Trip Reports
02-20-2007, 08:31 AM
David Mize -- April 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASMuR)
Trip Summary
Cast: Bonnie and David, both 44, and grand-daughter Erika, 9
Tickets: Disney CRO and WDW Travel Co.
Stage: All-Star Music (ASM), for the third time
Entrance: America West Airlines, assisted by National Car Rental
ShowTime: 4/19 - 4/27. This is our sixth trip since 1986.
Out-takes: http://www.imagestation.com/member/index.html?name=dmize&c=201
Friday April 19th, 2002
Alarm set for 5:00am- yuck. We all got up OK, though. Most packing had been done the previous night, so we were ready to go in about an hour. Erika bounced right up- not surprising, since we had kept the trip a complete secret from her until 9:00pm last night! Left the house a little after 6:00am, parked in long-term parking at the airport & hit curb-side check in by 6:30am for our 8:20am flight. E-tickets proved no problem (I had been a little concerned since 9/11). Port Columbus proved to be pretty laid back, security wise. It was there, of course, but gun-toting National Guardsmen were at a minimum- our airport isn't really a major international hub, in spite of what the Chamber of Commerce says.
We ate breakfast at an airport lounge- not very good, surprisingly- this place usually does a decent job. Took our time over coffee, then headed for the concourse security check. Bags and purses were zapped by x-ray- no problems. The security guy even recognized my CPAP machine (for assisted breathing at night) in the x-ray- this has thrown many a security person during my corporate travel days. With the cords, hose and mask, it sure looks like some kind of terrorist plaything. We walked through the sensor- *PING*; Erika had beeped. She was promptly directed to a much shorter line of other pingers- mostly big burly guys with tattoos and gun butts under their shirts- OK, OK, I'm kidding about the gun butts.
Erika had a deer-in-the-headlights look- she was very nervous. I waited up by the special checkpoint for her (adults have to be with a minor for this), while the security folks all jollied her a bit. She'd smile a bit, but was scared, and it took 20 minutes to get through the line. Finally, her time came- arms out, feet spread apart, while a thorough wand job was done. Big beeps at her waist, and she was asked to raise her shirt- military-web type of belt with metal buckle. Yep, we had sabotaged our little girl. Erika removed the belt, next scan was clean. Then each foot had to be placed on a small box and scanned. Finally, she was done and we walked away- and Erika started softly crying. We think she was more upset at being the center of attention, than she was scared, but we sure felt bad for her. She got over it quickly, and we boarded on time.
Departure on time, smooth flight, arrive 15mins early, for our earliest arrival ever at WDW. We usually do afternoon flights, but this morning flight was much cheaper. Hit a couple of shops at MCO, then went down for our bags. National Guard very present here, with rifles and serious looks. Had to show ID's and match up baggage claim checks. Off to National Rental Car and their Emerald Aisle service. Had a coupon for a free upgrade this trip, so we grabbed a full size car (Malibu), loaded up, and drove to the booth. Presented all coupons and discounts (free upgrade, Sam's Club discount, Emerald discount, and Entertainment Book discount) $180 for 9 days, full size, before taxes & such- a good deal, I thought.
Hit All-Star Music (ASM) by 12n- not busy at all. This trip is our first during off-season, and we're amazed at the difference- this place is crawling during our usual Easter trips. Rooms aren't ready yet, so we grab our suits and towels from a small bag packed just for that purpose, change in the rest rooms & hit the pool- for three hours! It's a hot, clear day, so of course my wife burns, even with SPF30 on. Erika and I get a good shot of sun, but not like Bonnie. Rooms weren't available until almost 4:00pm, and we went right up. Got 3 out of 4 requests from my fax four days before- Calypso 10, pool-side and non-smoking. Had also requested ground floor, but got second floor, three rooms from stairs, which we were very happy with.
We unpacked, showered (cold one for the wife), changed and headed for the Magic Kingdom. It's our tradition to ride the ferry over to MK for the first time on each visit, and we stuck with that today. I had resolved to video tape everything on this trip (and I did end up taping eight hours worth), which meant that I usually had a camcorder with me (Sony Hi8mm with 8 hour battery). I also had a digital camera (Sony Cybershot with 128MB memory stick), with which I took over 400 pictures on the trip (on the single stick, too, with lots of room to spare). My wife usually carried the camera, and even took some shots with it; generally, though, I got to play photographer.
This is Erika's 4th visit, but she was only six last time, and some memories are vague. She remembers the boat, though, and is excited to go over toward the MK, shining in the distance. I video taped the crossing, and she's enjoyed watching that several times since. The journey is uneventful, although near-empty- it's quiet here tonight. On arrival (about 5:30pm), we see lot's of 100th anniversary stuff up, including flower beds, topiaries, and signage- look's like a big party, and we're invited! All bags are checked now when entering the parks; it didn't take long tonight, but other times could be a real pain. Oh, well, I like the feeling of security, so didn't begrudge the time spent. We wandered down Main Street USA, snapping pictures & filming, remarking on the light crowds, oohing & ahhing just like first-timers. In about 45mins, we realize that we're all dead-tired, and not really enjoying this as much as we should... late night before, 5am wake-up this morning, 3 hours in hot sun- all a bit too much for one day.
We retreated (with Erika's blessing) to the monorail, and rode around to the Polynesian resort. We had 8:00pm PS for 'Ohana, and we checked in at 7:00pm, then collapsed gratefully in comfortable lounge chairs to wait. We all had drinks, including rum with a beer chaser for Erika- no, wait, that was a virgin strawberry something, wasn't it? Anyhow, we all enjoyed the drinks and the rest. Seated at 7:40pm, enjoyed the huge appetizer tray, then tucked into turkey (melt-in-your-mouth), beef (too dry), pork (awesome & moist) and shrimp (spicy and delicious). We had an attentive waitress, but she was trying to turn the table too quickly. We resisted her efforts and relaxed until after 9:00pm. Then back to TTC & our car, and back to ASM. No late swimming tonight as we're pooped- to bed by 10:00pm.
Saturday April 20th, 2002
I woke up at 7:30am after a great night's sleep. I woke Erika & we snuck out to the pool for an early swim, leaving Bonnie asleep. I took a GMRS radio with me & left the other at bedside, in case she woke up and wondered where we were. I love these early morning dips, a wonderful way to get going in the morning. Erika and I felt great after 9+ hours of sleep and a 30 minute swim. Called wife on radio to wake her up & get her going, then headed back up to room. Problem- my room key didn't work. Bonnie let us in (dripping from the shower, of course), and I dressed & headed for the front desk while they finished.
At this point I was afraid that our complicated reservation scheme had befuddled the computers. Due to a special rate occurring during our stay, and in an attempt to prevent over-lapping UMP's, we had 4 separate reservations for nine days. The price for this was having to check in four separate times, while keeping the same room- little to pay in exchange for many hundreds of dollars saved. At the desk, I was told the problem was a magnetic anomaly- the nice CM had probably waited all week to use that line. Seems that silly me had carried two or more passes together in my shirt pocket, and one of them got blasted. For some reason that I don't understand, the CM said only the key function was screwed up; the UMP was fine. She was told the encoding method is different for the two functions. In any event, I went ahead and checked in for the second reservation, holding onto our old keys, which were now just admission media. BTW, I managed to do this same stupid thing again later on. They finally gave me the protective sleeves for the cards after the second time- no more problems.
Gathered up the gang & breakfasted in the food court. I had a very good western omelet- not greasy, good ingredients- along with bacon cooked perfectly. Wife had eggs & sausage, Erika had cereal. We generally had breakfast here during our stay, being well satisfied with variety and quality. Then, we were off to Epcot and Future World by 9:30am
Very low crowds on arrival. We walked right on to Spaceship Earth, with Erika a little nervous; she doesn't like dark places and loud noises, and couldn't remember this ride. She relaxed and enjoyed it after she understood it's theme, but she wasn't impressed enough to ride again. My wife, who has always had trouble dealing with auto-loading rides, walked on like a pro here- looks like her balance is improving.
I see that I forgot to mention that Bonnie is in the process of quitting smoking, after 28 years. She's in her second week as of April 20th, and is doing very well. It's going to be interesting seeing how she handles smokers, especially the ones who ignore the smoking areas, while at WDW. I'll add that she herself was always scrupulous about following all smoking rules, and has always got pretty pissed at those who don't.
After Spaceship Earth, we wondered through the Festival of Flowers pavilion, purchasing some small items and sending them to our resort. Then we trooped over to the Universe of Energy, a show my wife used to hate, but started enjoying when it was re-worked with Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye. Erika also enjoyed this a lot, since she's especially crazy about dinosaurs. For lunch, we just grabbed burgers at the Umbrella- very decent burgers, too. Then we looked through Mickey's Gear a bit, before heading back to the resort for our afternoon pool time by 4:00pm.
We swam and relaxed for a few hours, then changed and headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge for 8:00pm PS at Boma. This was our first time here, the lodge having opened since our last visit three years ago. Because it's new, and after hearing so many good things about Boma on this newsgroup, it became a "must" for our trip, and was one of only 4 PS's that we made before leaving home. We took a brief tour of the lodge; it was quite nice, and I could definitely stay there, but the Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian would still rate higher with me. Being able to look out over animal-inhabited savannah is a real plus, and we saw several (non-carnivorous) animals close by the lodge. We checked in at Boma by 7:30pm, took our pagers, and headed of to shop a bit (Boma was pretty busy then). We were seated before 8:00pm, with a *very* nice waitress. She explained items on the buffet that we may not have recognized, and then we dug in. The nut-and-seed encrusted salmon was incredible- an entirely different taste. The 3-bean gumbo was also exceptional. Bonnie loved the lightly seasoned prime rib; however, both she and I didn't like the garlic mashed potatoes (Erika did). Erika sampled many different things, turning her nose up at the child's buffet. Final opinion- we all loved this buffet. The food is unique, without being too strange, and there's something for everyone. We were encouraged to take our time & experiment, with no rush to clear our table at all.
We got back to ASM by 10:00pm, swam & had drinks by poolside for about an hour, then to bed by 11:30pm. Temps were still in the 80's by then.
Sunday April 21st, 2002
Woke up at 8:30am. No one wanted breakfast, and we're used to having a large early lunch on Sunday's, so I called and made PS for Prime Time Cafe in MGM for 11:00am lunch. We got some drinks at the food court, using the invaluable refillable mugs; I can't imagine *anyone* doing with out these mugs. I don't drink soda, but I like coffee in the mornings and water with lemon during the day, so even I more than make out with these.
We arrived at MGM entrance by 10:15am- not busy. A busload of characters was there to greet us, and I filmed with Erika with several, including Geppetto- a first for us in all of our visits. Then we entered the park and shopped our way down the boulevard towards lunch. In general, we usually bought items when we shopped, and we almost always had them sent to the resort for pickup the following day. We checked in at 10:45am & were seated by 11:10am- a staff meeting had just ended. We had a "Dad"- another first for us. He was pretty good, and showed no mercy towards my wife & her elbows on the table. I still like the "Mom's" best, though- better nags (ducking). I had the chicken pot pie- one of the best I'd ever tasted, and huge. My wife stuck with meatloaf, a favorite, and was surprised to find that the portion had been cut. She's not a big eater, but this small portion, although very good, left her wanting more. Erika went with a reduced-portion fried chicken, which she loved.
Off to Indiana Jones, just down the street, and our first experience with Fastpass- another new innovation since our last visit. An ingenious system, and very simple. The current Fastpass time was 1:45pm (for the 2:00pm show), almost two hours off, so we stuck our cards in, collected Fastpasses, and headed for the Great Movie Ride. After an easy 15min wait (all inside), we rode- and got the mobster holdup again. We've only had the western holdup once in several visits / rides. Erika generally liked this ride, except for the Alien sequence- dark & loud noises, remember?
As we exited TGMR, we walked right into The Life of Disney show, which wasn't crowded at all. This is a wonderful historical representation of Walt's life, showing lot's of personal mementos from his early years, as well as a great deal of the planning that went into WDW before his death. After this, we got some cold drinks (temps in the low 90's) and meandered over to Indiana Jones. We walked right past a long line (45mins) and into 3rd row, center section seating; we could have had 1st row, but hard for Erika to see from there. Why doesn't everyone use Fastpass? Remembering last visit's limp-noodle show, Bonnie & I weren't too enthusiastic. However, it was great! This guy was one of the best Indy's I'd ever seen- he actually acted. After all the times we've seen this, we were still on the edge of our seats, rooting him on. I'm afraid I didn't make a note of his name, but this stunt guy should be working steadily in Hollywood. The extra's casting director was a hot and energetic young lady who had everyone in stitches. Even the worn & tired "volunteer" was played much better this time- not as much buffoonery, making the "surprise" ending more of a surprise. The crowd really loved this performance. This was also the first time that I had taped this show, and I'm glad it was a good one.
One bad note- my $30 Nike Ohio State University cap vanished from the seat next to me at some point. We waited until the entire stadium was empty and searched all nearby aisles- nothing. Checked with CM's- nothing. Later checked with MGM & WDW lost and found- nothing. This is the first time that I've ever had something deliberately taken from me at WDW, and I don't like the feeling at all.
Back to the resort by 3:30pm for a brief swim (well in the 90's by now), then changed and took Erika over to Neverland children's club at the Polynesian. Erika had stayed here twice on last trip and loved it, so she was really looking forward to staying again. We had booked ahead, but it wasn't busy at all. We were told just to walk in if we wished to use them anymore during our trip... quite a contrast to our last trip (during spring break), where Neverland was booked solid every night. The attendant mentioned that Neverland is getting a complete make-over later this year, and will be much brighter and more cheerful looking.
There were a few kids there already, mostly Erika's age, so we happily grabbed pagers and took off for our 7:00pm PS at Teppanyaki Grill in Epcot's Japan. Three years ago, I was too sick to eat my meal here, but not tonight! We parked at the Yacht Club, shopped both the Yacht & Beach for a bit, then boated over to Epcot. The boats were really off schedule today, running every 30 - 40mins, instead of 20mins, but we always allow plenty of time for such mishaps.
We wandered through Britain and France, watched some of the 6:30pm parade around Epcot, then checked in at Mitsukoshi restaurants. We were seated promptly at 7:00pm by a beautifully dressed lady. For those not familiar with Teppanyaki style dining, it's communal- six to ten people seated around three sides of the cooking grill. Such dining is enhanced by having good, talkative neighbors at your table, as well as by an extroverted and highly skilled chef. We had a very outgoing family of three on our right (first time visitors here, but experienced in Teppanyaki), and a totally non-communicative family of three on our left. Bonnie and I both had steak and chicken, and I had a 1/2 order of sushi (California and Salmon rolls). Couldn't get my wife to try the sushi, but I slathered on the wasabi (brutally hot Chinese horseradish) and happily smoked from both ears. Our chef was pleasant, very skilled in the technique, but not much of a showman- our second such in two visits. The Japanese steak houses in Columbus seem to do a better job on the showmanship part.
After dinner, we walked back to Boardwalk to help our food settle. Did some small shopping, then back to the Yacht Club and our car. Over to the Polynesian and Neverland to get Erika by 10:30pm. She had a great time, as usual, and enjoyed the simple kid's buffet served that evening. Back to our resort, grabbed some ice cream, then up to our room. Erika knocked off some homework, I made some notes, and we turned in by 11:30pm.
Monday April 22nd, 2002
I noticed that I haven't mentioned our maid service at all this trip- it was exceptional. Our maid was very creative, using Erika's toys & new Disney stuff that we purchased to make ever-changing scenes in our room. Her specialty was making small animals out of washcloths, rubber bands, and washable marker- Erika brought a few of these home. Aside from creating scenes on our beds, the maid also put large displays in our window, ones that could easily be seen from the ground below. She got to know Erika by name, and got a couple of hugs from her during the week. *This* is what is meant by "Disney magic".
We had a 7:30am wakeup call, but woke up on our own at 7:00am. We called for a breakfast PS at Rainforest Cafe in the Animal Kingdom, and were told to just come on in- no crowds. We got there by 8:15am and breakfast started at 8:30am. We shopped the huge store for a bit, then went to breakfast. I tried the Viper's Pie, a breakfast pizza- wonderful! Spicy and very tasty, but too darn big to eat. I ate just over half, and had to waste the rest. Bonnie tried the much acclaimed Tonga Toast (w/o walnuts)- said it was very good French toast, nothing more. Erika enjoyed toast and cereal. We ate at a leisurely pace, enjoying the Cafe's unique atmosphere, then left for Animal Kingdom.
OOps! Left my room key / park pass on the table- shucks & other comments.... Got back to the Cafe, and the pass had already been turned in to management by the waitress. As it was getting busy by then, it took me nearly 15mins to get me key back, along with a couple of showings of my ID. We then entered AK with no problem and headed straight for the Safari in the back. The park wasn't crowded this time, while the Fastpass time was 45mins, standby was only 35min, so we just got into line. Three years ago, we waited 90mins for this, immediately after opening! Our safari this time was much better than before, with a lot more animals out, including lions.
We exited and went onto the train for Rafiki Station and Conservation station, which we hadn't done before. This was Earth Day, and many special events were going on throughout the area. Erika met several characters (the Earth Muses, or daughters of Mother Earth, Jiminy Cricket) and did a lot of craft projects. We saw an interesting bird show (birds of prey), and watched veterinarians doing their jobs inside Conservation Station. This was our favorite part of the Animal Kingdom for this visit. We finally left and headed over to Dinoland- much more crowded than the other parts of the park. I went to Countdown to Extinction, and discovered that it was now called Dinosaur... it was also broke down (sigh). It was broken down once on my previous visit, and 2hrs+ wait two other times, so I never got on it last time. I resolved to check again another day. Everything in Dinoland was packed at that point, which is our usual signal to leave- so we did. Back to the resort by 3:00pm to swim (very hot today).
I should mention my usual means of visiting MK and Epcot. I prefer to park at the Poly for the MK, and Beach Club for Epcot. The problem is, so does everyone else, and as a result of crowded lots, WDW discourages folks from doing this. As a matter of fact, I saw that Beach Club had a sign posted basically saying that you can't park there to go to Epcot. The reality is, none of the guards that I've ever dealt with over several visits seem to care (except one, whom I'll get to). If a guard ever asked me my I was there, my standard line of shopping and dining always worked- although the shopping and dining weren't always at that resort. If asked point-blank, I would tell the complete truth, and might well be denied parking, but it hasn't yet.
After getting refreshed and changed, we headed to the Polynesian to park and then to the Magic Kingdom by 5:00pm. This was the first time I had ever hit a "by the book" guard. I had to show both my parking pass, as well as a picture ID. I was also asked our plans in detail, which I answered truthfully, none of which directly involved the Poly tonight. He still let me in, which surprised me, but gave me a limited-time pass. I never had another occurrence like that again during our stay.
Tonight was the only showing of Spectromagic and fireworks for this trip- we thought. Add to that the fact that it's Monday (historically a bad day to be in MK), and it was packed! Every bit as bad as Easter time, which we've been here several times for. We grabbed the Disney railroad over to Frontier Land- Splash Mountain and Big Thunder were mobbed, with Fastpasses already sold out for the day. We walked into the Country Bears show- Erika loved it. We then shopped our way over to Fantasy Land- also mobbed. We got Erika onto the carousel that she loves, then we all did Small World- that was it. 'Way too crowded for our tastes. At 7:20, we staked out seats for Spectromagic back in Frontier Land, right in front of the Hall of Presidents. While waiting, we found out from a CM that another parade and fireworks show had been added to Thursday of this week. We promptly decided to leave after the parade and come back for fireworks on Thursday, hoping for better crowds.
I went to a nearby pay phone, dialed *88 for reservations, and shopped around for late dinner PS. I wanted Kona cafe in the Poly, since we'd be walking right by there- no luck. Everything was very busy, but finally nailed down 9:50pm PS at Spoodles, over in Boardwalk. It would be a little tight, but I should make it. Spectromagic, starting at 8:30pm at the front gates, slowly crawled back to us. It was a great show, as always, and I filmed the whole thing with my new low-light camcorder (it came out wonderfully, by the way). Erika was entranced, and this was a highlight of the trip. As the parade ended, we easily walked to the front of the park, shopping languidly as we walked near-empty streets- yeah, right. The place was packed, mobbed, overrun- pick your adjective. Easter has nothing on these crowds, and it took us until 9:10pm to get to the monorail. 40mins to our Spoodles PS was cutting it darn close, but we were still in the running.
As we waited... and waited.... and waited, it became apparent that there was a problem with the train. The long and short of it is that we didn't hit the Poly lobby until 9:40pm- goodbye, Spoodles. Well, guess what- the Kona Cafe was nearly empty! We trudge wearily up to the podium and asked- Sure! Plenty of seats, come on in! I mentioned that Disney Dining said heck no, we can't go.. the hostess didn't understand, either. I asked her to please call & cancel our 9:50pm PS at Spoodles, which she graciously did, and we plopped into our "not available" seats. We relaxed for over an hour with drinks and appetizers- heaven after the huge crowds we had just left. We then collected our car and headed back to ASM by 11:00pm, and to bed by midnight.
Tuesday April 23rd, 2002
Up at 5:00am for the restroom- up for the rest of the day. Showered & dressed quietly, then snuck out to the food court for breakfast at 6:00am. Cooler this morning, and I had a very pleasant meal at a table by the pool. Finally went back to the room at 7:30am and woke the family. While they got ready, I called Epcot's Mexico and made 11:30 lunch PS. We got to Epcot by 10:00am, and went to the Living Seas, one of Erika's favorites. We spent quite a while here, photographing many interesting fish and other creatures. No diver activity today. Then we headed for The Land, and walked right into the Lion King conservation show, which we all enjoyed. Next we crossed over to Metropolitan Life's Body pavilion, where I went onto Body Wars alone- still a great ride! Bonnie and Erika did other exhibits while I rode. This has never been one of our favorite pavilions, but I respect the amount of work that went into it.
Finally I hopped onto Test Track- a first for me. This ride was broken down every time I went near it three years ago, except once, when it was 2 1/2 hours wait. This time, I walked into the single-rider line, walked all the way to the front of that line, and directly into the pre-show. This ride was great and I enjoyed it a lot, although I decided my family wouldn't. Some of the tests are pretty rough, and the final lap is breath-taking. After this, we went to the San Angel Inn at Mexico for our lunch. Wife and I each had a combination platter, which we shared with Erika- decent food, but not great. Sure like the atmosphere, though, and the boat ride afterwards was enjoyable. Then we left for swim time at the resort.
Off to MGM by 4:30pm and the Backstage Tour. Erika didn't remember this, so was surprised by Catastrophe Canyon- but she really enjoyed it. Then off to our 6:10pm PS at Hollywood & Vine- our first since they changed formats. Very good food! The old cafeteria never thrilled us, but the quality has really gone up. A curious thing happened here- we were given Fantasmic dinner passes, without asking or having reserved them. They didn't ask, and neither did we. We were instructed to be at the gas station at the entrance by 8:00pm for seating. The passes had the seating mapped out on them, in the next to the last section on the right. They didn't look too good, so we decided to enter the theatre normally & see for ourselves. We got there a little after 7:00pm, and people were being seated down front, just left of center- we quickly joined in, and got 7 rows back- perfect! We noticed that the Fantasmic section was indeed pretty far over, and preferred our own seats. Everything was darn near full by 8:00pm- is this show never crowded? On our last visit we got seated over two hours early just right of center, and it filled up fast.
As expected, Fantasmic was stunning. The way they use lasers, fire and projections on water is incredible, and the crowd loved it. My only problem was that it was a little breezy that night; it felt good, but it also blew water all over us. I had to stop filming and put away both cameras, as they were getting too wet. I gave them a good rubdown outside the stadium. When the show ended, we stayed seated for just a few minutes, which helps a lot with the crowd. Then we walked on out and began shopping our way to the park entrance. We returned to the resort by 10:00pm- temp around 70, low humidity, a gorgeous night. A little too cool for me to swim, but Erika went right in. Wife & I relaxed poolside watching Erika, and we got to bed by 11:00pm.
Wednesday April 24th, 2002
Wake-up call for 7:30am, our second on this trip. Breakfast at the food court, then off to MGM by 9:00am. We walked right on to the Animation Tour. I still enjoy the into film with Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite, but it's probably time to think about redoing it. Lilo & Stitch is the current highlight, the entire movie having been done at the Florida animation studios. Our animator host was pleasant, well-spoken & a very fast artist. My only complaint was that he didn't do a question & answer session, which we've always had in the past. We learned from the animator's discussion that Lilo & Stitch was the first Disney film to be inked entirely in watercolors since Dumbo in 1940.
From there we went back to the Cargo Shop to pickup 100yr anniversary photo pins. We finally got OK pictures of Erika for the pins, after several tries. As beautiful as she is, she can't pose for photos worth a darn. I got some cute pictures of my own, with Erika laying under the huge steam roller in the Cargo Shop. After this, we headed for the Beauty and the Beast stage show. This production had some nice routines, but we all found it a little too simplified. Something more along the lines of Animal Kingdom's Tarzan show would have been very nice. Nobody was in the mood for Star Wars or Muppets in the back of the park, so we hit the few stores that we hadn't been to yet, then left the park. We were probably finished with MGM at this point.
We returned to our resort by 1:30pm & grabbed lunch at the food court- wife & I split a chef salad and pasta dish- yummy. Erika tackled the chicken quesadilla, also good. Swimming afterwards, of course, for only a short time today. The over to the Grand Floridian by 3:00pm and my first valet parking this visit. In the past, I used the valet almost exclusively, with attendants at Polynesian and the Beach Club getting to know me by sight. With the introduction of a $6.00 daily charge for valet since our last visit, I just started using regular parking, instead. At the G.F., though, public lots are over by Cocoa Beach somewhere, so valet it is.
Hopped the monorail for Magic Kingdom, and walked in just in time for the parade- new to us, and pretty nice. Then we headed back to Fantasy Land for Erika to hit a few favorite rides- very busy again! The parks closed at 6:00pm that night, and Fastpass was already closed for Peter Pan's Flight- her favorite. I gamely jumped into a 45min line with Erika, but after 25mins of stifling heat, she decided that we could try another day. We hopped out of line & headed for Frontier Land. Erika didn't want to do the Haunted House- she rode it last time, and wasn't crazy about it. We walked on around to Adventure Land, marveling at how busy the park was again. Perhaps the early closing? Erika and I rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets, a ride new to us- yawn. Definitely for little kids. Then we went onto Pirates, a ride we all love- even Erika. She and Bonnie were both startled by the water drop, though. There was no wait for this classic, which surprised me. In earlier years, the lines here could be huge. I hope that's not a bad sign for the future of the ride.
We then walked into the Tiki Birds show, which we really enjoyed. Afterwards, I took Erika up into the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, a journey I hadn't made since my own kids were little. We talked about how things worked on there, especially the water system, and Erika asked really good questions. We took our time & enjoyed it a lot. My wife has a serious fear of heights, which keeps her off of things like this. We then shopped a little on our way to the monorail. Then over to Contemporary for 6:00pm PS at Chef Mickey's. There was a 20min wait, so we grabbed seats in the lounge, ordered drinks, and relaxed- for 2mins, when we were called to our table. As always, the food here is very good, with good variety and presentation. Erika had lot's of character visits and photos, and we were all happy. We were also dead tired after dinner, not having our usual long mid-day rest, so we returned to our resort, rather than hitting the Disney Village as originally planned. We were back to the resort by 8:00pm, relaxed around the pool & then watched Amazing Race on TV- to bed by 11:00pm.
Thursday April 25th, 2002
Woke up on our own at 7:30am, ready to rumble after a good night's sleep. A quick food court breakfast, then off to the Magic Kingdom (parking at the Polynesian). We entered MK at 9:45am, and headed straight for Fantasy Land again. We grabbed Fastpasses for Peter Pan's Flight for 10:20am. Took a look at Dumbo- yuck, 40mins. Went to Snow White's Scary Adventures and walked right on. Not a great ride, but it does have some nice imagery that we all enjoyed. Hit a few local shops, sent some purchases to our resort, then walked on to Peter Pan at 10:30am- I love Fastpass. This is always Erika's favorite ride, and she usually rides it multiple times during a visit. Only once this time, though, and she was happy.
Then we headed over to the Mad Hatter's Teacups, stopping along the way for Erika to ride the uncrowded carousel again. After the Teacups, it was 11:30am, so we headed back to our car at the Poly and drove over to Downtown Disney, which I still think of as Disney Village. Here we did most of our gift shopping for the folks back home, taking advantage of American Express's 15% discount in several of the stores. After a lot of shopping, some of which we shipped to our home, we walked into Cap'n Jack's for lunch at 1:00pm, no PS. Found out they don't accept PS's, which surprised me. We had a window seat, with a nice view of Fulton's Crab House (the restaurant sits out in the water, so most views are nice). The restaurant wasn't busy at all, which made me wonder. In the end, the food was good, but with a very poor selection of seafood- only a couple of items. I was disappointed, as I was in a real seafood mood. I resolved to try and make time for Cape May over at Yacht & Beach before leaving- wonderful seafood there.
We took our usual midday swim break at 2:00pm, then headed over to the Beach Club to park (waived in with no stop) and enter Epcot World Showcase by 4:15pm. We then meandered counter-clockwise through the countries, lightly shopping and sight-seeing... no shows this time. I discovered that I had left my one remaining Hi8MM video tape back in the room, so I parked the wife and Erika by Future World & hustled toward the camera shop near Communicore. As I passed Mouse Gear, a nice CM asked if she could help me, so I told her what I needed- she said it's right inside! She was right, and saved me a lot of hiking & time. Didn't save me any money, though; $14.00 for a $5.00 tape!
Returned to family, and Bonnie's leg was hurting- some kind of mild strain. We limped on by Canada and checked in at the Rose & Crown pub at 7:40pm for our 8:00pm PS. Got some beer & let the wife rest up a bit while we waited. The R & C has the most unique "pagers" yet- they hand out Compaq Pocket PC's with an interactive advertisement and informational piece. Nothing like using $700 pagers. When we checked in, I had routinely requested terrace seating, the best seats in World Showcase for Illuminations. I was just as routinely told that we would have to be seated in first available at the time. Right at 8:00pm, our Pocket PC erupted in a fireworks show, with a voice telling us "Your table is ready, please check in"- cool. We did so- and were led right down to perfect terrace seating! Definitely our lucky day.... almost our UNlucky day, thanks to me.
As we got seated, I noticed I didn't have my camcorder.. neither did Bonnie or Erika. Oh, boy, I had hung it over the back of our bench while waiting out front, and forgotten it. Panicked, I made the mad dash through a very crowded (and drunken) restaurant. As soon as I popped out of the side door, I could see the strap of the camcorder on the bench out front. Pausing to catch my breath, I walked up to the family sitting on the bench. I smiled & told them that I had come back for my camcorder, pointing to it. The lady wasn't too amused by my stupidity, telling me "Well, it was on its way to lost and found". I thanked her very much for her concern, reached past her and retrieved it. Then I slinked off shamefully, $700 worth of education in my hands. I got off easy- remember my OSU baseball cap?
We started off with a very good fruit and cheese plate for an appetizer- inexpensive, and large enough for three to share. For dinner, I had the Fisherman's Platter, which was mediocre at best. Bonnie had the Bangers & Mash, a very mild sausage with mashed potatoes- very good and huge. Erika tried the Cottage Pie, which is ground beef, mashed potatoes and cheese, all baked together. Said she liked it, but I think some earlier snacking had messed up her dinner. Just as we were finishing a very leisurely dinner, Illuminations fired up. These truly were the best seats we'd ever had for this show, and the show itself was wonderful. There were a few new elements from our last visit which made it more interesting. After the show, the park was closed & throngs of people headed out. We kicked back with after dinner drinks and watched the crowds. Then we headed for International Gateway and the Yacht club, with no crowds in sight.
As we approached the Beach Club, we found a small group in the courtyard watching something. We got closer, and it was a guy (I won't say "gentleman") demonstrating one of the Segway people movers! I'm sure you've all heard of the two-wheeled gyroscopic transporter of recent development. This guy was riding all around the courtyard, mostly with his hands behind his back. The group was apparently together, with everyone knowing everyone. I quickly pulled out my camcorder and started filming. The guy cracked to an associate that maybe he shouldn't let me film- I filmed away. You want privacy, don't assemble on a public throughway. I then asked three different questions, to his face, and he ignored all three of them. A trio of cute young things stopped beside me to watch, one of them asking a question- darn if he didn't hear that one, all the way across the courtyard, and respond. I tried a fourth question, in my best loud voice (which is darn loud)- no luck. I had put away the camera by this time, and gathered up the gang and left. Sure hope that guy isn't in marketing. We returned to our resort and to bed by 11:00pm.
Friday April 26th, 2002
This is our last day at WDW, and we have a light schedule planned. Woke up at 8:45am and did the food court breakfast again. We never had any urge to try other breakfast's while here, not being real big breakfast people. The fresh omelets and decent breakfast meats of the food court made us all happy, not to mention the convenience and the pleasure of eating by the pool. We headed for the Animal Kingdom by 10:00am. I dropped Erika and Bonnie at Dinoland playground, while I headed back to Dinosaur- finally!... after two visits and multiple attempts, I walked right on. This ride was very creative, with a good story line and very good props and atmosphere. True, a couple of the dinosaurs were pretty lame looking (too simple), but the ride car was awesome in the way it moved, and the final T-rex (?) jumping into the car was great! Good fun for all, but not for Erika or Bonnie- neither one likes dark, noisy areas with things jumping at you.
I headed back to Dinoland, played with a Erika a bit in the very neat playground, then we all headed to Asia- a new area since our last visit. Today was the first time on the whole trip that we really noticed the humidity- it was very high, and we were literally dripping. Asia was very good- not a ride, but a pleasant walk-thru. I think Animal Kingdom should do more of these, since it let's you set your own pace. The area was well-shaded, with water available, and the viewing stations were of good design. A favorite part of AK for us. We finished Asia by 11:30am, and were done with AK for this trip. We hit our hotel by 12:00n for our break, and the pool never felt better. Of course, we stayed too long and got a little cooked again, but we had a blast playing with all of the other folks there. We grabbed a light lunch from the food court while enjoying the pool. We left at 3:30pm, changed, and made it to Magic Kingdom by 4:00pm (parking at the Poly again- at least one guard recognized us by now).
My wife was on a mission to find a child's jean jacket for Erika, something everyone said they had- last month. The shops on Main Street pointed us to Toontown. Neither Erika nor I really like TT, so we went to the Mad Hatter's Teacups, pointed Bonnie in the direction she needed, pointed out the bench I'd like to meet her at later, then Erika and took off to Tomorrow Land. We headed for Buzz Lightyear and collected Fastpasses for 5:40pm- 45 minutes off. We then hit the Wedway People Mover; I don't remember it's new name, but it'll always be Wedway to me. We then went to the race cars, with only a 10min wait, and Erika drove. She had a blast, even when we got rear-ended three times by some adults driving behind us. We even saw Bonnie, who had miraculously made her way back to the appointed bench, and yelled and waved at her.
It was 5:40pm and time for Buzz, which we walked right on to... the guy who thought of Fastpass should have been made president of the company. Erika and I both love this ride- I managed a lowly 112,500 points, and really enjoyed it. On our last visit's E-Night, we rode this thing four or five times. After defeating the enemy, we headed back to the Teacups to collect Bonnie. We headed back through Fantasy Land, passed on Dumb again (still 40mins), and Erika rode the carousel *again* (told you she loved this). I sat the family at the junction between Fantasy and Frontier Lands, and headed over to the haunted house- absolutely no line at all, and I walked right into the starting chamber. The CM was in-character, but not very enthusiastic. I still love this ride, but think that some modern effects could be applied to make it even more enjoyable. I know, it's a classic....
Made it to Liberty Tree Tavern by 6:10pm for our 6:35ps. By this time, the humidity is stifling, and we just want to get into somewhere cool and dry. Also, it looks like rain might be coming. The Tavern is one of our favorite dining places at the MK, and the characters are a pleasant extra. Erika visited multiple times with Frontier Minnie, Goofy, Pluto Chip and Dale; Mickey isn't here anymore. We got dozens of shots of Erika & Bonnie with characters in all combinations, and shot some good film, too. Somewhere in there, we managed to have an excellent family-style dinner, too, which we polished off completely- oof. It started raining around 7:00pm, and by 7:30pm, it's pouring, with lots of thunder and lightening. The park closed at 7:00pm, so the crowds are gone, but there's still plenty of stragglers dashing for cover. Our creative host broke out large, clear trash bags, made face holes in them and 'oila! Instant raincoat. Donning our high-tech raingear, we took off.
Man, what a storm... lightening is striking everywhere from the sound of it. We slowly worked our way store to store- just window-shopping this time. We were hoping the storm would pass as we stalled, but it showed no sign of doing so. Bonnie and Erika are both nervous, but Bonnie didn't want to stay in the park any longer, so we continued outward. We finally made it to the monorail platform, jumped on for our ride back to the Poly- uh, oh, the train stopped halfway to Contemporary. The storm continued, and we saw emergency vehicles of some type gathering around the Contemporary. After several minutes, we were told that we were waiting for clearance. After more than 10mins, we're told that we're backing up to the MK platform- a first for me in six trips. After making it back to MK, we're told that we'll wait here for clearance. Another 10mins passes, and we're finally told it's technical problems- go find a bus or boat to your destination.
As many of you may have realized by now, this is about the time that a poor depressed CM from the Magic Kingdom decided to take his life by leaping from the top of the Contemporary onto the 4th floor roof of the building below. While I don't know for sure that this was the cause of problems, I'm pretty comfortable in the assumption. We knew nothing about either of the two deaths at MK that day until after returning home to Ohio. It sure made us feel petty after returning home and hearing about this. Here we thought we had problems having to drag our whiny butts off a comfortable train to find a bus in the rain, when just a couple of hundred yards away someone has problems so serious that they felt dying was a good solution. The happiest place on Earth? Not for everyone.
Anyhow, the storm and the rain had eased, even though lightening still danced in the darkening skies. We didn't find a convenient bus in the drizzle, so we jumped on a ferry that had just pulled in. While waiting for it to depart, the rain pretty much quit. During the right to TTC, I kept trying to get a shot of the Contemporary framed by lightening, a feat I never managed. When we docked at TTC, we just walked the short path over to the Polynesian, since the rain had stopped. We went ahead and filled up the rental at Exxon by Boardwalk- $1.53 per gallon seemed OK to us. We finally got back to our resort after 9:00pm- 1 1/2 hours after leaving MK! The pool was *full* tonight.. never saw it so packed. Erika swam while we watched and talked with people. Up to our room to pack by 10:00pm- we leave at 8:30am in the morning. To bed by 11:30pm, ready to go.
Saturday April 27th, 2002
And that's about it for this trip. Wakeup call for 7:45am, off to airport by 8:30am. I took I-4 to 528 this time, rather than 417. Noticed that gas outside WDW was $1.65 per gallon- maybe it went up overnight? Handed in the rental at National Car Rental's garage- love these remote terminals the companies use to close out you bill while you unload the car. $208.00 for nine days, full size- $32 cheaper than I planned. We had breakfast at some airport bar- I miss Disney food already. Erika was pretty nervous about the airport security after her last shake-down. The crowds were very large, but moved quickly. We all passed security with no problems, and I was again amazed at the guardsmen with rifles all over the place. Living in quiet Ohio has some advantages. Flight left on time and we touched down in Columbus at 2:10pm with 52 degrees and rain- we were home.
I'm long winded, opinionated and something of a smart-***; in spite of all this, I hope you got something out of this trip report. My report from our last trip three years ago: [Trip Reports Editor: report migrated here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=64715)]. As always, Deb Wills' site was and is invaluable in planning any Disney trip- http://www.wdwig.com/contents.htm. And finally, Mary Waring and her fantastic MouseSavers site saved me a bundle in park admission and rental car- http://www.mousesavers.com/ . Thanks to all who take the time to make Disney cheaper and easier for the rest of us.
We're already thinking of our next trip, possibly as early as next year, probably a Disney deluxe cruise. We'll know more after we finish paying for this trip! See you.
David Mize
dmize@insight.rr.com
Trip Summary
Cast: Bonnie and David, both 44, and grand-daughter Erika, 9
Tickets: Disney CRO and WDW Travel Co.
Stage: All-Star Music (ASM), for the third time
Entrance: America West Airlines, assisted by National Car Rental
ShowTime: 4/19 - 4/27. This is our sixth trip since 1986.
Out-takes: http://www.imagestation.com/member/index.html?name=dmize&c=201
Friday April 19th, 2002
Alarm set for 5:00am- yuck. We all got up OK, though. Most packing had been done the previous night, so we were ready to go in about an hour. Erika bounced right up- not surprising, since we had kept the trip a complete secret from her until 9:00pm last night! Left the house a little after 6:00am, parked in long-term parking at the airport & hit curb-side check in by 6:30am for our 8:20am flight. E-tickets proved no problem (I had been a little concerned since 9/11). Port Columbus proved to be pretty laid back, security wise. It was there, of course, but gun-toting National Guardsmen were at a minimum- our airport isn't really a major international hub, in spite of what the Chamber of Commerce says.
We ate breakfast at an airport lounge- not very good, surprisingly- this place usually does a decent job. Took our time over coffee, then headed for the concourse security check. Bags and purses were zapped by x-ray- no problems. The security guy even recognized my CPAP machine (for assisted breathing at night) in the x-ray- this has thrown many a security person during my corporate travel days. With the cords, hose and mask, it sure looks like some kind of terrorist plaything. We walked through the sensor- *PING*; Erika had beeped. She was promptly directed to a much shorter line of other pingers- mostly big burly guys with tattoos and gun butts under their shirts- OK, OK, I'm kidding about the gun butts.
Erika had a deer-in-the-headlights look- she was very nervous. I waited up by the special checkpoint for her (adults have to be with a minor for this), while the security folks all jollied her a bit. She'd smile a bit, but was scared, and it took 20 minutes to get through the line. Finally, her time came- arms out, feet spread apart, while a thorough wand job was done. Big beeps at her waist, and she was asked to raise her shirt- military-web type of belt with metal buckle. Yep, we had sabotaged our little girl. Erika removed the belt, next scan was clean. Then each foot had to be placed on a small box and scanned. Finally, she was done and we walked away- and Erika started softly crying. We think she was more upset at being the center of attention, than she was scared, but we sure felt bad for her. She got over it quickly, and we boarded on time.
Departure on time, smooth flight, arrive 15mins early, for our earliest arrival ever at WDW. We usually do afternoon flights, but this morning flight was much cheaper. Hit a couple of shops at MCO, then went down for our bags. National Guard very present here, with rifles and serious looks. Had to show ID's and match up baggage claim checks. Off to National Rental Car and their Emerald Aisle service. Had a coupon for a free upgrade this trip, so we grabbed a full size car (Malibu), loaded up, and drove to the booth. Presented all coupons and discounts (free upgrade, Sam's Club discount, Emerald discount, and Entertainment Book discount) $180 for 9 days, full size, before taxes & such- a good deal, I thought.
Hit All-Star Music (ASM) by 12n- not busy at all. This trip is our first during off-season, and we're amazed at the difference- this place is crawling during our usual Easter trips. Rooms aren't ready yet, so we grab our suits and towels from a small bag packed just for that purpose, change in the rest rooms & hit the pool- for three hours! It's a hot, clear day, so of course my wife burns, even with SPF30 on. Erika and I get a good shot of sun, but not like Bonnie. Rooms weren't available until almost 4:00pm, and we went right up. Got 3 out of 4 requests from my fax four days before- Calypso 10, pool-side and non-smoking. Had also requested ground floor, but got second floor, three rooms from stairs, which we were very happy with.
We unpacked, showered (cold one for the wife), changed and headed for the Magic Kingdom. It's our tradition to ride the ferry over to MK for the first time on each visit, and we stuck with that today. I had resolved to video tape everything on this trip (and I did end up taping eight hours worth), which meant that I usually had a camcorder with me (Sony Hi8mm with 8 hour battery). I also had a digital camera (Sony Cybershot with 128MB memory stick), with which I took over 400 pictures on the trip (on the single stick, too, with lots of room to spare). My wife usually carried the camera, and even took some shots with it; generally, though, I got to play photographer.
This is Erika's 4th visit, but she was only six last time, and some memories are vague. She remembers the boat, though, and is excited to go over toward the MK, shining in the distance. I video taped the crossing, and she's enjoyed watching that several times since. The journey is uneventful, although near-empty- it's quiet here tonight. On arrival (about 5:30pm), we see lot's of 100th anniversary stuff up, including flower beds, topiaries, and signage- look's like a big party, and we're invited! All bags are checked now when entering the parks; it didn't take long tonight, but other times could be a real pain. Oh, well, I like the feeling of security, so didn't begrudge the time spent. We wandered down Main Street USA, snapping pictures & filming, remarking on the light crowds, oohing & ahhing just like first-timers. In about 45mins, we realize that we're all dead-tired, and not really enjoying this as much as we should... late night before, 5am wake-up this morning, 3 hours in hot sun- all a bit too much for one day.
We retreated (with Erika's blessing) to the monorail, and rode around to the Polynesian resort. We had 8:00pm PS for 'Ohana, and we checked in at 7:00pm, then collapsed gratefully in comfortable lounge chairs to wait. We all had drinks, including rum with a beer chaser for Erika- no, wait, that was a virgin strawberry something, wasn't it? Anyhow, we all enjoyed the drinks and the rest. Seated at 7:40pm, enjoyed the huge appetizer tray, then tucked into turkey (melt-in-your-mouth), beef (too dry), pork (awesome & moist) and shrimp (spicy and delicious). We had an attentive waitress, but she was trying to turn the table too quickly. We resisted her efforts and relaxed until after 9:00pm. Then back to TTC & our car, and back to ASM. No late swimming tonight as we're pooped- to bed by 10:00pm.
Saturday April 20th, 2002
I woke up at 7:30am after a great night's sleep. I woke Erika & we snuck out to the pool for an early swim, leaving Bonnie asleep. I took a GMRS radio with me & left the other at bedside, in case she woke up and wondered where we were. I love these early morning dips, a wonderful way to get going in the morning. Erika and I felt great after 9+ hours of sleep and a 30 minute swim. Called wife on radio to wake her up & get her going, then headed back up to room. Problem- my room key didn't work. Bonnie let us in (dripping from the shower, of course), and I dressed & headed for the front desk while they finished.
At this point I was afraid that our complicated reservation scheme had befuddled the computers. Due to a special rate occurring during our stay, and in an attempt to prevent over-lapping UMP's, we had 4 separate reservations for nine days. The price for this was having to check in four separate times, while keeping the same room- little to pay in exchange for many hundreds of dollars saved. At the desk, I was told the problem was a magnetic anomaly- the nice CM had probably waited all week to use that line. Seems that silly me had carried two or more passes together in my shirt pocket, and one of them got blasted. For some reason that I don't understand, the CM said only the key function was screwed up; the UMP was fine. She was told the encoding method is different for the two functions. In any event, I went ahead and checked in for the second reservation, holding onto our old keys, which were now just admission media. BTW, I managed to do this same stupid thing again later on. They finally gave me the protective sleeves for the cards after the second time- no more problems.
Gathered up the gang & breakfasted in the food court. I had a very good western omelet- not greasy, good ingredients- along with bacon cooked perfectly. Wife had eggs & sausage, Erika had cereal. We generally had breakfast here during our stay, being well satisfied with variety and quality. Then, we were off to Epcot and Future World by 9:30am
Very low crowds on arrival. We walked right on to Spaceship Earth, with Erika a little nervous; she doesn't like dark places and loud noises, and couldn't remember this ride. She relaxed and enjoyed it after she understood it's theme, but she wasn't impressed enough to ride again. My wife, who has always had trouble dealing with auto-loading rides, walked on like a pro here- looks like her balance is improving.
I see that I forgot to mention that Bonnie is in the process of quitting smoking, after 28 years. She's in her second week as of April 20th, and is doing very well. It's going to be interesting seeing how she handles smokers, especially the ones who ignore the smoking areas, while at WDW. I'll add that she herself was always scrupulous about following all smoking rules, and has always got pretty pissed at those who don't.
After Spaceship Earth, we wondered through the Festival of Flowers pavilion, purchasing some small items and sending them to our resort. Then we trooped over to the Universe of Energy, a show my wife used to hate, but started enjoying when it was re-worked with Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye. Erika also enjoyed this a lot, since she's especially crazy about dinosaurs. For lunch, we just grabbed burgers at the Umbrella- very decent burgers, too. Then we looked through Mickey's Gear a bit, before heading back to the resort for our afternoon pool time by 4:00pm.
We swam and relaxed for a few hours, then changed and headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge for 8:00pm PS at Boma. This was our first time here, the lodge having opened since our last visit three years ago. Because it's new, and after hearing so many good things about Boma on this newsgroup, it became a "must" for our trip, and was one of only 4 PS's that we made before leaving home. We took a brief tour of the lodge; it was quite nice, and I could definitely stay there, but the Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian would still rate higher with me. Being able to look out over animal-inhabited savannah is a real plus, and we saw several (non-carnivorous) animals close by the lodge. We checked in at Boma by 7:30pm, took our pagers, and headed of to shop a bit (Boma was pretty busy then). We were seated before 8:00pm, with a *very* nice waitress. She explained items on the buffet that we may not have recognized, and then we dug in. The nut-and-seed encrusted salmon was incredible- an entirely different taste. The 3-bean gumbo was also exceptional. Bonnie loved the lightly seasoned prime rib; however, both she and I didn't like the garlic mashed potatoes (Erika did). Erika sampled many different things, turning her nose up at the child's buffet. Final opinion- we all loved this buffet. The food is unique, without being too strange, and there's something for everyone. We were encouraged to take our time & experiment, with no rush to clear our table at all.
We got back to ASM by 10:00pm, swam & had drinks by poolside for about an hour, then to bed by 11:30pm. Temps were still in the 80's by then.
Sunday April 21st, 2002
Woke up at 8:30am. No one wanted breakfast, and we're used to having a large early lunch on Sunday's, so I called and made PS for Prime Time Cafe in MGM for 11:00am lunch. We got some drinks at the food court, using the invaluable refillable mugs; I can't imagine *anyone* doing with out these mugs. I don't drink soda, but I like coffee in the mornings and water with lemon during the day, so even I more than make out with these.
We arrived at MGM entrance by 10:15am- not busy. A busload of characters was there to greet us, and I filmed with Erika with several, including Geppetto- a first for us in all of our visits. Then we entered the park and shopped our way down the boulevard towards lunch. In general, we usually bought items when we shopped, and we almost always had them sent to the resort for pickup the following day. We checked in at 10:45am & were seated by 11:10am- a staff meeting had just ended. We had a "Dad"- another first for us. He was pretty good, and showed no mercy towards my wife & her elbows on the table. I still like the "Mom's" best, though- better nags (ducking). I had the chicken pot pie- one of the best I'd ever tasted, and huge. My wife stuck with meatloaf, a favorite, and was surprised to find that the portion had been cut. She's not a big eater, but this small portion, although very good, left her wanting more. Erika went with a reduced-portion fried chicken, which she loved.
Off to Indiana Jones, just down the street, and our first experience with Fastpass- another new innovation since our last visit. An ingenious system, and very simple. The current Fastpass time was 1:45pm (for the 2:00pm show), almost two hours off, so we stuck our cards in, collected Fastpasses, and headed for the Great Movie Ride. After an easy 15min wait (all inside), we rode- and got the mobster holdup again. We've only had the western holdup once in several visits / rides. Erika generally liked this ride, except for the Alien sequence- dark & loud noises, remember?
As we exited TGMR, we walked right into The Life of Disney show, which wasn't crowded at all. This is a wonderful historical representation of Walt's life, showing lot's of personal mementos from his early years, as well as a great deal of the planning that went into WDW before his death. After this, we got some cold drinks (temps in the low 90's) and meandered over to Indiana Jones. We walked right past a long line (45mins) and into 3rd row, center section seating; we could have had 1st row, but hard for Erika to see from there. Why doesn't everyone use Fastpass? Remembering last visit's limp-noodle show, Bonnie & I weren't too enthusiastic. However, it was great! This guy was one of the best Indy's I'd ever seen- he actually acted. After all the times we've seen this, we were still on the edge of our seats, rooting him on. I'm afraid I didn't make a note of his name, but this stunt guy should be working steadily in Hollywood. The extra's casting director was a hot and energetic young lady who had everyone in stitches. Even the worn & tired "volunteer" was played much better this time- not as much buffoonery, making the "surprise" ending more of a surprise. The crowd really loved this performance. This was also the first time that I had taped this show, and I'm glad it was a good one.
One bad note- my $30 Nike Ohio State University cap vanished from the seat next to me at some point. We waited until the entire stadium was empty and searched all nearby aisles- nothing. Checked with CM's- nothing. Later checked with MGM & WDW lost and found- nothing. This is the first time that I've ever had something deliberately taken from me at WDW, and I don't like the feeling at all.
Back to the resort by 3:30pm for a brief swim (well in the 90's by now), then changed and took Erika over to Neverland children's club at the Polynesian. Erika had stayed here twice on last trip and loved it, so she was really looking forward to staying again. We had booked ahead, but it wasn't busy at all. We were told just to walk in if we wished to use them anymore during our trip... quite a contrast to our last trip (during spring break), where Neverland was booked solid every night. The attendant mentioned that Neverland is getting a complete make-over later this year, and will be much brighter and more cheerful looking.
There were a few kids there already, mostly Erika's age, so we happily grabbed pagers and took off for our 7:00pm PS at Teppanyaki Grill in Epcot's Japan. Three years ago, I was too sick to eat my meal here, but not tonight! We parked at the Yacht Club, shopped both the Yacht & Beach for a bit, then boated over to Epcot. The boats were really off schedule today, running every 30 - 40mins, instead of 20mins, but we always allow plenty of time for such mishaps.
We wandered through Britain and France, watched some of the 6:30pm parade around Epcot, then checked in at Mitsukoshi restaurants. We were seated promptly at 7:00pm by a beautifully dressed lady. For those not familiar with Teppanyaki style dining, it's communal- six to ten people seated around three sides of the cooking grill. Such dining is enhanced by having good, talkative neighbors at your table, as well as by an extroverted and highly skilled chef. We had a very outgoing family of three on our right (first time visitors here, but experienced in Teppanyaki), and a totally non-communicative family of three on our left. Bonnie and I both had steak and chicken, and I had a 1/2 order of sushi (California and Salmon rolls). Couldn't get my wife to try the sushi, but I slathered on the wasabi (brutally hot Chinese horseradish) and happily smoked from both ears. Our chef was pleasant, very skilled in the technique, but not much of a showman- our second such in two visits. The Japanese steak houses in Columbus seem to do a better job on the showmanship part.
After dinner, we walked back to Boardwalk to help our food settle. Did some small shopping, then back to the Yacht Club and our car. Over to the Polynesian and Neverland to get Erika by 10:30pm. She had a great time, as usual, and enjoyed the simple kid's buffet served that evening. Back to our resort, grabbed some ice cream, then up to our room. Erika knocked off some homework, I made some notes, and we turned in by 11:30pm.
Monday April 22nd, 2002
I noticed that I haven't mentioned our maid service at all this trip- it was exceptional. Our maid was very creative, using Erika's toys & new Disney stuff that we purchased to make ever-changing scenes in our room. Her specialty was making small animals out of washcloths, rubber bands, and washable marker- Erika brought a few of these home. Aside from creating scenes on our beds, the maid also put large displays in our window, ones that could easily be seen from the ground below. She got to know Erika by name, and got a couple of hugs from her during the week. *This* is what is meant by "Disney magic".
We had a 7:30am wakeup call, but woke up on our own at 7:00am. We called for a breakfast PS at Rainforest Cafe in the Animal Kingdom, and were told to just come on in- no crowds. We got there by 8:15am and breakfast started at 8:30am. We shopped the huge store for a bit, then went to breakfast. I tried the Viper's Pie, a breakfast pizza- wonderful! Spicy and very tasty, but too darn big to eat. I ate just over half, and had to waste the rest. Bonnie tried the much acclaimed Tonga Toast (w/o walnuts)- said it was very good French toast, nothing more. Erika enjoyed toast and cereal. We ate at a leisurely pace, enjoying the Cafe's unique atmosphere, then left for Animal Kingdom.
OOps! Left my room key / park pass on the table- shucks & other comments.... Got back to the Cafe, and the pass had already been turned in to management by the waitress. As it was getting busy by then, it took me nearly 15mins to get me key back, along with a couple of showings of my ID. We then entered AK with no problem and headed straight for the Safari in the back. The park wasn't crowded this time, while the Fastpass time was 45mins, standby was only 35min, so we just got into line. Three years ago, we waited 90mins for this, immediately after opening! Our safari this time was much better than before, with a lot more animals out, including lions.
We exited and went onto the train for Rafiki Station and Conservation station, which we hadn't done before. This was Earth Day, and many special events were going on throughout the area. Erika met several characters (the Earth Muses, or daughters of Mother Earth, Jiminy Cricket) and did a lot of craft projects. We saw an interesting bird show (birds of prey), and watched veterinarians doing their jobs inside Conservation Station. This was our favorite part of the Animal Kingdom for this visit. We finally left and headed over to Dinoland- much more crowded than the other parts of the park. I went to Countdown to Extinction, and discovered that it was now called Dinosaur... it was also broke down (sigh). It was broken down once on my previous visit, and 2hrs+ wait two other times, so I never got on it last time. I resolved to check again another day. Everything in Dinoland was packed at that point, which is our usual signal to leave- so we did. Back to the resort by 3:00pm to swim (very hot today).
I should mention my usual means of visiting MK and Epcot. I prefer to park at the Poly for the MK, and Beach Club for Epcot. The problem is, so does everyone else, and as a result of crowded lots, WDW discourages folks from doing this. As a matter of fact, I saw that Beach Club had a sign posted basically saying that you can't park there to go to Epcot. The reality is, none of the guards that I've ever dealt with over several visits seem to care (except one, whom I'll get to). If a guard ever asked me my I was there, my standard line of shopping and dining always worked- although the shopping and dining weren't always at that resort. If asked point-blank, I would tell the complete truth, and might well be denied parking, but it hasn't yet.
After getting refreshed and changed, we headed to the Polynesian to park and then to the Magic Kingdom by 5:00pm. This was the first time I had ever hit a "by the book" guard. I had to show both my parking pass, as well as a picture ID. I was also asked our plans in detail, which I answered truthfully, none of which directly involved the Poly tonight. He still let me in, which surprised me, but gave me a limited-time pass. I never had another occurrence like that again during our stay.
Tonight was the only showing of Spectromagic and fireworks for this trip- we thought. Add to that the fact that it's Monday (historically a bad day to be in MK), and it was packed! Every bit as bad as Easter time, which we've been here several times for. We grabbed the Disney railroad over to Frontier Land- Splash Mountain and Big Thunder were mobbed, with Fastpasses already sold out for the day. We walked into the Country Bears show- Erika loved it. We then shopped our way over to Fantasy Land- also mobbed. We got Erika onto the carousel that she loves, then we all did Small World- that was it. 'Way too crowded for our tastes. At 7:20, we staked out seats for Spectromagic back in Frontier Land, right in front of the Hall of Presidents. While waiting, we found out from a CM that another parade and fireworks show had been added to Thursday of this week. We promptly decided to leave after the parade and come back for fireworks on Thursday, hoping for better crowds.
I went to a nearby pay phone, dialed *88 for reservations, and shopped around for late dinner PS. I wanted Kona cafe in the Poly, since we'd be walking right by there- no luck. Everything was very busy, but finally nailed down 9:50pm PS at Spoodles, over in Boardwalk. It would be a little tight, but I should make it. Spectromagic, starting at 8:30pm at the front gates, slowly crawled back to us. It was a great show, as always, and I filmed the whole thing with my new low-light camcorder (it came out wonderfully, by the way). Erika was entranced, and this was a highlight of the trip. As the parade ended, we easily walked to the front of the park, shopping languidly as we walked near-empty streets- yeah, right. The place was packed, mobbed, overrun- pick your adjective. Easter has nothing on these crowds, and it took us until 9:10pm to get to the monorail. 40mins to our Spoodles PS was cutting it darn close, but we were still in the running.
As we waited... and waited.... and waited, it became apparent that there was a problem with the train. The long and short of it is that we didn't hit the Poly lobby until 9:40pm- goodbye, Spoodles. Well, guess what- the Kona Cafe was nearly empty! We trudge wearily up to the podium and asked- Sure! Plenty of seats, come on in! I mentioned that Disney Dining said heck no, we can't go.. the hostess didn't understand, either. I asked her to please call & cancel our 9:50pm PS at Spoodles, which she graciously did, and we plopped into our "not available" seats. We relaxed for over an hour with drinks and appetizers- heaven after the huge crowds we had just left. We then collected our car and headed back to ASM by 11:00pm, and to bed by midnight.
Tuesday April 23rd, 2002
Up at 5:00am for the restroom- up for the rest of the day. Showered & dressed quietly, then snuck out to the food court for breakfast at 6:00am. Cooler this morning, and I had a very pleasant meal at a table by the pool. Finally went back to the room at 7:30am and woke the family. While they got ready, I called Epcot's Mexico and made 11:30 lunch PS. We got to Epcot by 10:00am, and went to the Living Seas, one of Erika's favorites. We spent quite a while here, photographing many interesting fish and other creatures. No diver activity today. Then we headed for The Land, and walked right into the Lion King conservation show, which we all enjoyed. Next we crossed over to Metropolitan Life's Body pavilion, where I went onto Body Wars alone- still a great ride! Bonnie and Erika did other exhibits while I rode. This has never been one of our favorite pavilions, but I respect the amount of work that went into it.
Finally I hopped onto Test Track- a first for me. This ride was broken down every time I went near it three years ago, except once, when it was 2 1/2 hours wait. This time, I walked into the single-rider line, walked all the way to the front of that line, and directly into the pre-show. This ride was great and I enjoyed it a lot, although I decided my family wouldn't. Some of the tests are pretty rough, and the final lap is breath-taking. After this, we went to the San Angel Inn at Mexico for our lunch. Wife and I each had a combination platter, which we shared with Erika- decent food, but not great. Sure like the atmosphere, though, and the boat ride afterwards was enjoyable. Then we left for swim time at the resort.
Off to MGM by 4:30pm and the Backstage Tour. Erika didn't remember this, so was surprised by Catastrophe Canyon- but she really enjoyed it. Then off to our 6:10pm PS at Hollywood & Vine- our first since they changed formats. Very good food! The old cafeteria never thrilled us, but the quality has really gone up. A curious thing happened here- we were given Fantasmic dinner passes, without asking or having reserved them. They didn't ask, and neither did we. We were instructed to be at the gas station at the entrance by 8:00pm for seating. The passes had the seating mapped out on them, in the next to the last section on the right. They didn't look too good, so we decided to enter the theatre normally & see for ourselves. We got there a little after 7:00pm, and people were being seated down front, just left of center- we quickly joined in, and got 7 rows back- perfect! We noticed that the Fantasmic section was indeed pretty far over, and preferred our own seats. Everything was darn near full by 8:00pm- is this show never crowded? On our last visit we got seated over two hours early just right of center, and it filled up fast.
As expected, Fantasmic was stunning. The way they use lasers, fire and projections on water is incredible, and the crowd loved it. My only problem was that it was a little breezy that night; it felt good, but it also blew water all over us. I had to stop filming and put away both cameras, as they were getting too wet. I gave them a good rubdown outside the stadium. When the show ended, we stayed seated for just a few minutes, which helps a lot with the crowd. Then we walked on out and began shopping our way to the park entrance. We returned to the resort by 10:00pm- temp around 70, low humidity, a gorgeous night. A little too cool for me to swim, but Erika went right in. Wife & I relaxed poolside watching Erika, and we got to bed by 11:00pm.
Wednesday April 24th, 2002
Wake-up call for 7:30am, our second on this trip. Breakfast at the food court, then off to MGM by 9:00am. We walked right on to the Animation Tour. I still enjoy the into film with Robin Williams and Walter Cronkite, but it's probably time to think about redoing it. Lilo & Stitch is the current highlight, the entire movie having been done at the Florida animation studios. Our animator host was pleasant, well-spoken & a very fast artist. My only complaint was that he didn't do a question & answer session, which we've always had in the past. We learned from the animator's discussion that Lilo & Stitch was the first Disney film to be inked entirely in watercolors since Dumbo in 1940.
From there we went back to the Cargo Shop to pickup 100yr anniversary photo pins. We finally got OK pictures of Erika for the pins, after several tries. As beautiful as she is, she can't pose for photos worth a darn. I got some cute pictures of my own, with Erika laying under the huge steam roller in the Cargo Shop. After this, we headed for the Beauty and the Beast stage show. This production had some nice routines, but we all found it a little too simplified. Something more along the lines of Animal Kingdom's Tarzan show would have been very nice. Nobody was in the mood for Star Wars or Muppets in the back of the park, so we hit the few stores that we hadn't been to yet, then left the park. We were probably finished with MGM at this point.
We returned to our resort by 1:30pm & grabbed lunch at the food court- wife & I split a chef salad and pasta dish- yummy. Erika tackled the chicken quesadilla, also good. Swimming afterwards, of course, for only a short time today. The over to the Grand Floridian by 3:00pm and my first valet parking this visit. In the past, I used the valet almost exclusively, with attendants at Polynesian and the Beach Club getting to know me by sight. With the introduction of a $6.00 daily charge for valet since our last visit, I just started using regular parking, instead. At the G.F., though, public lots are over by Cocoa Beach somewhere, so valet it is.
Hopped the monorail for Magic Kingdom, and walked in just in time for the parade- new to us, and pretty nice. Then we headed back to Fantasy Land for Erika to hit a few favorite rides- very busy again! The parks closed at 6:00pm that night, and Fastpass was already closed for Peter Pan's Flight- her favorite. I gamely jumped into a 45min line with Erika, but after 25mins of stifling heat, she decided that we could try another day. We hopped out of line & headed for Frontier Land. Erika didn't want to do the Haunted House- she rode it last time, and wasn't crazy about it. We walked on around to Adventure Land, marveling at how busy the park was again. Perhaps the early closing? Erika and I rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets, a ride new to us- yawn. Definitely for little kids. Then we went onto Pirates, a ride we all love- even Erika. She and Bonnie were both startled by the water drop, though. There was no wait for this classic, which surprised me. In earlier years, the lines here could be huge. I hope that's not a bad sign for the future of the ride.
We then walked into the Tiki Birds show, which we really enjoyed. Afterwards, I took Erika up into the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, a journey I hadn't made since my own kids were little. We talked about how things worked on there, especially the water system, and Erika asked really good questions. We took our time & enjoyed it a lot. My wife has a serious fear of heights, which keeps her off of things like this. We then shopped a little on our way to the monorail. Then over to Contemporary for 6:00pm PS at Chef Mickey's. There was a 20min wait, so we grabbed seats in the lounge, ordered drinks, and relaxed- for 2mins, when we were called to our table. As always, the food here is very good, with good variety and presentation. Erika had lot's of character visits and photos, and we were all happy. We were also dead tired after dinner, not having our usual long mid-day rest, so we returned to our resort, rather than hitting the Disney Village as originally planned. We were back to the resort by 8:00pm, relaxed around the pool & then watched Amazing Race on TV- to bed by 11:00pm.
Thursday April 25th, 2002
Woke up on our own at 7:30am, ready to rumble after a good night's sleep. A quick food court breakfast, then off to the Magic Kingdom (parking at the Polynesian). We entered MK at 9:45am, and headed straight for Fantasy Land again. We grabbed Fastpasses for Peter Pan's Flight for 10:20am. Took a look at Dumbo- yuck, 40mins. Went to Snow White's Scary Adventures and walked right on. Not a great ride, but it does have some nice imagery that we all enjoyed. Hit a few local shops, sent some purchases to our resort, then walked on to Peter Pan at 10:30am- I love Fastpass. This is always Erika's favorite ride, and she usually rides it multiple times during a visit. Only once this time, though, and she was happy.
Then we headed over to the Mad Hatter's Teacups, stopping along the way for Erika to ride the uncrowded carousel again. After the Teacups, it was 11:30am, so we headed back to our car at the Poly and drove over to Downtown Disney, which I still think of as Disney Village. Here we did most of our gift shopping for the folks back home, taking advantage of American Express's 15% discount in several of the stores. After a lot of shopping, some of which we shipped to our home, we walked into Cap'n Jack's for lunch at 1:00pm, no PS. Found out they don't accept PS's, which surprised me. We had a window seat, with a nice view of Fulton's Crab House (the restaurant sits out in the water, so most views are nice). The restaurant wasn't busy at all, which made me wonder. In the end, the food was good, but with a very poor selection of seafood- only a couple of items. I was disappointed, as I was in a real seafood mood. I resolved to try and make time for Cape May over at Yacht & Beach before leaving- wonderful seafood there.
We took our usual midday swim break at 2:00pm, then headed over to the Beach Club to park (waived in with no stop) and enter Epcot World Showcase by 4:15pm. We then meandered counter-clockwise through the countries, lightly shopping and sight-seeing... no shows this time. I discovered that I had left my one remaining Hi8MM video tape back in the room, so I parked the wife and Erika by Future World & hustled toward the camera shop near Communicore. As I passed Mouse Gear, a nice CM asked if she could help me, so I told her what I needed- she said it's right inside! She was right, and saved me a lot of hiking & time. Didn't save me any money, though; $14.00 for a $5.00 tape!
Returned to family, and Bonnie's leg was hurting- some kind of mild strain. We limped on by Canada and checked in at the Rose & Crown pub at 7:40pm for our 8:00pm PS. Got some beer & let the wife rest up a bit while we waited. The R & C has the most unique "pagers" yet- they hand out Compaq Pocket PC's with an interactive advertisement and informational piece. Nothing like using $700 pagers. When we checked in, I had routinely requested terrace seating, the best seats in World Showcase for Illuminations. I was just as routinely told that we would have to be seated in first available at the time. Right at 8:00pm, our Pocket PC erupted in a fireworks show, with a voice telling us "Your table is ready, please check in"- cool. We did so- and were led right down to perfect terrace seating! Definitely our lucky day.... almost our UNlucky day, thanks to me.
As we got seated, I noticed I didn't have my camcorder.. neither did Bonnie or Erika. Oh, boy, I had hung it over the back of our bench while waiting out front, and forgotten it. Panicked, I made the mad dash through a very crowded (and drunken) restaurant. As soon as I popped out of the side door, I could see the strap of the camcorder on the bench out front. Pausing to catch my breath, I walked up to the family sitting on the bench. I smiled & told them that I had come back for my camcorder, pointing to it. The lady wasn't too amused by my stupidity, telling me "Well, it was on its way to lost and found". I thanked her very much for her concern, reached past her and retrieved it. Then I slinked off shamefully, $700 worth of education in my hands. I got off easy- remember my OSU baseball cap?
We started off with a very good fruit and cheese plate for an appetizer- inexpensive, and large enough for three to share. For dinner, I had the Fisherman's Platter, which was mediocre at best. Bonnie had the Bangers & Mash, a very mild sausage with mashed potatoes- very good and huge. Erika tried the Cottage Pie, which is ground beef, mashed potatoes and cheese, all baked together. Said she liked it, but I think some earlier snacking had messed up her dinner. Just as we were finishing a very leisurely dinner, Illuminations fired up. These truly were the best seats we'd ever had for this show, and the show itself was wonderful. There were a few new elements from our last visit which made it more interesting. After the show, the park was closed & throngs of people headed out. We kicked back with after dinner drinks and watched the crowds. Then we headed for International Gateway and the Yacht club, with no crowds in sight.
As we approached the Beach Club, we found a small group in the courtyard watching something. We got closer, and it was a guy (I won't say "gentleman") demonstrating one of the Segway people movers! I'm sure you've all heard of the two-wheeled gyroscopic transporter of recent development. This guy was riding all around the courtyard, mostly with his hands behind his back. The group was apparently together, with everyone knowing everyone. I quickly pulled out my camcorder and started filming. The guy cracked to an associate that maybe he shouldn't let me film- I filmed away. You want privacy, don't assemble on a public throughway. I then asked three different questions, to his face, and he ignored all three of them. A trio of cute young things stopped beside me to watch, one of them asking a question- darn if he didn't hear that one, all the way across the courtyard, and respond. I tried a fourth question, in my best loud voice (which is darn loud)- no luck. I had put away the camera by this time, and gathered up the gang and left. Sure hope that guy isn't in marketing. We returned to our resort and to bed by 11:00pm.
Friday April 26th, 2002
This is our last day at WDW, and we have a light schedule planned. Woke up at 8:45am and did the food court breakfast again. We never had any urge to try other breakfast's while here, not being real big breakfast people. The fresh omelets and decent breakfast meats of the food court made us all happy, not to mention the convenience and the pleasure of eating by the pool. We headed for the Animal Kingdom by 10:00am. I dropped Erika and Bonnie at Dinoland playground, while I headed back to Dinosaur- finally!... after two visits and multiple attempts, I walked right on. This ride was very creative, with a good story line and very good props and atmosphere. True, a couple of the dinosaurs were pretty lame looking (too simple), but the ride car was awesome in the way it moved, and the final T-rex (?) jumping into the car was great! Good fun for all, but not for Erika or Bonnie- neither one likes dark, noisy areas with things jumping at you.
I headed back to Dinoland, played with a Erika a bit in the very neat playground, then we all headed to Asia- a new area since our last visit. Today was the first time on the whole trip that we really noticed the humidity- it was very high, and we were literally dripping. Asia was very good- not a ride, but a pleasant walk-thru. I think Animal Kingdom should do more of these, since it let's you set your own pace. The area was well-shaded, with water available, and the viewing stations were of good design. A favorite part of AK for us. We finished Asia by 11:30am, and were done with AK for this trip. We hit our hotel by 12:00n for our break, and the pool never felt better. Of course, we stayed too long and got a little cooked again, but we had a blast playing with all of the other folks there. We grabbed a light lunch from the food court while enjoying the pool. We left at 3:30pm, changed, and made it to Magic Kingdom by 4:00pm (parking at the Poly again- at least one guard recognized us by now).
My wife was on a mission to find a child's jean jacket for Erika, something everyone said they had- last month. The shops on Main Street pointed us to Toontown. Neither Erika nor I really like TT, so we went to the Mad Hatter's Teacups, pointed Bonnie in the direction she needed, pointed out the bench I'd like to meet her at later, then Erika and took off to Tomorrow Land. We headed for Buzz Lightyear and collected Fastpasses for 5:40pm- 45 minutes off. We then hit the Wedway People Mover; I don't remember it's new name, but it'll always be Wedway to me. We then went to the race cars, with only a 10min wait, and Erika drove. She had a blast, even when we got rear-ended three times by some adults driving behind us. We even saw Bonnie, who had miraculously made her way back to the appointed bench, and yelled and waved at her.
It was 5:40pm and time for Buzz, which we walked right on to... the guy who thought of Fastpass should have been made president of the company. Erika and I both love this ride- I managed a lowly 112,500 points, and really enjoyed it. On our last visit's E-Night, we rode this thing four or five times. After defeating the enemy, we headed back to the Teacups to collect Bonnie. We headed back through Fantasy Land, passed on Dumb again (still 40mins), and Erika rode the carousel *again* (told you she loved this). I sat the family at the junction between Fantasy and Frontier Lands, and headed over to the haunted house- absolutely no line at all, and I walked right into the starting chamber. The CM was in-character, but not very enthusiastic. I still love this ride, but think that some modern effects could be applied to make it even more enjoyable. I know, it's a classic....
Made it to Liberty Tree Tavern by 6:10pm for our 6:35ps. By this time, the humidity is stifling, and we just want to get into somewhere cool and dry. Also, it looks like rain might be coming. The Tavern is one of our favorite dining places at the MK, and the characters are a pleasant extra. Erika visited multiple times with Frontier Minnie, Goofy, Pluto Chip and Dale; Mickey isn't here anymore. We got dozens of shots of Erika & Bonnie with characters in all combinations, and shot some good film, too. Somewhere in there, we managed to have an excellent family-style dinner, too, which we polished off completely- oof. It started raining around 7:00pm, and by 7:30pm, it's pouring, with lots of thunder and lightening. The park closed at 7:00pm, so the crowds are gone, but there's still plenty of stragglers dashing for cover. Our creative host broke out large, clear trash bags, made face holes in them and 'oila! Instant raincoat. Donning our high-tech raingear, we took off.
Man, what a storm... lightening is striking everywhere from the sound of it. We slowly worked our way store to store- just window-shopping this time. We were hoping the storm would pass as we stalled, but it showed no sign of doing so. Bonnie and Erika are both nervous, but Bonnie didn't want to stay in the park any longer, so we continued outward. We finally made it to the monorail platform, jumped on for our ride back to the Poly- uh, oh, the train stopped halfway to Contemporary. The storm continued, and we saw emergency vehicles of some type gathering around the Contemporary. After several minutes, we were told that we were waiting for clearance. After more than 10mins, we're told that we're backing up to the MK platform- a first for me in six trips. After making it back to MK, we're told that we'll wait here for clearance. Another 10mins passes, and we're finally told it's technical problems- go find a bus or boat to your destination.
As many of you may have realized by now, this is about the time that a poor depressed CM from the Magic Kingdom decided to take his life by leaping from the top of the Contemporary onto the 4th floor roof of the building below. While I don't know for sure that this was the cause of problems, I'm pretty comfortable in the assumption. We knew nothing about either of the two deaths at MK that day until after returning home to Ohio. It sure made us feel petty after returning home and hearing about this. Here we thought we had problems having to drag our whiny butts off a comfortable train to find a bus in the rain, when just a couple of hundred yards away someone has problems so serious that they felt dying was a good solution. The happiest place on Earth? Not for everyone.
Anyhow, the storm and the rain had eased, even though lightening still danced in the darkening skies. We didn't find a convenient bus in the drizzle, so we jumped on a ferry that had just pulled in. While waiting for it to depart, the rain pretty much quit. During the right to TTC, I kept trying to get a shot of the Contemporary framed by lightening, a feat I never managed. When we docked at TTC, we just walked the short path over to the Polynesian, since the rain had stopped. We went ahead and filled up the rental at Exxon by Boardwalk- $1.53 per gallon seemed OK to us. We finally got back to our resort after 9:00pm- 1 1/2 hours after leaving MK! The pool was *full* tonight.. never saw it so packed. Erika swam while we watched and talked with people. Up to our room to pack by 10:00pm- we leave at 8:30am in the morning. To bed by 11:30pm, ready to go.
Saturday April 27th, 2002
And that's about it for this trip. Wakeup call for 7:45am, off to airport by 8:30am. I took I-4 to 528 this time, rather than 417. Noticed that gas outside WDW was $1.65 per gallon- maybe it went up overnight? Handed in the rental at National Car Rental's garage- love these remote terminals the companies use to close out you bill while you unload the car. $208.00 for nine days, full size- $32 cheaper than I planned. We had breakfast at some airport bar- I miss Disney food already. Erika was pretty nervous about the airport security after her last shake-down. The crowds were very large, but moved quickly. We all passed security with no problems, and I was again amazed at the guardsmen with rifles all over the place. Living in quiet Ohio has some advantages. Flight left on time and we touched down in Columbus at 2:10pm with 52 degrees and rain- we were home.
I'm long winded, opinionated and something of a smart-***; in spite of all this, I hope you got something out of this trip report. My report from our last trip three years ago: [Trip Reports Editor: report migrated here (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=64715)]. As always, Deb Wills' site was and is invaluable in planning any Disney trip- http://www.wdwig.com/contents.htm. And finally, Mary Waring and her fantastic MouseSavers site saved me a bundle in park admission and rental car- http://www.mousesavers.com/ . Thanks to all who take the time to make Disney cheaper and easier for the rest of us.
We're already thinking of our next trip, possibly as early as next year, probably a Disney deluxe cruise. We'll know more after we finish paying for this trip! See you.
David Mize
dmize@insight.rr.com