Kingdom

Dumbo (4) - good for kids
Carousel (4) - good for kids
Snow White (4) - 4 year old was scared
Peter Pan (6) - one of our favorites
Alien Encounter (7) - this is overrated
Small World (3) - wife and kids loved it
Country Bears (6) - another family favorite
Pirates of the Caribbean (7)
Tiki Birds (3) - getting old
Lion King (9) - excellent, don't miss
Minnies House (4) - needs more interactive
Hall of Fame (9) - long overdue
Donalds Boat (3) - needs more
Jungle Cruise (7) - oldie but goody
Splash Mountain (9) - liked this a lot

Studios

Tower of Terror (9) - excellent, wish it was longer
Great Movie ride (9) - better than we remembered
Muppet 3D (9) - hope they keep it
Mermaid show (7) - too short
Hunchback show (8) - wife loved this
Beauty and the Beast (7)
Toy Story parade (9) - too short

Epcot

Innovations (4) - thought it would be better
Honey I Shrank Audience (9) - great effects
Journey to Imagination (4) - kids loved this
Land Boat ride (9) - one of my favorites
Circle of Life (8)
Food Rocks (6) - 4 year old loved this
Horizons (8) - forgot hoe good it was
Ellens Energy (9) - excellent facelift
Fountains (9) - especially good at night
Countries (6) - some better than others
Illuminations (5) - a letdown, thought it was better

Universal Studios

Terminator 2 (8)
Back to the Future (9)
E.T. (7)
Jaws (7) - needs more shark
King Kong (8) - excellent, but too short
Earthquake (6) - needs facelift
Hanna-Barbera ride (7) - I always liked this
Barney show (9) - my kids rating
Fievals playground (6)
Animal show (6) - too short
Wild West show (4) - boring
Ghost Busters show (7)
Murder She Wrote (3) - I hated this
Monster makeup (5)