Trip Reports
02-20-2007, 04:03 PM
Fred Willemsen - August 2002 - Downtown Disney Hotel
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: Downtown Disney Hotel
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Fred visited his friend in Tampa and they drove over for a full day at the Disney MGM Studios while he was in town. This is a very detailed report of a whirlwind trip.
Fred Willemsen -- August 2002 -- Walt Disney World (Downtown Disney Hotel)
Friday, August 23, 2002 to Monday, August 26, 2002
Who:
Fred, 38 I've been to WDW 7 times, dl twice. Disney enthusiast.
David, 48, best friend, lives in Tampa area, humors me.
Why: I've been planning a trip to go see my buddy David, who this past spring Bought his first home, a condo. We had gone to Disneyland in May, however, I didn't get any time with him alone. So my wife told me to go one weekend, and I Set it up. About a week out I got excited and planned an excursion out of Tampa To Orlando. I called David up, and like the good sport, he was in.
So I made the hotel and car rental arrangements. Poor David's car is on its last leg, So using the national codes, I was able to get a full size car out of Tampa for $82 for Three days. I also booked the Grosvenor for $75 on Saturday night.
I'll be flying out of Austin Friday afternoon.
The plan: Fly in, have dinner; cruise out to David's new place and crash.
Wake up, hang out for breakfast, then drive into Tampa for Cuban sandwiches and A stop by Burdines's to get the wife something. Then hit I-4 out of town around noon and get into Orlando around 130pm. Hit the Point, the Mercado, then go over to downtown Disney and check into the Grosvenor by 3pm. Purchase single day tickets, and make fantasmic dinner package ps for tomorrow. Hit downtown Disney, shop until we drop. Eat at Planet Hollywood-I've always wanted to do that. Crash.
Get up, hit Mickey D's for cholesterol attack, then cruise to MGM to be there around 8:15am. Hit the gate, and tour the park. Have lunch at back lot express. Highlights include: the Walt Disney 100th exhibit, and the new parade. Go to Hollywood and Vine for dinner, get fantasmic seating package, then head over to be seated by 8:00p.m. Show starts at 8:30p.m. After show, boogie back to Tampa, drop David off at his car, and then hit Homestead Suites at the airport and crash.
Wake at 6:00a.m., get out, drive to airport and fly out At 7:30a.m. Arrive Austin 9:10a.m., work by 10:00a.m.
Well, which was the plan: Here's what happened:
Informed both divisions I work for that I would be working through lunch and leaving to catch my plane at 4:00p.m. It was slow so there was no pressure there. My wife and son picked me up, and I was headed to the airport. I got there exactly one hour before, got check in and get my boarding pass. Today was casual day, so no tie. However, I walk through security, and my belt set off the alarm. So ten minutes later, my wife and son are still waving at me. I finally put on my shoes and head to the gate. The group A people are already standing there, waiting to board. I got a B group, so I got on and did find an aisle Seat.
We took off on time; the flight was a little bumpy, and landed OK. So I got into Tampa at the scheduled time. Took the tram over to the main building, David was waiting by the luggage pick-up. I hugged my brother, and we got the bag. We went and asked where the rental cars were, after going back up to the 2nd floor and looking. They were on the 1st floor. We walked the whole length of the garage, and asked another company, to find out National has moved off airport. So we catch a shuttle bus over to National-like 5 minutes. I pick out the car-a red Olds Intrigue 2 door-hey, what can I say.
So I drove up, gave them the paperwork, and we were off for dinner. Went straight to La Theresita, ordered the flank steak with black beans and saffron rice. We also had some fried plantains and garbanzo beans. We both got stuffed for $14. Then we headed down the road to David's new home. It took us 35 minutes easy. I opted for the toll expressway-and we pulled up. Very simple-2 bedroom, 2 bath, it's a very quiet area, mostly retired folks. I got out his goodies-photos, videotape, wind chime, pralines. 30 minutes later I'm passed out.
Woke up around 8 after tossing and turning, couldn't sleep straight through.
David made me some oatmeal, and we sat down and ate. I went outside and walked around a bit and videotaped the outside of his home. We hit the road around 9:30a.m.
First stop was to drop off his video, then the grocery store for my barbecue chips-they don't carry that brand in Texas. Then I finally got a cup of hot joe. Headed back into Tampa, but using a route with no toll. Took much longer, let me tell you. We headed to Burdines's because David had bought my wife a gift certificate card.
She wanted an iced tea maker, but they didn't have one. So she told me to get some cologne instead-they had that.
We then went to this little convenience store in the run down part of town for fresh made Cuban sandwiches@ $2 a pop, they were cheap, and good!
We ate them while driving to Orlando. Made good time and headed to sand lake road exit. Got off the interstate-and went to the visitor info center to score some free brochures. Then went to the Mercado to the little candy store, for some alien lollipops for my son, and then to the model car shop to look-who can afford any of these at $60 bucks a pop? I did pick up a green vw buggy for my son, though.
Then we went over to the Pointe, and right into FAO. I'm always overwhelmed by this store. I would have been so easy to pick up $100 easy worth of die-cast cars, but I just did window-shopping this time. Darth Vader was up to his usual tricks. We headed back to the garage, and drove to the downtown Disney area, to check into the Grosvenor. No wait at registration, and the lady who checked us in was training, but she was very nice. I went over to the concierge, but she didn't have any single day tickets, and called WDW-dine to make fantasmic reservations, but they wouldn't let her do it. I had heard you could get your Disney hotel to do it.
So we went to park the car, and took our stuff up to our room. Great view of the pool. The room was very clean, and nice and cool.
I got out my camcorder, and my wallet and headed over to Downtown Disney. The walkway went right up to the new store - Once Upon a Toy. We took some pix right next to Buzz and Mr. Potato Head, and then looked at the other stores before going in. I picked out what I would buy on the way back. So then we headed to guest relations at Downtown Disney, and they did sell me 2 single day tickets. Then I asked about fantasmic dinner package, at first the lady was sure they didn't do that, and she went back and got her supervisor, and lo and behold, they got me the time I wanted, too-5:50p.m. She was sure to thank "Fred" she called me Frank at first, And then she saw my GOH nametag.
We then went over to the World of Disney store, and looked around-they changed the areas a little. The women's apparel was now in the main hall. And their selection of plush characters was dismal-though lots of 100th celebration and 2002 merchandise.
We had a 6:45p.m. reservation at planet Hollywood, so we headed on over through pleasure island, because they started charging at 7:00p.m., and I just wanted to walk through and look.
I went to check in, but they didn't have my priority seating, the guy told me there was no wait, and so we got seated on the 2nd level.
By reading the boards, I found out the crunchy chicken would be good, so I ordered that as an appetizer, and just got the bacon cheeseburger. David had the Cobb salad, but could only finish 1/2. I used my Disney Club 10% discount; the total came to $31.
They have a kitchen on each floor. I was curious, since I design hotel and restaurant kitchens. We were stuffed, so I had to walk it off. We checked out their store, and then headed back over to marketplace. Right into World of Disney, and $65 later walked out to Disney's Day of Christmas. This was $58. Then over to the new store for the big one-$96.
I did go over and look at the new pin store. I remember there was another themed store there, but they did leave the children's sand/play area, and the little train. I felt a little sad, as there were lots of families with their children, enjoying their time at WDW. And my wife is working at the hospital, and my son is on the road with his grandma to visit my brother and his wife in Houston.
I was glad to stop and watch the kids playing in the water that shoots up in the central area next to once upon a toy. I had thought about doing the pick a bay, go around and pick out parts for potato head, but I thought-hey, when Christopher comes, then he can pick it out himself. There were lots of parents and kids huddled around the station.
We then headed over to the grosvenor, and stowed the bags of goodies in the car. I tried to get a soda, but the machine wouldn't take my money. So I opted for water in the room. I called my wife, and then she called me back, and I talked to her for about 15 minutes. She said my mom did take our son, she hadn't been feeling well the night before, and I wasn't sure if she was going to take him, but she came through.
So I passed out around 10:30p.m., the Buccaneers were losing very handily to the Redskins.
I woke up around 7:00a.m., and showered, got my bag together, and David woke up. I lent him my shirt, since while he ate his Cuban sandwich in the car yesterday, 1/2 of it ended up On his white tank top. We went down to the car, and loaded my bag, drove over to registration-and I checked out. Great location-simple but clean room.
We went over to Mickey-D's for breakfast, they opened at 8:00a.m., we were five minutes early, but the first ones in, nothing like a fresh hash brown in new grease. I did get my hot cup of joe; we ate fast, and headed on out. I wanted to take the long way around, so we could drive through the cool entrance. I didn't see too many cars, and we headed in-to the front row! We got out, and I loaded up my gear. We started walking, and saw the big stitch display. People were backed up at the entrance. Five minutes later, we were in. I went to look at some of the shops. I did see a cool Buzz Lightyear shirt for my son, so I remembered where I saw it. They did their opening spiel, and everyone headed down sunset to the Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.
We veered left and went on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. David had never been, so this was his first time. We loaded quickly, and took off-dude looks like a lady in quadraphonic. He was totally blown away.
We then crossed over to the Tower of Terror, the theming and the authencity they put in this attraction is incredible. Sure enough, we got last row, but this elevator had a lap bar. We went up the shaft into-the twilight zone, and dropped down moments later-what a rush! After getting off, I grabbed 2 Fastpasses for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster again. Then we headed down sunset over to Star Tours. We admired Mickey's hat and got some pix. Then onto Star Tours-no wait. We got on, it threw me around a bit, but my wife had gotten me a patch to help me with motion sickness-it works, let me tell you.
So the ride dumped us into the store, I looked for Dexter jester, he's nowhere to be found, but I did see a cool hat. We came back for it later. On the way over to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster again, we stopped and did Drew Carey's Sounds Dangerous. Oh, yeah, it sounds great, but I don't think I'd waste my time doing this again. There had to be maybe 20 people in the attraction. So we went over to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, got two new ones Fastpasses for the Tower of Terror, and used our Fastpasses for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. We had to wait a bit longer-about 15 minutes, and there were quite a bit more people this time. Lots of folks from England, I noticed. We got herded over to-THE VERY FRONT CAR, ROW 1! Awesome, it was so cool to be in the very front, w/o asking. I don't even remember the song-it wasn't playing loud enough.
We then went over to the Tower of Terror, but the two cast members at the front said no waiting, so we went and got on another elevator-this time the back row did have seatbelts. It felt a bit different-I actually floated while being dropped-I thought the experience was better this way.
So we headed back through Sunset and stopped in the villain's store-I saw a Hades shirt, and would get that later. We stopped by Hollywood and Vine, and sure enough, they had me in there. Then we went over to the sorcerer's apprentice hat, and worked the kiosks briefly-saw some characters-but they took off. We decided to go see if we could find Lilo and Stitch-but they weren't where they were supposed to be. The animation tour was just beginning, so we walked in, saw the Walter Rnd robin short film, then trooped in to meet the artist. He drew Minnie, and then Stitch. No question and answer time, they've since changed that. I wonder what they do with the sketches they use?
We walked into the artist areas, but they were all off-it was a Sunday. They're working on Treasure Planet, and a new one-bears. Last time I was there, they were working on John Henry, but the cast member I talked to seems that they've shelved it for now, or maybe it's going straight to DVD. (Editor's Note: John Henry is part of the American Heros DVD.)
We did look at the work areas-wouldn't it be cool to do that? But I'm sure it's so darn competitive. We moved on and saw some Oscars Walt had won, and some pre-production work. Then we got dumped into the animation store. This is great if you have bunches of money-so I looked a bit and headed out to lunch-we did the ABC commissary. David splurged on this one, and I got a regular cheeseburger. Very quiet in here, but nice and clean. We didn't have to wait to order, it was around 1:00p.m.
We sat for a little bit, the guy who was cleaning up looked at us and said you're ready for a nap, I bet. I knew he was right, so I loaded up again, and we headed over to Muppets-with the show starting in 5 minutes. As usual, poor beaker got bonked on the 3D machine, and the Swedish chef blew up the theater. We dropped off our 3D glasses and went to see Beauty & the Beast-my wife loves Belle & Beast, so I videotaped the performance once more. We went and saw the parade around 3:00p.m. Before the parade started, there was a lady dressed as a flapper from the 1920's. She was very entertaining, and sang to some poor slob that she drug out from the crowd. She gave him $500 bucks.
The parade started, and the two cop motorcycles came out. There were a total of 8 cars, I believe. The one I liked the most was the villain's car. The evil queen, Jafar, and Cruella were walking around it. Hades was inside the car-I thought he looked cool. The parade finished with a limo with Goofy driving, Donald was shotgun, and Mickey and Minnie sat in back. Then we went over to Hunchback and saw that show-the costumes are terrific-the show was packed. After the show we walked into the New York street area, and saw lots of characters-and even some I'd never done meet and greet. So I got Stromboli, and Darkwing Duck. The line for Mushu was just way too long.
I did get to see my old buddy-King Louie, though. Minnie was just mobbed. Then we headed on over to Indiana Jones. We had just enough time to go on the Great Movie Ride-we saw the characters over here-but long lines-boy is Tigger a bright orange! So we got on the Great Movie Ride, and made it over to Hollywood and Vine, with just one minute to spare. We sat out on the patio looking at the lake, for about 5 minutes, and then we were called in.
I went over and got some salad, finished that, and started on the hot entrees-fresh sautéed green beans, penne pasta with scallops and shrimp, prime rib and pork loin, roasted turkey, red beans and rice and bbq baked beans. I had seconds, so I passed on dessert.
I tipped Matt well, since he probably brought over seven orange sodas. I found out that Hollywood and Vine shares restrooms with the Sci-Fi Diner (Editor's Note: Probably Fred meant the 50's Prime Time Diner). We did score our Fantasmic Seating package coupon-I figured it was Disney's way of saying, if you come and spend money for dinner, we'll help you out with this. The buffet was $17.95. Each.
So then we went over to the Walt Disney exhibit, finally. The movie had started so, we browsed for 15 minutes. It was really neat seeing all this stuff, and the scale models of the castle, Spaceship Earth, Tokyo Disney Sea, etc. We went in to see the movie, and lo and behold-Michael Eisner 3 stories high with his corporate suit, and softening up his image with a Mickey tie. Oh, wow, should I be impressed? The movie was great, hearing Walt speak, and the pictures and movies of him show some of the man.
We exited out, and saw we had 25 minutes before we had to get to the Fantasmic special entrance, so I went in one of the shops-but decided I'd already spent enough, then went to the dark room to look at our picture. I opted to buy 2 5x7's, and because they messed one up, I got 3 for the price of 2 for waiting-I was nervous-did not want to lose our time-we made in by 8:03p.m., they just let us in, but I saw few folks behind us. We walked behind the Beauty and the Beast show stage, and up a ramp into the amphitheater.
We got down to row 8, the best I've ever had. 25 minutes later, the show started, and it was awesome! Of course the place was just packed-I just think the steamboat was just awesome-that would be some character greet and meet bonanza! And then, just like that, it was over-it went by so fast, and here it's 9:00p.m., and we get to drive back to Tampa.
So we head on out, and hit some thunderstorms about 15 minutes out. We had to slow down to 35 mph; it was coming down very hard.
I finally came into Tampa, and David showed me to where to buy gas. He filled it up for me and paid. We headed over to the Hyatt garage, where his car was, I pulled in and he helped me configure the bag so I could bring all the goodies back home. Then, just like that, my weekend with my buddy was over. I gave him a bear hug, and hopped in the car and drove off-I hate goodbyes, David is like a brother to me, and it's hard to say goodbye to someone who's stuck in there for me-even more so than my family.
I went to my hotel-homestead suites-which I got off price line for $35. I had to ring the guy to get my key. He seemed like one sourpuss; maybe I interrupted his nightline special. So I got a room close to the office, and took my bag in. Real small room-1 bed, but full kitchen-the TV didn't work, I called my wife to tell her I was there, and then she didn't call for 15 minutes, so she called back and said she couldn't get through.
So I found out the ringer was off. So we talked for 5 minutes a 60 cents a pop, and I set the alarm for 5:50a.m. I tossed and turned again-afraid of missing my plane. But the alarm went off, and I showered and dressed and got in the car-went straight to the drop off, they printed me a receipt, and I walked over and waited 1 minute for the bus. The guy took off and I made it over in 3 minutes. He pulled up; I had no small bills for a tip, oh well, and went in to check my luggage. I tried to get them to check my bags of chips, but they wouldn't go for that-they figured they'd get smashed! So I finally got the guy to wrap up my big Disney bag and put it into a big gray bucket, and it was on it's way, I went over to the terminal, and the plane loaded about 10 minutes later. I got group B again, but had my own row at row 10. 15 minutes later, we were off, goodbye Florida, and 2 hours later, back in Austin. We arrived 20 minutes early-smooth flight, I tried to sleep a bit, but that didn't work too well. I got off and saw my wife down by the luggage.
She waved to me and I went down the escalator into her arms-I was happy to be home, and to be welcomed by the love of my life. I hit the restroom, and she got my bag and the Disney bag. Out at the car, I surprised her-she had some kind of look of shock on her face! She made out with a Bagheera, a Brer bear, a snowman Tigger, and a little Beast. I also got her the beauty and the beast ornament set. I drove over to the office, and let her unpack my bag so she could see what else I had gotten for her.
I got in and the boss had e-mailed me about not okaying taking off for a couple of hours-Said we're busier, he assumed it was some emergency-told me to keep up the good work. Oh, well, don't sweat the small stuff, right?
Highlights of the trip:
Seeing David, my buddy, and spending time with him at the happiest place on earth.
Seeing and staying at his new home.
Getting to see the new parade at Disney-MGM.
Having my picture taken with: Mike & Sully; Mickey, the sorcerer's apprentice; Stromboli; Darkwing duck.
Checking out the Walt Disney exhibit, and seeing the movie-one man's dream.
Yes, I know that giant sorcerer's hat is a bit tacky, but I did get to see it. Got my pix w/David in front of it.
Seeing fantasmic from the eighth row.
Checking out the new toy store, once upon a toy at downtown Disney.
Having dinner at Hollywood planet.
Staying at the Grosvenor, a first for me-actually staying at a WDW hotel.
I'm not sure if next year I'll be able to go to WDW. I'd like to stay on property, But if it means saving some money, it might not happen. We're planning a trip to Hawaii in May, and that will almost eat up all my vacation time (I'll get 7 days of vacation time next year)
Fred Willemsen
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: Downtown Disney Hotel
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Fred visited his friend in Tampa and they drove over for a full day at the Disney MGM Studios while he was in town. This is a very detailed report of a whirlwind trip.
Fred Willemsen -- August 2002 -- Walt Disney World (Downtown Disney Hotel)
Friday, August 23, 2002 to Monday, August 26, 2002
Who:
Fred, 38 I've been to WDW 7 times, dl twice. Disney enthusiast.
David, 48, best friend, lives in Tampa area, humors me.
Why: I've been planning a trip to go see my buddy David, who this past spring Bought his first home, a condo. We had gone to Disneyland in May, however, I didn't get any time with him alone. So my wife told me to go one weekend, and I Set it up. About a week out I got excited and planned an excursion out of Tampa To Orlando. I called David up, and like the good sport, he was in.
So I made the hotel and car rental arrangements. Poor David's car is on its last leg, So using the national codes, I was able to get a full size car out of Tampa for $82 for Three days. I also booked the Grosvenor for $75 on Saturday night.
I'll be flying out of Austin Friday afternoon.
The plan: Fly in, have dinner; cruise out to David's new place and crash.
Wake up, hang out for breakfast, then drive into Tampa for Cuban sandwiches and A stop by Burdines's to get the wife something. Then hit I-4 out of town around noon and get into Orlando around 130pm. Hit the Point, the Mercado, then go over to downtown Disney and check into the Grosvenor by 3pm. Purchase single day tickets, and make fantasmic dinner package ps for tomorrow. Hit downtown Disney, shop until we drop. Eat at Planet Hollywood-I've always wanted to do that. Crash.
Get up, hit Mickey D's for cholesterol attack, then cruise to MGM to be there around 8:15am. Hit the gate, and tour the park. Have lunch at back lot express. Highlights include: the Walt Disney 100th exhibit, and the new parade. Go to Hollywood and Vine for dinner, get fantasmic seating package, then head over to be seated by 8:00p.m. Show starts at 8:30p.m. After show, boogie back to Tampa, drop David off at his car, and then hit Homestead Suites at the airport and crash.
Wake at 6:00a.m., get out, drive to airport and fly out At 7:30a.m. Arrive Austin 9:10a.m., work by 10:00a.m.
Well, which was the plan: Here's what happened:
Informed both divisions I work for that I would be working through lunch and leaving to catch my plane at 4:00p.m. It was slow so there was no pressure there. My wife and son picked me up, and I was headed to the airport. I got there exactly one hour before, got check in and get my boarding pass. Today was casual day, so no tie. However, I walk through security, and my belt set off the alarm. So ten minutes later, my wife and son are still waving at me. I finally put on my shoes and head to the gate. The group A people are already standing there, waiting to board. I got a B group, so I got on and did find an aisle Seat.
We took off on time; the flight was a little bumpy, and landed OK. So I got into Tampa at the scheduled time. Took the tram over to the main building, David was waiting by the luggage pick-up. I hugged my brother, and we got the bag. We went and asked where the rental cars were, after going back up to the 2nd floor and looking. They were on the 1st floor. We walked the whole length of the garage, and asked another company, to find out National has moved off airport. So we catch a shuttle bus over to National-like 5 minutes. I pick out the car-a red Olds Intrigue 2 door-hey, what can I say.
So I drove up, gave them the paperwork, and we were off for dinner. Went straight to La Theresita, ordered the flank steak with black beans and saffron rice. We also had some fried plantains and garbanzo beans. We both got stuffed for $14. Then we headed down the road to David's new home. It took us 35 minutes easy. I opted for the toll expressway-and we pulled up. Very simple-2 bedroom, 2 bath, it's a very quiet area, mostly retired folks. I got out his goodies-photos, videotape, wind chime, pralines. 30 minutes later I'm passed out.
Woke up around 8 after tossing and turning, couldn't sleep straight through.
David made me some oatmeal, and we sat down and ate. I went outside and walked around a bit and videotaped the outside of his home. We hit the road around 9:30a.m.
First stop was to drop off his video, then the grocery store for my barbecue chips-they don't carry that brand in Texas. Then I finally got a cup of hot joe. Headed back into Tampa, but using a route with no toll. Took much longer, let me tell you. We headed to Burdines's because David had bought my wife a gift certificate card.
She wanted an iced tea maker, but they didn't have one. So she told me to get some cologne instead-they had that.
We then went to this little convenience store in the run down part of town for fresh made Cuban sandwiches@ $2 a pop, they were cheap, and good!
We ate them while driving to Orlando. Made good time and headed to sand lake road exit. Got off the interstate-and went to the visitor info center to score some free brochures. Then went to the Mercado to the little candy store, for some alien lollipops for my son, and then to the model car shop to look-who can afford any of these at $60 bucks a pop? I did pick up a green vw buggy for my son, though.
Then we went over to the Pointe, and right into FAO. I'm always overwhelmed by this store. I would have been so easy to pick up $100 easy worth of die-cast cars, but I just did window-shopping this time. Darth Vader was up to his usual tricks. We headed back to the garage, and drove to the downtown Disney area, to check into the Grosvenor. No wait at registration, and the lady who checked us in was training, but she was very nice. I went over to the concierge, but she didn't have any single day tickets, and called WDW-dine to make fantasmic reservations, but they wouldn't let her do it. I had heard you could get your Disney hotel to do it.
So we went to park the car, and took our stuff up to our room. Great view of the pool. The room was very clean, and nice and cool.
I got out my camcorder, and my wallet and headed over to Downtown Disney. The walkway went right up to the new store - Once Upon a Toy. We took some pix right next to Buzz and Mr. Potato Head, and then looked at the other stores before going in. I picked out what I would buy on the way back. So then we headed to guest relations at Downtown Disney, and they did sell me 2 single day tickets. Then I asked about fantasmic dinner package, at first the lady was sure they didn't do that, and she went back and got her supervisor, and lo and behold, they got me the time I wanted, too-5:50p.m. She was sure to thank "Fred" she called me Frank at first, And then she saw my GOH nametag.
We then went over to the World of Disney store, and looked around-they changed the areas a little. The women's apparel was now in the main hall. And their selection of plush characters was dismal-though lots of 100th celebration and 2002 merchandise.
We had a 6:45p.m. reservation at planet Hollywood, so we headed on over through pleasure island, because they started charging at 7:00p.m., and I just wanted to walk through and look.
I went to check in, but they didn't have my priority seating, the guy told me there was no wait, and so we got seated on the 2nd level.
By reading the boards, I found out the crunchy chicken would be good, so I ordered that as an appetizer, and just got the bacon cheeseburger. David had the Cobb salad, but could only finish 1/2. I used my Disney Club 10% discount; the total came to $31.
They have a kitchen on each floor. I was curious, since I design hotel and restaurant kitchens. We were stuffed, so I had to walk it off. We checked out their store, and then headed back over to marketplace. Right into World of Disney, and $65 later walked out to Disney's Day of Christmas. This was $58. Then over to the new store for the big one-$96.
I did go over and look at the new pin store. I remember there was another themed store there, but they did leave the children's sand/play area, and the little train. I felt a little sad, as there were lots of families with their children, enjoying their time at WDW. And my wife is working at the hospital, and my son is on the road with his grandma to visit my brother and his wife in Houston.
I was glad to stop and watch the kids playing in the water that shoots up in the central area next to once upon a toy. I had thought about doing the pick a bay, go around and pick out parts for potato head, but I thought-hey, when Christopher comes, then he can pick it out himself. There were lots of parents and kids huddled around the station.
We then headed over to the grosvenor, and stowed the bags of goodies in the car. I tried to get a soda, but the machine wouldn't take my money. So I opted for water in the room. I called my wife, and then she called me back, and I talked to her for about 15 minutes. She said my mom did take our son, she hadn't been feeling well the night before, and I wasn't sure if she was going to take him, but she came through.
So I passed out around 10:30p.m., the Buccaneers were losing very handily to the Redskins.
I woke up around 7:00a.m., and showered, got my bag together, and David woke up. I lent him my shirt, since while he ate his Cuban sandwich in the car yesterday, 1/2 of it ended up On his white tank top. We went down to the car, and loaded my bag, drove over to registration-and I checked out. Great location-simple but clean room.
We went over to Mickey-D's for breakfast, they opened at 8:00a.m., we were five minutes early, but the first ones in, nothing like a fresh hash brown in new grease. I did get my hot cup of joe; we ate fast, and headed on out. I wanted to take the long way around, so we could drive through the cool entrance. I didn't see too many cars, and we headed in-to the front row! We got out, and I loaded up my gear. We started walking, and saw the big stitch display. People were backed up at the entrance. Five minutes later, we were in. I went to look at some of the shops. I did see a cool Buzz Lightyear shirt for my son, so I remembered where I saw it. They did their opening spiel, and everyone headed down sunset to the Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.
We veered left and went on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. David had never been, so this was his first time. We loaded quickly, and took off-dude looks like a lady in quadraphonic. He was totally blown away.
We then crossed over to the Tower of Terror, the theming and the authencity they put in this attraction is incredible. Sure enough, we got last row, but this elevator had a lap bar. We went up the shaft into-the twilight zone, and dropped down moments later-what a rush! After getting off, I grabbed 2 Fastpasses for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster again. Then we headed down sunset over to Star Tours. We admired Mickey's hat and got some pix. Then onto Star Tours-no wait. We got on, it threw me around a bit, but my wife had gotten me a patch to help me with motion sickness-it works, let me tell you.
So the ride dumped us into the store, I looked for Dexter jester, he's nowhere to be found, but I did see a cool hat. We came back for it later. On the way over to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster again, we stopped and did Drew Carey's Sounds Dangerous. Oh, yeah, it sounds great, but I don't think I'd waste my time doing this again. There had to be maybe 20 people in the attraction. So we went over to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, got two new ones Fastpasses for the Tower of Terror, and used our Fastpasses for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. We had to wait a bit longer-about 15 minutes, and there were quite a bit more people this time. Lots of folks from England, I noticed. We got herded over to-THE VERY FRONT CAR, ROW 1! Awesome, it was so cool to be in the very front, w/o asking. I don't even remember the song-it wasn't playing loud enough.
We then went over to the Tower of Terror, but the two cast members at the front said no waiting, so we went and got on another elevator-this time the back row did have seatbelts. It felt a bit different-I actually floated while being dropped-I thought the experience was better this way.
So we headed back through Sunset and stopped in the villain's store-I saw a Hades shirt, and would get that later. We stopped by Hollywood and Vine, and sure enough, they had me in there. Then we went over to the sorcerer's apprentice hat, and worked the kiosks briefly-saw some characters-but they took off. We decided to go see if we could find Lilo and Stitch-but they weren't where they were supposed to be. The animation tour was just beginning, so we walked in, saw the Walter Rnd robin short film, then trooped in to meet the artist. He drew Minnie, and then Stitch. No question and answer time, they've since changed that. I wonder what they do with the sketches they use?
We walked into the artist areas, but they were all off-it was a Sunday. They're working on Treasure Planet, and a new one-bears. Last time I was there, they were working on John Henry, but the cast member I talked to seems that they've shelved it for now, or maybe it's going straight to DVD. (Editor's Note: John Henry is part of the American Heros DVD.)
We did look at the work areas-wouldn't it be cool to do that? But I'm sure it's so darn competitive. We moved on and saw some Oscars Walt had won, and some pre-production work. Then we got dumped into the animation store. This is great if you have bunches of money-so I looked a bit and headed out to lunch-we did the ABC commissary. David splurged on this one, and I got a regular cheeseburger. Very quiet in here, but nice and clean. We didn't have to wait to order, it was around 1:00p.m.
We sat for a little bit, the guy who was cleaning up looked at us and said you're ready for a nap, I bet. I knew he was right, so I loaded up again, and we headed over to Muppets-with the show starting in 5 minutes. As usual, poor beaker got bonked on the 3D machine, and the Swedish chef blew up the theater. We dropped off our 3D glasses and went to see Beauty & the Beast-my wife loves Belle & Beast, so I videotaped the performance once more. We went and saw the parade around 3:00p.m. Before the parade started, there was a lady dressed as a flapper from the 1920's. She was very entertaining, and sang to some poor slob that she drug out from the crowd. She gave him $500 bucks.
The parade started, and the two cop motorcycles came out. There were a total of 8 cars, I believe. The one I liked the most was the villain's car. The evil queen, Jafar, and Cruella were walking around it. Hades was inside the car-I thought he looked cool. The parade finished with a limo with Goofy driving, Donald was shotgun, and Mickey and Minnie sat in back. Then we went over to Hunchback and saw that show-the costumes are terrific-the show was packed. After the show we walked into the New York street area, and saw lots of characters-and even some I'd never done meet and greet. So I got Stromboli, and Darkwing Duck. The line for Mushu was just way too long.
I did get to see my old buddy-King Louie, though. Minnie was just mobbed. Then we headed on over to Indiana Jones. We had just enough time to go on the Great Movie Ride-we saw the characters over here-but long lines-boy is Tigger a bright orange! So we got on the Great Movie Ride, and made it over to Hollywood and Vine, with just one minute to spare. We sat out on the patio looking at the lake, for about 5 minutes, and then we were called in.
I went over and got some salad, finished that, and started on the hot entrees-fresh sautéed green beans, penne pasta with scallops and shrimp, prime rib and pork loin, roasted turkey, red beans and rice and bbq baked beans. I had seconds, so I passed on dessert.
I tipped Matt well, since he probably brought over seven orange sodas. I found out that Hollywood and Vine shares restrooms with the Sci-Fi Diner (Editor's Note: Probably Fred meant the 50's Prime Time Diner). We did score our Fantasmic Seating package coupon-I figured it was Disney's way of saying, if you come and spend money for dinner, we'll help you out with this. The buffet was $17.95. Each.
So then we went over to the Walt Disney exhibit, finally. The movie had started so, we browsed for 15 minutes. It was really neat seeing all this stuff, and the scale models of the castle, Spaceship Earth, Tokyo Disney Sea, etc. We went in to see the movie, and lo and behold-Michael Eisner 3 stories high with his corporate suit, and softening up his image with a Mickey tie. Oh, wow, should I be impressed? The movie was great, hearing Walt speak, and the pictures and movies of him show some of the man.
We exited out, and saw we had 25 minutes before we had to get to the Fantasmic special entrance, so I went in one of the shops-but decided I'd already spent enough, then went to the dark room to look at our picture. I opted to buy 2 5x7's, and because they messed one up, I got 3 for the price of 2 for waiting-I was nervous-did not want to lose our time-we made in by 8:03p.m., they just let us in, but I saw few folks behind us. We walked behind the Beauty and the Beast show stage, and up a ramp into the amphitheater.
We got down to row 8, the best I've ever had. 25 minutes later, the show started, and it was awesome! Of course the place was just packed-I just think the steamboat was just awesome-that would be some character greet and meet bonanza! And then, just like that, it was over-it went by so fast, and here it's 9:00p.m., and we get to drive back to Tampa.
So we head on out, and hit some thunderstorms about 15 minutes out. We had to slow down to 35 mph; it was coming down very hard.
I finally came into Tampa, and David showed me to where to buy gas. He filled it up for me and paid. We headed over to the Hyatt garage, where his car was, I pulled in and he helped me configure the bag so I could bring all the goodies back home. Then, just like that, my weekend with my buddy was over. I gave him a bear hug, and hopped in the car and drove off-I hate goodbyes, David is like a brother to me, and it's hard to say goodbye to someone who's stuck in there for me-even more so than my family.
I went to my hotel-homestead suites-which I got off price line for $35. I had to ring the guy to get my key. He seemed like one sourpuss; maybe I interrupted his nightline special. So I got a room close to the office, and took my bag in. Real small room-1 bed, but full kitchen-the TV didn't work, I called my wife to tell her I was there, and then she didn't call for 15 minutes, so she called back and said she couldn't get through.
So I found out the ringer was off. So we talked for 5 minutes a 60 cents a pop, and I set the alarm for 5:50a.m. I tossed and turned again-afraid of missing my plane. But the alarm went off, and I showered and dressed and got in the car-went straight to the drop off, they printed me a receipt, and I walked over and waited 1 minute for the bus. The guy took off and I made it over in 3 minutes. He pulled up; I had no small bills for a tip, oh well, and went in to check my luggage. I tried to get them to check my bags of chips, but they wouldn't go for that-they figured they'd get smashed! So I finally got the guy to wrap up my big Disney bag and put it into a big gray bucket, and it was on it's way, I went over to the terminal, and the plane loaded about 10 minutes later. I got group B again, but had my own row at row 10. 15 minutes later, we were off, goodbye Florida, and 2 hours later, back in Austin. We arrived 20 minutes early-smooth flight, I tried to sleep a bit, but that didn't work too well. I got off and saw my wife down by the luggage.
She waved to me and I went down the escalator into her arms-I was happy to be home, and to be welcomed by the love of my life. I hit the restroom, and she got my bag and the Disney bag. Out at the car, I surprised her-she had some kind of look of shock on her face! She made out with a Bagheera, a Brer bear, a snowman Tigger, and a little Beast. I also got her the beauty and the beast ornament set. I drove over to the office, and let her unpack my bag so she could see what else I had gotten for her.
I got in and the boss had e-mailed me about not okaying taking off for a couple of hours-Said we're busier, he assumed it was some emergency-told me to keep up the good work. Oh, well, don't sweat the small stuff, right?
Highlights of the trip:
Seeing David, my buddy, and spending time with him at the happiest place on earth.
Seeing and staying at his new home.
Getting to see the new parade at Disney-MGM.
Having my picture taken with: Mike & Sully; Mickey, the sorcerer's apprentice; Stromboli; Darkwing duck.
Checking out the Walt Disney exhibit, and seeing the movie-one man's dream.
Yes, I know that giant sorcerer's hat is a bit tacky, but I did get to see it. Got my pix w/David in front of it.
Seeing fantasmic from the eighth row.
Checking out the new toy store, once upon a toy at downtown Disney.
Having dinner at Hollywood planet.
Staying at the Grosvenor, a first for me-actually staying at a WDW hotel.
I'm not sure if next year I'll be able to go to WDW. I'd like to stay on property, But if it means saving some money, it might not happen. We're planning a trip to Hawaii in May, and that will almost eat up all my vacation time (I'll get 7 days of vacation time next year)
Fred Willemsen