Larry Wilmot - July 2002 - All Star Movies, Vero Beach, Old Key West, Animal Kingdom Lodge

Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: ASMoR, VBR, OKWR, AKL
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: This is "Larry's A to Z of a Trip Report." I'll leave Mr. Wilmot to explain that designation, but in any case, this is another classic Wilmot blockbuster. In a classic -- although alliterated -- summary style, Larry provides all of the details of his family's Summer visit to Central Florida from the United Kingdom. Long live the queen and her English language, right Larry?

Larry Wilmot-- July 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASMoR, VBR, OKWR, AKL)

Larry's A to Z of a Trip Report.
6th July to 20th July 2002.

Accommodations:

All Star Movies.
Disney's Vero Beach
Old Key West
Animal Kingdom Lodge Concierge.
Troup Members.

Larry Wilmot. Really nice and funny Yorkshire Chap who lives in Scotland.
Jill Wilmot. Sexy and wonderful wife of Larry.
Gregory Wilmot. Quiet and thoughtful trainee Motorcyclist.
Edward Wilmot. Great Kayak First Officer.
Visiting Posse.

Sue, Chris, Leanne, Tom, Kim, Chris. Grand Floridians who know how to show the Brits a good time.
Transport.

MyTravel Airline... (I know very naff name) DC10...(Antique Roadshow Aircraft) From Glasgow to Sanford.
PT Cruiser from Dollar... I love that car.
Before we start, a word of apology... I have posted this trip report before I have finished my Christmas Trip Report, around February I became "Disney-ed out" and I couldn't finish the last 3 days of the report, I got writers block. I vowed never to write a trip report ever again and that my Christmas one would be my unfinished symphony. I felt that you guys got all the British laughs you needed from Stringy Kevin, and so I could retire.

But one or two people sent me emails asking when my trip report would be written, and someone posted a thread asking for it... Well I was touched... no honest, I can feel a tear slipping down my cheek as I type this... no honest, I'm being sincere. Kinda sorta, well you know, it is quite sweet. So I decided that I would do a trip report for the summer trip.

Then I thought, I can't, I need an idea to build it on, I cant just keep recycling the same old jokes... (Yer right- of course I can). Anyway, I came up with an idea driving to work the other day... Half the journey was figuring out, if it was possible to loose weight without giving up Meat Pies, and the rest what shall I do for a Trip Report Theme...

I thought of an Oscar Nomination type Ceremony... You know... The best supporting attraction in a Disney Theme Park.

The Tomorrowland Transit Authority. - A Magic Kingdom Presentation.
Ice Station Cool - An Epcot/Coca Cola Joint Production.
Tarzan Rocks - A Phil Collins/Edgar Rice Burroughs Development
And the Winner is... The Tomorrowland Transit Authority...

Unfortunately the TTA is in rehab at the moment so to accept the award on its behalf, can you welcome to the stage Tom Morrow.

But then I thought No... too silly, and I would run out of ideas...

Actually I had quite a few...

Best Newcomer... The Epcot Annual Pass holders Lounge.
Lifetime Achievement Award... (i.e. About time they pensioned it off award.) ----- The Jungle Cruise.
Anyway... Decided not to do that, but to do...

The A to Z guide to Larry's Trip.

Now that is pronounced Hey to Zed... and Not Hey to zee... Which would be completely wrong. Any non Brits, have to practice the zed, 10 times before reading on...

A is for Arrival.

This was one stressful day... The original plan 12 months ago was that we should have a relaxing journey. Most of our trips, this was No 6 in four years, were from Manchester which regular readers will know is 400 miles away from our home. So we booked from Glasgow, which is only 200 miles away. So to make it even more relaxing we booked into an airport hotel the night before, the deal including a couple of weeks parking for the car... not a bad deal, and all that worked OK... But then we were a bit disappointed that Glasgow Airport was, well I would say a bit of a dump, except that I am flying to Belfast from there in a few days and they might be cross, so I will say that it has lots of potential that I'm sure they will develop in the next few years. Then we flew into Sanford Airport which Is great to arrive in, because you don't have that nasty nasty double pick up your luggage from conveyor belts that you get at Orlando MCO. You fly through, MyTravel are well organized, and Dollar get you the cars quick. After putting you under psychological techniques to upgrade...

Jill... "Don't upgrade the car, we can't afford it."

Larry "NO WAY... there is NO WAY I'm going to get conned into an upgrade- that is for suckers"

Dollar Guy "would you like to upgrade to a larger car."

Larry "No thanks I won't be driving it much at Disney, we like to use the transport system"

Dollar Guy, " No problem - I'll get you the keys to the Neon."

Larry puts driving license in pocket with passports, whilst guy gets keys.

Dollar Guy "Hey I can do you the PT Cruiser for $9 a night extra"

Larry "OK fine - Thanks"

Jill looking at me - "@£($(£) Idiot."

OK I cracked, but you can see I put up a fight...

We drove to the All Star Movies via the Queen Wotsit Avenue, and down the I4. The no toll route, gotta start getting those $9s back. Journey was OK, pays to stay in the hotel the night before because I wasn't feeling too bad, considering I'd just spent 8 hours on a cramped charter flight on a DC10 so old Orville Wright had scrawled some graffiti in the toilets, with a in-flight entertainment system so ancient that I think they were using an Sony Betamax tape system, and an 8 track for the audio. And it wasn't a cheap flight by any means. In fact it was flipping expensive, like £600 each. I had supposedly posh tickets, where I could choose my meal, when I booked... Like you know what you fancy for your lunch 12 months before you eat it... Now if you didn't have the posh tickets you just go the bog standard faire. So I couldn't remember what I had picked... So the flight attendant is dishing out the slop to the regular punters and she gives me this Chicken and Leek Bake, and I say in my best toffs voice, "I'm sorry but I pre-ordered my food, we're on the VIP ticket scheme" she tells me, "I'm terribly sorry Sir, I will check the computer printout and bring you your meal"... "Thank you", I reply politely but firmly. So she goes away, and comes back five minutes later with a Chicken and Leek Bake with a computer sticker with my name on it.

We arrive at the All Star Movies and the queue isn't too bad, 10 minutes and we get served, we get allocated the room in Toy Story that I had requested via a transatlantic telephone call a few days before to the room controller. A bit like an Air Traffic Controller but a less scary job.

Jill goes to the room whist I get some luggage out of the PT Cruiser and the room is full of clothes and holiday stuff, so we go back and Jill tells em, and they don't seem to believe her, they say the room should be empty and that we must be seeing things... but they send a CM up and hey the room is full of stuff, so they believe us now. They

have a Disney Name for the phenomenon, a Self Extending Guest... Then they give us another room in the block opposite, Woody's block... so we cart all the cases and bags across the way, and the keys don't open the room, so I visit the check in desk and say the keys don't work, and they say oh sir they must work, they just take a minute or two to kick in, so I say I'm not a happy bunny and they say, tough, so I go back and guess what the keys don't work, so go back with Jill who you will know from the dollar upgrade saga is a bit tougher than me, so on visit four, we tell em, we ain't happy and we want em to sort it out and we are not standing for it and it is 3:00a.m. in Scotland and we are tired and it isn't good enough... and they knock us 25 percent of one night, big deal but it is 3:00a.m. in Scotland after all and we is shattered now, so they come back with us and we get in and we go to sleep...

(Warning - The format of this Trip report means that things are not in Chronicle Order. Secondly This Trip Report may contain traces of Nut Products)

B is for Belz Mart.

We haven't hired a car for the last four trips to Disney so shopping at the Belz or anywhere else for that matter was a weeny bit tricky. However last Christmas our pal Leanne took Jill mitt the boys to Belz and they did go forth and shop. We made a second trip to take some stuff back on the public busses that you can get from the dreaded TTC. Anyway a bit like a wolf cub on it's first kill, Jill got a taste for it... So we used the PT to go to the Belz, and then well on another day, we had forgot stuff so we went to the Belz, and then I think we went to the Belz but I wasn't into it, so I think I stayed in the car even though it was too flipping hot to do so.

And normally I can rely on the boys to veto shopping trips, but because of the Vans shop, they were just as keen as Jill to go shopping there... So I think I might not bother with a car for the next four trips.

C is for Concierge.

For the last night as a bit of a treat for ourselves, we decided that it would be cool for us to stay in adjoining rooms with our big pals Sue Holland and her son Chris in the Concierge section of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, fortunately Sue has a great friend who works at Disney who helped us by getting us a CM discount, which was really kind of her. So anyway, we spent a night and two days in the lap of luxury at the concierge lounge. Which is great, you get the royal treatment, and you can eat lots and lots of snacks and nuts and drink lots of coolers and read the papers for free and just generally hang around and feel cool and important and I loved every minute of it. I don't think that economically it is viable for me to spend a fortnight in there but I'm tempted to add the odd night on at the end of trips for a bit of pre return home pampering.

The other really cool thing was in the AKL concierge you can get access to the Dawn Safari thingy, just for the rich and famous where you get to do the Kilimanjaro Safari with a Keeper and no Big Red Story and lots of info. Plus a sneak but not that extensive look in the off stage areas. It is quite expensive as tours go, however, you get a proverbial feast in the Tusker House Schoolroom afterwards. Great tour, but probably best kept as a "one off".

D is for Disney, Walt.

I really wished that I hadn't done the Walt Disney Says thing in the last trip report, I completely ran out of ones to put, which is partly why I didn't finish the last report... But it is Walt's Hundred Years of Magic years, though what was that magic about him filling his diapers with stuff, during the first couple of years beats me... It kinda got a bit magical later on... But hey, It's a marketing tool after all.

But what is the world of Disney Like these days, still magical. I have to confess I'm a semi "doom and gloomer" but I don't think things are 2 bad, I haven't noticed things getting that grotty in terms of maintenance and spending.. OK I don't totally like the Chester and Hester's area at Animal Kingdom, it's a bit tacky, I think it has improved now that they have got the whirly coaster ride in, it feels a bit of the peg, not much... well actually not any, evidence of "Imagineering" in presentation, but a fun if short ride. Me and the boys did it 3 or 4 times on the trot just as the park was closing one day...

Which brings me to... park closing times, are really down on previous years, and Disneyland Paris opens a hour later. Closing is regularly 10:00p.m., when it was Midnight on our first trip during the same summer period. Opening is significantly later... I shall discuss EE in a moment, have patient dear readers.

Cast Members, I didn't have any rude cast members this trip... Still haven't forgiven the rat bag at Ellen's energy ride from Christmas though. We had FANTASTIC service at the restaurant in Italy... See "G". So that is OK I still think the atmosphere at Disney is way, way greater than at Universal, though they do have significantly meatier rides.

By and large, Walt Disney World is still the best place I have ever vacationed... oh no, I'm using American phraseology again...

E is for Early Entry.

I was very very miffed when they got rid of Early Entry, but they are bringing it back... yippee. They told us that Character Caravan was a guest lead replacement, I have never, never, never seen a post on a Disney Newsgroup that says that they prefer Character Caravan, even those who said they didn't use Early Entry because they liked to keep their tired sad painful bodies in bed for a couple of hours later, because they liked to stay up on the drink and they were a bit too fragile to join the rest of the world in getting on with its business at an unearthly hour, didn't want to use the Character Caravan. No one could remember what days they were due, they didn't know what time it was coming and so the only people who ever bothered with it were, people checking in, people checking out and people like me going to fill the Hot Chock up in the refillable mugs, who took delight in telling Meko, that they didn't think he was much of a replacement for a trip before everyone else on Space Mountain. But they are bringing it back, admittedly a bit truncated at only an hour, but hey such is life.

F is for Friends.

This was a great holiday, because of all our friends. The trips to Vero Beach and Old Key West were gifted to us, by our friend Sue Holland, who is Ms. DVC, and she used some of her points on treating us to a fantastic time in the Grand Villa at Vero Beach, a once in a lifetime wonderful experience for us, and I cant thank her enough.

We spent lots of time also with our friends Tom and Leanne and their family Kim and Chris. I love to do Millionaire with them, coz they love it, and I get to show off. (See W)... They are great people to hang out with, and no trip to Disney is going to be as much fun, without some days with the gang.

Talking about Gangs, Sue knows everyone at Disney, I'm sure that Paul Pressler asked Sue for her advice before he packed it in to Join GAP recently. She is big pals with the Comedy Warehouse Crowd, and quite frankly I like basking in her celebrity status. I'm sure it is not long before she gets asked for autographs.

A big thanks to Sue's pal Nancy, it was great to spend some time with you, keep thinking of inventive ways to use those leftovers.

G is for Gourmet Meals

Well if the truth be known we didn't have too many gourmet meals, what with the $9 for the PT everyday and the economy being bad, and my Marks and Spencer's shares are looking terribly grim. We did have a nice meal in Italy at the posh sit down restaurant - Café Roma??? I must buy a guide or bring a map home one of these trips, that's the trouble with writing them up ages after you can't remember a thing... Anyway Picture the scene, the whole of the Wilmotz and Burroughs are on a mass visit to Epcot when, someone I forget who, one of the cultured ones, probably Kim, says "lets eat in Italy", I'm not that keen, I mean when you have done one Pizza Hut, you've done em all. But all is transformed, we go in, and its kinda like a scene from the Goodfellows, I kinda was shocked that Robert DeKnee or Al Patch aren't sitting there... Seemed more New York than Roma to me... So we gets our order in and lots of us are on the fizzy pop, coke and the like... because we are kinda a temporant gang, apart from Sue knocking back a glass of the grape juice in Canada, we are not real drinkers. But the waiters, who frankly only seem to have us to serve between 19 of them are determined that we will not want for any service... so if you were to take your lips off your straw drinking the coke, it would be replaced by with a fresh one. Gregory decides that he is going to be the only person in the Italian Quarter of Epcot who has finished a coke before it is stolen by a eager waiter and , so he grips it with both hands and drinks it to the bottom, raising his hands in the air with a faint cheer of accomplishment when he finishes to the acknowledgment of his proud parents.

H is for Hire Car.

Now I have told you a bit about the pricing structure of the Dollar Car, I pre book it at home and then pay lots more when I get there. Now I really love that PT Cruiser... I don't know why, it wasn't that big, it wasn't that fast, it didn't have good miles to the gallon, they are as common as muck in Florida, but I really like the styling, and the sit up and beg seating.

What I didn't like however is the Nanny State that you build into your cars in America, It beeped at me the whole time... Beep you have forgotten the seat belt, beeeep you have the hand break on... ha ha you cant take the key out because it is in gear... ARRRRGGGGGhhhhhh...

I CAN DRIVE... leave me to get on with it... stop beeping at me.

In all my other trip reports I tell you how stupid it is to hire a car at Disney because the transport is soooooo great. It was fantastic having the car to drive about in, especially to Downtown Disney, no forget that especially to everywhere, with the possible exception of the MK... I hate the TTC. Having a Car, it's as you lil ol' Americans say "the way to go."

I is for Interesting Attractions.

Hmmmmm... What can I say about Interesting Attractions... I quite like the new Spinny Roller Coaster at Chest and Hests, but I've told you that...

It is nice to see that they don't seem to have really dumped Carousel of Progress... (pr-Hoe-gress, not Prog-ress) I bet you guys are really glad that you have me to help you get back to the original form of English... It's a kind of status thing... If you learn to speak English with an English Phraseology, everyone will think you are terribly cultured and you will get that job you want, that raise you want, the arm of the woman/man you want and you will be able to have lots of money and go to Disney more often.

Any way Carousel lives on if only at the busy times, I think I've been to see it on the past four trips thinking that it would be the last time. It is fun trying to spot something you haven't noticed before, and a good Hidden Mickey hunting attraction.

Timekeeper lives on seasonally too, but I can take or leave that one...

I enjoyed the Men in Black ride at Universal Studios for those Disneyphiles who refuse to go to Universal, you are missing a good un there because MIB is basically what Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, (good as it is, and it is good) would be like if they had spent a few bucks more on it and didn't stick to a cardboard style on an old ride track. I particularly like the shooting the opposition in the car next to you bit. I guess I would be L.

J is for Junk Food.

Got to have a bit of a moan here, and that Is about the taking away of the Fixings bar, at the Backlot Express, I really liked the B/Ex. I liked the working class canteen feel, and I liked the fixings bar, and they have taken it away, and replaced it with few tom ketch pumps and some cold onions... and those absolutely massive tomatoes that they serve in Florida... I miss proper tomatoes when I am there. When I retire to Florida in 10 years time that is going to be a big problem. I noticed when I went to the Publix that they had a Brit Section, where you could get MacV digestives, galaxy chocolate and PGTips... cool, it was quite expensive but hey It makes the life of the Expat that much more bearable and when you consider that you can get BBC Radio Five Live on the internet, then who needs to be here... Except for the tomato problems...

Does this reduction in facility reduce the cost of the food at the B/Ex? I hear you cry out from the back... Errr... No... It seems to have jumped in price... Lets hope Paul Presslers replacement is not such a penny pinching swine... mind you I wasn't complaining about the reduction in the hotel room charges via the Annual Pass Discount, so I guess you can't have your tomato and eat it.

My favourite junk food joint, doesn't sell junk food, but quite nice but chunky sandwiches but it is the Diamond Horseshoe Review. I suppose I go for the entertainment, but it is nice to have the sandwiches as a relief from all the normal fast food fayre. On this trip we went to an evening social which was just one guy being the singing cowboy, he was so much fun, it is hard to explain, it was mainly because of his doleful facial expressions. He was a real crowd pleaser and had us all cheering along and our friend Leanne would make a wonderful scout troop leader!

And you can't beat good old Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's... Mainly because there is no point beating a anamatronic alien, it wont notice and you will get arrested, no matter how much you want him to shut up and let you eat in peace. Though Cosmic's is now the only place where they do a decent fixing's bar in the whole of Disney World... Unless you know different!

I noticed this week that Zephyrhills has been sent to the hills and Coke has the bottled water contract... It isn't going to be the same...

K is for Kayaking.

At Disney's Vero Beach (See V.) they do a full programme of activities, from Feed Granny to the Jelly Fish (10-30am meet at the bridge leading to the beach - Under 8s only.) - through the "Music Composed for the Kazoo" Class. (7pm meet in the foyer. -Kazoo's provided, small charge for cleaning.) and then to the half day Kayaking on the Indian River Trip. ($40 - meet in the foyer. Kayak and Zephyrhills provided.)

Being a man of adventure I decided that it would be really adventurous to go Kayaking, now this doesn't sound much but Air is my element. I don't do water anymore, not since my Mirror Dingy Capsized in Findhorn bay and I had to be rescued alongside my foolhardy, for coming with me in the first place, wife Jill, by the safety boat. It cost me a bottle of whisky to the man who rescued me, and lots of pride. It didn't help that the local paper had the headline the next issue... English Tourist and his DAUGHTER rescued on Findhorn Bay.

But were on Vacation.. and so remember the motto. "Who Dares Wins", so I book for Ed, Greg and Myself and Sue books for Chris to come 2. Sue and Jill decide that the pool and beach is a better way to spend the afternoon, Wimps.

We get picked up by a really nice Cast Member, and I have forgotten her name, lets call her Mary. She used to be a Suit at the Living Seas and she was really knowledgeable about Marine life and conservation. We then met up with a private company who actually ran the trip, I think it was called Kayak Adventures or something of that ilk, and to prove I am not sexist or anything, I forgot his name as well. Lets call him Steve...

Steve got the Kayaks of the top of his trailer and Mary bungied the cooler onto her Kayak. Chris and Greg had their own Kayaks and Ed and I shared a double kayak. They were a bit different to British Kayaks in that they had rudders, which I used but they didn't seem to do much. We got a five-minute briefing and then we launched onto the river. If we thought we were in for a quick paddle around the marina we were in for a shock, we paddled four miles altogether which was a long way for an overweight pie eater like me.

Within five minutes of leaving the dock, we were in a big lagoon, where a dolphin was feeding. We slowly paddled up to where he was and he continued feeding around us. I have never been that close to a wild dolphin before and it really does give you one hell of a buzz. There is something about them. I tried to photograph it, but the combination of kayak, fear of dumping expensive camera in the briny, and an animal who is under water more than not, combined to defeat me. It was a cool moment with a capital Coo.

Then we paddled 2 miles to a hidden island in the mangroves, it took around an hour to get there, there was tons of wildlife including a couple of Ospreys. We also saw some other dolphins in the distance but we couldn't get so close.

When we got to the Island. The boys went swimming, and I got stung by a Yankee Bug, a sort of nasty buzzy orange thing, not a bee or a wasp though. Anyway, being the hypochondriac that I am, I was convinced that I was going to die of anaphylactic shock and I made such a fuss about it that I think I might have let the side down a bit, I was a bit embarrassed when I didn't actually collapse and have to be rescued by a coastguard in a big helicopter, if they could get to me in time. Anyway a phial of some kinda green gel anaesthetic stuff Mary had fixed me up. Disney prepared as ever.

When we were on the way back Ed and I grounded the boat on some shallow coral type stuff. I managed to get it free but I thought that I would have had to get out to free us. Greg being brainier than me had spotted it and gone around.

I think all four of us enjoyed it and I would do something like it again.

L is for Lounges.

One of the economic factor for our past three trips has been the investment (ha the lies you tell yourself) in an annual pass, this has meant that we have had to visit as much as possible hence the three trips in a year, I doubt there are many Scottish People ahead of us...Though we are hardly in Sue's league. One of the perks this summer has been the Annual Pass Holders Lounges. There were 2, one in the Land, and one in AK, Pizzafari. The Epcot one was the nicest; it is Nestlé's VIP area, and quite flash... You could get drinks from a temperamental soda machine, hot chock, coffee and the like. On one visit we got Mickey and Pluto to ourselves for around 20 minutes, which was fun. Ed had a great time with the doggy. They even gave Independence Day Gifts to everyone. Ed and I played cricket with the Juggling Ball, that they gave Ed, whilst we were waiting for Jill to get the nosh at Pizza Plaza at the MK, a couple of days later.

One of the best perks was the tickets to the nice seats at Shockwave in the American pavilion. Shockwave was brilliant, I'm not into all that brass marching band music. But I tell you this and I will not be moved from this that watching their version of Bohemian Rhapsody was the Best thing I have EVER seen done at Disney in any park, Florida or Paris. It was wonderful. I'm a big Freddy Mercury Fan, and I hope he was looking down from above with amusement, at what they have done to his masterpiece.

The Animal Kingdom Lounge wasn't quite so great, but it was nice to be able to drop in for a cool drink of Zephyrhills from their cooler, and we enjoyed the pinball and driving machines. Actually it was Whack an Alien that I liked.

I hope they continue to use these at busy times. I think they were quite popular, and if they increase AP usage it sells more meals and stuff for Disney so they may even be cost effective for them. They are good for a bit of feel good factor for the long suffering Disney addicts like us.

M is for Movies.

For the first time we went to the Movies at Disney, actually that is not exactly true on our second trip we went to the Cattle Market at the AMC movie complex for our Virgin Holiday's Welcome Meeting, where they tried to sell us trip tickets, like there isn't enough to do at Disney, without coughing up a fortune for Virgin to cart us about the county- there was a film of Richard Branson in his fawn woolly pully, telling us what a good choice we made travelling with him, and why don't we buy some Virgin Vie moisturiser, to put the aqua back into our sad cheeks.

Anyway, this was the first time we had been to see a movie. At first we thought that Ed wouldn't be able to see a R12 film as he was 11 but Kim told us how it all worked and that we could. So we went to see Men in Black 11. Quite good seeing a Universal Studio tied Film on Disney Property, I suppose I should have gone to see Lilo And Stitch at Citywalk just to even things up. The film was quite good, not as cool as the original but OK. The best bit was watching this family next to us who must have spent at least the equivalent of a night in the Grand Floridian on the most enormous Popcorn and Coke Buckets, and this was each not between them. In fact I think that the Bucket of Popcorn was physically bigger than the little un in the family.

N is for New.

Ok what was new this trip...err not a lot. There is the new whirly ride at AK... so I needed to do things that I had never done before, which was quite hard, oh yes, I have never done the 360 degree China Film, and I went in there and I sorta meant to watch the film but we made the mistake of sitting with our backs to the back wall and I went to sleep, for at least 15 minutes of an 20 minute film so I think I'm not sure that I can claim that I have done it. But you can't beat a little kip in the middle of a busy Disney day. I have now slept on two attractions, Wonders of China and the original Journey into Your Imagination. Which of course is the other new attraction, well new ish. It is on its third version in the four years we have been visiting. I liked the second version, even though I seem to be the only one. The new version is probably better if a bit cute; it is nice to have the old song back even if the words are changed for most of it.

I think this section is just going to have to wait for SPACE to kick in, they seem to be making good progress (PROOooo-GRESS) on the building and lets hope they don't have Testrakian problems.

O is for Old Key West.

We spent three nights at Old Key West with Sue Holland, the suite of rooms were sumptuous. Very nicely decorated, and well equipped with a full kitchen. A video and large TV and very nice bedrooms. Walk in wardrobe, it was all very very nice. We had a nice meal at Olivia's using Sue's trick of having lunch at just before 4pm to get the advantage of the lunch prices, but really it is your tea really. I can't remember what we ate for my "entrée" but I do seem to remember splitting a really nice Apple Pie type pudding. The service wasn't up to the Italians standard, in fact it was a bit slow, I seem to remember saying that the waiter might have sloped off for some action with the chef at one point. It was good food and a nice atmosphere.

I liked the check in area, we had a little wait before we got our room, so Jill and the boys went to look around the resort with Sue, whilst I went to sleep in the lounge, just for a change.

I liked going on the boat to Downtown Disney, you sit in these nice leather seats and if it wasn't for the nice salty sea dog driving the boat chatting to me, I would probably have gone to sleep.

The resort is quite a bit sprawly though, you would need a car to be there, in July because it would be too hot to walk about. Greg and Chris seemed to be very good at cadging lifts of the Cast Members on their buggies.

P is for Pleasure Island.

I keep having this debate with myself about which I like best, the Adventurer's Club or the Comedy Warehouse, and to be honest I swathe between them. I think I like them both but for different reasons.

I love the participation and the interaction with the actors in the Comedy warehouse, it is fun working out your ideal partnerships, I like trying to annoy Sue by thinking of my idea partnerships missing out all her favourite actors. Hanging with Sue is great at the CW coz all the actors know her. Mary was really really nice to Edward. And he can be quite shy at times, but he was brave enough to go on stage on his second night, doing sound effects for Phillip, Matt and Brian. Getting his second CW button, the first being a gift from Mary. I think that Sue always thought that Ed was a bit of a brat on previous trips, but he grew in her estimation during these visits as he is clearly becoming a Comedy Warehouse Junky. I even got on the stage with Jake and the very nice Joy... This was nice and I got the button.

This means that I now have participation in the following shows on my Disney Member of the Cast, not Cast Member CV.

Doug Live,

Comedy Warehouse.

Who Wants to be A Millionaire (3 times in the hot seat- I cheat!!)

Diamond Horse Shoe Review.

Earthquake Pre-Show at Universal.

(Do you get the idea I'm a bit pushy? - I've been on British TV 16 times too.)

I like the zaniness of the Adventures Club, Ok the shows are the same each night but there is a lot of interaction with the guests, which changes it about, a bit. The fun there is deciding which actor you like in each role and hoping to go on the night when they are all in your favourite combination.

Q is for Queues.

Ok what are the Queues like, I don't like the word lines it always makes me think of people snorting coke, and try to think of another "Q" actually I'm struggling for "X". So Queues it will have jolly well just to be.

Anyway, the queues were not that bad, there were times when ToT and Rock and Roller Coaster were busy, but nothing to compare with between Christmas and New Year. Fastpass makes a big difference, and it would be good if they went down the Universal choice of time route, (See Universal). Unfortunately there don't seem to be any Fastpass Scams anymore which is my fault partially because in my 2000 Trip report I wrote about them all and Disney contacted me for a little chat about it, honest, this is true. So if I think of any more scams I'm keeping quiet about it. Well actually I did figure out a Universal Studios Car Park Scam, am I telling you about it, wait for "U" and find out. Of course I am, I would make the worst criminal in the world. I would probably write a letter to the newspaper, About the Bank Robbery Last Friday at the Royal Bank of Canada, it was very cleverly accomplished as I am sure you will agree, how I did it was this...

R is for Rides.

I thought that I would do my top 10 again... And I'm Including Universal in here, and attractions, but not shows. Hey it's my Trip Report I make the rules!

Ok - at Number 10 we have Kali River Rapids, I was really tempted to swap this for Pluto's Bilge Thingy at IOA. But kali won, because I really like the themeing, but the reason why it nearly got beaten is because the Pluto version is technically a better ride... Actually I'm going to make them joint number 10. You will probably get wet on Kali, you will definitely get wet on Pluto. Honours Even then.

Sneaking past at No. 9 is, Countdown to Extinction, this was the only real ride at Animal Kingdom, if you don't count Kilimangaro Safari, which is cool, but not a ride really, more of a very clever zoo exhibit. But Countdown is a unique ride, if you haven't been to Disneyland at least, which I haven't. It is fun, violently shaky and I love the soundtrack and I love to hate the Pre-show.

In at No. 8. we have Rock N Roller Coaster. This used to be higher up in my list, I love the Pre show here, I think the Lisa Minnellie look alike is great. But I'm getting old and the old bones are starting to creak. Great themeing and worthy of a top ten place, in anyone's list.

Revolving into 7th place we have the Great Big Beautiful Carousel of Progress, how can you not love this, it reeks Disney out of it's tired old rotary essence. It even has Walt in the pre-show, fantastically catchy tune, a great show, that can shine at the end of my day, any-day.

Just pipping the Carousel by a short electromagnets reach in place No 6. is the wonderful Tommorrowland Transit Authority, again this is a great old Disney Favourite, and the ride you can always get on, when the parks are full, it's hot and you are tired out. I bet lots of people just walk past the TTA, they don't know what they are missing; it's the greatest place to soak up the atmosphere of Tommorrowland. If either of those two rides are taken off line permanently, I am going to be one unhappy soldier.

Into the top half with No 5. Spiderman.

This is great technology, and I bet lots of people would have it at No 1. I guess I'm not into the Marvel Comics that much, Spiderman is great though, now if only Disney would use that technology to make a ride... Great Ride though, good themed queuing area, which is a good job, because the ride can get some queues, Well done Universal on this one...

Just missing the Medals at No 4. we have and it's a good one, Test Track. This is a good ride, the pre-show is not one to watch over and over again, though the queuing area is really creative and fun. The ride is fun, I like the single rider line, not only because you get on it quicker, but because sometimes you get to ride with Test Track Virgins and that is fun. I think it is probably the ride we did the most times this trip.

In bronze position at No.3, we pop over to IOA again with, Duelling Dragons, Despite my creaky body, I really like Leg Danglers, and this one is the best, the tradition of duelling roller coasters is a long one going back to such rides as the Grand National at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and it lives on brilliantly in the form of DD. Great Coaster, and great queue, must be the longest queue space in the world... And I bet they have never used all of it.

Give your applause to the ride in No 2 spot, I am presenting the silver medal to Universal again, with Hulk. This is one, mean MF of a coaster. The queue isn't too bad usually it has a high capacity, the launch is mind-blowing, and the whole ride subjects you to a pummelling but at least it is smooth, so I can still ride it, unlike Space Mountain in Paris, which I wont ever ride again. Not much themeing but hey its big and its Green, what more themeing do you need.

I couldn't give the gold to Universal- sorry, they will have to settle for 2 out of the top three places, Please give your best appreciation to the Gold Medal winning ride at Number ONE, to the greatest ride in the world.

The Tower of Terror.

The ToT, is the most brilliant themeing, and I've said it before but themeing is my number one consideration, but it combines it with a wonderful ride too. There must be few people who don't take their first ride without some severe trepidation. Jill votes it number one, as well, and she wouldn't ride it for years. Well done Disney... Get one built in Paris Studio's NOW.

S is for Slides.

As you know we have a PAP. And we like to get our money's worth, so we did pop into Typhoon Lagoon with Sue during the trip. My favourite activity there is the Shark Reef, it always scares me, as regulars might know I'm not that keen on Fish. But I do like Sharks, I'm also not a great swimmer and it is deep and cold, so it probably terrifies me more than say doing Tower of Terror for the first time, but that is no doubt why I like it.

Whilst we are on the subject of being brave I am working my way up to doing Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach. I took a great leap forward in the possibility of this by doing Howabunga Kowabunga. Actually it wasn't so bad, I didn't realise most of it was in the dark, and my wedgie wasn't that bad. Still it is a bit humiliating taking the cloth from beneath those tight cheeks out when everyone is looking.

T is for Turkeys

Ok what are the three top turkeys at Disney.

Well on this trip, there were two outstanding turkeys for me, one is the "other" clubs at Pleasure Island, I really am hit with a massive wave of apathy when it comes to 60's, 70's and 80's discos, and I would be the oldest man in Mannequin's, so there aint no point in going there. I regard Jazz as being for entertainment at the Liberal Party Conference in Harrogate, so no big thrills for me in the Jazz Club. I'll stick to CW and ADV Club.

We had good memories of eating at the Pepper Market at Coronado Springs so we went there to eat one evening. I like the concept of the little chitty that the chefs stamp, it all seems good fun, the only problem was the food I got was dreadful, I had Chinese food, the noodles were coated in some kinda stuff I could grease my Motorbikes chain with and they were congealed together like a lumpen mass. The meat wasn't much better so, I think the pepper market is off the next five year plan.

In top spot as Turkey of the Year would be the Transport and Ticket Centre. I don't think that I had a bad experience there, I'm just voting for it, because I have a dislike for the centre... I think it is because I don't like mixing with the day guests, I think I'm a snob.

U is for Universal Studios ( and Islands of Adventure.)

When we got the call from Disney six months before the trip we to be told that Pop Century wasn't opening in time for the trip again... (See the unfinished Christmas Report.) We upgraded to Dixie Landings, but then we figured out that if we stayed at the All Stars we could save the cost of a 3 day pass to Universal so we swopped booking and decided to go to Universal.

We bought a 3 day pass for Universal on the plane somewhere over Greenland... Fantastic view by the way of Greenland, I saw one mountain which had three glaciers flowing from it. Best view ever of Greenland on that flight.

So we had a couple of days when we weren't seeing friends, so we decided to visit Universal those days. But then we decided that by splitting the 13 hours that the parks were open, we could see it all in one day, 6 1/2 hours in each park. And we did most of the things we wanted to do, we were a bit tiered and looking back it is all a bit of a blur, I'm glad we got the opportunity to ride King Kong for the last time as it is closed down now.

Now the parking scam... MyTravel run their Welcome Meetings at Universal at City Walk, and they give you a parking pass for the multi-story car park, which must be used before 9am on the day after arrival. Now there was no way I was going to the meeting to be sold tickets I didn't need, even if they do give you a croissant and some lukewarm coffee. But the parking pass worth $7 now that is worth having, it wasn't sensible to go to Universal on the day after we arrived, we needed to go about a week later. I figured, they are not going to look at the date stamp, and that the car park attendant wouldn't know which days they hold the welcome meetings, and if I got court I was going to speak to him in Pigeon French and plead ignorance. Do you think they looked or checked... Right, thanks for the free parking guys, it annoys the hell out of me I have to pay, for permission to spend money in your park. Gosh I'll be smchooozing next - heaven forbid, Ill leave that to our Vetinary friends. But the good news is I still have tickets for 2 more days... See I do need to go back to Florida.

V is for Vero Beach.

We went to Vero, which is Disney's beachside resort, a couple of hours drive down the coast. Though if you are following Sue Holland, about 10 minutes down the coast as she likes to whiz along in that Saturn of hers. Sue kindly treated us to accommodation in Vero, and what accommodation it was a Grand Villa, It must have cost a few trillion points, and it was sumptuous plus. There was a big lounge, thousands of bedrooms, sunken baths, a great kitchen, Jill even cooked a salmon taggiatelli, for us the day we went Kayaking. The thing that impressed me the most was the way there were four sun decks, so that you could always have the choice of sitting in the sun or the shade no matter what time of day it was. That is flash.

The resort is fun and they do lots of activities, I even ran in the gym on the treadmill, unlike Ed who fell off it and injured his leg.

Sue took us to a baseball match in nearby Vero, her team the Ft Myers Blasters (or something) were playing the Vero Beachbums, and they thrashed them, it was embarrassing, I gave up counting when it got to 14-1. I really enjoyed soaking up the local culture and Sue knew the team physio another Larry so I enjoyed chatting to him, He thought it was weird that he was having to explain the rules to an adult. Much the same as rounders really. A good night out.

We went to the restaurant there, Jill and I have conferred on this and we think it might be called Shutters, we had a nice meal of meatloaf and even more important a nice pudding. A chocky thing - I think.

If you are having a long trip to WDW, having a couple of relaxing days down by the beach is a really clever idea, and don't forget to book for the Kayaking, it will be a highlight of your trip.

W is for Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

I know that everyone is bored with me showing off about this, but I made it into the hot seat for the 3rd time, it is getting a little bit embarrassing now when I go to collect my prize, which was a bit weedy at only 8000 this time and everyone was unimpressed that I walked. But hey, I wanted to do something different.

Chris, Kim's Son made it to the hot seat 2 days on the trot, and had to decline the second day, as he was banned. And just to prove that our gangs technique can't be beaten, and so guess who was second on the list of top scorers, yup his Mom Kim.

We are the Champions, We are the Champions, no time for losers, coz we are the Champions of the (WD) World.

X is for X ray. (Ok I'm scraping the barrel here)

One of the interesting things is that Epcot in the pavilion that Bodywar's is in there are some fake X ray machines where you can photograph people, we did it with Ed and it looks like his ribs are made up from coat hangers... Ok I told you I was scraping the barrel.

Y is for young at heart.

Well I'm getting to the stage when I'm going to have to slow down a bit at Disney, there is no way I can do Rock and Roll 10 times on the trot like I used to do, and the day will come when Roller Coasters drop out of the old top ten. Still I'm not going to let approaching infirmity get in the way of a good time, We have a plan to retire, before we get too old, and spend Winters in Florida and Summers in Scotland and England.

So as Walt Disney Once Said, " that's why we invented the Epcot Food and Flower Festival"

Z is for Zenith.

Well that's about all folks, I hope you have enjoyed the old trip report, a little bit different, in format, if not in content. The next trip may well be August next year my good mate Kevin is going then and I'm keen to be there when he is, but that is not certain, our lives have taken some big leaps of direction in the past few months.

I'm not going to say this is my last trip report - this time, because it probably wont be. But until the next trip. Have a Disney Day.

Larry Wilmot